“Halfway Sara.”

As a kid, that’s what my dad would call me any time I claimed to complete a job that wasn’t really done—like when I claimed to have “finished” mowing the lawn even though I’d neglected the big patch of green behind the garage. While a decent effort, it didn’t really achieve the desired end goal—hence the “Halfway” label.

Lately, I’ve noticed a lot of “halfway branding” efforts, in which companies seem to invest the time and money creating sharp designs and taglines, but neglect to fully create the brand voice needed to truly complete their brand’s identity—to personify their brands.

And I’m not the only one who’s noticing—per this recent Brand Story post:

There are lots of examples of companies that consistently use identity design to reinforce their brands, but far fewer brands seem to give as much thought to the voice of their communications. MINI does it exceptionally well, across all mediums. The Economist and Apple too. Harley Davidson does a pretty good job (there are exceptions). Saturn used to have unique voice—before it was assimilated.

But what’s the brand voice of Marriott? Cascade? Pepsi? Dell? Citi? Buick? Is there anything unique about the way Kroger, Budget, Hershey’s, or Delta speak to their customers? None of these are bad, but none of them speak in a special way to their customers.

Think about it…what takes a consumer from simply liking a product to actually identifying with and fully embracing a brand? Seems to me it’s pretty much the same qualities that make someone fall in love and identify with certain people: appearance and personality—a brand’s design and voice.

Companies like MINI, Apple, and Harley Davidson have such über-loyal followings because they don’t just look cool, they consistently sound cool—fully personifying their brands as the cool kids in class that target audience members want to hang out with.

So it’s vital that all components in a branding effort incorporate the personality and convey the feel needed to truly create the desired brand perception.

What else do you think results in “halfway branding” efforts?