Narrating the Discussion Among Brand Thought Leaders with Flavia Barbat of Brandingmag

Dec 12

Flavia Barbat is CEO & Editor-in-Chief of Brandingmag, an independent journal narrating the discussion around branding among thought leaders from across the globe.

In this episode of Let's Talk Limbic Sparks, Flavia reveals what it takes to be a true thought leader that increases your value to others. She shares how the core values and high standards that she sets for Brandingmag continuously elevates the publication's ability to provide insightful and useful how-to content to brand leaders around the world.

We talk about how Brandingmag editorial and marketing sets itself apart from others by providing long-form content, avoiding click-bait headlines, and not chasing vanity metrics, sacrificing fleeting transaction volume, for deeper readership relationships. We draw parallels between this approach, and how brands and thought leaders can create increased value for themselves.

Key Takeaways and Soundbites:

“The principles of branding, when you understand them beyond the commonly understood visual identity, is something that applies to you as a person, to a community, to a company and ultimately to a nation.”

“If the content doesn't reach our standards, or what we want from an editorial perspective, then we have no problem saying, this is not a good fit for us... I prefer honesty, and want to be able to say, this is not good for our platform, but it can be for another, with absolutely no hard feelings.”

“You create your space and people come to you - you emanate a certain energy, and the right opportunities or people circle around that.”

“If you help others and show people how to do things, your value can only increase to others.”

“If you provide something useful, that is honest, that is wise, people can automatically feel the time that you spent to create it. They can feel the quality.”

“For us, it's always about building a very coherent content ecosystem where there's a very thoughtful strategy behind why you create every piece of content that you create.”

“If I don't understand myself, properly, on an emotional level, then I can't possibly understand those around me. I feel like this is also true for a lot of organizations. Insights are fantastic, but not enough time is spent looking inward and understanding that raising the emotional coefficient of the organization from inside. They don't understand that it will manifest itself outwards.”

“What is it that we want to be? Have very clear understanding of those values and have that level of emotional understanding, first and foremost, and only then, can I be comfortable with whatever I may choose to do on the outside.”

Here are some fun facts about Flavia…

Flavia’s advice? Every brand needs an editor-in-chief. Her career so far has been a balance of digital media and brand strategy. As Editor-in-Chief of Brandingmag and Branding.news, she’s learned what it takes to build a successful content platform and what quality thought leadership looks like. Meanwhile, as a global consultant, she felt first-hand what a strong brand focus can do for any and all organizations looking to manage change with coherence and flexibility.