I watched with fascination the “Linsanity” that was the focus of global television, newspaper, and social media coverage for the past couple of months. After Jeremy Lin – a previously-overlooked New York Knicks point guard – scored 38 points against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers during a February 10 game, “Linsanity” took the world by storm. The phrase, which combines Lin’s last name and the word “insanity,” has come to stand for shifting from being an overlooked asset to breaking records and being seen as a talent sensation.

Now, Lin – a Taiwanese immigrant to the U.S. – has made history. As the first player in NBA history to score at least 20 points and achieve seven assists in each of his first four starting games, he’s now the second highest scoring player in league history over a period of four game starts and drumroll … Nike has even launched a new shoe design named after him.

Think about it: A little over two months ago, the idea of Nike designing a shoe that celebrates Jeremy Lin was incomprehensible. In his few games with the team, Lin hadn’t scored very much. He hadn’t even stepped onto the court for 13 of the Knicks’ first 22 match-ups. He was sleeping on his brother’s couch at night, multiple teams had dropped him from their potential player list, and he was playing in the NBA’s “D-league.”

Then, of course, in the span of one 48-minute game, Lin became a worldwide phenomenon – the latest poster child for underdogs everywhere.

So, how does this “Linsanity” apply toward building a brand for yourself as a leader at work?

Where’s the Talent?

How many Jeremy Lins might you have in your own company right now? An important part of being a good leader is recognizing currently-untapped talent, sniffing out and cultivating previously-perceived “underdogs” at work.

Take a look around: Who on your team hasn’t yet been fully leveraged, and who isn’t completely expressing his/her talents? Who on your team hasn’t yet had a chance to “step onto the court” but could potentially perform brilliantly if given the chance?

If you’re like a lot of leaders I know, you may be thinking, “I can’t delegate to most people on my team because they just aren’t ready,” or “I don’t think so-and-so is up to the task yet, so I’ll just do that work myself.” When you think that way, you end up (1) increasing your own work load, and (2) holding back some of your most gifted people, never allowing them to rise to the occasion.

And, of course, if your team isn’t ready to step up to the plate and take ownership, whose responsibility is it to make sure they get ready? I’m sure the New York Knicks coaches saw to it that Jeremy Lin got ready. While they probably couldn’t have predicted Lin’s mind-blowing performance in February, you can be sure they didn’t put him on the court without intensive training.

It’s the same with your team. You can’t expect employees to automatically succeed without the opportunities to practice and grow.

Of course, once Jeremy was trained and ready enough, the coach had to be willing to give him a chance and put him on the court. What opportunities for “practice” on the job can you give your team members? Who among you do you think could perform well if given the right coaching and opportunities?

Find ways to apply the lessons of “Linsanity” at work and strengthen your leadership personal brand in the process. There’s always an element of risk, but the rewards – as Jeremy Lin has proven – can be great. That’s what leadership is all about.

As you may have heard by now, Starbucks certainly found a bug in its branding chain … or rather, in its Strawberry Frappuccinos. Ground-up cochineal beetles are government-approved food coloring used by a number of brands in the food industry, so why was it a problem when Starbucks added the ingredient to its frappuccinos?

Starbucks has long branded itself as “green” and safe for vegans, so when people who eat plant-based diets caught wind of this beetle-based ingredient, their organizations went … well (forgive the pun), buggy. And understandably so. It goes back to a fundamental principle that I always talk about: consistency in branding. The minute you do something that goes against who you say you are, you have created a brand disconnect. The damage can be significant and difficult to recover from. In Starbucks’ case, if their brand stands for environmental- and green-consciousness, the last thing they want to be known for is “beetle juice.”

[Of course, you don't need vegans to make this particular incident a branding mess. Even non-vegans were understandably grossed out by the news. Yeeuw!]

So, what happened? A broken link in the branding “chain.” Everyone – and I mean everyone – in your company can impact the way the public perceives your brand, no matter how big or small your business. It’s the same for the people in Purchasing at Starbucks. Those folks – seemingly in the “back office bowels” of the company – probably weren’t thinking about the impact on the brand that they could have by deciding to use beetles as an ingredient.

How about in your company? If any of your team members aren’t crystal clear on what you want your desired brand to stand for and how they, as individuals, could impact that brand through seemingly-simple, day-to-day decisions, you could be in jeopardy, too.

This Starbucks incident shows the significance of what I call The Corporate Brand/Personal Brand Connection™. If the personal brand of a member of your team is not aligned with the corporate brand, you could end up facing a similar type of “Starbucks Beetle Challenge.” How to avoid that happening to you? Here a couple of actions you can take.

Action #1: Make sure absolutely everyone in your company understands exactly what you want your brand to stand for. [If you aren't sure yourself and can't summarize your positioning in a simple nutshell statement, take action now to get clear! My latest book Smarter Branding Without Breaking the Bank walks you through a simple, step-by-step process for defining exactly what you want your brand to stand for, using a proven framework that has worked for large companies and small companies alike.]

Action #2: Make it clear to everyone that every single action your team members take – no matter how seemingly small – must be in perfect alignment with that desired brand positioning. If it’s not, you run the risk of damaging your brand.

So, use Starbucks as a cautionary tale. Make sure that everyone in your company understands the importance of brand consistency and only takes actions that keep your brand intact.

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CHICAGO – March 2012. Author Brenda Bence’s latest book, Smarter Branding Without Breaking the Bank: Five Proven Marketing Strategies You Can Use Right Now to Build Your Business at Little or No Cost is a Gold Medal Winner in the Advertising/Marketing/PR/Event Planning category of the 2012 Axiom Business Book Awards.

“This award means a lot to me because we competed with books released by some of the country’s best publishers; plus, I have a lot of respect for the Axiom Awards,” Bence said. “I based this book on one of my workshops that has been in high demand around the world,” she continued, “and my goal behind Smarter Branding is to help small-to-medium enterprises and solo-preneurs learn how they can successfully promote and grow their brands without a ‘big-brand’ budget.”

Bence spent almost all of her corporate career in branding and marketing, building powerhouse brands across 50 countries and four continents for mega-budgeted consumer giants such as Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Once she decided to leave the corporate world and start her own company, she began from the ground up with an almost nonexistent budget. Using skills from her branding background, she developed inventive, low-cost marketing methods that built her company and name into a brand that now serves clients in 30 countries with offices in both the U.S. and Asia.

For years, Brenda has passed along her experience across the globe through her Smarter Branding workshops, but when people continuously asked her to capture the information on paper, the Smarter Branding book was born. “I wanted more business owners to realize that they already have assets they can use to build their brands at low-cost or even no-cost that can grow their business and quickly increase their bottom line,” Bence said.

Smarter Branding Without Breaking the Bank is Bence’s fifth book. The Axiom Award is the book’s third since it was released in September of 2011. The three books in her How YOU™ are like Shampoo personal branding book series have won a total of 13 national book awards.

The Axiom Business Book Awards are the largest and most respected critical guidepost for business books in today’s publishing world. These prestigious awards, which are presented by Jenkins Group, Inc, are presented in 21 business categories and serve as the premier list to help readers discover new and innovative works. The winners and finalists this year include books published by Harvard Business Review Press, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, Yale University Press, Princeton University Press, Entrepreneur Press, AMACOM, and many independent publishers.

About the Author:
Brenda S. Bence is an internationally-recognized branding expert, powerful speaker and trainer, and certified executive coach. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and spent years developing mega brands across the world for Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Brenda is now President of her own company, Brand Development Associates International, and she spends her time traveling the world speaking, training, and coaching individuals and corporations to greater success through creative yet practical brand development.

Brenda is available for television, radio, and press interviews to talk about her book and/or topics related to corporate and personal branding. Visit www.BrendaBence.com, contact +1-312-242-1830, or email Daniel@BrendaBence.com for availability.

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When we were still based in Bangkok, we were looking to hire two college interns to spend their winter school break holidays working for us. The chance to escape blustery winter weather and spend a few weeks working in balmy Bangkok apparently appealed to many, and we ended up with 75 applicants for only two internships. (We’d like to think the college students were really only interested in working for us, but we’re far more realistic than that!)

Anyway, out of the 75 applications, we narrowed it down to five on our short list. On paper, they were all stellar, and my personal favorite resume was from a young man (we’ll call him Jim) who seemed full of promise. Always excited to talk with bright young people, I looked forward to my interview with him.

But that interview never happened.

Why? Jim’s Facebook photos were so … well, embarrassing, that his application immediately went to the “no” pile. Photo one: Jim, shirtless, in a “muscle man” pose, wearing a baseball cap and holding a beer bottle. Photo two: Jim passionately kissing his girlfriend at a party.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m no prude. It’s fine to do all of those things (especially the passionate kissing part!). But, when that is the key visual on your Facebook page, what kind of brand does that communicate to others? And if I hired Jim, and our clients wanted to check out our staff members, do I want those visuals to represent our company brand? Not really.

So, even though Jim was a potentially great candidate for what would have been a fun job, he fell off the list.

Putting Your Best Facebook Forward

The truth is that Facebook has been a liability for quite a few people lately. The news has covered stories of people getting fired or even arrested because of what they disclosed on their Facebook profiles. So, unless you know exactly how to take advantage of Facebook’s privacy settings (and even then, it’s risky), you could set yourself up for a rude awakening – especially if you’re looking for a job.

Studies show that as many as 60-70% of all employers check Facebook and other social media sites as soon as they get your resume. So, before you even get called for an interview, your resume or CV may end up in the “no” file – just like Jim’s did. And you might never know that your social media activities were the root cause.

It doesn’t matter how old you are, or whether you’re looking for a job or not. Take a look at your Facebook profile like an outsider would (same for Twitter and other social media sites), and check for what kind of personal brand messages are coming across. What do others see? What do your page and your photos say about YOU™? Remember: You’re only as professional as your last post.

Then, take a look at How YOU™ Are Like Shampoo for Job Seekers for more ideas to prevent social media from undermining your job prospects. Remember: Your personal brand has to be consistent everywhere, or you’ll end up confusing the very people you’re looking to impress.

P.S. Curious what employers are looking for when they view your social media pages? Check out this Forbes article for some clues. http://tinyurl.com/7am29ck.

What is a “Brand Triangle™” Anyway?

The Brand Triangle™ is a simple but effective way of finding out how well your brand is doing from three different angles (every pun intended). As the visual here demonstrates, it compares (a) the brand you believe you have now, with (b) the brand you want (your desired brand), with (c) your brand as others see it. If a corporate or personal brand is a great success, you can bet that all three points of its triangle are exactly the same.

Why is that important? Because unless you’re absolutely certain about your brand’s current and ongoing health, you won’t be able to reap the benefits of building a strong brand.  In fact, you could be coming down with a bad case of “brand denial.”

Are You Floating Down the River of ‘Brand Denial?’

I’ve worked with many companies and individuals over the years, helping them to build their brands, and I’ve run across many who were under the mistaken impression that their brand was just fine or at least doing better than it actually was. This is what I call “brand denial,” a syndrome that can keep your brand from growing or even surviving. If you think you may have brand denial, don’t feel bad – it’s a bit like the common cold; almost everybody comes down with it at some point.

But brand denial needs quick medicine, and the Brand Triangle is one of the best diagnostic tools to help. Luckily, there are some easy, quick – and inexpensive – ways to find out exactly how your brand is doing.

Company Brand Strategies

If you’re building on a company, product, or service brand:

• Do an inexpensive online survey, asking your customers pointed questions about what they think of your brand. (See the “Five Words Exercise” below – it works for companies, too!) Online survey services like SurveyMonkey.com  make it easy, low-cost, and even fun – you can watch the tallies come in one at a time!

• Conduct low-cost, in-person focus groups with key clients to find out what you’re doing well and what could be improved. This doesn’t have to be fancy. Just get a small group of your most trusted customers together, and take them out for lunch or dinner with the express intention of talking about their impressions – the good, the bad, and the ugly of your brand.

• Make sure your customers/clients have easy ways to complain. This doesn’t cost a thing, and it will tell you very quickly – and no holds barred – which aspects of your brand you need to improve.

Interested in more low-cost ideas to get clear on the health of your brand? Check out Smarter Branding Without Breaking the Bank.

Personal Brand Strategies

If you’re working on clarifying your personal brand:

Try the “Five Words Exercise.” Here’s how it works: Choose someone you trust as your “Brand Investigator.” Give that person the names of 5 to 10 people – direct reports, peers, your boss, or friends. Ask your Brand Investigator to contact these people individually and pose the following question: “When you think of _______ [insert your name], what are the first five words that come to mind?”

The responders should be asked to give the first five words they think of – a “gut” response without overthinking it. Make sure they know their responses will stay confidential; you won’t be told who said what.

Ask the Brand Investigator to write down the exact words that are said and, then, mix them up. How consistent are the responses? Do you see any trends?

-        If the same words continue to show up, this is a good indication that you’re very consistent in how you act, react, look, sound, and think – e.g., the way you communicate your individual brand.

-        If the words are all over the map,  ask yourself: How am I acting differently with those various groups of people?

Remember: The secret to successful branding – whether for a company or an individual – is consistency. What can you do to become more consistent in how you’re perceived?

Once you uncover the points on your Brand Triangle™ that are mismatched, you can begin to make changes so that all three aspects of your brand are the same. That’s how you build a powerful brand.

Here at Brand Development Associates International, we just found out that I’m on the nomination list for Top Brand Gurus of 2012.  In 2011, I was voted in at #7 on the list, and since 40% of the ranking is based on votes, we would sure appreciate your support!

If you can take a minute to visit http://www.brandgurus.net, click on the drop-down box, and choose my name for submission, that would be great.

The deadline is March 6 – thank you in advance for your support!

Brenda

P.S. Of course, if you could pass this on to anyone else you know who can vote, that would be terrific.

“Sure,” I replied, “this sounds like the perfect situation for my program on Leadership Personal Branding.

“Oh, sorry!” the client responded immediately. “I probably didn’t make it clear enough. This meeting is for the entire company, not just management.”

I hear this quite often.  To a lot of folks, it seems that the word “Leader” means “Supervisor” or “Manager” and often relates only to those people in a company who have others reporting to them. And, in fact, most people who call us to inquire about the topic of Leadership Personal Branding are indeed focused on developing people at the mid-to-senior management level and above.

But, I see the word “leader” differently. I mean, think about it:  If you aren’t successful at leading yourself, how can you possibly be successful at leading others?

To me, good leadership starts first and foremost with yourself. If you have the desire, discipline, and willpower, you can become an effective self-leader.  And, once you are engaged in developing and leading yourself, you create a strong ‘leadership personal brand.’  That, in turn, places you in a prime spot to be tapped for increasingly greater levels of responsibility that may, or may not, end up with you leading others.

Agree?  Disagree?  I’d love to hear what you think!

The “Power of Three” Personal and Corporate Brand Challenge

I recently ran across a fascinating article about “The Power of Three.” The basic premise of the article is that three; is an important – almost ‘mystical’ – number for a whole host of reasons.

Here are just a few:

• Three shows up in mythology: three fates, three muses, three graces.
• Three is a prevalent component of fairy tales: three wishes, three little pigs, three bears.
• Three is enough to create a series – a pattern of cause and effect.
• There are three stages of truth: first a concept is rejected, second it is violently opposed, third it is accepted as self-evident.
• Three is a basic structure of life: carbohydrates, protein, fat: electron, proton, neutron.
• There are three dimensions of time: past, present, future.
• And three forms the basic structure of stories: beginning, middle, end.

Interesting, isn’t it?

So, as we get ready to enter into a new year, I figured we could benefit from this same ‘Power of Three’ concept to look back and reflect on your own corporate and personal brand building efforts in 2011. Below are a few “three-related” questions to consider… Respond below to any one of these questions, and you’ll automatically be entered into our raffle to win one of three copies of my new book, Smarter Branding Without Breaking the Bank:

• What are the three key actions you took this year that strengthened your brand the most – either your own individual personal brand or the brand of your company?

• Knowing what you know now, what three things would you have done differently in 2011 if you could do them over again?

• Reflecting on your answers to the questions above, what three actions will you take in 2012 to grow your individual or company brand even further?

Of course, after you’ve given these questions some thought, I encourage you to take time out and thank at least three people who have helped you build your brand this year. Who would that be for you?

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Brand Development Associates International (BDA) has been ranked #29 in the Independent Consultants/Trainers/Coaches category of Leadership Excellence’s annual ranking of the Top 500 Leadership Development Programs in the world. The Leadership 500 is a ranking of the best individuals, teams, and organizations in leadership development practices and employee motivation-productivity today.

This year’s Leadership 500 was published in the October 2011 Special Edition of Leadership Excellence magazine, a publication founded by business greats Ken Shelton, Stephen R. Covey, Ken Blanchard, and Charles Garfield. The issue was sent to more than 187,000 of the world’s “movers, shakers, and decision makers.”

“This is a tremendous honor for our company,” said Brenda Bence, BDA’s Founder and President. “We are thrilled to be recognized by such a prestigious publication as Leadership Excellence and to be recognized along with so many other accomplished companies.”

To determine the Leadership 500 rankings, Leadership Excellence evaluated organizations based on seven criteria: vision/mission, involvement and participation, measurement and accountability, design-content-curriculum, presenters-presentations-delivery, take-home value, and outreach.

Brenda Bence founded BDA in 2002 after 20 years of building mega brands for Fortune 100 companies Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb. During that time, Bence – who holds an MBA from Harvard Business School – was a senior executive responsible for billion-dollar businesses across four continents and almost 50 countries.

Today, less than ten years after its founding, BDA does business across 25 countries and maintains offices in both the U.S. and Asia. The company provides training, coaching, and speaking services to clients located on six continents, including such companies as Citibank, Credit Suisse, Danone International, Deutsche Bank, KFC, Kraft, Lilly, Mattel, Microsoft, Sheraton Hotels, Standard Chartered Bank, Pizza Hut, and the U.S. Department of State.

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Author Brenda Bence’s latest book, Smarter Branding Without Breaking the Bank: Five Proven Marketing Strategies You Can Use Right Now to Build Your Business at Little or No Cost, has been named an Award-Winning Finalist in two separate categories of the USA “Best Books 2011” Awards: the Business/Marketing & Advertising category as well as the Business/Entrepreneurship & Small Business category.

“My aim with the book is to show SMEs and solo-preneurs that they have a variety of assets available to them right now that they can use to market their brand — regardless of the size of their budget,” Bence said.

After years as a mega-brander working across four continents and 50 countries for deep-pocketed consumer giants like Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb, Bence left the corporate world to start her own business. From scratch — and with almost empty pockets — she used inventive, low-cost methods to build her own international brand that now serves clients in 25 countries with offices in the U.S. and Asia. To help readers achieve similar success, Bence has filled the award-winning book with hundreds of low-cost or no-cost branding ideas that can immediately increase a company’s revenues.

Smarter Branding Without Breaking the Bank is Bence’s fifth book. The three books in her How YOU™ are like Shampoo personal branding series have won a total of 13 national book awards. “I am honored to be recognized again by the USA Best Books Awards,” Bence said. “Smarter Branding is based on one of my most popular workshops, so it’s gratifying to know that the book that stems from that workshop is also being well-received.”

The USA “Best Books 2011” Awards are sponsored by USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses. Winners and finalists this year traversed the publishing landscape: Simon & Schuster, St. Martin’s Press, Random House, Penguin, Harper Collins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, and hundreds of independent houses.

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Two of author Brenda Bence’s books have won awards in the 2011 Readers Favorite Book Awards. How YOU™ are like Shampoo for College Graduates: The Complete Personal Branding System to Define, Position, and Market Yourself and Land a Job You Love was named the Silver Winner in the Non-Fiction – Business/Finance category. How YOU™ are like Shampoo for Job Seekers: The Proven Personal Branding System to Help You Succeed in Any Interview and Secure the Job of Your Dreams was named the Bronze Winner in the Non-Fiction – Motivational category.

“These titles mark the 12th and 13th total awards for the three books in our How YOU™ are like Shampoo personal branding series,” says author Brenda Bence. “It’s incredibly gratifying to be recognized in the industry, particularly by the literary professionals who judge the Readers Favorite Book Awards.”

Bence is Founder and President of Brand Development Associates International, Ltd. a firm that specializes in helping companies and individuals around the world build successful, growth-oriented corporate and personal brands. “These two particular books are geared toward helping job seekers and college graduates learn to harness the power of personal branding to get the best possible job, despite a tough economy,” she says.

The Readers Favorite Book Awards is run by Readers Favorite, an organization and website founded to provide readers with quality books and to assist authors in gaining more recognition and exposure. The competition’s judges are professionals with extensive literary experience, and awards include Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honorable Mention titles in each of 70+ genre categories. Each book goes through more than one level of judging, and an Awards Banquet is held in November in Miami during the Miami Book Fair International.

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CHICAGO – May 2011: Brenda Bence’s personal branding book, How You™ Are Like Shampoo for College Graduates: The Complete Personal Branding System to Define, Position, and Market Yourself and Land a Job You Love, has won the top award in the Career Category of the 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards®.

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards® was established to recognize and honor the most exceptional independently published books in 60 different categories. In cooperation with Marilyn Allen of Allen O’Shea Literary Agency, the Awards are presented by Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group (IBPPG), an organization that promotes professional standards in independent book publishing. Members of IBPPG include small and university presses, self-published authors, agents, designers, distributors, printers, and marketing professionals.

“This book carries such an important message,” says Bence, “so I couldn’t be happier that it has been recognized by the Next Generation awards. Especially today, College Graduates need effective ways to cut through the pool of other candidates to become the ‘brand of choice’ for potential employers.”

In her 25-year career as an international branding expert, Bence has helped to build some of the world’s most recognizable brands, including Pantene, Head & Shoulders, and Vidal Sassoon. She combined her passion for brands and her extensive experience in coaching to create How You™ Are Like Shampoo for College Graduates. It is the first practical, step-by-step personal branding system geared specifically to the job search process for those coming right out of college. Full of key strategies for creating a powerful job-seeking brand before, during, and after interviews, it also contains Bence’s College Graduate Personal Brand Busters®, which help grads avoid the most common mistakes seen by HR professionals and recruiters.

The CSP designation was established in 1980 and is given only to those speakers who have earned the title based on their accomplishments in the field of professional speaking. CSPs must meet strict criteria, including a documented track record that proves expertise, impeccable ethics, exceptional client service, and commitment to ongoing education. CSP designees must also serve a minimum of 100 different clients within five years and present a minimum of 250 speaking engagements within that five-year period. Ratings from satisfied clients also play a significant part in choosing those who will receive the title.

“I’m thrilled to have earned the designation of Certified Speaking Professional,” says Bence. “To be able to share meaningful information with an audience is one of the most fulfilling things I do, so earning the designation of Certified Speaking Professional is truly icing on the cake.”

Renowned as a trainer and executive coach, Bence has distinguished herself as a speaking professional in just five years’ time – the minimum number of years required to receive the CSP designation. As President of Brand Development Associates International, Bence now travels the world speaking, training, and coaching individuals and corporations to greater success through creative yet practical brand development. She has presented at major conferences, conventions, and company meetings for many of the world’s top corporations.

With an MBA from Harvard Business School, Bence began her 25-year career as a marketer, developing mega brands for Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb across four continents and 50 countries. In addition to her speaking engagements, Bence has appeared on numerous television and radio programs and has written dozens of articles on the subjects of branding, coaching, and leadership. As a certified executive coach, she works individually with some of the world’s top CEOs to help them further their careers and their individual leadership personal brands.

Her three books in the How YOU™ are like Shampoo personal branding series have won a total of ten national book awards, including Grand Prize in the Best Beach Books Festival. All of the books provide readers with the world’s only step-by-step, start-to-finish system for defining, communicating, and taking control of their personal brands. The first book is focused on the corporate world, while the second book, How YOU™ are like Shampoo for Job Seekers, adapts the system specifically for those who are looking for a new job. In the third book in the series, How YOU™ are like Shampoo for College Graduates, Bence revised her groundbreaking system to help college grads understand the process of creating a personal brand for job interviews – even though they may have little practical work experience.

Brenda Bence is available for television, radio, and press interviews nationwide to talk about topics on personal or corporate branding. Visit www.BrendaBence.com, contact +1-312-242-1830, or email Daniel.Jackman@BDA-Intl.com for availability.

Is there a college grad in your life? If so, the greatest gift you can give him or her for graduation is the best chance at landing a job they’ll love, right out of school.

Recent headlines say it all: “College Grads Struggle to Find Jobs,” “College Grads Urged to Be Aggressive In Seeking Jobs,” “College Grads Worry About Finding Jobs,” and on and on. But college grads shouldn’t let a lack of work experience get in the way of landing a position they’ll love, no matter what the economy.

That’s why I wrote How YOU™ Are Like Shampoo for College Graduates. It’s the only Personal Branding System designed specifically to help college students build a powerful brand for themselves.

Just launched last year, it’s filled with hundreds of eye-opening tips I gleaned from interviewing more than 50 top companies and schools about what it takes for college grads to stand out in a crowd of older, more experienced candidates. HR experts from companies such as Google, Disney, IBM, AT&T, Procter & Gamble, Motorola, Hilton, Nestle, and Goldman Sachs “spilled the beans” with me, and I share it all in this book.

People tell me it makes a great gift for a graduating senior! And, if you buy the paperback or e-book from my website, you will automatically receive a Free Accompanying Manual of Exercises – 60 pages of step-by-step personal branding exercises – worth an extra $12.95. The manual is full of exercises that I developed and customized so that your grad will feel like I’m right there, running alongside, coaching them through the system.

Click to read an excerpt of the book here.

Here’s what a few folks have said about How YOU™ Are Like Shampoo for College Graduates.

“Taking in all of the tips I learned from How YOU™ Are Like Shampoo for College Graduates, I was able to have multiple offers and to pick a job that I loved. The job and environment I’m in now are perfect for me! I wanted to express my gratitude to you for assisting me in my journey to find my passion.” — Kelsey Steinmeyer, Meeting & Incentive Planner, Travel Faire/American Express.

“I was just too excited about your book not to drop you a note! I just finished reading How YOU™ Are Like Shampoo for College Graduates. It’s simply one of the best books on personal branding, for students or others, that I’ve ever read! You’ve almost single-handedly restored my faith in personal branding. … I believe colleage seniors need Shampoo fed to them intravenously!” — Dave Rothacker, Book Reviewer.

“I really enjoy the ‘no nonsense’ nature of the writing, and of the advice. The book isn’t written from an ivory tower or pompous perspective, but is, instead, delivered in a form easily understood by everyone from undergrads, to graduates, and people currently looking to change their personal, respective brands.” — Gregory Stoller, Professor – Boston College.

Click here to buy How YOU™Are Like Shampoo for College Graduates and to get your free Accompanying Manual of Exercises.

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/04/14/give-the-gift-of-a-brand-and-a-great-job-to-a-soon-to-be-college-grad-2/feed/ 0 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/04/14/leadership-personal-branding-are-you%e2%84%a2-more-liked-or-more-respected/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/04/14/leadership-personal-branding-are-you%e2%84%a2-more-liked-or-more-respected/#comments Thu, 14 Apr 2011 08:04:41 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1351 Let’s face it: As a leader, you want to be liked, but you also want to be respected. And it really is important to have both if you’re going to be effective on the job. But accomplishing both can be difficult, and maintaining a balance between the two can be even more challenging.

If you spend too much time trying to be liked, chances are you aren’t leading effectively – you’re not making the truly tough decisions (that may not always be popular) and assuring that everyone is doing their job well. Maybe you avoid confrontation and cower at the thought of having to deal directly with workplace issues and problem team members. Or, perhaps in your efforts to be liked, you stick with the status quo, not wanting to “rock the boat.” Outcome? Your team members don’t grow, and you end up with mediocre business results.

On the other hand, if you spend too much time trying to be respected without caring enough about being liked, you may struggle to get your team to support you. Leaders who don’t care at all about being liked may cause their employees to feel like victims. Issues aren’t raised up to you until they have turned into crises because people are afraid of your reaction. Or maybe team members don’t come to you with any new ideas, anticipating that you’ll just put them down anyway. Outcome: Horrible morale and escalating employee turnover.

As tough as it may be, leaders with great Leadership Personal Brands work hard at maintaining a balance between the two poles. It requires weighing every situation carefully and thinking about how your actions and reactions will likely be perceived.

So, what to do? Here’s an exercise:

1. On a piece of paper, draw a horizontal line with a “1” at the left end and a “10” at the right end. Now, think about how you operate as a leader. If “1” represents a 100% focus on being respected, and “10” represents 100% focus on being liked, where would you fall in that continuum? Do you worry too much about how much YOU™ are liked? Or do you try to earn respect without worrying at all if your team likes you? Be honest with yourself: How balanced is your leadership style between these two poles?

2. Based on your schedule for the upcoming week, write down a plan that concentrates on creating a balance between being liked and respected. What actions can you take that will promote this balance? What opportunities might arise that will help you maintain the kind of like-vs-respected balance you want? Think about your options, and weigh the consequences of each. Consider which choices will be most likely to bring you this important balance, strengthening your Leadership Personal Brand in the process.

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/04/14/leadership-personal-branding-are-you%e2%84%a2-more-liked-or-more-respected/feed/ 0 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/04/14/brenda-bence-named-7-worlds-most-influential-brand-guru/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/04/14/brenda-bence-named-7-worlds-most-influential-brand-guru/#comments Thu, 14 Apr 2011 08:01:28 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1500

CHICAGO – April 2011: Internationally-recognized branding expert and award-winning author, Brenda Bence, has been ranked #7 among the World’s Top 10 Most Influential Brand Gurus for 2010. Bence was chosen by Brand Gurus International based on her works, her contribution to the global community, and the votes of her peers in industry.

In order to choose the most influential brand gurus, emails were sent to 22,000 business people, consultants, academics, and MBA’s around the world for nominations and a public opinion poll. A top 30 list was compiled from this research, and a top 10 list was compiled based on the number of votes each individual received. According to Brand Gurus International, the criteria for judging focused on “originality of ideas, practicality of ideas, presentation style, international outlook, impact of ideas, quality of publications and writings, dispersion of publications, and writings, public opinion, [and] guru factor.”

“This distinction means a great deal to me,” says Bence. “Anyone who knows me knows I’m passionate about the power of branding – both personal and corporate – so to be recognized as #7 in the world is a great honor.”

With an MBA from Harvard Business School, Bence began her 25-year career developing mega brands for Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb across four continents and 50 countries.

Today, Bence is President of Brand Development Associates International, and she travels the world speaking, training, and coaching individuals and corporations to greater success through creative, yet practice brand development. She has appeared on numerous television and radio programs and has written dozens of articles on the subject of branding. As a certified executive coach, she works individually with some of the world’s top CEOs to help them rise to the top of their careers by building their leadership personal brands.

Bence’s three books in her How YOU™ are like Shampoo personal branding series have won a total of ten national book awards, including the Best Beach Books Festival National Grand Prize. All three of the books walk readers through Bence’s unique personal branding approach, the world’s only step-by-step, start-to-finish system for defining, communicating, and taking control of a personal brand. The first book is targeted to helping people succeed within the corporate world, the second book, How YOU™ are like Shampoo for Job Seekers, adapts the system to help make a job search faster and easier through personal branding. In the third book of the series, How YOU™ are like Shampoo for College Graduates, Bence revised her groundbreaking system to help college grads through the process of creating a personal brand to succeed in job interviews – even though they have little practical work experience.

Click here for the full list of brand gurus.

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/04/14/brenda-bence-named-7-worlds-most-influential-brand-guru/feed/ 0 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/04/14/do-you%e2%84%a2-and-your-brand-have-sticking-power-3/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/04/14/do-you%e2%84%a2-and-your-brand-have-sticking-power-3/#comments Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:17:24 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1320

If I started a conversation with you about the Super Bowl, I suspect you’d reply, “Huh? That was two months ago, Brenda – ancient news by now.” Indeed, one of the biggest sporting events in North America has been long forgotten and has been justifiably replaced by much bigger and more noteworthy news like what has happened in Egypt, Libya, and of course, in Japan.

So, why bring up the Super Bowl two months later? With an average of 110 million people watching every year, the American football sporting event has become the single most expensive piece of “advertising real estate” in the world – each 30-second ad costs just over $3 million to air. That’s $100,000 per second, folks!

With that kind of price tag, agencies and brand leaders who decide to advertise during this important event spend months and months – and millions more in preparation – all to produce ads that justify that kind of price tag. And, from watching hundreds of Super Bowl ads over the years, it seems like almost all of them strive to include some kind of humor factor – to stick out of the pack and get people talking about them.

And the ads do become “talk of the town” for days before, during, and after the event. In fact, this year, I checked out – literally – dozens of web pages, blog posts and articles all written about the ads that aired.

For those of you who watched the game, I ask you – two months later – which ads do you remember, and, more importantly, which brands did those ads represent?

Stumped? If you’re struggling to remember, sadly, you’re not alone. That’s because too many ads aired today don’t have true “sticking power.”

In order to build your brand, your marketing efforts need to stick like Super Glue. As Chip and Dan Heath teach in their book, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, ads that make a splash don’t always count. It’s the ads that change a pattern of some kind – and then stay consistent with that pattern – that stick in the minds of a target market.

A clever one-off ad that might make people laugh for a few seconds but walk away with nothing won’t keep the brand in their minds. Successful brands are built by being consistent – 24/7/365.

And, importantly, this is true of both corporate brands and personal brands. The way you communicate your brand must stay the course to make a real impact on how your target market or audience perceives, thinks, and feels about your brand – or YOU™.

So, what are you doing to make your brand stick like Super Glue? Take a look at the Super Bowl ads again. Do you remember any of them? More importantly, will you remember them again in two months’ time? Sound off and let us know if you think any of them are truly “sticky” enough!

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/04/14/do-you%e2%84%a2-and-your-brand-have-sticking-power-3/feed/ 0 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/01/13/has-starbucks-committed-a-%e2%80%9clogo-no-no%e2%80%9d/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/01/13/has-starbucks-committed-a-%e2%80%9clogo-no-no%e2%80%9d/#comments Fri, 14 Jan 2011 05:36:58 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1250 Whether you’re a fan of Starbucks or not, the brand is a great one to study. As the first big-name coffee mark to explore the idea of offering a “rewarding experience” in addition to a great tasting cup of coffee, Starbucks has single-handedly transformed the category since it first opened its doors 40 years ago.

So what is Starbucks doing to celebrate its 40th anniversary? Changing its logo. Yep, after decades of using the same corporate ID (with a mermaid inspired by Moby Dick – or so the legend goes), Starbucks recently revealed its new logo.

Here, side by side, is the former logo and the newly-released one:

A January 5 post by BrandChannel writer Abe Sauer contends that this move by Starbucks is a “logo no-no.”

Starbucks, of course, has a different point of view. Here’s what Starbucks has to say:

“Our new evolution liberates the Siren from the outer ring, making her the true, welcoming face of Starbucks. For people all over the globe, she is a signal of the world’s finest coffee – and much more. She stands unbound, sharing our stories, inviting all of us in to explore, to find something new and to connect with each other. And as always, she is urging all of us forward to the next thing. After all, who can resist her?”

So, what do you think? Is the Starbucks logo change a good one or not? Let your caffeinated voices be heard!

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/01/13/has-starbucks-committed-a-%e2%80%9clogo-no-no%e2%80%9d/feed/ 2 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/01/13/i-asked-you-answered-2010s-biggest-corporate-and-personal-brand-winners-and-losers-survey-results/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/01/13/i-asked-you-answered-2010s-biggest-corporate-and-personal-brand-winners-and-losers-survey-results/#comments Fri, 14 Jan 2011 05:36:28 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1265 In late December, I asked our online community to vote on the Biggest Corporate and Personal Brand Winners and Losers. Which company and individual brands fared the best and which took a dive?

Here’s what you said:

Biggest Corporate Brand Winners:

• Apple (89%) vs. Samsung (11%)
• Facebook (82%), Twitter (12%), Google (6%), and LinkedIn (0%)
• iPhone (82%) vs. Blackberry (18%)

Biggest Personal Brand Winners:

• Sarah Pailin (53%) vs. Barack Obama (47%) – a close one!
• Lady Gaga (76%), Miley Cyrus (12%), and Taylor Swift (12%)
• Oprah Winfrey (89%) vs. Larry King (11%)

Biggest Country Brand Winner:

• China (88%) vs. India (12%)

Biggest Corporate Brand Loser:

• BP (76%) vs. Toyota (24%)

Biggest Personal Brand Loser:

• Tiger Woods (95%) [ouch!] vs. Charlie Sheen (5%)

Of those brands whose dollar value decreased dramatically this year, which one also earned the distinction of the biggest brand “image” loser?

• Goldman Sachs (82%)
• Google (6%)
• Nokia (6%)
• Sony (6%)
• Dell (0%)
• Adobe (0%)

Looking to the future… Any prediction as to which brands will be the biggest winners and losers in 2011? Let me know what you think!

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2011/01/13/i-asked-you-answered-2010s-biggest-corporate-and-personal-brand-winners-and-losers-survey-results/feed/ 0 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/11/01/how-you%e2%84%a2-are-like-shampoo-for-college-graduates-wins-a-national-best-book-2010-award/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/11/01/how-you%e2%84%a2-are-like-shampoo-for-college-graduates-wins-a-national-best-book-2010-award/#comments Mon, 01 Nov 2010 09:35:07 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1229 SPONSORED BY USA BOOK NEWS

Author Brenda Bence’s book focused on helping college graduates find a job using personal branding — entitled How YOU™ are like Shampoo for College Graduates: The Complete Personal Branding System to Define, Position, and Market Yourself and Land a Job You Love — is a winner in the Young Adult: Non-Fiction category in THE NATIONAL BEST BOOKS 2010 AWARDS. USABookNews.com, the review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced the winners and finalists of the awards on October 26, 2010. Awards were presented for print and audio books published in 2010 and late 2009.

How YOU™ are like Shampoo for College Graduates is the first practical, step-by-step personal branding system designed specifically for job-seeking college grads. “The first two books in my personal branding series helped job seekers and people at work use personal branding to achieve greater success. So, I felt it was important to write a book for college graduates because their challenges are unique,” says Bence. “A graduate’s job search requires a special approach to personal branding. I wanted to give grads a chance not only to find a first job, but to land a job they would truly love – right out of college.”

Jeff Keen, President and CEO of USABookNews.com, said this year’s contest yielded an unprecedented number of entries, which were then narrowed down to just a few finalists and one winner per category. “The 2010 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States,” Keen says.

A complete list of the winners and finalists of the USABookNews.com National Best Books 2010 Awards are available online at www.USABookNews.com.

About the Author:
Brenda S. Bence is an internationally-recognized branding expert, certified executive coach, and powerhouse speaker and author. With an MBA from Harvard Business School, her 25-year career has included developing mega brands for Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb across four continents and 50 countries. As President of Brand Development Associates International, Brenda now travels the world speaking, training, and coaching individuals and corporations to greater success through creative yet practical brand development. Her three books in the How YOU™ Are Like Shampoo personal branding series have won a total of ten national book awards.

Brenda Bence, President of Brand Development Associates International Ltd, is available for television, radio, and press interviews nationwide to talk about her book and topics on personal or corporate branding.

Visit www.BrendaBence.com , contact +1-312-242-1830, or email Daniel.Jackman@BDA-Intl.com for availability.

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/11/01/how-you%e2%84%a2-are-like-shampoo-for-college-graduates-wins-a-national-best-book-2010-award/feed/ 0 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/10/27/what%e2%80%99s-your-brand-icon/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/10/27/what%e2%80%99s-your-brand-icon/#comments Thu, 28 Oct 2010 03:24:15 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1182

Most of you know I travel a lot, but September and October were filled with two personal “never-done-that-before” travel feats: I worked on four continents in the span of seven days in September and four continents in the span of 11 days in October. Yes, in those very short time frames, I was in such places as Singapore, Sydney, Bangkok, Manchester, the U.S. Midwest, and Prague, just to name a few. (By the way, I didn’t experience any jet lag during the entire journey. If you’re curious about how I do that, stay tuned! I will be releasing a new book in 2011 that shares my proven system for achieving jet-lag-free and easy travel.)

While visiting these far-flung locales, I was able to squeeze in a few moments to enjoy some of the sites they are famous for. As I gazed at the Sydney Opera House and watched the men of Manchester raise their Boddingtons Beer bottles, I was reminded that places are branded just like people, companies, and products. And that most cities and countries have iconic symbols that have come to stand for those places – like the Grand Palace in Bangkok or the Old Town in Prague.

Then, I got to thinking … what about ‘icons’ that represent the brands of the companies we lead … and, well – why not – our own personal brands? I’m not necessarily talking about any kind of “logo” or “sign” here, per se … but something more tangible that others would say represents either the product brand you market, your company brand, or YOU™ – the Trademarked You.

Getting clear on a representative icon is a great way to pinpoint your brand and what it stands for. So, ask yourself: If people were to think of one visual symbol that represents you as an individual or represents what your company stands for, what would it be?

THE BRAND ICON CHALLENGE:

I challenge you to give this some thought and come up with a representative icon for yourself or your company — and I will reward you for doing it!

After you’ve given your brand icon some thought, let me hear from you about it! Write to me and answer one or all of these questions:

1. What is the brand icon of the place where you live? If you’re in San Francisco, for example, you’d probably say the Golden Gate Bridge.

2. What is the brand icon for “YOU™” – your own personal brand icon? Is it an animal… a flower… a type of tree… the list could go on and on…

3. What is the brand icon for your company? Get creative here, and remember: it’s important to think about how your customers would see it.

NOW, HERE’S THE ‘PRIZE’ PART…!

When you use the comment box, below, to share your response to any one of these questions, you will automatically be eligible to be one of TEN lucky winners (chosen out of a hat) to receive the 2011 Woman’s Advantage Shared Wisdom Calendar, with my compliments.

This calendar is a great page-a-day type of calendar filled with quotes from successful women entrepreneurs. Now, if you’re a guy, don’t be fooled by the calendar’s name – the calendar definitely isn’t just for women! In fact, many of my male clients have commented on how much they enjoy – and have been inspired by – this annual calendar. Each page is filled with innovative ideas on strategy, teambuilding, marketing, finance, and more so it’s jam-packed with 365 valuable insights for anyone in business.

Over 5,000 quotes were sent in for the calendar this year, so I feel fortunate that my quote was selected (I am also featured on the cover this year!). I have been quoted in the past two years’ calendars as well, and I’m so grateful for this that I want to give away TEN free 2011 calendars in hopes that my e-newsletter and blog readers will enjoy them as much as I have in the past.

It’s a gift of over $20 USD, and I want to give one to you – free – because I know it’s something that will provide you with meaningful, thought-provoking information that you can use every day.

So, don’t miss out – click the comment button below, and enter the brand icon challenge!

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/10/27/what%e2%80%99s-your-brand-icon/feed/ 4 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/10/10/the-u-by-kotex-brand-has-found-a-way-to-speak-to-an-audience-group-that-will-never-even-use-their-product-how/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/10/10/the-u-by-kotex-brand-has-found-a-way-to-speak-to-an-audience-group-that-will-never-even-use-their-product-how/#comments Mon, 11 Oct 2010 04:58:32 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1157

If done correctly, a little bit of controversy can go a long way for your brand. It builds word-of-mouth awareness and can also better inform your customer (or encourage them to be better informed) about your product. What do YOU think? (This brand video made me laugh out loud) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n09SejxpcFA&feature=related

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/10/10/the-u-by-kotex-brand-has-found-a-way-to-speak-to-an-audience-group-that-will-never-even-use-their-product-how/feed/ 0 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/10/07/brenda-bence-to-be-featured-on-cover-of-the-woman%e2%80%99s-advantage-2011-calendar/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/10/07/brenda-bence-to-be-featured-on-cover-of-the-woman%e2%80%99s-advantage-2011-calendar/#comments Fri, 08 Oct 2010 07:11:16 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1165

Entrepreneur’s Advice Presented in Woman’s Advantage Shared Wisdom Calendar

Brenda Bence, Founder and President of Brand Development Associates (BDA) International, Ltd, was selected from 5,000 submissions to be featured in the 2011 Woman’s Advantage Calendar. The calendar provides advice from influential women leaders across the US and Canada.

Mary Cantando, Growth Expert of The Woman’s Advantage, recently announced that, for the third year in a row, Brenda Bence’s advice will be included in the calendar which was released in early October, and this year Brenda will also be featured on the calendar’s cover.

“Brenda Bence’s quote was selected because it was powerful yet easy to understand. Her idea is relevant to almost everyone in business today,” says Cantando. “Business owners and those who dream of starting a business will learn so much from the advice provided by Brenda Bence and the other successful women quoted in the calendar.”

The Woman’s Advantage 2011 Calendar will provide sound bites of advice on key business issues including: organization, promotion, sales, marketing, and human resources. While the quotes are from female entrepreneurs like Bence, the advice is relevant and valuable to business people of either gender.

To view the calendar and place an order, visit www.WomansAdvantage.biz/calendar.

About Brenda S. Bence:

Brenda Bence is an internationally-recognized branding expert, certified executive coach, dynamic speaker and author of the award-winning How YOU™ Are Like Shampoo series of personal branding books. With an MBA from Harvard Business School, her 25-year career has included developing mega brands for Fortune 100 companies across four continents and 50 countries. As President of BDA Int’l, Brenda now travels the world speaking, training, and coaching individuals and corporations to greater success through creative yet practical corporate and personal brand development.

For more information, please visit www.BrendaBence.com or www.BDA-Intl.com.

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/10/07/brenda-bence-to-be-featured-on-cover-of-the-woman%e2%80%99s-advantage-2011-calendar/feed/ 0 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/09/08/recent-interview-about-how-you%e2%84%a2-are-like-shampoo-for-job-seekers/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/09/08/recent-interview-about-how-you%e2%84%a2-are-like-shampoo-for-job-seekers/#comments Thu, 09 Sep 2010 07:21:53 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1151

Click here to read a recent interview about the second book in my personal branding book series “How YOU™ Are Like Shampoo for Job Seekers.”

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/09/08/recent-interview-about-how-you%e2%84%a2-are-like-shampoo-for-job-seekers/feed/ 0 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/08/25/how-johnnie-walker-came-to-be-one-of-the-world%e2%80%99s-most-recognized-whiskeys/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/08/25/how-johnnie-walker-came-to-be-one-of-the-world%e2%80%99s-most-recognized-whiskeys/#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:49:57 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1142

The actual Johnnie Walker logo came from a lunch meeting between a famous cartoonist and JW execs, where, after a meal and a drink, the cartoonist was asked to draw a figure that would personify the brand. It was drawn on the back of a menu. Now, the company and its logo are recognized worldwide, and they sell over 11 million bottles per year, almost enough to stretch around the globe.

Are you making your brand recognizable, unique and representative of what you hope to achieve? If you don’t know your brand’s value, no one else will either. Learn more at www.BrendaBence.com

All the best – and here’s to YOU™!
Brenda Bence

Join Us Online! www.brendabence.com/enewsletter

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/08/25/how-johnnie-walker-came-to-be-one-of-the-world%e2%80%99s-most-recognized-whiskeys/feed/ 0 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/08/17/puma-developed-from-a-rivalry-between-two-brothers/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/08/17/puma-developed-from-a-rivalry-between-two-brothers/#comments Wed, 18 Aug 2010 03:21:50 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1117

PUMA developed as a rivalry between two brothers. It has gone from signature soccer apparel to a line of clothing representing a hip, cool fusion of sports, fashion and high-style. Though it used to compete primarily with Adidas and Nike, it now competes with brands such as Gucci, Armani Diesel and D&G. Not happy with your current brand’s results against existing competition? Try changing who you compete with!

All the best – and here’s to YOU™!
Brenda Bence

Join Us Online! www.brendabence.com/enewsletter

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/08/17/puma-developed-from-a-rivalry-between-two-brothers/feed/ 0 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/08/10/martha-stewart-from-busted-brand-in-handcuffs-knitted-poncho-to-legendary-personal-and-corporate-brand/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/08/10/martha-stewart-from-busted-brand-in-handcuffs-knitted-poncho-to-legendary-personal-and-corporate-brand/#comments Tue, 10 Aug 2010 09:36:11 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1105 Not long ago, the world watched while Martha Stewart’s brand plummeted and the press had a field day as a result of her conviction of stock trading conspiracy. I still have images in my mind of the famous knitted poncho Martha wore in the aftermath of her release …

But, now – amazingly – not only has Martha Stewart’s brand survived public scarring, but it seems as if her brand may become one of the few iconic personal and corporate brands of our time.

What do you think Martha did “right” to rebuild her once-tainted brand?

Click here to read the full article.

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/08/10/martha-stewart-from-busted-brand-in-handcuffs-knitted-poncho-to-legendary-personal-and-corporate-brand/feed/ 0 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/07/28/top-leadership-personal-branding-tips-from-nelson-mandela/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/07/28/top-leadership-personal-branding-tips-from-nelson-mandela/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:53:22 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1100 Inside my latest newsletter… Join me in my ‘parting ode’ to the South African World Cup by reviewing top Leadership Personal Branding lessons from Nelson Mandela. Clear up any confusion around key marketing terms, including how a “brand” is different from “brand positioning” and “branding.” I share the top 10 most common branding mistakes entrepreneurs make, and also how to more powerfully align a company brand with employees’ individual personal brands…. Something for everybody, I hope… Let me know what you think! http://tinyurl.com/28g59km

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/07/28/top-leadership-personal-branding-tips-from-nelson-mandela/feed/ 0 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/07/20/successfully-making-the-personal-brandcorporate-brand-connection/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/07/20/successfully-making-the-personal-brandcorporate-brand-connection/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:19:31 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=1020 Congratulations to Trish Meecham, our winner!

Many thanks to those of you who responded to the call for questions that appeared in my last e-newsletter. We had some great questions that came in on the topics of both personal and corporate branding.

Our winner this month is Trish Meecham from Credit Suisse. In return for her question, Trish received a complimentary copy of the book The Power of the Platform: Speakers on Purpose that I wrote along with other professional speakers such as Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, and Les Brown.

See Trish’s question and my response below. Thank you, Trish, for writing in — it pays to ask great questions!

Trish’s question:
“What are the recommended process steps to align company brand and [employee] behavior?”

My answer:
What you’re talking about here is what I like to call successfully making the personal brand/corporate brand connection. Let me share an example.

When speaking at conferences on this topic, I share a true story about the high-end Ritz-Carlton hotel chain. This particular story is about how a hotel guest, who left his laptop at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta, had his much-needed computer returned to him in Hawaii – personally – by an Atlanta-based housekeeper who flew all the way there just to bring it to him. This housekeeper was empowered to do that, without hesitation, because key leaders of the hotel chain had established a clear credo and had set up a system to enable any employee – whether a housekeeper, receptionist, driver, or guard – to do what was required to communicate the very specific brand of customer service the hotel wanted to craft for itself.

I like that story because it illustrates how much of an impression every single employee – and his/her individual personal brand – can make on a corporate brand.

So, how well do the individuals – the unique personal brands – of you and all the people you work with reflect the total brand of your company?

Here are a few specific actions to consider when trying to strengthen the “Personal Brand / Corporate Brand Connection.”

• Be crystal clear about what your desired corporate brand is. If you’re not sure as a leader or an employee of the company, then you can be certain that you won’t be successfully communicating a consistent company brand to anyone else – customers, potential employees, or fellow team members. If you haven’t already, carefully define the six elements, that make up your corporate brand [need some help defining your company brand? Refer to Assume the Position! How to Use Positioning to Make Your Brand Irresistible.]
• Consider how well your team really knows what your company’s brand stands for and how to reflect your company’s brand values in everything they do. Do your team members know exactly what is “correct” and “incorrect” actions that best communicate the brand? Remember that Ritz-Carlton not only made sure its employees knew what the brand’s credo was (employees carried it around in their pockets!), but the hotel chain also empowered its employees with the specific tools and resources they needed to put that credo into action immediately. That’s key.
• What Actions, Reactions, Look, Sound, and Thoughts are consistent with the company brand as you want customers and consumers to perceive it? If you’re not sure yourself and/or your team is not fully prepared to represent the brand in their daily interactions with others, take action to make sure they are:

• Find employees who are embodying the company brand well, and make them role models to illustrate to other members on your team what they can do as well to best embody the brand of the company.
• Reward those employees for their actions, making it clear to others that what those employees did was a great reflection of the way you want the company’s brand to be portrayed.
• Make sure everyone you work with has the tools and resources they need to represent your company well. Is there a system in place to allow employees to take action to help build the brand if a need arises? Have you set up parameters as to what an employee is free to do in support of the brand?

Doing all of these things is a great way to make sure customers will perceive, think, and feel about your brand exactly the way you want them to.

Those are just a few tips for how you make a strong Personal Brand/Corporate Brand Connection. To learn how our Corporate Brand/Personal Brand Connection Workshop could help your team develop strong personal brands while also strengthening your company’s brand in the marketplace, click here

]]> http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/07/20/successfully-making-the-personal-brandcorporate-brand-connection/feed/ 0 http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/07/15/nelson-mandelas-leadership-principles/ http://www.brendabence.com/blog/2010/07/15/nelson-mandelas-leadership-principles/#comments Fri, 16 Jul 2010 07:13:01 +0000 Brenda http://www.brendabence.com/blog/?p=988 With all eyes turned to South Africa and the World Cup over the past weeks, I thought it would be interesting to revisit a 2008 interview with Nelson Mandela regarding leadership. Published in Time Magazine, the article outlined eight leadership principles that Mandela used to build his distinguished career – and his very powerful leadership personal brand – as an activist and politician. All eight are interesting, but I want to focus on two of Mandela’s principles and how they apply to building a leadership personal brand in the business world.

Principle #1:

“Lead from the back – and let others believe they are in front. The trick of leadership is allowing yourself to be led too. The chief’s job, Mandela said, was not to tell people what to do but to form a consensus. ‘Don’t enter the debate too early,’ he used to say.”

What Mandela is doing here is advocating a democratic, or participative, leadership style. Let’s face it: As a business leader, there may be times when you have to use an authoritarian style and make a fast – and sometimes lonely – decision. But, the majority of the time, it makes sense to include direct reports in the decision-making process. Otherwise, why have you hired them in the first place? Great leaders know that they, too, are learning and growing every day in the job – even from those who are in subordinate positions.

So, build your leadership personal brand by (1) allowing others to have a say in decisions, and (2) getting clear on when you need the expertise of others in order to make the most informed choices.

Principle #2:

“Nothing is black or white. Life is never either/or. Decisions are complex, and there are always competing factors. To look for simple explanations is the bias of the human brain, but it doesn’t correspond to reality. Nothing is ever as straightforward as it appears.”

This is an important reminder for all of us in every aspect of life – both personal and business. It’s fundamental to success to be able to see the nuances in any business situation, whether it involves launching a new product, dealing with a challenging employee, managing a tough boss, etc. The mind naturally wants to categorize everything in black or white terms, so most of us have to constantly remind ourselves to stop and look at all aspects of a situation. Otherwise, it’s easy to fall victim to making decisions based on tunnel-vision, and that can lead to costly mistakes. Make sounder, smarter business decisions by pointing out nuances and contradictions to your team, and they will begin to see the situation more multi-dimensionally as well.

Applying these leadership principles can strengthen your leadership personal brand.

(Here is a link to the entire article: http://tinyurl.com/6pgaeb.)

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