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<\/a><\/p>\nAs marketers, we work to get inside the heads of our audience and understand what makes them buy. We learn who they are, their age and interests, but personality marketing pushes the envelope into psychometrics or deeper psychological traits.<\/p>\n
It also raises the question of when marketing turns manipulative, and it\u2019s not one to be shrugged off. Let\u2019s talk about what personality marketing really is and how to use it effectively and ethically<\/em>.<\/p>\n Table of Contents<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n Personality marketing actually goes by many names. Some call it personality-based marketing, others personality-theory marketing, and some even psychometric marketing. But no matter what you decide to call this strategic rose, it\u2019s when a marketer takes into account deeper psychological traits of their ideal customers to reach them more effectively.<\/p>\n I know what you\u2019re thinking: \u201cThis just sounds like buyer persona research<\/a> or segmentation<\/a>, Ramona. HubSpot loves that stuff.\u201d And yeah, we do and they\u2019re pretty similar.<\/p>\n But personality marketing goes beyond surface demographics like age and gender. It stretches into motivations, fears, values, relationships, and even emotional states.<\/p>\n There are several different personality theories brands can explore here (e.g., Myers-Briggs<\/a>, DiSC<\/a>), but one of the most popular is the \u201cBig 5\u201d or OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.<\/p>\n UK-based market research agency Brandspeak<\/a> breaks down the five traits for us:<\/p>\n Source<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Whatever factors you end up analyzing, personality marketing aims to unpack the \u201cwhy\u201d behind the more obvious qualities (what) and buying behaviors (how).<\/p>\n Need help organizing all your audience information?<\/strong> Download our free buyer persona templates.<\/a><\/p>\n So, the goal of the strategy is to understand your buyer better, right? Well, once you do, this can lead to some big benefits. The most direct is more relevant messaging and content.<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the most high-profile examples of personality marketing is a controversial one from Cambridge Analytica and Facebook<\/a>, but the CEO of the consulting firm once explained<\/a> this aspect of personality marketing well.<\/p>\n He said, \u201cIt allows us to nuance our messaging. Rather than serving the same advert to 100 million people\u2026 [we] can sub-segment people by personality and change the creative to resonate with individuals based on how they see the world.\u201d<\/p>\n You can see this idea in action in the promotion of the Apple Watch.<\/p>\n Apple targets its loyal base of techies who want the latest new gadget in the promo above, but it also appeals to health and fitness enthusiasts who want to track their movement on its website. <\/p>\n Source<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Not to mention the inherent gamification.<\/a> <\/p>\n Each audience has very different motivations for buying so they need very different messaging to take action and Apple took the note.<\/p>\n 64% of consumers say<\/a> they\u2019d quit a brand if their experience wasn\u2019t personalized<\/a> or relevant, so this is not an outrageous idea.<\/p>\n More personalized and relevant messaging can mean increased connection and trust<\/strong> in your brand, as audiences feel like you \u201cget\u201d them. This creates a better customer experience<\/strong>, and ideally, over time, all of these elements come together to increase conversions and even sales<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n As with any marketing, personality marketing has to be done strategically to reap the benefits, but more importantly in this case, it needs to steer clear of the dilemmas and controversy that can come with it.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the big drama with personality marketing, you ask? It really comes down to privacy and ethics.<\/p>\n In an age where data breaches and privacy settings are a normal part of life, critics are concerned with how brands gather the psychological details they use in personality marketing.<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s through forms on their website, market research,<\/a> or inferences based on social media, marketers have to be careful about where they are gathering their psychometrics and if they have the legal rights to use.<\/p>\n According to Twilio\u2019s 2024 State of Customer Engagement Report, 60% of consumers<\/a> say protecting their data is the top way to build their trust. So, it\u2019s clear consumers today are increasingly aware of how their data is being shared and used.<\/p>\n Any misuse of this can be extremely damaging to your brand. Meta, Amazon, and T-Mobile are just some of the corporations<\/a> that have faced backlash and gotten fined for data breaches and privacy violations.<\/p>\n In addition to how they\u2019re getting their data, personality marketers need to be wary of how they\u2019re using<\/em> that data. This is the big one for me.<\/p>\n You see, I love marketing; it\u2019s what I\u2019ve wanted to do since I was a teenager. But I\u2019ve always struggled with this perception that marketers are manipulative.<\/p>\n To some, we\u2019re out here trying to trick others into buying things, making false promises to steal money. We\u2019re like the stereotypical “sleazy car salesman” or whoever sold Jack those magic beans in \u201cJack and the Beanstalk.\u201d It\u2019s an ugly image to attach yourself to.<\/p>\n That\u2019s largely why I was happy the industry had turned more inbound<\/a> by the time I entered the workforce, but now personality marketing adds a different layer of potential misconduct.<\/p>\n Personality marketing encourages brands to cater to their target audiences\u2019 deeper concerns and tendencies. This is great if we use it to create a better experience for consumers and give them what they need \u2014 but the fact is not everyone uses this information for good.<\/p>\n Think about it: Leading with a pain point<\/a> is a common practice in marketing.<\/p>\n We often highlight common problems to get our audience\u2019s attention, then introduce our product as the solution. And there\u2019s nothing wrong with this. If your product actually solves the problem, great \u2014 you\u2019re helping someone. I\u2019m here for it.<\/p>\n But when marketers create a threat or fear in people that does not exist simply to sell? That\u2019s fear-mongering \u2014 and a hard pass for me.<\/p>\n If you know your audience has a certain concern or psychological sensitivity, triggering that to elicit a purchase is a no-go. This is taking advantage of something a person can\u2019t control to get them to buy something they may not want or need or could even harm them.<\/p>\n\n
What is personality-based marketing?<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nBenefits of Personality Marketing<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nThe Controversy of Personality Marketing<\/h2>\n
Data Privacy<\/h4>\n
Ethics<\/h4>\n
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