A penny is a penny is a penny, unless of course you look at the way that Trish Rubin does. For this marketing expert, it was easy for her to help superintendents see the differences.

Rubin is a brand consultant at Baruch College who shared her marketing expertise in a Friday afternoon workshop at the AASA national conference titled “Marketing a School Leadership Brand as a Storyteller-In-Chief.”

The hour-long session was well-attended as superintendents eagerly soaked up valuable insight on how they can establish their own brand.

Rubin pointed out that a logo, mascot, color and even a hashtag are all part of your identity but shouldn’t be confused with your brand.

“Brands are a feeling, driven by emotion,” said Rubin, a former middle school teacher and co-author of the newly published book BrandED.

She went on to explain the importance of human-to-human storytelling as a key element in building your brand and a brand promise is what you must deliver.

Part of Rubin’s discussion touched on concepts unfamiliar to those attending. She discussed “blurring and blending” a trend taking place in the business world. Capitol One Bank now markets itself as a place to gather and have a cup of coffee, and Rubin cited this as an example of the blending and blurring of brands.

The term “phygital,” the combination of the words physical and digital, brought home the importance of not only showing your brand in your actions but also in the online arena.

Those attending the workshop wrapped up with a laugh as Rubin explained that IKEA was her unofficial sponsor and that some days she is well put together and others not so much.

Read Theresa Alban‘s and Kirk Koennecke’s blog posts about this event.

(David Mustonen is director of communications in the Dearborn, Mich., Public Schools and a reporter for AASA’s Conference Daily Online.)