PROMOTIONAL PLANNING THROUGH THE PERSUASION

Source, message, channel are controllable elements in the communications model

 Persuasion matrix: helps marketers see how each controllable element interacts with the consumer’s
response process. It has two sets of variables
o 1. Independent variable: controllable components
o 2. Dependent variable: steps a receiver goes through in being persuaded
 marketers can choose the person/source who delivers the message, type of message
and channel or medium
 receiver/comprehension: can the receiver comprehend the ad?
o Ex: humorous message may gain attention but result in decreased comprehension
 channel/presentation: which media will increase presentation?
o Ex: shows such as big bang theory reach 18 million ppl and magazines reach 4 million readers
 Message/yielding: what type of msg will create favorable attitudes or feelings?
o Ex: funny msgs = positive feelings, music = receptive to message, sexual appeals=arousal
 Source/attention: who will be effective in getting consumers attention?
o Actors, athletes, rockstars, or attractive models
SOURCE FACTORS
 Source: person involved in communicating a marketing message, either directly or indirectly
o Direct source: spokesperson who delivers a message or endorses a product/service that
encourages people to take action
o Indirect source: doesn’t actually deliver a message but draws attention to or enhances the
appearance of the ad EX: a model (traits =knowledgeable, popular, attractive)
SOURCE CREDIBILITY (HERBERT KELMAN)
 Credibility: extent to which a person sees the source as having relevant knowledge, skill, or experience
and trusts the source to give unbiased, objective info.
o * Must have expertise (knowledgeable) and trustworthiness (honest, ethical, believable)
 Internalization: occurs when the receiver adopts/believes the opinion of the credible communicator
since he influences their beliefs, opinions, attitudes, and behavior. It stays in the receiver’s belief
system even after the message is forgotten
 Advertisers use many techniques to increase perception that their sources are trustworthy
o Hidden cameras show consumer is not paid and is making an objective evaluation of product
o Overheard-conversations enhance trustworthiness
o Publicity is influential since they are perceives as unbiased and more credible
LIMITATIONS OF CREDIBLE SOURCES
 High credibility source is not always an asset nor is a low-credibility always a liability
 High cred source is more effective when people are not in favor of the position of the message and high
cred source is less important when audience is neutral in position
o Sleeper effect: the persuasiveness of a message increases with the passage of time becuz
people focus their attention on the information in the message
SOURCE ATTRACTIVENESS
 Attractiveness: includes similarity, familiarity, and likeability
o Similarity: resemblance b/w the source and receiver of the message, provides empathy and
higher persuasiveness. Ex: sales ppl use someone with similar background,ethnicity
o Familiarity: refers to knowledge of the source through exposure
o Likability: an affection for source due to physical appearance, behavior, talent, personality
 Ex: celebrity
  Identification: persuasion occurs when the receiver is motivated to seek some type of relationship
with the source and adopts similar beliefs, attitudes, preferences, or behavior
o DOES NOT integrate info from an attractive source into belief system
UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF CELEBRITY ENDORSERS
 They must try to match the product/companys image, the characteristics of the target market, and
personality of the celebrity
o Meaning transfer model: Culture  Endorsement  Consumption
 celebrity's effectiveness as an endorser depends on the culturally acquired meanings he
or she brings to the endorsement process. Each celebrity contains many meanings,
including status, class, gender, and age as well as personality and lifestyle.
 Final stage: the meanings the celebrity has given to the product are transferred to the
consumer. Hardest part becaue it is the least understood
 The meaning transfer model has some important implications for companies using celebrity endorsers. Marketers 
must first decide on the image or symbolic meanings important to the target audience for the particular product, 
service, or company. They must then determine which celebrity best represents the meaning or image to be 
projected. An advertising campaign must be designed that captures that meaning in the product and moves it to 
the consumer. Marketing and advertising personnel often rely on intuition in choosing celebrity endorsers for their 
companies or products, but some companies conduct research studies to determine consumers' perceptions of 
celebrities' meaning.
CHOOSING A CELEBRITY ENDORSER
 Advertising agencies rely on Q-scores that are composed through company surveys (a respresentative
national panel of consumers several times a year)
o The familiarity score indicates what percentage of people has heard of the person
o Q-scores are calculated by taking % of respondents who indicate that a person is ”one of my
favorites” and then dividing that number by the %o of respondents who indicate they have
heard that person
 Decorative Models
o featuring a physically attractive person who serves as a passive or decorative model rather than
as an active communicator. (don’t draw attention to the product or message just ad)

SOURCE POWER
 has power when he or she can actually administer rewards and punishments to the receiver.
 may be able to induce another person(s) to respond to the request or position he or she is advocating.
o perceived control: The source must be perceived as being able to administer positive or
negative sanctions to the receiver
o perceived concern: The receiver must think the source cares about whether or not the receiver
conforms
o perceived scrutiny: The receiver's estimate of the source's ability to observe conformity
 compliance: The receiver accepts the persuasive influence of the source and acquiesces to his or her
position in hopes of obtaining a favorable reaction or avoiding punishment.
o Power as a source characteristic is very difficult to apply in a nonpersonal influence situation
such as advertising.
MESSAGE STRUCTURE
o Order of presentation: items presented first and last are remembered better than those presented in
the middle.
o Primary effect: strongest arguments at the beginning of the message
o Recency effect: putting strong points at the end its most persuasive
  Ex: when people are interested in the issue/product, strong arguments are saved at the
end and when they are opposed to the issue/product then presenting arguments first
would arouse interest
o the effectiveness of conclusion drawing may depend on the target audience, the type of issue or topic, and the 
nature of the situation.
o Whether to draw a conclusion for the audience depends on the audience's level of involvement in the topic, 
complexity of the topic 
MESSAGE SIDEDNESS
o One-sided message: mentions only positive attributes or benefits
o Most effective when person holds a favorable opinion and with a less educated audience
o Two-sided message: presents BOTH good and bad points
o Most effective when person holds an opposing opinion or is highly educated
o Enhances credibility of the source

REFUTATION
 Refutational appeal: Two-sided message where communicator presents both sides of an issue and
then refutes the opposing viewpoint
o  may be useful when marketers wish to build attitudes that resist change and must defend against attacks
or criticism 

Verbal versus Visual Messages

 Pictures affect the way consumers process accompanying copy.
  visual that is inconsistent with the verbal content leads to more recall and greater processing of the information 
presented

MESSAGE APPEALS
 Comparative advertising: directly or indirectly naming competitors in an ad and comparing one or
more specific attributes, useful for new brands, brands with small market share
o not effective for other variables such brand attitudes or purchase intentions . credibility can
sometimes be questioned
 Fear appeals: evoke emotional response for individuals to take steps to remove threat
o A low level of fear=facilitating effects (attracts attention and motivates receiver)
o High levels of fear, however, can produce inhibiting effects; the receiver may emotionally block the 
message by tuning it out, perceiving it selectively, or denying its arguments outright.

Protection motivation model: four cognitive appraisal processes mediate the individual's response to the threat: appraising
(1) the information available regarding the severity of the perceived threat, (2) the perceived probability that the threat will 
occur, (3) the perceived ability of a coping behavior to remove the threat, and (4) the individual's perceived ability to carry 
out the coping behavior.

 Wearout refers to the tendency of a television or radio commercial to lose its effectiveness when it is seen and/or heard 
repeatedly