hogeschool van amsterdam interactieve media a theory of communication hoorcollege marketing...

Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media

A theory of communication

Hoorcollege marketing communication blok 4 week 1


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


Agenda

The importance of marketing communication

The communication process


The importance of marketing communication


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


Elements of the communication mix


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…


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.


The communications process


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., 1994. Promotional Strategy, Chicago: Irwin


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


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


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?


The communication loop


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., 1994. Promotional Strategy, Chicago: Irwin


Goals of communication


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


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


Some issues in communication

Encoding the message effectively

Cultural issues

Silent communication

Problems of media, time and place


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)


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


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


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


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


This means that noise can happen anywhere!


Important stuff to remember when communicating

Know your audience (target customer) One message (promotional mix) will not suit every group

Send a clear message What do you want to say?

KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)

Understand the communications process What are the barriers to communication?

Look for feedback Remember that you decode the feedback


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

hogeschool van amsterdam interactieve media a theory of communication hoorcollege marketing...

Documents

communication process

communication mix slide

communication loop slide

way communication

marketing communications

right media

organizations communication

communications process