PNI_BzzAgentLogo.jpgWhen we set out to build BzzAgent in late 2001, we wanted to build the first WOM brand. Not the first brand built by WOM, as that’s happened hundreds of times, but the first brand that stood for WOM. So, we created a cute name, a memorable bee logo and came up with snappy copy about hives and honeycombs.

The Bee Logo, the cornerstone of our brand, was developed to near perfection in under an hour, but we spent days refining it. He looked terribly upset. We messed with his forward-arching eyebrows, but every variation made it look like our bee was high on ecstasy, so the glowering low eyebrow look stuck.Whenever anyone told us the bee looked irritated, we responded by saying, “he’s not angry, he’s just determined.” Our brand was memorable, sure; but without even realizing it, the germ of our personality had begun.

Personality is the dialogue that happens around a brand, and the reasons that a consumer can feel connected to it. Sure, a brand can be updated and upgraded and new-era-ized such as when Burger King’s logo went from square and rigid to all curvy, bulbous and hip, and but that’s not personality. All the plastic King masks’s and Suberservient Chickens in the world won’t create personality. What your friends think of BK’s new 730 calorie breakfast sandwich or whether the CEO backdated stock options is where personality comes from.

So while BzzAgent’s brand stands for WOM, our personality is comprised of something incredibly different: innovation and transparency.

The innovation part is the very fabric of the business, as our model is distinct and pioneering in an industry that is still very much in its nascent stages. People have to theorize, postulate and debate about what it is we do. Media trendspotters like Chris Tuff from Moxie/Zenith educate their clients about it. Pundits want to argue that WOM can’t be coordinated. Professors use BzzAgent to teach cognitive dissonance. Moms who participate use their involvement as a badge of honor. Regardless of your interest, innovation is a natural output of what we do.

But while a personality of innovation was organic, transparency was an equation we needed to work at. Early on, the WOM industry was plagued by the history of shill marketers seeking to deceive consumers. Mention WOM in 2003 and people imagined busty Bud girls buying brews in bars, Avon ladies and Tupperware parties, or creepy actors dressed up as tourists to sell us mobile phones. The reality is pure WOM is all about trust, but the distinction was unclear to most. So we focused on actions that would help people understand the model differences, and the only way to do so was to be the most transparent company possible. We were the first company to implement and enforce a disclosure policy – and we openly kicked 10,000 people out of our network that weren’t willing to be open with their friends about volunteering to share their brand experiences.

But capturing transparency requires much more than smart business model decisions. On our corporate blog, we stretch the boundaries of what it means to have access to restrictive data by publishing things like company meeting notes, investor evaluation documents, client interactions and debates about potential job candidates. For 90 Days, an author – and outsider - sat in our office and openly blogged about what was happening in real time. Our artist-in-residence, Seth Minkin, shows up at speaking events and paints ‘randy bees’ for participants. People feel like they’re walking our halls. Like they’re part of our culture and are connected closely to what we do everyday. Transparency like this is unusual – and that’s worth talking about.

Most companies want to believe their personality can be shaped by revamping their logo or updating their website. But these are superficial adjustments; behavior is the foundation that creates personality.

We recently launched a new product called Frog. At launch, a friend of the company emailed to say, “I don’t want to be a Frog. Frog is totally the opposite of the aggressive bee that’s going to sting everyone and spread your message.” Like so many others, he’s missed the point. It’s not about the look of the brand, it’s about the dialogue that’s created by it.

And the bee isn’t angry, he’s just determined.