The sincere brand personality is one of the five dimensions of brand personality developed by Jennifer Aaker. This framework helps clarify the voice, tone, and presence of a brand to its customers – and is enormously helpful when it comes to marketing and positioning a product or service!
In this guide, we’ll talk about the brand personality of sincerity, the key personality traits it has, and some well-known examples of sincere brands out in the world.
Let’s dive in!
Sincere Brand Personality Traits
The sincere brand personality has four key traits associated with it in the 5 Dimensions of Brand Personality Framework. These traits include being down-to-earth, honest, wholesome, and cheerful. Sincere brands are usually responsible, committed to their customers, give a feeling of caring, and are geared towards family and/or home.
Brands that focus on ethics, sustainability, and transparency are most likely sincere as well!
An In-Depth Example of a Sincerity Brand: Patagonia
Now, let’s look at an example of a sincerity brand up close, to get an idea of how a brand with this personality embodies it throughout their marketing strategy, positioning and initiatives.
Patagonia, a popular hiking and outdoor recreation company embody a ton of the traits mentioned here. Patagonia is responsible, committed to ethics and sustainability, and comes across as down-to-earth and honest.
In particular, Patagonia’s sincerity speaks to the outdoor enthusiasts who care about the environment, which makes up the bulk of their audience.
Here’s where their sincere brand personality really shines:
Mission Statement
Patagonia’s mission statement is honest and impactful – “We’re in business to save our home planet.”
The company’s mission statement calls out that earth is under the threat of extinction, and Patagonia intends to use the resources they have – business, investments, voice, and imagination – to do something about it.
It’s easy to see where the personality traits of honesty, responsibility, and ethics tie into the reason for Patagonia’s business model and how and what it provides to its customers.
One key learning about brand personality is not that it’s because that’s who your brand decided to be that day, but because you’ve built your brand around your audience and what they care about most. In Patagonia’s case – the planet and climate change.
Company Core Values
Patagonia has four core company values: Build the best product, Cause no unnecessary harm, use business to protect nature, and not bound by convention.
Footprint Reports
Patagonia is making progress towards reducing their impact on the environment and shares with customers how they’re accomplishing this. From environmental responsibility, social responsibility, to where and who the company does business with so consumers know how the clothes are made.
Patagonia also shares out the progress they have made as a company regularly to support their efforts and remain transparent and accountable to customers.
Marketing Strategy and Campaigns
Patagonia’s sincerity as a brand is also reflected in their marketing campaigns. In 2021’s Holiday season, they launched the “Give a Damn” campaign – a multi-level educational and marketing initiative to encourage customers to give gifts to loved ones in line with the company ethos of doing business to help the planet.
These are just some of the ways that Patagonia displays their honest, down-to-earth, and responsible approach to branding and business. There are many more examples throughout their website, social media, and marketing campaigns.
And, there are many more examples of sincere brands in the wild! In the next section, we’ll list some more popular examples to help give you sincere branding inspiration!
Sincere Brand Personality Examples
1. Disney
Disney is one of the most well-known sincere brand personalities out there. With traits like decency, caring, cheerful, and being family-oriented, Disney aims to entertain and inspire the people of the world with its many product lines and entertainment.
2. Hallmark
Hallmark is another great example, embodying the trait of caring. Its many product lines – from greeting cards, gifts movies, and children’s products aim to create a more emotionally connected world.
3. Madewell
Madewell’s down-to-earth, no-fuss branding and quality products make it a fan favorite for clothing and apparel. Madewell’s focus is on making great jeans – and complementary products to go with them.
4. Universal Standard
Universal Standard was started by two people who were troubled by the lack of access to sizes for all bodies. Not only did Universal Standard challenge a limited sizing model for women’s clothing, it also dedicated itself to empowering women with programs like Fit Liberty and being transparent and ethical about sourcing and creation of its products.
What other sincere brands can you think of? Give them a shoutout in the comments below!
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