Should Agents have their own personal brand?
Alex is the Managing Director of major UK talent agency InterTalent. He represents his clients alongside overseeing the agency's creative strategy, day-to-day operations & acquisitions.
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I was watching a Gary Vaynerchuk video the other day where he said if you want to be ahead of your competition in 5 years time then you must fully embrace 2 things: AI and your personal brand.
He’s right. We all know it. However, in our industry, both of these remain very divisive. Given that I wrote about AI in my previous blog, wondering if it will replace me, I thought I would tackle the next hot topic: should an agent have a personal brand?
Clearly, I’m a big advocate for it. Writing Dealmakers is, of course, one way I am working on my own. But a personal brand for an agent is a rather uneasy topic. Most feel uncomfortable. It wasn’t on the job description. There’s that age-old quote that you can’t be bigger than your client. You don’t want an agent who is more famous or more visible than your client. That is not how the relationship between an agent and client works.
Since the invention of social media, those lines have obviously begun to blur. Before social media, that was never in doubt. Maybe an agent would appear in a press article or on a TV interview. At most. Outside of that, agents were absolutely never seen and never heard. It was an unwritten rule. Agents were the secret dealmakers hiding in the shadows. Many hugely successful agents still operate under the cloak of relative anonymity.
Putting myself out there to write this blog and begin my personal brand push wasn’t an easy decision.
I had the idea to start this blog a long time before I actually pressed send on my first one. Many of you won’t know this, but I had a bad accident in November 2022 and broke my hip so badly that I needed major surgery the following day to put four screws in. It was a 6 month recovery, which comprised of 3 months without leaving my bed or sofa, and then the following 3 months of learning how to walk again. It wasn’t fun. Maybe one day I’ll write about what I learned from being unable to walk for 6 months. It has changed my perspective on a lot of things, including my work. Story for another day.
During my recovery, I really wanted to start Dealmakers but I was too scared. For all the reasons you can imagine. What would other agents say? What would my clients say? What would my colleagues say? What if it was rubbish, or basic, and everyone laughed at me? Agents just about used X or Instagram. I asked one very successful agent what he thought about me starting a blog and his reply was ‘why would you ever want to do that?’.
There’s a reason why it’s very hard for an agent to feel comfortable in pushing their own personal brand. We’re in a very judgmental and competitive industry. Everyone wants to gossip and tear everyone else down. Deciding to step out of your comfort zone to do something different is a risk.
It took me 8 months of debating with myself but I did it… and now my personal brand has become very important to me. It’s opened so many doors for me and my clients that never existed before.
So why should agents hop on board?
Let’s go! ⬇️
Let me play devil’s advocate for a second. Why SHOULDN’T an agent have their own personal brand:
😰 Overshadowing clients. If you become “the story” rather than your client, that’s not ok. I’ve met a few agents who, secretly, want to be ‘on camera’ and it doesn’t feel right at all. Having a strong network and being well known inside the industry is amazing but starting to get recognised outside of it is a concern.
😰 Conflicts of interest. A strong personal brand can lead to opportunities not too dissimilar to ones your clients have. That’s not an issue, just be careful not to create any conflicts.
😰 Company approval. Your personal brand should align with (and not contradict) your employer’s values and positioning. You need to get approval from your boss if you want to appear publicly and talk about hot topics. Don’t go rogue!
😰 Scrutiny. A personal brand invites criticism, and mistakes are amplified. What you write can get recited back to you. Given I talk about how to be a great agent, if I don’t meet those standards myself, I open myself up to major criticism.
If any of that feels too overwhelming, and if the risk isn’t worth the reward, don’t do it. As I say, many successful agents remain relatively anonymous. Some don’t even have LinkedIn!
But, if like me, you agree with many of the world’s greatest thought leaders that a personal brand is the most important (free!) thing you need to get ahead, then here are all the reasons why I think it’s important that an agent should have their own personal brand in 2025:
🤝 Trust & Authority. If you are consistent with your posts (and they’re interesting!), you immediately show everyone that you come with credibility and professionalism. More people will start to learn who you are and what you stand for. It removes the idea that you’re an unknown quantity.
*Massive disclaimer: DON’T USE AI TO BE YOUR PERSONAL BRAND. I see so many people on social media using AI to create their ‘personal brand’ and you can see it right through it. Not only does it not create your personal brand because there is actually nothing personal about it, but it actually dents the reputation you had because it makes you look like you’re cheating. AI is great for many things, but don’t get it to write generic posts about failure. Have some original thoughts!*
👣 Lead by example. As representatives in a changing landscape, we spend a lot of our days talking about creating content. We work in media, so if we’re going to tell our clients to do something, it would be ideal to show that you fully understand it and there’s no better way to do that than ‘doing’. Leading by DOING goes a long way. It’s why I often feel that ex-actors often make the best actor agents. They’ve been there, they know the audition process, the rejections etc. I think it’s ideal to show your client that you know how to engage with the same type of world that you’re telling them to engage with. Put it this way, it looks really bad if you can’t. If you can’t use your LinkedIn to market yourself and understand how a simple platform like that works, then there might be a concern that you don’t actually understand new media. No matter the stage of your career, if you can’t engage properly then you will always lose out to someone who does. Show up, put in some effort, adopt the media that you want your clients to adopt and lead by example.
🗣️ Be a storyteller. I’ve always said that agents are creative but we never get the credit for being so, and often labelled as the complete opposite. We know the truth. We know that to take our client on a journey, we need to be their creative partner. We also need great communication skills and be able to mediate when needed. To do that, you need to be able to paint a picture of what everyone should do next to get to the desired result. There is real skill to that. Showcasing your storytelling abilities is a brilliant way to tell your network that you have taste, vision and ideas. Instead of talking generically, write short stories. Be interesting, show you have layers. Offer details only you know about an industry topic. Share experiences that only you’ve had which helped you find a way through. You need to be interesting for others to follow.
🔗 Networking. It’s a key part of the job. I talk a lot about networking in person, and playing the business card game with yourself (you can’t leave an event until you’ve given out all your cards!)… but networking needs to happen online too. Engage with all the contacts you already know. If you’re an agent, then I assume you have already worked with a lot of people. Your network is already there. Ignite it. Give them a reason to think of you.
🔑 Opportunities. A strong personal profile across different platforms attracts inbound opportunities that you can leverage for your clients. Partnerships, introductions, invitations etc. Getting noticed will help you create more work.
🧠 Knowledge is power. Showing that you know your industry, you have experience and you’re knowledgeable about your world gives you a trusted voice. Whether it’s on panels, podcasts, or writing, if you can shape conversations around the future of the industry (talent, entertainment, the creator economy etc), you start to…
🦄 Stand out from the crowd. Many agents are still behind the curtain and say they would struggle to put themselves out there. That’s the old school agent positioning. Rip that up. It’s 2025. A personal brand sets you apart and makes you memorable to clients and decision-makers.
📣 If you want to be heard, be noisy. One of my favourite quotes for this business. Talent can often choose their representation based on who feels most visible, approachable, and inspiring. How do they know if you’re any of those things unless you tell them? A personal brand makes agents discoverable and relatable. That can only be a good thing in a very competitive world.
🧳 Take it with you. Careers in representation can come and go. People enter talent representation, and others leave it. I’ve been at it 17 years (I’m old), but not everyone loves it like I do. It’s a slog sometimes. Your personal brand comes with you wherever you go on your career journey. It lives with you and can help you find that next job. You don’t leave it at the door of your talent agency.
The world is changing. Your career needs to change with it. Don’t get left behind. The old rules of being an agent don’t exist anymore. I tell all my staff to tackle their personal brand using whatever platforms they feel most comfortable.
I’d love to see more agents join me on this journey.
📥 I would love to hear from you. Any ideas, thoughts and feedback via alex@intertalentgroup.com are always most welcome.
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See you next time.
Alex
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Yes!! Yes yes yes - I've built mine up, all to serve my agency and clients. Glad you wrote about this.
Throughly enjoyed this mate. In a game where agents and talent win and lose on fine margins - having a personal brand can sometimes be what tips a deal in your favour 🏆