Brand personality VS Brand character!

In "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and subsequent books, Stephen Covey has said that in recent times, there has been a lot of emphasis on "Personality", how it can be built up and how it can be projected. His view has been that this has meant that there is a focus shift away from "Character", which is deeper and ingrained.

In a lot of current-day discourse on Brands, there is a great emphasis on the brand as it is projected, the "personality" that is expressed through tone and imagery, and there is less emphasis on the "character" - as to how genuinely customer-centric it is, what its deeds are, that are adding value for the customers.

Innovations or initiatives that seek to improve shelf life, customer service, fault rectification, easier payment/renewals etc. are all adding value for the customer. But several brands are fourth, fifth or sixth in doing such things, i.e. they adopt an improvement only well after it has become a norm or commonplace. However, these brands are keen on building and projecting "personality" and achieving high visibility, celebrity associations, sponsorships etc. They focus on networking instead of improving product quality, reliability, customer support, and service.

Unfortunately, several companies and their brands are being advised on irrelevant sponsorships, social networking, fancy imagery/entertainment and their attention is being shifted from core product improvement, greater commitment to customers

Friends as we all related and above stated facts are relevant to all of us , I request you all to please give your opinion and perspective