hogeschool van amsterdam interactieve media a theory of communication hoorcollege marketing...
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Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media
A theory of communication
Hoorcollege marketing communication blok 4 week 1
Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media
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
Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media
Agenda
The importance of marketing communication
The communication process
Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media
The importance of marketing communication
Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media
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
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Elements of the communication mix
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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…
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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.
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The communications process
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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
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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
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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
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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?
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The communication loop
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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
Hogeschool van Amsterdam Interactieve Media
Goals of communication
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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
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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
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Some issues in communication
Encoding the message effectively
Cultural issues
Silent communication
Problems of media, time and place
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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)
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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
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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
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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
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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
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This means that noise can happen anywhere!
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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
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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