Brand archetypes are not new concepts, but they’re often underutilized in small businesses.
With so much noise in any market, it’s only brands that connect on a human level that get any kind of love. Some business owners search for a brand archetype examples quiz they can take, while the only solution is to let a branding marketing expert help you out.
Every brand has a way of presenting itself to the audience, and the process differs even if they’re from the same industry. The brands that impersonate themselves well and connect with the audience see an uprise in their sales. It is vital to remember that the creative team does not choose the form of representation. It’s the other way around.
What Happens to Businesses Without a Solid Brand Identity?
Even though brand archetype and brand personality might appear the same, there is a notable difference between them. A brand archetype is a method to define a brand’s personality. A brand’s personality is something to which the consumers can relate. Brand archetype helps the brand to create a personality that is unique and appeals to the end consumer, and there are 12 brand archetypes to help you out.
Consistent customer experiences, brand voice, and marketing messages drive positive sentiment.
Furthermore, brands that fulfill their promises create trust. But consistency can break down when your company is focused on developing tactics instead of building a branding strategy aligned with your vision, mission, and core values.
Inconsistent brand message sabotages your business by reducing sales from new and repeat customers who are unhappy about their experience. As a result, growth goals and desired outcomes do not happen as fast as you would like.
Brand guidelines help make sure that every consumer interaction with your brand is as powerful and effective as possible. A brand archetype is the reference point and standard for portraying your brand voice to the world.
If you use these brand archetype examples to curate a consistent brand message, you’ll make better impressions with more consumers, more consistently. That’s how you become a brand people talk about.
That’s how you become your market’s first choice.
What is a Brand Archetype and How It Helps With Your Brand Strategy?
One of the critical steps taken when setting goals for your brand and what you want it to be is figuring out the brand archetype. What’s this? Put simply, a brand archetype is a way of describing your brands’ personality.
The term Brand Archetypes came to existence because of a Swiss psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, Carl Jung (also the genius mind behind the 12 brand archetypes). The creative process behind the invention is presenting a brand to its target audience in a certain way by classifying it under brand archetypes.
Business owners, big or small, are constantly looking for a way that will connect their brand to an audience and build a loyal following. Choosing a brand archetype provides a powerful way of doing this that humans will relate to.
The 12 Brand Archetypes
It is essential to have a strong brand identity if you want your business to be successful. If you want to create a strong brand personality, you need to think about which of the popular brand archetypes apply to your business. When you know which brand archetype examples are relevant to your industry, you will be in a position to create a strong brand messaging.
The Hero
A great hero brand archetype for your business can inspire and motivate your customers. A great way to do this is to develop a set of values that are consistent with your company’s core values.
The hero brand archetype makes the world better by being the best. A hero brand isn’t concerned with nurturing you, hero brands are interested in challenging you. If you want to rise to the occasion, you’re going to need a hero archetype. Hero brands are your go-to brands when you need help or guidance.
The Magician
The magician brand archetype is all about vision. That’s the center of their brand strategy and advertising campaigns.
Magician brands don’t build you a better toothbrush or help you keep your house clean, they bring your wildest dreams to life. What a magician archetype offers is a grand experience filled with magical moments in real modern life. A magician archetype offers a grand experience filled with magical moments in real modern life. A magician brand archetype among the 12 brand archetypes is the one in tune with the fundamentals of the universe that they can create the impossible for their target audience.
The Outlaw Brand
Whether it’s using swear words on social media or publishing a risky advertisement, the outlaw archetype doesn’t adhere to social norms. Being an outlaw or rebel brand archetype is a fine line you have to walk, but it’s one that you have to walk if you want to stay out of the law’s reach. That being said, you’re likely to offend someone with your choice of brand personality, so be careful.
Although, among the 12 brand archetypes, rebel brand archetypes have a dominant personality that appeals to a certain target market out of the norms and the status quo that has the same values with outlaws meet challenges head-on.
The Explorer
Explorer brand archetype is known for being bold and adventurous. Explorer brands want to understand the world and make their dreams come true. Patagonia is one of the great examples of an explorer archetype. As an explorer archetype, they have a positive personality that encourages their customers to take risks and explore the world around them. One example is Harley Davidson inspiring self-expression and adventure in people.
The Sage Brand Archetype
The sage brand archetype is a wise and reliable friend. Sage brands are known for their reliability and trustworthiness. To a sage, wisdom is the key to success. Everything else is secondary to the pursuit of knowledge. A sage archetype brand might not feel warm and cuddly. Sage brands don’t enrapture their target audience in a fantastic world like Disney. Instead, a sage’s branding strategy commands your respect by showing their brilliance.
The Innocent Brand Archetype
Simple, wholesome products or innocent brands are the hallmarks of a great company. The innocent belongs in paradise. Everyone is free, virtuous, and happy with an innocent archetype. An innocent brand will never guilt you with an ad or go over the top to convince you. Instead, an innocent branding strategy will charm you with something much more powerful: Nostalgia.
The innocent brand archetype is often successful at ignoring and moving through barriers that would sometimes stop others, as innocent brands have the core talents of being optimistic and hopeful.
The Creator Brand Archetype
A creator isn’t worried about the cost of production or making things at scale. They care about one thing: building the perfect product. While the magician also stresses vision and imagination, creators are different in that they don’t unlock the world’s magic and create the impossible. Creator brands market the perfect product.
The Ruler
Luxury and exclusivity are what ruler brands are all about. A ruler brand is a gatekeeper. If a customer buys from them, they get to belong to the elite target audience. A dollar-shave club is one example of successful ruler brands. Being perceived as high-quality and expensive is critical for a ruler brand archetype. Jewelry and high-end vehicles are natural fits for the ruler archetype.
The Caregiver
The caregiver brand archetype is benevolent. They want to be there for you and the people you love. Caregiver brands are all about warmth and trust. You can depend on them when it comes to your children. It’s rare to see a caregiver brand run an ad that takes a shot at their competition, usually one makes customers relate especially when it comes to compassion and kindness. Caregiver brands are the opposite of a confrontational brand personality.
The Everyman or the Regular Guy
No glitz or glamour, just a reliable product that gets the job done. That’s what regular guy/girl brands are selling. This down-to-earth archetype is focused on providing something so far removed from pretentiousness that it can appeal to everyone. It is the hardest archetype to pull off because you have to have a product that appeals across demographics. Iconic brands with this brand message are KFC, eBay, and even 7-Eleven.
The Jester
Everyone loves a good clown, so it’s no surprise that the jester brand archetypes are one of the most popular characters in popular culture today. Jester brands a popular character because he or she is known for his or her ability to make people smile and have a good time.
You can make your customers happy by making them laugh with your videos and other promotions. Jester brands sometimes take a jest too far, but brand archetypes must make sure that the humor remains sensitive and within reason.
The Lover
The lover brand archetypes are a very important need for many people. Passion, pleasure, and sensuality are the lover brands’ keywords. A lover brand wants you to associate them with intimate moments in your life. What do you buy to celebrate? What do you buy your significant other for birthdays and anniversaries? From flowers to Victoria’s Secret, chances are, you’re buying from a lover brand.
So, there you have it, those are the 12 brand archetype examples by Carl Jung to help you out with your branding strategy.
An Archetype Determines Your Brand Identity & Leads to Successful Marketing Campaigns
If you merely want to run a business, there’s no need to understand the importance of brand archetypes. However, if you’re going to become a successful business and go global, brand archetypes can help you reach there. You must be wondering how and the answer is filtering. Building extraordinary brands start with knowing your own personality traits.
Understand these brand archetype examples and filter your brand where it fits well. Filtering your brand under one of 12 brand archetypes will help you promote the products on one path. This one-way advertising will imprint your brand voice and its products in the minds of the audience.
This is the whole point of brand archetypes to make your brand a part of people’s collective unconsciousness and instinctive counterpart instincts. The ultimate goal of every brand strategy.
Brand archetype examples might seem like a complex topic on the surface, but it’s really about getting to the heart of who your customers are and what they are best likely to respond to. Brands should always look to hit the status quo to ensure campaigns are successful. Targeting a specific brand archetype within this can be hugely helpful in ensuring the message is on point and speaks to the right people.
Always remember, a country’s flag is a symbol of the country itself.
Each business needs to have a clear vision of the collective unconscious of what it is trying to achieve for it to be successful. If you don’t have a clear vision, you won’t be in a position to create something or anything for your business. Behind every successful marketing campaign is a well-thought-out brand strategy.
You need to make sure that your business has a strong brand messaging for it to be successful. When consumers see you constantly as one thing, they start to expect the same thing from you, building consistent credibility and long-lasting relationships.