The Power of Character

Everyone has their favorite. Some love the hero; some are drawn to the villain. As a closet Star Wars fan this is one of the reasons I love the world Lucas created so much. Darth Vader is one of the best characters ever created. When you first meet him he is just the picture of “Bad Guy.” He is all black, huge, wearing a mask that makes him look like an actual demon. But as the story is built out starting with one of the most famous movie surprises in history like “I am your Father,” you start to discover that that villain has way more complexity. 

I won’t bore you with the rest of the Anakin to Vader story but the more you learn about him the more you can understand why he is the way he is. You can also start to understand how he will act and respond in specific situations. Vader tossing the emperor down the pit is exactly what he was going to do if you knew his whole story. Family is everything to him. 

I went to the Odyssey this weekend. It was a master class in character. In the short 3 hours, (and yes it felt that way) you get to see the depth of character development of the whole cast. Of course Odysseus is built on one thing. 

Getting home… even if it takes everything and decades. Every decision he made was based on that goal. Even as the story and the journey got more complicated he always had that goal. It might have taken decades but he never wavered. As an audience, we never have to guess his next move because we know his character.

Brands are no different. 

Brands, whether they be a product or a person all have a character. Not all brands are the hero, but they have a personality that makes them special. Most brands take that for granted. They follow trends and tactics that everyone else is doing but it doesn’t make sense for their character. This just adds to the mountain of marketing that we see everyday. However, if you can stay true to yourself and your true character to cut through. 

The brands that cut through are the ones that aren't afraid to be themselves.

Look at REI. At the peak of the Black Friday retail craze, they closed their doors and told everyone to go outside. It was a genius campaign, but it only worked because it was perfectly aligned with their character. Or  Chick-fil-A, they protect their character with everything they have. Everyone knows they aren't open on Sundays. That isn’t a policy; it’s who they are.

You can use that unique personality to simplify your message and make your brand feel human and authentic.

Instead of your brand struggling on “What to say?” The question should be “Would our character do or say that?” 

Using a basic value system and specific characteristics makes your life so much simpler. It gives the whole team a filter for making decisions and providing feedback.

If you want help building your brand’s character, I can help. I offer a 90-minute workshop that builds your character from scratch using a popular RPG-style builder, giving you the actual stats and numbers to make your brand identity easy to understand and implement.