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…

• Marlboro is ‘masculine’ while Virginia

Slims 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 consumer’s

experiences with the brand
• In other words, the brand’s personality is the
weighted average of previous impressions
• In consumer’s 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

Marlboro
• Masculinity, freedom, adventure

Levi’s
• Rebellion, sensuality, being cool
Example: Spinz
Young
Modern
Active
Outdoor
Cheerful
Friendly

‘Life of the Party’

 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

• Pond’s sponsoring Femina’s ‘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…
– Apple’s bitten apple
– Nike’s swoosh
– MetLife’s 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 consumer’s
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 individual’s

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

• Marlboro’s personality of a macho,

freedom-loving, adventurous person
suggests that the product is strong

• Harley Davidson’s 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 customer’s 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