12 Brand Archetypes for Business Growth
What are Brand Archetypes?
Brand archetypes are human character traits that most accurately reflect a brand. There are twelve brand archetypes: The Outlaw, Creator, Magician, Hero, Lover, Jester, Everyman, Caregiver, Ruler, Innocent, Sage, and Explorer.
The idea comes from the psychological theories of Carl Jung, a 20th-century Swiss psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst. He believed that people have one dominant trait that leads to typical behavioral patterns, desires, values, and motivations.
The 12 Brand Archetypes
The Innocent
The first of the brand archetypes is “The Innocent.” This is a positive personality with an optimistic outlook. These brands are usually pure, somewhat naïve, and happy, with strong moral values. They tend to exude trust, simplicity, and authenticity.
The Sage
This brand archetype is all about the search for knowledge, truth, and wisdom. They are perceived as thought leaders and trusted sources of information. Brands of this type aim to empower people to change the world. Sage archetypes are often used in education and news outlets.
The Explorer
“The Explorer” is all about freedom, adventure, and discovery. These brands tend to be independent and ambitious freethinkers. This archetype used a lot by outdoor and adventure marketing brands.
The Outlaw
“The Outlaw” is, as you may have guessed, a bit of a rebel. This archetype is all about fighting conformity and disrupting the status quo. They value freedom and believe rules were meant to be broken.
The Magician
“The Magician” is all about delivering transformative experiences and making dreams come true. They believe anything can happen and focus heavily on promoting creativity and imagination.
The Hero
This is all about courage, confidence, inspiration, and bravery. Heroes are ambitious and they inspire people to work harder. They often used by brands focused on sports and the outdoors.
The Lover
“The Lover” is a true romantic. They value relationships and focus on intimacy, passion, and forming emotional connections. Thus this archetype often used by indulgent brands that sell products like chocolate, wine, and cosmetics.
The Jester
This archetype is all about fun and humor. Jesters are mischievous and extremely charismatic. They encourage others not to take life too seriously and to join the party. Thus they often used by brands that promote food and entertainment.
The Everyman
“The Everyman” is warm, friendly, and humble. In fact, the main motivation in life is being liked and fitting in. This archetype is usually used by affordable, everyday brands that target the masses, such as home décor and furniture.
The Caregiver
“The Caregiver” is all about altruism. Thus this archetype built on a solid foundation of empathy, kindness, and compassion. It used by non-profits and brands that focused on sustainability.
The Ruler
“The Ruler” is all about power, status, and control. This used by digital brands that focus on striving to be the best of the best, and usually found in luxury markets that associated with wealth and success.
The Creator
The last of the 12 brand types is “The Creator.” This brand type focuses on creativity, an isn’t afraid to try new things. These types of brands constantly strive to create digital products with value, often in the area of design and technology.