Chapter - 6

Source, Message and Channel Factors

Here, we analyze the major variables in the communication system: the source, the message and the channel. 

Promotional Planning through the Persuasion Matrix

For an effective promotional campaign, the right spokesperson must be selected to deliver a compelling message through appropriate channels or media. Source, message, and channel factors are controllable elements in the communications model. The persuasion matrix helps marketers see how each controllable element interacts with the consumer’s response process. The matrix has two sets of variables. Independent variables are the controllable components of the communication process, whereas, dependent variables are the steps a receiver goes through in being persuaded. 

The following are the examples, which correspond to the numbers in the persuasion matrix, illustrate decisions that can be evaluated with the persuasion matrix.

1. Receiver/comprehension: Can the receiver comprehend the ad?

2. Channel/presentation: Which media will increase presentation?

3. Message/yielding: What type of message will create favorable attitudes or feelings?

4. Source/attention: Who will be effective in getting consumers’ attention?

The Persuasion Matrix

Source Factors

The term source means the person involved in communicating a marketing message, either directly or indirectly. A direct source is a spokesperson who delivers a message and/or demonstrates a product or service. For e.g. the following video displays the effect of using a direct source in an advertisement

 

An indirect source, say, a model in a car ad, doesn’t actually deliver a message but draws attention to and/or enhances the appearance of the ad. Marketers try to select individuals whose traits will maximize message influence.

The source may be knowledgeable, popular, and/or physically attractive; typify the target audience; or have the power to reward or punish the receiver in some manner. Herbert Kelman developed three basic categories of source attributes: credibility, attractiveness, and power.  Each influences the recipient’s attitude or behavior through a different process.

Source Credibility

Credibility is the extent to which the recipient sees the source as having relevant knowledge, skill, or experience and trusts the source to give unbiased, objective information. There are two important dimensions to credibility, expertise and trustworthiness.

Information from a credible source influences beliefs, opinions, attitudes, and/or behavior through internalization, which occurs when the receiver adopts the opinion of the credible communicator since he or she believes information from this source is accurate.

Several studies have shown that a high-credibility source is not always an asset, nor is a low-credibility source always a liability. High- and low-credibility sources are equally effective when they are arguing for a position opposing their own best interest. One of the reasons a low-credibility source may be as effective as a high-credibility source is the sleeper effect, whereby the persuasiveness of a message increases with the passage of time.

Source Attractiveness
 Source attractiveness encompasses similarity, familiarity, and likability. Similarity is a supposed resemblance between the source and the receiver of the message, while familiarity refers to knowledge of the source through exposure. Likability is affection for the source as a result of physical appearance, behavior, or other personal traits.

Source attractiveness leads to persuasion through a process of identification, whereby the receiver is motivated to seek some type of relationship with the source and thus adopts similar beliefs, attitudes, preferences, or behavior.

Applying similarity

 Using salespeople with same characteristics as customer

 Using former athletes to sell sports products

Applying likeability – Using celebrities

Marketers think celebrities have stopping power so they spend huge sums to have them in their ads. A number of factors must be considered when a company decides to use a celebrity spokesperson. They are:

·         Overshadowing the product- Consumers may focus their attention on the celebrity and fail to notice the brand.

·         Overexposure- Consumers are often skeptical of endorsements because they know the celebrities are being paid.

·         Target Audiences’ Receptivity- One of the most important considerations in choosing a celebrity endorser is how well the individual matches with and is received by the advertiser’s target audience.

·          Risk to the advertiser- A celebrity’s behavior may pose a risk to a company. A number of entertainers and athletes have been involved in activities that could embarrass the companies whose products they endorsed.

Applying Likeability – Decorative Models

Attention can be drawn to an ad by using physically attractive person as a decorative model. A research conducted shows that the attractive communicators are able to create positive impact and generate more favorable evaluations. For products like cosmetics, attractive models are likely to create a benefit. However, care must be taken lest the models attract the attention to just the ad rather than the message conveyed by the ad.

Source Power

A source has power when he or she can administer rewards and punishments to the receiver, which is the reason why the source is able to induce favorable response from the receiver.

The source must be perceived as being able to administer positive or negative sanctions to the receiver (perceived control) and the receiver must think the source cares about whether or not the receiver conforms (perceived concern). The receiver’s estimate of the source’s ability to observe conformity is also important (perceived scrutiny).

When a receiver perceives a source as having power, the influence process occurs through a process known as compliance.

Message Factors

The way of communication of a message determines its effectiveness. In an advertisement in any media except the radio, the visual and verbal information are used. So, it is necessary not just to determine the content of the message, but also the kind of appeal, like humor, fear, etc. that is used to convey the message.

Message Structure

It is  an important aspect of a communicating an advertising message, where the advertiser has to know the best way to communicate, as well as overcome any opposing viewpoints already held by the audience.

Order of Presentation

  

 

The items presented first and last are remembered better. So, the ad should either assume a primacy effect (the strongest arguments are presented at the beginning of the message) or a recency effect (the last arguments presented are the most persuasive).  Strong arguments work best in the beginning when there is a need to draw attention, whereas they can be saved for the end if interest already exists about the issue or the product amongst the audience.

Conclusion Drawing

There are 2 ways in which an advertisement can be structured for conclusion drawing. One is to draw a strong conclusion within the message itself, and the other is to allow the receiver to draw their own conclusions. The choice of the method should depend on the targeted audience and the sensitivity and complexity of the issue. Highly educated target audience prefers to form their own conclusions. Similarly, an advertiser is better off without making strong conclusions on a sensitive issue.

Message Sidedness

This is another message structure decision. A one-sided message conveys just the positive attributes and benefits of the product/service being advertised, whereas, a two-sided message presents both, the good and the bad points. For a less educated audience or the one already holding a favorable opinion on the product/service, one-sided message works best. For a highly educated audience or the target audience holding an opposing opinion, a two-sided message would work best.

 

Refutation

It is a special kind of two-sided message, where a communicator presents both the good and the bad points, and then refutes the opposing viewpoint. Refutational messages may be useful when marketers wish to build attitudes that resist change and must defend against attacks or criticism of their products or the company.

Verbal versus Visual Messages

The visual message is as important as the verbal message, or the information presented in the ad, as the consumers may develop images or impressions based on visual elements.

Message Appeals

There are various types of advertising appeals and the decision about which appeal to use should be based on a review of the creative brief, the objective of the advertisement, and the means-end chain to be conveyed.  Each appeal has been successfully used in some ads but failed in the others. In determining which appeal to use, it is often a question of which is most inappropriate. The major advertising appeals are discussed below.

Comparative Advertising

The practice of naming competitors in an ad, either directly or indirectly and comparing one or more specific attributes. These kinds of ads are not common in India.  A very famous example is the ad of Rin which compares with Tide, which has been banned in India.

Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=HAEb2UmA_w8&NR=1

Fear Appeals
 Advertisers use fear more often than a casual observer realizes. Fear appeal works because it increases the viewers’ interest in the ad, as well as its persuasiveness. A moderate level of fear is the most effective. The goal for a fear ad should be to make it powerful enough to capture a viewer’s attention and to influence his/her thinking, but not so scary that the person avoids seeing the advertisement. A few examples of ads using fear are:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EySLWxrc4-8 

Humor Appeals

Due to the clutter in almost all the advertising mediums, capturing the viewer’s attention and keeping that attention are very challenging. So, humor is used, as it can be very effective to cut through clutter, increase the likeability of the ad and make the consumers remember it. Humor should tie together the product features, the advantage to the consumers and the personal values of the means-end chain.

Examples:

Channel Factors

While a variety of methods are available to transmit marketing communications, they can be classified into two broad categories, personal and non-personal media. Information received from personal influence channels is generally more persuasive than information received via the mass media.

Effects of Alternative Mass Media

The various mass media used by the advertisers differ in terms of number and type of people they reach, costs, information processing requirements, and other qualitative factors. There are also differences in how communications are influenced by the environment. Information from ads in print media, such as newspapers, magazines, or direct mail, is self-paced; readers process the ad at their own rate and can study it as long as they desire. In contrast, information from the broadcast media of radio and television is externally-paced.

Effects of Context and Environment

Interpretation of the advertisement can be influenced by the context or the environment in which it appears. This is known as the qualitative media effect. For example, airlines, destination resorts and travel-related services advertise in Travel and Leisure, cosmetics targeted at women advertise in magazines like Femina, etc.

Clutter

The amount of advertising in medium is referred to as clutter. Advertisers are concerned as there are many messages in various media competing for the consumer’s attention, which makes it difficult for them to capture the consumer’s mind-share. Especially among television advertisers, it is a result of increases in non-program time and the trend toward shorter commercials.