Brand Personality via Five Dimensions
Spike in two of five personality dimensions, then write five 'we are X but not Y' attributes with built-in tension
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 93%
A fast (~one hour) method to define a brand's personality, which then informs visual design and written copy. You treat the brand as a person, pick the two of five academic personality dimensions it spikes in, then write five attributes each phrased 'we are X but not Y' where Y is X taken too far — creating the tension that makes a brand interesting.
Origin
Built on Jennifer Aaker's academic research segmenting top brands into five personality dimensions. Jackson adds the 'we are X but not Y' star-of-five-attributes layer.
Core principles
- 01Brands are like people, so they need a personality
- 02Strong brands spike in two of the five dimensions
- 03Brands need tension to be interesting — pure agreement between attributes says nothing
- 04Most tech companies default to sincere + competent, which is boring; deliberately differentiate
- 05Personality drives tone of voice, illustration, and photography style
How to run it
- 1
Place yourself between two archetype extremes
Use a reference spectrum — e.g. Mountain Dew (rugged, exciting, edgy) versus Rolex (sophisticated, competent, aspirational) — and ask where your brand sits.
- 2
Pick the two dimensions you spike in
From Aaker's five — sincerity (down-to-earth, honest), excitement (spirited), competence (reliable, intelligent), sophistication (charming, upper-class), ruggedness (outdoorsy, tough) — choose the two your brand spikes in.
Pro tip Deduce any admired brand's two dimensions as practice (Amazon = sincere + competent; Apple = sophisticated + competent).
Watch out Don't just default to sincere + competent like most tech companies — it produces a boring, undifferentiated brand.
- 3
Write five 'we are X but not Y' attributes
Define five attributes as a star, each phrased 'we are X but not Y', where Y is X taken too far. Example: 'we are playful but not silly' (Google) or 'we are daring but not stupid' (Mountain Dew).
Pro tip Pair traits with tension — 'savvy but also approachable' is interesting because experts usually aren't approachable.
Watch out Listing synonyms ('helpful, nice, approachable, competent, reliable') tells the reader nothing — you've used five words to say two things.
- 4
Feed it into the creative brief
Combine personality with purpose and positioning into a creative brief (with visual/written inspiration and counter-examples) handed to agencies, writers, new-hire onboarding, and co-branding partners.
Pro tip Revisit the brief when launching a new product to check whether it fits who you are or needs updating.
In the wild
Mountain Dew's marketing spikes rugged + exciting (edgy, fast, teen), while Rolex spikes sophisticated + competent (fancy, aspirational, a little British). The two brands sit at opposite ends of the personality spectrum.
→ A concrete reference frame that lets any brand locate its own two spiking dimensions.
A security company sent a summer email ('make summer safer and more fun') with a TikTok-style 'ADP is my MVP' gif, forcing a fun personality onto a serious security brand.
→ It felt awkward and tried-too-hard — a personality mismatch; better copy would be 'feel safe when you're on your summer trip'.
Common mistakes
Defaulting to sincere + competent
Most tech companies land on the same two dimensions, producing an indistinguishable, boring brand; deliberately pick a differentiating pair.
Writing attributes with no tension
Five synonymous adjectives convey almost nothing; each attribute needs a 'but not Y' opposing edge so the brand becomes interesting and specific.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders who have purpose and positioning done and need to define voice and visual identity quickly
Not ideal for
A brand whose personality is already vivid and consistently expressed across channels
From the transcript
“brands are like people and if you start thinking of your brand more like a person it's quite obvious that it needs a personality”
“all brands can be segmented into five dimensions of brand personality and that really strong brand spike in two of the five”
“sincerity excitement competence sophistication and ruggedness”
“brands need tension to be interesting”
“you want to write them as statements that say like we are x but not y where y is taking x too far”
“google is playful but not silly”
From the episode
The art of building legendary brands | Arielle Jackson (Google, Square, Marketer in Residence at First Round Capital)
Arielle Jackson (Google, Square, Marketer in Residence at Fi