MATT DAMON IS USING BRAND REVERSAL TO CREATE A WATER BRAND

MATT DAMON IS USING BRAND REVERSAL TO CREATE A WATER BRAND IN AFRICA

            Brand reversal happens when a customer brands an entrepreneur. The usual means by which brands are created are when an entrepreneur creates a product and then brands the product so that a customer selects it. This is the conventional means by which branding occurs. Social media platforms have changed how brand are created.

 There are times when an entrepreneur is so talented and so well known and their product is such a game changer that it is the customer that actually brands the product.

            Two examples of this are Henry Ford in 1908, when the Model T was created and Stephen Jobs when the I Phone was created in 2007. In both cases, customers knew that these entrepreneurs had game changing technology. Customers knew that if these two entrepreneurs had created a product, it would be a top brand, no questions asked.

            Matt Damon, the actor, is attempting to create a world class brand in water. Water is a $12 billion market.  Matt’s water brand is being created through reverse branding.  Matt Damon’s brands are somewhat different than the average entrepreneur. He has a few reasons for being in business. He is a serious businessman. He is goal in going into business is to make a profit for both himself and his investors. People should be clear about that.

            Matt Damon does this. Matt has a track record of successful social entrepreneurship. He has been involved in projects that have alleviated literacy, and dwelt with drought conditions, famine, and AIDS. These projects have been in the third world, but their goal hasn’t been straight philanthropy.  Matts goal is to earn profits. It is also to create real jobs in the villages that he works, and to create the infrastructure that humans need to survive.

            Matt’s business model can be summed up simply. “If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime”. Matt has been successful in his philanthropic-entrepreneurial endeavors. He has created needed infrastructure. He has earned a profit for himself and his investors. He has created legitimate, paying jobs for village people.

            Matt Damon has created a brand through his endeavors. The brand is that he doesn’t simply trade on his celebrity as an actor. The brand is he is personally involved with his projects. His projects are professionally run. Matt uses professional lending agencies and these agencies earn a profit.

            Matt is successful at doing by doing good. This is the brand that Matt has created with people. “If Matt is involved, it must be good”.  Customers create Matt’s brand.  Matt’s organization, Water.org, needs several groups to thrive. He needs African villages and the people of those villages to create water. He needs investors for his village projects. The only way that he can attract people is if they believe in him, that they will be treated well and that they will earn a profit if they become involved in water.org. Matt needs a brand and that brand has been created through reverse branding.

Dean Hambleton

dnhambleton@gmail.com