THE BRAND "YOU" CAN ENJOY EQUITY (PART 2){ Brand Personality and Brand Anatomy}

BRAND PERSONALITY

Let’s go back to the aspect of product brands.  It is Very important to ‘realize’ rather than just understand, that Brands need to ‘Connect’ to create an impact. But why did I stress on Realize not on Understand? That’s because ‘feeling’ the reason can help one get nuances right.  Getting into the skin of the issue  , and  into the shoes of the recipient of your brand message. Who are these guys? Aren’t they Human Beings, aren’t consumers and members of different stakeholder groups Humans?

Of course they are. So how can a Human Being with Flesh and Blood relate to an inanimate object like a product?

They need an association with something that relates to them. THIS IS THE REALIZATION THAT GAVE BIRTH TO THE “BRAND PERSONALITY” CONCEPT.

Brand Personality is therefore attributing Human Traits to a Brand.  It is to say that if this Brand were to be a Human Being , This is how he/ she would Walk , Think , Talk , Feel , Carry Himself /Herself , be seen as , etc etc.  Personification of the brand to build personal relevance.

Think about this.  Why is it that cartoons and animated pictures are so loved and admired. It’s because they behave like us ( Humans ) we find them sooooo cute – ‘oh look at that lion talking , and the cat laughing , and the mouse making that angry expression …… … exactly like a Human Being.’

ITS ALL ABOUT RELATING TO US … CREATING RELAVANCE WITH OURSELVES AND WITH OUR LIVES.

SO, if a consumer  relates to that Personality or Aspires to be (or like) that personality he will associate with the brand.

Brand Ambassadors make this personification easy and simple to understand. Its  merely a case of Superimposing the Brand ambassadors personality on the product and reflecting it to the consumers. Consumers will BELIEVE it. Believability is ensured.

Another important point – By Building Brand Personality, the tacit message is that “ If YOU associate with the brand YOUR personality will be Seen as that of the brand” – “Your Image is created and reflected through the brand you use . Therefore Use the Product, Create that Image, Create that perception and Win admiration and Benefits of that Image.”

Now relate it to this brand ‘YOU’.

 Can you build a personality which is admired & looked up to?

Can you build a personality with such attributes? Attributes that others may love to emulate and Seek the benefits of an association?  YES YOU CAN. 

Brand Anatomy

The anatomy of a Brand has two parts  

1-     Functionality

2-     Representation

Functionality, as the word suggests, refers to the functional aspects of the solution to   a or a set of functional purposes.  These can be measure easily and could become criteria for judgement by informed buyers.

Representation refers to all the benefits that are not functional. They are intangible and hit the senses on a different level. They are the match between the Brand appeal and representation with the self – concept and / or aspirations of consumers.  The personality of a Brand is judged and a congruence created between the Brand personality and the User personality. The personification of the brand makes selection easier as ‘relevance to self’ is established.

In the  posts to come  we will go a little deeper into Brand Anatomy and learn to unearth the Key Components that can build You .

All said and done , there is no gainsaying the fact that Your Identifying Factors and Your differentiators bring Uniqueness that cannot be copied- so that’s U.

Good Luck ! Keep rising.