Passing Of A Brand?

George Steinbrenner's death means a lot of things to a lot of different people. It certainly has brought pain and anguish to his loved ones. It has Yankees players, executives and staff looking back and reflecting on the time they spent with one of baseball's most iconic leaders. It had fans, whether for or against him, observing a moment of silence in his honor at last night's All Star Game. One of the least talked about losses, however, is the loss of the personal brand attached to Mr. Steinbrenner.

What does it take to elevate one's personal brand to such great heights? First of all, it takes commitment. In this case, it was commitment to a game and, more specifically, to an organization. It was also a commitment to excellence: never accepting less than the best. Many people ridiculed and despised Mr. Steinbrenner and the Yankees for this unrelenting dedication to success. Others will don those iconic pinstripes their entire lives because of it. The bottom line: whether you love or hate the Yankees, you know who they are. This is due largely in part to George Steinbrenner.

Building such a salient personal brand also takes time. Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees with a group of investors in 1973 for a reported $10 million. He quickly became notorious for his rapid turnover of management and player personnel. It wasn't out of the ordinary for Steinbrenner to pay top dollar for a free agent, only to engage in public feuds with him shortly after. This certainly wasn't the best way to garner attention, but it was effective in keeping Steinbrenner and the Yankees in the headlines year after year. Before long, this behavior was expected - a brand was born.

Steinbrenner continued with these antics throughout his career, even receiving a lifetime ban from baseball in 1980 (he was reinstated in 1993). Along the way, however, he was wildly successful in winning championships. Many fans will argue that these championships were undeserved, as they came as a result of one of the most outlandish payrolls in baseball history. No matter how you look at it, though, the trophies and rings are still there.

So what does it take to create a personal brand so iconic and recognizable? Many of the same things it takes to create any successful brand: time, awareness and consistent delivery of an expected experience (or in this case, behavior). How then, you might ask, can Mr. Steinbrenner's personal brand mean such drastically different things to different people? After all, most people are divided between loving or loathing him. The answer is simple: no matter how hard you work to establish the brand that you wish to be remembered by, your true brand will always be at the discretion of the public.