I’ve never seen it fail.
CEO’s of global consulting firms, nurses in in-home care companies, CIOs in telecommunications firms, board members of trade associations – they all start talking in new and rich ways when you ask them to think about their organizations in archetypal terms. Consumers and clients too.
Archetypes are character types or storylines that exist in almost every story we’ve ever known – the Ruler, the Innocent, the Everyperson. Think about fairy tales you’ve never forgotten. Or that favorite movie you can watch over and over. My husband cringes every time he walks in the room and I’m watching Something’s Gotta Give with Diane Keaton. I do the same when it’s a Matrix or Lord of the Rings movie for him. There’s something about that storyline that sticks with you.
According to Carol Pearson and Margaret Mark of The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands through the Power of Archetypes, there are twelve archetypes that live within any story and organizations can brand on those archetypes. Sometimes it’s one very strong archetype, but more often it’s a mix of archetypes. That mix can set one competitor apart from another. Archetypes can then set the foundation for decision making in all areas of the company.
Take my client in the student loan industry who catered to graduate students. Unlike most lenders this company had a mission to educate borrowers (SAGE) and take care of their needs (CAREGIVER) through the life of the loan. It made them true HEROES in the eyes of their borrowers because no one else was doing this. They also lived these archetypes internally by the environment they created, the training programs offered, and the well stocked kitchens and bathrooms (I’d never seen so many lotions and feminine products in an office bathroom.) Understanding this helped employees get why they were working all hours of the night to respond to changes in the industry. It reinforced their desire to nurture their relationships with clients. We evaluated every ad we did with “Are we being SAGES?” – to remind us to include at least one informational tidbit.
A Caribbean telecommunications firm determined they were REVOLUTIONARIES and made sure that every new product and service pushed the envelope accordingly. The in-home care company knew they were CAREGIVERS but also learned they were MAGICIANS. Magicians are visionaries and change agents and this particular organization is always innovating and seeking new ways to care for our senior population.
I love this approach to brand development. It takes people beyond standard features and benefits in conversation to talk that is emotional, deep and truly differentiating. One client I took through the process claimed she never thought she’d get everyone on the executive team on one page. This did it. It can lay the groundwork for really wonderful creative work. And it gives employees something to glom onto, making your brand even stronger.
So, aren’t you curious? What’s your archetypal mix?
