I sat amongst colleagues several years back, and listened, with a peaked interest to the Brand Archetype specialist delivering the workshop.
How do you show up in the world?
I was amazed to discover the insights and psychology that brings brands to life. A moment of truth, I knew at that instant what I wanted to delve into.
Because few people or marketers really get this, I will attempt explaining it myself.
An archetype is a universally familiar character or situation that transcends time, place, culture, gender and age. It represents an eternal truth.
In basic terms, it‘s when we just “get it” and don’t even know why… when we instantly fall in love with an ad, for no particular reason.
Rewind 50 – 60 years ago and you will see where this came from.
In 1960, through the study of religions, myths, and fairy tales of different cultures, Carl Jung discovered that the contents of individual consciousness—dreams, fantasies, wishes, impulses, and thoughts—seemed rooted in a collective consciousness – shared by all human beings.
Summed up, for marketers it reads: How does this brand story provide MEANING to events in my life? And so he bridged the brand story to your own story at the psyche-level.
Conversely in 1968 Abraham Maslow claimed that instinctual needs such as survival, safety, belonging, and self-esteem are the motivation for human consciousness. This helps explain why consumers love their favourite brands. Somehow, they just feel something positive – safe, smart, attractive, desired, complete, the list goes on. And so from his perspective: WHY do I like this brand?
Whichever psychologist’s point of view you prefer, it sums up to: this story is a lot like my own! And so the unfolding of your story begins … and you will understand why you behave certain ways or get fulfilled doing certain things.
Archetypal branding is concerned with the MEANING, which is at the HEART of CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR. It gives us the framework to define strong brand identities so that we can create meaningful brands, at the root of your consumer’s DNA.
Dig a little deeper.
You’ll discover why dotting your i ‘s and crossing your t ‘s is so important.
