Mika Brzezinski expanded her personal brand from cable news show co-host to renowned career expert by writing a best-seller called Knowing Your Value.
Now she’s expanding her personal brand anew—by taking her female-focused career evangelism on the road. Literally. Brzezinski, the co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, and NBCUniversal, her employer, are partnering to produce a series of live events across the U.S. To help women bargain for promotions, negotiate higher pay, and do whatever else it takes to push through nasty roadblocks in their careers.
Kicking off in Philadelphia in April (followed by Washington, D.C, Chicago, Boston and Orlando), Brzezinski’s “Know Your Value” tour aims to be an affordable, somewhat Oprah-esque program for everyday women, with aspirational speakers on a variety of topics including personal finance and health and wellness, in addition to career strategies.
The 47-year-old Brzezinski came up with the idea for the “Know Your Value” tour about a year ago. And now, she and her employer have realized the value of her proposition by lining up an impressive roster of sponsors. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the presenting sponsor of the travelling extravaganza. Prudential (PRU), JetBlue (JBLU), Tivo (TIVO), and fashion brand Milly, in addition to Comcast (CMCSA), NBCU’s parent, are also backing the events and the digital content that will come out of them.
In a statement this morning, Brzezinski said she wants “to create a different kind of national movement” to “empower women to achieve their own vision of success.” It looks like Oprah isn’t the only powerful woman whose territory Mika is leaning into. Sheryl Sandberg, are you watching?