Semiometrics is a method of analysis that measures the semantic associations and meanings attributed by people to certain concepts, words, or brands.
This approach is based on a quantitative analysis of semantic preferences, trying to understand how people perceive and interpret symbols and words within a cultural context.
On the other hand, demoscopicsample surveys are generally intended to determine the socio-demographic aspects of a population: sex, age, level of education, occupation, marital status, income.
These aspects, although relevant, exclude the individual, subjective and psychological component that relates more to the world of behavior and lifestyle and therefore cannot be interpreted in socio-demographic terms.
Semiometry intervenes in order to represent the world of motivations and aspirations that determine lifestyles and consumption, through the administration of a semiometric questionnaire to investigate how similar the interviewee feels, close to or represented by a set of words or phrases with the attribution of a score based on feeling positive or negative feelings at their evocation.
A rational judgment of agreement or disagreement is therefore not asked but the pleasant or unpleasant feeling that certain words evoke is evaluated, thus trying to bypass consciousness, its distortions and rational processing as much as possible to put the interviewee in a non-judgmental condition and leading him not to rationalize the answer.
This methodology was introduced in the late 1980s by J-F. Steiner with the intention of defining a new method capable of replacing the traditional questionnaires in opinion polls concerning “Values and lifestyles” with a list of 210 keywords representative of the main values of Western society and chosen on the basis of the criteria of: non-consensus, sematic univocality, semantic stability and evocative power.
To avoid any subjective and temporal characterization of the set of words intended as representative of society, 210 words were identified starting from a set of 306 selected from the first five books of the Bible in the Greek version known as the Bible of the LXX: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. The words chosen include adjectives, adverbs and nouns sometimes complete with articles to make them easier to understand and identify:
306 words were identified and then 210 were selected from the first five books of the Bible
The 210 words of the semiometric questionnaire are:
1. Persistence,
2. To buy,
3. To admire,
4. To love,
5. Ambition,
6. Soul,
7. Friendship,
8. Anguish,
9. An animal,
10. A tree,
11. Money,
12. An armor,
13. Art,
14. Smart,
15. Annex,
16. To attack,
17. Audacity,
18. An Adventurer,
19. An entrepreneur,
20. A jewel,
21. Blue,
22. Bohemian,
23. A present,
24. Campaign,
25. A caress,
26. A ceremony,
27. A certainty,
28. Change,
29. Charity,
30. Carnal,
31. Hunting,
32. A researcher,
33. To command,
34. Trade,
35. Solid,
36. Trust,
37. Comfort,
38. To conquer,
39. To console,
40. Per_costruire,
41. Courage,
42. A Creator,
43. A cry,
44. Criticize,
45. Danger,
46. A challenge,
47. The desert,
48. Desire,
49. Disorder,
50. Secondment,
51. God,
52. Different,
53. Discipline,
54. Softness,
55. Doubt,
56. Dynamic,
57. Water,
58. School,
59. Save,
60. Writing,
61. Effective,
62. An effort,
63. Elegance,
64. The elite,
65. An emotion,
66. Childhood,
67. Teaching,
68. Together,
69. To climb,
70. Eternal,
71. A foreigner,
72. An escape,
73. The family,
74. A defect,
75. To fertilize,
76. Feminine,
77. Firmness,
78. Fire,
79. Fidelity,
80. A flower,
81. A river,
82. Faith,
83. A border,
84. A rifle,
85. Liveliness,
86. Glory,
87. Free,
88. To recover,
89. War, 90. Inherit,
91. A Hero,
92. Honest,
93. Honor,
94. Humble,
95. Humor,
96. An island,
97. Huge,
98. Immovable,
99. Foreigner, 100.
Industry, 101.
Infinity, 102.
Prohibit, 103.
Interrogate, 104.
Underwear, 105.
An inventor, 106.
Irony, 107.
A game, 108.
Justice, 109.
A labyrinth, 110.
Lightness, 111.
A book, 112.
Logic, 113.
The Law, 114.
The Moon, 115.
Magic, 116.
A house, 117.
To master, 118.
Marriage, 119.
A mask, 120.
Material, 121.
Kindergarten, 122.
Distrust, 123.
Metallic, 124.
Slenderness, 125.
Fashion, 126.
Moderation, 127.
Modesty, 128.
Soft, 129.
A mountain, 130.
Moral, 131.
Death, 132.
A wall, 133.
Music, 134.
A Mystery, 135.
For swimming, 136.
One birth, 137.
A nest, 138.
Nobile, 139.
One knot, 140.
Black, 141.
Nudity, 142.
Obey, 143.
The Ocean, 144.
Gold, 145.
A storm, 146.
Original, 147.
Peace, 148.
Forgiveness, 149.
Perfume, 150.
Patience, 151.
The Fatherland, 152.
The skin, 153.
Perfection, 154.
Poetry, 155.
Education, 156.
Precious, 157.
Precision, 158.
A priest, 159.
Produce, 160.
Property, 161.
To protect, 162.
Prudence, 163.
Potenza, 164.
To punish, 165.
Purity, 166.
One question, 167.
Refined, 168.
Reason, 169.
One reward, 170.
Meditation, 171.
To reflect, 172.
A rule, 173.
Respect, 174.
Dreaming, 175.
The Rebellion, 176.
Wealth, 177.
Rigid, 178.
To laugh, 179.
Robust, 180.
To break, 181.
Red, 182. Craftsmanship, 183.
Sacred, 184.
A Sacrifice, 185.
Wild, 186.
Science, 187.
Secret, 188.
Seduce, 189.
Sensual, 190.
To cure, 191.
A soldier, 192.
A peak, 193.
Flexibility, 194.
Master’s degree, 195.
Sublime, 196.
Tenderness, 197.
Theatre, 198.
Tradition, 199.
Betrayal, 200.
Work, 201.
Practical, 202.
Green, 203.
The victory, 204.
The void, 205.
To age, 206.
Manly, 207.
Speed, 208.
Stubborn, 209.
Voluptuous
In the survey questions, people are asked to measure the feeling generated by the evocation of the word on a scale of -3 to +3 where – refers to feelings of frustration and + pleasant, 0 indicates a neutral feeling. Analyzing the responses to these questionnaires by principal component analysis yields several consistent axes in both time and space. These axes form a space called a “semiometric space“. Since these are lists of words, twenty versions of the questionnaire are used to neutralize any effect related to order, corresponding to as many random permutations of the words.
Here is the typical introductory script of a Semiometric Questionnaire: “This exercise consists of filling out a questionnaire about your reactions to daily life.
On the following pages you will find a list of words.
We would like you to score them on a scale of -3 to +3 based on how they make you feel, between very negative (-3) or very positive (+3).
The scale allows you to express the extent to which words make you feel negative or positive.
This is not an exam.
There are no correct answers. The best answers are the most spontaneous ones. Some words can evoke mixed feelings, causing you to hesitate.
In this case, it is very important not to stop and think; Put the first sign that comes to mind and move on to the next word. Remember: it’s critical that you answer every word (don’t skip any) and that you ONLY check one box for each word.”
Using the data obtained from the survey involves comparing the average scores assigned to the 210 words between two groups: a test population and a reference population, we then analyze the differences between the average scores to identify which terms are perceptually over- or under-valued by the target or reference population. The relevant terms are then placed in a two-dimensional space defined by the two main axes. The proximity between words is defined by the scores that the respondents have assigned: two words are closer the higher the similarity of the scores.
The repetition of a semi-metric survey at significant time arcs makes it possible to trace the evolution and change of society in terms of values associations.
The text from which the image is extracted “La sémiométrie, Essai de statistique structurale” (Lebart, Steiner and Piron, 2003) is a resource available online that provides a detailed overview of this methodology.
The semiometric questionnaire is then integrated with other questionnaires that include socio-demographic information in order to have the two types of information simultaneously available for each individual: socio-demographic characteristics and semiometric variables.
Applications in marketing
Having a representation of the system of values and perceptions of the target audience paves the way for the possibility of designing and implementing commercial brands and related communications that are more resonant with the audience and obtaining customers more connected with the brand.
“Connected” customers, guided by processes of identification and association of values with the brand, according to the Harvard Business Review study, “connected customers” guided in purchases by emotional drivers show higher profitability than customers who are simply fully satisfied.
Harmony, empathy, identification, are in fact all factors capable of improving the stages of consideration, purchase, loyalty and advocacy of the brand funnel by facilitating better Brand loyalty and above all a more robust Brand affinity, going beyond simple brand loyalty and representing a deeper emotional bond rooted in shared values and emotional connection.
Semiometrics paves the way for the possibility of designing and implementing commercial brands that are more resonant with the audience by generating “connected” customers.
Developing Brand affinity thanks to the horizons opened up by semi-metric surveys helps develop customers not only with established and recurring buying habits toward the brand but to make them true ambassadors ready to share their positive experiences with it. Moreover, due to the very nature of the bond that comes to be established, emotional and identifying and not being based on convenience, it guarantees more stable and lasting relationships.
