Uncovering Brand Archetypes
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Transcript of Uncovering Brand Archetypes
Don’t be a Hero (or an Outlaw…if you aren’t one)
Client
Brand as hero no matter the product, clients believe it is the best in the category, well-made and loved by
fans, they often see it as a hero archetype
Agency
Broadly speaking many clients are drawn to the hero archetype and many agency folks are hoping to uncover an outlaw brand.
Brand as outlaw no matter the brand, agencies frequently
hope it will be disruptive in its category and creatively daring in its communications
There is no good or evil type
Every archetype has strengths and weaknesses. No single archetype is better than any other.
For branding purposes focus on the common positive attributes and only consider the negative elements of the archetypes as possible missteps to avoid.
Maleficent Merlin the Joker Ace Ventura
Magician Jester
Elizabeth Godfather
Ruler
Don’t shy away from an archetype because it seems less cool than others.
This isn’t the school dance
Everyman
It is okay to be more like Tom Hanks than Tom
Cruise
Innocent
Being an innocent archetype doesn’t mean you are exposing weakness
Maytag Pillsbury
Gender doesn’t have anything to do with it
Archetypes can be portrayed in both feminine and masculine forms.
The brand does not need to choose an archetype that reflects their target audience.
Caregiver
Dove Men + Care Dove Men’s line connects
caring for men with the caregiving men do
Outlaw
Dollar Shave Club a disruptive business model and advertising approach
show that it is a brand willing to break all the rules
Lover
Tom Ford for men in this extension of
the brand Tom Ford maintains the lover
archetype
How to uncover brand archetypes
ONE: Revisit the origin story and valuesTWO: Spend time looking at category codes (semiotics) THREE: Look at your role in the competitive set
ONE: Explore the origin story
Who founded the company? Why? How did it grow? What changed over time?
Created for Royalty 1850s Louis Vuitton is the personal box maker and
packer for empress Eugene, wife of Napoleon III
For a brand that has over a 150 year history its issues are startlingly consistent. An association with royalty and the upper class, simple design
and struggles with counterfeit competitors remain true today.
Fighting Impostors Monogram created by his
son in 1892 to combat knock offs by competitors
Simple Design Creates rectangular flat shaped trunks that are easier to tack than the
curved trunks of the day
Example: Louis Vuitton
TWO: Semeiotic deep dive, make the implicit explicit
• Examine signs and codes (textual codes like camera work and social codes like body language).
• Identify paradigm sets and structural relationship between signifiers.
• Construct analysis as a whole. How does it naturalize it’s perspective? What assumptions does it make about its audience?
Absence Less is more
Separate when together
Entitlement & exclusion
Example: Premium and Luxury luggage
THREE: Competitive Evaluation
What archetypes exist?
How does the category leader communicate?
Which brands are you most like?
Which brands are you least like?
Yearn for paradise
Leave a mark on the world
Connect with
others
Provide structure to
the world
safety
understanding
freedom
liberation
power
masteryintimacy
enjoyment
belonging
service
control
innovation
Innocent
Sage
Explorer
Outlaw
Magician
HeroLover
Jester
Everyman
Caregiver
Ruler
Creator
Example: Premium and Luxury luggage
23andMe - Searching for the type
The brand 23andMe presented a few challenges
• It was a silicon valley start-up created in 2006, at the ripe old age of 7 it explored advertising and creating a consumer facing identity
• There wasn't an existing category (personal genetic info) for comparison
• Information we had
• Founding principles - empower individuals & accelerate research, allow everyone to contribute to improving human understanding.
• Goal - be the worlds trusted source of personal genetic information
• Product - kits sent to homes for $99 that allow individuals to get a much better understanding of their genetic info
23andMe - Using the Archetype
• Sage - unlocking knowledge
• the core desire- the discovery of truth
• goal - use intelligence and analysis to understand the world
• Advertising - visualized the amount of information that we have inside and highlighted the importance of self-knowledge