You’re starting a business or have already started one. You offer a service, a product or even a combination of both. Now it’s time to take action. It can be difficult to begin, especially in a highly competitive world where you can shop at a click of a button. One of the first steps you can take is to define your brand personality.
Brands have feelings, too!
We can define brand personality as a collection of emotional, intellectual and behavioural patterns unique to a brand (which stay consistent over time). If your brand was a person, what words would you use to describe it?
A brand’s recognisable traits stem from how the world sees and feels about it. Authenticity and consistency can separate a strong brand from a weak one.
Brand personality is the part of your brand that your customers identify and build a relationship with. This relationship plays a massive role in driving customer acquisition, fostering brand loyalty, and building brand equity.
Personality is the reason why Starbucks customers feel so at home in its cafes and why BMW customers can’t picture themselves driving anything else.
So now you’re asking, “how do I humanise my brand? Where do I begin?” Before we dive into how – let’s look at some famous brands’ personalities.
“Like people, brands without personalities are just plain boring.”
Unknown
Apple
Main personality trait: Sophistication
Apple is non-corporate, artistic, creative and sophisticated. Although Apple is a technology company, sophistication shines through quite heavily. Their signature elegant design is woven throughout products, software, packaging and marketing.
Red Bull
Main personality trait: Excitement
As one of the most inspirational brands out there, Red Bull has two different types of customers. On one side, there is a group of fun-loving individuals. And on the other – professional athletes.
Other personality traits used to describe Red Bull include ‘courageous’, ‘outgoing’ and ‘hyper-energetic’. The brand’s personality is conveyed seamlessly from its aspirational messaging to the events they sponsor.
Okay, let’s get down to business
Define and deliver your brand personality by answering the following questions:
Who are my customers?
Decide who you want to target. This is the key to understanding and unlocking the voice you will use. It’s impossible to build something that will attract and satisfy EVERYONE – so don’t. Be specific. Be niche.
Here’s an example:
Defining your target audience as females, ages 25-39, who are single and work in a professional field is much more helpful than trying to reach young adults.
What words do I want people to associate with my brand?
What are your brand adjectives? Maybe you want your brand to be known as energetic, encouraging and delightful. Or perhaps you see your brand as professional and trustworthy. List some descriptive words that can help you decide on what your next steps will be. Think of how your visuals, logo, website and copywriting will look.
What makes my business different?
Consider other businesses that are doing similar things (AKA your competition). What is it about your perspective that is unique and exciting? Is there something unusual in your process that can benefit your customers?
We don’t want to copy-paste an entire branding experience – there is so much room for creativity in all industries. So study your competition. And get to know what makes your business innovative.
The next step in defining your brand personality
If you’ve gotten this far, you now have the foundations to describe your brand personality. This is a good starting point which can lead to your business look and feel, strategy and so much more!
Why not take it one step further? Click and complete a little exercise below to discover more about your brand personality. It’s FREE! Once downloaded, you can print or fill it out digitally. Either way, it’s a fun brand-building exercise. (Woo-hoo!)
Free: Brand Personality Worksheet
Claim your free PDF copy of our brand personality worksheet by completing the form below.
Need some more help building your brand personality? Check out our latest work for inspiration and get in touch!
