Worldview & Frames: The Case For Symbographics

"Their worldviews and frames were there before you were," says Seth Godin in All Marketers Are Liars. That's great insight for marketers. At Sanctioning Agent, I've been saying this for quite some time. That's why Symbographic research is so important. The symbolic identity and symbolic vantage point among communities is the moving target for a segment or constituency group. Demographics, psychographics and sociographics, while valuable, are more static. Symbographics are the moving targets. Take demographics, it's really, really hard to change race, ethnicity, gender or age.

Godin talks about worldviews and frames. Worldviews, according to Godin are the values, beliefs and biases one has - the lens through which they see the world. Regarding frames, Godin is referring to George Lakoff's definition of frames (which comes out of Lakoff's work on cognitive metaphors). Godin takes the "hot donuts" example of Krispy Kreme, which until the Atkins revolution meant decadence and love, but now in a low-carb world, means fat. Krispy Kreme's stock is crashing. Only a few years ago they were darlings from a brand and stock perspective. What changed? The worldview through reframing. A side note on worldviews and symbolic realities - the seeds for a vision's destruction are sewn at the time of it's creation. The Marlboro man was rough and tumble (after it was targeted at men, trying to get away from the notion it was a feminine cigarette). When the real Marlboro man dies of lung cancer, the immortal/tough nature of the brand takes a hit. What happens in Salem when folks realized people weren't witches? What about the potential of Kobe Bryant as a spokes person for McDonald's, Sprite and Nutella after his Colorado court case?

Godin, also argues that marketers need to share stories that people can believe in and that the stories need to be authentic. This aligns with what Walt Fisher has been saying for years with his Narrative Paradigm theory. Essentially, humans are storytelling animals. We construct our symbolic realities through stories and sets of stories. Humans judge a story on two factors: (1) narrative probability (could it happen?); and (2) narrative fidelity (does it ring true to one's own experience?). The case for authenticity, in a symbolically created world, is reinforced by the Symbolic Convergence Theory's principle of "reality links." We need to continually ground symbolic visions in terms of reality links. Your State Farm agent needs to be neighborly; your Avis customer service rep needs to try harder.

Symbographic analysis is the key to understanding your targeted constituencies, helping construct an authentic story that is grounded in their reality, and telling (framing) an authentic story. These stories, dramas, sagas, etc. all have a shelf life - they're organic. Some stories burn out quickly and others have more sustainability. How are you tracking the Symbographic characteristics of your targeted communities?

In short:

• The worldview was there before you.
• Be authentic, you can't be all things to all people.
• Ground your stories and make them believable.
• Symbographic analysis helps you understand your audience, their world view and helps you shape the stories you need to tell.
• If in doubt, contact a professional.