Editing Semiotics (section)

=== Globalization ===
Studies have shown that semiotics may be used to make or break a [[brand]]. [[Culture code]]s strongly influence whether a population likes or dislikes a brand's marketing, especially internationally. If the company is unaware of a culture's codes, it runs the risk of failing in its marketing. [[Globalization]] has caused the development of a global consumer culture where products have similar associations, whether positive or negative, across numerous markets.<ref name="Alden">{{cite journal|last1=Alden|first1=Dana L|last2=Steenkamp|first2=Jan-Benedict E. M|last3=Batra|first3=Rajeev|year=1999|title=Brand Positioning Through Advertising in Asia, North America, and Europe: The Role of Global Consumer Culture|journal=Journal of Marketing|volume=63|issue=1|pages=75–87|doi=10.2307/1252002|jstor=1252002}}</ref>

Mistranslations may lead to instances of "[[Engrish]]" or "[[Chinglish]]" terms for unintentionally humorous cross-cultural slogans intended to be understood in English. When [[Translation#Survey translation|translating surveys]], the same symbol may mean different things in the source and target language thus leading to potential errors. For example, the symbol of "x" is used to mark a response in English language surveys but "x" usually means {{Gloss|no}} in the Chinese convention.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Pan |first1=Yuling |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780429294914/sociolinguistics-survey-translation-yuling-pan-mandy-sha-hyunjoo-park |title=The Sociolinguistics of Survey Translation |last2=Sha |first2=Mandy |date=2019-07-09 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-29491-4 |location=London |pages=72–75 |doi=10.4324/9780429294914 |s2cid=198632812}}</ref> This may be caused by a sign that, in Peirce's terms, mistakenly indexes or symbolizes something in one culture, that it does not in another.<ref>Chandler, Daniel. 2007 [2001]. ''Semiotics: The Basics''. London: [[Routledge]].</ref> In other words, it creates a connotation that is culturally-bound, and that violates some culture code. Theorists who have studied humor (such as [[Schopenhauer]]) suggest that contradiction or incongruity creates absurdity and therefore, humor.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Spotts|first1=Harlan E|last2=Weinberger|first2=Marc G|last3=Parsons|first3=Amy L|year=1997|title=Assessing the Use and Impact of Humor on Advertising Effectiveness: A Contingency Approach|journal=Journal of Advertising|volume=26|issue=3|pages=17|doi=10.1080/00913367.1997.10673526}}</ref> Violating a culture code creates this construct of ridiculousness for the culture that owns the code. Intentional humor also may fail cross-culturally because jokes are not on code for the receiving culture.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Beeman|first1=William O|year=1981|title=Why Do They Laugh? An Interactional Approach to Humor in Traditional Iranian Improvisatory Theater: Performance and Its Effects|journal=The Journal of American Folklore|volume=94|issue=374|pages=506–526|doi=10.2307/540503|jstor=540503}}</ref>

A good example of branding according to cultural code is [[Disney]]'s international [[theme park]] business. Disney fits well with [[Japan]]'s cultural code because the Japanese value "[[Cuteness in Japan|cuteness]]", politeness, and gift-giving as part of their culture code; [[Tokyo Disneyland]] sells the most souvenirs of any Disney theme park. In contrast, [[Disneyland Paris]] failed when it launched as [[Euro Disney S.C.A.|Euro Disney]] because the company did not research the codes underlying European culture. Its storybook retelling of European folktales was taken as [[Elitism|elitist]] and insulting, and the strict appearance standards that it had for employees resulted in discrimination lawsuits in France. Disney souvenirs were perceived as cheap trinkets. The park was a financial failure because its code violated the expectations of European culture in ways that were offensive.<ref name="Brannen">{{cite journal|last1=Brannen|first1=Mary Yoko|year=2004|title=When Mickey Loses Face: Recontextualization, Semantic Fit, and the Semiotics of Foreignness|journal=Academy of Management Review|volume=29|issue=4|pages=593–616|doi=10.5465/amr.2004.14497613|jstor=20159073}}</ref>

However, some researchers have suggested that it is possible to successfully pass a sign perceived as a cultural icon, such as the [[logo]]s for [[Coca-Cola]] or [[McDonald's]], from one culture to another. This may be accomplished if the sign is migrated from a more economically developed to a less developed culture.<ref name="Brannen" /> The intentional association of a product with another culture has been called "foreign consumer culture positioning" (FCCP). Products also may be marketed using global trends or culture codes, for example, saving time in a busy world; but even these may be fine-tuned for specific cultures.<ref name="Alden" />

Research also found that, as airline industry brandings grow and become more international their logos become more symbolic and less iconic. The iconicity and [[Symbolism (arts)|symbolism]] of a sign depends on the cultural convention and are, on that ground, in relation with each other. If the cultural convention has greater influence on the sign, the signs get more symbolic value.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Thurlow|first1=Crispin|last2=Aiello|first2=Giorgia|year=2016|title=National pride, global capital: A social semiotic analysis of transnational visual branding in the airline industry|journal=Visual Communication|volume=6|issue=3|pages=305|doi=10.1177/1470357207081002|s2cid=145395587}}</ref>