The world is drowning in noise. TikToks, tweets, reels, podcasts, livestreams — everyone is speaking, performing, competing for attention. Visibility has never been easier. Being remembered has never been harder. And sometimes, if we are honest, it is exhausting.
We are living in a moment where presence is constant but meaning is scarce — where expression is abundant yet identity often feels diluted. The pressure to participate never stops. The algorithm rewards movement, not reflection. And somewhere within this relentless pace, many talented people quietly disappear, not because they lack brilliance, but because they lack recognition.
After 35 years working across international journalism, fashion media, communications, and brand strategy, I have learned one enduring truth: Brilliance alone does not create influence. Recognition does.
In the Age of Noise, talent without identity fades into the background. And whether we acknowledge it or not, the individuals shaping culture today understand a simple but uncomfortable principle: You must brand yourself like a pop star.
The Pop Star Playbook
Pop stars do not sell music. They sell meaning.
Lady Gaga represents fearless reinvention.
BLACKPINK embodies unapologetic global confidence.
BTS built a cultural movement through disciplined storytelling.
Rosé communicates vulnerability as strength.
Every appearance reinforces identity. Every decision builds narrative equity. Across decades inside newsrooms, fashion weeks, and global brand ecosystems, I have observed something remarkably consistent: audiences rarely remember credentials — they remember clarity. They remember how someone made them feel, what they stood for, and whether their presence carried coherence to their lives.
If people cannot describe you in a sentence, you are invisible. Not because you lack value, but because the world no longer has time to interpret ambiguity.
Authenticity vs Visibility
Yet visibility alone is not the answer. In an era obsessed with constant posting, many confuse frequency with relevance. The pressure to always be seen risks diluting the very identity one is trying to build. When everything is shared, nothing feels significant.
As Elizabeth Hew Marini, co-founder of The Marini’s Group, reflects when asked how she balances authenticity with public perception while building a personal brand: “In today’s world, constant visibility is often mistaken for staying relevant. I don’t believe in being present all the time. I believe in being present with intention. Authenticity, for me, isn’t about sharing everything. It’s about sharing what is true and aligned, while preserving a sense of privacy and mystique. Especially in luxury, it’s a balance between curation and truth,”
Her perspective speaks to a deeper understanding many leaders eventually arrive at: personal branding is not exposure — it is editorial judgment. The strongest brands are rarely the loudest. They are the most intentional.
Mystique, restraint, and clarity often create deeper cultural memory than endless visibility ever could. Presence, when chosen carefully, carries far greater power than perpetual availability.
Substance Over Spectacle: The Media Perspective
From a media standpoint, longevity is rarely accidental. When asked what separates personalities who experience momentary popularity from those who build lasting influence, Kenneth Tan, Editorial Director of Robb Report, offers a journalist’s clarity: “Consistent and constant messaging on their personality traits, their willingness to delve into anecdotes instead of generalities on their values, reasons for success and most importantly their endurance and capability to overcome their greatest challenges truthfully. This builds a great deal of authenticity and also credibility as a personality. Always substance, not style. It matters more when they are able to eloquently describe all the things that make up their brand DNA with forensic precision and passion — be it their work, family, lifestyle, etc.”
His observation reflects what media insiders understand instinctively: visibility may create attention, but narrative depth creates authority. Audiences no longer connect with polished surfaces alone. They remember specificity — the lived experiences, the philosophies formed through challenge, the humanity behind achievement.
Lasting influence emerges when identity becomes legible, repeatable, and deeply human.
Diaspora Power Players
Some of the most compelling personal brands today emerge from diaspora voices navigating layered identities and multiple cultural realities.
Russell Brand transformed controversy into recognisable positioning.
Shashi Tharoor turned intellect into cultural theatre, proving ideas can carry star power.
Vir Das reshaped global perception through a single defining performance — polarising, powerful, unforgettable.
Branding is not about universal approval. It is about authenticity — not only when convenient, but especially when uncomfortable.
The New Media Icons
Today’s media figures understand something previous generations resisted: Attention is infrastructure.
MrBeast merges spectacle with philanthropy, turning generosity into scalable storytelling.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas rebuilt herself across borders, industries, and audiences with strategic precision.
Kim Kardashian transformed visibility into enterprise, proving attention itself holds economic value.
Lil Miquela, an AI influencer, commands loyalty without physical existence — evidence that narrative now outweighs reality.
Identity now scales faster than output. And increasingly, perception shapes opportunity before performance even begins.
Why This Matters Now
Power has shifted away from institutions toward individuals. People trust journalists more than newspapers. Creators more than corporations. Voices more than logos.
Throughout my career — from reporting stories to shaping them, from covering culture to convening it — I have watched influence migrate toward those who understand narrative ownership. Waiting for your work to “speak for itself” is no longer strategy. It is silence.
To be heard today, you need:
- a defined point of view,
- a recognisable voice,
- and a consistent identity that travels ahead of you into every room.
My Take
The most influential people I have encountered across global media share one trait: Their story arrives before they do.
I have seen extraordinary talent remain invisible because they resisted visibility. I’ve also seen mediocrity catch the spotlight because they hustled harder. And I’ve also watched artists, founders, and cultural leaders command attention simply because they understood who they were — and repeated it with conviction over time.
Personal branding is not vanity. It is positioning. It is authorship. It is leadership.
Today, my work increasingly centres on curating conversations and building platforms where ideas shape industries — because influence is no longer about broadcasting louder, but about creating meaning people want to gather around. In the Age of Noise, your personal brand is not an accessory to your career. It is the architecture of your career.
Perhaps I understood this instinctively even at twenty — long before the language of personal branding existed — and set out, consciously or not, to carve that path for myself with intention.
The Ethel Da Costa Principle – Brand. Media. Community. Impact.
This is how relevance is built. This is how trust compounds. This is how legacy forms.
You do not need to become someone else to be heard. You need to become unmistakably yourself — consistently, courageously, and publicly. Even in the low days, even more so. Because when the mic hits the stage, the real question is not whether you are talented. It is whether the world already knows who you are. But first, Know Thyself absolutely.
Celebrity images courtesy: sourced from internet
Ethel Da Costa is an award-winning Lifestyle Journalist-Editor, Author, Media Personality, Founder & CEO of Think Geek Media shaping conversations in fashion, lifestyle, music, entertainment, and culture across India, Malaysia, Asia and beyond.
Email: etheldacosta@gmail.com
Instagram @etheldacosta
