When you approach branding, you need to put on your marketing hat and take off your actor hat.
This means you need to look at yourself, not as an actor, but as a product. This is the way I like to put it to my clients:
"You are a water bottle in the supermarket. Every actor you know is a water bottle on the same shelf. You're all water bottles but everyone is NOT the same, they're all slightly different. How are you going to be picked out from the other water bottles that are competing with you?"
So with this in mind, what is your message going to be? Considering your types, you need to cater your materials to reflect them, which in turn creates a message (if it’s consistent) and THAT becomes your branding.
EXAMPLE:
If your type is The Best Friend or The Boy Next Door, then you need to have headshots and scenes in your reels that reflect this. Then yourself and your agent need to be using THAT particular headshot and scene to pitch you for those roles. The branding is consistent with the materials that show your type, thus you help the casting director buy the product (asks you to come into the room for an audition).
HOWEVER if the branding is inconsistent, you won’t get the results you want or need.
EXAMPLE::
Let’s say you’re The Best Friend or The Boy Next Door, however a Leading Man role comes up that you want to be pitched for. If you or your agent send through a headshot that looks leading man, but your leading man scene doesn’t have the right vibe/energy OR you turn up to the audition but your energy, your vibe, your personality is NOT leading man, then the CD will be “turned off” & wonder why they asked you in / won’t call you in from your scene as something will feel “off”.
WHAT IS MY BRAND?
Spend time with your agent to figure out what message you’re trying to tell casting professionals when using your materials. You need to find a consistency between materials, types & you as a person in order to make your branding stand out. Once you have your branding, targeting briefs and roles using your branding strategy will make your submissions stronger and set you apart.
CHECKLIST:
Do I understand how branding works?
Have I set up an appointment with my reps to work out my branding?
Are my reps & I on the same page with my types and how to pitch me?
These are 2 of my other types:
- The Boy Next Door, The Gay Guy, The Boyfriend
- The Bad Boy, The Adventurer, The Rebel
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