Archetype theory and brand archetypes
Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2025 3:18 am
In order to define the brand identity, i.e. to determine who it is, where it is going and what values it is guided by, the theory of brand archetypes is used. This in turn has its roots in the theory of archetypes by psychiatrist and psychologist Carl Gustav Jung.
Carl Gustav Jung assumed the existence of the collective unconscious, twitter database in which the roots of the human psyche lie. The structure of this unconscious is created by archetypes, or primary patterns that characterize all people in the world. Jung wrote about "typical images and relationships - archetypal ideas", or motifs that we find both in people's ideas and delusions, as well as in myths and fairy tales. They are suggestive and have a strong impact on the human psyche. In "Psychological Types", Jung wrote that archetypes are "symbolic formulas" that function where "no conscious concepts occur". Archetypes carry a large emotional charge, they constitute certain patterns of behavior, developed over years of repeated experiences of successive generations.
Sounds complicated? From your point of view, what is more important is what marketing experts have done with purely psychological theory. Specifically, the duo of branding gurus and writers-educators Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson. In 2001, they published the book "The Hero and The Outlaw. Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes". In it, the authors coined the concept of a brand archetype based on Jung's theory. They distinguished 12 archetypes, or 12 patterns of attitudes and behaviors that brands can adopt to give themselves a deeper meaning.
Carl Gustav Jung assumed the existence of the collective unconscious, twitter database in which the roots of the human psyche lie. The structure of this unconscious is created by archetypes, or primary patterns that characterize all people in the world. Jung wrote about "typical images and relationships - archetypal ideas", or motifs that we find both in people's ideas and delusions, as well as in myths and fairy tales. They are suggestive and have a strong impact on the human psyche. In "Psychological Types", Jung wrote that archetypes are "symbolic formulas" that function where "no conscious concepts occur". Archetypes carry a large emotional charge, they constitute certain patterns of behavior, developed over years of repeated experiences of successive generations.
Sounds complicated? From your point of view, what is more important is what marketing experts have done with purely psychological theory. Specifically, the duo of branding gurus and writers-educators Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson. In 2001, they published the book "The Hero and The Outlaw. Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes". In it, the authors coined the concept of a brand archetype based on Jung's theory. They distinguished 12 archetypes, or 12 patterns of attitudes and behaviors that brands can adopt to give themselves a deeper meaning.