Brand Personality: A Simple Guide to an Unforgettable Brand

Why do people line up for hours to get the new iPhone? Or pay premium prices for Air Jordans? The answer is rooted in the psychology behind brand personality. The brands you love aren’t your favorite by accident.

These brands are engineered to appeal to you and others with similar desires. Forming deep emotional connections with people is how brands of all sizes have clinched their markets and gained loyal customers. 

If you want to create a brand personality that does the same, we’ll cover two scientific approaches and a beginner-friendly guide to get you there.

• What is a brand personality?
• The elements of a brand personality
• Brand personality examples
• The 12 brand archetypes with examples
• How to develop your brand personality

Let’s jump in!

What is a brand personality?

A brand personality is a set of human traits that define a brand. Things like values, hobbies, humor, candor, and sincerity. These traits are handpicked to build an emotional connection with characteristics similar to those of a specific target audience.

Brand personalities are the foundation of your brand identity and brand marketing.

Why a brand personality is important

As Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks states, “If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.” 

So building a brand personality is not only important but critical. A study by Sprout Social showed that 76% of consumers say they would buy from a brand they feel connected to over a competitor. This is over three-quarters of consumers, only emphasizing the importance of building a brand personality that effectively connects with your target market. 

Creating a brand personality helps you:

Many businesses overlook building a brand personality, resulting in mediocre and lifeless branding. These businesses are easily flushed out by competitors who established an emotional connection with their audience from the beginning.

Below are two expert approaches to creating a brand personality that resonates with your audience. Use these as the foundation for your brand!

Brand personality traits

The Aaker five-dimensional model is the most popular way to build a brand personality. This model divides brands into primary traits of sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness.

Businesses focus on one or two major brand personality dimensions while balancing and complementing the others.

1. Sincerity

Sincere brands like Disney or Patagonia have wholesome, honest, and down-to-earth brand personalities. You’ll notice these traits in their actions and marketing.

Patagonia’s “Common Thread” initiative encourages people to reduce clothing waste by shopping consciously. The ad above urges customers not to buy their products for the sake of reducing unnecessary consumption.

It might seem counterintuitive for a business – but this approach is aligned with their sincere brand personality and purpose. As a result, Patagonia built strong brand loyalty and resonated with outdoorsy people who want to be more environmentally sustainable.

2. Excitement

Some brands have daring, exciting, and imaginative personalities. Nike, for example, has positioned its brand personality to inspire movement, growth, and excitement in athletics.

It uses celebrity athletes and inspirational messaging to urge people to live a life of possibility. Nike’s famous slogan “Just do it.” is both simple and daring. It appeals to people who strive for consistent progress.

Other top brands like Redbull built brand excitement by urging ordinary people to do spontaneous things. The brand resonates with individuals who live or want to live high-octane, daring lives. Just think back to 2012 when Red Bull did a campaign with Felix Baumgartner where he dove to Earth from the edge of space.

3. Competence

Brands built around a competent personality pride themselves on being intelligent and reliable. They tend to be hard-working and value high-quality work and success.

Google, for example, searches billions of web pages in seconds to give you the top 10 websites that answer your question. That’s both reliable and intelligent, even making its name a verb with people now saying “Google” vs. search.

Alternatively, Volvo is a great example of a competent vehicle brand personality. It’s built a reputation as one of the safest vehicles out there and resonates with people who value reliability and safety.

Other competent-style brand personalities are in banks and software industries that have a more serious demeanor.

4. Sophistication

Sophisticated brands have charming and glamorous personalities that highlight luxurious living. Brands like Rolex, Mercedes, and Chanel are all sophisticated brands with high-quality products or services created by respected designers.

Their unique craftsmanship and astronomical product price make them that much more desirable to people who strive for a life of luxury and glamour.

5. Ruggedness

Rugged brands have an outdoorsy, unconventional, and tough appeal. Jeep is an example of a rugged brand and is the poster child for offroad adventures. The ruggedness brand personality appeals to people who crave adventure and the path less traveled.

Another great example of a rugged brand personality is Harley Davidson. They leaned into this personality dimension and turned their business into an iconic brand, with those who wear the logo reflecting that rugged personality.

Brand personality examples

To help you implement these ideas into your own brand’s personality, here are some examples of brand personality traits from smaller companies. A brand personality is attainable at any size and stage.

1. Beis

Brand personality type: Competence
Notable traits: Reliable, hard-working, stylish

Founded by famous actress, Shay Mitchell, Beis’ brand personality is all about providing customers with reliable, go-to luggage.

As Shay states, “I had this one bag that I lugged around with me everywhere until it was falling apart at the seams. It was full of memories, and I wanted to build something that would be by people’s side in that same way.”

The luggage brand is reliable and hard-working, aiming to be your new trusty bag. These traits bleed into Beis’ marketing with channels like Instagram and TikTok being filled with the durability and reliability of the luggage as it supports customers during travel.

2. Dr. Squatch

Brand personality type: Sincerity
Notable traits: Honest, down-to-earth, positive

A natural personal care brand for men, Dr. Squatch is made with natural scents and ingredients. The brand states it uses scents that “only Mother Nature” has to offer.

The men’s care brand is sincere, highlighting their honesty and positivity. The brand challenges cheap and toxic personal care products by choosing quality ingredients designed to keep people and the planet happy and healthy.

3. Kodiak Cakes

Brand personality type: Ruggedness
Notable traits: Outdoorsy, adventurous

For any adventurers, Kodiak is speaking to you. Kodiak is a food brand, specifically breakfast foods like pancakes, oatmeal, and muffins, but with a twist. They target outdoorsy individuals, especially campers, with their rugged personality and high-protein ingredients. On their website, they feature the tagline, “Feeding epic days & and wilder lives.”

4. Aesop

Brand personality type: Sophistication
Notable traits: High-end, luxurious

A skin, hair, and body care brand, Aesop was established in 1987 and has built a luxurious feel around their products. They portray sophistication, not only with their clean, simple design in their products but also through storefronts and marketing.

The sophistication mixed with the higher prices, gives Aesop that elevated personality trait where customers are proud to display the product in their home.

5. Amino Balls

Brand personality type: Excitement
Notable traits: Lively, exciting

Just looking at the website header above, it’s clear that Amino Balls, the healthy snack brand, exudes excitement and life. Amino Balls targets both adults and children, making healthy snacking look more exciting and enticing to both.

The bright brand colors in the packaging and funky brand logo fonts create an aura of excitement and anticipation for snack time. They stand out from a sea of earthy and reliable competitor branding.

6. Oxio

Brand personality type: Competence
Notable traits: Reliable, hard-working

Claiming to be “The first internet provider you’ll actually like,” Oxio is a newer internet provider that’s changing the way we perceive typical internet providers where we’re often stuck in expensive contracts, and receive poor customer support.

They portray a competent brand personality type, showcasing to users that they’re reliable and will work to make sure you’re happy with their service. Their secondary personality type is sincerity since transparency and honesty are also key traits for the brand.

The 12 brand archetypes with brand personality examples

The key to nailing your unique brand personality is to specify your target market archetype and directly align it to your brand archetype. This way, you can resonate with your intended audience and position your brand intentionally.

Any brand you feel an emotional connection to was intentionally aligned to attract people with similar desires. Below are the 12 brand archetypes:

At the center of the circle, there are four different motivations with three archetypes connected to each. Let’s deconstruct the brand archetype wheel with some examples.

Order motivated

These archetypes are motivated by stability and control.

Ruler: Articulate, commanding, dominant, confident
Brand examples: Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, IBM, Microsoft

Caregiver: Compassionate, empathetic, warm, selfless
Brand examples: Toms, WWF, Johnsons Baby

Creator: Inspiring, daring, creative, original
Brand examples: Apple, Adobe, Lego

Freedom motivated

These archetypes are motivated by independence and fulfillment.

Innocent: Positive, optimistic, honest, and pure.
Brand examples: Dove, Aveeno, Whole Foods

Sage: Truth, wisdom, and intelligence
Brand examples: Audi, Google, BBC,

Explorer: Independence, freedom, bravery
Brand examples: The North Face, Jeep, Patagonia

Social motivated

These archetypes are motivated by belonging and enjoyment.

Lover: Intimacy, sensuality, empathy, affection
Brand examples: Chanel, Victoria’s Secret, Alfa Romeo, Cadbury

Jester: Funny, fun-loving, playful, optimistic
Brand examples: Old Spice, M&M’s, Ben & Jerry’s

Citizen: Down to earth, simple, sincere, hard-working
Brand examples: Ikea, Walmart, Target

Ego motivated

These archetypes are motivated by risk and mastery.

Rebel/Outlaw: Leadership, disruption, anarchy, bravery
Brand examples: Harley Davidson, Diesel, Virgin

Magician: Visionary, innovative, mystical, charismatic
Brand examples: Disney, Coca-cola, Mastercard

Hero: Honest, brave, strong, competent
Brand examples: Nike, FedEx, Gatorade

How to create a brand personality

Building a brand personality is about crafting a distinct and relatable identity that connects with your audience on an emotional level.

It goes beyond picking traits; it’s about creating a cohesive persona that aligns with your values and appeals to your target customers. A well-developed brand personality helps your business stand out and build stronger, lasting relationships with your audience.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Define your target audience’s personality

To define your brand personality, you must first understand your customers. Your target audience is a specific group of people who are most likely to be interested in your business.

Most business owners don’t realize that defining your target audience (AKA ideal customer) is an ongoing process. Refine your target audience consistently, and gather intel as you learn what gets a reaction and what doesn’t.

If you’re starting from scratch, conduct surveys to gather information on who you’re targeting. Use free surveying tools like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms to easily create and send your survey. Here are a few questions to get you started:

You can also share your survey on social channels and forums to gain insight. Once you have a solid understanding of your target audience, think of how you can resonate with their interests and ease their challenges with your product or service.

2. Lay out your core values

Your brand personality should be an extension of your core values. Identify what your brand stands for—maybe it’s innovation, integrity, sustainability, or customer-centricity—and ensure that these values are reflected in your tone, visuals, and actions.

If you chose integrity, maybe this is embodied in transparent pricing, sublime customer service, and a guarantee. Like Darn Tough socks. They guarantee your socks for life no questions asked.

Typically you can draw back to your origin story to uncover the founding principles and allow audiences to feel more connected to the journey and thus, the brand’s personality.

3. List your brand personality traits

How would you describe your brand? What kind of personality does it have? How do you want to make people feel?

Write five personality traits that embody your brand and purpose. 

These words will be the beacon that guides you to a solid personality. Here’s a list of traits to get you started:

4. Study your competition

Understanding your competitors gives you insight into how to differentiate your brand from every angle.

Start by listing your competitors and pinpointing their brand personality dimensions and archetype. Look through their online reviews and make notes of what customers love and what they’re unsatisfied with. Customer reviews are the hidden gem of your research!

Source: https://groovehq.com/blog/good-customer-service-reviews-examples

Now you’ll know what your target market needs, and what competitor weaknesses to capitalize on. Based on your findings, you can tailor your brand personality to cover the gaps and needs your competitors aren’t meeting. You might even discover a whole new niche!

5. Build an aligned brand identity

With your target market and traits in mind, align your brand personality to one of the five brand dimensions and archetypes outlined above. You can even take this handy archetypes quiz!

With a solid understanding of how you want your brand to come across, it’s time to make your visual brand reflect that. Start by creating the following elements:

• Business name
• Logo
• Slogan
• Fonts

Make sure to use the right font pair and create a logo that’s a materialization of your brand personality. Here are some business names and logo examples for inspiration!

6. Stay consistent with brand guidelines

With the elements you created for your brand identity, build your brand guidelines by choosing how you want to consistently represent your brand personality.

We’ve got a ton of brand guideline examples for you to look through for inspiration. You can use the Looka brand kit to have these generated for you instantly. Here are some brand guidelines for various brand personalities for inspiration:

8. Evolve with your audience

A brand personality shouldn’t remain static. It can and in most cases, should innovate, grow, and change over time. Just like people do!

This doesn’t mean chasing trends or fads, but watching as these shifts happen and how your target audience changes with them.

However, this should be done in a way that remains authentic to your core values and doesn’t alienate your existing audience.

Takeaways on brand personalities

Building a personality for your brand will help to establish a more human connection to your customers. Customers with emotional ties to a brand will stay loyal for years.  Here are a few takeaways to keep in mind:

• A brand personality is the human traits used to define your brand
• Use the five brand dimensions to build out your personality
• Build an emotional connection to your audience by aligning your brand personality to a brand archetype
• You can develop your brand personality by:
  • Defining your target market
  • Laying out your core values
  • Studying your competition
  • Establishing brand traits
  • Building an aligned brand identity
  • Staying consistent with brand guidelines