Three helpful ways to consider the impact of your executive personal brand
By Mary E. Maloney
My hometown of Philadelphia was agog with excitement when our Eagles flew to victory 40-22 at the 2025 Super Bowl. I was especially excited about the game because I love seeing an underdog triumph. There are also personal branding lessons that can be learned from the corporate brand ads each year during this big event. 2025 was no exception.
This year’s campaigns included spots that expertly demonstrated what corporate brands stand for—the big, hairy, audacious goal they have for changing the world for the better, the “cause.”
For example, biopharmaceutical giant Pfizer” took a stand with this bold statement, “Pfizer is fighting for 8 cancer breakthroughs by 2030” in its “knock out cancer” ad and leveraged signature storytelling in its area of specialty (helping people beat disease) Check it out! (see :56 second mark)
We can take a page from this corporate playbook. When an individual leader effectively tells their unique brand stories—and articulates, with conviction, what they stand for, that has impact too.
But how can we measure such impact? Let me tell you about a scoring methodology for corporate ads that translates logically to executive personal brands as well.
The Advertiser Impact Score
I recently attended a webinar presented by British market research and data analytics firm YouGov that described the use of an advertiser impact score to understand the effectiveness of this year’s Super Bowl ads.
The AIS used in the webinar considered people’s awareness of the ad, “buzz” created by the ad, and changes in purchase consideration over a specific period. In this formulation, purchase consideration was weighted twice as heavily as the other two.
Here are the survey questions YouGov used to explore each factor for the various Super Bowl ads:
Ad awareness. Which of the following brands have you seen an advertisement for in the last two weeks?
Buzz. Over the last two weeks, about which of the following brands have you heard something positive (whether in the news, through advertising, or talking to friends and family?) And in the same timeframe, about which of the following brands have you heard something negative?
Purchase consideration. When you are in the market next to purchase [product or service], from which of the following would you consider purchasing?
In case you’re wondering, the five 2025 Superbowl ads YouGov’s AIS analysis rated highest were Poppi sparkling soda, booking.com, Dunkin’, T-Mobile, and Google Pixel.
AIS for Executive Personal Branding
These same factors are worth considering in the context of the success of your executive personal brand. Consider these questions to self-survey your brand impact:
Awareness. How aware are the people you serve or hope to serve of your personal brand? What have you done in the past that could raise awareness of your unique contributions? What could you do in the future to boost your brand?
Buzz. Would you say people are talking about your brand this week, this month, or this year? Why or why not? What could you do to “give them something to talk about”?
Engagement consideration. Why do people purchase your product or service? Why do employees trust you and follow your lead? How has that changed over time, and what will be the driver going forward? How can you influence the trajectory of these associations?
Laying the Groundwork for Brand Success
No matter how you measure your personal brand’s impact, it will be better positioned for success if you lay a strong foundation. Using the Excavate-Tell-Affirm™ process from Revealing Genius to make your Brand Declaration is a time-proven way to build a solid brand framework that is uniquely yours—and with our process, you’ll be able to tell others about it with an unprecedented sense of agency and confidence. It would be our honor to assist you.
