ABOUT US

Personal branding to future-proof your employees and give your company a competitive edge

Founded in 2007, Branding & Marketing YOU is the only South African business specialising in personal brand building to future-proof your employees and give your company a competitive edge. We are a proudly Level 3 B-BBEE company.

Bring Your Brand to Life Today.

Why Partner with Us?

We offer development workshops and interventions that enable leaders and talent to brand and market themselves – equipping them to future-proof themselves to thrive in an age where brand and reputation is everything.

Our development programmes have been implemented in blue-chip companies across South Africa including: Absa, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Deloitte, Microsoft, Hogan Lovells, Roche, JP Morgan, Novartis, Multichoice, Nedbank, BDO, Oticon, ABInBev, Discovery, Business Schools and more.

Branding & Marketing YOU is a fully women owned, operated and led business, spurred by the passion of our founder, Donna Rachelson.

  • Personalised interventions for employees with maximum impact
  • Over 5000 corporate professionals trained to date
  • Sustained and convenient learning solutions though training, e-learning and support services

Brands that Trust Us to Build the Personal Brands of
Their Most Valuable Assets – Their People

leaders and high-potential talent supported
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local and internal organisations impacted
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personal branding interventions delivered
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years of leadership, branding and marketing exp
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About Donna Rachelson

Built on a Passion for Enabling Talent and Leaders to Step into Their Power, Be Intentional with Their Success and Earn Their Place as Respected Global Contributors

Branding & Marketing YOU was founded by Donna Rachelson, a recognised expert in personal branding, leadership visibility and professional influence.

For more than three decades, Donna has worked with individuals, teams and organisations to strengthen presence, build credibility and translate capability into meaningful career and business outcomes.

She has supported more than 5,500 professionals in packaging and marketing their personal brands, coached leaders preparing for high-stakes opportunities, and partnered with organisations to strengthen the visibility and readiness of their talent pipelines.

Donna is the author of four books, a sought-after keynote speaker, and has lectured locally and internationally, including at GIBS and Yale University’s YALI programme.

Her earlier career included senior marketing leadership roles at Nando’s, SAICA, DNA Supply Chains, Standard Bank and AECI, giving her deep commercial insight into how organisations grow, compete and develop people.

Today, that experience is applied through practical programmes that help people become more visible, trusted and effective in the environments that matter.

GET TO KNOW DONNA

Donna is The Author of Four Books.

SHOP NOW

Branding & Marketing YOU –
provides practical ‘hands-on’ guidance through case studies and is the first South African based personal branding and marketing book.

Branding & Marketing YOU through Teams –
mobilises organisational teams to effectively position themselves as adding value and enhancing their visibility and credibility.

Personal Branding for Entrepreneurs –
provides quick-fire, practical advice and real-life examples and success stories to help entrepreneurs build and market their personal brands.

Play to Win: What women can learn from men in business –
gives women practical ways of ‘leveling the playing field’ and getting ahead in male-dominated environments.

Testimonials

“It was a fantastic two days and definitely worth my time. Before this workshop I had some idea as to what my brand is, but when working through the different steps to define it better I managed to get a much better understanding of what I stand for and how it impacts on those around me. Donna has been absolutely fabulous, and I am advocating this workshop as much as I can with my colleagues. The “after-sales-service” (for lack of a better word) is also unique in that it provides even further assistance and guidance with regard to the e-book reviewing my brand promise, brand pitch, LinkedIn summary etc. In my opinion THIS is exactly what sets your workshop apart from any other that I have attended previously. In most cases one walks away, forget what was said and fail to embed the learnings in our everyday lives, but with this workshop the focus remains, and it will stay with me forever. Best of luck for the future, the team is doing an exceptional job.”
RIANA TAUTEANALYST, ABSA
“This workshop blew my mind! I have so much new stuff and great ideas to implement I hardly know where to start! The day is packed with practical personal branding tips for anyone intent on getting ahead in their chosen space. What’s more – they can be easily applied from the moment you leave. I cannot recommend this workshop highly enough.”
PAUL DU TOITMD OF CONGRUENCE TRAINING (PTY) LTD
“Lekker, lekker, lekker – so great to see the team create a safe space for each other and to share openly. Brilliant to see fireworks go off for each of them regarding how they can build their own brands within a team.”
YVETTE NOWELLRMB
“This programme with you has really shown me the importance of putting in work to craft and strategize my brand, and I cannot thank you enough for all the learning so far. I want to use this opportunity to my absolute advantage, so I want to put in all the necessary work.”
MOOSA MOLIBELIMOOSA MOLIBELI
“Personal Branding and Marketing workshops fostered a paradigm shift in me. The course facilitator (Donna Rachelson) was friendly, warm, invited different opinions and challenged me to make a habitual effort of building my personal brand. Donna left me with tools I can use to uplift my brand. I would recommend this course to anyone who wish to be challenged with the intentions of growing their brands. I truly cherish ever meeting Donna and tapping into her wealth of experience.”
SIYABONGA MABUZASENIOR DATA GOVERNANCE SPECIALIST, ABSA
“Donna was excellent and very professional, I left totally inspired and braver then when I arrived. The interaction and aspects covered were to the point, practically, Donna displayed excellence in what she does, and very profound method in the way she facilitates the workshops to include everyone, Donna made you feel you could go out and take on the whole world. She is a remarkable, dynamic women, leaving a legacy for across all diverse cultures, to step out from our comfort zone, especially me. With the workshop it highlighted many of my strengths that we sometimes overlook in the busyness of our work life. This not only talks to work life but principles you can adopt personally.”
TAMMY DURMANABSA
“The Branding & Marketing YOU workshop caused a paradigm shift in my view and approach to branding, I now consider branding in all aspects of my life, from my social profile, personal expression, physical appearance to the conversations I keep and ultimately the way I present myself.”
AMANDA ROUXVICE PRESIDENT, IB F & BM, J.P. MORGAN
“Impactful. Insightful. Mind stretching. Invaluable. You will never look at yourself in the same light again and neither will your business associates.”
ANNE-MARIE GREIFFLIGHTHOUSE
“If you do business and want an advantage – this is compulsory. The material is high impact and usable.”
CARLOS MAGALHAESENTERPRISE STRATEGY ADVISOR, MICROSOFT SA
“Branding & Marketing YOU’s course content is clear. The workshop is well facilitated. Most of all it is relevant to all types of people, both introverts and extroverts. I walked away feeling equipped with tools that I can practically use to grow my personal brand.”
CAROL NGCAMPHALALACHANGE MANAGEMENT ANALYST, STANDARD BANK
“Brilliant! Forces you to reflect on who you are and how you package and portray yourself.”
CHERYL JANE KULENGATAX DIVISION, ERNST YOUNG SOUTH AFRICA
“Not only is Donna an excellent facilitator in the personal branding and marketing field, but she carries a passion and drive for excellence which is unmistakable. Donna builds hope in people for a better future as she makes more complex concepts easy to understand and apply. It is truly great to learn from her experience and knowledge!”
CHRISTA KNOWLINGCHANGE MANAGEMENT, STANDARD BANK
“Donna really knows her business and is a very dynamic and interesting facilitator. Any professional in any organisation would do well to attend the course.”
CLAYTON BRETTMIDDLE AFRICA BUSINESS SUPPORT SPECIALIST MANAGER, STANDARD BANK
“Donna is an excellent facilitator who encourages active and lively participation. She is truly passionate about her subject matter, is well qualified to talk about personal branding and marketing and has practical experience to back up what she says. She clearly loves what she does.”
WAYNE MACFARLANECHANGE MANAGEMENT, STANDARD BANK
“Branding & Marketing YOU provides one with an opportunity to implement everyday practical actions and interventions that will help elevate your brand and keep it top of mind. I credit my career growth to Donna for continuing to focus my energy in achieving my goals in life.”
HELEN MAYCUSTOMER AND PARTNER EXPERIENCE LEAD: MICROSOFT SOUTH AFRICA
“A highly valuable, thought-provoking journey with an inspiring, exciting outcome.”
LUCY LIGHTFOOTBRAND & MARKETING SPECIALIST, RMB
“I would certainly recommend this workshop to anyone who wants to move from a good leader to a great leader, from an average person to an impactful person, from a directionless person to a person of purpose.”
MELANIE BOTHAFORMER MARKETING & OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, MICROSOFT SOUTH AFRICA
“Donna is an amazing facilitator and has vast knowledge on the subject of personal branding and marketing. She gives practical examples that make it easy for one to see how you can make the material relevant to your life.”
GUGU BUTHELEZIMARKETING HEAD, BUSINESS BANKING, STANDARD BANK
“This is the best personal development training I have attended in my career. Mind blowing!”
THANDUXOLO DAMANEBUSINESS CONSULTANT, DISCOVERY, LA HEALTH DISTRIBUTION, W. CAPE

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