How to build an authentic personal brand
This month, we spoke to Marc van der Heijde, founder of Green Room Creatives. Marc specializes in creating authentic and effective (personal) brands for classical musicians - just don’t use the B word.
We wanted to learn from Marc: how do you stand out from the crowd? How do you build an audience when you hate branding and marketing? Classical musicians are a great case study.
We spoke with Marc about the hesitation musicians feel for the act as well as the terminology of brand building, how he unearths the uniqueness of every client he works with, the pros and cons of niching, and how to design a career in branding you love.
Browse the key takeaways from the chat below 👇👇
Marc van der Heijde and three of his clients in the classical music space, images art-directed by Marc
What puts classical musicians off when they hear the terms ‘personal brand’ or ‘branding’?
To be a classical musician is a unique profession.
You train from very early childhood, train to master an instrument, and then you are told that it’s not enough. There is also such a thing as cultural entrepreneurship and self-promotion that is required. That’s a tough reality to face.
One musician explained to Marc that the term branding feels very invasive, like branding cattle.
If branding is crucial but the term makes his clients foam at the mouth, could we rebrand branding? Today Marc uses the phrase ‘public profile’.
Still, some clients are hesitant. Do I need this kind of profiling? Why isn't it enough that people know me for my art?
Marc explains the reality. “Before your public actually hears you, they will have seen an image or read a text, prompting them to press play or buy a ticket.”
You can’t escape the communication part.
How do you unearth the uniqueness of each musician?
Marc shares that the conventional branding of classical musicians is very uniform. There is an industry norm for positioning, story, and visuals.
Marc explains: “I want to change the way of branding classical musicians. I don't want them to blend in, I want them to stand out.”
Image: a google search reveals a uniform industry standard, many of them are portraits of by iconic photographer Marco Borggreve
Image: google search results for ‘ensemble’ reveal a similar and very conventional line, making it hard to distinguish one ensemble from another.
Marc encourages his clients to try and step out of this conventional industry code and focus on what makes them unique as people.
“Run away from your industry code”
How does he ensure the profiles become truly unique?
Marc starts with in depth profile sessions. He takes in all the information about the client, their personality and their music, to draw up a profile.
Trust is crucial. It is important that the clients know that I know the field of classical music. It gives them the confidence to open up.
How do you help clients articulate their purpose?
It’s easy for clients to get stuck at the basics. “This is what I do, I play the piano, this is my kind of repertoire, I tour these countries and I really want to be famous.” That's all fine, but then what.
A musician has to be able to answer the question from the audience: ” Why should I be interested in you?” If you can’t answer that question you are lost.
Marc pushes clients to explain why they jump out of bed every morning. What is your core drive? That which makes sure that you love what you do now, but also in 10 years.
If we can talk about those drives, then maybe a potential listener can be intrigued because you connect on that passion and purpose.
The trick is attentive listening. Listen to everything that’s being said - and what isn’t said. You might find inspiration in a single word a client says.
What are the pros and cons of niching down?
It feels like you are niching down, but in reality, there is still a whole universe to explore. Marc has just embarked on work with conductors, which is an entirely different set of people in the classical music space.
When you introduce a focus in your profile, communication becomes easier.
He also advises his clients not to be afraid to narrow it down to get their feet on the door.
How do you build a career you love?
Marc switched from a career in branding at an agency for a large diversity of clients, to an independent career focused on classical musicians.
He has been interested in classical music for a very long time and that made it easy for him to connect with classical musicians.
He says it helps when you are passionate about the career you choose.
Marc talked to other people that had made similar switches in careers.
He asks people to have an open mind and be willing to learn from clients
This all comes back to Marc’s own purpose in his work. He doesn’t expect everyone to love classical music, or to play it all day.
“People should at least know about classical music, so they can choose it for the right moments in their life. How can we make sure that people know about as many styles of music as possible?”
That's what gets Marc jumping out of bed each morning.
Keep learning
Find more about Marc’s work at Green Room Creatives.
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