Masters of Branding Podcast - Samin Sayeed CCT316

Drake, a Toronto influencer and founder of the OVO brand, discusses the intersection of branding and personality. He explains that OVO's branding revolves around their owl logo, representing wisdom, luxury, and excellence. The brand's personality is characterized by a luxury and urban vibe, reflected in Drake's music and lifestyle. OVO's success is attributed to the strong emotional connection it creates with fans through its unique logo, exclusivity, and focus on luxury. Drake also discusses how OVO uses brand ambassadors, employee referrals, and social media to promote the brand. He mentions collaborations, limited edition collections, and his own social media presence to generate hype and expand the brand's reach. The podcast concludes with praise for Drake's influence and impact on Toronto's culture. Welcome to the Masters of Branding podcast. My name is Samim. I'm a student at the University of Toronto and I'm your host for today's podcast. I hope everyone is having a great day. We have a special guest here today. One of Toronto's most iconic and legendary influencers, October's very own, Drake. Thank you. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you for taking the time to be here with us today. Well, let's get started with this podcast. I know you have created an amazing clothing brand with OVO. It's been phenomenal to see the cool collaborations you've done with OVO, especially with the University of Toronto. How would you describe the concept of branding and personality intersecting with your brand, October's very own? I would like to say that our branding is purely built around our OWL logo. This logo translates my message in life, which is wisdom, luxury, and excellence. My brand's personality is characterized by a luxury, urban, and exclusive vibe, which is reflected by my music and lifestyle. The intersection of branding and personality with OVO lies in the fact that the brand's unique logo and design elements, along with its focus on exclusivity and luxury, to help create a distinct personality that resonates with my fans. OVO's branding and personality are intertwined, and both are influential with the success of establishing a strong emotional connection with my fans. I couldn't agree more. That was spot on. I think OVO has such an iconic logo that represents our culture in Toronto. Any person from Toronto can spot this logo from a mile away and recognize, oh, that's Drake, October's very own. The next question I have for you is, how does OVO, as a brand, use its employees to promote your brand? That's a great question. I'm glad you asked. With OVO, we have brand ambassadors that wear our OVO clothing and merchandise, attend events, and engage with the fans on social media, all while promoting the brand's image and values. We also have a referral program where my employees can refer their friends and family to buy our clothing and other good stuff. This helps us increase brand awareness and create more traffic online and in stores. Wow, I love the fact that your employees get to wear OVO clothing. It must feel nice to be able to wear such nice clothing to work. Your employees must feel great coming to work wearing OVO clothing. Definitely sounds like a great work environment to be in. The last question I have for you today is, how do influencers like yourself help companies market their products on social media? Well, to be honest, I have done quite a lot of collaborations for OVO where we have limited edition clothing collections. I would use my Instagram and other social media platforms to show off the collections before release to get the hype for it. I also enjoy wearing OVO clothing in various occasions like music videos, Instagram photos, public appearances, and concerts, which helps me promote my brand exponentially towards my fans. My overall influence and large following on social media has allowed me to take my brand to the next level. Absolutely, you have made such a name for yourself and put the city on the map. Toronto wouldn't be Toronto without you. The influence that you have built for yourself is phenomenal. This is just to show how powerful an influencer is with its reach towards branding and marketing. Well, this concludes our podcast today. Thank you for being our special guest on the Masters of Branding podcast. Tune in every Friday at 9 p.m. for a weekly recap of the best branding found in our media.