Clotaire Rapaille
G. Clotaire Rapaille | |
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File:Dr Clotaire Rapaille.jpg | |
Born | Gilbert Rapaille August 5, 1941 |
Nationality | American |
Other names | G. Clotaire d'Arcy Rapaille[1] |
Occupation | Marketing |
Spouses |
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Gilbert Clotaire Rapaille, known as G Clotaire Rapaille, is an American marketing consultant and the CEO and Founder of Archetype Discoveries Worldwide [4] Rapaille is an accomplished author, having published 15 books with topics ranging from Psychology, Marketing, Sociology and Cultural Anthropology.
Early life and education
Rapaille was born in France and immigrated to the United States in the early 80s.
Rapaille attended The Paris Institute of Political Sciences for a degree in Political and Social Sciences and later went on to receive a PhD in Social Psychology from Paris-Sorbonne University.[5]
Career
In addition to his books, he is known for advising politicians and advertisers on how to influence people's unconscious decision making. Rapaille's work identifies the unstated needs and wants of people in a certain culture or country as cultural archetypes.[6]
Rapaille developed his theory on the brain after working as a psychologist for autistic children and studying Konrad Lorenz theory of Imprints and John Bowlby theory of attachment.[7][8] This work led him to believe that while children learn a given word and the idea connected with it, they associate it with certain emotions. He called that primal emotional association an imprint. This imprint determines our attitude towards a particular thing. These pooled individual imprints make up a collective cultural unconscious, which unconsciously pre-organize and influence the behavior of a culture.[9][10]
Rapaille subscribes to the triune brain theory of Paul D. MacLean, which describes three distinct brains: the cortex, limbic, and reptilian. Beneath the cortex, the seat of logic and reason, is the limbic, which houses emotions. Camouflaged underneath those is Rapaille's theorized brain—the reptilian.[11]
Rapaille believes that buying decisions are strongly influenced by the reptilian brain, which is made up of the brain stem and the cerebellum. Only accessible via the subconscious, the reptilian brain is the home of our intrinsic instincts. It programs us for two major things: survival and reproduction. Rapaille proposes that in a three-way battle between the cortical, the limbic (home of emotion) and the reptilian areas, the reptilian always wins, because survival comes first. This theory has become the basis for his thoughts on what a product means to consumers on the most fundamental level.[12]
His theory that culture get imprinted into the "Reptilian Brain" during early childhood[13] has been heavily contradicted by scientific evidence.[14] His practice of leading managers into regression sessions to tap into their unconscious in an attempt to discover a "code" word, has also been cited as "primitive" and has been heavily contradicted by scientific evidence.[14]
In the opening of his book, 7 Secrets of Marketing, he says, "Cultures, like individuals, have an unconscious. This unconscious is active in each of us, making us do things we might not be aware of." [15] This collective cultural unconscious can be further defined as a pool of shared imprinting experiences that unconsciously pre-organize and influence the behavior of a culture.[16][16]
Rapaille's claim of technique of "archetype discovery" stems from the psychoanalytic methods pioneered by the Viennese psychologist Ernest Dichter. This technique doesn't ask what people want, but why they want it.[17] These research methods focus on finding what he calls the “code”, the unconscious meaning people give to a particular product, service or relationship.[18] Rapaille posits that sublimated emotional memories occupy a place between each individual's unconscious (Freud) and the collective unconscious of the entire human race (Jung).[17]
Rapaille Associates worked on Philip Morris's Archetype Project, an effort to study the emotional reasons why people smoke, presumably so the company could better leverage these emotions in advertising and promotions. Rapaille noted that typically peoples' first experience with smoking involved seeing an admired adult do it, and having feeling that that they were excluded from the activity and strongly wanting to be included. Rapaille ultimately linked smoking with adult initiation rituals, risk taking, bonding with peers and the need for kids to feel like they belong to a group and can partake in an "adult activity." Rapaille's recommendations explain why PM supports—and advertises widely that it supports—restricting sales cigarette sales to minors and moving cigarettes out of reach of kids.[19]
Rapaille appeared in a Frontline episode about marketing entitled "The Persuaders", which first aired on November 9, 2004 on PBS in the United States.[20]
Controversy
Rapaille was hired in February 2010, at the approximate cost of $300,000, by Quebec City's mayor Régis Labeaume to analyze the city's image on an international level. But an article published by Pierre-André Normandin in Le Soleil de Québec revealed that Rapaille's client list and CV contained several falsehoods and exaggerations.[21] Following those revelations his contract with Quebec City was terminated. The mayor terminated his contract early on March 29, 2010. Although he did not deliver, he negotiated with the city and got paid almost the entire sum.[Citation needed]
Rapaille said during his investigation that the city of Quebec has a masochistic side to it. He also claimed his mother listened to Félix Leclerc during WW2, before Felix Leclerc (a French-Canadian singer-songwriter and political activist) recorded his first album in 1951.[22]
Clients
Rapaille's extensive list of clients past and present include but are not limited to the following:
- P&G
- IBM
- Boeing
- Chrysler
- General Electric
- Ford
- Dupont
- GM
- American Express
- J.P. Morgan
- 3M
- Citibank
- Louis Vuitton
- Discover
- NASA
- Pfizer
- Petrobras
- L'Oréal
- AT&T
- Corning
- Johnson & Johnson
- Kellogs
- Kraft
- Samsonite
- Oral B
- Pepsi
- Minute Maid
- Seagram's
- Lego
- Gallo
- Unilever
- RBC Royal Bank
- Quaker
- Brown-Forman
- Trojan
- Shell
- Toronto-Dominion Bank
- Turkcell
- Seiko
- General Mills
- Renault
- Jack Daniel's
- Embelleze
- Exxon
- Evian
- Allianz
- Colgate
- Citroen
- Absolut Vodka
- Richemont
Speaking Engagements
2015
- January 20th - The World Affairs Council - The Third Unconscious and How It influences World Affairs. - Palm Beach, FL
2014
- September 25th - World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" - Rhodes, Greece
- July 15th - The Japanese Code: Effective cultural communication and business practices - New York, NY
- July 1st - The Power of Branding: You don't buy a brand, you join a brand - The Yale Club - New York, NY
- January 14th - The Global Tribe - Palm Beach Round Table Luncheon - Palm Beach, FL
2013
November 26th - China Code Speech - Creargie - Paris, France
November 20th - Global Code Speech - Singapore
November 8th - Dangerous Ideas - La Ciudad De Las Ideas - Puebla, Mexico
2012
December 12th - Volkswagen - Sao Carlos, Brazil
November 27th - Mediacat Forum - Istanbul, Turkey
Ausust 18th - Fenabrave XXII Congresso - Sao Paulo, Brazil
2011
October 12th - World Knowledge Forum - Seoul, Korea
September 23rd - Turkcell Academy Conference
March - Comex Seminar - Mexico, DF
2010
September 30 - CJ Advertising Conference - Nashville, TN
May 4 - 8th Annual Front End of Innovation - Boston World Trade Center - Boston, MA
2009
November - Arirang Symposium - IMD Center - Seoul, Korea
November - Ciudad de Las Ideas - Puebla, Mexico[23]
April 10th - Penny Stamps Distinguished Lecture Series - The University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, MI
March 12th - Shopower '09: Consumer Insights and Point of Sale Trends - Bogata, Columbia
January - World Economic Forum - Davos, Switzerland
2008
November 25th - Mega LifeSciences - Pattaya, Thailand
November 16th - Ciudad de Las Ideas - Puebla, Mexico[24]
June 25th - Breuninger Department Store - Stuttgart, Germany
June 18th - Cannes '08 Lions Festival (MediaVest) - Palais Stephanie by Sofitel
May 21st - Luxe Pack: The Luxury Market and the Reptillian - New York, NY
2007
September 15th - Rexam Packaging Conference - Villefrache, France
September 14th & 28th - International Retail Summit & European Food Services Service Summit - Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute - Zurich, Switzerland
July 31st - Saatchi & Saatchi - New York, NY
May 18th - O Globo - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
May 15th - APAS 2007 - International Congress & Fair - Sao Paulo, Brazil
February 14th - Colgate Commercial Marketing Meeting - Boca Raton, FL
2006
December 12th - NYU Marketing Alumni: Undergraduate Marketing Society & the Graduate Marketing Association - New York, NY
Published works
- "Move UP", English edition, Penguin UK, 2015 [25]
- "El Verbo De Las Culturas" Taurus, 2015 [26]
- The Culture Code, Crown Publishing, 2007[27]
- Seven Secrets of Marketing in a Multi*Cultural World First Edition. Executive Excellence, Utah 2001, in English; Second Edition. Tuxedo Productions, New York 2004 in English[28]
- Social Cancer (the code for Terrorism) Tuxedo Productions, New York 2003, in English[29]
- Versteh' Deine Eltern, Bucher, Munich 1984, in German
- Comprendre Ses Parents Et Ses Grands Parents Marabout, Paris 1982, in French
- Escuchelo: Es Su HijoPomaire, Colección Libre, Barcelona 1981, in Spanish
- Le Trouple Editions Menges, Paris 1980, in French
- Si Vous Ecoutiez Vos Enfants Editions Menges, Paris 1978, in French
- La Communication Créatrice Editions Dialogues, Paris 1976, in French
- Wisdom Of Madness Thomas Jefferson State College, Michigan State University, manuscript, 1975, in English
- La Relation Creatrice Editions Universitaires, Paris 1973, in French
- La Relazione Créatrice Cittadella Editrice, 1975, in Italian
- Laing Editions Universitaires, Paris 1972, in French
- Analyse des Pratiques Medicales et des Croyances Liées a la Maladie et aux Soins Dans Quinze Communautes Cicaraguayennes Thesis Paris, Sorbonne, 1969 (220 pages) in French[30]
References
- ^ http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/lifestyles/home/beyond-the-hedges-getting-to-the-root-of-a-palm-be/nP37Y/#__federated=1
- ^ http://issuu.com/palmbeachtodayinternational/docs/feb6__2013
- ^ http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/lifestyles/home/beyond-the-hedges-getting-to-the-root-of-a-palm-be/nP37Y/
- ^ http://www.archetypediscoveries.com/who-we-are/
- ^ http://www.archetypediscoveries.com/biography/
- ^ Hartley, Tom (2000-05-08). "Cruisin' for the right look".
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20060715203023/www.randomhouse.com/broadway/culturecode/influences.html
- ^ Patton, Phil (2002-03-18). "Car Shrinks Forget rear-seat legroom. Automakers have decided that the key to higher sales lies in meeting your deepest emotional needs. Here come the". CNN.
- ^ http://assets.browardpalmbeach.com/content/printVersion/131254
- ^ http://www.archetypediscoveriesworldwide.com/learn.html
- ^ http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/104/rapaille.html
- ^ Wells, Melanie (2003-01-09). "Mind Games". Forbes.
- ^ Rapaille, Clotaire (2007). Culture Code. Broadway. ISBN 978-0-76-792057-5.
- ^ a b Holt, Douglas; Cameron, Douglas (2010). Cultural Strategy. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-958740-7.
- ^ G. Clotaire Rapaille, 7 Secrets of Marketing, 9.
- ^ a b http://www.promenadespeakers.com/page8.html
- ^ a b http://www.creativityatwork.com/Newsletters/Aug00ReptilianBrain.html
- ^ Rapaille. "Marketing to the Reptilian Brain." Forbes 03 July 2006: 44. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 15 June 2010.
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/view/
- ^ Premier contrat dans le public pour Rapaille, Le Soleil, March 27, 2010. Quote: "At the beginning of February, the Frenchman and naturalized American went before the Quebec City press to try to quiet the controversy surrounding his $250,000 contract (plus $20,000 in expenses). In the meeting, he explained that he'd worked for several big cities, ranging from Singapore to Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Macao (China), not to mention Paris (France) and Venice (Italy). [...] Except that no cities appear in his client list, available on his website. An omission which is easy to explain: 'It wasn't for the mayor, it was for clients,' he admitted in an interview with Le Soleil while he was in Quebec City this week. 'Working directly for the mayor, yes, it's the first time.' In fact, his work for a group of companies was not so much to improve the cities' images as to break the 'codes' of the city-states of Hong Kong and Macao, in China, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore. Of all the clients named by Clotaire Rapaille on his website, there is only one government: that of French president Georges Pompidou. But how could his company, which was founded in 1976, have been hired by a statesman who died in 1974? Asked this, Clotaire Rapaille admitted that he did not work for the government, but instead for the foundation created in 1970 by the president's wife Claude Pompidou. [...] Clotaire Rapaille's client list contains more than 75 company names, including AT&T, Boeing, Pepsi, IBM, GM and Procter & Gamble, to name but a few. Though it was not possible to verify these companies individually, a former executive at Chrysler told Le Soleil how Rapaille had managed to put together an address book like that. [...] In fact, here is how the Frenchman by birth was able to obtain such an impressive list of clients. Rather than hiring him directly, 'non-competing' companies would come together to decipher some code."
- ^ Quebec's mayor sacks French marketing whiz for being 'a failure', The Montreal Gazette, March 30, 2010. [2] "It was claims about himself that proved to be problematic, including about his war record. The Quebec City daily Le Soleil checked his claims and found discrepancies. In his first meeting with Quebec City reporters in February, Rapaille said his attachment to the province dates back to his wartime years in France. His father and grandfather were taken away by the Nazis, he recalled, and he listened to the records of Quebec singer Felix Leclerc, who became his spiritual father. However, Rapaille was only four in 1945 when the war ended and Leclerc only became known in France after 1950. He has given varying accounts of the Liberation of France in 1944, when he was three, telling different interviewers that he rode an American tank in Normandy. In another version, he got his first taste of chocolate – which he still remembers – from a American G.I., as U.S. soldiers were known in the Second World War. In an alternate version, a G.I. gave him his first taste of chewing gum, and in a third version, Rapaille dedicated his 2006 book Culture Codes 'to that G.I., leaning from his tank, who gave me chocolate and chewing gum two weeks after the invasion.' Rapaille also admits that at the time he was living in Paris, which was liberated only two months later."
- ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CDI_speakers
- ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CDI_speakers
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Move-UP-Cultures-Advance-Others/dp/0241186994/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1432206563&sr=1-1&keywords=move+up
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/El-verbo-las-culturas-Descubre-ebook/dp/B00SZGBNL6
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/The-Culture-Code-Ingenious-Understand/dp/0767920570
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/7-Secrets-Marketing-Multi-Cultural-World/dp/1890009741/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338396339&sr=1-1
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Social-Cancer-Decoding-Archetype-Terrorism/dp/0974016829/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338487345&sr=1-2-fkmr0
- ^ http://www.archetypediscoveriesworldwide.com/en/books
External links
- Interview for "The Persuaders", PBS Frontline, November 9, 2004
- Rebecca Leung, Cracking Your Wallet: A Psychologist Demonstrates a Feel for the Market, July 5, 2005, cbsnews.com
- Official website ( Archetype Discoveries Worldwide )
- Clotaire Rapaille's channel on YouTube