Brand(ing):Inside & Outside

Why We Want Brandividuals on Social Media

June 11, 2009

Tweet Brandividuals are an important tactic for representing an organization online. Yes, I know, the term “Brandividual” is kind of funky, and maybe even has an annoying buzz, but as a concept it’s here to stay. Why? Because brandividuals are the most transparent, authentic and ultimately effective way of representing an organization in an online […]

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Don’t Let Personal Branding Stifle your Authentic Voice

June 9, 2009

Tweet There is a battle brewing between the concepts of Personal Brand and Authentic Voice. If you’ve been paying attention at all (and I’m sure you have) you’ve seen the articles and the individuals touting personal branding. Everyone from Tom Peters to Seth Godin to Dan Scwabel is online telling you how to create your […]

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When Employee Branding Hurts

June 8, 2009

Tweet Employee Branding, done well, can be a great tool for the organization. The organization gets employees to behave in ways that are aligned with the organization’s desired brand message, and employees get a sense of connection to the brand and what it stands for, as well as a little bit of empowerment for making […]

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What’s your *personal* ROI as a Brandividual?

June 3, 2009

Tweet I’m not a wholehearted fan of personal branding. Some elements of applying a construct designed to sell products to the activity of selling oneself are a little questionable (as I argue in my Employee Branding research),  because personal branding can lead to an overly commercial understanding of the self. Quite simply, personal branding can […]

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Brandividual In Action: Follow @cbarger to watch General Motors transform

June 2, 2009

Tweet Here’s your chance to see someone in the brandividual role taking action, over time, in the face of a big challenge. When I gave my talk about The Rise of Brandividuals at last week’s Corporate Reputation Conference, I used the example (well-known in social media circles) of @scottmonty of Ford Motor Company to illustrate […]

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What’s a Brandividual?

May 20, 2009

Tweet When I read that David Armano had “invented” the term “Brandividual” a few months ago, I muttered choice words from an array of Continental languages and berated myself for not having TM’d the word myself. Back when I started researching the practices of employee branding and ‘wearing the brand’, I’d toyed with the idea […]

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AuthenticOrganizations.com: Now a “Top 50 HR Blog in 2009”

May 6, 2009

Tweet It’s our first authentic piece of Flair!! AuthenticOrganizations is delighted to join three other "Blogs on Organizations" on EvanCarmichal.com’s list of Top 50 HR Blogs in 2009. Why is this exciting? – At the very least, it’s fun to be listed on a site with over 385,000 visitors a month… maybe a few of […]

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7 Tips for Rendering Authenticity Through Social Media

March 12, 2009

Tweet As part of a presentation I’m giving on “Rendering Authenticity Through Social Media, ” I’ve been distilling advice for from around the online conversation on how organizations can use social media to present themselves authentically. The audience will be a group of managers (practitioners, not professors) who are not themselves directly responsible for social […]

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Wearing the Brand: Good idea, bad execution by Thai Highway Police

February 10, 2009

Tweet Employees are often asked to wear clothing and accessories that visually reflect how their organization wants others to see it. Anyone who’s seen a Southwest Airlines employee in shorts and a polo shirt, a New York Symphony Orchestra violinist in his tuxedo, or Jennifer Aniston sporting some "flair" has seen employee branding in action, […]

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Employee Branding in Reverse: Satyam Scandal turns employees into Untouchables?

January 22, 2009

Tweet (photo of Satyam colleagues by Tony George) When the organization you work for is involved in a major ethics scandal– does this mean that you and all other members are ‘marked’ too? And does this make sense? Yes. When the organization that you are part of becomes tainted by a public scandal, you and […]

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