Concept driftWhy ideas don’t always meet across markets

June 2004

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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?

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‘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:

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What does this mean?

• Speech communities experience the world differently from each other

• They conceptualise/segment experiences and ideas differently

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An example concept

MasochismExcess

Unnecessary

Spoiling

Treat

Guilt

Sophisticated

Savour

Sensual

Reward

INDULGENCE (English)

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English Indulgence

• The word exists in French, Italian and Spanishbut it means religious forgiveness (Catholic)or lenience

• The concept doesn’t exist in the same formThe Spanish certainly have ‘treats’But do they feel guilty about them? No!

MasochismExcess

Unnecessary

Spoiling

Treat

Guilt

Sophisticated

Savour

Sensual

Reward

INDULGENCE (English)

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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 associationsTo help us communicate ideas to othersTo enable us to assess experiences and ideas in terms of itTo help us think and understand our world

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Thought and language develop in tandem

Recognisable, identifiable thought

Word

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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?

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Universal concepts have direct translations

Neko = Gat = Cat = Chat = Katze = Catt = Koc˘ka

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But some concepts are less universal

Piropos

Tertulia

Logam

Sarariman

?

Schadenfreude

Zabíjacka

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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

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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

GRAVITYSome are related, but don’t match precisely

Incorrect UseExploit

Abuse

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

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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

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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

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Solid

stalwartstrong

compact

brave

resolutestable

equanimitybalance

tough

healthy

robust

convincing

persuasive

effective

integrity

qualitycharacter

complete

constant

well-founded

three-dimensional

obstinate

coherent

dense

sturdyclear

deep

profound

substantial

tangible

authentic

real

true

honest

definiteexact

firm

certain

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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

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KLM’s long-standing strapline in Dutch

Betrouwbaartrust

faith

loyalreliablepromise

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!

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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

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Our idea driven, ‘dynamic synthesis’ approach makes the most of GRAVITY insight and team expertise.

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Outcome Will Depend on Marketing Needs

• Creating new brands and re-launching dormant onesmore freedom to search for ‘one’ solutionaiming for a concept which is consciously recognised in all markets

• Launching an established brand in new marketsalready have an anchor-point, find concepts/identities which are closest to the fixed point

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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 commonwe’ll know exactly what cues are needed

• Separate but related conceptsWe’ll know how they are separate and how they are relatedWe’ll know what this means for the brand in all the marketsWe’ll know the implications for the advertising

• Separate conceptsWe’ll know whyWe’ll know the manifestations of theseWe’ll know the implications for the brand and the advertising

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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