From genericide to viral marketing: on ‘brand’

The contemporary phenomenon of ‘brand’ is addressed within a Peircean semiotic framework, showing ‘brand’ to be an inherently unstable composite of tangible (e.g. product) and intangible (e.g. brand name) values. The professional literature of brand strategy is drawn upon for definitions, and branding work in an Internet-focused ‘New Economy’ consultancy is described. Three phenomena of branding—genericide, ingredient branding, and so-called ‘viral marketing’—reveal the vulnerabilities of brands, and show that it is not only material things, but events, experiences, and acts of communication that can be ‘branded’. The wider macroeconomic implications of these semiotic vulnerabilities are briefly explored in conclusion. # 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.