Brand Tangents: Semiotics and Circulation in Introduction

Abstract

This exploratory study crosses discussions from semiotics and promotional culture to explore how consumers make sense of an unknown brand. Using Uniqlo, the Japanese retailer of specialty apparel, as a lens, it is possible to examine how consumers make sense of unknown brands prior to the reification of an “image” or “personality.” Uniqlo makes an apt case study since the brand has been making a concerted effort to grow across the US retail landscape; this research utilizes in-depth interviews conducted with potential or low-information consumers of Uniqlo during its 2014 push into the Philadelphia metro area. Drawing on Saussure’s notion of meaning “in absentia,” this paper offers a theory of “brand tangents”—external connections people utilize when encountering and making sense of a new brand. Brand tangents are external relations, but can have a lasting effect through the reification of brand meaning.

Keywords:

• branding
• brand introduction
• brand meaning
• circulation
• promotional culture
• semiotics

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Myles Ethan Lascity

Myles Ethan Lascity is an assistant professor of communication at Chestnut Hill College. He received his doctorate in Drexel University’s Communication, Culture & Media program and also holds a master’s degree in visual culture and costume studies from New York University.

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