Whether you are grabbing your morning coffee at Starbucks or looking for that latest iPhone to purchase, these brands come off as different personalities to you. In this article, you will learn all about brand personality and how a brand builds itself as a personality. So, without any delay, let me get you started. 

These can include how they are marketing themselves or how the brand looks in your eyes. Brand personality has much to do with how a brand seems familiar, comfortable, vibrant, or rugged. 

A brand’s way of expressing itself to its target customers is related to its personality. 

What Is Brand Personality?

The best way for a brand to interact with its audience is through its personality. A brand personality of a brand includes its total sum of emotional, psychological, and behavioral patterns. A brand can develop human-like characteristics that help its followers and its customers interact with it. The consumers and the audience can relate to these personality traits and can be drawn to a brand as a result. 

A brand personality is a representation of a brand’s identity. While a brand’s identity deals with the logical aspects of the brand, brand personality sets the tone, the voice, and the features that communicate with the audiences. 

A brand’s in-market communication allows it to set up its brand equity or perception among the audience. 

Why Does Brand Personality Matter? 

Sometimes, brand personality may seem like a fuzzy and soft aspect of a business. But it sets the entire mood for a brand and makes it timeless. Some of the most famous brands worldwide have used brand identity, personality, and brand equity to boost their business. 

Building a timeless personality that creates a place for a brand in the market in the long run is quite useful. Brands can stand stronger and longer in the market thanks to their stronger brand personality. 

A strong brand personality also gets embedded into the audiences or the consumers of a brand. For example, Starbucks makes its customers feel at home with their personality marketing campaign. 
Ferrari or BMW owners also feel a sense of identity thanks to each brand’s strong brand marketing. More importantly, a brand uses its personality to boost its relationship with the costumes. It plays a massive role in helping a brand drive more customer acquisition and increasing brand loyalty. A brand with more loyal customers has a higher customer retention rate.

The Aaker Model: 5 Dimensions Of Brand Personality

In 1997, Stanford marketing and brand expert Jennifer L. Aaker Published articles in the Journal of Marketing Research. This article describes five dimensions that provide structure to think conceptually about any brand. Here are the five different dimensions-

Sincerity:

The first dimension here is sincerity. This type of brand personality describes one as ethical, trustworthy, and down-to-earth. Patagonia is a good example of this type of brand personality. 

Excitement:

There are brands with a bold approach to their marketing or in their customer interaction. These brands are often creative, high-spirited, and passionate, like Red Bull or Tesla. 

Competence:

Brands coming into this category are intelligent and dependable. You can take examples such as Microsoft or Volvo. 

Sophistication:

The sophistication of a brand’s personality is also deeply connected with the brand’s target customers. Chanel or Apple are brands that appeal more as glamor models or attract sophisticated customers. These brands come under the “Sophistication” model of brand personality. 

Ruggedness:

Some brands give more of an off-road or rowdy type of vibe. For example, you can take a Volvo or Harley Davidson. 

Every brand has its own unique traits and personalities that help it stand out. Also, each of the five dimensions mentioned here has more unique qualities that are displayed through a brand’s personality. 

The mix of different qualities is what makes a brand unique and makes it look unique in a competitive landscape.

Main Ingredients Of A Brand Personality

Brand personality frameworks of any brand need to complement the product they advertise and the particular lifestyle it fits into. But, most importantly, it is about the big picture of the company. It requires ingredients that make it a strong brand.

Here is a set of ingredients that a brand must have to develop a strong brand personality –

Clarity

A clear brand personality helps customers understand what the brand stands for and what it represents. For example, if a brand sells sports equipment or sportswear, its marketing materials should have visual imagery related to sports. It could be related to a gym room, soccer field, or even a sports star advertising for them.

Relatability

A set of targeted audiences like the vibe a brand gives off. They need a strong brand image and increase revenue by 23%. Data shows that 46% of the US audience is ready to pay more for products from a brand that they trust, and trust is built through relatability. Once your audience starts feeling connected to your brand because they find a certain sense of relatability, they start to trust your brand.

Consistency

Building a strong brand image is just the building part of it. But, as you keep putting in consistent effort, you build an image that sticks with your audience. A strong brand image is key to revenue growth. In fact, studies show that brands with a strong brand image have seen revenue growth up to 23%.

A brand needs to stay consistent on its social media campaigns, marketing campaigns, billboards, and brand story. Brands persistently running their campaign with a relatable tone of voice will always triumph when customers are looking for solutions they provide.

Memorability

When your story is unique and the brand personality is strong, your targeted audience will remember you more compared to other competitors. When your brand personality is strong, it makes your brand awareness far better. As I said before, when the targeted audience is looking for something, 82% of them are going to go with brands they remember. On top of that, if you couple that with an even better brand experience, your brand becomes hard to forget.

How Does A Brand Display Its Brand Personality? 

If you have a business that you want to display as a brand, then building your business’s personality is critical. How? It is simple. You start by identifying the brand as a person. 

Your brand’s expression as an entity is dictated by the personality set for it. Here are three different ways to make your brand’s personality come to life –

• Visual & Sensory Representation
• Your Brand’s Communication Style And Tone Of Voice
• Your Brand’s Behavioral Patterns

Visual & Sensory Representation of Brand Personality

A visual or sensory identity that your brand communicates through is the first step towards building a brand personality. When you have your brand’s identity figured out, you can create a strong brand personality.  

Communication Style & Voice of Brand Personality

Important elements like a brand’s Logo, typography, colors, imagery, etc., build its identity. It is common to represent a brand’s personality through visual or sensory identity. We can take Coca-Cola, for example. It is a brand, and everyone knows the color associated with the brand. It is RED.

Brand’s Behavior

The voice, tones, and temperaments of a brand are key determinants of its personality. However, the behavioral pattern or how a brand acts in front of its audiences and customers is also a part of brand personality. How a brand acts in relation to its position in the current world decides its personality. It also helps a brand build necessary connections and build customer relationships.

Examples Of Brand Personality

Here are a few examples of a brand’s personality –

Nike

Nike, as a brand, comes out as a strong and enthusiastic personality. It encourages its followers to lead a high-spirited life full of energy and the will to act. According to the Aaker brand personality model, Nike has a personality type of “excitement.”

Apple

Apple sets itself apart by becoming a sophisticated brand that radiates the word’ glamor.’ Its minimalistic approach to the products and its premium price point make Apple a Sophisticated brand personality. 

Starbucks

Starbucks, according to Aaker’s model, has a competent brand personality. It is a brand that nurtures all kinds of customers coming from all walks of life and asking for a cup of coffee for comfort. Their approach to presenting themselves as a community pillar makes Starbucks one of the most famous brands out there.

Bottom Line

Building a brand personality is not easy. However, following the Aker model can help you break down a brand and identify its key traits that build its distinct personality. Once you have gone through this article, you should have a clear idea as to what constructs a brand’s identity. The AKer model should also help you identify the brand personalities of your favorite brands. 

However, if there are any queries related to this, you can let us know through the comment section below.

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