I have frequently battled with the idea of advertising I’m a [buzzword] specialist. Today, I could be an AI strategist, whatever that means.
Friends and acquaintances have often told me I should specialise in a subject area, which can make sense in order to better position myself professionally.
It doesn’t feel genuine to me.
Because business and marketing go through cycles of trends, hype, and fads, it seems I’d have to rebrand from being a ‘Metaverse’ expert yesterday, to a ‘generative AI’ one today, and who knows what tomorrow.
Another logical path for a brand strategist is to be an industry expert.
Instead, my experience might be better described as a “mile wide and inch deep” kind, which seems pejorative though I believe the variety lets me cross-pollinate from one area and apply it to another, connecting otherwise disparate dots into new ideas that support brand building goals.
I’ve worked on so many different types of verticals, media channels, markets, projects, and have so many interests, that I find it difficult to position myself.
I appreciate how challenging it can be.
In English, the saying is “the shoemakers children go barefoot.”
In French, the equivalent saying is “Les cordonniers sont toujours les plus mal chaussés.” The literal translation is “Shoemakers always wear the worst shoes.”
Both sayings are about shoemakers, though the difference is interesting.
In English, the shoemaker has no time for their children, whereas in French the shoemaker has no time for themselves.
It’s always easier to see and do things for others than it is for oneself, which is why I think the French version makes just a little more sense (is it because I grew up in France though?).
I believe it’s in these types of nuances that new insights leading to new solutions can be discovered.
All that to say that when asked what my speciality is, now I say it’s developing brand strategy across international or global markets, and across different cultures.
In addition, I leverage methods and accessories from tabletop game design to foster a play state of mind that helps generate new ideas and solutions.
I have these topics in mind as I happen to be working on my new website this weekend.
I also met someone starting their own business at an event last week; they are struggling with what activities to focus on for their branding and asked me for help to talk things out.
We’re having a call to chat about it this week.
I thought I’d extend a similar invitation if ever you have questions about your brand position; feel free to reach out if you’d like to talk about that and your marketing strategy.
I also have various presentations, course content, and workshop exercises I’m happy to share as a coffee or ‘lunch and learn’ inspiration type session for you and your teams, in exchange for feedback so I can improve the content.
