Name: Olivier Blanchard
Born: Paris, France – 9 May 1971
Residence: Greenville, SC (USA)
Occupation: Principal at BrandBuilder Marketing, a Greenville-based Brand Consulting and Marketing Management firm.
Height: 6′ 0″
Weight: 170 lbs
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Languages: French 100%, English 100%, Spanish 34.71%, Italian 2.1%
Current Chairs and Boards: SmartBrief Social Media Advisory Board, Social Media Club – Greenville.
My Professional Background in 80 words or less: Military then B2B then B2C. Fortune 500s and SMBs. Product Management, Sales Management, Marketing Management, Brand Management, Operational Management, Social Media Management. Marine Nationale, T&S Brass, Microsoft, K2, Corante, SYNNEX, WOMMA, Hincapie Sportswear, LikeMinds, F360, Marketing Profs, SCHA, Furman University, Design Centers International, America’s Mart, Smartbrief, Centers For Disease Control, The Federal Reserve System, Red Chair Group.
What I Do: I help companies develop, build, integrate, manage and measure social media programs, manage their reputation online and offline, and develop sustainable brands in an increasingly complex media landscape.
I also train company executives and project teams in all matters of social media management and measurement, then help them build and integrate effective programs into every facet of their business, from Public Relations, business development and market research to Human Resources and Customer Support.
Find out more at www.TheBrandBuilderMarketing.com.
In addition to my company’s day-to-day activities, I spend a good amount of time speaking about effective brand development, marketing strategy and corporate social media engagement, so don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like to have me speak at your next event: (olivier@thebrandbuildermarketing.com)
Blogs: The BrandBuilder, Marketing 2.0, and Interactive/Media/Design (the Royal Academy of Art’s blog – The Hague), Social Media ROI.net
Professional Summary: 15+ years of marketing management experience. Broken down into specific categories: Marketing project management, Social Media Program Management, strategic branding, brand management, online reputation management, product launch management, marketing communications management, community development, business development, and product design ideation experience. I have worked in government, manufacturing, energy, fashion, retail, event management and business services sectors, and just spent a year learning how to help software resellers and IT shops better engage with small and mid-sized businesses in the US. (I figured it might come in handy.)
Education: I hold an International Baccalaureate degree from the International School of Brussels and a BA degree from Furman University.
Oh, and I also wrote a little book titled “Social Media ROI,” which is pretty much a blueprint for companies looking to build social media programs that will actually yield results, not just fans and followers. If your favorite book store is out of copies, you can always order it from Amazon (click here). The next one will be about brand management in the era of the hyper-connected consumer.
Other Interests: Innovation, Design, new collaborative tools, Triathlon, Cycling, photography, sailing, skiing, scuba, adventure travel, anthropology, geostrategy, writing, social media and business strategy.
Random facts: I lived in Europe until the age of 17. I have always been fascinated by great Marketing and by the way some companies seem to understand that tying consistently delightful experiences with their brands always spells success for them. I was always drawn to print and TV ads, even as a kid. While the other kids were drawing robots, aliens and superheroes, I was designing slogans and ad campaigns for imaginary products I spent weeks prototyping out of molding clay and model materials. I have since managed to successfully bridge the gap between product ideation and design (my name appears on a number of very cool patents), and the marketing that helps accelerate broad product adoption – which makes me a little different in my approach to marketing than folks who come from strictly PR and ad agency backgrounds.
I grew up in a culture which favored quality over quantity, substance over hype, style over fashion, exceptional over average, extraordinary craftsmanship over “made in China” labels, and originality over standardization. This early education in the unmatched value of true quality and authenticity has shaped every aspect of my way of thinking, from the projects I choose to work on to what products and brands I opt to invest in on a daily basis. Settling for average or “good enough” aren’t really options in my world.
In my free time, I hang out with my family, participate in triathlons, and take photos or anything and everything I can get my hands on. I can hold my breath for 3 minutes, 12 seconds. I watch way too much television. I am a movie-going fiend. I cannot be away from wireless internet access for more than an hour without going into seizures. I do not eat meat. My organic smoothies are legendary in some circles. I am definitely not a defensive driver. My favorite place to unwind is the Cote D’Azur. I am addicted to travel, portrait photography, social media tools, gadgets and great food. I am neither a social media guru nor a social media expert, but I do know a thing or two about the space. My wife and I own two chihuahuas and a golden retriever – one of these chihuahuas is Chico, the BrandBuilder mascot. Our kids have nine pet rats, which are not Brandbuilder mascots. My favorite film director is by far Terrence Malick (although David Fincher and Steven Soderbergh aren’t far behind). My favorite books are probably The Road and Fight Club. (I read Zola and Hemingway… I just prefer McCarthy and Palahniuk.) My first job out of college was with the Fusiliers Marins (French Navy Marines). I am planning vacations in France, Costa Rica and Thailand in the next two years. Cycling for hours on end is one of my favorite ways to unwind when no beaches or ski slopes are available. I always count in French (something about having learned my multiplications tables before knowing how to speak English).
Turnons: Anything innovative, the sound of genuine laughter, the smells and sounds of the South of France, conversations with free-thinkers, anything made or crafted rather than manufactured, a real night sky (the kind you get at sea), vision, talent, courage, honesty, integrity, imagination, enthusiasm, good manners, genuine smiles, great ideas.
Turnoffs: Groupthink, substandard customer experiences, uninspired advertising, lousy customer service, artificially flavored foods, rulebooks, artificial looking people, poorly disguised bulls**t ,bad grammar, cheaply built products, fearful narrow-minded people, social climbers, hypocrisy, selfishness, racism, sexism, greed, fear of failure, intellectual laziness, self-righteous armchair quarterbacks.
The resume word cloud:
Wow, I don’t know why there are no comments on such a fascinating bio. Honestly, this has got to be one of the most, not only interesting, but also thought-provoking and inspiring bios I’ve ever read. I agree with all of your sentiments about life in general and appreciate a lot of the statements you make here. I’m glad to see there are others out there with keen perspective and solid opinions. Merci et bravo!
I didn’t even notice people could leave comments on the bio. 😀
Merci beaucoup. Great blog, by the way. Keep it up.
interesting bio – for the most part spot on – damn shame we don’t get to elaborate on a day to day basis anymore. i would love to bounce some ideas off of you some time… send me an email sometime @ my yahoo address…. hope you are doing well and i thought you should know i just had one of the best steaks in my life a few days ago — 12oz. filet mignoncooked Pittsburgh style – delicish….
Felicitations !
I enjoy reading your blog. I find myself thinking alike in many ways… Keep it up / Keep the tri-color flag up too 😉
I wish I had the same writing energy !!
A+
Jean-Philippe
Oliver,
Nice blog. Found it by accident, but I’ll be back.
Just started mine–take a look when you get a second.
http://rblb.wordpress.com/
I’d like to add you to my Blogroll.
Cheers,
Barry
Jean-Philippe mentioned ‘writing energy’. Spot on. Great description. Glad I read.
Salut Olivier,
Je suis a’ Boston, transvase’ de la Cote D’Azur.
Tes ecrits son tres pertinents et tres bien presente’s.
Wahyd
Profile: http://mediacodex.com/about.htm
Connect: http://www.linkedin.com/in/vannoni
Publication: http://manifestmagazine.wordpress.com
Ah super! Merci de m’avoir enoye tes numeros. 🙂
Oliver,
We at haul have only recently discovered you, your thoughts & writings pop up often in our meetings.
Thanks for your offering.
Regards
Scott Kilmartin
Designer / MD
haul
You guys rock. Thanks for posting comments here. 😀
I found your blog via your recent posting on the growth of the mobile market at a LinkedIN group.
Like finally, it’s catching on.
As an analyst at the Aberdeen Group in Boston in 2000, I tracked global mobile trends.
This was smack dab in the middle of the Internet Boom/Bust.
Many of the mobile ideas getting traction were bandied about back then, but went no where fast, in no small part due to the stubbornness of service providers, Sprint, VW, etc. etc. etc.
Do you have a mailing list? Iif so, please include me.
I would be interested in all things directed toward BBoomers and the mobile market.
Merci beaucoup !!
[…] is a great guy to follow – and if you want to know a whole bunch more about him, and mascot Chico, this is your spot. Do so when you visit his blog, and find him on Twitter at […]
Loving your blog. I’m a college student who just so happens to be majoring in PR/marketing and minoring in French, so naturally I’m very interested in the whole conversation above 🙂
Love the Bio & Randomness!
Enjoyed reading the friendly banter about how la French & ze Germans are like oil & water, etc. LOL. I know all too well having traveled and lived in those places.
I too am a non-meat eater and dog lover. I am glad to have found your blog and now follow you on Twitter & look forward to your tweets 😀
Have a lovely day~
Great blog.
Header photo on right makes me think of Ray Romano. Good or bad, you decide 🙂
Crumbs, I came on WordPress this morning just to check my stats and you had top billing, writing about someone who had been foolish whilst Twittering (a subject I myself had touched on recently). Here I am, a good 45 minutes later, still reading through your pages and getting drawn into all the comments. What a great site.
As a fellow Flickr-er (!) I’ll also now be checking out your lovely photos. I guess you could say therefore that you have a new fan!
Keep up the good work. 🙂
Olivier,
I’ve been following (lurking) your blog for awhile now. Really (really!) enjoying your style and perspective on all things branding. I just hit the 50 post mark on my blog, which covers branding and design for the screen- motion graphics & broadcast design.
http://dennytu.wordpress.com
Keep up the good work! Let me know what you think?
Denny
[…] Sports Commentary Please, take a second and read this: https://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/about/ […]
Olivier,
If you want to add Facebook or email sharing buttons to your blog posts, there’s a plugin that does it for you:
http://tinyurl.com/sharebuttons
Hope you find it helpful!
Cheers,
Jerry
Precious, just precious….
[…] 28, 2009 · No Comments Olivier Blanchard have made a great blog post about how Social Media experts, gurus etc. when confronted about ROI on […]
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[…] Olivier Blanchard goes through the key business misconceptions of social media – 1) only works for some companies, 2) you will lose control of message, and 3) it is just a fad. He points out that a wide range of companies from the traditionally non-service oriented cable companies to traditional publishing companies. You won’t lose control of your message if you listen and engage. And social media is not a fad! It is here to stay. Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow. […]
OMG… I am so happy I “stumbled” upon your blog. nothing really happens by accident and this discovery is right on time!! Your information here is priceless! Thanks for sharing!
BTW… you have also convinced me I need to update my bio on my blog.
I just wrote your biography in 58 words for the Rosey Awards book. Made me want to look you up and, in the event that we cross paths, invite you to coffee.
[…] post form Olivier Blanchard’s Brand Building Blog looks at the building blocks of a corporate social media program – 1) […]
[…] post form Olivier Blanchard’s Brand Building Blog looks at the building blocks of a corporate social media program – 1) […]
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Olivier,
This is by far the most intriguing Bio I have read on a Blog. The resume tag cloud is great and really hammers home what/who you are as a professional. I’m glad that I have found your blog and have subscribed to the RSS. Hopefully I’ll be able to use your tips on my own blog (still in infant stages).
Thanks again,
Ryan H.
Hey! c’est en faisant une recherche sur ton homonyme/économiste que je suis tombée (c’est le cas de le dire!) par hasard sur ton site; je l’ai consulté avec attention. Des arguments trés intéressants sur lesquels on ne peut être que d’accord. Bravo à toi!
Great insights here, Olivier. As a born German myself, I can’t surpress my attention to detail: Tiny grammar error at ze end of the bio >> “disguised bulls**t ,bad grammar, ”
Just joking ; ]
Thank god I live in the UK now.
Cheerio!
J’aime les personnes cultivées, originales et ouvertes d’esprit et je trouve que vous étes un mélange de tout cela.
Frenchies are arrogant maybe but they have good taste.I like Americans too because they are cool despite the fact that they don’t know much about the rest of the world. I think that every people is a mix of qualities and defaults but we can be better learning from each other.
Indeed. Agreed on all counts.
And solid use of your bilingual abilities, Ernesto. 😀
[…] Olivier Blanchard, founder of Brand Builder Marketing has put together the following slideshow that expertly shows you what you need to know about the basics. Definitely worth a look: […]
Salut Olivier
c’est drôle, depuis le temps que je lis ton blog, c’est la première fois que je tombe sur ta bio. très sympa!
merci pour le insight et le ton, toujours très Parisien (même si le texte est en anglais).
J’ai un ton Parisien? 😀 Ce doit etre pour ca que je vexe parfois certains de mes lecteurs alors. Je comprends tout, maintenant.
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[…] A former business consultant, product marketer and brand advisor, Olivier has both B2B and B2C as well as startup and Fortune 500-level expertise, working with such […]
And I thought I lived an interesting life! Great stuff Olivier. We are in similar businesses, but I am on the west coast. I also am specializing in helping local companies get exposure on the internet. It seems to be a vastly overlooked niche. I look forward to hearing / seeing more of your posts. I always like to learn more from everyone I can.
Best regards,
Will.
I like the genuine spontaneity here ….great synchronization of the brain and heart…..
I am a qualitative researcher…practicing in UAE (Middle east) and just happened to bump here..guess will keep coming back and knowing more !
Best regards,
Kanchan
Thanks.
Hey very nice blog!! Man .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…
[…] Blanchard is the type of person that can get 55 comments on his BrandBuilder Blog biography. His turn ons include “anything innovative” and his professional background in 80 words […]
Very impressed. Now know I’m definitely a novice. Liked your post on debates. If everyone felt similarly, there might be a better climate for “freedom of expression.” As it stands, hope the latest brouhaha over a mosque being built NEAR Ground Zero in NYC does not engender more terrorist acts on either side. Maybe you should weigh in with those who are “up in arms.”
wish cooler heads would prevail…hugmamma.
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[…] Olivier Blanchard’s slide deck “Basics of Social Media ROI” provides some great insights for newbies or established pros (sometimes we need refreshing) working professionally with and in Social Media. Enjoy: Olivier Blanchard Basics Of Social Media Roi View more presentations from Olivier Blanchard. […]
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[…] First, some background on the author: Blanchard is an industry thought leader not only in the social media space, but in the sales and marketing space generally. He runs a great web site devoted to (for lack of a better term) Marketing 2.0 and is active on all the major social media channels. You can find out more about him here. […]
[…] (let alone, as Nietzsche proclaimed, God). This time round the honor belongs to blogger and author Olivier Blanchard, who in a recent post entitled ‘R.I.P Personal Branding‘ mounts perhaps the fiercest […]
[…] (let alone, as Nietzsche proclaimed, God). This time round the honor belongs to blogger and author Olivier Blanchard, who in a recent post entitled ‘R.I.P Personal Branding‘ mounts perhaps the fiercest […]
[…] it’s criticism that is well deserved. If you have any doubt about this, you should read Olivier Blanchard’s very well-argued critique of personal branding. Blanchard notes, “People are people. They […]
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[…] around a thousand boards and is followed by 5,604 Pinterest users. Blanchard’s day job in his own words involves: helping companies “develop, build, integrate, manage and measure social media programs, […]