How Does The Usage Of Archetypes Increase The Effect Of Animation?

Suppose you have to describe your brand as a person. What character traits does it have? How would people perceive your brand if it was a human being? What impression does it make on the others? 

Archetype is a powerful marketing tool that can be perfectly used as a part of your video marketing strategy.

Let’s find out why archetypes are important for video production, and how they strengthen your marketing performance, along with the effect of animation you create.

 

 

What Are Archetypes In Marketing?

So, before discovering why it is important to have archetypes in animation and how they increase its effect, let’s get started with the definition of archetypes and understanding their essence.

The Oxford Dictionary defines an archetype as “​the most typical or perfect example of a particular kind of person or thing.” Carl Jung, the father of Archetype Theory, defines it as a “universal, primal symbol and image that derives from the collective unconscious”.

From the marketing standpoint, an archetype is a set of feelings, memories, impressions, and emotions the brand evokes in the customers via its marketing communication across multiple channels. Marketing archetypes are the tools to make a brand more human, appeal to the customers who share the values of a certain hero archetype, and develop human-like relations between the brand and its customers.  

 

 

What’s more, character archetypes are, for the major part, the mirror reflections of the customers themselves – a lot of them may see themselves in your brand identity, and use your brand as a self-expression tool. 

 

How Does Using Archetypes Help Achieve Goals In Video Marketing?

A brand archetype helps with achieving marketing goals across multiple communication channels, and video marketing is one of them. Below are the core tasks an archetype performs when used in a video marketing strategy.

• Makes users relate and connect. There are 12 common character archetypes, and each of them stands out with the values it shares, and emotions it evokes. Depending on the character archetype you use in your video content, it can trigger a whole set of emotions  –  from anger to compassion.
• Evokes the right emotions. One of the core goals of a video marketing strategy is to trigger the right emotions among the viewers and make them connect these emotions with a brand. When an animated video is created taking the brand’s archetype into account, it triggers even deeper emotional connections on the subconscious level.
• Serves as an integral part of your brand’s personality. Brand personality, brand character, and brand archetype aren’t the same things. Instead, a brand archetype is created to strengthen the brand’s personality, and it finds its embedment in a brand character. Character archetypes in animation, in turn, are the tools to showcase this character visually.
• Is at the heart of your brand storytelling. Archetypes in animated movies are frequently represented as human-like or fantastic heroes the customers are likely to associate them with. And when such a hero tells a brand story, it skyrockets the effects of both video and storytelling marketing, helping brands develop deeper relations, and increase awareness, recognition, and loyalty.

 

12 Main Archetypes and Their Values

Below are the classic character archetypes that are commonly used in a brand’s marketing strategies, including but not limited to video production. 

 

 

1. The Innocent

The Innocent archetype promotes purity, sincerity of intentions, virginity, and sensitivity. At the same time, this archetype is not afraid to proclaim its innocence and stand up for justice. Usually, the marketing messages of innocent brands are pretty simple, self-centric, unambiguous, and straightforward. 

Example – Dove

Dove is famous for its “right into the face marketing”. The company usually creates touching videos making a high bet on storytelling and doesn’t hesitate to call a spade ‘a spade’, triggering social media noise around the brand. 

 

2. The Everyperson

The essence of this archetype is clear from its name. The brands with an “Everyperson” or the “Usual Guy” archetype create simple but user-friendly products that fit people from low to medium income levels. The archetype’s values are simplicity, usability, durability, and the opportunity to save and solve the problem in the simplest yet most effective ways.

Example  – IKEA

The core idea behind IKEA was to create furniture that will be affordable for people with low-to-medium income. However, it should be durable and high-quality at the same time. Today, IKEA hasn’t changed its approach. The company promotes its goods with detailed product videos, simple how-tos, and inspiring interior ideas. 

 

3. The Hero

The Hero companies stand for their superiority, especially when compared to the competitors. They promote themselves as the best of the best, and their main motivation is to prove their worth. Their marketing strategies are often aimed at challenging the customers, inspiring them to do more, and outperforming the others. With this goal, they use bold marketing messages and straightforward visuals. 

Example – Nike

Nike is a classical Hero archetype example. They encourage customers to be the heroes in their marketing videos too, creating advertising with famous athletes and celebrities. 

 

4. The Outlaw/The Rebel

The Outlaw or The Rebel brands are breaking the patterns with their products, values, and advertising campaigns. They value power, along with the opportunity to stand out from the crowd and make their own choices. Such brands often promote themselves using the contrast to the Everyman ones, triggering the feeling of superiority, exclusivity, and belonging to a particular group.

Example – Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson hardly needs an introduction. This brand managed to create a cult-like following. Their video advertising usually communicates bravery and speed, stating that the rules are created to be violated. 

 

5. The Explorer

The Explorers are the companies that prioritize getting a new experience instead of getting a new item. These brands invite the customers to go on an exciting journey, discovering new things about the world and about themselves. Their main values are freedom, independence from public opinion, and open-mindedness.

Example – Land Rover

Land Rover is one of the classical examples of the Explorer hero archetype. The company created the off-road vehicles, making an emphasis on the discovering-the-world opportunities the customers can get by choosing Land Rover models.

 

6. The Creator

The brands with The Creator archetype promote themselves as innovators and inspirers. Their core goal and value is to unleash the power of creativity to make the world a better place to leave. 

Example – Apple

Apple is one of the best examples of the Creator archetype. This brand stands for innovations, visual aesthetics, and exclusiveness at once. Their video ads are usually futuristic and minimalistic. However, they perfectly demonstrate the revolutionizing potential of each of the devices. 

 

7. The Ruler

As the hero archetype suggests, The Rulers are the industry-dominating brands with the strongest reputation. They are opinion leaders and trendsetters. They are never afraid of competition because of their absolute self-confidence, which is usually justified by their achievements. Their core values are power, leadership, and fairness. 

Example – Microsoft

Microsoft has been a ruler brand from the very beginning of its existence. The brand is well-aware of the value it delivers to customers, and that’s why its marketing tactics are simple but authoritative at once. 

 

8. The Magician

The companies with this archetype usually promote themselves as guides into the better worlds where each customer can make an impact (by using the brand’s products). They stand for being knowledgeable and transforming the insights we have into some kind of magic and positive changes. The Magician brands’ customers expect to have the feeling that everything is impossible; they highly appreciate the positive outlook and wisdom such brands give them.

Example – Dyson

Dyson is a manufacturer of home appliances, robotic, and IoT devices intended to make everyday life easier. In the opinion of the brand, here is where the magic happens – while the smart devices are working in the background, the customers can switch to less laborious tasks. 

 

9. The Lover

The Lover archetype is typical for luxury brands whose customers appreciate both visual aesthetics and the way the product makes them feel. The core values of such companies are love, passion, pleasure, and commitment. They usually communicate via glamorous but real-life-looking advertising. 

Example – Chanel

As for the example of how an archetype increases the effect of the animated ads, let’s take a look at Chanel’s YouTube channel. The company never promotes its products directly – instead, it focuses on the ways its products make the customers feel. Chanel mostly uses a live shooting to create as realistic videos as possible. 

 

10. The Caregiver

As the name suggests, the brands with the Caregiver archetype make caring for others their primary goal. For example, such archetype choice is quite common for the companies producing goods for kids, and pets; for volunteer and charity organizations. The core value of this archetype is taking care of others, and spreading unconditional love. 

Example – HIPP

As an example, most brands for kids will suit. HIPP is one of them. Their video marketing tactic is mixing product videos with practical tips, helping young mothers solve their everyday challenges and feel supported. The company also emphasizes a sustainable manufacturing process. 

 

11. The Jester

The brands with The Jester archetype encourage the customers to enjoy life to the fullest measure, live in the current moment, laugh a lot and avoid taking things too seriously. They promote humor, easygoingness, and joy. As for the advertising tactics such brands use, these are short, humorous, and even awkward marketing messages which are usually pretty sticky.

Example – M&M’s

The cartoon-like archetype heroes created by M&M’s hardly need to be introduced. Both kids and adults appreciate the colorful and funny ads showing the adventures of the Red and Yellow candies. M&M’s animation is usually bright and vivid, which makes this brand a perfect example of how the right usage of an archetype strengthens the effects of animation. 

 

12. The Sage

The Sage-archetype brands promote personal growth, critical and analytical thinking, and wisdom. These brands are knowledgeable and open-minded; they make customer education their highest priority. The advertising campaigns of such companies are never simple and grounded – instead, they encourage the customers to think and make their own conclusions.

Example – MAYO Clinic

Being the top-visited healthcare website worldwide, MAYO Clinic is largely focused on delivering scientifically researched and well-validated content. As for their video marketing strategy, they make the highest bet on educational video production – the brand creates videos of healthcare experts answering trending questions. 

 

Video Ads Types Performing Best For Each Brand Archetype

So, what type of video ad you should use to improve the perception of your brand’s archetype, help the users develop stronger connections with your company, and streamline your video marketing strategy? 

Below are the most winning types of videos to create, depending on the archetype of your brand.

 

 

However, keep in mind that the archetype of your brand isn’t the only factor you have to consider when deciding on the video ad type for your next campaign. Each of them can also be tailored to the sales funnel stage. They usually perform quite well when created with the archetype in mind.

 

Wrapping Up

Brand archetypes are the tools to better convey the brand’s personality, while animated videos, in turn, are the tools to show its face, highlight your brand’s identity with vivid and memorable visuals, tell a compelling story and deliver your marketing message right to the point.

We, at Wow-How Studio, would be happy to help your business stand out and speak to your audience via marketing videos we can create together. Get in touch with us now to share your ideas and skyrocket your marketing performance with top-notch video production services!