Smize 101: Tyra Banks will teach Stanford branding course

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Aug 22, 2016

For two weeks next spring semester, Tyra Banks will be co-teaching an M.B.A. level course at Stanford University on personal branding and marketing.

Allison Kluger is the Stanford business management professor who reached out to Banks last year after hearing her speak at another Stanford event.

Banks revealed that she had no idea how to transition from her Victoria's Secret modeling fame to a personal brand. She confessed in that speech that she even reached out to Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO, to ask him how to start her own company.

Kluger said she "was mesmerized" by Banks, and that "she's a natural."

As for Banks' teaching vision, in her signature style she intends to demand that the  25 graduate students do their part. Banks said, “If I see somebody not paying attention, I’m gonna call on them.”

She also plans to call out anyone who is on their phone during class unless it is "to tweet something I've said."

As chief executive of Tyra Beauty, Banks will cover branding in both old and new media. She plans to share tips of how to handle press and protect students' brands.

According to the syllabus, their first project for class in May is to create a short video introducing themselves and their vision for their brand.