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Using semiotics in marketing
The majority of research focuses on the customer and their attitudes, beliefs and behaviours, but that is really only half of the picture. And the tendency to focus on individual psychological processes is only getting more narrow minded with the application of brain and body measurement to market research.
However, the fundamental attribution error in psychology teaches us that human behaviour is influenced by the environment and social context as much as, if not more than, our individual traits. So why don't marketers and market researchers spend more time looking at the context of behaviours?
The most important environmental influence on most behaviour is cultural context. Semiotics is an approach that uses cultural artefacts (from ancient books to modern TV advertising) to deconstruct the cultural codes that have a powerful influence on behaviour. For example, the meanings that different cultures attach to colour have a powerful effect on acceptance of new products and services, as does the language and other symbols that are used.
That's why you should never wear a green hat or launch four-packs in China, bring an Italian mineral water called Traficante to Spain (the word is slang for a drug dealer), or advertise your latest computer with the slogan "Wang cares" in the UK!
Just as there are many cross-cultural marketing disasters, caused by insufficient understanding of cultural differences, there are many successful branding campaigns based on cultural insights. Think of Dove's 'real beauty' campaign, Omo's 'dirt is good' slogan (making 'cleanliness is next to godliness' a redundant idea) and the relaunch of Pot Noodles as 'the slag of all snacks' (controversial but successful).
Semiotics can help across a wide variety of applications:
- formulating research hypotheses
- analysing marketing communications
- tracking cultural changes
- developing communications which are fresh and authentic
- finding new & creative innovation territories
There is also much for marketers to learn from understanding the conventions of storytelling and archetypes of character and narrative (for example Nike helping the user become a hero by 'overcoming the monster'). Cultural codes matter more than individual differences or marketing strategies, hence the expression, "Culture eats strategy for lunch" (or is that 'over breakfast' - the mythology is unclear). If you would like to know more about using semiotic thinking, there is more in Brand esSense and on the Inspector Insight blog, or please get in touch!
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Recommended reading on Semiotics
Much of the semiotics and cross-cultural research literature is quite academic and dry, but here are some suggestions which I hope you will find easy and interesting to read.
The origins of applying semiotics to marketing are in Roland Barthes short collection of essays Mythologies, covering a wide range of topics from the world of wrestling to the launch of a new Citroen car and the advertising of laundry detergents (where there is more on the codes of cleanliness and science and the meaning of washing powder long before Omo's current slogan).
A more recent book by Laura Oswald, called Marketing Semiotics: Signs, Strategies and Brand Value is a little theoretical in places but has a wealth of case studies and real marketing applications. A more readable, but less marketing focused, introduction is Of Cigarettes, High Heels and Other Interesting Things: An introduction to semiotics by Marcel Danesi (very clear and easy to read). And Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud is a great overview of the visual language of comics and also film and storytelling in general (and itself written as a comic).
There are many books on cross-cultural differences. The Geography Of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently .... and Why by Richard Nesbitt is a fascinating overview of much of the cross-cultural psychology literature. Edward Hall's The Silent Language covers the role of time and space in defining key dimensions of cross-cultural difference and Through The Language Glass by Guy Deutscher talks about the role of language in shaping thinking. Finally, Understanding Global Cultures by Martin Gannon and Rajnandini Pillai is a great introduction to cultural difference, using metaphor as a tool to understand regions, countries and cultures.
I can also recommend Brand esSense which includes a chapter outlining the use of semiotics in marketing within a broader framework of thinking about the symbolism and meaning of every brand touchpoint. And there are many articles on the Inspector Insight blog covering semiotic topics.
Happy reading!
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