Travels from New York, USA
Catherine Kaputa's speaking fee falls within range: $15,000 to $20,000
Always a woman with a plan, Catherine Kaputa has helped people from all walks of life to brand and market themselves effectively. She has proven her expertise over the years with clients ranging from Madison Avenue and Corporate America to the esteemed halls of academe. Catherine began her career learning brand strategy from Al Ries and Jack Trout at Trout & Ries Advertising. She led the award-winning “I ♥ NY” campaign at Wells, Rich, Greene, successfully rebranding New York City and revitalizing it into the tourist destination it is today.
For more than ten years Catherine served as SVP, Director of Global Advertising and Community Affairs at Citi Smith Barney and Shearson Lehman Brothers. At New York University’s Stern School of Business, Catherine developed and taught a graduate-level course in branding and marketing.
As her career progressed, Catherine realized that the greatest potential for branding lay not in advertising for products, but in helping individuals define and represent themselves in the workplace. By helping individuals to rebrand themselves, she revitalizes careers and helps to boost their business’ success.
Helping people to reach their goals of success is a large part of why Catherine launched SelfBrand LLC, her branding company based out of New York City. She wrote the book You Are a Brand! which won the Ben Franklin award for Best Career Book in 2007, as well as a bronze IPPY award. As an active keynote speaker and leader of workshops on personal branding, Catherine teaches audiences how to be a brand ambassador for themselves and their companies.
Catherine’s latest book, The Female Brand, Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business, focuses on her desire to help women in the workplace achieve leadership success. Women are viewed and treated differently in the workplace than men. With Catherine’s training, through both her book and her talks, women are learning to rebrand themselves, helping to revitalize and invigorate their work.
What do Hollywood entertainers, corporate icons, and rising-star entrepreneurs all have in common? They all understand what it means to be a brand, to be visible and selling out there. In today’s digital age, everyone has the opportunity to be their own brand, to sell themselves and their product to a global audience. By branding yourself and your business, you choose to be in control of how you and your product or service is perceived.
Catherine has been featured on CNN, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, Forbes, The New York Times, The Financial Times, The London Observer and other media. Her speaking and workshop clients include PepsiCo, Microsoft, Intel, AT&T, Citi, UBS, Whirlpool, Cardinal Health, Dow Jones, Marsh, ADP, KeyBank, BNYMellon, Harvard University, Northwestern University, Symphony IRI and many more.
She first learned brand strategy from Al Ries and Jack Trout at Trout & Ries Advertising.
Early in her career, she led the award-winning “I ♥ NY” campaign at Wells, Rich, Greene —an effort that successfully rebranded New YorkCity into the vital tourist destination it is today.
For over ten years, Catherine was SVP, Director of Global Advertising and Community Affairs at Citi Smith Barney and Shearson Lehman Brothers.
And Catherine developed and taught a graduate-level course in branding and marketing at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Catherine came to appreciate that branding’s greatest potential was to help people not just for products— it’s for individuals to define and own their career identity and create their own business success.
That’s why Catherine launched SelfBrand LLC, a New York City-based branding company and wrote the award-winning book, You Are a Brand! winner of the Ben Franklin award for Best Career Book 2007 and a bronze IPPY award. And she became active as a keynote speaker and workshop leader on personal branding and being a brand ambassador for your company to increase business success.
The Female Brand
One of Catherine’s special interests is helping women achieve leadership success, the topic of her latest book, The Female Brand, Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business (June, 2009).
It can be different for women in the workplace and often women aren’t as good at self branding as men are. Yet, women have all the tools it takes. In the book and in her talks, Catherine introduces The Top Five Female Aptitudes for Self Branding, and shows women how to leverage all their assets to propel business success.
Brand Your Business! Brand Yourself!
Corporate icons and star entrepreneurs and Hollywood entertainers all understand what it takes to be in control and in demand — a unique brand. And in today’s digital age, we’re all entrepreneurs now whether we like it or not. Being able to brand your business and brand yourself can give you more control and bring value to you and your company. Branding can do for your career or business what the gym does for your body.
Catherine has been featured on CNN, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, Forbes, The New York Times, The Financial Times, The London Observer and other media. Speaking and workshop clients include PepsiCo, Microsoft, Intel, AT&T, Citi, UBS, Whirlpool, Cardinal Health, Dow Jones, Marsh, ADP, KeyBank, BNYMellon, Harvard University, Northwestern University, Symphony IRI and others.
Catherine Kaputa gives a talk at at the prestigious "Talks at Google" lecture series. She opens by pointing out “we’re here to talk about the most important brand you’ll ever market: brand You.” She emphasizes the importance of “build[ing] a brand for yourself online as well as in person. Social selling and virtual branding can help you do that.”
She moves into the story of Barbara Corcoran, an example of a woman who built a strong brand within the New York real estate world. “Overnight she went from a nobody to someone who had a brand, had visibility as a strong leader.” By securing a placement with Donald Trump, Barbara built her brand and created a successful business.
This story leads into the first rule of branding: attach an idea to yourself. You want an authentic idea, one that showcases who you are and what you’re selling. “The Second rule is to network! The best way to sell yourself is to get others to do it for you.”
Find out how to harness the power of the personal brand with Catherine Kaputa. With her flair for entertainment and compelling content on personal branding, Catherine delivers an enlightening speech to every audience.
Her industry specific talks make sure that each speech is relevant and inspirational for everyone. In her Personal Branding talks, she will show employees, executives, and professional how to build a personal brand so they can be more successful as a person and bring more value to the company where they work.
In her talks about Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship, Catherine imparts lessons for business and for life, combining motivation, inspiration, and practical tips to harness the power of brand building in your company. Since the beginning, women in the workplace have had a hard time getting past the “glass ceiling”. In her Women’s Leadership talks, Catherine empowers women in the workforce by showing them how to take their small ideas and turn them into big brands.
Kaputa is known for her compelling content on personal branding and entertaining style. Her keynote talks often include videotape of SelfBrand’s provocative interviews. She also does industry specific talks to make the talk relevant and inspirational:
Personal Branding Talks
Corporate icons, star athletes and Hollywood celebrities all have what it takes to be in control and in demand — a unique brand.
Today, companies demand employees do more with less, be more entrepreneurial, affect bottom line results, and have personal impact. That’s why personal branding has become a critical element of every leader’s skill set.
After all, if you don’t brand yourself, other people will. And, chances are, they won’t brand you in the way you want to be branded. Branding can be out-of-date or up-to-date, subtle or brazen, but if you don’t participate, you will be left behind.
Through vivid case-study examples, stories and humor, Catherine shows how to use brand strategies and principles from the commercial world of brands and apply them to your most important product— Brand You.
Based on her award-winning book, You Are a Brand!, Catherine′s talks and workshops are designed to show employees, executives and professionals how to build a personal brand so they can be more successful personally and bring more value to the company where they work. Each talk is customized to the specific audience.
Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship Talks
We′re all entrepreneurs today. No matter what our job title is or whether we are running our own business or work in a company, innovation, brand-building and growth are in everyone′s job description today.
We all have to be innovative, creative, and build community with our customers if we want to bring maximum value to our careers and to the company we work for.
The good news is that entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity are skills we can all learn. It all begins with tuning into the entrepreneurial branding mindset.
In her book, Breakthrough Branding, and talks and workshops for entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, Catherine Kaputa offers lessons for business and for life through a keynote package that combines motivation, inspiration and practical tips to harness the power of innovation and brand- building in your company.
Women′s Leadership Talks
Many of the lessons of breakthrough branding are counterintuitive beginning with one of Catherine′s most important maxims, "Think small." Everyone in branding talks about finding the big idea, but there′s a fundamental paradox of business ideas. Ideas that become big brands start out small – simple, focused and specific. In her talks and workshops, Catherine will show you how to find your "small idea" and how to transform it into a big brand.
Women make up over fifty percent of the workforce today, but there are few women occupying top-level positions in companies. Why is that? Many have blamed the "glass ceiling" or the “boys club” for shutting out women.
According to Catherine Kaputa, this is a tired myth because it views a woman as a victim rather as a leader – a doer in charge of her own destiny and career success..
In her book, The Female Brand: Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business, and her talks and workshops, Catherine puts forth a different view..
Business has rules and procedures that men know well. It’s a playing field that men have operated in since they were very young and many women are just beginning to learn about. Winning is the objective and to win men leverage male aptitudes like aggression, personal promotion, a tough skin, and displaying power. Indeed, these aptitudes are the signs of a leader..
Many women, on the other hand, have encouraged to get along rather than compete, to work hard but don’t try to get noticed, to color between the lines rather than take risks..
Communication and Selling Talks
Being a good presenter, communicator and influencer are all important for each and every one of us to think about..
Communication skills are critical to advancing in a large company, and they’re essential if you’re running a fledging company because you need to be able to persuade and wow your customers and investors..
After all, what holds most people back from being promoted is not usually technical skills. What destroys a start-up entrepreneur who is pitching a VC are not usually technical skills either..
They are smart and talented. They can do the job..
What often holds people back for taking on a higher leadership role are soft skills like the ability to speak, communicate and pitch so that we persuades and influence others..
At its core, leadership is about motivating and inspiring others and the surefire way to do that is by giving a compelling, emotional, inspiring talk. Maybe it’s a motivational talk to your team. Or you need to persuade your company’s top executives. Or you need to deliver a compelling pitch in a client meeting. Maybe you have been offered the opportunity to speak to a large group of your peers at an industry conference. Whatever the occasion, you need to learn how to click with your audience and take them on a unforgettable journey..
Catherine’s talks and workshops cover pitching and presenting, the art of persuasion, closing the sale with your brand, and other communication skills you need to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace..
Selected Program Titles:
“It was a wonderful event. I heard many positive comments about your talk today. Someone said it was the best event we’ve ever had on the campus.” – Senior R & D Executive, Unilever
“We are receiving rave reviews on your session with us. I’m starting a blog on the notes taken by several members. They were very impressed with you and the need to brand ourselves.” – Executive, AT&T
“Catherine′s advice is not to be ignored. I read her book a year ago and was fortunate to be able to get her as a speaker at one of our events. Big impact and advice. Get the book… you won′t regret it.” – Senior Technologist and Co-Founder, Women’s Initiative Intel
“Catherine Kaputa came in like a whirlwind of fresh ideas that turned my thinking about my brand upside down! She gave me the ideas and motivation to define and differentiate my personal brand, to think bigger about myself and talents, and the tactics to bring maximum benefit to me and the company I work for. Catherine′s ability to look at a person, a product or a company and to find a smarter way to market it sets her apart. She will do the same for you or your company.” – Business Development Executive, Media and Entertainment Group Microsoft
“Thank you again for joining us last night as our featured WEBB guest speaker..I really enjoyed seeing you bring even more life to the stories and examples portrayed throughout your book. We had over 120 attendees and the feedback has been overwhelming positive. A number of the women expressed an interest in reaching out to you directly to assist with either their corporate initiatives or personal branding goals.” – Managing Director, Marsh
“Thank you so much for your energy and enthusiasm presenting U R A Brand to the UST, Inc. Women’s INitiative Network (WIN). Your presentation was especially timely given the transition many of our members are facing as a result of our company’s acquisition by Altria. We have received a number of personal “thank-you’s” for inviting you in and many requests for additional copies of your book. The ideas and recommendations you shared resonated with our group and many of us have already incorporated our learning into our career planning process.” – Marketing Executive, UST
“Thanks so much for being our speaker last night. We thought you were great and heard a lot of good comments about your presentation afterwards along with people with signed copies of your book.” – Vice President BNY Mellon
“In a public forum, Catherine “wows” them. She′s a dynamo speaker with great punch and a huge following in the financial industry.” – Director of Strategy and Business Development, The New York Times
“Catherine Kaputa′s presentation, U R A Brand, based on the acclaimed book, drew attention from hundreds of mid-Atlantic designers. Her knowledge of the design industry helps to legitimize her teachings which truly make our talented designers better businessmen, After all you′re only as good as your brand.” – Marketing Director Washington Design Center
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Breakthrough Branding: How Smart Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs Transform a Small Idea into a Big Brand
From the grassroots growth of beverage brands like Red Bull, and Honest Tea, to the exploding growth of digital brands like Twitter, and Groupon — successful companies of all types and sizes begin with three things: an entrepreneur, a winning idea, and a brand strategy. Branding expert Catherine Kaputa, founder of SelfBrand LLC, uses dozens of US and international brand histories to demonstrate what makes a brand thrive, and provides you with the tools to do the same.
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You Are a Brand!: How Smart People Brand Themselves for Business Success
Today′s hottest business concept meets the realities of the modern workplace. You Are a Brand! delivers 10 key personal brand strategies that aren′t taught in business school-or anywhere else. Like a personal branding coach right by your side, Catherine Kaputa reveals the inside secrets of Madison Avenue product branding and applies these tried-and-true principles and techniques to a dynamic new strategic branding process for individuals. You Are a Brand! highlights the self branding odysseys of savvy professionals who have repositioned their experience and talents in pursuit of the corner office and budding entrepreneurs launching their own business ventures-all from the personal brand strategist and executive coach who helped them achieve their success.
The Female Brand: Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business
Kaputa, a marketing and branding whiz, mines anecdotes from successful women and her own personal experience to sell readers on themselves-rather than trying to be “one of the boys,” Kaputa insists, women will get farther in the workplace by using the strengths unique to them.
Stuffed with self-evaluation materials, direct advice and “brainstormer” exercises, Kaputa has put together a useful, well-organized primer on a familiar argument. While some of the generalizations are a bit heavy handed–women have stronger verbal skills than men, women derive less satisfaction from high-level “workaholic” positions–Kaputa breaks down the idea of personal branding into manageable concepts: specialization, presentation and effective networking. In uncertain economic times, this text should prove useful for job seekers, the underemployed, and those striving for advancement.
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