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From Self-Branding to Merging BrandsLea Alcantara for Digital Biz Summit

AUG 20, 2014

Sounds like that Princess

• Ran my own business—Lealea Design—in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for 8 years

• Wrote the Art of Self Branding in 2005

• 3 Adjective Exercise

• Been speaking on the subject since 2007

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http://abrightumbrella.com/about/lea-alcantara

Seattle, WAabrightumbrella.com/visas

Had to Close Biz

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Spoiler Alert

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• Been working on podcast since June 2011

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History:

Long story short:

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http://abrightumbrella.com/blog/welcome-lea-alcantara

After a While…• We wanted to increase our profile

• Difficult when it was under a personal name

• We both had dated company sites—unsure whether it was smart to redesign current iteration under “Emily Lewis Design”

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Conclusion: Rebrand

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Goals of the Rebrand• To create clearer messaging

• To guide us on how we present ourselves

• To establish standards for how we conduct our business

• To establish credibility

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Consistent message= Your Brand

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How to Differentiate? Not Just Another Web Agency

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Not a unique snowflake. Hello, other agencies, designers & devs!

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Unique story arc. What can we offer?

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1 + 1 = 2 Self Branding vs Company Branding

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Branding Yourself• Little to no restrictions

• Very subjective

• Organic

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Branding a Company• Many restrictions

• Objective

• Inorganic

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Branding a Company with 2 Personal Brands in Mind• ???

• Um…

• ???

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Your Own Worst Client

• Juggling brands:

• Your coworker(s)

• Your own

• The company

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A Successful Marriage

• Two separate entities merged together with similar hopes, goals, dreams, personalities.

• Together they are stronger, but both can stand separate and can be recognized separately.

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(business)

NATE CROFT ON BRANDING

“You don’t know how to read the label because

you’re inside the bottle.”

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Discovery

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or How to Remain Objective in a Subjective Realm

GETTING TO…

“I understand.”

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Survey Says…

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Internal & External Surveys

http://abrightumbrella.com/blog/behind-the-curtain

Internal Surveys

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Removing assumptions about how we view ourselves & each other

Internal Questionnaire• Similar to what we give to clients.

• Divided into sections:

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• Business specific questions

• Site questions

• Competition

• Group perception

• Individual perception

• Sample scenarios

Stereotype Yourself• Origins: A relief printing plate cast in a mold

made from composed type or an original plate.

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External Surveys

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Removing assumptions about how others perceive us

Become an Amnesiac

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Choose 3…

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I started The Art of Self-Branding to help others with their personal brand,

and now this worksheet will help you put those ideas into practice!

A brand is a perception

of value formed in the

minds of people about a

company’s leaders, culture,

products, and services.

This perception is formed

at every point where cus-

tomers interact with the

company, from the word-

ing of advertising copy, to

the quality of services and

products offered, to the

type of people hired, right

down to what furniture is

in the waiting room.

Who am I?

What am I?

Where am I?

Who are you?

How’d I get here?

Name Relationship Time Known Adjectives

This is a companion piece to Branding from the Ground Up Workshop.

Visit http://www.artofselfbranding.com/ for more details.

; Check old/rejected concepts, fonts, drafts, experiments

; Logotypes are just as powerful as iconographic logos

; *R�WKURXJK�WKH�¿�OHV��SDSHU�RU�GLJLWDO��DQG�ORRN�IRU�FRPPRQ�WKUHDGV�LQ�the way you work, adjectives that are true and descriptive

; 2QFH�\RX¶UH�GRQH�ORRNLQJ�DW�DOO�WKRVH�¿�OHV��DQG�\RX�KDYH�D�SLOH�RI�DGMHFWLYHV�WKDW�GHVFULEH�\RXU�ZRUN��RU�KRZ�\RX�ZRUN�ZLWK�SHRSOH���WU\�rewriting it as a 500-word essay. Then a 100-word bio. Then a 50-word

blurb. Then a 10-word tagline. What you throw out will expose the core

truth of what “is.”

Recycle

Reduce

Recover

Reuse

* Courtesy of AJ Kandy

http://kingmarketing.ca/weblogs/ajkandy/

Tweaked version of my personal branding survey

http://lealea.net/selfbranding

3 Adjectives Each For:• Team perception

• Individual perception for Emily and Lea

• Asked our friends, colleagues, and clients to fill it out

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Research Gathered……what now?!

Not a Statistician, but…

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27 Total Respondents

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Who Doesn’t Know Lea? Who Doesn’t Know Emily?

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Contrast & Compare

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Internal Results vs. External Results

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Confirmations? Surprises?

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http://abrightumbrella.com/blog/behind-the-curtain

Revisiting Business Goals

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All discussions and decisions are based on how it aligns with our findings

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Goals of the Rebrand• To create clearer messaging

• To guide us on how we present ourselves

• To establish standards for how we conduct our business

• To establish credibility

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Disagreement?Return to findings!

More Parsing Tips• Honesty and open communication is important

• This means leaving ego at the door

• Understanding that branding is probably one of the most personal exercises you’ll go through in a business

• Sensitivity and open-mindedness is crucial

• Without the above, then honesty could be compromised

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Now, execute!Brand Execution Plan

• Online

• website, social media, etc to

• Offline

• proposals, answering phones, tone, style

• Bridge the gap!

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• e.g. bright = smart, happy

• so…we’ll write articles for our blog & other publications to establish authority, but the tone will be conversational and positive.

• our site will be super clean but punctuated with bright colours to draw out happy reactions

• What else?!47

An example…

• Choosing Clients

• Choosing Projects

• Choosing Partners

• Choosing Vendors

• … all connected to the findings!48

Business Decisions

• Logo

• Print collateral

• Copy

• Site Design

• … all connected to the findings!49

Identity Decisions

Questions?• @lealea • @abrightumbrella | abrightumbrella.com • @ctrlclickcast | ctrlclickcast.com • dribbble.com/lealea

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