Define your Brand Style with Storytelling Techniques
We want to help you define your brand style with storytelling techniques.
Defining the style (or character) of a brand is one of the most complicated tasks when creating a new brand or when considering rebranding.
The style with which we define our brand will be what will differentiate us from the competition. It will confer significance to the brand among our clients, potential clients and the general public.
In this article, we will explain to you how you can define the style of your brand using storytelling techniques.
Carl Jung, born in Switzerland in 1975, was “a psychiatrist and psychotherapist (…) who founded analytical psychology. Jung proposed and developed the concepts of extroverted and introverted personality, archetype and collective unconscious.”
Jung studied the collective unconscious and understood that humanity has similar imagination instincts. Carl Jung understood that, generally speaking, people identify with certain archetypes (as he called them). The archetypes are no more than stock characters that have characteristics that any person in the world understands spontaneously.
This is the theory that allows us to understand why stories like Star Wars or Harry Potter are so well received all over the world. All the characters in these stories fit into one of the archetypes that Jung described. Thus, even without being fully aware of it, we fit the characters into these archetypes whenever we tell a story.
However, the important thing here is to understand how these archetypes can help us define our brand. In other words, how storytelling techniques can help us define the unique style and voice of our brand, and, in this way, reach the collective unconscious of any potential customer.
The idea is simple, but it requires some time and dedication.
Follow the steps below to create your brand style with storytelling techniques:
1 — List of archetypes
Be familiarised with all Jungian archetypes (which we will describe further).
2 — Conscious choice
Choose the archetype that best identifies with the characteristics that you want your brand to have and convey. (Take one of Jung’s personality tests on the Internet, filling out all the fields with your brand information. Here is an example)
3 — Personality definition
Define two or three of your brand’s personality traits (based on the description of the archetype — the character that our brand is “incarnating”).
4 — Tone definition
Describe the tone of your brand, thinking of it as a character in a story.
5 — Story writing
Imagine your brand being the character of a small tale and explore it. What would it do in a certain situation? How would it behave? What kind of attitude would it have facing a problem? How would it introduce itself to friends at a party?…
Carl Jung’s 12 Archetypes
The Caregiver
Always helps other people as well as himself.
Associated primarily with education, health brands and non-profit causes.
The Common Person
Believes that all people are equal, doesn’t like being left out, but also does not want to stand out from the rest.
Ideal for brands that sell everyday and affordable products.
The Creator
Uses his imagination to create something that did not exist before, and is therefore an agent of change.
Associated with brands that help people be creative and produce more.
The Explorer
Dig up new concepts or objects, or challenge others to find something new or to perform innovative actions.
Associated with brands that encourage people to be free or to express their individuality.
The Hero
Heroes are generally strong, but they manage to control their strength for the benefit of others.
It can be associated with almost all brands and companies. But it is suitable for moderately to high priced products with innovative profile and potential to impact the world.
The Innocent
Optimist by nature, remains happy even in difficult circumstances.
Related to products that offer a simple answer to an easy problem to identify. The innocent frees the child that each one has inside.
The Jester
Usually it’s the jester who tells the truth no one wants to hear or dares to say. This archetype alleviates tense situations.
Associated with brands that help people have fun and feel part of a group.
The Magician
Surpasses the impossible, using methods that are not accessible to the common mortal through imagination, intelligence, and the certainty that nothing is impossible.
Recommended for brands that catalyze change and influence people positively.
The Rebel
Rebels defy the status quo through disobedience and inconformity, to achieve freedom, either for themselves or for someone in distress. This archetype likes to be seen as bad and sometimes likes to generate fear in others.
Associated with brands that do not follow current social standards and want to create non-standard things.
The Ruler
Define the rules, and they are always powerful. However, they can be good or bad.
Recommended for luxury brands that allow consumers to feel powerful.
The Sage
Offers intellectual solutions to problems while staying away from confusion.
Associated with brands that inform and stimulate thinking in the consumer.
The Seducer
Gets pleasure through their senses, or someone who makes other characters discover their own sensual abilities.
Recommended for brands that stimulate beauty and sensuality.
After going through these five steps, you will understand that you can now create, in a much easier way, a style book for your brand, as well as align the tone and the purpose of all your messages. The brand will be more easily understood and accepted by your consumers, and, most likely, it will also be able to reach new potential customers in a more efficient way.
The use of storytelling techniques isn’t limited to creating presentations; it goes far beyond that, and should be used in various dimensions of our personal and professional lives.
If you need help with the use of storytelling techniques in your company, we will be happy to help you. Just contact us and tell us a little bit of your story.
References:
Originally published at slidelab.pt on November 21, 2018.
