Communication & Persuasion

By Kaustubh Pal

The Communication Process

SenderEncodes the message

Encoded message in media

Decoding of the message

Receiver

Noise

Distortions

ResponseFeedback

Marketing Communication Mix

• Advertising• Sales Promotion• Publicity• Personal Selling• Public Relations

Communication Process in PromotionPromotional Mix Element

Source Encoding Media Receiver Decoding Feedback

Advertising Print Ad given in local newspapers

Written words in specific scheme and colours

Times of India All existing and would be customers

Customers learn about the various product and offerings

Sales of the product

Personal Selling

Visiting McDonalds Corporate office at Mumbai

Words, body language, personal appearance

Visit given to customer

McDonalds Utility Managers and service managers

Sales-specific data been made available to customers

Sales of the product

Sales Promotion

Special discount prices given to McDonalds

Discounts given, special prices given

Mailers McDonalds Utility Managers and service managers

Sales-specific data been made available to customers

Sales of the product

Publicity A News article Words, appearance, gestures

Local newspaper and news channel

Readers and viewers

Understanding about the pros and cons of the company

Formation of image about the company

AIDA Model of Communication

• A - attracting attention• I - rousing interest• D - building desire• A - obtaining action

Comparative Messages

• Compare positive and negative aspects of brand to competitor.• Used to position and differentiate a brand.• Direct comparative advertisements-- when one brand is compared

specifically with another brand. Should be used by low market share brands.

• Indirect comparative advertisements. When the comparison brand is not specifically mentioned but instead refers to competitors. Should be used by moderate share brands.

• High market share brands should avoid comparative ads.

1 Vs. 2-sided Messages

• Do you present both sides of an issue to the audience?• Advantages of 2-sided arguments

– Give appearance of fairness

– Lowers counterarguments

– Disarms unfriendly audiences

• Advantages of 1-sided arguments– Good for friendly audiences, low involvement, possibly lower educated

audiences.

Fear Appeals

• Early research negative on fear appeals• Recent research positive

– Give instructions on how to solve problem– Avoid high fear messages to the highly vulnerable and those

with low self esteem.– Make sure that fear is not so arousing as to interfere with

message processing.

Humor in Messages

• Both positive and negative effects may occur from the use of humor.

– Negative effects: reduced comprehension, shorten life span of ads, unanticipated negative effects. When audience is already negative toward a brand, humor can increase the negative feelings.

– Positive effects: encourages a positive mood state, attracts attention to ad, enhances liking for ad—particularly when audience is already favorable toward the ad.

– Humor works best when it is naturally related to the product or situation

Repetition effects . . .

• This refers to how often information should be repeated to promote learning without creating advertising wear-out.

• Advertising wear-out occurs when too much repetition results in consumers becoming increasingly negative toward the message

• Two-factor theory explains repetition effects– Factor 1: repetition increases learning and reduces uncertainty– Factor 2: repetition increases boredom.– After about 3 repetitions boredom overwhelms learning and

negative effects occur.

Managerial Implications

• Positioning. Develop persuasive messages based upon the positioning and differentiation strategy.

• Environmental analysis. Analyze competitive environment to assess whether and how to employ comparative ads.

• Market research. Test audience beliefs and affective responses to source and message.

• Marketing mix. Develop of marketing communications is one goal of promotional strategy.

• Segmentation. Recognize that divergent segments may require different strategies. E.g., avoid using fear appeals when audience is low in self-esteem.