The Ruler Archetype and The Double Rs: How Rolls Royce Dominates Luxury Mobility

Being king is the ultimate goal for certain people. Effortless domination of your field is like the Holy Grail. This is the Ruler archetype at play, establishing dominance and creating pedigree. The world is your empire in the making, waiting for you to march forward, conquer it, and shape a new standard under your thumb.

This is the end-all-be-all of the Ruler archetype, striving towards excellence and dominion over one’s niche. Picture Vito Corleone in his full authority, sitting at the apex of his empire—it is the very essence of being a Ruler.

You see these brands all across business and different industries. Consumers see them as aspirational; they possess some kind of guide on what the best life is. Their positioning makes them revered in their fields, and their brand love stems from the confidence they move with. The automobile industry has many brands fighting to embody the Ruler archetype. While some have had more success than others, none embodies the archetype better than Rolls Royce. A true mark of luxury, Rolls Royce has carved a brand positioning so unique that we can’t help but think of it as royalty.

It is the king of luxury mobility, the equivalent of high fashion for vehicles.

The Spirit of Ecstasy

What is Rolls Royce? Is it a respected car manufacturer focusing on a niche audience? A status symbol for old and new money? Or is it a bit of both? It is every one of these at the same time. The brainchild of Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce, the brand’s beginnings spoke of its eventual status as the king of the automobile industry. When you present luxury as aspirational, you make room for boundless possibilities in messaging. The Rolls Royce brand understood this principle, effectively charting its course toward becoming the Ruler brand it is today. What better way to signify this journey than one of the most iconic symbols ever—the Spirit of Ecstasy.

Be it the check mark or the bitten apple, many brands have latched unto simple symbols and have made them immortal. Rolls Royce does the same thing with its signature symbol—a figurine that is as sensual as it is mysterious. It is a reflection of the brand’s aloof yet dominant air. Being heavily inspired by Greek mythology, the Spirit of Ecstasy’s history is full of intrigue and romance, especially as seen in the life of its model Eleanor Thornton.

Despite the real-world intrigue surrounding the symbol’s creation, the Spirit of Ecstasy stands tall in conveying effortless dominance. Modeled after Eleanor Thornton’s likeness in 1909 by Charles Sykes, it is a timeless representation of the Rolls Royce brand. It signifies luxury and control, a perfect illustration on how design can make or break a brand. It is the most recognized automotive symbol in the last 100 years, capturing the pursuit of personal liberty and rulership. Its design is as aspirational as the brand itself, and its aesthetic is like that of a free bird always seeking dominance. Eleanor is in fact such a huge part of the Rolls Royce brand, that it is even the name of its AI for the 103EX concept car. More on that later.

This is the Ruler archetype in perfect display. It is an amazing case of what happens when brand identity seeps through everything about a brand, from its marketing to product design and management. An intentional brand like Rolls Royce wants you to feel its essence wherever you experience it, and it makes you acknowledge it at every step.

The Brand’s Positioning

Rolls Royce’s positioning seeps into its vehicle models. Take the Black Badge ?range including gems like Phantom, Wraith and Ghost— these cars contain features that tell the driver that they’re in for a premium experience. The car becomes a throne/mini palace, and the driver a king with everything at their disposal. Each Black Badge car has the Starlight Headliner—a feature in which the car’s interior simulates the night sky with fiber optic lights.

Here, the driver feels as though they have entered another world safe from the everyday noise. It is almost a retreat into a place of solitude, where you can drive indulge yourself in royal treatment. Such innovation in product design underscores the spirit of the brand, where all craftsmanship is channeled into making the end user feel royal. The customer isn’t only right, but is also king. The customer deserves to be treated like an emperor, and nothing is off limits. How fitting is it that the logo for the Black Badge range is the Infinity symbol?

Furthermore, take a look at the Rolls Royce Phantom. A classic staple of the vehicle brand, the Phantom was first released in 1925 ?and is currently in its 8th model. It is built on the Architecture of Luxury—an aluminum spaceframe acting as the foundation of the Phantom and other models, guaranteeing a smoot ride. Speaking of smooth rides, enter the Magic Carpet Ride—Rolls Royce’s trademark ride quality that offers such seamless movement to the point where the driver forgets they were ever on the road, essentially offering a service fit for a king. Also, take a look at the Gallery—a customizable glass frame spanning the entire length of the Phantom’s dashboard. It’s customizable because it gives users options in tailoring it to suit their aesthetic, ranging from artworks to any other bespoke elements.

The Rolls Royce is a palace on wheels. If the driver is a royal, then the car is the domain over which they reign. Circling back to the Phantom, it captures the essence of the Black Badge range and the larger Rolls Royce brand. No matter the make or model, the brand remains a symbol of sophistication. Picture it as everything old money stands for—posh, stable and dominant, with a touch of aloofness.

And yet, Rolls Royce is slowly evolving from that identity. While it is still a Ruler brand, it is also reimagining its identity in an age marked by electric vehicles (EVs) and sustainability. Yet, even its entry into the EV landscape comes with its own spin. In a sea of likeminded EV designs which has minimalism as its ethos, the automotive giant plans to merge functionality with sophistication. It is taking the utility of traditional EVs and merging them with the iconic Rolls Royce aesthetic. What do you get when you complete this merger? The Rolls Royce Spectre, the brand’s 1st ever electric vehicle.

The Spectre is only the 1st step into the brand’s EV vision. Enter the Rolls Royce 103EX, the brand’s futuristic take on luxury mobility. Made with the goal of dominating mobility in the next 100 years, it is a concept car that represents what Rolls Royce imagines luxury cars will be in the next 100 years. ?Its design is as futuristic as it is luxurious, a perfect blend of the brand’s current positioning and its planned evolution. Rolls Royce wants to be the go-to brand that blends the sleekness of EVs with its traditional sophistication. It is the brand’s bold vision for the future, anticipating the need for a strong Ruler brand to bring order and innovation to a cluttered vehicle category.

Whether it be the traditional or electric vehicle space, the brand wants to remain being the tastemaker it currently is, charting its own course in the future and becoming the undisputed king of the space. It is a Ruler now, and wants to remain one in the next 100 years.

Whether or not it succeeds, the Rolls Royce brand remains a king among peasants.

A Tastemaker Brand

What or who is a tastemaker? It is one who dictates what others think is cool. A tastemaker sets the tone for what millions consider acceptable within a given scenario, and the Rolls Royce brand plays this role perfectly in the luxury vehicle category.

Part of being a Ruler brand involves providing order and clarity to people’s tastes. There are numerous brands vying for our attention, constantly trying to foist upon us what they think is the right way of doing things. The reason Rolls Royce succeeds where others fail is because of it harnesses the power of art in its brand positioning. Art is more than a tool for aesthetics—it captures the very essence of what cultures represent. In Rolls Royce’s case, it is a tool by which it affirms its position as the king of the luxury vehicles category. To this end, the brand has embarked on numerous endeavours to elevate its positioning with art, among which include Muse, the Rolls Royce Art Programme.

Marked by its collaborations with renowned artists and art galleries, Muse ties seamlessly into the brand’s love for luxury. With some artworks featuring in vehicle designs for Rolls Royce models, Muse acts like a portal through which Rolls Royce siphons creativity into vehicle design. Here, we have a brand venturing into an endeavor not directly linked to its core business, yet using it to strengthen its brand identity. Other extensions of Muse exist, including its flagship initiative the Dream Commission—another project recognizing artists focusing on moving art. Such projects evoke the idea of a patron, where wealthy folks in times past would solicit an artist’s services and place them on a retainer. Only this time, Rolls Royce is this giant patron welcoming the works of artists all over the world.

It is another step towards the merger of luxury with automotive efficiency, where art enhances efficiency. Mastering this principle makes a tastemaker out of a Ruler brand, and Rolls Royce shows us the power of anchoring dominance upon luxury.

Post Opulence

Rolls Royce is undoubtedly a Ruler brand, but the changing times demand that the brand evolves its identity. Whereas Ruler brands in time past were identified by a degree of flashiness and flamboyance, such brands nowadays assume an air of quiet confidence, Appealing to the current luxury clientele, Rolls Royce has had to adopt minimalism while retaining its prestige, emphasizing quality over flashiness. How has the brand done this? Chiefly through its evolved design philosophy dubbed “Post Opulence”. ?

What is Post Opulence? It is the summation of Rolls Royce’s Ruler archetype as a design principle. This design philosophy emphasizes quality over flashiness, and minimalism over flamboyance. It teaches that less is more, and luxury can be conveyed in simple yet powerful elements. Vehicles designed under this principle are made unique by their efficiency and simplicity in beauty. There’s a lot more room for users to express their individuality, as seen in features like the Gallery in the Rolls Royce Phantom.

Post Opulence’s success manifests so clearly in the Rolls Royce Ghost. The 1st Rolls Royce model explicitly designed under this philosophy, it was targeted to the luxury brand’s evolving clientele—ultra high net worth individuals seeking luxury in newer forms. Ghost was made for new money, with its aesthetic maintaining traditional Rolls Royce luxury with a less cluttered look. You could argue that Post Opulence is a hallmark of the Black Badge range—departing from established design philosophy, unconventional yet maintaining its luxury appeal. It represents a soft relaunch of the Rolls Royce brand, maintaining over a century’s worth of pedigree but constantly evolving.

Ghost has become the most successful Rolls Royce model in history. ?This is a perfect reflection of where the luxury brand wants to go as it sticks to the staggering success of Post Opulence. Rolls Royce has since maintaining this design philosophy for future models, as is the case for the Rolls Royce Spectre. This absolutely makes sense for the brand’s 1st electric vehicle, as it is a seamless harmony of minimalism and progression. With the brand intending to transition to an all-electric fleet by 2030, ?Post Opulence is a key pillar upon which Rolls Royce wants to dominate its category for the next 100 years.

It also shows how brands always evolve archetypes for survival. Adapt or perish.

?Brand Evolution

No brand archetype is cast in stone. Market trends and changes in consumer behavior may force brands to evolve their identities for survival’s sake. This however can force them to actually die out when they stray too far from their distinct archetypes. The best step therefore, is to adapt and evolve, but never forget where you came from.

Rolls Royce has done this perfectly.

This is a luxury vehicle brand that always broadcasts its pedigree and prestige. And yet, it is willing to adapt to the times while maintaining its unique positioning. It is a Ruler brand, marked by dominance and royalty, but it also wields aspects of a Creator brand, ?always adapting and pushing the envelope. The brand’s success underscores the importance of skill—skill in maintaining your unique identity, but showing a willingness to adapt to the spirit of the times.

It is why Rolls Royce remains the king of its category.

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