Personal branding is the business of marketing the brand that is you, and this module sets out to identify what is your personal brand and how branding can be effective for your career or business development. Personal branding is a way of clarifying and communicating what makes you special - and using those qualities to guide your career decisions. It's about understanding your unique attributes, your strengths, skills, values, and passions and using them to separate yourself from your competitors or peers.

Within this module you will research and evaluate your personal brand and the benefits of nurturing a positive personal brand, what is unique about you, what are your talents and what distinguishes you from the competition. What kind of success do you wish to achieve, identifying barriers to success relating to brand perception such as physical expression. Specialist workshops will be undertaken focusing on presentation skills and communication skills, self promotion and marketing (visual identity, print design, website design and social media platforms).

Attendance and participation in timetabled intensive workshop/seminar sessions
Independent practice and implementation of personal brand development, presentation and realisation.
Independent use of learning resources on Blackboard.
Independent reflection on the application of new learning to practice.
Independent individual reflection and evaluation via ongoing diary or online Blog.
Presentations appropriate for an audience.

Branson, Sir R. (2006) Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons In Life (Quick Read edition). London: Virgin Books
Davis, M (2009) Fundamentals of Branding. Worthing: AVA Publishing
Deckers, E (2010) Branding Yourself: How to use social media to invent or re-invent yourself. Indianopolis: QUE Publishing
Gobe, M (2010) Emotional Branding. New York: Allworth Press
Purkiss, J. & Royston-Lee, D. (2009) Brand You: Turn Your Unique Talents into a Winning Formula. London: Artesian Publishing LLP
Ross, M (2010) Branding Basics for Small Business: How to create an irresistible brand on any budget. Nashville: NorLightsPress.com
Spillane, M. (2000) Branding Yourself: How to look, sound and behave your way to success. London: Sidgwick & Jackson
Wheeler, A (2012) Designing Brand Identity: A guide for the whole branding team 4th Ed. Bognor Regis: Wiley and Sons
Wolff, J. (2005) Do Something Different: Proven Marketing Techniques to Transform Your Business. London: Virgin Books

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/business_solutions/careers_centre/career_planning/
http://www.windmillsonline.co.uk/interactive/index.html

Other texts/internet resources to be advised on an individual basis according to student interest and placement.

Blackboard
Library
Internet access
Arts Media and Design workshops (access only on completion of Health and Safety training)

Reflective Report on Personal Branding - weighted at 50%
This reflective account should draw on an understanding of your own brand values and an empathy with your target audience. The study should not only show evidence of an understanding of branding by evaluating both theory and practice but also a willingness to learn from experience and improve own practice. Wherever possible, you should integrate theory and practice (for example relating to topics and issues explored within the module) with discipline specific aspects as a part of this work. (3500 words)
(LO 1, 2, 3)

Portfolio - weighted at 50%
The portfolio will typically include:
A Personal Branding manifesto.
Reflective observation case study relating to Branding within your career or industry.
Examples of own Brand communications methods (website, blog, twitter, social media, etc).
A Presentation (20minutes).
Self-assessment of own development needs in relation to Personal Branding and a detailed plan of Branding communication activities over the 3 years.
(LO 3, 4)