I don’t think JibberJobber needs a brand, JibberJobber is the brand. What it needs is a defined purpose of being.

Think about some of the .com businesses and their names.

Amazon—What the heck does that have to do with on-line book sales?

Vault–Everyone thinks career related when they hear “Vault” right?

eHarmony– Relationships, no, maybe Zen Mediation or Feng Shei

Monster– Of course, jobs????

Don’t even get me started with Google or Yahoo…….

I agree with Deb, “What one critical, overriding thing does JJ consistently deliver?” That is the real question and Deb nails it.

I don’t agree with Deb’s “alignment” argumment about “Jason/JibberJobber-user chemistry” and don’t think that is valid. Phil Knight is Nike but Nike is not Phil Knight. Nike was Bill Bowerman….Phil has simple manned the tiller well. Bill poured melted rubber into his wife’s waffle iron.

It’s not at all about what you call yourself, it’s what you are and what you offer. I’ve talked before with you about Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway……

I don’t want to make this too long of a comment but I’ll send you my thoughts and maybe you can consider them for a guest blog.

Best regards,

Brad
MyRetailCareer.net

In response to Patricia’s comment, a brand SHOULD typecast a person, but, I respectfully submit, not in the way Patricia suggests. Patricia, your point is well-taken — there are many “slashie” people out there, well and happy, with multiple career identities. The difficulty here may be in the perception of what a brand is — it’s not a profession, it’s not a skill set, it’s not a tag line. A brand is a promise of value — who you are at your very core, and what that “uniquely you” quality presents to the world in the way of value.

A personal brand transcends professions, or titles, or even reputation. It’s more basic — like “street cred” meaning it is completely authentic, trusted, and reflects the true individual. Once that uniqueness is established — the passion and purpose that drives one — then, and only then can value be discovered / uncovered and refined.

The delivery of value, supported by the brand is what a value proposition is all about. That’s where the rubber meets the road. Whether you are a writer / actor / photographer, your perceived value – what you offer– is what typically creates interest. The brand is secondary, but the brand is what often seals the deal — it’s the trust/emotion component that leads a buyer to choose one equally good product or person over another. A brand alone is unlikely to garner an offer or sale. But the combination of branded value will.

With JibberJobber, the value proposition — the what JibberJobber really does — is going to need to be based on the core brand — the ONE foundational thing that JJ offers to every user, whether job seeker or careerist. But the value proposition needs to further — it has to tie that intangible branded emotion (often a positive response to the pain a job seeker or careerist feels while navigating uncharted career waters) to the tangible benefits the process and structure JJ offers. What one critical, overriding thing does JJ consistently deliver? And why is that important to users?

So circling back to the beginning, branding really is all about typecasting. In fact a strong brand can’t help but be typecast – and that’s a good thing because your brand is typically unchanging – it is you, and remains you – your core being – your passion and purpose, solidified into a word, or phrase that is always you. BUT what that brand looks like when you take it to work and/or the marketplace can always change, because your delivery of value changes as marketplace needs change and you adjust your offerings (but not your brand) to meet those new needs.

The interesting thing about JJ is that is so closely aligned with Jason, so it is not like branding a big name product. It really is about Jason/JJ/JJ-user chemistry. Narrowing down so many attributes of JJ (and Jason, because as inventor / founder / CEO he does represent JJ’s brand) is tough. That’s why this is such an interesting (and educational) challenge.

Respectfully submitted,
Deb Dib, the CEO Coach (and JJ contest sponsor)

“Unabashedly passionate about helping visionary, gutsy, fun executives with a conscience build great careers, mold great companies, and even change the world a bit.”