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The Everyman Brand Archetype

The Everyman brand archetype wears its feelings on its sleeve. They often have unresolved psychic wounds and never hesitate to make that known.

They often feel betrayed, and they can be suspicious of others. The Everyman can be cynical and manipulative.

The Everyman archetype brands try and appeal to the common man and their pain points. They want their audience to feel like that they are on the same side. This is not empathy but rather a “team” or “tribe” strategy play.


If you want our senior brand strategist, Mash, to coach you to create the right archetypal mix for your brand, schedule a 1-hour strategy coaching session!

Gain

Strengths

Color: Ivory

Brand Promise: Value

Goal: Show you understand.

Strategy: Be the best for a fair price.

Personality to project: the regular guy, the guy next door, the guy who ‘gets It.’

Ideal Customer: The everyman appeals to consumers who just want value. They don’t want to peruse long, complex copy, and they don’t care to compare the features of multiple products. They just want a solution at a good value. These customers can be quite loyal once they find your brand…if you keep your quality consistent. That’s the catch: they want quality and value.

Alert

Weakness

Quite vulnerable to competition, can be hard to differentiate from competitors, in constant danger of becoming irrelevant.

Suggested Color Palette

This is just a suggested palette. Colors should be selected based on a robust brand strategy and should be part of the brand identity development.

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everyman brand archetype images

WAL-MART

walmart logo

Wal-Mart worked hard to create an image for itself as the one-stop-shopping solution for the regular person. Their philosophy of housing almost every product imaginable under one roof was a new concept at the time, but the company found success through telling and popularizing the story of its creator, Sam Walton—just one of the guys.

EBAY

ebay logo

eBay, in its early days, put a big emphasize on the fact that the platform allowed users to sell  items they no longer wanted. Their your trash is another person’s treasure message resonated with pretty much everyone.

GAP

gap logo

America’s biggest clothing retailer, Gap made a name for itself by going in the opposite direction of more exclusive brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. Their messaging and brand persona insulates them from recession because they have wide appeal.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can we make our Everyman brand more relatable and down-to-earth to resonate with our target audience?

To make your Everyman brand more relatable and down-to-earth, you can consider the following strategies:

  1. Understand Your Audience: First and foremost, get to know your audience. Understand their interests, values, concerns, and experiences. Use this understanding to create products, services, and messaging that truly resonate with them.
  2. Use Authentic, Realistic Messaging: Avoid jargon, corporate-speak, or over-the-top promises. Instead, use straightforward and honest language that your audience uses in their day-to-day life.
  3. Highlight Common Experiences and Values: Show that your brand understands your audience’s everyday experiences and values. This could be achieved by highlighting everyday situations, struggles, or joys your customers might face or feel.
  4. Emphasize Accessibility: Ensure your products, services, and customer support are accessible and user-friendly. The more approachable your brand is, the more it will resonate with an Everyman audience.
  5. Tell Human Stories: Use storytelling to depict real-life scenarios or customer experiences in your marketing efforts. Stories are a powerful way to evoke emotions and build a connection with your audience.
  6. Be Transparent and Honest: Trust is crucial for the Everyman brand. Be open about your business practices, and own up to your mistakes when they happen.

Remember, the goal of the Everyman brand is to make every customer feel that they belong and are understood. Every aspect of your brand, from your products to customer service, should reflect this goal.

What steps can we take to ensure our Everyman brand promise of ‘belonging’ is effectively communicated and delivered through our products or services?

To effectively communicate and deliver your Everyman brand promise of ‘belonging’, there are several steps you can take:

  1. Design User-friendly Products or Services: Your products or services should be easy to use and understand, making customers feel comfortable and at ease. Avoid complexity that could alienate or confuse your customers.
  2. Create Inclusive Marketing Campaigns: Your marketing efforts should resonate with a broad audience, showing that everyone is welcome and valued in your brand’s community. Use realistic scenarios and relatable characters to showcase diversity and inclusivity in your promotional materials.
  3. Prioritize Customer Service: Excellent customer service is critical to making customers feel like they belong. Ensure your customer service team is empathetic, responsive, and helpful, always ready to support customers and address their concerns effectively.
  4. Build a Community: Foster a sense of community among your customers. This can be done through social media engagement, events, forums, or loyalty programs. Make your customers feel part of a larger group with common values and experiences.
  5. Provide Value for Money: The Everyman brand is not about luxury or exclusivity but about offering everyone good value. Ensure your pricing is fair and that customers feel they’re getting their money’s worth.
  6. Share Customer Stories: Feature your customers in your content, such as testimonials, case studies, or social media posts. This provides social proof and makes your customers feel seen and appreciated.

Remember, consistency is critical in delivering on your brand promise. Every customer interaction with your brand should reinforce their sense of belonging.

How can we incorporate the personality traits of a ‘friend’ or ‘companion’ into our Everyman brand image and messaging?

Incorporating the personality traits of a ‘friend’ or ‘companion’ into your Everyman brand image and messaging can be achieved through various strategies:

  1. Use Informal and Conversational Tone: Use a tone of voice that is friendly, approachable, and relatable in your communications. This includes your website content, social media posts, emails, and customer service interactions. Avoid industry jargon that can alienate your audience.
  2. Be Transparent and Honest: Friends are honest and transparent with each other. Apply the same principle in your business by being open about your processes, values, and challenges. This builds trust and makes your brand feel more human and relatable.
  3. Be Responsive and Engaging: Respond to customer queries and comments promptly. Show interest in what your customers are saying and engage with them. This could be through social media, customer service, or community events.
  4. Show Empathy and Understanding: Understand your customers’ needs and problems, and show empathy in your communications. This could be demonstrated through your marketing campaigns, product development, or customer service.
  5. Feature Real People in Your Branding: Use real-life images of people representing your target audience in your marketing materials. This helps your audience see themselves in your brand and feel a stronger connection.
  6. Provide Helpful Content: Friends help each other out. Provide helpful and valuable content to your audience, such as how-to guides, tips, and educational materials related to your products or services.
  7. Foster a Community: Create a community around your brand where customers can connect, share experiences, and feel a sense of belonging. This could be achieved through social media groups, forums, or events.

Remember, the aim is to make your customers feel like they’re interacting with a friend when they engage with your brand. This requires authenticity, consistency, and a genuine interest in your customers’ well-being.

How can we better, as an Everyman brand, understand and connect with our ideal customer, who is community-oriented and desires to belong?

Understanding and connecting with your ideal customer, who is community-oriented and desires to belong, involves several strategies as an Everyman brand:

  1. Customer Research: Conduct surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one interviews to gather insights about your customers’ needs, desires, and pain points. Understand what makes them feel part of a community and how they define belonging.
  2. Social Media Engagement: Use social media platforms to connect with your audience. Post content encouraging interaction, such as questions, polls, or user-generated content requests. Respond to comments and messages to foster a sense of community.
  3. Community Building: Develop a platform or space where customers can connect, share experiences, and engage in discussions. This could be a social media group, an online forum, or even physical meet-ups or events.
  4. Personalization: Personalize your communications, products, and services using customer data. This could mean sending personalized emails, offering product recommendations based on previous purchases, or tailoring your services to meet individual needs.
  5. Customer Support: Provide excellent customer service to show your customers they matter and belong. This could include responsive customer support, a helpful FAQ section on your website, or a user-friendly return or exchange policy.
  6. Content Marketing: Create content that resonates with your audience’s needs and interests. This could be blog posts, how-to guides, videos, or podcasts. Content that provides value and addresses your customers’ concerns can help them feel understood and connected to your brand.
  7. Transparency: Be open and transparent about your business practices, values, and brand story. This helps build trust and a sense of belonging among your customers, who feel part of your brand’s journey.

Remember, as an Everyman brand, your goal is to create a sense of belonging and camaraderie among your customers. This requires understanding them profoundly and consistently demonstrating that you’re on their side and part of their community.

Considering the potential weakness of the Everyman brand, how can we ensure our brand stands out and doesn’t become unremarkable or too ordinary?

Ensuring your Everyman brand stands out and doesn’t become unremarkable or too ordinary requires a delicate balance of maintaining relatability while offering unique value.

  1. Distinct Brand Voice: Develop a unique brand voice that stands out. While maintaining the down-to-earth, relatable tone of the Everyman archetype, infuse your brand voice with personality traits that set you apart—whether that’s wit, warmth, wisdom, or something else.
  2. Unique Value Proposition: Identify what makes your product or service different from others in your industry. This could be a specific feature, a special application, superior quality, or exceptional customer service. Communicate this value proposition in all your marketing efforts.
  3. Authentic Storytelling: Tell real, original stories that resonate with your audience. This could involve sharing stories about your company’s origins, highlighting customer testimonials, or creating content around behind-the-scenes processes. Authentic storytelling can create emotional connections that make your brand more memorable.
  4. Exceptional Customer Experience: Strive to provide a unique customer experience beyond the norm. This could involve offering personalized services, surprising and delighting customers, or going the extra mile to solve problems. A remarkable customer experience can set your brand apart and create loyal customers.
  5. Innovative Solutions: Continually innovate to solve your customers’ problems in new and better ways. Even as an Everyman brand, you can stand out by being at the forefront of solutions in your industry.
  6. Community Involvement: Engage with your community in a meaningful way. This could involve supporting local causes, sponsoring community events, or creating initiatives that give back to your community. Being an active and visible part of your community can help your brand stand out and be remembered.

Remember, being an Everyman brand doesn’t mean being ordinary—it means being relatable. You can be relatable and remarkable by deeply understanding your customers, offering unique value, and creating meaningful experiences.