Today, I spoke with Federico Lazzerini, an internationally renowned Marketing & Branding expert. Lazzerini was featured on the notorious Forbes ranking, among the 30 under 30 of the future, in the European market. His first book will be released in the spring, in the same series where Marco Montemagno and Salvatore Aranzulla, two of the biggest players in Italy, wrote.
An important premise: Federico is young, successful and also good looking. If you are therefore predisposed to envy, it is better that you do not read this article, because you would spend your time looking for the hidden catch without succeeding. If, on the other hand, you are among those people who know how to value the achievements of others, and maybe take a cue to learn something and improve, here is just what is right for you.
Among the companies and brands with which Federico collaborated as a consultant or influencer there are big names such as Intimissimi, Tezenis, Calzedonia, Insparya (the clinic of Cristiano Ronaldo in Madrid) but there are also many less known Startups or Personal Brands that, thanks to his help, have entered the market. Well, at this point none of you will be surprised if we decided to ask him for some advice on how to be successful in 2021 in the world of digital entrepreneurship.
In fact, as Federico Lazzerini explains to us, beyond the different strategies that must be calibrated to individual objectives, there are some golden rules to follow when it comes to business in the virtual world. One of the fundamental concepts to know and respect is the positioning. Which is: what is our reference market and to whom we address. Many online markets such as fashion influencers are now too large to enter and stand out, but it is possible to find your space by creating an under-positioning in a specific niche. For example: among the fashion influencers I can propose myself exclusively as an expert in bikinis or sportswear.
How important is it to have a personal brand during a recession? More important than ever. During a recession, companies (or rather people) buy reliable solutions and brands that are built on trust. So the stronger your personal brand is, the more likely you are to secure a job and get noticed by the public.
Federico, what do the most powerful personal brands have in common?
There are two categories of personal brands – those that become famous for their provocative nature (think Madonna, Richard Branson or O’Riley) – They are suited for provocative personal brands. Then there’s the softer category of personal brands – the type of personalities that achieve fame thanks to their ability to mirror their audience’s problems (think Oprah, Dr Oz, or Suzy Orman) – this category is for thoughtful brands.
What are the most important first steps in building a strong personal brand?
There are three steps, each of them are essential to building a powerful brand.
The three steps are: attention, bridging and reinvention. The most obvious step is to generate attention – some people call it the “2 minutes of fame” – however this is of absolutely no value unless a rigorous plan has been put in place by linking the short fame to a permanent brand. One of the best – and most classic examples of this was when European pop group ABBA won the European music competition, the main reason they became famous. Their manager had prepared a detailed program of what to do in case of victory: one of these activities was the local language versions of the winner’s song: Waterloo. The song was sent to all the TV stations in Europe throught a courier the day after the victory. Music videos of those days didn’t exist, so ABBA’s approach to reach all TV stations without being there was first in the world. The strategy helped in elevating ABBA from mere winners of a music contest to becoming a permanent star in heaven. The last step is to reinvent the message. All successful artists have found new and innovative ways to get their message across, yet they all stay in the message. This is an evolution which explains why authors continue to publish new books and why provocative musicians continue to provoke the media. This is their way to attract and keep them in the spotlight.
What is the future of personal brands in the next 10 years?
First of all I would like to emphasize one thing: we are all brands. It may be that some people are a hidden brand, others are a weak brand or a less concise brand, but we are all brands. Over the next decade we will see an increase in personal brand awareness. Not only will people become more aware of their appearance (I think we are well on our way to this point), people will start attending voice training classes, attending breathing techniques and NLP sessions.
We appreciated this friendly talk with Federico Lazzerini, an Italian entrepreneur and marketing consultant among the most popular in Europe as notorious publications such as class cnbc, forbes, fortune, maxim are proof of. He is the strategist behind many celebrities, companies and professionals. In 2020 he was included by Forbes in the list of the 30 under 30s most influential players in Italy.
You can find him on Instagram.
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