Last updated on September 22nd, 2017 at 11:03 pm

There is an upcoming book by an author named Margaret B. Jones, a memoir of the life of a young white girl who grew up as a foster child to an elderly African American woman in South Central Los Angeles and ended up running drugs as a member of the notorious Bloods gang.  The book is reportedly compelling and critics, including one from the influential New York Times, had already given the book a rave review.  The problem is that the book is hoax perpetrated by author Margaret Setzer, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley with her real parents.

What does this have to do with branding, you ask?  As I’ve noted before, one of the primary elements of any atttempt at creating a unique personal brand is that the personal brand must be one that actually fits you and your company.  What Ms. Seltzer did was, in effect, create a brand that would be impossible for her to continue.   The story she told was not her own story, but was passed off as her story.   There was no way she could ever hope to continue in the role as the untruth of the story would be easily discoverable.  In fact, the reason the hoax was discovered is because her own sister told the New York Times that the story was untrue.

The story illustrates an essential truth about branding and sales which is that just because you have an idea which may be lucrative, does not mean that you should follow through with it.  Given the current interest in non-fiction and the saleability of a story of a young white girl living among the gangs of South Central, the idea of Ms. Seltzer’s book was a good one.  As a work of fiction, it was probably sellable.  But going through with a hoax that almost had to be discovered at some point, was a mistake.  Eventually, the whole thing had to fall apart.

So in closing, the next time you have a great idea, remember to think the idea through before you go through with it.  If you don’t, your great idea might be more trouble than its worth.

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