Guide
Brand personality
Why it matters and how to define yours
Brand personality is the set of human characteristics and emotional traits attributed to a brand that shapes how consumers relate to and connect with them emotionally. A brand's distinct character or identity helps establish meaningful relationships with customers beyond functional product benefits.
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Establishing a strong brand personality does more than set your business apart; it humanizes your brand, fosters connections with your audience, and builds brand loyalty. Just as individuals possess unique characteristics, brands too can exhibit distinct personalities that resonate with their consumers.
What is brand personality?
Brand personality refers to the set of human traits attributed to a brand. This concept helps brands communicate more effectively with their audiences by establishing a relatable tone that reflects the brand's core values.
Why is brand personality important?
Brand personality is important because it transforms how audiences perceive and connect with your brand. Understanding and cultivating your brand's personality is crucial for the following reasons:
A strong brand personality sets you apart from other brands in a crowded industry.
Emotional connection
Brands develop loyal followings by forging emotional connections with their audiences. These connections can deepen when brands align with customers' core beliefs and values—transforming transactions into meaningful relationships based on shared purpose.
Consistency
A cohesive brand voice across all touchpoints ensures that your messaging aligns with your identity.
Effective communication
A defined personality contributes to clear and relatable communication strategies across channels—be it social media or direct marketing.
Guidance
A clearly defined personality can guide marketing decisions, ensuring consistency and alignment with core brand values.
How does a brand personality come to life?
The transformation of a brand personality into a tangible presence occurs through various touchpoints. These include:
The tone of voice employed in communications affects how the brand is perceived. Brand voice activates personality traits through specific linguistic choices: word selection (casual vs. formal vocabulary), sentence structure (short and punchy vs. elegant and flowing), and the emotional tone woven throughout messaging. These deliberate choices transform abstract personality traits into language that customers can hear and feel across every communication channel—from packaging copy to customer service emails.
Visual identity
Marketing collateral like logo design, typography, and color palette can play a critical role in expressing your brand's unique personality. Visual identity translates personality into immediate sensory experiences that customers recognize and connect with emotionally. Through thoughtful design choices, brands create a cohesive visual language that communicates who they are before a single word is read. The consistent application of these visual elements across all touchpoints reinforces personality and builds brand recognition.
Social media engagement
The way brands interact on social media can enhance or hinder their personality. Social media brings personality to life through real-time demonstration of character traits in action. Response time and conversation style, content curation choices, how brands celebrate community contributions, and the way they participate in cultural moments all transform stated personality traits into observable behaviors. Each interaction serves as an opportunity to demonstrate authenticity and build genuine connections with customers.
The dimensions of brand personality
One of the most widely recognized frameworks for understanding brand personality comes from social psychologist Jennifer Aaker, who identified five primary dimensions of brand personality1 that continue to guide brand positioning today:
- Sincerity: Traits of honesty and integrity.
- Excitement: Brands that embody enthusiasm and energy.
- Competence: Attributes related to reliability, intelligence, and success.
- Sophistication: Reflects elegance and class.
- Ruggedness: Represents toughness and outdoor lifestyle.
This model gives brands a structured framework for how they may want to position themselves and create an identity that resonates with consumers.
Common myths about brand personality
Despite its importance, there are several misconceptions surrounding brand personality:
Myth 1: Brand personality is just about logos and taglines
While logos and taglines can convey elements of a brand's personality, they are not the entirety. Brand personality encompasses much broader aspects, including customer service, communication style, and overall brand behavior.
Myth 2: Only consumer brands have personalities
This misconception overlooks the fact that even B2B brands can exhibit formidable personalities that resonate with their audience’s values and needs.
Myth 3: Personality can’t change over time
Brands may evolve as consumer preferences shift. Adapting a brand's personality to remain relevant in the marketplace can be beneficial for growth.
Real-world examples of brand personalities
Case Study
Holy Stone utilized Amazon Ads video production services and streaming TV ads to create a 30-second advertisement that conveyed their brand personality through a "Moments" concept, using rock climbing imagery to symbolize life's challenges while showcasing their drone's features. Through Amazon's video production process, the brand successfully translated their inspirational identity into compelling content, resulting in a 279% increase in branded searches and reaching over 1 million unique Amazon shoppers.
Case Study
Cocolab demonstrated their unique brand personality as a sister-owned oral care innovator focused on "dental dopamine" by creating an engaging Brand Store that featured lifestyle imagery and educational content, complemented by Sponsored Brands video campaigns. Their strategic approach of starting with conversion-focused Sponsored Products before expanding to brand-building solutions demonstrated how emerging brands can maintain their distinctive personality while competing with established players, resulting in 50% year-over-year growth and an 80% increase in new-to-brand sales through display ads campaigns.
Case Study
MaryRuth's collaborated with Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab to create a unique "Toast to Good Health" campaign that aligned with their brand personality as an innovative wellness company by transforming their liquid vitamins into creative mocktail recipes. Through a cohesive multi-channel approach using Amazon DSP, streaming TV, and Amazon Live, they created an engaging brand experience that included a custom landing page, recipes, and mocktail bars at influencer events, resulting in a 174% increase in new-to-brand spend and demonstrating how brands can creatively integrate their products into customers' lifestyle routines.
Case Study
Bird Buddy leveraged Amazon's agentic ad creation tool in Creative Studio to overcome resource constraints and preserve their innovative, nature-loving brand personality, compressing their months-long video production process into an efficient three-day sprint in time for Father's Day. The AI tool functioned as a creative partner that enabled rapid iteration while maintaining their established brand guidelines and aesthetic, resulting in a 3x higher click-through rate on Sponsored Brands video ads and an 89% new-to-brand customer acquisition rate.
Case Study
Nespresso effectively used Brand Stores to translate their premium brand personality and sustainability values into a cohesive digital shopping experience, creating a destination that went beyond product listings to tell their brand story through carefully curated lifestyle imagery and educational content about recycling initiatives. By treating their Brand Store as a central landing page and consistently updating it with seasonal content while maintaining brand cohesion across all Amazon Ads solutions (including Sponsored Brands and display ads), they achieved a 21% increase in Brand Store views, demonstrating how luxury brands can maintain their distinctive identity while creating engaging shopping experiences on Amazon.
How to create your brand personality
The following actionable steps can aid in defining your brand personality:
1. Know your audience
Conduct market research to understand their values and preferences.
2. Define what makes your brand unique
Analyze your core values and what differentiates you from other brands.
3. Select core traits
Choose personality traits that will resonate with your target audience.
4. Create a brand voice
Develop a consistent tone of voice that reflects your personality across all channels—social media, website content, etc.
5. Create brand guidelines
Document your brand personality in detail to ensure consistency across all touchpoints.
6. Evolve your personality
Continually assess and adapt your brand personality as needed while staying true to your core values.
Brand personality insights
Amazon Ads Beyond the Generational Divide research2 and 2025 Higher Impact study3 show how brands can go beyond demographics to connect with relevant audiences through shared values, behaviors, and communities. The key takeaway for brand personality development is to focus on authentic connections through shared values and behaviors, suggesting brands should develop their personalities based on behavioral insights and community values rather than generational assumptions.
Here are a few key insights:
Values-based connection
- Traditional demographic labels (like "Millennials" or "Gen Z") are less relevant than shared values
- 84% of consumers say their mindset and values define them more than age
- 79% of consumers say they are more likely to purchase a product or services from brands whose values align with their own
- Core values like health, relationships, and personal growth transcend generational boundaries
Community-driven identity
- Entertainment and media experiences create shared cultural moments
- 85% of consumers' entertainment choices are influenced by their communities
- Brand personalities should align with how communities naturally form around shared interests
Behavioral authenticity
- Consumers are 2.1x more unified by behaviors than by generational identity
- 69% of consumers are prepared to pay more for brands, products, and services that are truly authentic
- Shopping choices, streaming preferences, and creator connections reveal authentic consumer identity
- Brand personalities should be built around genuine behavioral patterns rather than demographic assumptions
Showcase your brand’s personality with Amazon Ads
Brand Stores serve as a dedicated place on Amazon for brands to differentiate themselves. On their Brand Store, brands can showcase their full suite of products, drive product education, and tell their unique story with engaging content like lifestyle imagery or videos.
Sponsored Brands puts brands front and center with videos, collections, and branded creatives that appear in prominent placements across the shopping journey, helping brands stand out beyond basic product listings.
Prime Video ads help brands blend seamlessly into premium streaming content, allowing for emotionally resonant connections with global streaming audiences.
With Amazon Live, brands host real-time video shopping experiences on Amazon that combine immersive storytelling, social interactivity, and the ability to seamlessly shop.
Key takeaways on brand personality
A strong brand personality is integral to creating meaningful connections with customers. By understanding the dynamics of core values, defining traits based on audience insights, and fostering consistency in communication through your brand voice, you can establish a compelling identity that resonates deeply with consumers.
If you have limited experience, contact us to request services managed by Amazon Ads. Budget minimums apply.
Additional Resources
Sources
1 Journal of Marketing Research Vol. XXXIV, August 1997, 347–356.
2 Amazon Ads custom research with Strat7 Crowd.DNA. Beyond the Generational Divide: The new rules for customer connection. Fielded December 2024 to January 2025. Data reflects AU, BR, CA, DE, ES, FR, IT, JP, MX, U.K., and U.S. aggregated. Base: All respondents (26,400), Gen Z (6,680), Millennials (6,680), Gen X (6,668), and Baby Boomers (6,372).
3 Amazon Ads custom research with Environics Research. 2025 Higher Impact. Fielded December 2024. Data reflects CA, UK, and US aggregated. Respondents by country surveyed: Canada: 1,042, United Kingdom: 1,036, United States of America: 1,033. Total n=3,111. Year-over-year comparisons reflect regional respondent sample changes with CA, DE, FR, IT, ES, JP, UK, and the US being surveyed in 2023. In 2024, consumers in Canada, United Kingdom, and the United States were surveyed.