Barkly Social Club

Around The Block In 80 Frames

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 06:12:59 -0700

I grabbed the camera and went for a walk around the block. This is what happened...

WHO is your brand?

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 21:09:00 -0700

Brand archetypes aren’t new. In fact, they’re as old as Gilgamesh and other ancient stories. These narratives began to shape the myths and legends that have been passed on, translated, shared and re-imagined for centuries. They have helped inspire new stories, built on the foundations of rich story and character archetypes that transcend time, borders and cultures. They tap deep into our “collective unconscious” as Jung described, and it’s only when we watch Titanic, read a nursery rhyme or share last night’s dreams that we can identify with these age-old myths and characters.

It’s no surprise then that brand archetypes are a useful tool for businesses when they are trying to articulate their brand’s personality. But most of the clients I have worked with over the years don’t even know what the hell a brand archy...thingy is. Perhaps my bent as a part-time screenwriter prejudices my view on the matter, but I find it interesting that brand archetyping is not considered or practiced by more brand and marketing managers.

Typically, there are 12 character archetypes that make up a brand archetype canvas. From the wise old Sage, to the Hero, the Explorer, the Lover and the Creator - each of these brand archetypes have an ability to shape a brand’s story and provide an unfair advantage in the marketplace.

Virgin (Branson) has done well playing Robin Hood. Apple (Jobs) was convincing as the Magician. In these instances, the person is (was) the living essence of the brand himself. Harley Davidson has been championing the role of the Outlaw very successfully for decades. What do we know about these brands? Well, each one is a firm market leader. Each one has a clear market position. And each brand lives up to its brand identity every day, in every way.

One of the benefits of employing brand archetyping is not just in delivering a clear and easy-to-understand brand identity, but it also helps to shape a brand’s content strategy. When your brand claims to be the Robin Hood of the industry, it makes it incredibly easy for customers to identify with your brand immediately. Applying this brand archetype to your content strategy gives your business a ready-to-roll platform from which you can deliver fresh and compelling stories that truly resonate with your audience. Why? Because framing your brand and your marketing efforts around the construct of an archetype creates a believable, meaningful brand story that determines not only what your business says, but what it does – from the CEO down to the delivery guy. For the consumer, it becomes an experience that can transcend the typical transactional brand relationship and open up truly engaging and long lasting relationships.

But as we know, talk is cheap. If you don’t deliver on your promise, living up to who you claim to be and what you stand for, your brand will be swept up and tossed into the dustbin of irrelevance. It won’t be lonely in there either. Thousands of brands fail to live up to their promise – if they even have one to offer at all.

For the swarms of brands entering or championing the digital space, brand archetyping can have a profound impact on the user journey and experience. The revelation of your brand story along the various digital and traditional touchpoints of your business can create that unfair advantage your business has been searching for.

But a word of caution. While you can Google "brand archetypes" to get a sense of what it's all about, businesses should take care in choosing the right archetype, particularly for existing businesses. It has implications down the line if the brand wants to reposition or refresh. Most brands will feel a pull towards the archetypes that reflect their current values and positioning, and that makes it easier to select the primary and secondary (yes you can have two) archetypes to pursue. If your brand is in the midst of a revitalisation process, then it would be worthwhile spending time acquainting yourselves with all the archetypes to find which ones resonate most with your brand vision.

The next question is the biggy - how does our brand archetype come to life? You'll need two things to answer this question: butcher's paper and marker pens!

So, are you ready? Can your business build a story around a brand archetype that you can live and breathe on a daily basis? A Ruler, Creator, Innocent, Sage, Explorer, Champion, Magician, Outlaw, Everyday Hero, Jester, Lover or Caregiver? If you think that there’s a Hero inside, or you’re ready to break all the rules and ride off with your posse into the setting sun like the Outlaw you truly are, it might be time to explore your brand archetype!

Barkly Social Club

Around The Block In 80 Frames

WHO is your brand?

Facebook Timeline for Pages - What your brand needs to know

Kate Tempest "ICARUS"

I Better Make This Short...

Caring and Sharing: The Two Facebook Mantras

Now This Is How You Do A Viral Video

Bigger than Facebook, Google and Ben Hur!!

Occupy This!

The All New Twitter... Now We're Getting Social!

Dear Impatience...

Dollar Dazzlers from Adidas

Let's Make A Difference By 11-11-11

We've just launched our fundraising site http://theelevenses.org We're asking people to donate $11 by 11/11/11 to help save lives in East Africa. I dare ya!

Let it be known, on this day the RLHT (real life hashtag) was born. Pass it on peeps. And keep it real

Dear Prime Mincer

RFID? NFC? WTF?

Nigella 2.0 - Extra S.A.U.C.E

The new Telstra ad without the pretty pictures

The Latest Social Media Shminfographic