Jun 17, 2026

I Asked Celebrities About Their Brand on the Red Carpet Here's What Every Agent Needs to Hear | The Long Game Podcast

What do Gene Simmons, Katie Cassidy, Brandon Routh, and Lou Diamond Phillips have in common with your insurance career?

More than you'd think.

This spring, I had the chance to hit two Dallas film festivals as credentialed press, the Dallas International Film Festival and the USA Film Festival and walked away with something way more valuable than autographs. I got a masterclass in personal branding from some of the most recognizable names in entertainment.

In this episode, let me tell you what I saw on those red carpets and why it matters for every agent trying to figure out why clients choose them over the agent down the street selling the exact same policy for the exact same price.

Here's some of what I got:

Gene Simmons — 50 years of never breaking character, a $400 million brand built on face paint, and what it looks like to be so clear on who you are that every single thing you do reinforces it
Katie Cassidy — a woman who built her own career from scratch in the shadow of a famous father who cut her out of his will, and what "that's my brand, whether you like it or not" actually sounds like in practice
Brandon Routh — Hollywood gave him Superman, then took it back. What happens when the brand someone else put on you disappears, and what you'd better have left when it does
Lou Diamond Phillips — 40 years of never not working, and the two-sentence career philosophy that explains exactly why: give up the sure thing and take the shot. Don't get complacent. Keep hitting the bricks.

Also let me give you two dead-simple exercises to figure out what your actual personal brand is right now. No buzzwords. No logo. Just the real answer to why people buy from you.

Because once you're in the room, they're not choosing your carrier. They're choosing you.