the stormhoek branding exercise

This isn't the sort of thing that's likely to show up in an ad or on a bottle, but it doesn't hurt to have it show up in one way or another on a website, blog, brochure or just on the wall by your desk if you work at Stormhoek. Here it is:

1. We're a small South African vineyard. We make the best South African wine for the money, end of story. 2. We believe in punching above our weight. In this regard, we've been pretty fortunate. We're known for trying out relatively "out there" marketing ideas. We do that for a reason. When you are a small company in a relatively isolated part of the word, thousands of miles away from your main customer base, you frankly have no other choice.

3. We believe that even a small company like ours can change the world, even in a small way. Why shouldn't a small wine company in South Africa see large international companies like Google and Microsoft as their competition? Why should the battle only be confined to other small South African vineyards? It makes no sense. 4. "It's not what you do, it's the way that you do it." There's more to life than wine. Sure, we love wine, we love making it, but it's a big world out there. We try to make allies not just with other wine geeks, but with other interesting people trying to do amazing things. This is why we're so drawn to the internet. That's where passionate people invariably head for. 5. On one level, we take ourselves very seriously. On another level, we try to keep a sense of humor about it all. We try to "keep it real", which is another way of saying, we try to keep it interesting, as much for ourselves as anyone else. 6. We believe the wine business can use a good kick in the pants. We certainly try to do our part. Burying oneself in the usual blanket of wine clichs to us is not a viable marketing strategy. With hundreds of thousands of vineyards out there, and only so many distribution channels available, you face two stark choices: Either rise above the clutter, or face a lifetime of misery and woe. 7. We live in extremely interesting times. The internet has changed everything. Our story is proof of that. Get with the program or reconcile yourself to entrepreneurial oblivion. 8. It's just wine, People. Sure, we make excellent product. But let's not get too carried away. At the end of the day, even the best Bordeaux is just fermented grape juice. What's more interesting to us is the conversations people have over a bottle of wine. There's a human element to all this we find utterly mysterious and fascinating. 9. You only live once, and not for very long. Try to make a difference while you're here. It isn't just about the money, and it sure as heck isn't about making "a good product at a good price". It's about doing something that matters. It's about doing something that resonates with both yourself and the people you care about.

10. We humans are incredible beings. Doing something that continually reminds us of this simple, basic truth is where the real fun is.

Here's the Do Your Brand Exercise to help you develop your Personal Brand. Write your name at the top of a piece of paper. Draw a line underneath your name. Under that line, write down every word that comes to your mind when you look at your name. After you complete your list, it's time for honesty. Do the words you've written capture a unique, valuable and authentic Personal Brand? If not, you need to sell yourself on yourself and uncover and examine the unique strengths, skills and capacities that you were put here to share. If your list isn't full of empowering words and images, you have got work to do. Your Personal Brand is in serious disrepair. I can assure you that your co-workers, customers, clients, bosses and your significant other have feelings for you that reflect what you are projecting. Do Your Brand question: What's are your core strengths? Do Your Brand question: What are your short-and long-term goals? Do Your Brand question: What is your Unique Personal Proposition? Do Your Brand action: What is your Unique Personal Proposition? Do Your Brand action: Review Your Personal Mission Statement Do Your Brand action: Take Action On Your Personal Brand Building Plan

"Sunt pline puscariile de oameni cu bune intentii!" Asa isi "condimenta" cursul unul dintre profesorii mei din facultate, tragand un semnal de alarma pentru cei care aveau impresia ca este suficient sa "iti vezi de treaba" ca sa reusesti in viata. De atunci au trecut cativa ani buni si lucrurile s-au schimbat. In bine!

Astazi, tot mai multi oameni sunt interesati sa isi construiasca o imagine cat mai buna. Pasul urmator, probabil, va fi sa isi construiasca o imagine cat mai realista, bazata pe atuurile personale. E-cursul de fata se refera la acest "pas urmator". Asadar... ce este brandingul personal si la ce-i bun el? Mai intai, ce este un brand? "Brand-ul reprezinta partea intangibila a afacerii tale. Produsele sunt tangibile. Acestea sunt facute in fabrici si stocate in depozite; sunt lucruri pe care le poti tine in mana. Prin contrast, un brand este o colectie de elemente intangibile idei, sentimente, asocieri de cuvinte. Aceste elemente intangbile sunt stocate in depozitul mintii noastre." (Dr. Eric E. Schmidt, CEO la Google) Si apoi, despre brandul personal, in mod practic: Simplu spus, un brand personal este o suma de elemente intangibile care iti cresc valoarea perceputa in mintea celor care intra in contact cu tine. In acest curs electronic primesti tehnici si tactici prin care sa iti construiesti o imagine realista si benefica in ochii celorlalti. Cursul este usor de citit si usor de aplicat. Dorinta mea cea mai mare este ca in fiecare "lectie" sa gasesti cate un element concret (cel putin), pe care sa il poti aplica imediat. Sunt cateva intrebari simple si importante la care vei gasi raspuns: Cum sa faci o analiza a propriei persoane din perspectiva imaginii pe care o ai. Cum sa iti creezi "echipa ta de consilieri de imagine". Cum sa faci un audit al imaginii personale actuale si viitoare. Care este rolul charismei personale (si ingredientele ei). Ce este puterea expertului. Legile persuasiunii pe care le poti folosi in promovarea imaginii tale. Resursele necesare pentru a iti construi imaginea.

Cum sa beneficiezi de un grup de experti. si multe altele... http://www.hipo.ro/locuri-demunca/vizualizareArticol/157/10+lectii+de+Personal+Branding Last night, I held a personal branding workshop at Bentley College. There were about 25 students, sitting at 5 tables. I gave a 35 minutes keynote presentation about how competitive the job market currently is, how personal branding is the future of recruitment, my success story, as well as how crucial social media and networking is in their lives. Afterward, I ran a "discover your brand" exercise, in which students had a worksheet, where they filled in their interests, skills, network, experience and goals. Each one was a theme at each table and acted as a discussion point. As students shifted from table to table, they uncovered more of their personalbrand. Finally, I told them to write down what they felt their brand was, taking into account what they listed for the five topics. Overall, I felt it was very successful and the students enjoyed listening and speaking about their professional and personal lives. The students ranged from freshman to seniors, which was great because they could help each other conduct a personal brand investigation. "If you can't be found on a Google search, then you don't exist" is the new motto for job seekers, search firms and aspiring professionals.