Qualitative semiotics: Can we research consumer meaning-making?

The notion of "meaning" is central to marketing because it is only through the making of meaning that "added value" can be created.

Introduction – brands and meaning

It would appear that self-evident brands have something to do with meaning. Indeed, the very purpose of marketing is to "add value" to products, and this involves giving them additional meaning for the consumer. This article will consider the model of meaning-making that is dominant in our culture and will outline an alternative, and semiotic, understanding of how meaning is formed. The model that will be considered can be found in the semiotics of Charles Peirce. This article will not attempt, as a result, to evaluate the various messaging models that exist in the advertising...

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