“Hi, I’m TikTok” – playing brand research with ChatGPT

In our qualitative research we sometimes use projective techniques to circumvent over-rationalized answers of participants. If you examine the perceived brand values of, say, Instagram, you could ask “if Instagram were human, which appearance would this person have? Think of looks, attire, expression. Where would this person like to hang out?”.

Inspired by an idea of our friend Pawel Stezycki I played around today with ChatGPT to see how it would handle this exact question. I used the outputs as prompts in the Bing Image Creator (which relies on Dall-E 2) to illustrate the resulting brand personas.

So here we go. Please meet my social network brand personas, that came about during a morning coffee break in the office.

Let's start with the guy next door: Facebook

Okay, what about TikTok? This guy can't be missed:

Let's go to the museum and meet Instagram:

They seem to make sense, don’t they?

These personas appear as one might expect. However I also think they come across fairly stereotypical. Which is no wonder if you consider that ChatGPT draws on what’s available on the internet. And in the case of big brands, that’s tons of marketing material. When asked for brand values, ChatGPT apparently takes the easy way and elaborates information right from the source. That’s what it told me in the case of Facebook:

“If Facebook were personified as a human, its appearance, attire, and expression would likely reflect its brand identity and characteristics. Facebook's brand is associated with a modern, clean, and approachable image.” - ChatGPT

So, while this is a fun thing to play with, I guess for now we’ll continue with primary research if we want to understand nuanced brand perceptions by defined target groups. Including the specks of unwanted brand traits and opportunity areas. 

👉If you like this, try it out for yourself and let me know your results!

These were the ChatGPT outputs that I used as (shortened) image prompts in Bing: 

Facebook: Portrait of a person standing in a coffee shop who is gender-neutral, middle-aged, friendly and approachable, with a warm and welcoming smile. Casual yet trendy clothing, wearing a simple, stylish hoodie. A warm and enthusiastic expression. Photorealistic model shot using Canon EOS.

TikTok: Portrait of a person standing in a park with interesting backdrops who is gender-fluid, young, colorful and dynamic, with a unique sense of style. Fashion-forward trendy clothing, incorporating popular styles and eclectic accessories. Mix and match of different patterns and colors. Energetic and enthusiastic, always ready to dance, sing, or try out new challenges. Constantly flashing a playful and engaging smile. Photorealistic model shot using Canon EOS.

Instagram: Portrait of a person standing in an art gallery who is gender-neutral, in their twenties, well-groomed and stylish, exuding a sense of elegance and sophistication. Fashionable and trendy clothing that aligns with current styles and popular fashion influencers. Clean and minimalist designs, confident and composed, with a hint of playfulness in their expression. Showing a knowing smile. Photorealistic model shot using Canon EOS.