You Don’t Need a Brand, You Need a Personality

A presentation by

Matthew T. Grant,

managing editor at

MarketingProfs

What Is MarketingProfs?

Online Resource for 500,000 Marketers

Practical Articles, Stats, Videos, Podcasts, Slideshows,

Seminars, Courses

Who Am I?

Managing Editor at MarketingProfs

Producer and Host of Marketing Smarts Podcast

@MattTGrant

“People Make the Difference”

This Is B2B

This Is B2C

IS THAT HOW IT HAS TO BE?

Consider Taco Bell

Now Consider This Response

Who’s Behind This?

People Want to Know

And This?

And This?

Is Your Brand a Mask?

DOES IT HAVE TO BE?

Some Things to Remember...

Brain areas involved in making judgments about human

traits for people do not overlap with brain areas involved

in making judgments about human traits for brands.

(Yoon et al, 2006)

Some Things to Remember...

As seven years of brand community research has taught

us, people are often more interested in the social links

that come from brand relationships than they are in the

brands that allow those links to form. – Susan Fournier

It is Not About Anthropomorphizing Your Brand

It’s About: Up with People

People Expect Responsiveness

http://www.zendesk.com/blog/infographic-complaining-aint-easy

And Every Little Bit Helps

http://www.zendesk.com/blog/infographic-complaining-aint-easy

People Research Purchases Online

http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-

content?type=webcontent&articleId=1128065

And They Listen to Other People

http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-

content?type=webcontent&articleId=1128065

People Connect with People

http://www.mindjumpers.com/blog/2012/11/consumer-

expecations-social-media/

Chex Mix

Humor and Human Interest

Intel

Engagement + Sharing

Engagement + Sharing

This...

SO...WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Personality Test

Does it matter to your customers?

Drop the Mask

Tony Hsieh = @zappos

Ann Handley = @marketingprofs

John B @ Best Buy

Jeremy Waite, Adobe

Borrow Personality

From Followers, Fans and Friends

Taco Bell on Facebook

Baja Blast Freeze

Chalupas

Borrow Personality

From “Influencers” (or, really, people who have built an

audience online)

Michelle Phan

Mark Lives @ IKEA

Ryan Higa and Carl’s Jr.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Brands Create Differences in Things That Are Essentially the Same

Personality Expresses Our Essential Differences

Thanks!

Image Credits

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:ARC193204.gif

http://www.photos-public-domain.com/2010/11/19/loaves-of-white-bread/

http://vintageprintable.com/wordpress/vintage-printable-%E2%80%93-art-and-design/design-textile-and-paper/design-textile-

and-paper-4/design-paper-mask-javanese-2/

http://fuzzandfur.net/tag/arukuma/

http://failuremag.com/feature/article/smile_til_it_hurts/

http://irrationalgames.com/files/2010/04/unmasked-479x572.jpg

http://article.wn.com/view/2008/12/01/Are_Argentinas_Cows_Happy_Eating_Grain/

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AContortionist%2C_posed_in_studio%2C_ca._1880.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AStephanLIonFacedMan.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARitratto_di_fanciullo_con_disegno_Giovanni_Francesco_Caroto.jpg

http://www.reusableart.com/v/animals/cats/colored+drawings/colored-cats-12.jpg.html