Communication & Persuasion By Kaustubh Pal

The Communication Process Sender Encodes the message Encoded message in media Decoding of the message Receiver Noise Distortions Response Feedback

Marketing Communication Mix Advertising Sales Promotion Publicity Personal Selling Public Relations

Communication Process in Promotion Promotional 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 Promotion Special discount prices given to McDonalds Discounts given, special prices given Mailers 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.