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“You now have to decide what ‘image’ you want for your brand. Image means personality.
Products, like people, have personalities, and they can make or break them in the market place.”
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David Ogilvy
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Ok. This is a business thought. I cannot tell you how often I have been in a business meeting discussing an organization’s vision, or maybe some specific product <of which people ponder wisely under the guise of ‘building a brand’>, where we get bogged down over ‘what is the personality.’
This discussion can often take on some fairly absurd aspects:
What kind of car?
If I were a person who would I be?
If I could be a porn star what would be my favorite … oops … ok … not that.
Anyway. We use whatever metaphor or image or heuristic trick to get non creative people to think some aspect of creativity. And most people just think it is mumbo jumbo and a waste of time & energy.
First. Yes. Mostly it is mumbo jumbo. The conversation/discussion is so contrived it is … well … I frankly cannot come up with a better word than mumbo jumbo.
Second. Simply because the conversation is contrived doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value.
In fact. This conversation may be the second most important conversation a business can have <the first being “what the hell does our product do well for the person who buys it?>. Defining the product <brand> personality or character has repercussions far beyond the absurd conversation.
It impacts the tone of the communications.
It impacts how your target buyer perceives the product.
It impacts how your money is spent supporting the product.
And, maybe most importantly, it impacts whether the product ends up simply being some bland commodity or a rich brand <charging a higher price and gaining higher profits>. Simplistically, this means this discussion impacts ‘value.’
Look. Brands need some substance, some texture.
Similar to how well liked people are rarely shallow, or one dimensional, an effective brand needs to have some depth to its personality and character. Finding this personality takes some thought as you seek a combination of energy, substance and a sense of values <not value but values>.
Let’s be clear. The need to express the brand traits is absolutely essential to establish distinction <distinctness> in the marketplace. It may not make you different but certainly distinct. The personality of your brand is what makes it special, it’s what your organization stands for in all it does and says <and, yes, the relationship between organization culture, values, beliefs is inextricably linked to whatever brand is being offered to people>.
The personality of the brand reflects the ideals that permeate every aspect of the organization, its products and services.
Inevitably this means the personality defines character.
Now. According to screenwriters the ideal amount of traits a character should have is four. Their experience suggests that having less than three traits means the character will appear flat.
On the other hand. Their experience suggests having more than five traits and the character becomes too inconsistent.
Well. Let’s say that the same thinking applies to a brand.
It may seem silly to invest so much energy thinking about something like a ‘brand personality’ when you are faced with the day to day pressures of selling stuff and stock prices and investor relations, but ultimately the exercise leads to ongoing value.
Yes, value.
All this discussion about values does lead to value (people willing to pay a higher price and loyalty to the brand).
Look. Studies show that brands and organizations that have character will actually benefit from gains in market share, increased customer loyalty, and improved employee retention.
Simplistically. People want to be associated with brands that have character, some dimension & substance.
So here are what I envision are the key elements when thinking about building a brand personality:
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Gaining energy:
A brand’s sustaining energy is typically generated through a reflection of conflict and challenge.
The energy is created when a brand steps up to meet a relevant need or solve a problem. To sustain the energy the brand must consistently seek out to solve ongoing conflicts and challenges. This translates into an evolving non stagnant brand.
Simplistically.
Energy typically evolves from solving problems. Solving problems takes energy.
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Gaining substance:
The true substance of personality is to balance that energy with something else. It is often found by having the brand own contradictory elements, for example, tasting great but less filling or natural science.
Owning these contradictions creates dimensions in the personality and generates an interesting dialogue between brand and consumer allowing the relationship to develop.
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Gaining character:
Once you have energy and substance, think respect. This one is very easy <and very difficult)>.
Try focusing on the core customer group, that 1% which represents 25% of your long term business, and decide how to earn their respect. Actions, words, appearance … all fit into character. What makes this difficult is that often companies want to look at “this is how I want the world to look at me.”
Well.
Unfortunately 50% won’t care about you whatever you do, 25% won’t like you whatever you do and the remaining 25% will be thinking “why do you care about the 75% and focus on what I think.”
<note:I made those numbers up)
Just take solace in this wisdom
“Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.”
<Alexander Hamilton>
Trust me. If you focus on what kind of character you need to exhibit to gain respect of your core customers others will gather round (and fortunately for you they will have the same traits as the people you already like).
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Gaining dimension:
By dimension I mean developing aspects of the personality. As noted earlier … what are the four traits that make your brand character stand out from your competition?
You should always begin within the history of the organization because it always goes back to the very essence of its beginning mission and principles and its “DNA.”
But that is just the beginning. Great personalities are not one dimensional. Those people are interesting because they have different sides to who they are, for example, serious with a sense of humor. Another great way to look at it is “my brand is comfortable wearing a tux at a black tie and wear jeans to their favorite causal restaurant.” That type of discussion helps you decide the different dimensions of the brand. If the brand were a person what type of hobbies would it have, what type of clothes would it wear and what type of events would it attend.
Once again this may seem silly but it assists in some truly practical aspects of the business – where do I put my stores, are there certain types of new products I should be considering, what kinds of events should we be sponsoring … crap like that.
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That’s it. The power of this dimensionalized brand personality is that different groups of consumers will gravitate to the brand for different reasons. I personally believe understanding your Brand Personality is the second most important thing a company can do.
Product is always <repeat: ALWAYS> first and foremost <because without a product functional promise that is delivered day in and day out … well … you ain’t got shit>.
However, product superiority can come and go and a distinct personality is eternal.
Having said that. It kinda seems to be a good use of time to nail this down early on because, what the heck, the return on investment is … well … forever.