Jimmy KimCEO & Founder, Commerce Roundtable · Marketer of 17+ Years, 4x Founder. Former DTC/Retailer & SaaS Founder. Newsletter. Host of ASOM & Send it! Podcast. DTC Event: Commerce Roundtable

Sarah Levinger’s Go-To Framework for Defining Brand Personality

17 May 2025 · 1 min

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In this segment, Sarah Levinger introduces the Tether Brand Personality Engine (BPE), a framework that adapts personal‑branding techniques for corporate brands. She argues that traditional brand‑building starts with vague, positive statements about values, mission, and vision, which can be hard to translate into concrete actions. Instead, the BPE begins by identifying who the brand is not—the customers, attitudes, and attributes it deliberately excludes. By stating “we are not X” and “if you are Y, we’re not for you,” brands can clarify their personality, positioning, and messaging in a concrete, actionable way that is easier to communicate internally and externally.

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Most people know how to build a personal brand, but they don't remember that you can take everything you know about building a personal brand and just apply it to an actual brand. So the Tether Brand Personality Engine, the BPE, starts with having people identify who they are not. I think we start backwards. Oftentimes when we talk about brand values, mission, vision, those type of things, we always go positive with it. Who are we? Who do we wanna be? What do we wanna put out in the world? That's so vague though. Very difficult for people to understand. Like, what do I do with that? Technically, how am I supposed to like put that in an email? It's easier if you can say we are not this XYZ. This is— we absolutely are not going to be this brand. If you're this type of customer, we're just not for you. If you're this type of person or you align with this type of thing, we're just not for you.