What kind of identity fits your brand? What kind of personality is this? Archetypes allow you to explore whether your brand is an Explorer, Everyman or a Hero after all, and what that means for your brand.
The life of a movie hero is not all roses. Having just discovered that you have to go fight an invincible evil, you find out that the only person who can help you do so is a weird old man who often explains everything in vague riddles too.
What the hero does not yet know but we as film audiences do is that this example exactly matches the image we have of a wise trainer - a character with a lot of knowledge, logic and wisdom and a tinge of worldliness but one who always puts the path of truth first.
But where does this come from and how does it help your brand gain more personality? To answer this, we first need to delve a little deeper into psychology.
The shared myth
According to psychologist Carl Jung, the fact that we as humanity instantly recognise these types of characters came from an evolutionarily developed set of patterns he called Archetypes: a recurring image of human behaviour shared by cultures and mythologies. Simply put: an Archetype is a recognisable 'type' of character that has existed since people told each other stories (and has been further explored in films and series since modern times).
What particularly struck Jung was that similar Archetype also existed in stories of cultures that had never been in contact with each other which led him to the theory that these archetypes came from a collective subconscious: a shared set of characters that categorise human behaviour.
Today, we know an extensive character set that we can recognise as individual archetypes: the discipline and courage of The Hero, the kindness and helping hand of The Everyman or the wisdom and knowledge of The Sage. All qualities that everyone has in them, but of which 1 is often dominant according to Jung.
Mailchimp's Joker
Archetypes are not only found in films, you can find them in more places. Take newsletters, for example. Not one of the most exciting topics but one that can involve a lot of stress (just send a newsletter to thousands of people and see how often you double-check everything).
Until a few years ago, this was a boring task in an equally boring environment. Until MailChimp thought it could be done differently. They injected their brand with a piece of personality: funny comments on boring tasks, an animation of a sweaty hand above a send button and more recently a series surreal advertisements.
Mailchimp realised that if they couldn't make it easier, maybe they could make it more fun. They chose a brand personality close to the Archetype The Joker an archetype that looks for fun in everything and lives for positivity and fun. With the choice of a clear brand personality, Mailchimp was soon able to stand out positively from the competition because the association among their target audience was quickly made ('oh yes the one with the monkey!') and more importantly: a bit of humour at the right time can make for a positive user experience more fun.
Your brand as a primal story
Archetypes can be applied to any brand: from Nike as Hero to Hema's Everyman the strongest brands can be plotted on a universal Archetype that can tell a recognisable story to your target audience. Are your customers looking for a wise Sage or do they want more of an inspiring Creator? Choosing 1 central Archetype can help your brand create a clear way both internally and externally in how you communicate with your target audience.
Want to apply Archetypes yourself? Download the free Archetype tool in our Design Thinking Toolkit.
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