In commercial markets crowded with businesses vying for consumers’ attention, brands must do everything they can to stand out and make a lasting impression.
Alongside their products and services, a business’ brand personality is a significant defining factor that differentiates them from their competitors and allows them to connect with their target audience on a deeper, more personal level.
What Is Brand Personality?
Brand personality is the human-like qualities that a brand embodies in the eyes of consumers. It’s the persona that a brand develops and can include characteristics like sincerity, innovation, sophistication, ruggedness or rebelliousness.
Truth be told, businesses don’t fully control their brand personality as it is less about the image that is projected by the company and more about how they are perceived by consumers. According to Marketing Director of Quadrant2Design, Ross Pike “Today, a brand’s personality is less about who they say they are and more about who their audience thinks they are”.
While brand personality exists in the minds of consumers, brand identity refers to every aspect of a company’s external appearance that is under its control. It is the collection of assets and elements that a company uses to portray itself in a certain way. This includes everything from its logo to its stores, products, exhibition stands, advertising choices, colour scheme and any other element that can be associated with the brand. It is through the strategic use of their brand identity that businesses attempt to influence their brand personality.
A brand’s personality can be centred on the products or services that the company sells, but this doesn’t always have to be the case. Nike has a very sports-orientated brand personality, while McDonald’s personality is less about burgers and fries than it is about feel-good moments, warmth, inclusivity, happiness and family fun. A business’ tangible product or service will often elicit a logical response from potential customers, while its brand personality centres on creating more of an emotional association.
According to Aaker’s (1997) research, there are five main dimensions of brand personality – excitement, sincerity, ruggedness, competence and sophistication.
- Excitement involves characteristics like daring, spirited and imaginative. Brands linked to excitement are seen as dynamic and cutting-edge.
- Sincerity reflects qualities such as honesty and wholesomeness. Brands with sincerity are perceived as genuine and reliable.
- Ruggedness reflects characteristics such as outdoorsy, tough and resilient. Brands with ruggedness are perceived as robust and adventurous.
- Competence encompasses traits like reliable, intelligent, and successful. Brands with competence are perceived as capable and effective.
- Sophistication involves qualities like glamorous, charming, and cultured. Brands with sophistication are seen as refined and elegant.
Why Does Brand Personality Matter?
Businesses are fiercely protective of their brand personality and many spend millions crafting, tweaking and protecting it. But why is it so important?
1. Building emotional connections
When consumers associate human-like traits with a brand or business, it becomes approachable, trustworthy and more capable of eliciting emotional connections. These emotional connections make consumers more likely to engage with and be loyal to the brand, or even become an advocate.
2. Differentiation
In competitive markets, it’s essential to differentiate a business from its competition – particularly those who sell very similar products and services. A brand personality provides a unique character that sets a business apart from its competitors, improving familiarity and recall.
3. Consistent communication
A well-defined brand personality provides the foundation of a business’ communication style and messages. Whether it’s through advertising, marketing, business communications or customer service, having a consistent personality ensures that everyone knows what to expect from that brand which, in turn, creates a consistent experience.
4. Targeting the Right Audience
A brand’s personality should align with the values and preferences of its target audience, as this helps attract the “right” customers and deter those who may not resonate with the brand’s personality. This targeted approach can lead to more effective marketing and higher customer retention rates.
5. Adaptability and growth
Brand personalities aren’t set in stone. They can evolve over time and adapt to changing market trends or shifts in consumer preferences. This adaptability allows brands to stay relevant, maintain connections and grow alongside their audience.
Developing a brand personality
Developing a brand personality is no easy feat, particularly for businesses doing it from scratch. There are pitfalls to be avoided and considerations to remember. Below are some of the main considerations when crafting your brand’s personality.
Appealing to your target audience
Your primary target audience will have a massive influence on your brand personality, as consumers are more likely to purchase from brands whose values closely align with their own.
Matching your product or service offering
Your brand personality will need to match your market and product or service offering. That’s not to say that your personality has to directly reference your product or service, but it should at least be consistent.
McDonald’s brand personality may not be tied directly to their food, but feelings of warmth, inclusivity, happiness and family fun are much more in line with the values of their market than, for example, sterility, calm and professionalism.
Brand personalities that fail to match their company’s offering will likely also fail to make a connection with their target audience.
Choosing the right colours
An important consideration for your brand’s personality is the colours that you use in your branding. Colour psychology states that colours have a significant impact on our emotions, which in turn affects our perceptions of brands and the values that we assign to them.
Choosing your marketing channels
You’ll want to focus your marketing efforts on channels that your audience is active on and that are consistent with your brand personality.
Consistency is key
Once your business has a strong and established brand personality it is important to ensure that this remains consistent across everything you do. A brand that is seen as attentive and dependable cannot afford to leave customers waiting when they have a problem or query, as this will contradict and weaken their brand personality.
Conclusion
To succeed in a competitive marketplace, companies must carefully define and nurture their brand’s personality to create a lasting impact on their audience.
Brand personality is a powerful tool that can shape the way consumers perceive and connect with a brand. It plays a pivotal role in building trust, differentiation and emotional connections between businesses and their customers.
So, if you’re looking to leave a memorable mark in your industry, start by crafting a compelling brand personality that resonates with your target audience.