Understanding Semiotics

Semiotics is much more than what its defined as. Although its known as the study of signs and symbols, its encompasses a variety of fields, from Lingustics to Psycology. Its an extention of the human psyce projected into universal symbols.

Navigating these symbols is a part of being human. We use them in day to day activities, such as traffic signs or labels, but there is another subconscious world that people pick up upon in advertising that most people are unaware of. Colors evoke emotions, signs associate feelings, and advertising use these as tools to elevate an idea for their product.

 For example, the ketchup example above shows a bottle sliced and stacked, very reminiscent of a freshly sliced tomato. we know this because of color, texture, and the iconic tomato stem at the top of the bottle. This is only a fraction of all subconscious ideas going through consumers minds.

Its Brandtastic!

Branding is more than just the name on a product. It encompasses everything your product wants to be, represents or even how the product is appealing. Styles, formatting, even which avenues of distribution all contribute to your overall "brand image". This image permeates all aspects of life when people are in contact with advertising, which is all the time these days.
Branding servers more than just as your products PR, but also as a quality assurance to the wary customer. Most of the time, people wont care what is being offered or added, and go for the impulse buy of a brand they know what to expect from. The "next big thing" is rarely tried and even rarer for a consumer to switch. Typical consumers want that peace of mind of what to expect from the product they buy.

Guest Speaker: Dietmar Dahmen

Our guest speaker, Dietmar Dahmen, was a brilliant and eccentric presenter! I have had to sit through many speakers who might feel passionate about their work, but are disconnected from the audience, or even artist that didn't even seem that interested in presenting at all. Even the typical troupe of using a powerpoint to make a presentation was used in an unconventional way, quickly sliding around his points, using the powerpoint more like a image narrative interwoven into his speaking. 

His views on advertising and how the new technology and revolutionized the field in new and exciting ways drive home the idea that you must be ever evolving, changing, adapting to the consumers. Because even though your the big brand now, its can easily become a unchanging giant left behind like so many companies have before. Touching upon many subjects surrounding technological change, Dietmar makes a point of staying agile and willing to take risks in an ever changing marketing landscape.