The importance of choosing in personal branding
One of the most influential models created to understand how brands become successful is Kevin Lane Keller’s brand resonance. Keller describes a pyramid with four progressive stages: at the base lies brand identity, which ensures people know who you are; then comes brand meaning, built on the associations of performance and imagery; the next level is brand response, shaped by judgments and feelings; and at the top stands brand resonance, the deepest stage, where people develop loyalty, emotional attachment, active engagement, and even advocacy.
When we translate this to personal branding, it is the pinnacle of the pyramid that deserves most of our attention. For professionals, establishing a deep relationship with the audience is often the decisive factor of a strong strategy. I have often talked about relationships in personal branding and proposed a four-level model of them, where the most powerful levels are those based on emotional bonds and shared values. These are the kinds of ties that transform recognition into trust and trust into influence.
But if we want to establish such relationships and reach the top of Keller’s pyramid, we must recognize one important truth: not everyone in our market, industry, or organisation will respond to us in the same way. Some will resonate with our message and values, others will remain indifferent, and a few will even feel repelled. Our job is to understand whether the group we attract is the one we truly want—and whether its size, influence, or other relevant attributes are sufficient to help us achieve our goals. For instance, are there enough decision makers in that group who will value and buy my services? Do the leaders inside my organisation who respond positively to my brand have sufficient power to help me grow and advance? These are the kinds of questions that clarify whether our resonance is strategically meaningful.
Examples help illustrate this point. Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, deliberately chose to align his personal and corporate brand with sustainability and long-term value, knowing this stance would alienate some investors and short-term thinkers. Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s has always stood by values of social justice and environmental responsibility, creating strong loyalty among purpose-driven consumers. He has gone so far as to resign from the company’s board when he felt there were insurmountable discrepancies with Unilever, the majority shareholder. In both cases, choosing came at a cost, but it also built enduring resonance with the right audience.
Sometimes, choosing may take a toll. But in other cases it can propel a brand to extraordinary success. The Italian singer Zucchero Fornaciari started his career with melodic love songs, a safe and conventional path in the Italian market. Then he made a bold choice: to fuse blues and soul with Italian songwriting, stepping away from the mainstream. While this limited his appeal to some audiences, it gave him a distinctive identity, an international following, and a unique voice that still resonates powerfully across cultures.
Choosing is essential to strengthening a personal brand. We must consciously decide whom we want to attract into a deep relationship, one that is mutually beneficial and that will generate not just visibility but also loyalty, engagement, emotional attachment, and advocacy.
