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Bernadette Martin - Reach Certified Personal Branding Strategist and Reach Certification Program Facilitator
Bernadette Martin is a multi-lingual Brand Consultant with a 15 year career working in various aspects of brand management. This profession has taken her to Asia, Europe and the U.S. where she has held positions in corporate, agency and academic environments. A move to Paris in 2002 coincided with a transition from working with corporate brands to working with entrepreneurs and individuals to help develop their professional and personal brand. Additionally, she currently develops courses and lectures on Brand Management at the Executive Education and MBA levels in Paris and Brussels. Her academic credentials and certifications include an MBA from Thunderbird, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in foreign languages and certification as a Personal Brand Strategist from Reach. Born in Los Angeles of Irish, German, and French descent, Bernadette claims to be truly “Euro-American" not only due to her ethnic background but also as a result of an early interest exploring cross-cultural experiences and learning foreign languages. She is fluent in French, has a working knowledge of German and an ongoing desire to improve her survival level Spanish and Chinese. As a Brand Consultant working with clients of various nationalities, she draws upon this wealth of cross cultural experiences, advising on how to effectively communicate their brands in a multi cultural context. In addition to defining the appropriate communication mix and strategy, she also gets involved in the tactical more “hands on” phase of developing a brand. She enjoys writing, editing and creating copy, whether it’s a web site, ad, brochure, biography or resume. Bernadette has worked with brands in industries such as financial, legal, travel, FMCG, entertainment, airlines, high-tech, petroleum, bio-technology, legal, hospitality, hotel, and life sciences. In her “former” life, before consulting, she held positions both on the advertising agency and client side and worked with brands such as Procter & Gamble, Ford, Saatchi & Saatchi, American Express, Citibank, Merck, DHL, Jaguar, Nestle, Hennessey, Jacobs Suchard, Tauck World Discovery and GES Exposition Services. This exposure to so many sectors serves as a reference in her consulting practice where her clients hail from a wide range of professions. Bernadette has found the transition from corporate brands to working with entrepreneurs and individuals a natural and rewarding evolution. When asked why the preference she gives two reasons. With entrepreneurs and “solopreneurs” she finds it gratifying working with ambitious, creative, motivated clients with aspirations, drive and vision. With her “personal brand” clients, many in career transition, she gets energized helping them to realize their strengths and uniqueness and developing a compelling brand strategy, whether in a verbal or written context. With all her clients entrepreneurs or individuals, her intuition, resourcefulness and enthusiasm, combined with her listening and networking skills are weaved into every session. She has already worked with over 200 clients developing their brand positioning, messaging and image Bernadette prefers outdoor sports and keeps balanced by going on regular long runs and participating in half and full marathons. Her favorite quote is a Tibetan proverb “Happiness is not at the end of the road, it is the road that brings happiness”. To put this quote in her own words she would say it is not the “fait accompli” that matters but the excitement, fun and challenges the road presents in getting there.
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