Anthropomorphism

Quite a mouthful, isn’t it? But not that hard a concept.

Anthropomorphism is essentially the humanization of non-human entities like objects and animals. When you say your cat has a certain personality, you are doing something that most people can’t pronounce – you’re anthropomorphising them.

Is this the same as personification?

Not really. Personification is when you attribute human characteristics to non-human items. It is also mostly used by writers to create imagery: Stars in the sky blinked and winked out (from the poem My Town by Sharon Hendricks). Anthropomorphism is to consider them as human beings with human emotions and rational thinking, and is the basis of characters like Winnie the Pooh and the Terminator.

This sounds like a literary thing. How is this related to business?

Well, children’s fairytales and cartoons is one major industry that thrives on anthropomorphism, as well as the movie industry, to a great extent (the successes of the Terminator series and Wall-E, anyone?).

However, anthropomorphism is applied extensively by successful businesspeople everywhere. It is what help marketers create brand personalities. Apple was successful initially due to it projecting itself as the underdog and the misfit (it is too big a company now to claim that status any longer). Apple is associated with simplicity and sophistication, which are attributes you normally give to people, which is what anthropomorphism really is all about.

Why does anthropomorphism work?

We as humans tend to gravitate towards things we consider similar to ourselves. The more it resonates with us, the better. Humanizing brands help in identifying with the brand and help you understand if it is the right one for you. If you wish to purchase a safe car, you would tend to look for brands such as Volvo or German origin cars because that is what these brands are known for.

Anthropomorphism is why a lot of companies have spokescharacters – the Michelin Man, for example, or the Chester Cheetah from Pringles. It is also why robots are being made to look and act more like humans.

And last but not the least, it’s why we spent most of our childhood watching animated cartoons of talking animals.

Quick sum up?

Anthropomorphism is the humanization of non-human entities. It is used by marketers to position their product in the market and create brand personalities and spokespersons that resonate with their target audience.