In our Social Media crazed culture everyone is obsessed with building their brand. There is an entire cottage industry for people who are called influencers. Influencers are very brand conscious. There are 5 different types of influencers.
• Celebrity Influencers
• Authority Influencer s
• Social Media “Sensations”
• Micro-Influencers
• Bloggers
Not only do influencers have a brand, everyone does. An individual’s personal brand should be a reflection of who they are and what they believe. In other words their actions should be consistent with their belief system and worldview.
There are four components to every brand:
- What are people’s perceptions of the brand?
- What are people’s expectations when they interact with the brand?
- What is the emotional impact of that brand on people?
- What does the brand holder secretly expect from people?
Expectation and perception are the key components for every brand. The most successful brands are the ones who can manage perception and meet expectations. The emotional impact is a direct byproduct of those two things. In return the brand most often expects fidelity as well as patronage.
The most powerful influencers in our culture are celebrity influencers. Once a person achieves celebrity status, we allow them to increase the reach of their brand. A person can become famous for one thing, and then branch out into other fields. For example, Michael Jordan was famous for playing basketball. He later endorsed shoes, beverages and underwear.
Unfortunately, we also label celebrities as authorities as well. We allow them to speak on subjects that are simply beyond their purview and areas of expertise. Kanye West and Lebron James have both ventured into politics. Laura Ingram famously told Lebron “shut up and dribble”. And the Woke Pro- Black Mafia drummed Kanye out of politics because he supported the contrarian viewpoint.
As it pertains to celebrities, it is all perception. The reason being is that most of us will never engage or interact with them. We see them from afar. We make our determination about them based on sound bites and headlines. Still, they have a tremendous amount of emotional impact on us. Beyonce Knowles followers are known as the “Beehive”. If you say anything that is remotely unflattering about her, they will swarm and attack you in mass. Even to the point of threatening your life and the life of your children. I have no idea of what she done to engender such slavish fidelity.
The Cult of Personality:
This brings us to Colin Kaepernick. Colin Kaepernick is without question, currently one of the biggest influencers on the planet. He is a former quarterback in the NFL. However, his claim to fame is not as a former football player. His fame is due to kneeling down “in protest”.
While with San Francisco team, he was not considered to be a leader of anything. In fact he was viewed as a pariah in the team locker room. He had lost his job as a starter with the San Francisco 49’ers. His demotion was a result of his poor on the field performance. It was widely known that he had one foot out of the league. So in silent protest, he chose to sit on the bench during the pregame activities. He was noticed sitting and was questioned about it. He could not be honest and state that he was being petulant. Therefore, he lied and stated that it was a social justice issue. From there the temper tantrum turned protest took on a life of its own. Social media and mainstream media created a groundswell. The cult of personality and peoples need to become a part of something, his “star” has rose. He has since been named GQ magazine Citizen of the Year. He has been awarded the prestigious Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy award. He has been thrust into the role of martyr, revolutionary, social reformer and leader. None of which he intended to become nor has in fact become. He is “John Bubber” in this charade.
Based on the four components of a successful brand let’s take a look at the Branding of Colin Kaepernick.
Perception:
Every brand must have a clear identity. This requires consistency. On the surface it would appear that Kaepernick has been consistent. However, the record shows that he has been anything but. He says that he is protesting police brutality. Yet, he has never stood outside of a police station to lodge his protest. He says that it is not about the flag. Yet, he has stated that he will not stand for the flag until this country becomes what [the flag] purports to represent. He has cited quotes from other revolutionaries echoing much the same sentiment regarding the flag. When Nike released their Air Strike 1 Betsy Ross shoe; he said that the flag was a symbol of slavery. This statement makes it squarely about the flag.
His is a convoluted message. It further lends credence to one truth. Colin Kaepernick never had a clearly defined, well thought out protest. It has evolved over time to become what it is today. Let me say this about brand building; I am not against evolving your brand as needed.
• It allows you to eventually become distinctive
• It keeps you relevant
Those two things, along with consistency, are cornerstones of what helps make you a brand that can last.
Symbolically, Muhammad Ali is probably the greatest African American Athlete. As a brand, you want to be associated with Ali. The feelings that Ali engenders among the African American community are powerful and visceral. Most, if not all Blacks have a deep admiration and respect for Ali as a champion of the people.
The Kaepernick camp has tried to evoke the Ali image. The difference is Ali clearly and consistently stated his position. Ali would constantly have interviews with his detractors. He was able to articulate his grievances, his objective and a methodology to achieve them. Also, he had an endgame. Ali was a member of the Nation of Islam (NOI). The NOI is a separatist group. As a member of the NOI, His position was to separate the races. Whether you agree with that position or not, it was the stated goal and objective. No one really knows what Kaepernick wants. As I have stated his message has evolved. Has never stated what the true objective is, let alone a methodology to accomplish it. It could be intimated that he wants the current system done away with. But what would he replace it with? He rarely speaks and when he does, it is through tweets, memes and slogans. Almost every tweet is a slogan that comes straight from the “How To Be Pro-Black Manual”. For instance, the Jackie Robinson quote about not standing for the flag. However, the quote from Robinson was at the end of life, not from when he was still playing. It was after he had become disillusioned about how he was used and then discarded. The perception of Kaepernick is one of resistance against tyranny. The imagery is that of Black power. Yet, many do not realize that the Black power movement was steeped in Marxist ideology. The raised gloved fist is a Marxist symbol. The reality is one of anarchy and chaos. These are tenants of Socialism. As a symbol of Black empowerment, Kaepernick’s brand is lacking.
Peoples Expectation:
Every brand must meet expectations. So what do Kaepernick supporters expect from him? Due to the lack of male leadership in the home, people are looking for leadership. So they turn to celebrities and athletes.
They are expecting him to lead a revolution; never mind the fact that he could not even lead his football team. They expect him to bring attention to the plight of the inner city black man. Bear in mind, that Kaepernick has never lived in the inner city, let alone a black community. Essentially, they want Kaepernick to cause the white establishment to acknowledge and accept them. To give them a much needed hug.
Kaepernick is seen as a martyr and even a Christ like figure. The expectation is that he is someone who will sacrifice everything for what he believes in. They take the position that he sacrificed his football career for a black cause; hardly. This is another contradiction between him and Ali. Ali’s position actually cost him something. Ali was in the prime of his career. Kaepernick was on his way out of the league ad apparently has lost interest in playing football. And while in the league his poor performance is lead to him being benched in the first place. The 49’ers signed him to a bad contract with a lot of incentives in it. The reason being is that they really did not believe in him as the long term solution.
His supporters believe that he is his own man. What is clear to most prudent observers is that Kaepernick has had sponsors almost from the very beginning; benefactors who have their own agenda. The puppet answers to the string holder.
Emotional Impact – Why do people gravitate towards Kaepernick?
Because Kaepernick’s message has been so poorly defined, it allows people to assign their own meaning to it. In Western culture we connect emotion to everything. They will apply their own meaning to it to justify it as valid. From there, they will create an entire narrative about what the protest means and who Kaepernick is. As previously stated, the leadership void needs to be filled. This idea of resisting authority and sticking it to the man is attractive to the disenfranchised. He is giving “voice” to their frustration. The un-affirmed are looking for affirmation. The marginalized are looking for acceptance. The ostracized are looking for inclusion. The disillusioned are looking for direction. The revolutionary are looking for a revolution to join. In short, he has become the new Tupac Shakur. Early in his acting career, Tupac played thugs. In “Juice” he played character named “Bishop”. In “Above the Rim” he played “Birdie”. Unfortunately for Tupac, he got caught into the persona of these characters a little too much. His fans saw this as the real Tupac. He was forced to live up to the image that he created in Juice for the remainder of his life. Allen Iverson also suffers from the “cult of personality” syndrome. His followers will not allow him to grow up and mature. He is permanently cast as the young rebel. Kaepernick now finds himself in a similar position. This could be why he rarely speaks and has to always consult the manual for a response.
The tragedy in all of this is that attention was being brought to a real issue. Not the issue of African Americans being gunned down in the street as the liberal media would have you believe. Rather the issue of why a segment of our society appears to be being policed differently. The question of is there an f abuse of power under the color of authority? There does need to be real law enforcement reform. All American citizens should be policed the same in within a community. There should be a uniform policy and code of conduct for how citizens are stopped. That is what Kaepernick failed to lead this “protest”. He never had an end game. Not at least one that will result in the changing of how certain segments of society will now be policed going forward. So all it will amount to is a bunch of woke individuals having a temper tantrum. A protest that is akin to a child refusing to eat his vegetables. It will be a protest that will not have produced any meaningful dialogue. There has been plenty of barbershop discussion. The media has had a field day. They love talking about racial issues. However, Congress has not weighed in on the issue with the passing of new laws. The Justice Department has not been invigorated to pursue violations of Civil Rights. In fact they recently declined to press charges in the Eric Garner case; just as they did in the Trayvon Martin case a few years earlier. No, nothing will have changed; all because there is no true endgame. Or is there? This brings us to what does the brand expect from people? The brand in this case appears to be Nike and Black Lives Matter.
What is secretly expected of the people?
On a Corporation’s ledger there are at least three different kinds of assets:
- Financial Assets.
- Intellectual Assets.
- Ideological Assets.
Of the three, Intellectual assets are by far the more important assets that a corporation can have. Especially in today’s service driven economy. One of the executives of Coca-Cola talked about the importance of their logo. He essentially said that if they, lost their entire physical inventory worldwide, it would only be a temporary setback. Due to the value of the brand, they would be back up and running almost immediately. The power is in the brand.
Colin Kaepernick falls into the ideological asset category of his sponsors; most notably Nike. An Ideological asset typically is a loss leader. (Any profit that Nike makes off of Kaepernick is a welcomed bonus). The purpose of an ideological leader is to advance the company’s agenda and make it acceptable to the masses. The message and brand of Kaepernick has evolved into what Nike desires it to be.
Nike is carefully crafting the image of Kaepernick through narrative. Again he is being branded as the leading voice for social reform and cultural change. His image is calling for a revolution. Their intent is to turn him into someone that the people will listen, adhere to and follow.
Recently Nike made headlines with the launch of their Air Max 1 USA model shoe; otherwise known as the “Betsy Ross Flag” shoe. When Nike released the shoes, Kaepernick was not pleased with the symbolism of patriotism.
Kaepernick Complained to Nike that this all-American symbol is – what else? – Racist. “After images of the shoe were posted online, Mr. Kaepernick, a Nike endorser, reached out to company officials saying that he and others felt the Betsy Ross flag is an offensive symbol because of its connection to an era of slavery,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
Nike pulled the campaign after it had been launched and the product shipped. With a phone call, he was apparently able to shut down the all mighty Nike. That requires a tremendous amount of power. Anyone who can shut down Nike with a simple phone call has power and is worth listening to.
Earlier we talked about perception. In order to lead a revolution an individual must possess a certain level of power. That power can be actual and real or it can be perceived. The Wizard of Oz was perceived as someone who possessed immense power. As it turns out, the “great and terrible Oz” was a frightened, weak man who was hiding behind his brand.
It is difficult to believe that Kaepernick has that kind of power. In fact, no corporate asset has that level of power; not even Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. It appears to have been a psych-op designed to boost Kaepernick’s standing as an influencer. In short it was a designed marketing ploy to increase his value to his sponsors.
His value is to the company is in correlation to its overall goals and mission. Nike’s mission is not Black empowerment or racial justice. It is not to solve the issues of the inner city. So what is their goal?
Nike is a very Left leaning entity. They are a company that promotes feminism, transgenderism, multiculturalism and globalism. Many of their slogans state that they are all about equality. It is difficult to say they promote equality. Their practice of slave labor has been well documented. They are considered to be a “woke” corporation by all who observe it. Woke is the new in thing among Liberals; especially the Black liberal. And because this is Nike’s agenda, it is Kaepernick’s agenda as well. Notice the commercial that he did. It had nothing to do what many were lead to believe was his message. It was not about Black empowerment. It was about globalism. It is about Socialism.
I am now going to say something that appears to be contradictory. Most Pro-Black movements are Marxist. Black Lives Matter is a Marxist organization under the sponsorship of George Soros. Black Lives Matters does not promote Black empowerment. It does promote feminism and homosexuality. The stated goal on their website is to “dismantle the patriarchal system. Their hierarchy has the Black woman as the head of the Black family. So they are anti-male in general and anti-Black Male in particular. Kaepernick is a card carrying member of this group. Any organization that demeans and diminishes the role of the Black man in both the home and the community is demonic. That goes for all cultures, not just the African Americans.
The goal of the Socialist / Marxist / Communist is to cause chaos and anarchy. It is the overthrowing of society .It involves the Hermetic principle of “as above, so below”. The idea is to create a new society from resulting chaos and anarchy. What does the overthrowing of society look like? In other worlds why is Marxism not preferable in a free society?
Marxism is the preferred method of ideology and government among the elites:
• Because it helps produce an overall world population as debt slaves.
• It also promotes deculturalization.
• A lack of spiritual belief.
• It calls for a graduated income tax
• It promotes the eradication of the middle class.
• It eradicates a real money system
• It promotes over emotionalism and true adroitness when it comes to evaluating situations. In other words they stick a battery in your back and turn you loose on the masses.
Colin Kaepernick is essentially an asset of Nike and a feminist liberal organization. He is not to be hailed as any kind of hero or champion for Black causes or social justice. He is simply a pawn of the Left, an Agent of Chaos and a sower of discord. Kaepernick, Nike and Black Lives Matters; as a consumer I will pass on all three.