Transcript Part2

Models and Concepts of
Communication
Objective: Introducing different models and theories of
communications. In the end of this part, students will also
understand the effects of communications.
Objectives of Communication
Marketing communications aim to (1) inform,
(2) persuade, or (3) remind.
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Informative communication;
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tells the market about a new product
informs the market of a price change
explains how the product works
describes available services
corrects false impressions
reduces consumer’s fears
builds a company image
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Persuasive communication;
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builds brand preference
encourages switching to the brand of the company
persuades customers to purchase now or make a sales
call
Reminder communication;
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keeps the product in customer’s mind during off-season
maintains the product’s top-of-mind awareness
remind consumers where to buy the product
Models and Concepts of
Communications Theories
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Four basic perspectives to communication
theories;
Mechanistic; communication goes from sender to
receiver
 Psychological; considers the subjective elements (e.g.
emotions) in the interpretation of the messages
 Sociological; focuses on the social context in which
communications are sent and received
 Systems and networks; views communication as
complex system of circulating messages
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Communications Models
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To communicate effectively, marketers must first
understand how communication works.
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Early Mass Communications Models
Schramm model of mass communication
 The Shannon-Weaver model of communication
 The Osgood-Schramm model of communication
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Marketing Communications Transmission Models
 Multi-modal Communications Models
 Relational and Network Models of Communications
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Early Mass Communications Models
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basic models of mass communication.
based on a linear process in which the communication
is between a source and a receiver.
the source is responsible for the production of an
“encoded” message which is distributed to a receiver.
in more advance models, the role of the receiver is
recognized; “decoding”.
These models also recognise the “noise”.
Marketing Communications
Transmission Models
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recognize the differences between persons and in their
interpretations.
the model of Fill (2005) specifically relates to marketing
communications and organizational goals, therefore
introduces “feedback”.
also stresses the importance of “noise”; the influence
of which should be minimised.
noise can occur due to either cognitive or physical
factors.
successful communication can occur when the source
understands the receiver.
Multi-modal Communication Models
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recognize the social processes involved in the
production and interpretation of messages; the
communication process is under the influence of
other people in society.
The message sent through mass media reaches
some targeted audiences, but at the same time
reaches the “opinion leaders” who then reach
other audiences; therefore these models
recognizes the important role of peer groups;
networks of people.
Relational and Network Models of
Communications
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recognize the importance of “context”; not only social
background but also social context.
also recognize the importance of relationship between
the sender and the receiver; strong and trusting
relationships.
CRM is used to establish deep and loyal relationships;
more cost-effective communication.
“connective” relationships help firms to serve their
customers better; therefore communication does not only
consists of advertising, but also impersonal mass
communications.
individuals participate in the network and exchange and
spread communications depending on how “connected”
and “integrated” they are in the network.
Elements of Communication
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Sender: the party sending the message.
Encoding: the process of putting the message
(information) into symbolic form.
Message: the set of symbols in which the sender
transmit the information.
Media: the communication channels through
which the message moves from sender to
receiver.
Decoding: the process by which the receiver
assigns meaning to the encoded symbols.
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Receiver: the party receiving the message.
Response: the reactions of the receiver after
interpreting the message.
Feedback: receiver’s response communicated
back to the sender.
Noise: the unplanned distortion during the
communication process that influences how
receiver gets a different message than the one
sent by the sender.
Steps in Developing Effective
Communications
1. Identify the target
audience
2. Determine the response
sought
3. Choose a message
4. Choose the media through
which to send the
messages
5. Collect feedback
Identifying the Target Audience
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The target audience would be the potential buyers or
the current users of the product.
The target audience affects the communicator’s
decisions on;
 what will be said
 how will it be said
 when it will be said
 where it will be said
 who will say it
Determining the Response Sought
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Of course, the final response is purchase. Purchase is
the result of a long process of consumer decision
making. The marketing communicator need to know
where the target audience now stands, therefore, to
what stage it needs to be moved.
If the target market is totally unaware of the product,
knows only its name or knows ver little about it, the
communicator must first build awareness and
knowledge.
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If the target market knows the product, the
marketer must develop liking (feeling favorable
about the product), preference (prefering the
product over the other products), and conviction
(believing that the product is the best for them)
If the target market is convinced about the product,
the marketer must push the consumers to do the
purchase.
If the target market has started to forget the
product, the marketer must remind them again.
Choosing a Message
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The communicator must develop an effective
message in order to get the desired audience
response. Ideally the message should;
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get Attention
hold Interest
arouse Desire
obtain Action (known as the AIDA model)
In putting the message together, the marketing
communicator must decide (1) what to say (message
content) and (2) how to say it (message structure and
format).
Message Content
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The communicator must create an appeal or theme that
would produce the desired response. There are three
types of appeals;
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rational appeals; relate to the audience’s self-interest. They
show that the product will produce the desired benefits.
Messages include product’s quality, economy, value, or
performance. E.g. Mercedes “engineered like no other car in
the world”.
emotional appeals; attempt to stir up either negative (such as
fear, guilt, shame) or positive (such as love, humor, pride, joy)
emotions that can motivate purchase.
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E.g. Crest in its toothpaste ads “there are some things you
just can’t afford to gamble with”.
moral appeals; are directed to the audience’s sense of what
is right and proper.Messages include social issues such as
cleaner environment, equal rights for women, aid to the
needy...
Message Structure
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Regarding messages, the communicator must
also decide;
whether to draw a conclusion or leave it to the
audience.
 whether to present a one-or-two sided argument.
 whether to present the strongest arguements first or
last.
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Message Format
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The marketing communicator also needs a
strong format for the message.
In a print ad, advertisers can use novelty,
contrast, eye-catching pictures and headlines,
distinctive formats, message size and position,
colour, shape and movement.
In a radio ad, words, sounds, and voices.
On TV or in person, facial expressions, gestures,
dress, posture and hair style...
Choosing Media
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After the message is chosen, the communicator
must select channels of communication. There
are two broad types of communication
channels;
personal
nonpersonal
Personal Communication Channels
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In personal communication channels, two or more
people communicate directly (face to face, over the
telephone, or even through mail) with each other.
Personal communication channels are effective because
they allow for personal addressing and feedback.
Besides company salespeople, consumer buying guides
etc, neighbours, friends, family members,
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and associates may communicate with the target
buyers. This is known as word-of-mouth influence.
Personal communication is more important for
expensive, risky or highly visible products e.g.
automobiles for which consumers seek opinions of
knowledgeable people.
Companies can create opinion leaders (people whose
opinions are sought by others) to make them work
for the company by supplying those opinion leaders
with the product on attractive terms. Opinion
leaders would be radio personalities, heads of
organizations ….
Nonpersonal Communication Channels
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Nonpersonal communication channels are media that
carry messages without personal contact or feedback.
They include media, atmosphere and events.
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Media; include print media (newspaper, magazines, direct
mail); broadcast media (radio, television); and display media
(billboards, signs, posters)
Atmospheres; are designed environments to create and
reinforce buyer’s leaning toward purchasing a product. E.g.
lobby design of a hotel.
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Events; are staged occurrences that communicate
messages to target audiences. E.g. press conferences,
grand openings, shows, exhibitions, public tours, and
other events.
Such nonpersonal communications may first flow to
the opinion leaders and then from them to the
target audiences. That is why, most of the time,
mass communicators aim their messages directly at
opinion leaders.
Selecting the Message Source
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The message’s impact on the target market is
also affected by the message source.
Messages delivered by highly credible and
attcative sources (e.g. celebrities) gain higher
attention and recall and are more persuasive. E.g.
Kevin Costner in THY ads. As a result, many
food companies aim promotions at doctors,
dentists…
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Celebrities are effective when they personify a
key product attribute. …Beyaz ads for Rinso ...
Using animals and cartoon characters are also
successful; they are more dependable and
unlikely to create negative publicity.
Collecting Feedback
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After sending the message, the communicator
must research its effect on the target audience.
This involves asking the target members their
opinion and behaviour about the message.
Communications Effects
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People react differently on information. Many
people do not automatically purchase products
based on the advice received from opinion
formers or leaders.
The adoption process takes time. It starts with
people becoming aware of the product (e.g. new
restaurant in town). Knowledge is built over time
until the potential customers are persuaded by
the messages.
Individual Differences in
Adoption
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People differ in their readiness to try new products.
After a slow start, an increasing number of people
adopt the new product. The number of adopters
reaches a peak and then drops off as very little adopters
remain.
There are five adopter categorization on the basis of
time of adoption of innovations;
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Innovators: are the first 2.5 percent of the buyers, they are
adventurous, take risk, relatively younger, better educated,
have higher income, are more receptive to
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unfamiliar things, rely more on their own values and
judgement, are less brand loyal and more likely to tae
advantage of special promotions e.g. discounts.
Early adopters: are the next 13.5 percent, are opinion
leaders in their communities and adopt new ideas early
but carefully.
Early majority: are rarely leaders but adopt new ideas
before the average person.
Late majority: adopt an innovation only after a majority
of people have tried it.
Laggards: are suspicious of changes and adopt the
innovation only when it has become tradition.
Adopter categorization on the basis of
relative time of adoption of innovations
13.5 %
early
innovators
2.5%
34%
34%
early late
majority majority
adopters
16%
laggards
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A number of factors infleunce adoption;
Socio-economic characteristics (e.g. stage in family
life cycle, education, income, social networks, peer
groups, etc.)
 Personal characteristics (e.g. personality traits,
attitudes, beliefs, values, motivation etc.)
 Communication behavior (responses to
communications)
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Setting the Total
Promotion Budget
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The marketer must decide how much to spend on
promotion.According to the type of industry, the
promotion spendings vary. E.g. 20-30%of the sales in
cosmetics, 2-3%in industrial machinery.
There are basically four methods to set the total budget
for advertising;
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affordable method
percentage-of-sales method
competitive-parity method
objective-and-task method
Affordable Method
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Setting the promotion budget at the level that
management thinks the company can afford.
Small companies project their total revenues, deduct
their operating expenses and capital outlays, and
then devote some of the remaining funds to
advertising.
This method places advertising last among expenses,
therefore, ignores the effects of promotion on sales.
This method may result in either over or under
spending for advertising.
Percentage-of-Sales Method
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Setting the promotion budget at a certain percentage of
current or forecasted sales or as a percentage of the
sales price.
The advantage of this method is that it helps
management think about the relationships between
promotion spending, selling price, and profit per unit.
The disadvantages are; (1) it wrongly views sales as the
cause of promotion rather than as the result, (2) it may
prevent increase in promotional
spending, when the sales are falling, (3) it does not
provide any basis for choosing a specific percentage,
except last year’s and competitors percentages.
Competitive-Parity Method
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Setting the promotion budget to match competitor’s
outlays. The company monitors competitor’s
advertising or industry averages.
The advantage of this method is that it mat prevent
promotional wars.
The disadvantages of this method are; (1) each
company has its own promotional needs, therefore, the
competitors’ spending may be misleading, (2) there is
no guarantee that this method will prevent promotion
wars.
Objective-and-Task Method
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Setting promotion budgets based on what the company
wants to accomplish with promotion.
This is the most logical budget setting where the
company (1) defines specific promotion objectives, (2)
determines the tasks needed to achieve these objectives,
(3) estimates the total costs of performing these tasks.
This is the most difficult method to use because it is
hard to understand which tasks will achieve
specific objectives. E.g. if Sony wants to create 95%
awareness for its new camera within 6 months, it is
difficult to decide what messages and promotions to
use and how much to spend.
Setting the Promotion Mix
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After the budget has been determined, the marketer
must decide which promotion tools to use - advertising,
personal selling, sales promotion, public relations and
direct marketing. He must blend the promotion tools
into a coordinated and integrated promotion mix.
The following factors influence the marketer’s choice of
promotion tools;
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Nature of each promotion tool
Type of product and market
Push versus pull strategy
Buyer readiness stage
Product-life-cycle stage
Useful Links and Sources
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McCabe, S. (2009). Marketing Communications
in Tourism and Hospitality: Concepts, Strategies
and Cases. Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford.
Kotler, P.; Bowen, J. and Makens, J. (1999).
Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism (2nd ed.).
Prentice Hall: New Jersey.
Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2010) Principles
of Marketing (13th ed.). Prentice Hall: New
Jersey.