When I lived in New York City at age 20, I met a very kind lady, Dona Esmeralda, at the English and general culture course I attended on 23rd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. I remember holding an invitation to an exhibition of pro- and anti-smoking campaigns, promoted by The One Club, nearby on 21st Street. Of course, I was very excited, and she found out that I was a Communications student, that I wanted to be an advertising executive, that the profession so closely associated with that Mad Men city fascinated me, and that I wanted to work for an advertising agency. That's when she told me that her son was also in the business. He was a copywriter. He was intelligent. And, above all, "a great professional, you know? But he's very overweight. I've already told him that.".
At first I found it funny and even a little strange to hear about excess weight in the middle of that conversation, but then I realized it was all normal. Perfectly normal. It was a mother talking about her son. And that made me stop and think about something that is obvious, but not everyone manages to put into practice: the idea that there is life beyond work. Whether it's medicine, engineering, branding, advertising, theater, or anything else that comes to mind.
An economist who only talks about numbers is boring. Someone who only talks about diets is boring. People who only talk about religion are boring. Just like someone who only talks about politics. A 20-year-old who annoys a nice lady and only talks about advertising is also incredibly boring. Football, clothes, money. All of that, when it's the only topic of conversation, becomes boring.
Of course, Dona Esmeralda didn't intend for me to think about all this. She was simply talking about life. And life, at least the ideal life I imagine it to be, is always much more than a single subject.
Years later, I, who work with Branding but avoid talking only about Branding, realize that Brands are speaking and acting more and more like the kind old lady from Manhattan: as equals, person to person, with more truth, more eye contact, less hidden agenda, and without being ashamed to appear flesh and blood. Brands are speaking more from the heart. They are more aligned with their essence. Or at least they should start down this path.
Market share, brand value, EBITDA, revenue, growth, commercial aggressiveness. None of that translates the main purpose of branding work. They are merely vital consequences of another process. The process in which a company decides to immerse itself in itself, only then aligning business, brand, and communication strategies. The more it knows itself, regardless of its segment, the more stories it can share with the world. And it is through stories that people fall in love. It was the story that Dona Esmeralda told me that made me move beyond the obvious in my thoughts at that time.
I admit: remembering her saying that her son, who worked in advertising, was very good, but that he was fat (all in the same sentence) – you could even assume that the guy didn't have much to show besides his belly. What campaigns was he doing? What agency did he work for? How many awards had he won? But that's not the point. The little chat about real life with her made me rethink certain values. Probably the same values that make me believe that maximizing your repertoire should be a basic commitment to yourself, as long as it doesn't change your essence. Whether you're a person or a brand. Oh, and just so you know, let's respect Dona Esmeralda's son. It's Nizan.
