People brands: do they die once the person is gone, and how do you regulate them
I came across this article a little while ago, and thought it was fascinating, but I didn’t have time to write a post. The article is from October 8,2006. It is written by Jeremy W. Peters and Julie Bosman, and titled Rosa Parks, the Brand name.
We all know how successful people brands can be. But what happens once these people die, does the brand live on? For a select few it does, and it can remain a very profitable entity.
This article speaks specifically about Rosa Parks, but there are other people brands that have also remained vibrant long after their death of the person: Martin Luther King Jr., Lucille ball and James Dean, are just a few.
But once the person is gone, and when the public seemingly takes control, how do you regulate meaning and control over the brand. Ms. Parks left Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development with the task of “safeguarding her image,” as there is a fine line between memorialization and exploitation. Many people just want to make a quick buck and are willing to paste Ms. Parks picture or attach her name to just about anything. It is up to the Institute to try and regulate such actions so that Ms. Parks is only connected to things that reinforce meanings that she would have wanted. But in a society where technology is rampant and often makes exploitation easy, this is more of a challenge today than ever before.
- Berit Auerbach-Lynn
posted by Brand007 @ 10:08 AM
1 Comments:
I was actually really interested in this whole concept when I read about how Nike was handling a similar situation. Michael Jordan has had a very large stake in Nike's corporation since he first launched his sneakers and subsequently full line of athletic gear, leading to his position on the BOD. He was "power ranked" 7th on Forbes annual list and his Jordan line brings in 500 million dollars of revenue a year for Nike.
The issue of his brand strength arrises in staying relevant to a generation of young basketball fans that are growing up with Lebron James and Kobe Bryant as their idols. Michael Jordan was our superstar, but how can he stay that way and continue to foster growth when he no longer plays basketball. One of the ways the Jordan brand decided to tackle this issue was through a tv ad campaign that took the most prominent athletes from a variety of sports such as Derek Jeter and Lebron James and created a montage of all of these athletes saying "I am Michel Jordan". The campaign reinforced Jordan's image as a legend who was and will always will be the best that all athletes aspire to become. Despite that the campaign was successful, one can only wonder how long it will last.
As Walter LeFeber, a Historian, writer and professor at Cornell says, "In two years or more my students won't know Michael Jordan as a basketball player but as a commercial celebrity, a product,". For those of us who grew up wanting to be like Mike these horrible words should never be spoken, and remembering such an important person's contribution to the sport is part of the foundation that will sustain the brand. Michael Jordan owns associations to the game of basketball and those associations transfer to his brand.
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