Cecilia Sarkozy

Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz, formerly Sarkozy has won provisional damages of €30,000 or £22,321 from French magazine Closer. The magazine was found guilty of violating the former wife of French president Nicholas Sarkozy's right to privacy. Closer had published pictures of Cecilia and Carla Bruni, the presidents' girlfriend, side by side, both in black bikini's, clearly comparing the two.

Ms Ciganer-Albeniz seems to be having a real battle at the moment as she attempts to protect and manage her image and personal brand. Earlier in January, three books about the former First Lady were due to be published, and in a bid to block one of them, 'Cecilia' by Anna Bitton, a French judge ruled against her.

The price to pay for being in the public eye has risen considerably over recent years. The social trend of an insatiable thirst for public humiliation, dirty laundry and general infamy is beyond reason. I can appreciate that we would like to know more about the characters behind the 'brands', however, it should stop long before the intent is purely malicious. I think that we are all fed up with this type of rubbish.

Amy Winehouse

So just what effect will Amy Winehouse being caught on camera allegedly taking crack cocaine have on her personal brand? Apart from a general consensus that her lifestyle may well be her undoing, I don't see that it will have any effect on whether we buy her music or not. Afterall, she has only confirmed and reinforced her brand or what we perceive about her... 'creative genius with self destructive lifestyle'.

And fascinating to see those in creatively led industries get away with so much infamy. We may not agree with their lifestyles, and yet social trends seem to indicate that we are happy to watch their movies, buy their music, art, and the aspirational products that they endorse as in the case of Kate Moss. We certainly wouldn't be so forgiving if we discovered that the Governor of the Bank of England had a nasty habit.

Brand 'bin Laden'

Yesterday, on a day when the FTSE had the sharpest one day fall since 9/11, the importance of perception could not have been more relevant. And believe it or not, I was sidetracked from the markets, Alistair Darling delivering the fate of Northern Rock, more MoD laptops loaded with civilian private data going missing and an Indian company securing Jaguar... by CNN's Aneesh Raman interviewing Mr bin Laden. That's Omar Osama bin Laden, Osama bin Laden's son.

He is in the process of attempting to raise funding for a horse race 'for peace' across North Africa, which from the sounds of things is proving to be difficult. And Mr Raman ended with what can only be regarded as a rhetorical question... "can a son re-brand a name his father has made synonymous with terror?" Well, we all know that the bin Laden family are involved in all sorts of legitimate businesses apart from terror. But in this case, I fear that it may take more than a race for peace to shift perceptions.

Top down...

Fabulous company that I am working with at the moment. What a great group of people, most of whom I styled over two days this week. The interesting thing about their image culture is that they have chosen very similar types when it comes to those who are dealing with clients, or the 'face' of the company.

Image culture, as a component part of corporate culture, is always top down. Very simply, if the CEO, board, directors have a sloppy image, you can read between the lines and without fail, the rest will follow. We tend to choose people who are just like us in more ways than one.

From my perspective, I only ever work with organisations where the stakeholders are part of the project. There is little point in attempting to implement lasting, positive change if leaders aren't taking the lead.

Naomi Campbell interviews....

What a furor. What a flurry. What a flap. All about Naomi Campbell interviewing Hugo Chavez in February 08's edition of GQ. Well, what did we expect... ground breaking insights? We have the unlikely combination of brand 'supermodel' interviewing brand 'dictator' resulting in, well, resulting in not much really. Except perhaps a clear reinforcement of both brands and an inspired wave of controversy for brand GQ.

This is apparently the first in a series by Campbell interviewing 'personalities' in politics, sport and entertainment. If the outraged comments by readers are anything to go by, Campbell's role as contributing editor is something to watch closely. From a personal brand perspective, it will be interesting to see what effect all of this has on how she is perceived.

Love this!

Hillary Clinton

Very interesting to see Hillary Clinton taking a huge calculated risk in New Hampshire. Politics is where we see Personal Brands working their hardest. A fine line to walk allowing emotion to rise to the surface. And it worked this time, in this market.

I am watching all of this with great interest... we have the race issue, we have the gender issue. We have 'change' vs 'experience'. And Hillary needs to juggle more than ever... too strong and she is robotic, too emotional and she is weak. Tearing up may appeal to the women's vote... but may alienate the men and give her competition plenty of ammunition.

So the risk has paid off on this occasion... and her camp will be encouraged, although aware that it can't be used in all states or environments. Fascinating.

Growing a brand...

Life seems to send us the lessons. When we need them. A case in point being a client who's previous boss is someone I like to refer to as the Terrier. You know the type, or should I say, the brand... hard, wiry, relentless - successful at all costs. Little in the way of empathy and certainly no statesman-like qualities. And it appealed to my client's background, his hard fought way to the top.

Ring in the changes and he now has a new boss... professional background, more statesman than hard nosed business-man. And my client is finding it hard to adapt. What he is beginning to realise is that the Terrier was there to teach him how to harness the fight, and the Statesman is now here to teach him how to polish it.

So we dig hard to find what is compelling about my client to the Statesman, and how he can make the most of this new dynamic. And the answers are clear as day.

Having previously identified with the Terrier, my client knows that he is more than that. He knows that he has broader business skills. We explored the elements of the Statesman's brand that he himself possesses, albeit in their infancy, and he has had a shift in thinking. He has switched from resistance mode to what I call 'smart' mode. He is now looking to grow his Personal Brand to incorporate a new approach. And over time this will be truly authentic, he will have delivered consistently, making him hugely compelling to a wider market.

And I believe we have a winner in the making.

Hello London!

Well hello London! Can't imagine why I rushed back when the option was another week on a deliciously warm, silky sanded tropical beach. Ah, but responsibilities, accountants, clients call and so here I am. And admittedly in shock. Gosh its cold.

And the only real saving grace was the MMissoni sample sale this morning. Just one word. Fabulous. My good friend LE and I are regulars and always walk out in shock groaning under the weight of parcels having gouged deep holes in our bank accounts. Thankfully we are on opposite ends of both colour and style spectrum's so no need to fight over each piece. Small mercies.

And need to plan the next escape... mmm, what shall it be?

Mr Brown

What can I say. The Gordon Brown we all know is the solid background Scott. We are aware of power struggles, controlling tendencies and other shenanigans, but his Personal Brand has overall, been consistently dull. And now the need to win hearts and minds. To become more statesman-like.

And I watch this struggle with interest. His camp and adviser's reeling with each attempt at growing his brand. Hell, they should know that brands are built on authenticity, consistency.

And Sarkosy seemed to show just how thin this Brown veneer of appeal is. Sarkosy talked of the 'love affair' between France and the US in a way that only the French can do. And authenticity shone through. Brown on the other hand appears to be as dry as a desert, stumbling through without a water source.

So we watch and wait... how will this brand pan out, what will finally sit well?

Brand equity...

I have a good feeling about 08. Sitting here in the sun, a world away from chilly London. There is something wonderfully fresh about the early days of January, contemplating the good stuff that 07 delivered... to be carried forward - and letting go of that which no longer serves us.

And it seems that I am not the only one. My client last week is in the process of untangling a business partnership and going it alone. We talked about the equity in the partnership's brand and like a reality check, it was soon clear that the principals - the two partners were it. No use selling a brand where the principals are it, for the prospect of being tied in for a few years is too dull to contemplate.

Entrepreneurs are interesting creatures. Especially when they aim to grow their business by increasing their personal brand value rather than growing their team, products/services or markets. So the logic is that they are the brand. Afterall, that is what they are selling... their expertise, knowledge, experience. The company name should reflect this, it should contain their name rather than some smart catchphrase. They are the brand equity.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I hope that 2008 brings us all much joy, happiness and prosperity. And lets add a double dose of health, world peace and general goodwill. Goodness knows we all need it.

And thanks to all of you for your good wishes. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Louise