Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Creating-a-Successful-New-Product-or-Service-Launch.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Creating-a-Successful-New-Product-or-Service-Launch.html 44% of all new products that enter the market fail. That’s a daunting number for any business to consider. Yet, you don’t have to be part of that statistic. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/The-Value-Proposition-of-Identity-and-Brand-Management.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/The-Value-Proposition-of-Identity-and-Brand-Management.html No successful business leader would take on a significant strategic endeavor without first understanding the value, the expected results, and the anticipated return on investment. Everything must have a value proposition. This is especially true for evaluating an investment into brand management and the visual identity of your business and products. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Performance-Metrics.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Performance-Metrics.html How do you know if your brand is strong? How do you know if your brand development efforts are successful? How do you know which strategies create the greatest return on investment? http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/How-different-do-you-want-to-be-Defining-your-personal-brand.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/How-different-do-you-want-to-be-Defining-your-personal-brand.html This question has been debated for years in corporate and product marketing circles. Should a product or business segment have its own unique and independent brand, or should it be a subset extension of the larger corporate or market segment brand? To veteran marketers the former is called the P&G model, referring to Proctor & Gamble’s long standing policy of uniquely individual product brands. The latter is demonstrated in many business models and often referred to as “integrated branding”. Both have their pros and cons, and for the individual developing their personal brand, both models should be considered. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Use-It-or-Lose-It-5-steps-to-choosing-your-most-powerful-and-effective-personal-brand-attributes.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Use-It-or-Lose-It-5-steps-to-choosing-your-most-powerful-and-effective-personal-brand-attributes.html When it comes to refining your personal brand, less is more. We are all complex and wonderfully multi-faceted individuals. Each of us has a multitude of adjectives that could describe us at any given time. As we craft our personal brand, however, our challenge is not to describe ourselves with the most detail, but rather to distill these descriptors down to the most memorable, relevant and unique traits. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Kindergarteners-The-Original-Brand-Gurus.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Kindergarteners-The-Original-Brand-Gurus.html Kids have it nailed. If you want a quick lesson in some key personal branding basics, spend some time with a 5 or 6 year old. Bring some paper and a crayon to take notes, and you might just learn how to succeed in business. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Put-First-things-First-Brand-Before-Role.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Put-First-things-First-Brand-Before-Role.html The intention of any efforts in Personal Branding is to set oneself apart from the crowd by creating a memorable impression of the unique characteristics you possess. This impression is perhaps the most powerful marketing tool you can create for yourself both personally and professionally. By clearly identifying and communicating what makes you different from the masses, you become memorable and attractive to those who seek what you have to offer. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Top-Ten-Benefits-of-a-Personal-Mission-Statement.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Top-Ten-Benefits-of-a-Personal-Mission-Statement.html 1. Significance in Your Life Most people like to conclude Top Ten lists with the most impacting point, but I need to start with this one because it truly is the #1 benefit that I hear from clients. We toil away at work and home every day, but what does it all add up to at the end of our lives? For those who have taken the time to seek their personal mission, their actions have meaning and significance. At the end of our lives, we all long to be able to say, "I did what I was created to do. I contributed to this world in a significant manner." http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Finding-Strengths-in-Our-Weaknesses.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Finding-Strengths-in-Our-Weaknesses.html A wise friend of mine once said, "Our best traits are right next to our worst traits." Every passing day I realize how true that is. Like the two ends of a magnet, each aspect of our personality can have either positive or negative effects on our own lives and those whose lives we touch. We will attract or repel opportunities and relationships depending upon how we apply our character traits. Understanding how to "flip the magnet" to maximize the positive aspects can make a crucial difference in the level of success we create in our personal and professional lives. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Build-Your-Brand.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Branding/59/Build-Your-Brand.html So you’ve read my points on the power of a Personal Brand (see "Live It Loud and Clear!" or "Be Your Own Adjective") and you're interested, but you don’t know where to start. That is the topic for this month’s message. To get to the heart of your own personal brand, the essential impression you make on the world, you have to strip away the details and get down to your bare-boned basics, your “constants”.