Brand personality can be described as the traits that make up a brand, and which the customers relate to. The brand personality includes the kinds of traits normally attributed to people, like sense of humor, sincerity, introvert/extrovert, conservative, or boisterous. Brand personality is very important because it is connected to the emotional response that the brand creates among its audience. Hence, it is very important for companies to define their brand personality clearly. The more a company understands its own personality, the better it can perform in relating to customers. For example, if a brand personality is defined as “fun and lighthearted”, it will affect the way the company responds in a crisis. On the one hand, the brand must take the crisis seriously. On the other hand, the response must cohere with the brand’s “fun” personality in an acceptable way.
The concept of a brand personality is much the same as that of a person’s. However, a brand is not one individual – it is made up of many people, systems, operations, and processes. It is vital to ensure that the business’ operations and employees are a good fit for expressing and reflecting the brand personality.
Brand personality vs brand identity
While brand identity takes in all the fundamental aspects of a brand’s physical, conceptual, and emotional being in the world, brand personality is more focused on the kinds of traits, behaviors and preferences that a brand demonstrates. For example, a brand’s mission statement is part of its identity. The fact that the mission statement is written in a serious and straightforward way reflects the conservative and no-nonsense personality of the brand. Brand personality and brand identity are certainly connected and influence one another, however brand personality is more practical while identity is more conceptual.