Marketing Code-X

Meaning Quest

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Harry Styles for Gucci

The CODE-X series catalogs a vast codex of source codes (aka “signs”) extracted from past audits.

The object of study in semiotics is not the signs but rather a general theory of signification; the goal of each “audit” is to build a model demonstrating how meaning is produced and received within a category or cultural territory. Signs on their own, therefore, only become truly revelatory and useful once we’ve sorted them into thematic complexes, and the complexes into codes, and the codes into a meaning map. We call this process “thick description”; the Code-X series is thin description.

Volvo: “It’s your journey”

MEANING QUEST” NORM: Embark on a search for what truly matters most — and don’t return home until you’ve discovered it. Luxury means seeking out something truly rare and special (experiences, meaning, truth). This journey takes place as much inside one’s mind and soul as it does out there in the world.

Selena Gomez for Coach

MEANING QUEST” FORMS: Men (almost always men) in exotic locales — far-off cities, out in the wilderness, etc. — brooding and contemplating.

From a 2022 study of the US Luxury space — across categories.

Tags: Accessories, CODE-X, Fashion, Luxury