We all want customers to know about our business. After all, brand exposure is a huge driver of business. But how can we expect customers to know our business if we don’t take the time to know them? Using Brand Archetypes, brands can adopt a chosen personality within their industry, and also help businesses to think like customers to provide more value, and tailor their selling strategies for obvious benefits.
So here’s why you should incorporate brand archetypes into your branding strategy.
What are Brand Archetypes?
Brand archetypes represent the personalities that almost all people can be categorised into. There are 12 brand archetypes that represent these personalities. By using archetypes we can effectively understand our target audience, understand and sympathise with their pain points when it comes to products, and also create a special personality for our brand, after all, people buy people.
A brief history of branding archetypes
Jungian archetypes were developed by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung(a good friend of Sigmund Freud) in the early 1900s. First theorised by Plato’s theory of forms, the concept that humans assign a characteristic to objects. For example, views can be beautiful, carpets can look ugly, and oceans can look calm. This was the idea Carl developed and transformed into Branding archetypes.
What are the 12 Jungian Archetypes?
- The Innocent
- The Explorer
- The Sage
- The Outlaw
- The Magician
- The Hero
- The Everyperson
- The Jester
- The Lover
- The Caregiver
- The Creator
- The Ruler
Brand Example: McDonalds, Coca Cola, Lindt, Dove, Innocent
Brand Goals: Be happy.
Brand Strategy: The first brand archetype focuses on doing good, being honest, and spreading happiness. An Innocent brand typically markets products to provoke feelings of nostalgia, and joy.
Innocent brands have nothing to hide. The work they do is transparent with their customers and they don’t have hidden agendas. Often innocent brands are owners of products we’ve grown up using so feel connected to emotionally.
Brand Example: GoPro, Patagonia, Jeep, Booking.com
Brand Goals: Encourage travelling, creating experiences.
Brand Strategy: Focusing on the inner needs of humans to not be bored. They typically market freedom and “authentic” experiences.
These brands want you to live the life you want to live. They love adventure and want to help customers make their experiences more captivating.
Brand Example: Quora, NASA
Brand Goals: Use their intelligence and comprehension of the world.
Brand Strategy: Add value and release information freely, become an expert in your field.
Sage brands are experts and givers of knowledge. They analyse their surroundings and offer knowledge about their findings. NASA frequently publish scientific papers on Space and offer up knowledge on their findings.
Brand Example: Harley Davidson, Bitcoin, Netflix
Brand Goals: Disrupt what’s not working.
Brand Strategy: Identify as an outsider, be different, create a revolution, give power to the people.
Outlaw archetypes aren’t happy about how a sector or niche is working and seek to better it, or destroy it, and provide a better alternative. These brands might shock you with how they give attitude etc.
Brand Example: Redbull(because it gives you wings), Mr Muscle, Gorilla Glue, Snickers
Brand Goals: Making dreams a reality, create something from nothing.
Brand Strategy: Create a vision, and follow it till the end.
Magic brands create products that amaze us. These brands typically don’t disclose much transparency yet they create great products that somehow work much better than competitors.
Brand Example: Nike, Red Cross
Brand Goals: Save people through mastery, Improve the world.
Brand Strategy: Become involved in making things better for the vulnerable.
Hero’ try to combat evils(pains) in other products and solve them. They make products better and drive change throughout their industry. They look to innovate and master their arena.
Brand Example: Apple, Ikea
Brand Goals: To belong and fit in.
Brand Strategy: Provide an identity that everyone likes. Be down to earth and create a community.
Scared of not fitting in? Every Person brands appeal to a huge target market. Often their products are excellent quality, look great, and are simple to use.
Brand Example: Skittles, Domino’s pizza, E4, Cadbury
Brand Goals: Have fun, Make fun of themselves.
Brand Strategy: Be funny and make people laugh.
A Jester brand just has fun with it. They’re creative and relaxed. Customers aren’t interested in business politics they just want to relax and enjoy themselves.
Brand Example: Dior, Victoria’s Secret, Chanel
Brand Goals: Build relationships, spread love.
Brand Strategy: To become more emotionally and physically attractive. Stir passion.
Playing with our emotions, The lover brands want us to look more attractive and be with somebody. Their products are for your loved ones to enjoy.
Brand Example: Unicef, Salvation Army
Brand Goals: Help others, primarily victims.
Brand Strategy: Do things for others and show others the work you do.
As a more serious brand archetype, caregivers are good samaritans that want to help others and safeguard them.
Brand Example: Lego, Adobe, Canon
Brand Goals: Realise a vision.
Brand Strategy: Develop an artistic skill.
Creators let their imaginations run wild. They give you ideas on the possibilities of what you can do with their products but ultimately they set no limits.
Brand Example: Microsoft, Rolex, Starbucks
Brand Goals: Create a successful community.
Brand Strategy: exercise dominance and authority over competitors. You are a leader in your industry.
Rulers are a little power hungry. They want to keep their dominance but this provokes them to be the best and innovate new ideas.
Conclusion
It’s entirely possible brands can be interpreted into more than 1 archetype. Brand archetypes are nothing concrete and many brands do fit into more than one, though it is a good idea to evaluate your business and understand how you want to be perceived and align your marketing & brand strategy with that.
