Extrospective Factors · Case Study
How Someone Else's Brand Actually Works
With a partner, read how a real person builds a personal brand, then present it at the Case Study Showcase.
Weight 20%
Presented Week 10 Showcase
Team In pairs
Draws on Weeks 5 to 9
Working in pairs, choose a real individual and read their personal brand the way an analyst would, then present what you found at the Case Study Showcase.
A case study is not a biography, it is an argument about how a real brand is built and maintained. You look for features of best practice and soft skills, and evaluate the subject for influence and broadcasting persona, drawing on everything from Weeks 5 to 9: the sweet spot, storytelling, online reputation, and social media strategy.
How it runs
- Pair up and choose a subjectPairs and subjects are confirmed at the Week 8 workshop. Pick a real figure with a genuine public presence, not a celebrity everyone has already analysed to death.
- Analyse across the course vocabularyPositioning, values and repetition, narrative arc, reputation and how they answer, engagement, and the visual identity that is read first.
- Build the presentation togetherBoth partners contribute and both speak. The Showcase is in Week 10, followed by peer feedback.
- Credit and critiqueSay what works, what does not, and why, with evidence. Credit and critique together, or it reads as fan writing or a takedown.
Lenses to read your subject with
| Lens | What a strong reading shows |
|---|
| Positioning | One specific claim about what they do and who for, in the same words across their platforms. |
| Repetition | The same two or three values visible across recent posts, a pattern, not a slogan. |
| Origin | A narrative arc you can trace: where they began, what changed them, where they are now. |
| Openness | Setbacks and corrections are public, and the account survives them. |
| Fit | Platform, audience, and ask line up; nothing on either account contradicts the claim. |
Format
Completed with a partner and presented in class at the Case Study Showcase in Week 10, with peer feedback. The exact length and rubric are announced ahead of Week 10. Both partners are expected to contribute and to speak.
AI policy, from the syllabus
AI-generated content is not allowed unless the instructor explicitly permits it, and any AI use must be disclosed. If undisclosed AI use is found, you have two days to rewrite with a 20% deduction, or the piece receives a zero. Late work loses 10% per day up to five days, then a zero.