How to Go about Developing Your Brand Personality
When creating or managing a brand, it’s important to consider the different dimensions of brand personality. These dimensions are used to help define how a brand is perceived by customers. Continue reading to learn how you can use the framework developed by J. Aaker to create a strong and consistent brand that customers will respond to positively.
Brands are developed through a continuous integrated process involving a series of factors. Some are under our influence, and we can develop them as we wish. For instance, we can control a brand’s name, visual identity, and appearance. Then, these stimuli are exposed repeatedly to consumers, and as a consequence, an image is built.¹
The image includes a perception of the brand’s personality. Consumers end up believing that certain brands are “conservative”, while a competitor may be more “liberal”. That some brands are “sophisticated”, while others are “basic”. For instance, the personality traits associated with Coca-Cola are cool, all-American, and real; and Pepsi is perceived to be young, exciting, and hip. Dr. Pepper, on the other hand, is nonconforming, unique, and fun.
This set of human characteristics associated with brands is what Aaker in 1997 defined as brand personality.¹
The model introduced in Aaker’s article has become one of the most widely-used brand personality models used in marketing. It’s been used to measure the perception of a brand. It can also serve as a foundation to create the desired personality for our brand.
Why do I need to think about brand personality?
A brand’s personality is essential in shaping how we view and interact with the brand. Research shows that brand personality can enable a consumer to express themselves, control the way they wish to be perceived, or highlight specific dimensions of their personality. This self-expression can be a symbolic representation of the consumer’s own personality, or it can serve as a way for the consumer to aspire to a certain ideal.
Years ago, my boyfriend at the time and I spent our holidays in Prague. We were young, a tad rebellious, and eclectic in the way we expressed ourselves. My boyfriend transferred the eclecticism to his fashion sense. Around that time, I started a new job and had to take my new Mac Air with me. When I would wander around the city, my boyfriend would use the laptop.
One day I went sightseeing, while he took care of his study assignments. When I came back, he shared a fascinating story with me. “When I entered the common area of the hostel, everyone thought I was a homeless person,” he reflected. “I saw it on their faces and the way their bodies changed. But then, I took your laptop out of my backpack. And I could see their faces changing! I became a designer who is making a statement with his fashion choices.”
Yup, that is the power of brand personality. The way we perceive a brand spills over the way we perceive its users.
This story also shows that sometimes we perceive brands as they were celebrities or historical figures. The Marlboro man, for instance, is both.
Moreover, brand personality can also serve as a strategic asset. When the functional differences are negligible or hardly exist — for example, in terms of price and quality — there is a requirement to create an emotional difference, argues Wally Olins.² And brand personality is definitely a powerful emotional force.
Image created by DALL·E
How do I create my brand personality?
Aaker’s article offers a great framework to create (and manage) your brand’s personality.
The framework has key five dimensions: sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness.
Each of these dimensions is further expanded with “facets”. A facet is a representative trait that provides both breadth and depth to a dimension (see above).
What to do next?
Creating your brand personality shouldn’t be an easy task. It is a task that requires you to really think about who you want your brand to be and how will those traits be manifested across all your channels.
(What I am about to propose goes slightly against the recommendations of the article. This approach has, however, proven to be successful and more manageable over time.)
Before you go to the framework, organize a workshop where you and your team list all the traits you think your brand has. Ask yourselves what the brand is in terms of traits (for example, our brand is down-to-earth). I suggest that the workshop is facilitated by someone who is not part of your team. It will allow the discussion is unbiased and unprejudiced.
Before you group your traits, discuss the meaning behind each adjective you’ve listed. This will help make the grouping easier. Aim to create as fewer categories as possible, meaning that you need to keep things high-level.
Once you have your categories, map them against the framework above. Check if something is missing in your groups; or whether the framework should be expanded. Yes, the framework can be expanded. It can also be narrowed down: you can remove the facets as well as the dimensions.
Now the tough part begins — each dimension and facet you have identified as yours, needs to be defined in your words. This definition will then serve as guidance for yourself and your team to adequately manifest your brand personality. Expand your definitions with practical examples: show how that particular dimension translates to a caption, to an image, or to a video. The more examples you provide, the easier it will be for you to create a consistent brand.
Never stop communicating your brand personality. On that note — never forget to monitor how your brand personality is perceived either.
Conclusion
Your brand personality is the set of human characteristics that are attributed to your brand. A clearly defined brand personality matters because it makes it easier for your customers to relate to your products. Keep in mind that perceptions of brand personality traits can be formed by the direct and indirect way people interact with your brand. This includes anything from the design of your website to the way your customer service team treats customers. In managing your brand, it is important that you ensure that you are consistent in conveying your brand personality traits. This means maintaining a consistent expression of your brand across all touchpoints. By doing so, you will create a strong and recognizable brand that can build loyalty among customers.
