The personality of a brand is a collection of human attributes that are assigned to a brand name. A brand personality is something to which the customer can relate; by having a clear collection of characteristics that a particular consumer group likes, a successful brand enhances its brand value. In addition to its practical advantages, this personality is a qualitative value-add that a brand receives.
The collection of human characteristics associated with a brand is \"academically speaking brand personality.\" It has been shown that customers imbue products with features of human personality and build them into symbolic brands in turn. Brand identity is a way for them to convey their identities and describe their lifestyles through material possessions from a customer point of view. Whereas in previous years, society's status will be conveyed or determined by connections to class, caste or kin.
Brand personality is made up of two elements, what your company wants your customers to think or feel about your brand and what your customers think or feel about your brand. It is communicated over time using all elements of the marketing mix; product, price, promotion and place (distribution). You must communicate the desired personality though your product, it’s quality, use, packaging. Through the price of your product, pricing strategy, high or low cost, aspirational pricing. The place is also very important in the creation of brand personality, where are you going to sell your brand and through what distribution means. There have been many valid arguments that promotion is the most important aspect of the marketing mix when it comes to the creation of brand personality. The use of advertising is one of the easiest ways to establish clear associations with your brand and communicate it to mass audiences.
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Along with the advertising element, your company’s website is also one of the best platforms for you to convey your brand’s personality. The design, images and copy that you have on your website all combine to communicate the personality of the brand if customers associate with that then they will be on the way to being converted into loyal consumers.
To come up with a clear brand personality strategy it is often useful to create a lifestyle portfolio for your brand. This involves taking your brand, your product and imagining what it would be like if it were a person, try to personify the brand. Think in terms of; what books would this person have on their bookshelf, what would they dress like, what music would they listen to and where would they live? This is useful for creating a direction for your brand to go in and the creation of a strong brand personality.
Brand personality is essential for building a strong brand, creating loyal customers and diversifying form the competition. These associations and beliefs that the consumer holds about your brand will go some way in achieving brand equity which is the total value of the brand as a separable asset. This will allow clear measurement and evaluation of the effectiveness of the marketing efforts that have been expended on the brand, an invaluable method for future success and growth of the brand.
Impact of brand personality on the brand.
1. Differentiating your brand from the competition
A distinct brand personality can make your brand appear to stand apart from your competition. You can make your brand appeal to youth by inferring personality traits like carefree or spirited. A competitor’s brand may be offering a similar product as athletic. By addressing different personalities, this same product is now appealing to varied audiences.
2. Communicating good traits about your brand
Personality traits such as trustworthy and desirable can help build customer confidence. Brands that connect to the consumers emotionally often carry the traits of desirability such as allure or exclusivity. With trustworthiness, a brand can strengthen its belief in consumers to maintain its quality standards.
3. Forming an emotional attachment with your brand
Consumers are more likely to identify with brands that closely resemble them in terms of personalities. A brand that showcases personality traits such as kindness or thoughtfulness is likely to be trusted by families. Someone may prefer a brand of jeans that personifies ‘cool’ over another that is all about status.
4. Helping form sustained relationships with your brand
Apple used the power of brand personality to great effect with its ad campaign to promote the Mac. It differentiated its product from the PC with the help of distinct personality traits. Justin Long represented the stylish and young Mac that was instantly more relatable than older and traditional PC represented by John Hodgman. It enabled consumers to decide which brand they wanted to buy, depending on the traits they wanted to embody for themselves. Personality traits help consumers establish a relationship with a brand as they identify with the personality and not just the product.
5. Conveying your brand’s message
Your favorite childhood cookie brand could invoke personal memories of warmth and comfort. This may be the reason you prefer one cookie brand over another. When launching a new product, marketers can expand their reach by assigning personality traits that the audience can connect with. Comfort foods such as cookies need to display personality traits that invoke strong emotional responses in consumers. Athletic shoe brands are likely to have traits of being rugged and outdoorsy while a stiletto company will be personifying desirability traits such as allure or status.
6. Setting the tone for your brand
The tone of your brand helps establish marketing strategies. For instance, if you want your brand to invoke the feeling of sincerity maybe something kind or thoughtful then your marketing needs to focus on this tone to send the same message to consumers. You can make your apparel brand-friendly and cool or sophisticated but fun.
After all, how you want your brand to act is the personality of the brand. Having said that, the marketing and branding methods need to be consistent. This will assist you in designing a clear marketing strategy that will not meander from your desired objective.