Branding: Are You Ticket Worthy

Let’s embark upon something new this week by not focusing on the word “Change”.  Are you shocked? Understandable, if you have been following my blog. For the past six weeks my introductions have centered around the  same one word… change. However, this week we are shifting  to a new word "relationship".We will explore how this term and the “Two Ticket Rule” applies to the   marketing concept of Branding. According to  Small Business Encyclopedia: An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. But what exactly does " branding" mean? Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from that of your competitors. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceived you to be.

I pride myself on having excellent memory. However, I don't remember how I learned about the "Two Ticket Rule". Did  I see it on a talk show;  watch a movie or read about it in a book? It troubles me not to know. So, if you know the answer please post a comment. Yes,  I am Crowdsourcing for the answer.

So what is the “The Two Ticket Rule”? It was  a dating rule I adopted during my college days. The truth is I used it to select my husband. The rule stated: If you had two tickets to an all day event, would you give the extra ticket to the person who you are dating? The premise was if  the person who you were dating was not ticket worthy, chances are you were  in a bad relationship. Why date someone whom you did not feel comfortable spending the day around. It sounds kind of shallow, right? Well, maybe not. After all, picking  the person who was “Ticket Worthy” required an evaluation of the relationship.  In my case, the person had to possess some basic qualities.

Reliable:  there is no sense in giving up a extra ticket if the person is not going to show up on packed, properly dressed and on time.

Courteous:  I have always had a limited tolerate for a rudeness. If you are planning a day long event, having to deal with various personalities is a given. Therefore, the person whom I selected had to be able to handle situations such as slow service, cold food or long lines with some degree of finesse. After all it was a full day event.

Loyalty: This might sound like a strange qualification for a simple day date. Yet, if I was going to give up my extra ticket, the person had to be a person I  could trust and depend .

Compatible :  Why would I give up a ticket to see my favorite singer Kem, if the  other person only enjoyed County Western.

Likable:  If the person was going to receive my ticket, they had to be someone I absolutely wanted to spend the entire day. 

These is a brief sample of my evaluation process. It was not easy to be considered "Ticket Worthy. Why?  Because giving up a ticket translated into giving up both time and money. During my college years, as well as, today both  are extremely valuable gifts.  

How does  “Branding” yourself or your business fits into this rule. Are you ticket worthy? Ah ha! Think about it.  What kind of reputation or presence do you have online. Every time any of us shops online, visits a website,  downloads an app, watches a video or follows a blog we have deemed the product or service to be “Ticket Worthy”. The company or individual has done something to earn our money, time or both. 

The famous recording company Motown used a  similar concept as the two ticket rule.  Motown let nothing to chance: A “quality control” committee met weekly to review the latest song due for release.  The  founder of Motown, Berry Gordy was the final arbiter, but posed this question: Would you buy the record or a sandwich if you were down to your last dollar?

Modern day technology has made  Branding mandatory. Gone are the days when a company could produce a catchy jingle and strategically run a commercial during the time the targeted audience was sitting in front of the television. Today, it is necessary to determine how the person will be accessing the message. Next they have to develop a formula to get noticed. Finally, they have to convince their  targeted audience that they are the "One". 

In an article entitled " What is Branding and How is it Important to Your Marketing Strategy?", Laura Lake wrote  the following about the meaning of the concept of Branding. “Therfore, it makes sense to understand that branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospect to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem," The bottom line you have to demonstrate some of the same basic requirements I set for my dates in college: reliable, courteous, loyal, exciting and likable plus a whole lot more.


As we discussed last week, Crowdsourcing empowers consumers to dictate  to companies their wants and needs. As a result the relationship  have to be a match made in "Cyber Heaven".  Yes, relationship.  Every time we  blog, tweet or post we are developing relationships. So, Branding sounds easy enough. We just have to monitor our online activities and make sure we hide all the pictures of drinking  fest, pole dancing or file language. Right?  Wrong!  Again, it is not that simply.  The truth is we have little to any power over how we are judged. The majority of how we are viewed as individuals or even as a company is primarily the result of perception. 

A company is judged on it's logo, website, blog, video's and the types of customers they attract.  The name of the game today is not to get just a couple of tickets. The goal of a successful marketing strategy is to develop a solid Brand. If your brand  works well, the Internet affords you the opportunity to become Ticket Worthy for millions and millions of people. Just ask companies such as Zappo, Overstocked.com, Craigslist.com or Google to just name a few. 

ACROSS THE GENERATIONS:

My mother grew up during a time when your reputation was everything. It was the era of "Bad" girls do and "Good" girls don't. Well, even if the good girls did they were sure not to tell anyone. Therefore, she is more than slightly turned off by Social Media, especially Face book. In her opinion individuals post far too much personal information.  She continues to warn all of us about not making the mistake of thinking your reputation does not matter.

My friends and I have some of the same views regarding the power of Branding. After all we are frequently marketed to by online businesses, as well as, peers who are self-employed. As small business owner, I become extremely frustrated when individuals tag me or post inappropriate things on either my Face book business page or personal account. They are not thinking about the impact a picture can have on how I am perceived.  I avoid getting into heated debates online by following the old fashion rule " don't discuss religion or politics in mixed company". I was taught since individuals generally carry extremely views about both, it quickly becomes a lose/lose conversation.

My son's generation has a completely different view of Branding or online reputation. It seems as if nothing is taboo for them. Yet, in some ways they demonstrate a greater degree of mutual respect for each other. However, over the course of the years, several of my friends have had the discussion about deleting a niece or nephew from our friend list due to inappropriate pictures or language.

The bottom line, Branding is an important tool if you want to have a productive and successful online presence. Just remember it is your reputation on the line and you rarely get the chance to make a second impression, especially when you can be vanished with the swipe of a finger.