We know that it is sometimes difficult to explain what we are dealing with to those outside our job environment. How would you explain to your mother what you are doing, in just a few words?
I would probably explain that I help brands (my mom is familiar with the terminology 🙂) tell those they want to win on their side why they deserve to be chosen.
What would a successful branding project look like for you?
From my point of view, the success of a branding project is measured by the business results and the positive social impact it produces. Rather, a successful branding project is one that results in smiling faces, both of the people behind the brand - entrepreneurs, management, team, etc. - and of those to whom it is addressed - consumers, customers or beneficiaries. The more, the better.
We are curious to know how you got to do this job. Was it coincidence or calling? What was the triggering factor?
If we are to start at the beginning, I graduated from the Faculty of Marketing and a master's degree in International Marketing, and then I did my best to work in the field. Years of brand management in multinational companies followed, during which I came to wish very much that I could do more than coordinate brands that others thought and created. I wanted to be the one who puts the first bricks in the construction of a brand. With that in mind I came to Brandfusion, and what I do here as a brand strategist I can say has exceeded all my expectations and makes me feel fully rewarded for my perseverance and for having the courage to change direction. So it can be said that it was the calling in the end.
As a brand consultant, how does your job influence you in other aspects of life? Has it changed your perspective in any way?
I think it has taught me to be more attentive to everything around me, to notice things that before I would not have noticed, to be more curious, to want to understand what is hidden behind a message, an action, a man. And this is mostly due to the design thinking that I discovered with this job and to which I often turn. I don't think I was ever a shallow person, but now I feel that my thirst for “meaning” has intensified.
Tell us how a day goes on at work.
I usually start my day with checking and updating the planning of the projects that are assigned to me, then the daily meeting at 10 am with the team, after which I start working on the projects themselves. What does that mean? On some days it can mean facilitating or participating in workshops or discussions with clients to substantiate the brand strategy, on other days it can mean project documentation, internal brainstorming or analysis of information obtained from workshops/discussions with clients and drawing insights based on which we subsequently make recommendations on strategy, architecture, positioning, brand identity, etc. It can also mean creating brand names, the strategic story or narrative of the brand, the slogan and communication messages. Then there is the part of project management, presentations and meetings with clients, and when I am not working on external projects, I still write a case study or content for our communication actions, I look at what others are doing in the field of branding, I also read various articles, I learn something new.
That's kind of like a day's work for me, and none look like another, which can only make me happy!
Do you dream of working on an ideal project?
An ideal project can be any project in which I have the chance to work with people, companies, organizations who understand what we do and what the value of our work is, that challenges us to get out of our comfort zone and discover something new, that is implemented as thought, from which we all come out really earned and grateful that it happened. That would be the philosophical version of the answer.
A less idealistic variant (I hope!) would be to have the chance to be involved in a destination branding project - country, city, etc. I haven't decided on my favorite destination yet, but why limit ourselves to one? 🙂
How do you imagine branding in 10 years?
When it comes to the visible side of branding, it is already obvious that the industry is increasingly influenced and encouraged by trends in the digital environment, but also by the emergence of new technologies or tools that make it possible to make everything more dynamic, in-motion, from logo to communication. Additionally the metaverse is here to stay, it seems, and not a few are the brands that have understood this and are trying to find ways to be relevant in this “world” as well.
On the less visible side, I think there will be more and more differentiation between real brands, and here I mean those that have something really important to say, that are loyal to a cause, a purpose relevant to the times we live in, and the rest that will become more “disposable”.
We understand that you like sports a lot. Do you have a favorite one?
I like a lot of sports, but most of all the one I'm good at: table tennis. I am the champion en titre Brandfusion and I set out to stay that way! 😀
We are curious how you would organize your life on a desert island. What would be the 5 items you would take with you there?
I don't know what this “desert island” thing sounds like to others, but for me it would be like a holiday on my own, which I have been dreaming of for some time (10 years, since I became a mother, to be exact! 😀). So I would treat this experience as such and, being equipped with an isothermic diving suit (to protect me from the sun, cold, mosquitoes, etc.), I don't think I would need more than that: a book, I know which (Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari), for which I have not found time so far and for which I think would be the place and the right time, a snorkeling mask, a camera with a solar panel and memory as much as it encompasses, a solar torch so I can also read in the dark, and a knife or a machete, that I must survive to enjoy vacation. 🙂
We spent a lot of great moments on our team. Do you remember one in particular?
The coolest thing in my memory was the first Seven Generations reunion I attended, after only a month of joining Brandfusion, because I got to know people better and a little more of the spirit of the “bf” as he is - family, friendly, reliable, optimistic, playful and lively.
Is there anything you would like to know about yourself that you haven't had the opportunity to tell us?
If there's something I didn't say, it wasn't important. For the rest, it is somewhat known, that we shared over a glass of wine, or in our discussions every day.
Remote work, especially in your job, is no longer a utopia. Do you have a favorite place where you would like to work remotely?
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy working with physical presence at all, as pademia began shortly after Brandfusion “adopted” me. And now that I'm even more remote than I would like many times, I dream of working from the office! Another option would be that deserted island that we talked about above. 🙂
What is the thing you are most proud of?
I am proud that I have been able to reach a point where I am doing what I dreamed of doing and in a place where I feel “at home”.