Capítulo 1
When Brands Find Their Soul: The Power of Authentic Connection
In 2005, Apple slipped a curious line into their iPod Shuffle instruction manual: "Do Not Eat iPod." This seemingly absurd warning sparked online debates and media attention. Was it a joke? A legal requirement? Whatever Apple's intention, this small touch of personality transformed a standard product manual into a conversation piece, demonstrating how personality can elevate products from mere commodities to cultural phenomena.
"Personality Not Included" by Rohit Bhargava has become a marketing classic since its 2008 publication, with industry leaders like Timothy Ferriss and Guy Kawasaki praising its practical approach to brand authenticity. The book arrived at a pivotal moment when social media was transforming business-consumer relationships, making it a foundational text for the modern marketing era. Unlike theoretical marketing books, Bhargava's work draws from his extensive experience with major brands at Ogilvy PR, offering over 100 real-world examples of personality-driven success stories. The book's enduring influence stems from its core insight: in an age of information abundance, personality is the critical differentiator that transforms good products into beloved brands.
Capítulo 2
The Death of Facelessness: Why Corporate Anonymity No Longer Works
The era of faceless corporations is over. Once, businesses could thrive behind corporate facades, relying on layers of professional distance to inspire consumer trust. Companies deliberately cultivated facelessness because it offered distinct advantages: multiple layers inspired consumer confidence, advertising could define identity without revealing internal workings, consistency was valued over individuality, and risk management prioritized control over authentic expression.
But in today's social media landscape, corporate anonymity has become a liability. When Spirit Airlines' CEO accidentally shared an email showing contempt for customers, it spread virally online. When Comcast technicians fall asleep on customers' couches, the videos circulate globally within hours. The protective shield of facelessness has been shattered by smartphones and social networks that expose every corporate misstep.
The psychology behind this shift is revealing: people find it easier to attack faceless entities than real individuals. Just as patients rarely sue doctors they personally like (regardless of mistakes), customers are less likely to attack companies that establish authentic connections. In faceless organizations, employees can justify poor treatment by claiming they're "just doing their job" - a defense that crumbles when genuine human relationships exist.
Organizations typically lose their personality through three mechanisms: being ordinary yet profitable, focusing on policies rather than logic, and silencing employees. Consider Kmart versus Target - both discount retailers, but while Kmart remained ordinary and eventually failed, Target created a distinctive "upscale discounter" personality emphasizing design and style. Airlines enforce nonsensical policies that frustrate customers because they're more concerned with appearing professional than establishing authentic connections. And the ubiquitous "employee silencing policy" prevents passionate staff from becoming natural brand ambassadors, despite the fact that employees already represent the brand in their personal interactions.
Even Starbucks, a brand built on personality, has struggled to maintain it through massive growth. Howard Schultz recognized as early as 1999 that customers were beginning to view Starbucks as "corporate, predictable, inaccessible or irrelevant." In a leaked 2007 email, he lamented business decisions that led to "watering down of the Starbucks experience" - like replacing manual espresso machines with automatic ones and no longer roasting coffee in-store.
The solution isn't complex, but it requires a fundamental shift in perspective: treat current customers and employees as an army of individuals who believe in your message and have tools to share it. Smart marketers don't surrender control entirely - they share control while maintaining their authentic voice. BzzAgent exemplifies this approach, encouraging employees to blog and share thoughts with the outside world, maintaining an Artist-in-Residence who creates visual expressions of company culture, and fostering authentic relationships with their network through real people like "Jono" - who customers are surprised to discover is an actual person.
Capítulo 3
The Rise of Accidental Spokespeople: When Your Brand Speaks Without Permission
Microsoft's transformation from being viewed as "evil" to becoming more acceptable wasn't through policy changes or marketing campaigns. It happened through the rise of "accidental spokespeople" - employees like bloggers Joshua Allen and Robert Scoble who humanized the brand by communicating honestly with customers.
These accidental spokespeople aren't delivering official marketing messages, but they're closely linked to brands they discuss. They include bloggers like Hacking Netflix and The Unofficial Apple Weblog, Wikipedia contributors, forum members, social network users recommending products, and employees sharing their experiences. The key isn't surrendering control but finding ways for deliberate and accidental spokespeople to coexist.
Consider Moleskine notebooks. In 2004, passionate customer Armand Frasco started the Moleskinerie blog and became so influential that he was consulted during distribution negotiations. Moleskine eventually acquired his blog, making him an official spokesperson while maintaining his authentic voice. His second blog about notebooks generally, Notebookism, further established his authority while indirectly supporting Moleskine.
Boeing's corporate blog evolved from a niche project into a trusted voice with nearly one million visits in three years. When Randy Baseler, Boeing's VP of Marketing, responded to Airbus's claim that their A320 cabin was "7 inches wider than the 737," he didn't speak as a corporate executive but as a frequent flyer who had experienced both planes, explaining that the difference was minimal at passenger level (just "the width of a pencil"). The blog became Boeing's most effective communication channel precisely because it wasn't standard corporate messaging but a genuine human voice.
Even Intel, despite its size (90,000+ employees) and historically paranoid corporate culture, has transformed its communication approach through internal accidental spokespeople. Josh Bancroft, a self-described "Social Technology Geek and Software Storyteller" who once "liveblogged" his child's birth, represents how Intel evolved from having no blogs or social media policies to embracing dozens of authentic voices worldwide.
While many "accidental" spokespeople may seem deliberately chosen, the concept encompasses both truly unexpected voices and those who draw surprising attention despite not being official communicators. The goal isn't to maintain accidental status but to identify and embrace these voices - whether they're employees or customers. Embracing doesn't mean controlling; it means providing content, attention, and access so these authentic voices can tell compelling stories about your brand.
Capítulo 4
The UAT Filter: Finding Your Brand's True Personality
A signature isn't enough to create personality. In today's marketplace, convenience is no longer king - authenticity is. Modern consumers increasingly value genuine experiences over mere efficiency, as authors David Lewis and Darren Bridger noted in "The Soul of the New Consumer."
Consider Jiffy Lube versus Oil Can Henry's in the auto service industry. While Jiffy Lube built its business on speed and consistency, Oil Can Henry's addresses customer vulnerability directly with their tagline "The One You Can Trust." Their key insight: letting customers stay in their cars and watch mechanics work via custom TV screens showing live feeds from underneath their vehicles. By eliminating waiting rooms, offering coffee and newspapers, and explaining repairs transparently, they create an experience that fulfills emotional needs rather than just offering quick service.
Virgin exemplifies personality-driven branding under Richard Branson's "adventure capitalist" leadership. When entering the troubled U.S. airline market, Virgin America differentiated itself with innovative features like seat-to-seat chat, seatback entertainment systems, power outlets, and food ordering technology. Most importantly, they empowered staff to be genuine rather than overregulated. By partnering with popular blog Boing Boing to name planes and focusing on passenger experience, Virgin created something unique, authentic and talkable - demonstrating the key elements of brand personality.
This brings us to the UAT Filter - a framework for examining whether a brand is unique, authentic, and talkable. Unlike scientific models, this creative filter helps identify the core elements of brand personality without confusing it with marketing campaigns or product design.
True uniqueness means standing apart even within a specialty. While Mumbai's bhelpuri vendors at Chowpatty Beach all sell a famous local dish, they blend together indistinguishably. Contrast this with Harry's Cafe de Wheels in Sydney - a 50-year institution serving distinctive meat pies with mashed peas from a waterfront trailer - or Portland's Voodoo Doughnuts with their "secret recipes." These destinations don't just offer signature items; they create truly unique experiences that define their locations.
Beyond signatures or marketing stunts, there are four true methods for creating uniqueness: 1) Find uncontested space - like Nintendo's Wii or Cirque du Soleil did by creating new niches; 2) Position yourself uniquely - like towns that rebrand themselves; 3) Create a twist that sets you apart - like Fado Irish Pub importing authentic Irish materials; 4) Think outside your region - like bringing regional specialties to new locations where they'll stand out.
While authenticity has become a business buzzword, it's often confused with transparency. Transparency merely means being open about what you're doing, without evaluating whether it's right or wrong. A transparent company that doesn't listen to customers isn't authentic. True authenticity requires going beyond transparency to build genuine trust and credibility.
Building authenticity requires four key components: 1) Define a credible heritage that customers can identify with; 2) Demonstrate genuine passion and belief that cannot be faked; 3) Foster individuals rather than faceless corporate entities; 4) Have motives beyond profit - if customers feel every interaction is just a sales opportunity, trust erodes.
The final element - talkability - is what amplifies your personality. Word-of-mouth marketing doesn't have to be accidental; it can be strategically fostered. Talkability is the hook that makes someone want to share your message. Creating talkability requires three core strategies: 1) Offer something valuable and limited; 2) Have a shareable hook; 3) Get out of the way - sometimes the best strategy is letting passionate consumers drive the conversation themselves.
Capítulo 5
The Power of Backstory: Creating Emotional Connections Through Narrative
How can commodity products differentiate themselves when they're virtually identical to competitors? The banana industry illustrates this challenge - and its solutions. While Chiquita pioneered banana branding in the 1940s with Miss Chiquita, an iconic character spokesperson, Dole found a more authentic approach with its Certified Organic Banana Program. Each Dole banana features a farm code allowing consumers to learn about the specific farm that grew it, creating emotional connections between customers and real Colombian farmers.
A backstory goes beyond typical company histories or "about us" pages - it's the meaningful narrative behind an organization with real characters who overcame challenges to build success. Unlike other storytelling approaches in marketing that focus on persuasion or product benefits, a backstory's primary purpose is creating credibility.
To create authentic dialogue, marketers should study screenwriting - but avoid cliched pitfalls. A simple test: read your company's "about us" description aloud. Does it sound like natural human conversation or indecipherable corporate-speak? Brian Fugere of Deloitte Consulting addressed this problem with the "Bullfighter" tool that measures jargon and generates a "Bull Composite Index." As Fugere notes in "Why Business People Speak Like Idiots," business messages often "lack humanity in a world that craves more of it."
The TV show Lost provides a useful model for effective backstory development. The show's unique narrative structure uses flashbacks to reveal character histories, dedicating entire episodes to individual characters' pasts. This format allows viewers to bond deeply with characters by spending focused time understanding their history intertwined with present action. The backstory technique works because it provides reasons to care about characters, offers context for their actions, and creates mystery by revealing details characters themselves don't know. The ultimate goal is creating empathy - building emotional investment regardless of whether viewers like the characters.
The Backstory Arc (BArc) is the progression your backstory must follow to build emotional investment. It contains five key elements: Characters (who people must associate with), Challenge (the key question or need), Vision (the unique idea pursued), Conflict (obstacles to success), and Triumph (how they overcome challenges). Research reveals five repeating backstory types used by companies:
1. The Passionate Enthusiast Story - MOO.com addressed "printing paralysis" by creating MiniCards as an alternative to traditional business cards. Their passionate customers (the "MOOvment") collect cards, create wall-sized posters, and even sew custom "MOOPockets" to store them. Similarly, Storyville Coffee's mission is "saving the world, one cup at a time" by rescuing consumers from bad coffee, which they jokingly call "acid rain."
2. The Inspired Inventor Story - James Dyson spent five years and created over 5,000 prototypes to develop a vacuum that wouldn't lose suction. When established manufacturers rejected his technology (unwilling to lose replacement bag revenue), Dyson financed his own U.S. model. His breakthrough came through television ads featuring himself honestly discussing his hard work, making him believable and likeable.
3. The Smart Listener Story - Google exemplifies "smart listening" by rapidly launching beta products and responding to user feedback rather than spending years in closed testing. As Google Enterprise product director Matt Glotzbach explained, they "fail wisely" by putting ideas out quickly, letting users experiment, then either improving or abandoning them based on feedback.
4. The Likeable Hero Story - Kiva.org president Premal Shah represents this archetype through the site's revolutionary approach to microfinance. Unlike traditional aid models plagued by corruption, Kiva enables individuals to loan small amounts directly to entrepreneurs in developing countries. The critical distinction is that these are loans, not donations - preserving recipients' pride through empowerment rather than charity.
5. The Little Guy versus Big Guy Story - In 1996, Kevin Plank launched Under Armour by selling athletic sportswear from his Ford Explorer at college football games. As a former University of Maryland athlete, Plank leveraged his connections to get players wearing his distinctive moisture-wicking undershirts. Despite Nike and other giants quickly launching competing products, Under Armour thrived by telling a compelling underdog story.
Capítulo 6
Overcoming Organizational Resistance: Breaking Through the Fear Barrier
Organizations resist embracing personality because it requires them to: embrace accidental spokespeople, share control with customers, abandon brainless policies and corporate language, and become more transparent. The underlying emotion behind this resistance is fear, which permeates our media culture through alarming news and advertising.
The four key barriers preventing organizations from developing personality are: Success (satisfaction with current results), Uncertainty (fear of unknown outcomes), Tradition (resistance to changing established methods), and Precedent (reluctance to pioneer new approaches).
The success barrier is particularly dangerous because it breeds complacency and blindness to competitive threats. In 1993, DC Comics killed Superman as a publicity stunt to revive sagging sales. Though it generated temporary international press, when consumers discovered Superman wasn't really dead, they felt tricked, contributing to an industry decline that reduced comic sales by 80% from their 1992 peak. Meanwhile, Manga - Japanese graphic novels featuring ordinary people in extraordinary situations - has grown into a $200-million business in America by appealing to a broader audience with its flowing design and serialized storytelling about real people evolving through heroic circumstances.
The uncertainty barrier paralyzes companies afraid of the unknown, like children fearing monsters in the closet. The solution is reframing the question - ask not what will happen if you act, but what will happen if you don't. Dell transformed from "worst to first" after facing intense criticism through "Dell hell" in 2005 when blogger Jeff Jarvis exposed their poor customer service. Dell's turnaround came from actively engaging with customers - launching the Direct2Dell blog where real employees respond to frustrations, bringing back Michael Dell, and creating IdeaStorm for customer collaboration.
The tradition barrier manifests in workplaces that pressure employees to maintain the status quo. While tradition belongs in weddings, holidays and sports, in business it often signals outdated values and resistance to change. Yet even the most traditional organizations can evolve. Librarians like David Lee King and Jenny Levine are reinventing one of the world's most traditional institutions through the Library 2.0 movement. Despite predictions that libraries would be rendered obsolete by the internet, these tech-savvy librarians are blogging, using social media, and creating "shifted libraries" that make information portable and accessible.
The precedent barrier manifests when organizations constantly ask "Who has tried this before?" like lawyers who must base arguments on previous court rulings. When businesses focus too much on precedent, they fall into copycat marketing - adopting competitors' techniques without strategic thought. Rather than blindly following precedent, smart businesses should study competitors but find their own unique twist on proven strategies.
To successfully inject personality into your organization, you need a methodical approach: First, paint a background of action using case studies and stories to demonstrate precedent. Second, establish an imperative to act now by highlighting competitive threats or industry shifts. Third, provide bite-sized ways to start rather than overwhelming goals. Finally, share credit widely to ensure buy-in and ownership.
Capítulo 7
Personality Moments: Making Every Customer Interaction Count
Like the poignant 55-word story "Like Two Ships" about a brief elevator encounter between a blind woman and disfigured man, businesses have powerful moments that often pass unnoticed while focusing on sales and profits. These "personality moments" are pivotal opportunities to build deeper customer relationships.
Personality moments are small but significant triggers when you have the chance to build or potentially lose customer relationships. Unlike the big elements of brand personality discussed earlier, these are the dozens of small occurrences during customer interactions both before and after a sale.
A personality moment occurs whenever you have a customer's attention - during research, purchase, unboxing, or reading about your product online. In today's attention economy, brands that dominate are those that capture attention longest, though most companies view attention as something to be chased rather than thoughtfully engaged with.
Every attention-getting technique falls into three categories: shock, sex, or relevance. While shock and sex are commonly used (from PETA's naked celebrity ads to Volkswagen's jarring safety commercials), the most successful campaigns merge these with relevance. Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty exemplifies this by combining attractive imagery with meaningful messaging about body image. Without relevance, marketing merely entertains without benefiting the brand.
Herbert Simon noted that "A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention." We've become more selective with our attention, not necessarily having less to give. Looking at the buying cycle (research, purchase, experience, share), most marketing dollars target only the research phase, while the other three phases are largely neglected.
This happens because different phases are typically handled by different departments (fulfillment, customer service, tech support). This siloed approach creates a paradox where the moments when customers have already chosen to interact with you - during purchase, first use, and sharing feedback - are often wasted opportunities for demonstrating personality.
We need to move beyond the militaristic approach to marketing where consumers are "targets" to be "captured." This endless chase for attention leads to gimmicks like pizza chains constantly reinventing their products with unnecessary innovations. Instead, brands should focus on the moments they already have customer attention - during delivery, consumption, and reordering - rather than just competing for initial consideration.
Sister Hazel exemplifies personality moment mastery through their relationship with fans (nicknamed "Hazelnuts"). Their most memorable gesture was bringing pizza and playing music for fans waiting in the cold outside venues. This simple act of appreciation became their most retold story, demonstrating how personality shines through in unexpected moments of connection.
ING Direct transformed banking by embracing personality in an industry known for its lack thereof. CEO Arkadi Kuhlmann positioned the company as making "savings cool" rather than as a traditional bank. Through sponsoring free transit days, marathons, and creating cafe-style physical locations instead of typical branches, ING demonstrates its irreverent, friendly personality at every touchpoint.
Personality Hotels in San Francisco exemplifies this trend with six properties around Union Square, each with its own unique identity. Their most talked-about personality moment is the "Picasso Comment Card" that lets guests customize a stick figure while providing feedback - transforming a typically ignored touchpoint into a memorable, shareable experience.
Beyond the four phases of the buying cycle lies a fifth phase - indifference - where consumers simply don't care about your product. This represents the greatest challenge for marketers. Traditional interruptive marketing fails here, requiring brands to find creative ways to engage the uninterested. Blendtec's viral "Will it blend?" YouTube videos exemplify success in this space, creating interest and need among viewers who hadn't previously considered purchasing a blender by demonstrating the product's power through blending unusual items like iPhones.
Capítulo 8
Practical Techniques for Infusing Personality Into Your Brand
Moving from theory to practice, Bhargava offers ten actionable marketing techniques to develop personality within organizations:
1. Curiosity Marketing uses mystery and human inquisitiveness to engage people with your brand. Unlike deceptive tactics, it leverages our natural curiosity to encourage meaningful brand engagement. PostSecret exemplifies this by publishing anonymous secrets on postcards, creating a voyeuristic experience that builds community engagement.
2. Karmic Marketing involves doing something good for customers without expecting direct returns, trusting that positive actions will benefit your brand eventually. Zappos exemplifies this approach - when a customer needed to return shoes after her mother died, they arranged pickup, processed the refund, and sent flowers, generating significant positive word-of-mouth.
3. Participation Marketing means joining existing customer conversations rather than creating new ones. Like joining a soccer game respectfully, brands should participate in communities authentically. Dell empowers employees to read and respond to online mentions, participating in conversations across the web rather than just on their own platforms.
4. Un-Whatever Marketing defines your product or service by what you're not rather than what you are. Virgin exemplifies this approach by breaking conventions in staid industries, whether credit cards, airlines, sodas, or wedding dresses. Richard Branson entered the airline industry after a subpar experience, believing he could do better.
5. Sensory Marketing extends beyond sight and sound to engage smell, touch, and taste. Ford demonstrated this by focusing on the "vaultlike" sound their car doors make to convey safety and quality. The book "Hoopla" used a sandpaper cover to reflect its unconventional personality.
6. Antimarketer Marketing positions you alongside your customers in opposition to annoying, interruptive marketing. The Axe brand exemplifies this approach by making fun of its own marketing while still promoting its products. NBC's 30Rock integrates product placements in such an over-the-top way that actors sometimes look at the camera afterward and ask if they can get paid.
7. Fallibility Marketing transforms mistakes into opportunities to build stronger customer relationships. Many Web 2.0 sites exemplify this by replacing generic 404 error pages with personable messages - like Digg.com showing favorite alternative sites when their service is down.
8. Insider Marketing creates a VIP feeling for customers by offering exclusive access or information not widely available. Google's invitation-only Gmail launch created such demand people paid hundreds on eBay for invites, while Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas offers a "Gambler's Special" secret menu item.
9. Useful Marketing focuses on creating valuable content that helps customers rather than just selling products. Weber Grills exemplifies this approach through their "Weber Nation" community and extensive grilling education materials that complement their products.
10. Incidental Marketing leverages seemingly peripheral aspects of your brand to create distinctive connections. This technique works by using unique incidental points that are authentic and naturally talkable.
Capítulo 9
The Authentic Brand Revolution: Why Personality Matters More Than Ever
In today's hyper-connected world, the brands that thrive aren't necessarily those with the biggest budgets or most innovative products - they're the ones that successfully infuse authentic personality into every aspect of their business. From Apple's playful product manuals to Zappos' legendary customer service, the most successful companies understand that personality isn't just a marketing tactic - it's a fundamental business strategy.
The shift toward personality-driven brands reflects deeper societal changes. As consumers gain unprecedented access to information and platforms to share their experiences, they increasingly seek authentic connections with the companies they support. The faceless corporation model that dominated 20th-century business has given way to organizations that embrace transparency, demonstrate genuine values, and empower both employees and customers to become brand ambassadors.
What makes this approach so powerful is that personality cannot be easily replicated. While competitors can copy your products, pricing strategies, or marketing campaigns, they cannot duplicate the unique combination of characters, stories, and experiences that define your brand's authentic personality. This creates a sustainable competitive advantage that transcends traditional business metrics.
The organizations that will thrive in the coming decades will be those that recognize personality as their most valuable asset - one that must be carefully cultivated, consistently expressed, and genuinely lived throughout the organization. Whether you're a multinational corporation or a local small business, the principles remain the same: be unique, be authentic, be talkable, and most importantly, be human.
As we navigate an increasingly automated world, the brands that maintain their humanity - embracing their quirks, acknowledging their mistakes, and celebrating their distinctive character - will forge the emotional connections that transform customers into passionate advocates. In the end, personality isn't just included - it's essential.
