At the beginning of this course I was a bit suspect about having two of our four books written by Frenchmen. Not that I have anything against French people as a whole (I do enjoy their wines and cheese), I was just curious to see how 50% of the readings coming from the French perspective would help shape the course. Don't get me wrong, I was very excited by at least one of the books being non-American, but two made me curious. Turns out, I've enjoyed reading both books very much! Though there are areas of both books that I could dispute, I felt like Rapaille's The Culture Code resonated with me more than Gobe's Brand Jam.
The way Rapaille organized the book was a huge plus for me. I personally really enjoy hearing people's stories, so having the book include snippets of the research he did with consumers was absolutely fascinating to me. Also, it made me realize why I enjoyed working on a psychology minor in undergraduate- the inner workings of the human mind, why people think and feel the way they do, these are some of the great things of life! And then for Rapaille to essentially take large ideas in the American culture- love, sex, beauty, youth, food, alcohol, etc. and tie them up with a pretty bow by giving them one umbrella code was an interesting concept. Sometimes, though, I felt as if it was a bit too convenient...
For instance, I'm still not 100% sold on the idea that the code for sex in the American culture is "violence." He states that because we are an adolescent country and "are uncomfortable with sex, we equate it with the extreme opposite of pleasure, something that causes pain and death." Well then. Way to take an idea and pull it to the extreme. Having worked in the UK for a time, I fully understand how Americans tend to be a bit prudish when it comes to sex. Being able to compare these two cultures specifically makes me realize how much further Americans have to become comfortable with the topic. However, I do not believe for most people the idea of sex has some deep, dark, underlying meaning of violence. If I could recommend another possible code I would suggest "awkwardness." I think that truly sums up our opinions and behaviors towards sex.
Also, his code for love being "false expectation" struck me as sad and almost undermining, as if he doesn't have enough faith in the American culture to think positively about the topic of love. He lets the French have "pleasure" associated with love, Italians get "pleasure, beauty, and above all, fun." Fine. We didn't want to have some fun and exciting phrase attached to love anyway. Actually, we do. So I would again argue that Rapaille has missed the boat slightly on this one as well. I refuse to belive that my entire culture associates loss, bitterness, and sadness with love. I'm not saying we have a perfect view of love (who truly does?), but I think it's a more hopeful one. If I were to recommend a new code for love it would be "fairytale." One c
ould argue that is sometimes still in line with false expectation, but I think it gives a much better image of how most Americans view love. Growing up, little girls dream about Prince Charming coming on a white horse to carry them off into the sunset (cue dramatic sighs from the crowd). Even as we grow older I feel men and women have a desire for this level of romance that we learned about initially from fairytales. We want our first dates to be extra special- flowers, candles, etc. etc. etc. And we have visions of growing old together with our one true soul mate. If that isn't a fairytale....
ould argue that is sometimes still in line with false expectation, but I think it gives a much better image of how most Americans view love. Growing up, little girls dream about Prince Charming coming on a white horse to carry them off into the sunset (cue dramatic sighs from the crowd). Even as we grow older I feel men and women have a desire for this level of romance that we learned about initially from fairytales. We want our first dates to be extra special- flowers, candles, etc. etc. etc. And we have visions of growing old together with our one true soul mate. If that isn't a fairytale.... I do feel that he was on point with many of the codes described in his book. For example, his code for hospital in America is "processing plant." I spent a few years working in marketing for a group of hospitals in the Midwest and one of our main concerns was how to get patients to feel more at ease during their stay. This stemmed from hearing feedback that many patients don't like going to the doctor, feel anxious about spending the night, etc. As Rapaille suggests, if a company can understand the underlying code tied to an issue, they can create a more effective plan to deal with that issue, i.e. if a hospital truly understands people associate hospitals with processing plants, they can begin to take measure to counteract those thoughts and feelings.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book because it made me think. That may sound strange, but I appreciate books that force me to look at topics, especially ones that I think I have knowledge in, with a fresh set of eyes. Even though I may not agree with all of the codes he outlines, the concept is truly fascinating and something to keep in mind when dealing with marketing in the future.
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