By Danielle Robinson
TMCF Government Relations & Marketing Intern
Personal Branding Plenary: Wendy’s: The Resilience of Your Personal Brand
On October 19, 2021, the morning plenary session was presented by Wendy’s— Leveling Up Your Brand Essence: The Resilience of Your Personal Brand.
Wendy’s representatives, Blaire Luciano and Beverly Stallings-Johnson, shared how the Wendy’s brand strategy (consistently providing quality products and services to customers) has kept Wendy’s in the know. They discussed the importance of creating your personal brand with the TMCF scholars and offered tips on how to maintain your brand.
3 Step Brand Engagement:
- Build your brand – establish your personal brand
- Build your network – make connections with other brands
- Build your portfolio – continuously work on maintaining your brand
Blaire Luciano shared a little insight from the founder of Wendy’s, Dave Thomas, with our scholars –– “Dave would say you earn you reputation by the things you do every day.”
Personal Branding Plenary: Cisco: Building Your Brand: It takes a Village
The afternoon plenary session was presented by Cisco — Building Your Brand: It takes a Village. Cisco’s representatives, Tamira Bell (Customer Program Manager) and Ebonye Smith (Incoming Hardware Engineer), discussed how creating a strong personal brand is sometimes enhanced through personal connections.
The major takeaway from the session was “Don’t be a blackberry, be an apple.”
The Village (personal branding tips for TMCF Scholars):
- Build personal relationships with your professors
- Take advantage of your college resources
- Networking, networking, networking
- Find your passion and what drives you
- Establish a good support system (career & personal)
- Be proactive in planning and strategizing
- Volunteer- give back to your community
- Social media presence is important