Sage Brand Archetype
What is the Sage Brand Archetype? How mystical and wise does SAGE sound, right?
Our favorite definition of sage is “having, showing, or indicating profound wisdom.” That is very much what the Sage Brand Archetype embodies; The Sage focuses on gathering reliable, factual information and sharing that information with others. They are driven by a desire to inform and educate their dreamy clients.
A Sage revolves around knowledge and truth. They believe the sharing of factual information will lead to a better world. The Sage uses their intelligence and surrounding data and analytics to understand the world. They do this because they have a strong desire to impart change to the world, but they want to do it by educating and empowering others to drive the change, instead of creating the change on their own. They are considered “experts” in their field. A Sage values objectivity. They are open to all avenues of information as they take it upon themselves to find the truth for their clients.
So how does the Sage attract those dreamy clients? As we mentioned before, the Sage exists for knowledge, truth, and wisdom. They seek these for themselves and also to share them with others. People rely on them to better understand the world around them. In business, we see the Sage in news companies and institutes of higher education as well as libraries and museums. The Sage will never dumb down anything they share outwardly. That would be insulting to their target audience. The Sage values their audience and holds them to high intellectual standards.
The Sage fears ignorance. Of course, right? Ignorance is the lack of knowledge or information, completely contradictory to Sage’s mission. The Sage also fears being deceived. The Sage comes from a place of good intentions and yearns for honest information. So when the Sage is faced with deceit, it can create obstacles. The vulnerability of the Sage is non-action. They want to kickstart change around them. But without the correct approach, their actions could lead nowhere.
Let’s dive into some Sage brands in practice.
One of my absolute favorite Sage Archetypes is OPRAH! Oprah is best known for her daytime talk show but she has since gone on to have her own television network - OWN. What makes Oprah a great Sage is she is always striving to uncover the truth. Her approach is very warm which draws her audience in and creates trust. Through her talk show, Oprah gained a large audience of followers. She created different ways to pass the information along to this audience. In 1994, she introduced “Oprah’s Favorite Things” on her talk show, which was essentially a holiday gift guide of her recommendations each year. Her audience loved this! And as a Sage, it was the perfect way for her to share her knowledge on products that she loves with others. In more recent years, Oprah has led some high-profile interviews. She does so well in these spaces due to her Sage Archetype, always pursuing knowledge and truth for others.
One very prominent Sage brand is Google. Generally, when people think of Google, their first thought is of the search engine. Oftentimes when you have a question about something you don’t have the answer to, you think, “Let’s Google it.” Google is seen as a resource center. And while it might have originated as largely a search engine, Google has evolved into so much more than that. They are a multinational tech company with many different umbrellas. Their mission according to their website is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Consumers gravitate to Google because of the massive amounts of information that is available. Google also shares on its site that they are committed to improving the lives of as many people as possible. Their Sage mentality is to share that knowledge with the world and give people the resources to influence and change.
Another strong Sage brand is National Geographic. National Geographic has built a reputation for delivering factual, information-rich content to its consumers. They focus on delivering information regarding the environment, science, and the world. As a consumer, if I read something from National Geographic, I usually consider it to be the truth. That is large because they have solidified themselves as an expert. They relentlessly pursue the truth and then summarize that into a digestible output for their audience. As a Sage, National Geographic uses the information they share in an effort to change the world. They are supporting a “diverse and international community of changemakers.” National Geographic shares its information on the environment and science with the hope that the readers will then make decisions that positively impact the world.
Now it’s time to dig into using your Sage Archetype in practice. Below are some activation tips.
Continuously provide up-to-date and insightful content to your audience. This will bring loyalty from your customer base as they are always looking for the most reliable source of information.
Invest in research and development.
Be mindful of the people you choose to work with. An incompetent hire could easily tarnish your authoritative reputation.
Acknowledge, even celebrate, your customer’s intelligence. There is no need to dumb down content for your customers.
The Sage will always provide value for others in their pursuit of reliable, factual information.
Are you a Sage Brand Archetype? Read about color palettes and font pairings for the Sage, or curate a mood board from some of our favorite Sage Inspiration images on Pinterest.
Cheers to discovering the truth for all your dreamy clients!
