A guide to brand archetypes

To better understand the characteristics of your brand identity, you first need to know your target audience.

The reality is that brands exist in people’s minds, and their likes and dislikes can significantly impact how a brand is perceived. This knowledge enables us to shape brand behaviour for more effective communication, increasing its appeal and, ultimately, driving greater success. Brands are crafted to create a desire that resonates with their intended audience. While it may seem somewhat manipulative, understanding customer psychology enables companies to connect with their audience on an emotional level, fostering an engaging response.

Brand archetypes are universal symbols, themes, or character types that help define a brand’s personality and shape its marketing strategy. These archetypes are based on Carl Jung’s psychological theories, which suggest that they represent the collective unconscious and common human experiences.

Identifying a brand’s archetype allows companies to forge a stronger emotional connection with their audience, establish a clearer brand identity, and tailor their messaging to resonate with their target market. There are 12 primary archetypes, each possessing unique traits, motivations, and values that influence how a brand communicates and interacts with consumers and prospective clients.

Here’s a summary of why brand archetypes are important:

1. Consistency: They aid in maintaining a consistent brand voice and image across various platforms and campaigns.
2. Connection: They help forge emotional connections with consumers, and clients, by tapping into shared human experiences and values.
3. Differentiation: They distinguish a brand in a crowded marketplace by giving it a unique identity.
4. Guidance: They provide a framework for decision-making in branding and marketing strategies, helping to align actions with core values and beliefs.

Overall, leveraging brand archetypes can enhance storytelling and create memorable marketing experiences that resonate with audiences on a deeper level.

Which brand archetype are you?

The Innocent

Aka The Dreamer, The Romantic.
Innocent brands promise simplicity.

They are optimistic, simple, honest, and moral. They seek happiness and purity, often inspiring others with their positivity.

• • Core desire: to be free and happy.
  • Biggest fear: doing something wrong and being punished for it.
  • At their best: optimistic, honest and enthusiastic.
  • At their worst: irritating, boring and childish.
  • Customer likes: straight-talking, gimmick-free advertising, naturally drawn to optimistic brands.
  • Customer dislikes: heavy-handed or guilt-inducing advertising is likely to repulse them. 
  • Brand highs: pure, simple and trustworthy. The imagery they use is frequently natural and unfussy.
  • Brand lows: the worst thing that can happen is uncovered corruption or deceit.

Who does this well?

The Hero

Aka The Superhero, The Warrior.
Hero brands promise triumph.

Courageous, determined, and strong individuals. They strive to improve the world and inspire others by overcoming challenges and adversity.

• • Core desire: to prove their worth.
  • Biggest fear: weakness and failure.
  • At their best: brave, determined and skilful.
  • At their worst: arrogant, aggressive and ruthless.
  • Customer likes: quality and efficiency in their products.
  • Customer dislikes: to be swayed by cute or funny adverts.
  • Brand highs: good quality and superior to their competition.
  • Brand lows: for a competitor to be rated higher or proven to be better value.

Who does this well?

The Everyman

Aka Regular Guy, The Good Girl.
Everyman brands promise belonging.

They are down-to-earth, relatable, and friendly. They embody authenticity and connection, emphasising the importance of belonging and community.

• • Core desire: to belong and feel a part of something.
  • Biggest fear: to be left out or to stand out from the crowd.
  • At their best: friendly, empathetic and reliable.
  • At their worst: weak, superficial and suggestible.
  • Customer dislikes: quality and dependability in their brands.
  • Customer hates: strange advertising, and is less likely to trust brands with no emotional connection.
  • Brand highs: take pride in their down-to-earth ethos. Their image is honest and dependable.
  • Brand lows: to appear greedy or elitist.

Who does this well?

The Nurturer

Aka The Saint, The Parent.
Nurturer brands promise recognition.

They are nurturing, compassionate, and protective individuals who prioritise the well-being of others. They embody empathy and provide unwavering support.

• • Core desire: to protect and care for others.
  • Biggest fear: selfishness and ingratitude for their sacrifices.
  • At their best: compassionate, generous and strong.
  • At their worst: masochistic, manipulative and codependent.
  • Customer likes: to be recognised for their effort, without being patronised. Emotionally-driven adverts often strike a chord.
  • Customer dislikes: aggressive adverts are a massive turn-off.
  • Brand highs: offer protection, safety, and support to their customers.
  • Brand lows: their products are shown to be harmful or exploitative.

Who does this well?

The Creator

Aka The Artist, The Dreamer.
Creator brands promise authenticity.

Creative, artistic, and innovative individuals seek to express themselves and their ideas, valuing originality and inspiration.

• • Core desire: to produce exceptional and enduring works.
  • Biggest fear: most afraid of mediocrity.
  • At their best: imaginative, expressive and innovative.
  • At their worst: self-indulgent, melodramatic and narcissistic.
  • Customer likes: enjoy experimental, boundary-pushing or novel ads.
  • Customer dislikes: general, everyday advertising.
  • Brand highs: successful creator brands often develop a devout fanbase and position themselves as the key to unlocking a creator’s creativity.
  • Brand lows: be perceived as inauthentic or ‘sell-out’.

Who does this well?

The Explorer

Aka The Seeker, The Wanderer.
Explorer brands promise freedom.

Adventurous, free-spirited, and curious individuals value independence and new experiences, constantly seeking to discover the unknown.

• • Core desire: craves adventure and wants to discover the world for themselves.
  • Biggest fear: conformity and inner emptiness.
  • At their best: independent, ambitious and spiritual.
  • At their worst: restless, aimless and flaky.
  • Customer likes: embrace brands that promote freedom and self-discovery, especially those that invite the customer to embark on a journey with them.
  • Customer dislikes: domestic-focused adverts.
  • Brand highs: promote themselves as a means to help others experience the new and unknown.
  • Brand lows: to come across as too rigid or corporate.

Who does this well?

The Rebel

Aka The Revolutionary, The Outlaw.
Rebel brands promise revolution.

Defiant, unconventional, and disruptive, they challenge authority and norms, fostering innovation and change through their actions.

• • Core desire: revolution or revenge.
  • Biggest fear: powerlessness.
  • At their best: free-spirited, brave and adaptable.
  • At their worst: destructive, out of control, nihilistic.
  • Customer likes: appreciate the unconventional. They are likely to value unique or shocking content with no obvious ‘sell’ to it. Alternative to the mainstream and make an effort to stand out.
  • Customer dislikes: forcefully reject the status quo.
  • Brand highs: likely to have a cult-like following.
  • Brand lows: to be bought out or become too popular.

Who does this well?

The Lover

Aka The Dreamer, The Idealist.
Lover brands promise passion.

They are passionate, intimate, and sensual individuals who value connection and relationships, often focusing on beauty, love, and emotional experiences.

• • Core desire: pleasure in their relationships, work, and environment.
  • Biggest fear: being unwanted and unloved.
  • At their best: passionate, magnetic and committed.
  • At their worst: people-pleasing, obsessive, shallow.
  • Customer likes: aesthetic appearance of goods and services. Drawn to premium brands, that will make them seem more attractive to others.
  • Customer dislikes: cheap looking brands.
  • Brand highs: promote themselves as glamorous, with emphasis on sensual pleasure. Brands typically focus on how the product feels for the customer.
  • Brand lows: can’t come across as cheap or business-like, or their cultivated air of mystique will be ruined.

Who does this well?

The Magician

Aka The Shaman, The Visionary.
Magician brands promise knowledge.

Visionary, charismatic, and transformative leaders harness their understanding of the world to create change and turn dreams into reality.

• • Core desire: to understand the universe and their place in it.
  • Biggest fear: unintended negative consequences of their exploration.
  • At their best: driven and charismatic with a capacity for healing.
  • At their worst: manipulative, dishonest and disconnected from reality.
  • Customer likes: feel they can grow wiser or influence people by using your products. Ads should be as imaginative and inspiring as possible.
  • Customer dislikes: false prophets.
  • Brand highs: focus on the individual rather than the group, and flatter the customer by telling them to trust their own instincts (and make the purchase).
  • Brand lows: seen as are too structured, regulated or hollow.

Who does this well?

The Ruler

Aka The King, The Leader.
Ruler brands promise power.

Authoritative, responsible, and organised individuals value control and stability; they often lead with discipline and vision.

• • Core desire: power and control.
  • Biggest fear: chaos and being overthrown.
  • At their best: confident, responsible and fair.
  • At their worst: rigid, controlling and entitled.
  • Customer likes: brands that reinforce their feelings of power and stability.
  • Customer dislikes: naturally dominant and will not appreciate patronising or ‘dumbed down’ advertising.
  • Brand highs: speak authoritatively, typically spreading the idea that they are the lead in their field. Their image is solid, polished and often very ‘masculine’.
  • Brand lows: being perceived as weak, or by having to concede defeat to a rival company publicly.

Who does this well?

The Jester

Aka The Fool, The Comedian.
Jester brands promise entertainment.

Playful, fun-loving, and humorous, they aim to bring joy and laughter, encouraging others not to take life too seriously.

• • Core desire: live in-the-moment and enjoy life.
  • Biggest fear: boredom above all else.
  • At their best: joyful, carefree and original.
  • At their worst: irresponsible, cruel and frivolous.
  • Customer likes: anything unusual or playful —especially brands that make light of the seriousness of life.
  • Customer dislikes: boring brands.
  • Brand highs: give the impression that they live in-the-moment, use outrageous imagery, and often tease their customers affectionately. Brands targeted at younger people — who will appreciate the silliness — are typically jesters.
  • Brand lows: to get embroiled in a bitter lawsuit or be seen to be strict with their customers.

Who does this well?

The Sage

Aka The Scholar, The Teacher.
Sage brands promise wisdom.

Wise, knowledgeable, and contemplative. They seek truth and understanding, often guiding others with their insights and expertise.

• • Core desire: seeks the truth and wants to find the wisdom in every situation.
  • Biggest fear: being misled and being ignorant.
  • At their best: wise, articulate and open-minded.
  • At their worst: pedantic, self-absorbed and cold.
  • Customer likes: knowledge comes from growth, constantly look for new sources of information. Prefer brands which challenge them to think in a new way.
  • Customer dislikes: dumbed down brands.
  • Brand highs: promise learning, and therefore often make use of higher level vocabulary and symbolic imagery. They trust their customers to grasp difficult ideas and understand intellectual in-jokes.
  • Brand lows: becoming too dumbed-down or patronising.

Who does this well?

Raise your brand’s personality

At This is Fever, we offer engaging brand workshops as a cornerstone of our dynamic brand strategy services. These workshops delve deeply into your brand’s essence, uncovering what drives it and identifying the audience you aim to captivate. Together, we’ll define your brand’s unique personality and craft a strategy to shape how it’s perceived, ensuring meaningful connections with your ideal clients or emerging customers.

Whether your brand needs a fresh perspective or you’re starting from scratch, we’re here to help.

Contact us today to breathe new life into your brand!