After many votes have been casts, and many comments submitted, I’m happy to announce the results of the rebranding contest.
I wanted to announce this last week, but from Thursday through Sunday I was battling a computer virus that really cramped my style … alas, I think I’ve got the virus resolved and I am ready and anxious to rock and roll.
So, here were the final four options:
- JibberJobber: Career Management 2.0
- JibberJobber: Empowering tools for lifetime career control
- JibberJobber: The portal to your career management
- JibberJobber: Managing the information to manage your career
What was your favorite?
I thought the hands-down leader would be Career Management 2.0. It is cool, hip, and obviously something that means “we are done with version 1.0, and taking career management to the next level.”
I’m a software guy (my first real job in my field was developing for Simplot’s intranet, back in 1998, 1999!), so the 2.0 made a lot of sense to me.
And then I got an e-mail from Deb Dib my trusted advisor, mentor (she doesn’t know I consider her a mentor), and thought leader in the career and branding space, with this message:
For what it’s worth, my hands down, win-by-a-mile favorite brand statement for JJ is #4. The one about managing information to mange your career. It’s SO solid, says what JJ does, and hits me at a gut level.
Makes me think, if I were a job seeker, I want that — I NEED that!. The others are nice, but just not specific enough, esp #1 — a lot of people won’t even know what web 2.0 is, let alone what that means in relation to JJ.
I found that profoundly interesting. I didn’t like #4 too much because (a) it is too long to fit under (or within) my logo, and (b) it is… well, too simple — it does describe what we are doing, doesn’t paint us into a “job search” corner… but it just seems too simple, doesn’t it?
And then… I was talking to my wife about this and she said “what is 2.0? I have no idea what that means.” And I had flashbacks of all of the bosses and non-tech clients/customers who I ever worked with, and realized they, too, would look at 2.0 and have no idea what that meant. More head scratching, like what you do when you see “career toolset,” which is my current tagline. What does “career toolset” mean???
But I still loved Career Management 2.0. Haven’t you heard of web 2.0? Finance 2.0, sales 2.0, etc? It is catching on, and carries meaning, even though people are trying to be ahead of the curve and define 3.0 in many areas.
That was when I realized the voting results where going to be interesting. I was surprised at how it ended.
Here are the results:
In the voting, there was actually a tie for first place. The two winners will each split the $900, each get one lifetime premium upgrade, and both of my books in eBook format.
Congratulations to Kirsten Dixson, Partner in the Reach Branding Club, and submitter of “Career Management 2.0.” I should mention here that Kirsten has had a significant impact on my career with JibberJobber, as she invited me to speak with her at the Career Management Alliance conference last year, which was a huge credibility nod in my direction.
Congratulations also to Steve Duncan, submitter of “Managing the information to manage your career.” Steve has been following my JibberJobber journey for a while and has shot me e-mails here and there with ideas and suggestions. He actually submitted the very first entry in this contest!
How will I use two? You’ll just have to wait and see!
The second place winner is, well, Kirsten Dixson (again!). She also submitted “Empowering tools for lifetime career control” (and a few others… there were many people who submitted multiple ideas). She’ll get another lifetime license of JibberJobber, as well as two more books. Since she is connected to so many career professionals I’m guessing she’ll use these as awards, gifts or incentives for them.
I’ll be getting in touch with the other entrants in this contest this week (hopefully! I have some catchup to do from the virus last week :().
HUGE thank you to everyone who submitted, voted, and commented. I received dozens of e-mails with ideas and suggestions on where to head. On the survey I had dozens of excellent comments on what we should do, and how to best meet your needs.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Thanks, Jason! I’m delighted to help you out, and you know that I’m a fan of JibberJobber. Career Management 2.0 is not only about the next level. There are many JibberJobber tie ins with the definition of Web 2.0 (see Wikipedia): it’s a career platform (“gravitational core”), infoware, mashup, users add value, has social component, etc. While not everyone may understand the tech meaning, to me, it is intriguing enough to want to know more. So, then you can tell a compelling story that answers, “Why Career Management 2.0?” I did something similar with my own personal branding to answer the question about the fun goldfish imagery that I chose. See https://www.kirstendixson.com/goldfish.html. Stories sell.
This was a great contest, Jason.
On the two(!) winners, I think you need to consider who you are directing your services to — the audience. If it is people outside of the technology industry, “Managing the information to manage your career” is a great one. While you may think it simple, or not snazzy, the reality is that it will make people who believe career management is getting the next job think about what else is needed and JJ is it. For those people, “Career Management 2.0” is like “whatever.”
If you are more oriented to the technology side, 2.0 makes more sense. (I’m there, but I’m not sure it’s your core audience).
Consider you’re getting 10 seconds to have someone stop and consider the service. Laying out the tag line to get the most bang for the Euro (hey, it’s worth a lot more than a dollar these days) is the consideration — not if it is simply cool!
Well, I am SO glad you have two winners!
I still stand by my assertion that the simplicity and power of Steve’s submission will resonate with most job seekers. Yet, here’s an irony, in light of my comment on the Web 2.0 tagline (a comment that you quoted in your post above)–Kirsten Dixson is a dear friend, designer of my new blogsite (www.executivepowerbrand.com — check out her work!), and one of the most cutting edge/brilliant people I know. So hearing that she was the author of the Web 2.0 JJ tagline (the one I said people wouldn’t understand), made me wonder if I’d not thought enough about it. And after reading your thoughts and Kirsten’s comment above, I get it.
Jason, I think your idea of using both taglines in some way is great — because JJ is very cool and should appeal to Web 2.0-types as well as the less “tech-savvy” folks out there. Kirsten’s explanation in her comment is right on target.(BTW, her Goldfish “story” is a great read and a true lesson in branding).
You have the best of both world’s here. And your voters saw that…how cool is it that a tie affirmed that wisdom. Love it. Congratulations to both winners!
Deb Dib
Jason, Both are great taglines for different reasons, but I’m firmly in the “Managing the information to manage your career†camp. What happens when Web 2.0 is old news and the buzz starts to be about Web 2.1 or 2.2 or 3.0?
Jason, I’ve been thinking a lot about this since reading your post and the comments yesterday. Here are some things that occurred to me …
1. Both tag lines are simple — and they should be. William Arruda (the guru of personal branding) says that great personal (and product) brands are about ONE thing, not many things. Sifting through so much to funnel down to the best core concept is tough, but needed.
2. Simplicity based on clarity and value has power and resonates with your target audience.
3. There was a discussion a while back about whether the JJ brand should reflect you or JJ or both.
I think that the brand tag lines that won do both. Kirsten’s “Career Management 2.0” is very Jason — early adopter, innovative, social, techie, connected etc. It will appeal to a certain psychographic of client who is drawn to that suite of attributes.
Steve’s–Managing the Information to Manage your Career– is a winner as well, because its power lies in the clarity of what JJ does — and it meets a need, head on. The unspoken subtext is that managing all this info is a pain, doesn’t get done, and careers suffer for it. JJ makes that go away and helps build success. That’s a nice hook and it is the truth.
4.I think the combination of both of the tag lines could be really cool. Something like “Career Management 2.0: Managing the information to manage your career.” (It’s even a play on words of a sort as the subtext has manage in it 2x and reflects the 2.0 concept).
5. One of the things that made this contest work (and that might not work in other situations if this were used by other people) is that you have been so transparent and connected over the past year that your readers KNOW you. Typically branding takes a ton of digging and outside-in-feedback to get to a core message that resonates with clarity, value, and power. The fact that this was done through a “committee” of sorts, and then ended in a strong consensus, is very cool. And a testament to you and the loyalty and passion of JibberJobber aficionados
6. Lastly, what I love about the brand contest is a dual focus a) the education component — the transparency allowed everyone to see the thinking and strategy that goes into something as critical as branding, and b) the sense of shared purpose and community that evolved throughout the endeavor.
It was an honor being a sponsor, Jason!
Deb
Dude!
Now, we’re talkin’! Great job using the WOTC to get things freshened up, and I wish you the best with future biz!
Ya left of the sharecropper bit in the About, tho…
-DaveA