Embodying a “Jack of all trades” personality does not necessarily have to be harmful for your brand.
However, your branding strategy is what will make the ultimate difference. It will determine whether you’ll be loved by everyone or appreciated by no one.
The Benefits of Brand Archetypes
As a species, we seek to be understood. We seek to connect with people like us and, consequently, with brands that not only understand us, but also share our visions and values.
According to recent research, value alignment is key to any 21st-century business. More and more customers are buying from brands that share their values.
While the most notable example of value-driven marketing and economy are brands like Nike who are not afraid to take a stand and support social changes, other brands that are not as prominent can employ the same technique to capture a bigger market share.
How?
With Jungian archetypes. Originally established as personality archetypes that describe shared characteristics and behaviors driven by certain motivators, Carl Jung’s archetype theory is also applicable to contemporary branding.
According to Jung, there are four key motivations that drive a certain personality. These archetypes are further broken down by the behaviors they use to achieve their goals. There are 12 brand archetypes:
- The Sage
- The Lover
- The Hero
- The Everyman
- The Creator
- The Ruler
- The Caregiver
- The Outlaw
- The Explorer
- The Magician
- The Jester
- The Innocent
Each archetype has its unique way of communicating, thinking, and also behaving. They have values they stand for, for instance, the Lover seeks appreciation and love, whereas the Creator wants to challenge the status quo and change the world.
All of these are values; values your customers need to see your company express to relate to your brand and buy your products.
However, there is a brand archetype that is often cast aside in discussion of all the thriving personalities our brands can become. It’s the Everyman brand archetype.
The Everyman Brand Archetype
More often than not, marketers believe that the Everyman is an archetype suitable only for brands that perform a general purpose. They’re not truly brands, but rather products with a name.
However, that is far from the truth. The Everyman’s main value is being accepted and promoting (e)quality for everyone.
Consider brands, such as IKEA or Levi’s. Both serve a vast array of customers, from teenagers to the elderly. However, they are still recognizable and embody a distinct personality.
IKEA does not simply produce furniture; they produce quality, simple and affordable furniture that is widely available to everyone. Therefore, their mission is providing quality to everyone, regardless of whether they are a CEO or a cashier.
Everyone who buys from IKEA gets exactly the same treatment, much like Levi’s. Everyone gets quality jeans.
The Everyman welcomes everyone and they also want to be a part of the group, as an indispensable part of everyday life. On an emotional level, incredibly important for creating a connection with customers, the Everyman brands are seen as empathetic and understanding.
They are the person next door you can rely on.
Often, the Everyman brands use families or ordinary lives in their advertising, so as to play on the needs of many.
While you may often hear advice on specializing, be careful when applying it to the Everyman brand. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a brand archetype that stands for nothing. Its values are clear, and the brand promotes them in every advertisement and action it takes.
Businesses that embody the Everyman brand are wholesome and good-natured. You can see numerous examples of this particular brand archetype put into practice with small businesses. They are a part of the community, which is this archetype’s main goal; there is no Everyman without its community.
How to Embody the Everyman Brand Archetype
The Everyman brand archetype is a particularly good choice for brands that serve a wide variety of customers. However, it’s important to clearly outline the values. These include standing for equality and quality, promising fairness, building a community, as well as communicating wholesomely.
You can implement the following practices as a part of your brand strategy for your Everyman business:
- Positive, colloquial messaging
- Asking questions, encouraging discussion and feedback
- Customer service, trust-building elements, such as money-back guarantees, free trials, educational content for leads and prospects
- Visuals and advertisements featuring ordinary people performing ordinary things (but with significance placed upon them as if to say: You can be ordinary and extraordinary)
- Relatable and helpful content
- Social proof and community-building initiatives
The Everyman is there for everyone. Is your business?
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