What Is Kellogg's Brand Personality?

It is difficult to think of a breakfast cereal without thinking of Kellogg's. This is largely due to a highly successful marketing strategy since the company's launch in 1906. Every successful brand has a specific "personality" reflecting the desires and emotions of its target market.

When creating a marketing strategy it is important to consider your niche and who your customers are. Focusing on one specific group like a direct laser beam with your marketing message is far more powerful and likely to get results than the scatter or “disco ball” approach to marketing where a weak message is sent to many. Consider who exactly will buy this product – their gender, age and lifestyle. Also consider what those customers want out of life and the emotions associated with their desires. By incorporating the personality traits and ambitions of the target group into the product’s image, the brand will trigger key emotions, making those individuals more likely to be attracted to and buy the product.

For example, Marlboro’s personality reflects the masculine, outdoors type who craves freedom and adventure; Rimmel with their “Get the London look” slogan reflects femininity and glamour with the desire for sophistication and material possessions. Marketing strategies involve manipulating the emotions of the target groups by showing images of what they desire, giving the impression it can be found in the product.

When the company began, they were faced with a difficult marketing challenge. Their product was completely new and they had to convince the nation to try a strange, unfamiliar food. By investing heavily in sales and giving away thousands of boxes of Corn Flakes they successfully launched their brand.

The company image has changed very little over the decades and every product still retains the Kellogg’s signature logo as a seal of quality. This element of continuity in the marketing strategy reflects the unchanging objective to supply great-tasting nutritious, healthy and high quality products.

The Kellogg’s brand benefits from a duel marketing concept – not only does it have a classic personality with universal appeal embodied in its original product, Corn Flakes, but also a wide range of niche products aimed at specific groups.

The Kellogg’s brand is associated by many with childhood and evoking a sense of nostalgia helps to strengthen bonds with the wider market. The desire for a more simple, natural, family- and health-oriented lifestyle are all important to people in a world where most live in cities with hectic lives and rarely have the luxury of leisurely family breakfasts. This ideal is not only reflected in the personality of the Corn Flakes product, but is underscored throughout the product range.

Kellogg’s has a wide range of products on the market which vary from country to country, each with its own individual personality and target market. The overall brand personality is still embodied in the original Corn Flakes, while other products aim at specific groups. For example: Special K targets women desiring beauty and weight loss, All Bran aims at older adults concerned about improving their health; and Rice Krispies are aimed at children and incorporate an element of fun.