Brand Personality
Imagine you’re giving online dating a try. What are the most important qualities you look for? Blue eyes? A lifelong obsession with Charles Hawtrey? The ability to finish a 72oz steak in one sitting?
Whatever you’re looking for, one of the most important qualities will probably be personality, right? Of course.
But why isn’t this something that’s equally important when customers are searching for the right sort of company to buy from?
It is. Some brands just don’t realise it.
A touch of inspiration
Personality is key. However, there’s a difference between a brand having personality, and a brand being able to show this personality to prospective customers. And while some are failing, others are thriving…
Brand example 1 – Innocent
Innocent Drinks have an entire post dedicated to coming up with funny names for dental practices.
Some of them aren’t so bad, e.g. ‘Brace Yourself’. ‘Ee By Gum’ would be a superb* name for a practice in Yorkshire. Others, like ‘Open Wide and Prejudice’ may be clutching at straws a little.
Pointless? Well, yes. In fact, absolutely pointless in terms of specific product marketing.
But Innocent is a prime example of a company that’s using their blog not only for direct advertising, but also for showing off their brand personality.
When we think of Innocent, we think of a brand that’s lighthearted, easy going, and fun. After all, only a nice, friendly company with lovely guilt-free products is going to name their office building ‘Fruit Towers’ and christen their landline ‘the bananaphone’.
Brand example 2 – Ben & Jerry’s
Ben & Jerry’s is similar. We all know that the company is a massive supporter of human rights, and is committed to taking action against climate change.
But at the same time, they sell ice cream, which is possibly THE most non-political product there ever was. And yet their blog succeeds.
Why? Because they’ve found the line between talking about important issues that are at the heart of their brand, and doing it in a way that’s soft and comforting and slurpy and melty and generally just all ice creamy.
Issues such as climate change are mixed with cartoon drawings and funny images of a giant inflatable Trump. They are perhaps one of the best examples of a company maintaining brand personality even when deviating from their core product.
Brand example 3 – Premier Inn
Premier Inn manages to sit in that middle position between a budget brand and a luxury one, which means its customer base is quite a mix.
Its personality, therefore, has to appeal to a huge range of customers, so it’s a brand that strives to be inclusive, welcoming, and open. It needs to be accessible to everyone from business travellers to students.
It also needs to be a comprehensive source of knowledge about the areas it operates in – and it succeeds.
The Premier Inn blog is diverse to say the least.
It covers topics from student revision and family staycations, to what is perhaps the most detailed interactive map of Irish pubs in Britain (and by extension, perhaps the most useful cultural artefact of any kind) that has ever been created. The blog shows personality through diverse subject selection.
Your blog and your brand personality
So the question you need to ask yourself is this: does your blog show off your personality? Or is there a massive disconnect between what you do and who you are (which, for many brands, really are two very distinct things)?
Take a read. Left feeling a little flat? Need something to generate a bit of oomph? Get in touch. At WordHound, connecting your brand with your values is what we do.
*sorry if you’re from Yorkshire. Not sorry because you’re from Yorkshire of course; Yorkshire is lovely and the tea’s great.
