Does Your Area Code Affect Your Personal Brand?

A lot of smart people have given a lot more thought to personal branding than I have [here's a provocative post from David Armano to get you started].  But I've never seen a discussion about how - in a time when caller ID is ubiquitous - your area code affects your personal brand.  I have no doubt that some area codes carry certain advantages and others, baggage.

With the advent of national calling plans more and more people find no reason to change their cell phone numbers when they relocate.  In fact, keeping the number from their previous city is a way of clinging to an old identity [my wife being one example - I can't imagine her ever giving up her 917].

Even more interesting to me are businesses using VOIP to route numbers to more desirable area codes than their actual physical location.  I suppose for some businesses this makes perfect sense [executive recruiters is one that immediately comes to mind].

And all you New Yorkers know the desperate battles fought a few years ago to secure a 212 when 646 first hit the scene [by the way, a New York friend of mine believes the 646 stigma is over for cell and home phones, but might still exist for businesses].

Net-net ... clearly we take our area codes very seriously as a statement of our identity.

Does 917 imply sophistication?  Do you think someone from the 305 is more free spirited?  Is everyone in 617 scrappy?  Do 303ers live a more balanced lifestyle?  Is every caller from 312 calling from the middle of a steak dinner?  When you see 323 do you think slick?

Don't get me wrong - I love my 312.  But I guess if I had to map what I want others to think of me onto an area code, I would choose 415.  When I see 415 I think sophisticated, savvy, tech-forward [but not too geeky] and open-minded. 

Do you judge people by their area code?  If so, how?  And what area code do you think best represents you? 

Comments

[kai]

Interesting topic. All I know is that 619 = super cool, good looking and good at surfing. And yea, I brought it with me!

:)

[Miguelito]

Good stuff. This is a good subject to discuss at the Yale Club over pint of Bass.

New area code twist on an old favorite:

What's the difference between garbage and girls from the 732? Garbage gets picked up.
-mpw

[Ian]

@kai: I assume you mean surfing the internet, right? ;)

@Miguelito: Ever consider a stand-up routine?

[kai]

Hehe, both kinds of surfing :)

Thinking more about this, really is a very interesting subject. When I was growing up, the code for London was 01 (so your number would be 01 123 1234).

After a time, they ran out of 01 numbers and had to split the city up. Inner London got 0207, outer London got 0208. If you were on the cusp, property in the 0207 code would be worth more: realtors would list the area code as a selling point.

Those of us in the 0207 area would turn our noses up at those in the 0208 (in jest of course, but only kinda!).

I see the same thing here in NYC. The 917 cellphone people turn their noses up at the 646 folks in exactly the same way :)

[Your Brother in Law]

847 = North Shore, high class taste
312 = Urban, young professional, hard worker
773 = Yuppie living near Lincoln Park/Lakeview
708 = Too cheap to live in 847 or 312
630 = Jerry Springer auditions anyone?
224 = Who the heck has a 224 number?

[Ian]

What the hell is 224????

[Clay Parker Jones]

In case y'all missed it, Luda had something to say on this topic.

And it's all mapped out here:

http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2008/03/09/254-ludacris-rap-map-of-us-area-codes/

I miss my 323. But I like my 312. And I'll always have a fondness for 707 (say it backwards!), which will always be home. There's definitely something to this. Good call, Ian.

[Ian]

Considered evoking Luda in the post, but didn't want Bill O'Reilly protesting me.

[EEPR]

708 is a solid AC...South side Irish. Done and done...and I live in a 312.

P.S. Check out Area Codes by Ludacris for a laugh on the subject...

[Alan Wolk]

I think it matters less and less.

As the powers that be keep adding area codes-- and people keep clinging to their old ones-- it's much less a marker than it ever was.

Even within metro NYC there are area codes I've never heard of. (And 646 has lost much of its stigma as all the newly arrived 20somethings seem to have 646 or 347 numbers.)

Beyond the city, you've lost me: of the list your brother-in-law provided, I'd only be able to identify 312 as Chicago. And so it is with all the dozens of other area codes.

Besides which: who actually uses the phone to make phone calls anymore? I mean to people other than close friends or family members?

[Ian]

@Alan - very good last point. My phone rings less and less these days. But because of that I've been paying even more attention to area codes.

In factthe reason I wrote this post is because last Friday my phone rang with a # I didn't recognize, and I thought to myself, "Who the hell from 630 is calling me right now??"

[Aaron Friedman]

When I moved to NY and switched my phone plan over to Verizon, I considered switching my number as well from the 847 which I have had for years to a 917/646. But I had a really hard time parting from my beloved 847.

Now I am moving back to Chicago and I know that it was a good move to keep it! My wife however is probably never going to give up her 845 number.

And about 224, my sister has that. When did 224 make its way into the scene anyway???

[Rich M.]

I've been squatting on my old 773 number from my Chicago days with a prepaid plan - $100 held it for 1 year. Now it's up in March and I'm debating what to do.

I moved to San Diego in 2005 - got an 858 (didn't mean anything) dumped that when I came to Denver. Now I have a 303 for me personal cell and 720 for work cell (people tell me that's backwards???)

Now I'm debating going to one cell and just putting it back to the 773 for work or for home - but will I confuse work callers on my geography? I don't have a lot of rationale, except I feel more like a Northside Chicagoan than a Denverite...

Rich

P.S. My sister moved from Salt Lake to Tulsa about 18 months ago and I asked if she would just change her number to a Tulsa one (from her apparently beloved 801 in SLC to 918 in Tulsa). You'd think I asked her to cut off an arm based on the look she gave me. She felt 801 was tied to who she was - laid back, a bit of a rebel and a bit counter culture (she was a non-Mormon living in Salt Lake).

[Ian]

@Aaron and @Rich - yet more evidence of the emotional attachment people have to their area code.

Thanks for your comments!

[Arlene Wszalek]

People may well have emotional attachments to their own area codes for personal reasons - but I'm not convinced it affects someone's personal brand in a significant way.

With cell number portability and the proliferation of net-bought phone and fax numbers, it really doesn't mean that much to me which area code someone uses. It matters much more to me - in terms of branding - whether they're delivering a meaningful product and/or service.

So, I don't ordinarily prejudge people or companies either way based on their phone numbers. The exception might be a local brick-and-mortar merchant; if they don't have a local phone number (i.e. no landline), I might wonder why.

[Tommy]

I have a 727 now but I have to choose 312 or 773 here soon. I live on the West side of Lincoln Park but I am far from acting like the yuppies that reside near me. What to do??

[Ian]

I grew up 312, left for NYC and came back to 312. 773, to me, is so ... nouveau. ;) Go 312.

[Nigel]

For the commenter mentioning 0207 and 0208 for London, there are NO such area codes.

London has ONE area code. It is (020).

London local numbers have EIGHT digits.

Before 1990, London had one area code. It was (01) and all local numbers had seven digits after the (01) area code. The 345 part of 01-345-6789 identified the local exchange name.

In 2000, all London numbers added a digit to the local number part, and the area code changed to (020). Nowadays, the 7345 part of (020) 7345 6789 identifies the exchange name.

There was a time (1990 to 2000) when London did have two area codes (071 and 081 for the first five years 1990-1995, and 0171 and 0181 for the next five years 1995-2000), but it has not done so for the last decade.

With just one area code for London, all London numbers can be locally dialled by omitting the (020) area code and dialling just the following eight digits. This works from anywhere within the London (020) area.

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consumer/2009/08/phone-numbers/#video

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_conventions_for_writing_telephone_numbers#United_Kingdom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/020

http://www.google.com/search?q=there+is+no+0207+area+code+