Concept drift Why ideas don’t always meet across markets June 2004

1. GRAVITY Concept driftWhy ideas don’t always meet across markets June 2004

2. 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?

3. A key factor: ‘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 worldfrom 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

4. What does this mean? • Speech communities experience the world differently from each other • They conceptualise/segment experiences and ideas differently

5. An example concept Savour Reward Sophisticated Treat Unnecessary INDULGENCE (English) Sensual Spoiling Guilt Excess Masochism

6. Savour Reward Sophisticated Treat Unnecessary INDULGENCE (English) Sensual Spoiling Guilt Excess Masochism 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!

7. 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

8. Thought and language develop in tandem Word Recognisable, identifiable thought

9. If people don’t have the ‘word’… ….they may not have the ‘concept’ No current translation of the word… They recognise the concept? They can’t appreciate the concept? They don’t recognise the concept, but can be helped to do so?

10. Universal concepts have direct translations Neko = Gat = Cat = Chat = Katze = Catt = Koc˘ka

11. But some concepts are less universal Logam Piropos Zabíjacka Sarariman ? Tertulia Schadenfreude

12. 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

13. 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

14. Positive Petits Plaisirs Egoistes Small Exquisite Perfection Sophisticated Savour ? Reward Genuß Sensual Showing Off Unnecessary Treat Connoisseur Inner INDULGENCE Outer The Most Expensive The Good Life Guilt Spoiling Excess Masochism Exploit Abuse Incorrect Use Abus Negative Some are related, but don’t match precisely

15. 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

16. 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

17. equanimity balance constant authentic resolute well-founded stable substantial brave certain honest sturdy complete stalwart clear firm strong true coherent compact real Solid definite exact dense tough three-dimensional tangible integrity robust deep healthy convincing character profound quality persuasive effective obstinate

18. Need to look at negatives too unhealthy poor superficial puny unsatisfactory spineless thin makeshift breakable temporary frail flimsy false delicate substitute weak fine fragile ineffectual unsubstantial feeble wobbly tender impotent insecure faltering

19. KLM’s long-standing strapline in Dutch lasting reliable loyal familiar promise personal faith well-known safety trust affection Betrouwbaar dedicated assurance confidence mission credentials active aplomb The English version ‘the reliable airline’ is not wrong,but it’s missing quite a lot!

20. 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

21. GRAVITY Making the most of the whole project team Proposal Field Interpret Stimulus Analyse Set-up Our idea driven, ‘dynamic synthesis’ approach makes the most of GRAVITYinsight andteam expertise.

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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