Most brands make the mistake of building from the inside out, without understanding that it is the customer that determines what makes a brand valuable. Your job is to know what your customer values and design your brand so that it speaks to that ideal.

Achieving this is no easy task and requires a lot of research, first and foremost. But there are tools that have been developed over time to facilitate the process. Brand archetypes and customer personas are among the most powerful, although they are also misused and applied incorrectly across the creative industries all the time. We’ll dive into these tools below, and see how they can be a great way to build brand communication frameworks or to determine a brand’s voice and style, when used correctly.

Brand archetypes and personas are both fictional constructs, that can be a very useful tool in the brand manager’s toolbox. But, it’s important to know their limitations and avoid the temptation of giving them too much weight. Reductive by nature, brand archetypes and personas can nevertheless help you make informed decisions about some of the more esoteric aspects of brand development, by leaning into known patterns and generalizations, in a positive way.

Archetypes are very abstract representations of behavioral traits or attitudes of consumers within an industry or market. Personas, on the other hand, are much more detailed profiles of a customer type, whose characteristics are constructed by combining overlapping areas found in customer research data. The latter may contain very specific details like motivations, goals, personal pain points, among other things, whereas the former are akin to mythological creatures or Tarot cards. They are meant to capture a broader, idealistic notions.

It’s important to understand that each industry can have its own archetypes, which are not necessarily valid in others. While the same individual customer participates in many different industries, an archetype is deigned to focus on the one overarching trait that the customer wants the brand of a specific industry to reflect back to them. A bank, for instance, that wants to attract customers who are interested in long term security, would develop its brand in accordance with an archetype that communicates that idea. How that security is expressed in the brand messaging requires more in-depth knowledge of our customer, and that’s where personas come in.

A customer persona surfaces things like the pain points, motivations, and goals of a target market, and thus helps tailor the brand’s messaging to real people. They help brands shape the conversation with their customers, and provide insights that can open the door to growing customer loyalty and brand recognition. Strong brands know how to leverage both brand archetypes and customer personas in order to create a solid foundation on which to build brand equity.

Below you’ll find a list of twelve archetypes, that are based on the Jungian system and not necessarily linked to any particular industry. While these archetypes can be useful, they are only presented as introductory examples. As previously mentioned, each brand exercise should develop its own industry-specific archetypes for a truly effective tool.

The Optimist

Purpose: To Trust

Positive Traits:

You are a dreamer and strive to be good. Innocent and pure at heart, you are the embodiment of youthful idealism and romanticism. Loyal to a fault, you live by a moral code and expect others to do so, as well.

Negative Traits:

Naïve at times, you can be perceived as boring, too passive for a fast-paced world, and lacking ambition.

Brand target: Trustworthiness, Reliability, Virtuousness, Nostalgia.

Examples: Dove soap, Coca-Cola, Cottonelle

The Everyman

Purpose: To Belong

Positive Traits:

You are salt-of-the-earth and the picture of sincerity. Always striving to be supportive and foster a sense of community. You will give the shirt off your back and celebrate others’ achievements.

Negative Traits:

Poor leadership qualities and a tendency to lose your identity in order to be part of the group.

Brand Target: Community, Reciprocity, Collaborative, Empowerment.

Examples: Home Depot, eBay

The Savior

Purpose: To Inspire

Positive Traits:

You want to save the world and have the confidence to try. Bold, strong, and honorable, you inspire the collective with your courage and relentless drive. You bring solutions to the table and won’t take no for an answer.

Negative Traits:
Some see you as arrogant or aloof, and more concerned with your goals than working towards the greater good.

Brand target: Heroic, Aspirational, Fortitude, Leadership.

Examples: Nike, BMW, Duracell

The Rebel

Purpose: To Revolutionize

Positive Traits:

You move to the beat of your own drum and don’t mind breaking the rules if you sense injustice. Independent, wild, and iconoclastic, you are an agent of change, who doesn’t shrink in the face of power and authority.

Negative Traits:

Morally ambiguous truant, who flouts society’s conventions. Seemingly out of control and prone to risky behavior.

Brand target: Primal, Individuality, Awareness, Self-starting, Originality.

Examples: Harley-Davidson, Virgin (Richard Branson)

The Trailblazer

Purpose: To Discover

Positive Traits:

You want to experience everything that life has to offer, and will scour the earth to do so. Ambitious, adventurous, and pioneering, you were born to chart your own course and go where angels fear to tread.

Negative Traits:

Restlessness can detract from reaching the finish line, and your eccentricities make relating to others challenging.

Brand target: Authenticity, Excitement, Velocity, Expansive, Groundbreaking

Example: Indiana Jones, Jeep, Red Bull

The Architect

Purpose: To Build

Positive Traits:

You are ingenious and creative. Meaning comes from making something that can endure the test of time and offers value to society. Innovation is your calling card and you are not not afraid to be the first to do something.

Negative Traits:

Tendencies of perfectionism can become drawbacks, and flights of inventive fancy can make you impractical.

Brand target: Imagination, Entrepreneurship, Expression, Visionary

Examples: Lego, Crayola

The King

Purpose: To Establish

Positive Traits:

You are a born leader with peerless organizational skills and the ability to see things from ten thousand feet. Combining a mature perspective and natural authority, you can create order out of chaos and bring stability to any situation.

Negative Traits:

Controlling or despotic. Can forget to touch grass once in a while and foster connections with people.

Brand target: Institutional, Accountability, Organizational, Efficiency.

Examples: Microsoft, Barclays, Mercedes-Benz

The Magus

Purpose: To Manifest

Positive Traits:

You are a catalyst for greatness. Sometimes your mere presence is enough to transform people’s reality, but when combined with your strong intuition and charisma, whole new worlds can be brought into existence.

Negative Traits:

Can get carried away and become untethered from reality, leading to undesirable outcomes.

Brand target: Transformational, Experimental, Forward-thinking.

Examples: Disney, Wizard of Oz, Apple

The Beloved

Purpose: To Captivate

Positive Traits:

You are the height of passion and emotional intimacy. Sensual, warm, and idealistic, there are few who can resist your touch. When you are around, people feel seen and cherished. They come to you to remember what love should be.

Negative Traits:

Overindulgence and greed can be your downfall. Guard against addictive tendencies and obsessive behaviors.

Brand target: Cohesion, Relational, Gratification, Tenderness, Intimacy.

Example: Victoria’s Secret, Godiva Chocolate, Marie Claire

The Healer

Purpose: To Restore

Positive Traits:

You are the universal mother, the nurturer, and paragon of generosity. Compassion is your north star, and you have the strength to care for others. You are the listener and the counselor providing comfort and solace.

Negative Traits:

Self-sacrificing to the point of erasure. Others take advantage of your giving nature, and take you for granted.

Brand target: Holistic, Supportive, Affirmation, Nourishment

Examples: Campbell’s Soup, Johnson & Johnson, Heinz

The Comedian

Purpose: To Entertain

Positive Traits:

You are the life of the party, bringing the light-hearted respite everybody needs to unwind. Your off-beat perspective and spontaneity catches people by surprise, and gives them permission to let their guard down.

Negative Traits:

Can be perceived as disrespectful or inappropriate. Lack of self-awareness and tact are pitfalls to be avoided.

Brand target: Impulsivity, Spontaneity, Irreverence, Lyrical, Playful.

Examples: Motley Fool, Ben & Jerry’s, IKEA

The Philosopher

Purpose: To Enlighten

Positive Traits:

You are wise and insightful. A trusted source of information, who is keen to share their vast knowledge with the world. With logic and reason always at the forefront of your arguments, few can refute your conclusions.

Negative Traits:

Too much information can lead to confusion. Opinions and personal bias are best kept at bay.

Brand target: Proficiency, Practicality, Analytical, Ontological.

Examples: BBC, PBS, Google, Philips

Creating a customer persona entails a lot of research and direct access to existing or potential customers, that you can interview or obtain feedback from. In order to build strong consumer profiles you can use in your brand messaging and other aspects of your brand strategy, getting an answer to the following six questions is indispensable:

How did your customer find you?
Why did they choose you over your competitors?
What, specifically, do they like about your product or service?
What would they change about your product or service?
Did they consider any other products or services before deciding on yours?
What was most important factor when making their purchasing decision?

After you’ve interviewed enough people, you will be able to build one or more customer personas by identifying the answers that overlap the most. Based on these criteria, you can create a consumer profile that tells you a good deal about your customers in general and allows you to identify key points, like pain points, purchasing motivations, goals, and many other relevant pieces of data that will only make your brand more flexible and adaptable to the needs of your customers.

Customer Personas give you the tools to perform targeted marketing tasks, tailoring products and services, resonating with a specific demographic, and anything that requires behavioral data. Archetypes provide the resources for long-term brand strategies, customer journey design, and product development.

Both are critical for a well-rounded brand, that is centered in its customers. Without them, you end up having no brand voice, and no way of communicating your brand’s message. The most important lesson in branding is simple: You don’t make your brand. Your customers do.