Theoretical Articulations Between Culture, Semiotics and Destination Branding: An Analysis Proposal for the Strategic Communication of Places

This paper proposes that theoretical factors obtained from triangulation between culture, semiotics and branding translate into practical implications, especially helpful for working with cases of places communicated in adverts that promote them as destinations. By articulating concepts and scholarly approaches, this work defines places as cultural objects with collections of commonly held significant patterns that shape social practices in ever-changing contexts. Places have a strategic potential, generally managed in audiovisual and advertising texts. These texts can be analyzed with methods such as the semiotic analysis model and the semiotic square. They are usually observed promoting destination brands, full of cultural signs to attract visitors. Considering these points of articulation, the paper suggests practical implications for reading destination brands as cultural texts, applying semiotic methods to individual and integrated analysis, and searching for sign patterns and myths. In addition to finding an innovative approach for future analysis of the strategic communication of destination brands, the proposal implies going beyond case studies, opening opportunities for in-depth research and management to promote these brands.