We are the First representatives of our brands, our brands are an extension of our personality and as the brand driver our decisions concerning life has to be intentional.

1. THE BRAND CALLED “YOU”
A GUIDE TO PERSONAL BRANDING.
PRESENTATION BY CLARA CHINWE OKORO, BRAND CONSULTANT /TV BROADCAST
JOURNALIST

2. WHO AM I ?
 I am a Brand.I suspect some find this
thought somewhat self-involved, and it
is. You are in command of your brand
and most importantly you have the
ability to change it at any moment.
Take five minutes and look at some of
the brands you are most attracted to
on a daily basis, then ask yourself why
you are attracted to them. Likely you
will find it is because you trust them,
you understand the value you receive
as a return on your investment, and you
relate to their offering and are satisfied
on some level.

3. RECOGNIZE ‘YOU’
 Now take a moment and look at YOUR brand. Identify the characteristics that make
you distinctive: strengths, noteworthy traits, accomplishments, intended legacy,
and goals. Make note of your findings in 15 words or less and read it several times.
Recognize the things you are proud of, and think about ways to shape your areas
of desired change by digging deep into your world of passions and inspirations. Let
yourself get lost in your swirling thoughts.

4. “IMAGINEER”  Ok, come back for just a moment before you
start your campaign. Remember
brand YOU must be believable to you before it is
sold to your network of friends, colleagues,
clients and customers. Brand YOU requires
maintenance and measurement - if you garner
nothing more from our chat, remember Tom
Peters, author of ‘Tom Peters Career Survival
Guide’, four essentials to individual brand
evolution:
 You must be a great teammate and supportive
colleague
 You must be a business person- obsessed with
pragmatic outcome
 You must be a broad-gauged visionary- a leader,
teacher, farsighted ‘imagineer’
 You must be an exceptional expert at something
that has real value.

5. WHATS THE PURPOSE OF BRAND “YOU”

6. Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of
the business we happen to be in, all of us need to
understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of
our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our
most important job is to be head marketer for the brand
called You.”
Tom Peters
You know what a brand is — Apple, Nike and Google. Yet
the world of work is rapidly changing: Social media and
digital everything are blurring the lines between work and
our personal lives. Your personal brand is all about who
you are and what you want to be known for.

7. Having a personal brand is not something you can opt out of. Doing nothing — not having a profile on
social outlets, for example, in and of itself says something about you and your brand.
Building and strengthening your personal brand plays a key role in creating trusted relationships that
benefit you as well as your organization. The stronger your personal brand, the more effective you will
be as an advocate for your firm or ambassador for an organization you support.

8. BRANDING IS MORE IMPORTANT TODAY
THAN IT HAS EVER BEEN.
 Tom Peters argues that the interesting
developments in brand management
are not happening at a multinational
scale, but at the individual end of the
scale.
 Peters suggests that individuals should
think of themselves as a brand and that
their approach to differentiation in the
world should be exactly the same.
Individuals should look at themselves
and try to identify why they stand out in
relation to those around them. If they
do not stand out, they should start
trying to find ways to do so.

9. CONT’D
 He argues that every individual should be addressing a
series of questions to find out if they are selling
themselves effectively to prospective employees:
 What makes you different?
 What is the pitch for you?
 What is the real power of you?
 What is loyalty to you?
 What is the future of you?
 What makes you different?
 Individuals should start by identifying the qualities or
characteristics that distinguish them from colleagues.
Peters suggests using a standard model from the world
of corporate branding, the feature-benefit model,
which ensures that every feature that they
communicate to potential buyers has an identifiable
benefit. For example, an individual that is able to solve
any problem quickly and efficiently will provide
considerable value to their internal and external
customers. Individuals who do this will quickly gain a
reputation, and in doing so, build a brand for
themselves.

10. SO WHAT IS THE PITCH FOR ‘YOU’
The first stage in the corporation branding process is developing
visibility. However, instead of glossy campaigns, individuals must
enhance their profile in different ways. As a starting point,
Peters suggests that individuals should introduce themselves to
colleagues by signing up for extra projects within the
organisation, and getting a reputation for contributing.
Alternatively, Peters suggests writing a column in a local paper
or teaching a class in a community college.
Peters argues that communicating a brand to others is all about
style as well as substance. This involves communicating
efficiently with others at all times, whether it is during meetings,
giving a presentation, writing a letter or sending an e-mail.

11. ATTENTION GRABBING TACTICS.
 Not only should individuals advertise themselves; they should also concentrate on
developing power in their chosen area. In other words, they should attempt to
cultivate a reputation for using their expertise intelligently. Just as consumers are
drawn to powerful product brands, individuals should attempt to develop a
powerful brand to draw in external and internal customers and at the same time
creating customer loyalty.
 Your answer to the ‘what do you do?’ question will either limit relationships or give
them life. It’s your choice. What’s crucial is that you take every opportunity to
deliver an ‘elevator speech’ that makes a positive rather than negative impact.
Here’s how.

12. THE “YOU” ELEVATOR SPEECH “ES”
 Here are two types of Elevator Speech (ES)
that are only going to induce yawns…
 ‘Hello, my name is Joe Smith, and I’m a
banking manager with XYZ Bank.’
 Or: ‘Hi, I’m Mandy and I’m an accountant.’
 If you forget everything else when crafting
your ES – remember to focus on what you
can do for the listener. Now, if Joe and
Mandy changed their ES to this focus, here’s
how they might come out:
 ‘Hello, my name is Joe and a big part of my
role is building local businesses’
 ‘Hi, I’m Mandy – my job keeps our multi
million pound business in the black’

13. CONT’D
 Aren’t those more likely to get people’s
interest? Might they prompt a follow-up
question from you along the lines of ‘Really?
How do you do that?’ They’ve got your
permission to tell you more rather than
assuming you want to know more.
 When you walk into a situation where
somebody is going to ask you what you do,
you have time to plan what you are going to
say. By planning ahead, you’ll be ready with
an impactful, credible and relevant Elevator
Speech (ES). Here’s how:

14. Determine Your Audience
Who exactly are you going to be speaking to? If you don’t know,
you need to ask. Will it be board level, senior management, or
someone lower down the hierarchy?
Define Your Objective
What exactly do you want to get out of this interaction, meeting
or phone call? It could be as simple as leaving a favourable
impression, or as difficult as getting a sale on the day.
Define Your Content
Once you know your audience and your objective you can
decide what will work best for getting the attention of your
listener.

15. DELIVERY AND CALL TO ACTION
 Deliver with Style!
 Your ES must roll off your tongue with ease. Practice saying it.
 Decide on a Call to Action!
 Finally, think through what you want them to do once they’ve heard your ES. Book
you? Meet with you one-to-one? Connect you to someone? Refer you? Ask for
further information. Begin with the end in mind.
 A customised approach takes effort and preparation. That’s why few people do it.
But it is a powerful tool in business and personal arenas.

16. A personal brand should be more than how you present yourself
to the world. It should also be a real life description of why
you’re awesome. So that’s what you should be.
Spend your time emphasizing the elements of your personal
brand in your life. Sometimes we don’t act like the person we
want the world to see.
We think we’re motivated, but we spend a ton of time watching
television and surfing the internet.
We think we’re nice, but we gossip about others.
A well thought out personal brand will help you present yourself
to the world. It can also be a clear cut description for who you
should aspire to be in your day-to-day life.

17. THE FORMULA
 So here’s my recommendation. No matter
who you are or what your goals are, go
through these steps and develop your
personal brand. Decide how it’s going to be a
part of your life. How are you going to use it
to your advantage?
 Tom Peters is right in the quote at the
beginning of this article. You are the CEO of
You Inc. whether you recognize it or not.
 The question really boils down to this:
 Are you going to live accidentally or are you
are going to live purposefully?


18. WHO DO PEOPLE SAY I AM.
 When you have a solid personal brand, you’ll be more memorable, you’ll be more
impressive, and people will wind up having a more favorable opinion about you –
that’s the same thing that good branding does for a product.

19. A FINAL QUESTION TO “YOU”
Are you going to live accidentally or
are you are going to live
purposefully?
 The Answer is up to “YOU”

20. THANK YOU
&