Let’s Go Archetyping
Florida Stanley, behavioral science, and how to give brands more character.
The case for archetypes
We’re hard wired to recognize the symbols and meaning that archetypes communicate
We understand characters when their behavior demonstrates a clear set of values, motivations
Mary Poppins, atticus finch,
Aren’t brands trying to do the same thing?
As a branding tool, archetypes can help:
Understand the core purpose and meaning of a brand
Guide the “behavior” of a brand based on consistent motivations, values and pursuits
Connect with audiences
Whether it’s for a person, character or a brand, archetypal truth can uncovered by asking a simple question:
What do they want?
To understand how this works, let’s look at how the core 12 archetypes map against the US adaption of The Office.
Michael Scott: The Lover
What does Michael Scott really want?
Some might say Michael is The Jester, or The Hero as the leader of the office and star of the show. But every choice Michael makes points back to his deepest desire: to love and be loved.
He deeply, and often strangely, romanticizes his relationships with women. He over-inflates even the simplest of friendships and insists his employees are his family. Michael Scott's guiding light as a manager isn’t to increase profits, or to improve efficiency. As Michael says himself, it’s for his employees “to be afraid of how much they love me.”
Michael as The Lover is what makes his long earned connection with Holly so satisfying as a viewer. After 6 seasons, it becomes clear that there’s virtually nothing that will take him away from Dunder Mifflin. Then Holly says she has to move to Colorado and he quits without hesitation. Why? Because he finally got the one thing he’s always wanted.
Dwight - The Hero
What about Dwight?
I first pinned Dwight as The Ruler. For years, his dream was to become the regional manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton - But why? Is it to provide structure? That Dwight wants things to be orderly and highly structured? Maybe, but that sounds more like Angela.
I argue Dwight is The Hero because what he really seeks is power and mastery, not to create order but to make a mark. To leave a legacy.
How does he approach creating a productivity reward system? He creates a fake currency with his face on it. His final moment of redemption as a character? Learning Angela’s son Phillip really is a Schrute.
Jim Halpert - The Everyman
What does Jim Halpert want? Pam. A family. Jim is a regular guy who wants a place to belong or people to belong to. He’s apathetic towards his job, lacking any real direction in life, and passes the time by trying to make things a little less miserable for himself and those around him.
Darryl - The Sage
Always a source of sound advice, even if he (wisely) just uses the same advice for everyone.
Ryan - The Creator
Ryan so desperately wants to innovate and do something original. Dunder Mifflin Infinity, WUPHF, his Mom’s pesto, Ryan’s pursuit of life as an artist and a creator takes many forms, ultimately being realized in one of my personal favorite moments: making Jim and Pam cry with a poem he wrote for Kelly.
Stanley Hudson - The Outlaw
Because all he wants is liberation from his paper-selling prison. And pretzel day. But mostly liberation.
Putting Archetypes to Work
So why should anyone care? What can Florida Stanley or Dwight the Hay King teach us about what makes a brand work?
Create Clarity Through Consistency
Archetypes reflect how fundamental human desires shape our behavior. So when fictional characters are developed with a very clear desire, a clear purpose, they become more compelling and relatable to us as an audience.
If, upon learning Jim and Pam were engaged, Michael reacted with indifference, contempt, or really anything other than tackling joy-tackling Jim, it would have seemed out of character. Michael loves love, wherever he can find it.
Brands can accomplish the same feat. Brands become more memorable, impactful and relatable when their behavior all points back to the same core desire.
If Jeep anchored their core message in family, love and safety, it would feel strange. That’s Subaru’s job.
Jeep is a brand built on discovery, freedom and adventure in the wilderness. They're the epitome of an Explorer brand.
Uncovering the core truth of a brand can help inform how to bring it to life. Say you determine your brand is an Explorer. When evaluating and considering the endless ways the brand’s story could be told, try starting with a simple question:
What would an Explorer do?
Find Opportunity
Archetypes can help us understand to find opportunity areas in crowded categories.
Back to Dunder Mifflin for. amoment: If Michael was managing a group of people just like him - fellow Lovers who brought the same overwhelming emotional intensity, insecurity and romantic delusion to the story, it could feel chaotic. He’s always playing against a backdrop of mostly listless, half-asleep, detached people, which make everything he does land that much harder. His behavior is ridiculous BECAUSE of his context.
Brands face the same challenge.
For example, if you’re working on an insurance brand, a category filled with Caregiver and Sage brands (Allstate, State Farm, Farmer’s, etc.) it might be tough to cut through the noise with a similar approach, putting reliability, assurance and knowledge at the forefront of their message to consumers.
Enter Geico and decades of standalone comedy sketches all designed to make you laugh first and explain their products and services second. Like a true Jester.
Go Deeper than “Purpose”
Simon Sinek and authors like him ushered in a new era of marketing in which effective brand messaging means digging deeper than the “Whats” and “Hows” of a business, to instead “Start with Why” it exists. I believe its led to an explosion and often misinterpretation of what “purpose-driven” business means.
Perhaps the archetype tool can provide a different perspective and a better prompt? If we ask “What do we want?” alongside “why do we exist?” we may get more compelling answers. Because any compelling story, fictional or not, requires conflict. Said another way, characters must WANT something they don’t currently have.
“Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water”
Patagonia receives a lot of acclaim as a “purpose-driven” brand. And for good reason. However, I believe the archetype framework can reveal why turning desire into ACTION makes them stand out in a category full of brands advocating for the great outdoors.
But Patagonia isn’t an Explorer. They’re a Caregiver. The purpose of their products is to help people enjoy, learn about and appreciate the natural world. But what do they WANT? To “save our home planet.”
Their communication to consumers is rooted in wanting something that doesn’t exist. It’s why they take extraordinary ACTION to help close the gap. Whether it’s supporting thousands of grassroots groups, enacting a self-imposed Earth Tax, or suing the former President of the United States, they act in service, care and protection.
They just happen to sell hiking clothes.
Want to learn more about how to work with archetypes?
Rather watch a clip of Stanley talk about his love of Pretzel Day? I don’t blame you. Click here.