From the “happy few” to the “happy many” : a social semiotic analysis of luxury branding discourse in the social media

Research output: Conference PapersRGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (without host publication)peer-review

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Author(s)

Detail(s)

Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 25 Jul 2022

Conference

Title47th International Systemic Functional Congress (ISFC-47)
LocationShenzhen University (Online)
PlaceChina
CityShenzhen
Period25 - 27 July 2022

Abstract

Luxury has always been defined by its properties of exclusivity, uniqueness, high quality, and limited access (Kapferer & Bastien, 2009, 2012). Semantically, these properties are bound together as a privilege for the very few that could afford it. However, in the 21st century the aura of rarity appears eroded and luxury goods originally destined for an elitist market popularized.

This study aims at understanding what is conceived as luxury based on an investigation into its semiotic construction as a product of its time. The study examines how luxury branding discourse is constructed in the social media, and how hosting platforms enable and constrain its production and distribution (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2001).

The study adopts an empirical approach based on social semiotics to analyze the semiotic choices made by three luxury fashion brands in constructing their multimodal branding discourse on Facebook. The dataset includes 597 Facebook posts annotated with the support of O’Donnell’s UAM corpus tools for both language and multimodal annotation.

The study combines and adapts marketing and multimodal discourse analysis frameworks to define the steps for a comprehensive investigation of multimodal artefacts in the digital media: abstraction process of layout units of the medium of communication (Eisenlauer, 2013; 2014); identification and analysis of medium-specific features such as hyperlinks, tags, hashtags (Petroni, 2011); transitivity system to unveil participants, processes, and circumstances reflecting the narrative of the brands (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2014); visual grammar (Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996, 2006); intersemiotic relations (Martinec & Salway, 2005); and identification of intertextual and interdiscursive references.

Findings show that choice of communicating on social media dilutes the exclusive features of luxury by promoting a wider access to information and goods. This creates a clash of abundance and rarity in which exclusivity is artificial. Facebook posts become visual merchandising displays of luxury goods disposed as if they were part of an art exhibition. Photographs semiotically construct the products as affordable based on the reduction of social distance between the brand and the potential consumer. Captions boost integration across media, introduce seasonal products, and invite the readership to both a virtual and physical consumption of information and products. Overall, the semiotic construction of luxury branding discourse appears to be the product of adaptation to the social media ecosystem. It also generates hybrid discursive practices and highlights the evolution of the definition of luxury and new stratification of the sector which entails an ephemeral egalitarian access.

Research Area(s)

  • multimodality, luxury, social semiotics, digital communication

Citation Format(s)

From the “happy few” to the “happy many”: a social semiotic analysis of luxury branding discourse in the social media. / Nervino, Esterina.
2022. Paper presented at 47th International Systemic Functional Congress (ISFC-47), Shenzhen , China.

Research output: Conference PapersRGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (without host publication)peer-review