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A brand is a character. When you cast your brand as a person,
you can turn customers into fans and
transactions into relationships.
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All great stories have great characters.
Brand storytelling is a huge trend in business and branding, and all great storytellers know they need memorable characters to really captivate an audience.
Sol Marketing works with companies to cultivate brand archetypes that connect with people and tell a story that inspires and motivates. We created these illustrations to bring to life the 12 brand archetypes. Understanding your brand archetype defines the role you brand plays in your customers' stories.
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Which archetype fits your brand the best?Check out the following pages to find out.
"The most successful brands are strategic and intentional about whatthey stand for, who they are—and who they are for. The most enduring brands connect emotionally with people at an unconscious level. The 12 classic archetypes represent iconic characters everyone can relate to—the characters that populate our collective unconscious.”
Deb Gabor, Sol Marketing CEO and author of "Branding is Sex: Get Your Customers Laid and Sell the Hell Out of Anything”
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The Magician wants to understand the fundamental laws of the universeGoal: Make dreams come true
Greatest fear: Unintended negative consequences
Strategy: Develop a vision and live by it
Challenge: Becoming manipulative
Gift: Finding win-win solutions
Magician brands:Disney, Tesla, Sol Marketing
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The Sage wants to find the truthGoal: Use intelligence and analysis to understand the world
Greatest fear: Being dupe, misled or ignorant
Strategy: Seeking out information, knowledge and self-reflection
Challenge: Analysis paralysis
Gift: Wisdom, intelligence
Sage brands:Harvard University, Berkshire Hathaway
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The Innocent wants to get to paradiseGoal: To be happy
Greatest fear: To be punished for doingsomething bad or wrong
Strategy: To do things right
Challenge: Boring for all their naïve innocence
Gift: Faith and optimism
Innocent brands:Orville Redenbacher Popcorn, Charmin
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The Outlaw wants revolution
Goal: To overturn what isn’t working
Greatest fear: To be powerless or ineffectual
Strategy: Disrupt, destroy or shock
Challenge: Crossing over to the dark side
Gift: Outrageousness, radical freedom
Outlaw brands:Apple, Harley Davidson
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The Jester want to live in the momentwith full enjoyment
Goal: To have a great time and lighten up the world
Greatest fear: Being bored or boring others
Strategy: Play, make jokes, be funny
Challenge: Frivolity, wasting time
Gift: Joy
Jester brands:Mentos, Old Spice
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The Lover wants intimacy
Goal: being in a relationship with the people
Greatest fear: Being alone, unwanted, unloved
Strategy: Become more and more physicallyattractive
Challenge: Outward-directed desire to please others at risk of losing own identity
Gift: Passion, gratitude, appreciation, commitment
Lover brands:Godiva Chocolate, Dove Soaps
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The Explorer wants freedom
Goal: A better, more authentic, more fulfilling life
Greatest fear: Getting trapped, conformity, inner emptiness
Strategy: Seeking out new things
Challenge: Aimless wandering, becoming a misfit
Gift: Autonomy, ambition, being true to one’s soul
Explorer brands:Subaru, REI
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The Ruler wants control
Goal: A prosperous, successful family or community
Greatest fear: Chaos, being overthrown
Strategy: Exercise power
Challenge: Being authoritarian, unable to delegate
Gift: Responsibility, leadership
Ruler brands:Mercedes Benz, Rolex
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The Caregiver wants to protect and care for others
Goal: To help others
Greatest fear: Selfishness and ingratitude
Strategy: Doing things for others
Challenge: Martyrdom and being exploited
Gift: Compassion, generosity
Caregiver brands:Johnson & Johnson, Volvo
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The Hero wants to prove worththrough courageous acts
Goal: Expert mastery that improves the world
Greatest fear: Weakness, vulnerability
Strategy: Be as strong and competent as possible
Challenge: Arrogance, always needing anotherbattle to fight
Gift: Competence and courage
Hero brands:U.S. Army, GoPro
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The Regular Guy/Girl wants to connect
Goal: To belong
Greatest fear: To be left out or stand out
Strategy: Develop ordinary, solid virtues, be downto earth, the common touch
Challenge: Losing one’s own self to blend in
Gift: Realism, empathy, lack of pretense
Regular Guy/Girl brands:Folgers, Chevrolet
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The Creator wants to make thingsof enduring value
Goal: To realize a vision
Greatest fear: Mediocre vision or execution
Strategy: Develop artistic control and skill
Challenge: Perfectionism, bad solution
Gift: Creativity and imagination
Creator brands:Lego Pixar
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(512) [email protected]
@Sol_Marketing4807 Spicewood Springs RdBuilding 2, Suite 200Austin, TX 78759
Want to learn more?Establishing your brand archetype is a key step in creating a brand that resonates, is authentic and connectswith people.
Find out how you can do that and morewith Sol Marketing.
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