Brand Personality

What is brand personality?

Brand Personality is a set of human
characteristics associated with a
brand

Personality is how the brand behaves

Gender, age, socio-economic class,
psychographic, emotional
characteristics
Some examples
Axe is masculine while Dove is
feminine

IBM is older while Apple is younger

India Today is old-fashioned while
Outlook is trendier

Coke is conforming while Pepsi is
irreverent
About brand personality
Brand Personality, like human personality, is
both distinctive and enduring
Both are built over a period of time

Refers to the outcome of all the consumers
experiences with the brand

In other words, the brands personality is the
weighted average of previous impressions

In consumers mind, these impressions merge to
form an overall concept of what to expect from
brand
More about it
Brand Personality is eagerly searched by
brand strategists and researchers

Differences in responses by different
consumers provide useful insights

For example, users of a product will
perceive a brand different from non-users
In essence

Personality traits are what
the brand will live and die for
Examples
Axe
Seduction, masculinity, inviduality,
unconventionality

Levis
Rebellion, sensuality, being cool
Example: Spinz
Young
Modern
Active
Outdoor
Cheerful
Friendly

Life of the Party

Brand personality provides depth,
feelings, and liking to the
relationship.

Two elements that affect an individuals
relationship with a brand:
Relationship between the brand as
person and the customer
The brand personality or the type of
person the brand represents.

Brand Personality Dimensions
The brand personality dimension: is a framework to
describe and measure the personality of a brand in
five core dimensions, each divided into a set of
facets.
It is a model to describe the profile of a brand by
using an analogy with a human being.

Creating brand personality
Define the target audience
Find out what they need, want and like
Build a consumer personality profile
Create the product personality to match that profile
5 Dimensions of Brand Personality
1. Sincerity (down-to-earth, honest, wholesome, cheerful)
2. Excitement (daring, spirited)
3. Competence (reliable, intelligent, successful)
4. Sophistication (upper class, charming)
5. Ruggedness (outdoorsy, tough)

5 Dimensions of Brand Personality
Down-to-earth = down-to-earth, family-oriented, small-
town, genuine, old-fashioned
Honest = honest, sincere, real
Wholesome = wholesome, original
Cheerful = cheerful, sentimental, friendly

Sincerity
5 Dimensions of Brand Personality
Daring = daring, trendy,
exciting
Spirited = spirited, cool, young
Imaginative = imaginative,
unique
Up to date = up to date,
independent, contemporary

Excitement
5 Dimensions of Brand Personality
Reliable = reliable, hard working, secure
Intelligent = intelligent, technical, corporate
Successful = successful, leader, confident

Competence
5 Dimensions of Brand Personality
Upper class = upper class, glamorous, good
looking
Charming = charming, feminine, smooth

Sophistication
5 Dimensions of Brand Personality
Ruggedness
Outdoorsy = outdoorsy, masculine,
western
Tough = tough, rugged
Why use brand personality?
Enriches understanding
Helps gain an in-depth understanding of
consumer perceptions of and attitudes
towards the brand

Can provide more insight than is gained by
asking about attribute perceptions

For ex., Microsoft, IBM etc.,
Why use brand personality?
Contributes to a differentiating identity
Can differentiate brands especially where
brands are similar in product attributes

In fact, it can define not only the brand but
the product class context and experience

Mercedes Vs BMW; Clinic Plus Vs
Pantene
Why use brand personality?
Guides the communication effort
Communicates the brand identity with
richness and texture

If the brand is specified only in terms of
attribute associations, very little
meaningful guidance is provided
Is Nike shoes or sports, performance and
attitude?
Why use brand personality?
Creates brand equity
Builds long-term brand equity

Differentiates the brand and makes it
distinct from other competitive offerings

Serves as a powerful relationship device
How to create brand personality?
Personality of a person is affected by
everything associated with him friends,
neighbourhood, activities, clothes etc.,

So too is a brand personality
Product-related characteristics
Product-related characteristics can be primary
drivers of a brand personality
Even the product class can affect personality

Banks, Insurance etc., tend to be Competent,
Serious, Masculine, Older and Upper-class

Athletic shoes tend to be Young, Lively, Rugged,
Outdoorsy, Adventurous etc.,
Product-related characteristics
Product attributes can often affect brand
personality

A light beer would largely be classy,
sophisticated etc.,

A high-priced brand will be considered
wealthy, stylish and perhaps snobbish!
User imagery
Can be powerful driver of personality
because user is already a person and so
conceptualizing the personality is reduced

User Imagery can be people who use the
brand or those portrayed in advertising
Sponsorships
Activities such as events sponsored by the
brand will influence its personality

Ponds sponsoring Feminas Miss India
contest

Budweiser sponsoring the blimp in
American sporting events
Age
How long a brand has been on the market
can affect its personality

New entrants like Apple, Outlook etc., tend
to have younger brand personalities than
IBM, India Today etc.,
Symbol
A symbol can be a powerful influence on
brand personality since it can be controlled
and can have extremely strong
associations

Some examples
Apples bitten apple
Nikes swoosh
MetLifes Peanuts character
How it creates brand equity?
The ways brand personality can create brand
equity are summarized by 3 models:

1. The Self-Expression Model

2. The Relationship Basis Model

3. The Functional Benefit Representation Model
The self-expression model
The basic premise is that for some customers,
some brands become vehicles to express a part
of their self-identity

This self-identity can be their actual identity or
an ideal self to which they might aspire

Apple is perceived as friendly, unpretentious,
irreverent and willing to go against the grain
This is because Mac is easy-to-use and also due to
its symbol, advertising, user groups etc.,
The use of Apple expresses a personal identity of
being non-corporate and creative
How brand helps express personality?
Feelings engendered by brand personality
There can be a set of feelings and
emotions attached to a brand personality,
just as there are to a person
The use of such brands can cause feelings and emotions to
emerge

Feelings, when using a Harley-Davidson
or Apple would not emerge when using a
Honda or Compaq
How brand helps express personality?
The brand as a badge
A brand could serve as a consumers
personal statement

Cars, cosmetics, apparels lend
themselves to personality expression
because their use occurs in a social
context with relatively high involvement
How brand helps express personality?
The brand becomes part of the self
The ultimate personality expression occurs
when a brand becomes an extension or an
integral part of the self

The executive who wears Allen Solly on a Friday
feels semi-casual and waiting to welcoming the
weekend!

The potential to create this oneness with some
people can represent a significant opportunity
for a brand
The relationship basis model
Some people may never aspire to have a certain
personality trait but would like to have a
relationship with one who has that

A trustworthy, dependable, conservative
personality might be seen boring but sought
nevertheless, from banks or financial products

The concept of a relationship between a brand
and a person provides a different perspective on
how brand personality might work
The Relationship Basis Model
To see how this model works, consider
personality types of people with whom we
have relationships and the nature of those
relationships

Spirited, young, up-to-date, outgoing
Pepsi
On a weekend evening, it might be enjoyable
to have a friend who has these personality
features
The Relationship Basis Model
Two elements affect individuals
relationship with a brand

1. Relationship between the brand-as-person and
the customer
Which is analogous to the relationship between two
people

2. The brand personality
The type of person the brand represents
Functional benefit representation model
The previous two models provide contexts
in which brand personality can be the
basis for a brand strategy and a link to the
customer

A brand personality can also play a more
indirect role by being a vehicle for
representing and cueing functional
benefits and brand attributes
Functional benefit representation model
Marlboros personality of a macho,
freedom-loving, adventurous person
suggests that the product is strong

Harley Davidsons personality of a rugged,
macho, I-am-different-kind suggests that
the product is a powerful, liberating vehicle
Functional benefit representation model
When a visual symbol or image exists that can
create and cue personality
the ability of the personality to reinforce brand
attributes will be greater

The Energizer rabbit is an upbeat, indefatigable
personality who never runs out of energy
Just as the battery it symbolizes runs longer than
others
Functional benefit representation model
A brand personality that represents a
functional benefit or attribute may be
relatively ineffective if it lacks a visual
image established in the customers mind

A country or region of origin can add
credibility to an identity
It can generate a strong personality that
provides a quality cue and a key point of
differentiation
To sum up
A brand personality can help a brand in several
ways:
It can provide a vehicle for customers to express their
own identity
A brand personality metaphor helps suggests the kind
of relationship that customer has with brand
Brand personalities serve to represent and cue
functional benefits and product attributes well

Importantly, brand personality is often a
sustainable point of differentiation
Sustainable because it is very difficult to copy a
personality