Chapter 6

Source,
Message,
and
Channel
Factors

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 Learning Objectives
▪ To study the major variables in the communication
system and how they influence consumers’
processing of promotional messages
▪ To examine the considerations involved in selecting
a source or communicator of a promotional
message

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 Learning Objectives
▪ To examine different types of message structures
and appeals that can be used to develop a
promotional message
▪ To consider how the channel or medium used to
deliver a promotional message influences the
communication process

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 Persuasion Matrix

Helps marketers see how each controllable

element interacts with the consumer’s
response process

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Figure 6.1 - The Persuasion Matrix

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Decisions Evaluated with the Persuasion Matrix

Receiver/ Channel/ Message/ Source/

comprehension presentation yielding attention

What type of Who will be

Can the receiver Which media will message will effective in
comprehend the increase create favorable getting
ad? presentation? attitudes or consumers’
feelings? attention?

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 Source
▪ Person involved in communicating a marketing
message
▪ Direct source - Delivers a message and/or endorses
a product or service
▪ Indirect source - Draws attention to and enhances
the appearance of an ad

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Figure 6.2 - Source Attributes and Receiver
Processing Modes

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Source Credibility

Knowledge

Source Skill

Expertise

Trustworthy

Information Unbiased

Objective

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 Source Credibility
▪ Extent to which the recipient:
▪ Sees the source as having relevant knowledge, skill,
or experience
▪ Trusts the source to give unbiased, objective
information
▪ Internalization: Adopting the opinion of a credible
communicator and the belief that information from
this source is accurate

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 Source Credibility
▪ Enhanced by:
▪ Applying expertise and trustworthiness
▪ Using corporate leaders as spokespeople
▪ Limitations
▪ High- and low-credibility sources are equally
effective when arguing for a position opposing their
own best interest
▪ Sleeper effect: Persuasiveness of a message
increases with the passage of time
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 Source Attractiveness
▪ Attractiveness: Characteristic that encompasses
similarity, familiarity, and likability
▪ Identification: Receiver is motivated to seek some
type of relationship with the source
▪ Adopts similar beliefs, attitudes, preferences, or
behavior

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 Source Attractiveness
▪ Enhanced by:
▪ Applying similarity
▪ Using celebrities as spokespeople
▪ Understanding the meaning of celebrity endorsers
▪ Limitations of celebrities as spokespeople
▪ Overshadow the product
▪ Overexposure
▪ Target audiences’ receptivity
▪ Risk to the advertiser
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 Source Attractiveness

Similarity Familiarity Likeability

Resemblance Knowledge of Affection for the

between the the source source resulting
source and through repeated from physical
recipient of the or prolonged appearance,
message exposure behavior, or other
personal traits

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 Choosing a Celebrity Endorser

Match
Trust
w/audience

Match w/product Risk

Factors

Image Familiarity

Cost/ROI Likability

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Top Celebrity Endorsers
▪ Top male endorsers
▪ Tiger Woods
▪ Phil Mickelson
▪ LeBron James
▪ Peyton Manning
▪ Top female endorsers
▪ Maria Sharapova
▪ Jennifer Lopez
▪ Venus/Serena Williams

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Risks of Using Celebrities

The celebrity may overshadow

the product being endorsed

The celebrity may be overexposed,

reducing his or her credibility

The target audience may not be

receptive to celebrity endorsers

The celebrity’s behavior may pose

a risk to the company

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Figure 6.3 - Meaning Movement and
the Endorsement Process

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 Source Power
▪ Source is capable of administering rewards and
punishments to the receiver
▪ Depends on a source’s perceived control, concern,
and scrutiny
▪ Compliance: Receiver accepts a source’s
persuasive influence and acquiesces to his or her
position
▪ To obtain a favorable reaction or to avoid
punishment

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Source Power

Perceived control

Source Power Perceived concern

Perceived scrutiny

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 Message Factors

• Order of presentation
• Conclusion drawing
Message • Message sidedness
structure • Refutation
• Verbal versus visual messages

• Comparative advertising
Message appeals • Fear appeals
• Humor appeals

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 Message Structure
▪ Order of presentation - Strongest arguments should
be presented early or late in the message but never
in the middle
▪ Primacy effect: Information presented first is most
effective
▪ Recency effect: Last arguments presented are most
persuasive
▪ Depends on:
▪ Target audience’s receptivity to the message

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 Message Structure
▪ Length of the message
▪ Medium used to communicate the message
▪ Conclusion drawing - Messages with explicit
conclusions are more easily understood and
effective in influencing attitudes
▪ Depends on:
▪ Target audience
▪ Type of issue or topic
▪ Nature of the situation

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 Message Structure
▪ One-sided message: Mentions only positive
attributes or benefits, effective if target audience:
▪ Already holds a favorable opinion about the topic
▪ Is less educated
▪ Two-sided message: Presents both good and bad
points, effective when the target audience:
▪ Holds an opposing opinion
▪ Is highly educated

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 Message Structure
▪ Refutational appeal: Communicator presents both
sides of an issue and then refutes the opposing
viewpoint
▪ Verbal versus visual messages - When verbal
information is:
▪ Low in imagery value, use of pictures increase
immediate and delayed recall
▪ High in imagery value, addition of pictures do not
increase recall

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 Recall and Presentation Order
Recall

Beginnin Middle En
g d
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 Message Appeal Options

Comparative Fear Humor

Ads Appeals Appeals

• May be especially • May stress • They can attract

useful for new physical danger or and hold attention
brands threats to health • They are often the
• Often used for • May identify social best remembered
brands with small threats: • They put the
market share disapproval or consumer in a
• Frequently use in rejection
positive mood
political • May backfire if the
advertising level of threat is
too high

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 Message Appeals
▪ Comparative advertising: Directly or indirectly
naming competitors in an ad and comparing one or
more attributes
▪ Fear appeals: Evoke an emotional response to a
threat and arouse individuals to take steps to
remove the threat
▪ Effective when the recipient is:
▪ Self-confident and prefers to cope with dangers
▪ A nonuser of the product

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 Message Appeals
▪ Protection motivation model - States that ads using
fear appeals should give the target audience
information on the:
▪ Severity of the threat
▪ Probability of its occurrence
▪ Effectiveness of a coping response
▪ Ease with which the response can be implemented

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Figure 6.5 - Relationship between Fear
Levels and Message Acceptance

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 Message Appeals
▪ Humor appeals - Humorous ads:
▪ Attract and hold consumers’ attention
▪ Put consumers in a positive mood
▪ Increase consumers' liking of the ad and their feeling
toward the product
▪ Distract the consumer from counter arguing against
the message
▪ May wear out faster than serious appeals
▪ Wearout: Tendency of a commercial to lose effectiveness
when seen or heard repeatedly

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 Humor Appeals Advantages and
Disadvantages
Advantages Disadvantages

• Aid with awareness and • Harm recall and

attention comprehension
• Aid name and simple copy • Harm complex copy
registration registration
• Aid retention • Do not aid persuasion in
• Aid persuasion to switch general
brands • Do not aid source
• Create a positive mood credibility
that enhances persuasion • Not very effective in
bringing about sales

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 Channel Factors
▪ Personal versus nonpersonal channels - Information
received from personal channels is more persuasive
than that received from the mass media
▪ Effects of alternative mass media
▪ Differences in information processing
▪ Self-paced - Readers process the ad at their own rate and
study it as long as they desire
▪ Externally paced - Transmission rate is controlled by the
medium

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Self versus External Paced Media

Self-Paced Externally Paced

Media Media

• Newspapers • Radio
• Magazines • Television
• Direct Mail vs.

• Internet

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 Channel Factors
▪ Effects of context and environment
▪ Qualitative media effect: Influence the medium has
on a message
▪ Image of the media vehicle affect reactions to the
message
▪ Clutter: Amount of advertising in a medium
▪ All the nonprogram material that appears in the
broadcast environment

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