YOUR BRAND DOWN THE PUB AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSONALITY

Doug Pray’s seminal 2009 documentary, Art & Copy, took us inside a powerful, yet surprisingly unknown industry: advertising.

One particular quote from a very quotable film stuck with me. Cliff Freeman from Cliff Freeman and Partners said, “If you communicate in a way that’s entertaining, people literally get something out of it, and they literally like you because of the way you sold them something. That’s just, American, man!” I loved Cliff Freeman’s work for massive brands. It was dialogue- and copy-driven, mercilessly irreverent and charmingly hilarious.

Because Mike Bond and I have been doing this for a long time, we are able to talk about ads from waaaaay back that made us laugh and wish we had created them ourselves. So much of this type of work is based on personality. You need personality to entertain and engage with people, it’s as simple as that.

None of our work could be done without finding the personality of the brand. It defines not only how it looks, but how it acts and speaks.

At North, a brand’s personality is incredibly important to us — an integral part of a process where each aspect relies on the next. None of our work could be done without finding the personality of the brand. It defines not only how it looks, but how it acts and speaks. In the olden days, brands were seen from a distance, projecting what they thought people wanted to hear down from looming billboards, kept at arm's-length in glossy print publications or beamed into the comforting glow of our living rooms. These days they are part of our lives, in the palm of our hand, on our social feeds and phones. Only when a brand lacks personality and substance does it feel invasive. The rules haven’t changed, just the medium has.?

Imagine a scene at a local pub and where your brand would fit into that social ecosystem. Would yours be the sullen, lonely bloke in the corner looking to make eye contact or awkward conversation? Or the yayed-up city boys talking over each other, hoping someone will overhear them? Maybe the cool crowd, full of indecipherable in-jokes and judgy behind-the hand comments. Perhaps the jukebox jockeys, expecting everyone to appreciate their impeccable taste in music as they air guitar and sing along. Maybe you’re the quietly confident clique, looking amazing and having a good time, or the friendly but not overly familiar barman or waitress.?Perhaps a regular and everyone knows your name but not much else about you or a raconteur who draws a crowd with engaging, apocryphal tales of bravado. The sports fans over vocalising how much they care or the foreign tourists having a great time without necessarily grasping the cultural nuances of where they are? The list goes on.

In the olden days, brands were seen from a distance, projecting what they thought people wanted to hear down from looming billboards, kept at arm's-length in glossy print publications or beamed into the comforting glow of our living rooms. These days they are part of our lives, in the palm of our hand, on our social feeds and phones.

Whichever you are, there are positives and negatives in all of these scenarios and they are all based on personality. At North, we generally get?brands down to three differing and complementary personality types. Any more than three and it can be overkill. Much like some humans,?the good news is brands can evolve and adapt their personalities. They can change. This is the fascinating part of branding in the modern age — whether it's for a startup, an established brand undergoing a personality makeover, or a campaign that needs to exude its personality for a specific purpose.

There are so many brands with huge potential that just don’t know how to act in certain environments. Their personalities are not defined or — even worse — are scattered and trying to please everyone. Brands should relish the fact that they needn’t be crowd-pleasers and keep everyone happy.

Now, imagine for a minute your personality type was, say, exuberant. An exuberant type is very different if they’re at a braai (South African for barbeque), a black-tie event, a Maserati launch, family dinner, or kid's birthday party. The personality doesn’t change, it adapts. This is where North likes to operate: within the intersection between what your brand stands for, its personality, and the circumstance in which it is expressing itself.

This may seem mandatory or even trivial, but when you look around there are so many brands with huge potential that just don’t know how to act in certain environments. Their personalities are not defined or — even worse — are scattered and trying to please everyone. Brands should relish the fact that they needn’t be crowd-pleasers and keep everyone happy.

Find your personality and you’ll find your people, as long as you’re genuine and unapologetic.