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Brand Archetype for Your Brand’s Characters

27 November 20

What comes to your mind when you hear the name Disney? Is it a universe full of magic, a story of happiness, or is it your childhood memories? Disney brands themselves as the happiest place on earth, a place full of fantasy. From their television shows, products, and amusement parks, Disney offers a story of magic to their customers. Your perception of Disney is influenced by multiple aspects, and one of them is their brand archetype. In this case, Disney is The Magician, with their goal of turning dreams into reality. Brands with The Magician archetype (other examples include MAC Cosmetics and Coca Cola) wants to be known as special and exciting.

Other than The Magician, there are 12 brand archetypes in total: The Innocent, The Everyman, The Hero, The Rebel, The Explorer, The Creator, The Ruler, The Lover, The Caregiver, The Jester, and The Sage. These brand archetypes help brands in aligning their characters with their customers. Each of them exhibits different types of personalities, such as optimistic, fearless, innovative, imaginative, and outrageous. They exist in all different brands. Some examples include The North Face as the Explorer, Apple as the Creator, and Dove as the Innocent.

Brand archetypes, an approach of presenting a brand as a persona, introduced by Carl Jung, in which according to him, humans tend to use symbols in understanding a concept. This theory is used by brands when they are building brand archetypes with a purpose of creating their brand's characteristics, behaviours, and values. From brand’s perspective, brand archetypes are used to establish a deeper connection with their consumers. As stated in “The Meaning of A Brand? An Archetypal Approach”, a journal written by Xara-Brasil, Professor of Marketing and Logistics Department at Polytechnic Institute of Setubal, Portugal, brand archetypes is a bridge between products and customer motivations, allowing customers to experience the meaning of a brand. 

When planning a brand strategy, brand archetype helps the brand in creating a difference between them and the other brands. As one of the leading brand consultants in Indonesia, Milestone believes brand archetypes provide a clear direction for a brand. It gives the brand a well-defined perspective, setting the tone for brand relations with customers. It determines the way brands communicate and the story they want to share to their public. Brand archetypes will also help brands in enhancing their product by knowing customers’ personal goals and strengthening the bond with their customers.