The semiotics of the brand

Abstract

This pedagogical article, initially intended for a non-specialist readership, is an attempt to introduce three models commonly used in commercial semiotics, particularly with regard to branding issues: i) the planes and levels of any language, ii) the narrative schema and iii) the semiotic square. The first is relevant to help define a brand's identity, as long as it is understood as made up of constants of expression and constants of content. The second allows to account for the role that the brand takes on vis-à-vis its target audience. The third has the property of being able to account for the logic of a given market and the relationships that the brands that occupy it have with each other (their positionings)