Brenda Bence

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.

Click Here For Printable Version

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.

Click Here For Printable Version

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.

You may not know what a “Brand Triangle™” is, but I guarantee you already have one. The Brand Triangle™ – a model I created – is an approach for how to think about your brand, whether you’re focused on growing a brand for a company, a product, or a service, or whether you’re building your own individual personal brand. While it may not sound quite as exciting as a “romantic triangle,” if you don’t get your Brand Triangle™ right, your brand may very well end up in the Bermuda Triangle – disappearing into thin air, never to be heard from again.

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.

Recently, a client called to see if I was available to speak at a company meeting that she was organizing in 2012.  The objective of the meeting, she told me, was to drive a stronger sense of engagement within the company as a whole.

“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?

Click Here For Printable Version

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.

Click Here For Printable Version

Click Here For Printable Version

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.

Click Here For Printable Version

Click Here For Printable Version

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.

Click Here For Printable Version