Archetypes and Storytelling in Brand Communication
In the current fast-paced and highly competitive business scenario, good brand communication is essential for organizations that want to connect with their audience in a more empathetic way. While marketing tactics focus on features and benefits, the power of storytelling flourishes as a transformative agent in corporate communication.
This short article is the result of my readings to try to build the importance of narrative in brand communication, inpired by the book from Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson’s book, “The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes” as well as Donald Miller’s “Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen” and Jonah Berger’s “Contagious: Why Things Catch On.”
“The Hero and the Outlaw — Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes”
by Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson
“The Hero and the Outlaw” establishes a deep understanding of archetypal stories that resonate deeply, identify with people, and have the potential to shape brand perception.
By exploring universal archetypes such as the Hero, the Outlaw, the Sage, among others, organizations can create engaging brand narratives that spark emotions, build trust, and establish “forever” connections. The book offers rich material on how to align the brand’s message with archetypal symbols to create a “personified” brand identity.
“Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen”
by Donald Miller
The author highlights the importance of refining the brand’s message and positioning it as a story that customers can engage.
By portraying the customer as a hero and positioning the brand as the guide (the mentor of the journey, archetype described in Joseph Campbell's book — The hero with a thousand faces) that helps them overcome challenges, organizations can develop their own narrative to engage their audience. Miller creates and presents a framework, along with a step-by-step process, to create this structured and engaging story.
“Contagious: Why Things Catch On”
by Jonah Berger
Explores the phenomenon of viral transmission of ideas and information. The book presents the elements that make ideas contagious(according to the author) and how brands can apply these principles in their communication.
The author introduces concepts such as triggers, emotions, storytelling, and social belonging to create brand narratives that spread naturally(not so naturally), generate engagement, and sharing.
Internet, mobile devices, social networks, infinite scrolling, and gamification.
With this machine running 24/7 across all lifecycles from waking to sleeping, consumers are bombarded with countless brand messages, and the power of storytelling has emerged as a holy grail.
By mastering the ideas proposed by these mentioned authors( there are others, of course. ), organizations can create brand narratives that captivate their audience, build trust, and establish lasting connections.
It is worth remembering that the attribution of these values to the brand is in the field of semiotics (a topic for other future articles), where mythical, ideological and sociological signs stand out. We cannot also avoid being careful with our ethical limits to create these “values” while establishing these relationships of affection.
And, dealing with ethics, it is worth mentioning the concept of categorical imperative, exposed in the Kant’s ethical formulations:
“Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person and in the other person, always as an end and never as a means.”
I wish you success in crafting your brand narratives.
