Everyone who has watched TV or read a magazine or a newspaper has experienced many brands. But how do you really get an understanding of the elements that create a brand?
We know that the brand is valuable asset for the success of a business. It creates and delivers value to your target market.
We are familiar with products and people that offer a Brand Promise – a pledge of value (e.g., quality, satisfaction and convenience). In one context, President Obama’s 2008 election promised “Change and Hope.” In another MacDonald’s promises clean, fast, convenient food.
Yet another example, the revived Old Spice brand promotes an emotional connection from men and women to the male actors delivering the message. In these cases the positive brand experience translates to election impact, trust, and sales.
We realize that behind every brand are the values of the company. The Brand Essence is the core values that serve as the touchstone for the brand. When you buy a Mercedes car, you know that that excellence is a core value of the design and production teams.
But how do you get a manager, salesperson or a student to really connect with brand value, so critical for competitive advantage?
To help an individual really understand how to create and deliver brand value, I designed this personal branding exercise— A Brand Called ME.
What is your personal brand?
Your personal social brand is a reflection of what you have done in life and what you want to be recognized for. You are the qualities or characteristics that distinguish you from your colleagues. Who is Juliet? shares a six step strategy for personal branding.
The Exercise
The exercise presents the participant with an opportunity to create their own personal brand and show its value. Each participant will develop a five minute live presentation including both live speaking and prerecorded two minute video (posted to YouTube). Each will post a blog incorporating the URL of the video. The blog post and live verbal presentation will include:
• What was your goal in branding yourself?
• Define your targets
• What was your brand essence?
• What was your brand promise(s)?
• Did you accomplish your goal(s)?
• What you discovered about yourself.
• Share your experiences in creating the video
Evaluation
• Was the live presentation engaging?
• Did the video capture your attention in the first 10-20 seconds?
• Did it reveal your passion?
• Did the presentation answer all the above questions?
• Did it demonstrate why you are different and how you create value?
• Was the presentation professional?
• Did it have a hook so viewers could remember you easily?
• Did it build trust and confidence in you?
The result and experience
The following is the blog post and the video developed by my student, Michelle. httpv://youtu.be/Dm_vW1cX3UoOn
“A video blog is something I have never created before. Upon receiving this assignment, I was pretty excited to get started. After brainstorming for a day or two, I decided to go with a slightly more unconventional approach. I knew I wanted to work on the white board (like a clean slate to build myself upon) and illuminate some of my traits and background using marker.
I jotted down all of the qualities I felt were best exemplified in me, and other information I wanted to include in the presentation. It is here that I began the formulation. I gave the project a more creative look- which works because that is one of the qualities about myself that I addressed. I found out that it is difficult to define myself. I found it challenging to pick only three or four of my qualities rather than many. I realized that I am far more passionate about getting a job than I had originally thought. It also dawned on me that I have more going for me than I originally thought. My targets included friends, students, faculty, and potential employers.
I used the project as more of a means in which I could discover my abilities and write them down for future reference. The goal of my project was to express myself in a creative way. I hoped to get across that I am loving, genuine, joyful, creative, and passionate. My promise in the branding is that I will provide innovative solutions to marketing problems and create value for a company by being multi-talented. In addition, I hope my passion for my faith can be used as an asset to reveal my personality and work ethic. I believe I did accomplish my goals in this project. I really enjoyed this project. It was different than any one I have completed in past courses. It really got me to think, brainstorm and learn about myself.”
