Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique
Encyclopedia
The Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET) is a patented market research tool. Patent #5436830 was issued on July 25, 1995. ZMET is a technique that elicits both conscious and especially unconscious thoughts by exploring people's non-literal or metaphoric expressions. It was developed by Dr. Gerald Zaltman
at the Harvard Business School
in the early 1990s. As Zaltman described it, "A lot goes on in our minds that we're not aware of. Most of what influences what we say and do occurs below the level of awareness. That's why we need new techniques: to get at hidden knowledge-to get at what people don't know they know." The technique has been used by academic researchers and for marketing purposes to study a variety of topics related to both marketing and the social sciences.
in 1990. Zaltman initially planned to bring his camera but at the last minute opted to chronicle the trip by giving local residents disposable cameras and asking them to take pictures that would explain what life was like in their villages.
After developing the pictures, Zaltman returned to the village to ask residents to explain, through an interpreter, the meaning of the photographs. The imagery tended to reveal ideas that would have been difficult or unacceptable to put into words. For example, the photographers often cut off people’s feet in the photographs. This was intentional. In Nepal, bare feet are a sign of poverty. Zaltman believed that because of the stigma associated with poverty, the topic likely would not have surfaced had the villages been asked to describe life in their villages using just words.
and Antonio Damasio
to support his claim that humans think in images – often in the form of visual images – rather than in words. The pictures that participants collect are important non-literal devices for uncovering deeply held, often unconscious, thoughts and feelings.
The goal of the ZMET interviews and analysis is to uncover the relevant fundamental structures that guide people’s thinking about a topic. These deep structures are unconscious, basic orienting frames of human thought that affect how people process and react to information or a stimulus. They manifest themselves in surface metaphors used in everyday language and conversation; when grouped they point to the deeper frames or structures a person is using to understand a topic (see framing
). These frames can be used in a marketing context to help marketers communicate more effectively to consumers about a brand, product, or topic.
, a Danish manufacturer of hearing aids, applied ZMET to understand the negative connotations that people associated with hearing aids. They felt, although many people used cost as a reason to postpone the purchase of a hearing aid, there were deeper factors at work. Hearing aids were described as a symbol of being seen as old and flawed. Oticon responded by creating a hearing aid with a new, fashionable styling in an attempt to counter this stereotype.
In a study for Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, ZMET discovered that the metaphors of “transformation” and “control” were critical to the experience of patients and their families within the hospital. The architectural firm Astorino translated this into a "Transformation Corridor" that connects the main parking garage to the central lobby. Along the walls of the 260-foot corridor is a butterfly motif, which, along with terrazzo floor pattern, changes to represent the changing of the seasons. The hospital also incorporated a modular patient room design, intended to give patients and their families the ability to customize their living space.
ZMET research was critical to the launch of the odor-removing spray, Febreze
by Procter & Gamble
.
ZMET has been used in academic and not-for-profit environments to study a range of topics including the experience of attending a county fair, mountain biking, how women recover from substance abuse, the relationship between video game players and their avatars, how Americans are dealing with the economic crisis , and the value of an insight in the workplace.
Gerald Zaltman
Gerald Zaltman is the Joseph C. Wilson Professor Emeritus at Harvard Business School and the author and editor of 20 books, most recently How Customers Think and Marketing Metaphoria . In 1997 he founded the market research consulting firm Olson Zaltman Associates in partnership with Jerry C...
at the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
in the early 1990s. As Zaltman described it, "A lot goes on in our minds that we're not aware of. Most of what influences what we say and do occurs below the level of awareness. That's why we need new techniques: to get at hidden knowledge-to get at what people don't know they know." The technique has been used by academic researchers and for marketing purposes to study a variety of topics related to both marketing and the social sciences.
Origins of ZMET
Zaltman began thinking about the power of using imagery in research while on vacation in NepalNepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
in 1990. Zaltman initially planned to bring his camera but at the last minute opted to chronicle the trip by giving local residents disposable cameras and asking them to take pictures that would explain what life was like in their villages.
After developing the pictures, Zaltman returned to the village to ask residents to explain, through an interpreter, the meaning of the photographs. The imagery tended to reveal ideas that would have been difficult or unacceptable to put into words. For example, the photographers often cut off people’s feet in the photographs. This was intentional. In Nepal, bare feet are a sign of poverty. Zaltman believed that because of the stigma associated with poverty, the topic likely would not have surfaced had the villages been asked to describe life in their villages using just words.
The ZMET research process
Research study participants are usually asked to collect a set of pictures that represent their thoughts and feelings about the topic of interest. Zaltman cites prominent researchers like Steven PinkerSteven Pinker
Steven Arthur Pinker is a Canadian-American experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, linguist and popular science author...
and Antonio Damasio
Antonio Damasio
Antonio Damasio is David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Southern California, where he heads USC's Brain and Creativity Institute and Adjunct Professor at the Salk Institute. Prior to taking up his posts at USC, in 2005, Damasio was M.W...
to support his claim that humans think in images – often in the form of visual images – rather than in words. The pictures that participants collect are important non-literal devices for uncovering deeply held, often unconscious, thoughts and feelings.
The goal of the ZMET interviews and analysis is to uncover the relevant fundamental structures that guide people’s thinking about a topic. These deep structures are unconscious, basic orienting frames of human thought that affect how people process and react to information or a stimulus. They manifest themselves in surface metaphors used in everyday language and conversation; when grouped they point to the deeper frames or structures a person is using to understand a topic (see framing
Framing (social sciences)
A frame in social theory consists of a schema of interpretation — that is, a collection of anecdotes and stereotypes—that individuals rely on to understand and respond to events. In simpler terms, people build a series of mental filters through biological and cultural influences. They use these...
). These frames can be used in a marketing context to help marketers communicate more effectively to consumers about a brand, product, or topic.
Applications of ZMET
OticonOticon
Oticon is the worlds second largest hearing aid manufacturer. It is situated in Denmark outside the capital Copenhagen. It was founded in 1904 by Hans Demant, whose wife was hearing impaired. Oticon is particularly well known for their loose management style referred to as "Spaghetti Organization"...
, a Danish manufacturer of hearing aids, applied ZMET to understand the negative connotations that people associated with hearing aids. They felt, although many people used cost as a reason to postpone the purchase of a hearing aid, there were deeper factors at work. Hearing aids were described as a symbol of being seen as old and flawed. Oticon responded by creating a hearing aid with a new, fashionable styling in an attempt to counter this stereotype.
In a study for Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, ZMET discovered that the metaphors of “transformation” and “control” were critical to the experience of patients and their families within the hospital. The architectural firm Astorino translated this into a "Transformation Corridor" that connects the main parking garage to the central lobby. Along the walls of the 260-foot corridor is a butterfly motif, which, along with terrazzo floor pattern, changes to represent the changing of the seasons. The hospital also incorporated a modular patient room design, intended to give patients and their families the ability to customize their living space.
ZMET research was critical to the launch of the odor-removing spray, Febreze
Febreze
Febreze is a brand of household odor eliminator manufactured by Procter & Gamble, sold in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand...
by Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
.
ZMET has been used in academic and not-for-profit environments to study a range of topics including the experience of attending a county fair, mountain biking, how women recover from substance abuse, the relationship between video game players and their avatars, how Americans are dealing with the economic crisis , and the value of an insight in the workplace.
Books that reference ZMET
- Marketing Insights from A to Z: 80 Concepts Every Manager Needs to Know by Philip Kotler (Hardcover – Mar 3, 2003)
- Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion by Thomas O'Guinn, Chris Allen, and Richard J. Semenik (Hardcover – April 18, 2008)
- Clued In: How to Keep Customers Coming Back Again and Again by Lewis Carbone (Hardcover – May 24, 2004)
- Brand Aid: An Easy Reference Guide to Solving Your Toughest Branding Problems and Strengthening Your Market Position by Brad VanAuken (Hardcover – Jul 7, 2003)
- Assessment of Couples and Families: Contemporary and Cutting Edge Strategies (The Family Therapy and Counseling Series) by Len Sperry (Hardcover – Jul 21, 2004)
- Habenwollen: Wie funktioniert die Konsumkultur? von Wolfgang Ullrich (Broschiert – 1 January 2008)
- I is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It Shapes the Way We See the World by James Geary
External links
- OZA Homepage
- Video of Gerald Zaltman talking about Deep Metaphors and ZMET
- Q & A with Gerald Zaltman
- Article on ZMET research with professional tradespeople in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
- ZMET study on corporate social responsibility for the World Bank
- Harvard Business School Mind of the Market ZMET research on negotiation
- ZMET as a key research tool at Kraft
- “Astorino Incorporates Human Architecture Into its Designs”
- German-language article about using ZMET to study the meaning of Coca-Cola
- German language interview with Gerald Zaltman