The Use Of Semiotics In Advertising

Semiotics is also known as the semiotic studies or semiology, which is basically the study of the sign processes or signs or symbols or signification or communication. There are three branches of semiotics which are

Semantics

Syntactic

Pragmatics

The above terms are all related with the signs and the things to which they are referred to or to which they refer, second term produce the relations among signs in formal structures, pragmatics is the relation between signs and the effect it causes on the people who use it. With every success of an advertisement there is successful use of semiotics. Semiotics, along with some other things is used for catching the attention of the intended target market which includes men, women, adults or teens of different age group. The key part which plays an important role in the success of the ad is the correct placement of various images, text, colors and other semiotic products which vary with the advertisement and it also vary with the kind of product which is to be advertised. If we take an example of an automobile ads, they usually stresses on the feeling of freedom and excitement in driving a certain kind of automobile which they achieved through usage of images that makes vehicle more rough or adaptable as compared to the other vehicles. There has been popular use of Semiotics in order to get attention of the people to make their brand value. We can get the clear picture through Alcoholic Beverage ads in which there is insinuation that it will be more fun or you will get more popular if you will drink a specific brand of Vodka, Rum or any other alcoholic drink which provides us hint that how much semiotics are important in the advertising. (Semiotics in Advertising, 2010)

When we observe the ads provided in the men’s or women’s magazine then there are so much usage of bright colors which is only aimed at attracting the people’s attention. In shortest definition it is basically the study of signs. There is a science related with the study of semiotics which is known as semiology which is used for investigating the nature of signs and about the laws which are governing them. It becomes a major approach to the studies of culture in the year 1960s, and partly as the work of the famous author Roland Barthes.

As we all know, United Arab Emirates is the finest destination of the tourists, which arrives mainly for shopping or purchasing gold and other stuffs. There is so much requirement of the semiotics to be used in the advertisements which could catch the eyes of the customers. Although semiotics is less centralized in the present time in the cultural and media studies, it is essential or related with those which have keen interest in studying the deep thoughts of the semiotics. It is not an academic discipline instead it is just a field to study which has many theoretical stances and methodological tools. (Chandler)

1.2 Statement of the Problem

There is always a need of attractive piece of advertisements in the market to attain the full attraction towards itself. So there is a usage of semiotics in signboards which reflects a nice picture of advertisements on the minds of the viewer. So, there is a basic study of the semiotics and its properties in the usage of advertising a product which have various applications related to the various marketing components. There is effectiveness of semiotics in achieving the objectives of market.

1.3 Aim and Objectives

1.3.1 Aim of the Study

The basic aim behind the study of the semiotics is to perform an internal study for understanding the concepts of using the attractive sign in advertising; there is another basic aim which is to study the quality of the semiotics which is to be used in the place where it is aimed to use.

There should be analyzing of the advertisement in order to deep study of the basic elements of the semiotics. There should be main focus on the semiotics being used up in the United Arab Emirates which has to be our main aim in this study of the topic.

1.3.2 Objective of the study

There are various objectives which is to be discussed in the study of the topic of semiotics in advertising which is being summarized in the points given underneath-

Effectiveness of the semiotics in accomplishing the marketing objectives.

Analyze of case studies using examples of advertisements that used semiotics.

Discussion about ethical implication of semiotics and about the messages which it delivers through its advertisements.

Effect of semiotics on children’s.

Discussing about the cultural restrictions of marketing semiotics.

A survey should be performed of 50 samples using SPSS in order to analyze the effects of semiotics.

1.4 Scope of the Project

The scope of studying the semiotics is to understand the basic aim behind using those signs in the advertising and to find out the views of the people through a survey on the usage of semiotics in various market situation and to understand the value of semiotics.

1.5 Focus of the Study

The study of semiotics mainly emphasizes on the issues related to the usage of semiotics in the world of today which is a glittering world. There are few places which will be the main focus of points which are mainly related with the semiotics and on the order of study which has to be made which covers all the point related with the semiotics. Some of the points which will be in focus could be-

Various application of semiotics in the marketing components.

Main issues related with the semiotics such as ethical implication, cultural restrictions.

Analysis of various advertisements by studying the survey which is to be taken on the account of few bases.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study done on the semiotics is basically aimed at providing glamour to the advertisements which can bring up sales of a particular company or organization. There are various applications such as branding, advertising, packaging, products, store design and many more which has its own importance in various fields of work. The most important significant feature is achieving marketing objectives through effectiveness of semiotics.

The principle implication of semiotics is also important for the basic study of the advertisements. It is also used to study the cultural restrictions or any sub-conscious messages which can be posted onto it and also significant for the ethical issues like usage of marketing semiotics on children.

1.7 Data Collection and Analysis

In this section of study there is a specification given about the collection of the data and analysis of it. The data has been collected through the surveys which have been conducted on the customers who have some views about the semiotics and after collecting these data it should be analyze thoroughly using various measures in order to bring out true result. There are basically two source of data collection which is Primary source and secondary source. Primary source is the one which has been suggested above that is surveys and secondary source is the one in which data is collected from an internet source or any such sort of sources. We will be using both types of sources in our study which will help in analyzing the topic very well.

CHAPTER-2

Literature Review

Literature reviews are the secondary sources which are aimed at reviewing the critical points of the knowledge or the findings the methodological and theoretical contributions to a particular topic. The main aim of the literature review is to make sure that no important points are left behind which have impact on the problem. If we talk about a well structured literature review then it should be comprised of logical flow of ideas, consistency in current and relevant references, referencing style should be appropriate with proper use of terminology and an unbiased view of the topic.

In this research there are many publications, journals, books and other reports are also referred in order to get full knowledge about the topic of research. Literature review on the topic provide us help in focusing on the interviews more meaningfully on assured portions which are found important in the research studies. The literature review is mostly associated with the academic oriented literature such as thesis and usually literature review leads a research proposal and result sections. The ultimate goal of literature review is to bring the reader’s knowledge up to date with the current literature on a topic and there should be building of foundation for another goal for example future research that is needed in this area. The survey of literature also builds up the foundation for the comprehensive theoretical framework from which hypotheses are extracted for testing. There is not only inclusion of the relevant information apart from it, this also assist the creative integration of the matter collected from various structured and unstructured interviews which was found in previous studies.

2.1 Consumer Attitudes-

Consumer Attitudes is the behavior of the consumer or customers towards the product and it is the expression of views about the liking and disliking the product or services provided by the organization and they are basically asked to provide their attitude about the object. Considering the territory of the consumer behavior, the consumer attitude is studied basically to understand the critical market strategy questions which arose for any product. The official definition for the semiotics is the “study of signs and symbols” and we have to study the semiotics which is used in the advertisement. Consumer attitude is basically related with the study of the culture of the consumer and communications between humans.

The twin pillars of the market strategy include survey and focus groups which are predicted as the model of human psychology. Customers or Consumers are all considered to be as the individuals filled with the attitudes and motivations which should be unearthed using tools like well crafted survey and discussion guide.

2.2 Application of Semiotics in Advertising

Various concepts had been proposed in order to make sure that proper application of semiotics is done over marketing and advertisements such that adequate benefits could be achieved.

Environmental Analysis

As per Eric Weigle, semiotics is also used in campus advertising that can be considered to be as unofficial in nature. This is in general performed in the form of posters and stickers. Reason for adopting these measures is the proper synchronization with the environment. Thus there is also a need to make sure that proper analysis of environmental conditions is done before any implication is performed. One of the significant aspects taken care in this regard is the fact that all the details are avoided in order to make sure that comparative study could be performed in an easy manner without any ambiguity. Semiotics is the basic reason following which it became possible to not only observe, but also justify the existence of the signs that exist and has relevance which does not used to be taken into account for the purpose of analysis in past. Semiotics can be well understood with the help of designs that helps in depiction of the domain and area towards which those signs are pointing. These designs could be highly volatile and flexible in nature based over the needs to carry out various operations. Thus it is also specified that design principles could be considered to be as semiotics in nature. (Weigle, 2005)

Brand Repositioning

According to Ian Combe and David Crowther, communication could be referred to as basic reason for conception, maintenance, and renovation of meanings. Communication is referrals of various signs and symbols ensuring that people are making appropriate measure to not only understand those signs, but also make proper use of them. This is now used in the domain of marketing so as to not only sell products, but also to establish a brand value. Effectiveness of advertising campaign could be understood from the fact that to what extent company is able to reposition its brand through signs and symbols. (Combe)

Advertising

As sings are able to convey the message in a better way, thus it is relevant for the marketing department of the organization to take optimum care of this parameter. One of the basic facet that has to be taken into consideration before application of symbols is proper understanding of signs are misinterpretation of symbols may cause harm to the organizational functioning itself. Thus before conveying any message from organizational perspective, officials should themselves make sure that proper display of signs is done through various means for the advertising campaign to be effective in nature. (Ian Combe)

Branding

In another research performed by Ian Combe and david Crowther along with Steve Greenland, a presentation of change in brand image had been done with the help of semiotics. They depicted relationship between interpretation of message and effectiveness of marketing that could be well utilized in order to change the brand image of a product if necessary. They reflected identification of other symbolic message that may not be clearly visible initially to help managers understand the power an advertisement possess and return it could provide to the organization if harnessed properly. (Steve greenland, 2003)

Promotional Campaigns

Before any promotional campaign could be initiated, first of all identification of all the symbols is essential such that any situation that could lead into dilemma at later stages could be avoided. This feature has become one of the inevitable features for the organizations as most of the organizations have limited marketing budget that has to be utilized in such a manner that it would yield maximum return. So there is a need for marketing department to first understand all the resources that are available with them within constrained marketing budget that can finally be harnessed in an apposite manner. (Steve greenland, 2003)

CHAPTER-3

Research Methodology and Data Collection

3.1 Introduction

In order to examine the use of semiotics in marketing, it is necessary to design a proper platform which will help in the analysis of the problem. In this chapter, Research Methodology and Data Collection, mainly a framework will be designed in order to make sure that which analysis will be used to check the usability of Semiotics in the marketing purpose. Along with the designing of framework, it is necessary to collect the data of which ever form is required to be used in the research. The data collection part is something really lengthy and requires a lot of time.

3.2 Reason for the Research

In the present world, a product is mainly seen from its brand value. There is an upper level of the quality above of which association of the quality of the product is really does not matter because customers require upper quality products and there are a huge numbers of high quality products, the thing which matters the most for the customer in the present day is the brand value of the product. This is something which makes a difference in the prices of the product.

3.3 Sampling

We have taken a sample of 50 respondents in the research. The main aim of the study is to see whether semiotics is useful in the various aspects of marketing study or not. There is a proper format of the research which is followed in our study which consists of various factors satisfying the use of semiotics in marketing of a product in any company.

We have prepared the demographic profile of all the people who act as respondents in the study and will clarify collective effect of all the respondents in order to find out the use of semiotics in marketing strategy of any company.

3.4 Data Collection

The data which we have collected for the study is as follows:

First of all we have collected the primary data which is done through the questionnaire to the 50 respondents. These data are mainly concerned with the response of the 50 people working in different companies

Next is the secondary data which we have shown in the literature review of the analysis. This is the data which is mainly concerned with the review about semiotics in various books, journal, articles and web sources.

3.5 Limitations

There are some limitations attached to the study. These limitations are as follows:

The study must contain more number of samples than it presently has. Number of samples to be 50 is just less to reach to any conclusion. The study must contain more number

The analysis of the study must also be there which means z-test or the regression testing must be there to reach to any better results.

CHAPTER-4

Analysis and Interpretation of Data

4.1 Introduction

The analysis and the interpretation of data are done in this chapter. This analysis and interpretation of data is done on the basis of the answers from the questionnaire which is distributed to the 50 respondents. The main aim of this chapter is to analyze how useful is the study of semiotics in the marketing strategies of a company.

The study includes 50 respondents in the sample and the analysis is done on the basis of answers obtained from them. The study focuses mainly on various factors which are associated with the analysis of the use of semiotics in marketing of a product of the company.

The analysis part gives a detailed interpretation of the all the factors which are used in the analysis that how these factors are effected with the implantation of semiotics in the marketing strategies of the company. There are mainly 9 factors on which the effect of semiotics is analyzed. These nine factors are emotive marketing, internet marketing, brand management, ethical implications, several marketing components, customer cultures, cultural restrictions, advertisements and effect on the children

Before the analysis of the use of semiotics in different fields of marketing, it is important to analyze the personal backgrounds of the respondents. Because of this, at the first step, personal backgrounds of the respondents are taken care. Personal background in the analysis is based on the five main characteristics namely, age of the respondents, present salaries of the respondents, their nationalities, types of work they do and their levels of education.

4.1.1 Personal Background

Table 4.1.1.1 Distribution of Respondents according to their Nationality

Nationality

Arabs

Europeans

Indians

Other Asian Countries

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

5

10.0%

5

10.0%

31

62.0%

9

18.0%

Tables 4.1.1.1 shows the nationality distribution of the 50 samples which we have taken for the analysis. In the above distribution we can see that there are 62 percent Indians taken in the analysis. This is absolutely viable because of the fact that UAE consists of huge numbers of Indians. Only 5 percent of Arabs are taken in the sample.

Table 4.1.1.2 Distribution of Respondents according to their Age

Age

20 to 30

30 to 45

45 and Above

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

12

24.0%

26

52.0%

12

24.0%

Table 4.1.1.2 shows the distribution of the 50 samples which we have taken for the analysis according to their. We can see from the above analysis that most of the respondents lie in the range of age of 30 to 45 which means that most of the employees are in the middle age segment with probably a married life with or without kids.

Table 4.1.1.3 Distribution of Respondents according to their Level of Education

Level of Education

Higher Secondary

Post Graduate

Primary

Secondary

Undergraduate

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

6

12.0%

17

34.0%

3

6.0%

4

8.0%

20

40.0%

Table 4.1.1.3 shows the distribution of the respondents according to their level of education. We can see from the above analysis that most of the respondents are either undergraduates or post graduates. Among the total responses which we took, there are 40 percent of the people who are undergraduates and 34 percent who are post graduates which means that our analysis is based on the people who are well qualified and have the knowledge about different researches.

Table 4.1.1.4 Distribution of Respondents according to their types of work

Type of Work

Labor

Manager

Supervisory

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

7

14.0%

26

52.0%

17

34.0%

Table 4.1.1.4 shows the distribution of the responses in the sample according to the types of work in which they are at present. We can see from the above analysis that most of the respondents among the samples are at the managerial post or at the supervisory post. This suggests that most of the people we have taken in the sample have a decent job profile and obviously must knowing about the present scenario of marketing concepts.

Table 4.1.1.5 Distribution of Respondents according to their Present Salary

Present Salary

1000 to 3000

5000 to 8000

8000 +

Less than 1000

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

5

10.0%

30

60.0%

8

16.0%

7

14.0%

Table 4.1.1.5 shows the distribution of the respondents according to their present salary. Most of the respondents which we took for the analysis have a monthly salary with in the range of 5000 to 8000 AED which means that people have a decent amount of salary which means they are working at a good level in the companies.

4.1.2 Emotive Marketing

Table 4.1.2 Distribution of Respondents according to the application of semiotics in Emotive Marketing

Marketing Semiotics help in Understanding the product and getting an emotional touch with the product

Agree

Disagree

Neutral

Strongly Agree

Strongly Disagree

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

9

18.0%

9

18.0%

14

28.0%

7

14.0%

11

22.0%

Table 4.1.2 shows the distribution of respondents according their view about the application of semiotics in the emotional marketing. It is obviously true that marketing strategies are made in order to attract the customers towards the product and services. Attraction the customers’ emotional behavior is absolutely a great approach for the company. Talking about the marketing with the use of symbols, it obviously becomes easy to attract the customers’ emotional and force them to buy the product or services of the company.

In the above analysis of the respondents view, we can see that people have a mixed approach for the same. Around 28 percent of the people do no want to comment on the statement and there are 22 percent people who do not disagree with the statement. Lesser number of responses comes from the positive side, means there are only 32 percent of the people who agree on the statement that marketing through symbols creates an emotional attraction to the customer. According to them, in order to express the customers’ emotions, it is necessary for the company to express their market strategies through words or verbal communication.

4.1.3 Internet Marketing

Table 4.1.3 Distribution of Respondents according to application of semiotics in Internet Marketing

Marketing Semiotics help understanding internet marketing strategy of the companies

Agree

Disagree

Neutral

Strongly Agree

Strongly Disagree

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

10

20.0%

8

16.0%

8

16.0%

14

28.0%

10

20.0%

Table 4.1.3 shows the distributions of respondents according to the view about the effect of marketing semiotics in the internet marketing of any company. From the above analysis, it can be seen that most of the people in the sample are agreeing on the statement that marketing semiotics helps in understanding internet marketing strategies of any company. There are around 20 percent of the people who strongly agree on this statement and there are around 28 percent of the people in the sample who agree on this statement. This means that majority of the population in the sample thinks that market semiotics help in understanding the internet marketing strategies of company.

In the present world of fast technological growth, most of the companies are doing marketing of their product through internet because there are more number of people at present who browse internet than they read newspaper or see television. Hence, companies at present give advertisement on the internet. Video marketing is something else but where there is no video but only verbal marketing is there, companies try to show more and more attracting symbols in order to pull the customers towards themselves.

4.1.4 Brand management

Table 4.1.4 Distribution of Respondents according to application of semiotics in Brand Management

Marketing through images or symbols can increase the brand value of any company

Agree

Disagree

Neutral

Strongly Agree

Strongly Disagree

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

17

34.0%

9

18.0%

10

20.0%

13

26.0%

1

2.0%

The brand value of any company is very important. This does not only give benefits in terms of brand recognition in the society but it gives benefits in the financial terms as well. Companies increase their brand values in order to earn higher revenue and also in order to increase the brand value price of the company. Brand value in considered to be an intangible asset and hence companies want to increase this asset obviously.

Table 4.1.4 shows that among the respondents in the sample, most of the respondents agree on the statement that marketing with the help of semiotics increase the brand recognition among the people and hence increase the brand value of the company. Around 34 percent of the respondents strongly agree on the fact that use of semiotics increase the brand value of the company and around 26 percent of the respondents agree on the same. This means that view of the public is that use of semiotics can be effective in increasing brand value of the company. Effective use of symbols can help in increasing the recognition of brand among the people and hence give a huge emotional as well as the financial support to the company.

4.1.5 Consumer Culture

Table 4.1.5 Distribution of Respondents according to application of semiotics in Consumer Culture

Marketing Semiotics help to understand cultural value

Agree

Disagree

Neutral

Strongly Agree

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

20

40.0%

10

20.0%

8

16.0%

12

24.0%

Today, number of supplements of one product or one brand in the market has so much increased that usability of the product is just not enough for the brands to attract the customers. There are some other things which have become important to be there in the brands to increase its sale. Equipment of the culture in the product is one of them. People in the present days think that heritage is important as it is diminishing, so the brands which talk about the savior of heritage are much more effective than the brands which are not.

In the above analysis, we can see that there are around 64 percent of the people in the responses who think that marketing of a product with the help of various symbols can be well effective in the market. These people have a view that in order to express the cultural or the heritage value with in a product, it is important for the advertisement to be well adaptable with the various symbols about the national heritage and savior of national culture. We can see from the above analysis that there are very less number of people who disagree on the fact, only 20 percent and there is no respondent who strongly disagreed the statement which means that semiotics has a huge impact on the cultural values of the customers.

4.1.6 Application in marketing components

Table 4.1.6 Distribution of Respondents according to application of semiotics in Marketing Components

Marketing components like customer reach, marketing research becomes easy with an application of Semiotics

Agree

Disagree

Neutral

Strongly Agree

Strongly Disagree

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

Unweighted Count

Row N %

20

40.0%

10

20.0%

10

20.0%

9

18.0%

1

2.0%

Table 4.1.6 shows the distribution of the responses which we have got fro