Program Recap: Developing Your Brand Story and Assets

In June, the Pace University SBDC collaborated with Lubin School of Business Professor Peggy Kim on a four-part workshop titled Developing Your Brand Story and Assets. Professor Kim is an expert in branding and marketing, and an entrepreneur within the entertainment industry. In the past, she has presented Pace SBDC webinars on various marketing topics. The Brand Story program brought Professor Kim together with 16 Pace SBDC clients in an effort to help them deeply understand their brands, teach them how to cultivate a compelling brand story, and show how their brand story can factor into a successful marketing plan.

After the program’s initial group session, Professor Kim met with each entrepreneur and their Pace SBDC business advisor to review items they were given to work on based on their business’s unique needs and challenges. Later, program participants regrouped to give peer feedback and bounce around new ideas that could potentially enhance each business’s brand. Business owners were encouraged to focus on the topics and aspects of branding most important to them and their business.

At the conclusion of the program, several participants had refined their business’s elevator pitch or start-up story while others had a new product label or an updated color palette. One participant, Sherrie Coleman from First Lady's Shopping Tours, said of the program, “I was able to receive great feedback on my website,” and even published site updates immediately after hearing what other participants and Professor Kim had to say.

The workshop gave each participant an opportunity to think deeply about what it means to have a brand and strategize as to how they can control their business’s story and standing with customers, in particular post COVID-19. If you need marketing or branding advice for your business, the Pace SBDC would be happy to help! Contact us to schedule a no-cost, one-to-one business counseling session with a business advisor from our team.