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"Personality is to a man what perfume is to a flower." Charles Swab

Brand personality

As marketers we strive to create a personality for our brands, and consume long hours of discussion on what we think the brand stands for and what the personality might be. But what gives a brand its personality is not what the marketers create but what the customers perceive.

At one time it was popular to get customers to come up with a 'persona' for a brand. But a persona is the role that one assumes or displays in public or society; one's public image or personality, as distinguished from the inner self.

And there is the nub of the matter. The brand personality we seek to convey is not a 'public image' but the 'inner self' of the brand. It is the 'inner self' – the 'totality of behavioural and emotional characteristics, the distinctive traits' - which customers relate to.

The true personality of a brand emerges from the hearts of customers not from their minds, nor from the minds of marketers. Personality is what naturally results from eliciting your customers' values and beliefs, and from the language your customers use to talk about their experiences.

This holy grail of brand development is actually quite easy to get at, when you know the appropriate questions to ask of your customers. Another bit of wisdom we can give you, if you'd like it.