Semiotics: a Window into Competitor Advertising

Malcolm Evans and Michael Harvey

Describes how a semiotic analysis tool, the Competitor Advertising Decoding Kit, was used by Guinness to gain a new depth of insight into competitor marketing.

Semiotics: A Window into Competitor Advertising

Michael Harvey Guinness UDVMalcolm Evans Added Value & Brown KSDP

In 1998 guinness created a new way to develop brand propositions. This required an understanding of four key elements to create the best proposition for their brand anywhere in the world:

  • Marketing objectives (to ensure a proposition 'fit for purpose').
  • Consumer needs and motivations (to ensure a motivating proposition).
  • Product attributes/perceptions (to ensure a credible proposition).
  • Knowledge of competitive advertising propositions (to ensure a distinctive...

WARC subscribers can sign in to keep reading

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands