Welcome Patrons.

I’ve been cooking up something exciting behind the bar for the last few weeks. The Brand Messaging System™️ Cohort will launch later this month with several new modules, including one I’m calling Create Your Digital Doppelgänger.

As you might expect, this module will help you duplicate yourself by showing you how to use all of the brand assets you create as part of the Brand Messaging System™️ to build your own AI Agent.

Your personal agent will help you create content in a fraction of the time while you build a brand presence that works even when you’re off the clock.

A big part of the Digital Doppelgänger module will be identifying your Brand Archetypes.

What are archetypes? In today’s pour, I’ll answer that question as well as why they matter, how to identify yours, and how you can use them to refine your brand messaging.

Why You Need a Brand Archetype

A lot of brands struggle to communicate in a way that feels natural. Most of the time, they try to be everything to everyone, and their message ends up as watered down as a bottom-shelf cocktail.

But the #hardtruth is that “finding your voice” the traditional way can take time, which is unfortunate because the key to standing out comes from showing your personality, not hiding it.

And before you say, “You just need to be authentic,” know that this doesn’t help if you don’t know what authentic sounds like to you.

Enter Carl Jung’s 12 Archetypes.

Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, identified twelve patterns in human behavior across cultures, myths, and stories. He referred to these patterns as archetypes. Marketers now use these archetypes to represent how brands show up, connect, and communicate.

If you haven’t uncovered your archetype — the core personality that shapes how you show up in your messaging and marketing — you may struggle to communicate in a natural yet compelling way.

Archetypes aren’t just labels; rather, they are a strategic tool to help you clarify your tone, refine your message, and connect with your audience in a way that feels authentic.

Carl Jung’s Framework

Jung believed that throughout history, societies have told stories using the same core characters. These figures appear in everything from myths to literature to branding because they resonate deeply with how we see the world.

Here’s a quick rundown of Jung’s 12 archetypes:

• The Hero – Driven, courageous, and determined to overcome challenges (Nike).
• The Sage – Wise, analytical, and focused on truth (Google).
• The Magician – Visionary, transformative, and able to create change (Disney).
• The Creator – Innovative, artistic, and driven by self-expression (Apple).
• The Caregiver – Compassionate, nurturing, and protective (Johnson & Johnson).
• The Everyman – Relatable, friendly, and down-to-earth (IKEA).
• The Ruler – Authoritative, confident, and in control (Rolex).
• The Rebel – Bold, disruptive, and challenges the status quo (Harley-Davidson).
• The Explorer – Adventurous, free-spirited, and constantly seeking new experiences (Jeep).
• The Lover – Passionate, intimate, and emotionally connected (Chanel).
• The Jester – Fun, playful, and entertaining (Old Spice).
• The Innocent – Optimistic, pure, and idealistic (Coca-Cola).

Your brand’s archetype gives you a framework for communicating, what emotions you evoke, and how to differentiate yourself.

When your brand embraces an archetype, your messaging becomes easier and more compelling. Instead of figuring out your voice from scratch, you can use Jung’s framework to identify the archetypes that align with your brand personality.

Primary and Secondary Archetypes

Your primary archetype is your brand’s dominant personality—the one that best represents your values, voice, and tone. There are a couple of ways to identify your primary and secondary archetypes.

The first is to ask:

• How do I naturally communicate? (Analytical? Emotional? Bold? Pragmatic?)
• What emotions do I want to evoke? (Trust? Excitement? Curiosity? Passion?)
• How do people describe me? (Cutting-edge? Thoughtful? Rebellious?)
• What’s my role in my audience’s story? (Mentor? Challenger? Entertainer?)

You can use this link to review your answers and reveal your primary archetype – ​https://boords.com/storytelling/character-archetypes​

The Distilled Brand → The Sage

The Sage represents the Distilled Brand’s® primary archetype. The Sage is about wisdom, clarity, and truth-seeking. The Sage is a natural fit since The Distilled Brand® helps entrepreneurs find and refine their message, offers, business, and brand.

But a pure Sage can feel too academic, which is where your secondary archetype comes into play.

Your Secondary Archetype

Your secondary archetype helps round out your brand’s personality by adding contrast and depth. Without a secondary archetype, your brand may feel too one-dimensional and too much like every other business in your space.

To find your secondary archetype, ask:

• What makes my approach different from others in my category?
• How do I want my brand to feel beyond my core expertise?
• What unexpected traits show up in my messaging?

Archetypes in Action:

The Distilled Brand’s® secondary archetype is the Everyman (or Everywoman). So, the personality for The Distilled Brand® is a combination of the Sage and the Everyman archetype. Here’s what that looks like.

When I thought about the personality of The Distilled Brand®, in addition to being a known and trusted source for messaging and branding, I wanted it to be approachable, direct, and no-nonsense—not just wise but relatable.

That’s where The Everyman comes in. Like this archetype:

I don’t use jargon or overly academic language.

I do break down complex topics into something digestible.

I do use bar metaphors and straight-shooting language to make branding feel easy.

I like to think of the persona of The Distilled Brand® as a Sage Bartender: a mentor who serves up sharp insights with a conversational twist. Always there with a helpful point, visual metaphor, or sarcastic comment to help you think differently, see differently, or just make you laugh.

Infuse Your Marketing with Your Archetype

Using The Distilled Brand’s ® Sage Bartender as an example, your primary and secondary archetypes should shape everything in your brand.

Your Tone & Voice

While a pure Sage sounds like a professor, a Sage plus the Everyman, or the Sage Bartender, sounds like a mentor at the bar, distilling big ideas into simple truths.

Craft Your Signature Style

With The Distilled Brand®, I focus on clarity, simplicity, and ease of understanding so my messaging can cut through the noise.

Creating Content That Aligns with Your Archetype

With every piece of content I create, I distill out the complexity and explain things in an easy-to-understand manner.

Other examples of archetypes in action:

• Jester brand: should be entertaining and humorous.
• Magician brand: should inspire transformation and vision.
• Sage brand: should share deep insights and actionable knowledge.

Your archetype helps your brand become instantly recognizable and effortless to market.

Your Digital Doppelgänger

In the Digital Doppelgänger module, I show students how to find their archetypes and then create an AI agent to duplicate their tone, voice, and personality in everything they do.

You can do the same. Here are the basic things you need:

1 Examples of your writing

Think your website, posts, and LinkedIn About section

2 Examples of published content

Think videos, podcasts, interviews, etc.

For those in the Brand Messaging System Cohort, there is one other thing you’ll need, but these are the basics.

Once you have your source materials, you upload them into ChatGPT and then ask it what your primary and secondary archetypes are. It’s scary how accurate it can be. Here’s a prompt you can use.

PROMPT:

Please analyze the following materials to determine the primary and secondary Jung archetypes. Include the tone, voice, and personality in your analysis.

Materials =

Website link

Youtube links

Uploaded files

Last Call: The Takeaways 🍹

• Your archetype defines your brand’s personality and messaging.
• Your primary archetype is your core identity; your secondary adds depth.
• Use your archetype to shape your voice, content, and overall brand presence.

The moral to the story here is if you want a brand that stands out—and practically markets itself—start by uncovering your archetype.

I’d love to know your primary and secondary archetypes. If you know, hit reply and share.

Need help figuring out an archetype for your brand?

You’ll get hands-on guidance in the upcoming Brand Messaging System Cohort. If interested, hit reply and let me know or ​schedule a call​. I’ll get you added to the waitlist.