Communication theory
Week 1 Theory
4 influencing strategies
4 strategies for influencing according to CASI (Communication Activation Strategy Instrument):
1. Respond to emotions and associations
This strategy aims on responding to associations and emotions (by using communication).
With this strategy you can:
• Evoke emotions
• Respond to existing emotions: replace negative emotions with positive emotions
• Create new associations through behaviour
• Empower existing associations
• Intervention tools: emotions / habits & routines
2. Social influencing
This strategy aims on utilizing the social environment and processes to stimulate people to
change their behaviour (by using communication).
With this strategy you can:
• Use the social environment to communicate
• Communicate social norms
• Start the conversation
• Intervention tool: social environment
3. Facilitate and reinforce behaviour
This strategy aims on helping the target group to show the desired behaviour and on
reinforcing this desired behaviour.
With this strategy you can:
• Offer services to support people showing the desired behaviour
• Communicate direct and clear instructions to support the desired behaviour
• Intervention tools: ability, physical/local environment, intent
4. Motivate
This strategy aims on enlarging someone’s internal motivation to change their behaviour (by
using communication).
With this strategy you can:
• Communicate about advantages, disadvantages and risks
• Focus communication on attitude and identity: respond to values, opinions and the
image people have of themselves
• Intervention tools: knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy/agency
‘Please don’t place you bicycle here’ = people still do it
Behaviour
- A lot of choices are made without thinking (ELM / Kahneman)
- A lot communication focuses on ‘common sense’ (gap between all of them)
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,Integrated communication plan (Pelsmacker h4)
All the steps in the integrated communications plan should be done
from the perspective of integrated marketing communications (IMC).
How are you going to reach your communication objectives → what
and how to communicate
What is integrated marketing communications (IMC)?
- ‘Seamless or homogeneous communication that starts from
the point of view from the customer/target group and that is
aimed at developing attitudes and behaviour and is using all
possible touchpoints with the customer’ (Pelsmacker)
- You do a lot of research about the target group, find out
touchpoints, based on this design a communication campaign.
Different tools for a campaign:
- Advertising
- Public relations
- Sponsorship
- Direct marketing
- Exhibitions and trade fairs
- Online communication
Message strategies and creative concept
Now: focus on message and creative strategies
Message strategy
- The general message that will be communicated → what are we going to say to the
consumer?
- Why is the message strategy so important in a campaign? → it has to convince the target
group
- The message should what makes the target group change their minds
Key message and message strategy:
What do you want to say to your target group?
When developing the key message:
- Start at the target group
- Think about what your target group does and doesn’t want to hear
- Think about your USP’s (for your specific target group)
- Make sure it fits the positioning strategy of the company
- Think about the stage of the customer journey (touchpoints)
- Think about the length and timing of your campaign
Your key message exists of multiple different messages
Example: messages of cigarette packs (key message: quit smoking)
Robinson: Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value
- Creativity is the key element of your campaign; but it is really difficult
Is your key message ready? → start developing the creative concept
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,Creative concept
The idea upon which advertising is based
- The concept is the idea behind the professional communication product (campaign, event,
strategy), but also the idea behind smaller components of the communication product
(media products like a website or video for a marketing communications campaign, press
release for a PR campaign).
Developing a creative concept
From message strategy to creative concept
Designing a message / creative concept
When creating effective content for different media:
Important: the creative concept (and message) should be: meaningful, believable and distinctive.
Chapter 1 Integrated Communications Pelsmacker
Instruments of the marketing mix
Product:
- Core product: the unique benefit that is being marketed. The position, the unique place in a
consumers mind
- Tangible product: product features, quality level, available options
- Augmented product: gives the tangible product more value and customer appeal. Can be
defined as service layer. Prompt delivery, installation service.
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, Price:
- List price: the official price of a product
- Price cuts: effective way to attract consumers, but may cause losing margin and profit.
Customers can be brand-switchers (they only want discount)
Communications mix
- Advertising = non-personal mass communications using mass media. The content which is
determined and paid for by a clearly identified sender (company).
- Brand activation = integration of all available communications means in a creative platform
in order to activate consumers by stimulating interest, initiating trial and eventually securing
consumer loyalty. It enables the target group to penetrate with the brand.
- Sales promotion: sales-stimulating campaigns (price cuts, coupons, loyalty programmes, free
samples)
- Point-of-purchase communications: at the point of purchase/sales (displays, advertising in
the shop, merchandise).
- Online communications = interactive way to communicate with customers and stakeholders
via internet and mobile devices.
- Direct marketing communications = personal/direct way to communicate with customers
and potential clients with personalised brochures and leaflets (direct mailing, telemarketing)
- Sponsorship = sponsor provides funds, goods, services and know-how.
- Public relations = all the communications a company instigates with its audiences.
- Exhibitions/trade fairs = business-to-business and industrial markets
Personal communication: directly addressed to an individual
Mass communication: message directed to a number of receivers who cannot be identified
Principles important by designing and implementing IMC:
- Consistency: marketing instruments have to work in the same direction and not conflict with
each other.
- Synergy: marketing instruments have to be designed in such a way that the effects of the
tools are mutually reinforcing.
o Most relevant of the IMC is the consumer’s point of view
IMC does not happen automatically; elements of the communications mix have to be carefully
planned (in a consistent and coherent integrated communication plan).
- Classic communications: based on mass media delivering generalised transaction-orientated
messages
- Integrated communications: more personalised, customer-orientated, relationship-based
and interactive
Self-reference criterion = unconscious tendency to refer everything to our own cultural values.
Standardised campaign: campaign that is running in different countries, using the same concept,
setting, theme, appeal and message
Localisation/adaption: elements of the communications strategy are adapted to local circumstances.
- Globalisation leads to cost reduction through economies of scale. It can globally exploiting a
great creative idea.
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