OK, so for those of you who are wondering (or even care)
what I do with my time besides write a lousy blog, then here it is in a
nutshell…
I develop brands! AKA the Brand Developer of a young digital
design and marketing agency.
About now is when I see the confusion sweep over your face
as I announce my job title - “What
exactly is a Brand Developer?” And the truth is the title is a little vague
because my job description is also. I am still searching for my ‘forte’ as some
would call it.
The title came about when an opportunity arose within a
digital design agency to become part of their creative team. The exact job title was
unconfirmed however, and to my surprise they asked me what I would like to specialise in. PR automatically sprang to mind as
it was a discipline I thought I was good at when at university (until you hit
the real world and realise you actually don’t have a clue).
The term ‘PR Executive’
however sounds very industry standard and a little bit ironic for a creative person
to be titled something so boring and drab. And so I got started on coming up
with some possible titles. They asked me to incorporate the term ‘brand’ so I that
I didn’t pigeon-hole myself, but really it was because neither they, nor I, really had a clue of what it was that I was good at, what my speciality was?
Here are some of the titles that I proposed to the team:
Brand Guru
Brand Innovator
Brand Technician
Brand Engineer
Brand Imagineer
Until finally, it was agreed… Brand Developer
Personally I
thought Guru sounded more creative but perhaps a tad on the
unprofessional side – there is a fine line between the two in this business but
that calls for a separate discussion!
So referring back to the question, “What exactly is a Brand
Developer?” I would simply respond with, “Oh, I do a little bit of everything
from drafting press releases, to organising events and updating social media”.
This does of course all apply under ‘Brand Developer’; however I couldn't help
feel a little jealous that I didn't specialise within a specific discipline. Our
Creative Director spent hours designing artwork, she was known as a Designer, but for me, I just continued
doing ‘a little bit of everything.’
UNTIL one day it came to me. Like an epiphany hits Einstein
(well not quite), but I found that I LOVE writing. And yes, this also can involve
a little bit of everything from writing press releases, creating social
media posts, posting blogs, or producing copy write for brochures and newsletters. Hmmm copy write? Perhaps copywriting is my forte?
They do say that asking someone in their early years of
school to tell you what they want to be when they grow up is like asking the
British public what their thoughts are on independence. CLUELESS!
And so it was decided that some things are best just left as they
are. Who wants to be titled a boring old Copywriter anyway? Perhaps I’ll just
stick with what I have. Keep them guessing. After all, curiosity did eventually
kill the cat.
