The Culture Code Description The Culture Code is a method developed by Clotaire Rapaille in an effort to bypass consumers’ emotional and logical levels of thinking to gain access to the reptilian level of our minds, which consists of our base desires. Rapaille insists that this is a more effective marketing technique because products that are marketed with the right culture code will appeal to us from an unknown and inner familiarity. Difficulty: Very Hard Ingredients Room People (focus group); about 20 members required Chairs Pillows Pen and notepad Scissors Magazines Procedure Step 1: Logical Information Gathering Data Collection: The first step is to gather all the members of your focus group into a room and have them sit on chairs. The questioner asks each participant to explain what comes to mind when a certain word is said. Data Analysis: The answers gathered are logical answers, which means they are not very relevant to the outcome. However, this collection technique conditions the participants for future exercises where the targeted responses are taken from. Time Length: about 1 hour

Description

The Culture Code is a method developed by Clotaire Rapaille in an effort to bypass consumers’ emotional and logical levels of thinking to gain access to the reptilian level of our minds, which consists of our base desires. Rapaille insists that this is a more effective marketing technique because products that are marketed with the right culture code will appeal to us from an unknown and inner familiarity.

Difficulty: Very Hard

Ingredients

Room

People (focus group); about 20 members required

Chairs

Pillows

Pen and notepad

Scissors

Magazines

Procedure

Step 1: Logical Information Gathering

Data Collection:

The first step is to gather all the members of your focus group into a room and have them sit on chairs. The questioner asks each participant to explain what comes to mind when a certain word is said.

Data Analysis:

The answers gathered are logical answers, which means they are not very relevant to the outcome. However, this collection technique conditions the participants for future exercises where the targeted responses are taken from.

Time Length: about 1 hour

Step 2: Logical Information Gathering Data Collection: After a short break, the focus group returns to another line of questioning. The questioner asks the group to explain what a word means as if they were a visitor from another planet. Data Analysis: These questions force the participants to think in a very filtered and logical way in order to get their point across. Again, answers are logical, so we do not need the answers. We need the exercise to condition the focus group. Time Length: about 1 hour Step 3: Emotional Information Gathering Data Collection: The next activity after another short break, involves participants to create a collage out of magazines representing their feelings about a word. Data Analysis: The focus group is faced with the task of expressing themselves more emotionally with the help of a collage. The emotional responses are not important for the exercise that lies ahead. This another conditioning activity. Time Length: about 1 hour Step 4: Reptilian Brain Information Gathering Data Collection: The final step of Rapaille’s method gets at the participants’ reptilian mind. When the focus group returns after another break, the room lights have been turned down, pillows lie in place of the chairs, and soothing music is being played in the room. The participants are asked to lie down and unwind until everyone reaches a deep state of relaxation. This is when questioning begins. The participants are asked to think back to their earliest childhood memory of a certain word. Data Analysis: The responses from this section is what Rapaille is really looking for. By figuring out what a consumer’s earliest or most powerful memories are, the researcher can potentially figure out what their audiences true feelings are of a word or idea and their desires. Time Length: about 1 hour Analysis: Rapaille’s testing all leads up to the answer from the reptilian mind. The first three steps are preliminary ways in which Rapaille prepares his focus group volunteers to give true, insightful answers from their reptilian brain. Analyzing and separating the content from the more important structure, Rapaille can decrypt the code a particular culture has toward a word. Rapaille then makes these findings into an archetype that people of the same culture might be expected to follow. Emotional Reptilian Logical

Step 2: Logical Information Gathering

Data Collection:

After a short break, the focus group returns to another line of questioning. The questioner asks the group to explain what a word means as if they were a visitor from another planet.

Data Analysis:

These questions force the participants to think in a very filtered and logical way in order to get their point across. Again, answers are logical, so we do not need the answers. We need the exercise to condition the focus group.

Time Length: about 1 hour

Step 3: Emotional Information Gathering

Data Collection:

The next activity after another short break, involves participants to create a collage out of magazines representing their feelings about a word.

Data Analysis:

The focus group is faced with the task of expressing themselves more emotionally with the help of a collage. The emotional responses are not important for the exercise that lies ahead. This another conditioning activity.

Time Length: about 1 hour

Step 4: Reptilian Brain Information Gathering

Data Collection:

The final step of Rapaille’s method gets at the participants’ reptilian mind. When the focus group returns after another break, the room lights have been turned down, pillows lie in place of the chairs, and soothing music is being played in the room. The participants are asked to lie down and unwind until everyone reaches a deep state of relaxation. This is when questioning begins. The participants are asked to think back to their earliest childhood memory of a certain word.

Data Analysis:

The responses from this section is what Rapaille is really looking for. By figuring out what a consumer’s earliest or most powerful memories are, the researcher can potentially figure out what their audiences true feelings are of a word or idea and their desires.

Time Length: about 1 hour

Analysis:

Rapaille’s testing all leads up to the answer from the reptilian mind. The first three steps are preliminary ways in which Rapaille prepares his focus group volunteers to give true, insightful answers from their reptilian brain. Analyzing and separating the content from the more important structure, Rapaille can decrypt the code a particular culture has toward a word.

Rapaille then makes these findings into an archetype that people of the same culture might be expected to follow.