HARNESSING THE POWER OF
ARCHETYPES FOR YOUR MARKETING
Gianluca Fiorelli
@gfiorelli1 #BigDigitalADL
Slenderman
Or the return to oral tradition
in storytelling in the Internet Age
SLENDERMAN SHADOW
SHADOW
Archetype
Transpersonal, pure or radical evil
(symbolized by the Devil and
demons) and collective evil.
Archetypes
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.
The [forms and images] are
imprinted and hardwired into our
psyches
Roger Dooley
In 80% of cases we make a decision before being
rationally aware of it
( )
Brand
Personality Archetypes
Brand
Personality Archetypes
Brand Loyalty
Community
Engagement
Conversions
To Know
HOW
People
Search Is
Important
But Knowing
WHY
People
Search Even
More
The 12
Archetypes
itseo.org/12Arctypes
THE
CREATOR
CREATIVE
ANTICONFORMIST
The Brand Empowers its audience as much as it
is able to express itself using its products
THE
RULER
EXCLUSIVENESS
STATUS GROWTH
A brand that presents itself as a Ruler is suggesting
to their audience that they can be rulers too
THE
CAREGIVER
TRUST
EMPHATY
Caregiver brands present themselves as someone to
trust, because they care and empathize with their
audience
THE
INNOCENT
POSITIVISM
BEAUTY
The Innocent finds positive sides in everyone and
everything
THE
SAGE
HUMANISM
KNOWLEDGE
The Sage is deeply humanist and believe in the
power of humankind to shape a better world through
knowledge
THE
EXPLORER
ADVENTURE
BRAVENESS
Explorer brands prompt their audience to challenge
themselves and to discover their inner adventurer
THE
HERO
COURAGE
JUSTICE
THE
MAGICIAN
CLEVERNESS
INTELLIGENCE
The Magician is able to make the impossible
possible
THE
OUTLAW
REBEL
ANARCHIST
The Outlaw is the rebel, the one who breaks the
rules in order to free his true self
THE
EVERYMAN
NORMALITY
HAPPYNESS
Brands targeting the Everyman audience (and
painting themselves as such) craft their messages
about the beauty of simple things and daily real life
THE
JESTER
IRRIVERENT
IMPULSIVE
A brand that presents itself as the Jester is a brand
that wants to make our lives easier and more
bearable, providing us joy
THE
LOVER
PASSIONATE
PHYSICAL
Knowing Our
Archetype Is Useless
If We Cannot Build a
Brand Story With It
THEORY OF
LITERARY
MODES
Northrop
Frye
Anatomy of
Criticism
SEMIOTICS
Meets
ARCHETYPES
Considering the relation between the nature of
the main character (the Hero) and the
environment where he acts
Classification of
literary works
#1
ENVIRONMENTNATURE
EPICROMANCE
COMEDY
IRONY
MYTH
Considering if the Hero is refused or accepted
by society (Tragedy and Comedy)
Classification of
literary works
#2
ENVIRONMENT
THE GOD
ACCEPTED
HIGH
COMEDY
IRONIC
COMEDY -
SATIRE
IDYL
PICARESQUE
COMEDYNATURE
EXAMPLE #1
The Hero can become part of a
community only if she passes through a
series of tasks, which will award prizes
and more capabilities.
If the user is able to pass through all the
tasks, he will not only be accepted but
also may have the opportunity to be
among the leaders of the community
itself.
MAGICIAN
IDYLLIC MODE
GAMIFICATION
EXAMPLE #2
The Hero is not an interior designer or
decorator, but the Deus Ex Machina is
there to help Everyman kind of people
like me and you in every way as we
decorate our own houses.
EVERYMAN
COMEDIC MODE
EDUCATIONAL
EXAMPLE #3
The Hero is the brand community, who
does not care what the mainstream
concept of fashion is and designs and
crowdfounds "its fashion."
OUTLAW
PICARESQUE COMEDY
COMMUNITY
BUILDER
IDYLL
COMMUNITY
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE WHY
http://itseo.org/1VHNwey
Simon Sinek
There is a world of stories
hidden in the About Us and
Mission pages
And in how we design our
Personas
Buyer
Persona
We can design Personas
using
http://www.aimclearblog.com/
category/psychographic-
targeting/
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA - GA Demographics http://itseo.org/28gtnRC
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA - GA User Explorer http://itseo.org/214cBQe
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA - FB Audience Insights http://itseo.org/24uyx7Z
PRO TIP:
Add a Facebook
retargeting pixel in your
site just to collect
demographic data
http://itseo.org/1UD1CeS
And they lead to the
Brand World Building
Ian Lurie - http://itseo.org/1Un2HF0
STORIES THAT WE MUST
PAINT ACCORDINGLY TO
THE COLORS PATTERNS
OF OUR ARCHETYPE
Psychology
of Colors
http://itseo.org/1t
1DM39
AND STORIES THAT
PEOPLE CAN RECOGNIZE
THEMSELVES WITH AT
FIRST SIGHT
HERO SHOTS
Angie Schottmuller http://itseo.org/1WCw2Br
Stories we can A/B test
and refine
A BRAND IS NOT
A trademark.
A mission statement.
A logo or slogan.
A product or service.
An advertisement.
Joanna Lord - http://itseo.org/1UtFbWl
A BRAND IS
An intangible asset that
resides in people’s
hearts and minds.
Joanna Lord - http://itseo.org/1UtFbWl
THANK YOU

Harnessing The Power Of Archetypes For Your Digital Marketing