marketingmanagement AAKER ON BRANDING

Brand Personalities Are

rugged and outdoorsy personalityis
like Nike or The North Face.
A stimulating companionan

Like Snowflakes interesting personality with incredible

storiesis like the Dos Equis beer
spokesman, the most interesting man
in the world. A brand-as-person
who has a passion for healthy, organic
foods is reflected by the Whole Foods
BY DAVID AAKER Market personality.
daaker@prophet.com
Representing a Functional
Benefit

W
ho wants to spend time with someone who A brand personality also can be a vehicle
for representing and cueing functional
is so boring that hes described as having
benefits and brand attributes. It can be
no personality? Maybe its better to be a easier to create a personality that implies
jerk because at least youll be interesting. Having a a functional benefit than to communicate
that functional benefit directly. Further,
personality is equally helpful to brands, especially in its harder to attack a personality than a
the digital age. functional benefit.
The Harley personality is a rugged,
macho, America-loving, freedom-
Not all brands have, or even should have, person who cares about cooking and seeking person who is willing to break
a strong, distinctive personality, but about her family. Wearing the Nike out from confining society norms of
those brands that do have a significant brand reflects Nike-as-person: dress and behavior, which suggests that
advantage in terms of standing out from someone who is exciting, provocative, Harley motorcycles are powerful and
the crowd, having an on-brand message, spirited, cool, innovative and aggressive, have substance. Meanwhile, MetLife has
and supporting a relationship with and into health and fitness. Being a used the Peanuts characters to create a
customers. Personality is an important Patagonia fan expresses a passion for personality of being warm, approachable
dimension of brand equity because, the environment and for sustainability. and humorous, a highly desired but
like the human personality, it is both Being a Dove user reaffirms a belief in hard-to-achieve personality for an
differentiating and enduring. real inner beauty. insurance company.
The Energizer rabbit is an energetic,
Enhancing Self-Expression Providing the Basis for a upbeat, indefatigable personality who
Benefits Relationship never runs out of energyjust as the
People express their own or idealized A brand personality can help build battery runs longer than others. Wells
selves in part by the brands that they buy an understanding among the brands Fargo, as represented by the stagecoach,
and use, especially when the brands are company, and can communicate reflects an independent, cowboy
socially visible and have a personality. internally, about a brand-customer type who delivers reliably. Although
Such a brand is a badge that tells others relationship that can suggest programs competitors may actually deliver
what you value and how you live, and, and be the basis of brand loyalty. superior reliability and safety of assets,
more importantly, reaffirms to yourself For example, consider the following because of the stagecoach, Wells wins the
what is important in your life. relationship metaphors: A well-liked and battle of perception.
Using an Apple computer expresses -respected family membera warm,
for some a non-corporate, creative self, sentimental, family-oriented, traditional Guiding Brand-Building
based in part on the perception that the personalitywould match brands Programs
Apple brands personality is irreverent, like Hallmark, Hersheys, John Deere Tactically, the brand personality concept
creative and young, and challenges and Campbells. A person whom you and vocabulary communicate to those
convention. The use of Betty Crocker respect as a teacher, minister or business who must implement the brand-
expresses the home/mother/nurturing leadersomeone who is accomplished, building effort. As a practical matter,
side of some of its users because Betty talented and competentis like IBM or decisions need to be made about the
Crocker-as-person is a mother figure: The Wall Street Journal. A companion communications package, including
a traditional, small-town, all-American for an outdoor adventurean athletic, advertising, packaging, promotions,

20 MARKETING NEWS | JULY 2015


events, customer touch points, digital
programs and more. If the brand is
specified only in terms of attribute
associations, little guidance is provided.
To say that TaylorMade golf
equipment is of high quality with
an innovative design does not give
much direction. However, to say that
TaylorMade-as-person is a demanding
professional conveys much more. A
brand personality statement provides
depth and texture, making it more
feasible to keep the communication and
other brand-building efforts on strategy.
One retail chain created a mythical
brand-as-person with a home setting,
a family, interests, opinions and activities.
The company gave that person a name.
Lets call her Sue. Then whenever a
product, communication or operation
initiative was proposed, the criterion
was: Would Sue do it? The concept led to
easier and better decisions.
Helping to Understand the
Customer
The brand personality metaphor can
help a manager gain an in-depth
understanding of consumer perceptions
of the brand. Instead of asking about
attribute perceptions, which can be
both boring and intrusive, asking
people to describe a brand personality
often is involving, and can result in
more accurate and richer insights into
AAKER ON BRANDING
feelings and relationships. The arrogant
and powerful personality ascribed to
Microsoft, for example, provides a
deeper understanding about the nature
of the relationship between Microsoft
and its customers. Or the personality
construct might be a better entry
into understanding the calm emotion
associated with Celestial Seasonings tea
than a discussion of attributes.
A variant is to ask what a brand-as-
person might say to you. In a credit card
study, one segment who perceived the
brand as being dignified, sophisticated,
educated, a world traveler and confident
believed that the card would say things
like, My job is to help you get accepted,
and, You have good taste.
A second intimidated segment
perceived the card to be sophisticated
and classy but snobbish, aloof and
condescending, and believed that the
card would make comments like, I am
so well-known and established that I can
do what I want, and, If I were going to
dinner, I would not include you. The
perceived attitude of the brand toward
the customer was a big insight into
where an important customer segment
was coming from.
Providing Energy
When developing a brand vision, there
frequently comes a point at which
someone asks: Does the brand contain
marketingmanagement
any energy? And if not, how is it going
to communicate and succeed or even
be relevant in todays environment? A
brand personality often is a good way to
introduce energy into a vision.
A strong brand personality, such as
those surrounding Mercedes, Muji or
American Express, can provide energy
by adding interest and involvement. It
effectively amplifies brand perception
and experiences. All airlines seem
very similar until the energy created
by the personality profiles of brands
like Singapore, Southwest and Virgin
are considered. Think of the energy
surrounding the personality of the AXE
brand, which is obsessed with being
successful with attractive women.
Brand Personalities as a
Sustainable Advantage
A brand personality can be a vehicle
to express a persons self, represent
relationships, communicate attributes,
guide brand-building, help understand
the customer, and contribute energy. In
doing so, a personality can be a point
of differentiation that is sustainable
because it is very difficult, and usually
ineffective, to copy. m
DAVID AAKER is vice chairman of San
Francisco-based marketing consultancy
Prophet and author of Aaker on Branding:
20 Principles That Drive Success.
JULY 2015 | MARKETING NEWS 21
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