The Problem This Case Study Solved

The discourse about retirement villages in Australia is complex and evolving. Villages perform a valuable role in our culture, but many people feel conflicted about them because they are conflicted about ageing. They are – to use the language of semiotics – physical signifiers of aging.

Older people may look forward to the ease of life and community that a Village offers, or they may feel a loss of autonomy. Their children may feel a range of emotions from relief to guilt.

To make this worse, retirement villages have changed beyond the sometimes outdated perceptions of them in the larger community.

This discrepancy between reality and perception combined with the emotional complexity of the topic make traditional qualitative research problematic.

This Is Where Semiotics Came In

Semiotics is the study of visual culture, and as such is the lens that helps us decode complex and sensitive cultural shifts and understand what they mean for businesses and brands.

For this semiotic analysis for a retirement village brand, we:

• Explored the ‘distinctive assets’ used by the brand – the symbols, shapes, colours, language and touchpoints across their communications. This research also assessed the organisation’s logo and made recommendations for change and
• Analysed cultural representations of ageing.

We Delivered A Visual Strategy About Ageing

Semiotic analysis showed us that all discourses about aging somehow involve limits, some of which cannot be changed and some that can be challenged. For example, older people may not be able to regain the physical  strength they had when they were younger, but they do not have to ‘ossify’ mentally or emotionally. It is still possible to grow as a person and develop at age 70 and beyond and to be fun-loving and physically attractive in an everyday way.

Ready for a clear positioning that make your members and customers act with confidence?

Desk-based analyses like this reveal insights that are difficult to achieve from conventional research.

To find out how semiotic research can benefit your organisation, contact Sue