Time to Define Your Personal Brand

I just started writing for the Forbes.com Work in Progress blog, and I wanted to share my first article here with the KeySplash Creative Conversations audience since it’s related to marketing.

The article is called Define Your Personal Brand and discusses the importance of developing your personal brand image, message and promise online.

Follow the link above to learn both the why’s and how’s of online personal brand building.

Def Leppard Animated Series Could Become a Reality

In the late 1980s when I was 17, Def Leppard’s Hysteria album was at the top of the charts in the U.S.  My friends and I got tickets to see the band perform at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

One of my friends and I were able to sneak down from our first tier seats to the floor and ended up in the front row at the center of the stage.  We had a blast, and I still remember her dancing on the roof of my parents’ car in the parking lot afterward and denting the it.  We punched it back into shape, but a small dent lingered that I could always see from my second story bedroom window that overlooked our driveway whenever the car was parked there.  I always wondered if my parents ever noticed it (sorry about that Mom and Dad).

Today, about 20 years later, I read an article on the MediaFreak blog about a new deal Def Leppard is considering that might include an animated series.  I could write all kinds of things about marketing and branding related to this odd development, but I won’t.  Instead, I’ll leave my post with this food for thought …

Pick and choose your brand extensions carefully.  Remain focused and don’t forget your core audience.

I may not have listened to my old Hysteria album in a long time, but I still remember all the words to Pour Some Sugar on Me and I sing out loud when it comes on the radio.  However, I don’t think I’d ever watch a Def Leppard animated series, and I can’t foresee such a series drawing in a broad, new audience either.

How about you?

Building Brand Value the Playboy Way Review

Mary Emma Allen of b5media’s HomeBizNotes.com blog published a review of my latest book, Building Brand Value the Playboy Way, last week, which I’d like to share with you.

You can read the full review here!

20 Must Read Branding Articles of 2009

I write about corporate branding for a fantastic organization called Corporate Eye, and this week, I published a list of what I think were my 20 must read blog posts about branding that I wrote for the Corporate Eye blog in 2009.

While I can’t republish the articles here on KeySplash Creative Conversations, I can provide the link to my list of the top 20 must read branding articles of 2009 that I wrote for Corporate Eye.

I’m going to be publishing my list of the top 10 branding and marketing communications trends for 2010 in January and February on Entrepreneur.com, so stay tuned for those lists!

There’s a Brand Opening in Hollywood – Who Can Fill Oprah’s Shoes

Calling all females in Hollywood!

Oprah Winfrey announced she is leaving the Oprah Winfrey Show after 25 years as the face of afternoon television for women — a role that helped position her as one of the most powerful women in entertainment and the world. The official end to her run as the queen of daytime TV is scheduled for September 9, 2011 — plenty of time to position a successor.

Those are big brand shoes to fill.  Who can step up to the challenge?  Some might point to Ellen Degeneres who is already positioned firmly with her own talk show, but Ellen and Oprah represent very different brand messages and images.  Ellen is a comedian at the core and Oprah is a reporter.  Both connect with audiences in different ways and audiences have very different expectations from them.

So that brings us back to the question — who can fill Oprah’s shoes?  Who can step up to the plate and build a similar brand position?  Let’s face it.  Oprah Winfrey’s power and influence transcended the afternoon talk show circuit.  She became a global influencer of everything from the beef industry to publishing, entertainment, and many areas in between.

What do you think?  Can another person fill Oprah’s shoes?  Can you think of anyone who could be up to the challenge?  Who has a brand image and message that could rival Oprah’s — if not now then in the future with a bit of positioning and promotion?

Image: Flickr

Dan Schawbel Interviews Susan Gunelius about Hugh Hefner, Playboy and Harry Potter

This week, I answered some questions posed to me by Dan Schawbel of Personal Branding Blog about my new book, Building Brand Value the Playboy Way, and my book about the Harry Potter brand, Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon.

You can read the full interview on Dan’s blog and learn how Hugh Hefner, Playboy and Harry Potter are connected in terms of branding strategy.

Bet you never thought you’d hear that Playboy and Harry Potter can be compared to each other!

Here’s a brief excerpt from the interview:

Dan Schawbel: What branding lessons can we learn from Playboy and Harry Potter?

Susan Gunelius: I think the biggest similarity between the Playboy and Harry Potter brands is the importance of having a brand champion and brand guardian at the helm. Both Playboy and Harry Potter have two of the strongest brand champions and advocates leading the way — Hugh Hefner and J.K. Rowling. Both resolutely defend their brands just as much as they promote them.

Read the rest here.

Building Brand Value the Playboy Way – Now Available in Book Stores and Online

My new book, Building Brand Value the Playboy Way, was released this month through Palgrave Macmillan.  It’s available through online book sellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders as well as in stores.

This was an incredibly interesting story to research and to tell.  You can read an excerpt here.

If you have a chance to read it, stop back by and let me know what you think or leave a review on Amazon and share your thoughts.

From WTF to TFW – How a Blog Caused a Logo Change for Wisconsin

Earlier this year, one of my favorite blogs, Your Logo Makes Me Barf, wrote a post called WTF Wisconsin? that pointed out a glaring error made by the Wisconsin Tourism Federation.  If you don’t know what the acronym WTF stands for, I’ll tell you — “What the fu*k?”  Take a look at the logo below.

While it’s surprising that no one within or working with the Wisconsin Tourism Federation mentioned this problem to them, the more interesting point of the story comes from how they learned about it.  The power of the blogosphere is demonstrated once again with the WTF Wisconsin? post on Your Logo Makes Me Barf.  The Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel wrote about it on the same day in their Hubbub blog.

Perhaps the more unfortunate part of this story though is something mentioned on another of my favorite blogs — Brand New.  The organization took the time and invested the money to change their name after realizing the error (the new name is Tourism Federation of Wisconsin), but they just flipped the letters in the logo instead of creating a new one.  Now that’s a missed opportunity as this logo leaves a lot to be desired (see below).

Of course, the lesson to learn is — always make sure multiple people review your work.  You never know what you might miss.

Why No One Believes GM, Ford and Chrysler Deserved Bailouts

Months ago, I published a post on another blog I write for about the fate of GM, Ford and Chrysler.  I received a lot of negative comments on that post from people who disagreed with my assertion that mismanagement brought about the failure of the Big 3 U.S. auto manufacturers — specifically, focusing on short term gains rather than long term strategy. It’s a trap that executives and managers everywhere fell victim to as stockholders demanded double-digit growth year after year.

There’s a reason why GM, Ford and Chrysler found themselves circling the drain.  I think this chart says it all.  The only surprising thing is that GM, Ford and Chrysler survived as long as they did before they tanked.

The lesson for marketers to learn is this — don’t be the blue lines in this chart.  It shouldn’t take a decade to make the necessary changes to reverse those market share trends.

Sneak Peak – Building Brand Value the Playboy Way

KeySplash Creative President and CEO Susan Gunelius’ newest book, Building Brand Value the Playboy Way, will be released this month in the United Kingdom and in October in the United States.

You can read an excerpt of Building Brand Value the Playboy Way from the book’s Introduction on Entrepreneur.com.

When I started writing this book, I already viewed Hugh Hefner as the ultimate brand champion and brand guardian, and when I finished, that opinion had only grown stronger. Building Brand Value the Playboy Way was written for an academic and professional audience, and describes how one man’s idea to create a lifestyle magazine for men in the 1950s turned into one of the most recognized brands in the world. It’s a fascinating story that all branding and marketing students and professionals can learn from.

Building Brand Value the Playboy Way is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and other book stores (both online and offline).

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