"Break Competition Through Authenticity"
Naval (demi god)
...You are the freaking product baby!
That is the only thing you alone can sell and no one on the surface of the earth can possibly replicate! Not Elon musk, not Jeff Bezos or any of the intimidating competitions swarming around you like bees!
You, your past, your background, your experiences, your influences, your phobias, your specific sometimes complex passions, your fire branded convictions…
That obsession with anime and cartoons, that weird fascination with album covers, with movie dialogues, with music...your being a choir boy almost all through highschool and college
Your natural ability to lighten up a room, your complicated or intimate relationship with your mother, the sibling rivalry with your brother, the brief 3 months or more you spent learning a trade or skill during the holidays
Those crazy trips to Abia that somehow ended up with you going through Port-hacourt or Makurdi and experiencing new cultures and people, a piece of Nigeria and the world you didn't know before
Those soul connections you had with different people and the compelling force to share your life with them
The depth of the pain and how it cut deep down leaving you with the feeling that your life was over and there was nothing possibly fascinating about the world again
Those late night conversations with your Pop about life, marriage, sacrifices. With your mom about her failed dreams or expectations
All those tiny fragments and puzzle pieces that come together perfectly to create the person you are today, specific to you and you alone that no other human being in all of God's planet can have or experience like you did. The way you did. At the time you did.
Every single one of those things make you, YOU.
NO ONE ELSE CAN HAVE THOSE. NO ONE!
IT IS HONESTLY ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS ABOUT THIS SIMULATION CALLED LIFE.
AND I FREAKING LOVE IT.
THE THOUGHT THAT THERE'S ONLY ONE MEZIE AND CAN BE ONLY ONE MEZIE IS ONE OF THE MOST EMPOWERING FEELINGS, IT IS A DRUG! CRACK COCAINE MAN
And guess what…
EVERYONE WHO HARNESSES THIS POWER IS WELL ON THEIR WAY TO DOMINATING AND MONOPOLIZING WHATEVER MARKET THEY CHOOSE TO EXPLORE
REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU DECIDE TO SELL!
I mean you could be selling curry under a shed in Parkistan. You could be selling popsicles for all I care (do you know there are candy businesses bigger than real estate firms? LMAO)
The "product" which I refer to as the tangible is simply the channel to the actual product...
YOU, kid.
Every single Franchise or brand, from shoe brands to alcohol to food, to festivals and football clubs sell something else to their cult followings, most of their followers are simply unaware and I'm giving you that knowledge and strategy…for free!
For free God dammit. Don't just read through this, start self analysing yourself this minute.
Look inward and backwards at every single thing that has contributed a brick to the building of the monument that is you today.
That (your intentionally, God crafted persona), besides time, money and people is one of the best resources Divinity has gifted mankind.
A living SOUL.
And those who through introspection have discerned it and wielded it like the faithful, wise servant are ripping the dividends at the expense of other people too ignorant or comfortable with being a factory set replicated product of other people or simply paying those who have decided to wield this unlimited strange power.
In this singular moment right now, you can decide to break the cycle and be more than another minion and find your actual product (Y-O-U-R-S-E-L-F)
A product not influenced by geographical locations, cultural barriers or time if replicated.
THE ULTIMATE PRODUCT
This has afforded those who understand this mystery to branch into several sometimes unrelated industries and "bossed" it. Know why?...( OFCOURSE YOU DON'T PFFT)
They simply replicate themselves in a new market using the general tangible ("product") in said market as the channel or tool for the actual product. (Don't make me say it again)
Know why you can't branch into the fashion industry as a food seller right now? You have no identity and your product is simply a plate of rice.
My favorite rising company Abit Network ( go buy Tatcoin. You heard it here first) I know for certain unless they mess up the pattern are going to be a major force in no time in the African Crypto, Agriculture, Real Estate, Tourism, Tech and even Music industries soon.
(You heard it here first)
because they and their owner have seemingly mastered this art.
But really go invest right now. I'm not a rep or anything, but I'm freaking telling you. You watch (At least rsearch them out)
You can decide to discard everything I say and make a couple of sales here and there, but if that is all you see yourself or brand becoming, stop reading this right now, it isn't for your kind.
I don't have a platform for mediocrity.
But if you have a vision for international and global influence then keep reading and we can talk about fixing this hell bound virus called an identity crisis bent on making its victims confused, obnoxious, inanimate characters stuck in a video game simulation of delusion
Having an identity crisis and somehow can't spot what you are...or you simply can't articulate who that is because of the multifaceted layers?
(((The more layers, usually the more potential of the product and vehicles into more markets actually, so that is mostly good news.)))
Or you're just too unsure or scared of the reception from the general public during what we may call the the “product launch”?
Well relax...keep reading. This moment right here is priceless. Focus.
The major cause of this despicable virus thing is simply a Lack of Clarity or Observation.
You've been too busy caught up seeking validation from every single human being on the planet, too caught up wanting to be liked by everyone ( usually the wrong people)
THE BEST BRANDS DON'T SEEK TO APPEAL TO EVERYONE.
THEY HAVE A TARGET AUDIENCE BY AUTOMATICALLY FINDING THEMSELVES AND THROWING THAT INTO THE CROWD KNOWING THOSE WHO WANT IT WILL FIGHT TOOTH AND NAIL TO GET IT AND REMAIN LOYAL ALL THEIR LIVES!
DON'T YOU WANT A LOYAL CUSTOMER BASE, THAT'LL MOST LIKELY PASS YOU ON TO THEIR CHILDREN AFTER?
I hear my guys swear Everytime their children will support their favorite football clubs ( who are by the way some of the strongest organizations & brands in the world)
Check the backstory and you'll find that someone who had some strong influence over them growing up got them hooked, creating a ripple effect of generational support.
Man, this thing is sensational (future voice)
CLARITY, THE LACK THEREOF & A RAGING INSECURITY OR DESIRE FOR VALIDATION FROM EVERYONE ELSE
That right there is the defining problem.
Wise Intentional Brands before launching out or reinventing themselves consult Brand agencies and go through a super rigorous yet important exercise called a Discovery Session
A mind and heart picking experience were;
Influences, Passions and Values are analysed to coin out original authentic brand personalities and identities
Can't afford one? ( don't be cheap)
Then at least have a sincere self discovery session for yourself with yoursekf, by yourself...put if the damn TV
NO ONE can know you like you, you can't be sincere with anyone like you can be with yourself AND YOUR DIETY.
Take time away from the crowd, Get some real closure with yourself and find your PRODUCT...YOURSELF
Your intricacies, weaknesses, strengths…
Confront your traumas, your memories - the best and worst ones.
DEFINING pieces of you that have shaped you and prepared you for who you're supposed to be and consequently offer to your world.
You'll rise out the fire of a self discovery session like a phoenix...with sharp clarity and purpose.
You'll come into your true self like Xerxes did in the famous 300 movie. (Go watch it and find that scene)
Retreat to your mountain top and pluck out old feathers like an eagle 🦅 to grow new ones and soar into previously unattainable heights with new strength and vigor.
Don't rush for exposure without first discovering yourself.
It'll save you the horror of going irrelevant 5 years in. Which by the way is the number based in statistics it takes a new business to live and then fail.
You'll save yourself future failed marketing schemes and strategies because you know your PRODUCT, PURPOSE and AUDIENCE.
YOUR AUDIENCE- PEOPLE WITH SIMILAR BACKGROUNDS AND NEEDS, THAT ONLY YOU WERE CRAFTED TO MEET, WITH THEIR TONGUES AND HEARTS OUT WAITING TO BE SEEN OR HEARD!
WAITING TO SPEND ANYTHING
I KNOW HOW MUCH I SPEND ON SOUND...GOOD SOUND, WHEN I CAN AFFORD IT. BECAUSE MY INNER CORE CRAVES MUSIC I CAN HIDE AND GET LOST IN
THAT IS WHAT THE SONY WALKMAN COMPANY CONSCIOUSLY OR UNCONSCIOUSLY SOLD TO MY BIG LITTLE TEENAGE HEART.
I craved every bit of it. The design. I knew my life will be better if I could get a walkman and have my favorite sound scapes locked in there, my own secret galaxy where I was and could be anything with the girl of my dreams
MUSIC AS A COPING MECHANISM. That is what they sold me. Not the device! Open your eyes and ears.
Reason I spend chunks of time going through RUTH OSSAI photoshoots
I absorb and marinate myself in her non-conformist energy through every picture. Reminded that I can make whatever I want as long as it matters to me. That is why I follow her like a fool to the slaughter for!...that is what she has successfully sold to me.
Herself!
WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU SELLING?
SNACKS...OR NOSTALGIA, MEMORIES AND LOVE?
A CLOTHING LINE...OR SELF ACCEPTANCE, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND NON CONFORMISM?
MUSIC...OR ENERGY, LOVE, PAIN, AND HOPE?
DESIGN... OR FUTURISM, AND EMOTIONS
WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU SELLING?
WHAT PIECE OF YOURSELF IS THE WORLD IN NEED OF WHAT PART OF THE PUZZLE IN THE LIVES OF YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE DO YOU COMPLETE...AND ONLY YOU CAN COMPLETE.
GO FIND THAT OUT!
THAT IS YOUR BRAND...THAT IS YOUR PRODUCT.
[ Insert Pretentious yet super factual and true close on how me and my agency are pretty much the most affordable (for now) people who can help you through a discovery session if you're not a cheap bastard. Excuse my francaise]
YOU. ARE. THE. PRODUCT. DAMMIT!
GO SEEK IT OUT, YOU'VE BEEN SELLING THE WRONG THING, TO MIST LIKELY THE WRONG PEOPLE
WHEN YOU FIND IT SELLING TO YOUR PEOPLE IS RELATIVELY EFFORTLESS.
LOVE (I THINK),
MEZ.
( I'll be inputting whatever I had playing in the background while I wrote a piece soon...Just because 🤷🏾♀️ )
GO FIND YOURSELF!… GO!