By Lauren | Brain food , Branding , Insight , Marketing
On Valentine's Day we declare our love for the special people in our life, even though we spend most of our time apart from them, working.
Author Annie Dillard once said, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
The average person will spend 90,000 hours at work in their lifetime.
So do you love what you do?
By Lauren | Brain food , Branding , Insight , Marketing
If you’ve been living under a rock (and have the beard to prove it) you may not have noticed that yet another brand advocating social change has many foaming at the mouth.
Gillette just launched a ’straight to YouTube’ campaign which plays on it’s 30 year old tagline “The Best A Man Can Get”.
It's not exactly cutting edge, but it certainly has people foaming at the mouth!
By Lauren | Brain food , Insight
A man walks over to the piano player in a bar and says “do you know your monkey stole my beer?” The pianist replies “No, but if you hum it, I’ll play it” (boom, tish).
This line was once used in a famous PG Tips advert, with monkeys as removalists, and it got me thinking about one of our most vital senses that can enhance personal branding…
The sound of your brand.
By Lauren | Brain food , Personal Branding
The loveable children's book character can teach you a valuable lesson in personal branding...
By Lauren | Brain food , Personal Branding
Most years I set goals, usually in the first week of January.
But in 2017 we didn't...
..and this is what happened...
By Lauren | Brain food
I recently crewed on a yacht called Cyclone for the final races of the Winter Series 2017. I was given the position of trimming the headsail.
A place I really love to be, as the headsail gives the boat lift and can be the main power driver for the boat at critical times.
It's also a high action, adrenalin position because you are most active during tacking (changing direction), and if you stuff it up, you can stop the boat and be dead in the water.
If you know me, you know why I love this place of pressure!
But something happened that day that taught me a BIG lesson about my personal brand...
By Lauren | Brain food , Insight , Marketing
It's easy to put a green tinge or add a leaf to your logo and think that's enough but it really is just "greenwashing" your brand.
So you take it a step further and change the paper in your printer to a more sustainable option, pop a few recycling bins round the office, change the lights to LEDs and put some dolphin friendly tuna on the menu to make your brand more environmental.
It's a good start, but did you know your approach to sustainability can include social and environmental factors that add massive brand value?
Triple bottom line reporting is more than accounting for your brand asset on financial terms, it adds sustainably responsible actions of your brand to help evaluate your performance and worth.
And it makes sense for your brands sustainable direction so that you, your staff, partners, suppliers and customers can understand it as well.
Read MoreBy Lauren | Brain food , Marketing , Personal Branding
Most professional services providers like to choose a brand name that explains what they do.
But it really isn't necessary, or even a good idea to be so self explanatory.
Much as you might think it's necessary to describe what you do, you can choose a brand using a powerful science that engages more emotionally with your prospect's brain.
It's called Neurobranding, and is the understanding of how the brain 'sees' brands.
Using Neurobranding to create your brand name gives you a totally unique brand that actually means something.
By Lauren | Brain food , Insight , Personal Branding
It has long been suggested that men and women have different brains, but a recent study of over 1,400 brain scans reveals there really isn't such a thing as a distinctly male or female brain.
In fact, brains are visually the same and it’s impossible to tell the difference between a male and female brain from an MRI scan. But we do know that men and women use their cerebrum differently, especially when it comes to communication.
If you are a business, life or sports coach or mentor here is my latest article in Coaching Life Magazine, with some interesting insight from elite athletes and coaches along with tips on how to best coach the female and male brain.
Click on the image below to read more:
By Lauren | Brain food , Insight , Personal Branding
One of the special treats we experienced while in Chiang Mai was afternoon tea at Dhara Dhevi, a luxury resort set in 60 acres with architecture based on the historic Lanna Kingdom and some of the world's most beautiful accommodation.
For all appearances it looks authentically Thai with peaked roofs, teak panels and a traditional Wat and gardens We felt like we were stepping back in time, exploring a beautifully restored ancient venue with an historic past. It was actually built in 2009, highlighting the fact that appearances can be deceiving and when it comes to branding it’s all about how you make people feel.
The Dhara Dhevi Macaroons are famous in Chiang Mai and you can buy them in a number of shops around the city, but to really experience this brand you need to go there and immerse yourself in the experience of a high tea.
Of course there were personal branding lessons aplenty at Dhara Dhevi
Here are some delectable Personal Branding treats to help you sweeten up your brand and become irresistible to your ideal prospects:
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