Case Study #2: Brand Definition and Online Image

Presenting Issue

A successful chef, restaurant owner, restaurant consultant, and educator with two published works, the client had taken a career sabbatical for several years. During this time, not only had her online professional presence become obsolete, but the technological arenas for her industry had evolved. The client needed to establish online image representation that successfully translated her personal image into a personal brand in order to pursue future growth. In addition, the client was concerned that distilling her strong personal image into a personal brand could compromise the friendly, socially responsible, family-oriented values for which she was revered. While reviving her writing career with the planned release of a third publication, the client was contacted by a major international media entity for a high profile interview. With her impending third publication, she knew that having a strong web presence to harness the momentum of the interview was imperative, but she did not know how to reestablish an online presence in an evolved, global market, while accurately representing a personal brand.

Diagnosis

The client had not translated her successful personal image into a brand image The client had an ineffective online representation The client had maintained a low professional profile for several years, which compromised her status as an industry expert While online retailers sold the client’s publications, the client did not have channels in place to directly refer online sales Due to the impending media interview, the client had an extremely short time line in which to define her personal brand and rebuild her online image

Solution

Define the client’s personal brand Because the client had a very strong personal image that identified her in her industry, it was imperative that her personal brand accurately reflect her well-established values. Over the course of several interviews, Power of Basics helped the client identify the leading personal and professional priorities that define her career. In addition, Power of Basics worked with the client to describe the client’s future career goals and the values that drove them. Using the client’s established values, priorities, and goals, Power of Basics created an image statement that defined the client’s personal brand, while leaving her ample room for professional growth toward her long term career goals. Build online representation to reinforce client’s personal brand and establish status as an industry expert Using the client’s image statement, Power of Basics built an online web presence that promotes the client’s friendly, personal brand by encouraging customer interactions and fostering online community. Also, Power of Basics created online platforms for the client to provide information, answer questions, and educate her audience, thereby reinforcing her status as an industry expert. In addition, Power of Basics included internet search optimization for the website, directly improving the client’s web presence. Harness media momentum for future growth Building a contact capture system that feeds into a trackable contact database, Power of Basics enabled the client to capture traffic generated by the media interview. The trackable nature of the database allows the client to monitor customer interest and involvement in order to judge the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. In addition, Power of Basics set up online avenues for media outlets to contact the client with inquiries and additional interview requests. Conduct client training to ensure appropriate maintenance of personal brand Over the course of several training sessions, Power of Basics educated the client on the concept of the personal brand, and on confident and accurate brand maintenance. In addition, Power of Basics conducted technical training, enabling the client to manage her personal brand in-house as much as possible, allowing increased marketing flexibility, while decreasing annual expenditures for online brand maintenance.

Client Return on Investment

Definition of client’s personal brand based on the client’s core values, and goals allowing long term sustainability Effective conversion of the client from a strong personal image to a more marketable personal brand, thereby opening the doors for future growth into a company-based model, rather than an individual-based model Development of marketing channels for client to drive online sales Increased number of internet channels that allow the client to provide knowledge and interact with readers to establish the client’s status as an industry expert Improved internet search optimization yielding a more dominant industry presence Decrease in annual cost for maintaining online marketing presence Increase of client control over web presence Increase of online client-capture for future marketing Implementation of trackable online community and that yields increasing numbers of online members and member interactions The entire project was accomplished within the client’s narrow time line, allowing the client to harness the momentum of her high-profile media interview for future marketing of her third publication

Case Study Review

Defining the client’s personal brand immediately opened the door for future expansion by allowing her to initiate online marketing and evolve beyond the limitations of an individualized image. In addition, building a strong online presence that includes trackable client-capture and online community allows the client to utilize the momentum of her media interview to build a contact database for future marketing. Also, the online platforms allow the client to reestablish her status as an industry expert, while providing avenues to drive retail sales through direct marketing. Plus, educating the client on long term marketing strategy allows her to stay on track and continually move forward with a clear, understanding of how to drive sales and foster her personal brand. The client now maintains a robust online presence that allows global representation of her clearly defined, value based, personal brand.