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Concept driftWhy ideas don’t always meet across markets
June 2004
GRAVITY
GRAVITY
What is concept drift?
• Say a UK brand stands for ‘indulgence’
• When researching outside UK/US, country by country, the idea of indulgence starts to deteriorate, is amended, reduced, manipulated, fragmented
• It’s easy to come out with a qualified, impoverished positioning
How can research enrich rather than impoverish international concept development?
GRAVITY
‘Languages are not mere collections of labels attached to pre-
existing bits and pieces of the human world but each speech
community lives in a different world from that of others and
these differences are both realised in parts of their cultures and
revealed and maintained in parts of their languages.’
R.H. Robins, Professor of General Linguistics, University of London
A key factor:
GRAVITY
What does this mean?
• Speech communities experience the world differently from each other
• They conceptualise/segment experiences and ideas differently
GRAVITY
An example concept
MasochismExcess
Unnecessary
Spoiling
Treat
Guilt
Sophisticated
Savour
Sensual
Reward
INDULGENCE (English)
GRAVITY
English Indulgence
• The word exists in French, Italian and Spanish
but it means religious forgiveness (Catholic)
or lenience
• The concept doesn’t exist in the same form
The Spanish certainly have ‘treats’
But do they feel guilty about them? No!
MasochismExcess
Unnecessary
Spoiling
Treat
Guilt
Sophisticated
Savour
Sensual
Reward
INDULGENCE (English)
GRAVITY
Definitions and roles
• A concept is an identifiable, cohesive bunch of associations
• Words are labels for these bunches of associations
To help us refer to that bunch of associations
To help us communicate ideas to others
To enable us to assess experiences and ideas in terms of it
To help us think and understand our world
GRAVITY
Thought and language develop in tandem
Recognisable, identifiable thought
Word
GRAVITY
If people don’t have the ‘word’… ….they may not have the ‘concept’
No current translation of the word…
They recognise the concept?
They don’t recognise the concept,
but can be helped to do so?
They can’t appreciate the concept?
GRAVITY
Universal concepts have direct translations
Neko = Gat = Cat = Chat = Katze = Catt = Koc˘ka
GRAVITY
But some concepts are less universal
Piropos
Tertulia
Logam
Sarariman
?
Schadenfreude
Zabíjacka
GRAVITY
Some don’t really exist in our culture:
• Piropos (Spanish): compliments whispered to women by passing men of all ages
We don’t do it
• Zabíjacka (Czech): ‘Slaughter Party’
We don’t have it
• Logam (Swedish): desirable quality of not being extreme (but not ostensibly moderate either!)
We don’t experience it
• Sarariman (Japanese): executive in large company (security, respectability, conformity)
We don’t value it in the way they do
GRAVITY
Others we know, but don’t consciously recognise
• Tertulia (Spanish): elderly men gathering informally in a bar for a game of dominoes and gossip about local affairs
We have it but don’t see it as a concept so don’t need a word
• Schadenfreude (German): the enjoyment of someone else’s discomfort
We recognise the concept, we’ve borrowed the word
GRAVITY
Some are related, but don’t match precisely
Incorrect Use
ExploitAbuse
Excess
Unnecessary
Spoiling
Treat
Guilt
SmallPerfection
Sensual
Positive
Negative
Outer Inner
Genuß
Abus
?
Petits Plaisirs Egoistes
INDULGENCE Connoisseur
The Good Life
Showing Off
The Most Expensive
Exquisite
SavourReward
Masochism
Sophisticated
GRAVITY
Why is this important?
• It has implications for giving brand concepts meaning across borders
And therefore also for creative executions/campaigns
• Because it helps us understand what kind of spaces ideas occupy in people’s minds
What kinds of reference points are being used
• And because it suggests we might benefit from going about international concept development in a different way
GRAVITY
Negotiating concept drift
• Start as early as possible in the process
• It’s hard on idea development teams to be given a one-culture brief for a multi-country project….
And then see their work used as international cannon fodder
• Ideally the process of mapping the possibilities starts as soon as the overall strategy is identified
• Eg. a car brand wants to own the concept of ‘solid’
Perhaps translated as ‘fest’ in German, ‘robuste’ in French
A visual thesaurus helps start the process of articulating the richest territory to explore across markets
GRAVITY
Solid
stalwartstrong
compact
brave
resolutestable
equanimitybalance
tough
healthy
robust
convincing
persuasive
effective
integrity
qualitycharacter
complete
constant
well-founded
three-dimensional
obstinate
coherent
dense
sturdy
clear
deep
profound
substantial
tangible
authentic
real
true
honest
definiteexact
firm
certain
GRAVITY
flimsy
thin
weak
ineffectual
false
fragile
superficial
unsubstantialfeeble
frail
makeshift
poor
tenderwobbly
delicate
temporary
fine
breakable
puny
unhealthy
unsatisfactory
impotent insecure
spineless
faltering
substitute
Need to look at negatives too
GRAVITY
KLM’s long-standing strapline in Dutch
Betrouwbaar
trust
faith
loyalreliable
promise
confidence
well-known
familiarpersonal
credentials
assurance
aplomb
affectionsafety
dedicated
mission
active
lasting
The English version ‘the reliable airline’ is not wrong,but it’s missing quite a lot!
GRAVITY
Stimulus materials can enrich this process
• E.g. ask respondents to think of a ‘solid’ item in advance of the research
• Lists of ‘solid’ people, brands etc. as prompts
• Words on boards for mapping
To be added to in groups by respondents
• Magazines for imagery tear sheets
• Ads that portray solidity
• Solid brands on cards for mapping the territory
• Brand pictures, stories, facts, claims…to bring it down to earth and connect it to the key messages
Probe creative as well as market context
Proposal Set-up Stimulus Field Analyse Interpret
Making the most of the whole project team
GRAVITY
Our idea driven, ‘dynamic synthesis’ approach makes the most of GRAVITY insight and team expertise.
GRAVITY
Outcome Will Depend on Marketing Needs
• Creating new brands and re-launching dormant ones
more freedom to search for ‘one’ solution
aiming for a concept which is consciously recognised in all markets
• Launching an established brand in new markets
already have an anchor-point,
find concepts/identities which are closest to the fixed point
GRAVITY
Many possible outcomes• A common concept in all markets - the grail solution!
• A common concept but some markets need explanation/heavy cues
we’ll know exactly what parts are common
we’ll know exactly what cues are needed
• Separate but related concepts
We’ll know how they are separate and how they are related
We’ll know what this means for the brand in all the markets
We’ll know the implications for the advertising
• Separate concepts
We’ll know why
We’ll know the manifestations of these
We’ll know the implications for the brand and the advertising
GRAVITY
Summing Up
• Differences in the way languages work reflect differences in the way different communities experience their worlds
Those who speak differently, think differently
• Concepts can return from international research compromised or impoverished if we don’t plan ahead
• Concept drift thinking can help by broadening the understanding of concepts for exploration across markets
• Allowing us to identify deeper, clearer, and more motivating concepts