The Mensa brand is getting beat up right now.
Mensa, of course, is “that thing for smart people”. In the Ries branding example of “owning” words…Mensa owns the word “smart”. If someone is a member of Mensa, then you probably naturally assume that they are very intelligent.
But you may be having doubts about Mensa after watching this season of The Apprentice. One of the contestants, Tarek, is a card-carrying member of Mensa. From the start of this season, it’s the one peg that he has always hung his hat on.
The trouble is he doesn’t seem very smart. He is the classic example of a person with lots of “book smarts” with absolutely no common sense. In addition, he seems to have absolutely no people/social skills and is a bit spiteful. Add his unlikable personality to comments from Trump like…”Did you take your test?” and “I think the Mensa people should change the test because there’s something wrong”…and Mensa doesn’t seem like such a positive thing to be a part of.
I haven’t seen any response from the Mensa organization about Tarek’s apprearance on the show. Their strategy is probably to hang low and hope he gets fired soon. That’s what a lot of companies do when their brand is attacked…and it’s the wrong thing to do.
The brand is changing while you’re waiting. In this instance, I already equate Mensa with “tarek from the apprentice”. That branding is now a part of my worldview…and always will be until something comes along to change it.
You should be pro-active when dealing with brand attacks. Mensa should be doing damage control by trying to define the conversation. They should put some of the more outgoing and interesting members out in the spotlight…showcasing them on the locally produced shows of NBC affiliates…making local appearances…doing anything except just sitting there.
It’s important to remember that you don’t always have complete control of your brand image. The actual “brand” is developed in the minds of the masses where you have no control…but you do have influence…so do something to influence your brand whether you’re in trouble or not.
tags:: apprentice – branding – Mensa – marketing
I looked into Mensa a few years back when I found out that my scores on the GRE were high enough to qualify me for membership. What I found out was that it didn’t seem as if Mensa did anything at all, other than accept applications and issue membership cards. It seemed like just a gross excercise in narcissism. To me, the Mensa brand already meant narcissistic people. Tarek on the Apprentice might be spreading awareness, but I doubt it’s changing people’s understanding of the purpose of people joining Mensa.
Well, many active mensans regard it as an enjoyable social club. Why on earth should “Mensa” force volunteers to “try to define the conversation … put some of the more outgoing and interesting members out in the spotlight”?
Would you choose (note operative word) to take part in such a confrontational “reality-tv” programme? Unless you felt you needed personal change forced upon you, to boost your earning power? Do you seriously imagine that Mensa is the kind of society which forces reluctant people who are happy with their lives and families into the goldfish bowl of television against their will? Maybe high achievers have something in common in that they are prepared to put themselves through such exposure if all else fails. I wish them lots of luck, if so. I would not do that for a million euros, nor do I wish it on anyone else, whatever memberships they have. Since when is it a condition membership of any gym, group, or employment, that you should dedicate yourself to unpleasant experiences in the name of publicity and profit? Really, you guys need to get a life if you think so.
I don’t enjoy such shows, and am very glad that I was not a product of British public school.
But this isn’t about me, or you, or Tarek. However, it does strike me as significant that no other member has chosen to put themselves through such an artificial ordeal. Perhaps they don’t see any need to prove that they can take sadism? Perhaps they have had enough of such bullying attitudes? Maybe they choose not to. Obviously they chose not to!