Creating a brand personality is an excellent way to make your brand appealing. There are many ways to achieve this, but the important part is to take steps to make your brand stand out from the rest.
If you’re looking to create a brand personality that sets you apart, read on to find out more about the steps involved.
Archetypes are useful when defining brands because they help keep the personality and the purpose of it clear. You might consider many adjectives when thinking of your brand personality, but it’s best to keep it as broad as possible while still aiming for a specific message.
There are five main brand personality categories, as defined by Jennifer Aacker, an American social psychologist and marketing professor at Stanford University:
This category is usually associated with outdoorsy brands and ones relying heavily on emphasising values traditionally associated with masculinity: strength, the outdoors, a certain roughness. Think of brands influenced by Western movies, for example.
This category has been traditionally used more for feminine and upper-class brands: those looking to emphasise glamour, elegance, and social status. Jewellery brands fit in here, as well as many high-fashion ones. Luxury is at the core of this brand personality archetype, as is a specific type of lifestyle.
This category encapsulates brands that are modern and daring and, above all, memorable. Brands with this personality opt for adrenaline rushes, unique moments, imagination, and hype. There is also a playfulness to be found here, more freedom to experiment, and an inherent knowledge of trends.
Brands with this personality type tend to attract the most loyal customers because honesty is their primary way of communicating. These brands keep things down-to-earth and base all interactions on trust. Lightheartedness, cheer, warmth, and friendliness are other adjectives that can fall under this umbrella.
These are the reliable, hard-working brands, the everyman brands, the successful ones. Success inspires confidence, and these brands hold themselves to high standards that customers enjoy seeing. These brands are committed, innovative, and bring plenty of experience to the table.
When figuring out your brand personality, it’s best to stick to the five main categories, but here are some more pairs of adjectives you can think of that might help narrow it down. A useful trick is to think of how your brand would be if it were a person. What traits would it show?
Your brand might show various adjectives from a few different categories, but narrowing it down to the very basics of what you want to achieve and how you wish to be perceived will help establish a clear way forward.
Brand personality has been an integral part of the success of many established companies that are internationally famous. Understanding how these brands used this to their advantage is a great way to find inspiration for your own way to approach your brand’s creation.
This tech powerhouse is recognised the world over for its products and its brand. It has also been named by Forbes as the most valuable brand globally, so it is an excellent example to study when trying to see the many reasons behind a brand’s success. Apple’s brand personality focuses on high standards, cutting-edge technology, and hard work.
If we look at the above categories, the Apple brand personality seems to fall into the competent archetype while still exhibiting some adjectives that might seem to fit with other categories, especially the excitement one. Apple has successfully created a brand personality around its products’ reliability while still incorporating daring elements.
This example showcases that choosing a dominant personality for your brand doesn’t mean you have to eliminate attributes from the other categories. You should keep those attributes and make them work toward your core message.
Coca-Cola is a brand that is immediately recognisable everywhere. It has achieved great success during its many years in the business while managing not to flounder in an ever-changing world. Coca-Cola uses its highly publicised and commercial status to continue establishing its brand personality, which falls under the excitement category.
Coca-Cola is, above all, a timeless and memorable company. It continuously and daringly reinvents itself in marketing strategies and promotions that change along with the times, and even keeps ahead of them. Coca-Cola also uses these strategies to communicate directly with its customers in fresh and fun ways.
Playfulness is at the core of the brand, but of course, Coca-Cola has quite a few attributes from the competence category, especially its resilience.
It should come as no surprise that the brand personality behind this American luxury jewellery retail is sophistication. Tiffany’s has always focused on high-class lifestyle ideals to establish its voice in the retail world. It creates elegant and easily recognisable pieces that are aimed primarily at rich women.
This brand even uses its world-famous packaging of blue boxes to further its status and its personality. As a brand, Tiffany’s is all about glamour and charm. Owning a Tiffany’s piece is a sign of social status, of belonging to a certain echelon. It puts the wearer in the same category as a celebrity, a Hollywood star, or an elegant socialite.
Despite this exclusivity, Tiffany’s products are a draw for everyone, from those wishing to own one to those building a collection. Its distinctive personality continuously reinforces the message and strength of its brand.
One of the most critical aspects of building a successful brand personality is to make sure that it is as distinctive as possible. Don’t be afraid to get creative during the process, as standing out from the rest of the competitors will contribute significantly to establishing your brand and keeping it visible.
Brand personality is a significant aspect of brand differentiation, which in marketing has been shown as an essential part of a brand’s survival. Regardless of the brand personality, you will choose to pursue, don’t be afraid to be bold and daring when choosing how it will manifest. Creativity will be one of the most essential tools you’ll have to differentiate.
Observe what other brands are doing, and find a niche for your brand in a way that brings it the attention lying in a vacuum between your competitors.
Elements that promote your brand will be of utmost importance to conveying your brand personality. When you’re creating this, make sure to consider how you’re going to promote it, and especially how you’ll manage the most visual aspects of it. Elements like the name of the business, the logo, the website, and business cards will be essential in the future.
The business name is one of the first things prospective customers will notice about your brand. This makes it an indispensable part of conveying your brand personality, and you should plan it with the importance it deserves. This will perhaps be one of your most significant commitments at the start of your journey, and a defining one at that.
The business name will also help establish the essence of your brand. Being aware of your brand personality before settling on a name is advisable because this element will be a big part of it. The process of choosing a name will share many things in common with finding your brand personality.
You’ll have to make sure you’re aware of your business values and your brand’s goals. Keep it as authentic as you can, but don’t shy away from giving it an original twist.
After you decide on your brand personality and your business name, the next step in representing both those elements will be to create a logo. The logo is a primary visual symbol and a calling card for your business. Its importance cannot be understated.
Graphic design will play a big part in the success of the logo, but these are the essential things to keep in mind when deciding on one:
Read more about: How Peek create an iconic identity that has given Carter Perry Bailey a new way to see itself?
A brand’s website is one of the first ways customers will get to hear about it. A cleanly designed website that is up to date will make a great first impression that will last. Minimalism is encouraged when choosing a design, but add some flourishes of your brand personality on the website. Your logo should also feature prominently.
According to statistical studies, much of your business’s credibility hangs on how the website represents your brand.
Learn how we helped a 100 year old law firm to modernise their brand and website?
Although it may seem like the glory days of business cards have faded, they are still a great way to promote your brand, and your brand personality should figure prominently in their design. Business cards are tangible reminders of your brand; even in an increasingly digital world, this can help set you apart.
Business cards are not as expensive an investment as they might seem, and they can bring lots of attention to your brand. Your personality will be even more of a hook to potential customers in this format.
As we’ve mentioned before, an essential part of creating a brand personality is the concept of brand differentiation. You should stick to the personality archetypes we’ve listed above, but also keep an eye on the market and see if there’s an opportunity for some disruption, if this applies to the brand you’re building.
The concept of challenger brands has helped many emerging brands break into the business by immediately setting themselves apart from their surroundings. This is an excellent strategy for smaller businesses attempting to take on bigger competitors. Setting your brand as a daring underdog or a gamechanger can immediately bring you attention.
Challenging the status quo is an easy way to make a statement and to place your brand personality on the table immediately.
You should keep the message of your brand personality as straightforward as possible. It should be original and set itself apart, of course, but it should never be unnecessarily complicated. Your brand personality should be an easy statement for potential customers to associate with you immediately.
When you’re creating your brand personality, take a look at the rest of the market and observe how the competitors are using their own brand messages. See if there’s a way to take advantage of anything that’s not already been done, and then claim it as part of your own strategy.
Whatever you do, make sure to send a clear message that your brand is here and let it speak for itself.
Creating a brand personality should be influenced by the prospective customers you are looking to attract to your business one day. When planning your brand personality, consider what you’re looking to achieve and who you’re looking to do it for in terms of an audience. Once you know this part, you’ll be able to construct the rest of the marketing around it.Your audience and potential customers will define how your brand interacts with them going forward. You should be aware of what they want and how to provide them with that content
Your brand personality should take you into account. This may go without saying, but customers will respond to you. Injecting your personality into the brand will help define it and help make it more relatable. Customers will react to what they find relatable, and by telling them exactly who you are and what your brand represents, they will know you.
Your brand personality should accurately reflect your motivation as a person, not just as a business. This has the added effect of showing that you are passionate about what you are doing, which is always a plus for prospective customers.
Your vision needs to set the path for the brand personality. Your values, passions, and strengths should feature prominently in the creation process and say how this part of your brand grows.
Your brand personality should be a continuous part of your brand’s journey. Play to your strengths and promote your personality as much as possible. Take to social media and use it as a tool to further the message of your brand. This will mean you will remain in constant communication with your audience and your customers.
Use these marketing strategies to enhance the message of your brand personality. Relate to the customers and tell them precisely what you’re doing and what the ongoing plan will be. This will keep people invested in your brand and interested in sticking around to see what it will continue to do.
We’ve touched on this in passing before, but when you create your brand personality, make sure to think of how it will adapt to the future. You should audit the market you’re looking to break into and analyse how it’s evolving and what the future looks like in the industry.
Regardless of your brand personality, your strategy should involve staying as relevant as possible for as long as possible. Be daring and innovative in planning your brand and keep pushing the boundary not just when you emerge onto the market but beyond that.
Planning a brand personality that can quickly adapt to future demands can be a daunting task, but observing the market trends and understanding your audience’s needs will continue helping you on this path.
Marketing pain points are, in essence, problems that might arise for customers during their experience with your brand. These will be varied and not always easy to pinpoint, but as long as you adapt to them to overcome these issues, your customers will remain loyal to the brand and also that their needs are met by it.
Communication will remain vital in establishing customer pain points and resolving them. You should keep three things in mind when facing them:
This will help you overcome issues in your brand while also creating long-lasting relationships.
