Page 464 - Foundations of Marketing

Integrated Marketing Communications | Chapter 15 431

be an electronics salesperson wishing to communicate the
attributes of 3D television to a buyer in the store or a TV
manufacturer using television ads to inform thousands of
consumers about its products. Developing a strategy can
enhance the effectiveness of the source’s communication.
For example, a strategy in which a salesperson attempts to
influence a customer’s decision by eliminating competitive
products from consideration has been found to be effective.
A receiver is the individual, group, or organization that
decodes a coded message, and an audience is two or more
receivers.
To transmit meaning, a source must convert the mean-
ing into a series of signs or symbols representing ideas or
concepts. This is called the coding process , or encoding.
When coding meaning into a message, the source must con-
sider certain characteristics of the receiver or audience. For
instance, the Olay advertisement featuring its Regenerist
eye and lash duo appeals to women who want brighter,
firmer eyes. The advertisement conveys its message by list-
ing the steps customers must take for the treatment to work
and uses exciting language to describe the product’s fast-
acting effects.
To share meaning, the source should use signs or symbols
familiar to the receiver or audience. Persuasive messages
from a source are more effective when the appeal matches an Courtesy of Olay
4
individual’s personality. Marketers that understand this real-
ize the importance of knowing their target market and ensur-
ing that an advertisement or promotion uses language the
target market understands and that depicts behaviors accept- Olay highlights words such as “Wow!” and “New” to convey
able within the culture. With the Hispanic market growing meaning about the quality of its Regenerist micro-sculpting eye
rapidly, marketers are increasingly using Spanish-language cream and lash serum duo.
media in their advertisements.
When coding a meaning, a source needs to use signs or symbols that the receiver or communications channel The
audience uses to refer to the concepts the source intends to convey. Instead of techni- medium of transmission that
cal jargon, explanatory language that helps consumers understand the message is more carries the coded message from
the source to the receiver
likely to result in positive attitudes and purchase intentions. Marketers try to avoid signs
or symbols that may have several meanings for an audience. For example, soda as a decoding process Converting
general term for soft drinks may not work well in national advertisements. Although signs or symbols into concepts
and ideas
in some parts of the United States the word means “soft drink,” in other regions it may
connote bicarbonate of soda, an ice cream drink, or something one mixes with alcoholic noise Anything that reduces
a communication’s clarity and
beverages.
accuracy
To share a coded meaning with the receiver or audience, a
source selects and uses a communications channel , the medium
of transmission that carries the coded message from the source Table 15.1 Sources of News Information
to the receiver or audience. Transmission media include printed for Americans
words (newspapers and magazines), broadcast media (television
Television 55 %
and radio), and digital communication. Table 15.1 summarizes the
leading communications channels from which people obtain infor-
Online 39 %
mation and news. Although television is still the most common
source for obtaining news, 39 percent of Americans get their news Newspaper 29 %
5
from online sources.
In the decoding process , signs or symbols are converted into Radio 33 %
concepts and ideas. Seldom does a receiver decode exactly the
Source: “In Changing News Landscape, Even Television is Vulnerable,”
same meaning the source intended. When the result of decoding
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press , September 27, 2012,
differs from what was coded, noise exists. Noise is anything that www.people-press.org/2012/09/27/in-changing-news-landscape-even-
reduces the clarity and accuracy of the communication; it has television-is-vulnerable/ (accessed January 17, 2013).

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