Are brand archetypes still relevant to marketing today?

Brand archetypes have long been a staple in the marketing toolkit, but in recent times their usefulness has been challenged by some of the industry’s more outspoken influencers. In a 2022 article for Medium, one self-titled ‘Mad Men’ Agency Principle even felt strongly enough to declare that, ‘the entire concept of archetypes was created in an imaginary insane asylum’. So are brand archetypes still fit for purpose or is it time to reduce our reliance on Jung’s band of Jesters, Innocents, Caregivers and Rebels?

To begin, let's take a look at what brand archetypes offer us. Every great brand needs a story, and every great story needs a strong narrative voice. At Pod, when we’re helping B2B brands decide how to speak to their audience, we’ll begin by asking them a range of open-ended questions. These might include:

• What are your strategic objectives?

• What do you want to be known for?

• What are your target audience’s pain points?

• What makes you different?

B2B businesses are usually great at answering these questions. When provided with an opportunity to really think about it and discuss it, they generally know what they want to say, even if they have no idea how they want to say it. And as they begin to answer these questions, they also tell us much, much more. Their brand personality starts to glimmer through - becoming apparent in the ways they describe themselves, what they do and why they do it. Our job is to capture this and make it both cohesive and compelling - and that’s where brand archetypes are so useful. By pinning all of the thoughts, ideas and feelings down into one (or more - we’ll come to this later) powerful identity, brands have a foundation from which they can better articulate their purpose, vision and values, and tell their brand story in a way their audience will understand. 

Importantly, choosing a brand archetype can also help B2B businesses to decide and define what they are not. For example, we recently helped a large impact investment organisation do exactly that. Their old branding, which had not featured any archetype work, had inadvertently cast them as a Caregiver; setting audience expectations of them more aligned with a traditional charitable trust than an innovative financial pioneer. A move to Explorer allowed us to rethink their online marketing strategy, messaging and tone of voice, so that prospective clients and investors might understand them better.

So what are the brand archetypes?

Brand archetypes can help determine a brand’s personality. There is no “best” personality, all have their identifiers and hold equal weight, but their execution mechanisms vary hugely. There are 12 archetypes in total, and they can be roughly divided into four groups:

Stability and control:

• Caregiver: Driven by the need to protect and care for others.

• Ruler: Confident and responsible, it is driven by the need for power and control.

• Creator: Exceptional, innovative and afraid of mediocrity.

Learning and freedom:

• Innocent: Optimistic, honest and enthusiastic.

• Sage: Able to find wisdom in every situation.

• Explorer: Independent and ambitious.

Risk and achievement:

• Visionary/Magician: Driven and charismatic, helping customers feel they can grow “wiser”.

• Rebel: Craves revolution, free-spirited, brave and adaptable.

• Hero: Brave, determined and skillful.

Belonging

• Lover: Passionate, magnetic and committed, values the aesthetic appearance of goods and services.

• Jester: Likes to live in the moment and enjoy life. Joyful, carefree and original.

• Everyman: Humble, friendly and authentic - offering products everyone can enjoy.

Not everyone agrees that brand archetypes are helpful

Now, we’d be doing our readers a disservice if we wrote a blog about brand archetypes and ignored arguments against their worthiness.

The 12 brand archetypes can help organisations get started on their messaging journey and craft a cohesive and coherent personality. But some marketing experts – including Mark Ritson – argue archetypes can be more misleading than helpful. 

Before we explore those arguments in more detail, you might be wondering “so, why do you still use them?”. At Pod we’ve always understood that brand archetypes can be viewed as a blunt tool – but only if used as one. It goes without saying that everyone is entitled to have their opinion on this or any other system. Archetypes are not the end of the brand conversation, only the beginning, and should not be used in isolation as the only tool to establish a brand’s way of addressing its audience. 

So, let’s have a look at what opponents of brand archetypes say:

Shaky foundations: Archetypes stem from the work of Carl Jung, a psychologist whose theories weren’t grounded in marketing research. Critics point out that Jung himself questioned his sanity while developing these concepts. This raises questions about the validity of applying such ideas to the world of brands.

Limited choices: There are only a set number of archetypes. This forces brands to squeeze themselves into potentially ill-fitting categories. The arbitrary nature of this limited selection ignores the complexity of real brands. A brand can possess multiple characteristics or evolve, making it difficult to find a single archetype that truly captures its essence.

One-dimensional branding: Archetypes can lead to a one-sided brand persona. They focus on a single set of traits, failing to capture the full range of a brand's identity. This can create inconsistencies as a brand grows or tries to connect with different audiences. For example, a brand aligned with the rebel archetype might struggle to reconcile with supporting a social cause.

Customer disconnect: Archetypes focus on how a brand presents itself, not how it solves customer problems. This inward focus can lead to messaging that misses the mark with your target audience. Customers ultimately care more about what a brand does for them than the brand's chosen archetype.

With these points in mind, let’s explore how brand archetypes can be used in a more nuanced way to help organisations position themselves, while remaining flexible and open to change.

Why brand archetypes still hold value

Getting multiple B2B stakeholders on the same page is no easy feat. Brand archetypes provide a helpful starting point to agree on an organisation’s mission, as well as on its principles and its way of communicating with customers and stakeholders.

As with many helpful marketing tools, the magic is in the approach. Brand archetypes can be adapted and evolved to reflect a brand’s unique story and position in the market. 

Aligning your company with a single brand archetype is a good starting point, but there may be value in taking traits from other archetypes to help create a brand personality for your business that feels nuanced and distinct.

You have the power to choose elements that best fit your brand story – creating an original, fresh and authentic messaging strategy that is perfectly in line with your organisation.

Which brand archetype are you?

Consider your industry

Martina Bretous at Hubspot suggests that the industry you’re in might naturally encourage you to embrace a certain brand archetype. 

“If you're a camping gear company, your archetype can easily tie back to the ‘Explorer’ archetype, as that's all about adventure,” she suggests. “Or if you're a non-profit, the ‘Caregiver’ is a natural fit. However, it's not always that easy.”

Consider your mission and values

For B2B brands with a complex product offering, choosing an archetype based on sector alone might not be wise, or even possible. Also, it can be a good idea to choose a less traditional archetype for the very reason of differentiating yourself from the competition. 

In this case, considering your mission and values is the next natural step. Why does your company exist? How did it come to be? What inspires and motivates your teams? And most importantly, what problems does your business solve? 

By answering these questions, you’ll be able to choose a brand archetype that’s a natural fit for your organisation and its people, and that doesn’t feel at odds with the brand’s history and public persona.

Consider your audience

Last but not least, it’s essential to explore what basic human needs your brand responds to – whether that’s safety, belonging, freedom or a sense of achievement – and how you can tie these back to your audience’s challenges and pain points. 

Ask yourself what archetype could respond to their problems in the best possible way. For example, if they’re struggling with constant industry and market change, the Ruler might provide a sense of safety and stability. On the other hand, if they’re frustrated by socio-economic instability, a stagnant market or other factors, a Hero brand might strike them as able to do things differently and offer innovative and out-of-the-box solutions.

At Pod, we believe in using brand archetypes as a starting point for more complex and sophisticated messaging work, rather than rigid moulds that brands need to conform to. In this way, B2B marketers can create a coherent brand voice that is still flexible enough to adapt as their organisations change and evolve. 

If you’d like to chat to our team about your branding, why not get in touch?