Building Your One-Of-A-Kind Brand Personality 

Crafting a great brand personality is a lot like wearing deodorant – it’s something that everyone should do, and it becomes apparent very quickly when it’s not there. But how do you create an impactful brand personality? Is it an original, great smelling, classic style? Maybe it’s a new-fangled scent, something like “Aspen Wolf Bane,” “Frigid Arctic RUSH,” or “Innovative Company With A Tech-Forward Approach Looking To Change the World.” More importantly, how much more can I get out of this terrible deodorant analogy? Stick with me and let’s get into it. 

Let’s start with the basics of branding and the “why” behind creating a brand personality, and then we’ll get into some unique factors to consider for franchises in particular. First, let’s apply some stats to our thinking (because everyone loves stats).

• 86% of consumers prefer an authentic and honest brand personality on social networks. (Source)
• 65% of people have felt an emotional connection with a brand. (Source)
• Consistent branding across all channels increases revenue by 23% (Source)
• Customers who have an emotional connection with a brand have a 3x higher LTV (Source)

The consistent theme across this data? There’s an emotional factor in branding that can’t be faked or manufactured. Be authentic to yourself as a brand and the vision you have. In this case, it’s essential to know that authentic often means very different things to different brands. Your version of authenticity might be a wise, knowledgeable, ancient kind of personality. Or, that same authenticity can come in the form of a smart ass, us-against-the-world personality. 

What connects it all? Stats. They clearly show that brands that take on human characteristics are better at connecting with their target audiences. Think of the Apple “I’m A Mac” commercials. They could’ve put glasses on a PC to make it look nerdy, but instead, they used actors. And people embraced the Apple brand with even more fervor.

People relate to the characteristics they see in other humans and connect with brands that they perceive as sharing similar characteristics. So…your goal as a brand is to identify your target audience and create the kind of brand personality that connects with them while staying as authentic to yourself as possible. Sound complicated? It is. 

Here’s the thing: you don’t build a brand personality with just a “modern, clean logo” and an “honest, strong, bold” voice. You turn a brand personality into a differentiator by making a concerted effort to create consistency across all your marketing tactics, on every medium. 

Is your desired brand personality to be irreverent, sarcastic, but memorable? Then you better take that approach on everything you do – from your social media strategy and execution to display ads, to any videos from your production team, all the way to your internal messaging and values. Tell your story on your terms. Embrace it with arms wide open. But remember, once you take the top off the deodorant and use it, you’re living with it. No returns. No refunds. You’re going to smell like that for a while. Get organizational agreement on your aspirational brand personality and then make it happen! Live it, breathe it, smell it. Start by determining your brand’s unique

• Tone
• Style
• Behavior

Brand Personality Examples:

• The Lover
• The Explorer
• The Warrior
• The Leader

We do this, and much more, in our Serendipit brand workshops. A shameless plug? Maybe. But companies turn to Serendipit Consulting every day for help with developing authentic brands, and the sweet smell of success keeps them coming back.

Branding & Franchises 

Some quick thoughts and things to consider as it relates to franchises in particular:

• BRAND GUIDELINES. BRAND GUIDELINES. BRAND GUIDELINES. 95% of companies have formal brand guidelines. Only 25% consistently enforce them. (Source) It doesn’t matter if you’re a franchise of 2 or 1,000 – this is your bible (or brandfolio, as we call them). Remember how we talked about consistency? Take every essential piece of info about your brand, its personality, its aesthetic, and create your brand guidelines. Now share it with your Regional Developers, your franchisees, employees, and everyone who touches the brand. Tell them; this is your creed. This is the way. 

• Build a full Franchise Playbook. From front desk scripts to automated emails, these playbooks contain directions for virtually every single consumer touchpoint and much, much more. *Shameless plug #2 – Serendipit is really, really good at building these. Hit us up. Boom! Hit my quota.*

• Don’t be afraid to be unique. Don’t be scared to “go there.” The bold standout. Chance are you have stiff competition from competing franchises. Be true to yourself and create a memorable brand. Playing it safe won’t get you remembered. 
• Figure out your social media plan early. Is it one corporate account, or will each location have a unique social media presence? If it’s option two, make sure the individuals running those accounts are well-versed in the aspirational personality and brand voice you’ve worked to establish. They’ll be living it and promoting it daily. Get it wrong, and it will quickly torpedo that personality you’ve been working so long to establish organically. 

There you have it. Now, what are you waiting for – get out there and build the personality of your dreams to match that one-of-a-kind franchise concept! We’ll be waiting here, watching you try (and hopefully succeed.) But if you need help, give us a call. The sweet smell of success awaits.