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Branding is all about telling a story so it makes all the sense in the world to use storytelling archetypes when creating your new brand. This approach bakes in intuitive storytelling narratives that are not only highly effective but also easy to understand and use.
How Do Branding Archetypes Help With Brand Storytelling?
According to recent studies, 77 percent of consumers prefer to buy from brands that share the same values as them. Relating to consumers through specific values can be done with archetypes.
Archetypes were created by Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung. His goal was to connect with consumers and build a deeper connection with buyers by using symbolism. All humans have basic desires and a brand can use archetypes to relate to the desires of their audience. For example, some of us desire to belong. The Everyman archetype captures this desire of belonging with their brand.
It’s actually quite simple once you think about it. Using these 12 storytelling archetypes creates an authentic, coherent, and consistent communication with your audience and reaches them on a more intimate level. When a brand is aware of its archetype, then its brand storytelling can come to life.
12 Storytelling Archetypes
The following are the twelve archetypes with key characteristics to help describe the archetype, along with familiar brands associated with the archetype to help you understand them better.
Innocent: Happiness & Optimistic
Examples: Dove & Nintendo.
Dove sends a message of cleanliness and purity. Their marketing is geared towards offering products that are sure to keep you clean. Dove also has a simple logo and uses colors that represent the innocent archetype such as whites, pinks, and blues.
Everyman: Relatable & Faithful
Examples: Home Depot & Target
Target creates a happy place for all. They offer products for everyday needs for everybody. They are all-inclusive and for people of all ages.
Hero: Strong & Reliable
Examples: Nike & Duracell
Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign is a perfect example of the hero archetype. Their campaigns send the message that if you wear Nike, you can achieve the impossible. Push your limits like athletes who wear the brand.
Outlaw: Rebellious & Strong
Examples: Harley Davidson & Virgin
Harley Davidson uses their brand to promote freedom. They focus on making the right products to add real value to their customers. Their marketing shows that you can go wherever you want with a Harley. The website features a pure black background, which is a great example of the outlaw archetype.
Explorer: Adventurous & Thrilling
Examples: Jeep & Northface
Jeep uses its commercials to show that the world is an adventure and should be explored. Luckily, with a Jeep, you can find the unknown.
Creator: Imaginative & Creative
Examples: Crayola & Apple
Crayola uses the creator archetype to show that you can use your imagination to create something with their art products. Their brand is for all ages and inspired to connect on a creative level.
Ruler: Controlling & Organized
Examples: BMW & British Airways
BMW uses their marketing to focus on luxury and power. They grab their consumer’s attention and show that BMW represents success.
Magician: Magical & Spiritual
Examples: Disney & Dyson
Dyson offers products that are user-friendly and magically work with the help of technology. Using the magician archetype, Dyson uses their cool devices to grab consumers’ attention and offer a simple solution to complex problems.
Lover: Passionate & Intimate
Examples: Victoria’s Secret & Lancôme
The lover archetype creates an intimate connection and Lancôme uses their luxurious beauty products to do so. Their high-class makeup and skincare products can offer the pleasure you are seeking. They also use the perfect colors to represent the lover archetype which includes all shades of reds, purples, and pinks.
Caregiver: Caring & Compassionate
Examples: Johnson & Johnson & Pampers
Pampers uses the caregiver archetype by providing nurturing and caring products that protect. Their marketing features children and families, which is a great way to represent the caregiver archetype.
Jester: Humorous & Fun
Examples: Red Bull & M&Ms
The jester archetype is perfectly represented by the brand M&Ms. They use colorful and fun marketing to make people laugh. By bringing characters to life, they create a memorable impression.
Sage: Calm & Knowledgeable
Examples: Google & PBS
Google is full of wisdom and uses the sage archetype to focus on providing people a resource. The brand is known to focus on its search bar to show that its website is a world full of knowledge.
When you become aware of which archetype your brand relates to most, use this as your primary archetype. You can also choose to use a secondary archetype if you would like. Start sprinkling these archetypes into your marketing plan and watch your brand story grow.
5 Benefits of Archetype Based Branding Storytelling
Brand Recognition (Get Noticed!)
Of course, you want your brand to be easily recognizable. To take it to the next level, you may even want people to think of your services or products right away when they experience certain feelings. This allows customers to relate to your brand and draw a connection.
Stand Out Among the Competition (Have That Competitive Edge!)
It is a competitive world out there and you need your own edge to stand out. Standing out, creating a lasting impression, and setting yourself apart from the competition is key. Think about it, when there are two brands to choose from, you are going to go with the one who you relate to most. Creating that relation is made easier by using archetypes to guide you because they leverage the intuitive subconscious underpinnings of storytelling, familiar to all cultures around the world.
Gain Loyal Customers
When a customer has a great experience, they become loyal customers and are likely to return to that brand without thinking twice about it. Archetypes can help build an emotion, so when a customer is reminded of the brand through the use of an archetype they feel more connected and that entices them to return back to that brand. With authentic brand purpose and messaging, it is possible to create a deep level of connection with customers.
Create Clear, Not Confused Brands
Brands that have confused messaging make it difficult for their customers to know exactly what they stand for. Clear brands with a consistent message are the most effective in making lasting connections. Consider any major brand you can think of and you’ll notice how they’ve been saying the same things in the same way for years, if not decades. Using an archetype will anchor your brand and allow you to develop clear and concise messaging that is more likely to resonate.
Know What Is “On Brand” For Any Circumstance
You can anticipate many early needs for a new brand, but what about everything you cannot plan for? Having an archetype-based brand will make navigating any unexpected circumstances easier because you have a go-to framework from which to analyze and respond to any situation. This helps others working on behalf of your brand or describing your brand. Giving them clear guidance based on your archetype will help ensure they convey your brand message properly.