Simplyfing Marketing

Brand Personality. 

What is it, why is it important, and how can your brand personality set you apart from your competitors?

The characteristics and qualities that radiate from your brand regularly, which will either attract or detract your audience's connection with you and/or your brand,  are what comprises your brand personality. When you think of a personality of an individual, a brand’s personality is quite the same; it’s the way they talk, the actions they take, and the promises they make (and whether or not they can keep them), among many additional factors. 

Let’s consider your best friend for a moment. Chances are, you can often predict what they are going to say in a conversation, the body language they’ll express, the excitement or frustration they have and the way it will radiate from them, the things they enjoy or dislike, and more. You know their personality, and their personality plays a significant role in whether or not, and how, you connect with them. 

A brand personality is essentially the same concept, helping clients and customers in deciding whether or not they want to connect with that brand. Hence, the importance of brand personality. If none of your target audience knows who you are or whether or not they want to connect with you, chances are, they are going to choose to not make the connection with you/your brand, and will instead seek a brand they resonate with. 

Not only is a connection to your personality important for the relationship you have with your audience, but it makes you appear more approachable and communicative. Allowing others to see you are open to chatting, and with their style and personality nonetheless, it opens the doors to communication to allow them to be more receptive to your offerings. 

So far, of our 5 Key Branding Concepts, we’ve covered your Brand Promise and your Brand Positioning, and both of these will play into your Brand Personality - after all, your promise to your audience and where you stand in the midst of your market will help determine (and/or highlight) your personality. 

When it comes to brand personality, there has been a paper written on the Dimensions of Brand Personality by Jennifer Aaker - a Stanford researcher. This research paper highlighted for us the five dimensions of a Brand Personality. (Read more on it here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3151897?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents) These five dimensions are pivotal in deciding what your brand personality may be. 

These dimensions and some sample traits of each are:

1. Stability
1. Down-to-earth
2. Honest
3. Wholesome
4. Cheerful
2. Excitement
1. Daring
2. Spirited
3. Imaginative
4. Up-do-date
3. Competence
1. Reliable
2. Intelligent
3. Successful
4. Secure 
4. Sophistication
1. Upper class
2. Charming 
3. Glamorous
4. Smooth
5. Ruggedness
1. Outdoorsy
2. Tough 
3. Masculine
4. Rugged

Using these five dimensions and some of the characteristics of each, do you have in mind an idea of what your brand personality may look like? If so, that’s great! If not, we’ve got a small task to help you out. 

The task: First, find five people you trust to be very open and transparent about your business. Keep in mind, this does not need to be five people that support or even like your brand or business, so long as they are honest with you on the questions you’ll ask them. Next, ask those five people to give you a few short descriptors or words they think of when they think of your brand and style. When they hear your business or brand name, what words immediately come to mind? What do they feel your style is resonating with? What colors do they think of, are there any phrases or taglines they think of, or how does it make them feel?

You can even send them this link to a large list of personality adjectives to give them a wider array of words to choose from: https://myenglishtutors.org/personality-adjectives/

Once you have a few responses, you have a great start to understanding your brand personality as it currently is, and how you may adjust it as necessary to fit your desired personality. Which dimensions do these descriptors of you fit into? If you hear your brand puts out the vibes of being manic, unique, witty, chaotic, versatile, and intense, would you assume people view you as being classified under the Excitement dimension, or would you feel they view you as being unreliable and unprofessional? The difference could simply be the professionalism you attach to your personality. 

What if you are hearing that you are currently expressing a personality that is not that of which you wish your brand had? Simple - adjust it! 

First, think of your target audience and the traits that resonate with them as a whole. 

Then, find the 3-5 adjectives you want to encompass that will fit into the traits that will resonate with your target audience. 

Next, start to talk the talk and walk the walk. If you want to be an energetic, reliable, tough company, ensure the correspondences you are releasing are reflecting those traits.  

Keep your promise and positioning in mind as you are adjusting your tone for your personality, as you want to ensure all three are cohesive and do not detract from one another.

Let’s take a look at a few examples of companies that have really nailed the brand personality. 

• Dove - relatable, feminine, elegant, clean. 
• Disney - energetic, magical, happy, vibrant. 
• Toms -  generous, giving, comfortable, uniting. 
• Jeep - rugged, adventurous, strong, durable. 
• Simplifying Marketing - concise, direct, informative, reliable. 

As you can see from the examples, these brands have made a commitment to their personalities and tend to represent these traits thoroughly. 

Now that you’ve learned the 5 dimensions of a brand personality and have seen a couple real life examples, it’s your turn to take a shot at your brand personality. 

Don’t forget, you can always ask those around you that you trust to weigh in on this to ensure you are hitting your targeted personality. If you’re not, adjusting is simple!

We’d love to see what you’ve come up with, and offer a little help along the way. Feel free to send your brand personality to support@simplifyce.com with a subject of: Simplifying My Brand Personality and we will provide feedback and suggestions to get you well on your way of stepping in front of your competitors!

*Note: As you know, our mission is to ensure simplified marketing strategies that can be created and incorporated by anyone. However, if you’d like to dive deeper into your brand personality, we suggest you check out the brand archetypes model, which is based on Carl Jung’s theory of personality. This model contains 12 brand archetypes, and will also require many more hours to deep dive into your brand’s personality. 

Brand positioning. 

What is it, why is it important, and how can you simply achieve a solid position amongst your competitors?

As it sounds, brand positioning is the task of creating an offer and/or image that will secure a set place in your target market’s mind. When your target market sees, hears, or thinks of the product you offer, do they think of you? If not, it’s time to change that. 

Whether you’re a real estate agent with a specific niche of homes you list to sell, an investor securing real estate of specific sizes and amenities, or an Air BNB owner that takes pride in a specific offering, you should be working towards setting your company and/or brand apart from the competition. 

Let’s take a look at a few examples of companies that have really nailed the brand positioning!

When you think of facial tissue, which brand do you most likely think of?

If you want a fizzy beverage, are there certain brands you ask for?

How about coffee? If you’re looking for a quick cup of Joe, is there a specific brand you think of while you’re out and about?

Looking for a movie but don’t want to leave your house? What brand do you think to turn to first?

I’m sure you’ve got answers to all of the above, and hopefully these examples are helping to make it clearer to you how important brand positioning is. 

Though some answers may differ depending on your location (Tim Horton’s vs. Dunkin’ Donuts vs. Starbucks for example), it’s safe to say one or two brands clearly stick out in your mind when you think of these products. 

So, now that we know what a brand positioning is and have seen examples of some great brand positionings, how do we achieve it?

Well, you know us, and you know our goal is to simplify! Follow these five simplified steps to develop your brand positioning. 

Of all the services or products you offer, what’s the main one you want to be known for? This could be the one product that will generate you the most income, the one you are most passionate about, or the one that easily stands out from your competition. 

Your simplified brand statement should look something like this:

[Our company, brand, product] has been created for those who [specific need, want, desire, etc.]. [Our company, brand, product] is intended to fulfill this by [how will you provide and fulfill the service] and leave the client feeling [feelings and other achievements]. 

For example:

Simplify CE has been created for those who need to complete their Real Estate Continuing Education and want to do so in a simplified manner. Simplify CE is intended to fulfill this by providing simple, quality education to meet the professional’s needs with A+ service and without any unnecessary fluff, to leave the professional feeling relief during their stress-free renewal. 

Simplifying Marketing has been created for those who are seeking a professional branding and marketing campaign, without the overwhelm or high cost. Simplifying Marketing is intended to assist those needing these services by breaking down the aspects that are necessary for a successful branding and marketing campaign, and providing simplified step-by-step actions to brand themselves successfully in little time. Our hope is to leave our clients feeling branded and successful, as their company establishes brand awareness. 

Now that you’ve learned the simple 5 step process and seen a couple real life examples, it’s your turn to take a shot at your brand positioning. 

Be sure to establish your primary product and emphasize how that product will help your market. 

In this week’s blog, we are going to touch base on the five key self branding concepts. we feel are most important, what they are, and why they matter. 

Though there are far more branding concepts than what we touch on, we feel these five are the most easily simplified, yet still incredibly important. Due to their simplistic nature, you are able to create each of these on your own, without having to hire a marketing expert for hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars to assist you. Additionally, these can be done today, getting you started on your simply excellent new marketing approach immediately. 

Without further ado, here’s an overview of each of our top five self-branding aspects. 

First, Brand Positioning. This is the task of creating an offer and/or image that will secure a set place in your target market’s mind. In brand positioning, you will design an image that will differentiate yourself from your competitors. Tied to brand associations directly, a brand positioning will establish the way and place in which your audience will connect your brand to their everyday lives and needs. 

Second, Brand Promise. You have most likely heard of brand promises previously, as these are keystone blocks to creating your brand. In the event you’re still not clear on a brand promise, let us explain. A brand promise is a statement your company makes to your target audience, promising an experience or standard they should expect and experience each and every time they connect with you or your company. Be sure to create a brand promise that you are able to live up to, but also that will meet the needs of your niche audience. The more this resonates with your audience, the more solid a connection you will have with your clients, and the more likely they will be to connect with you when they need what you offer. 

Third, Brand Personality. This is, simply as it sounds. As we all have our own personalities, businesses also have personalities that shine through. People decide whether or not they like us and want to connect with us based on our personality and how they interpret it, just as they will decide whether or not to connect with our brands, based on our brand personality. Be sure to let your brand personality shine through, and know that not everyone will connect with it. However, maintaining your personality and consistency will build trust. 

Fourth, Brand Story. Whether a brand new business, or established for decades, there’s a story to tell. This narrative will encompass more than just the history of the brand, but also will share the facts and feelings around the brand. When telling your brand story, the intention is to spark feelings in your target audience, so they are more likely to connect with you and support your business. 

Fifth and last, Brand Associations. As touched on briefly above, a brand association is what connects your brand to the audience's minds. These can be people, places, or things that the client connects to you, and thinks of you, each time they cross paths with any of the associations. Positive connections with your brand associations will not only provide a positive client experience, but will create an expanded consciousness around your brand name in the client’s or customer’s minds. 

Now that you have a quick overview of each of the five key self branding concepts, we are ready to dive into the what, when, where, and how of each. Our next post will cover in detail Brand Positioning, and how you can quickly achieve a solid position amongst your competitors in just a few simple steps.

Marketing. 

How can one simple word be so complex?

Marketing can be the key component to the rise of your business, or the lack thereof (or poor quality of) can be one of the main cogs in the wheel that makes your business fail. 

With so many aspects to marketing, where do you even start? To say it’s overwhelming is an understatement, unless you're an experienced marketer. 

I remember the good ‘ole days where marketing simply consisted of an article in the local or regional newspaper. Those days, it was simple. Write a few paragraphs, send it off, and your marketing was done. Unless the newspaper was in color print, you didn’t have to worry about the color, font, or nearly as many other aspects as you do today.

Now you have to consider every single aspect that goes into your campaigns; the colors, font, size, shapes, images, wording, location, and so much more. 

We aren’t here to stress you out even more about your marketing, or to make you feel like you know so very little about it. In fact, quite the opposite. Our hope is to help you simplify all the aspects of your marketing; from the brand you create, to where you market, and the programs you use. 

Follow along with the next few blog posts while we Simplify how to create a cohesive brand for your marketing campaign from start to finish. 

Blogs will be posted weekly on Wednesdays, so be sure to keep an eye out for our next blog, in which we will be covering a quick overview of the top 5 self branding aspects we feel are most important:

1. Positioning
2. Promise
3. Personality
4. Story
5. Associations