Through the annals of advertising history, the gospel of brand building has been written around a single capital letter: P.
The classical four P’s of price, product, place, and promotion were drilled into marketing minds in college. The major brand totem, P for positioning, is where companies spent millions defining razor-thin functional benefits, establishing category ladders, and staking claim to owned territory in the consumer’s mind. The last decade’s reverence has been for the all-guiding P for purpose, where brands raced to solve global crises, writing manifesto after manifesto, making very similar-looking ads to save the world (and sell products).
Now, the pendulum has swung again. While some would argue that positioning could feel cold and analytical, and purpose maybe grew lofty and detached, the new imperative for business growth is infinitely more human. This might arguably be at a time when consumers want something more human and real.
ENTER THE ERA OF PERSONALITY.
Personality is the new fuel for supercharging commercial growth. It is no longer enough for a brand to stand for an ideal or a functional benefit; it has to show up as a living, breathing entity with a voice, a soul, a vibe, and a belief system. Needing a distinct perspective on the world and attitude that consumers can feel part of, co-create with, and ultimately believe in, is key.
Adzooma research suggests that 57.5% of consumers buy brands with strong, distinct personalities. Meanwhile, according to the Future Proof report from The Daily Aus, only one in five feel positively about a brand when it relies solely on describing itself as “purpose-driven.” With information overload in this attention economy, and perhaps if we dare say it, as a small rally against AI, we are seeing consumers gravitating towards brands that make them feel something real. And this shift is creating commercial velocity for those brands that are determining how to win in this moment.
Duolingo transformed its green owl mascot from a simple app icon into a slightly unhinged, self-aware cultural icon with a living and breathing point of view in the world. It scaled fandom, deep commercial impact, and drove 1.7 billion views.
And e.l.f. Beauty delivered 30 consecutive quarters of business growth by being a bold disrupter with a kind heart. Its product and personality ecosystem goes hand in hand, allowing its community to feel, live, and be the DNA of its brand.
Poppi unleashed a personality that shaped a new category with a distinctive and fresh POV, provoking a $1.95 billion acquisition by Pepsi while getting over 1 billion views on TikTok on the journey.
Liquid Death, one could argue, was the early creator of this movement. It brought personality to water with a living content machine that unleashed who they were in the world, stimulating a 6-year CAGR of 122% since its 2019 launch.
So how do brands develop a new weapon beyond expected corporate tone guidelines and build a personality and world that is rich, deep, and drives growth?
It starts by rethinking how personality operates.
4 PILLARS OF BRAND PERSONALITY
To build a personality that flexes and wins across a community-led world, brands must become the masters of four fundamentals:
1. How you speak (voice and fluidity): Stop trapping your brand inside rigid, 50-page tonal guidelines. In a fast-moving culture, your voice needs to flex. It’s about codifying the rhythms and rules of how your brand talks so that it retains unmistakable recognition whether responding in a social media comment or running a Super Bowl ad.
2. How you look (visual identity): We live in a visually driven culture where brand lust is dictated by design. Craft a signature look, and be clear on your distinctive brand assets, but be fluid with it. You can play and flex how you show up for different audiences while still always looking and feeling like yourself.
3. How you feel (vibe and energy): Define the energy your brand brings to the room. Brands that possess a clear “vibe” can react, improvise, and play in real time alongside their communities, and become magnetic to the consumers they want to attract.
4. How you act (real-world behavior): Personality is proven through action, not empty claims. When a brand uses its core belief system to do bold, unexpected things in the real world, it turns passive consumers into passionate advocates. This is where personality breathes life back into purpose.
BE A CATALYST
If you can unlock the awesomeness of your brand, the final shift you need to make is changing how you behave as a brand leader. Unleash a new personality within yourself.
For decades, marketing leadership was defined by brand guardianship. Leaders were trained to protect the brand identity, enforce rigid guidelines, and shield the company from risk.
But in a world driven by fast-moving communities, creator economies, and real-time culture, protection is passive. Guardians end up building polished, potentially lifeless museum artifacts that can trigger a brand’s demise.
To succeed today, leaders must shift from being guardians to being catalysts.
A catalyst doesn’t lock the brand in a vault. A catalyst ignites the brand’s personality, empowering teams and communities to play with it, flex it, and bring energy, empathy, and humanity to everything it touches. They live, breathe, and become the brand.
So stop playing it safe, be comfortable in the chaos, and embrace the fluidity of what can help you win. Find your authentic voice. Rise above the sea of sameness. Unleash uniqueness. Let your brand’s personality lead the way to fuel your next phase of growth.
Chris Kay is the international CEO of 72andSunny.