The ‘Attention Redirect’ Strategy: How Fame Evolves, According to Justinoberman

In a recent LinkedIn post, Justinoberman offers a provocative perspective on how public figures and personal brands are built, suggesting that initial fame is often a stepping stone to a different, more enduring form of recognition.

Justinoberman posits that the public often associates individuals with a later, more prominent act rather than the original venture that brought them attention. He uses prominent figures as examples: Elon Musk, initially known for PayPal; Jeff Bezos, who started by selling books; and Richard Branson, who began with a record label. These initial businesses, according to Justinoberman, served as platforms for their subsequent, more recognized endeavors.

“The original act is the platform on which a later, different act becomes legible to the public, and the later act is the one people associate with the name.”

The Strategic Advantage of Initial Attention Gathering

This observation leads Justinoberman to a strategic conclusion for those aiming to build a public personal brand. He argues that the most effective approach may not be to focus on the ultimate goal or the current core activity, but rather on any endeavor that can reliably capture public attention.

Capturing Attention as the Primary Hurdle

As Justinoberman points out, the primary challenge in building a brand is not necessarily the business itself, but the ability to attract an audience. He elaborates on this by proposing a hypothetical scenario:

“I could, for example, under this account start posting three to ten genuinely deranged advertisements from 1950s and 1970s magazines under my own name every day and almost certainly accumulate an audience, and the audience would, over time, come to feel that they are not just there for ads. They would be there for me, having arrived via ads, and I could then redirect them toward whatever it was I originally cared about.”

In this hypothetical, the audience is drawn in by the novelty and engagement of vintage advertisements, but the brand owner could then pivot to discussing other topics or promoting different ventures. This contrasts with individuals or accounts that are exclusively focused on a niche from the outset.

The Risk of Niche Entrapment

Justinoberman highlights the potential downside for those who build their brand around a very specific, perhaps transient, interest. He suggests that such a focus can lead to being permanently associated with that initial niche, limiting future flexibility.

Distinguishing Between Platform and Perpetual Niche

He draws a distinction between his hypothetical approach and that of an account solely dedicated to a specific theme:

“The people who run a vintage-ads instagram account called @vintageadsdaily however would get stuck with vintage ads forever. I would not be.”

According to Justinoberman, this illustrates that while a specific content strategy can build an audience, it’s the ability to leverage that audience for broader purposes – the “redirect” – that defines long-term brand evolution. His analysis suggests that strategic attention-grabbing, followed by a deliberate redirection of that audience’s focus, is a powerful, albeit unconventional, method for building a lasting personal brand presence that transcends initial ventures.