Early in our company’s life, persona development was largely an intuitive process. We wanted to develop a process we could use to train clients and partners in the persona development process. To do so, we delved into literature and film to understand character development.

Last week, we discussed what we learned from David Freeman’s character diamonds and masks. This week, we study these, and their applications, in more depth. Here’s more from David Freeman.

Address a Buyer’s Mask When Selling to Him

BMW pushes its “Ultimate Driving Machine” to men who usually end up driving 40 mph in rush-hour traffic. Yet these men view themselves as mighty conquerors of a limitless asphalt horizon, roaring full throttle through life and leaving testosterone in their wake. BMW sells to these men’s masks.

The full picture is actually a little more complicated. This persona’s character diamond breaks out accordingly:

Continue reading my column at ClickZ…