BY LUCIA TREZOVA InSymbolsResearch.com

2014

Mining the Brandscape or marketing research in transition

We All Are Culture Depending:

TO EXPRESS OUR

INNER AND UNIQUE

THOUGHTS AND

FEELINGS

WE ALL MUST USE

CULTURALLY

SHARED SYMBOLS.

THE WHOLE

COMMUNICATION IS

ABOUT RECEIVING AND

SENDING OVER

MESSAGES

EXPRESSED USING

TOOLS PROVIDED BY CULTURE.

Become permeable and

interconnected

Getting data is not the problem

anymore, contrariwise, we are

data overloaded

Information is mostly fragmented

and often contradictory

We miss data interconnections

and data relationships

The more data we have, the more

we call for its genuine

understanding

Understanding means putting

information into context

WHAT IS REALLY AN ISSUE HERE IS:

DATA INTERPRETATION = EXTRACTING DATA

TRUE MEANINGS

TH

E W

OR

LD

HA

S C

HA

NG

ED

:

Too Much Data, Too Little Understanding

I

What I do?

CULTURE IS A WEB OF MEANINGS....

...AND EACH BRAND REPRESENTS ONE OF THESE FINE STRINGS OF

WHICH THE WEB IS KNITTED...

WHAT IS A BRANDSCAPE?

in cultures with

specific norms,

values, beliefs,

with their history,

issues, problems...

BRANDS EXIST IN THESE WIDE CONTEXTS WHICH CONSTITUTE SYMBOLIC ENVIRONMENTS =

BRANDSCAPES

No brand is an island... Brands exist:

in markets with

many competing

brands...

in societies

consisting of people

with their desires,

plans, aspirations...

BRANDSCAPE IS A SYMBOLIC UNIVERSE IN WHICH BRANDS EXIST AND FROM WHICH BRANDS DRAW UPON

Brand

Consumers’

needs,desires,

expectations...

Social and

cultural

categories

Cultural myths,

beliefs,norms,values

Competing

brands Brand

logo Brand

packaging

Brand

heritage

Advertising,

brand comm Brand

price

Point of

sales Brand

stories

Brands do not have only functional benefits. Brands also

have another value: symbolic value.

Consumer

Brandscape

is a kind of

language in

which

goods

„talk“ and

convey

meanings

SYMBOLIC CONSUMPTION

TO CREATE PERSONAL IDENTITIES

TO IDENTIFY WITH GROUPS OR TO DISTANCE FROM THEM

TO MARK TRANSITION FROM ONE LIFE STAGE TO THE NEXT ONE

Brands engage consumers in an imagery/symbolic process of

need fulfillment since goods communicate also social

and emotional benefits that satisfy needs, such as

need for status, self-image, love, safety, etc.

Consumers use brands:

By symbolic consumption consumers project their personal meanings into

goods and use brand meanings to

satisfy their individual symbolic needs

CULTURE

Brandscape is an open two-way permeable and

very sensitive system, prone to absorb and reflect

all changes in society as well as to cause social

changes.

Since people are symbolic

beings, all these

exchanges are done in

symbolic ways: by

transferring meanings.

CONSUMERS

BRANDSCAPE IS A SYSTEM consisting of 4 elements

According to a system

theory, every change

of a system element

causes the change of

the whole system

Just imagine how Internet or smart mobile phones affected our lives, or how our grammas’ lives changed after washing machines got to markets...

What does that mean?

It means that....

...BRANDSCAPES CREATE AND INFLUENCE

SYMBOLIC SYSTEM OF MEANINGS ASSOCIATED WITH BRAND =

BRAND MEANINGS WHICH ENABLE SYMBOLIC

CONSUMPTION AND SYMBOLIC SATISFACTION

BRAND MEANING...

...represents all kinds of symbolic satisfaction brand is able to gratify: need for status, power, love, sex, control, indulgence, harmony, joy, creativity, intellectual fulfilment, etc.)

...condenses all associations which brand

produces, and all connotations brand evokes

...represents all consumer’s fantasies brand

triggers, and all stories surrounding brand

...is not just a consumer’s perception of quality and

reliability of brand, but these are also included

Choose your favourite beer... close your eyes...and let yourself imagine...

What did come to your mind?

....an image of a dew mug of your beer in hot summer day...

.... beer as a reminder of a great party

.... beer as an opportunity to meet old school mates and have fun

....a glass of beer as good ending of your family lunch

....a beer as a pleasant break during a sport

....beer as an alcoholic beverage causing a headache

....beer as a sign of national pride

....beer as a start of conversation on meaning of life with your friends

....beer as an alcohol causing family trouble....

....shopping for your beer

....your beer great taste and color

....your beer logo and your beer bottles....

....beer advertisement

WH

AT

IS

TH

E M

EA

NIN

G O

F B

EE

R F

OR

YO

U?

...

Brand Meaning includes cultural and personal associations connected to brand

Brand meaning is reflected in Brand Value

Brand Value is measured as Brand Equity expressed in $

THUS BRAND MEANING IS NOT AN ACADEMIC

ISSUE, IT IS A KEY TO BRAND SUCCESS

We project our personal

meanings into goods and use

brands meanings as

tools to satisfy our personal

symbolic needs

...THUS, WHAT MARKETERS SELL ARE NOT

PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, BUT RATHER BRAND

MEANINGS STORED IN CONSUMERS’ HEADS

By choosing brands we

buy all brand

meanings which are

encoded into brands

...all associations, connotations,

fantasies, stories, images, ideas,

narratives, myths, values, norms and

promises...

What does that mean?

It means that....

...IN ORDER TO MANAGE BRANDS SUCCESSFULLY,

BRAND MEANINGS SHOULD BE EXPLORED IN THEIR

COMPLEXITY INCLUDING THE WHOLE BRANDSCAPE:

CONSUMERS + BRANDS + CULTURAL CONTEXTS

Which DIRECT consequences

does it have for a current

marketing research?

...It means that apart from focusing on Brands and Consumers,

Marketing Research should cover also

nowadays often neglected part of the Brandscape:

CULTURE & SOCIETY

THE „NEW“ HOLISTIC MARKET RESEARCH SHOULD STAND ON

ALL 4 PILLARS:

• Culture and society • Brand and its heritage

• Competing brands

• Consumers

BRANDSCAPE

Culture & Society

Culture also gives us the tool to talk about reality: by

acquiring and using language

Language does not describe and reflect reality, language

rather creates and constructs reality

CULTURE SHAPES WHO WE ARE AND HOW

WE PERCEIVE, UNDERSTAND AND ACT

TOWARD „REALITY“

CULTURE IS LIKE LENSES THROUGH WHICH WE SEE AND INTERPRETATE THE WORLD Every element of our world that we can virtually isolate, demark and give a name to represents certain

culture category. Culture categories are, therefore, components, discrete

parcels, units from which the world is created, built of and segmented into...

They are our mental concepts = constructs, through which we grasp reality,

into which we divide up reality, by which we organize social reality, thus through

which we try to UNDERSTAND and HANDLE the whole world

We create a category as „friendship“ , we create category as

„marriage“ , or category of „fast food“ , we construct what

the „beauty“ means, or „purity“, we create the category of

„personal hygiene“, or what means to be a „women“ or to be

a „man“ , etc.

HOW DO WE ACQUIRE THEM ?

• We ACQUIRE and construct these concepts via social learning

• These concepts are „cultural“ because they are rooted in and

determined by a culture in which they exist

We learn them by growing up, by living in certain culture...we put them together from

many different and seemingly unconnected sources as a puzzle ...

...by watching TV, by listening to the radio,

by reading books, newspapers and

magazines, by interacting in social media,

by talking to people, by observing people,

some are learnt in schools, some are learnt

in families, or in peer groups, etc. WHAT THE „THINGS“ MEAN

This exposure teaches us: WHAT ATTITUDE TO ADOPT

TOWARD „THINGS“

HOW TO ACT, HOW TO HANDLE

THEM

This all determines how

we perceive the world...

...AND WE AS MEMBERS OF SOCIETY BY OUR EVERYDAY ACTING ARE

CONSTANTLY ENGAGED IN A CONSTRUCTION OF THE WORLD WE LIVE IN

How is this all connected to

marketing and brands...?

VERY CLOSELY ...LET’S USE BASIC LOGIC...

...AND BRANDS

ARE SYSTEMS

OF MEANINGS...

...IF SOCIAL CATEGORIES

ARE SYSTEMS OF

MEANINGS…

...AND PEOPLE/CONSUMERS

SEEK IN BRANDS SYMBOLIC

SATISFACTION…

there is a tight connection between brands and social/cultural categories:

THEN...

Cultural meanings are transferred from the culture to the products and to the consumers

CULTURAL

CATEGORY PRODUCTS CONSUMERS

marketing comm marketing comm

MARKETING COMMUNICATION IS AN AGENT TRANSFERRING MEANINGS

FROM CULTURE TO GOODS AND TO CONSUMERS

„Advertising and brand communication mediate this transfer of meanings between cultural categories and attach them to brands.

…Over time such meaning transfer become embedded in popular culture, so that icons as Marlboro Man transcend the brand per se and become symbols

for cultural ideals and myths. (Grant McCracken, 1986)

„Consumer Brandscape forms a network of meanings derived from multiple cultural contexts. For consumers to integrate these cultural contexts at all, they

merge meanings from one context to another by means of symbols“

(Laura Oswald, 2012)

SO, MARKETING COMMUNICATION IS THE MEDIATOR

ENABLING DIALOGUE BETWEEN: CONSUMERS, THEIR CULTURE AND

BRANDS

3. CULTURE

4.

CONSUMERS

...inside Brandscape CONSUMERS

...and its 4

elements

Perpetuating

and never

ending

dialogue

BRANDS ARE SUCCESSFUL OR SIMPLY RELEVANT TO THE

EXTENT TO WHICH THEY CAN CONNECT PROPERLY TO

MEANINGS OF CULTURAL/SOCIAL CATEGORIES

IF THEY CANNOT, THEY BECOME SIMPLY IRRELEVANT

AND ARE GOING TO BE EXCLUDED FROM THE MARKET

What are consequences of this...?

ADS OR MARKETING COMMUNICATION GENERALLY ARE

SUCCESSFUL ONLY TO THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY CAN

MANAGE THIS MEANING TRANSFER

1.

2.

IF THEY CANNOT, THEY WILL NOT WORK FOR THE

BRAND

„Brand message must reflect a deep and nuanced understanding of the multiple cultural categories in

which the brand is embedded – from the brand legacy, to consumer culture, to the popular culture“

(Laura Oswald, 2012)

What does that mean for

market research?

It means that...

...SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CATEGORIES TO WHICH BRANDS ARE CONNECTED

SHOULD BE

TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT AND EXPLORED THOROUGHLY ...

WHY?

Because...

It is like looking at a picture and seeing a mouth, seeing the eyes, perceiving

nose, ears, eyebrows: (facts), but without any ability to recognize that what

we are looking at is actually a face (understanding)

...neglecting cultural and social context might cause that a lot of

research findings might end up as just facts – as unconnected dots: numbers (in case of quanti) or claims (in case of quali), unable to

explain what these facts mean for consumers-brand relationships and what business decisions should be

made based on research findings...

...BECAUSE, THEY MIGHT PROVIDE INFORMATION, BUT

NOT UNDERSTANDING...

How can we explore social

categories and brand

meanings in cultural

context...?

CODES

SIGNS AND SYMBOLS

BY FINDING OUT HOW THEY

ARE BEING CREATED !

We comprehend social „reality“ by understanding Code System

existing in culture and by knowledge of Signs which are used

within the given code system.

Code system of colors says in Western culture that white

means „innocence“ and „purity“ and „ youth“ and also „piece“

and „spirit“ and „hope“ and „soul“ and „holy“ and generally

„good“;

while black means „ sadness“ or „grief“ and also „obscure“ and

„deep“ and „unknown“ and „unconscious“ and also „dangerous“

and generally „evil“.

It says that red represents „dynamism“, and „activity“ and

„sex“ and „fight“ and „aggressiveness “, etc.

CODES FUNCTION AS „DICTIONARIES“, AS RULES HOW TO

TRANSLATE AND ORGANIZE SIGNS

COLOR CODE SYSTEM

SIGNS FUNCTION AS „BRICKS“ WHICH WE COMBINE

TOGETHER TO CREATE MEANINGS

Codes are systems of

conventions how to „read“ (decode) signs and how to „create“ (encode) social categories using signs

SIGN IS SOMETHING THAT REPRESENTS SOMETHING

OTHER THAN ITSELF...THUS, IN COMMUNICATION

EVERYTHING IS A SIGN....

SIGNS CAN BE INTERPRETED....SIGNS CONVEY MEANINGS....

this is the sign

of danger...

this is the sign of a

high status for

men

this is the

sign of wealth

for women

this is the

sign of nature

Or more academically....sign comprises of:

Signifier

Signified

Mental concept – social

category to which it

refers... SIGN

Material vehicle of a

sign which can be

image, text, sound,

tone or gesture...

CODE SYSTEMS ARE RULES OR CONVENTIONS WHICH

GOVERN USING SIGN SYSTEMS

...they can be written (like traffic rules or laws) or implicit (as good manners or fashion)

To understand equations, the math code must be

learnt, to program applications e.g. C++ code must be

learnt, etc.

Codes provide us with clues, instructions, they guide us how

signs should be „read“ and „used“ in communication

CODES AFFECT HOW WE:

1. Decode - extract and understand meanings of bunch of

signs (textual or visual or numerical or musical ones, etc...)

2. Encode - how we materialize, express via signs (text or

pictures or music or movement or gesture) information we

want to communicate...

A corporate “newspeak” containing expressions

like: “lets’ brainstorm, write me minutes, what about

outsource it” also requires knowledge of the special

code to understand what is meant;

SMS communication has its own code full of

abbreviations;

to read a non-verbal behaviour requires skills to

read „body language” code, etc.

There are many special codes which must be learnt in order to understand:

The most prevalent and obvious code is

every language

The key question is: where are these codes used and contained?

Where do they work?

CULTURE IS “MACRO-CODE„

EACH PRODUCT CATEGORY OR MARKET

SEGMENT USE THEIR OWN CODES

CODES ARE FRAMEWORKS

WHICH ARE USED BY BOTH:

PRODUCERS AND INTERPRETERS

OF COMMUNICATION

THEY WORK WITHIN AND INSIDE OF

DISCOURSES

„They all are created by the different “texts” linked to

other texts, which altogether represent con-text.“

DISCOURSES ARE WAYS HOW WE „TALK” ABOUT THE

„THINGS“ – NOT ONLY BY WORDS, BUT ALSO BY IMAGES...

They structure the way we talk and thus think about the world. They induce our

worldview: what we think about ourselves and other people - they determine

identities, they affect how we structure social categories, they influence our

beliefs, values, norms...

AND OTHER

MEANS TOO

If you want to change consumers’ thinking, you have

to change the discourse!

TO FILL UP BRANDS WITH

DESIRED MEANINGS USING

TANGIBLE SYMBOLS MEANINGFUL IN EXISTING

CODE SYSTEMS (PRODUCT CATEGORY, MARKET SEGMENT AND CULTURE)

IN ORDER TO CONNECT BRANDS TO

SOCIAL CATEGORIES IN

DISCOURSE

What is this process like....?

1. DIAGNOSE CODE SYSTEM OF BRANDSCAPE AND IDENTIFY

EXISTING CODES AS WELL AS EMERGING ONES = NEW TRENDS

3. IDENTIFY THOSE SIGNS AND SYMBOLS WHICH WILL EXPRESS

INTENDED MEANINGS BEST, AND THEN

Steps: 1 – 2 – 3 and 4 or 5

4. SUGGEST NEW SIGNS

AND SYMBOLS

CONVEYING CURRENT

BRAND MEANINGS

5. SUGGEST NEW BRAND

MEANINGS USING NEW

SIGNS AND SYMBOLS

OR

OR

MANAGE DISCOURSE

2. DETERMINE MEANINGS DESIRABLE TO COMMUNICATE

...Which codes govern market segments and product categories...

...Which signs and symbols are available, shared and understood by the target group...

...How brand meanings are embedded in the broad culture: in cultural categories, in myths, in social organization and beliefs and values of the

target market...

Because marketing signs are context-sensitive, they are perceived through a filter of the social and cultural codes

While in western country McDonald means cheap and

unhealthy food, in developing countries it can mean

indulgence and luxury food

BY THIS PROCEDURE YOU WILL DISCOVER:

While for mothers some piece of clothes means an old,

unfashionable garment worn in her twenties, for her daughter it

can mean a cool retro thing

While smoking was some time ago considered widely cool and

in, now in many cultures smoking is a sign of the low

social class

How is it performed in reality...?

In order to understand what consumers really think and feel, it is necessary to go beyond their words...

WHAT EXACTLY IS MEANT BY THIS...?

When studying brands in cultural context we do not necessarily ask directly consumers what they think about culture or brands, it is simply impossible...

We rather explore manifestation of their beliefs, norms, values, attitudes in culture itself - we focus on evidence

We study systems of sign organization - we study codes directly in culture products which includes also studying brands and marketing comm

We study how the meanings are derived and materialized via signs and symbols - how they are encoded into culture products which includes also studying brands and brand comm

Why this way...?

To „unlock“ these key assumptions, it is vital to study not the consumer,

but culture itself. It is necessary to study culturally framed

meanings of brands.

...BECAUSE WE ARE NOT ABLE TO COMMUNICATE IT DIRECTLY...

1. We are so deeply immersed in our own culture that

most our key assumptions about culture are taken for

granted: we perceive them as „natural“ and „normal“

2. We are so absorbed by them that they became implicit

for us, we simply „live“ them without registering them

3. These cultural patterns, norms, beliefs are, therefore,

mostly unconscious and therefore not accessible to our

rational minds and to our individual awareness

4. We are controlled by them without being explicitly

aware of them

5. Our needs, our attitudes, expectations and beliefs are

locked in a cultural web

„Culturally-variable perceptual codes are typically inexplicit, and we are not normally conscious of the

roles which they play. To users of the dominant, most widespread codes, meanings generated within such

codes tend to appear 'obvious' and 'natural’.“ (Laura Oswald, 2012)

How can we „unlock“ them

and make them explicit...?

Lets’ look at it in a summary using

„beer business“ as an example ....

Your Brand:

Pilsen

MICRO LEVEL

ANALYSIS

Product Category:

Beer Category

Market Segment:

Alcoholic Beverages

Culture: Czech Culture MACRO LEVEL

ANALYSIS

Cultural Myths

Cultural Narratives

Dominant Ideology

Cultural Shifts

Norms, Values, Standards

Lifestyle Trends

Demographical Change

Economy, History

Pop-culture and

Media narratives

Rituals of Consumptions

Norms, Beliefs, Attitudes

Consumption Myths

Archetypes

Stories

Imagery

Brand Discourse

Brand Rhetoric

Brand Symbolism

Brand Stories

Brand Metaphors and Associations

Communication Audit

Visual Codes in Category

Language Codes in Category

Use of Signs and Symbols

Competitors’ Brand Discourse

Competitors’ Brand Rhetoric

There are 4 levels of analysis:

Lets’ make it simple:

...And several ways of analysis, depending on the

levels...for example:

1. BRAND

2. PRODUCT CATEGORY

3. MARKET SEGMENT

4. CULTURE 1. CULTURAL MYTHS ANALYSIS

4. RITUALS OF CONSUMPTION ANALYSIS

7. BRAND RHETORIC ANALYSIS, ETC.

6. BRAND METAPHOR ANALYSIS

The aim is to find „disconnections“ = „gaps“ between BRAND vs. PRODUCT

vs. CATEGORY/MARKET SEGMENT vs. CONSUMERS vs. CULTURE

or to discover new „connections“ - opportunity for brands

2. VISUAL IMAGERY CATEGORY ANALYSIS

5. STORY-TELLING ANALYSIS

3. ANALYSIS OF CATEGORY RHETORIC

It is not an imperative

to cover all of them!

POSSIBLE SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

WRITTEN TEXT:

NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES

DIGITAL MEDIA: e.g. web pages content

SOCIAL MEDIA: e.g. FB, Google+, blogs, Twitter...

VISUAL MATERIAL:

AUDIO MATERIAL :

BEHAVIOR:

WHAT WHERE

TV ADVERTISING AND PRINT ADS

POINT OF SALES, VENUES AND STORE INTERIORS

BILLBOARDS and LEAFLETS

BRAND PACKAGING

BRAND LOGO

ILLUSTRATIONS IN MAGAZINES

FILMS, MOVIES, TV SHOWS

WALL PAINTINGS, FASHION,

SOCIAL AND DIGITAL MEDIA visual content

AD SPOTS, JINGLES

RADIO content

POPULAR MUSIC

POP

CULTURE

POP

CULTURE

CONSUMERS’ NARRATIVES, STORIES

CONSUMPTION RITUALS and SHOPPING HABITS, etc.

WHAT MATTERS?

„Consumers responses would be analyzed for their stories, narratives, emotions, with

the aim to uncover patterns, symbolic associations, how consumers use existing

cultural artifacts to express their identities.“

„We will search for general patterns of meanings that prevail from one text to another

and therefore reflect the collective myths, values, beliefs consumers associate with

the brand or product category.“

„We will uncover deep collective values and consumers’ placement of goods and

implications for social interactions.“

„We concentrate on how consumers select and how they combine different elements –

units of meaning in order to create indented meaning or interpret meanings (signs and

symbols) to produce meaning, which is dictated by the culture or subculture of which

the consumer is a member .“

Based on the book of Laura Oswald, 2012

There are 2 ways of how to proceed:

BOTTOM UP PROCESS TOP DOWN PROCESS

STARTING WITH BRAND

IDENTITY AND BRAND

COMMUNICATION INCLUDING

COMPETITORS’

COMMUNICATION

THEN CONTINUE WITH

BRAND CATEGORY

THEN CONTINUE WITH

MARKET SEGMENT

TO CULTURE AND CULTURAL

CATEGORIES

FINISHING WITH BRAND

IDENTITY AND BRAND

COMMUNICATION INCLUDING

COMPETITORS’

COMMUNICATION

STARTING WITH CULTURE

AND CULTURAL CATEGORIES

THEN CONTINUE WITH

MARKET SEGMENT

THEN CONTINUE WITH

BRAND CATEGORY

OR

CONSUMER

Let’s focus on them step by step:

CATEGORY AND MARKET SEGMENT ANALYSIS

BRAND IDENTITY RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION AUDIT

CULTURE MAPPING

CONSUMERS UNDERSTANDING

TO STUDY MEANINGS EMBEDDED

IN WEB OF:

Brand Discourse:

Brand Rhetoric Analysis

Brand Visual Symbolism and

Imagery Analysis

Brand Metaphors and

Connotation Analysis

Brand Narratives and Stories

Research

Brand Experience Research

BRAND IDENTITY RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION AUDIT

Commercial Semiotics Narrative Techniques Content Analysis Critical Discourse Analysis

...We use:

Binary distinctions, opposition used Pragmatics of communication message Denotation and connotation of meanings Genre and way of addressee Rhetorical tropes and types of arguments used Mythological and Ideological level Residual vs dominant vs emergent codes Syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations Maxims of communication (quantity, clarity, relevance, true)

Ad communication audit:

DIA

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TO STUDY MEANINGS EMBEDDED

IN WEB OF:

Category and Market Segment

Discourse:

Pop Culture Analysis

Category Symbolism and

Metaphors Description

Story-telling Analysis

Rituals of Consumption Analysis

Norms, Beliefs, Attitudes

Archetypes in Use

Imagery and Narratives Exploration

CATEGORY AND MARKET SEGMENT ANALYSIS

...We use:

Commercial Semiotics Narrative Techniques Content Analysis Critical Discourse Analysis

DIA

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IN COMBINATION

WITH ALL QUANTI

AND QUALI DATA

ALREADY AVAILABLE

TO STUDY MEANINGS EMBEDDED

IN WEB OF:

Cultural Myths

Sub-cultures Memberships

Cultural Rituals

Cultural Narratives

Dominant Ideology

Cultural Norms, Values, Standards

Lifestyle Transformation

CULTURE MAPPING Commercial Semiotics Narrative Techniques Trends Analysis Critical Discourse Analysis...

WE USE:

CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING

Story-telling Techniques Focus Group Discussions In depth Interviews Observation In-home Visits Projective Techniques...

Individual Memories

Desires and Aspirations

Daily Patterns

Shopping Habits

Personal Rituals and Habits

Group and Individual Values and Norms, etc.

AND BACK TO

CONSUMERS

AGAIN

DIA

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What Is Specially Favourable About This Approach?

YOU USSUALY DO NOT NEED ANY ADDITIONAL EXPENSES TO COLLECT DATA:

A. YOUR EXISTING DATA IS USED or

B. FREELY AVAILABLE DATA IS USED

YOU CAN EASILY COMBINE IT AND ENRICH IT WITH:

A. STANDARD QUALI METHODS (FGDs,

IDIs, ethnography)

B. QUANTI METHODS

2 things:

Who can benefit from this approach

most?

EVERYONE WHOSE

WORK DEPENDS ON

MANAGEMENT OF

MEANINGS

PR Agencies Advertising Agencies

Service Providers: Banks, Insurance companies, Telco companies, etc.

TV Stations and other Content providers Clients from retail: FMCG,

pharmaceutical companies, etc. Interior and Product Designers Market Research Agencies

Web Designers Politicians

These techniques help clients: 1. To foster innovations by discovering how consumer’s culture and

the market has changed/will change

2. To create a coherent brand experience in different touch-points

3. To create desirable content

4. To build or improve a corporate identity

5. To improve marketing communication for a specific target in given cultural environment

6. To launch a new brand or brand extension by discovering hidden opportunities latent in the category or in the society

7. To reposition brand by addressing right values and meanings via desirable signs and symbols

8. To create attractive packaging and product design

This approach helps establish effective process of meaning transfer

from culture to brands and to consumers and ideally back

again: letting brands influence culture

„Successful brands not only mirror culture; they create culture, in the form of trends, icons,

and meanings that produce culture.“

(Laura Oswald, 2012)

This approach helps build strong and culturally rooted brands

with coherent meanings and ability to communicate

consistently with its target audience

CULTURAL

CATEGORY PRODUCTS CONSUMERS

marketing comm marketing comm

CONTACT: PhDr. LUCIA TREZOVA

RESEARCH CONSULTANT AND CULTURE ANALYST InSymbolsResearch.com

LUCIA.TREZOVA@GMAIL.COM

Thank you!