As a guy who only has to go back three generations to find himself in Galway, Saint Patrick’s Day is special to me. As I prepared for my annual celebration of posting a music playlist on various social media, changing my profile and header pictures on the same, and preparing to eat some soda bread, I also read a few articles about the holiday. One of the things I found interesting was that while the Irish celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day, its current form is essentially American.
Everyone claims a little Irish around this time of year, appropriating some heritage for their own celebration. The holiday itself, while still ostensibly celebrating the Irish, has really broadened in America to celebrate the immigrants who make up this country.
Appropriation of attributes is an essential part of branding. You want your brand to appropriate human attributes so that people who buy products and services will relate to it. The more anthropomorphic the brand, the more likely other people are going to relate to it or identify with it.
You want your brand to stand for something – to have values. While it’s possible for a company to hold values as a group, values are essentially human. If you think about what makes up your very essence, it’s your values. They inform every action you take.
Unfortunately, what I see frequently is the appropriation of values and human attributes by a company without the actions to back them up. What you have there is at best inconstancy, and at worst schizophrenia. The market abhors schizophrenia. You have to back up your values with action.