Keanu Reeves is arguably the best stone-faced actor of our time. We all know him. We can all imitate him. And we can all recognize in an instant when he’s being imitated by the person next to us.

By now you’re wondering, “But what can Mr. Reeves teach us about branding?” While his inert demeanor and avoidance of emotions doesn’t help his acting credibility, it does make Keanu Reeves perhaps the most well-branded person in Hollywood. Fancy acting wins Oscars for Russell Crowe. Staying true to himself makes Keanu Reeves a good brand.

One of the most important ingredients for a solid brand is consistency (after having a good product, of course). This does not necessarily mean being repetitive with colors, typography, imagery, etc. (Mr. Reeves puts on a variety of hats — but we still know it’s him). It means staying consistent with your brand’s personality, or message.

There’s a reason the strongest brands out there (Apple, Honda, Target) remain the envy of their competition. They never stray from the essence of what they’re about, but still allow for aestheic breathing room and the ability to evolve as times change. By that same token, as many of his peers have become forgotten in the black hole of the fickle entertainment industry, Keanu Reeves has proven himself to truly be the one.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 19th, 2008 at 6:00 am and is filed under Branding, Random, Word of Mouth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.