Brand Personality

Creating a strong and relatable brand is tough. It requires strategic thinking and a comprehensive understanding of your brand. Most brands strive to differentiate themselves from their competitors, they want to encourage their customers to engage with them. But how is this done successfully? The answer is through their brand personality.

A brand personality is similar to a person’s personality. People are drawn to them when they are approachable and genuine. When brands make an emotional impact, a connection is formed with your customer, often resulting in a positive experience. Ultimately a brand personality is a way to communicate with the world, a tool to shape your customer’s impression of you.

There are five key dimensions of brand personality:

1.Excitement
Brand excitement can be seen as imaginative, provocative, the risk-takers. They are seen as playful and often hype up their audience.
Brands that show these traits are Redbull, Nike and Nandos.

https://twitter.com/NandosSA/status/1253402778388611073

2. Competence
Reliability, success, influence and intelligence are some of the traits in brand competence. Think of brands like Google, Microsoft and Intel.

https://twitter.com/Google/status/1259906161500999685

3. Sincerity
Brand sincerity leans towards a wholesome, genuine and honest approach. These brands attract customers through trust and warmth. Some examples of brands that adopt these traits are Hallmark, Disney and Cadbury.

https://twitter.com/Hallmark/status/1255944693306834950

4. Sophistication
Brand sophistication usually takes time to build. Brands that have reached the level of sophistication are poised, elegant and refined. Some examples are Tiffany & Co, Rolex and Apple.

https://twitter.com/TiffanyAndCo/status/1258350900504035329

5. Ruggedness
Rough, tough and full of power. Brand ruggedness is meant to remind you of the outdoors, the adventurous brand. Examples include Harley Davidson, Toyota and Jeep.

https://twitter.com/harleydavidson/status/1257671394038476801

Can you identify your brand with one of these characteristics? If you are finding the answer to that question difficult, try to imagine your brand as a human being. What does it look like? Who do they hang out with? Once you’ve identified these emotional qualities and implement them throughout, you will connect with your customers on a deeper level.

A solid and consistent brand identity is imperative to any brand. Once you can identify your brand personality, you effectively start to resonate with your customers. It doesn’t matter how big or small your brand is, having a tight brand personality is what will draw your customers in and separate you from your competitors.