Branding is essential for a company to thrive. But how can you make sure that your brand will stand out from your competition? Simple: you give your brand a personality.
Brand personalities are an extension of branding itself. Think of your brand’s personality as the public persona of your brand. Why should you bother developing a personality for an abstract concept? Brand personalities have many benefits. Personality makes brands easier to identify. They make it much easier for you to build a culture around your brand. Finally, customers can relate to brand personalities.
The best part of creating a brand personality is that most of the work has already been done. The framework is there; you only have to uncover it. Just picture your ideal customer or your target market: note traits, appearance, culture, and lifestyle. Your brand’s personality should match that of your ideal Consumer.
As you might have learned, sometimes your idea of your typical Consumer does not match with the reality. In that instance, go with the reality. Your brand’s personality should grow from your existing customer base. This is why you don’t need to develop your company’s personality immediately upon entering the market: give yourself some time to find your footing. You might have to retool your brand a bit, but you will be grateful for putting in the work.
These are the five major archetypes for your brand’s personality:
• Competent: Competent brands are viewed as reliable, responsible, and intelligent. A brand renowned for its reliability and quality is a competent brand. Supplement brands that want to embody competence should include factual data in all of their marketing materials, along with a general focus on quality.
• Exciting: These brands are carefree, bold, and maybe even a little wacky. Exciting brands appeal to youth and rebels. Supplement brands that want to be seen as exciting should perhaps focus on bold logo design and specialize in the latest nutraceutical trends.
• Sincere: Brands that are seen as sincere are associated with honesty and values. A sincere supplement brand should appeal to Consumers by projecting a down-home image. Supplement companies could also project sincerity by associating with a legitimate charity (for example, the American Heart Association), and giving that charity a portion of their proceeds.
• Rugged: Rugged brands are evocative of toughness, independence, and the great outdoors. Patagonia is an example of a rugged brand. Supplements that want to be rugged should market an image of rustic independence.
• Sophisticated: A brand is sophisticated if it is associated with elegance and prestige. A supplement brand that wants to appear sophisticated should use tastefully understated designs and focus more on the luxury (or exclusivity) of its products.
Once you have developed your brand’s personality, you must make certain that it stays consistent across all of your marketing. Your brand must maintain the same image and evoke the same response across all platforms and content.
There is a danger of using an actual spokesperson for your brand: their image is tied to your brand’s image and vice versa. In the past, brands have suffered from boycotts due to a spokesperson’s political views or activities. Blowback is not limited to current spokespeople. Recently, one of the largest fast food chains in the US had to do major damage control when their former spokesman was convicted of particularly heinous crimes. This is not limited to the company, however: actors have had to hide their personal lives at the behest of their companies.
Brand personalities are good for your company in a myriad of ways. Your brand should speak for itself, so why not develop a persona for it to do so?
Are you ready to debut your brand’s personality? From marketing materials to logo design, we have the solutions that can help you. Contact our Sales Managers at 855-209-0225 (US Press 2 for Sales) to find out more information and pricing on our services. While you’re on the line, ask our representative how you can save $7-$10K in the process.
All my best,
Stefani Thionnet
Stay focused and never give up!
