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Already know about Brand Archetypes?
Jump straight to the quiz.
What if I told you that you could make more money just by being your regular-awesome-self?
or by being a super-hero for your clients
or being a lover that makes ’em feel confident and sexy
or a magician that blows freaking their minds with results
What the eff am I talkin’ about?
Brand Archetypes, y’all.
Specifically, I’m talking about Brand Archetypes and how they can transform your brand from a boring, “me-too” brand into a “daaaaaaaang, they totally get me!” brand.
What’s an Archetype?
The word comes from the famous psychologist Dr. Carl Jung. Way back in the 1940’s, he created this theory to describe the patterns of human behavior derived from our unconscious mind. And they’re still used in psychology today, so you know it’s legit.
There could be lots of different archetypes, but Jung defined these 12 to categorize our basic human motivations.
The Innocent
Motivation: Innocent brands strive for individual fulfillment & independence by promoting safety & simplicity.
Motto: “lsn’t it great to be free to be ourselves?!”
Innocent Brands: Coca-Cola, Dove, Red Cross
The Explorer
Motivation: Explorer brands strive for individual fulfillment & independence by promoting freedom.
Motto: “You won’t fence me in!”
Explorer Brands: The North Face, GoPro, Jeep
The Sage
Motivation: Sage brands strive for individual fulfillment & independence by promoting understanding.
Motto: “The truth will set you free.”
Sage Brands: Google, Rosetta Stone, Smithsonian
The Regular Gal
Motivation: Regular Guy brands strive for community & connection by promoting a sense of belonging.
Motto: “We all put our pants on one leg at a time.”
Regular Guy Brands: Home Depot, IKEA, ebay
The Lover
Motivation: Lover brands strive for community & connection by promoting intimacy & passion.
Motto: “You’re the only one that I want.”
Lover Brands: Victoria’s Secret, Herbal Essences, Godiva Chocolate
The Performer
Motivation: Performer brands strive for community & connection by promoting enjoyment.
Motto: “You only live once.” #yolo
Jester Brands: Old Spice, Dos XX, Diet Dr. Pepper
The Hero
Motivation: Hero brands strive to triumph & change the world by promoting mastery & accomplishment.
Motto: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Hero Brands: Nike, FedEx, Duracell
The Maverick
Motivation: Maverick brands strive to triumph & change the world by promoting revolution.
Motto: “The rules were made to be broken.”
Rebel Brands: Harley-Davidson, Virgin Mobile, MTV
The Magician
Motivation: Magician brands strive to triumph & change the world by promoting power & knowledge.
Motto: “I can make things happen.”
Magician Brands: Dyson, Red Bull, Victorinox Swiss Army
The Caregiver
Motivation: Caregiver brands strive for structure & stability by promoting service & comfort.
Motto: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Caregiver Brands: Campbell’s, Johnson & Johnson, Salvation Army
The Creator
Motivation: Creator brands strive for structure & stability by promoting innovation & authenticity.
Motto: “If you can imagine it, you can do it.”
Creator Brands: Apple, Adobe, Lego
The Ruler
Motto: “Power isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
Ruler Brands: Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, American Express
You can take my Brand Archetype Quiz to find out where your brand fits and get more detailed descriptions, big brand examples, music choices, instagram accounts to follow, and a crap load of other cool stuff. Trust me, you’ll like it.
So here’s how it works, guys
Archetypes take the seemingly endless adjectives, values, and facets of personality used to describe humans (and brands!), and put them into 12 neat little boxes. It’s kind of like a mix between a personality test and a stereotype. (C’mon, you know they’re usually true even if you don’t want to admit it.)
Now, if you’re sitting there thinking that nobody’s gonna’ put you in a box because you’re such an intricate and complex being…
That’s kinda’ true!
And it’s also kinda’ wrong… psychology is weird, amiright?
You do fit into a couple different boxes (that’s why when I build brands with my clients, we use your top 3 Brand Archetypes), buuuut…
You are not a unique, special ❄ snowflake ❄ either.
*said with love, so don’t hate me*
But trust me, y’all. I’m here to tell you that it’s a good thing.
And you can use it to make more money in your biz.
How to make more money with Brand Archetypes
Guess what?
Your ideal clients aren’t special snowflakes, either. ❄ ❄ ❄
They’re just regular ol’ ladies and gents.
And they’ll fit into some of the same 12 Archetypes as you.
So, to make more money, you need to:
- Figure out YOUR Brand Archetype. If you haven’t taken the quiz yet, do that over here here.
- Figure out your IDEAL CLIENT’s Archetype. You should be able to easily tell where they fit.
If you don’t know enough about them to figure it out, then you gotta’ back up a step and figure that out first. You should be all up in their heads, y’all. - MAKE SURE THEY FIT TOGETHER. That may seem like common sense, but this is where a lot of brands get hung up. An Innocent or Caregiver isn’t as likely to connect with a Maverick or Performer brand. You’ve gotta’ make sure your underlying values are the same.
- SPEAK TO THEM IN THEIR LANGUAGE. You’ll appeal to them on a deeper level when they feel like you really understand their goals and values.
- MAKE BANK, yo.
Learn your Brand Archetype and USE IT. Give your ideal clients the opportunity to connect with you on a personal, even emotional, level and your sales will skyrocket. I promise.
People want to do business with other people. People that they like, that they can relate to, and that they identify with. So OWN your Archetype and use it to make some moo-lah ??
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