Brand Attributes: How Does the Brand Present Itself?
![Brand Attributes: How Does the Brand Present Itself?](/content/images/size/w960/2021/03/brand_attributes.jpg)
What do you think of when you hear the name Steve Jobs?
- Black turtle neck; round glasses; jeans; New Balance sneakers
- Great speaker; reality distortion field; laser focus
The first bullet point covers physical attributes.
The second bullet point covers personality traits.
![](https://www.artlapinsch.com/content/images/2021/03/image-3.png)
Steve Jobs built these associations through consistency. Over and over wearing the same uniform and behaving in a consistent way.
This is how brand attributes are anchored in the customer's mind.
It is no different with brands.
Brand Attributes: Depends on Brand
What should my brand attributes include?
It depends.
Brands with a physical product need significantly different brand attributes than brands with digital products.
To start ask yourself the following questions:
- What is my product/service/brand?
- Through which touchpoints are my customers interacting with the product/service/brand?
A good example is Mailchimp.
Mailchimp: Digital Product with Focus on Writing
Mailchimp is a marketing platform for small businesses.
Their first product was an email newsletter software. The goal: give small businesses an easy way to communicate with their customers in writing.
Writing is the name of the game.
Mailchimp has put together a Content Style Guide, which outlines the most important aspects of their brand.
The guide outlines the different brand attributes:
- Physical attributes: Grammar and Mechanics; Creating Structured Content; etc.
- Personality traits: Voice and Tone; Writing Goals and Principles; etc.
For Mailchimp writing is the main touchpoint.
That's why their brand attributes focus heavily on all aspects of the written word.
Bottomline: Brand Attributes Should Focus on the Main Touchpoints
Brand attributes are physical attributes and personality traits.
If a brand remains consistent, these attributes become associations in the customer's mind.
First, understand how your brand interacts with the customer.
Then, choose wisely and remain consistent.
🎨
This post is an excerpt from my online course Fundamentals of Brand Strategy where you learn how to build successful brands.
The self-paced online course contains 5 hours of video material and teaches you how to use the Brand Pyramid.
![](https://www.artlapinsch.com/content/images/2021/03/image-1.png)
You can hit me up on twitter. DMs are open.
Further Reading
- The Brand Identity Prism and How It Works (How Brands Are Built) - One of the most comprehensive frameworks for brand attribute generation.
- The Brand Identity Prism: What It Is and How to Use It (99designs)
Short Excerpts from the Course
These posts are short snippets of the course curriculum 👇
- A Pragmatic Look at Branding: What Is a Brand?
- Touchpoints and Brand Strategy: How do We Build Associations?
- Positioning and Differentiation: How to Stand Out as a Brand?
- Brand Vision: What Is the World That Could Be?
- Brand Purpose: Why Bother?
- Brand Promise: How to Communicate in One Statement?
- Mission Statement: How Do You Do It?
- Brand Attributes: How Does the Brand Present Itself?
- Frame of Reference: Where Is the Brand Placed?
- Target Customer: Who Is Your Audience?
- Customer Need: What Is Their Real Job-to-be-Done?
- Value Proposition: What Are You Offering?
- Reasons-to-Believe: What Are Your Proof Points?