USING THE POWER OF ARCHETYPES AS A QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH TOOL

By Jacquelyn Antonian *

Think about the last qualitative research study you worked on. Maybe you
conducted some focus groups on positioning, concept testing, packaging
design, copy testing or branding research. If that sounds familiar, you
might have even done a few exercises where participants discussed the
differences between brands and advertising. And, you might have even
asked questions such as how is Brand X different than Brand Y.? You
probably spent a lot of time drilling down on all the different product
attributes and benefits or even do some laddering to uncover the core
values of a brand or product, right?

But what happens after the research is completed? Researchers typically

struggle to make sense of the various adjectives participants offer;
merging then into cohesive themes. Oftentimes, it is difficult to cluster
participants’ feelings into meaningful stories. Instead, the more logical is
reported; categorizing the associations by positive feelings about Brand X
and negative feelings about Brand Y. So what value does a laundry list of
verbatim adjectives really provide clients?
As qualitative researchers, we work to elicit feelings from consumers in
order to provide valuable underlying information about brand imagery and
emotional drivers. Unfortunately, researchers and the brand time rarely
have or take the time to think deeply about the brand: its history, how it’s
viewed, what it means to people on an emotional level as well as its future
aspirations in relationship to the consumer.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a useful tool to help us get to meaningful

connections; one that helps us pull together associations that make sense
and can be used for future branding strategies...

Consider Archetypes
So what are archetypes and where does the idea come from? The concept
of archetypes actually originates in Plato’s concept of ideals and patterns.
In the mid-1900’s psychologist Carl Jung took Plato’s thinking a step
further and developed “psychological archetypes” defined as:
“characteristic patterns that pre-exist in the collective psyche of the
human race that repeat themselves eternally in the psyche of individual
human beings and determine the basic ways that we perceive and
function as psychological beings.”

Robert Johnson, Innerwork. Jung defined it as “forms or images of a

collective nature which occur practically all over the earth as constituents
of myths and at the same time as individual products of unconscious
origin” (C.G. Jung, Psychology and Religion). The premise is that people
come into the world with patterns of instinctual behavior waiting to be
developed, awakened and explored. Psychologist Erik Erickson then
identified three psychosocial stages of life that everyone goes through,
and they are: the preparation stage for separation (dependence), the
 journey to find the individual (independence), and the return to

community (interdependence).

Carol Pearson then took Jung’s concept of psychological archetypes

coupled with Erickson’s life stages and developed twelve distinct
archetypal personalities that serve as natural inner guides that we use as
we go through life.

Below is a brief description of the twelve archetypes:

Preparation stage

The Innocent – defined as the pure and trusting part of us that retains
faith regardless of personal experience
The Orphan – the part that has been betrayed, abused or abandoned
The Caregiver – the ability to nurture and care for others and ourselves
The Warrior – the ability to protect and defend ourselves and set limits
and goals

Archetypes of the Soul Journey

The Seeker – the need to search for something different, seek meaning,
explore and wander.
The Lover – the ability to care, to bond to make commitments and have
passion.
The Creator – the ability to open the imagination and bring forth
something that never existed before.
The Destroyer – the ability to choose to let go and rid yourself of things
that no longer support your values

Archetypes of the Return

The Ruler – the ability to use all of our resources and to take
responsibility for ourselves and others.
The Sage – the ability to attain wisdom, seek truth
The Magician – the ability to change what needs to be changed by acting
on our own visions
The Jester – the ability to experience life fully

Knowing these archetypes helps us understand human behavior, how we

are living and leads to an understanding of our needs as consumers.
These lead to the researcher’s ability to provide clients with insight and
appropriate, strategic brand recommendations.

Archetypes are extremely useful in marketing and qualitative research

because they are meaningful and symbolic ways for consumers to connect
with brands. Understanding archetypal meaning and using psychological
principles in marketing is now becoming more of a pre-requisite to
effective marketing, whereas in the past, it was considered an extra perk.
Scott Bedbury who served as head of marketing at both Nike and
Starbucks, said “a brand is a metaphorical story that connects with
something very deep− a fundamental human appreciation of mythology…
Companies that manifest this sensibility invoke something very powerful.”

And how do you build a great brand?

According to Kelly & Silverstein, building a breakaway brand comes from a

deep understanding of the consumer by connecting on a winning mindset:
a powerful, aspirational, shared view of life amongst all core audience
segments. Great brands require great stories and great stories are built
around a character. Think about the people you know, everyone’s
personality fits with one of the twelve archetypes, right? Well if you think
about the top brands, most of them have symbolic and aspirational
stories: ones that connect with something very deep in consumers. And,
in order for brands to connect with consumers, consumers’ needs and
lifestyle need to be understood.
These original archetypes still exist and apply to contemporary marketing
and in this case are used as universally recognized patterns (not
stereotypes because stereotypes are often negative associations) which
recur in society and help us to understand, recognize and assimilate the
world. They can be used to guide the direction of brand communication to
a deep-seated place within the human psyche, and in turn, it is easier for
consumers to identify with brands that have archetypal meaning.

Mark and Pearson in their book: The Hero and the Outlaw – Building
Extraordinary Brands through the Power of Archetypes, define the twelve
archetypes expressed most often in pop-culture today. Below is a list of
the different archetypes, what their primary function is and an example of
a brand that exemplifies the archetype (unfortunately the scope of this
paper does not permit an explanation of each):

So, take a moment to

think about some of the great global brands: Disney, Coke, Apple, Nike
and Starbucks, they all have great stories in common and are consistently
represented by one of the twelve universal archetypes. Brands such as
Disney (know for being the happiest place on earth) and Coke (slogan: It’s
the real thing) are all traditional brands that promise an experience of
paradise and happiness with their brand; thus, classifies the brands as
Innocent archetypes. How about Apple computers? Ever notice that their
logo is an apple with a bite out of it (which symbolizes the forbidden fruit
in the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and in this case
represents forbidden knowledge) and their motto is Think Different. The
Apple brand is the ultimate Outlaw archetype: the brand stands for
independent thinking and creativity and is known for being the anti-
corporate computer. Take the brand Nike, the preeminent hero archetype.
The brand’s long-standing mission (which enables and inspires athletes to
perform at their best) is Just do it. Historically, the name “Nike” is actually
the name of the Greek goddess of victory. No wonder top athletes in each
sport (such as Michael Jordan) are often spokesmen for Nike!
How about Starbucks, the cultural phenomenon Notice the logo − it is an
image of a female sea goddess (a cross between a mermaid and siren).
Then, the masculine name, Starbuck, was actually the name of the first
mate on the whaling ship in the classic story of Moby Dick. Starbucks, the
ultimate explorer archetype, delivers on its explorer theme consistently in
its logo, name, packaging, product and service. The product is and
becomes whatever you want, desire and create; there are endless coffee
and non-coffee choices, combinations and possibilities for the exploring
customer. The service delivers on customization of the consumer’s
beverage down to the most intricate detail. Notice, how they even ask
customers for their name while creating beverages and write your name
on the cup; this signifies that it is your cup of coffee, made to order for
you.

These examples demonstrate that the brand image (the external meaning
intended by marketers such as the merchandising, packaging and logo), is
consistent with the brand essence (the internal meaning interpreted by
the customer experience). Imagine if they were not consistent and a
brand, such as a retailer, is trying to position itself as a Caregiver
archetype, one that is trying to help and provide products that help
customers with their busy lives, but instead does not successfully deliver
on its intended mission and instead customers perceive the in-store
experience brand as having poor customer service with disgruntled
employees. When brands fail to match up with an archetypal identity and
if there are noticeable inconsistencies between the brands image and
essence, they are usually less successful.

Next time you conduct

qualitative research, take some time to understand the archetype of the
brand. Then when you conduct the interviews/focus groups you’ll be able
to see if all dimensions and elements of the brand like merchandising,
store environment, labels, shopping experience,
neighborhood/community, packaging, etc. deliver on the archetypal
personality.
 Additionally, ethnographies are especially useful in brand and archetypal
analysis because it allows for rich insights into consumers lives by
observing, interacting, and discussing how the brands and products fit in
consumers lives. Projective techniques such as story telling,
personification, laddering, role playing and word bubbles enable
participants to express subconscious feelings about the brand or product
and thus bring the brand to life to see if it’s on par with the intended
archetypal meaning.

When doing brand and advertising research, two fundamental questions

need to be evaluated: first, is the brand story clear, consistent and
understood by consumers so consumers will connect with the brand on an
emotional level; second, does the brand story align with one of the twelve
universal archetypes?

An effective method is outlined below:

Before fieldwork, do some homework and a pre-immersion session to get

relevant information and learn factual research on your brands image:
such as the history, who created it, when was it created, how it is
positioned, who does it appeal to and how is it doing in category.

Then, conduct qualitative research to uncover the brand essence: the raw
materials and brand truth such as, what is the relationship consumers
have with the brand, why do they use the brand, in what circumstances,
what is the brand known for, how do consumers use the brand, and how
does it fit into their lives? It is essential to understand the role of the
brand: what jobs does the brand fulfill? What I mean by jobs is based
upon Christensen book The Innovators Solution, where he argues that
customers hire products to do specific jobs. For instance, a cup of coffee in
the morning could serve many jobs: to wake me up, to put something
warm in my body or to while away the time on a boring commute to work.
Knowing what underlying jobs a product gets “hired to do” can give
brands a competitive advantage to improve and deliver on their products
so they fulfill the intended job.

Generate conclusions about the brands archetype to see if it aligns with

one of the twelve universal ones. Is it the appropriate archetype? Is the
archetype relevant and meaningful to the target market? Is the archetype
consistent with the brand’s image and essence?

Assess the archetypes of the competitive set: understand how the brand is
performing against competitors, does the competitive set live up to the
intended archetypes? Is there an opportunity for a new archetype in the
category? Think about what will differentiate your brand from another and
make sure you deliver you message in a clear, consistent, meaningful and
aspirational story.
 If you would like to learn more about archetypes and branding, I
recommend the following six books:
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by J. Campbell
The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious by C. Jung
The Hero and the Outlaw – Building Extraordinary Brands through the
Power of Archetypes by Mark and Pearson
What Great Brands Do by S. Bedbury
The Innovators Solution by Christensen
The Breakaway Brand: How Great Brands Stand Out by Silverstein

* Lieberman Research Worldwide, Los Angeles, CA

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