The Brand of "YOU"

Lately, it seems numerous experts are writing about Personal Branding. As an Advertising and Marketing professional, it has caught my attention because I give consultation around building successful brands on a regular basis. For some, the Personal Brand topic is not new, but for many, Social Media is allowing more professionals to grow their brand more rapidly thanks to the power of technology.

I'm intrigued by the new role Personal Branding is playing in the business landscape, and I love studying how strategic professionals are putting the practice to good use.


Many articles give you 5 - 10 steps to building a better "YOU," but the one thing that stands out to me is the need to go inward to be sure to create an authentic presence. It takes time to build your brand from the "ground up," and it's takes a bit of soul searching, but if you can think about what intrigues, inspires and drives you, I think you'll tap into something translatable and valuable to many.

Leverage the many benefits Social Media offers to those who want to remain relevant and worthy of industry "expert status," but remember to be true to your core identity, both online, and in person.

For more resources on building your Personal Brand, check out Women In the Spotlight, http://www.womeninthespotlight.com/ created by fellow Northwestern IMC graduate, Melissa Dawn Simpkins. Melissa is taking women and corporate leaders to higher levels by building their brand from the inside out.

In addition, here are a few articles that may be of interest to you.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242504
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242360
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242567

Happy Branding!

Google Glass Goes Underground

I must say I was a little sad to see the announcement that Google Glass is going away until it figures out how to create an improved augmented reality headset.

I'm disappointed for two reasons:

1. Big companies with big budgets like Google are able to hire the best and the brightest to figure out how to launch great products like "Glass." Right?

2. I went to a well-orchestrated glass event and despite the product's sketchy product release times and astronomical price point, I actually fell in love with "Glass," thanks to its ability to make me feel like a tech super hero.

Google ended sales of the device as of yesterday and they say they are taking the product "back to the drawing board." In the meantime, Google will end its Explorer Program and make some changes to the research crew to get the product up and running again.

Those who were brave enough to spend the $1,500 and invest in the trend, will still enlighten us to ways "Glass" is relevant and worthy of its impending resurrection.

If Google is smart, they will capitalize on the "Glass Believers," by getting their insight into what's working and what's not to create the best wearable device of the future.

Kudos Bob Newhart

This post is about the beauty of Social Media, but let's put aside our thoughts about intended reach or SEO performance, just this once. I want to focus on the 85 year old known as Bob Newhart who took advantage of his 1-day of revived fame sparked by the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Ohio State kicked some Oregon butt. (I had to give that shameless plug since I'm from O-H-I-O)

Anyhow, we all know that the college referee, Greg Burks, was not Bob Newhart, but it's still pretty cool when the stars align and famous look alikes become headline stories on top morning shows.

I was curious to find out exactly what Bob was doing on Twitter and how he knew how to respond so quickly. Here are few things to note:

1. Bob has a website - It has no active links to information, but does lead to his Twitter and FB pages
2. Bob's Facebook Page theme is nostalgic, but he only posts about once a month
3. Twitter - Same amount of posts as FB

If I had to guess, Bob probably has a really tech savvy Grandchild managing his online presence, but hey, at least they are doing something.

Kudos to Bob and to anyone else who can truly seize the moment.

Gentlemen Take Control of Your Facial Hair!

That's what Schick is advocating these days with their clever new ads showcasing men with "squirrel beards."

Schick's "Free Your Skin" campaign, which takes a bold anti-beard stance in this golden age of hirsute ruggedness is pretty darn neat and probably aimed at agency co-workers of mine!

LG Ad Series Features "Real Mom Talk"

LG has come up with a clever campaign that allows real moms to tell it like it is. The new multimedia campaign focuses on what moms really think as they are encouraged to vent their feelings about what goes on in their daily lives.

The new campaign called, "Mom's Inner Voice," includes video and a social campaign leveraging the hashtag #MomConfessions.

The Ballerinas Have Spoken

These days, you just never know who you will offend when you're creating what you think is good advertising.

Free People Clothing created a spot highlighting their beautiful ballerina style clothing and pointe shoes, but the professionally-trained ballet community has an issue with the model chosen for the ad, saying she's obviously not an experienced dancer.

Because of the beauty of ballet you tend to forget its sportsmanship that requires discipline and superior physique. Nonetheless, it's a great ad and I'm sure some of the viewers will just see it for what it is.

BMW's Car Commercial Remix

A series of new BMW ads push car advertising to another level. Ad Week describes it as self-glorifying narration over footage of a luxury car in the desert—and somehow still turn them into something beautifully compelling.

 Van Sant, best known for his Oscar-nominated directing of Hollywood hits Good Will Hunting and Milk, created three new spots for BMW's upcoming plug-in hybrid, the i8.

These ads bring some new perspective to the age-old images of a cutting-edge automobile tearing across barren wastelands. 

Take a look.