What is the new state of Personal Branding?

It appears that we’ve entered a new age of technological advancements that makes automation with things like artificial intelligence easier than ever. But in a time where videos can be generated from data, images can be generated from data, and voices can be dubbed using AI, we appear to crave human authenticity (hell, I could even write this entire blog post using Chat GPT, but chose not to). In this blog, I will discuss trends in business branding and marketing, particularly on social media.

In many different aspects of businesses we are seeing a larger emphasis and focus on building the personal branding behind a product rather than the branding of the product itself. The faces and vibe we attach to a company is almost more important than everything else. The first example is CEO branding. We’ve certainly seen it in Mark Zuckerberg’s viral transformation from the unlikeable, robotic, “reptile-like” Zuckerberg that was grilled in court to the bearded, likeable, cow farming, martial artist Zuckerberg that posts authentic unedited videos detailing Meta’s company missions. Personal branding makes a company more than just a product or service. It attaches authenticity, emotion, values, and the company’s mission and visions to the company. As the CEO of the largest social media platforms in the world, Zuckerberg’s more “humanised” appearance definitely aligns with the focus on human connections on social media.

Left: Zuckerberg as a robotic lizard who invades our privacy Right: Rebranded Zuckerberg as the hip, chain-wearing beef farmer

Another more obscure trend happening on social media is personal branding driving the core selling-point of a product. Many products sold on social media now resemble “merchandise”, and I am using this word not in the general term - a product that is being sold - but in the more colloquial definition - “merch”. Merch is usually clothing or common products that you buy to represent something. There is merch for influencers, for sports teams, and for pretty much anything with a public image.

The way we market a product is becoming closer and closer to how “merch” is being sold, where we are more inclined to buy a product for what it represents and who represents it. Social media personalities can gain a large following using their personality and personal branding, then sell the most awful looking tee-shirt and make thousands. Instagram influencer @kinghenryrn makes low effort, Gen Z content on “looksmaxing” (a new term used with our generation's obsession with looking like your most attractive self). And when he started his own clothing brand Hound, the clothing was not any particular or standout, full of tacky photoshoots and concept art on its social media page, and let alone all that nice (in my humble opinion). But due to his large following, his personal branding, and his attachment to the brand. The new clothing brand garnered thousands in sales and 115k followers as of today. 

Another example is the successful California based alcoholic beverage company Nectar Hard Seltzer. The company built an immersive, authentic world around their drink by hiring similar Asian lifestyle influencers on social media to promote their drink. They’ve even created a podcast — the modern commercialisation of authentic conversation — to promote their drink and further build personal branding by attaching personalities to the company. These influencers represent the company, and in a way, our purchase of the drink is repping them in return — sort of like buying merch. Each day, the inclination in our purchases grows closer to representation rather than the product itself.

One final prime example is obviously the viral energy drink Prime, in stores all over the world, sometimes even with jacked up prices because of all the hype and excitement behind it from younger audiences. With Prime, the idea of personal branding and influencer creating content for the company is at its core, with the two founders of the company being two of the biggest names in Youtube entertainment - Logan Paul and KSI. The two stars are familiar with selling in the past, especially Logan Paul with his Maverick merchandise Tees (I even remember kids from my middle school rocking the red tees with its tacky bird logo). With these large stars with fully fledged personal branding at the forefront of the company,

the drink sky rocketed in popularity.

In the future, there will be less and less marketing directly for the product itself - less and less of trying to sell a product itself. And you’ll see brand ambassadors and CEOs have a more prominent role as personal branding for the company. The role of social media could change to a more fundamental one in marketing a product. This form of marketing and building a brand is just oozing with exciting creativity and adaptivity. It’s new and contemporary, perfectly representative of a vague, sensitive, and influenceable younger generation.