So just what are brands with personality?

Do we understand the true meaning of what a brand’s personality is all about?

In this article, we will be delving into the following and hopefully get a far better understanding of brands with personality:

1. Different Types of Brand Personalities
2. 3 Reasons Why You Should Have a Brand Personality
3. When Brand Personality Goes Wrong
4. How to Achieve a Brand Personality
5. Figuring Out Your Brand Personality
6. Business With Excellent Brand Personality
7. Final Thoughts

Now According to Investopedia, a brand personality is “a set of human characteristics that are attributed to a brand name.”

They say it “is a framework that helps a company or organisation shape the way people feel about its product, service, or mission.”

Meaning, that it’s a very clever marketing tool for businesses looking to grow.

A brand’s personification and the human characteristics attached to it can allow consumers to relate more.

After all, consumers do form emotional attachments to the brands they shop from.

One Harvard Business Professor says that “95% of purchasing decisions are subconscious” and that “emotion is what drives the purchasing behaviours.”

So whilst we may think that we’re consciously choosing to purchase from certain businesses, our emotional connections with brands motivate us to pick up our wallets.

Knowing this, it makes sense why so many businesses create a personality for their brand, right?

Brands with personalities are also valuable as they help to make your company more memorable and unique.

Knowing the importance of a brand personality, it’s now time to discover what types of personalities you can attribute to a brand.

You have to think carefully about what you want your audience to think of when considering your brand, and the type of associations you want to convey.

Ultimately, these have to be pretty positive.

Or at the very least sincere.

No one wants to shop from a business whose personality is rude, boring, or dull.

So, what types of personalities can you attach to your brand? Below we break down some of the common ones you’ll find.

When a brand wants to come across as young and lively to its audience, it’ll often be doing this because it’s what its target audience is made up of.

You don’t see too many young and lively brands going after the 65+ market, do you?

Brands like these want to convey to their consumers that they’re fun, exciting, and trendy.

As a result, they’ll likely have a pretty large budget for social media marketing.

Social media is one of the best ways to demonstrate to consumers the personality of your brand and the message you uphold. We’ll be discussing methods of conveying brand personality later on.

The purpose of a brand personality that is young and lively is an attempt to stir up excitement and enthusiasm about the product or service they are selling.

Think of Netflix, which markets its services as fun for everyone and an exciting way to spend an evening.

Or, think of GoPro, which uses real footage from customers to promote their products.

However, both of these businesses aren’t so much selling a specific product, but an experience.

Whether this is a quiet night in with your partner watching a movie or an adrenaline-filled adventure with your friends, Netflix and GoPro carefully curate a young and lively personality to fulfill this message.

As a result, people associate these qualities with their services and so are more inclined to buy from them.

Brands that try to adopt an authentic and trustworthy personality are typically selling or promoting a product that directly impacts an individual.

Primarily, a brand personality that is authentic and trustworthy is usually tied to a brand that employs emotional tactics to gain customers.

A brand like this may be selling a product with a story behind it or a service that will leave an impact.

For example, think of Dove.

Dove regularly employs tactics such as emotional content and thoughtful advertising to promote its products to potential customers.

You only have to look at their 2013 advert which saw real-life individuals describing their greatest insecurities, followed by the message that every individual body is worthy of care and attention.

Powerful stuff, isn’t it?

Dove is often marketed as a caring and authentic brand thanks to their regular use of real people rather than models in their advertising, as well as their Self Esteem Project which seeks to help young girls with their education.

They aim to prove to their customers that they really do care, and have a mission that goes beyond making money.

However, not all authentic and trustworthy brands need to rely on emotion.

Sometimes they can rely on sentimentality too.

Think of a brand like Heinz. When you go to the supermarket and pick up any Heinz product, no matter what it is, you’ll find listed under their logo the words ‘est. 1869’.

What’s the purpose of this?

Well, Heinz wants to show customers that they’re a tried and tested favourite. They’ve been a kitchen cupboard staple for decades.

And, as a result, they’re reliable.

Customers can take comfort in knowing that Heinz is a brand they can trust and depend upon – in fact, their recipe has hardly changed, other than reducing the levels of fat and sugar present.

Why wouldn’t you trust a company like that?

Another classic brand personality for a business to adopt is the ‘masculine and rugged’ personality.

Typically, this will often be tied to the outdoors and aimed at men.

Brands that adopt this type of personality want to seem adventurous, strong, and appeal to customers who are as outdoorsy and thick-skinned as they are.

Imagine a brand like Jeep. Their slogan, “the toughest vehicle in the world” clearly conveys their main point: their strength.

It wouldn’t really have the same effect is their slogan was “a nice car for casual rides”, would it?

What’s more, the marketing material for Jeep – their posters and adverts – are usually featured on a grassy hill, an off-road trail, or a mountainous range.

Proving to their customers that Jeeps are for the adventurous, the wild, those seeking excitement outdoors. You’ll never see an advert of someone in a Jeep on a school run.

Jeep very successfully demonstrates to their customers that they’re a brand that seeks thrill in the outdoors. “Go anywhere. Do anything.” It doesn’t get more adventurous than that, does it?

Yet another examples of “brands with personalities”.

A brand personality that is centered around being elegant and sophisticated is a brand that’s all about prestige.

They want to seem exclusive, superior, and regal.

And there’s no brand that does this better than Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany expertly creates a sense of superiority around their brand through their marketing and social media. Thanks to the type of language they use – focussed on the craft of their products and the uniqueness of their jewellery – they cleverly convey why their product is better than competitors.

Just read the caption of one of their posts: “Tiffany diamonds are cut and set by master artisans. Using unique time-honoured skills and exacting standards, they create the beautiful engagement rings we are known for – prioritising brilliance every time.”

That does sound rather impressive, doesn’t it…

An elegant and sophisticated brand is one whose products are exclusive and desirable. Consumers want the best, after all.

Another type of brand that creates an elegant and sophisticated brand personality is Chanel, particularly their perfume brand.

If you had to sum Chanel No.5 up in three words, it’d probably be something like “sophisticated, classy, special.”

And it’s probably got something to do with the celebrity endorsements they’ve had over the years.

From Marilyn Monroe, to Suzy Parker, and even Jean Shrimpton, they’ve had plenty of beautiful, desirable, and classy women endorsing their world famous scent.

The list of celebrity ambassadors for Chanel No.5 is known for being exclusive – much like their product.

Finally, another brand personality that a business can adopt is the competitive and driven personality.

These types of brands are all about being the best of the bunch, and pushing yourself to the limit.

The purpose of their business is to make their consumers feel as great as their products, something that they can promise to every customer.

And the brand that does that best? Nike.

Nike epitomises everything to do with advancement and excellence. From their slogan “just do it” to the celebrity endorsements they use – Colin Kaepernick, Serena Williams, Michael Jordan (all celebrities at the top of their game) – they make it clear that sporting the Nike brand is about being the best.

Their sense of achievement is contagious, and they want this to spread to the customers who buy their brand too.

What’s more, considering that these sporting brands are always competing within each other – Adidas v. Nike v. Reebok – the sense of competitiveness and drive is literally built into their brand.

Nike’s brand personality is all about success and status. And for that reason, they make it clear that they’re one of the best.

One of the most important reasons for brand personalities is to make you more memorable in the eyes of consumers and potential customers.

In such an oversaturated market, there are lots of choices for your consumer to choose from. There are more options now than ever and consumers need to be aware of your brand if they’re ever going to buy from it.

This is where a brand personality comes in.

Brand personality allows you to convey to consumers what is important about your business and why you are different.

What makes your marketing company so different from the other 25,000 marketing companies in the UK?

How is your clothing brand more unique and attractive compared to big names like Nike and Adidas?

Having a curated brand personality allows you to stand out from other competitors, and as a result, makes you more memorable.

Your only chance of maintaining customers is by providing them with a memorable experience of your brand.

Perhaps your brand personality is humorous and lively – and your market your products on social media using memes. That’s a pretty good way of being remembered.

Or, perhaps your brand personality is sophisticated and exclusive – and the influencers you use to endorse your products are very high profile and well known.

A personality attached to your brand allows you to become memorable because of the associations you conjure.

Another advantage to having a brand personality is that it can aid you in communicating with your customers.

You’re able to let people know why they should care about your brand, what’s important, and why they should shop with you.

The values and beliefs of your brand are very important. In fact, according to Elements Brand Management, 64% of consumers say that their primary reasons for supporting a brand are shared values and beliefs.

Meaning, that it should be one of the most important things you prioritise when creating your brand presence.

What’s more, a brand personality is often associated with the way in which a brand communicates.

Perhaps your brand is notorious for having a funny Twitter account that often interacts with individual followers and other accounts. It’s a tactic that a lot of big brands employ: Netflix, Wendy’s, Amazon.

They use memes and jokes to come across as a humorous and personable brand, the type of company you can relate to and interact with personally.

Or, perhaps a brand has a creative Instagram account.

They use polls, quizzes, and Instagram stories to get their followers interacting and engaging directly with their business.

A brand that employs these tactics is bound to come across as light hearted, appealing, and direct.

Conversely, a brand with a more serious and professional personality likely will only communicate with followers and consumers in a more formal manner.

Brand communication will probably be relayed through something like emails, in comparison to tweets and memes.

Ultimately, your brand personality has a direct impact on the way you communicate with your followers and consumers.

Brands with personalities convey specific values to their target audiences in a way that is 100% unique to their business.

The final reason that you should choose to create a brand personality is because it can help you stay relevant.

A brand personality can survive the test of time and doesn’t need to change with the times or with the current political or social situation.

Your consistent and reliable brand personality is what makes your business so memorable and what your consumers identify with.

For example, you can look at Coca Cola.

Coca Cola is a brand that is very well known for being sentimental and evoking strong emotional memories.

Why? Because they created their family friendly, likeable personality from the get go when they were invented.

And, 129 years later, their brand personality is still strong and thriving.

Coca Cola have been able to consistently maintain their brand personality and ensure that consumers continue to have these overwhelmingly positive associations with their brand.

Similarly, sports brands are also able to maintain relevance and prestige thanks to their personality.

The likes of Nike, Adidas, Reebok and more, are all able to stay relevant and at the top of their industry despite having existed for so long because of their brand personalities.

They clearly convey their core brand ideals and beliefs to consumers in order to ensure that they remain relevant and in the minds of their customers.

In 1999, Revlon launched a new fragrance in Brazil.

Their top-selling Charlie perfume featured the signature scent of camellias, something which – at the time – Revlon believed would be a good idea to launch in Brazil.

However, it all quickly fell apart.

Whilst they marketed their classic fragrance as exclusive, prestigious, and desirable, this was not how it was perceived by the audience.

Revlon was seeking to extend the prestige and appeal of its brand to international markets, but it was ultimately unsuccessful.

Since camellias are Brazil’s national funeral flower, the connotations that Revlon sought to create – sexy, desirable – were unfulfilled.

Instead, Revlon’s personality appeared depressing and mournful.

Their brand personality was completely different from what the business was intending to do and wasn’t successful at all.

The lesson from this?

Be careful of cultural and societal perceptions of your brand, and the ways in which your products and services can be interpreted.

Brand personality is ultimately dependent on the perceptions from your customers – without them, your personality has no purpose or reception.

Social media is one of the best ways to create a brand personality because social media is the most creative marketing platform.

It allows a lot of room for experimentation and free-range to post creative content that best represents your brand.

For example, look towards the video marketing platform TikTok.

TikTok is a great platform to use when it comes to promoting your brand and brand personality because of the nature of the content.

TikTok videos are short, incorporate music and text, and can be seen by a large audience of people if it goes viral enough.

Meaning, that the potential amount of people learning about your brand is immeasurable.

If you want to find out the other benefits of using TikTok to market your brand, check out our article here.

What’s more, TikTok’s virality is dependent on people creating content that follows trends and patterns.

A viral sound, dance, or meme is all it takes for your content to explode.

As a result, this allows you to establish a close connection with your demographic – something which is particularly important if your demographic is young.

Think of the brand Innocent Smoothies, which created a viral video that (as of 30/03/2021) has 1.8 million views.

But why is this important?

Well, Innocent Smoothies is a brand that very clearly tries to convey to their consumers that they’re fun, likable, and all about having a good time.

By engaging in such trending and viral content they can create the brand personality they so successfully do.

If social media is great for creating a brand personality for your younger generation, what do you do if your generation is older?

This is where TV adverts come in.

But why is this?

Well, to the older generation, social media can sometimes come across and disingenuous and fake.

Thanks to the use of photoshopping, social media influencers, and promotions, social media can be perceived as inauthentic and unreliable.

As a result, people who make up older demographics may be unwilling to trust brands that try and promote themselves on this platform.

Which leaves TV adverts to pick up the slack.

TV is used by brands that are trying to appear more personable and trustworthy to older generations and is the exact reason why Dove used TV to create their emotional body positivity ad.

As mentioned earlier, this ad featured real-life people who were describing their biggest insecurities, followed by a heartwarming body-positive message.

And by airing this advert on TV it enabled the brand to come across as authentic and caring to their target demographic of Boomers+.

It likely wouldn’t have been so successful to this demographic had it aired on Instagram TV.

But why should you care about the platforms in which you promote your brand? What’s the difference between an ad on TV and an ad on Facebook?

Well, as stated earlier when discussing communication and brand personality, the way you promote the message of your brand and the connotations created are very important.

You must always consider how consumers are going to perceive your brand personality thanks to the way you’re trying to speak to them.

What better way to create a brand personality than by using an actual person?

After all, a brand personality is simply the adopting of human characteristics to a brand so that it comes across as more personable and real.

It would make sense, therefore, why influencer marketing would be a great tactic to fulfill this brief. If you want to learn more about influencer marketing, read our article here.

The person you choose to promote your brand is extremely important as they will be representing the values of your business and will act as an extension of your brand.

You need to be careful about who you choose, as you don’t want to accidentally align yourself with someone who can be problematic.

Just recently influencer and YouTuber David Dobrik, who is currently going through a social media storm after it’s been alleged that he engaged in inappropriate behaviour, has had his brand deals and endorsements pulled out from him.

Brands like HBO Max, Hello Fresh, Bumble, Chipotle, and SeatGeek, have all severed ties with the influencer in an attempt to distance themselves.

It can be harmful to brands to remain aligned to influencers who are going through a scandal. Because of this, you should take careful consideration into who you choose.

But influencer marketing doesn’t always go bad.

When done correctly, influencer marketing for creating a brand personality can be very successful.

Just look at social media influencer Molly Mae-Hague, who has partnered with Pretty Little Thing to launch her own clothing collection.

For fans of the brand or the influencer, it’s hard to picture one without the other.

They’ve practically become synonymous with each other and have had a very mutually beneficial relationship when it comes to promoting Pretty Little Thing’s brand personality: stylish, fun, lively, desirable.

Now you know what a brand personality is and the ways you can convey it to your consumers and customers, but what happens when you don’t know what your brand personality is?

You may just be setting up your business, or launching your social media channels, and trying to figure out what you want your brand personality to be.

It can be a difficult thing to figure out, thankfully, we’re here to give you some tips on how to achieve this.

What is the message of your brand?

What do you want to show your consumers and customers?

Are you caring? Are you forward-thinking? Are you revolutionary?

What makes your brand so different from all the others, and why should consumers care about you?

What’s your unique selling point?

These may seem like a lot of questions and may overwhelm you, but they’re important questions you should be asking.

If you’re not able to answer the simplest of questions – what makes your brand so different? – then you probably aren’t ready to launch yet.

But, once you’ve figured out the answers to these, you’re able to start crafting your brand personality.

Having a clear idea of what message you want to promote about your brand will allow you to figure out how you’re going to promote this and what you want the takeaway of your brand to be.

And the first step to figuring this out is by simply asking yourselves these questions.

If consumers had to describe your brand in 3 words, what would you want them to be?

If you’re thinking of Coca Cola, it’s probably: family-friendly, sentimental, and fun.

If you’re thinking of Disney, it’s probably: magical, entertaining, nostalgic.

And if you’re thinking of Apple, it would be something like: forward-thinking, revolutionary, minimalistic.

The three words you want to be associated with your brand make up your brand personality, and ultimately contribute to how you’re going to run your business.

What’s more, once you’ve figured out what three words you want to be associated with your brand, you need to make sure that this is consistent.

Every time you post on social media, or market your business, you need to make sure that your message is on brand and fulfilling these three words in mind.

Developing a strong brand personality is done through consistent messaging, a brand personality isn’t just something that you can call upon every now and again.

If you’re only creating marketing material that includes these three values occasionally, it’s going to be confusing for your consumers.

Building a brand personality that you want to be easily recognised by consumers is done through consistent messaging.

This allows you to build a brand personality that resonates with people.

So now that you’ve learned about how to create a brand personality, why a brand personality matters, and what makes a good brand personality, what’s next?

Well, now it’s time to know about brands that have a good personality.

What are some examples of brands that have truly mastered the art of a brand personality?

Below we have chosen 10 brands that have engaging and well-known brand personalities.

Find out what they are and what they are doing right below.

Rugged. Adventurous. Rebellious.

Harley Davidson is able to epitomise many things: danger, adventure, rebellion.

The very fact that they’re a motorcycle company is already cool and exciting.

Meaning, that that they need to make sure that their brand personality matches this.

In fact, Harley Davidson goes much beyond motorcycles and merch. Harley Davidson is a community made up of like-minded individuals all looking for the same thing: adventure.

So how do they convey this personality to their community?

Harley Davidson very clearly cares about the tradition of the brand and the origins of their bikes and the history behind it.

And it’s this value of their history that helps foster the community.

As such, Harley Davidson often centers their history and culture on its social media pages.

Their social media posts talk about famous creators and mechanics, valued bikes, and the origins of their brand.

As well as this, they also feature videos and images of their bikes being ridden in various locations.

From the desert to the wilderness, and even the open roads of America, Harley Davidson is always promoting the sense of adventure that their brand so values.

What’s more, Harley Davidson is also able to clearly demonstrate their brand personality thanks to the influencers and celebrity sponsorships they use.

Famously, Jason Momoa, a man who is renowned for being rugged, dangerous, and adventurous – he does throw axes, after all.

Jason Momoa has been partnered with the brand for years, even receiving a bike on the set of Aquaman in 2017.

His sponsorship for the brand has helped them continue to prove their brand personality and promote the values of their business.

Efficient. Inclusive. Superior

As an athletic brand, Nike has always sought to be the best.

They’re constantly in competition not only with other brands – Adidas, Rebook, etc – but also with themselves.

Nike is always trying to improve their products for their clients and maximise their efficiency.

But how do they convey this?

Firstly, and most obviously, with their slogan: “Just Do It.”

It’s iconic, short and sweet, and clearly conveys everything it needs.

And it doesn’t get much more efficient than that, does it?

What’s more, Nike also seeks to prove to customers how inclusive their brand is. Nike is a brand that works for everyone – not just those who are deemed typically ‘athletic’.

But how do they do this?

Well, if you head on over to their social media profiles you’ll see Nike centering real people in their posts and marketing.

That’s right, in addition to the usual celebrity influencers and endorsements, Nike also uses real-life individuals wearing that clothing to sport their brand.

But what’s the purpose of this?

Well, by using real people in their marketing materials, Nike proves to their customers that they truly have people at the heart of their brand.

It’s a very inclusive – and also unique – way of demonstrating their brand personality.

Real Brands With Personality

If you had to think of a brand that represents happiness and optimism, you’re likely going to think of Coca Cola.

Coca Cola, a brand that has been about for 129 years, has strong emotional and sentimental feelings attached to it.

The long lasting nature of the brand has meant that it’s been a well-known favourite for many people, and thus people are able to develop such strong feelings associated with the brand.

But how does Coca Cola do it?

Well, they insert themselves into the lives of families as an emotional and caring brand.

Think of their Christmas adverts in the early 1930s – which saw Father Christmas wearing a red suit and drinking a bottle of Coca Cola.

Whilst the red suit had been featured once or twice before this, it was Coca Cola’s use of it in such a popular and mainstream ad that cemented the red suit as an icon of Father Christmas – and one he wears to this day.

(If you didn’t know, his suit used to be green!)

Coca Cola’s ad was extremely successful in their attempt to prove themselves as a family brand, given how well they used the occasion of Christmas to market their product. If you want to find out more about holiday marketing, read our article here.

There’s no doubt that this helped create their brand personality.

Given the sentimental and joyous nature of Christmas, it was a perfect opportunity for the brand.

As a result, these strong emotional ties helped cement their brand personality as one that is caring, happy, and emotional.

Authentic. Personable. Relatable.

We’ve mentioned Dove a couple of times in this article, as you can see.

But we’re just so impressed with the marketing of their brand personality!

Dove is able to expertly convey to their audience that they’re an authentic, personable brand that truly cares about their consumers – as well as the environment.

Yes, Dove’s products are all environmentally friendly as well as being cruelty free. A fact that they regularly promote and are obviously proud of.

What’s more, Dove is committed to helping people too.

Dove runs a Self Esteem project where they seek to help young women with their body positivity as well as their education.

But why does this matter?

Well, it shows consumers that Dove puts their money where their mouth is. Through these community projects they’re able to actually prove to consumers that their brand personality has truth and substance behind it.

As well as this, Dove also uses influencer marketing to help create their brand personality.

They specifically choose influencers who use their platforms to promote caring and personal messages – about body positivity, diversity, representation, inclusivity etc – to reflect their authentic and relatable brand personality.

It wouldn’t really work if Dove were using influencers famous for their photoshop and filters – it would just be inauthentic.

But because of their careful use of influencers and community care projects, Dove clearly conveys to their audience that their brand personality is one that is relatable and caring.

Fun. Lively. Energetic.

Innocent Smoothies is a fun and energetic brand, that is known for being up for a laugh and having a good time.

Just take a look at their Twitter feed where they regularly interact with their followers and engage in memes and jokes.

Their Twitter bio – “we don’t want to see any banana bread” – is a humorous reference to the banana bread craze which took the country by storm during the first Coronavirus lockdown.

Funny stuff, right?

But, it’s actually their TikTok account which is where their brand personality really comes to life.

It’s clear that their TikTok account is being run by someone young and experienced in social media. They take part in the latest trends on the platform, they’re able to masterfully create memes without it coming across as superficial or disingenuous, and it’s clearly paying off.

One of their videos has almost 2 million views and doesn’t include any promotional materials at all.

But in spite of this, the video was still extremely valuable for the business in portraying the brand personality.

Innocent Smoothies clearly considers their brand personality and the perception audiences have of their brand important.

That’s why they put so much emphasis on it.

Happy. Creative. Joyous.

If you’re discussing brand personalities and how businesses create brand personalities, then you obviously have to talk about Disney.

As a childhood brand, they’re all about being creative, happy, and joyous.

Their slogan, “where dreams come true”, epitomises this.

They’re a brand that’s all about creating memories, and so they rely on the nostalgia and sentimentality their brand evokes to continue their message as fun, caring, and kind.

Every person on the planet can think of a strong memory they have with Disney.

And Disney capitalises on this, making sure that these associations with their brand are continued.

The more emotional ties people create with Disney, the more sales they make.

What’s more, Disney seeks to prove their caring and happy personality in their theme parks also.

And they do this through the titles they give their staff.

Whether you’re a janitor, a ride attendant, or a chef, you’re called a ‘Cast Member’.

And the purpose of this? To seem more creative and fun!

Disney ditches the boring ‘staff’ or ‘team member’ titles and by opting for a more unique name, it adds to their sense of creativity and creative expression.

Who wouldn’t love a company like this?

Sophisticated. Exclusive. Desirable.

Conversely, a brand personality that isn’t so much about likeability rather than desirability is Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co. is all about sophistication, exclusivity, and desirability.

It’s all about being desirable by the consumer, and creating a sense of exclusivity.

But how do they do this?

As we mentioned earlier, their social media profiles truly enforce the concept of how rare and desirable their products are.

The caption on one social media post: “Tiffany diamonds are cut and set by master artisans. Using unique time-honored skills and exacting standards, they create the beautiful engagement rings we are known for—prioritizing brilliance every time” reinforces the idea of how special and unique these products are.

Tiffany diamonds are rare and one of kind.

What’s more, Tiffany also uses the marketing technique of influencers to help craft their brand personality as desirable and only for the best.

Using famous celebrities like supermodel Kendal Jenner help create the perception of superiority and desirability.

There are not many people who don’t want to look like Kendal Jenner – or at least want to emulate her – and by partnering with Tiffany they’re able to transfer this sense of envy to the famous jewellery brand.

Funny. Progressive. Caring.

Ben and Jerry’s is one brand that truly understands the importance of a good brand personality, and they clearly prioritise it within their business.

They try very hard to make themselves seem funny and light-hearted, as well as caring and sincere.

It’s a tough balance to find, but one they have seemed to master.

Partially this can be attributed to their product names, “Fairway to Heaven”, “Sofa So Good Together”, and “Netflix and Chill’d” just to name a few.

Pretty funny stuff, right?

Ben and Jerry’s wants to come across as humorous and fun, and appeal to a younger demographic.

This is also done thanks to the special edition flavours Ben and Jerry’s releases – like “The Tonight Dough”, for instance, in partnership with The Tonight Show.

By doing this, they’re able to prove to fans that they’re trendy and keeping up with popular culture.

However, Ben and Jerry’s also wants to create a brand personality that cares.

Ben and Jerry’s, in addition to being funny and light-hearted, is also a caring and progressive brand.

The business engages in a lot of activism, like with their one ice cream flavour “Change The Whirled” which was “fuelling the fight to liberate Black and Brown people.”

What’s more, the brand is very well known for paying their staff members a high wage as well as employing ex-convicts.

It’s this combination of humour and energy, as well as activism and progressiveness, which makes the brand personality stand out as much as it does.

Sincere. Authentic. Successful.

Gymshark is a brand that is devoted to its customers and is always seeking ways to come across as sincere and committed to doing the right thing.

Much like Nike, they want to show that they’re more than just a sports brand.

Gymshark is a brand committed to doing good and helping its customers.

During the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, Gymshark announced that they would be doing more to represent Black voice on their social media.

So what? You ask. Every brand said they would do that?

Well, Gymshark is one brand that actually kept their promise.

They have regularly asked their fans and customers to tell them how to do better as a company, and are always seeking ways to improve themselves.

This has meant an increase in the number of People of Colour featured on their social media accounts, as well as plus sized bodies.

What’s more, when this move faced backlash from some people on social media, Gymshark stuck hard to their message.

They continued their support for the BLM movement and welcomed people who said they were leaving their brand – they cared more about doing the right thing than retaining customers that didn’t align with their social message.

In addition to this, Gymshark also craft their brand personality as successful and impressive.

The language they use to promote their clothing on social media wants to prove to their customers that – thanks to their products – you can be as successful as the people they feature on their social media profiles too.

Funny. Entertaining. Family-friendly.

The final case study we’re going to be looking at is Netflix.

As a big brand, they have to have a big brand personality to go along with it. Thankfully, they do.

Netflix’s brand personality is funny, entertaining, and family-friendly.

Much like previous brands we’ve discussed – Innocent Smoothies, for example – they utilise social media to demonstrate the humour of their brand.

Particularly, on Instagram, Netflix directly interacts with people in the comments and is consistently making jokes and memes.

In fact, at one point, the Netflix Instagram account even had a running joke that continued over a few weeks that it was secretly being run by actor Cole Sprouse.

That’s pretty original stuff!

As well as this, Netflix’s brand personality is family friendly and fun for all ages.

They market their services as an appropriate experience for all members of the family, and a great way to spend an evening with each other.

As a result of this, they’re able to elevate themselves to the same status as many other family friendly brands like Disney.

Towing the line between being age-appropriate as well as trendy and appealing to Millennials/Generation Z isn’t an easy task.

However, thanks to their social media marketing, Netflix is able to craft this brand personality rather successfully.

It’s clear that a brand personality is extremely important if you want to successfully grow your business online and cement your brand as one of the greats.

In each case study we’ve looked at, it’s clear that they have a very talented and clever marketing team that helps them craft their brand personality.

Without a marketing team, it can be difficult to master the art of brand personalities.

You have to be mindful of how audiences and consumers will perceive your brand, and think about what they want to see and what they don’t want to see.

After all, brands with personality are nothing without an audience consuming them.