Imitation of life

The strong emotional bonds that brands manage to establish with their audiences sometimes make it seem as if they behave as if they were people.

Illustration: luis echánove

The relationship that comes to be established with brands can go beyond the purely rational, transcending criteria such as price or functionality when it comes to tipping the balance in favor of one brand over another. We talk about the personality of the brand, its values or its mission and values, in the same way as we would talk about people.

This "imitation" of people by brands is reversing. There is a tendency for people to adopt behaviors and attitudes like those of brands, in order to achieve the same levels of affinity and empathy as brands. This is personal branding, the adaptation of learnings from years of experience with brands to help people (politicians, freelancers, etc.) achieve stronger and more lasting emotional bonds with their audiences. 

The challenge for brand experts when tackling a personal branding project is to maintain a delicate balance so as not to end up objectifying the person and so that when they present themselves to their audiences, they are perceived as real, credible, and unique, rather than as an imitation of life.