The Role of Semiotics in Advertisement

by Ariana McGuire

The science of semiotics is a crucial discipline in marketing as a means of communicating and conveying meaning. In advertising and branding, semiotics is a discipline that is heavily relied on in order to accurately convey a message.

Semiotics plays a vital role in the way we communicate in the world, and also the way we perceive things. When we see an advertisement we automatically begin to conceptualize ideas and thoughts based off of the way we perceive that particular message.

There are two very important aspects that come to create a sign. The signifier and the signified. The signifier is the physical existence of that sign, the characteristics which come to make up that sign, whether it be words, symbols,or phrases. The signified are the mental concept(s) and denotations based off of what we perceive and how we perceive it. Once we have perceived using our senses, we are then able to conceptualize based off of those senses. These methods are crucial in adding meaning and accurately conveying a message in advertisement.

Through the effective display of visual, verbal, and then performative aspects, companies are able to accurately reach out to consumers. The symbolic elements surrounding this can be everything from colors to text to logos and tag-lines.

The effective use of semiotics plays a very important role in the intricate processes encompassing the complex world of advertisement.