How to Refine Your Personal Brand
June 12, 2017 by Dr. Letitia Wright
Filed under Featured Articles, Front Page
By Dave Saunders
You have a reputation. You have a Web site. You have a key look that every one recognizes – or at least, some people.
Now what? Your personal brand is never a pool float. You can’t rest on it. You can’t let it drift out there with the current. In order to make it viable, you have to keep it inflated.
Coca-Cola is no longer the “pause that refreshes.” Oh, you may know that that’s what they used to say about Coca-Cola, but that was a long time ago. Now there is “the Coke side of life” – and those who are in the know know what Coke will be saying next. McDonald’s is out there copying Chick-fil-a for healthy yet fried alternatives to the all-American burger and pretending they invented the chicken sandwich, and no one knows anymore about Burger Kind even though we used to sing about holding the pickle and the lettuce because special orders don’t upset us.
Your personal brand is a living, breathing entity. There’s no question that you have a place in your little corner of the planet. You offer a service, a benefit, a shining good turn to the world. However, there are a brazillion (not a Brazilian) other people out there who can offer a service that’s (in theory) just as good, just as important, just as meaningful.
It is your job to continuously breathe new life into your brand. The fact is that your brand is like any living entity – it wants to grow, it wants to move forward.
Your brand is about integrity, about self-love, about competence that moves above and beyond the norm. In order to keep life in your brand, it has to constantly evolve; it has to keep up with the times.
If you think about the best magazines, the world’s most popular brands – they really do think about things before most people. We went from the jeweled tones and English country glamour of the late 1990s to the calm blues and chocolates of the mid 1990s to the recent splash of citrus. And next year’s color?
Well, to figure that out, you’ll have to watch my Web site. There are trends in life that – if you stay on the cutting edge – you’ll be able to overcome. Overcome? Yes. There’s no question that if your brand stays stale – Swanson Hungry Man in the middle of the Diet Debate – you will not stay alive. Tang in the middle of Natural Goods, Vidal Sassoon after the creation of a brand associated with a hairstyle that denoted a certain time and place, Underalls in a world in which women don’t wear pantyhose most of the time.
Today, most people want ready-to-drink beverages with some sort of nod to natural flavors. Tang in 2007 introduced ready-to-drink units with new sweeteners. Vidal Sassoon is pulling itself out of the grocery stores and is concentrating on self-named and independent salons, where its brand name can move away from the notion of “bargain” and imbue itself with a new relevance with a new generation of hair-needy clients. Underalls is working to develop itself as a new brand whose products include along line of undergarments that include, but is not relegated to, pantyhose.
You need to take a cue from these corporate brands, which are beloved in American corporate myth but have taken their hits with the sands of time. Look for time cues and trend updates – and keep your brand in the running.
October Notes
October 15, 2009 by Dr. Letitia Wright
Filed under A Note for You, Featured Articles
It?s the middle of October and we have started the 10 Week PR Challenge. I have closed it until we start a new one, I think it will be too hard if people get behind. So if you missed out, don?t worry, we?ll have another one.
As the weather turns colder ( I love summer) , I am working on shows that will warm the heart. I want each show to have a tangible impact on the people who watch and are involved. We just taped a show with Business in a Bucket and they did a heartwarming thing. They actually gave a kit to a young man who had expressed difficulty in finding work. It was real mentoring! I can?t wait for you to see this particular show.
We also taped a show with SCE. They have just been given money to build more green jobs and fund the programs that allow you to get a discount on your bills if you are having financial difficulty. They even have a program for the newly laid off.
We had Sniffle Buddies featured on the show too. This cold season will be completely different and now you have a different tool to use. I will be giving away some Sniffle Buddies at the website a little later.
In January we will have a live show at Lisa Platske?s event, it is already 50 % sold out. It?s going to be a good conference, so start your year out right with this one!
I am booking the rest of the year?s shows out and January also, so it?s time for people to tell their story. People have to know about you before they can buy your products.
There are some great PR articles on the website, 2 or 3 new ones each week. Be sure to check them out and leave your comments. We can all help each other, when you leave a comment, someone is reading that and thinking, WOW! I did not know that.
Oh yes, and Dave Saunders is doing our branding tips on the show. If you branding needs some re-working then check these out.
For the rest of the year, I will be sticking close to home and not traveling. I know, I know, that?s a big change for me, however, it is what is needed right now.
Talk to you soon!
New Diamonds
July 25, 2009 by Dr. Letitia Wright
Filed under A Note for You
Dave Saunders
Kimberly Kelly
As we move into this 10 year anniversary season of the Wright Place TV Show, I am putting into place some new things. 2 people who I have found to have great information and be fantastic people are Dave Saunders and Kimberly Kelly. I like to work with people I like and respect. And it really doesn?t matter if you make $10 million dollars when you treat people poorly and have no integrity. It?s great to make the money; however, you got some karma coming back that is going to kick your behind big time. You can only hope the money can pay to bail you out.
I digress. Dave Saunders and Kimberly Kelly will be contributing to the Wright Place in this upcoming year. Kelly will have some great articles on the site, so check them out. And Dave Saunders will be featured as our Branding expert on upcoming shows. Both of them have some great products and eBooks, so you need to check out their website and what they have to offer. Both also are wells of information that are barely being tapped right now.
Many of you are missing out by not engaging them. I hope my viewers take advantage of the resources these folks have to offer. They also both genuinely want to help my viewers. They know how to make money, however, they do care about people, like I care about people and that says a lot!
So check them out on the site and take advantage of what?s coming up!
PS, yes that is a sword in Dave’s hand , its a long story but he’s safe!
http://www.kimberlykelly.net and http://www.startupbusinesssurvivalguide.com
