Does your brand have personality? Brand character is incredibly useful when wanting to develop a brand that has meaning. Like a person, every brand has a personality, whether they are big or small. Some are very boring and lack emotion, but the best brands evoke something in society that stays in the mind. Not all brands have such noticeable personalities, but those that do are more appealing and are a step ahead in connecting with individuals and target audiences.

A company’s brand personality is the cornerstone in creating an experience that aligns with your promise and values. Values that are consistent, authentic, and definitively “you” are what your company wants to project across all channels. It is the secret weapon in every successful marketing campaign.

So, how can you tell if your brand needs to rethink its personality? In so many cases brand personality is neglected by marketers, branding specialists and designers alike. I found that at Fresco, we needed to re-think and re-define our own brand personality. I knew we had a certain vibe, but was it who we wanted to be and was that being conveyed to our audience correctly? I thought to myself – were we strategically expressing this personality across everything that we do?

Have you noticed that when customers are looking for the right company to collaborate with, quite often they will choose a company that has similar values to their own? So, if you don’t have a defined personality, it would be hard for customers to know if you are the right company for them, right? Creating a strong and distinct brand personality will boost loyalty and trust in your brand and could be the defining thing that will give you a competitive edge.

 “Brand Personalities subconsciously connects your brand to your consumer.”

So what is your brand personality and how do you develop it? Usually, the answers are right under your nose, so gather your team together to brainstorm the right words that depict your brand’s personality. The people at the heart of the business have the ability to offer real insight.

Why did you start your company? What is the WHY behind your company’s values and mission statement, and then think about what drives your business and what is about the business that makes you proud? There are many ways to find out what personality best suits your brand, thinking your core business offerings, the company’s core values and who your ideal target market is will provide you with an initial framework to build upon. The best personality traits are an authentic reflection of organisational ambition, culture and strategy. Brand truths . By looking inwards, you will learn how to connect with your target communities while staying aligned with the company’s core values – this process will reveal unique marketing angles that differ from your competitors.

I have written many articles recently about the importance of customer experience and customer-centric marketing. What keeps ringing true is that brand personality goes beyond just communicating ad-hoc with your audience when it suits you – it is about having a truthful, consistent and meaningful presence across all interactions with your customers. Be familiar.

For us designers and branding specialists, a set of rules of how your brand personality is displayed visually is vital – it’s the most important part of the toolbox. We suggest setting up some comprehensive brand guidelines that address this or if you have some, just adding a section that cover this. These should clearly demonstrate how your brand personality can be seen across your brand assets and written material. Some organisations distribute desktop backgrounds or even print out posters of their key brand personality traits to help keep everyone on the same path.

What if everyone in your sector is trying to ‘be’ the same thing? Well, if your brand is operating in a category where competitors are functionally similar, or there are strong sector conventions, sounding different is a way to stand out. If you look like everyone else, it could be time for a rethink. There is always something about you that makes your customers come back again and again, choosing you over the other guy. What is that?

Investing in brand personality can deliver a tangible and real return for any business. Not only is it the quickest way of improving the overall quality of your communications and experience, relatively inexpensively, but being a more ‘human’ brand, more of the time will engender trust and preference with customers. And it will go a long way to surprising and delighting people that meet your brand.