Recently, I asked a client to help me understand their desired brand personality by likening it to a personality. I apologized for using such a time-worn approach—agency folk have done this to death. But it turned out, no one on the call had done it before, and it was a great way to spur the conversation.

That got me thinking about my favorite brand positioning brainstorm activities, collected here for you.

Oh, and their celebrity? Paul Newman. Approachable and upstanding. Outstanding at his craft. Doing good in his off hours. He may no longer be with us, but unlike more current celebs, everyone knew who he was and had a sense of his character.

Pick an existing brand you aspire to emulate. The problem here is that everyone says Apple. Every time.

So let’s start there.

1. Celebrity Guess-Who (aka If your brand were a famous person (celebrity or other, living or not, real or imagined), who might it be?)
   Are you more Margot Robbie, Usain Bolt or a Keebler Elf? Think about what qualities and characteristics you have in common—how they act, what they wear, what they value— because the “why” is more important than the “who.” No need to overthink it or pick it apart. We’re trying to get to the heart of your brand, not theirs.
   
   Alternate: Pick an existing brand you aspire to emulate. The problem here is that everyone says Apple. Every time.
   
   
2. Not it. (aka the antonym game)
   It can be tough to pin down what exactly you stand for, but you probably know exactly who you don’t want to be. So start generating words that don’t describe you— Sometimes it’s easier to know who.
   
   Alternate: Not them. The same exercise can be a fun way to help you pin down ideal customers. Start by defining the worst-ever customer, then flip it around.
   
   
3. Time’s up. (aka an elevator story round robin)
   Give everyone five minutes to plan, then allow each person two minutes to demonstrate how they’d describe your brand and business to a prospect. Record each speech so the group can listen without taking notes—two minutes goes by fast—then play back so you can scribble key messages on a whiteboard.
   
   
4. Brand Boogeyman (aka prospect pain as a cartoon villain)
   I’ve actually turned the result of this one into a big-performing marketing campaign likening fast-growing terabytes of data storage to B-movie monsters (including the line, “In the data center, no one can hear you scream.”) Think about whatever your product fights or fixes as something with an identity—that can help clarify your brand’s place in the universe.

Sure, there’ll be more serious follow-up to any of these. But getting your team smiling and nodding their heads in agreement is a really, really good place to start. After all, this is supposed to be the fun part. If you need any help getting to your brand, reach out to FATFREE.