Brand Personality

 The definition of Brand personality can be classified as

 Emotion- centered
 Human – centered
 Others

 Emotion centered definitions contend that brand

personality is the emotional component of a brand.

 These definitions see brand personality as the

emotional link between the consumer and the brand.
 If the brand were to become an emotion , what would
it be
Brand Personality
Maggi Hot and Sweet Humour
Chilli Sauce
Kama Sutra condom Sensuality
Sunrise Compassion
Red and White Valour
Exide Peace
Onida Envy, irritation
Another way of using projective techniques is to identify the brand

with an adjective .

The question would be what adjectives describe the brand

Brand Adjective
Tata Tea Vivacious , fresh
VIP luggage Longlasting, family
member
Palmolive soap caring
Blue Dart Relaible
Mountain Dew fun
 Human Centered Definitions :
“What happens when this brand becomes a human being.
Thus both emotion centered definitions and human
centered definitions emphasise the intangible aspect
of the concept of brand personality

Definition:
 The set of human characteristics associated with a
given brand. Thus it includes such characteristics as
gender, age, socioeconomic class as well as such
classic human personality traits as warmth, concern
and sentimentality.
 e.g—Virginia Slims tends to be feminine in
comparison to the masculine Marlboro.
 Apple is considered young while IBM
tends to be seen as older( in part because
it has been around longer)
 Brand personality like human personality is
both distinctive and enduring . Coke is
considered authentic and real whereas
Pepsi is considered young, spirited and
exciting.
 Brand personality can thus have
demographic characteristics like Feminine
(Sunsilk), Aramusk (masculine) , old
( Mysore Sandal) and young (Liril)
 Also could have psychographic
characteristics like upper class (Van
Huesen) v/s blue collar ( Nirma)
 And sophisticated (Honda city) v/s rugged
(Tata Sumo)
 Personality of Harley Davidson (HD) bikes
 There are 3 core values of HD bikes
 1) The dominant value is personal freedom,
which includes freedom from confinement
(confined in a car or a t home) and freedom from
mainstream values and social structures.
 The Harley Davidson eagle logo is one symbol of
this freedom.
 2) Second value is patriotism and American heritage.

 3) Then third value is being macho , inspired in part

by the outlaw bikers in The wild ones , the famed Marlon
Brando movie in 1950s.Expressions of manliness are like
wearing T-SHIRTS –“Real Men wear Black.

 HD bikes are the biggest, heaviest, loudest and thus the

most macho motorcycles in the world. There is an
abundance of black leather, heavy boots, chrome, and
other signals of maleness at Harley Rallies.
 The Harley motto—“Live to ride, ride to live”
appeals also to non macho potential buyers.

 The owners of Japanese bikes focuses on

functional benefits , whereas the Harley-Davidson
owner is much more concerned with emotion and
self-expressive benefits.
 Brand Personality Scale—
 Jennifer Aaker
 A study was done among 1000 U.S
respondents, 60 well known brands and
114 personality traits.
 Five personality factors emerged the
most significant. These 5 explain the
differences between the brands.
 1) Sincerity (Campbell’s, Kodak, Hallmark)

 Down-to-earth : family oriented, small town,

conventional,blue-collar, all-American
 Honest : Sincere, real, ethical, thoughtful, caring
 Wholesome : original, genuine, ageless, classic , old-
fashioned
 Cheerful : sentimental, friendly, warm, happy
 2) excitement (Porsche, Absolut, Benetton)

 Daring : trendy, exciting, off-beat,, flashy,

provocative
 Spirited: cool, young, lively, outgoing, adventurous
 Imaginative: unique, humorous, surprising,
artistic , fun
 Up-to-date: independent, contemporary,
innovative, aggressive
 3) Competence: (Amex, CNN, IBM)
 Reliable: hardworking, secure, efficient, trustworthy,
careful
 Intelligent: technical, corporate, serious
 Successful : leader, confident, influential

 4) Sophistication (Lexus, Mercedes, Revlon)

 Upper class: glamorous, good-looking, sophisticated
 Charming: feminine, smooth, sexy, gentle
 5) Ruggedness (Levi’s, Marlboro, Nike)
 Outdoor: masculine, western, active, athletic
 Tough: rugged, strong, no-nonsense
 Other definitions of Personality
Brand Anatomy
 As per David Arnold essence is synonymous with
brand Personality
 Brand Essence:
 is the basic idea behind the brand.
 When a brand is configured , it is important to get its
essence first.
 This essence translates into benefits.
 These benefits should be converted to specific
attributes.
 Ultimately these benefits and attributes form brand
anatomy as per David Arnold.
 E.g
 The essence of close-up is youth.

 This essence translates into benefits like joy, fun,

energy and modernity.
 These benefits get reflected in the attributes of the
product.

 The bright packaging of Close-up signals modernity

and bright colour and gel signal youth.

 The endorsement of close-up Antakshari is the

celebration, joy and energy dimension of the brand.
 Chris Mcrae has divided brand
personalities into six types
 1) Ritualistic brands
 2) Symbol Brands
 3) Heritage brands
 4) Exclusive brands
 5) Belonging Brands
 6) legendary brands
 1) Ritualistic brands: brands
associated with particular occasions:
for e.g Crackers are associated with
Diwali and Archies greeting cards with
birthdays and anniversary.
 Also Britannia Marie is a tea time brand
associated with the ritual of the
consumption.
 Titan is for celebration/gift
 2) Symbol Brand :
The logo or the name of the brand
is more important than what it
contains.
 Chivas Regal is strongly identified
with the eagle shaped container.
 Onida is strongly identified with the
devil
 3) Heritage Brands:
These are the brands that have
pioneer advantage.
 Philips has a strong position in the
audio system market because of its
reputation.
 Dabur has a strong reputation in
ayurveda
 4) Exclusive Brands:
These are termed Äloof”or “Snobbish
“brands.
 BMW 650 cc bikes, Maybach /Rolls
Royce are meant for an exclusive
clientile in India. Not everyone can
buy them.
 5) Belonging Brands: Human Beings
are constantly in need of being socially
accepted. Brands which make the
consumer a part of a larger family are
belonging brands.
 A Levi Strauss jean puts a youth at par
with youth in the rest of the world.
 A Ray-Ban sunglasses means a lot to the
user.
 6) Legendary Brands:
Brands which have a great
deal of history behind them and have
achieved demi-god status are
legendary brands. Coke, Marlboro,
Lifebuoy, Lux.
 From the corporate brands- TATA and
Godrej.
Stephen King’s views
 “How do people choose friends? There are
some that come and go. But there are some
that stay for a lifetime. In addition to their
skills and characteristics they choose them
because they like them as people. The total
person is chosen as a friend and not on
individual virtues. Same is true of brands.
Thus a new brand should be conceived as the
totality of functional and non-functional values
from the very beginning.
Brand Image : is how the brand is perceived by the consumer.
Thus brand personality is the cause while brand image is the effect.
Brand Name Brand Brand Image
Personality
Lifebuoy soap Price Value for money

Lifebuoy soap Carbolic content hardworking

Little hearts Heart shaped Romantic

Puffed biscuit novelty
Distinct packing attractive
Brand Image

 Represents the essence of all the impressions or imprints about the

brand that have been made in the consumer’s mind.

 It includes
 impressions about its physical features and performances,
 impressions about the functional benefits from using it,
 impressions about the kind of people who use it,
 the emotions and associations aroused by it,
 the imagery and symbolic meanings it evokes in the consumer’s mind.
 The brand image is indeed the totality of the brand in the perception of the
consumer
 It embraces the brand’s physical and functional aspects and also its
symbolic meanings.
 The brand personality dwells mainly in symbolic aspects.