Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media A theory of communication Hoorcollege marketing communication blok 4 week 1

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Learning goals  By the end of the reading and college you should:  Be aware of the importance of marketing communication in the marketing process  Understand the communications loop and the issues involved in communication in general  Be able to to define shared meaning  See how important understanding your target group is when developing marketing communications

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Agenda  The importance of marketing communication  The communication process

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media The importance of marketing communication

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Introduction  Good product is nothing if consumers don’t know about it, like it and want to have it  So marketing communications is a very important part of the marketing mix  Marketing communications (a.k.a. marcoms, a.k.a the communications mix) is the fourth P of marketing: Promotion  It has high visibility  However promotion in the marketing mix is not just advertising  It can relate to all aspects of an organization’s communication with its target group(s) and other stakeholders

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Elements of the communication mix

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Which element is the most important?  The answer is:  It depends  Like the 4Ps marcoms is a question of getting the mix right and this depends on:  The target customer  The market itself  The communications channels available  Competitor activity  Regulations  Etc., etc., etc…

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Blok 4 plan  During this blok we will cover these elements of the promotional mix  You will get to use some of them out while developing a campaign for eBay  In addition we will look at some of the changes interactive media is causing for promotion.

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media The communications process

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Communication  Communication can be defined as a “transactional process between two or more parties where meaning is exchanged through the use of signs”* Or put another way  Communication is about getting your message through to others, so that:  They understand what you think AND  You know that they do  This is known a shared meaning * Source: Engel, J.F., Warshaw, M.R. and Kinnear T.C., Promotional Strategy, Chicago: Irwin

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Parties in communication  Communication needs more than one person to be involved  At a minimum there should be 2 parties  Usually one party is the sender and the other party is the receiver  In reality it is more complex than this  Often many parties can make up the sender and / or the receiver  One-to-one  One-to-many  Many-to-one  Many-to-many

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Communication as we seem to think it works Message We understand - message! Message! Me (with dyed hair) You lot (in hats) This is obviously a fantasy In the real world this doesn’t happen

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media The communications process in the real world Mxxsage Msge! Me (with dyed hair) You lot (in hats) His hair looks stupid They’re all wearing hats! Did he say massage?

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media The communication loop

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Shared meaning  The aim of any communication is to develop shared meaning  This means that both the sender and the receiver in a communication process have (roughly) the same understanding of what was communicated * Source: Engel, J.F., Warshaw, M.R. and Kinnear T.C., Promotional Strategy, Chicago: Irwin

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Goals of communication

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Persuasion and shared meaning  When persuading I would argue that: it is the responsibility of the sender to ensure that shared meaning has been achieved

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Achieving shared meaning for persuasion involves  Ensuring you know your receiver  Encoding your message in a way that can be decoded by the receiver  Choosing the right media, time and place to get you message to the receiver  Making sure your message is above the noise level  Finding out if your message was understood (feedback) and adapting your communication if not  Remembering that communication is a dynamic process

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Some issues in communication  Encoding the message effectively  Cultural issues  Silent communication  Problems of media, time and place

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Encoding  Communication involves using signs, Semiotics classifies signs into three categories:  Icon  A sign that looks like an object or represents it in a visual way  Index  A sign that relates to an object via a causal connection  Symbol  An artificial sign created for the purpose of creating meaning (e.g. words)

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Problems with encoding  The problem is that signs (especially words) have denotative (expliciet) and connotative (connotatief) meaning  In order to communicate you have to use signs that have the same meaning to your receiver

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Cultural issues  Ethnocentrism (the assumption that everyone does and thinks as we do) is perhaps the only thing constant between cultures  Understanding the receiver's cultural beliefs and practices is essential to encoding the message effectively

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Silent communication  Communication is not just carried verbally or in the written word  The receiver decodes other elements of the encoded message such as:  Numbers (what is 911?)  Space (the distance between people for example)  Things (what people own suggest status)  Movement  Body language  All of these (and other elements) make up the message and should be considered

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Media, time and place  Our openness to a message is affected not just by how the message is encoded, but also by  The media used to transmit the message  The time we receive it  And the place we receive it  When communicating the sender needs to be sensitive to the problems  It is the sender’s job to ensure the message is understood

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media This means that noise can happen anywhere!

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Important stuff to remember when communicating KKnow your audience (target customer) OOne message (promotional mix) will not suit every group SSend a clear message WWhat do you want to say? KKISS ( K eep I t S imple S tupid) UUnderstand the communications process WWhat are the barriers to communication? LLook for feedback RRemember that you decode the feedback

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media Summary  The goal of communication is to develop shared meaning  However, this is much more complex than we sometimes believe  There are many things that can get in the way of developing shared meaning  The best way to develop shared meaning is to understand your receiver (target customer)  In marketing communications this is especially important as you know your competitors will