Chapter 6 PowerPoint

Promotional StrategyMKT4230

Source, Message, and Channel Factors

Patricia Knowles, Ph.D.

Associate ProfessorClemson University

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2Promotional StrategyMKT4230 2

The Persuasion MatrixThis chart presents the persuasion matrix, which helps marketers see how each controllable element of the communication process interacts with the consumer’s response process:

TextbookPages 179 - 180 / Figure 6 - 1


Promotional Planning ElementsThis chart presents specific decisions that correspond to the numbers in the cells of the persuasion matrix in the previous slide:


Who will be effective in getting consumers’

attention?

SourceAttention

4

ReceiverComprehension

Can the receiver comprehend the ad?

1

Which media will increase

presentation?

ChannelPresentation

2

What type of message will create favorable attitudes?

MessageYielding

3

Promotional Planning


A Direct SourceThe 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 endorses a product or service, like actress Hayden Panettiere, who appears in this ad sponsored by The Milk Processor Education Program.

• An indirect source, say a model, doesn’t actually deliver a message, but draws attention to and/or enhances the appearance of the ad.

• Some ads use neither a direct nor an indirect source; the source is the organization with the message to communicate.

TextbookPages 180 / Exhibit 6 - 1


Source Attributes & Receiver Processing ModesThis visual shows the three categories of source attributes and the receiver processing mode associated with each.

TextbookPages 181 / Figure 6 - 2

• Credibility – 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.

Internalization – the process by which a receiver adopts the position advocated by the source because it is perceived as accurate and makes it part of his or her belief system

• Attractiveness – refers to the similarity, familiarity, and/or likeability of the source.Identification – the process by which an individual is motivated to seek some type of relationship with the source and thus adopts similar beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors.

• Power – refers to the ability (real or perceived) of the source to administer rewards or punishment to the receiver

Compliance – the process by which the receiver accepts the position advocated by the source


Source CredibilityThis visual shows the basic dimensions of source credibility, expertise, and trustworthiness:

TextbookPages 181

Source

Ethical

Honest

UnbiasedBelievable

Knowledgeable Trustworthy

Skillful Experienced


Experts Lend Authority to an AppealThis visual shows an ad for Dove soap, which promotes the fact that it recommended by dermatologists who are experts in skin care.

TextbookPages 181 - 182 / Exhibit 6 - 2

It demonstrates how advertisers apply the concept of source expertise in their advertising messages.

Endorsements from doctors and dentists are also common in advertising.


Corporate Leaders as SpokespeopleThis visual shows an advertisement from Jerome’s Furniture, which often uses their president or chairman as an advertising spokesman. It introduces the use of corporate leaders as advertising spokespeople. A number of companies use their founders, presidents, or CEOs as the spokesperson in their ads.


Note: This is a good time to show the Jerome’s Furniture spots on the instructor video DVDs. You may also wish to show a Wendy’s ad. Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s fast-food restaurants, appeared in more than 800 ads for the company between 1989 and early 2002, when he passed away. He is one of the most popular and effective corporate executive spokespeople ever to appear in commercials for a company.


Limitations of Credible SourcesStudies 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.

A low-credibility source may also be as effective as a high-credibility sources due to the sleeper effect, whereby the persuasiveness of the message increases with the passage of time.

Over time, the association of the message with the source diminishes and the receiver’s attention focuses more on the favorable information in the message.

Many advertisers hesitate to count on the sleeper effect, however, since exposure to a credible source is a more reliable strategy.

TextbookPage 185


Sources of AttractivenessThis chart explains the three basic characteristics of source attractiveness:

TextbookPages 185 - 187

Resemblance between the source and recipient of the

message

Similarity

Knowledge of the source through

repeated or prolonged exposure

Familiarity

Affection for the source resulting from physical appearance, behavior, or personal

traits

Likeability


Top Celebrity EndorsersThis visual shows an ad featuring Maria Sharapova, who has endorsement contracts with a number of companies, including Nike, Land Rover, Tiffany, and Cole Haan.

TextbookPage 186 - 187

• Top Male Endorsers– Tiger Woods– Phil Mickelson– LeBron James– Michael Jordan

• Top Female Endorsers– Maria Sharapova– Jennifer Lopez– Jessica Simpson– Venus/Serena Williams– Michele Wie


Advertising Risks of Using CelebritiesThis chart outlines the risks to the advertiser when utilizing a celebrity spokesperson:

TextbookPage 187 - 190

The celebrity’s behavior may pose a risk to the company

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


Meaning Movements and EndorsementsThis meaning movement and endorsement model illustrates why celebrity endorsements are effective:



Kelly Ripa: The “Do-It-All” WomanThis ad featuring is an example of how a celebrity’s culturally acquired meanings carry over to the endorsement process.


McCracken suggests that celebrity endorsers bring their meanings and image into the ad, then transfer them to the product they are endorsing.

Then, in the final stage of the process, the meanings the celebrity has given to the product are transferred to the consumer.

This visual presents a list of factors that marketers should consider before spending the company’s money to sign a celebrity endorser:


Choosing a Celebrity Endorser

TextbookPages 194

Trust

Risk

Familiarity

Likability

Factors

Match w/Audience

Match w/Product

Image

Cost


Q-Score = Star PowerQ-scores to determine the popularity of sport personalities, actors, actresses, and entertainers. Marketing Evaluations, Inc. surveys a representative national panel of consumers several times a year.

Lance Armstrong

Respondents are asked to indicate whether they have ever seen or heard of a performer or sports personality and, if they have, to rate him or her on a scale that includes:

• One of my favorites• Very good• Good• Fair• Poor

Q-scores are also broken down on the basis of demographic criteria, such as a respondent’s age, income, occupation, education, and race so that marketers have some idea of how a celebrity’s popularity varies among different groups of consumers.

TextbookPages 194


Applying Likability: Decorative ModelsThis visual shows an example of how some companies are taking a non-traditional approach to advertising by using everyday women rather than supermodels in ads.


Research shows that physically attractive communicators generally generate more favorable evaluations of both ads and products than less attractive models. Recent studies, however, show that some women experience negative feelings when comparing themselves with the beautiful models used in ads and the images of physical perfection they represent. In response, some companies developed advertising campaigns that tell women, as well as young girls, that they’re beautiful just the way they are.

As this ad reflects, Dove has taken a social advocacy approach in its campaigns, which uses everyday women to “change the status quo and offer in its place a broader, healthier, more democratic view of beauty.”


Source PowerThis visual presents the final characteristics in Kelman’s classification scheme:

TextbookPages 196

Perceived Control Perceived Concern Perceived Scrutiny

Compliance


Clint Eastwood: Source PowerThis ad is an example of source power. It reinforces the message that an indirect way of using power is by using an individual with an authoritative personality. Clint Eastwood’s authoritative image as a rugged, tough guy makes him an effective source in this public service ad, which commands people to not pollute or damage public lands.



Recall and Order of PresentationA basic consideration in the design of a persuasive message is the order in which message arguments will be presented. Research on learning and memory indicate that items presented first and last are remembered better than those presented in the middle. The strongest arguments should be placed at the beginning or end of the message, never in the middle. Presenting the strongest arguments at the beginning of the message assumes a primacy effect is operating, whereby information presented first is most effective. Putting the strong points at the end assumes a recency effect, whereby the last arguments are most persuasive.


Reca

ll

Beginning Middle End

Order of Presentation


Silk Uses an Open Ended MessageThis ad for Silk Soymilk is a good example of an open-ended message, which encourages consumers to be open to the idea of drinking soymilk.


Marketing communicators must decide whether their messages should draw a firm conclusion or allow receivers to draw their own conclusions.

In general, messages with explicit conclusions are more easily understood and effective in influencing attitudes. However, this effectiveness can depend on the target audience, the type of issue or topic, and the nature of the situation. For example, more highly educated people may resent attempts by the communicator to draw a conclusion.


Buckley’s Uses a Two-Sided MessageThis visual shows a Buckley’s ad, which uses a two-sided message structure to promote the product’s effectiveness.


• A one-sided message mentions only positive attributes or benefits.

• A two-sided message presents both good and bad points.

This ad for Buckley’s cough syrup is a good example of a two-sided message. Ads for the brand typically poke fun at the cough syrup’s terrible taste, but also suggest that the taste is one reason why it is so effective. The persuasive impact of message sidedness depends on a number of factors, including:

• The amount and importance of the negative information• Attribute quality• Placement of the negative information• The correlation between negative and positive attributes• Whether the advertiser discloses negative information voluntarily


An Ad Using a Refutation AppealIn a special type of two-sided message known as a refutational appeal, the communicator presents both sides of an issue and then refutes the opposing viewpoint. Refutational messages are useful when marketers wish to build attitudes that resist change and must defend against attacks or criticism of their products or their company.


This ad used by the Almond Board of California refutes nutritional concerns about the fat content of almonds.

Acknowledging competitors’ claims and then refuting them helps build resistant attitudes and customer loyalty.


Verbal vs. Visual MessagesAds use pictures to affect the way consumers process the accompanying copy. In this ad, Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water uses a beautiful visual image of the mountains to communicate a key product attribute… purity.


Other advertisers design ads in which the visual portion is incongruent with, or contradicts, the verbal information presented. The logic behind this strategy is that the use of an unexpected picture or visual will grab the consumer’s attention and get him/her to engage in a more effortful or elaborative processing.

Studies show that using a visual that in inconsistent with the verbal content leads to more recall and greater processing of the information presented.


Test Your KnowledgeThe campaign centered around the theme “Pork, the Other White Meat” is designed to show consumers that pork is as lean as chicken. Ads in this campaign use:

A. Conclusion drawing

B. A fear appeal

C. A refutational appeal

D. A humorous appeal

E. An affective conclusion


Message Appeal ChoicesThere are two broad categories of message appeals:


Many believe that the most effective advertising combines practical reasons for purchasing a product with emotional values.

Subsequent slides will discuss the message appeal options of comparative advertising, fear, and humor.

Appeal to both

Appeal to the feelings and emotions of consumers

Appeal to the logical, rational minds of consumers


Message Appeal OptionsThis chart presents advertising message appeal options:


Fear Appeals

• May stress physical danger or threats to health

• May identify social threats

• Can backfire if level of threat is too high

Comparative Ads

• Especially useful for new brands

• Often used for brands with small market share

• Used often in political advertising

Humor Appeals

• Can attract and hold attention

• Often the best remembered

• Puts consumers in a positive mood


Miller Lite’s Comparative AdvertisingThis ad is an example of how the Miller Brewing Company effectively used comparative advertising to take on Anheuser-Busch. Comparative ads hammered home the message that Miller’s beers are better tasting than Anheuser-Busch brands, such as Budweiser and Bud Light.


The ad shown here positions Miller Lite as the better-tasting, low-carb alternative to Bud Light, which helped increase sales to the highest level in a decade. Miller stopped running comparative ads when research showed that consumers were tiring of the combative approach. However, the tactic was resurrected in 2007, when Miller claimed taste superiority over Bud Light.

In politics, comparative ads are used to discredit the character, record, or position of an opponent and create doubt in voters’ minds. However, studies show that “attack advertising” by politicians can result in negative perceptions of both candidates.


Fear Appeals and Message AcceptanceThis chart shows that the relationship between the level of fear in a message and acceptance or persuasion is curvilinear. This means that message acceptance increases as the amount of fear used rises, but only to a point. Beyond that point, acceptance decreases as the level of fear rises.



Humor AppealsThis chart summarizes the pros and cons of using humor in advertising:


Does not aid persuasion in general

Cons

May harm recall and comprehension

May harm complex copy registration

Does not aid source credibility

Not effective in bringing about sales

May wear out faster than non-humorous ads

Aids attention and awareness

Pros

May aid retention of the message

Creates a positive mood and enhances persuasion

May aid name and simple copy registration

May serve as a distracter, reducing counterarguing


Humor in Print MediaHumorous ads are often the best known and best remembered of all advertising messages, and radio and TV commercials lend themselves to the execution of humorous messages. Use this slide to show the use of humor in lesser-used print advertising.


This ad was used by the Australian New Car Assessment Program, which provides consumers in Australia and New Zealand with information on the level of occupant protection provided by vehicles in front and side crashes.


Test Your KnowledgeAn ad for Snorestop Extinguisher, a nose spray for eliminating snoring, has the headline, “Wife shoots husband and rests in peace.” This ad uses _____ to attract attention and convey a key selling point.

A. a two-sided message approach

B. a humor appeal

C. a comparative advertising

D. a refutational appeal

E. a primacy appeal


Personal vs. Non-Personal ChannelsHere are some of the pros and cons of personal versus non-personal ad channels:


Personal Selling

• Flexible• Powerful• Real time

• Geared to large audience• Static

Non-Personal Advertising


Differences in Information ProcessingThis chart presents examples of self-paced versus externally paced media:

TextbookPage 207

Self-Paced Media

• Newspapers

• Magazines

• Direct Mail

• Internet

• Radio

• Television

Externally Paced Media

vs.


Context and EnvironmentInterpretation of an advertising message can be influenced by the context or environment in which the ad appears. For example, an ad for a high-quality men’s clothing line might have more impact in a fashion magazine like GQ than it would in Sports Afield.


This cover of Travel & Leisure magazine is an example of an environment in which hotel, restaurant, luggage, and other travel-related ads would do well, partly because the articles, pictures, and other ads help to excite readers about travel.


Context and EnvironmentCutter is the amount of advertising in a given medium. For television, clutter includes all the non-program material that appears in the broadcast environment… commercials, promotional messages for shows, public service announcements (PSAs), and the like.

Clutter is of increasing concern to advertisers because there are so many messages competing for the consumer’s attention. On average, one-fourth of a broadcast hour on TV is devoted to commercials; radio stations carry an average of 10-12 minutes of commercials per hour.

And, commercials have dropped in length from 60 seconds, to 30 seconds, to 15 seconds. That means many more commercials are now being shown. A viewer watching three hours of prime-time programming on the major networks could be subjected to as many as 100 commercial messages.

The problem is not likely to go away, so advertisers must continue to look for ways to break through the clutter, such as using humor, celebrity spokespeople, or novel, creative approaches.
