Brand Archetypes Personality in Video marketing

Improve demand and conversion with a brand that compels. A brand archetype delivers a crystal-clear communication tone to all your audiences and chimes with their expectations. And it distinguishes you from competitors.

So use this page to choose which brand figure you are, and how to work with that.

The original brand archetype diagram, based on Carl Jung's personality archetypes, developed for commerce by Australia's visionary agency Iconic Fox

Why archetypes matter for service firms

Brands are not just for FMCG. Or big firms. They're for professional service firms like yours. The personality of your B2B website, social media and presentations have a huge impact on buyers. Actually twice the emotional impact of consumer marketing, says Gartner and Google.

If your brand is easy to ignore, you're not just invisible, you're neglecting the human needs of your prospects if and when they do find you. The need to identify, to connect, to choose and to align. And that neglect is going to cost you money when you invest in a website, a social profile or even a press release or email.

But because you're reading this, you already know that your prospective client is seeking more than a service. They're driven by any one of 12 fundamental acquisitional desires, and they're continually and subconsciously looking for a supplier that chimes:

• mastery
  hero archetype
• power
  magician archetype
• service
  caregiver archetype
• control
  ruler archetype
• liberation
  outlaw archetype
• belonging
  everyman archetype
• innovation
  creator archetype
• safety
  innocent archetype
• understanding
  sage archetype
• freedom
  explorer archetype
• enjoyment
  jester archetype
• intimacy
  lover archetype

Discover below how brand archetypes appeal to buyers and how clients align themselves with you.

Which brand archetype is right for you?

Choosing your archetype is a relatively quick process. Be straightforward and instinctive when you do this work - you are not someone else, not an ideal. You're good enough as you are, and don't try to be someone else. Do this as a senior team, in these simple steps.

1. Origins: Start with going back to your firm's origin. Why did you start - what brought you into being? A new need? A gap that wasn't being served? A profound dereliction of service that your previous employer was avoiding? One phrase will sum it up
2. Client rights: Then move to your present existence - why are helping clients, now, today? What do you stand for? You could use this kind of thinking - we believe our clients have an inalienable right to X, in order to Y. So we deliver the most Z service.
3. Core purpose: Then have a look at the big archetype wheel at the top of the page. Choose your core purpose - are you more about changing the way things are done (legacy, yellow), bringing people together (connection, ref), enabling people to live or work better (structure, blue), or changing outlooks, attitudes or beliefs (spirituality, green)? Don't get hung up the soft words here - they have human chime, and they work. Even for hard-nosed procurment officers. The colours here refer to the diagram.
4. Who you are: Now you've narrowed it to three. Return the brand archetype diagram with your core purpose colour. Now select the desire that most feels right. Favour what you believe in, who you are and how you work, rather than what you actually do. You could be a really caring legal firm. An enjoyable regtech firm.
5. Divergence: Disagreement among the team? No problem, it's common. Just return to steps one and two and debate these, because step 3 directly derives from them. And if you're still stuck after the debate, well, you can ask us to run a brand archetypes workshop for you.
6. That's it: you've found your archetype.

Ways to deploy your brand archetype with video

There's a whole school of thought on brand deployment strategies. Books are written about it. But you're running a business, not a faculty. So we've prepared a few quick ideas to ignite your brand fires:

• home page taster - reveal your firm, its role, its beliefs and its why - and not just to prospects, but also to partners, existing clients, former clients, intermediaries, employees, investors and media. You're clear on what you do, so sing it from the rooftops.
• assurers - reveal your team behind the scenes - short videos of people at their desks, or out in the field, or their cars, explaining their work, process and eventual outcomes. Be sure to describe your brand approach, demonstrating how your archetypal energy plays out. For example, a mastery brand should uphold the relentless approach, never giving up, in the name of a client solution.
• attracters - demonstrate your benefits - if you're in marine insurance, for example - that could be a skipper expressing gratitude for business continuity, or a harbour master describing the risks covered by insurance so trade can flourish
• process explainers - don't just explain a process, specialism or niche, say why your service is important to clients and describe their point of view, how you think they see things. Explain also your value to a single client project, the market, and to the wider economy.
• persuaders - encourage people to click buttons with simple short videos, by telling them exactly what will happen next, and how that will help them
• nurturers - answer the twenty toughest questions about your proposition - about the problems you solve, the distinctiveness you claim, the value you provide, the blue water between you and rivals, the outcomes clients want, the client's concerns beforehand, the best and worst case scenarios. Go on, put your client hat on, and dream up a few uncomfortable questions.
• convincers - address the top ten sales objections, explaining how each is resolved. Try to select five early objections, five common blocks to proposals, and five post-proposal objections.
• profiles - senior and client-facing team profiles

These are quick examples to get you started. For more in-depth help on how to develop filmed content, styling, graphics and a CTA, ask us to run a brand archetypes workshop for you.

Creative team

Our creative team is ready to help you with defining your brand's characteristics. And developing commercially useful opinions on issues affecting clients, your niche and wider market issues too. These will be enrich the relevance of your videos for your audience. Together, we'll cover:

1. your brand's outlook towards its market
2. the handful of core messages that you want every viewer and reader to absorb, no matter what they see or read
3. your written voice for web and social media
4. your visual vocabulary, themes, diversity and pacing
5. your brand's priorities on the big six business emotions - confidence, optimism, surprise, empathy, trust and loyalty
6. the development or adaptation of designs not just for your videos, but also your website, social profiles, email, pitches, Zooms, decks and docs
7. the frequency of revisit for refreshing

When the creative team finish their work, your video and brand personality will feel consistent, right through every asset and outlet. And your your audience will see you, feel you and know you.

Video outcomes from brand archetypes

After the brand archetyping work is done, you'll encounter gains in so many areas in marketing and digital content and, optionally, beyond:

	Marketing: improvements in proposition, differentiation and market positioning. Successful growth in promotion, demand and lead-generation. And a stoinger reputation, better thought leadership, and more distinctive social media.
	Digital: Increases in awareness, engagement and posting frequency and response. Also more traffic, clearer proposition standout, improved proof and higher demand. And more potent story-telling, story-finding, and digital visibility.
	Sales: Improved performance in opening, pitching, lead-nurturing and lead-warming. More proposals and higher conversion through use-cases and demos. Better objection-handling and closing rates.
	Client Services: Improvements in onboarding, servicing and reporting speeds and productivity. More cross-selling and up-selling. Improved client satisfaction in FAQs and tutorials. Improved problem resolution and retention.

Example of our work

See what we did there? We took an office-based company that saw themselves as visually dull (you're so not, SoPro) and in 9 videos, made them relevant and interesting on an affordable budget (they ranged from home page taster to explainers and sales persuaders). Book a demo and find out how this will work for you.

And here's how the client reacted...

Book a demo and start filming in under a month

Get your branded video turbo-charged quickly. Brand archetypes are for marketing, digital, sales and client services teams. Our experts will firm up your project or campaign in weeks, and partner with your team throughout, listening and inspiring equally. Here's what you'll discover in your demo:

• how video enables your brand archetype
• the kinds of videos relevant to you
• how to (and how not to) do video
• where filmable stories live in your business
• how video prospecting provides ideal leads to your sales team

Some of Britain's highest growth firms trust us to deliver their marketing visibility. Join them. You'll be championed by the UK's most enterprising video agency.

Archetypes attract both aligned and unaligned clients

Your brand archetype will attract clients of like-minded persuasions. For them, they'll finally have found what they're looking for. But what about those who aren't?

Your clients are very likely more diverse than your single archetype. Perhaps typical buyers may be one of three or four archetypes. Your approach here will simply be to appeal to your brand archetype within them. Your buyers, for example, may be Sage and your archetype, Ruler. The job of your communication is to to appeal to the Ruler within them. In this situation, your brand should lead, but your video language and message should acknowledge the difference. For example your angle might be 'Adding power to understanding'.

The Outlaw archetype for professional service firms

You: Your firm is drawn towards disruption, even revolution, for a variety of reasons, including the opportunity to transform the market for the better. You love the splashy chaos that might bring. Within the regulation and compliance you loathe, you'll do almost anything to avoid or get around conventional thinking because you believe it crushes enterprise freedom and choice. You're enterprise driven at heart, really well-intentioned, yet somehow doomed if you're not at war. Righteous anger and a desire to overturn for the good of everyone are a part of your DNA. Unfettered, these tendencies can overpower you. Sometimes it's a job to stay focused on the need to be - and be seen to be - professional.

Aligning clients with video: To align outlaw empathisers, your videos and supporting content must first demonstrate that you share their worldview. The shared enemy is the mindless convention that angers you both, and displaying distaste for it will go a long way towards resonating with clients. Visualise it, condemn it. Similarly, encouraging, supporting, or empowering revolution will make you an immediate partner for life. Ditch all formal language and use vocabulary and tone that are infused with guts and action.

The Magician archetype for professional service firms

You: Your firm uses somewhat secret or esoteric methods to help others realise their aspirations. You have the power to transport clients on a transformational journey via the experience of a beautiful relationship. You think that we're all only limited by our imaginations, and that by defying the accepted rules of reality, we'll create a better future. Magicians have a need for information, but instead of sharing it, they use it to demonstrate their vision.

Aligning clients with video: Because of their capacity to alter, the Magician archetype appeals to a variety of client personas. Videos and related content about a service that takes clients on a transformative journey are likely to connect with the inner Magician Archetype in their target audience. That could be a story of Lost to Found, Insecurity to Security, or Worn out to Refreshed.

The Hero archetype for professional service firms

You: Your fundamental motivator is to establish your worth via bravery and persistence. You work hard to acquire the talents you see as necessary and take satisfaction in the fact that your work rate distinguishes you from the competition. You must face obstacles straight-on, and bear defeats or failures until they're rectified. The Hero wants to rescue the day not only to establish their value to themselves, but also to let the rest of the world know about their abilities.

Aligning clients with video: To appeal to a hero, your video, imagery and content plan should motivate and enable them to succeed and accomplish. These clients consider themselves as upstanding firms, people and citizens; the bully's adversary. They fight for what is right. Heroes want to live up to their dreams, and video and content that recognise those dreams and push them to take on new challenges will connect with them. A Hero is motivated by the prospect of success and the satisfaction that comes with it. So show that, describe it, swim in it, demo it.

The Lover archetype for professional service firms

You: You want to be commercially adored. You desire the feeling of commercial intimacy, connection, and partnership - revelling in a visible business aura - and will use any method available to attain it. You're motivated to improve your visual and emotional attractiveness in order to maximise your ability to attract others. Lovers are afraid of becoming unrecognised, unloved, and undesired, and they're easily mislead since their ardent wants obscure their judgement. Even when Lovers attain all of their objectives, they're still afraid of losing them.

Aligning clients with video: To appeal to a Lover, your video content and collateral material must first make them feel appealing or arouse their intense yearning for connection and closeness. Due to their preference for partnership, communication and message should include intimate, collegiate language and tone. The Lover archetype is particularly reliant on imagery and tone of speech. Videos that cater to the Lover personality type can also capitalise on their audience's craving for expression and connection through beauty, music, poetry or lyrical ideas. The Lover is particularly fond of the colour red.

The Jester archetype for professional service firms

You: Your firm is all about immediacy, bonhomie and embracing the present moment. You not only enjoy yourselves, but also regard it as their responsibility to be sunshine in the lives of others around you. You're an optimist and cannot be kept down for any extended period of time owing to your propensity to find the positive in any circumstance. Jesters have a simple disposition and retain it even after rivals have grown up and become more serious.

Aligning clients with video: As with Magicians, Jesters are seldom a client persona, but they might be an ideal archetype for firms that are in the hospitality, entertainment or media sectors. Or who want to be associated with good times. Everyone enjoys laughter, regardless of archetype or personality. So when the situation and time are appropriate, web and social videos may be a distinctive and uniting point of difference. As the Jester Archetype, your videos and articles, posts and imagery should all exude a fun and amusing personality. Brands that can connect with their audience via joy and humour may develop a loyal following.

The Everyman archetype for professional service firms

You: You long to be accepted. You prefer to fit in with the market as 'everyone' and dislike standing out. You're approachable and easy to communicate with without being too amusing, impolite, or noisy. You freely provide your confidence, despite your dread of rejection. You're generally optimistic and make an effort to fit in. The everyman often likes a wide variety of things without being particularly devoted to any. He may be well-liked, but he is also quickly forgotten.

Aligning clients with video: To connect with the Everyman, your videos and content must instil a feeling of belonging in them. Brands focused on ordinary activities may use this archetype to convey the notion that it's OK to be regular. While firms focused on home or family life match this archetype wonderfully. Video content with snobbish positioning or 'we're superior' angles would be a turn-off here. Appealing to the average client involves straightforward, modest, kind, and down-to-earth communication that's inclusive.

The Caregiver archetype for professional service firms

You: Yours is a selfless firm, motivated by a desire to protect and care for others, particularly the vulnerable. Companies or individuals. You're an empathetic organisation looking after clients in need of care until they are strong enough to care for themselves. The legal profession embodies this attitude well, and although they like recognition for their efforts, they despise being patronised. Caregivers are not just reactive; they are also preventive, often present during and after an incident or crisis.

Aligning clients with video: The Caregiver archetype is ideal for companies that provide assistance to clients in need. So your videos and content should address delicate or confidential issues, with a gentle touch. Ideally, you should show how client needs will be met by a kind, considerate, compassionate, and empathetic attitude that provides a sense of security. A Caregiver brand's mission is to instil a sense of security, protection, and care in its clients. So your videos, social, pitches, documents and emails should appeal to a broader audience, since providing care for people in need often requires external assistance. Educational and conscience-stirring messages may be the way forward in this scenario.

The Ruler archetype for professional service firms

You: Your firm is a dominant personality in the market, which seeks authority, leadership or control. You're a little intimidating and assertive in your communication and actions. Your objective is wealth and success, which will flow down to those who are faithful to your reign. You're self-assured, responsible, and in charge of your reputation and work, and you want others to be the same. Rulers see themselves at the top of the food chain and fiercely preserve their position.

Aligning clients with video: To convince a Ruler, your videos and content must vindicate their feeling of authority, control, and respect. Rulers want an aura of supremacy. That they are members of a private V.I.P. club. Appealing to the market as a whole is unlikely to get the Rulers' attention, indeed is likely to put them off. Your web and social videos and content must affirm to their clients that they are at the pinnacle of achievement and a member of an elite club.

The Creator archetype for professional service firms

You: Your firm desires to create something novel and outstanding, something that was not before present, and something of lasting worth. You must express yourselves uniquely and work to bring your vision to reality via this expression. Creators feel that everything is possible if you conceive it, yet are often hindered by their own drive for perfection.

Aligning clients with video: To appeal to a creator, your videos and content must both praise and inspire the creative process. A neat trick. And if your firm provides the means for clients to express their business proposition or value creatively, it will fit well with the Creator Archetype. Your videos should pique clients' interest in the creative process and motivate them to express themselves fully. Capitalise on your clients' imagination and willingness to innovate.

The Innocent archetype for professional service firms

You: Your firm is a cheerful band, with a good attitude to business. You desire security, but ultimately want happiness for yourselves and everyone else. You're sincere and genuine, with no malice against anybody. You bear no grudges and think that everyone has a sacred right to be themselves. Innocents find beauty in every client, and everyone working there, and possess an uncanny ability to discern inner beauty in ways that others do not.

Aligning clients with video: To gain the trust of an innocent, your filmed and written content must communicate in a straightforward, honest, and most importantly, positive manner. Negative or guilt-inducing speech is very off-putting for Innocents. Your videos should identify your company with safety, and acknowledge your clients' wholesome outlook.

The Sage archetype for professional service firms

You: Your firm is a team on a quest for truth, knowledge, and wisdom. Your motivation stems from a desire to not only comprehend the business universe you operate in, but also to communicate that comprehension to clients, and to the market generally. You're lifelong learners who like the opportunity to share your expertise via analytical, researched and even philosophical discussions. Sages are more likely to pass on their knowledge to firms who can use it to change the world, rather than use it themselves to change their world.

Aligning clients with video: To attract a sage, your content and videos must pay reverence to their wisdom. Higher-level words with layered or philosophical meaning will be recognised and appreciated. But content that's too simplified or dumbed down will not. Sages love accurate and well-researched insights that are thoroughly reasoned and expertly analysed. Left-brained video content is a good approach here.

The Explorer archetype for professional service firms

You: Your firm has an undeniable inner impulse to go beyond the comfort and conformity of ordinary business. Into the unpredictable and unknown environments in which you feel at ease. You're courageous, daring, and like a good challenge. Explorer tasks are more about self-discovery than they are about demonstrating anything to others, and they serve an endless voyage of discovery.

Aligning clients with video: To win an explorer's interest, your videos and supporting content must provide a challenge. Confronting the constraints of contemporary business norms will also help you connect with Explorers more immediately. Your footage and CTAs should promote alternatives and the unknown as the land of the free and encourage others to explore it, of course while promoting your business. Modern business culture is an adversary for Explorers. A rejection of such conventions may go a long way toward connecting with the Explorer and eliciting their wants.

Book a demo and start filming in under a month

Get your branded video turbo-charged quickly. Brand archetypes are for marketing, digital, sales and client services teams. Our experts will firm up your project or campaign in weeks, and partner with your team throughout, listening and inspiring equally. Here's what you'll discover in your demo:

• how video enables your brand archetype
• the kinds of videos relevant to you
• how to (and how not to) do video
• where filmable stories live in your business
• how video prospecting provides ideal leads to your sales team

Some of Britain's highest growth firms trust us to deliver their marketing visibility. Join them. You'll be championed by the UK's most enterprising video agency.