Contents
- What is brand personality?
- Jennifer Aaker’s Brand Personality Framework
- A step-by-step guide for identifying your brand's personality
- Step 1: Understand your target audience
- Step 2: Assess your brand's values and mission
- Step 3: Review your brand's roots and past.
- Step 4: Identify your brand personality
- Step 5: Conduct your stakeholder interviews
- Step 6: Assess your competitors' brand personalities
- Step 7: Create a brand personality statement.
- Step 8: Test and refine.
- Final thoughts
Envision entering a packed room where numerous people are competing for your attention.
Your company stands out among all of this digital noise not simply because of its color scheme or logo, but also because of the personality it radiates.
Your personality can help set your business apart from competitors in a market where there are many similar items and services.
Consider how meeting a brand might arouse emotions, perceptions, and even a sense of connection.
I’m glad to have you here. In the realm of brand identities, your enterprise seeks to resemble people in order to connect with potential customers more deeply.
What is brand personality?
You have your own traits and characteristics because you are a human.
You stand out from the crowd.
You must consider your brand to be a human being in order to determine its personality.
In my experience, you must recognize its features and attributes and relate them to your business.
In order to draw in new clients, you must exhibit such qualities in all that you do.
Beyond appearance, brand personality is about the characteristics and ideals a company stands for.
These characteristics, such as the coziness of Coca-Cola, the safety of Volvo, or the inventiveness of Apple, influence how customers view and engage with businesses.
Jennifer Aaker’s Brand Personality Framework
This is one of the most popular paradigms for characterizing the core characteristics of a brand.
In order to comprehend brand personas, Jennifer Aaker, a psychologist, created a framework that consists of the following five key parameters:
1. Sincerity
This dimension includes characteristics like being wholesome, happy, honest, and down to earth.
A brand that exudes sincerity is one that is real, compassionate, and reliable. Coke, Amazon, and Dove are a few examples.
2. Excitement
Brands that exude excitement are vibrant, young, and energetic.
They are vibrant, creative, and full of adventure. GoPro, Nike, and Red Bull are a few examples.
3. Competence
Characteristics like dependability, intelligence, achievement, and capability are reflected in this dimension.
If your brand is informed, trustworthy, and effective if it has a competent personality. Google, IBM, and Microsoft are a few examples.
4. Sophistication
I’d like to think this as style, and refinement. These are brands with a sophisticated personality.
They exude exclusivity, refinement, and elegance. Chanel, Rolex, and Mercedes-Benz are a few examples.
5. Ruggedness
Brands that are tough, outdoorsy, and rugged are some qualities that fall under this category.
Durability, strength, and resilience are linked to brands possessing a tough nature. Harley-Davidson, The North Face, and Jeep are a few examples.
A step-by-step guide for identifying your brand’s personality
From my experience here are the steps that are needed to create a solid brand personality:
Step 1: Understand your target audience
You must first identify your target audience.
Conduct market research to gain insights into your customers’ demographics, psychographics, and preferences.
Find people whose values, objectives, and lifestyle choices align with your brand.
Step 2: Assess your brand’s values and mission
Then, confirm your brand’s underlying principles and mission.
What does your brand stand for?
What are your long-term aims and ambitions.
Your brand personality should be consistent with these basic values and work as a natural extension of your brand identification.
Step 3: Review your brand’s roots and past.
Now, let’s explore your brand’s history, legacy, and roots.
How has your brand grown?
And what are the important milestones that have shaped its identity?
Besides, look for reoccurring themes, or storylines that reflect your brand’s identity and connect with your customers.
Step 4: Identify your brand personality
Here, I’d like to suggest we refer to Jennifer Aaker’s brand personality framework or other comparable models to determine the main brand personality attributes that best describe your company.
Consider the dimensions of sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness.
Remember, use the characteristics that most closely correspond with your brand’s vision, goal, and target audience.
Step 5: Conduct your stakeholder interviews
We must always engage our essential stakeholders.
You can consider employees, consumers, and brand ambassadors to gain varied viewpoints on your brand personality.
I conduct interviews or surveys at this stage. Here, I learn how different stakeholders see your brand and the personality traits they connect with it.
Jot down common themes and insights that emerge from your talks.
Step 6: Assess your competitors’ brand personalities
Analyze your competitors’ brand personality to uncover gaps and chances for differentiation.
Compare and contrast their brand personality attributes to yours, and evaluate how you might carve out a distinct position in your industry.
I suggest to look for areas where your business may stand out and provide something unique to your intended audience.
Step 7: Create a brand personality statement.
Create a short brand personality statement based on your research and analysis.
You want to capture the essence of your brand.
In my experience, make it clear, memorable, and consistent with your brand’s vision and strategy.
Step 8: Test and refine.
Always, test your brand personality statement with internal and external stakeholders to collect feedback and insights.
Ask yourself, how well it connects with your target audience? Does it properly expresses your brand identity?
Iterate and adjust as needed to ensure that your brand identity accurately represents who you are as a company.
Final thoughts
Looking ahead, the importance of brand personality in influencing consumer behavior is set to skyrocket. Thanks to social media, brands now have a direct line to chat with consumers, making every interaction feel more personal.
But it’s not all smooth sailing. The challenge? Staying genuine amid a sea of algorithm-driven content.
If your brand manages to keep its unique traits shining through while tuning into what consumers really want, it’s poised to lead the pack.
So, here’s the scoop: brand personality isn’t just industry jargon; it’s the heartbeat of your brand. It’s what grabs the attention and loyalty of your customers.
By getting a grip on the various facets of brand personality, sticking to your authentic self, and creating real emotional ties, your brand can develop meaningful relationships with potential customers. These connections are what will help your brand endure and thrive amid fierce competition.
Next time you bump into a brand, pause and ponder its personality. You might just stumble upon your next favorite shopping buddy.
Ready to dive into the essence of your brand? Kick things off by pinpointing your core values, mission, and what your audience digs.
Use these insights to mold a standout, genuine brand personality that sets you apart. Why fade into the background when you can be the star of the show?
Connect, engage, and forge lasting bonds that not only boost your growth but ensure your long-term success. Ready, set, go—let’s make your brand unforgettable!
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