Studia Filologiczne UJK

Summary

The article focuses on analyzing the phenomenon of trigger warnings (TW, warnings about potentially traumatizing content) in the context of social communication. Its aim is to answer how TWs function as a component of emotional branding and what ethical and communicative consequences this entails. The author proposes the hypothesis that trigger warnings serve dual functions: they communicate a sense of safe space while also building the audience’s emotional engagement and positioning the brand through branding strategies. The research was conducted using a case-study approach based on the trigger warning from the book Haunting Adeline, drawing on Philip Kotler’s six brand elements and on a survey concerning the reception of this warning.