How can you use storytelling archetypes in brand marketing videos?

In my opinion archetype videos are great. However, even better to first evaluate what archetype fits to your company - taking into account the competition and also your target customers. That means, before saying "oh yes, a hero-video sounds good - let do it" think first! The usage of archetype has great power but it also takes time, energy and budget to select the right archetype. In case the selected archetype does not fit to your company ... the video might look great but will not engage with your consumers. So, when it comes to archetypes, .... think first!

Before actually choosing the brand archetypes, it is important to consider the brand's values, what the brand is striving to achieve, and all other aspects before labeling the archetype. There are numerous creative ways to interpret any brand archetype and craft a valuable and usually appealing story.

Ahh, storytelling archetypes are like the building blocks of compelling brand narratives! Here are a few examples of how you can weave them into marketing videos: - The Hero's Journey - Showcase your brand as the hero overcoming obstacles to achieve a goal. Think Apple's "Think Different" campaign. - The Outlaw - Portray your brand as a rebel, challenging the status quo and defying conventions. Think Nike's "Just Do It" campaign. - The Sage - Position your brand as a wise and knowledgeable guide, providing expertise and insights to your audience. Think TED Talks.

Storytelling archetypes craft emotionally resonant narratives, differentiating brands and deeply connecting with audiences for lasting impact. You can frame it by: 1. Select an Archetype: Identify an archetype (like Hero or Caregiver) that matches the brand's identity. 2. Tell Stories Based on Archetype: Craft video narratives around this archetype. 3. Ensure Consistency: Maintain this archetype across all marketing. 4. Connect with Audience: Align the archetype with audience aspirations. 5. Emotional Appeal: Use the archetype to evoke emotions. 6. Visual and Audio Sync: Match visuals and sounds to the archetype. 7. Adapt and Evaluate: Evolve the storytelling as the brand grows and regularly assess its effectiveness.

Visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than written content. This means that you are able to catch your audience's attention and convey complex information in a way that is easily digestible. But visual storytelling is not just about presenting data in a more engaging way. It's also about eliciting emotion and increasing information retention. Connecting with your audience on an emotional level is key to building brand loyalty and trust. It's important to note that different archetypes elicit specific feelings towards brands, and the narrative persuasion system operates differently according to product type. This means that you may need to use different archetypes to translate the desired feelings for your brand.

The rags to riches archetype works will with brands that generally play the underdog persona. It's very common to find nuances of this is scale up, market disruptors. Examples include early days of Airbnb, Netflix and Spotify. It's important to choose archetypes that align with your brand values and the values of your current ICPs.

Rags to riches is another story arc. It could be the journey of the innocent, the character without experience or resources as the character goes on a path of discovery to gain some form of wealth. It could even be like Rocky in the first movie. He goes on the journey to win a boxing match, but loses the match, only to realize the thing he truly wants is Adrian. In this case love is the "wealth" he really is seeking.

I find that the rebirth narrative is quite powerful, whether the transformation applies to the direct customer, or empowers them to change something around them. I think that with an increasing number of brands trying to sell a lifestyle or an experience in order to sell products and services, 'a transformation' is a great idea and a flexible theme that can fit the narrative of most brands.

In my experience, rebirth stories are the most captivating, as they strengthen weak areas and points in a brand's journey where resilience and the spirit to overcome is born. There is newness and reinvention at the end of every business cycle. If you are not growing, you are dying. Much like a seed in the ground that is planted, germinates and develops deep roots. This is the ongoing nature of a rebirth story, from all the investment seeds you put into the ground.Some do not survive the storms, and you have to plant again. Others, didn't get the attention they needed - time to plant again. This is the power of a rebirth story.

Rebirth isn't an archetype. It's a story arc based on overcoming becoming stuck. An archetype that could go on this journey is the ruler - someone who has developed deep knowledge and skill in an area but who needs to break through and see the world anew. The archetype of "the innocent" could help the ruler overcome their fixed, established views.

Finding the perfect balance of not overthinking things and understanding your audience is key to the comedy archetype. The reason why a teenager can run a corporate socials account and outperform filled board-rooms from market leaders is because of that reason, being very aware of the culture on the plattform that their communicating on, creating content that's relevant to their target audience, current to trends and not taking themselves too seriously generally leads to the best results. Without this in place, the comedy archetype has a high likelihood of falling flat.

In my experience, the comedy archetype is most often employed to stand out from the clutter, though it can have other interesting uses as well. More and more brands are now embracing authentic content and honest communication to connect with the younger generation and the comedy archetype helps you do that without veering into preachiness. An excellent example of this in recent times has to be the iconic Dollar Shave Club ad film featuring founder Michael Dubin. It embraced the bootstrapped nature of the brand at that time and created a hilarious, yet relatable, video explaining the brand in a very watchable and entertaining manner.

As a comedy writer, making someone laugh is easily the hardest emotion to genuinely evoke. And in branding terms, the best value for money. It's a universal, positive emotion and there isn't a brand in the world that doesn't have room for humour in all its myriad formats. From slapstick to black to ironic to family to charming, if you can authentically capture a comedic archetype in your branding, you're onto a winner. Check out dollar shave club's first advert if you don't believe me!

Tragedy hits hard. It's not just about sob stories, but it digs deep, reminding us of the stakes—the real world isn't all sunshine. Brands use it, sure, to show they get the struggle, to tell us they're here when the chips are down. It's not a cheery sell, but it's real. We've all been there, that spot where it seems like the game's over. But here's the thing—it's also where we find what we're made of. A brand that can walk with someone through a tragedy, offering a real hand? That's the stuff that sticks with you.

A tragedy is a story arc that neither follows the victorious arc of the hero's journey nor the humorous arc of the comedy. Often a tragedy occurs to an archetypal character like "the ruler," who has extensive experience, but who has a downfall, often due to an internal character defect.

The difficulty with the mystery archetype is creating enough suspense for the target demographic to remain engaged during the course of the piece of content. You need an early hook in the first 2 seconds that shifts the initial attention towards you. After that, focus on sound and negative space to create tension. The tension is something that is created in-between the words spoken. I encourage the usage of visuals and symbolism. End with the mystery being resolved. The mystery archetype does not fit a large majority of brands, so make sure that it rhymes well with your brands values and does not feel forced. We always choose archetypes based on brand, not the other way around.

Storytelling archetypes are great guides for communications. However, what works in one instance may not work in another. This is less a function of market dynamics, but is driven by poor use of the trope. As communication experts, we must always ask what emotion does a concept evoke. This is where archetypes provide a quick checklist to help us ensure we do not miss out on our chance to connect with audiences. Take the hero's journey, which can be extremely useful for quick tactical communications. The protagonist is pushed into a situation, the brand acts as a source of help to resolve the conflict, the protagonist comes out the hero. Simple 1+2=3. The trick to success is to ensure the right emotion is felt at every step of the journey.

These brand archetypes are like a navigational tool for the brand's communication strategy. It's important to consider the mood, lighting, and tone for the brand to understand how to engage and who to attract.

This is an interesting topic & approach to video marketing for businesses. There are many tones & personalities your video can take but ultimately, it depends on your brand. 1. What's your brand's archetype? (Brand Attributes) 2. What's the purpose of your business or this piece of communication? (Brand Vision + Marketing Objectives) 3. Who or what kind of language & personality traits does your target demographic respond to? (Audience Analysis) 4. What's the personality of your entire industry? (Market Research) 5. Finally, where is this video marketing piece going to be shared? (Communication & Platform Strategy) Having these answers will create a personality framework for your video's tone. It can be a single route or an amalgamation.

Employing storytelling archetypes in brand marketing videos are an excellent way to grab attention, engage viewers, and compel action. However, if you are aiming for comprehensive impact, you need to ensure you deliver a similar experience across all your marketing touch points. If your brand video inspires and motivates your audience by charting out a hero’s journey, the landing page or social media handle you push them towards should ideally continue the same theme. You needn’t back all your videos with a supporting 360-degree marketing effort, but your key touch points should be aligned so that your audience has a seamless experience. This will also prevent drop-offs further down the your marketing funnel.

There's a fine line between successful deployment of an archetype and terrible, awful, brand destroying clichés. And by focusing too much on rigid manifestations of your brand, you'll unavoidably annoy some customers, so use with care. And as always, be open to change