Intellectual Imprints #001 And just like that...he exposed the alibi...
So here is my first post in this section. Let me start by saying this is not a book review or critique. [Click on the book link in the menu on the top left to read my rating and review].
My attempt here is to bring out elements of the book that have had an impact on me. I believe these thoughts will help understand the curious consumer mind in a tad more orderly manner.
The book I have selected is The Culture Code: An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around the World Buy and Live as They Do by Clotaire Rapaille. The author attempts to answer why people around the world are so very different. He uses culture codes to tell us what makes us live, buy and even love as we do.
Not Just Jargon
The first segment I am going to write about is key terms and definitions outlined in this book. I will try and bring alive the meaning of these words by using an example from the book and one instance that is closer home.
Cuture Code
My attempt here is to bring out elements of the book that have had an impact on me. I believe these thoughts will help understand the curious consumer mind in a tad more orderly manner.
The book I have selected is The Culture Code: An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around the World Buy and Live as They Do by Clotaire Rapaille. The author attempts to answer why people around the world are so very different. He uses culture codes to tell us what makes us live, buy and even love as we do.
Not Just Jargon
The first segment I am going to write about is key terms and definitions outlined in this book. I will try and bring alive the meaning of these words by using an example from the book and one instance that is closer home.
Cuture Code
Influenced by the culture we are raised in, we apply a certain meaning to any given thing - it could be a product, a relationship a country, anything. This meaning is usually unconscious, which means we may not even realise that our actions and reactions are governed by it. This meaning is a code.
Let us understand this with the example in the book... This was work that the author had done for Jeep. Now when he spoke to consumers about their earliest memories of Jeep a clear theme emerged. One of open land, going where no ordinary car could go and of riding free of the restraints of the road. Based on this the author derived the American code for Jeep as Horse.. This code was then applied to the vehicle and the square headlamps were changed to round eye-like headlamps... This was an instant hit.
Now the same brand in the European market had a fairly different code. Respondents in both France and Germany saw the Jeep as reminiscent of American troops driving in during World War II. For the French this was freedon from Germany, for Germany it was freedom from their darker selves. The code for Jeep in both countries was Liberator. The communication that followed catered to this code as against what was created in America.
Let us understand this with an Indian case...
When Kellogg's came to India they positioned themselves as a healthy alternative to heavy Indian breakfasts. However this was agaisnt the code for breakfast in India [or rather food in India] which was Mother's Love. Kellogg's ofcoarse got it right when they repositioned the brand and built it on the code rather than going against it...
Imprint
This simple yet insightful concept is about every experience we go through and the accompanying emotion that we feel. This creates what is referred to as an imprint in our minds. Once an imprint occurs, our thought processes and future actions are influenced by it. Each imprint helps make us more of who we are. And all the imprints we have define who we are.
A rather unfortunate and unpleasant example brings out the power of an imprint in the book. In Normandy, when the first son in a peasant family reaches his seventh birthday, his father takes him out to the land the father owns and walks him to each corner of the property. At each corner, the father beats the child. While the practice is repellent and probably doesn’t do much for the father-son bond, it does create a very strong emotional connection for the child to the boundaries of the property. The father knows that having this experience and the imprint of it will cause the child to remember forever the bounds of the land he will someday inherit.
Let us consider this in the Indian ecosystem. The entire idea of nostalgia marketing or specifically the work done by Paper Boat is centered on the concept of an imprint. Whether it is having aamras straight from the mango or enjoying the taste of kairi just before panaa was prepared... these experiences have left an imprint in our minds.
Alibi
An alibi is the reason we give ourselves for any action we take. Now this may not be the real motivator for that action... but we believe to a fair extent that it is... Our unconscious mind does not reveal to us the true trigger for our behavior.
The author explains this through the example of allowing oneself to get fat. Our alibi for getting fat is that we love food or that our schedules don’t allow us to eat healthy. But our unconscious knows that it is actually the code for fat that is truely responsible for this. In America the code for fat is Checking Out or in a sense letting go of our responsibilities... This then is the true catalyst for getting fat.
Let us look at this through an Indian example. We have recently seen the shows Mahabharat and Ramayan garnering unheard of eyeballs through the lockdown. While our alibis have been everything from nostalgia to lack of good content... here too the unconscious is at play. The Indian code for troubled time is Turning to Prayer...These shows subconsciously make us connect with a higher power... one that we are seeking during these difficult times.
With that I complete this segment. Moving on I am going to look at some interesting codes identified in the book and look at how they would manifest themselves in the Indian context. I am using my interactions and understanding of consumers across cateogries over the last 20 years as an input to my inferences.
Incredible India
The author has shared the American code for a number of things from food to doctors... I have shortlisted those items where I have had some past consumer experience and those where I felt a clear Indian code exists. I have however not tried to explain any of the American codes and those who want to understand those better do read the book which details it out rather lucidly.
The Indian Code for Fat
As we saw in the section for alibis - the American code for fat is Checking Out. Now let us look at this in the Indian context. The Hindi proverb 'Khaate Peete Ghar Ka' pretty much summarises the code for Fat in India. The Indian code for fat is Prosperity. This has been a key barrier in India's war against obesity. While the trend may be shifting, the code still remains. Like the book brings out, culture codes change at a glacial pace and generations to come will still have to fight this code to win the battle of the bulge.
The Indian Code for Doctors
The American code for doctors is Hero. While we may not be very far from it, I feel the Indian code for doctors is God. It is not unsual then to see patients often bringing food items made at home for their doctor. Much like the concept of placing prasaad before a diety.
The Indian Code for Work
The American code for work is Who You Are. The Indian culture code comes from the ancient concept of Karma. This essential makes our code for work Our Duty. This explains the willingness of Indians to put work before all else. To readily work through weekends and late hours of the night. It is after all our duty.
The Indian Code for India
The American code for America is Dreams. The Brithish code for Britain is Class. The German code for Germany is Order. I would like to end this post with my interpretation of how we see ourselves.
Thus, to me THE INDIAN CULTURE CODE FOR INDIA IS CULTURE.
Let us understand this with the example in the book... This was work that the author had done for Jeep. Now when he spoke to consumers about their earliest memories of Jeep a clear theme emerged. One of open land, going where no ordinary car could go and of riding free of the restraints of the road. Based on this the author derived the American code for Jeep as Horse.. This code was then applied to the vehicle and the square headlamps were changed to round eye-like headlamps... This was an instant hit.
Now the same brand in the European market had a fairly different code. Respondents in both France and Germany saw the Jeep as reminiscent of American troops driving in during World War II. For the French this was freedon from Germany, for Germany it was freedom from their darker selves. The code for Jeep in both countries was Liberator. The communication that followed catered to this code as against what was created in America.
Let us understand this with an Indian case...
When Kellogg's came to India they positioned themselves as a healthy alternative to heavy Indian breakfasts. However this was agaisnt the code for breakfast in India [or rather food in India] which was Mother's Love. Kellogg's ofcoarse got it right when they repositioned the brand and built it on the code rather than going against it...
Imprint
This simple yet insightful concept is about every experience we go through and the accompanying emotion that we feel. This creates what is referred to as an imprint in our minds. Once an imprint occurs, our thought processes and future actions are influenced by it. Each imprint helps make us more of who we are. And all the imprints we have define who we are.
A rather unfortunate and unpleasant example brings out the power of an imprint in the book. In Normandy, when the first son in a peasant family reaches his seventh birthday, his father takes him out to the land the father owns and walks him to each corner of the property. At each corner, the father beats the child. While the practice is repellent and probably doesn’t do much for the father-son bond, it does create a very strong emotional connection for the child to the boundaries of the property. The father knows that having this experience and the imprint of it will cause the child to remember forever the bounds of the land he will someday inherit.
Let us consider this in the Indian ecosystem. The entire idea of nostalgia marketing or specifically the work done by Paper Boat is centered on the concept of an imprint. Whether it is having aamras straight from the mango or enjoying the taste of kairi just before panaa was prepared... these experiences have left an imprint in our minds.
Alibi
An alibi is the reason we give ourselves for any action we take. Now this may not be the real motivator for that action... but we believe to a fair extent that it is... Our unconscious mind does not reveal to us the true trigger for our behavior.
The author explains this through the example of allowing oneself to get fat. Our alibi for getting fat is that we love food or that our schedules don’t allow us to eat healthy. But our unconscious knows that it is actually the code for fat that is truely responsible for this. In America the code for fat is Checking Out or in a sense letting go of our responsibilities... This then is the true catalyst for getting fat.
Let us look at this through an Indian example. We have recently seen the shows Mahabharat and Ramayan garnering unheard of eyeballs through the lockdown. While our alibis have been everything from nostalgia to lack of good content... here too the unconscious is at play. The Indian code for troubled time is Turning to Prayer...These shows subconsciously make us connect with a higher power... one that we are seeking during these difficult times.
With that I complete this segment. Moving on I am going to look at some interesting codes identified in the book and look at how they would manifest themselves in the Indian context. I am using my interactions and understanding of consumers across cateogries over the last 20 years as an input to my inferences.
Incredible India
The author has shared the American code for a number of things from food to doctors... I have shortlisted those items where I have had some past consumer experience and those where I felt a clear Indian code exists. I have however not tried to explain any of the American codes and those who want to understand those better do read the book which details it out rather lucidly.
The Indian Code for Fat
As we saw in the section for alibis - the American code for fat is Checking Out. Now let us look at this in the Indian context. The Hindi proverb 'Khaate Peete Ghar Ka' pretty much summarises the code for Fat in India. The Indian code for fat is Prosperity. This has been a key barrier in India's war against obesity. While the trend may be shifting, the code still remains. Like the book brings out, culture codes change at a glacial pace and generations to come will still have to fight this code to win the battle of the bulge.
The Indian Code for Doctors
The American code for doctors is Hero. While we may not be very far from it, I feel the Indian code for doctors is God. It is not unsual then to see patients often bringing food items made at home for their doctor. Much like the concept of placing prasaad before a diety.
The Indian Code for Work
The American code for work is Who You Are. The Indian culture code comes from the ancient concept of Karma. This essential makes our code for work Our Duty. This explains the willingness of Indians to put work before all else. To readily work through weekends and late hours of the night. It is after all our duty.
The Indian Code for India
The American code for America is Dreams. The Brithish code for Britain is Class. The German code for Germany is Order. I would like to end this post with my interpretation of how we see ourselves.
Thus, to me THE INDIAN CULTURE CODE FOR INDIA IS CULTURE.
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