Bad product placement

It speaks for itself!

Female Self-Branding Gurus and What You Can Learn From Them

Female Self-Branding Gurus and What You Can Learn From Them

When you think of a branding guru, you probably picture a man in his forties, a little salt and peppered at the temples, but still fit and active, wearing a finely tailored power-suit and smiling confidently from behind his mahogany desk in his corner office.  But not all geniuses of branding have to work for a high-powered corporation or don menswear.  Believe it or not, you are bombarded on a daily basis by women who have enjoyed great success in branding themselves, and here are a few standouts that should ring a bell.

1. Madonna.  This material girl has made a fortune from her brand, which is literally herself.  With album after album, she is like a chameleon who changes color to fit into a new environment, which is why she has been a household name since the ‘80s.  But reinvention is not the only trick up her sleeve.  She also knows how to work a crowd, grab a headline, and use her celebrity status to promote a good cause (not only is she working to end poverty in Malawi, she put her money where her mouth is by adopting a child there).
2. Suze Orman.  She proves that women have enough brains to manage their own money and invest it wisely (and not just at the grocery store).  With several financial planning books under her belt and a successful show on CNBC (not to mention a flare for jackets unmatched in the continental United States) she shows average women everywhere that they don’t need a man to handle their money matters for them.
3. Michelle Obama.  The first lady has re-imagined her role by blending the demure femininity of traditional presidential wives with the more recent trend of strength and sophistication embodied by women in the White House.  And she has succeeded fairly admirably in her efforts to look feminine yet powerful while embracing family matters that speak to every mother with her Let’s Move campaign, a crusade to get America’s kids out of obesity and into shape.
4. Meryl Streep.  As an actress and a person, she embodies class and sophistication, mixed with a just a bit of self-deprecating fun.  She is serious, but she doesn’t take herself too seriously.  Not only that, but she has certainly aged gracefully.  She looks good for her age, but not so good that you’d suspect loads of plastic surgery.  And she doesn’t buy her clothes in the junior’s department like a lot of aging actresses.  In short, she is who she is.  We should all strive to follow her example.
5. Mary Kay Ash.  Hard to believe she started out selling her own cosmetics, but her desire to help other women own their own businesses probably succeeded beyond her wildest dreams.  A true American success story if there ever was one, she was named Most Outstanding Woman in Business in the 20^th Century by Lifetime Television.  After founding her empire, she also went on to become a best-selling author and sought-after motivational speaker, proving that women can have both beauty and brains.

Breana Orland writes for a discount vouchers website where you can find Argos discount vouchers and Dell.co.uk discount codes.

Bad Pitches

When you are pitching ( talking to media about having you IN their outlet) you need to make sure it matches what they do. Match the outlet!

Here is an actual pitch sent to me via email this morning:

Hi Dr. Wright,

Hope all is well. I wanted to give you some information that I think your readers will find useful.
School’s out for summer! And while parents of young children are busy coordinating family vacations, summer camp and play dates at the pool, an unexpected summer cold can put the brakes on all those activities.
Pre-school and elementary school children can get up to 12 colds per year, and while colds are more common in the fall and winter, summer colds occur more frequently than you might think because of exposure to air conditioning…

It goes on from there talking about how somones DAD and a nurse can talk about how to recognize summer colds and how a brand name over the counter medicine ( who competes with ANOTHER over the counter medicine that had to be taken off the shelf) is a good choice.

This does not fit Wright Place TV on any level, so of course the answer is no.

This person has not even bothered to read the blog or even look at it to know it’s a bad mix. Normally, I just delete bad pitches but this time I wrote back what she wrote and told her, its not a good match on ANY level.

Can you spot the mistakes?

1. We do not do anything on kids unless they are running a business

2. You said you think my readers would like it letting me know you have no idea what the blog is about.

3. Your expert to interview is someone’s DAD who is an expert in summer colds- sorry, that is lame, especially because I am a doctor.

4. Clearly this is an ad for the over the counter medicine, you would do better just getting ad space.

4. This is not a Mommy-prenuer blog

I understand what they are doing and there are some places that they are a good fit, this PR person was lazy and just sent out a blast. I am not likely to consider ANYTHING she sends because I know she is not specific and it’s a waste of my time. Which means one of her clients could miss out on a good opportunity.

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