Box 7. 8 Do’s and don’ts of the personality approach
Do Don’t
Remember to uncover the complex Develop a brand personality
ways the brand contributes to without knowing exactly what kind
consumers self construction and of self the brand addresses
expression
Make a thorough personality Limit the brand personality to being
statement that can guide described by one personality
brand-building activities dimension
Consider how the brand personality Make sure to have the right plan for
sets the standard and boundaries how to cope with transgressions
for how the brand can behave that matches the brand personality
type
Make sure that the organization is Limit the question of brand
able to deliver on the promise and personality solely to marketing
expectations linked to the chosen
brand personality.
Choose and focus on the right Forget that the stereotypical user of
target group the brand affects the brand
personality.
Take a dynamic approach to brand Ignore consumers’ relations with
personality, analyse how the brand the brand and the effect these
personality affects the relationship relations have on the brand
with your consumer personality.
between brand personality and consumer–brand relationship. The study
suggest that instead of interpreting and managing brand personality as a
static construct, it could be valuable to have a more dynamic approach to
brand personality that also includes the roles that different personalities are
able to play in consumer–brand relationships. Brands with sincere person-
ality traits encourage progressively stronger relationships than exciting
brands. But sincere brand personalities are much more vulnerable to trans-
gressions than exciting brands. Hence, depending on the personality of the
brand, research indicates that if recovery attempts are initiated by the
marketer after a transgression, then these can dilute the negative effects of
failures (transgressions) and sometimes even drive the relationship to a
satisfaction level beyond the level prior to the transgression incident.
146 Seven brand approaches