Ad Professional Explains How to Build Your Own Brand

 Advertising Professional gives students advice about Personal Brand Building

By: Courtney Lipsey

Brand You Powerpoint, Photo By: Courtney Lipsey

            SAN MARCOS, TEXAS — This week is one of the biggest and important weeks for Mass Communication majors and many interested students. Mass Communication Week is a week of many visitors of professions involved in mass communication coming to give students advice on how to get a career in their specific field.

            There are many sessions to attend for whichever topic fits a student’s major. Advertising majors attended the “Brand You! Getting Ready to Get a Job in the 21^st century.” Bruce Bendinger, the author of Brand You!, discussed the importance of creating your own personal brand and how to put together a portfolio to help get a job in the future.

            Bruce Bendinger is an advertising professional with many experience in brand building. He has worked with many firms like Proctor and Gamble, LensCrafter and Popeyes, to name a few. He also wrote books like “The Copy Workshop” to help give advice on building your personal brand and portfolio.

            Bendinger started the session with a thought of the day which said that “Media is Revolutionary.” He explains how media is always evolving. He gave students many fun facts and lessons for how to build their brand. Bendinger explains how creativity is very important especially with social media. Bendinger said, “Think about user experience and user communication…we have to be visual and quick.” He went on about brand building and stay connected to people for database. The four points he gave students on how create their brand is creating through the 3-up method, start and grow your database, understand your brand story, and start your portfolio and improve it. Bendinger said, “In terms of social media/culture, you are what they want” as he explained how the industry today is taking on digital and need people who are experienced.

Bendinger explains to students about the 3 up method. Photo by: Courtney Lipsey

            The advice Bendinger gave at the end helped students be more knowledgeable on how to create their brands. Marketing major, Hannah Burmeister said, “I learned that it’s a good thing to start small and having your brand story helps you later on.” There will be many other informative sessions for the rest of Mass Communication Week for students to take part in.

            Courtney Lipsey is an advertising major at Texas State University.