The Bubba Brand Project Write-up for Cory “Bubba” Cunningham MPC Class of 2013 Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 2 of 44 Contents Contents............................................................................................................ 2 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 4 History of the name Bubba................................................................................ 5 Analysis ............................................................................................................ 6 Issues analysis .............................................................................................. 6 Audience analysis ......................................................................................... 7 SWOT analysis .............................................................................................. 9 Informal communication audit ...................................................................... 10 Goals and Objectives ...................................................................................... 11 Goals of branding ........................................................................................ 11 Objectives .................................................................................................... 11 Evaluative Research ....................................................................................... 12 Success Criteria .......................................................................................... 12 Resource and Budget Plan ............................................................................. 13 Budget Plan ................................................................................................. 13 Resource and Cost Estimates ..................................................................... 13 Results ............................................................................................................ 16 Metrics ............................................................................................................ 17 Lessons Learned ............................................................................................ 18 Build the building blocks, not the building .................................................... 18 Creating a web on the web .......................................................................... 19 Wikipedia autobiographies .......................................................................... 21 Not much for Blogging ................................................................................. 22 Vanity plates ................................................................................................ 22 Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 3 of 44 Facebook - and the issue of mixing business with pleasure ........................ 22 Attracting too much attention ....................................................................... 23 Next Steps ...................................................................................................... 24 Training videos and corresponding white paper publication ........................ 24 Kickstarter (Fantasy-Con) project ................................................................ 25 Facebook Page ........................................................................................... 25 Project Artifact Touchups ............................................................................ 26 Implement action items from strategic communication plan ........................ 26 Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 27 Appendix ......................................................................................................... 29 Appendix A – Project Schedule ................................................................... 29 Appendix B – Links to profiles and websites ............................................... 30 Appendix C – Web Parts ............................................................................. 31 Appendix D – Resume ................................................................................ 43 Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 4 of 44 Introduction “Building a professional brand is necessary in this competitive job market. Job seekers need to have a professional online presence that can easily be found by hiring managers, recruiters, and career contacts.” (Doyle) This project will focus on building and communicating my personal brand as a professional project manager with a niche that combines visual communication, skilled trainer, and documentation writer. The structure of this project will follow the outline of building and deploying a communication plan. The phases of this project will include the evaluation of current branding and communication methods, building a strategy for deploying a foundation communication plan, and developing a road map for maintenance of the communication plan. Professional Project Manager Bubba Brand Visual Communication Skilled Trainer Documentation Writer Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 5 of 44 History of the name Bubba I first took the nickname Bubba during college. As means to earn a ski pass at the local resort, Mt. Crested Butte, I worked as the mountain mascot – Bubba Bear. My job was to ski around in a cartoon-styled polar bear costume and make the guests of the resort feel welcome. Although my real identify was supposed to be kept secret, it was well known around the small college campus that I was Bubba Bear. And it became common place for people to call me Bubba. Shortly after college, I found myself in a consulting job where I was responsible for training groups of construction managers on how to use computers and operate project management software. These construction managers were typically older guys who knew nothing about computers, were not happy with the prospect of being forced to use them, and least of all ready for some young suit-wearing consultant to come teach them how. User adoption of the software was proving to be a challenge. In an attempt to reduce the stress on my audience, I dropped the suit and introduced myself as Bubba. And like Bubba Bear the ski-boot wearing mascot who made Mt Crested Butte guests feel welcome, Bubba the work-boot wearing consultant made construction managers feel okay about having to learn how to use a computer. The name Bubba, most commonly used in the South, means “brother”. It is a nickname generally given to the oldest male sibling since it is easy for younger children to pronounce. For many people, Bubba means someone from a rural area, and is sometimes used as a derogatory term for someone who is uneducated or has unrefined manners. As a project manager and trainer, I am typically in a position of little real authority over the people I am expected to manage. I find it easier to approach people from the humble position of ‘Bubba’, which is inviting and non-threatening, rather than trying to impress them with my skills and knowledge which can be intimidating. My reason for using Bubba as my nickname, and my brand, is to lower my audiences’ guard when they are developing their first impression of me; they are either comforted by the implied brother relationship, or they are not threatened by my ability to present myself as Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 6 of 44 unrefined. So far I have been successful with this strategy during in-person contact with my audience. The challenge I face will be using this approach successfully to create my brand in web-based social media. Analysis Issues analysis I currently have a very small personal brand presence. In order to establish myself as a professional in my intended niche, I will need to first define my brand, and then work on communicating my brand to potential audiences. Brand definition Skills My professional skills are documented by my work history (resume), certifications, and education. Although I have more skills that are listed out in my resume, these are the primary skills that I plan to emphasis in my brand.  Project manager  Training specialist  Visual communication  Documentation writer Traits My traits, or soft-skills, are things that are not as easy to document. These are a few of the traits that I would like my brand to convey through the nature of the skill presentation artifact rather than documenting directly in a resume.  Creative Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 7 of 44  Natural team leader  Personable (Down-to-earth) Brand awareness objectives  Build a base set of artifacts - 2 categories  o Resume artifacts - Online resume, paper resume, online professional profiles - LinkedIn, job search sites, web page. o Skill presentation artifacts - Blog, online posts, publications, training materials, white papers etc.  Publish artifacts and engage with professional audiences Audience analysis There are three key audiences I want to address in this project: future employers, colleagues, and professional publics. Future employers I do not have a specific job or employer in mind, so I am not able to identify a definite list of skills that a future employer will be seeking. Therefore, my brand will need to be able to convey that I have a wide range of skills in the hopes that hiring managers will be able to match me as a best candidate. During my research I plan to review job postings to explore the types of skills that hiring managers are seeking from applicants. I will look at social media dialogue from potential employers to see if I can identify needs that may not be addressed in postings for hire. I can anticipate that the general audience of future employers will come in first contact with my brand through one of two main methods. The first method is through direct head hunting. This method includes resume searches and requests, where the employer is actively seeking a candidate to fill an immediate need. In these types of Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 8 of 44 engagements the audiences will most likely come in contact with my resume artifacts first, then my skill presentation artifacts as they seek more information about my brand. The second method of first contact will be through information seeking activities not necessarily related to head hunting. In these types of connections the audiences will be exposed to my skill presentation artifacts before connecting to my resume artifacts. For example, during a search on project management techniques for conducting team meetings, a potential employer finds one of my training videos and is directed back to either my website or LinkedIn profile. Colleagues People that I will work with, coworkers, clients, etc., will also need to be aware of my brand. Like with employers, my brand will need to convey my abilities to perform the necessary work. My brand will also need to show colleagues that I am compatible with their own brand. For example, coworkers will need to see that I am a strong team player, while clients will need to see that I am a competent customer advocate. Professional publics This category contains multiple audience groups: project management professionals, training professionals, communication professionals, and niche groups of business professionals delineated by specific skills (for example users of a specific software application). These groups will primarily interact with my brand through my skill presentation artifacts. My objective is to find audience members seeking information or interaction that is supported by my brand. Interaction with this audience will be an ongoing engagement of monitoring communication channels for information gaps that I can fill. Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 9 of 44 SWOT analysis Strengths  Certified project management professional  Documented work history  Recently published in the field of project management  No negative publicity Weaknesses  Low brand awareness at present, outside of local professional groups  Lack of available time for maintenance of brand  Difficult to be my own image consultant Opportunities  Discover new career path during the process  Form new professional relationships  Publish – informal white papers as well as peer reviewed papers and presentations  More experience in same/new fields, sectors, industries & markets Threats  Make current employer nervous or upset by posting resumes  Take on too many subprojects that will distract from the primary objective  Negative feedback on artifacts that could affect branding Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 10 of 44 Informal communication audit Resume My resume was last updated more than 6 months ago, and includes my CV. It is not currently published on any job search sites, nor has it been submitted to employers or head hunters in the past 6 months. LinkedIn According to LinkedIn, my profile is less than 90% complete. My skills and job history have been compiled, and I am a member of several professional groups. My group activity has been limited to a few postings on topics of software use. I have not requested formal recommendations from any of my connections as of yet. Facebook My Facebook account has a mix of personal and professional contacts. I am currently using Facebook to communicate within groups, but do very little posting to my profile. Twitter and other social media I have a Twitter account, but for the most part there are very few posts. Blog I have only published class related blogs so far using free Wordpress accounts. YouTube I currently have a few videos posted, including the project manager video. I currently have no how-to type training videos. Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 11 of 44 Goals and Objectives I do not have a step-by-step road map for achieving my goals and objectives, but rather a set of starting points. This project will use an agile methodology which will allow me to reprioritize direction based on my results and from lessons learned during the process. My ultimate goal of this project is to lay a foundation for a sustainable brand. Goals of branding 1. Establish myself as an industry expert in the field of project management. I already have a presence, although somewhat minor, as a professional project manager. I would like to strengthen this presence, as well as create a digital record of my expertise. 2. Define and communicate my niche that sets me apart from a typical project manager. I see the combination of my skills as a visual communicator, training specialist and documentation writer as what makes me unique in the field of project management. 3. Design a sustainable communication plan to maintain my brand. The effort level for maintenance will need to fit within my availability, as well as my ongoing interest level. It must also be designed so that it does not require regular scheduled updates. For example I do not see myself as a daily or weekly blogger. Objectives 1. Clearly define my brand 2. Build and publish resume artifacts 1. Web presence o Online - Personal website and/or blog o Development of online resumes (LinkedIn, PMI profiles, online career search engines) o Interactive visual resume - Prezume o Development of social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, and other online forums) Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 12 of 44 2. Physical presence o Paper resume o Business cards o Visual communication tools (In person presentations, tools, etc.) 3. Build a platform for distributing skill presentation artifacts (Website) 4. Documentation of best practices from branding research – Final paper Evaluative Research Success Criteria I will measure the level of success on two categories of metrics. The first metric is creation of tangible deliverables of this project. This includes both the resume artifacts and the skill presentation artifacts. This metric for the most part is quantifiable. The effectiveness and quality of the tangible deliverables will be measured by the second metric, audience interaction with my brand. This metric will have a few quantifiable elements, but will be for the most part subjective. Tangible deliverable metrics 1. Professional profile website o Online resume o Links to all other artifacts: social media platforms, publications, etc. 2. Paper artifacts o Resume o Cover letter template with interchangeable parts for job specific elements o Business card design 3. Updated LinkedIn profile with professional groups 4. Prezume 5. Training videos o 1 or more videos that demonstrate a how-to (with supporting documentation - may be in connection to white papers) Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 13 of 44 Audience interaction metrics 3. Increase LinkedIn contacts from 380 to over 500 (majority to be non-coworker contacts). 4. Have at least one white paper, infographic, or video republished on a professional website with a link back to my profile. 5. Possible positive outcomes: o Publication or presentation of academic/professional paper o Measurable increase in web traffic (views and comments) o Monetization of training videos on YouTube (more than 10,000 views) o Job offers Resource and Budget Plan Budget Plan This project will be 100% funded by me as the sole proprietor of my professional brand. Resource and Cost Estimates Equipment and software Photography/Video equipment – For this project I have already purchased a DSLR camera that has video recording capabilities. I plan to use this equipment for some of the video training as well as pictures for website and infographic content. This equipment includes camera, several lenses, tripod, and accessories. Total cost is estimated around $3,000 to $4,000 with the majority of the equipment retaining value post project. Editing equipment/software – I will be using computer equipment already in my possession (desktop and laptop). In addition, to my computers, I have purchased licenses to editing software, Adobe CS6, as a monthly subscription. Student pricing for a 1 year subscription cost is $239.40. Webpage/Domain costs (Yearly subscription cost) Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 14 of 44 Main domain and hosting cost: $150.00 Photo domain cost (SmugMug): $96.00 LinkedIn Premium account: $239.40 Printing services and general supplies I estimate printing of resumes and other physical supplies to be less than $50.00. Skills and expertise Editing software – After reviewing my options, I have selected Adobe Premier as my primary editing software. During the course of the MPC program, I trained on Final Cut Pro, but due to the cost of software that is platform limited (Apple) I would prefer to spend the time to learn a new application. My plan is to self-teach using online resources. Photography – I enrolled in an undergraduate level photography class at Weber State this semester and I have been learning how to use my camera and photo editing software. Videography – I will be using the skills that I learned in the MPC program as well as my undergraduate work. I will also continue to research best practices through online resources. Web design – I have some experience with designing and building Web pages. However, I am considering enrolling in an undergraduate level Web design class at Weber State next semester. If not, I will use online resources for self-paced training. Social media best practices – This will be part of my research as I develop my social media presence. White paper best practices - This will be part of my research as I identify topics and channels for publication. Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 15 of 44 Visual Communication software – This project will require skills using applications like Prezi (visual presentations) and Jing (video capture). These applications are free for students, and I feel comfortable with my current abilities to use these types of applications. Project Management – I plan to utilize my training as a project manager for the actual management of this project as well as subject matter expert on topics for white papers and the paper submission portion of the project. Research methods – Depending on the topic for the paper submission, I may need to utilize my knowledge of research methods, and my certification with the Weber State IRB. Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 16 of 44 Results In my project proposal, I had grand ideas about creating material that would get tens of thousands of views, droves of professional contacts linking to me on LinkedIn, etc. Although I still plan on going after these goals, they have not come to fruition within the project period. The other reason for not diving straight into getting views and connections has been a change in my strategy to focus more on search engine optimization and brand protection. This was a change from a “build it” type project to a “connect it” type project, with an emphasis on cleanup of my existing skill artifacts. As it turns out, I already had skill artifacts sitting out on the web, but they were not linked properly to me, or the Bubba brand. My main discovery, as I will discuss in greater detail under lessons learned: “Creating a web on the web”, is the importance of connecting and maintaining all of my artifacts and social media sites together. Originally, I saw each of my objectives as individual entities. During the discovery process I realized that I needed to focus as much time on building the platforms for publishing artifacts as I did on building artifacts. This led me to focusing my effort on building my professional website, developing projects within LinkedIn, and stylizing my image and messaging on all of my social websites. Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 17 of 44 Metrics According to Martinez-Moncada (2012) less than 2% of all people own the first page of a Google search. As Cory Cunningham, I am not one of those 2%. When you type my name into Google, the number one hit goes to www.corycunningham.com, which is a personal website of a want-to-be actor living in the Washington D.C. area. And if you enter Bubba Cunningham into the search, you will get a number of links to stories and pages about Lawrence “Bubba” Cunningham, the athletic director appointed at UNC. However, if you search for Cory Bubba Cunningham, I am happy to announce that all of the first 10 links - the first full page of results – are related to positive things about me. This was done by associating content and links to my branded name, and associating my name to searchable content (Doyle, 2012). Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 18 of 44 Lessons Learned Build the building blocks, not the building One of the mistakes I made in the beginning of this project was to think of each artifact as an island, and try to build out one item to its fullest before working on the next. I started by trying to rewrite my resume using a specific job posting to model how it was written. It was a good resume, and had I had the energy and desire to submit it I am pretty sure I would have landed an interview. But the resume didn’t help my brand, in fact it side tracked me away from my branding strategy. I realized this when I compared my new paper resume, which focused on my training and customer service skills, to my LinkedIn resume, which highlighted my experience as a project manager. In the process of writing for a specific job, I had created a very narrow brand on my resume, and it did not fit my other brand components. My fix to this was to focus on building the blocks of a resume that could be used on my online resume and on LinkedIn. These blocks could then be edited down for use on specific job application resumes. By paring down prebuilt blocks, I don’t have to worry about my brand components conveying different information. With this approach, my web resume components will contain all of the same information as my paper resume, plus additional information that would have originally overwhelmed my audience. The hardest line to write is the first one (and the most important one) There is a library of information out there about writing branding statements, (Campbell, 2012), (Lake, 2011), (Lain Kennedy, 2009), etc. What they don’t tell you is how hard it is to come up with a few sentences that will tell the world who you are, or at least spark enough interest for the world to want to find out more about you. I put branding statement at the top of my list of blocks to build, hoping that I would come up with one that would be the guide for building all the other blocks. What happened was the opposite, I built everything else and then looked at what came out. Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 19 of 44 Cory “Bubba” Cunningham, Solution Provider: I resolve business problems with practical solutions by removing communication barriers and identifying core issues. By combining my visual communication skills with my talents as a project manager and trainer, I am able to provide creative solutions to the most challenging problems. Creating a web on the web To get the maximum benefits of search engine optimization (SEO) I needed more than just a bunch of web elements sitting out on the internet. As advised by Woodrow (2012), it is important to link social media websites to, and from, my main website. For example, I didn’t just put a link to my YouTube account from my website, but I also linked back to my website from YouTube. In addition, I created multiple links between accounts where possible. An example of this is the project pages on my website that linked to specific videos on YouTube, and to matching LinkedIn projects that also link back to YouTube. Search engines like Google pick up on these multiple points of contact and rank my pages higher. This ‘web on the web’ approach also helps my branding strategy goal of ‘catching’ an audience and directing it to my web page and other branded web components. The chart below shows how my web parts are linked. Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 20 of 44 Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 21 of 44 Wikipedia autobiographies As I was conducting searches for myself on the internet, I saw several links to people on Wikipedia, One of which is Bubba Cunningham, the Athletic Director at UNC. Wikipedia links look really neat on Google, they show a picture and are displayed as a profile box to the right of the regular list of search results. So naturally I thought I should go create a Wikipedia autobiography page for myself. After several days of researching successful profile pages on Wikipedia, and how-to pages for writing autobiographies, I stumbled across an article on Wikipedia about writing autobiographies, which said “Writing an autobiography on Wikipedia is strongly discouraged” (Wikipedia, 2012). It goes on to say that if you are worthy of a biography on Wikipedia, then someone else will write it. After pondering this, I have come to the conclusion that an autobiography on Wikipedia would be too vain, not to mention it would open up doors to editorializing from others that I may not want. Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 22 of 44 Not much for Blogging I don’t see myself as a blogger. I don’t have the discipline or the desire to write a successful ongoing blog, which requires persistence (Vanderbeek, 2013) and regular unique content. I do have the time and interest to sort out articles and posts that align with my brand, either repost them (Surdam, 2012) or share them. The sharing part is easy since my LinkedIn and Facebook pages are already setup for sharing content. For reposting, I have changed the format of the blog page on my Website, the key being a name change from ‘Blog’ to ‘Notes’. I even created an icon representing a notebook. My strategy is to repost and share content on this page that creates the feeling of a professional scrapbook. Vanity plates Where possible, I added or obtained vanity url naming conventions. I changed my LinkedIn profile URL to www.linkedin.com/in/bubbacunningham/ (Patrizi, 2007). I also created a new page, which is different than a profile, on Facebook for “Cory Bubba Cunningham”, and grabbed up as many variations of Cory & Bubba – Cunningham on the new Outlook.com email accounts. I also bought as many variations of my domain name as possible. Facebook - and the issue of mixing business with pleasure A piece of branding advice is to use the same picture on all social media pages in order to create a sense of continuity (Doyle, 2010). This concept wasn’t new to me, but it wasn’t until I was trying to implement it that I realized I had an issue with the “social” part of my media. My Facebook page is full of personal connections and links to things that are not related to my professional brand. I had already began to change how I used Facebook at the start of this project by filtering what I posted in general, as well Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 23 of 44 as creating privacy categories for friends and business contacts per Dan Schawbel’s advice (2009), and (Abnormal Marketing, 2011). But it wasn’t until I went to change my profile picture to my professional profile picture that I realized that this strategy of segregated friends and colleagues wasn’t going to work. I am not the first person to come across this issue, and there is a large amount of advice out there about how to handle Facebook professionally. One option is to convert my Facebook use to a professional page and only use it for business purposes (FreelanceFolder.com, 2011), but this seemed counterproductive as I didn’t want to just have a duplicate LinkedIn site. Plus there are some limitations for creating a professional profile on Facebook (Breuner, 2011). Another option is to just not use my Facebook as part of my professional brand (Mac, 2011), but this would mean dropping my professional connections as well as limiting my ability to share out professional Facebook content. A third option, the one that I have chosen to implement, is to create a separate professional page. This page will have my branding profile picture, my full brand name ‘Cory “Bubba” Cunningham’, professional content, and will be limited to professional contacts. This page will also allow me to link to my website and LinkedIn account. Attracting too much attention As the phrase goes, “All publicity is good publicity.” However, as part of this project I have had to make a lot of changes to my social media accounts and my web pages. As I originally listed in my proposal as a potential threat, I could make my current employer nervous by posting updates to my resume and LinkedIn profile. Social media sites, especially LinkedIn, like to broadcast updates to your contacts. So, making a dozen changes to a resume on LinkedIn makes you look suspiciously like someone who is about to make a career change. In order to mitigate this risk, I have held off making many of the updates to LinkedIn and other sites until I had a chance to sit down with my managing staff and Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 24 of 44 explain what I was doing. (I was reminded of an event that happened years ago when I was tasked with building an online resume as part of a web development class, which led to a meeting with several managers at my company, including the director of HR.) I also didn’t want my professional community audience getting overwhelmed with my updates, so my strategy has been to make many changes at one time in order to hide the number of changes, and make changes on Sunday when most people are not watching their update feeds. However, I have noticed spikes in views to my profile when I make changes, which is one of my goals. So I have tried to add positive updates - like adding information about publications and projects - during regular business hours. Next Steps “Art is never finished, only abandoned” - Leonardo da Vinci Training videos and corresponding white paper publication I currently have a series of training videos scripted out that explain how to use Microsoft OneNote and Microsoft Publisher as visual communication tools for project management. My plan is to create a series of short, under 2 minutes, videos with corresponding how-to documentation. I currently have two sets of publics anticipating the completion of these training videos. The first - a public of my co-workers - is from a department within my company that wants my help to teach project management techniques to a group of non-project managers. The second - a public of industry professionals - is a group from the local PMI chapter that has asked me to conduct a “Lunch-and-Learn” presentation of how to use OneNote for project management. In addition to the creation of these videos, I have decided not to publish them on my professional web site, but rather on a second self-hosted web site. I am currently Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 25 of 44 looking at domain names. There are several domain names that are combinations of visual, PM, Project management/manager, tools, etc., that are registered but they are either not being used, or they are up for auction for more than $2000. I am currently contemplating registering some variation of “viziepm.com” (vizipm, theviziepm, thevizipm), which is a trendy phonetic spelling (use of the z) to mean visual pm. From this second web site I will publish the videos and training white papers as stand-alone items which can then be linked to from my project page and LinkedIn account. At the time of completion of this project, I have registered the domain name of, “TheVisualPM” and created a corresponding YouTube channel with the same name. My next step is to build a video portfolio site that will mirror the YouTube channel. Kickstarter (Fantasy-Con) project One of the things I should have added to my lessons learned section was to not put too many eggs in one basket. After I started this project I was asked to help out with making a series of videos to help promote fundraising for an event. With the hopes that this would be a good way to show off my video and visual communication skills, I invested a large chunk of time working on the filming and editing of this project. (Link to the current video in development).) This project is currently waiting on the client to decide on some final edits (text, music, video overlays), and to finish getting approval from Kickstarter to launch the project. If the completion of the full project gets put on a longer delay, I will put together a video review of what has been done, and publish as a project link on my web site. Facebook Page As mentioned in my Lessons Learned, I have recently created a page on Facebook for Cory “Bubba” Cunningham, as a professional fan page. As part of my sharing and reposting rather than blogging strategy, I plan to use this page as a Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 26 of 44 platform for sharing, and feeding information to my web site ‘Notes’ page. I have intentionally not asked for people to follow or share this page. My goal is to build a history of content before releasing it to any of my publics. Project Artifact Touchups Since the purpose of this project is to create a living entity, my brand, it will never be complete. I anticipate that as I will be adding tasks to my to-do list as fast as I complete them. The first things on my to-do list are touchups to existing artifacts, listed below.  Review of branding and web site pictures  Project linking - LinkedIn, web site, etc.  Social media linking and profile updates  Finish edits to Water and Fire video (See project file)  Develop PM Training YouTube channel Implement action items from strategic communication plan One of my core project deliverables was to develop a sustainable plan for maintaining my brand. Below is a list of action items that I have identified as key activities for maintaining a positive and active professional brand.  Monitor search results – review unexpected links, and mitigate any negative links  Update Facebook page as needed, and monitor friend requests for personal and professional pages  Maintain my file of Web Parts and use as needed for future publications  Check for new URL and vanity profile names – all future social media sites  Continue to publish training videos and professional materials as needed Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 27 of 44 Bibliography Abnormal Marketing. (2011). Separate business Friends and Personal Friends on Facebook. Retrieved October 2012, from Abnormal Marketing: http://www.abnormalmarketing.com/2010/06/split-facebook-business-personal-friends-privacy/ Breuner, K. (2011, April 11). How to Switch Your Facebook Personal Profile to an Artist/Band Page. Retrieved January 2013, from The DIY Musician: http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/2011/04/how-to-switch-your-facebook-personal-profile-to- an-artistband-page/ Campbell, L. (2012, August). How to Craft Your Personal Brand Statement. Retrieved December 2012, from The Undercover Recruiter: http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/how-craft-your-personal-brand-statement/#comment- 597800411 Doyle, A. (2010). Tips for Building Your Professional Brand. Retrieved October 2012, from About.com: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/professionalbranding/qt/brandbuilding.htm Doyle, A. (2012). How to Build Your Personal Brand . Retrieved November 2012, from About.com: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/professionalbranding/a/branding.htm FreelanceFolder.com. (2011, Septemebr). How to Migrate Your Personal Facebook Profile to a Business Page. Retrieved January 2013, from Freelance Folder: http://freelancefolder.com/how-to-migrate-your-personal-facebook-profile-to-a-business-page/ Lain Kennedy, J. (2009). What Is a Professional Branding Statement? In J. Lain Kennedy, Cover Letters For Dummies, 3rd Edition. For Dummies. Lake, L. (2011). How to Write Your Personal Branding Statement: 4 Steps to Writing Your Own Personal Branding Statement. Retrieved December 2012, from About.com: http://marketing.about.com/od/marketingyourbrand/a/How-To-Write-Your- Personal-Branding-Statement.htm Mac, A. (2011, May 20). 5 Tips To Separate Personal And Professional Life Online. Retrieved January 2013, from Fast Company: http://www.fastcompany.com/1754431/5-tips-separate-personal-and-professional-life-online Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 28 of 44 Martinez-Moncada, D. (2012, August 13). How to Brand Yourself [infographic]. Retrieved December 2012, from Daily Infographic: http://dailyinfographic.com/how-to-brand- yourself-infographic Patrizi, S. (2007, September 26). Strengthening your professional brand through LinkedIn. Retrieved October 2012, from LinkedIn Blog: http://blog.linkedin.com/2007/09/26/brand-steve-patrizi/ Schawbel, D. (2009, April). HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on Facebook. Retrieved October 2012, from Mashable: http://mashable.com/2009/04/02/facebook-personal- brand/ Surdam, S. (2012, March 21). Guide to Reposting an Article on Your Blog. Retrieved January 2013, from Social Media 101: http://socialmedia101.artizondigital.com/2012/03/guide-to-reposting-an-article-on-your-blog/ Vanderbeek, E. (2013, January). The 4 Rules of Highly Successful Bloggers. Retrieved February 2013, from IFB: http://heartifb.com/2013/01/08/the-4-rules-of-highly-successful- bloggers/ Wikipedia. (2012, December 31 ). Wikipedia:Autobiography. Retrieved Februry 2013, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Autobiography Woodrow, M. (2012, January 25). 9 Tips for Integrating Social Media on Your Website. Retrieved January 2013, from Social Media Examiner: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/9-tips-for-integrating-social-media-on-your-website/ Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 29 of 44 Appendix Appendix A – Project Schedule Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 30 of 44 Appendix B – Links to profiles and websites Website www.bubbacunningham.com Facebook profile (Current with Friends and Family) https://www.facebook.com/cory.cunningham.79 Facebook page (New branding page) https://www.facebook.com/CoryBubbaCunningham LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/bubbacunningham/ Flickr Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bubbaut/ Profile: http://www.flickr.com/people/bubbaut/ Google Google+: ccunningham.ut@gmail.com YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bubbaut1 Vimeo http://vimeo.com/corybubbacunningham Prezi http://prezi.com/user/corybubbacunningham http://prezi.com/l8hf9ikg9nfb/cory-bubba-cunningham-prezume/ Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 31 of 44 Appendix C – Web Parts Branding Statement Solution Provider: I resolve business problems with practical solutions by removing communication barriers and identifying core issues. By combining my visual communication skills with my talents as a project manager and trainer, I am able to provide creative solutions to the most challenging problems. Skills Project Management Technical Writing Training Visual Communication Client/Customer Relations IT Service Management Critical Thinking Business Development Software Development Marketing and Sales Tools Tools: Microsoft Office Microsoft Project Microsoft Excel Microsoft Word Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft Excel Microsoft Visio Adobe Acrobat WebEx Prezi Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 32 of 44 Professional Experience MarketStar, Ogden, UT July 2011 to Present BI Project Manager  Manage data warehouse development projects using Agile project methods  Responsible for conducting business process analysis of internal and external processes in relation to BI projects Weber State University, Ogden, UT November 2008 to July 2011 IT Project Manager  Simultaneously managed multiple projects in a matrix organizational structure  Communicated with stakeholders to provide accurate reporting and information regarding ongoing projects and initiatives  Directed and maintained projects for both Student Services and Academic Technology areas  Managed many projects including: Sungard Banner upgrades, development of UTA pass system for the Wildcard office, Scholarship Nomination System for FINAID, TERM project for Developmental math, Cat Tracks implementation and upgrades Hyphen Solutions, LTD., Addison, TX June 2004 to September 2008 Senior Consultant  Planned, executed and monitored software implementation projects  Outlined client’s internal business processes, reported needs, and performed gap analysis of supply chain communication  Managed client resources to integrate software applications with third-party ERP software systems and facilitated change management of end user practices for the client’s internal employees as well as their trade partners  Directed sales and training of SupplyPro, a web-based application for residential construction trade partners and suppliers; over 100 new clients were gained during the first two quarters of 2008  Managed client accounts including: Ryland Homes, Beazer Homes, Lennar Homes, Standard Pacific, Taylor Morrison Homes, Meritage Home, SelectBuild-A Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 33 of 44 BMHC Company, Touchstone Homes, Fieldstone Homes, Albi Homes, and Unity Building Group June 2003 to July 2004 System Support, Documentation & Training Contractor  Throughout corporate transition:  Designed and implemented web-based training programs for builders and suppliers using Hyphen Solutions applications  Conducted classroom and field training for multiple user groups  Wrote detailed user documentation for product release notifications and directed client support  Designed curriculum and developed training manuals for end user classroom training October 2002 to June 2003 Product Manager & Business Analyst  Managed and maintained product enhancement schedules for BuildPro and Build Europe web applications  Responsible for eliciting user enhancement requirements and designing cost effective software solutions  Designed new enhancements using the Joint Application Development (JAD) methodology  Developed end user release documentation and provided information and reporting regarding ongoing projects and initiatives to the user group forum January 2001 to October 2002 Product Designer & Product Team Manager  Designed, marketed and launched MH2 BuildBasic, a web application for scheduling and communication regarding construction projects  Managed department of 12 employees and a client base of over 250  Produced sales forecasting reports and maintained budgets  Created and published marketing materials and developed business and marketing initiatives May 2000 to January 2001 IT Support and Application Trainer Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 34 of 44  Supported internal and external IT systems and conducted system training for Sales staff  Designed and implemented first training syllabus for the MH2Build web application  Directed sales support and investment capital presentation support Aegis Communications December 1999 – May 2000 Level II Technical Support Contracted for second level support of Wingspan Bank Clients. Stream International July 1999 – December 1999 Technical Support Contracted for first and second level support of MSN clients KWSB 91.1 FM May 1998 – May 1999 Station Manager May 1997 – May 1998 Program Director Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 35 of 44 Education and Certifications Bachelor of Arts Western State College, Gunnison, CO May, 1999  Major: Communications, Mass and Multimedia  Minor: Business Administration Master of Business Administration, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX May, 2004 Master of Professional Communications Weber State University, Ogden, UT 2011 to Present Project Management Professional (PMP) Certified through Project Management Institute (PMI) September, 2009 IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management 2010 Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 36 of 44 Project and Publications – Portfolio material Overcoming the computer-mediated communication (CMC) "hump" in project management teams [electronic resource] / Cory J. Cunningham, Carrie A. McCloud. Abstract: To implement computer mediated communication (CMC) tools and overcome issues of virtual teaming, project managers and their organizations need to employ tactics, rules and methods that require a large amount of effort – the CMC “hump.” According to social information processing theory, CMC collaboration has the potential to be as successful as face-to-face but takes more time for participants to develop these relationships. It is possible that most organizations are not aware of the resources required to effectively implement project management (PM) CMC tools. For this investigative study, PM CMC tool users were surveyed to gather information about their use and perception of PM software. The study found those who received high levels of training and support rated their PM tool significantly higher for overall usability, as did users who had the ability to configure how their tool was used. However, most organizations are not investing the resources required to successfully implement CMC tools. Thematic analysis of PM software marketing materials, for the purpose of identifying major themes in software buying conversations, found that there is very little discussion about overcoming “hump” issues as part of organizational buying decisions for PM tools. Presentation URL: http://congresses.pmi.org/ResearchConf2012/TheConference/ConferenceEvents/Event.cfm?Ev entID=236 Download URL: http://marketplace.pmi.org/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?GMProduct=00101397100 Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 37 of 44 From Zero to PMO - Introducing Project Management into a Matrix Organization PMI Northern Utah Chapter's Professional Development Day 2010 Thursday, 21 October 2010 http://www.projectmanager.org/pdd2010.html Presentation http://www.projectmanager.org/pdfarchives/2010_conf/Zero_to_PMO-Cory_ Cunningham.pdf This visual rich presentation outlines the basic first steps for introducing a PMO to an organization that is not familiar, or comfortable with project management standards. The core concepts include: Providing a visual plan, vocabulary, PM processes, and tools for starting a PMO. If There Were a Project Manager in Fairy Tale Times https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=‐2aAPKx_4MQ Produced by Cory "Bubba" Cunningham, Carrie McCloud, and Donna Hernandez Cory, Carrie, and Donna are students of the Weber State University's Master of Professional Communication (MPC) program, graduating cohort class of 2013: www.http://weber.edu/mpc This video was originally created as a student project for MBA 6580 - Project Management, Weber State University, John B. Goddard School of Business & Economics: http://weber.edu/SBE/dropdowns/Graduate_Programs.html Cory, Carrie, and Donna presented this film at VisComm 26 - http://www.viscomm.org/ As an aid to memorization and learning, mnemonics of many types are often employed. One of the most effective is that of storytelling. The narrative paradigm theory of Walter Fisher suggests that all communication is storytelling. Educators have long used stories, parables and fables as a means of teaching and instruction. Visual storytelling being one of the strongest forms of communication, this silent film was designed as a Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 38 of 44 humorous means of teaching project management principles to help students remember the nine knowledge areas of the project management discipline. Each concept was tied to a well-known fairy tale. For example, risk management was tied to Little Red Riding Hood: if Little Red had taken the time to assess the risks of traveling in the woods to visit her Grandmother, she may have been better prepared to mitigate these risks. Each of seven other concepts was tied to a story: The Boy Who Cried Wolf – communication; The Three Little Pigs – quality; Snow White – human resources; Aladdin – cost; Goldilocks and the Three Bears – scope. A main character, Mr. Integration, dressed in bowler hat, baggy suit and handlebar mustache, represents how each concept is tied together. The stories were filmed as a silent movie to add to the novelty and memorability of the concepts. Placing the key points as dialogue in the form of text allows viewers to “see” the concepts in word and pictures. A different piece of period music selected for each story reinforces auditory learning. The movie employs Aristotle’s seven principles of good storytelling: 1) Plot – Mr. Integration saves the fairy tales by showing them how to implement project management; 2) Character – The fairy tales are common narratives from many viewers’ childhoods; 3) Ideas – project knowledge areas are part of a critical thought process necessary to manage effective projects; 4) Speech – the dialogue of the characters draws the viewer into the story; 5) Chorus – period music reinforces each story; 6) Décor – the set style is a combination of period scenes and costumes infused with modern technology; 7) Special Effects – post production editing make the film appear old and scratchy to add to its mystique. The short, 10-minute film teaches in a light-hearted, but memorable way. This video is also featured on the website of Kathy Schwalbe, author of "An Introduction to Project Management": http://pmtexts.com/free-resources/pm-videos/pm-in-the-movies/ Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 39 of 44 MBA Project - Blink Studios April 2012 – October 2012 Project developed using the business model canvas that was front-page featured on Weber State University's website. This project was created on LinkedIn by Zac Williams, and links to the final video project: http://vimeo.com/44882762 The Fantasy Project http://www.fantasy-con.com/ Links to video still in development: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9WzIXTa2lY This is a work in progress video for Josh Patel, and the Fantasy-Con Kickstarter project. I was asked to help put together an interview style video that could be used on a Kickstarter project to raise funds for an event. Originally, this project was supposed to be completed before the end of February 2013, but due to delays on Josh’s side, it is waiting to be completed. Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 40 of 44 Water and Fire photography lab https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6ivrgKw2Gs (Work in progress) Meetup project Welcome to the My Blink Studio photography lab Meetup events. These photography labs are a place to try out ideas - generally inspired by YouTube tutorials. As your event coordinator, I do not claim to be an expert at the subject matter. In fact, this will be the first time I have tried most of these experiments. I am inviting you to join me in a hands-on learning experience. Photographers of all skill levels are welcome. If you have experience with the subject matter, be prepared to share! If not, come ready to learn. Water and Fire This lab has two subjects, Water and Fire. These come from two different YouTube video tutorials. Please watch the videos before you RSVP for the lab. Part 1: Water (10-11:30am est.) "High-Speed Photography Tutorial with Splashes and Flashes" by Photo Extremist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUtrNJN_4zY&feature=share&list=LLsXKKCs6pWaH 7AUyGtCmviQ I will have the tank, squeegee, flashes and backdrops for this experiment. What you will need: Camera with a standard hot shoe adapter OR a remote flash cable port. Objects to drop in water - don't limit it to vegetables, but no bowling balls please. :) Part 2: Fire (11:30-1pm est.) "How to Get Smoking Hot Flower Photos " by DigitalRev http://youtu.be/JBSN7rmJ_GI I will have a variety of fuels and a fire extinguisher, plus constant lights. What you will need: Camera Things to set on fire - don't limit it to just flowers, but we will need keep size of the flame to somewhat small items. Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 41 of 44 Other notes: If you have not been to the studio before, let me know so I can send you detailed directions. There is a tripod in the studio, but please feel free to bring your own. There is a $5 fee for this lab to help pay for materials. Five dollar bills will be collected at the door. If you RSVP, but are not able to come, please unRSVP to open up the slot even if it is the morning of the event. Expected duration is 3 hours, but we may go longer as needed. The size of this event is limited to ensure that everyone can have a chance to shoot pictures during the experiment. If you would like to attend as an audience only participant, let me know so I can increase the attendee limit. Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 42 of 44 Branding image Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 43 of 44 Appendix D – Resume Cory “Bubba Cunningham – The Bubba Brand Page 44 of 44