How cultural semiotics helps to drive behavioural change

This case study examines how semiotics helped to solve a fundamental brand challenge for Keep Britain Tidy.

Despite many years of campaigning, littering persists in the UK. Yet few people admit to persistent littering, and no-one is a committed litterer. Cigarette butts are one such persistent and pernicious source of litter. 

To gain insight into why people do not feel that dropping butts is an act of littering and instead see it as an innocuous act, Keep Britain Tidy employed Sign Salad to help uncover the cultural influences guiding this littering behaviour, and identify ways in which this practice could be reframed. 

Presented by Mark Lemon and Alex Gordon of Sign Salad.

Mark is a Director at Sign Salad, and has worked as a cultural analyst for 10 years. Recent projects include an analysis of the cultural construction of stigma for GambleAware, and an investigation into the cultural perceptions of E-coli for a healthcare brand.  These projects looked at how language and cultural cues can be utilised to positively change behaviours. Mark is a regular presenter at industry events and holds an MA in Semiotics from the University of Tartu in Estonia.

Alex is the Founder and CEO of Sign Salad, a cultural consultancy helping global blue chip clients to navigate and capitalise on cultural change.  He has led and conducted numerous foresight and semiotics projects covering a wide range of global markets and across a number of categories.  He has led projects which helped to create behaviour change for the Dept for Transport on their drink drive and motorbike safety campaigns and for TV Licensing encouraging swifter renewal.  Alex speaks regularly at conferences and is a Visiting Professor at Bristol University Marketing dept.  He has a PhD in semiotics and identity politics. 

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