Brands Don't Use Archetypes Properly. Here's How.

Most brands don’t use archetypes properly.

It comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of archetypes. And it’s why they have a bad reputation among marketing practitioners.

But there is a way to use them effectively to build a strong brand.

Why Brand Archetypes Fail

Brand archetypes usually derive from a set of twelve archetypes laid out in The Hero and the Outlaw by Margaret Mark and Carol Pearson.

The book draws on earlier work from Pearson that reduced Carl Jung’s archetypes to twelve that could easily be applied to personal growth.

And it works well for self-directed personal growth: It covers enough areas of behavior. It’s easy to use. It makes you more aware of your behaviors. And it shows you how you can improve.

However, applying a growth system where you move between archetypes to a fixed brand system where you’re always one archetype doesn’t work.

It’s too limiting.

It forces brands into a small number of buckets that, in most cases, don’t accurately reflect the brand.

And using a limited number contradicts Jung’s writing on archetypes.

How Archetypes Work

What Did Jung Really Mean?

Jung’s writing is very complex.

He writes to figure out his ideas. So, you’ll have ten pages of complex language followed by a page of clarity. And his ideas evolved over the years of his writing.

So, it’s not surprising that people don’t use archetypes well: They haven’t taken the time to fully understand his ideas. Instead, they rely on second-hand accounts that miss nuances.

For our purposes, there are three key ideas to understanding archetypes in the context of branding.

1. Archetypes are rooted in the brain’s structure

2. Archetypes are patterns of behavior

3. There are a lot of archetypes

TLDR Version: What Does That Mean for Branding?

I know that’s a lot to take in, but keep in mind the main points:

1. Archetypes are rooted in the brain’s structure.

2. Archetypes are patterns of behavior.

3. There are a lot of archetypes.

And the key thing you need to understand for branding is that archetypes are ways humans are naturally wired to organize the world and respond to it.

By using archetypes, you’re working with patterns people naturally use to organize information. You’re working in line with existing psychic structures.

So, it makes it easier for people to comprehend what you’re doing, categorize it, and respond to it.

And since there are a lot of archetypes, there’s a wide range to choose from that can be very specific to the patterns of behavior that solve your customers’ problems.

How to Use Archetypes for Your Brand

1. Determine Your Archetype

Start by understanding how your customers would see themselves if you solved their problems.

Then, find an archetype that mirrors the customer after the transformation.

For example, Nike consistently uses the warrior archetype which reflects the customer who is unwavering in achieving their goals with strength, courage, and determination.

Their customers may not always achieve that, but it is how they see themselves in their ideal form.

Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy way to do this.

Because there are a large number of options, it will take some digging to find the right one.

The way I do it is:

1. Start by understanding the transformation the customer wants.

2. Understand how they see themselves in an ideal world.

3. Dig through several archetype resources.

4. Create a list of the best archetypes for the brand.

5. Narrow it down to the best.

One day, I hope to build a GPT that can accurately determine an archetype (I’ll send it to this list when I do). But I’ve yet to create one that beats a manual search with current LLM capabilities.

Some of my favorite resources for determining an archetype are:

• A Dictionary of Symbols by Juan Eduardo Cirlot

• Ariadne’s Clue by Anthony Stevens

• The Book of Symbols edited by Ami Ronnberg and Kathleen Martin

• Archetypes in Branding by Margaret Hartwell and Joshua C. Chen

2. Put Your Archetype to Work for Your Brand

Once you determine your archetype, it’s time to put it to work.

And the best place to do it is when you’re creating ideas.

Your archetype should act as a constraint for generating ideas: only brainstorm ideas that reflect some aspect of your archetype.

By doing so, you do two things:

1. Always reflect your customers in your marketing.

2. Create brand consistency.

Brand consistency is one of the biggest drivers of marketing effectiveness. It makes it easy for customers to understand what you do.

• It helps build mental structures.

• It builds familiarity.

• It creates clarity.

And all of those are critical to achieving the primary goal of branding: improving preference so they’re more likely to buy from you than a competitor.

Look at Nike’s ads: they’ve found creative ways to reflect the warrior archetype and the battles the warrior faces to achieve glory year after year, for decades.

Using an archetype as a constraint for brainstorming to create meaningful consistency is how archetypes should be used.

Bonus Brainstorming Technique: Archetype POV

One way to incorporate archetypes into brainstorms is to pick a historical figure that embodies your archetype.

Then, take on that person’s point of view and imagine how they’d solve the problem you’re facing.

Taking on a historical figure’s point of view is a powerful brainstorming technique since it forces you to look at the problem from a different angle.

Using your archetype to determine the historical figure amplifies its effectiveness as it helps you take on the most relevant point of view.

P.S. Curious how archetypes could transform your brand? Wondering if you're using them right? Reply to this email and I’ll set up a free 15-minute archetype strategy spot check. Zero commitment, pure value.