Chapter 5 Summary

The Communication Process

The function of all elements of the promotional mix is to communicate, so promotional planners must understand the communication process. This process can be very complex; successful marketing communications depend on a number of factors, including the nature of the message, the audience’s interpretation of it, and the environment in which it is received. For effective communication to occur, the sender must encode a message in such a way that it will be decoded by the receiver in the intended manner. Feedback from the receiver helps the sender determine whether proper decoding has occurred or whether noise has interfered with the communication process.

Basic Model of Communication Process

•          Source/Sender – the person or organization that has information to share

•          Receiver – person(s) with whom the sender is sharing thoughts

•          Message – the information the source hopes to convey

•          Channel – method by which the communication travels from source to receiver  

•          Encoding – putting thoughts, ideas, or information into symbolic form

•          Decoding – transforming the senders message back into thought

•          Response – receiver’s reactions after seeing, hearing, or reading the message

•          Feedback – part of the receiver’s response that is communicated back to the sender  

•          Noise – unplanned distortion or interference

Successful communication is accomplished when the marketer selects an appropriate source, develops an effective message or appeal that is encoded properly, and then selects the channels or media that will best reach the target audience so that the message can be effectively decoded and delivered.

Marketers are very interested in feedback, that part of the receiver’s response that is communicated back to the sender. Feedback, which may take a variety of forms, closes the loop in the communications flow and lets the sender monitor how the intended message is being decoded and received.

Identifying Target Audience

The marketing communications process begins with identifying the audience that will be the focus of the firm’s advertising and promotional efforts.  The target audience may consist of individuals, groups, niche markets, market segments, or a mass audience:

•      Individuals – those with specific needs for whom a message must be specifically tailored

•      Small groups – multiple people in the audience who are involved in the purchase decision such as families or people who members of a buying center

•   Niche markets – smaller,  well-defined markets consisting of customers who have similar needs

•    Market segments – broader classes of people who have similar needs and can be reached with similar messages

•       Mass markets – markets consisting of large numbers of potential customers

The Response Process

The most important aspect of developing effective communication programs involves understanding the response process the receiver may go through in moving toward a specific behavior (like purchasing a product) and how the promotional efforts of the marketer influence consumer responses. In many instances, the marketer’s only objective may be to create awareness of the company or brand name, which may trigger interest in the product. In other situations, the marketer may want to convey detailed information to change consumers’ knowledge of and attitudes toward the brand and ultimately change their behavior.

The four models of the response process are:

•          AIDA model – developed to depict the stages in the personal selling process

•          Hierarchy of effects model – shows the process by which advertising works

•          Innovation adoption model – shows the stages a consumers passes through in the process of adopting a new product

•          Information processing model – a model of the process through which a consumer must pass to be influenced by advertising

Alternative Response Hierarchies

Michael Ray has developed a model of information processing that identifies three alternative orderings of the three stages based on perceived product differentiation and product involvement.  The three alternative hierarchies include:

•    The Standard Learning Hierarchy = learnà feelà do sequence.  The consumer is viewed as an active participant and this sequence is likely when there is much differentiation among brands and the consumer is highly involved in the purchase process.

•  The Dissonance/Attribution Hierarchy = doà feelà learn sequence.   Occurs when consumers must choose between two alternatives that are similar in quality but are complex and may have unknown attributes.  Focus of mass media should be on reducing dissonance after purchase.

•   Low involvement Hierarchy = learnà –àdo àfeel sequence.  Occurs when involvement in the purchase decision is low, there are minimal differences among brand alternatives, and mass-media advertising is important.

The cognitive response approach

The cognitive response approach has been widely used in research by both academicians and advertising practitioners. Its focus has been to determine the types of responses evoked by an advertising message and how these responses relate to attitudes toward the ad, brand attitudes, and purchase intentions. The three basic categories of cognitive responses which the researchers have identified are:

•          Product/message thoughts

•          Source-oriented thoughts

•          Ad execution thoughts

The cognitive response approach examines the thoughts evoked by a message and how they shape the receiver’s ultimate acceptance or rejection of the communication. The elaboration likelihood model of attitude formation and change recognizes two forms of message processing, the central and peripheral routes to persuasion, which are a function of the receiver’s motivation and ability to process a message. There are three critical intermediate effects between advertising and purchase including cognition, affect, and experience. Those responsible for planning the IMC program should learn as much as possible about their target audience and how it may respond to advertising and other forms of marketing communications.