The Personal Brand That Has Earned Billions….And Is 101 Years Old

The most successful personal brand of the 20th century has earned 7 billion dollars, worked with brands such as Omega, BMW, Coca-Cola and is 101 years old. He’s not an entrepreneur. He’s not an influencer.

He is actually a spy.

It’s Bond, James Bond.

Yes, James Bond. 

But born in 1924 according to the books, James Bond is currently 101 years old!

Now you will be thinking, ‘Matt WTH do you mean? He’s FICTIONAL!’. 

Despite being a fictional character, James Bond still has to follow the same rules of personal branding: stay relevant and be credible.

And there are three key lessons we can learn from James Bond Personal branding… 

1. Relevant In Every Decade

One interesting fact about James Bond is that the franchise has released an average of 3.5 movies every 10 years, mostly with the same actor.

Make it stand out

To remain relevant, James Bond released on average 3.5 films per 10 years! In content land, this is nearly 1-2 years between films. This shows how high your frequency must be to achieve ‘household name’ status

How often should we then be posting and reinventing our personal brands? .

2.Reinventions

After Sean Connery played James Bond, the franchise could have easily called it a day, making it a classic of a certain era. However, instead, it was rebooted and renovated to remain credible and successful. They leveraged the credibility of each actor and movie so it continued throughout the years. The character remains the same, but is adapted to a new era and timeline, ensuring the brand doesn’t die out. Rebooting a character with a new actor and updated storyline allows the franchise to appeal to a new generation of viewers while also retaining the existing fanbase. And by rebooting with new actors, they’ve ensured that the character remains fresh and appealing to audiences of all ages.

3. Partnerships…with a made up human.

It’s an intriguing idea to think about brands working with fictional characters as personal brands. This character will potentially never die and doesn’t have an opinion. The owners and creators dictate whether he will partner or not. By staying relevant, knowing when to reboot, and leveraging partnerships, the franchise has maintained its credibility and continued to attract audiences for nearly 60 years. As personal brands continue to evolve in the 21st century, the lessons we can learn from James Bond will remain relevant and valuable.

Relevance demands credibility 

No matter how credible or successful you are, if you don’t stay current and adapt to changes in your industry or society, your personal brand will become outdated and irrelevant.You will no longer be in demand or useful. While relevance can help capture attention and generate buzz, credibility is what keeps people coming back and builds trust. Without credibility, people may lose interest or see you as a novelty. This is demonstrated by James Bond’s ability to remain relevant for almost 60 years by releasing an average of 4.5 movies every 10 years and evolving with the times.