Beyond personas: Why brands must design for multiple selves

By Abdullah Yusif MAHMUD

In marketing circles, the idea of a singular, stable consumer identity has long guided segmentation models. Brands built their strategies around fixed personas: “the working mother,” “the ambitious millennial,” “the affluent professional.” Yet this framework is collapsing under the weight of contemporary consumer behavior. People do not live as single selves; they move fluidly between overlapping identities across contexts, platforms, and rituals. The challenge for brands in Ghana today is not to define consumers in one box, but to build bridges across the multiple selves they inhabit.

From Personas to Poly-Identification

Global research shows that younger generations, particularly Gen Z, are increasingly comfortable carrying multiple identities at once (Scaman, 2020; Klein, 2022). In Ghana, this is even more pronounced due to the layered realities of modern life. A young woman might be a LinkedIn professional by day, a TikTok dancer by night, a church chorister on Sunday, and an aspirational luxury shopper on Instagram all at once. Each self is equally valid, not “fake” versus “real.”

This phenomenon, what sociologists call poly-identification, is driven by rapid urbanization, social media fluidity, and the cultural balancing act between tradition and modernity. It is the lived reality of the Ghanaian youth who code-switch not just linguistically between English, Twi, Ga, and Pidgin, but socially between “work self,” “family self,” and “Friday-night self.”

Clues in Code-Switching

Consumers leave behind clues when they shift between selves. These are not contradictions but evidence of adaptive identity. Consider:

• The banker at Ridge, who wears tailored suits Monday to Friday, also religiously looks for the latest sneaker online.
• The “clean eating” influencer in East Legon who posts about juicing yet drives to Madina for dawn waakye after a long night.
• The mother in Tema who curates Montessori play corners for her children but binge-watches telenovelas once the house is quiet.

Marketers often overlook these contradictions as ‘one of those things’. But in reality, they are signals of identity elasticity; moments when consumers shift zones. These are opportunities for brands to design products, services, and conversations that feel authentic across the switch.

Breaking down identities

The most effective way to uncover these layered selves is through understanding the layers of identity. Instead of asking consumers why they bought something; a question that yields rationalized answers, brands should ask, “Which version of you wanted this?”

Walking a respondent through their week of purchases, WhatsApp statuses, Snapchat consumption or posts and Instagram stories reveals the mosaic of selves they enact. For example, one consumer may label their purchases as:

• “That’s my gym self.”
• “That’s my cozy Sunday self.”
• “That’s my work-appropriate self.”

This method is particularly valuable in Ghana, where purchasing behavior often intertwines with cultural rituals: Friday salary-day splurges, Sunday church outfits, or back-to-school shopping. Each ritual activates a different identity zone, and brands that map these transitions will understand not just what people buy, but who they are becoming in that moment.

 

Designing for Multiple Selves

Smart brands don’t force consumers into one identity box. They create products and conversations that travel across selves. Apple designs devices sleek enough for the office but cool enough for the street. FanMilk taps into a created sense of both a refreshing treat and a nostalgic childhood memory. Pepsodent is broadening its appeal beyond basic oral hygiene. Their recent campaigns have positioned the brand not just as a toothpaste, but as a key to confidence and social connection, tapping into the desire for a brighter smile to enhance personal interactions and professional opportunities.

In Ghana, similar lessons are emerging:

• Telecommunications companies design dual-profile bundles; daytime data for work Zoom calls, nighttime bundles for TikTok scrolling.
• Local beverage brands package products that shift meaning between contexts: Club Beer at the bar with friends, or Malta Guinness as both a family-table staple and an energy boost for young hustlers.
• Fashion entrepreneurs curate designs that are modest enough for church yet bold enough for nightlife, capturing two selves in one offering.

The most successful brands allow these multiple consumer selves to coexist without contradiction.

 

The Ghanaian Context

What makes this framework especially urgent in Ghana is the intersection of cultural, social, and economic shifts.

• Cultural fluidity: Young Ghanaians navigate between global culture (Netflix, Instagram aesthetics) and local traditions (Homowo, Kwahu Easter).
• Economic multiplicity: The rise of the “side hustle economy” means one person is a banker, a shoemaker on Instagram, and a crypto trader all at once.
• Social negotiation: Respectability politics still shape professional spaces, while nightlife, music festivals, and social media encourage expressive selves.

These overlapping pressures create constant identity transitions. Understanding them allows marketers to design with nuance.

 

The Side Effects

Designing for multiple selves comes with risks:

• Fragmentation tax: Building too many identity bridges can increase SKU complexity and strain marketing budgets.
• Authenticity backlash: Overly targeted messaging can feel intrusive if brands appear to “spy” on private selves.
• Cultural misreading: A guilty pleasure in Accra might be a budget necessity in Kumasi. Misinterpreting these cues can backfire.

Thus, brands must anchor every bridge in one coherent value—a non-negotiable that remains visible across all identity contexts. For example, MTN’s “Everywhere You Go” is not tied to one self; it stretches across professional, private, and aspirational selves while retaining coherence.

Bringing this framework to life

To operationalize this thinking, Ghanaian brands can adopt a four-step approach:

1. Map Identity Stacks: Identify the key identity zones for your segment—professional, social, private, aspirational—and connect them to rituals and triggers.
2. Measure Switching Costs: Assess the effort, money, or social risk required for consumers to shift identities. For example, moving from “office self” to “nightlife self” might involve wardrobe changes, transport costs, and peer validation.
3. Design Bridges: Create products and campaigns that help consumers transition smoothly. A deodorant positioned as “commute-to-club proof” directly addresses the identity switch between work and nightlife.
4. Monitor Coherence: Track whether the brand’s core promise is legible across all identity zones. This ensures that in bridging the gap between its various selves, the brand does not lose its central voice.

Conclusion

In a marketplace where consumers are increasingly multi-dimensional, brands that design for multiple selves will thrive. This requires moving beyond static segmentation into a dynamic understanding of how identities shift across time, place, and ritual. In Ghana, where cultural complexity, side hustles, and social transitions are daily realities, designing bridges across identities is not just a strategy; it is a necessity.

As Richard Huntington of Saatchi & Saatchi notes, “Strategy is about coherence, not consistency.” For Ghanaian marketers, coherence means letting consumers be all their selves without contradiction, while still finding a unifying thread that binds them to the brand.

The post Beyond personas: Why brands must design for multiple selves appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.

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