Semiotics and narrative congruence. Leveraging consumer insights through product placement

Kevin September and Charles Leech

The paper describes the semiotic process of assessing potential co-branding projects, such as product placement in feature films, for narrative congruence.

Semiotics and Narrative Congruence

Leveraging consumer insights through product placement

Charles LeechQualitative ABM Research Ltd., Canada

Kevin SeptemberPremier Entertainment, Canada

CONTEXT FOR NARRATIVE CONGRUENCE: INTERTEXTUALITY AND METASEMIOTICS

Narrative congruence can be defined as the connotative symmetry that arises when a plurality of texts communicates similar, or complimentary, information to the consumer. Achieving narrative congruence is an intertextual process that is deeply tied to the notion of “metasemiotics” (Eco, 1986: 210) in its ability to affect brand positioning and brand equity.

In its widest definition, intertextuality refers to the use of or reference to a ‘text’ in the course...

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