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Because learning changes everything.®

Learning Objectives

LO1 Describe the communication process and its role in IMC.

LO2 Describe the basic model of the communication process.
LO3 Discuss the role of word-of-mouth influence and viral
marketing.
Chapter 5 LO4 Analyze receivers' responses to marketing communications
The Communication Process and their implications for promotional planning and
strategy.
LO5 Describe the influence of social media on the consumer
decision process.
LO6 Discuss consumers' cognitive processing of marketing
communications.

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No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill. © McGraw Hill 2

The Nature of Communication Exhibit 5-1

Communication This outdoor ad from

• Passing of information.
the California Milk
Process Board is
• Exchange of ideas. directly targeted to
• Process of establishing a commonness of thought between sender Hispanic consumers.
and receiver. Translated, the text
• Success depends on many factors. reads “Family traditions
• Nature of message, audience’s interpretation, environment, receiver’s
go well with milk.” It
perception of source and medium used to transmit message, etc. appeals to consumers’
love for family.
• Language is a major barrier.

LO5-1

© McGraw Hill 3 © McGraw Hill Source: The California Milk Advisory Board 4

Figure 5-1 A Model of the Communication Process Basic Model of Communication 1

Source Encoding
• Source:
• Person or organization that has
information to share with another
person or group of people.

• Encoding:
• Putting thoughts, ideas, or
information into symbolic form.

Singer Kelly Clarkson is a source in this ad Source: Citizen Watch Company of America, Inc.
for Citizen Eco-Drive watches.
LO5-2
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Basic Model of Communication 2 Basic Model of Communication 3

Message Channel
• Contains information or meaning the source hopes to convey. • Facilitates communication between sender and receiver.
• Includes content, structure, and design.
• Nonpersonal channel or mass media.
• Lacks direct, interpersonal contact between sender and receiver.

• Includes print and broadcast.

• Personal channel or direct communication between two or more

persons.
This Coach ad uses only a picture to • Word-of-mouth (WOM): Informal communication among consumers
deliver its message of aspirational about products and services.
heritage mixed with an urban attitude.
The image projected by an ad often • Buzz marketing: Generating positive word-of-mouth discussion.
Source: Coach, Inc.
communicates more than words.
LO5-3

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Basic Model of Communication 4 Figure 5-2 Motivations for Social Sharing of Videos

Channel continued Motivation Description

• Viral marketing: Propagating marketing-relevant messages with the Opinion Seeking I want to see what my friends think
help of individual consumers. Shared Passion It lets me connect with my friends about a shared
interest
• Factors affecting success:
Conversation Starting I want to start an online conversation
• Message characteristics. Social Utility This could be useful to my friends
• Individual sender or receiver characteristics. Self-Expression It says something about me

• Social network characteristics. Social in Real Life It will help me socialize with my friends offline
Social Good It’s for a good cause and I want to help
• Seeding: Identifying and choosing initial group of consumers who will start
Zeitgeist It’s about a current trend or event
spreading the message.
Kudos: Authority I want to demonstrate my knowledge
Kudos: Cool Hunting I want to be the first to tell my friends
Source: Adapted from “Why Some Videos Go Viral” from Harvard Business Review, September 2015. https://hbr.org/2015/09/ why-some-videos-go-viral.

© McGraw Hill 9 © McGraw Hill 10

Basic Model of Communication 5 Basic Model of Communication 6

Channel continued Receiver/Decoding

• Integrating word of mouth with IMC. • Receiver: Person with whom sender shares thoughts or information.
• Consumers ascribe high credibility to information from others. • Decoding: Transforming sender’s message into thought.
• Marketers must develop creative advertisements and communication that • Heavily influenced by receiver’s field of experience:
trigger conversations and are worthy of sharing.
• Experiences, perceptions, attitudes, and values a person brings to the
• Word of Mouth Marketing Association sets rules and guidelines for communication situation.
marketers.
• Must establish common ground.

• People differ in location, education level, social status, age, etc.

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Figure 5-3 Frequency of Multitasking by Television

Basic Model of Communication 7
Viewers

Noise
• Unplanned distortion in the communication process.
• Occurs because the fields of experience of sender and receiver don’t
overlap.
Response/Feedback
• Response: Receiver’s set of reactions after seeing, hearing, or
reading the message.
• Feedback: Receiver’s response that is communicated back to the
sender.
Source: TiVO, “Second Annual Social Media & Multitasking,” October 16, 2014.

Note: n = 856 ages 18+; numbers may not add up to 100% due to
rounding.
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Analyzing the Receiver Figure 5-4 Levels of Audience Aggregation

Identifying the Target Audience

• Individuals: Specific needs; communication must be specifically
tailored.

• Groups: People who make or influence purchase decision.

• Market niches: Very small, well-defined groups of customers.

• Market segments: Broader classes of buyers who have similar needs

and can be reached with similar messages.

• Mass markets: Large numbers of present or potential customers.

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The Response Process 1 Figure 5-5 Hierarchy of Effects Model

Traditional Response Hierarchy Models

• AIDA model:
• Stages a buyer passes through in personal selling process, including
attention, interest, desire, and action.

• Innovation adoption model:

• Stages a consumer passes through in adoption process for an innovation,
including awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and adoption.

• Hierarchy of effects model:

• Stages a consumer passes through in transition from no awareness to
eventual action, including awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and
adoption.

LO5-4
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The Response Process 2 The Response Process 3

Alternative Response Hierarchies Alternative Response Hierarchies continued

• Traditional hierarchy models go through three basic stages: • The standard learning hierarchy.
• Cognitive stage: what receiver knows or perceives about product or brand. • Standard learning model: Consumer goes through response process in
sequence depicted by traditional communication models, including learn,
• Affective stage: receiver’s feelings or affect level for brand. feel, and do.
• Behavioral stage: consumer’s action toward brand. • Likely when consumer is highly involved in purchase process and much
differentiation among competing brands.

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Exhibit 5-8 The Response Process 4

This Honda Pilot ad Alternative Response Hierarchies continued

addresses the various
• The low-involvement hierarchy.
stages in the standard
learning hierarchy by • Low-involvement hierarchy: Receiver passes from cognition to behavior
to attitude change, including learn, feel, and do.
focusing on an
important product • Likely when involvement in purchase decision is low, minimal differences
among brand alternatives, and mass-media advertising is important.
feature.

© McGraw Hill Source: American Honda Motor Co., Inc. 21 © McGraw Hill 22

The Response Process 5 The Response Process 6

Implications of the Response Process Models Implications of the Response Process Models continued
• Delineate steps involved in taking potential purchasers from • Provide insight into promotional strategies marketers might pursue in
unawareness to readiness to purchase. different situations.
• Identify which stage in hierarchy a potential buyer is in. • Marketers should analyze:
• Used as intermediate measures of communication effectiveness. • Involvement levels and product/service differentiation.

• Consumers’ use of various information sources.

• Consumers’ levels of experience with product or service.

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The Response Process 7 Figure 5-8 The Social Consumer Decision Journey

The Social Consumer Decision Journey

• Through social networking, consumers can access and retrieve
information, connect with one another, discuss products/services, and
interact with marketers.
• Consumer decision journey framework:
• Four basic stages: Consider, evaluate, buy, and enjoy-advocate-bond.

• Marketers should:

• Target stages in decision journey.

• Consider role of owned media and earned media.

LO5-5
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Cognitive Processing of Communications 1 Cognitive Processing of Communications 2

The Cognitive Response Approach The Cognitive Response Approach continued

• Cognitive responses: • Product/message thoughts.
• Thoughts that occur to individuals while reading, viewing, and/or hearing a • Counterarguments:
communication.
• Thoughts recipient has that are opposed to the position taken in the
message.

• Relate negatively to message acceptance.

• Support arguments:

• Thoughts recipient has that affirm information or claims the source

hopes to convey.

• Relate positively to message acceptance.

LO5-6 LO5-6
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Exhibit 5-11 Cognitive Processing of Communications 3

Consumers often The Cognitive Response Approach continued

generate support
• Source-oriented thoughts.
arguments in response to
ads for quality products. • Source derogations:

(“Ultra Tide looks like a • Negative thoughts about spokesperson or organization making the
really good product—I claims.
think I’ll try it.”) • Leads to lower message acceptance.

• Source bolsters:

• Positive thoughts about spokesperson or organization making the

claims.

© McGraw Hill Source: Tide by Procter & Gamble 29 © McGraw Hill 30

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Cognitive Processing of Communications 4 Cognitive Processing of Communications 5

The Cognitive Response Approach continued The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
• Ad execution thoughts. • Ways in which consumers process and respond to persuasive
messages.
• Ad execution-related thoughts:
• Attitude formation or change process depends on amount and nature
• Contains the information or meaning the source hopes to convey.
of elaboration of relevant information that occurs in response to a
• Attitude toward the ad: persuasive message.
• Represents receivers’ feelings of favorability or unfavorability toward • Function of motivation and ability to process message.
the ad.

© McGraw Hill 31 © McGraw Hill 32

Figure 5-10 The

Elaboration Likelihood Cognitive Processing of Communications 6
Model of Persuasion
The Elaboration Likelihood Model continued
• Two routes to attitudinal change:
• Central route to persuasion:

• Ability and motivation to process a message is high; receiver pays

close attention to message content.

• Peripheral route to persuasion:

• Ability and motivation to process a message is low; receiver focuses

more on peripheral cues than on message content.

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Exhibit 5-12 Cognitive Processing of Communications 7

This ad for Pantene The Elaboration Likelihood Model continued

contains peripheral cues,
• Implications of the ELM.
most notably a celebrity
endorser, Selena Gomez. • Consumer’s level of involvement is important.

• High involvement: Ad should contain strong arguments that are

difficult to refute.

• Low involvement: Peripheral cues are more important than detailed

message arguments.

• Effectiveness of message depends on consumers’ route to persuasion.

• ELM is becoming subject of debate and criticism in new era of digital

media.

© McGraw Hill Source: Procter & Gamble 35 © McGraw Hill 36

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Summarizing the Response Process and the Effects of Figure 5-11 A Framework for Studying How Advertising
Advertising 1 Works

Criticisms of Hierarchy of Effects Models

• Three critical intermediate effects between advertising and purchase:
• Cognition: “thinking” dimension.
• Affect: “feeling” dimension.
• Experience: feedback dimension based on purchasing and usage
outcomes.

• Effects of advertising should be evaluated using these three

dimensions.

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Summarizing the Response Process and the Effects of

Advertising 2

Value of Hierarchy of Effects Models

• Despite limitations, hierarchical models do help predict behavior.

• Important to learn as much as possible about target audience and how

it may respond to advertising and other forms of marketing
communication.

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© 2021 McGraw Hill. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom.
© McGraw Hill 39 No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill.