The Power of Knowing your Truth

By: Peter Madden

Within one week, we have had two extraordinary experiences with “brand.”

One: Clair Global, a song and logistics empire that handles 80% of live concert tours, major events, and more, based in, of all places, humble Lititz, Pennsylvania.

The other: Donkey’s. A cheesesteak place in Camden, New Jersey. Anthony Bourdain himself declared it “the best cheesesteak in Philly, just not ‘in’ Philly.’

They have more in common than you would think.

A couple of AgileCat colleagues and I toured Clair with Troy Clair, their CEO, last week. What I really appreciate about Troy is his humility and awe at the world in which he lives. He has an obvious deep respect for the roots of the company and continues to adhere to their early days. As he says, “we have very demanding, creative clients, and they ask for the impossible, and we figure out how to deliver what they need.” We branded Clair about 16 years ago when they merged with their closely held competitor, ShowCo. ShowCo’s tagline was “Either you rock or you suck.”

How I love that tag, but that’s a story for another day.

Another of Troy’s quotes that stuck with me is his perception of new roadies. And mind you, they have a complete Roadie School for newbies so they can learn the biz. To have the position of a roadie, you frankly need to be a badass. Imagine climbing 100 feet in the air and figuring out a problem with a speaker before a major show! And that’s just the beginning.

And then there is Donkey’s. It oozes authenticity. Every square foot feels curated. No, it is not posh, glorious, or remotely ‘high end.’ It just has one goal: make a cheesesteak that is of the highest quality. And given the crowd I saw there, make them quickly! It’s authentic and real and it felt like home. Camden is a tough town, but the warmth of Donkey’s and their staff is unmistakable. And believe me, next time I’m splitting mine! My steak was as big as it was incredible. And what’s really cool is that they have remained true to their tradition: not a long roll, only seeded kaiser rolls. Always. I can’t imagine how many companies have pleaded with them to buy their long rolls. Nope! They stay true to who they are.

Quality has many forms. And ‘quality’ is an overused word but when you’re true to who you know you are at the core, branding is a happy after-effect. From an international sound and logistics company to a humble cheesesteak in a tough town, this holds true.

I was equally happy in both places and for the same reason. Authenticity knows no bounds.