1. Promotional Strategy
MKT4230
The Communication
Process
Patricia Knowles, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Clemson University
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The Nature of Communication
This is a visual of the communication process:
Textbook
Pages 146 - 153 / Figure 5 - 1

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Source Encoding Using a Celebrity
This visual explains that the sender, or source, of a communication is the person or
organization with information to share. The source may be an individual or a non-personal
entity, such as a corporation. Because the receiver’s perceptions of the source influence how
the communication is received, the spokesperson (source) must be someone the receiver
will believe is knowledgeable and trustworthy, or someone with whom the receiver can in
some way relate.
Textbook
Pages 147 - 148
This ad for Citizen Eco-Drive watches uses professional
golfer Paula Creamer as a spokesperson for the
company.
The goal of the source is to put thoughts, ideas, or
information into a symbolic form that can be
understood by the receiver(s).

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Forms of Encoding
There are various forms of encoding, which is the process by which thoughts or ideas are put
into a symbolic form. This is how senders put thoughts, ideas, or information into a symbolic
form.
Textbook
Page 148
The goal is to encode the message in such a way that it will be understood
and remembered by the receiver.
Spoken message
(radio or TV ads)
Verbal Graphic Musical Animation
Symbolic form
(“no smoking”)
Sounds
(jingle or chimes)
Grab Attention
(Michelin Ad)

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Message Development
This visual explains that while messages may be verbal or nonverbal, oral, written, or
symbolic, they must be put into a transmittable form that is appropriate for the
communication channel being used.
Textbook
Pages 148 - 149
Message development decisions that must be
made:
• Content – the information and/or meaning
contained in the message
• Structure and design – the way the
message is put together in order to deliver
the information or intended message
Content
StructureDesign

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An Image Can Convey More Than Words
This is an ad for Coach handbags. It is an example of a message that is conveyed primarily
through an image, rather than words. The picture is an effective way for Coach to
communicate its intended message of eloquent simplicity, as well as the classic design and
American style of its handbags.
Textbook
Pages 148 - 149 / Exhibit 5 - 3

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Communication Channels
There are two types of communication channels, personal and non-personal:
Textbook
Pages 149 - 151
Personal SellingWord of Mouth Print Media Broadcast Media
Personal Channels Non-Personal Channels
Personal channels involve direct, face-to-face
contact with target individuals or groups. Sales
people serve as personal channels when they
deliver their sales messages.
Social channels, such as friends, family, and co-
workers, can be a powerful personal source of
information through word-of-mouth
communication.
Non-personal channels carry a message without
personal contact between sender and receiver.
Non-personal channels are generally referred to as
mass media, and include various forms of print and
broadcast media.

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Apples for Dessert
These visuals illustrate that for effective communication to occur, the message decoding
process of the receiver must match the encoding of the sender. The receiver is the person(s)
with whom the sender shares thoughts or information. Decoding is the process of
transforming the sender’s message back into thought. This process is heavily influenced by
the receiver’s frame of reference or field of experience, which refers to the experiences,
perceptions, attitudes, and values he/she brings to the communication situation.
Textbook
Pages 151 - 152

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Field of Experience Overlap
For effective communication to occur the message decoding process of the receiver must
match the encoding of the sender. The more overlap present in their experiences, the
greater the chance of effective communication. This notion can cause great difficulty in the
advertising communication process, because marketing and advertising people often have
very different fields of experience from the consumers who constitute the mass markets with
whom they must communicate.
Textbook
Pages 151 - 152
Receiver ExperienceSender Experience
Different Worlds
Moderate Commonality
Receiver Experience
Sender Experience
High Commonality
Receiver Experience
Sender Experience
Receiver
Experience

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Noise in the Communications Process
This visual illustrates the concept of noise during the communication process, which is
basically anything that can distort or interfere with the reception of a message.
Textbook
Pages 152 - 153
Consider this situation, where four friends are
watching a football game:
• Would the cheers for the play drown out
the beginning of a commercial?
• Might reaching for a snack cause the
receivers to turn their eyes from the TV
screen?
• Would alcohol consumption affect
perception?
• What would happen if the cell phone on
the table rang?
• What if the electricity went off
unexpectedly?

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Successful Communication
This visual presents the sequence of a successful communication between a sender and a
receiver.
Marketers must be able to determine the reasons for communication success or failure, and
then make the necessary adjustments. Feedback, which may take a variety of forms, closes
the loop in the communications flow and lets the sender monitor how the intended message
is being decoded and received.
Textbook
Page 153
Select an appropriate source
Develop a properly encoded message
Select appropriate channel for target audience
Receive feedback

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Identifying the Target Audience
This visual shows the various levels of audience aggregation. In addition, it shows the various
types of markets and customers that can be identified as a marketing target. Marketers
usually approach each of these audiences differently, from a communications perspective.
Textbook
Pages 154- 155 / Figure 5 - 2
Mass Markets and Audiences
Markets Segments
Niche Markets
Individual & Group
Audiences
• Markets with large numbers of potential
customers
• Those with specific needs, for whom a message must be
specifically tailored. Multiple people who are involved in the
purchase decision, such as families or members of a buying
center
• Smaller, well-defined markets consisting of customers
with similar needs.
• Broader classes of people who have similar needs
and can be reached with similar messages

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The Response Process
This visual presents an overview of various hierarchical response models:
Textbook
Pages 154- 155 / Figure 5 - 3

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Obtaining Feedback
This visual presents the methods of obtaining feedback:
Textbook
Pages 157 / Figure 5 - 4
Exposure/ presentation
Attention
Comprehension
Message acceptance/
yielding
Retention
Purchase behavior
Circulation reach
Listener, reader,
viewer recognition
Recall, checklists
Brand attitudes,
purchase intent
Recall over time
Inventory, POP, scanner data
Effectiveness Tests Persuasion Process

15. This is the model of information processing developed by Michael Ray:
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Alternative Response Hierarchies
Textbook
Pages 159 - 163 / Figure 5 - 5
High Low
HighLow
Topical InvolvementPerceivedproductdifferentiation
Learning Model Low Involvement
Model
Dissonance/
Attribution Model
Cognitive
Affective
Conative
Conative
Affective
Cognitive
Cognitive
Conative
Affective

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Dissonance / Attribution Model
This visual points out that attitudes sometimes develop after a purchase, as does learning
from mass media. to cardholders.
Textbook
Pages 160 - 161 / Figure 5 - 10
Ray suggests that in these situations the main effect
of mass media is not the promotion of original
choice behavior and attitude change, but rather the
reduction of dissonance by reinforcing the wisdom
of the purchase or providing supportive information.
This ad for Visa reinforces the wisdom of the
consumers’ decision to use a Visa credit card by
reassuring them of the various layers of security the
company provides to cardholders.

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Low-Involvement Products
This visual shows how advertisers add visual image personality to their advertisements in
order to gain brand recognition and retention. A popular creative strategy used by
advertisers of low-involvement products is what advertising analyst Harry McMahan calls VIP,
or Visual Image Personality. Basically, advertisers use symbols that lead consumers to
identify and retain ads. A prime example is the Energizer Bunny shown in this ad. Other
examples include the Pillsbury Doughboy, Morris the Cat, Tony the Tiger, and Mr. Clean.
Textbook
Pages 161 - 162 / Figure 5 - 11

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The FCB Planning Model
This visual shows the advertising planning model developed by associates from the Foote
Cone & Belding agency:
Textbook
Pages 163 - 164 / Figure 5 - 6
1
Informative
The Thinker
3
Habit
Formation
The Doer
Thinking FeelingLowInvolvement
2
Affective
The Feeler
4
Self-
Satisfaction
The Reactor
HighInvolvement

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Developing Promotional Strategies
Here are some of the promotional strategies that may be developed using the principles of
the FCB grid. Consumer research can be used to determine how consumers perceive
products or brands on the involvement and thinking/feeling dimensions.
Textbook
Pages 164 - 165
This information can then be used to
develop effective creative options, such
as using rational versus emotional
appeals, increasing involvement levels,
or even getting consumers to evaluate a
think-type product on the basis of
feelings.

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LG Connects with Consumer Emotions
This advertisement illustrates how an ad can create an emotional response. It encourages
consumers to upgrade their appliances. Imagining what will happen to the refrigerator when
it is hit by a train evokes an emotional response, as does the thought of moving from an old,
unattractive appliance to a sleek new design.
Textbook
Pages 165 - 166 / Figure 5 - 13

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Cognitive Response
The cognitive response approach examines consumers’ processing of advertising messages.
This method is widely used in research by both academicians and advertising practitioners to
determine the types of responses evoked by an advertising message, and how these
thoughts relate to attitudes toward the ad, brand, and purchase intentions.
Textbook
Pages 165 - 166
A method for examining consumers’ cognitive processing of advertising messages by
looking at their cognitive responses to hearing, viewing, or reading communications
Examines thoughts that are evoked by an advertising message
Consumers write down or verbally report their reactions to a message

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A Model of Cognitive Response
This visual shows a model of the cognitive process and how these thoughts relate to
traditional outcome measures, such as brand attitude, attitude toward the ad, and purchase
intentions:
Textbook
Pages 165 - 167 / Figure 5 - 7

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Cognitive Response Categories
This visual shows the three basic categories of cognitive responses:
Textbook
Pages 165 - 167
Counterarguments Support arguments
Source derogation Source bolstering
Thoughts about the ad itself Affect attitude toward the ad
Product/Message Thoughts
Source-Oriented Thoughts
Ad Execution Thoughts

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Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
This visual presents the elaboration likelihood model and its use by marketers to develop
communication messages:
Textbook
Pages 167 - 170 / Figure 5 - 8
Focuses on the way consumers respond to persuasive messages, based on
the amount and nature of elaboration or processing of information
Peripheral Route
Ability and motivation to
process a message is low;
receiver focuses more on
peripheral cues than on
message content
Central Route
Ability and motivation to
process a message is high
and close attention is
paid to message content
Routes to Attitude Change

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Test Your Knowledge
The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) proposed two routes to persuasion, the central route
and the peripheral route. With the peripheral route:
A. The message is more likely to be received if a celebrity endorser is used
B. The message should lots of information
C. The receiver is viewed as very actively involved in the communication process
D. The quality of the message claims are more important than the spokesperson,
headline, pictures, or music
E. The sender is dealing with a high-involvement buying situation

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Celebrity Endorsers can be Peripheral Cues
This visual shows an ad for Peak antifreeze, which uses a celebrity endorser and appealing
visual imagery that is consistent with the brand positioning. It is an example of an ad that
might result in attitude change through a peripheral route to persuasion.
Textbook
Pages 170 / Figure 5 - 15
The attractive and highly relevant celebrity
endorser (Indy series driver Danica Patrick) and
visual imagery serve as peripheral cues and
help consumers form a positive attitude
toward the brand, even if they do not process
the message portion of the ad.

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How Advertising Works
This framework was developed by Vakratsas and Ambler following an extensive review of
more than 250 articles and studies of the advertising response process:
Textbook
Pages 170 - 172 / Figure 5 - 9