Rob Meyerson of Heirloom pens article about brand archetypes for The Drum

“One of the biggest myths about brand archetypes is that they are based on Carl Jung’s theories,” writes Rob Meyerson, founder of Heirloom, in a recent article published in online marketing magazine The Drum. “It’s true that Jung, a contemporary of Sigmund Freud, introduced the concept of archetypes to psychology,” he continues. “But Jung’s archetypes—concepts like the Shadow, the Self, and the Anima/Animus—are not the twelve brand archetypes [of the popular brand archetype framework]. He never even proposed a fixed number of archetypes, insisting instead that ‘there are as many archetypes as there are typical situations in life.’”

In related social media posts, Meyerson says he’s “purposely sidestepped the debate over whether brand archetypes are useful … to focus on how they're described and discussed by branding professionals. … Dropping Jung’s name (or the adjectival “Jungian”) gives the framework just a hint of scientific gravitas. A touch of historical-genius mystique.”

Read “Yes brand archetypes are pseudoscience. Does that make them completely useless?” in The Drum.