Is your brand memorable?

Hey there, I’m Beth and I’m the social and digital marketer at Embarketing! Figuring out the cogs and gears of branding for marketing is one of my favourite things to do. As a result, I got really into writing this blog post.

Have you ever wondered what a brand personality is, why it’s important, and what yours says about you?

“Is Pepsi okay?”

Have you ever thought about why you’d rather drink a Coke over a Pepsi? The two brands offer similar drinks, but you just prefer one over the other. Maybe you just like taste of Coke better. Or maybe you’re like me, and despite that you think they’re just as good as each other, you’d choose a Coke over a Pepsi if you had the option. It’s the same reason you might choose Converse over Vans.

This is because of brand personality. 

Being successful can be pinned down to a simple truth. People like to relate to things. Machines, buildings, factories, corporate – what do you think about these words? What feelings do you get? Are they appealing? Inviting? No. But people like other people - we can associate positive feelings and attributes towards them. We can relate to them.

The brand burger

What is a brand personality and why does it matter?

Imagine that your brand is a hamburger. You’re hungry and the burger is offering a solution to solve that problem. It looks good and it smells good, and it probably tastes good. But what matters most is what drives people to come back for more. For example, it could be the secret sauce, it could be because of where the ingredients are sourced, or maybe it’s simply because of the great customer service. Either way, these small points of difference are what makes this burger more special than any other. This boils down to the nature of your brand.

In order to create something successful that your customers will enjoy, each element of your brand needs to be symbiotic. If your product is overdone, underdone or not appropriate for your target market, then all you can hope for is a single bite rather than a new devoted customer. It does take time to develop these aspects of your brand personality, but it happens naturally as you grow and begin to learn more about your customers. After all, your customers should help you decide what direction to go in to have the best possible impact. Once you know who you’re selling to, it’s worth putting in the extra time to refine your personality to ensure that its relevant to the right groups at the right time.

So how do you figure out your own brand personality?

To easily understand the process behind brand personality identification, here are five guidelines that offers an insight into the dimensions that companies use to establish their brand.

These are:

1.     Excitement - The aspects of this personality includes being daring, trendy, modern, spirited or imaginative. “Exciting” brands are often new, contemporary and unique. (For example, think Nike and note how it makes you feel. These are key aspects of their personality.)

2.     Sincerity - Sincere brands are often down to earth, small-town originated, family oriented, and are often honest and real with their customers. They can also be sentimental, cheerful and wholesome. (Steggles.)

3.     Ruggedness - Rugged brands are usually bolder and more daring than their other counterparts. They’re honest and their focus is mainly on masculinity, the outdoors and strength. (Red Bull.)

4.     Competence - These brand personalities are considered to be reliable, hard-working and secure. Often they’re involved with technical, confident, people and corporations. (Dell.)

5.     Sophistication - Sophisticated brands are associated with the higher socio-economic demographs. They link with beauty, femininity, glamour, and propel the feeling of exclusiveness. (Louis Vuitton.)

These categories often blend together, as not all brand personalities will fit perfectly in one form. But to truly define your personality, you need to dig a little deeper.

The first steps include:

1.     Examining your competitors and differentiate yourself.

You’ll often find its much easier to find out where you stand if you compare yourself to other brands in the same industry. When you look at your competitors, ask yourself how you would describe them if they were a person in three words. Then look at yourself and you will be able to identify what makes you different.

2.     Know your customer

As mentioned earlier, a good brand personality should resonate with your company’s ideal customer. The best way is to think about how your brand can become part of the fabric of your customer’s life. This all comes down to how you portray yourself. For example, if your customers are professional, formal and driven, then you need to be all of these things as well.

3.     Observe your image and voice

A brand personality is not just about your logo or the colours you use, but it is the collection of everything you do that makes your brand unique. If your brand exclusively uses Instagram, you might define yourself as youthful, trendy or visual. If your business writes blogs or how-to’s, your business might define themselves as innovative or thought-provoking.

Being a memorable brand means that you’ve allowed yourself room for self-expression. Your brand personality is a source of communication and lays the foundation for relationship building. It’s a way for customers to relate to your business and a good way to differentiate yourself from your competitors.