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Archon Brand Strategy

Writer's picture: Catherine CarrCatherine Carr

How we helped a gaming analytics powerhouse set the stage for future growth with an impactful new brand identity.


A blackbird silhouetted against a bright blue and red background.

Houston, TX

Videogame Analytics

Focus: B2C, Internal

CONTEXT

RPGLogs, the developer of powerful combat analysis tools prized by serious World of Warcraft players, had expanded on the success of its flagship product (WarcraftLogs) to produce similar tools for Final Fantasy XIV and a number of other MMO (massively multiplayer online) games. They had built or acquired a number of sites and services over the years, but without a cohesive approach to naming or design consistency. The result was a highly successful yet fragmented portfolio, with no clear unifying brand presence.


The team saw an opportunity to take a more strategic approach as they prepared for the next chapter of growth. In addition to establishing a consistent naming system and a common design language across their properties, they wanted to explore the creation of a new umbrella brand to better reflect the full scope of their offering. This new brand would coincide with an exciting product launch and position the company for broader reach and future expansion.


The team reached out to Vitamin C to develop a cohesive brand strategy, clarify the brand architecture, and build a strong foundation for future growth. This effort ultimately led to the creation of Archon, a new unifying brand for RPGLogs’ growing portfolio of tools and services.


The team saw an opportunity to take a more strategic approach as they prepared for the next chapter of growth.

VITAMIN C SERVICES

Brand Strategy


Brand audit, stakeholder and customer interviews, competitive analysis, brand archetype exploration, articulation of brand purpose/positioning/pillars, brand architecture recommendations

Brand Activation


Voice/tone/vocabulary development, naming guidance, high-level messaging map

Brand Expression


Style sheet, brand manifesto, brand-driven team bios and FAQ


MOMENT OF CLARITY

RPGLogs’ analytical tools, including its flagship product WarcraftLogs, were deeply valued by players and player guilds who wanted to push their performance to the highest level. Users described them as powerful, fast, and essential for mastery. As one World of Warcraft player put it, “It’s not like you have to use WarcraftLogs to play the game. It’s for people trying to play the hardest content and excel. You have to have the drive to want to constantly improve.”


Despite this clear impact, few players had any awareness of the team or company behind the tools. Because each tool was accessed individually via standalone sites, there was no way to see the expansiveness of the company’s offering at a glance, thus diminishing their ability to present themselves as an employer and partner of choice.

This need for both visibility and cohesion made the archetype analysis process especially valuable. To introduce the framework, we created a custom archetype map inspired by World of Warcraft, which these avid gamers knew inside and out.


Because each tool was accessed individually via standalone sites, there was no way to see the expansiveness of the company’s offering at a glance, thus diminishing their ability to present themselves as an employer and partner of choice.

A colorful archetype map featuring World of Warcraft characters - Priest (Caretaker), Dwarf (Creator), Lich King (Ruler), Pandaren (Innocent), Night Elf (Sage), Hunger (Explorer), Warrior (Hero), Mage (Magician), Rogue (Rebel), Goblin (Jester), Human (Everyperson), Succubus (Lover).
A custom archetype map inspired by World of Warcraft characters helped ground the discussion in a familiar topic and planted the seeds for creative exploration.

At first, the Everyperson archetype resonated with many team members. The company had deep roots in making MMOs more accessible, and positioning themselves as part of the broader community was appealing. But as we dug deeper, we quickly agreed that Everyman would be more valuable as a personality influence than as the true emotional focal point. These tools aren’t designed for casual players—they’re built for those who want to push themselves to the highest level. 


The archetype exercise sparked lively debate on the team’s internal Slack channels, and we collected input from everyone in a Google form. Together, we analyzed the nuances between the archetypes on our short list: Ruler, Sage, and Hero. 


The Ruler aligned strongly with the themes of excellence, trust, and rankings. From a competitive perspective, there was clear white space, pointing to an opportunity to claim industry and category leadership. Our concern was that it might feel too company-centric rather than tool-focused, making it less engaging for players.


The team’s deep expertise in MMO analytics and strong data foundation made the Sage a strong potential choice for positioning Archon as an expert in MMO analytics and reinforcing the depth and quality of its data. However, we agreed this archetype felt one step removed from the emotional core of the gaming experience and too focused on individual mastery instead of teamwork.


The Hero archetype resonated as an opportunity to empower players and teams to push their performance to the highest level and to highlight the speed, power, and performance of Archon’s analytics tools.  We ultimately decided it was the strongest fit with both the tools and the players, offering a powerful focal point to position the company, unify its portfolio, and connect more deeply with the players who relied on its tools to perform at their best. We embraced a new label, the Champion, to emphasize the role the company could play in advocating healthy competition throughout the industry.


We embraced a new label, the Champion, to emphasize the role the company could play in advocating healthy competition throughout the industry.

CREATIVE INSPIRATION

To bring the Champion archetype to life, we focused on how Archon empowers players and teams to push performance to the highest level, and how its tools excel at doing a tough job (analyzing complex data)  quickly and effectively. Other points of emphasis included courage, breaking down barriers, confidence, competence, empowerment, and helping players and teams perform at their best.


While the Champion naturally evokes speed, power, and performance, we took special care to emphasize the archetype’s aspirational qualities including discipline, focus, competence, collaboration, and teamwork. Through a new brand platform and a short manifesto, we positioned Archon as a champion for healthy competition, fair play, and community integrity.


While the Champion naturally evokes speed, power, and performance, we took special care to emphasize the archetype’s aspirational qualities including discipline, focus, competence, collaboration, and teamwork.

At Archon, we believe……in the power of analysis to aid in problem-solving and level up a raiding space.…in unbiased data and competitive integrity.…in healthy competition and a fair playing field.…in transparency and trust.…in the power of community and being a team player.
…that by building community tools around the games we all love, we can unlock new ways to play, connect with new people to play with, and level up the fun for all players. We want to see a world where data-driven decisions win, and where players and teams who want to perform at their best can be connected to every bit of data and content they need to succeed.
A new manifesto helped bring the spirit of the Champion to life for Archon.

CONTENT CLIP


The archetype exercise also inspired the new Archon name. Through a collaborative process, the team landed on Archon, inspired by the appealing elements of the Ruler, the Sage, and the Champion. Archon draws from the Greek tradition of rulers trusted to uphold fairness, equity, and community. We used this context to explain the meaning behind the name while emphasizing Archon’s unique role as a Champion for trust and fairness.


What does Archon mean? Archon is inspired by the tradition of Greek rulers who were trusted to collectively uphold law and order and defend fairness, equity, and community. Just as the ancient archons ruled collaboratively, with distributed responsibilities and clear protections against unchecked power, we champion collaboration, community, and healthy competition throughout the MMO ecosystem. 

Who is behind Archon? All Archon tools are built by passionate players who have invested the time to understand the game dynamics at a deep level. Our team of 15 avid MMO players, coders, and builders is based in Texas with members around the world. We know what gamers want, because we are gamers!
A brand-driven FAQ infused the new name with story and emphasized the passion and expertise of the team, while bringing the key points of the Champion archetype to life.

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