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How does brand communication work?
 At its most basic, brand communication is a message to a
consumer about a brand.

 It gets attention and provides information, sometimes even

entertainment
 It is purposeful in that it seeks to create some kind of
response:
 an inquiry, a sale, a visit to a website, a test drive
 Most traditional advertising is not as personal or interactive
as a conversation because it relies on mass communication.
 However, marketing communication, such as personal
selling and telemarketing, can deliver the personal contact
of a conversation.
The mass communication foundation
The source
The message
The media mix
External noise
Internal noise
The receiver
Feedback
Adding Interaction to Brand Communication
 Mass communication is traditionally a one-way
 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.
 Interest in buzz marketing indicates that marketing communication is
moving beyond two-way communication.
 Consumers can now: react to messages with comments, phone calls, e-
mail inquiries. Initiate communication as well as receive it.
 Advertisers must learn to receive (listen) as well as send information.
 Word of mouth, buzz marketing and online social media are indicators
of the need for message integration.
 Feedback is now occurring in real time through personal selling,
customer service, online marketing, toll-free numbers and e-mail.
Logos use cues to help identify a familiar brand, and these visual
elements also signal brand personality. What do you think these logos
are saying about their brands?
What are the effects behind effectiveness?
 Theoretical approaches aid in the design process
 The Hierarchy of Effect Model and a Means End Chain
can both assist in developing the leverage point.
 A leverage point moves the consumers from
understanding a product’s benefits to linking those
benefits to personal values.
 A third theoretical perspectives involved the visual and
the verbal images present in an advertising
The Emotional or Affective Facet: Feel
 Affective responses mirror our feelings about
something, anger, love, fear, hate.

 “Affective” describes something that stimulates

wants, touches the emotions, and elicits feelings.

 Brand messages can arouse a range of different

emotions.
The Emotional or Affective Facet: Feel
 Wants and Desires: “I want something” implies desire.
 Excitement: A step above interest in terms of intensity of response
is excitement.
 Feelings: Our passions and feelings are addressed in a number of
ways in advertising, such as humor, love, or fear.
 Liking: Two important affective responses to a message are liking
the brand and liking the ad. Liking reflects.
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.


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.
 Differentiation
The consumer’s ability to separate one brand from
another, based on an understanding of a competitive
advantage.
 Recall
The Association Facet: Connect
 Association means using symbols to communicate. It is
the primary tool used in brand communication.
 The idea is to associate the brand with things that
resonate positively with the customer
 The brand relates to a quality that customers value.
 You can explain how advertising works by understanding
how association works
The Association Facet: Connect
This vending machine dispenses
free cans of Coca Cola after you
literally give it a hug. Part of the
Open Happiness campaign in
Singapore, it links Coke with the
warm feeling of a hug in an effort to
encourage public displays of
affection, which are rare in that
country.
The Persuasion Facet: Believe
 Persuasion: influencing or motivating the receiver of
a message to believe or do something.

 Attitude is an inclination to react in a given way.

 Attitudes are expressed as beliefs when people are

convinced.
The Behavior Facet: Act/Do
 Behavior can involve different types of action in addition
to trying or buying the product
 – for example to visit a store, return an inquiry card, call
a toll-free number, join an organization, donate to a good
cause, or click on a website.

Designed to inspire action, this ad

was used during World War I to
convince young people to join the
military.
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.
 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.
 Creative Execution Elements

 The creative execution elements are

 The message appeal
 Message structure
 Execution styles, tones
 Design and production details
 These describe look, feel and sound of a message in its finished form.
 Together they affect the relevance originality and impact of an advertising.
 Message Appeal

• Appeal is central message to be used in ads.

• Concept testing, focus group and motivational research helps to determine
which appeals to be used.
• Appeal must have power to attract attention, arouse latent desire, influence
feeling.
• Need to address the needs and wants of consumer.
• How do advertisers know what appeal to use for a certain product?
 Rational/Informational Appeals

• Address consumer’s self interest (problem removal, problem avoidance)

• The message content must emphasizes facts, learning, and logical
persuasion.

• Feature appeal (Machinto Power Mac fastest desktop )

• Competitive advantage appeal (LG shows comparing chart for its washing
machine)
• Favorable price appeal (special Depawali offer)
• News appeal (Alto makes it debut outside Japan)
• Product popularity appeal (showing the number of consumer using the
product)
 Emotional / Transformational Appeals

• Relates to customers social and psychological needs

• The appeals provides sensory gratification, intellectual stimulation and social
approval
• Search for emotional associations which is more important than product
attributes, like psychological, safety, sociological esteem and self
actualization
• Evoke positive, image feeling , experience, easy recall
• Transformational ads make product usage experience richer, warmer exciting,
enjoyable

• Nescafe Ho shuru har din aise “ the taste that get you started”

• Teaser appeal: build up curiosity excitement and interest

 Fear Appeal

• It is a negative appeal that talks about the ills of not using a

product.
• You will lose your hair if you do not use this oil
• Your children will not have good education if don’t provide for it
now.
• Use of seat belt show a petrol pump cleaner wiping away a
bloody windscreen
• Strong fear appeal tend to be less effective than mild fear appeal
• Now, insurance companies are adopting pleasant images, talk
about security and partnership for life
• Example: pulse polio
 Humor Appeal

• Tickling the funny bone is the gambit advertisers are using to get consumers
more involved
• Young, higher class better educated and working professionals are more
amenable to humor messages.
• Even kids prefer humorous ads
• Humor can get consumers interested in dull purchase thing like car battery or
make an unfriendly product seem more approachable.
• More apt foe low involvement product
• Example: Sprite, Mintos, Chloro-mint, center shock, Alpenlibe, Happy dent
white, Fevi Kwik
 Sex Appeal

• Sexual appeal does not necessarily guarantee the success of an ad.

• It does attract attention but can also prove either damaging or ineffective.
• It may offend consumers
• If sex appeal is not relevant to the product advertised, it fails in increasing
the impression on the audience.
• Example: a hot ice cream commercial may melt away a simple pleasure of
eating an ice cream.
• Sex appeal works best with lifestyle and image products like cosmetic and
fragrance.
 Agony Appeal

 We all have seen ads that depict in great detail about human suffering
 Gastric trouble
 Migraine like headache
 Itching of body parts
 crack feet
• Quickly connect with target audience
• Example: Itch Guard, Nycil
 Pleasant Appeal

• It would be a deplorable sin to an advertiser to show a model wear the

advertised shoes and not looked happy.
• How can you not smile after brushing with shine and smile tooth paste
• A print ad depicts a girl smiling away to glory while eating mother diary’s
choco treat ice cream
• Bite and smile commercials are not the legacy of food advertiser alone
• Pleasant appeal show people being happy with the product advertise.
 Music Appeals

• Music (song, jingle) often adds an important ingredient to an ad.

• It connects with emotions and memories
• Has intrusive value
• Gains attention
• Increases the retention of visual information
• Better recall
• Can increase persuasiveness
• Stored in long-term memory

• Example: Britannia, Intel

 Scarcity Appeals

• Based on limited supply

• Based on limited time to purchase
• Often tied with promotion tools such as contests and coupons
• Encourages customers to take action
 Moral Appeal

• Moral appeal is aimed at audience’s right and wrong.

• Don’t you think it is your duty to buy this and help us do that.
• Can touch the soft nerve of the people
• Usually adopted for social causes
• It rests on the assumption that it will give people the satisfaction of doing
something for a good cause by just buying a product
• Consumers can be reminded of their social duties

• Example: Surf Excel Quick wash save two bucket of water. Imagine how
much water can be save throughout the country.
 Message Format or Execution Style

• Message formats are templates for determining how the advertising story
will be told.
• As a piece of news, dramatically, musically, with scientific support, and
through a demonstration etc.
• The actual story is then written in the form of a script or copy
 Message Tone

• Message tone reflect the emotion behind an ad

• Happy, fearful, friendly, angry, excited, vulgar, funny, serious, advisory, silly,
provocative etc.
• Ad can adopt various tones of voices owing to their conversational nature.
• The choice of tone affects the way advertising copy or script is written, the
way people feel about an ad and relationship that ad create with the
customers.
• Polio eradication campaign: (irate tone)
 Message Structure

• Message structure depends on various factors mentioned below:

• Verbal versus Non-verbal:
• When we think of delivering a message we can either use words (verbal),
visuals (non verbal) or both.
• Readability: concern the understanding of verbal elements of a message.
• Ordering Effect: it refers to the timing of presentation of key ideas in a
message –beginning (primacy), middle or end of the message (recency).
• Repetition: repeating a point with in a single message increases it
memorability and persuasiveness.
• Ex: Avis is only no.2 in rent a cars. So why you go with us?
• Arguing and Counter Arguing:
 Message Objectives

• Perception: create attention, awareness, interest, recognition, and recall

• Cognitive: deliver information and understanding
• Affective: touch emotion and create feeling
• Persuasion: change attitude, create conviction and preference
• Transformations: establish brand identity and association
• Behavior: simulate trial, purchase, repurchase or some other form of action
 Principles to Develop Creative Ads

 Advertising should
 position the product with clarity (tell about product category, user, usage)
 build on most compelling consumer benefits
 have a powerful idea
 help to design brand personality
 be unique not imitate the competitors
 have a tear, a smile, some entertaining element
 be visually appealing
 use healthy combinations of words, music, light, cast, direction etc.