Brand archetypes according to Jung: 12 company personality types

Many people believe that archetypes are something like tarot, esotericism and other obscurantism like “I am Aries, I can’t eat spicy food.” It's actually a concept based on the work of Carl Gustav Jung and decades of research in narrative psychology and branding. Archetypes help build a connection with the audience, they exist in different cultures and mentalities, and if a brand accurately builds its image, it will ensure the love of the audience.

The secret is simple: our brain loves simple patterns. When he sees something that looks like a dog, barks like a dog, and acts like a dog, it must be a dog. If you call it an orange and sell it as an orange, there is an involuntary “uh... what?” The article explained what archetypes exist, how they influence identity and how to implement them into the brand system. 

Archetypes in branding

Archetype theory works even if you don't really know about it. This is what it looks like: you came up with a network of sports clubs “Iron Hamster”, drew a logo with the message “strength, overcoming, discipline”. This is the Hero archetype. But on your social media page you thought that memes, jokes, and light stories in the style of “We have better buns in our hall than your mother’s” would work better. This is the Jester. As a result, an incomprehensible character is drawn in the audience’s head, who seems to be calling for battle, but does it with the intonation of a stand-up comedian. Do you want to follow such a leader? 

At the same time, if you, for example, are a Magician, this does not mean that you need to go on air with a magic wand or draw a Harry Potter scar on yourself. When the archetype is chosen correctly and organically integrated into the brand, people read it themselves. As a result, a loyal audience is built: one that is close to the path of the Hero, the lightness and comedy of the Jester, and the wisdom of the Magician. 

12 classic brand archetypes

The idea, as we already said, was invented by Carl Gustav Jung, and Margaret Mark and Carol Pearson wrote the book “The Hero and the Rebel”, where they packaged Jungian archetypes into a convenient system of 12 models, ideal for branding.

1. Innocent. Characteristics: simplicity, honesty, good mood. 

2. Caregiver. Care, support, calm. 

3. Hero. This is power and results, confirmed by facts. 

4. Outlaw. His credo: a challenge to society, against the rules. 

5. Researcher, or Seeker (Explorer). He talks about freedom and the search for new things, inspiring discoveries. 

6. Sage (Sage). His strength is knowledge. 

7. Magician. There will be transformation and a “wow” feeling. 

8. Creator. This is creativity and self-expression, non-standard solutions. 

9. Ruler. In this archetype, the main thing is status, reliability, stability. 

10. Lover. In the foreground are aesthetics, sensuality and pleasure.

11. Jester. This is humor, lightness and entertainment. 

12. Your boyfriend (Everyman). This is a friend, neighbor or colleague, just like his audience. 

Analysis of archetypes from the point of view of design and communications

How archetype influences visual identity

The archetype creates an emotional resonance, forces the audience to argue or agree, to enter into a discussion. Essentially, this is a template that helps synchronize all communications, from a corporate website to social networks and email newsletters, in a single tone and style.

Examples of archetypes from large brands:

1. Tesla (Mag) - if this company simply sold electric cars, it would hardly have become so famous. Elon Musk himself looks like either a wizard or a mad scientist, and his brand also invites you to the future, where everything works differently. Just look at any Tesla model: the dashboard is like the spaceship in Interstellar, the doors open differently, and even the bugs in the autopilot are perceived as if you are participating in someone’s huge experiment to transform reality. 

2. Dove (Guardian). Likewise, if it were just a manufacturer of cosmetics and hygiene products, it would be one of many. Dove consistently plays out the Guardian archetype: supports, accepts, normalizes real beauty, gives the feeling of “girl, we are with you.” At the same time, the brand backs up its words with action: it launches campaigns about eating disorders, supports the Children’s Online Safety Act, and raises questions about health problems caused by social networks. That's why they believe him. 

3. Old Spice (Jester). Here's a fantastic story: in the 2000s, Old Spice deodorants lay on the bottom shelves of supermarkets until the brand rebranded. He relied on humor, launched a muscular man in a towel in the advertisement: he appeared in the bathroom, on a horse, on a yacht, and addressed not men, but women as the main target audience: “Look at your man, then at me, again at your man and again at me!” These videos became a meme and brought the brand an additional audience through word of mouth. 

Is it possible to mix archetypes?

Yes, but carefully. A brand should have one leading archetype, to which a second (auxiliary) archetype can be added to enhance the nuances. For example, a Mage can take a little Hero and convey the idea of ​​“technology that makes you stronger.” Archetypes are often mixed when promoting in different regions and cultures to adapt to the mentality, context and characteristics of the audience. 

Common mistakes

1. Several archetypes at once instead of one leader. It looks like a split personality, there is no clear character, the audience does not understand who they are dealing with and is wary. 

2. The archetype does not match actual behavior. You can have a cool one branding development from Veonix, for example, under the Creator, but if an authoritarian Ruler or an ironic Jester comes out to clients instead, they will notice it. 

3. The archetype is chosen as a trend. The SMM specialist looked at major bloggers, got excited about the idea of ​​a Rebel and let’s implement it in social media, and a week later he changed his shoes to a Seeker. Copy-pasting other people's ideas will not work. 

How to implement an archetype into a design and brand system

First you need to choose it correctly. To do this:

1. Determine the core motivation of the brand. What does the company convey: freedom (Researcher), the desire for mastery (Hero), the desire for intimacy and understanding (Your Guy)?

2. Choose one main archetype and one or two additional archetypes. This is enough for the character to be well drawn, but remain recognizable. 

3. Test the selection through audience expectations. The archetype must correspond to what people actually get from the brand. If you are a Hero, and a client waits a week for a response from support, something has gone wrong.

For brand character to really work, it needs to be consistently integrated across all touchpoints.

1. Update your corporate identity. Add elements to the guide that reflect the character of the brand: language features, standard wording, visual principles, color rules and compositions. This creates a consistent style that is easy to scale.

2. Train your team and partners. Employees must understand how the archetype manifests itself in speech, service and behavior. Then the client receives the same experience regardless of the communication channel.

3. Conduct an audit of all materials. Check the website, social networks, presentations, mailings and advertising media. Make sure the brand image reads the same way.

4. Maintain consistency. When an archetype is consistently manifested in every element of a brand, it gradually becomes familiar, inspires trust and takes a stable place in the life of the audience.

When choosing an archetype from scratch or repackaging a brand, you can use artificial intelligence. Neural networks help to collect patterns of audience behavior, see what really hooks users, and check whether your behavior matches the chosen archetype. But you cannot hope that the conditional chatGPT will now assign you an archetype and draw up a plan for its implementation. Even the latest versions of neural networks require constant human control and editing.

An archetype is more than a way to differentiate itself from competitors; it is a coherent image that will help a brand survive price wars and attract a loyal audience. The Veonix team develops branding from A to Z: we have raised hundreds of successful Heroes, Guardians and Our Boyfriends. Do you want the same? We don't see it yet your brief in corporate mail.