PromoTix University

William Royall (00:00)
Hey, hey, welcome to PromoTix University, your backstage pass to smarter event marketing, branding, and ticket sales. I'm your host, Will Royall, and I've sold more than $75 million in tickets through my companies, and now I'm helping event creators like you do the same. Today, we're diving into one of the most powerful tools that you can use to boost attendance and sell more tickets, brand archetypes. Now, listen, this is not just another theory heavy episode, although it may sound like one

Stick around because by the end of this episode, I'm going to give you a clear step-by-step framework to actually implement this strategy into your next event. And this works for any event and for every ticket type you sell, whether it's a kid's show with a YouTube star, a packed comedy night, a business seminar, or a major concert. Not only that, but I've put together a free brand archetype worksheet that you can download and fill out as you go.

It'll help you identify the perfect archetypes for your audience, align your branding, and design emotionally charged ticket tiers that convert into sales. So whether you're planning a kids event, a comedy night, or a business seminar, or a full-blown music festival, this episode is packed with value. So let's get into it.

William Royall (01:34)
Again, I'm Will Royall. Thanks for joining me today from wherever you are out there in the world. I'm particularly excited about this episode because so many people, even those deep in the marketing space of events, are not aware how to leverage brand archetypes to create deep emotional connections with their attendees and use it to drive attendance. So jumping right in, brand archetypes are like characters in a story, universal, timeless, personality types that help your brand audience.

instantly understand what your event is and more importantly how they'll feel when they attend. They come from psychology, specifically the work of Carl Jung, and marketers have used them for decades to shape billion dollar brands, but most event creators, they're sleeping on this. So there are 12 classic archetypes, each with its own vibe, color palette, tone, and emotional appeal that can help you connect emotionally with your audience, which is how people buy. Let me give you a quick overview of all 12.

So first you've got "The Ruler." it's power, control, exclusivity, think luxury brands and VIPs. "The Magician," transformation, mystery and wonder, surprise and delight. "The Hero," challenge, achievement, inspiration, think motivational events. "The Lover," passion, connection, beauty, romantic, emotionally immersive. "The Jester" is fun, mischievous, playful, it's great for comedy and parties.

"The Everyman," relatable, down to earth, welcoming, no VIP needed. "The Caregiver," nurturing, support, service, think charity galas or wellness retreats. "The Creator," innovation, self-expression, artistry, great for design or music events. "The Innocent," wholesome, safe, simple, perfect for kids. "The Sage," wisdom, insight, knowledge, ideal for seminars and thought leadership.

"The Outlaw," rebellion, disruption, nonconformity, think underground scenes, "The Explorer," freedom, adventure, discovery, grapefruit, nature, travel, or retreats. Each of these archetypes speaks to a different motivation in your audience. And when you align your event branding and your ticket offers with the right archetype, you stop pushing and you start attracting through an emotional bond that you create with your attendees.

William Royall (03:52)
Now let's zoom in for a second on VIP tickets where psychology matters most. Ask yourself, why do people pay two times, three times, even ten times more for a VIP ticket? It's not the extra seat cushion. It's about their identity, that they believe they're deserving of that and that the experience of which they believe will be elevated, that they align with that identity. So two archetypes dominate VIP sales, the ruler and the magician.

"The Ruler" this one is about status. So think private lounges, black and gold visuals, red carpets, words like elite access, your golden ticket, members only. This is about exclusivity and importance at its core. Then we have "The Magician." This is all about transformation and awe. Think backstage passes, secret performances, artist meet and greets, or immersive VIP only lounges that wow the senses.

The Magician speaks in phrases like step beyond the velvet rope or a night like no other. This is experience at its core. So if you want to max out your VIP sales, combine both of these archetypes. Use scarcity. Only 20 exclusive experiences available. You want to sell status and the story. You want to blend rich and powerful visuals with mystery and awe. Remember for VIP luxury plus transformative experiences.

gives you a higher perceived value. It's a value that someone may be willing to pay 10 times more for.

William Royall (05:23)
Now, let's take this concept beyond VIPs. Here's how you can use brand archetypes to design better marketing and ticket offers for other kinds of events. Kids events, for example, "The Innocent" plus "The Hero." So a touring YouTube star or character show may be the entertainment. For the target here, use The Innocent and bring in bright colors, fun music, and a safe, happy vibe. Words in your marketing should be prevalent like,

a magical day for the whole family, or wholesome fun for all ages. If you want to elevate it a bit, mix in "The Hero." With The Hero you can make a child feel like they're the star of their own story. Maybe the YouTuber is calling young heroes to join the mission. Personally, I could see Danny Go! or Blippi for that matter speaking to my kids this way, and they would be bought in hook, line, and sinker. They probably would bother the hell out of me until I promised to get us all tickets to attend the show.

William Royall (06:19)
Next, let's take a look at a comedy show, which is "The Jester," obviously, and "The Everyman." So no surprise here, right? Comedy lives inside The Jester. It's playful, fun, and it lets people escape. Think bold fonts, emojis, laughter, and lighthearted copy. Life's serious enough, laugh a little. The Everyman also supports this. The Everyman is relatable and casual. Words like, as you are, or no dress code, no BS, come laugh with us. A combo...

between the jester and the everyman will fill every comedy show's room.

William Royall (06:53)
Let's keep adding some more examples. So business seminars, that would be "The Sage" and "The Creator." For corporate events, especially educational ones, go Sage. It's about insight and learning. So use calm, confident colors like navy, gray, and white words like unlock breakthrough strategies or gain clarity and confidence.

But if it's a creative field, marketing, design, innovation, that sort of thing, maybe lean more into The Creator Use bolder colors, more expressive visuals, co-create the future, design your dream business. You're speaking to vision and originality. Combining these two may sound something like learn breakthrough strategies to design your dream business. Let's try another one. Motivational seminars like Tony Robbins, for example, is "The Hero" and "The Magician."

These are built around personal transformation. Enter The Hero, overcoming fear, pushing limits, creating change, breakthrough, unleash your power, unleash your greatness. The Magician adds the aha moments like special effects, dramatic lighting, transformations. This combo creates an electrifying atmosphere of growth and change. Okay, one more, concerts. It depends on the genre here, but different music genres activate different archetypes. So.

EDM or punk rock, that's The Outlaw, rebellion, freedom and edginess. Country, that's The Everyman or The Caregiver representing community and warmth. Indie or folk, that's The Explorer or Creator, authentic and heartfelt vibes. What about pop? The Lover, connection, passion, aesthetic, these are the girls crying in the front row. Jazz or classical, The Sage or Creator representing mastery, elegance, sophistication.

William Royall (08:43)
So as you can see, there's lots of directions to go with this. Pick your vibe, then brand every touch point from the ticket page to social ads accordingly.

William Royall (08:53)
so you have a little taste now for brand archetypes and how they apply to events. I hope you're feeling inspired and already have the gears turning as to what archetypes may be aligning with your events and your individual ticket types. Now, I'm gonna show you how to implement archetypes in your next event with this custom design framework for events. Here's the framework. Step one, choose one to two archetypes based on your audience and event type. Step two.

Align your visuals. That's colors, fonts, and imagery. It should all reflect the archetype style. Step three, Write copy that mirrors the voice. What would the archetype say? Step four, design ticket tiers with archetypes in mind. So general admission might be The Everyman VIP, The Ruler, and Magician. Backstage pass, that's pure Magician. Step five, stay consistent across the event page, emails, ads, repetition builds connection.

When it's done, people don't just buy a ticket, they buy into a story, an identity, and an experience. You connect with them emotionally, which is where people make event ticket purchases from. So you've seen how powerful archetypes can be in aligning your event with the emotions and identity of your audience. But don't just listen to this podcast. Take action. I've created a free event archetype implementation worksheet to help you lock this in.

It's got all the steps we talked about, plus a chart of the archetypes, suggested colors, messaging. You can plug it right into your marketing. Grab it now, just check the show notes or go to university.promotix.com and find episode three to download it. Thanks for tuning into this episode of PromoTix University. I hope it sparked something in you. Subscribe, comment, let me know what you think. I'll see you next time and until then, keep creating unforgettable experiences.