Abstract
In recent times, there has been a growing trend in the increasing importance of personal branding of executives within the marketing communications systems of companies. This contributes to greater brand recognition and customer loyalty. The leader’s brand is transforming into a distinct communication channel with the target audience and is becoming an integral part of the organization’s overall brand strategy. Business personification through the leader’s personality allows for more effective transmission of corporate values and key company messages, as the presence of a trustworthy "face" of the brand significantly simplifies the consumer’s perception of information. The aim of the study is to provide a theoretical foundation and develop scientific and practical approaches to the formation, development, and promotion of the leader’s brand as a separate marketing channel and a strategic component of the company’s communication policy. An integrated four-component model of the leader’s brand has been developed, which includes identification, value-semantic, communication, and integration components. This model can serve as a methodological basis for conducting a brand audit, developing a brand strategy, and assessing its effectiveness. The structural components of a personal brand that ensure its integrity and effectiveness as a marketing tool have been identified. A typology of strategies for integrating the personal brand of a leader into the company’s marketing activities is proposed, with a justification that the selection of a particular approach should be based on a comprehensive analysis of internal and external factors. Tools and technologies for the development of the leader’s brand have been systematized, and it has been proven that their comprehensive use enables the maximum effectiveness of the leader’s brand as a marketing channel. It has been established that the effectiveness of the leader’s brand is determined by key characteristics such as authenticity, relevance, consistency, visibility, and emotional engagement. These characteristics should form the basis of the system for evaluating and monitoring the effectiveness of an executive’s personal brand. The practical value of the study lies in the development of a comprehensive approach to the formation, development, and integration of the leader’s brand into the company’s marketing communications system.
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