Forget the da Vinci Code, Learn About Culture Codes

Culture Codes. This is the kind of stuff about advertising and marketing that fascinates me and scares the hell out of me at the same time. The way they study us deep down, past all the purchasing data and survey responses and focus groups. Figuring out how we feel, why we do things, how our beliefs are formed and how they change...and then they use it to sell us stuff.

To sell more Jeeps in America, where the Code for Jeep is "horse", they create ads that reinforce this unconscious connection. But in Europe where there's no Wild West to explore and conquer, the Code for Jeep isn't "horse", it's "liberation", because Europeans associate Jeeps with World War II. So in Europe, Jeep ads are all about freedom.

This is why companies spend millions upon millions building a brand. Because if they can build it well enough and strong enough, they can get their brand so intertwined with our experiences and memories, both at a cultural and individual level, that we create connections without realising it. That doesn't mean we'll be totally loyal to that particular brand for our entire life, but it might mean that if there's ever something inside us telling us that life would be better if we just had a "horse", we'll head down to the Chrysler-Jeep dealership to get one.

You can read more about Culture Codes in Clotaire Rapaille's ChangeThis manifesto, Know the Codes: Why We Act, Buy and Love As We Do.