Locus branding as a reflection of the geocultural space characteristics (the linguistic and cognitive aspect)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the process of locus branding aimed at establishing a geocultural brand on the basis of realizing several discourse practices dependent on the sender’s goals and the recipient’s attitude. The ontological status of the phenomenon under consideration postulates the interdisciplinary nature of the investigation. The author defines locus brand as a cognitive phenomenon. Special attention is paid to the emotional connection between the locus brand and its recipient. Hence, emotional brand characteristics are identified. The article considers such notions as the locus brand mental field, its dimensions as well as the locus brand code, which is viewed as a mechanism responsible for mental worlds forming in the recipient’s mental space. It is shown that locus branding involves a number of discourse practices, such as objective data involvement, detailed elaboration and specification of geocultural information, and locus brand creation via a legend or a tale, the genius loci. The article contains a detailed analysis of the above practices. The author demonstrates the possibilities of the combined approach used to create the integrated locus brand model which apart from the geographical component includes linguistic and cultural ones. The role of the interaction between the verbal and visual components used to create a full-fledged territorial image is emphasized. Using polymodal sources ensures better memorization of the referent’s image and facilitates the creation of the recipient’s situational model correlating with the locus-brand’s major characteristics.