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Is brand personality a fraud?

Posted in Advertising, Marketing, Latest reporters' blogs, Jim Prior May 9th, 2008 by Jim Prior

Brand personalities have pulled the wool over peoples eyes for years. The birth of brand personality as a differentiator was born with Orange and First Direct when, for the first time, businesses decided that their selfish interests might be best served by pretending to people that they were not just a fulfiller of needs but also, their best friend.

But the public are becoming more sceptical as the realisation in certain sectors hits that intangible brand personality is a far less significant and important thing than the reality of what it is that the brand actually does and delivers. Think for example of the recent Northern Rock fiasco, Just a year ago Northern Rock was one of the UK’s strongest brands, convincing Newcastle’s pensioners that it was one of them, and building empathy and intangible equity in the minds of millions.  But today, its business model has rendered it bust – the brand was merely a façade over an unstable, unsustainable proposition that failed to deliver against its promises.

There is of course a hugely important role for brand personality in helping a business in its dialogue with audiences. None of us want to return to the dull, grey, corporate world of 20 years ago. But personality alone is no longer enough; consumers have the ability to separate reality from fantasy and a solid business model must be at the heart of any brand.

An industry currently surfing on the success of brand personality is the mobile phone sector where every single brand competes primarily on personality. You heard the warning here first, there is only a certain amount of time that brands can compete on this superficial fluff!

Examples of brands that are successfully competing on their offer include Toyota, which competes on a tangible and solid experience: Cars that are reliable and good value due to technological innovation. Another example is Apple, a brand that competes on being functionally superior and aesthetically compelling.

Brands of the future must engage in a business offer and be built on solid and tangible assets. There is only so long a glossy veneer will suffice.