Humanised branding is when a business exhibits an attitude and set of distinct behaviours, resembling a person’s personality. The personality could be inspired by an actual person, a board of directors, the staff, and/or the personality of the marketing department. It could be one of these which resonate through the rest of the company, or a collective personality that just develops naturally. Either way, it’s the communication of the unique personality that differentiates ‘humanised branding’ from ‘branding’ as we traditionally know it.

The trend towards people being attracted to businesses with more humanised branding is based on human nature, which dictates that people have a hard time genuinely connecting with, being close to, or really trusting, other humans who appear to have no weaknesses or flaws. Now, for the first time in history, people openly broadcast and share their lives online – flaws and all. With that in mind, it’s not hard to see why brands are increasingly expected to do the same. People are driving themselves away from boring brands in favour of ones with more personality. This is largely inspired by the rise in social media.

Zappos CEO Tony buy generic ambien online Hsieh explained it best:

“I think people worry too much about bringing their personal selves into business, when I think the way to succeed in today’s world is to make your business more personal.”

Consumers’ disillusionment at some downright dodgy corporate behaviour has festered into outright disgust and social media has only picked at the scab. As a result, any brand that can show business in a refreshing new light is guaranteed to be welcomed with open arms. With every business that succeeds while remaining reasonable, helpful, fun or even somewhat ‘human’, consumers will become increasingly disenchanted when dealing with traditional, boring, impersonal brands. It’s becoming more and more obvious that personality and profit are compatible.

Statistics released by Havas Media in late 2011 revealed that most people would not care if 70% of brands ceased to exist. When I read that statistic, I wondered what the 30% were doing to make their customers care about them. Without knowing the identity of the 30% of companies, I’d be willing to put money on the fact that they truly care about their customers, and make it known.