This is a low impact website.
JOIN 10-DAY BOOTCAMP
         23 January 2022          Danny R.

What’s all this “Brand Voice” nonsense? 🤪

You might have come across the concept of a Brand Voice, which (loosely) describes what your organisation “sounds” like when people read, listen to, or watch something you’ve published.

Meaning do you sound corporate, fun, droney, pushy, inspiring, techy, earthy, and so on.

If this is a super abstract concept to you, a shortcut to understanding it is looking at the Brand Archetypes framework, and seeing where some well-known brands fit in to them.

What’s a Brand Archetype?

For a simple brain like mine, a Brand Archetype is like assigning a personality to a company. It’s a pretty clever system coined sometime in the 50s by a dude called Carl Jung (a mate of Sigmund Freud’s).

There are 12 Archetypes - you pick the one that most aligns with your organisation, and use the guidelines within it as a way of writing your tone of voice, which helps draw people to your org.

The idea behind the archetypes is that they're intended to tap into the basic, primitive desires of your audience.

Each archetype has a single human desire that underpins it.

The 12 Archetypes (desire in brackets):

  • The Innocent » (Safety)
  • The Everyman » (Belonging)
  • The Hero » (Mastery)
  • The Rebel » (Liberation)
  • The Explorer » (Freedom)
  • The Creator » (Innovation)
  • The Ruler » (Control)
  • The Magician » (Power)
  • The Lover » (Intimacy)
  • The Caregiver » (Service)
  • The Jester » (Enjoyment)
  • The Sage » (Understanding)

Just looking at that list, you might think of some well-known companies or public figures that fit very neatly under certain archetypes.

If it’s all still a bit abstract, here a few examples to get your wheels turning:

Harley-Davidson = The Rebel

With “Liberation” as it’s underlying desire, even if you’re not a Harley fan you can likely see how that connects to the brand, and then to their fan base. When Harley publishes, it’s gritty, rebellious and very not status quo.

LEGO = The Creator

Not much of a stretch there. The Creator’s desire is “Innovation” - self-expression, imagination, that sort of thing. People who love LEGO don’t want the same old thing. Fun might also be a factor for The Creator, but it doesn’t have to be. Software companies (eg: Canva or Zoom) often fall under this archetype too.

Over the next few days, we’ll explore each of the archetypes using more examples of known and less-known organisations, and look at how you can start applying them within your own organisation.

Going down the list, a handful might already be jumping out at you. The orgs who do the hard work of picking and sticking with one primary archetype can often create real magic, which we'll explore too.

Sign up to The Climate Shift

We'll never share or sell your data.

Daily climate action for Aussie business leaders.

Let's spend 2 minutes each day looking at the opportunities, solutions, startups and rockstars in the climate space.

100% no doom & gloom guarantee. Start transitioning your organisation towards net-zero and have fun doing it.

Emails arrive daily. Unsubscribe anytime.

We acknowledge that we work on the lands of the Wangal peoples of the wider Eora nation in the place now known as Sydney. We are humbled to work on Wangal lands, used for generations as a place for Aboriginal learning and knowledge exchange.

We respect the Elders of the past, our current Elders and the Elders emerging for our future. May we all continue to look after Wangal, Eora and surrounding lands.

A daily email exploring the opportunities, solutions, startups and rockstars in the climate space.

No doom & gloom guarantee. Start transitioning your organisation towards net-zero and have fun doing it.

Emails arrive daily. Unsubscribe anytime.
© 2024 Impact Labs Australia.
crossmenu
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram