Semiotics can be used in market research to analyze identities and positionings. It examines how brands build their identities in relation to competitors through differences in communication. A semiotic analysis of gluten-free pasta packs showed two opposing strategies - one emphasized health and specialty aspects while the other promoted the product as ordinary. Analyzing the market scenario is important for understanding communication choices in context rather than in isolation. Semiotics helps identify the best positioning by assessing values, themes, and narratives across competitors.

1. Squadratiengaging market research
HOW CAN SEMIOTICS BE USED
IN MARKET RESEARCH?

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Our approach is based on a consideration
that might apparently look unfamiliar to the
most common market research strategies.

3. Our identity is a relational identity and it is built through
differences.
3Domicile conjugal, François Truffaut

4. For example adolescents forge their own identities
opposing their parents and the adults’ world.
The virgin suicides di Sofia Coppola 4

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Another example might be Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who has
based his political rhetoric on the opposition new=change vs.
old=stagnation
5

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The same idea can be applied to brands. Brands
shall build their own identities in relation to their
scenario and opposing their competitors.

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Either we are talking about a target, a political party
or a brand, semiotics will always analyse the identity
in relation to its reference scenario.

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This is precisely what we do
with our semiotic squares:
we analyse and depict social
and market scenarios.
Each one of our four targets is
not only portrayed for what it is
but also for what it is not.
Let’s have a look at the
semiotic square of cake
lovers for an example.

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RUSTIC types prefer
traditional (Italian) cakes.
FASHIONISTAS love
foreign cakes and are
keen on new products.
vs.

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For RADICAL types a
good cake needs to be
done with healthy
ingredients: their choice is
mostly rational.
For MODERN types it is
all about the taste.
vs.

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MODERN types do not
stick to traditions and are
willing to try different
baking powders.
vs.
RUSTIC types prefer to
bake their cakes at home
and are utterly against
commercial baking
powders.

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RADICAL types pay
more attention to the
substance and trust a
more unpretentious
presentation.
vs.
For FASHIONISTAS on
the other hand,
aesthetics plays a very
important role and they
seem to prefer a more
ambitious appearance.

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Well, what has all this got to do with marketing?

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The fact that identity is relational has at least
two consequences for brands.

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FIRST CONSEQUENCE
The marketing choices of a brand (pack, testimonial, adv
campaigns, etc.) have no meaning per se, they only acquire it in relation
to the way competitors communicate today (SCENARIO ANALYSES)
and to the way communication works in our culture (TRENDS).
Theidentityof abranddependsprimarilyonitsscenario.

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SECOND CONSEQUENCE
Inordertokeepourownidentity,wemustnowchangecontinuously.
In order to keep their status, brands need to constantly update their
messages, adapting to the evolving scenario and to the way the
most relevant issues are represented in our culture.

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vs.
The example of an issue whose representation is changing is organic food. It is
progressively abandoning its traditional green code that is now perceived as
abused, stereotyped and scarcely distinctive.Today you can represent organic
food in a variety of different ways.

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Why semiotics is more reliable than a consumer
survey in analysing a market scenario?
Here are at least four reasons...

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Because consumers do not have an overall view of the market.
Design by Piero Fornasetti . Piatti della serie “Tema e variazioni”

20. Because consumers tend to act conservatively in front of innovations.
20Design by Piero Fornasetti . Piatti della serie “Tema e variazioni”

21. Because a semiotic analysis spots even the weakest emerging
signals, which are incredibly hard to notice for consumers.
Design by Piero Fornasetti . Piatti della serie “Tema e variazioni” 21

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Because more in general: observing is better than asking.
Every market scenario is full of clues (consumers behavior, brand
communication) waiting to be analysed.
Design by Piero Fornasetti . Piatti della serie “Tema e variazioni”

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Semiotics helps us observing and analysing the market
context in order to have a photography of the actual
scenario and a projection about its possible evolution.

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But how does semiotics work?

25. EXPRESSION
CONTENT
Semiotics analyses how
expression choices define
the meaning of a specific
communication or a consumer
practice.

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This is the reason why semiotics can be very useful
in marketing analysing to understand and structure
a campaign or a pack, a product or a target.

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narration
values
issuesandtargetsSemiotics analysis first takes into
consideration what is evident,
verbal codes or visual codes and
then dips down through the sense
to reach the basis of
communication: the values.
oral, visual and
sound codes

28. Whatcolours,formsanddimensions?
Whatwords andsoundsareused?How
areelements displayedandorganizedin
thewholepicture?
Whatfiguresare usedforwhichsubjects?
(e.g.sport totelllightness)Howisthetarget
addressed(you,we…)?Whatisthetoneof
voice(e.g.scientific,familiar)?
Whichvaluesareinvolved?Howdo
theyrelate tothe valuesexpressedby
thecompetitors?
Whatisthe brandpromise?Whatisthe
relationshipbetweenbrandandconsumer?
2828
narration
values
issuesandtargets
oral, visual and
sound codes

29. The analysis is not the sum of the
meaning expressed by the different
levels.The aim is to find which
expressive combinations are
responsible for which meanings.
Here is an easy example – red does not
necessarily mean “passion”, but it might,
if it is associated with a curvy design or
with a flirtatious tone of voice.
narration
values
issuesandtargets
oral, visual and
sound codes

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This method led us to know exactly which are the
values of a communication campaign – we can
tell if it is effective, coherent and distinctive and
which are the values of the target audience, in
order to understand the most suitable subjects and
tones to catch their attention.

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In which kind of research can semiotics be more helpful?

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TARGET
ANALYSES
(RE)POSITIO
NING
TRENDS
PRODUCT/
COPY / PACK
TEST

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PRODUCT/
COPY / PACK
TEST
(RE)POSITIO
NING
TARGET
ANALYSES
TRENDS

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PRODUCT/
COPY / PACK
TEST
How does the target scenario work?
Who are my competitors? How do
they communicate? Which are the
values involved and which are
exploitable but unguarded? What is
the best positioning for me?
TARGET
ANALYSES
TRENDS

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PRODUCT/
COPY / PACK
TEST
TARGET
ANALYSES
(RE)POSITIO
NING
TRENDS

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PRODUCT/
COPY / PACK
TEST
Which are the signals that
anticipate a change in the market
trends? How will my sector change
and how will the consequences of
those changes affect my brand?
TARGET
ANALYSES
(RE)POSITIO
NING

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PRODUCT/
COPY / PACK
TEST
TARGET
ANALYSES
(RE)POSITIO
NING
TRENDS

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PRODUCT/
COPY / PACK
TEST
Who is my target audience?
How can I attract them? Which
are the emerging trends in a
specific scenario? How can I
understand them?
(RE)POSITIO
NING
TRENDS

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PRODUCT/
COPY / PACK
TEST
TARGET
ANALYSES
(RE)POSITIO
NING
TRENDS

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What meaning does my product/
concept/pack conveys? Is it
coherent, distinctive and
effective compared to my
competitors’ communication?
What shall I adjust in order to
score a better positioning?
TARGET
ANALYSES
(RE)POSITIO
NING
TRENDS

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Let’s examine a case study – a positioning research
to realise a new package.

42. In order to launch a campaign for a gluten-free pasta, Squadrati has
been called to support the creative agency in the package
development.
We have analysed 10 competitors in order to understand the key
communication elements of that specific area and understand the
different values associated to the gluten-free concept.
This analysis gave us the possibility to understand the best
positioning strategy for the brand and therefore elaborate tailor-
made suggestions to help the creative agency.
42

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A vertical analysis of ten different packs has shown
many substantial differences.

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There was a clear opposition in the way the product was presented:
Focus on healthy
characteristics associated
to well being.
The information is centred
on the properties of the
product: taste, easy to cook,
recipes.
FUNCTION SUBSTANCE

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There was an opposition in the brand promise:
INDUSTRIAL
ARTISANAL
The focus is on the experience of the brand and on the
reliability of its products.
The focus is on the handcrafted manufacturing and on
the authenticity of the products.

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function
artisanal
industrial
substance

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SPECIALISED
(x)
STANDARD
(y)
(non y)
ROUGH
(non x)
GOURMET
function
artisanal
industrial
substance

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Let’s analyse two cases into detail.

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LIBERI DI MANGIARE
1,99€ (Es)500 g

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‣ VISUAL IDENTITY: the use of fuchsia and the ascendant writing
recall the typical imagery of hypocaloric products (e.g.Vitasnella)
and identify a female target with specific diet needs.
‣ THEMES & FIGURES: “100% corn”, “emulsifier free”, “innovative
product”, “accurate control and research standards” – industrial
specifics tend to dominate in order to produce a sense of warranty.
‣ NARRATION: the pack is focused on the consumer, not on the
brand: the name of the product is chosen from the point of view of
consumers (“Free to eat”) transparency and consumer care are very
important and the toll-free number is extremely evident.
‣ VALORISATION: the product is promoted as a specialist product
and the “gluten-free” specific is seen as something extraordinary.
LIBERI DI MANGIARE

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LIBERI DI MANGIARE
SPECIALISED
(x)
STANDARD
(y)
(non y)
RUSTIC
(non x)
GOURMET
function
artisanal
industrial
substance

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1,61€ (Es)400 g
BARILLA

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‣ VISUAL IDENTITY: “Gluten-free” is written in capital letters, it
is very evident under the brand logo to suggest the idea of a
sub-brand.
‣ THEMES & FIGURES: normalisation of the product:
emphasis on the aesthetic of the result - picture of an inviting
pasta dish – and on the ingredients of the Mediterranean
cuisine + “share it with your family”.
‣ NARRATION: focused more on the taste (“really good”,
“balanced flavour”) than on functional characteristics (suitable
for diets, easy to digest, light).
‣ VALUES: the product is promoted in a familiar way and the
“gluten-free” specific is presented as an every-day life event.
BARILLA

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SPECIALISED
(x)
STANDARD
(y)
(non y)
RUSTIC
(non x)
GOURMET
function
artisanal
industrial
substance
LIBERI DI MANGIARE vs. BARILLA

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To express the “gluten-free” concept Liberi di
Mangiare and Barilla use two completely
different strategies.

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POINTING OUT
LIBERI DI MANGIARE
The positioning of this pack is build to
point out the specialized character
of this pasta – it helps drawing the
attention of the consumers, but its
pharmaceutical, un-ordinary code
might suggest a feeling of isolation in
the consumers.

57. BARILLA
Barilla on the other hand uses a
mimetic strategy, emphasising
the taste, creating a link to the
Mediterranean diet and using blue
as a dominant colour (usually
associated to pasta thanks to
Barilla themselves). Barilla is
therefore suggesting that eating
gluten-free pasta is something
absolutely ordinary.
57
NORMALISING

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We said before that we cannot determine the meaning
of an expressive choice if we don’t analyse its context
and scenario. Can you remember that?

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If we had only analysed the Barilla pack we would have only
noticed the reference to the Mediterranean diet and
tradition.
While by analysing Barilla with their competitors we can fully
understand the strategic value of using standard codes for
specific pasta products – normalising the “gluten-free”
in order not to isolate coeliac consumers and attract
a non-coeliac audience.

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Combining the scenario
analysis with the brand
identity of the client we have
identified the more suitable
positioning for the new
product and elaborated the
best operative suggestions
(e.g. visual codes, values,
storytelling type, etc.) in order
to realise a coherent, effective
and distinctive packaging.
function
artisanal
industrial
substance
SPECIALISED
(x)
STANDARD
(y)
(non y)
ROUGH
(non x)
GOURMET
HERE

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If you would like to know more on how semiotics
could answer specific marketing issues, write to
squadrati@squadrati.com
Thanks.

62. Squadrati is trusted by:
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Squadrati srls
Via Ripamonti 44 - 20141 - Milano
squadrati@squadrati.com
www.squadrati.com