All about me.. the "Me" Brand

We've all been seeing "me", "my" and "your" used more and more in advertising.

The NY Times has a great article this morning that talks about this shift of personal branding and why it has become so popular. American Express touts “My life. My Card”, Coke’s new commercial is about “My Coke”. The Google generation of consumers wants more than personalized searches, they want all their products to meet their unique needs.

"Brands are becoming more personalized and customized because consumers want brands on their terms," said Allen Adamson, managing director at the New York office of Landor Associates, a corporate identity consulting company owned by the WPP Group."


This is nothing new to libraries. We have always put “personal” into our service but perhaps this is the time to begin incorporating the “my” message into our promotions. “My card. My library. My life.” Most public libraries have sections that are labeled for user ownership with "my accounts" but universities have hopped on the trend full force. Cornell and Auburn are examples of the "My library" websites that are cropping up to attract the attention of users.

I was wondering what kind of campaigns have local libraries used lately that fits into this thinking? I love the idea of a “My librarian” campaign. Make up buttons with the faces of your librarians and whenever they help a customer give them the button. Have kids draw posters of their librarians… Would love to hear from the field on this… If you don't want to write your comments here, e-mail them to me directly: ndowd@njstatelib.org

Category: "the Brand"