THE EXPLORER

Don’t fence me in

The Explorer seeks freedom, self-realization, knowledge, and an overall more fulfilling life through exploration and adventure. They thrive on their need to discover their authentic selves and their willingness to take risks and to explore unknown territories allows them to do so. They believe that by questioning mainstream principles, and by setting out on their own journey, that they will be enlightened in one way or another.

This archetype is also called the Seeker, Adventurer, Pioneer, Pilgrim, Iconoclast, Individualist, or Wanderer.

The 12 Brand Archetypes were developed and articulated in "The Hero and The Outlaw" by Margaret Mark and Carol Pearson

The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes Hardcover - (Amazon Affiliate Link)

EXPLORER MARKETING OPPORTUNITY

The Explorer archetype might provide a brand identity for your brand if:

  • Your product helps people feel free, is nonconformist, or is pioneering in some way

  • Your product is rugged & sturdy of is appropriate for use in nature, on the road, or in dangerous settings or occupations

  • Your product can be purchased from a catalogue, the Internet, or another alternative source

  • Your product helps people express their individuality (e.g., fashion, furnishings)

  • Your product can be purchased and consumed “on the go”

  • You seek to differentiate your brand from a successful Regular Guy/Gal or other more conformist brand

  • Your organization has an Explorer culture


MARKETING APPROACH | The willingness to take risks in order to discover their authenticity.

TONE | Adventurous, Encouraging, Intrepid, Truthful, Freeing, Pioneering, and Nonconforming.

VALUE PROPOSITION | Helps people maintain independence

CUSTOMER FEAR | Entrapment, selling out, emptiness

 

EXPLORER MINDSET & TRAITS

GOAL | To discover authenticity and knowledge through adventure, and to live a more fulfilling life

STRATEGY | Seeking out new experiences that will lead them on a path to discovery

MOTIVATION | Independence & Fulfillment

CALL | Alienation, dissatisfaction, restless, yearning, boredom

CORE DESIRE | The freedom to find out who you are through exploring the world

GIFT | Autonomy, ambition, ability to be true to one’s own soul

CHAMPIONS | Adventure, Exploration, Freedom, Independence, Growth, Knowledge, and Self-Realization

SUPER POWERS | An extreme ambition and dedication to their goals, and a willingness to explore unknown territory in order to learn the truth about themselves and the world

SHADOW | Being so alienated, you cannot find any way to fit in

TRAP | Aimless wandering, becoming a misfit

FEARS | The feeling of being tied down and kept from the outside world

TURN-OFFS | Mainstream society, routine or repetition, and mundanity

 

LEVELS OF THE EXPLORER

LEVEL 1 Hitting the open road, going out into nature, exploring the world

LEVEL 2 Seeking your own identity, to individuate, to become fulfilled

LEVEL 3 Expressing individuality and uniqueness

 

SIMILAR BRAND ARCHETYPES


SOURCES

Mark, Margaret, Pearson, Carol, (2001). The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes Hardcover - (Amazon Affiliate Link) pages 13, 18, 71-73, 87

The authors developed the 12 Brand Archetypes as a tool for marketing in 1995 and explained their methodology and ideas in their seminal book. Some of the content on this page are ideas cited directly to maintain correctness and some have been paraphrased where possible.