The Cardinal(e) Rules of discovering the DNA of brand 'You'

By Lindsay Cardinale

As marketers, we spend hours thinking about what brands mean in consumers’ lives, what impact they have on society, what their equities are, and what their next innovative differentiators will be. We scour content online and offline, reading case study after case study, brainstorming and scribbling ideas until our cocktail napkins are full.

For this, give your marketing professional self a pat on the back, and your personal self a bucket of cold water to the face, because most of us are forgetting about the most important brand of all: ourselves.

I’m not referring to perceptions and personal branding. The last thing I’d like to be responsible for reminding you to do is: “Wear your Chanel sunglasses, your True Religion jeans, sip from a Starbucks cup as you hop into your BMW and hit the Nike store to buy a new golf outfit.” Rather, it’s realizing your brand is about the true authenticity in the human being that you are. What is in your brand (and literal) DNA?

Right now, at Medill, 85+ IMC’ers can be found running around handing out resumes like free samples, Linking-In ourselves with every business professional we can think of. We hope to create an image of the perfect of employee and bolster our chances of landing that epic dream job. But, today I’m asking my classmates to humor me for a second and attempt an out-of-body experience. Take a step outside the mayhem that is “the job hunt” and think about what it means to be you.

One of the first people to emphasize the importance of understanding our own brand DNA was Tom Peters. His 1997 Fast Company article entitled, “The Brand Called You” really drove this concept home. Over a decade later, the article is more true than ever; and Tom is still delivering on his best thoughts with his recent book, “The Little BIG Things: 163 ways to pursue excellence.”

What really matters is that knowing your own ‘brand DNA’ is a big part of success (both professionally and personally). Beyond landing that dream job; it allows us to be transparent, intuitive, insightful, creative, open to change, prone to great ideas and right-brained thinking, connected and understanding.

To those ends, here are the Cardinal(e) rules of understanding and growing the brand that is, YOU.

1. Never. stop. learning – after all, who says, “I’m done learning, I’m smart enough, I know it all?”

2. Think – all the time; about what’s going on with you; about everything.

3. Stay emotional – emotion makes for much better storytelling.

4. Listen, ACTIVELY. Then think about what’s said and how it relates to who you are.

5. Use your similarities with people to understand your differences.

6. Please, please, do not become a faux intellectual.

7. Find out how you relax, and do it – all the time.

8. If you have to say it, then it’s not true. Don’t run around saying you’re great. Just be great.

Some of the most inspiring, creative and original ideas, come at times when we are being the most true to ourselves. In the world of marketing, we can’t expect to understand how consumers relate to products and services, if we do not first understand how we personally relate to the world.

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Lindsay Cardinale is a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University’s Medill School and can be reached at lindsaycardinale2010@u.northwestern.edu.

The Pepsi Refresh Project: Inside the Secret Formula

A Conversation with David Dreyer of TBWA\CHIAT\DAY

In January, Vitamin IMC ran a post about Pepsi’s decision to spend millions on a program called the Pepsi Refresh Project instead of investing in its traditional Super Bowl advertising spots. Little did we know that the concept was developed by a team from TBWA\CHIAT\DAY Los Angeles that included Medill IMC alum David Dreyer. Vitamin IMC Social Media Director Anne Mahoney was fortunate enough to have a conversation with David on the strategy and IMC elements behind the successful project.

On Strategy

“Pepsi wasn’t going to be the first to do philanthropic work or social media, and didn’t want to be a ‘me too’,” said Dreyer.

So how did TBWA\CHIAT\DAY propose capturing the essence of the Pepsi brand in an authentic way that resonated with consumers?

“Pepsi has always been at its best as a catalyst for change. In the Great Depression, it doubled the amount of ounces for the same cost. During World War II, it adopted its patriotic red, white and blue colors. It was always leading culture.”

The Pepsi Refresh Project was an idea formed from consumer insights. The Pepsi Refresh Project gives financial grants to anyone’s causes or ideas that gain the highest number of votes. With enthusiastic support from Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi and company bottlers, the TBWA\CHIAT\DAY developed its rollout plan to the public.

“It was very deliberate – a marathon and not a sprint,” said Dreyer. “Refresh was launched in 2009 when we talked about it [to the public], and in 2010 we acted on it.”

Grant submissions began online in January 2010, with a cap of 1,000 on a first-come, first-serve basis each month. To give an idea of how popular the Pepsi Refresh Project has become, that 1,000-submission quota was reached in 30 minutes when opened for April.

On Engagement

The Refresh Project gives Pepsi the extra marketing power Super Bowl commercials fall short on – customer engagement. Where companies pay millions for celebrities to endorse their brands, Pepsi now has celebrities coming to them wishing to participate. Rihanna, Jenny McCarthy, Eva Longoria and Mariska Hargitay are just a few who have submitted grant ideas.

A great example of how the Refresh Project has helped its consumers is the case of Johnny Greenshield, a 14-year-old who won $25,000 with his homemade video of a new aerodynamic hood invention for buses.

On Demographics

When I think Pepsi marketing, I think of Gen Y as the ideal target audience. David had an intriguing response to that assumption.

“Pepsi symbolized youth, but some of its most loyal consumers are boomers. It needed an idea that bridged gap between millennials and boomers. Both groups are powerful agents of change, but because of psychographics rather than demographics.”

Do you think that boomers are too far outside of the internet age to participate?

“The majority of ideas are submitted by boomers, and they are the fastest growing demographic on Facebook,” Dreyer continued. “They have time, are computer-savvy, and it’s a way for them to keep in contact with friends and family.”

The Pepsi Refresh Project is an integrated marketing campaign that we’re continuing to keep an eye on. I’d like to give my personal thanks to David Dreyer for sharing his insights with Vitamin IMC.

--Anne Mahoney

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Anne Mahoney is the Social Media Director of Vitamin IMC and a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University’s Medill School. In the 90s she tried to win Deion Sanders gear through the Pepsi Stuff promotion. She can be reached at AnneMahoney2010@u.northwestern.edu.