Marketing Metaphoria: What Deep Metaphors Reveal About the Minds of Consumers

by Gerald Zaltman, Lindsay H. Zaltman

Why do advertising campaigns and new products often fail? Why do consumers feel that companies don't understand their needs? Because marketers themselves don't think deeply about consumers' innermost thoughts and feelings. Marketing Metaphoria is a groundbreaking book that reveals how to overcome this "depth deficit" and find the universal drivers of human behavior so vital to a firm's success.

Marketing Metaphoria reveals the powerful unconscious viewing lenses--called "deep metaphors"-- that shape what people think, hear, say, and do.

Drawing on thousands of one-on-one interviews in more than thirty countries, Gerald Zaltman and Lindsay Zaltman describe how some of the world's most successful companies as well as small firms, not-for-profits, and social enterprises have successfully leveraged deep metaphors to solve a wide variety of marketing problems. Marketing Metaphoria should convince you that everything consumers think and do is influenced at unconscious levels--and it will give you access to those deeper levels of thinking.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Psychology

230 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2008

Reviews

[mostly meri · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Marketing Metaphoria” offers a compelling look at the psychology of consumer behavior through the lens of deep metaphors, emphasizing how subconscious mental frameworks influence purchasing decisions. The book provides intriguing insights for those in marketing and branding, supported by academic research and real-world applications. However, its repetitive structure and dense explanations may dilute its impact, making it feel more theoretical than actionable at times. While the concept is fascinating, it could have benefited from more practical, diverse case studies to keep the reader engaged throughout.

[robyn wishart · Rating 1 out of 5]

The 7 deep metaphors are metaphors so not truly "deep" by definition. "Resource" is one two many its essence is control. There is no cognitive neuroscience in the book of any practical purpose. I choose this rank because classifying what people say into 7 categories does little or nothing to assist in the generation of a metaph

The 7 "deep metaphors" are subject metaphors so not truly "deep" by definition. "Resource" is at its essence "control". There is no cognitive neuroscience in the book of any practical purpose. I choose this rank because classifying what people say into 7 categories does little or nothing to assist in the generation of a metaphor or any appreciation of the power of metaphor. If the book really wanted to teach you something they would share with you the questions they ask in the two hour interviews after the images are clipped and why. You can break anything and everything down to something so this book is very poor in relation to the work of others in this field.

[Joe Tippetts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave it three stars because I like the ideas. I like the precursor book, "How Customers Think" a lot more. The main idea is the concept of deep metaphors. These metaphors drive human behavior and span all cultures. From an advertising perspective, to the extent you can address the deep metaphors that are most important to a personality type, you will be more persuasive.

The problem is that it's hard to take practical ideas from the book if you don't have a million dollar market research budget.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool discussion into the subconscious thoughts and needs of consumers.

[Kristen Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight, albeit it verbose.