Authentic Brands Include All Character Traits

Just as our individual personalities are a combination of traits, so is a community’s overall brand. For instance, “fragmented” is part of Durham’s brand. As closely as we work together in Durham and as creative and colorful and genuine as the community is... we also tend to be fragmented.

Part of this may be an aspect of our innovative and entrepreneurial nature, e.g., better at start ups than follow through. Part of it is that people are so talented and involved with the community, it becomes hard to yield to someone else’s obvious expertise. Everyone becomes experts at everything.

Part of the appearance of fragmentation may be from the activist part of Durham’s brand. Activists, as Peter Sandman told me years ago, are in the “outrage” business. So that alone could give the impression of being fragmented.

But you are who you are, warts and all, and a community brand is likewise, a combination of characteristics, not just your “Sunday best.”