I Know My Funeral Song
Brand Strategy · 3 min read
I have imagined my funeral many times. Not in a morbid way. No, no. This is an event. A grand, theatrical affair that would make the most extravagant wedding look like a casual brunch. I want a dramatic casket entrance, choreographed to perfection, unlike my life. I want a pre-recorded video where I roast family members from the grave.
But in all my grand plans, one detail matters most: the song that plays as my casket makes its legendary entrance into the church. That song is "In the Sweet By and By", a hymn that has travelled through generations, cultures and musical genres. And here is the problem. This one song exists in many versions, and which one gets played is a battle I won't be around to win.
Same song, four completely different feelings
I want the Johnny Cash version. It makes me look like I had a diverse musical palate, like I wasn't just some guy listening to Afrobeats, but a man with depth. It is gritty, deep and cinematic, the kind of song that makes an entrance feel like the end of an era.
My mother will fight me on this, and she will win, because, well, I'll be dead. She will choose the SDA choir version. Then there is the African choir version, the one that brings you closer to the Lord from the first note. And there is the happy country version that makes you feel like you are on a sunny farm in Monze.
Same song. Completely different emotions. And that is the business lesson.
"There are already too many of us"
How often do we worry that we are in the same industry as everyone else? How often have you said, "There are already too many salons, too many consultants, too many restaurants, too many designers"?
Here is the truth. It is not about the industry you are in. It is about the version of the industry you create. Johnny Cash owned his version. The SDA choir owned theirs. Your perspective changes the game. Your delivery changes the experience. In branding we call this differentiation, but you can just call it your sound.
How to find your version
The biggest mistake you can make is thinking that because someone is already doing it, there is no room for you. Your version might be the one someone has been waiting to hear.
So stop comparing and start asking better questions. What makes your version different? What do people feel when they deal with you that they don't feel anywhere else? Why would someone choose you when a cheaper or closer option exists? If you can't answer quickly, that is not a sign you are in the wrong market. It is a sign your brand strategy isn't finished yet.
Once you define your own sound, you realise it was never about whether someone else is doing it. It is about whether you are doing it in a way only you can. That is how legends are made, and how brands get remembered long after the last note.