What’s a Brand Persona?

Michelle Lebrun

This week in Professor Mabry-Flynn’s ADV 283 class, we discussed what a brand persona is. Simply put, a brand persona is defined as the personality or character of a brand. Something that helps identify a brand's persona is a list of characteristics. A brand’s persona should make sense with the brands positioning and unique selling propositions. 

Later, we learn how to bring a brand persona to life. Professor Flynn explains two ways that we can do this. First she asks us to select a person, real or fictional, alive or dead, to symbolize your brand. This is used as an internal reference for tone of voice. The second way to bring a brand persona to life is by archetypes. An archetype is simply defined as an example. It applies human characteristics to a brand name. 

An example we discuss in class is Nike. Here we talked about the archetype of a hero. This archetype enables people to be brave. Another example we discussed is William Sonoma. We identify the archetype to be a creator, which enables people to make something new. A brand persona is important because it impacts the way that customers experience your brand. It offers a way for consumers to remember your brand. In addition, it helps brands stand out from one another when customers are deciding which brand they want to buy.