Is your brand What, How or Why type?

In an era where personalisation is king and consumers demand authenticity, can brands afford to be mono-dimensional? Or is the reluctance to evolve beyond a singular archetype a sign of digital naivety? Brands that choose to remain within the confines of one archetype might find themselves lost in the vast sea of the digital world, overshadowed by more dynamic competitors.

This idea can be better explained through the lens of cyber psychology, which delves into the interactions between individuals and the digital world.

Digital Identity Complexity

In the realm of cyber psychology, individuals often exhibit multiple online personas, each tailored to different platforms or audiences. Similarly, brands are expected to showcase multifaceted personalities that cater to diverse consumer bases. Relying on a single archetype can limit a brand’s appeal and its ability to connect with varied audience segments.

Consumer Expectations

Modern consumers, equipped with vast digital knowledge, expect brands to be dynamic. They anticipate brands to evolve, adapt, and showcase different facets of their personality. A mono-archetypal brand can come across as one-dimensional and outdated.

Digital Evolution

The digital world is ever-evolving. Brands that stick to a singular archetype may struggle to keep up with the rapid changes in online consumer behaviour, preferences, and expectations.

Risk of Stereotyping

Over-reliance on a single archetype can lead to stereotyping. In the digital realm, where virality can make or break a brand, negative stereotypes can be detrimental.

My conviction lies in the blends of complementary archetypes. At the heart of this belief are three major types: the “What?”, “How?”, and “Why?” brands. These categories don’t just define a brand’s offerings or methods; they delve deeper into the essence of the story a brand is weaving. After all,

The brand universe is made of stories, not assets.

In the vast realm of branding, storytelling stands out as a powerful tool to connect, resonate, and engage with audiences. Drawing inspiration from Simon Sinek’s Storytelling Golden Circle, let’s delve into the three core types of brand stories.

Simon Sinek’s Storytelling Golden Circle

1. What? — The Brand’s Performance / Offerings

This is the tangible aspect of the brand. It’s what the brand offers to its customers, whether it’s products, services, or experiences. It’s the solution the brand provides to a particular problem or need in the market.

These are Child Ego-state brands:

Their brand identity delves into the tangible elements that people immediately recognise and associate with a brand. These elements, when consistently applied, create a cohesive and memorable brand universe. Let’s explore some of these crucial components:

Fixed, Usually Limited Color Palette

• Consistency: A limited color palette ensures consistency across all brand touch-points, from digital platforms to physical products. This consistency reinforces brand recognition.
• Emotional Resonance: Different colours evoke different emotions. For instance, blue often conveys trust and reliability, while red can signify passion and energy. By choosing a specific color palette, brands can subtly communicate their values and ethos.
• Differentiation: In crowded marketplaces, having a unique color palette can set a brand apart from its competitors, making it instantly recognisable.

Recognisable Bold Iconic Logo

• Simplicity: The most iconic logos are often the simplest. Think of Apple’s apple or Nike’s swoosh. Their simplicity makes them easy to recognise and remember.
• Versatility: A great logo works everywhere, from business cards to billboards. It should be scalable and look good in both black and white and color.
• Timelessness: While brands might refresh their logos over time, the most iconic logos have a timeless quality that ensures they remain relevant and recognisable over the years.

Bold Simple Graphics

• Memorability: Bold graphics catch the eye and leave a lasting impression. They can simplify complex ideas and make them easily digestible.
• Consistency: Just like with color palettes, consistency in graphics reinforces brand identity. Whether it’s the style of illustrations, the use of shapes, or the choice of imagery, consistency ensures that the brand is instantly recognisable.
• Communication: Graphics can communicate a brand’s story, values, and ethos without words. They can transcend language barriers and resonate with global audiences.

Communication Principles

• Product-Centric: The best brands ensure that their products are at the forefront of their communication. By showcasing the product itself, they allow consumers to visualise and understand the tangible value they’re receiving.
• Benefit Highlighting: It’s not enough to just show the product; brands need to communicate the benefits clearly. This could be in terms of the problem it solves, the value it adds, or the unique features it offers. By highlighting these benefits, brands can effectively communicate the value proposition to their target audience.
• Differentiation: In a market saturated with similar products, differentiation is key. Brands must clearly articulate what sets their product apart from competitors. This could be in terms of innovation, quality, pricing, or any other unique selling proposition (USP). A straightforward approach to differentiation ensures that the audience understands the brand’s unique position in the market.

Examples:

The “What?” brands: Southwest airline, Puma sportswear, Youtube music streaming service

2. How? — The Brand’s Promise / Experience, Values, and Processes

This represents the unique methods, practices, and values the brand employs to achieve its purpose. It’s how the brand differentiates itself from competitors and how it ensures its purpose is met.

These are Adult Ego-state brands:

The story of these brands delves into the brand’s unique approach, the values it upholds, and the processes it employs to deliver its promise. These brands focus on the journey as much as the destination. Let’s explore the elements that define this aspect of brand universe:

Diverse Logo with Various Interpretations and Colours

• Fluidity: These brands often sport logos that are versatile, reflecting their dynamic nature and multifaceted essence.
• Depth: Multiple interpretations of the logo hint at the brand’s layered identity, suggesting there’s more than meets the eye.
• Inclusivity: A diverse color palette within the logo symbolises inclusivity, embracing a myriad of ideas, cultures, and perspectives

Usually Wide Color Palette

• Diversity: A broad palette signifies the brand’s vast offerings and adaptability to various contexts and audiences.
• Emotional Spectrum: The extensive colours evoke a range of emotions, resonating with the diverse personalities of their audience.
• Adaptability: These brands can tweak their color scheme based on campaigns, seasons, or collaborations, showcasing their fluidity.

Sophisticated Graphics or Photography

• Depth and Nuance: High-end graphics or photography convey the brand’s commitment to quality and detail.
• Storytelling: Through refined visuals, these brands narrate intricate tales, often alluding to deeper meanings or experiences.
• Emotionally Engaging: The visuals are designed to strike a chord, creating a memorable impact on the audience.

Showcasing the Process

• Transparency: Highlighting the process underscores transparency, fostering trust with their audience.
• Journey-Centric: It’s about the entire journey, from ideation to realisation, rather than just the final product.
• Educative Approach: These brands often enlighten their audience about their processes, enriching the consumer experience.

Communication Principles

• Process Emphasis: Brands shed light on the process of usage or consumption, offering audiences an insight into the creation or transformation journey.
• Lifestyle Portrayal: The communication often paints a picture of a specific lifestyle, aligning with the aspirations and values of their audience.
• Clients as Heroes: Central to their narrative, these brands position their clients or customers as the protagonists. By focusing on real-life stories and experiences, brands become more relatable, forging stronger emotional bonds.

Examples:

The “How?” brands: Singapore airline, Adidas sportswear, Spotify music streaming service

3. Why? — The Brand’s Purpose

For these brands their hearts and souls are the most important. They always remember the reason the brand exists beyond just making a profit. Their stories answer the question: Why was the brand founded?

These are Parent Ego-state brands:

These brands are driven by a purpose, are anchored by a mission, guided by a vision, and fueled by unwavering core beliefs. Let’s explore the elements that shape the universe of these brands:

Metaphoric Logo Design

• Symbolism: The logos of these brands often carry deep symbolic meanings, reflecting their core values and beliefs. For instance, a Magician brand might use symbols that evoke transformation or magic.
• Narrative Depth: The logo tells a story, hinting at the brand’s history, its journey, or the change it seeks to bring about.
• Evocative Imagery: The imagery evokes the essence of the archetype mix.

Varied Quality Graphics or Photography

• Range: From minimalistic designs that capture the essence in simplicity to maximalistic ones that revel in detail, these brands use graphics that resonate with their brand personality.
• Storytelling: The visuals, whether graphics or photography, narrate the brand’s story, its journey, and its aspirations.
• Emotionally Engaging: The visuals are designed to evoke strong emotions.

Sophisticated Colours

• Depth: The color palette is chosen with care, ensuring it aligns with the brand’s archetype set and communicates its ethos effectively.
• Mood Setting: The colours set the mood reflecting the archetype mix in a certain touch point.
• Consistency: Even with a diverse palette, there’s a sense of harmony and consistency, ensuring the brand is easily recognisable.

Order and Balance with a Twist

• Structured Yet Flexible: These brands maintain a sense of order in their branding, but they aren’t afraid to introduce unexpected twists that captivate the audience.
• Harmony: There’s a balance in their branding elements, ensuring that no aspect overshadows another.
• Innovative Approaches: Especially with brands like the Jester, there’s often an element of surprise or innovation that keeps the audience engaged and entertained.

Communication Principles

• Big Problem-Solving or Transformation Focus: Central to their communication is the significant problem or challenge the brand is passionate about addressing. They articulate this problem clearly and position themselves as the solution.
• Visionary Approach: These brands often communicate a vision of a better world, one where their solutions have made a difference.
• Emotionally Resonant: Their communication strikes a chord, resonating with the deeper aspirations, fears, or desires of their audience.

Examples:

The “Why?” brands: Lufthansa airline, Nike sportswear, Apple music streaming service

The realm of brand storytelling is vast and varied. While the three primary storytelling types — “What?”, “How?”, and “Why?” — provide a comprehensive framework for understanding brand narratives, it’s essential to recognise that not all industries uniformly embrace these categories. Some sectors might predominantly lean towards one type, leaving the others vacant or less explored.

Take the soft drinks industry, for instance. This sector, bustling with effervescence and competition, offers a fascinating study in brand storytelling. Coca-Cola, with its iconic logo, consistent color palette, and unmistakable taste, firmly occupies the “What?” space. It’s a brand that’s instantly recognisable, with a product that has remained largely consistent over the decades. Its story is about its offering — the classic cola drink that generations have loved.

On the other hand, Pepsi, with its dynamic marketing campaigns and emphasis on the experience of consumption, aligns more with the “How?” narrative. It’s not just about the drink; it’s about the experience, the lifestyle, and the youthful spirit that Pepsi embodies. Their campaigns often highlight the process of enjoyment and the emotions associated with drinking Pepsi.

Coca-Cola — the “What?” brand, Pepsi — the “How?” brand

However, the “Why?” space in the soft drinks industry remains intriguingly vacant…

In conclusion, here are some storytelling tips for each particular archetype to include in your unique mix:

These Word Clouds may also help you to identify your ego-state, or whether you’re “What?” “How?” or “Why?” type of brand:

I believe, mixing and matching brand archetypes isn’t just a modern trend; it’s a necessity. It allows brands to showcase their multifaceted personalities, cater to diverse audience segments, and evolve with changing consumer expectations. By intertwining elements from various archetypes, brands can craft a richer, more layered narrative that captivates and engages.

While traditional archetypes provide a foundational understanding of brand personalities, it’s the innovative fusion of these archetypes that will set brands apart in today’s dynamic market landscape. Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle beautifully encapsulates the essence of brand storytelling. By understanding the ‘Why,’ ‘How,’ and ‘What’ of a brand and taking a decision, what is the most important for your brand, businesses can craft compelling narratives that resonate deeply with their audience. And through the lens of brand archetypes, brands can further refine their stories, ensuring they strike the right chord and create lasting connections. So, if you’re aiming to leave an indelible mark: dare to mix, dare to match, and most importantly, dare to tell a story that’s uniquely yours.

Illustrations: Alexander Koltsov, Alexandra Gerig