Brand archetype Magician: does your brand make dreams come true?

The characteristics of the Magician brand archetype

The Magician is able to turn something negative into something positive. They make the impossible possible, and dreams become reality. The Magician has developed a strong vision and lives by it. They rely on their own knowledge and abilities, and if something doesn’t work out, they look to themselves and ask, “How or what do I need to change to achieve my goal?” The Magician does everything possible to acquire knowledge to understand the laws, rules, connections, and world around them. The Magician is therefore self-focused without being arrogant or loud.

The relationships and connections that the Magician establishes with partners or customers are not necessarily focused on collaboration, equal position, or brainstorming sessions, but are more transaction-oriented. You ask, and they deliver. You can expect that the solution they provide will be good and surprising. The bond that you have with a Magician is results-oriented, not process-oriented. A customer does not have a clear idea of what the Magician actually does to achieve that miraculous, appealing, and desired result. They trust that it will work out well regardless.

Rolls Royce: an example of the brand archetype Magician

The brand archetype Magician in different levels

Each brand archetype has different levels of development. The higher levels are more developed and mature. Within the Magician archetype, there are 3 degrees:

Level 1 Magician – brief moments of happiness

The brand leaves someone amazed, satisfied, happy, and content. Usually, this is not permanent and therefore somewhat superficial in nature. This is about short-term gratification. You experience a transformation. Think of products or brands like Polaroid, fragrant beauty products from Rituals, drink brands like Smirnoff, restaurants, hotels, wellness resorts, but also medicine men and shamans have the Magician archetype as their basis. A perfect example is the Smirnoff campaign where you see objects and situations transform through a vodka bottle. If that works in a bottle, what would happen if you actually drink it?

An image from the campaign of Smirnoff

Level 2 Magician – A state of being

The ‘Flow’ campaign of Reebok.

If your company achieves magical moments, at this level it’s more about a longer state of being, a flow. Things are going well, you are satisfied. For some, this is almost a spiritual experience that feels right in every way. Physically, mentally, and everything in between. These moments of happiness last longer than the short-lived, superficial moments of happiness from the first level. An example of this is Reebok with their ‘flow campaign’. It is about an athlete who not only dreams of success but also achieves that dream. The various steps that flow into each other on the way to success are the starting point of the campaign and a typical level 2 example of magical moments.

Magician brand archetype example in business services

Logo of Magician example General Electric

General Electric is a huge multinational, one of the most well-known publicly traded (from 1907 to 2018 in the Dow Jones index, then replaced) companies operating in 180 countries. The company operates in sectors that have little to do with each other, a conglomerate. Think of aircraft parts, electronics, wind energy, transportation, healthcare, financial services, and so on. It was founded in 1879 and had 280,000 employees worldwide in 2018, a third of whom were in the United States. For large business service providers and industrial B2B companies, it is quite a challenge to put a positioning as a Magician brand archetype into practice. The way General Electric approaches this is surprising and the perfect example.

Pay-off

Take their pay-off “Imagination at work,” for example. It couldn’t be clearer. The slogan “we bring good things to life” (1979-2003) was its predecessor, but even here we see that General Electric has been consciously and for a long time heading in this direction. This slogan was created by the firm BBDO and emphasizes the diversity of GE’s offerings while bringing them together under one overarching theme. It caught on, contributed to increased popularity and to the new image of the brand. Instead of different standalone business units with their own marketing strategy and brand identity, it was really one brand from 1979. The slogan was implemented in every aspect of the company, in printed ads and brochures, in packaging, transportation, etc., and was one of the longest-running business campaigns. It cost a total of about 100 million USD.

Pen Sketch campaign for tagline “Imagination at work” – General Electric

Images and campaigns of General Electric

If you still doubt that the Magician aspect in their tagline is a stroke of luck, take a look at the campaign film “The Anything Factory” of their ‘additive’ division. A girl goes on a journey of exploration and manages to sneak into a mysterious factory where new products are developed through magic. Or the film “Catch the Wind” for the Wind Energy business unit: a boy goes out and catches some wind in a glass jar from somewhere in nature. He then travels far and wide to give his grandfather the jar of clean wind for his birthday. The candles on the cake are blown out and so much energy is released that it seems like a tornado hit the house. The dancing elephant in the “Singing in the rain” film, to emphasize the eco-friendly character of the company, also underscores the character of General Electric as a brand archetype Magician.

Screenshot from campaign film “The Anything Factory” for the Additive division.

Screenshot from the campaign film “Catch the Wind” for the wind energy business unit.

Screenshot Additive businessunit page of General Electric

Appearance and content of the General Electric website & logo

The homepage of GE has remained fairly neutral, without any sense of wonder. It is immediately clear that they offer a range of products and services and have multiple divisions within the company. It seems like they have deliberately chosen to keep it calm, friendly, reliable, and understated. What we do see, something that fits the Magician archetype, is that the texts are filled with words like “progress”, “transform”, and “innovate”. The font is round and thin, the blue color gives a reliable and professional character that exudes authority. The tagline, content, and campaigns convey the company message well and speak for themselves, but the site is basic and contains only the information that (potential) customers and stakeholders are looking for.

The logo on the homepage does stand out. This logo has been in use since 2004 and is associated with the current pay-off. It resembles a graceful movement of a magic wand. It has a classic appearance and both the circle and the initials emphasize the aspect of constant movement of the company.

Magician brand archetype example in the industrial sector

Magician logo example: AkzoNobel

AkzoNobel is a Dutch multinational founded in 1994 with its headquarters in Amsterdam. Currently, it has around 34,500 employees spread across locations in over 80 countries. AkzoNobel is a producer of paints and coatings for both businesses and consumers and has many sub-brands. The B2B brands mainly include products used in construction and infrastructure, transportation, and industry.

In 2011, AkzoNobel chose to implement a global single brand identity strategy for their consumer brands around “let’s colour”. Let’s colour sounds like an invitation to add more color to the world around you and really make something of it with the help of AkzoNobel. Transformation into a successful state of being.

Besides the consumer brands, that transformation and magical effect are also central to their powders and coatings for the industry, and it appears in various places on their website and communication and marketing activities.

Website appearance and texts

The first thing that stands out is that the website is a celebration of color. Use of color gradients from pink to blue, from green to red, and overlays in every color of the rainbow. Bold colors that emphasize the core business of the company and at the same time show what a little bit of color can do. Not only for the look and feel of the website but also in your home, workplace, public space, or whatever. A good introduction right away.’

Screenshot from the campaign film of AkzoNobel ‘Imagine a world without color’ v

When we look at the texts on the ‘about us’ page, the corporate film, and other sections, we see that ‘transformation’ is the keyword. We read texts such as “how we’ve been changing the world”, “paint the future”, “we color and protect the world”, “coating a complete building or transforming an entire city”, “we believe in the power of paint. It can energize communities and transform people’s lives.” Typical texts for a Magician.

Magical partnerships

Not only the text and the appearance of the website, but precisely the marketing activities, the partnerships they enter into, and how they put themselves in the spotlight, indicate more than anything else that we are dealing with a real magician. When we visit the website, two actions immediately stand out at the top of the homepage.

From myth to urban reality

The first project “From myth to urban reality” is a collaboration with 26 street art artists who created giant murals to give neighborhoods and buildings in the Gothenburg area of Sweden more color. The assignment was simple: create a large, modern mural that depicts one of the many classic folk tales. This project is already considered “one of the largest urban art projects in the world”

AkzoNobel (read: sub-brand Nordsjö) provides the artists with all the colors and materials they need. The result:

• 400 liters of donated paint,
• A traveling exhibition in 13 municipalities,
• The latest techniques to bring myth and folklore to life,
• Brightening up many neighborhoods, and
• Connecting people with each other.

Project ‘From myth to urban reality’, screenshot site AkzoNobel

Operation Night Watch

The second project is a partnership between the Rijksmuseum and AkzoNobel. The project called “Operation Night Watch” involves Rembrandt’s most famous work, The Night Watch, undergoing one of the largest and most innovative restorations in history, all under the watchful eye of the whole world. The restoration can be followed live on the museum’s website and seen during a visit to the museum. To achieve this, a team of researchers, restorers, museums, universities, and companies are working together, with AkzoNobel as the main partner as a color specialist. The result will be a spectacular fusion of old and new, with extensive research, in-depth knowledge, and contributions from various experts.

“We’re about to rock the world of paintings conservation and do things that have never been attempted before … First of all, we need to find out what we’re up against. With a partner like AkzoNobel on board, we’re confident we’ll take our understanding of paint to the next level – and I don’t just mean one level, I’m talking three or four levels.” Robert van Langh – Head of Conservation and Science Rijksmuseum

Project ‘Operation Night Watch’, partnership with Rijksmuseum, screenshot website AkzoNobel

“There’s a natural link between us, not only because our company also has a long and proud heritage. We’re similarly driven by exploring new horizons and being inspired by the past while building for the future. So we have a lot of expertise to share and can’t wait to play a key role in helping to advance our technical understanding of color.”
Thierry Vanlancker – CEO AkzoNobel

Recurring themes

Both Operation Night Watch and From Myth to Urban Reality are of course two beautiful projects in which the same themes recur: art (the symbol of creativity and imagination), national pride and history, old versus new, and especially the connection and development between them based on innovation. These same themes are also present in the company AkzoNobel. They all rely on heritage but look to the future. How can we give something old a new twist and achieve a transformation into something that is even better and greater? In short, how can we smoothly move towards the highest achievable result that completely astounds people? And there we see… indeed: the Magician!

In our opinion, a well-thought-out and perfect execution of the chosen positioning with surprising collaborations and an important role for and contribution from AkzoNobel to a changing world.

Advantages of the Magician brand archetype

Both highlighted companies, AkzoNobel and General Electric, have been around for decades. If implemented well in your entire brand identity, the Magician can therefore build long-term partnerships, a loyal customer base, and a strong foundation.

A Magician creates moments of happiness, whether short or long, that people crave and sometimes even live for. In that respect, it can be seen as an addiction. If executed well, people will want more and more and want to experience that astonishing effect over and over again. If you are a true magician, you are a leader in your competition with an innovative concept. Your customers are looking for transformation for themselves, seeking improvement, enlightenment, or progress. If you have developed a product or service that supports them in this, it can result in a very loyal customer base and you have a golden opportunity.

Pitfalls of the Magician brand archetype

Promising transformation and change is one thing, actually achieving it is, of course, much more complicated. That is also the challenge for the Magician. The danger for a Magician is that you say something but cannot deliver on it. And that can have disastrous consequences; it is the perfect ammunition for both competitors and the public to cause a lot of damage. Some subtlety in your communication is therefore required (do not communicate too loudly and do not be too present), unless you are 100% sure of your case. In that case, you can profile yourself more prominently as a Magician.

Related brand archetypes: Hero and Outlaw

Is your magic wand not working? No magic when you wave it? Perhaps the Hero or Outlaw archetype suits you better.

The Hero strives for the best possible outcome through knowledge and mastery. The Hero has determined where he wants to go and supports others who follow him. This hero doesn’t necessarily need to be in the spotlight but wants to make others excel and shine. He has a vision and lives by it. And that is also the strategy of the Magician. Both want to improve the world. Both are goal-oriented.

The difference between the two is that the Magician reveals little about how he achieved the stunning result. In addition, the Hero is more about others, and the Magician is more self-directed and acts from his own strength, with the rest following.

The Outlaw is rebellious and goes against the established order. He challenges and wants to radically change everything to achieve a better result. He is revolutionary and changes what doesn’t work. The similarity between the Outlaw and the Magician is that they both want to bring about a revolution, to do things differently, and stand for change and transformation. However, the way they get there and how they profile themselves differs. The rebel will more likely present himself loudly, confidently, and assertively, whereas the Magician uses nuance and plays a subtle but clever game.

It’s worth looking at articles about the Hero and Outlaw or reading our page about brand archetypes.

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