A brief overview on how to influence consumer behaviour with culture.

1. WH C L U EI KN
Y U T R S IG
I B A DN :
N R N IG
AS O A EO P R E TO S
H WC S F E C P IN
S A IG B H VO R
H PN E A IU
MI H E A H
C AL S 21
03

2. Culture
is like candy–
it’s colourful, sweet and
seperates us from the rest.

3. Culture Wins Friends
When Apple opened up its doors in Shanghai it was
not quite sure how the public would react. After all,
every Apple product discretely states, “Designed in
California, Made in China.” In order to alleviate any
potential animosity, the company had free T-shirts
produced with the slogan, “Designed in California,
Made for China” The result? Apple’s continous
gestures of respect in China have helped create a
ge
loyal brand following and some of the highest retail
attendance rates in the world.

4. Culture trump Lo
s gic
In the 197 s many Canadian fire halls started to
0
brand their emergency trucks with lime-green
colours, because research suggested the
trucks would be more visible at night.
The result? Less cars stopped for the trucks.
Why? B ecause to many Canadian drivers, red
equaled emergency on a subconsious level,
while green meant “go.” Always consider this
story if you’re looking to have your product
stand out in a crowded shelf. Sometimes
culture contradicts logic.

5. Culture is the Real Thing.
Considered to be the biggest error in Coke-Cola’s history, the
birth of “New Coke” in 1985 created unprecedented outrage
from the public. Not necessarily because of the new taste, but
because of the change in brand perception. More than a
century of advertising had positioned Coke as a way of life in
North America and someone just replaced it with a “New” one,
overnight. Needless to say the company realised the original
Coke
Co was “the real thing” and never needed to be tampered
with. Well not exactly, as you’ll see in the next slide.

6. Culture Repeats I .
tself
O December 1, 2 11 Coca-Cola announced it
n 0
would decrease its production of a new holiday
can with regular Coke, after a legion of loyal
customers flooded the web with complaints. In
the end, Coke had no choice but to promise more
signature red cans in time for the holidays.
Amongst the numerous complaints, many patrons
thought they had purchased the wrong Coke. As
th
in Diet Coke. Can you say “dé vu?”
jà

7. Culture is BRAN IG
DN .
Whether you like it or not, our artistic preferences
provide insight into some of our deepest cultural
attitudes. Leveraging this knowledge can help your
company develop strategic visuals, which form
stronger emotional bonds with your customers.
Tim H ortons for example, positions itself as
“unpretentious,” and around Christmas time its
coffee cups are adorned with Norman R ockwell
style graphics. These visuals suggest the company
believes in wholesome gatherings. F urthermore, it
would suggest Tims customers enjoy what P ierre
B ourdieu called the “popular aesthetic.”
Starbucks on the other hand celebrates the season In an age of segmentation and digital saturation, it’s
with dynamic/abstract illustrations, which align the more important than ever to provide your customers
company with cosmopolitan values –appreciation with something that’s “familiar.”
for Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker suite to name one.
B ourdieu would have classified this preference
under the “aesthetic disposition.”

8. TALL RECAP
Let’s face it, ignoring culture is like loving an empty canvas. When
your customers take a sip of your coffee or watch a green fire truck
pass by, they shouldn’t spend too much time decoding your
message. We know from countless studies that branding is a deal
breaker when it comes to snap judgements. “Culture” can be useful
in shaving nanoseconds from anyone’s psyche and that’s why
culture is king in branding!

9. T A K FR E DN A DPE S S A E H S ET!
H N S O R A IG N LA E H R TE W ES
Disclaimer: Candy picture by Alexandre Dulaunoy. All other multimedia content in this document were used in conjunction with fair use, in order to illustrate a journalistic point of view. I do not take credit
for all of the images in this document as they belong to their respective creators. This document is being shared among Creative Commons for knowledge and not for monetary compensation. CC 13