The Emperor Persona is the most overt and obnoxious of the Five Power Personas. It is the one most often adopted by history's military dictators. The most important element in creating an Emperor Persona is eliminating any visible signs of weakness.Napoleon and Alexander the Great developed Emperor Personas. Napoleon, the diminutive soldier, became the Emperor through his version of Persona development.
The problem with Emperor Persona is that the arrogance of the image can and probably will eventually lead to a downfall. IBM, once the Emperor of computers, is fending off serious attacks to its Image-Equity from Compaq, Sun, Apple, Dell, and private labels. To survive, the Emperor is restructuring its persona as an Expert Persona.
Emperor Personas employ monopolistic approaches that can never last long. Even the once seemingly unassailable telephone monopolies have collapsed, leaving most large telecommunications companies having to reorganize their personas. Most Emperors opt to evolve into Expert Personas.
It is rarely recommended that new ventures develop a true Emperor Persona; however, certain elements of this persona can be incorporated into your customized Persona Plan.
You should only consider a full Emperor Persona if:
You or your firm are considered to be market leader in your segment by a wide margin. You have been the leader for many years. You invented your segment or product and others copied you (this must be a known or visible fact, not a historical oddity). You are highly respected as the best in your segment in quality or price or both. You are a gambler. You are arrogant. You love yourself and your venture. The last three requirements are not meant to be humorous. If you do not completely love yourself and your product with absolute and unabated conceit, you will never become the Emperor. The Emperor must believe unconditionally in his venture.
The characteristics of the Emperor Persona are:
Arrogant confidence in his leadership Dictatorial management style Aggressive response to any intruders in his territory Use of mainstream marketing methods Susceptibility to marketing guerrilla attacks because of cumbersome management structures Number one position in his segment, averaging double the sales of the main competitor Instant propaganda response to any negative public relations Hiding of all public weaknesses Occasional descents from the dais to visit with subjects for rare and heavily publicized events Persona Profile: Long Live the Emperors
The Emperor Persona Requires stature. According to Advertising Age magazine, the "names with the greatest cachet" are:
Coca-Cola
Kodak
Sony
Mercedes-Benz