Chapter 4
Communication Process Models
Chapter Objectives
• To understand the basic elements of the
communication process and the role of
communications in marketing.
• To examine various models of the communication
process.
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
Chapter Objectives
• To analyze the response processes of receivers of
marketing communications, including alternative
response hierarchies and their implications for
promotional planning and strategy.
• To examine the nature of consumers’ cognitive
processing of marketing communications.
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
The Communication Process
• Source
– Person or organization that has information to share
with another person or group of people
• Encoding
– Putting thoughts, ideas, or information into symbolic
form
– From the source
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
The Communication Process
• Message
– The meaning the source is trying to convey
• Channel
– Method by which communication travels
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
The Communication Process
• Decoding
– The process of transforming the sender’s message
back into thought
• Noise
– Unplanned distortion or interference throughout the
communication process
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
The Communication Process
• Response
– Receiver’s set of reactions after being exposed to the
message
• Feedback
– Part of the receiver’s response that is communicated
back to the sender
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
The Communications Process
Fields of Experience
Source /
Sender
Channel
Encoding
MESSAGE
Decoding
Noise
Response Feedback Loop
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
Receiver /
Audience
Encoding / Decoding Symbols
• Verbal
• Graphic
– Pictures
– Drawings
– Charts
– Spoken word
– Written word
– Song lyrics
• Animation
• Musical
– Arrangement
– Instrumentation
– Voice or chorus
– Action / motion
– Pace / speed
– Shape / form
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
Human Communicators
• Verbal
• Nonverbal
– Vocabulary
– Grammar
– Inflection
– Gestures
– Facial
expression
– Body language
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
Two Types of Channels
• Personal
• Nonpersonal (mass
media)
– One - one
– One to group
– Social channels
– Print media
– Broadcast media
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
Experiential Overlap
Sender
Experience
Different Worlds
Receiver
Experience
Moderate Commonality
Sender
Receiver
Experience
Experience
High Commonality
Sender
Experience
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
Receiver
Experience
Levels of Audience Aggregation
Mass Markets
(Advertising)
Market Segments
(Advertising, Sales Promotion,
Direct Marketing)
Niche Markets
(Personal Selling, Direct Marketing)
Small Groups
(Advertising,
Personal Selling)
Individuals
(Personal Selling)
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
Traditional Response
Hierarchy Models
• Developed to depict the stages a consumer may
pass through in moving from a state of not being
aware of a company, product, or brand to actual
purchase behaviour
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
Models of the Response
Process (Fig. 4-3)
Stages
Cognitive
AIDA
Hierarchy of
Innovation
Information
model
effects model
adoption
Processing
Attention
Awareness
Awareness
Presentation
Knowledge
Interest
Attention
Comprehension
Linking
Affective
Behavioral
Interest
Preference
Evaluation
Yielding
Desire
Conviction
Trial
Retention
Action
Purchase
Adoption
Behavior
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
Models Of Obtaining Feedback
Effectiveness tests
Persuasion Process
Circulation reach
Exposure, presentation
Listener, reader,
Viewer recognition
Attention
Recall, checklists
Comprehension
Brand attitudes,
Purchase intent
Message acceptance/
yielding
Recall over time
Retention
Inventory, POP
Consumer panel
Purchase behavior
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
Alternative Response Hierarchies
• Models of information processing
– Identifies three alternative orderings of the three stages
– Based on perceived product differentiation and product
involvement
• Standard learning model
– Sequence of:
Learn
do
feel
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
An Alternative Response Hierarchy
(Fig.4-5)
High
High
Cognitive
Affective
Conative
Dissonance/
Attribution Model
Low
Perceived product
differentiation
Learning Model
Topical
Involvement
Conative
Affective
Cognitive
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
Low
Involvement
Model
Cognitive
Conative
Affective
Integrated Information
Response Model
• Involves traditional and low-involvement response
hierarchy models
• Suggests that different response patterns that can
result from advertising
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
Integrated Information Model (Fig.4-7)
Cognition
Information
source
Advertising
Direct
experience
Trial
Information
acceptance
Low
High
Affect
Commitment
Cognitions
Affect
Conation
Lowerorder
beliefs
Lowerorder
affect
Trial
Higher-order
beliefs
+
Higher-order
affect
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
Commitment
The Cognitive Response Approach
• Cognitive responses
– The thoughts that occur to consumers while reading,
viewing, and/or hearing a communication
• Assumption that these thoughts reflect the
recipient’s cognitive processes or reactions that
shape acceptance or rejection of the message
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
Framework for Studying How
Advertising Works
• Three critical intermediate effects between
advertising and purchase:
– Cognition- “thinking” dimension of a consumer’s
response
– Affect- “feeling” dimension
– Experience- feedback dimension based on the
outcomes of product purchase and usage
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models
How Advertising Works
(Fig.4-10)
Chapter 4 : Communications Process Models