CHAPTER 4

HOW BRAND
COMMUNICATION WORKS
HOW DOES BRAND
COMMUNICATION WORK?
1. The Mass Communication Foundation
2. Adding Interaction to Brand Communication
3. Other Aspects of Communication
4. What Are the Effects behind Effectiveness
HOW DOES BRAND
COMMUNICATION WORK?
◻ At the most basic:

✔ Brand Communication is a message to a consumer

about a brand.
✔ It gets attention and provides information,

sometimes even entertainment.

The mass communication approach
◻ Mass communication is a process. Consider:
◻ The SMCR Model:

◻ 1. Source
2. Sender
3. Message
4. Channels of communication
◻ 5. Receiver

◻ Feedback is obtained by monitoring the response of

the receiver to the message.
*Refer to page 123. Figure 4.1A
The Mass Communication Foundation

◻ If mass communication process fails to work and

consumer does not receive the message as intended
by the advertiser, then the communication effort is
INEFFECTIVE
◻ Turn to page 124. Referring to Figure 4.1B discuss:
1. Message
2. Medium
3. External noise
4. Internal noise
5. Feedback
Adding Interaction to Brand
Communication
◻ Mass communication is a traditionally one-way
process with the message moving from sender to
receiver.
◻ Interactive communication is two-way – a
dialogue – and is where marketing communication
is headed.
The source and receiver change positions as the
message bounces back and forth between them.
Adding Interaction to Brand
Communication
The move toward interactivity
◻Interest in word of mouth, buzz marketing and
online social media indicates that marketing
communication is moving beyond two-way
communication.
◻Consumers can now:

◦ react to messages with comments, phone calls,

email inquiries.
◦ Initiate communication as well as receive it.
Adding Interaction to Brand
Communication
◻ The important difference is that consumer are
talking to one another in a circle of comments
about products and brands
◻ Theory of persuasion works based on social
influence:

People identified as opinion leaders talk to other

people and influence the formation of attitudes and
behaviors (Katz and Lazarsfeld, 1940)
Adding Interaction to Brand
Communication
Interaction and Interactive Experiences
◻It is a building block of the customer brand
experience
◻Determine the likelihood of repeat business and brand

loyalty
Other Aspects of Communication
◻ Many commercials are essentially nonverbal,
relying on the impact of compelling visuals.
◻ Brand signals (logo, imagery and color)
◻ Brand identity operates through cues that identify
and signal brand personalities and strengths.
◻ We create personal brand meanings from formal
communication and also from brand experience
What are the Effects behind Effectiveness?

◻ Effects is the idea being that effective brand

communication will achieve the marketer’s desired
impact and the target audience will respond as the
marketer intended.
◻ Desired impact is formally states ad a set of
objectives which are the measurable goals or results
that the message is intended to achieve
 What are the Effects behind Effectiveness?

Traditional Views on Impact

◻AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action)
◻Think/Feel/Do

Think about the message, feel something about the

brand, then do something, such as try it.
◻ Domains
1.Perception

2.Learning

3.Persuasion
WHAT ARE THE FACETS OF
IMPACTS?
1. The Perception Facet: See/Hear
2. The Emotion of Affect Facet: Feel
3. The Cognition Facet: Think/Understand
4. The Association Facet: Connect
5. The Persuasion Facet: Believe
6. The Behavior Facet: Act/Do
The Facets Model of Effects
The Facets Model of Effects
◻ Does a more complete job of explaining how
advertising creates consumer responses.
◻ It is useful in both setting objectives and evaluating
advertising effectiveness.
The Perception Facet: See/Hear
◻ Perception: The process by which we receive
information through our five senses and assign
meaning to it.
◻ Selective perception: Consumers select messages
to which they pay attention.
◻ For an advertisement to be effective, it first must be
noticed or at least register on some minimal level
on our senses.
The Perception Facet: See/Hear
Factors driving the perception response
◻Exposure
Media planners want consumers to see or hear the
message.
◻Selection and attention

Selective attention: consumers choose to attend to the

message.
◻Interest

Receiver mentally engages with the ad or product.

The Perception Facet: See/Hear
Factors driving the perception response
◻Relevance
Message connects on some personal level.
◻Curiosity

Results from questioning, wanting to know more.

◻Awareness

Ad makes an impression; registers with consumer.

◻Recognition

People remember the ad. Recall means they

remember what it said.
The Perception Facet: See/Hear
Factors driving the perception response
◻Relevance
Message connects on some personal level.
◻Curiosity

Results from questioning, wanting to know more.

◻Awareness

Ad makes an impression; registers with consumer.

◻Recognition

People remember the ad. Recall means they

remember what it said.
The Perception Facet: See/Hear
The synergy requirement
◻Using an IMC approach, marketers coordinate all
marketing communication messages to create
synergy.
◻This means individual messages have more impact

working jointly than they would on their own.

The Perception Facet: See/Hear
The subliminal issue
◻Subliminal effects are message cues given below the
threshold of perception.
◻Subliminal messages are designed to get past your

perceptual filters by talking directly to your

subconscious.
◻As a class:

For more on this issue, see “A Matter of Principle:

Ice Cubes, Breasts, and Subliminal Ads.”
The Emotional or Affect Facet:
Feel
◻ Affective responses mirror our feelings about
something.
◻ “Affective” describes something that stimulates
wants, touches the emotions, and elicits feelings.
◻ Brand messages can arouse a range of different
emotions.
The Emotional or Affect Facet:
Feel
Factors that drive the affective response
◻Wants and desires
Driven by emotions; based on wishes, longings,
cravings.
◻Excitement

Our emotions and passions are aroused.

The Emotional or Affect Facet:
Feel
Factors that drive the affective response
◻Feelings
Emotional appeals based on humor, love, or fear.
◻Liking

If you like the ad, those positive feelings transfer

to the brand.
◻Resonance

A feeling that the message rings true.

The Cognition Facet:
Think/Understand
◻ Cognition refers to how customers:
search for and respond to information ◦ learn and
understand something.
◻ It’s a rational, “left-brain” approach.
◻ As a class:
Discuss how American Airlines used the left-
brain/right brain approach in an ad to creatively
communicate its new seating in coach.
The Cognition Facet:
Think/Understand
Factors that drive the cognitive response
◻Need
Ad messages here describe something missing in the
consumer’s life.
◻Cognitive learning

Presenting facts, information, and explanations leads

to understanding.
◻Comprehension

The process by which we understand, make sense

of things, or acquire knowledge.
The Cognition Facet:
Think/Understand
Factors that drive the cognitive response
Differentiation
◻

The consumer’s ability to separate one brand from

another, based on an understanding of a competitive
advantage.
Recall
◻
A measure of learning or understanding. One remembers
the ad, the brand and copy points.
The Association Facet: Connect

◻ Association means using symbols to communicate.

It is the primary tool used in brand communication.
◻ Brand linkage reflects the degree to which:
1. the associations presented in the message
2. the consumer's interest are connected to the brand.
The Association Facet: Connect
Factors that drive the association response
◻Symbolism
A brand takes on a symbolic meaning. It stands for
certain, usually abstract, qualities.
◻Conditioned learning

Thoughts and feelings linked to the brand.

◻Transformation

A product takes on meaning and is transformed into

something special.
The Association Facet: Connect

Association Networks
◻What associations when you think about Nike?
◻The association process is built on a network of

association, called knowledge structure.

The Persuasion Facet: Believe

Factors that drive the persuasion response

◻Motivation
Something prompts one to act in a certain way.
◻Influence

Opinion leaders may influence others’ attitudes.

Word of mouth is created by strategies that engage
influencers.
◻Involvement

The degree to which one attends to messages and

how they make product decisions.
The Persuasion Facet: Believe

Factors that drive the persuasion response

◻Engagement
The consumer is “turned on.”
◻Conviction

Consumers agree with a message and achieve a state

of certainty or belief about a brand.
◻Preference and intention

Here, consumers are motivated by conviction.

The Persuasion Facet: Believe

Factors that drive the persuasion response

Loyalty
◻

Brand loyalty involves attitude, emotion, action.

It’s built on customer satisfaction.
Believability and credibility
◻

Believability: refers to credibility of the message.

Credibility: trustworthiness of the source.
Source credibility: the person delivering the message
is respected, trusted, and believable.
The Behavior Facet: Act/Do

◻ Behavior is the action response.

◻ It can involve a number of actions including:
Trying or buying the brand
Visiting a store
Returning an inquiry card
Calling a toll-free number ◦ Clicking on a Web site
The Behavior Facet: Act/Do

Factors that drive the behavioral response

◻Mental rehearsal
Advertising attempts to create virtual memories.
◻Trial

This is important for new or expensive products.

◻Buying

Advertising sometimes stimulates sales by the call

to
action.
The Behavior Facet: Act/Do

Factors that drive the behavioral response

Contacting
◻
Consumers respond by contacting the advertiser.
Advocating and Referrals
◻

Advocacy: speaking out on a brand’s behalf.

Referral: a satisfied customer recommends a favorite
brand.
Prevention
◻

Presenting negative messages about an unwanted

behavior and creating incentives to stimulate the
desired behavior.
THE POWER OF BRAND
COMMUNICATION
1. Strong and Weak Effects
2. Looking Ahead
The Power of Brand
Communication
◻ Reviewing the Facets of Effects Model
When its six factors work together, they can create a
coherent brand perception.
◻ However, we must remember that:
1. The effects are interdependent.
2. They are not all equal for all marketing
communication situations.
Strong and Weak Effects
◻ The “Strong” Theory
Advertising can persuade people who had never
bought a brand to buy it once, and then repeatedly.
◻ The “Weak” Theory
Advertising has a limited impact on consumers;
best used to reinforce existing brand perceptions.
◻ Delayed Effects
A consumer may see or hear an advertisement but
not act on that message until a later date.
Looking Ahead
◻ If a brand message connects, it probably does so
because it connects with the innate search for
personal identity.
◻ “The mind of consumer can be thought of as being
continuously engaged in the process of defining the
self and orienting it with respect to the outside
world.” ~ Charles Young
ANY QUESTIONS?
THANK YOU!