Online brands: branding, possible worlds, and interactive grammars

Abstract

This paper proposes to reflect from a semiotic perspective on the transformation/nthat brands have undergone since the rise of the Internet. After a/nbrief theoretical introduction to digital communication and the semiotics of/nbrands, the case of the Google brand is analyzed by applying concepts of/ngenerative and interpretive semiotics. The paper holds that the iconic and/nlinguistic enunciations are secondary with respect to interaction. In digital/nmedia interaction — the interactive experience that the Internet user lives/n— is a fundamental component of the hypermedia cocktail and occupies a/ncentral position in the brand building process. The article concludes with/nsome of the questions and special characteristics raised by so-called/neBranding.