If Your Brand Was A Love Child...
When I am working with clients on brand strategy, I find it is beneficial to use playful tools to help make the abstract tangible. Personification is such a tool and it's a powerful one because it allows us to bring what we know about our brand conceptually into the practical world where it can be implemented. After all, branding is all about perception. It's how your ideal clients see you, feel about you and describe you to other people. Is it in alignment with what you intended?
By giving your brand a strong personality, you can ensure that it is both memorable and unique. The key word there is strong. This often means that we need to amp up the personality of your brand and exaggerate certain aspects so that they are noticeable to your dream clients.
It's time to use your flare for the dramatic! So without further ado, I’ve put together a few questions that can help you to craft a character around your brand. Ready?
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW:
1) If your brand was the love child of two famous individuals, who would they be?
2) If your brand was a city, what city would it be?
3) If your brand was a genre of music, what genre of music would it be?
4) If your brand was a make of car (or bicycle), what make of car (or bicycle) would it be?
5) If your brand had a personal fashion style, what would it be?
6) If your brand was a fragrance, which one would it be?
Now, let’s bring it all together in a paragraph that elaborates on the above. Ask yourself why you answered the way that you did in each question. Elaborate on your answers by weaving in as much description as possible.
For Example: Audrey Hepburn & David Attenborough have a love child named See/Saw Design. From them she inherited her classic style, humanitarian heart and love of nature. She lives in Copenhagen because it combines her love of art and architecture with a progressive point of view. She goes out in the evening to listen to Gypsy Jazz because she loves it’s soulfulness and upbeat charm. She rides a black and gold cruiser bike because who says you can’t be environmentally conscious and still look fabulous? Her personal style is minimal and classic. She believes in having fewer, high quality things that never go out of style. She is also a woman on the go and aims to be both timelessly elegant, practical and approachable. Her fragrance of choice is a combination of floral, citrus and musk because it is strong, feminine and grounded.
Your turn! By creating a character around your brand you can start to find the inspiration for how to express your brand personalty throughout all of your communications. Perhaps your intro videos begin with the genre of music you listed above. Perhaps your personal style statement influences the design of your website and/or literally what you wear to meetings. Perhaps your fragrance can be used to enhance an event or customer experience.
By creatively expressing your brand in as many ways as possible you can be sure to have something truly memorable.