Understanding Brand Personality
Brand personality is a blend
of characteristics that form unique character of a brand. These characteristics
draw the attention of customers towards the brand and make them explore, buy,
consume and know that how and why the brand is different from its competitors.
One of the most acknowledged and widely used models for defining brand personality is the "Aaker Model" created in 1997 by Ms. Jennifer Aaker for a journal of marketing research and even after 23 years this model has somewhat stood the test of time.
One of the most acknowledged and widely used models for defining brand personality is the "Aaker Model" created in 1997 by Ms. Jennifer Aaker for a journal of marketing research and even after 23 years this model has somewhat stood the test of time.
Every brand has a
distinct personality. It doesn’t matter how big or small is the size of a business
or a company, but creating and defining brand as a personality does matter.
It’s a vital step towards having a unified, well-structured brand. Even if we
don’t invest time in creating and defining the brand, definitely some brand
personality shall automatically take a shape due to people’s perception which
is not at all good indication for any business. Therefore, it’s imperative for
every business, small or big, to know what exactly is a brand personality, and
how it’s created and defined?
Aakar’s five dimensions of brand personality
As per Aaker, there are five
different dimensions of a brand personality (based on “Big Five” dimensions of a
human personality), each divided into a set of traits.
1. Sincerity (down to earth, honest, wholesome, cheerful)
2. Excitement (daring, spirited, imaginative, up-to-date)
3. Competence (reliable, intelligent, successful)
4. Sophistication (upper class, charming)
5. Ruggedness (outdoorsy, tough)
As each of the dimensions
is meant to serve as a benchmark for a cluster of similar personality traits, these
dimensions are meant to work together to create a generalized scale of traits that
a business can use to help determine its brand’s personality.
- Sincerity: Those brands which are dominated by sincerity
would always want to be seen as honest and straightforward. Their business
activity revolves around providing a transparent customer experience. A
brand having such personalities doesn’t use marketing gimmicks to increase
sales. It relies on the facts about the company and its products and shares
all the relevant information with the customers to meet their needs and clear
their doubts. Traits associated with this personality are - down-to-earth,
honest, real, genuine, pure, cheerful, and friendly.
- Excitement: Those brands
which are dominated by excitement would always desire to provide their
customers with an unforgettable experience. Brands with such personality
typically look for diversity in their customers because their goal is to provide
them with an experience everyone can relate to. Such brand personality
relies on a balance of something constant, that doesn’t change (the
brand’s ability to deliver) and something new, that isn’t predictable (the
customer’s experience). Use of action words is common with excitement
brands because they encourage their customers to allow them to take them
on journey and discover something new. Traits associated with this
personality are - daring, trendy, spirited, imaginative, and playful.
- Competence: Those brands which are dominated by competence would
showcase their commitment to quality and the impact they’ve made on the
relative industry. Brands having such personality would like to be seen as
industry leaders in the minds of their target customers. They would focus
on producing products and services that retain quality that is reliable. Such brand personality revolves around
innovation and new ideas. Traits associated with this personality are - intelligent,
successful, reliable, innovative, inventive, and experienced.
- Sophistication: Those brands which are dominated by sophistication
accompany a lifestyle their customers aspire to have. Brands having such
personality combine luxury and performance as they are the brands that customers
would choose if they could afford it. They also represents a certain
level of success, and a status symbol. Such brand personalities revolves
around an established reputation and aren’t built overnight. Traits
associated with this personality are - upper class, glamorous, timeless,
smooth, refined, and elegant.
- Ruggedness: Those brands which
are dominated by ruggedness emphasize their power and strength to their
customers. Brands having such a personality focus on encouraging their
customers to stand strong against obstacles and showcase their ability to
outperform their competition. Traits associated with this personality are
- upper class, glamorous, timeless, smooth, refined, and elegant.
Knowing how to define brand personality
Knowing how to define the
brand personality helps us to deliver a brand experience that shows our potential
customers how similar we’re to them ultimately leading to long lasting business
relationship – brand association with them.
To know the brand personality,
study how the brand interacts with the customers, how it conduct the business, how it
deals with the employees and handles the stake holders, what are its core values, its achievements, its future goals, vision and mission. These are very essentials to every business or
organisation, as they set the agenda of business and a direction to consumer
preferences because majority of the consumers want to do business with brands
that are good at maintaining harmonious consumer relations based on facts, reliability
and integrity.
So, what brand
personality are YOU as per the “Aakar Model”…Think and write in comments
column.
If you have
liked the blog, please does leave your comments.
Thank you for sparing
your time.
#####
Brand takes its personality from the customer niche being targeted as they must identify with the brand and preferably be proud of it. Human emotions being a complex mix, brand personality too are likely to be multi-dimensional often and evolve with time and social trends.
ReplyDeleteMost fruitful - Aakar's five dimensions. Thank you so much for this knowledgeable bolg.
ReplyDeleteInteresting reading. Other day I was watching the video by David Aaker, he has brought fort the importance of Story Telling in the modern day branding strategy. No harm adding that as the sixth dimention to this model !? 6. Story Telling . What do you say pl. ?
ReplyDeleteVery well said. The brand must live up to its image. Sincerity and honesty or lack of it makes the Brand a Success or Failure.Brand must perform what it promises. Well done,Suresh. You are adding to our knowledge and understanding of Brand Equity.
ReplyDelete