How do you build a personal brand and stand out amongst the crowd. How do you build a cult following? Branding lessons from N.Korea's dear leader Kim Jong-un, Brand yourself Kim Jong-un style.
2. Branding You - Kim Jong-un Style!
Let's say you are 28 years old. Your dad dies suddenly. You are left to run his business. There
are a whole bunch of your dad's old friends who may be ready to use the opportunity. Some of
them come forward and offer to help you. Others stand on the sidelines waiting to pounce. You
may have the authority to fire them but you don't yet have the power to do so. At the same time
you still have to run the business and ensure your long-term survival. You also have to rearrange
the building blocks of power and forge new alliances and gain the respect of your employees and
internal/external stakeholders.
Kim Jong-un seems to have done just that. Never mind the whole bravado of attacking South
Korea, Japan, Guam or the U.S, mainland with nuclear weapons. That's not going to happen.
Kim Jong-un is flexing his muscles to gain support and power at home and abroad. The North
Korean missile program is probably at par with what Germany used to fire the V1 and V2
(Vergeltungs Waffe (Retaliation Weapon) 1 & 2 - at England during WWII. The missiles could
only carry small payloads of explosives and were highly inaccurate. Of course the U.S. would
then retaliate and send highly accurate missiles which could take back N.Korea to the 18th
century. Everybody in N.Korea knows this.
I seriously wonder if Kim has taken marketing lessons. He is great at branding. There are lessons
here if you want to brand yourself.
Take the haircut. I can't think of a single leader that has a similar haircut. He even has a more
unique hair style than David Beckham. He has positioned himself in the minds of others with the
"Kim style haircut". Go to any barber and say that you want a "Kim style haircut" and they will
automatically know what you are talking about.
Take the clothes. I can't think of a single leader that wears a similar outfit. Go to any tailor any
say that you want a "Kim Style Chinese Suit" and they will know exactly what you want.
Take the glamorous wife dressed to impress. Most women would want to be her and many men
will you know what. . .
Ladies and gentlemen this is exactly how you build a brand and a cult following. If N.Korea
were to establish its own Twitter and Facebook social media platforms and Kim and wife would
have their own accounts you know who would the most followed and popular couple. Mrs. Kim
would probably be slightly more popular.
Use your unique physical traits and the way you appear to the outside world to differentiate
yourself. Position yourself in other people's minds as something or somebody that ". . .". After
nearly 35 years I still remember this one woman whom I met very briefly and saw just once and I
have never again met another person like her. No, it's not what you think! The person in question
worked for a large organization and only wore bright pastel dress suits topped off with an
outrageously sized hat of the same color. You could literally see if not sense that she was coming
by the flurry of color that announced her arrival. "Madam C has entered the building!" .
Copyright Jim Kayalar www.provisium.com Page 2
3. Much later I learnt that she was not terribly good at her job but was a master at disguising her
weak sides (We all have them) with the "front" and demanding a kind of "patronage" befitting
her self-appointed (positioned) status.
I also vividly remember the African-American gentlemen in Jersey City dressed all in bright
toxic purple with purple shoes, a purple top hat and a purple walking stick with golden handle
and lots of golden bling. Yes sir, he was also smoking a purple cigarette. Next week I saw him
again all in toxic orange.
You get the message. You never forget these unique outlandish characters. Use Kim Jong-un
style branding to move ahead in your career, be different and occupy a position in people's
minds.
Not bad for a 28-year-old with hardly any job experience. My guess is that either he or
somebody in his close entourage studied marketing and branding. Move ahead of the rest, brand
yourself. Your every day actions and interactions will help to position you in people's minds.
Brand yourself. Disclaimer: This is not a political posting or endorsement of N.Korea and its
leadership.
Read my blog at: www.provisium.com
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