63THE VALUE OF BRAND PERSONALITY
BY JEFF KENT
egardless of industry, most people who provide a service struggle
to stand out from the crowd. Almost every detail of a business
can be copied—and often is—by someone else so one provider
ends up looking like the next ... and the next ... and the next.
George DeLoache, M.Photog., CPP, knows this reality all too well.
Early in his career, he struggled to find a foothold in the photography
industry. He was drowning in a sea of sameness, just another photog-
rapher plying his trade in the massive Los Angeles market with nothing
to distinguish him from everyone else clicking a shutter for a living.
Then DeLoache realized that to thrive, he needed to specialize. In
a large urban market like L.A., being a generalist wasn’t an effective
business model. With plenty of photographers to choose from, con-
sumers wanted a specialist for their specific needs. Why seek out some-
one who does a lot of things pretty well when you can hire someone
who does the one or two things you need exceptionally well?
“You can’t be effective if you’re trying to be everything to every-
body,” says DeLoache. “You have to specialize. You have to narrow
down your marketing focus and be the expert in your niche.”
That’s well-established marketing wisdom. But differentiating your-
self remains a challenge, even in a specialty niche. In many cases, con-
sumers simply don’t know how to distinguish one option from another.
“That’s because we are all drowning in a sea of sameness,” says
DeLoache. “Everyone comes off as the same, and all the consumer
hears is blah, blah, blah. But there’s a way to set yourself apart from
the competition: your personality. Your personality cannot be copied.
And your brand personality is unique to you alone. Establishing a
positive brand personality is the most important thing anyone can do
to differentiate themselves in this sea of sameness.”
The key for DeLoache was letting his brand personality shine. Spe-
cifically, he carved out a niche helping clients express their brand
personalities by specializing in insightful personal brand portraits
for executives. Now, 30 years into the process, he’s one of L.A.’s most
respected brand portrait photographers, not to mention an in-de-
mand speaker at photography events, including an upcoming envi-
ronmental portrait workshop at Georgia O’Keefe’s Ghost Ranch in
September. Along the way, he’s accumulated a wealth of knowledge
on personal branding that’s not only valuable for photographers cre-
ating brand portraits but also for photographers looking to improve
the expression of their own brand.GET SOME (BRAND) PERSONALITY
Your brand personality is the way clients feel about you and your
business. That brand personality helps you engage customers on an
emotional level. When you can do this effectively, you have the edge
because most people make purchase decisions on an emotional ba-
sis, then shore up those decisions with rationalization.
Things like your logo, your tagline, and your website form the
building blocks of your brand, but nothing more effectively communi-
cates your brand personality than your brand portrait. “This isn’t about
making a pretty picture,” says DeLoache. “We’re here to create a pro-
motional piece, and the client is the product.”rising
from the sea of
sameness
George DeLoache