Scored, Not Guessed
A Fixed, Weighted Model
Five weighted pillars resolve into one composite. The score is calculated the same way for every person who takes it. It is never written by a consultant, and it is never produced by AI.
The Brand Audit · The Firm's View
A Scored Instrument in a Field That Sells Opinions.
The Identity Positioning™ Brand Audit measures a personal brand across The Five Personal Brand Pillars and returns a composite out of 100. You take it on identitypositioning.com, MCG's technology hub. This page is the firm's side of it: why we built it, how we read a result, and what happens next.
Why It Exists
Opinions Cannot Be Measured. Positions Can.
Most of this field sells opinions: a call, an impression, a list of things to post. An opinion cannot be compared with anyone else's, cannot be tracked over time, and cannot be held to account. MCG publishes a philosophy, and a philosophy that cannot be measured against is only a belief. (If you are new to it, start with what personal branding is.)
The audit is the firm's answer. It turns The Five Personal Brand Pillars into 25 scored dimensions, asked the same way of everyone, so a personal brand can be located precisely rather than described generously. Taken again later, the same instrument shows movement on the same scale.
Traced to Doctrine
Every Move Has a Reference
Each of the three priority moves points to the exact subchapter of Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence that explains it. The advice has a source you can read.
Comparable
A Score With Context
Percentile benchmarks place a result against prior audits, so a number means something beyond itself.
What It Measures
Five Pillars. One Composite.
Not every pillar carries the same weight in how a name is interpreted, and the composite reflects that. The weights below are how the five combine into a single score out of 100.
01
Omnipresence
25%
02
Credibility
25%
03
Seamless Branding
20%
04
Reputational Health & Risks
15%
05
Marketability
15%
The full method is published on identitypositioning.com: How Scoring Works (opens in a new tab).
The Five Bands
What Your Band Means When You Are Deciding on a Consultant.
The composite places every result in one of five bands. Here is how the firm reads each one, including the band where our honest answer is that the fundamentals do not need us.
0 to 39
Unstructured
A personal brand exists, as one always does, but nothing is directing it. This is where a consultant saves the most time, because the first work is foundational: a position to hold, a standard to hold it to, and habits that make it repeatable.
40 to 59
Exposed
Visible enough to be judged, not yet structured enough to be protected. The risk register shows where the exposure sits. A consultation here is about closing it before someone else finds it.
60 to 74
Competent
The fundamentals are in place. Further gains come from alignment between the pillars more than from more activity. Engagements at this band sharpen a position rather than build one.
75 to 89
Consolidated
A coherent brand with real authority. The work becomes targeted: the weakest dimension, the next tier of the Hierarchy of Personal Branding, and protecting what already compounds.
90 to 100
Institutional
The standard others are measured against. At this band the fundamentals do not need a consultant. Where the firm helps is stewardship: reputation architecture at scale, and what the name should stand for next.
One pillar can hold the whole score down: if Reputational Health & Risks falls below a threshold, the composite cannot be reported above 59, and the report says so. Risk flags are not deductions; they mark what must be addressed before anything else is built. A score is a measurement, not a sales lead. If your result says you are well served, we will tell you the same.
Rapid 25 and Unrivaled 50
Two Depths. Both Free.
Always Open · No Code
Rapid 25
25 questions, about seven minutes. Free, with no code, always. The fastest way to an honest baseline.
Limited Release · By Referral Code
Unrivaled 50
50 questions, about fifteen minutes. Also free; it is not paywalled. While it is in limited release it is available by referral code, which you can request on identitypositioning.com (opens in a new tab). A code is not guaranteed.
Either result can be brought to a first consultation. The Unrivaled 50 gives a consultant more to read.
The Report
What You Receive.
01
A Composite and a Band
One score out of 100, and the band it falls in.
02
Pillar Scores and a Risk Register
Where the position is strong, and every flag where it is quietly costing credibility.
03
Priority Moves
The three highest-value moves, each traced to the exact subchapter of the Manifesto.
04
A Short Diagnosis
Written by AI to interpret the score in plain language. It explains the number; it never produces it.
05
Percentile Benchmarks
Where the result sits against prior audits.
06
A Shareable Result
A 1080 by 1350 image of the result, sized for sharing.
Taking the audit requires agreeing to receive the report by email. Permission to send you anything beyond the report is a separate checkbox, and it is optional.
In a First Consultation
The Result Becomes the Agenda.
Every MCG engagement includes the audit, and it is native to the strategy document. This is how a consultant puts a result to work.
01
Read Before the Session
The result travels with the pre-consultation assessment every engagement begins with. The consultant reads the composite, the band, and the risk register before you meet, so no session time is spent establishing where you stand.
02
Start Where the Weight Is
The session opens where the score says the leverage is: the weakest pillars, weighed by how much each one counts. General advice gives way to the specific dimensions holding the composite down.
03
Test It Against the Record
The audit is answered by you, which makes it one view. The consultant checks it against your actual public presence and says plainly where the two disagree.
04
Build the Strategy From It
The priority moves and their Manifesto references become working material for your strategy document, and the same instrument measures the result of the work later.
After the Audit
Three Honest Next Steps.
On Your Own
Act on It
The report stands on its own. The priority moves and their references are enough to start, and nothing else is required of you.
Go Deeper
Take the Unrivaled 50
If you started with the Rapid 25, request a referral code (opens in a new tab) for the fuller reading.
With the Firm
Request a Consultation
Tell us your band when you reach out. Engagements are accepted by application and seats are limited each quarter.
Questions
About the Brand Audit.
Is the Brand Audit free?
Yes, at both depths. The Rapid 25 is free with no code, always. The Unrivaled 50 is also free and is not paywalled; while it is in limited release it is available by referral code.
How do I get a referral code for the Unrivaled 50?
Request one at identitypositioning.com/brand-audit (opens in a new tab). Codes are issued during limited release, and a code is not guaranteed. The Rapid 25 needs no code.
Who calculates the score?
A fixed model, not a person and not AI. The composite weights the five pillars: Omnipresence 25%, Credibility 25%, Seamless Branding 20%, Reputational Health & Risks 15%, and Marketability 15%. AI writes a short diagnosis that interprets the score; it never produces it.
Do I need to take the audit before contacting MCG?
No. Every engagement includes the audit, so if you have not taken it, it becomes part of the work. If you have, bring the result.
Does a low score mean I need a consultant?
No. A score is a measurement, not a sales lead. The priority moves in the report can be acted on alone. A consultant is useful when you want the work directed and held to a standard.
Will taking the audit sign me up for marketing?
No. Taking the audit requires agreeing to receive your report by email. Permission to send anything beyond the report is a separate, optional checkbox.
Where do I take it?
On identitypositioning.com, MCG's technology hub, which hosts the audit, its scoring method, and an example report. This page is the firm's view of what a result means.
Engagements
Your name is already being interpreted. The question is who are they, and what are they thinking?
Engagements are accepted by application and seats are limited each quarter. Tell us who you are, what you are building, and the position you intend to hold.