Oh Rapaille!

Dr. Clotaire Rapaille methods seem to start from the idea that consumers cannot voice their desires accurately so, you have to delve into their subconscious thought to discover what they really want.

His 3-stage technique starts with 1) asking people what they think of immediately after showing them a certain product. He described this in the video as letting the person voice their own subconscious thoughts in relation to the product without his involvement so much.

Then in stage 2, Dr. Rapaille uncovers the consumer’s emotions by asking them to describe the product to him as if he were a 5 year old from another planet that had never experienced Earth before. The participants seemed a little confused at this point, which was entertaining.

Finally, in stage 3, Dr. Rapaille then puts the participant in a room with pens and paper on the floor and then turns off the light (creepy). This is suppose to make them feel like they are in a dreamlike state and very relaxed and open. The participant is then suppose to go back to their first experience with the product and write or draw their associated feelings.

This exercise is suppose to expose the “secret” that marketers can use to sell their products more effectively. Dr. Rapaille refers to the reptilian hot button as the source of the unspoken needs of consumers. Dr. Rapaille then goes through and analyzes his findings to report back to marketers for product design, advertising, and overall brand image.

For example, Dr. Rapaille’s finding for SUV’s was the word “domination” which evoked images of strength and power. He then told the SUV makers to make the car appear stronger looking and more powerful, with tinted windows and a more masculine feel.

Seeing the Song Airlines experience strategy was disappointing and at least from my female point-of-view, a really bad idea. When they were initially segmenting and targeting their market, it still had the potential of being a good idea. Creating a fictional woman that gave their target female market was good, but I don’t know why you would ever want to target one gender group for an airlines. That is just not how people fly. I think they were basing their target market on too narrow and demographic based variables instead of focusing on who that woman was and if any men are similar to her in attitudes and beliefs.

Also, the “We’re So Song” catchphrase was extremely annoying and related a very bad connotation to their brand, at least in my mind. There also seemed to be some confusion about what their purpose was in the market and what exactly was their point of difference. For example, with the mall Song store, a male customer seemed very confused on whether they were a travel agency or an airlines and frankly, I would be too. Overall, the brand purpose needed to be more cohesive and the target not so gender specific.

The Persuaders was a very interesting little film and definitely presenting some challenges and tidbits of knowledge for the marketing and advertising world. I admit, I’m a little ashamed that I could potentially be adding to the clutter I loathe so much; however, I guess I should look at it as a personal challenge to find interesting ways to move beyond the clutter and offer something with actual substance.