On the application of symbols in advertising communication

On the application of symbols in advertising communication

Symbol is an important part of modern advertising design. Without symbols, advertising design loses its soul. Early humans began to use symbols to convey ideas and communicate feelings. With the development of history, symbols show their unique artistic charm and style system. The following is my analysis of the use of symbols in advertising communication for reference only. Let's have a look.

Brief Analysis on the Application of Symbols in Advertising Communication 1 Abstract: Symbols are the carriers of advertisements, and the creative process of advertising works is also the process of using symbols to refer to commodities, that is, the process of comprehensively using image symbols, finger symbols and symbolic symbols. The symbols in advertisements have their particularity. Symbols are of great significance in advertising communication.

Human communication is inseparable from symbols. With people's understanding of the nature of advertising communication, the symbolic nature of advertising has gradually attracted people's attention. Advertising communication is inseparable from symbols. This paper discusses how to use symbols in advertising communication from the perspective of semiotics.

Meaning of symbol

Saussure and Pierce, the founders of semiotics, respectively explained symbols from the perspectives of linguistics and philosophy. Saussure interpreted symbols as a binary relationship, that is, the unity of signifier and signified. Pierce thinks that symbol is a ternary relationship composed of symbol form, symbol object and symbol interpretation. In fact, Pierce's symbolic form here is Saussure's signifier, and the interpretation of the symbol is similar to Saussure's signifier. "Symbolic object" is a unique feature of Pierce. He connected symbols with the outside world, thinking that symbols are the product of the connection between cognitive subjects and the outside world, which changed Saussure's static concept of symbols. According to the different relations between symbols and the objects they refer to, Pierce divided symbols into icons, indexes and symbols. Image symbols represent objects through realism or imitation, and they are the same in shape or color as certain features of the referred objects, such as photos; Finger string symbol is a direct causal or spatio-temporal relationship between the symbol and the object it refers to, such as "quite critical", in which "Ye" is the finger string symbol of "autumn"; The relationship between symbols and reference objects is completely conventional. For example, the phonetic or literal symbol of the word "tree" is the agreed relationship with the tree in reality, and "tree" is the symbol. Because language is the most basic symbol system of human beings, we generally divide symbols into linguistic symbols and nonverbal symbols. In daily life, we sometimes use "symbol" to replace the signifier of the symbol and "meaning" to refer to the signified of the symbol.

The basic functions of symbols are cognition and communication. In the process of cognition, people must use another thing to represent this thing in order to grasp the information of this thing and store it in their brains. The "otherness" of this representation is a symbol. The classification of image symbols, fingering symbols and symbolic symbols reflects the different characteristics of cognitive functions of symbols.

The process of human communication is essentially a process of information dissemination. A basic communication process has five basic elements: disseminator (source), receiver (sink), information, media (channel) and feedback. A message refers to information with complete meaning. Symbol is the external form or material carrier of information, and it is an indispensable basic element in information expression and dissemination. The process of human communication is the process that symbols are transmitted from the sender to the receiver through the media, which involves the choice of symbols by the sender and the interpretation of symbols by the receiver. We generally call the selection of symbols encoding and the interpretation of symbols decoding. Coding is to combine signifier and signified by using some coding rules in the specific field of symbolic objects, and to embody the signified function of symbols in the relationship between signifier and signified. Decoding is to reconstruct meaning through code, so as to understand the thoughts and feelings that the sender wants to express. Decoding is the reverse process of coding, so what the communicator wants to convey is not necessarily the same as what the receiver receives. To realize "information sharing" and "behavior coordination" between the sender and the receiver, we must take "meaningful space" as the premise, that is, both parties have the same, similar or similar life experience and cultural background. For the sender, it needs accurate and appropriate coding, and for the receiver, it needs accurate and active decoding.

The Application of Symbols in Advertising Communication

Advertising has many definitions. The Concise Encyclopedia of Great Britain, published by China Encyclopedia Publishing House, explains that advertising is a way to spread information, and its purpose is to promote goods and services, influence public opinion, win political support, promote a cause or cause other reactions expected by advertisers. Advertising information is delivered to the audience it wants to attract through various propaganda tools, including newspapers, magazines, television, radio, posting advertisements and direct mail. Advertising is different from other forms of transmitting information, and advertisers must pay for the media that disseminate information. It can be seen that advertising is essentially an information dissemination activity, an activity in which advertisers symbolize goods and services and deliver them to consumers through certain media. Therefore, advertising itself is a way of expression; At the same time, it is also based on the way and principle of symbols. The process of advertisers making advertisements is coding, the process of releasing advertisements is that symbols flow from source to destination, and the process of consumers receiving advertisements is decoding. As recipients, consumers (especially those in the era of oversupply) generally do not take the initiative to ask for information, nor do they spend energy to actively interpret advertising symbols. Therefore, in order to achieve the purpose of advertising symbols "reaching others", advertisers as communicators should not only find the meaning space of consumers, code them accurately and appropriately, but also find attractive and easy-to-understand symbols.

There are many coding methods. The process of coding is also the process of using different symbols.

1, using image symbols: Photographic advertisements, display advertisements and window advertisements mainly use image symbols. ABSOLUTE's early advertisements used real glass bottles of vodka as advertisements, and these advertisements used graphic symbols. Advertising with this symbol is equivalent to putting the product itself directly in front of consumers, and its advantage is intuitive. If consumers see the product itself with their own eyes, the disadvantage is that they can't convey information other than the product.

2. Fingering symbols: the wine flag is the fingering symbol of the restaurant, the medicine gourd is the fingering symbol of the pharmacy, and the hoe sickle is the fingering symbol of the blacksmith shop. Coca-Cola's advertisements for "cool articles" and "football articles" take the bottle shape as the basic element, conveying the characteristics of Coca-Cola's coolness and sports, and the bottle shape also refers to the logo. Advertisers regard the factors that are inevitably related to commodities as the elements of advertising works, so that consumers can relate these factors to commodities. Such symbols can simplify consumers' memory of commodities and convey more information about commodities.

3. Use symbolic symbols: the symbols of the goods themselves are simplified, reduced or even hidden, and the symbolic meaning given to the goods becomes the theme of advertising. For example, "the man wearing a Hartway shirt and an eye patch" has nothing to do with the Hartway shirt, and the image symbolizing the Hartway shirt can be something else, but their relationship has been fixed through the spread of mass media, and "the man wearing a Hartway shirt and an eye patch" has become the symbol of the Hartway shirt. When people see him, they immediately think of Hartway jerseys.

Symbols are the main symbols used in advertisements. According to the different signifiers of symbols, they can be divided into linguistic symbols and nonverbal symbols. Language symbols can be divided into written and voiced languages. Printed advertisements such as newspapers and magazines use text symbols. Media such as radio and television use sound language symbols. Language symbols are an indispensable part of advertisements, which we usually call copywriting. Language focuses on conveying the original meaning of information content. The difference between language symbols in advertisements and general language symbols is that they are a means rather than an end. Instead of letting copywriters display their literary talents, they attract the attention of the target audience to the products, effectively convey information and help sales. Therefore, copywriting should cultivate their skills of using language and words to "effectively" convey information.

Language is the basic symbol system of human communication, but it is not the only system. Nonverbal symbols are also important carriers of information. Nonverbal symbols include language symbols, body symbols, materialized symbols, active symbols and stylized symbols. Accompanying symbols of language symbols, such as sound level, size, speed, font, size, thickness, neatness and scribbling, not only play an auxiliary role in language symbols, but also have significance in itself. For example, there is a public service advertisement on Women's Day, which illustrates the improvement of women's status with the writings of female characters from ancient times to the present. Body symbols, such as posture, expression, action, eyes, etc. , you can pass information like a language. When used together with language, they play an important role in forming communicative situations and can help and restrict language. For example, laughing and crying in the same sentence may have two opposite meanings and may have completely different explanations on different occasions. Materialized, active and stylized symbols, such as flags and badges, music and dance, art and architecture, cities and consumption patterns, are symbolic and systematic, and convey symbolic meaning through fixed symbols or combinations of symbols. Of course, advertisements often need to use these symbols to convey information. For example, advertising songs are the application of music in advertising. Advertising works are composed of linguistic symbols and nonverbal symbols, which should cooperate organically to form a harmonious whole. When compiling linguistic symbols and nonverbal symbols, we should always bear in mind that the core essence of linguistic symbols and nonverbal symbols in advertisements is the means of conveying information in advertisements, which should ultimately play a role in good brand image and sales.

Modern advertising is generally not limited to a certain symbol when coding, but comprehensively uses various symbols to give full play to its functions. For example, in the print advertisement of Maxwell Coffee, the left side of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is seriously tilted to the right side, with a hot coffee cup on the right side and three boxes of Maxwell Coffee lying across the right foot. This advertisement accurately conveys the information of the goods with a simple picture: Why is the leaning tower of Pisa so tilted? This is because Maxwell coffee tastes so attractive. Here, the three Maxwell boxes under the right foot are image symbols, coffee cups and curled hot air are cable symbols, and the leaning tower of Pisa is a symbol.

In the process of using symbols in advertisements, it should be noted that the symbols in advertisements are a special kind of symbols, which have characteristics that ordinary symbols do not have:

Cognition: Cognition is the life of advertising symbols. Only when consumers accept and understand the information conveyed by advertisements can advertisements achieve their goals. Therefore, the symbols in advertisements must be correctly interpreted by consumers. In order to interpret symbols correctly, symbols must be in the meaning space of consumers. If consumers are confused, they will lose the role of advertising.

Uniqueness: The difference between advertising symbols and general symbols mainly lies in uniqueness. Symbols generally emphasize "seeking common ground", but the symbol "seeking difference" in advertisements is often the key. The main purpose of advertising is to attract consumers' attention and urge them to buy. Advertising symbols can only attract consumers' attention if they are different, unique and unique.

Utilitarianism: advertising works are composed of symbols, and advertising symbols serve the goal of advertising information in the final analysis, so the choice of symbols should be guided by advertising goals.

Target: Symbols should be aimed at the target consumers, and choose the symbols that the target consumers like.

Fashion: symbols are not static, but will change with the times. We should grasp the pulse of the times, make good use of the symbols that people know, understand and use at present, and discard the symbols that have been eliminated.

Creativity: Advertising creativity is the reorganization of old symbols or the creation of new symbols. It is human nature to like the new and hate the old, and it is also the nature of consumers.

Symbolic fatigue in advertising communication

Humans can know the world because of symbols, and advertisements can exist because of symbols. Symbol is the carrier of advertising information. Without symbols, advertisements cannot convey information, so there is no "advertisement".

The diversity of symbols also endows advertisements with endless charm. It is precisely because of the separation of symbol and meaning, and the distinction between signifier and signified that advertising can stimulate the enthusiasm of consumers' thinking and imagination, so that consumers can get a * * * sound when interpreting symbols and get spiritual pleasure and enjoyment.

To sum up, the process of advertising creation is also the process of selecting symbols, creating symbols and using symbols. Symbol has become an irreplaceable carrier of advertising creation because of its unique referential function. But symbols are also a means to achieve the purpose of advertising, so advertising symbols must follow the operating rules of advertising.

With the development of China's economy, there are more and more "China elements" in modern advertisements with various forms of expression. This paper puts forward some suggestions on how to use "China element" to create successful advertisements.

Keywords China element advertising communication and application

First, the concept of "China element"

There is no uniform definition of "China element". Some people think that "China elements" are "those elements that have a special cultural identity in China because of the long-term historical development and cultural accumulation", while others think that they are "recognized by China people in past dynasties and represent the cultural spirit of China. Images, symbols, cultures and other concrete substances and abstract spiritual elements that reflect the dignity and interests of the Chinese nation are also considered as "symbols that can represent the cultural spirit of China, arouse the audience's association with the cultural spirit of China, and at the same time arouse the' China complex'". These definitions are summarized. "What is recognized by most China people (including overseas Chinese) embodies the traditional cultural spirit of the Chinese nation and embodies national dignity and national interests. From the perspective of communication, we can also define "China element": in the process of communication, as a carrier of a single symbol or symbol system, it has an expressible materialized form (including words, images, colors, notes, etc. ) and ideology that can be copied (ideology, values, ways of thinking, behavior patterns, etc.). ). Its formal core is related to "China", which is a dynamically developing concept of prose mode.

The second is the expression of "China element" in advertisements.

The application of "China element" in advertising communication can be seen everywhere. For example, according to Ni of Xiamen University, "China element" contains two meanings: the first layer is the symbol of "China element", that is, the recognizable symbols that can be seen everywhere in advertising works, such as opera masks, Yin and Yang gossip, dragon and phoenix images, etc. The second level is the spirit of "China element", that is, although there is no obvious direct sign of "China element", cultural traditions, customs and values have been accurately and vividly conveyed and embodied.

Nowadays, most advertisements are superficial symbols, and pictures or words are used in advertisements, such as pandas, the Great Wall of Wan Li and so on. In the attention economy society, the visual image in advertisements is very important, and it is understandable to express the "China element" directly. However, in order to flaunt the "Chinese style", there are widespread problems such as "China element", and only "China element" is regarded as an ornament of advertisements. The expression of "China element" in advertising communication is single, with empty spiritual content and exhausted resources.

The application of "China Element" in advertising communication does not necessarily need to be expressed in a specific image or form, but more importantly, it shows the spirit of China. For example, in a TV public service advertisement, a little boy came home from work and saw that his mother couldn't rest. He immediately took a basin of foot washing water to wash the feet of the elderly. When his mother came out of the room, he found the little boy carrying a basin of foot washing water and said to his mother, "Mom, wash your feet." Mother's face immediately showed a happy smile. From beginning to end, this public service advertisement did not show any image or explanation about the "China element", but the public can see the moral of this advertisement, which is the filial piety tradition advocated by China people and has been respected by China people for many years. Making use of China's cultural factors to advertise, even if the product has no official China symbol, people can recognize it at a glance, because it has "China element" DNA.

Third, use the "China element" to create successful Chinese advertisements.

With the rapid development of the advertising industry in China, more and more advertising companies and advertisers pay more attention to the "China element" in order to expand the market. For China, a successful Chinese advertisement is aimed at us, but for the world, it should reflect us and highlight China's rich cultural heritage.

How to create a successful advertisement with "China element"? The most important thing is to study consumer psychology. Consumers in China have a lot of consumption psychology, such as face psychology, comparison psychology, conformity psychology and so on. How to infiltrate the "China element" into advertisements is based on consumers' unique consumption psychology.

On the basis of analyzing consumers' psychology, advertising should extract the cultural characteristics and values that conform to consumers' psychology, and then formulate corresponding advertising strategies and creative schemes. In the form of expression and creative expression, advertisements should integrate China's traditional culture into modern ideas, and model essays should also look at the world and give full consideration to the understanding and cognitive ability of target consumers. After all, the ultimate goal of advertising is to convey the core idea of advertising to the target consumers concisely and avoid decoding failure in information transmission.

The application of "China Element" in advertising aims to connect the audience's feelings with the culture of China, so that the audience can feel the cultural connotation of the product. Consumers have unique folk culture and national complex, which will subtly affect their consumption consciousness and their consumption behavior. Koreans' support for domestic brands such as Samsung and Hyundai tells us that most successful brands have the power derived from local cultural spirit. Similarly, the use of "China element" in advertisements can easily arouse the psychological resonance of China people and produce a sense of intimacy.

In commercial advertisements, local enterprises use China symbol to establish national brand image, while foreign-funded enterprises use China symbol to close the psychological distance with China consumers. The symbolic stimulation of "China Element" to consumers is consistent with the original cultural background and symbolic image in consumers' minds, so consumers have a sense of familiarity and intimacy, thus arousing consumers' subconscious mind and product image and transmitting such a potential stimulus signal, which consumers accepted from the first feeling.

From the market point of view, advertising communication should integrate China's own cultural personality into advertising. The cultural personality here includes images, symbols or customs which are recognized by most China people (including overseas Chinese), which embodies the traditional cultural spirit of the Chinese nation and embodies national dignity and national interests. From a hierarchical point of view, the most important "China element" in advertising communication is to conform to China's moral standards and oppose cultural discrimination.

China's model essay on culture is extensive and profound, which provides a lot of material for the advertisement of "China Element". Of course, cultural elements should not be abused, because the use of cultural elements should be based on product carriers. If products and cultural elements can match each other, the best effect can be achieved. But once the two are not harmonious, it will make the advertisement lack appeal and affect the advertising effect. Therefore, it is very important to use cultural elements properly in advertisements. In order to achieve the best effect of advertising, it is necessary to grasp the cultural background of the target consumers, attract them, let them know the cultural implication contained in the advertisement, thus generating a good impression and then generating buying behavior.

The most direct way to integrate cultural elements into advertisements is to apply them to the composition of pictures. Today's society is an attention economy society, so it is particularly important to attract consumers' attention in advertisements. Advertisements often set up "eye catcher", that is, visual focus, to attract consumers' attention. Taking calligraphy as an example, China's calligraphy contains rich China culture. The direct use of calligraphy works in picture composition can effectively enhance the appeal of irritants, strengthen the emotional stimulation of advertisements to consumers and attract attention. Calligraphy art can effectively deepen consumers' memory of advertisements. It should be noted that Chinese characters are not only carriers of language information, but also codes containing national historical and cultural information. When Chinese characters are selected to form a specific system, the Chinese characters in this specific system carry more information than usual and are endowed with more meanings. This information must be specially processed before it can be conveyed to the audience; The audience must also have certain conditions to accept and form feedback and produce results.

In addition to some visible cultural elements such as calligraphy and Chinese characters, some unique folk culture in China can also be presented in advertising design. Folklore involves life, production, social communication, religion and other fields and has an important position. It is directly related to the daily life of every member of society. This not only promoted the product, but also evoked people's memories of some folk customs that gradually disappeared from their horizons, and also made consumers feel intimate. Nowadays, advertisements like humanized appeal, and consumers prefer this way. In this case, some traditional virtues of China people can be integrated into the advertisement, and there is no need to deliberately appear China elements in the whole advertisement, but consumers can immediately realize that it is a China advertisement full of China elements after seeing the advertisement. What we expect is to create China advertisements with "China form" and "China expression".

As a communication memory symbol system, Chinese-style advertisements with "China element" not only care about the external visual image, but also pay attention to the realization of communication value: in terms of great discount, they can be regarded as support for the communication of "China's national image", while in terms of small scale, they are concentrated on the core culture of China brand. How to use the "China element" to launch a brand-new concept, a brand-new thinking and a brand-new method, and launch our own Chinese-style advertisements requires the joint efforts of experts, scholars and advertising practitioners. Using "China element" to gain the right to speak in the field of advertising requires us to fully understand our present situation and what we want to be. Only in this way can our efforts create Chinese-style advertisements full of "China elements" and promote the rise of advertisements in China.

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