Written by Remy Campbell, Branding Executive
A brand personality can be described as assigning specific human characteristics and traits to a brand to allow consumers to relate to the brand. Brand personalities effectively communicate information to target audiences and create a strong persona for a brand to identify with. Giving a brand-specific human-like characteristics can help a company thrive by developing creative and eye-capturing campaign techniques.
However, target audiences need to be identified to form a compelling brand personality. For a company to succeed, its audience must relate to the brand and form the same beliefs as the group. Demographics and analytical findings can help a brand identify its primary audience and create a personality related to the specific group.
An example of a company that has developed a robust and effective brand personality is Wendy's. The fast-food burger joint is active on social media platforms and responds to tweets, posts, and comments relating to the fast-food industry. Wendy's brand personality can be described as sarcastic, funny, and witty. While Wendy's mascot may be a sweet red-headed pigtailed girl, Twitter has brought out a different side of this adorable tween. In December of 2017, Wendy's was trending on Twitter because of brutal burns and comments from people who would make fun of Wendy's and talk negatively about the company. Wendy's gained much attention from the youth and teenage community because of the snarky comments made by the company. Its brand personality helped the company develop an active platform on social media and gave people something to talk about.
Another company that has flourished from its brand personality is Pit Viper Sunglasses. Pit Viper Sunglasses' target audience is teenage boys from high school through the late twenties. Pit Vipers' social media platforms and website use jokes that appeal to a teenage audience and phrases the youth will understand when advertising. A strategic brand personality allowed Pit Viper to incorporate jokes and hidden meanings, allowing the adolescent audience to see that the product was developed specifically for them.
According to McAllister Marketing, brand personalities help companies grow and succeed because:
Brand personalities allow a brand to be differentiated from the competition.
Good traits can be communicated effectively when a brand personality is well executed.
Consumers can develop an emotional attachment to a brand when a personality is targeted to a group.
Sustained relationships can be created with a brand personality and consumers.
A brand's message can be easily conveyed when geared towards the correct audience.
A set tone can be defined through a brand personality.
Developing a solid brand personality will attract consumers and target audiences, allowing it to grow and succeed. A target audience must be identified for a company to achieve so a brand personality can be built. Strong brand personas need to communicate with the target audience by speaking like the audience and acting as if the brand is a consumer. No detail is too small when it comes to developing a brand personality. A strong brand persona will allow consumers to interact with a company, purchase from the group and increase engagement levels with the brand.