Having a strong brand personality takes guts. If done poorly or half-heartedly, it can come off as confusing, tacky, or phony. But if done well, you can make a real connection with potential customers.
So, where does all this tackiness and phoniness come from? And how can you avoid it?
Brand personalities usually take the form of a list of traits but it takes more than that to really humanize a company. In order to have a genuine brand personality, it not only needs to be reflected in the design and marketing, but it also needs to be interconnected with the value proposition of the company.
That way, how you look and how you act will match up with what you do and what you believe – you know, like a real, honest human being that you’d actually want to talk to.
Here are three different brand personalities inspired by brands we love.
1. Open Spaces’ ‘Simple’ Personality
Far from being plain and boring, simplicity can have a huge impact. As we’re all bombarded by a ton of stimulation via social media and technology, simplicity can offer refuge for customers.
As a solution for home organization, Open Spaces’s brand personality lives and breathes simplicity, creating deep connections with people.
Tagline
“Create Space to Enjoy – Find relief from a cluttered world with beautiful organization solutions” – It’s clear and concise, but also evokes emotion in “finding relief”.
Copywriting
Much like their product, there’s no clutter. Zero fluff or jargon. Everything is easy to understand and you know exactly what they mean, instantly.Design
Open Spaces is proof that you can have clean, simplistic design without being dull and monochromatic. They use color the same way they use their product – to compartmentalize information so that it’s easier to access.Marketing
They do some great content marketing that is simple and accessible, such as guides on decluttering and audio exercises.
2. ChaChaMatcha’s ‘Fun’ Personality
Who doesn’t like having fun? What’s great about having a fun brand personality is that it inspires action – we all want to get our customers to do. Even if the product isn’t inherently “fun”, it can still spark fun or turn a chore into something actually enjoyable. In fact, positioning yourself as fun when your industry or product category is kinda “meh” can be a winning strategy.
ChaChaMatcha makes matcha accessible and exciting for Western audiences by incorporating a “fun” brand personality. This has the added benefit of making health and sustainability fun!
Tagline
“It’ll Make You Cha Cha” – Play on words with dance (cha-cha) entices thoughts of energy and movement. The integration of the brand name also helps brand recall.
Copywriting
The tone of voice is very playful, quirky, and tongue-in-cheek. Expect a lot of laugh-out-loud puns. Their Matcha vs Coffee section is a great example of the fun personality coming out.
Design
Eye-candy galore! ChaChaMatcha’s design incorporates contrasting colors (pink and green), quirky icons, as well as fun animations to bring out the brand personality. To ensure things don’t get too overwhelming, there’s a lot of white-space with minimal text.
Marketing
ChaChaMatcha’s aesthetic and Instagram is a match made in heaven. They inject a lot of their bright and colorful posts with educational content on matcha, its history and health benefits.
3. Kin’s ‘Adventurous’ Personality
Humans are naturally curious beings – drawn to the unfamiliar and unknown. That’s why the adventurous brand personality resonates so well with people. This is particularly great for innovative products or making commonplace products feel new and fresh again.
Kin takes all of nightlife’s complicated and unhealthy associations and turns it around by offering alcohol-free beverages. The adventurous brand personality supports their brand mission of revolutionizing the nightlife scene. With Kin, we’re going into uncharted territory.
Tagline
“All bliss, no booze.” – We love this tagline because in just four little words, Kin conveys their key value proposition, while also pulling you in. You’re thirsty to know more.
Design
To further create an enigmatic atmosphere, Kin’s design plays with deep and lucious colors (think silk and velvet). Their imagery and typography has a vintage feel that really hits home their goal of making something old and tired (nightlife) enticing again.
Copywriting
Kin balances chemistry-talk and being transparent about what’s inside (a must for F&B products) with those mystical and adventurous themes that’s so central to the brand personality. They do this by interweaving simple language with classic literary techniques like alliteration and similes.
Marketing
Essential to their values of “conscious connection”, Kin’s marketing calls for audience participation and in-person event.
Closing Thoughts
Brand personalities require dedication. It’s a go-big-or-go-home play. But it needs to connect with customers too (otherwise what’s the point?). Simple, Fun, and Adventurous brand personalities tap into basic, shared human emotions and aspirations that really stick and distinguish products from the rest.