Unpacking brand persona

A brand persona is a conceptual representation of a brand’s personality, values, characteristics, and identity. It is a way of humanising a brand by attributing human traits and qualities to it, making it relatable and memorable to consumers.

Does a brand persona benefit anyone?

With consistency, distinct attributes, and effective communication, your brand persona can establish a brand perception that sets you apart from the competition, influences purchasing decisions and foster brand loyalty that eventually drives brand advocacy.

• Promotes brand’s distinction

Competition is fierce as so many options are available to customers. One way to shine is to create a brand persona complete with defining traits, and a compelling story allows you to humanise your brand and build a meaningful connection that lasts.

• Emphasises brand’s benefits

Your brand is not only about what you sell. It’s about creating experiences and inspiring customers by offering products and services that can improve their lives. Take a look at Lego.

They don’t just sell stackable colorful bricks. Instead, the brand encourages its customers to have fun and be creative as they bring their imagination to life.

• Builds brand’s community

Developing a brand persona makes your business relatable. Just as people naturally gravitate to others with the same personalities and interests, the same principle can come into play in business. By crafting a well-developed brand persona, not only do you entice buyers but also create a sense of familiarity and emotional attachment, like joy, that nurtures loyal customers and brand advocates.

Read also: How to elevate your brand’s positioning as 2024 draws to a close

Brand persona versus other branding concepts

Now that you’ve got the lowdown on what a brand persona is and its role in building your brand, let’s kick it up a notch by differentiating it from other brand concepts.

• Brand Persona vs Brand Personality

Your brand personality encapsulates unique traits that your brand evokes. If your brand is a person, the brand persona is how they appeal to others externally. On the other hand, brand personality is what makes your brand persona captivating from within.

It pertains to characteristics that make your brand more human. It adds soul by touching on the emotions, values, and beliefs that your business embodies.

• Brand persona vs buyer persona

A brand persona describes how you want to be seen by your customers, while a buyer persona is your understanding of your customers’ desires, characteristics, and behaviours.

To formulate a buyer persona, you may want to consider creating an audience profile based on your competitor analysis and market research. It entails looking into a potential and actual buyer’s lifestyle, aspirations, and demographics—age, educational attainment, job, income etc.

• Brand persona vs brand mascot

A brand mascot is a tangible or digital visual representation of your brand. It could be cool, quirky, serious, or elegant. It can also be in the form of an animal, people, fictional characters, objects, and even animated letters. Your brand mascot should embody distinctive traits that form your brand identity and should be as authentic as it can be.

• Brand persona vs brand identity

If brand persona is the character your business takes in the minds of your consumers, how is brand identity any different?

Not to be confused with brand and branding, your brand identity or corporate identity pertains to a collection of visual design elements and assets that reflect your brand image. Think of your brand’s logos, colour palette, font, tone, voice and personality.

Types of brand personas

A brand persona comes in many forms and shapes.

1. The strong brand persona

A strong brand persona has a commanding presence that often alludes to being adventurous, loving the extremes, and stepping out of your comfort zone.

2. The leader brand persona

Businesses with a leader brand persona often are brand authorities in their industries. If people think of certain products, these brands are top of mind due to their reliable and high-quality products and services. Having a leader brand persona also often means you are a trendsetter.

Say, you plan on buying an all-around laptop with high specs and a stylish design that will last you for years. You’ll probably think of Apple, Dell or HP because of their reputation as leading laptop brands. Take Apple for example, the brand brings cutting-edge innovation to enrich the lives of its users. It doesn’t compromise on quality yet retains a humanistic approach that prioritises seamless customer experience unique only to the brand. Hence, it has achieved a cult-like following.

3. The friendly brand persona

Sales are vital for a company to thrive, but not all brands focus on profits. Some prioritise fostering a community for a unique small group of people with a friendly brand persona.

4. The caring brand persona

Those with a caring brand persona put helping people first. They craft products and services that address specific pain points and adapt to the growing concerns of their customers.

5. The corporate brand persona

The corporate brand persona is usually adapted by business-to-business organisations, finance and banking companies and some luxury brands. They project a professional or elegant image while still being captivating to their audiences.

Last line

Understanding, developing, and maintaining a brand persona is key to forging strong relationships with your audience. It’s not just about what you sell but who you are as a brand. Remember, it’s an ongoing process that evolves with your business. Stay true to your brand persona and watch how it significantly impacts your success