Future of Advertising, Creative Studio Course | Minneapolis College of Art & Design http://foa2012.posterous.com/

1. FUTURE OF ADVERTISING
Fall 20 Thursdays, 1-6 PM
Instructors: Zach Pentel & Boriana Strzok
Class 4: Personal Branding

2. TODAY WE’LL FOCUS ON:
REVIEW LAST WEEK’S ASSIGNMENT
Go over your blog posts. Discussion. Questions?
QUIZ
SHAPING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
Building your portfolio for the future.
• How to build your personal brand
• Essential parts of a portfolio
• Beyond the typical “About Me” page
• Strong Work + Unique Personal Brand = Opportunities
HOW TO GET HIRED
What’s expected of you?
How are people leveraging digital tools to promote themselves?
What does it take to get hired?

3. LET’S REVIEW YOUR POSTS

4. “Maison Orphee is a producer of fine oils,
mustards, and vinegars. [...] Their brand rests on
the juxtaposition of traditional European oilers
and the modern approach of the company’s
leader. There is a great sense of sophistication
and naturalness that is apparent both in their
packaging design and through the production of
their products.
- Andi

5. “My only disagreement with Ms. Lang is her
underestimation of the consumer. [...] Old Spice
has created a brand that relies almost completely
on non sequitur. There’s nothing about Terry
Crews’ Muscle Music that makes me want to wear
Old Spice, but the humor is enough to connect
me to the brand in a meaningful way.”
- Kyle

6. “Toyota matches my personality.”
(no)

7. “Toyota satisfies my need.”
(yes)

8. “Old Spice matches my personality.”
(yes)

9. “Old Spice satisfies my need.”
(?)

10. ““At Chipotle, we aim to do a few things but do them
exceptionally well. When Chipotle first opened its
doors in 1993, the goal was simple: to serve high
quality, delicious food quickly with an experience
that not only exceeded, but redefined the fast food
experience…Good food IS good business.”
- Molly

11. We treat our animals ethically
Ethical treatment makes cows healthy
Healthy cows taste better
Good taste = good food
Good food IS good business

12. “[...] this past year, JC Penney has been
recreating their image and the process of buying
items in a department store. First off they started
their “Fare and Square” slogan in conjunction
with the removal of coupons and discounts; in
hopes that their promise of always lower prices
and no more taking time to cut coupons would
increase their sales. [...] This was not the case.
- Miah

15. JCPenny simplifies shopping by guaranteeing great,
hassle-free deals.

16. JCPenny simplifies shopping by guaranteeing great,
hassle-free deals on the products you want and love.

17. “Consumers can relate to [POM] because they
want to be healthier, more natural and organic.
The brand makes people feel like they are doing
something to better themselves, their health
specifically and they believe in the power of
pomegranate.”
- Magdalena

19. “Brands like Apple and H&M strive in their markets because of their
simple, straightforward messages that resonate with people all around
the world. Their credibility grows more and more because of their
actions that correlate with their core purposes.”
- Bri
“It's important to remember that when it comes to advertising, the
most important thing for a company to do is to make sure the
experiences their audience gains from its branding is the same
experience they gain from buying the product.”
- Heather

20. Talk the talk, walk the walk.

21. “Bonobos; a men’s clothing company that
specializes in making men look good from the
waste down. Pants, what this company was
founded on. Bonobos is known for two things:
1. Well-fitting men’s pant’s
2. Customer service”
-David

26. Differentiate on style, and you’ll last as long as skinny,
rolled-up khakis are popular.
Differentiate on brand promise, and it doesn’t matter
what you sell.

28. TODAY’S TOPIC:
PERSONAL BRANDING

29. KNOW YOURSELF: PERSONAL CONTEXT
What makes you unique?

30. What’s your personal narrative?
Talent and creativity is simply not enough.
What’s the bigger picture?
Who are you as a social being?
What are your interests, experiences, background, cultural and personality traits, etc.
What’s your passion?
What makes you creative?

31. SHAPING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
The key to success is to be compensated based on your passion.”
creative
Have you ever been called intelligent or humorous by your peers or
coworkers? That description is part of your brand, especially if you
feel those attributed pertain to you. To know if you’ve discovered
your brand, you need to make this equation equal:
Your self-impression = How people perceive you
–Dan Schawbel

32. “It’s really important that you take as much control of your personal brand
as possible, and that really starts with owning your own name…
...Most importantly, students should be using their social media accounts to
display thought leadership…”
–Heather Huhman, Mashable
Via Mashable

33. GET TO KNOW THE INDUSTRY
Why do you want to work in the ad industry?
What’s your personal motivation?
Learn about the industry.
Be curious.
Network.
Explore.
Acquire skills.
Internships.
Ask for feedback.
Reflect.
Do all of the above before graduation.

34. Advertising is like learning – a little is a dangerous thing.
–P. T. Barnum

35. BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

36. PORTFOLIO SITES
Behance.com
Coroflot.com
Cargocollective.com
Carbonmade.com
Tumblr.com
Flavors.me

37. STEP 1
Take a step back, and curate your best work.
Select the pieces that you’re most proud of.
It’s not about volume, it’s about good ideas.

39. Always showcase the type of work you want to
be doing in the future.
–Matias Corea, Co-founder and Chief Designer of Behance

40. Your portfolio is only as good as your weakest project.

41. STEP 2
Design every project so it’s memorable:
• Show an overview of the project first and then share the thinking behind it.
• Pick an appropriate title that describes the project.
• Give the project a context with a quick description.
• Include key images

43. “The title, a short paragraph,
and first image should be
engaging enough to make
people want to look at the
entire project."
–Matias Corea

44. STEP 3
Keep it simple.
• The work should be the most important aspect of your site
• Don’t use complex backgrounds and variety of fonts
• Less sections. Focus on content.
• About Page + Projects Page + (SM links) = Perfect Start

45. Simplicity in the interface and visual design of
your website will push your work to the surface,
where it should be.
–Matias Corea, Co-founder and Chief Designer of Behance

46. STEP 4
Brand your site
Your site should reflect who you are.
• Design your personal brand.
• Tell your story.
• Have a voice & share your point of view.
• Connect your process to your work.
• Be authentic.

47. Personalize your "about" page.
Tell a story. Your story!
Don’t just list past jobs, the software you know or
use overinflated words to describe your skills,
but be honest, real and authentic.

50. Excerpt from:
“6 Steps To Creating a
Knockout Online Portfolio”
by Mell Ravenel, BEHANCE
via 99u.com

51. STEP 5
Add extra details that complete the picture
Your achievements or aspirations
• Awards and accomplishments.
• Include your resume
• Add your blog and/or Twitter feed
• Be approachable and invite people to contact you:
If you're looking for work, consider using a contact form on your portfolio.
Wufoo or JotForm allow you to customize fields so you can ask for all
the information you need up front, like budget and timeline expectations.
• Promote your work via Social Media sites only if they enhance your brand

52. STEP 6
Manage your content.
Keep your portfolio fresh.
Update your profile.
Ask for feedback.
Evolve your work.
Stay current.
Make sure your SM have appropriate content.

53. ASSIGNMENT FOR NEXT WEEK:
1. Read: “The resume is dead, the bio is king” by Michael Margolis
• Review and update your portfolio site.
• Design your personal brand.
• Write your own story and update your “About” page.
• Design your resume to match your personal branding and post on your site.
2. Review Edward Boche’s “A Lecture on Fundamentals of Creative Development” and
write a post about what you learned from his lecture “...why brands advertise, the role of
creativity, and the characteristics that separate great ideas from the mediocre ones.”
Extra point for posting a comment on his site.

54. INSPIRATION:
“Nothing will
stop you being
creative so
effectively as
the fear of
making a
mistake.”
— John Cleese