If Your Brand Was A Love Child...
When I’m working with clients on brand strategy, I often use playful tools to make the abstract tangible. Personification is one of the most powerful of these tools because it helps translate what you know about your brand conceptually into something you can express and implement in the real world.
After all, branding is all about perception. It’s how your ideal clients see you, how they feel about you, and how they describe you to others. The question is: does that perception align with what you intended?
By giving your brand a strong personality, you can ensure it is both memorable and unique. The key word here is strong. Often this means amplifying certain qualities so they become instantly recognizable to your dream clients. This is where your flair for the dramatic comes in.
The Exercise
Answer the questions below and let yourself exaggerate a little—this is about uncovering a vivid, distinct persona for your brand:
If your brand was the love child of two famous individuals, who would they be?
If your brand was a city, what city would it be?
If your brand was a genre of music, what genre of music would it be?
If your brand was a make of car (or bicycle), what make would it be?
If your brand had a personal fashion style, what would it be?
If your brand was a fragrance, which one would it be?
Bringing It Together
Now, take your answers and weave them into a short story. Ask yourself why you chose what you did and describe your brand as if it were a person.
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 its 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.
Putting It to Work
Once you’ve built this character, you’ll start to see ways it can influence how your brand shows up.
Maybe your intro video opens with the type of music your brand would “listen to.”
Maybe your fashion style choice inspires the look and feel of your website—or even what you wear to client meetings.
Maybe your fragrance choice sparks ideas for in-person events or customer experiences.
By creatively expressing your brand personality in as many touchpoints as possible, you ensure your brand isn’t just seen—it’s remembered.
Onwards & Upwards,