The 12 Brand Archetypes Every Brand Should Know About

By Julia Koh & Syira Junaidi, Danesh Ramuthi
Last Updated: 10 January 2024

Brand archetypes are a popular and helpful concept in brand identity development. It’s part of the brand personality with the aim to better connect with the target audience. Brand archetypes provide familiar characteristics that the audience can understand and relate to.

Psychologist Carl Jung developed archetypes to group similar patterns of human personalities.

In the branding-sphere, archetypes are put into action by giving a brand more depth, character, and human appeal that communicates effectively to customers.

What is brand archetypes?

A brand archetype is a concept in marketing that draws from the work of Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist known for his theories on the human psyche.

An archetype, in Jung’s theory, refers to a set of universal, primal symbols and images that reside in the collective unconscious of people across cultures and time.

When applied to branding, an archetype encapsulates a set of characteristics, behaviors, and modes of thinking that are instantly recognizable and resonate on a deep emotional level.

In brand strategy, identifying and embracing an archetype helps a company to define its tone of voice, shape its messaging, and solidify its place in the market.

By aligning with a particular archetype, a brand can distinguish itself from competitors and challenge the status quo in its industry. This approach is driven by the desire to connect more authentically with customers, as each archetype embodies specific values and motivations that appeal to different segments of the audience.

A brand archetype serves as a foundational element in crafting a brand’s identity, helping to find your brand’s unique place in the market and in the hearts of consumers. It goes beyond mere marketing tactics, tapping into the timeless and universal narratives that shape human experience and aspiration.

There are 12 brand archetypes that brands can be grouped in. Each archetype has different motivations, talents, desires, and weaknesses. There’s more information about each brand archetype as highlighted, with more description and examples.

12 Brand Archetypes for Crafting Compelling Brand Identities

The concept of archetypes is vital for guiding brands in forging deep, meaningful connections with their audience.

From the Stability & Control Archetypes like the commanding Ruler and the wise Sage to the Risk & Mastery Archetypes such as the transformative Magician and the courageous Hero, each archetype presents a unique narrative.

Stability & Control Archetypes

The Ruler Brand Archetype

Ruler brands give the audience a feeling of prestige, control, and power. These brands proudly claim that they are the leaders in their industries and exert their influence over other brands. Therefore, what they offer to the audience is of class and quality, substantial and timeless. Ruler brands empower their customers with a sense of control.

The Sage

Sage brands offer audience advice, insights, and knowledge authority. They seek to answer complex questions and help us better understand the world. Sage brands encourage curiosity and are always informing the audience new findings and perspectives without patronising them. Customers trust Sage brands as reputable sources of facts.

The Caregiver

Caregiver brands exist to care and help their customers, and to make sure everyone is safe and healthy. Empathy is the core of Caregiver brands as they uphold family values and security. Customers seek the Caregiver to take care of them and provide sustenance and peace-of-mind.

Independence & Fulfilment Archetypes

The Rebel

Rebel brands help the audience to be unique, independent, and nonconforming. They challenge the status quo and disrupt the normal way of doing things. This archetype makes a brand easier to stand out and if spoken the right way, can acquire a cult-following from the audience. The Rebel celebrates individualism and an alternative lifestyle.

The Explorer

Explorer brands help their audience achieve freedom, independence and satiate their sense of adventure. They value autonomy, self-resilience, and going where few have gone. Explorer brands help customers find meaning in life by providing them tools or methods for them to achieve it themselves.

The Innocent

Innocent brands have little to ask from their audience. They just want customers to be happy. The Innocent sees the world as pure and optimistic, thus Innocent brands tend to avoid over-the-top and gimmicky marketing tactics. Instead, they value simplicity, transparency and speak with a straight-forward message.

Belonging & Enjoyment Archetypes

The Lover

Lover brands help make the audience feel pampered, special and appreciated. They value beauty, intimacy, and relationships. Lover brands can be very customer-centric as they are obsessed with making the customers feel satisfied and loved. They also encourage indulgence of the senses and help customers appreciate themselves, their friends and family, and things in life like food, accessories, perfumes and others.

The Jester

Jester brands are witty and good at lightening the mood at boring banal things. They poke fun at serious everyday things with the sole aim of making their customers smile and take it easy. Jester brands make their customers’ lives less stressful.

The Regular Guy

Regular Guy brands make the audience feel belonged and have a sense of community. Their manner is warm, friendly, polite and trustworthy. Quality is very important to Regular Guy as it is a sign of trust and dependability. Their relationship with customers is approachable, genuine, and familial.

Risk & Mastery Archetypes

The Magician

Magician brands want to bring the audience through a transformation and help them live in the most incredible, unimaginable way. Magicians are visionary so it’s common for Magician brands to have over-the-top claims and gimmicks. They want customers to experience the wonderful and wow them with innovation and possibility.

The Hero

Hero brands help customers feel victorious. They help their audience conquer their fears and push through obstacles. They also provide ways for the audience to do things they thought they couldn’t do and create a winner in all of us.

The Creator

Creator brands pave the way for their audience to express themselves in many creative ways. They value authenticity, inspiration, and ingenuity. Customers go to Creator brands to get the tools and methods to realise their vision and express themselves in the most creative way they can.

How brand archetypes help your brand

Be Lifelike and More Human

Brand archetypes infuse a brand with human-like qualities, making it more relatable and engaging. By adopting characteristics of a particular archetype, a brand can exhibit traits and behaviors that mirror human emotions and experiences.

Speak to the Audience on an Emotional Level

Archetypes operate on a fundamental level of human psychology, tapping into the emotional and subconscious desires of the audience.

By aligning with an archetype, a brand can communicate in a way that resonates emotionally, appealing to the core values and feelings of its target audience.

Develop a Compelling Brand Story

Every archetype comes with its own narrative framework, rich in symbolism and meaning. By identifying with an archetype, a brand can craft a story that is both compelling and coherent.

Develop a Consistent Brand Voice and Imagery

Consistency is key in branding, and archetypes help in maintaining a uniform brand voice and imagery.

Whether it’s the adventurous spirit of the Explorer or the nurturing touch of the Caregiver, each archetype provides a set of attributes and visual elements that guide the creation of marketing materials.

This consistency ensures that all communications from the brand reinforce the same identity and values, making the brand more recognizable and trustworthy.

Guide Branding & Marketing Plans

Archetypes serve as a strategic tool in planning branding and marketing efforts.

They provide a clear framework for decision-making regarding product development, advertising campaigns, customer engagement, and more.

By understanding the motivations and preferences associated with their chosen archetype, brands can tailor their strategies to more effectively reach and engage their target audience.

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How to identify your brand archetype?

Know your value proposition first, and understand what benefits you’re offering to the target audience. Then identify yourself with at least one and at most three brand archetypes. Brands can have one main archetype and one or two other sub-archetypes that further differentiates their brand.

Let’s take an example from the tourism industry.

Hotels would naturally portray the Caregiver archetype since they provide shelter and a safe place to sleep for patrons.

But to be different and to serve different needs of customer groups, they can opt to embed the Explorer sub-archetype if they allow customers to explore the wilderness or a unique adventure.

Hotels with the Lover sub-archetype would, on the other hand, offer something different and make customers feel pampered and appreciated.

This hotel in a conflict zone has a Rebel sub-archetype, for example.

Brand Archetypes FAQ

1. Are there only 12 archetypes?

While the concept of 12 brand archetypes is popular and widely used, it’s not exhaustive. The framework of 12 archetypes is a simplification for practical use in branding and marketing. There are actually many more archetypes in Jungian psychology, but these 12 are commonly adapted for their distinct and easily recognizable characteristics that align well with brand identities.

2. Who created the 12 archetypes?

The concept of the 12 archetypes used in branding was adapted from the work of Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist. However, the specific framework of these 12 archetypes as applied to branding was later developed by marketing professionals, notably influenced by the work of Carol S. Pearson and Margaret Mark in their book, “The Hero and the Outlaw”.

3. How do I find my brand archetype?

To find your brand archetype, start by analyzing your brand’s core values, mission, and the emotions you want to evoke in your customers. Consider the traits and stories that align with your brand’s personality. Reviewing the 12 common archetypes, such as the Hero, Sage, Jester, or Caregiver, see which one resonates most with your brand’s identity and customer base.

4. What brand archetype is Apple?

Apple is often associated with the Creator archetype. This archetype values innovation, creativity, and the desire to produce enduring works that have a meaningful impact.

5. Did Carl Jung create brand archetypes?

Carl Jung did not create brand archetypes per se. He developed the theory of archetypes as universal, archaic symbols and images that derive from the collective unconscious. His work laid the foundation for the use of archetypes in various fields, including branding, where his concepts have been adapted and applied to brand identity and marketing strategies.

6. What are 4 mythical archetypes?

In the context of mythology, four common archetypes might include the Hero (the brave figure who undertakes a great journey or quest), the Mentor (the wise teacher or advisor), the Trickster (a figure who disrupts the status quo, often with cunning or humor), and the Shadow (a representation of the darker, often unacknowledged, aspects of a character).

7. What is the God archetype?

The God archetype, in Jungian psychology, represents the embodiment of divine authority and power. It often symbolizes the collective unconscious understanding of transcendence, moral authority, and creation. In branding, a God-like archetype might be used to represent brands that are seen as all-powerful, infallible, and commanding great respect and authority.

However, this is less common in modern brand archetypes, which tend to focus on more relatable and humanized characteristics.

In Conclusion

Customers today don’t just buy products or services, they’re also buying into the emotion and meaning behind it. They’re buying into the brand because they like it makes them do and feel things.

Ask yourself how these archetypes will help your brand achieve its mission and business goals. Does it reflect the audience’s values? Does it communicate your brand vision effectively?