You know them, you hear about them and you definitely can recognize them. It’s those people whose names mean so much more than just a set of letters, it’s those people who used their name to facilitate and create new ideas and products! Barring Hollywood and the Music World, we look at the top ten living people who have built a positive career from becoming a brand of their own, by using popular culture, media and keeping in touch with current trends here’s our top ten list!

1. Barack Obama: Surely first placed as the man of self made brands. He has books, television adverts, YouTube and a fan base that resembles the entire Facebook database!
Check out his website for more on the man! http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

2. Richard Branson: The man who wants to conquer space (http://www.virgingalactic.com/) to go along with his Virgin Brand…He lives the brand, he breathes the brand and he is the brand. The Virgin Website is super comprehensive and really cool, this is certainly a man with a brand!
http://www.virgin.com/home.aspx

3. Michael Jordan: Athlete, Basketball player and businessman! He made his name shooting hoops and from there had a Sneaker named after him and starred in a movie opposite Bugs Bunny. If that’s not cool we don’t know what is!
For more on Michael Jordan check out the NBA’s website:
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/michael_jordan.html

4. René Lacoste: the old school tennis star who used his persona from the court to rocket his own clothing label. Check out the René Lacoste Foundation which also gives a really cool biography of the great man! http://www.fondationrenelacoste.org/index_en.html

5. Her Majesty the Queen of England: She has a whole national anthem dedicated to her, surely that’s genius branding! Check out the official website of the British monarchy,
http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page1.asp

6. Nelson Mandela: Spent his prime in prison but it just helped him spur a nation, with a statue of himself in London’s Parliament Square how can one argue…check out the Nelson Mandela Children Fund, illustrating how a brand can push charitable causes as well! http://www.nmcf.co.za

7. Steve Jobs: Think Mac you think Jobs! Check out Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs

8.Bill Gates:You think Gates you think Microsoft, you think Microsoft you think Gates!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates

9. Tiger Woods: Brought a new dimension to the game of golf. He bridged the gap between the new era of sports media from where Jordan set the platform. His name alone is marketing genius! Check Tiger’s website!
http://www.tigerwoods.com/defaultflash.sps

10. Steffi Graf: Literally turned Sporting codes on their heads as she amalgamated talent and beauty, creating a much needed revamp to the way in which women’s sport had been viewed.  She later married Andre Agassi another brand of huge magnitude!
For more on Steffi Graf check out what Wikipedia have to say! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steffi_Graf

The Movie:

Space Jam: Throw in Bugs, Daffy and co with a bit of Basketball, add a bit of Michael Jordan and you have an epic adventure Looney Toons movie. Oh yes and there are aliens in it too…check out the International Movie Database! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117705