Is Personal Branding Dead?

By Marcus Schaller, Real Estate Business Magazine, October/November 2006

Over the past few years, the real estate industry has seen unprecedented growth as thousands of new agents entered the field. In response to this increased competition, both agents and brokers have rushed to create their own unique personal brands. They've posed for more headshots, written catchier taglines and mailed more postcards and template newsletters. But in the scramble to be top-of-mind, their personal brands became something they were never meant to be — too self-regarding. The industry has mistaken personal image promotion for differentiation, and the more these brands have become about agents and their images, the less relevant they've become to prospects.

It used to be different. Back before waves of new real estate agents flooded the market, a postcard with a photo and tagline might have stood out. Now, for most homeowners, these mailers are an expected part of their daily junk mail. Rather than create awareness of any particular agent, these generic branding campaigns make real estate brokerage seem more like a commodity. Since most of these personal brands are so similar, who can blame homeowners for thinking that all real estate agents are alike?