Choosing Your Brand Archetype
Lesson 11 from: Brand Strategy BootcampScott Lancaster
Choosing Your Brand Archetype
Lesson 11 from: Brand Strategy BootcampScott Lancaster
Lesson Info
11. Choosing Your Brand Archetype
Lessons
Welcome To Brand Strategy Bootcamp
01:32 2The Brand Building Framework
03:28 3Branding 101
05:17 4The 5 Laws of Brand Building
06:34 5The Successful Founder's Mindset
04:13 6The Scientific Reason Why Brands Grow
04:14 7Verifying Your Business Idea
03:05 8Understanding Brand Positioning
03:44Lesson Info
Choosing Your Brand Archetype
1 (classical music) 2 Now a quick thing about brand archetypes. 3 A few brand strategists 4 that I've spoken to in the past 5 have thought that choosing the perfect brand archetype 6 is going to allow customers to fall in love with your brand 7 and then buy from you forever. 8 But the truth is, this is obviously absolute nonsense, 9 but what isn't nonsense 10 is when you choose the right brand archetype 11 for your brand's DNA, 12 it can really give you the best chance of success. 13 But what do I mean by brand DNA? 14 Well, let me explain. 15 The 12 brand archetypes that are used 16 across the world every day now 17 for brands, books, and movies, 18 were actually based around Carl Young's personality types 19 back in 1919. 20 And the reason that brand archetypes are so popular 21 and they're used across the world every single day 22 for brands and different mediums, 23 is that people thought that using brand archetypes 24 as characters can help others 25 if viewers or customers fall...
in love with that character 26 and then essentially befriend them 27 and want to spend more time with them. 28 They try to use brand archetypes 29 to provoke a sense of loyalty. 30 When the data says that people don't actually see brands 31 as friends at all, 32 and the only loyalty that anyone has towards a brand, 33 or company or anybody 34 is to meet their needs and requirements. 35 For example, let's say 36 that you've been going to the same restaurant 37 every two weeks for the last three years 38 to enjoy your favorite dish, which you love daily. 39 But one day you go to enjoy your favorite dish 40 and the chef has moved to a different restaurant 41 and the menu has completely changed. 42 Now you're there already, so you try a different dish, 43 but it just isn't the same. 44 Now, question, would you still go to that restaurant 45 just because you've been going there for three years 46 if you couldn't get your favorite dish 47 and the reason that you were going to 48 that restaurant in the first place? 49 Well, I didn't think so. 50 So does this mean 51 that we should completely ignore brand archetypes? 52 Well, not quite. 53 And this is because brand archetypes 54 are the perfect foundation to lay your brand communications 55 and brand expression. 56 Let me explain what I mean 57 using something really simple, like fonts. 58 For example, if your brand archetype was the outlaw, 59 then the font that you're going to use 60 is going to be something which is quite bold, quite strong, 61 and a little bit rugged, 62 and you are definitely not gonna choose a font, 63 which is very curvy and very approachable. 64 If you chose a font 65 which didn't fit with the rest of the pieces 66 of your brand jigsaw, 67 then it's going to look a little bit weird 68 and it's going to turn people off 69 because something just subconsciously 70 doesn't make sense to them. 71 Let's look at another example with the lover archetype. 72 You would want to select a typeface 73 which has a little bit of flare, 74 that's a little bit seductive, 75 and is also super attractive, 76 which means you wouldn't go for a front 77 which is a little bit ugly, and unbalanced 78 and not attractive. 79 Now, hopefully this has shown you 80 that choosing the right brand archetype 81 isn't the life or death of your business. 82 To be honest, there's no right or wrong answer. 83 You can do any brand archetype if it's executed correctly, 84 but the most important thing is to choose a brand archetype, 85 which you can build out as part of your jigsaw 86 to communicate the character of your brand 87 and what your brand stands for. 88 Essentially, everything just has to make sense. 89 Now, within the downloadable file, 90 which we've attached to this course, 91 you can find the brand archetype section 92 where you can essentially just select whichever one 93 makes most sense to you. 94 And if you've already completed 95 the previous two steps of this course, 96 you'd have already completed your customer persona sheet 97 and also your competition analysis. 98 This is going to help you make a far better decision 99 in regards to which brand archetype is perfect for you. 100 Now, when you're selecting your brand archetype, 101 there are two things 102 that should always be at the front of your mind. 103 The first is, which brand archetypes 104 are already being used by your competition? 105 Gillette, for example, in the razor blade market, 106 chose the ruler archetype 107 because they were essentially paying athletes millions 108 and millions of dollars, like Terrion Reed, Tiger Woods, 109 and Roger Federer to promote 110 and advertise their products in campaigns. 111 But the Dollar Shave Club saw this 112 and they thought, 113 "Okay, I'm not gonna go toe to toe with those guys. 114 Those guys have so much more money than us. 115 Let's go in the opposite direction 116 so that we make sure that we stand out as a brand." 117 So they went in the exact opposite direction 118 and chose the jester archetype. 119 They cracked jokes, they made tongue-in-cheek commercials, 120 and they sold their raises at hilariously low prices. 121 So make sure you highlight 122 which brand archetypes your competitors are using, 123 and then exclude them from your selection 124 so that you don't copy off them 125 and potentially get yourself into a little bit of trouble. 126 This is why I previously said 127 to analyze as many competitors as possible. 128 So once you've excluded all the brand archetypes 129 that you feel your competitors are already using, 130 it's now time to look at your customer persona 131 and decide which of the remaining archetypes connects best 132 with who they are as a person and a character. 133 Look at their personality 134 and the type of person that they are. 135 Which type of brand archetype do you feel 136 fits their character best? 137 And this is why previously 138 we got you to sum up the customer in just four words. 139 This should help you to summarize 140 everything about that person in a couple of words, 141 so you can easily link it to the brand archetype, 142 which makes the most sense. 143 So try connecting different brand archetypes 144 with your customer persona and see what fits best. 145 And as I said before, 146 your brand archetype is essentially the foundation 147 for everything in regards to your brand expression 148 and brand strategy. 149 So it's a little bit like the character of your brand. 150 So for example, if I was a brand archetype, 151 I'd probably be a.... 152 Jester. 153 Oh, thanks man. 154 Why? Because I'm funny. 155 No, because nobody takes you seriously. 156 Okay, we're gonna have 157 a little word after this. 158 Anyway, we're really getting some momentum 159 in regards to building your brand strategy. 160 So I'll see you in the next lesson.
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