What is Brand Personality: Examples, Definition, & Framework

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FAQ: What is a brand personality? No, not your personality, a brand personality!⁠

I was on a Discovery Call the other day with a potential client who said her previous web designer gave her exactly what she wanted—a website that matched her personality.⁠ She basically invested in personal branding instead of a strategic brand for her business.

As you can imagine, she ended up with a website that inherited her own personality, not her brand's.

The project resulted in a fun, colorful site that looked more like a personal blog than a professional photographer's portfolio. I don't say that to be critical, but to communicate that your website (and brand!) IS NOT about what YOU like—it's about what your AUDIENCE NEEDS (and finds attractive).⁠

Your business can absolutely have a fun, outgoing personality with a dash of cheese, BUT, if your audience doesn't resonate with rainbows and puns, you probably need to reevaluate your brand design direction.⁠

In this blog, I’m explaining the five primary personality types for brands, so you can decide which one your brand fits into.

Brand Personality Definition

A brand personality is a set of human characteristics attributed to a brand, making it more relatable for your target audience.

Think about a person you’ve met before with a distinct personality.

They were most likely a memorable person if they came to mind just now! Maybe they were very outgoing and social, or perhaps they had a comedic side to them. Either way, they embodied certain characteristics that made them stand out from the crowd.

Every good brand has distinct brand personality traits that help differentiate them from the competition.

Now think, if your brand were a person (aka NOT you), what are some brand personality traits he/she would have? How would your brand show up in the world if it were personified? How would you describe him/her?⁠

For example, Victoria’s Secret’s brand personality would undeniably be a female who is sexy, glamorous, and charming. Jack Daniel’s on the other hand would likely be a rough and tough, blue-collar male.

Aaker’s Brand Personality Framework & Examples

In the same way that personality tests exist for people like Myers-Briggs and the Enneagram, there are five primary brand personality traits for brands. What are the 5 brand personalities? The brand personality framework can be broken down into five main traits:

1. Excitement

   Companies that exude the Excitement brand personality trait are typically caring, free-spirited, youthful, cool, unique, contemporary, and anti-establishment.

   Excitement brand personality examples

   Tik Tok / AXE / MTV / Nike.

2. Sincerity

   Brands that are Sincere are characteristically kind, thoughtful, domestic, honest, cheerful, and down-to-earth.

   Sincerity brand personality examples

   Hallmark / TOMS / Coke / Allstate.

3. Competence

   Brands that adhere to the Competence brand personality are successful, influential, trustworthy, intelligent, confident, and dependable.

   Competence brand personality examples

   UPS / Chase Bank / Verizon / Microsoft.

4. Sophistication

   Brands that are Sophisticated are known for being elegant, prestigious (sometimes even pretentious), glamorous, and charming.

   Sophistication brand personality examples

   Apple / American Express / BMW / Victoria’s Secret.

5. Ruggedness

   Brands that emulate the Rugged brand personality are a mix of authentic, strong, blue-collar, hard-working, diligent, outdoorsy, and tough.

   Ruggedness brand personality examples

   Jeep / Levi’s / REI / Land Rover.

Which brand personality trait does your brand align with most?

If it’s easier to use other brands as an example to work with, think about a brand you want to be like and identify its defining characteristics. Which of the five core brand personalities does it fall into?

Now, you may have a little bit of each of these brand personality traits—that’s a good thing! However, memorable brands typically bias one of these personalities more than the others.

What is the importance of brand personality?

There are a few reasons why adhering to one of the five core brand personalities is important.

• Memorability

  Functioning consistently in one of the five above brand personalities improves brand recognition (i.e., how well someone remembers your brand after engaging with it).

  Think of a Jeep commercial with no off-roading or a Nike commercial without sweat—it’s unheard of! Every touchpoint of the brand should adhere to its primary personality. That way, when the brand’s audience sees an ad for the company, they know exactly who it’s for without needing to see the logo.

• Relatability

  Personifying your brand makes it more relatable to your audience. The reality of life is that people like people who look and act like them. The same goes for brands. Values also play a big role in reliability.

  For instance, you could have two athletes that both run, but hold different personal values. One aligns with Nike’s performance-enhancing, mainstream gear, while and the other values sustainability, becoming an ambassador for *ACTA (P.S. use code: haleyward for 15% off your purchase!)

• Connection

  We are relational beings who thrive off of connection with other people. When a brand lives into its primary personality, it connects with other like-minded individuals creating a community out of its target market.

  Think of people who are #TeamApple vs. #TeamMicrosoft. Apple and Microsoft are in the same industry but fall into different brand personalities. Both are technology companies, but they emotionally appeal (or connect) in unique ways to their audiences, creating two vastly different brand communities.

So, what is your brand personality? Do you want to discover your brand personality with a professional brand strategist and designer? Let’s get in touch!