So you’ve probably heard a bunch about needing to create a brand personality… but what exactly does that mean? Do you just pluck some personality traits out of thin air and just run with that?
Surprise: No. No you don’t.
Well, I mean, you CAN… but don’t. Don’t do that.
Building a brand with personality is a whole strategic process. It’s a really fun one too, and one I do in my in-person workshops and now also in my downloadable workshop kits (gratuitous self-promotion).
Part of the process involves our friends, the Archetypes.
The archetypes we use today were developed by psychologist, Carl Jung, who believed that there are universally-understood metaphors, myths and characters within the collective human consciousness upon which we create an understanding about the world.
This theory says that these archetypes are within us right from birth. They shape our behaviour. They have no form until we apply them to a more tangible concept, and when we do that, they enhance our understanding and ability to connect with that concept. Therefore, they have an impact on our individual consciousness.
Right now, you might be thinking one of three things:
- This is psychoanalytic trollop, I wonder what I’ll have for dinner.
- You’re very cute, but I don’t understand what you’re saying.
- This is incredible, and I want to know more!
Either way, stay with me.
Using Archetypes in branding is a method of taking your brand purpose and defining a set of foundational values and beliefs. This then gives you something a little more tangible to anchor to, to get to some pretty important brand elements, like:
- How you deliver your brand promise;
- How you execute your brand voice;
- How your business operates;
Yep, even as broad as helping you make operational decisions about your business. The idea of this whole branding process is that it helps you make these key decisions that much easier, by giving you some guardrails so you stay consistent and on track to meet your objectives.
It really does all come back to how you make a dollar at the end of the day.
There are 12 core archetypes:
The Innocent Archetype
The Regular Guy / Girl Archetype
The Caregiver Archetype
The Creator Archetype
The Hero Archetype
The Outlaw Archetype
The Magician Archetype
The Ruler Archetype
The Lover Archetype
The Sage Archetype
The Jester Archetype
The Explorer Archetype
I’ve seen the greatest of sceptics’ eyes light up once I explain each of the 12 archetypes and which well-known brands embody their respective traits and attributes. There’s this beautiful moment of understanding when it all just clicks, and then the possibilities for your brand suddenly become crystal clear.
It works at the consumer end too.
A really well-defined and executed brand personality connects with people in an unconscious way first. It allows the human side of a brand to remain and not get lost in the sea of data and metrics. It allows us as brands to access a more primal and instinctive part of the brain. And with this connection comes action (at its best, engagement with your brand that results in profit for your business). It creates behaviour change.
That’s that individual consciousness we were talking about. 🤩🙌🏼💫
So how do YOU use this in creating your brand? Identify which of the Archetypes your BRAND is most closely aligned to. Work this out by writing down your beliefs and values. Then you’ll be able to identify your core personality traits for your brand. Not sure how to do this? All of this and more is included in the Essential Brand Foundations Workshop Kit I’ve built, based on my in-person workshops.
Great read Melissa! I’ve already come back to it three times since you posted it. 😊
But I do have a question – what do you do if your brand falls smack bang in the middle of two (or three) archetypes? For instance, Nike is sitting in the Hero camp, but could arguably fall under Magician or Creator too. How do you “narrow down” your brand without cutting out something crucial?
Hi Clare, I’m so glad you found this useful! Obviously it’s ideal to be as single-minded as possible… but, it’s also inevitable to find some traits across multiple archetypes that really resonate. If you do find your brand falling in the middle of two, it might be helpful to go back to your brand purpose: what is your brand ultimately here to do? What is its primary reason for being? In the instance of Nike, they are a Hero but some Creator / Magician traits mix and mingle with how the Hero achieves its higher purpose. Just because Nike is heroic doesn’t mean it can be transformative or innovative – but at the core of its DNA is that desire to prove worth through courageous acts. Hope that makes sense? 🙂
Melissa this is amazing work. Thank you so much for sharing and empowering your followers with this wisdom.
I haven’t finished reading it because I feel I need to make notes! Will definitely come back to this.
Thanks again, you are making an impact.
Thank you so much for saying so, Phoebe! I’m sure you’ll get loads of value out of those notes too 🙂