BRAND PERSONALITY

Business practitioners have identified three components of a brand image: attributes, consequences and brand personality. Brand image is more comprehensive than brand personality. Brand image consists of all the associations that a consumer has for that brand. These associations include all the feelings, thoughts, and imagery including colours, sounds or smalls that are cognitively connected to that brand in the memory of the consumer. McDonald’s could be connected to a character such as Ronald McDonald, a young teenager, having a liking for fun, having a life style. 

Brand personality denotes associations with specific characters, symbols, endorsers, lifestyles, and sorts of users. Brand personality is the personification of brand identity. As an individual has a personality, similarly a brand also has one. The personification of identity needs the combining of human psychological attributes with the brand related attributes. The brand personality associations develop a whole image of a brand similar to the images of the individuals. The result is a symbol or metaphor or a sound connecting and developing a relationship with customers. Personification of identity asks for identification of individuals, animals, visual images and, colors in resonance with a company’s identified brand. Similarly, Brand Ambassador is another instrument for projection of brand personality.

Brand personality can also be explained as “set of human characteristics associated with a brand (Aaker, 1997). The symbolic use of brands is possible as consumers usually inspire brands with human personality traits (Gilmore, 1991). A brand can usually be considered in terms of gender, modern or out of vogue and common or elite.  Consumers can simply recollect of a brand if they were celebrities or historical characters (Rook, 1985) and as they connect to one’s own self (Fournier, 1994), which may be partially because of strategies advertisers apply to inspire a brand with personality traits. Though human and brand personality traits might share the same conceptualization, (Epstein, 1977), they vary in terms of the way they are formed. Perceptions of human personality traits are formed on the basis of a person’s behaviour, physical traits, attitudes and beliefs, and demographic features (Park, 1986). On the other hand, perceptions of brand personality traits can be inferred with any direct or indirect contact the individual experienced with the brand. (Plummer).

Different brand like Amul, Tata and Lux have used metaphors and ambassadors for very powerful brand personality. Strong brands have strong personalities which can be explicit or subtle, but they have a wide impact on the customers’ mind. Reliance’s “growth is life” is a very strong metaphor for success. Tata used subtle elements like honesty for development of the personality of its corporate Brand Identity. Amul’s girl represents as a symbol for cheerfulness, friendliness ad naughty humour and stressed upon its cooperative movement Brand Personality.

Organization are currently attempting to identify their ‘right code of personification’. In India, the brand personification differs in terms of selecting the right brand ambassador, employing metaphors, symbols, customs, religion, etc. Sometimes, a brand name itself signifies a personality like Mahindra Scorpio, Royal Enfied, Bullet, Clean and Clear, Puma, Hero, Honda, Splendor, etc.