Choose a personality archetype

You may think your brand’s personality is the same as your personality. But in reality, yourbrand personality is the characterization of your brand as though it were a person. 

For big companies with teams of employees, the brand personality needs to be an entirely unique character that everyone can embody on behalf of the business. For freelancers, your brand personality will likely mirror your own, but you’ll distill this persona into characteristics you can embody and explain to others. 

We’ll work through two parts of the brand personality. In this step we’ll discuss your brand archetypal triad, and then in the next step we’ll discuss your brand voice and tone.

Carl Jung’s personality archetypes 

The wheel shows us 12 unique archetypes developed by Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. Brand strategists have borrowed these personality archetypes as a descriptive reference for the personality qualities we can identify for companies and freelancers.  

In the outside ring of the wheel are the 12 archetypes, and the inside ring speaks to what motivates each archetype. 

You can probably think of a few industry peers, celebrities, or brands that fit each archetype. 

• Jesters might include comedians like Jim Carrey or Kevin Hart and goofy brands like Nickelodeon and Skittles. They like laughter and having a good time.

• Caregivers might include ‌teachers or nurses in your life. People who advocate for or work with animals and children, and brands like Charmin, Pampers, and Cambell’s. 

• Explorers could include eco-scientists, nature photographers, or outdoor publications like National Geographic. You might think of Steve Irwin, Bear Grylls or brands like REI and Levi’s. 

There may be other brands that automatically come to mind as aligning with some of these archetypes. Every brand aligns with at least one.

Identify your brand archetypes

Look through these adjectives and select the ones that describe your brand. In your workbook, you can highlight them and strike out the ones that don’t.

Match the chosen adjectives to ~3 of the following terms, which you’ll then tie back to Carl’s wheel. Wherever you find on the wheel are your archetypes.

Recap 

• Dove deeper into your personality and your brand’s personality and articulated their overlap.

• Learned about Carl Jung’s personality archetypes.

• Applied to the various personalities in the brand world.