Archetypes are at the heart of your strategic growth

Arche-what: You can actually look at an archetype as a kind of primal model. Something that is deep inside, and at the root of all your expressions as a person, or as a company. Carl Jung saw it as the core of your psyche. Innate, unconscious and universal patterns of ideas that you develop as you get older. The same principle applies to a brand per se. Every brand has a reason for existence, a foundation on which it was built.

Your archetype contains your strongest strengths, but also suddenly your greatest weaknesses.

So your brand's archetype is immediately the core of your story. It works the same way as your personality, filled with values, norms and is tied to a certain culture. This goes beyond your looks or the way you communicate. The archetype of your company helps determine the "why" of your business, and therefore influences the way you work, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), the type of people who work for you. It contains your strongest strengths, but also suddenly your greatest weaknesses.

If you've thought about this a little further, you also realize that such an archetype is enormously important for the emotional connection between your brand and your customers. Just as you may or may not get along with someone in your immediate environment, it is the same for companies. If your values as a person don't fit with a brand, you won't become a customer of that brand. So it's about strategy, but also about psychology.

We said it before: if you don't know who you are, how can you expect others to go along with your story? So it's crucial to discover your true nature, and based on that to define a sustainable strategy for the future. And this is all the more true in tomorrow's digital society.

You are constantly connected to the world. Always up-to-date. With the click of a button you can access an infinite suitcase of information. Too much information, which constantly creates distractions and pulls you away from what really matters. It seems that this makes life easier for consumers, but in fact it does not. On the contrary.

As a consumer, are you distracted by something that is irrelevant? By something that does not contribute to your own, personal growth in any way? Then you get frustrated. Consciously and unconsciously, and that causes problems.

Consumers are increasingly demanding authenticity. It's up to you as a company to bring that. And you can only do that if you yourself have a story to tell. A story that seamlessly connects to the possible touchpoints with your customers. This is how you create deeper emotional relationships with that customer, based on responsibility and integrity.

This is true not only for your clients, but also for your employees. In a time of burnout (and bore-out), employees yearn for the "why" of their career and where they want to accomplish it. With an archetype, you as a company offer a guide for your employees on their professional path.

Obviously, the benefits are endless when you base your strategy on your archetype. To make it easy, we list a few. An archetype:

• increases the value of your business;
• acts as an attraction for stakeholders;
• Creates stronger employer branding;
• binds customers on a deeper level;
• acts as a guide to internal culture perception;
• and reinforces the unique brand identity and your positioning.

Not surprisingly, the best brands of our era tie strongly to their archetype, succeeding time and again in their own industries and far beyond. Just think of Nike, Disney and Häagen-Dazs. Strong brands, with a clear story.

This archetype shows strength. The Hero learns from difficult situations, overcomes barriers and therefore earns his place at the top. This archetype focuses on a particular struggle, and the impact you can make when you dare to look your own weaknesses straight in the eye.

You will recognize this story every time you interact with Nike. Short and powerful language that motivates you to go one step further anyway.

With a Lover brand, sensuality and passion are central. A Lover desires intense experiences and sensations, is idealistic and, above all, enjoys strong attraction. Beauty is therefore also important. Häagen-Dazs plays with the imagination, and often does so using video.

The Magician represents transformation and innovation. This archetype does not believe in limitations, and wants to realize every dream. Where there is a will, there is a way, and for the Magician it is usually magical. It is a thinker, who innovates in a creative way. The perfect example of this? Disney, and the way this brand brings dreams to life every day.