Exhale, Bill. Your brand is working.
Bill Clinton is back in the news ? big time. There he is reaching across the ideological aisle to join in tsunami relief with President Bush the elder. There he is with the wife of the current President Bush during the recent events at the United Nations in New York. There he is applauding a speech given by his own wife with an adoring Chelsea by his side. And, yes, there he is with none other than Sir Richard Branson as Sir Richard announced a pledge of $3 billion during a meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, a major new force in the philanthropic world. Bill Clinton is powerful. More to the point, Bill Clinton is a powerful brand. (If you don’t think people can be brands, ask Oprah, Donald or Martha.) What does former President Clinton know that all powerful brands know? While it’s one thing for a brand to establish itself by representing something different, yet relevant, the difficult part is to stay relevant. And, what could possibly be more relevant than worldwide efforts in the name of AIDS relief efforts, global warming, and human rights? While Bill Clinton may have made a few egregious errors along the way (which is not the premise of this piece), he was a strong and charismatic leader. These leadership qualities are at the core of his brand. In fact they define his difference. He knows this, and is re-channeling these qualities in ways that are relevant to the health and well-being of millions of people. Other former presidents may build libraries to further the social and ideological causes they espouse. Bill Clinton is building his brand to do the same. Exhale, Bill. It’s working.