Branding in one note

On my last commute, I switched radio stations and caught the very end of a song and with a short pause, the first note of the new song played.  I immediately knew the song and also immediately knew that for the most part, I could not stand the song.  All of that information conveyed in less than a second!  I knew the song, the singer, about when it was popular, and my emotional response of not liking it.

Over the years, there has been a number of game shows along the genre of naming popular songs.  Many of these shows come down to a playoff between contestants in bidding on how few notes they can name the song.  Usually this is done on a piano, so one note is not distinctive and it takes more than one to name a song.

But how many songs are recognizable in one note?  The Beatles "A Hard Day's Night" is instantly recognizable by the distinctive guitar chord that opens the song.  Others are recognizable with a vocal.  Who can forget the maniacal laugh that opens the tune "Wipe Out" by the Surfaris?

One could argue that these opening notes comprise the song's brand.  As familiar to audiences as the Coca-Cola label or the McDonald's arches.

In fact, one popular dittie was based on a corporate logo on top of its headquarters!

This begs the question of how we are establishing our personal brand.  What are we doing to make our company brand and our individual persona vibrate.

I suspect that our brand is strengthened with a couple of "C's"; consistency and constancy.

Consistency in how our work is performed, how it is presented, how it is perceived and how it is accomplished. 

Constancy in the fact that we are not here today, gone tomorrow.  That we are dependable.  That we follow through.

We can work on these things and our brand will flourish.