Furthermore, the basics of semiotics are important to understand if one is
considering gathering knowledge about cultural consumption.
The practical methods suggested for applying the cultural branding model (how
brands become icons) will be reviewed in ‘Managerial implications’, as they are
closely intertwined with the managerial mindset of this strategic model.
Research methods and data
Understanding the production and circulation of meaning fundamental to the
cultural consumption perspective requires insight into semiotic methods. When
conducting semiotic marketing studies one deconstructs the meaning displayed in
commercial communication. Samples of commercial communications (e.g. brand
logos, television advertisements, print ads, package designs and shopping malls)
are the objects of study and should be deconstructed accordingly. The objects are
supposed to be made strange and unfamiliar in order to go beyond the ‘taken for
granted’ meanings. Semiotic codes should then be decoded and the intertextual
strings of signs deconstructed.
Intertextuality is an important aspect of semiotics. The commercial message (the
brand in this case) is regarded as a cultural ‘text’ like other cultural expressions.
Intertextuality is the idea of texts referring to other texts. When, for instance, a
cosmetics brand signs a famous actress as their ‘face’, the brand becomes related
to the movies the actress has starred in. These movies are linked with other cultural
‘texts’, such as the book behind the script, other actors, and the famous director
who once won an Oscar and so on and so on.
These ‘strings of signs’ and ‘strings of text’ can be deconstructed individ-
ually or in focus groups. It is important to understand that all ends are open-
ended in semiotics; meaning that there are no right or wrong answers and that
the deconstruction of a ‘text’ will depend entirely on the enculturation of the
The cultural approach 225Box 10.4 Doing semiotics
Questions to ask- What does X signify to me?
- Why does X signify this to me?
- What might X signify for others?
- Why might X signify this for others?
Sources of X- Objects, e.g. clothes, hairstyle, make-up, logos, graphic design.
- Gesture, e.g. body types. faces, expressive gestures, postures.
- Speech, e.g. accent or dialect, use of metaphor, tone or volume of speech,
use of humour.
SourceHackley (2003)