Coolie, Come Out and Fight!
Rachelson is a seasoned specialist in the field and the author of the book Branding & Marketing YOU and the follow-up book Branding & Marketing YOU through TEAMS, which is being released in early October.
In Branding & Marketing You through TEAMS, Rachelson
taps into the role that employees play as brand ambassadors for their
organisations and the renewed focus on the attributes required by
individuals to present themselves to optimum brand advantage.
As she wrote on the Marketing Update website in August:
“Just as each company has a brand – the space it occupies in the minds
of its customers, competitors and employees – so each team has a brand
too. For example, your IT team might add huge value to the business, but
unless it can communicate that value, the decision-makers may never
know about it … Successful team brands evolve when your team becomes
known for something positive. Consciously or unconsciously, employees
and managers interact with your team every day and further cement your
brand position. Your team is branded whether you like it or not, so you
need to be proactive in influencing how it’s branded.”
Professor Nicola Kleyn from the Gordon Institute of Business Science
(GIBS) says of the book: “Donna’s focus on branding at the team level
makes a welcome contribution to an under-researched area.” The book
confronts several myths and stereotypes surrounding teams and how people
function within them. This is based on interviews with employees from
six companies, including Microsoft and Sanlam.
The new book has also received praise from other high-profile
personalities in South Africa’s marketing fraternity, including industry
commentator Chris Moerdyk, brand and reputation advisor Thebe
Ikalafeng, and branding and design expert Jeremy Sampson. Journalist
Mandy Collins said: “Rachelson has achieved that rare thing – a business
book that is useful, interesting and accessible to anyone who wants to
learn more about marketing.”
Over and above her writing credentials, Rachelson has a solid
marketing history and has held Marketing Director positions in several
blue chip South African organisations, including fast-food group Nando’s
and the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants. She was previously
Marketing Manager at AECI, the JSE-listed chemicals group, and held a
project management position at Standard Bank. She is currently a guest
lecturer at GIBS, the University of Pretoria’s business school.
Rachelson’s company, Branding & Marketing YOU, was founded in
2007 with the intention of working to help individuals, teams or
businesses develop branding and marketing strategies, execute those
strategies, and market themselves in an innovative and impactful manner.
Rachelson’s work has seen her train or coach individuals and groups
across more than 20 top companies, among them Microsoft, Discovery,
Deloitte, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Basil Read, Anglo American, McKinsey
and SABMiller.
Rachelson’s specialist skills include personal branding and
marketing, team branding and marketing, strategy development, values
development, change management, marketing strategy development,
marketing implementation, brand building, business development,
strategic partnerships, cross-selling, customer partnerships,
entrepreneurship and online marketing.
She is an alumnus of the University of the Witwatersrand and has also completed an MBA.
Donna
Rachelson, a branding and marketing innovator, is focused on South
Africa's client service based businesses. She combines her contagious
passion and 25 years' experience in strategy, marketing and change
management to empower people, teams and businesses to achieve
breakthrough results. Through her consulting, authoring and training,
she's known for empowering others to practically incorporate branding
and marketing principles in their businesses and lives.
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