Put Some Character Into Your Brand Management

An old employee of mine had a previous job as a beloved Disney character at Disney World in Florida. While he ultimately divulged to me the specific character he played, it was only after a fair amount of coaxing, pinky swearing, and first born involved promises of secrecy.

The reason for his cloak-and-dagger nonsense? The brand book for his character alone was over 50 pages. Everything from the walking mannerisms to the way his arm should be moved and the degree of his fake head (so he could look natural and be able to see the children) was covered in meticulous detail. The rules for those that had verbal interaction, as you can imagine, were far more extensive.

While there were cheesy descriptions and throw-away lines woven throughout the literature, the overall tone was professional without being pretentious. It “spoke” to the reader as if they were a genuine actor, and not in shtick or under threat of death. The language stressed how important they were because they were bringing fantasy alive for children – not how well the character should represent the Disney brand.

If you are unfamiliar with the seriousness of the situation I am referring to, take a look at the training video for Chuck E. Cheese and a style guideline excerpt for that “Can you hear me now?” Verizon guy.

Now I’ve heard horror stories about children seeing characters with their fake heads off, subsequently scaring them for life. And then there’s this kid, who is way too old to be complaining about getting somewhat punched in the face by Tigger, but still not good for business. And some people may consider performing as a child’s favorite character to be an honor: I mean, not everyone can be Cinderella.

There is a blatant brand PR lesson here. These companies must know that this kind of stuff gets leaked all the time. If for no other reason, therefore, you must be careful with how you brand yourself not only externally, but internally as well. How you teach your employees the rules is as important as the rules themselves.

If your company or brand is simply you, the same concepts apply. Think about how you want to appear to your audience – what elements should always be part of your correspondence with customers, clients, and visitors? If direct communication is not an option, how will you be visually interpreted?

The answers to these questions may seem obvious, but make sure what you do and how you represent yourself mirrors the image in your head. Re-evaluate every couple of months to make sure you haven’t gone off-track. Ask a friend or colleague to give you a brand check-up.

Give yourself the best chance for a fairy tale ending by making sure your brand reflects your company’s character. Let’s face it: wouldn’t you rather be Cinderella than Goofy?