Recently, while enjoying a couple ice-cold adult beverages at a local watering hole, I got into an interesting debate with a close friend. During this heated exchange, it became very obvious to us that ‘boy, times have a changed’. We’ve been friends for 16 or 17 years…a long time. So we’ve had many a good night figuring out the world’s problems. And many a good night being part of the problem. And now…we are both dads. He has a 2 year old son, who is buddies with my daughter who will be 2 this summer.
While discussing the state of music today, which we both agree is pretty bad, the conversation turned to role models for our kids in the music industry…and the disagreement.
Taylor Swift.
Yes, Taylor Swift. I argued she’s a good role model – with a certain innocence and sweetness about her.
His argument, to which the bartender agreed (yes, we had the bartender and a server involved), was that was just her ‘brand’ and that in her personal life she was the exact opposite of this public persona. Of course he put it in terms that I cannot share on this family-friendly blog.
See…times have a changed.
It bummed me out. How could Tayor Swift let me down like this? There’s gotta be some hope for a decent role model in the music world for my daughter. How could her personal life be so different from her public persona? It’s not possible (insert Tiger Woods joke here). Oh…I guess it is possible.
So while mowing the lawn the other day I continued to think about this debate. And of course I thought about that word ‘brand’ and how it applies to Taylor Swift, to Snoloha and to any company or celebrity. The two other words that I like to think about when I think of a brand is ‘authentic’ and ‘trust’. As Snoloha continues to grow, remaining trustworthy and authentic are very crucial elements as they are what have allowed me to connect with folks all over the globe thus far. If I lose sight of this, I might as well do something else with my time.
I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way. I’ve shipped the wrong orders to people, I’ve ran out of stock, I’ve not been able to fill certain orders, I’ve released designs that have flopped, tried promotions that have failed miserably, over bought items I thought would sell…the list goes on. But through it all…I’ve been very open and honest about it, either through this blog or via personal emails with customers. And I’m very happy and proud of the fact that each person I’ve dealt with have been more than willing to let me fix things for them.
So Taylor, if you’re reading this, I’m gonna believe that your brand is authentic. So don’t let me down.
Hmmm…I wonder what the next debate will be about? Potty training, perhaps.
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