Understanding Brand Archetypes

Brand archetypes are loosely based on the 12 Jungian personality archetypes credited to psychiatrist Carl Jung and author Carol S. Pearson. These archetypes help customers immediately identify with your brand and give businesses a clear direction when promoting their company on social media. Here, we discuss the different brand archetypes, their meaning, and how leaning into a brand archetype can benefit your marketing presence. 

What Are Brand Archetypes?

If you’ve ever heard of the 12 personality archetypes that supposedly define most people, you’re already halfway to understanding brand archetypes. Each archetype gets its personality from the value it values the most. Whether these archetypes were based on Jung’s archetypes or the creation of Pearson is up for debate. However, whoever created these concepts has applied them to more than just people, making the jump to brand identity. 

While people are much more complicated than just 12 personality types, these categories can be a great starting approach to understanding people. Similarly, applying these archetypes to marketing gives you a greater brand identity template that is perfect for your business. 

The brand archetypes and their values are:

• The Innocent: Values safety
• The Sage: Values knowledge
• The Explorer: Values freedom
• The Outlaw: Values liberation
• The Magician: Values power
• The Hero: Values mastery
• The Lover: Values intimacy
• The Jester: Values pleasure
• The Everyman: Values belonging
• The Caregiver: Values service
• The Ruler: Values control
• The Creator: Values innovation

We’ll dive into more about each of these archetypes as brands later on, but for now, their name and their values summarize a good example of how brands can use these archetypes to connect with customers with the same values. 

Why Do Brand Archetypes Matter?

Brand archetypes not only help your brand connect with potential customers, but they also provide a coherent brand identity for your company. By working with a particular brand archetype, you’re already well on your way toward creating meaningful advertisements and marketing campaigns that reach your target audience.

Think of a few top brands and their marketing campaigns; you’ll find that they slot perfectly into different brand identities. For example, Harley-Davidson’s advertising fits the outlaw archetype perfectly. Its advertising concerns freedom, the wide open road, and going against social norms. On the other hand, while most insurance companies would fall into The Caregiver, providing service for the customers, Allstate’s mayhem commercials play more into The Jester with its funny portrayal of mayhem as a person. 

This is a good example of how you can use one brand archetype for your company and choose another for a marketing campaign. For example, your company may be all about innovation (like The Creator) but might decide to advertise a sense of mastery (The Hero) for your latest online course. 

Choosing an archetype means you don’t tie your brand to only one thinking style. Instead, you open up new avenues for creative content across the entire spectrum of archetypes while maintaining a consistent brand identity. 

On top of giving your brand a unique voice, brand archetypes can also determine what customers you reach. For example, if your customer base is largely the stay-at-home crowd that values routine, consider branding after The Innocent, which values safety. Conversely, if you want to attract young rebels to your cause, go for The Outlaw and their love of liberation or The Explorer and their love of freedom. 

No matter what archetype you choose, you’ll find countless ways to connect with your customer base, all from the firm foundation of an established brand identity and tone. 

How to Determine Your Brand’s Archetype

To better figure out your brand’s archetype, let’s look at some popular brands that fall into each of the twelve archetypes and what their marketing can teach us about embracing brand identity in your marketing. 

The Innocent

With purity, honesty, and a sense of humility, The Innocent archetype values safety above all else. This brand lends to being wholesome and highlighting life’s pure, airy things. Brands that use this archetype include Aveeno and Dove, and their marketing merges simplicity with wholesomeness for a light, refreshing association. 

The Sage

If your brand has the bearing of an old professor, The Sage might be the right archetype for you. Associated with assurance, guidance, and knowledge, The Sage archetype is the hallmark of companies like Google, BBC, Encyclopedia Britannica, and many universities. Your brand doesn’t need to be an official source to prioritize education, as many children’s programs sometimes fall into The Sage. However, if your brand prides itself on providing answers and wisdom, this is a good archetype for you. 

The Explorer

This brand would get along with John Muir and inspires a sense of freedom in its customers. Brands like The North Face, Jeep, and Patagonia all lean into the feeling of daring, excitement, and fearlessness typical of The Explorer. Brands with this archetype highlight the shortness of life and how to make every day count. To borrow an early 2010s phrase, The Explorer is likeliest to tag something #YOLO (You Only Live Once) than any other brand on this list. 

The Outlaw

As mentioned above, The Outlaw is the antihero, valuing revolution and breaking the rules over everything else. While your company shouldn’t violate any laws in your advertising, The Outlaw is all about a “devil may care” attitude, about being deceptive, combative, and rebellious. Once again, Harley-Davidson is the benchmark for this revolutionary archetype, so be prepared to aim for a tougher crowd if this is your brand’s, well, brand. 

The Magician

The Magician valuing power makes total sense when you find out Disney is the primary player in this archetype. This archetype is all about being mystical and reassuring while informing customers that tomorrow can be brighter. If your company is all about sending a sense of wonder and vibrancy, The Magician is a good fit for you. 

The Hero

What do Adidas, Nike, and FedEx have in common? These brands are all part of The Hero archetype, which values mastery. This archetype is a no-nonsense, honest, candid, and brave archetype that values grit and determination. If your company is about getting the job done, similar to the Home Depot or other department stores, your brand is probably a good fit for The Hero archetype. 

The Lover

The real secret about Victoria’s Secret is its archetype is The Lover. This archetype is sensual, empathetic, and soothing and taps into the inherent beauty of its customers. If your brand could be best described as enticing and sexy, The Lover is a great choice. Even subdued, brands like Chanel have used this archetype to great impact. 

The Jester

Fun-loving, playful, and optimistic brands that fall into The Jester archetype include M&M and Old Spice. These brands lean into childlike enjoyment and wonder and potentially use memes in advertising. The Jester believes we’re here for a good time, not a long time, and its advertising plays into these facts. 

The Everyman

While some may consider this brand identity boring, there’s a real sense of belonging in The Everyman archetype. Brands like Walmart, Target, and IKEA all play this role well, emphasizing the values of being humble, authentic, friendly, and treating everyone with honesty. These brands lean into their lowest common denominator appeal, going for the brand message that everyone is welcome at their store, which pays off in their overarching popularity and recognition. 

The Caregiver

The Caregiver believes everyone deserves to be cared for and should help one another. These brands use caring, warm, and reassuring language to convey their message and lean into the idea that everyone is worthy of being helped. Many charities lean into this archetype, as well as Unicef and WWF. 

The Ruler 

This archetype is all about control. With The Ruler, power and control are everything, and these brands offset that drive for power with a commanding, refined, and articulate aesthetic common to an upper-class business person. Brands like Mercedes-Benz and Rolex are both masters of The Ruler archetype, giving the impression that with their help, customers can also be in a position of control. 

The Creator

Innovation, inspiration, daring, and provocative advertisements are a cornerstone of The Creator. Think of brands like Apple, Adobe, and LEGO when you think of The Creator. These brands are all about making things, whether the brands are the ones innovating or the people purchasing the brands. The sky is the limit with these companies, and their customers feel the same. So if you want your customers to feel inspired and in charge, The Creator is a great brand archetype. 

Choosing your brand archetype is just one piece of the branding puzzle. Selecting an archetype for your brand and developing a strategy around that value is included in our brand guides. If you’re ready to set the tone for your brand, send us a message today!