Semiotics for business studies and management

Semiotics for business studies and management

1. Semiotics

2. •a brief introduction to semiotics
•key terms: signifier, signified, sign
•semiotics, meanings and promotional materials
•semiotic approach marketing
•lecture summary
•references and recommended reading
1. Lecture Overview1. Lecture Overview

3. •shortest definition “the study of signs” (Chandler, 2007: 1)
•etymological roots in Greek word semeion – sign
•a wide field of study, concerned with “anything that could be taken as a sign” (Eco,
1976:6)
•‘modern’ founders Ferdinand du Saussure (1857-1913) and Charles Saunders Pierce
(1839-1914) (Echtner, 1999: 47),
•much of the later work done by Barthes, Lévi-Strauss, Kristeva, Baudrillard and
others (Rakić and Chambers, 2007)
•eventually developed as a single approach marked by various methods of analyses
(Rakić and Chambers, 2007: 148) which
•seek to uncover ‘system of signs’ and ‘deep structures of meaning’ (Echtner, 1999: 47),
•semiotic analyses can include but are not limited to text, still and moving images,
sound, drawings etc
•a significant field of study as it acknowledges that people are homo significans – or
meaning makers (Chandler, 2007)
–we interpret things as signs unconsciously by relating them to familiar systems of
conventions (Peirce, 1931)
•although etablished area of interest in philosophy, linguistics, sociology etc, other
academics/practitioners (partcularly in marketing) increasingly interested in
semiotics (Coopley, 2004)
2. 2. A A brief introduction to semioticsbrief introduction to semiotics

4. 3. Signifier, Signified, Sign3. Signifier, Signified, Sign
SIGNIFIED
SIGNIFIER
•Sign – a thing (object, word, picture
etc) “which has a particular meaning
to a person or group of people. It is
neither the thing nor the meaning
alone, but the two together”
(Williamson, 2002: 17)
Consists of:
–Signifier, the material object,
word etc
–Signified, the meaning, idea etc
–divided only for the purposes of
analysis, relationship often
perceived as arbitrary
(Williamson, 2002: 17)
(image adapted from: Evreinova, 2009)

5. 4. Signs and meanings4. Signs and meanings
•Sign – anything which can be used to represent something else (Berger,
1984 in Echtner, 1999) - can be written, spoken, visual, audio-visual
•used to communicate meanings (Echtner, 1999)
•Pierce offered typology (not mutually exclusive):
–iconic (great resemblance with signified): e.g. miniature souvenir, postcard, photograph,
tourism imagery in brochures
–indexical (not purely arbitrary, causal relationship): e.g. presence of
tourists/popularity of the destination or attraction
–symbolic (symbolises signified, arbitrary): e.g. Acropolis /Greece; Eiffel Tower/France
(Pierce in Chandler, 2002; Echtner, 1999; MacCannell in Jafari, 2003; Rakić and Chambers, 2007)
•semiotic analyses can be diachronic (historical basis, studying changes
over time) and synchronic (a moment in time, usually current) basis
(Chandler, 2007)

6. •Signifier: Red rose
•Signified: a symbol of passion and love - this is what the
rose represents


•Signifier: Heart
•Signified: a symbol of love and affection
5. Signifier & Signified, examples:5. Signifier & Signified, examples:
(Adapted from TES MediaGirl, 2009)

7. SIGNIFIER:
Natural Scenery
Signifies:
unique setting,
natural beauty
SIGNIFIER:
Natural Scenery
Signifies:
‘Middle Earth’
references
SIGNIFIER:
Tourists
Signifies:
Imagine yourself
here; activity,
excitement
SIGNIFIER:
Colours Blue &
White
Signifies: Blue –
wisdom, calmness,
restfulness; White -
purity
SIGNIFIER:
Font
Signifies:
100% Pure Logo,
Brand Name,
Organisation
SIGNIFIER: Words
‘100% Pure’
Signifies:
Natural beauty
and unspoiled
countryside

8. 6. Promotional Material Example: poster, GNTO 6. Promotional Material Example: poster, GNTO
19631963
(Source of image: GNTO, 2009; Published by: G.N.T.O. in 1963 - Designed by: M. Katzourakis )

9. 7. Promotional Material Example: poster, GNTO 7. Promotional Material Example: poster, GNTO
20052005
(Source of image: GNTO, 2009; Published by: G.N.T.O. in 2005 )

10. •substantial part of any advertisement or a promotional material is a
message about the product and reasons for purchase:
–messages contained in advertisements can have both obvious (denotative,
common sense or obvious) and less obvious (connotative, second order, less
obvious, deeper, hidden) meanings attached to products/services being
advertised (Williamson, 2002)
–meanings usually relate to USP (unique selling point) and/or brand (Coopley, 2004)
8. Semiotics and promotional materials8. Semiotics and promotional materials

11. This image denotes a tropical island. What does it connote?
The image can be seen as connoting
peace, tranquility paradise, holiday,
summer to some readers.
Remember that images have
different connotations depending
on the reader of the image/text
(Adapted from TES MediaGirl, 2009)
can it connote any other meanings?

12. •Coopley (2004: 122-144) for example claims that ‘semiotics as an analytical
marketing tool has huge potential’
–it ‘can help the marketer recognise what an organisation is really saying about
itself, what it is not saying or what is the competition saying about itself’ (ibid: 134)
•semioticians point out that meaning is not necessarily universal, multiple
interpretations possible (Echtner, 1999: 49-50)
•semiotic approach particularly useful in marketing: e.g. examining advertising and
symbolic nature of consumption (ibid.) / experience (Tresidder and Hirst, 2012)
9. Promotion and semiotics 9. Promotion and semiotics

16. •although a strict, prescriptive linear process usually not adopted, some of
the stages potentially involved in semiotic analyses include:
–choosing a set of data (e.g. tourist brochures from a particular period)
–specifying the relevant elements (e.g. particular objects)
–inventorying the occurrence of these elements (e.g. how often / content)
–examining relationships between elements (e.g. choice of particular adjectives)
–creating taxonomies (e.g. occurrence of words, images across materials etc)
–penetrating surface meanings (i.e. interpreting the meanings)
(Echtner, 1999: 49-50)
10. Stages of analysis10. Stages of analysis

17. 12. Summary12. Summary
•semiotics - significant field of study as allows the study of
meanings, of increasing interest to marketers (Coopley, 2004)
•key terms: signifier, signified, sign
•semiotic approach in marketing

18. 13. References/Recommended Reading13. References/Recommended Reading
•Bhattacharyya, D. P. (1997). Mediating India: An analysis of a guidebook. Annals of Tourism Research, 24(2), 371-389.
•Chandler, D. (2007). Semiotics: the basics (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
•Coopley, P. (2004) Marketing Communications management: concepts & theories, cases and practices. London:
Elsevier. [Ch 6 Creative Strategy and role of Semiotics].
•Eco, U. (1976). A Theory of Semiotics. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
•Dann, G. M. S. (1996). Tourists' Images of a Destination-An Alternative Analysis Journal of Travel and Tourism
Marketing, 5(1-2), 41 - 55
•Echtner, C. M. (1999). The semiotic paradigm: implications for tourism research. Tourism Management, 20, 47-57.
•Jafari, J. (Ed.). (2003). Encyclopaedia of Tourism. London: Routledge.
•Morgan, N. (2004). Problematising Place Promotion. In A. A. Lew, H. Michael & A. M. Williams (Eds.), A Companion
to Tourism (pp. 173-184). Oxford: Blackwell.
•Rakić, T., & Chambers, D. (2007). World Heritage: Exploring the Tension Between the National and the ‘Universal’,
Journal of Heritage Tourism, 2(3), 145 - 155.
•Travlou, P. (2002). Go Athens: A Journey to the Centre of the City. In S. Coleman & M. Crang (Eds.), Tourism: Between
Place and Performance (pp. 108-127). Oxford: Berghahn Books.
•Tresidder, R. and Hirst, C. (2012) Marketing in Food, Hospitality and Events: a critical approach [Ch 8 The Semiotics
of Experience, photocopy provided in class]
•Williamson, J. (1978). Decoding Advertisements. London: Marion Boyars.