Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time there was a little girl who dreamed of traveling the world. One day she got up and left on a quest to find what she was looking for. On the way she met a number of incredible people, had crazy adventures, and experienced different cultures. The girl knew it was time to come back home but she also knew life wouldn’t be the same after.

This story follows one of the 7 different story archetypes: voyage and return.

Story archetypes are what we call basic plots. They were identified by Christopher Booker and are also tied to Carl Jung’s research on personality. Story archetypes form the shape of your content.

The 7 archetypes are listed below:

1. Overcoming the Monster: a monster that needs to be destroyed by the hero.

2. Rags to Riches: main character gains something they lacked, lose it, and regain it at the end.

3. The Quest: the main character needs to fulfill a quest while conquering as many obstacles as possible on the way.

4. Voyage and Return: just like the little girl’s story, the main character goes on a trip away from their normal day-to-day life returning with new knowledge and experiences

5. Comedy: a comedy is simply what it is, an attempt to make the audience laugh.

6. Tragedy: we all heard about William Shakespeare at some point right? Well, Romeo and Juliet is a perfect example of a tragedy.

7. Rebirth: the main character goes through life changing experiences to become a better person.

So why am I reading this and how are these useful for my brand? Archetypes are useful to define limits, connect to your audience, create a story plot for your ad, where your brand has the ability to save the day and solve a problem your prospective clients might be facing. Combining storytelling in your marketing strategy has the power to draw attention, persuade, and create a call to action in customers minds.

What’s the story your brand is telling?