The power of Semiotics
Everyday we process a huge amount of commercial signs and symbols, from Nike’s swoosh to Apple’s apple, subconsciously and in nano seconds. Without words, they tell the story of brands
Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols. Through decoding these signs and symbols it creates a strategic blueprint for understanding brands within their cultural context. Part art, part science, Semiotics offers the power of foresight through its focus on emerging cultural codes
Along with behavioral economics - which concerns itself with the psychology of decision making – Semiotics is one of the key ways in which we understand the world
Why Semiotics?
Marketing intelligence as-we-know-it aims to understand consumer behaviour from an inside-out perspective: using mostly psychological techniques, the goal is to understand what’s ‘inside the mind’ in terms of perceptions, attitudes and motivations
However, we rarely ask ourselves where these perceptions and attitudes come from? The answer is simple: we don’t ‘choose’ our desires or attitudes. Many of the building blocks of our attitudes etc. come from outside the mind - from culture
Culture provides the mental concepts we use to navigate the world and make decisions. It drives what we consider good or bad, beautiful or ugly and worthy or trivial
This is where Semiotics comes in - it helps brands understand the cultural context in which they operate
Ask culture first
Brands don’t exist in a vacuum - they ‘live’ in categories and broader culture.
For marketers, semiotics provides the other half of the insight equation. People’s preferences, identities and perceptions are to a large extent formed by culture. Like our neurological subconscious, cultural influences tend to operate under the radar.
Therefore people cannot always tell us why they prefer a brand or an idea. That’s why we should interrogate culture first. Only then can we fully appreciate what people tell us in focus groups or surveys.
The moral of the story : brands only make sense when both parts of the insight equation – consumer insight and cultural insight – are accounted for. Consumer insight is just one half of the puzzle. Without the cultural part it’s very difficult to figure out why people responded in a particular way, and what it means.
Cultural insight anchors consumer insights in the real world.
