Guest Blog: Jeffery Baker – LOOK WITH YOUR SPECIAL EYES

What’s that one commercial that’s stuck with you for years, maybe even decades? It’s a commercial that, maybe you don’t even use or like the product, but that one commercial just refuses to leave your brainpan. It just rattles around in there and every so often it clunks out and you laugh silly thinking about it.

For me, it’s a 1-800-Contacts commercial. I bet some of you right now already know which one I’m talking about and can hear it in your head. For those that don’t know it, believe me, this commercial is the work of a multitude of geniuses and artists who made something so dumb, it became iconic and amazing.

Look…look with your special eyes!

It’s so, so dumb, but I love it! Everything comes together so beautifully to the exclamation of “MY BRAND!”

Lately, I’ve felt like this guy. I look over my website and email signature and all things marketing and I look at my fiancé and I scream, “MY BRAND!” and throw my head into her shoulders. She’s not amused. Though I can’t help it, it’s been on my mind a lot lately.

Like a lot of voice actors, I’m constantly looking at what’s working and what isn’t, or even what feels off. And truth be told, my branding has always felt off to me. Sure, I think it looks slick and has a lot of style. It’s eye-catching and I think it’s memorable. Unfortunately, I don’t think it really represents me all that well.

Now Corey Dissin, my marketing coach, did an amazing job of helping me hone in on it and the tagline “VO to the Nth Degree” is probably the only thing that feels right. Because I can’t just do things normally. I have to go that extra mile. I can’t help it.

But everything else? Meh.

I keep coming back to Celia Siegel’s book Voiceover Achiever. It’s a great read if you’re wanting to work on your own branding. I’m lucky in that I have an art degree and knowledge of how to use the entirety of the Adobe Suite. It gives me a leg up to really tackle this thing. The downside is, of course, having to spend my extra mental energy and time working on it, when I’d rather be marketing or auditioning.

As for what I have now, it’s serviceable. Though one of my marketing group friends really hit the nail on the head for me when she said, “The voice that came out of your demo does not match the picture on your site.” Everything right now is this severe, serious, and almost aggressive confidence. When if you spend 5 minutes talking to me…that ain’t really me. I’m a lot more laid back, quick to laugh and tell a joke, loves to be artistic, and work with other artists.

Now while I do have the eNergy I talk about in spades. It’s not exactly how I think it’s presented here. With my marketing, it’s electrifying and intense. When really, it should be more like a 5-year-old after a can of RedBull…

It’s OK though, I’ll find it. I’ll find MY BRAND!