THE BUSINESS OF BRANDING

A common word thrown around the industry is “branding”. You probably hear it in passing conversations with your agent, casting directors, etc. But what exactly is branding? Erin Cronican breaks it down for us.

Branding, or “the brand” is the company's message to its customers/clients. What are they trying to say? What is their position in the industry? What do they have to offer? For many companies, this includes their logo, the colors on their website, the slogans they use, and how they choose to position themselves. Think of one of your favorite products, and then think about all of the things that make you love it. What do you think/feel when you see their logo? How do you describe the product to your friends? This is their brand - and their job is to a) make sure it always stays positive and favorable, and b) to communicate this to their customers.

As an actor, your job is to figure out what it is that you have to offer that is unique and valuable, and then communicate that to the industry. Your brand is not just your talent, but also your point of view, your connections, your tenacity, your willingness to try anything. It includes the roles you choose to play, the clothing you wear to auditions, what wording you use on your website, how you choose to answer questions in interviews... all of these things reflect your brand. And like all other businesses, in order to be effective in the market your brand needs to be developed and honed before you take your message to your audiences.

If you didn’t create a brand before jumping into talent work, it’s not too late!  Start now by sitting down and answering these questions. Then review them before you put yourself in any entertainment situations (castings, bookings, networking events,etc.) to be sure you are focused on building your brand moving forward.  How do people view you now?  How would you like them to view you differently?

Make sure to check back on monday for more specific ways to go about building your brand but if you want to start now, check out this website:http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/your-personal-branding-worksheet/. Provided for you is a personal branding worksheet to guide you through the process of creating your brand!

Comments

[Erin]

Thank you so much for quoting me on your blog!

For anyone who wants to read the whole post, feel free to visit: http://theactorsenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/06/simple-definitions-what-is.html

You rock!

[Melinda Eisnaugle]

We love your blog, so thank YOU Erin!