Has anybody ever told you the brand name wasn't important? That labels do NOT matter? That it's all the same and no string of letters can differentiate a product or service? Well... allow me to state the obvious. It does matter....
At one point in my life, yes, I admit it, I was very much a label lad, you had to be. We were all pre-pubescent pheasants trying to display our feathers in order to establish ourselves within our community and amongst our peers. Jibes would be hurled your way if you weren't wearing the latest Adidas training shoe or Nike jogging pant. Of course, the fact that we were all competing using sports brands at the age of 11-16 was that we were also trying to provoke a maturity, pertain a masculinity and promote our sexuality. Sport = sexiness. Which, if it wasn't for David Beckham, I would have dispelled it as a myth. So, branding as we grew up was very much important to us but what about the ultimate brand - our name.
It's a name you're given at birth, it's a carefully chosen assortment of the alphabet that provides you with an identity that your parents believe you to be associated with - OR - They like the idea of their child being bullied at school so they grow up tough. So you'll have guys called Kim who are not to be messed with, and Dwayne Pipe who runs an underground drug cartel.
My name, Ian, was picked by my mother. She wanted it short, simple and not to be shortened... So she was considering, very carefully her choices. Ian; James or Lee. They were the options. These were the reasons for settling with Ian.
LEE JEANES ........ Brand
JAMES JEANES ........ James Dean? Jimmy Jeanes... Jim Jeanes... comedy.
IAN JEANES ......... Here I am.
Now the above all comes down to the surname... the Jeanes. Essentially the surname is your brand. It's the part of your name that links you to your family, and if your a male or of the dominant and proud female species, then you get to maintain your brand - providing you haven't defaced it or disgraced the name.
I have the (un)fortunate surname of Jeanes. One I'm proud of. A name that once brought me a thousand jokes that got funnier everytime(!) now brings me differentiation, character, distinction and laughter. My surname has become an instant cause for memory and rarely am I called out without the perfect synchronisation of Ian and Jeanes. Casual acquaintances through formality.
In my job, it's important people remember you, as I'm sure it is in everybody's job and the introduction of my name is normally proceeded with me saying "It's Ian Jeanes, Jeanes as in a pair of Jeans". Sometimes gigles ensue, sometimes uncertaintity, sometimes confusion, but more importantly, distinction. One of life's natural marketing tools.
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