The Brand Personality Model of Aaker

Describe and measure the "personality" of a brand. Explanation of Brand Personality Dimensions

The Brand Personality Dimensions of Jennifer Aaker (Journal of Marketing Research, 8/97, pp. 347-356) is a framework to describe and measure the 'personality" of a brand in five core dimensions, each divided into a set of facets.

It is a model to describe the profile of a brand by using an analogy with a human being.

The five core dimensions and their facets

These are: Jennifer Aaker Brand Personality Dimensions

Sincerity (down-to-earth, honest, wholesome, cheerful)
Excitement (daring, spirited, imaginative, up-to-date)
Competence (reliable, intelligent, successful)
Sophistication (upper class, charming)
Ruggedness (outdoorsy, tough)

Each facet is in turn measured by a set of traits. The trait measurements are done using a five point scale (1 = not at all descriptive, 5 = extremely descriptive) rating the extent to which each trait describes the specific brand.

An explanation of The traits belonging to each of the facets

These traits are:

Down-to-earth = down-to-earth, family-oriented, small-town
Honest = honest, sincere, real
Wholesome = wholesome, original
Cheerful = cheerful, sentimental, friendly
Daring = daring, trendy, exciting
Spirited = spirited, cool, young
Imaginative = imaginative, unique
Up to date = up to date, independent, contemporary
Reliable = reliable, hard working, secure
Intelligent = intelligent, technical, corporate
Successful = successful, leader, confident
Upper class = upper class, glamorous, good looking
Charming = charming, feminine, smooth
Outdoorsy = outdoorsy, masculine, Western
Tough = tough, rugged

The Brand Personality Dimensions Framework of Jennifer Aaker can be used to investigate the current status (IST) of a brand and to describe the desired future status (SOLL) of the brand.

Brand Personality Dimensions Forum (12)

Multi-attribute Theory
"I have a question regarding the linear multi-attribute theory? What is this model? What are indifference curves in terms of multi-atribute theory? How can these be plotted for any given attributes?"

Why the Branding of Mauritius Failed
"The branding exercise of Mauritius failed miserably because the dual-language slogan "Mauritius, c'est un plaisir" did not connect with the people, but exacerbated the tensions already existing at the time.
If the exercise is analysed according to Aaker's dimensions, the source of failure must have originated from the "Sincerity" dimension - there was an undisputable 'disconnection' between the people and the slogan: it was imposed by a select panel of experts, no consultation with anyone, no proper information was aired through media, all done in quasi-secrecy while the contrary would have guaranteed success."

Brand Personality - Education - Social Media Marketing
"Interesting theory, particularly for private educational institutions transitioning from more traditional marketing strategies to social media tools (in Canada, anyway).
The brand personality of a college takes on a unique colour when applicants, students and alumni enter their responses (comments, likes) to Facebook entries. This can be initially scary (what if they "don't like") however it has proven to be rewarding and energizing for our institution; indeed, a great learning experience."

Brand Personality Questionaire
"Where can I find an inventory or questionnaire on brand personality dimensions? Thanks..."

Corporate Brand Personality of Banks
"Can we apply the same model to measure corporate brand personality of banks? Or else, what is best model to measure corporate brand personality."

Destination Personality
"I am applying the personality dimension to destination brands. Has anyone done this before? I am doubting which model is more applicable (Aaker or McCray & Costa with their big five personality traits) because Aaker only describes positive traits, no negative ones, while this is possible as well. And the big five does. Any advice?"

Brand Personality for Recruitment
"Has anyone tried to utlize this model for determining an organization's personality traits for the purpose of employment recruitment attraction?"

Using Brand Personality Dimensions Model for Goal Setting
"This is a good model and I would like to use this to set goals for my department and individual staff members. We need to improve our credibility & image internally in our hospital organization. Has anyone tried this?"

Election Campaign Marketing
"In developed countries this concept exists from long time. Can this business model work in India as well? To design a marketing plan for political parties for elections is important because positioning is the only sales pitch they have on which they can win."

Employment Branding Survey
"I would like to do a survey on Employment Branding. Is it possible to suggest me on how to go about?"

Multiple Brand Dimensions
"I believe Professors Berthon, Holbrook, Hulbert and Pitt rightly say in MIT SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEW Vol 48 that perceptions of a brand can change dramatically over time, and differ from one social or cultural setting to another. They suggest a "Brand Manifold", a matrix that shows that the meaning of a brand varies over time (past-future) and according to a multiplicity of constituencies (internal-external)."