Class Activity: Personal Branding

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Goal: Discuss how personal branding is influenced by patterns of consumption.

Time: 20 minutes

1. As individuals, ask students to generate a list of all of the products or services that they use on a regular basis. These products and services could include the type of car they drive, the music they listen to, the brands of food they eat, the places where they socialize, how they decorate their living spaces, where they buy their clothes, what they do on summer vacations and spring breaks, or what activities they participate in to enhance their job prospects. You can ask students to generate this list in one of two ways: They can either create the list in class, or you can turn this exercise into an extended assignment and ask students to create this list over time.

2. Once the list has been generated, ask the student to articulate what their patterns of consumption say about their identity. In other words, what is the personal brand that they have created for themselves, and how is that personal brand communicated to others?

3. After the individual tasks are completed, ask students to reflect on their conclusions in small groups or in the larger class.