The Everyman Brand: For the People, by the People

Brand archetypes come in all shapes and sizes. Some are big, inspiring, and pioneering, while others are small, unassuming, and humble. However, all of them have their target audience to speak to.

Indeed, the beauty of Jungen’s classification lies in its diversity and power of the most oversimplified types. You do not have to be brave or extreme to conquer the World and become successful; you can be an unremarkable yet helpful personality like the Everyman brand archetype that may suddenly become a true hero of somebody’s journey.

The Everyman brand archetype is an average, ordinary, and, more often than not, humble persona with a regular lifestyle. It has a strong desire for belonging and fitting in a community and strives to connect with others. Although by nature, it is that lovely guy next door or a loyal citizen, due to external circumstances, it may easily fill big shoes and go on a dynamic, exciting adventure or internal journey of discovery to understand the World.

Let’s unclose the Everyman archetype definition to see how you can adjust your company to its unique individuality and enhance your company’s relatability and appeal in the market.

Like any of us, it is regularly faced with a new set of circumstances, finds its reservoir of inner strength, and uses simple, humble, and unassuming solutions to deal with problems. Sometimes, it can be an unlikely hero who goes on a journey of discovery to survive and grow. It helps others overcome challenges without reinventing the wheel or using “magical” staff.

Do you know that the Everyman brand archetype is among the most relatable in the classification? According to studies, most respondents said they naturally relate to its main traits. No surprise, as a personality that symbolizes the average individual, it may share common ground with any of us.

Let’s consider its key characteristics to see how it relates to almost every person in the market.

First, the Everyman brand archetype is empathetic, sensitive, and compassionate. It is the first to pick up on people’s struggles and respond with a solution. It is like a best friend that we all need in our lives.

Second, it is reliable. Everyman is widely considered to be a guy next door. It is down-to-earth, humble, and easily approachable. It values simplicity, honesty, and unpretentiousness in communication and always prioritizes practicality to create a sense of familiarity.

Third, it is a devoted hard worker. It is not afraid of working hard and following the same daily routine. It is well-balanced and sensible and understands the value of labor. It worships those with lifelong mid-level roles and assists them in their matters.

Fourth, it has a balanced view of the World and believes in equality in the community. Although it will not take extreme measures to prove this to everyone, it remains true to its principles and ideas no matter what, preferring to champion this ideal modestly.

Finally, it is easily satisfied and willing to be content with little. The Everyman brand archetype does not have grandiose ambition or an eager desire to prove a point. It does not need to push boundaries or test its limits. It prefers its ordinary lifestyle over a risky, adventurous one. It is satisfied with things as long as they provide basic security, stability, safety, and contentment.

Traditionally, the Everyman archetype is associated with a “Regular Joe” portrayed by the blue-collar worker, a friendly neighbor, or a loyal citizen. It has a relatable nature that we easily fall for. Everyday apparel, home goods, high quality family products, comfort food, and mainstream automotive brands are the main categories that naturally align with it.

However, as the community’s preferences, vision, and expectations evolve, so does this archetype. Today, it is not a single mold. It meets the crowd with a wider range of backgrounds and experiences.

Depending on the strength of certain attributes and environment, the Everyman brand archetype can be presented in several sub-types. They are a sincere and genuine Everyman, a responsible citizen, a passionate advocate, an empathetic and helpful servant, and a friendly and relatable networker.

Whether a company is a citizen or advocate, it can be presented at three levels of manifestations:

• Level 1 - Brands at the first level recognize themselves as an Everyman. But, they only learn how to communicate with the consumers and seek ways to become an integral part of the community. Their marketing, branding, and advertising efforts are aimed at building trust and feelings of belonging as well as promoting the accessibility and affordability of their products.
• Level 2 - At this stage, Brands already have their place in the community. They know how to speak to their target audience and what needs they should meet to become an integral element of consumers’ lifestyles.
• Level 3 - Brands at level three are fully evolved. They have successfully embraced the key traits of the Everyman brand archetype, having an image of a reliable, relatable, and humble “neighbor” who provides for all basic needs. It celebrates the ordinary across its communication and distribution channels and champions the power of the community.

Whatever level of manifestation of the Everyman archetype your company identifies itself with, it is crucial to remember that this personality should be simple, unassuming, reliable, relatable, humble, and most importantly, essential for a consumer’s comfortable lifestyle. It should appeal to the masses and provide products or services accessible to everyone.

Tending to blend into society and value belonging more than anything, Everyman archetype brands surround us everywhere. They are so common, friendly, and native to our environment that we believe they are integral to our lifestyle and comfortable living. Let’s consider five examples to see it for ourselves.

Walmart

We could not help but start our collection of Everyman brand archetype examples with Walmart. After all, when you think of running errands, it comes to mind first.

This one-stop shopping solution is on every regular person’s list. It helps those who need help to get everything for their comfortable living, from food to amenities, without much effort. It is a loyal citizen who is always here. Housing almost every product imaginable at good prices under one roof, Walmart has successfully embraced the Everyman archetype, proving to everyone that you can earn billions of U.S. dollars without heroic or pioneering approaches.

IKEA

IKEA is another huge retailer that has earned a place in our hearts due to its ability to provide affordable products for the everyday person. It is seen as a simple, unassuming, and friendly citizen. Without targeting a specific audience and providing products to all customers in the market, it has become a part of our community and lifestyle.

IKEA has the perfect Everyman image. It knows how to appeal to consumers across generations and populations and perfectly aligns its brand’s mission and vision with the audience. Their slogan, “creating a better everyday life for many people,” uncovers its friendly, hard-working Everyman personality.

eBay

Everyman brands are everywhere, and the digital arena is no exception. One of the most notable representatives on the World Wide Web is eBay. Although the platform revolutionized the way people do online shopping and carved a niche for itself and web services alike in the ’90s, in essence, it is still that friendly, inviting, and helpful guy next door.

Allowing anyone, including individuals and businesses, to buy and sell goods online, eBay has become a global platform that connects people regardless of age, demographics, lifestyle, region, etc. It offers a convenient environment for online transactions.

Gap

Gap has made its name by smartly embracing the Everyman brand archetype. It offers simple yet reliable products at affordable prices that meet the needs of most of the market. It avoids extravaganza in style but provides good-looking, durable, reliable clothing that appeals to every regular person. Including products for every body type, it is a thought leader that meets the needs of a wide market.

The company has embodied the characteristics of the Everyman personality in its brand image, vision, mission, and communications across channels. It is one of the most trusted American clothing retailers for a good reason.

Wendy’s

Wendy’s is a famous American fast-food chain known for its iconic slogan, “Being the quality leader in everything we do.” Although it is not as popular as McDonald’s, it is certainly one of the top choices in the American market.

The company prides itself on its traditional menu and simple yet effective approach to bringing simple pleasures to families in the country. It evokes a strong sense of togetherness and celebrates local communities.

Embodying the Everyman brand archetype can forge a deeper connection with customers through shared values and experiences. It may give companies a solid foundation for maximizing their marketing, advertising, and branding endeavors and securing their position in the market.

As a rule, the Everyman brands are democratic, non-pushy thought leaders with customer rights reserved across boards. They celebrate team and client work and pride themselves on having a comfortable, friendly, casual atmosphere with excellent customer service. They aim to meet the general need and become applicable to a broad audience. They avoid pioneering claims and complicated solutions.

However, despite such simplicity and unpretentiousness, brand archetypes meet certain challenges when embracing this Jungen persona and creating authentic customer connections.

First, brands in that category find it hard to stand out. Although they should blend in, the harsh realities of the market force them to do the opposite to stay afloat. They should have a unique identity but at the same time be relatable to the wide crowd.

The second challenge is that the Everyman brands tend to be easily forgotten. Looking ordinary and generic, they may easily become another faceless company in the market without much value. The way out is to nurture customers through different communication channels and build a loyal following fan base.

Third, some brands, especially at the start, may prioritize oversimplification. While this may appeal to certain groups in the market, when it comes to wide coverage, this strategy may fail since it does not live up to general customer expectations. It is crucial to harmonize the brand’s message with the customer’s preferences and expectations and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Finally, brands may become disconnected from inclusive and individual market segments by valuing ordinariness and championing stereotypes. They do not fully account for diversity and, ipso facto, are stuck only with those who identify themselves with the archetype’s typical traits.

That potentially may halt the company’s growth and development. To overcome this obstacle, companies should seriously consider inclusivity and sensitivity in their presentation on the market.

Embracing the Everyman archetype comes with certain challenges. The best way to overcome them is to hire a professional brand strategy studio. It leads the company through all stages of its transformation into the perfect image of the archetype and helps to overcome challenges without losing precious time, money, and resources.

Another good reason to hire specialists is that embracing the Everyman personality is a tricky, time-consuming, and challenging process. It requires extensive knowledge of branding and working with different sources of information to make informed decisions at every stage. Just consider the basic steps of the routine.

In general, the manifestation of the Everyman archetype in branding starts with research and development of a detailed company analysis. Teams should thoroughly understand key traits of the Everyman personality to see how they align with their individuality, vision, value, mission, and products.

For instance, companies that want to fit into this category should ensure that they focus on practicality, simplicity, ordinariness, reliability, and humility. Their products are affordable and cover consumers’ basic needs. Plus, they value belonging to a community and adopt strategies to champion that idea.

Although businesses may tweak their brand identity, their core values should still be perfectly aligned. As for other elements of brand identity, like brand naming, brand messaging, unique selling proposition, branding services, website design, or design resources, companies are welcome to adapt them to every man’s personality, creating a proper image and effectively attracting customers with similar values.

Another stage of the process lies in working with the audience. Companies should envision consumers’ needs and expectations from the Everyman brand in corresponding niches. They need to understand what relatable struggles and everyday joys they should address to connect with the audience on a deeper level, earn a place in their hearts, and overcome one of the challenges of being easily forgotten.

On the other hand, companies should develop branding, marketing, and advertising strategies that speak to the audience and reveal the unique individuality of the business and its products to stand out from similar offers.

Finally, as the market evolves, Everyman brands should change. They may become different family members or upgrade to higher manifestation levels to grow and self-improve.

As the most relatable personality in the Jungen classification, Everyman is easily identified by a wide range of people in the market. It is simple, reliable, unassuming, humble and friendly. It loves being ordinary and enjoys its down-to-earth, simple, and humble lifestyle.

Brands under this flagship do everything to champion the power of community and ordinariness. They worship equality in society and believe belonging to a group is a necessary part of their existence. People naturally connect with them because, most of the time, they share the same values and have common ground.

However, embracing the archetype’s key qualities and creating a proper image of Everyman comes with certain challenges. Brands should balance unique identity with relatability to the general crowd without reinventing extraordinary solutions. They need to stay simple yet not oversimplified to play along with diverse market groups.

The good news is that the Everyman family is pretty diverse, so brands may find their unique approach to becoming a reliable, friendly, and helpful guy next door with simple yet effective customer solutions.