Bio

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: