VERBAL AND NONVERBAL MODES OF BRAND CONSTRUCTION IN MULTIMODAL DISCOURSE

Abstract

This article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of verbal and nonverbal modes as tools for brand construction in contemporary English-language multimodal discourse (using M&M’s as a case study). The research was conducted using a number of techniques and methods, including: complete sampling, induction and deduction, analysis and synthesis, descriptive, comparative, contextual, semantic and stylistic methods. It has been established that throughout its history in the modern English-language mass media communication space, the analyzed brand has evolved significantly due to the transformation of the initially established perceptual experience into a social one. It has been substantiated that the construction of meaning occurs through the symbiosis of verbal and non-verbal modes, each of which plays its own role. The distinctive features of nonverbal modes as communicatively significant and semantically loaded units designed to emphasize brand identity and support its recognition have been outlined. It has been established that nonverbal modes are brought to life not only through the characters’ movements, but also through tempo, rhythm, and repetitive patterns, which correlate with archetypes that reflect playfulness and inclusivity. It has been summarized that none of the modes can be considered as of primary importance, since each of them has its own weight and is designed to symbiotically emphasize the content. Considerable attention has been focused on the mechanisms of meaning creation of the M&M’s brand, which is actualized by verbal and nonverbal means. Significant attention is focused on archetypes, each of which reflects a specific decade (Creator/Everyman; Authenticity/Jester; Expansion/Fun/Explorer; Everyman/ Jester; Innovation/Hero; Play/Individuality/Jester; Innovation/Participation/ Jester; Everyman/Creator/Jester; Everyman/Caregiver/Inclusive Creator/ Citizen). The processes of resemantization and recontextualization of meanings as a response to the challenges of the 21st century have been illustrated. The carried out brand analysis used a number of tools that enabled comprehensive decoding of true meanings in an evolutionary dimension through the prism of all involved modes, semantic and stylistic markers