Brand strategist Karen Kang puts the importance of personal reinvention bluntly: “Consider yourself a free agent—no one else is looking out for your best interests but yourself. You need to be crystal clear about who you are and the value you bring to a world where constant change is the only norm.” That’s the premise [...]
May 06, 2013 | Categories:Brands, Features, Insights, Marketing | Tags: Apple, brand communications plan, brand strategy, BrandingPays, business school, Cake, change, companies of one, constant change, emotional value, Forbes, free agent, Genentech, hypercompetitive, icing, image, Intel, Karen Kang, Marketing, personal brand, personal branding, promotion, rational value, Regis McKenna, reinvention, reputation, self-marketing, Silicon Valley, values | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] I recently received an intriguing email from a former branding executive who now runs a small marketing consulting company. Nancy Shenker, whose new venture is called theONswitch, found a way to build a personal brand by breaking rules, being rebellious and tapping into her self-professed “dark side.” It sounds like a [...]
Apr 02, 2013 | Categories:Brands, Features | Tags: Alanis Morissette, Amy Poehler, bad girl, Bad Girl Good Business, Betty White, brand, branding, breaking rules, direct, glass ceiling, Hillary Clinton, injustice, innovating, innovation, inspirational, irreverent, Judith Regan, Nancy Drew, Nancy Shenker, Nancy Sinatra, personal brand, PR, public relations, rebellious, resourceful, results, role model, Sheryl Crow, stereotype, theONswitch, Tina Fey, Tina Turner, women | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] When it comes to family names as brand names, unless you’ve done something terrible or had the bad fortune of sharing a name with someone who did, it’s hard to do much worse than “Trump.” For most of the past four decades, the Donald has slapped his name on some of [...]
Mar 27, 2013 | Categories:Brands, CSR, Features, Insights, PR | Tags: affair, Barron Trump, brand, brand name, branding, cause, celebrity, divorce, Donald, Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Elle Decor, Eric Trump, Eric Trump Foundation, family name, footwear, giving back, golden ticket, handbags, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, jewelry, liability, Los Angeles, Marla Maples, New York, New York City, Operation Smile, personal brand, PR, public relations, St. Jude, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, The Apprentice, The New York Observer, The Wharton School, Tiffany Trump, Trump, Trump Organization, University of Pennsylvania, Yahoo, Yahoo Shine | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] It used to be that receiving a CEO title—and the corner office and tufted-leather sofa that came with it—was the acme of professional success. It was the recognition of a lifetime of hard work, of moving up the ranks, of following the path to its pinnacle. Once you’d arrived there, where [...]
Mar 22, 2013 | Categories:Brands, Features, Marketing | Tags: 20-something, ad sales, adventure, America's Cup, Arielle Patrice Scott, Bianca Bosker, Bill Gates, billionaire, brand, Bravo, cable TV, CEO, college, corner office, corporate, corporate brand, Daily Candy, daredevil, digital, dropout, entertainment, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Facebook, Fandango, fearlessness, female entrepreneur, Green Is Universal, hard work, Harvard, Healthy at NBCU, Henry Ford, Hispanics at NBCU, innovation, innovators, integrated media, InternshipIn, iVillage, kite surfing, Larry Ellison, Lean In, Marissa Mayer, Mark Zuckerberg, Marketing, mavericks, mobile, monetization, MTV, mun2, NBC Universal, Oxygen, personal brand, rebellion, revenue, Richard Branson, risk, risk taking, rule breaking, sailing, sexy, shareholders, Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley, social, spiritual growth, Sprout, Stanford, startup, Steve Jobs, Technology, telecommuting, Telemundo, the Huffington Post, Thiel Fellowship, title, TV One, Virgin, Walt Disney, women, Women at NBCU, Yahoo | Leave A Comment »
What will a Spanish-language Pope, a man in his 70s, do for the cohort with which he is associated? Embedded in his early brand actions are some interesting moves: paying his own hotel bill, reaffirming conscious consumerism, and now embarking on a journey to redefine one of the world’s great institutions as a peacemaker and [...]
Mar 21, 2013 | Categories:Agency News, Brands | Tags: @havaspr, brand, Catholic Church, conscious consumerism, Forbes.com, Havas PR North America, Life Is a Brand, Marian Salzman, personal brand, pope, Pope Francis, religion brand, Spanish | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] I’m writing this just after the conclave of cardinals announced the successor to Pope Benedict XVI, who last month became the first modern-day pontiff to abdicate the throne. They charted some new ground, choosing 76-year-old Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the first non-European to fill the role in more than 1,200 [...]
Mar 18, 2013 | Categories:Brands, Features, Social Media | Tags: abdication, Argentina, behaviors, branding, bureaucracy, Catholic Church, change, church brand, communication, conservative, corruption, culture change, debate, entrepreneur, entrepreneurial, environment, Europe, Forbes, Forbes.com, George Brandt, honesty, integrity, Jesuit, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Latin America, leadership development, passion, personal brand, pope, Pope Benedict, Pope Francis, progressive, progressive pope, relationships, respect, Romy Ribitzky, Second Vatican Council, secularism, sex abuse, startup, The New York Times, transparency, Twitter, Upstart Business Journal, values, Vatican, Vatican II, vision | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Havas Peaks.] Given all the backlash against corporate executives who dared to get on a private aircraft in the past few years, it would seem as if anyone who doesn’t travel in seat 35E would keep quiet about it. But yet, even as the blowback against personal travel and private aviation has [...]
Mar 07, 2013 | Categories:Brands, Features | Tags: adrenaline, adventure, brand, C-suite, CEO, CEO brand, Cessna, corporate jet, corporate policies, creativity, debt, decision-making, distraction, flying, focus, Gary Green, growth, helicopter, International Franchise Association, Larry Ellison, leverage, Lundquist College of Business, M&A, Mendoza College of Business, mergers and acquisitions, Micron Technology, O'Hare, Oracle, personal brand, personal branding, pilot, plane, PostNet, private aircraft, relax, Richard Branson, risk, risk taker, Steve Appleton, Steve Greenbaum, stock return volatility, Strategic Franchising Systems, thrill seeker | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] Andrew Mason’s unsurprising ouster from Groupon last week wasn’t entirely about his personal brand. As anyone who has been paying attention knows, the group-discount company has been performing spectacularly badly. Its fourth-quarter earnings report was awful, with a GAAP loss of 12 cents per share—that’s 10 cents more (or six times [...]
Mar 05, 2013 | Categories:Brands, Features, Media, Social Media, Technology | Tags: accountability, accounting, accounting gaffes, adolescent, Andrew Mason, Battletoads, behavior, Bloomberg Businessweek, brand, candid, CEO brand, CEO branding, Chicago Tribune, daily deal, Eric Lefkofsky, experience, fraternity, GAAP loss, Goldman Sachs, Greg Smith, Groupon, grownup, honesty, IPO, irreverent, John Paczkowski, juvenile, millennials, personal brand, Peter Kafka, resignation letter, responsibility, Sam Gustin, SEC, share price, Silicon Valley, stunts, tech boom, The New York Times, Time, transparency, video game, Wall Street | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] A colleague of mine recalls a time when a new boss had taken over her department and everyone was anxious. One of his first acts: handing out New York Times obituaries of distinguished people. “Read these,” he said, “and think about what your obituaries would say.” His gambit worked. The ice [...]
Feb 27, 2013 | Categories:Brands, Features, Media, Social Media, Trends | Tags: brand, branding, celebrity, CEO, community, Connecticut, David Collins, death, Facebook, Forbes.com, haring, journalist, Legacy.com, life directive, Life Without End, memorial service, Mindy McCready, newspaper, Nina Lentini, obit, obituary, People, personal brand, position, positioning statement, Princess Di, Social Media, survivors, The Day, The New York Times, transparencys, Whitney Houston, will | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] Last weekend, I came across an interesting article in The New York Times about people who had Livestrong tattoos and how they felt about them now. The upshot is that most of them—at least most of the people quoted in the article—don’t have a great deal of regret. They got the [...]
Feb 21, 2013 | Categories:Brands, CSR, Fashion, Features, Marketing, Trends | Tags: Andrew Weil, Angelina Jolie, Ashley Olsen, Brad Pitt, brand identity, brand logo, brand names, branding, Brangelina, cancer, celebrity, celebrity brand, CFDA, cookware, crisis, Drew Barrymore, Emeril Lagasse, Fashion, Fergie, France, Gwen Stefani, identity, JKL, Just Keep Livin Foundation, Kardashian, L.A.M.B., Lance Armstrong, Lily Munster, Livestrong, Marilyn Monroe, Mary-Kate Olsen, Matthew McConaughey, Maxim, Megan Fox, Miraval, Parker rating, personal brand, personal branding, rosé, tattoo, The New York Times, The Row, Trends, typecast, Womenswear Designer of the Year, Yahoo | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on CNBC.com.] I recently came across some survey data that suggests 2013 will be a tough year for CEOs—or, at least, many of them believe that it will be. Now that the economy’s “green shoots” of recovery are starting to bud into potential blossoms, expectations are up in terms of performance. It’s no [...]
Feb 19, 2013 | Categories:Brands, Features, Social Media | Tags: board of directors, brand, brand building, branding, CEO, CEO Snapshot Survey, chief executive, CNBC, corporate brand, economic recovery, Facebook, Harris Interactive, human, human brand, Humanize, identity, Jamie Notter, leadership style, Maddie Grant, management, Mark Zuckerberg, personal brand, personal values, profile, recession, RHR International, Richard Branson, Social Media, stakeholder activism, strategy, team, the economy, Thomas Saporito, Tony Hsieh, transparency, Virgin, Zappos | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] Ed Koch, Rudy Giuliani, Fiorello LaGuardia: The mayors of New York City have long been men with outsize personalities and strong personal brands. Not only have they had one of the most influential, highest-profile platforms in the nation, but they’ve also been strategic about positioning themselves and shaping the way others [...]
Feb 12, 2013 | Categories:Brands, Features, Politics, Social Media | Tags: 9/11, Andrew Cuomo, brand, branding, Cablevision, climate change, Democrat, Ed Koch, Fiorello LaGuardia, Forbes.com, gun control, Hurricane Sandy, Independent, Joe Lhota, legacy, lymphoma, Madison Square Garden, mayor, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Michael Bloomberg, MTA, New York, New York City, New York Daily News, personal brand, philanthropy, political party, Quinnipiac University, Republican, Rudy Giuliani, Sandy, September 11, smoking ban, soda ban, subway, transit, Twitter, unbranded, Village Voice, website | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] I can’t muster up too much sympathy for a Hollywood star whose personal branding woes haven’t prevented him from earning more money than most of us ever dream of seeing, but from an image point of view, I do feel bad for Ben Affleck. Even after all these years and all [...]
Feb 05, 2013 | Categories:Brands, Features, Insights, Uncategorized | Tags: Academy Awards, Africa, Argo, Ben Affleck, Bennifer, best director, best original screenplay, Boston, brand, branding, charity, Critics' Choice Awards, Dazed and Confused, Forbes.com, Gigli, Golden Globe Awards, Gone Baby Gone, Good Will Hunting, Hollywood, image, J. Lo, Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Lopez, Kathryn Bigelow, Kevin Smith, Matt Damon, movies, New York, Oscars, Perez Hilton, personal brand, Quentin Tarantino, Razzie Awards, reboot, rehabilitation, Steven Spielberg, tabloids, The Town | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] In what was undoubtedly old news to anyone who has been paying attention to the British royal family, St. James’s Palace issued an official statement last week to announce that “Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to confirm they are expecting a baby in July.” (Hello, [...]
Jan 29, 2013 | Categories:Brands, Features, Social Media | Tags: baby, brand, branding, British monarchy, British royal family, Cambridge, Carole Middleton, child, Cirque du Soleil, Daily Mail, duchess, E!, family, hair, Kate Middleton, Kim Kardashian, merchandise, Michael Middleton, MILF, Morrissey, personal brand, pregnant, Prince Harry, Prince William, Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth, royal, St. James's Palace, Today, Twitter, URL, Us Weekly, Windsor Castle, Yummy Mummy | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] It’s not news that this is the Age of the Personal Brand. Never before have people of all stripes had to—or wanted to—work so hard to sell their own unique service proposition. Mostly that’s a good thing for workers and businesses, but lately it has started to seem that it might [...]
Dec 11, 2012 | Categories:Brands, Features, Marketing, Trends | Tags: accountant, career, Forbes.com, generalist, lawyer, Marketing, personal brand, personal branding, positioning, service, service practitioner, The New York Times Magazine, therapist | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] Years ago I wanted to write a book, Another Woman: From Cleopatra to Marla, but now that seems to take us only halfway through the evolution of the mistress. After Marla Maples, who secretly dated Donald Trump for two years in the ’80s while he was still married to Ivana (before [...]
Dec 09, 2012 | Categories:Brands, Features, Politics, Social Media, Trends | Tags: affair, Bill Clinton, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, damage control, David Letterman, David Petraeus, Donald Trump, Francois Hollande, John Allen, John Edwards, Marine Le Pen, Marla Maples, mistress, Monica Lewinsky, Nicolas Sarkozy, Pamela Harriman, Paula Broadwell, personal brand, personal life, Petraeus, powerful man, rebranding, Rielle Hunter, Ségolène Royal, The New Yorker, Tiger Woods, trendsetter, Twitter, Valérie Trierweiler, Vanity Fair, VICE | Leave A Comment »
[Originally posted on Forbes.com.] Greg Smith, the disillusioned Goldman Sachs employee who left the firm in March with a scorched-earth op-ed in The New York Times, is back in the news as his tell-all book hit shelves last week. Whether he really pulled back the curtain on the Goldman brand or he’s just a faddish [...]
Nov 08, 2012 | Categories:Brands, Features, Insights, Media | Tags: backlash, book, brand, Business Insider, financial services, Goldman Sachs, Greg Smith, op-ed, personal brand, tell-all book, The New York Times, transparency, whistle blower | Leave A Comment »
Looking to boost your PBI (personal brand index) and secure that dream job or snag some new clients? Now that we’ve entered an age in which a solid personal brand strategy is as important as a lack of typos on your résumé, the name of the game is no longer self-promotion but self-curation. We live [...]
Jun 15, 2012 | Categories:Brands, CSR, Features, Marketing, Politics, PR, Social Media, Youth | Tags: Brand Me, cause, consumer brands, Euro RSCG Worldwide, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, millennials, Naomi Troni, PBI, personal brand, personal brand index, Pinterest, privacy, self-curation, Social Media, social networks, strategy, Twitter | 1 Comment »
Many of you reading this have worked in marketing, advertising or PR and have made a lifelong career out of building brands and selling products in many categories. But have you ever taken the time to think of what you have to offer the world as a product? Maybe it’s your ability to write great [...]
Jun 13, 2012 | Categories:Advertising, Brands, Features, Marketing, PR, Social Media, Technology, Trends | Tags: adland, Advertising, Advertising Age, Apple, Brand Me, freelancing, linchpins, Marketing, personal brand, Pinterest, polyglots, PR, public relations, self-curation, Seth Godin | Leave A Comment »
What can we learn from people who have created a brilliant Brand Me? In today’s highly curated world of social networking, it’s more important than ever to let your personal brand beacon hit new heights. Your brand can incorporate everything from the hobbies you pursue in off-hours (as if that exists with the always-on, 24/7/365 [...]
Jun 04, 2012 | Categories:Brands, Fashion, Features, Insights, Marketing, Social Media, Technology | Tags: ambition, Apple, Bethenny Frankel, blog, blogosphere, Brand Me, Brands, business, C-suite, CEO, confidence, creativity, customer service, Dunkin' Donuts, Erika Napoletano, fearlessness, good, good taste, innovation, Internet, Lauren Bush, LeBron James, LinkExchange, Marketing, Microsoft, Nike, personal brand, planning, Ralph Lauren, RedheadWriting, Richard Branson, SapientNitro, Skinnygirl, Social Media, Steve Jobs, Tony Hsieh, Virgin Atlantic, Zappos | Leave A Comment »
Who said you can’t use your journalism experience in the field of PR? I had the opportunity to use my reporting skills, à la Robin Roberts, as Marian Salzman called me, for a one-on-one conversation with Marian, president of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America. She got a peek into my Intern Diaries and decided [...]
Jul 12, 2010 | Categories:Features, Marketing, Media, Politics, PR, Social Media | Tags: balance, born-again lifestyles, brand, career, community, consumerism, Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, forecast, internships, local, Marian Salzman, Marketing, metrosexual, mycasting, old media, personal brand, prime crisis, public relations, Robin Roberts, Social Media, Stamford Advocate, The Sisterhood, trendspotting | 1 Comment »
