Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Taking Personal Branding to the Grave

When I heard what my uncle had engraved on his tombstone (nevermind that he's only 64 and nowhere near dying), I had to go see it for myself. Uncle Larry has always been known as the sportsman of the family, taking every opportunity to hunt and fish. He became known for this--it was his brand. I wondered whether he got tired of getting fish-themed Christmas gifts, such as the largemouth bass downspout covers. But apparently not. He's chosen to put fish on his tombstone.






While I was at the cemetery (which also contains three of my great-grandparents and is ideally situated next to the mall), I spotted a few other tombstones that perpetuated their occupants' personal brands. For example, this guy apparently liked cars:











Inevitably, my thoughts turned to how I might be able to sum up my life and brand on a slab of marble. I'll have to ponder that one further. My husband suggested the slogan "Gone Editin'," but maybe instead it should be "I'm with Stupid."



I did find one fellow whose method rang true with me:




It's succinct, it's classy, and it's fairly nice (although don't you sometimes use "unique" to describe the weird people you know?).

So what about you--what do you want on your tombstone?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just so there aren't any typos on mine!

Lori Cates Hand said...

Yeah, Jason also said he might put a typo on there on purpose just to torment me!

Anonymous said...

Great post!