Meaning Transfer
Meaning moves from culture to goods through advertising and fashion, and from goods to people through rituals of possession; it can overload a product until function disappears, conflict within it, or dilute.
An everyday example
A brand so loaded with meanings that no one can say what the product does; a status symbol drained by ubiquity.
What it can cost you
Buying meanings you did not choose; brands whose meanings conflict or have diluted since you adopted them.
Warning signs
- I cannot separate the brand from the product.
- The meaning has changed since I bought in.
One thing to do
Name the meanings attached to a product and check they are ones you want; separate them from what the product does.
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