Brand personality or identity?

Brand personality is a key part of any advertising or brand creation brief, but the definition of personality appears to be rather loose, in both academic studies and in its practical use. For example, the paper that has influenced much of the research on brand personality measurement and is the most widely quoted (by Jennifer Aaker) suggests that personality is the "set of human characteristics associated with the brand". This very broad and loose definition is at odds with the definition of personality in psychology and seems to confuse identity and personality.

In psychology, personality is generally defined as a set of traits, which do not include a person's …