Periodic Reporting for period 2 - BEYONDBRANDS (Beyond Brands, Forms of Life. At the Heart of Marketing, the Experience.)
Berichtszeitraum: 2023-08-01 bis 2024-07-31
This project has two main strategic focuses. The main one aims to propose a new semiotic definition of the concept of brand. Why a new definition? And why from a semiotic perspective? Firstly, because many definitions of the concept of brand have been proposed but are either too general or too vague, or too complex or abstract. Secondly, the choice of semiotics is justified by the fact that, since the 2000s, this discipline has renewed its theoretical and conceptual apparatus and is therefore able to truly grasp what a brand is. The second axis of this research aims to use the case study of the nation brand Marca Perú to test, detail, adjust and deepen this new conceptualisation of the brand.
The tour de force of this MSCA project lies in offering a clear and operative definition of the brand for management, so that specialists can better grasp what is at stake with the brands they have to manage, and consequently to help them propose more meaningful and relevant products and services to their publics. In addition to offering a renewed definition of the brand, this project aims to highlight European semiotics from the Greimasian tradition, in particular by showing how its most up-to-date models and theories can help other social sciences to analyse and understand their results from corpus or the field.
The outcomes of this project are manifold. Firstly, the brand was conceptualized as a service with a very own vision. This means that any product, experience, or organization is primarily a service—an assemblage of actants, actors, or activities that render a service. However, not all services possess a very own vision. For instance, lines, ranges, or subsidiaries typically reflect the vision of a superior, sovereign service, which has the status of a brand. Thus, as observed, analyzed, and conceptualized, a brand can be normatively defined by hayving a very own vision—a distinctive way of operating and conceptualizing its activities.
Subsequently, this definition enabled a clarification of traditional brand management concepts, particularly concerning brand types and strategies such as master brands, subbrands, and endorsed brands. This effort of clarification paved the way for a new approach to brand architectures, culminating in the creation of a conceptual framework termed "strategic semiotics." Simultaneously, as the project delved deeply into the notions of categorization (because brand strategies are categories) and experience (as the meaning of a brand arises from experience), it also led to the further development and institutionalization of two other branches of semiotics: "interactional semiotics" and "categorial semiotics."
Finally, in the case study of Marca Perú, it was observed that this nation brand is unique in having created "sectorial brands" to avoid image dilution. These sectorial brands aim to promote the exportation of specific Peruvian products, services, and expertise, distinguishing themselves from Marca Perú’s primarily tourism-oriented mission. By creating sectorial brands (such as Peru Mine for mining expertise exports or Super Foods Peru for exotic product exports), Marca Perú enhances its visibility and capitalizes on the diversification of its activities without compromising its brand image.
The publication of a book detailing these research findings and results, provisionally titled "New Semiotics of the Brand", is scheduled for release in 2025.
The tour de force of this MSCA project lies in offering a clear and operative definition of the brand for management, so that specialists can better grasp what is at stake with the brands they have to manage, and consequently to help them propose more meaningful and relevant products and services to their publics. In addition to offering a renewed definition of the brand, this project aims to highlight European semiotics from the Greimasian tradition, in particular by showing how its most up-to-date models and theories can help other social sciences to analyse and understand their results from corpus or the field.
The outcomes of this project are manifold. Firstly, the brand was conceptualized as a service with a very own vision. This means that any product, experience, or organization is primarily a service—an assemblage of actants, actors, or activities that render a service. However, not all services possess a very own vision. For instance, lines, ranges, or subsidiaries typically reflect the vision of a superior, sovereign service, which has the status of a brand. Thus, as observed, analyzed, and conceptualized, a brand can be normatively defined by hayving a very own vision—a distinctive way of operating and conceptualizing its activities.
Subsequently, this definition enabled a clarification of traditional brand management concepts, particularly concerning brand types and strategies such as master brands, subbrands, and endorsed brands. This effort of clarification paved the way for a new approach to brand architectures, culminating in the creation of a conceptual framework termed "strategic semiotics." Simultaneously, as the project delved deeply into the notions of categorization (because brand strategies are categories) and experience (as the meaning of a brand arises from experience), it also led to the further development and institutionalization of two other branches of semiotics: "interactional semiotics" and "categorial semiotics."
Finally, in the case study of Marca Perú, it was observed that this nation brand is unique in having created "sectorial brands" to avoid image dilution. These sectorial brands aim to promote the exportation of specific Peruvian products, services, and expertise, distinguishing themselves from Marca Perú’s primarily tourism-oriented mission. By creating sectorial brands (such as Peru Mine for mining expertise exports or Super Foods Peru for exotic product exports), Marca Perú enhances its visibility and capitalizes on the diversification of its activities without compromising its brand image.
The publication of a book detailing these research findings and results, provisionally titled "New Semiotics of the Brand", is scheduled for release in 2025.
During the first two years of the project, the work consisted in recompiling the state-of-the-art on brand definitions, as well as grasping a number of structural marketing mechanisms. A process of synthesis and schematisation resulted in a number of constructs being examined and elaborated, such as the notion of 'service', which I chose to use as a central concept for understanding brands. From this process, I came up with a clear and synthetic definition of the concept of brand, as a 'service with a vision'. Based on this definition, it was then possible to reconsider and clarify the brand variations in use, such as master brand, product brand, subbrand, endorsed brand, and so on.
What remains to be done are two points: firstly, I need to find a place for the concept of 'product' in order to make this concept operational within the framework of this general reconceptualisation. And secondly, I need to apply this theory to the case study of Marca Perú. Marca Perú is a nation brand with 7 sectorial sub-brands, and when it comes to the question of meaning and marketing strategies, it raises a number of semiotic questions. With the conceptual apparatus I am developing in this project, it will be possible to unveil and question numerous aspects linked to this brand architecture, which will be useful for more general reflections and advances linked with brand strategies.
The book I plan to publish at the end of my postdoctorate will aim to provide this theoretical foundation based on contemporary and accessible semiotics. In the meantime, I'm continuing to publish articles that will make up this book, and I'm planning to take part in several conferences early next year.
What remains to be done are two points: firstly, I need to find a place for the concept of 'product' in order to make this concept operational within the framework of this general reconceptualisation. And secondly, I need to apply this theory to the case study of Marca Perú. Marca Perú is a nation brand with 7 sectorial sub-brands, and when it comes to the question of meaning and marketing strategies, it raises a number of semiotic questions. With the conceptual apparatus I am developing in this project, it will be possible to unveil and question numerous aspects linked to this brand architecture, which will be useful for more general reflections and advances linked with brand strategies.
The book I plan to publish at the end of my postdoctorate will aim to provide this theoretical foundation based on contemporary and accessible semiotics. In the meantime, I'm continuing to publish articles that will make up this book, and I'm planning to take part in several conferences early next year.
At the end of the project, I am expected to have a solid and renewed semiotic definition of the concept of brand, as well as a system of interdefined concepts (services, products, sub-brands) that will provide a theoretical basis for applied brand management across all economic sectors.