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How to create a brand personality that gels with people
Here is my Simple 7-Step Recipe that Nails the Personality, Human Attributes, Brand Voice, and Brand Tone
You have a minimum viable product or a great idea.
Awesome!
You already know who your customers are, in a broad sense. You may have even talked to a few prospective customers through depth interviews and focus groups. You may even have customer personas at the ready. Which means you know them, but who are you?
When it comes to creating a brand personality, it’s time to daydream. Stare out the window for a while, because this is where the brand you are starting to build can acquire flesh and bones. In a manner of speaking.
Your Customer’s Relationship with Your Brand
Professor David Aaker points about how your brand personality will affect how a customer will use and choose you. This is a good place to start. Before we flesh out the right personality for our brand, we should think about the nature of the relationship the customer (or client) is going to have with it.
Three Ways of Using a Brand
Aaker suggests that there are three ways people use a brand. The first way is as a form of self-expression. The second is about the relationship or the ability of the brand to be a ‘guide’ or trusted partner. The third is for the functional attribute that ladders into higher-order or emotional territory.
Let me give you some simple examples.
A Form of Self-Expression
Luxury goods are often considered forms of self-expression. They validate who we are to ourselves and to others. When you buy and wear a Hermes bag you are saying to yourself that you like high fashion and luxury. To others, perhaps, you are signaling you are rich, important and have great taste.
A Trust Relationship
When we need to rely on the expertise of a company, we choose a brand based on the relationship we will have. I may choose Virgin Money for my superannuation because I am young, like things spelled out and clear…
