Behind Elon Musk's Popularity | Brand Analysis
Sebastian D. P. Hidalgo
Founder & CEO ?? I help companies under 500 employees get more results out of their sales & marketing by re-positioning them in the market. ??? Podcast Host & Author
He makes rockets land vertically.
He made electric cars cool.
He fights for free speech.
You know all of? this, but today you will find out something no one talks about:
The secrets behind Elon Musk’s charisma.
Context: What Does This Have To Do With Brand?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Most people think a brand is a logo, a company, a profile on this platform.
As usual, most people are wrong:
A brand is what people think of you – a brand is perception, and this means the world because perception is reality.
Your actions shape your brand. Your choices shape your brand. Most importantly, your ideas shape your brand – and this is what Elon mastered.
Let’s see how.
PERSONALITY: Brand Archetype #1
People who work in Brand Strategy like me use several tools to shape perceptions. In my case, they are:
A key element to this is Archetypes, subconscious patterns discovered by Carl Jung, and you find them in every story in the history of mankind:
Archetypes are everywhere because they are in your brain, and your mind uses them to put labels on the people and characters you meet:
Do people have archetypes? Yes, especially after they play their role in the public eye for a while.
You see, our brains are lazy.
Your brain doesn’t want to think about the infinite layers of somebody else’s personality: The solution is attributing an Archetype to that person, influencer or celebrity.
Elon Musk’s 1st Archetype is THE CREATOR This is the Archetype of vision-driven creativity, of Innovation.
The Creator is driven by:
And this Archetype despises:
And there’s more: Like all brands, Elon has at least another archetype. But before we get there, let’s discuss how he manages to polarize everyone:
POLARIZATION: Brand Values
If you’re a feminist, there’s a negative chance that you will make an Andrew Tate fan your boyfriend. That’s how brands use Values:
Values are supposed to attract the people who think and act like you, and repel everybody else.
Most companies are vanilla and that’s why they’re boring.
Johnny, your friend from school trying to build a brand on LinkedIn? He’s vanilla too, and that’s why he’ll never be influential.
I know this may seem hard, but it's said with care – being boring is no terminal illness. You can fix it. I'd dare say you must fix it if you want to stay competitive, because a brand becomes interesting the moment it evokes feelings in people. The moment it makes half the world angry and turns the other half into fans.
If it sounds familiar it’s because that’s how all movements work, from the Elon fanbase to the LGBT to your grandma’s book club.
So, what are Elon’s values? We can infer some of them pretty accurately:
See how that works?
???? In an age where nobody can take a joke, Humor is a massive value to have.
???? In a time where everybody’s always on doomsday mode about climate change, Optimism and Mankind become a full worldview.
???? When the "woke virus" is taking over, Free Speech is the last line of defense out there to prevent half the planet from turning into Venezuela. And before you accuse me of racism, I’m Venezuelan. My family was kicked out of the country and we are banned from out country for having different opinions, so don't come at me.
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Here’s where things get interesting though: I told you that Elon has at least another archetype because his sense of Humor is second nature to him – so much he could be the Jester Archetype.
However, I chose to put the Humor into his values to make room for a different Archetypical personality:
PERSONALITY: Brand Archetype #2
Elon isn’t just an inventor. If he were just that, he’d be in the shadows along with thousands of geniuses who were suppressed by the system.
Yet he’s not the type to go the Tesla path.
Elon Musk’s second Archetype is THE REBEL. Also known as The Outlaw, this is the Archetype of freedom – the type of soldier that can’t live without a fight.
The Outlaw’s drivers are:
Remember that story of Elon waiting for hours for someone to give him a job and then walking out, deciding he would create his own?
Typical Outlaw.
This Archetype hates:
And if you look carefully, all of Elon’s brands inherit this trait of his:
?? SpaceX is the rocket company that rebelled against the status quo and achieved the impossible,
??Tesla is the first and most dominant EV manufacturer
??/Twitter is the black sheep of social media platforms, the one advertisers have a toxic relationship with because users have an amazing one with it.
See the pattern? But wait, there’s more.
POSITIONING: Becoming The Best
As an Outlaw and a Creator, Elon will by nature want to leave a mark on the world. To achieve this, just like every other brand, he needs something called Positioning.
Positioning is what you do to the minds of the audience: It is the way you influence them so that they can set you apart from all other competitors.
So, who are Elon’s “competitors” in the public eye?
However, Jeff is always balling and nobody seems to truly like Bill – which leaves just one opponent in the ring.
Yep, Zucks is it. Must suck to be that guy, right?
To position against Zuck, all Elon had to do is take a position against his company’s biggest shortcoming: Censorship.
Right when Zuckerberg was redeeming himself in the public eye by appearing more human with martial arts and other cool stuff, Elon pops up and buys X. Right when X is at its weakest, Zuck tries to go for the knockout blow and releases the T-App.
But people realized Meta was half-baked version of Twitter, and Musk took the lead in popularity again. So, by using is extremely relatable personality and by portraying himself as Zuckerberg’s opposite, Musk has been increasingly able to win in the public eye.
And that leads us to the end of this post.
TAKEAWAYS: Why is Elon so popular?
Ultimately, this comes down to a few variables:
And this is the biggest lesson for you. In life, in business, and on social media what matters the most is being DIFFERENT.
If you dare to stop being boring, good things will happen. As my mentor says, lukewarm is death. Of course, you will piss some people off, but if making everyone happy is your thing...
Why don’t you just start selling ice cream?
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AI in Marketing I Practical solutions for businesses I CMO @mixNmatch
11 个月Loved the article and your analysis, thank you for sharing!
Product Marketing Manager | Edtech, Fintech, Martech | Might start to post about product research and how the 1% build 'em, exploring the globe??
12 个月Keep them coming!