Tapping into archetypes &emotions to make your brand stand out...

​ I don’t know about you, but I hate customer profiles, despite the fact that they’re such a common marketing tactic.
 
In fact, I wrote an entire article on finding your ideal audience, and why I hate customer profiles for the Think Creative Collective Blog.
 
That’s exactly why I invited Mirela De La Cerda, the founder of Project M London to talk about her experiences using emotional branding, AKA archetype branding to help fashion and beauty brands successfully reach their customers.
 
For those of you that don’t know this, archetype-based branding allows brands to tap into the emotions, meaning, and mindset behind their business and their products.
 
In other words, it’s essentially the unconscious message that companies put “out there” about who they are/ what they do, and how this impacts consumer purchasing decisions. 
 
What this episode covers:

• What Project M London is all about
• How working as a fashion journalist and lecturer before she started her own business influenced Mirela’s work: “an urge to understand, to learn things”.
• Mirela’s focus on translating what she learns about her clients and her experiences with them into tangible products, strategy, and things that make people think.
• The Carl Jung influence: using patterns we typically have in our brands, which directly engage with universal human experiences and gut emotions/ “what feels right”.
• Branding vs. emotional branding: the key differences.
•  How Mirela’s clients have responded to the idea of emotional branding. Spoiler alert: they loved it! And here’s why…
•  Mirela on archetype branding: “it’s like everyone is speaking the same language” and what’s missing in the alternative approaches to branding.
• What should you read before you dive in further (see resource links in show notes)
• Mirela’s advice for those who are thinking of starting a business: why confidence is important…
• London vs Rio De Janerio’s fashion, beauty, and entrepreneurial scene
•  How Mirela connects with both markets (UK and Brazil) now vs. how she would like to connect with both markets in the future
• What can make a huge difference when introducing your business to new markets (I.E: new cities, countries, etc.)
• Mirela on starting her career pre- “the exploding popularity of social media” and then how it transformed when the social media age started
• How and why Mirela’s approach was inspired by her country’s recession period.
• Mirela’s focus on physical activity for mental health, and a sneak peek of what her average week looks like
• Mirela’s “to-do list freak” focus on setting boundaries for herself and her clients, and how she schedules meetings: why having discipline matters to her…
• How keeping both a Google Calendar and having a paper planner facing her all the time helps her remember important dates, and keep track of ideas
• Mirela’s interest in mentoring new entrepreneurs, creating more spaces for entrepreneurs, and expanding her reach worldwide and why that matters to her
• Mirela to new entrepreneurs: “don’t be afraid to invest in your idea” and how to follow through on that
• Who is influencing Mirela’s work? Those who believe in selling a purpose and meaning…
• Mirela’s focus on motivation, meaning, and mindset and why that’s important to her.

 
About Mirela:
 
With 15 years’ experience in the fashion and beauty industries, Mirela's work combines research, strategy and cultural aspects in order to create strong brand stories. A background as a fashion journalist and lecturer allowed her to understand the market challenges from different perspectives, which motivated the creation of her first consulting business, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Working with major fashion companies, she realized that a lack of clear identity was the main obstacle in their growth, leading to the research of Jung’s archetypes as a branding strategy. During an MA course at London College of Fashion, the concept was further explored on case studies about British brands.
​
In 2016, she created Project M London, an emotional branding consultancy based on the concept of archetypes targeted at fashion and beauty companies. The main focus is to help brands understand their unique motivation, meaning and mindset.

​Resources discussed in this episode:
 
Hero and the Outlaw by Margaret Mark & Carol S. Pearson
Building Brands and Believers by Kent Wertime
Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious
Google Calendar (available via G-Suite)
Simon Sinek's Ted Talks
 
Where you can find Mirela and Project M London Online:
Project M London's Facebook Page
The Project M London Website (English Version)
 
How you can follow this podcast (and learn more about its host)
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