Brand You exercise

by | Tools

Brand Development – Raising your profile

Brand You – Exercise One

Part A

  1. What’s your specialism?
  2. Choose a partner taking five minutes each to talk about your specialism
  3. What emerged?
  4. Have you learnt anything new about the other person and what they specialised in?

Part B

  1. What singles you out from the crowd?
  2. Choose a different partner
  3. Take five minutes each to talk about your unique selling point and explore in detail.
  4. Feedback:

Part C

  1. How can we raise our profile externally?
  2. Brainstorm
  3. What have we learnt?

Brand You – Exercise Two – Finding your purpose which is key to Brand You

  • When your purpose is big enough, you won’t hesitate to talk about it.
  • What purpose for you would be big enough?
  • And you might not know what your purpose is but if you did know what would it be?
  • To find your purpose, underpinning your whole life, list everything that could be your purpose.
  • Ask yourself ‘Apart from that is there anything else?’
  • When that is everything ask one last time if there is anything else
  • Next is sifting and sorting: explore everything you have written till you reach the core.
  • You can sift under headings, grouping, priorities for example.
  • When you have the core of your purpose ask yourself ‘ Is my purpose as I have defined it big enough to enable me to communicate it?’

And if it isn’t, guess what …….. it’s the rinse and repeat of the above process

Brand You – Exercise Three – Inspiration and Information

What is a Brand according to these 5 people:

  • ‘Positioning is not what you do to a product. Positioning is what you do in the mind of the prospect. That is, you position the product in the mind of the prospect. Al Ries & Jack Trout
  • ‘Positioning is the attempt to control the public’s perception of a product or service as it relates to competitive products’. Mississippi University
  • ‘A brand is a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer’. Wally Olins
  • ‘Simply put, a brand is a promise. By identifying and authenticating a product or service it delivers a pledge of satisfaction and quality’. Walter Landor
  • ‘Brand: what you – your customers – experience to be true about your company or organisation’. Angela Law

Your Brand: the Brand – Exercise Four – What is it?

  • Describe your core brand message in 15 words or less. Why in business. What business your brand is in. What differentiates you from competitors? What is superior about the value that you offer clients?
  • Ditch a business plan & create a business map: ask ‘What business am I in’? then ‘What business am I really in’? & ‘How is business’?
  • eg Starbucks’ business is about creating an experience not just doing coffee. Railways in transportation NOT railroad business.
  • To be a dominant force in your market need to know what business you are in.