Brad McCallum is one of the best marketers in real estate. And today, he launched a new video series in collaboration with BAM.
BrandEd is where he breaks down the tools, strategies, and creative decisions that help agents build a memorable brand. Each episode dives into a specific marketing tactic Brad uses in his own business, with practical takeaways agents can put to work immediately.
Here’s how McCallum describes the new series:
“BrandEd is all about helping agents create better marketing and build a stronger personal brand without feeling like they need a huge budget or a full production team.
“When I got into real estate, the market was slow, I didn’t have many clients, and I definitely couldn’t afford to hire a videographer. What I did have was time, so I used it to learn how to create content that helped me stand out.
“Everything I share comes from lessons I’ve learned along the way. My goal is to help agents feel more confident sharing what they know, telling better stories, and building a brand that people actually remember. Then, as their business grows, they can always decide to outsource it later.”
The first episode of BrandEd is live now, and it tackles a question every content-creating agent eventually asks:
Do you really need thousands of dollars’ worth of camera gear to create videos people will watch?
Meet the Camera: What It Is and Why It Fits Real Estate Content
In the first BrandEd episode, McCallum dives into the benefits of the Insta360 Luna Ultra camera, and whether it can actually replace the gear he’s relied on for years.
McCallum reviews the Luna Ultra as a working agent, not a professional videographer or tech reviewer. He’s spent years building his business around high production-value listing videos, so that’s the bar he’s testing against.
He explains the standard he’s held himself to:
“I built my entire business on creating high-quality visuals of the homes that I sold. Really telling their story, trying to create sort of a cinematic look.”
The Luna Ultra runs about $700 USD (or $1,000 CAD). McCallum’s starting question was this: could this camera replace the professional videographer setup he used to shoot listing videos?
It’s a question that ties to what he calls the worst branding advice agents keep following:
“I think agents hear two extremes. Either social media doesn’t matter, or they think they need to spend thousands of dollars on cameras, gear and videographers before they can even get started.
“I don’t believe either is true.”
For one, spending thousands on a videographer setup is no guarantee you’ll actually use it.
For another, as consumers have shown a marked preference for less polished content, going top of the line can actually work against you.
McCallum sees both social media content and prospecting as inseparable parts of effective branding for real estate agents. Both give you an opportunity to be human and deliver on what consumers want from you.
In both cases, the setup you use consistently to meet your (future) clients where they are is the one that will serve you best.
“Sharing content isn’t a replacement for prospecting—it’s something that makes all of your prospecting work better. You still need to have conversations, follow up with people, host open houses and be a great agent.
“But when people already know you, trust you and feel like they know your personality because of the content you share, all of those other things become a lot more effective.”
Putting It to Work: How This Camera Changes Your Content Workflow
McCallum tested the camera’s vlogging chops on a trip to Greece, shooting day-in-the-life content that shows the person behind the business.
The same camera covers hyperlocal content just as easily. McCallum films in the community he serves, at places like his local golf course.
These are just two specific uses for the camera, but they illustrate something agents often underestimate when it comes to branding and marketing:
“You CAN do it yourself. It’s an easily learnable skill, and the power of becoming known creates the one thing most agents lack. Leverage. Your content starts conversations for you—when you’re asleep, on vacation, with your family, or even out with other clients.
“I don’t think I’ve ever gone viral, but the right content doesn’t have to. Over time, people start to recognize you, trust you, and when they need a Realtor, you’re the one they think of. This approach has helped me sell nearly a half billion in real estate in the 8 years I’ve been in the industry.”
As McCallum shows in this episode, the right content doesn’t require an expensive videographer setup (the kind that, most of the time, stays in the bag). A camera that does what you need it to, and that you’ll use consistently, is a better fit.
The Takeaway for Agents Building Their Brand
McCallum’s takeaway points to the exact spot this camera fills for him:
“For all those reasons, I am so excited about the new Luna Ultra. I see it as that perfect gap between my iPhone and my big, professional, expensive, and cumbersome rig. This is going to let me tell more stories quickly, the way I want to, and still have it be a little bit elevated, hopefully breaking through the noise.”
If this first episode is any indication, BrandEd won’t be about chasing trends. It’ll be about creating better marketing with practical strategies agents can actually use.
