Bacon has a brilliant marketing manager. I mean, come on, bacon is like cigarettes – bad for your health and everyone knows it. Yet it’s everywhere these days: We’ve got bacon-scented candles, bacon woven into Sprinkles brand cupcakes, bacon plush toys, even bacon soda. Recipes containing bacon abound, from Gourmet Magazine to Better Homes and Gardens. DO NOT go on Pinterest and search “bacon” if you’re hungry. You’ve been warned.
The funny thing is, bacon has never pretended to be anything but, well…bacon. It hasn’t tried to pass itself off as a health food. It hasn’t tried to seduce you with its protein content. Bacon is simply a party in your mouth. It doesn’t hide the fact that it’s full of nitrates, fat and calories. It just shows up as itself wherever it goes.
The takeaway? As consumers, we hunger for the genuine, and you can adopt this tactic in branding yourself. Rather than hide the parts of yourself you don’t like, be like bacon and stand in your truth. Showing up as anything less than who you really are is inauthentic, and nobody enjoys that. Have you ever tasted so-called bacon made with turkey, veggies or soy? Not the same. When you try to fake someone out and present yourself as something you’re not, you’ll always leave them with a bad taste in their mouth.
In short, remember that the best way to bring home the bacon is to be the bacon, that sizzling, delicious, tasty individual you are.
