Consumer Dominant Semiotics: Aspects of an Emerging Marketing Paradigm

Extant research has established consumer dominance as a significant phenomenon in contemporary marketing. Theoretical groundwork has convincingly argued for a distinctive consumer dominant paradigm. However, the conceptual underpinnings of consumer dominance are yet to be explored. This paper builds on and progresses existing research in the area through a semiotic analysis of consumer dominant brand narratives and their potential impact on brands. Drawing on Peirce’s theory of signs, the focal point of the paper is the notion of consumer dominant sign-chains and their impact on consumer interpretants and brands understood as both a phenomenological and ontological object.