Have you ever wondered why in their ads brands use similar images? Take for instance child nutrition where mother and her toddler are the main heroes of a commercial. Or, another example of man wristwatches where a successful businessman in a luxury car and charming suite is walking in a victorian mansion.
We encounter these images over and over, even they're far from being creative. Then what's the matter? Why do brands don't cease to waste money on commercials which you can't distinguish one from another, but they still work? The answer is in the title - archetypes.
Archetypes are such behavioural patterns which are programmed in our heads. These patterns are like instincts that guide us to choose a certain way of acting in or responding to a situation. For instance, a mother who's taking care of her child in a nutrition commercial is a widely recognizable image by most of us. The image of the mother here is used to evoke or trigger the archetype of the Great Mother - a caring and loving behaviour. And you can easily guess who this commercial is targeting to, definitely not the child.
We all have these archetypical programs and each of them is associated with specific behaviour:
* Hero - a successful person who's on an adventure to accomplish his or her mission (a student, an employee, a project team)
* Magician - a search for a creative solution (artists, engineers, politicians)
* Shadow - a behaviour when the darker parts of us are revealed (criminals, policemen, capitalists)
* Father/King - domination, ruling, leadership (CEOs, entrepreneurs, magnates)
* Mother - love, care, protection (nurses, doctors, parents)
* Mentor - wisdom and knowledge (mentors, coaches, teachers)
* Lovers - relationship and sex (sex industry, sexual partners, marriage)
And you can keep extending this list. Now you might be asking what the use of these archetypes? These behavioural patterns are your brand vectors. They help to guide you to the minds and hearts of your customers. Using a specific archetype in your commercial will appeal to your type of customer. It is through the archetype we can associate ourselves with the values and ideas your brand spreads.
What's your brand's archetype? How has being it evolving? Do you think archetypes actually work?
Did you know that you can develop your brand's own archetype? For instance, you can create a blog for your brand and broadcast its image via small stories on Zecamp.com - the place where creators matter!
Are you in search of inspiring stories? Or, you want to share yours and get heard? Zecamp — the place where creators matter!
