Have you noticed that sometimes we are closer to certain people or brands? We just feel some kind of fit and understanding. What is responsible for this emotional connection? I believe it is the power of archetypes!
Archetype – (from Greek – a prototype of some kind of behavior). The concept of an archetype was introduced by Carl Gustaw Jung , a Swiss psychiatrist, who noticed that people connect certain, universal, usually unconscious, behavior patterns that carry a strong, emotional charge with them. They can reflect human ambition, motivations, values, beliefs, and morals. Archetypes constitute the collective wisdom of mankind to help us discover and understand who we are in this world and what is our vocation.
We can say that Archetypes are ready-made personality patterns in our minds which activate automatically in certain situations. For example, when we see some kind of image or a set of words. It is very important that while we are building our brand, the images and words we are using are coherent. In this way, we create seamless communication which is easy to understand for our audience. People like what is known and understandable.
Look at below two examples:
Challenges motivate and drive her. She is full of fire and energy, and she is not afraid to work hard to make her dreams come true.
She radiates peace and acceptance for others. She is full of empathy and understanding.
Do you notice any misalignment between the images and description? I’m sure you do, and this is what we want to avoid building a personal brand.
Archetypes directly influence our emotions and indirectly our mind. So, when we see a photo (or set of words) we first react emotionally, and later on, we translate this rationally and interpret it. So first we feel and then we understand. Sometimes we don’t even ask ourselves why, we just have some kind of feeling, opinion about something and we can’t explain why.
There are 2 types of archetypes that are important for creating our brand identity:
- The Archetype of the Brand Need (connected with the need and desires of your customers)
- The Archetype of the Brand personality (which is dominant in the way you think and work)
The Brand Need is key because it defines what our client wants, and it indicates what the direction of our brand communication should be. And in consequence, it will determine if our clients will come to us.
The archetype of the brand identity will tell how our communication will look like and will determine what sort of customers will come to us.
People are recognizing and reacting to archetypes on a subconscious level. Our mind has developed a tendency to combine experiences into categories. They make it easier for us to process and understand history, evoke emotional reactions, and influence the processes of decision-making.
The concept of archetypes is very useful in building a personal brand. It gives us guidance on what sort of photos, colors, fonts, and also words we should use to create communication that attracts the right customers.
Kasia Giska