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Pebble Presents
Welcome to Pebble Presents, where we explore the latest trends in marketing, research, and brand strategy. Join Emelia Rallapalli, Founder of Pebble Strategy, as she uncovers inspiring and interesting stories from leaders in business, marketing, insights, and design.
Whether you’re new to the world of business and insights, or a seasoned practitioner of the dark art of marketing, Pebble Presents is a place to hear Emelia and her guests dig into the inner workings – and potential futures – of the world of innovation, creativity, and marketing.
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Pebble Presents
Episode 16: Semiotics and the hidden language of culture with Nick Gadsby
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In this episode of Pebble Presents, I chat with Nick Gadsby, Commercial Semiotician, Anthropologist, and Founder, about semiotics: a research methodology that most American marketers don’t understand, and might be missing out on. Unlike traditional research methods that focus on what people say, think or do, semiotics examines the signs, symbols, and cultural codes that influence how people make sense of the world around them. We'll talk about what semiotics is, why it matters for business strategy, and Nick will share practical, real-world examples of semiotics in action, talking about how the post-binary cultural shift connects to today’s fragmented media landscape.
NOTICE: There are visual slides shared in this episode - please visit Pebble Presents on YouTube to view
Emelia Rallapalli is the founder of Pebble – a brand strategy and marketing research consultancy. With decades of experience in global brand planning, strategy, and research, Pebble has helped shape businesses of all kinds, from ambitious start-ups to global Fortune 100 companies.
With an academic background in Anthropology (for which he has a PhD from UCL), Nick Gadsby is a Commercial Semiotician and Anthropologist, founder of The Answer - his cultural insight company, which provides cultural analysis for clients across numerous categories from finance to fmcg.
Welcome to Pebble Presents.
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References
- Nick Gadsby on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickgadsbytheanswer/
- Website: https://www.theanswerinsight.com/
- Find Pebble Presents on YouTube
- Wired For Culture - by Mark Pagel (referenced) - https://bookshop.org/a/124174/9780393344202
- The Blank Slate - by Steven Pinker (referenced) - https://bookshop.org/a/124174/9780142003343
- Thinking, Fast and Slow - by Daniel Kahneman - https://bookshop.org/a/124174/9780606275644
Show Notes
0:27 - Emelia introduces Nick and the episode's focus
2:27 - Nick explains how he ended up in the field of semiotics
6:29 - Nick defines and discusses semiotics and why business leaders should care about it
10:32 - Nick walks us through how semiotics works as it relates to culture
21:42 - Nick discusses what decisions semiotics helps clients make, sharing B2C and B2B examples
39:45 - Nick explains the shift from binary to post-binary thinking, and how that can help marketers
50:18 - Nick discusses the need for semiotic analysis to be specific to its regional cultures
53:46 - Nick describes the connection between semiotics and system 1 thinking
1:01:54 - Emelia wraps up the episode
Episode Credits
Executive Produced & Hosted by Emelia Rallapalli
Produced by Stephanie Watanabe
Edited and Post Produced by Erin Zimmerman
Artwork and design by Liisa Turan-Walters