In recent times, the leap in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought about a significant shift in content production. Corporate leadership and brand strategy teams face a unique challenge: ensuring their AI-driven content does not compromise the brand’s unique voice and identity.
Brand strategy teams must train their AI tools to mimic the brand’s voice accurately, balancing automation with human creativity to produce engaging content. AI should not lead to a mechanical production line but augment human creativity and productivity.
Constant monitoring of AI-generated content’s impact on audience interaction and feedback is crucial. AI should lead to better understanding customer behavior, increasing the brand’s potential to captivate their target audience.
Understanding the brand’s character is fundamental in this process. Brands need a ‘personality’, defined by asking critical questions like “If your brand were a person, how would you describe its personality?” or “What values would your brand stand for?”. These questions help articulate the brand’s persona. This persona then influences all marketing communications.
Understanding your target audience is as important as defining your brand’s persona. This involves knowing the demographics, lifestyle, preferences, and pain points of the consumers.
A well-defined brand character and understanding of your audience lead to an authentic narrative that communicates the brand’s purpose.
Balancing AI and human touch in brand strategy
This narrative must be consistent across all platforms. Regular brand audits are essential for maintaining brand authenticity.
Various methods help guide teams through this self-reflection process. Using Brand Archetypes based on Carl Jung’s theory, conducting workshops with various company departments, performing a SWOT analysis, and garnering customer feedback are useful steps.
The Five-Dimensional Brand Personality Model by Stanford professor Jennifer Aaker is another helpful tool. This model outlines a brand’s character using Competence, Ruggedness, Excitement, Sincerity, and Sophistication.
Sally Hogshead’s Fascination Advantage System, focusing on making a brand captivating and persuasive, is a contrast to Jung’s approach. Hogshead encourages brands to create an irresistible allure by harnessing their unique advantages.
Understanding branding is just the beginning. Brands must then implement their character across all media channels, maintaining a consistent voice and style. Monitoring the audience’s response to the brand’s character across different mediums is crucial. The key lies in observing, learning, and adapting; in staying authentic, building trust, and fostering strong relationships with the audience.
In essence, the defining and implementing of the brand’s character should be done with regular evaluation, ensuring the brand not only stands out but remains relevant and engaging to its audience.
