Brand Communication & Research Lecture Notes PDF

Week 3 Lecture Wednesday, January 22, 2025 4:55 PM Brand Communication & Research 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...

Week 3 Lecture Wednesday, January 22, 2025 4:55 PM Brand Communication & Research 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 The Brand Communication Model 1. The message 2. The media mix 3. Internal noise 4. External noise 3. Internal noise 4. External noise 5. The receiver 6. Feedback Adding Interaction to Brand Communication Mass communication is traditionally a one-way process with the message moving fro Interactive communication is two-way—a dialogue—and is where brand communic om sender to receiver. cation is headed.  Adding Interaction to Brand Communication Mass communication is traditionally a one-way process with the message moving fro Interactive communication is two-way—a dialogue—and is where brand communic The source and receiver change positions as the message bounces back and forth be The move toward interactivity: Interest in buzz marketing indicates that marketing communication is moving beyon communication. Consumers can now: react to messages with social media Initiate communication as well as receive it. The move toward interactivity: Advertisers must learn to receive (listen to) as well as send messages to customers. Word of mouth, buzz marketing and social media are indicators of the need for mess Other Aspects of Communication om sender to receiver. cation is headed. etween them. nd two-way ssage integration.  Word of mouth, buzz marketing and social media are indicators of the need for mess Other Aspects of Communication Nonverbal communication can be just as powerful as word-based forms. Many commercials rely on the impact of compelling visuals. Brand signals include slogans, but are dominated by logos, imagery, and color. Cues and signals are used in commercial communication to help structure a consum process. The Effects Behind Effectiveness Above all, brand communication must be purposeful. It must have some effect on the people who read or see it. This impact is known as e The desired impact is formally stated as a set of objectives, or statements of measur The Facets Model of Effects Effective advertising creates six types of consumer responses: 1. Awareness: the Perception Facet 2. Feel: the Affective or Emotional Facet 3. Think/understand: the Cognitive Facet 4. Connect: the Association Facet ssage integration. mer’s meaning-making effects. rable goals/results. 3. Think/understand: the Cognitive Facet 4. Connect: the Association Facet 5. Believe: the Persuasion Facet 6. Act/Do: the Behavior Facet The Perception Facet: Awareness Perception: The process by which we receive information through our five senses an For an advertisement to be effective, it first must be noticed or at least register on s our senses. Awareness results when a brand message makes an impression—when something r Factors that drive perception: Consumers select messages to which they pay attention by using selective perceptio Exposure: media planners want consumers to see or hear the message. Selection and attention: by using selective attention, consumers choose to attend t Interest: the receiver is mentally engaged with the ad or product. Also known as “sti Consumers select messages to which they pay attention by using selective perceptio Exposure: media planners want consumers to see or hear the message. Selection and attention: by using selective attention, consumers choose to attend t nd assign meaning to it. some minimal level on registers. on. to the message. tickiness.” on. to the message  Exposure: media planners want consumers to see or hear the message. Selection and attention: by using selective attention, consumers choose to attend t Interest: the receiver is mentally engaged with the ad or product. Also known as “sti Relevance: the message connects on some personal level. Curiosity: Results from questioning, wanting to know more. Recognition: People remember seeing the ad. Recall means they remember what th The Emotion Facet: Feel Affective responses mirror our feelings about something: anger, love, fear, hate. Affective describes something that stimulates wants, touches the emotions, and elic Brand messages can arouse a range of positive and negative emotions. The Cognitive Facet: Think/Understand Cognition refers to how consumers search for and make sense of information, and le something. It is a rational response to a message that comes from thinking something through. Factors that drive cognitiion: Need: Ad messages describe something missing in the consumer’s life. to the message tickiness.” he ad said. cits feelings. earn and understand  Factors that drive cognitiion: Need: Ad messages describe something missing in the consumer’s life. Cognitive learning: Presenting facts, information, and explanations leads to underst Comprehension: The process by which we understand, make sense of things, or acq Differentiation: The consumer’s ability to distinguish between competing brands ba competitive advantage. Recall: A measure of learning or understanding. One remembers the ad, the brand a Thinking and Feeling: Notice that these two factors work together. The Association Facet: Connect Association means using symbols to communicate. It is the primary tool used in bran Factors that drive association Brand linkage reflects the degree to which associations in the message and consume the brand. Symbolism: A brand takes on a symbolic meaning. It stands for certain, usually abstr Conditioned learning: Thoughts and feelings become linked to the brand through re message. Transformation: A product takes on meaning and is transformed into something spe Persuasion: consciously influencing or motivating the receiver of a message to belie tanding. quire knowledge. ased on understanding a and copy points. nd communication. er interest connect to ract, qualities. epetition of the ecial. eve or do something.  Transformation: A product takes on meaning and is transformed into something spe Persuasion: consciously influencing or motivating the receiver of a message to belie Attitude is an inclination to react in a given way. When people are convinced of something, their attitudes are expressed as beliefs. Motivation: Something prompts one to act in a certain way. Influence: Opinion leaders may influence others’ attitudes. Word of mouth is create engage influencers. Involvement: The degree to which one attends to messages and how they make pro Engagement: The consumer is “turned on.” Conviction: Consumers agree with a message and achieve a state of certainty or beli Preference and intention: Here, consumers are motivated by conviction. Loyalty Brand loyalty involves attitude, emotion, action. It’s built on customer satisfac Believability and credibility Believability: Refers to credibility of the message. Credibility: Trustworthiness of the source. Source credibili ty: The person delivering the message is respected, trusted, and believable. ecial. eve or do something. ed by strategies that oduct decisions. lief about a brand. ction  Peripheral or Heuristic Persuasion Common Forms: Credible Source Heuristic Rule: “Experts tend to be correct” Consensus Information Rule: “If most people buy it, it must be good”  Consensus Information Rule: “If most people buy it, it must be good” Argument Length Rule: “Length implies strength.” Expensive advertising campaign Rule: “Must be a good product if they can afford ads” Affect/Feelings Classical conditioning mechanism Factors that Influence Involvement/Ability Involvement (motivation to think carefully) Interest in product category Needs Values Personal relevance (self-concept, material interests) Risk Hedonic elements of marcom Surprises in marcom Ability (to think carefully)  Hedonic elements of marcom Surprises in marcom Ability (to think carefully) Expertise/knowledge, education, etc Complexity of product (number of brands/options) Simplified or prominent information in marcom Time pressure Distractions Tripartite Model of Attitude Structure No assumptions about order of cognition, affect, and behavior Attitudes can be primarily based on one or the other component Cognitive attitudes based on beliefs about product features (eg) Affective attitudes based on feelings associated with product (eg) Behavioral attitudes inferred from own behavior itself (eg. I must like Tide beca time.) (eg) In general, need to match marcom strategy to basis of attitudes Matching Ads with Cognitive/Affective Structure Mixed evidence: Matching best when forming new attitudes Mismatching best when changing well-established attitudes ause I use it all the  Mixed evidence: Matching best when forming new attitudes Mismatching best when changing well-established attitudes The Research Process Strategic research means: Actively seeking reliable information to make an important decision.  Strategic research means: Actively seeking reliable information to make an important decision. Recognizing that you need more information Gathering enough information to make an honest comparison between choices. Making a decision and then re-evaluating your choice. Consumer Research Brand strategy begins with consumer research -- the tools of listening. It can help us effectively segment and target markets by better understanding: consumer attitudes motivations perceptions behaviors Research findings lead to analysis and insights into why people think and behave as they do.  Research findings lead to analysis and insights into why people think and behave as The Use of Research in Marketing Communication Planning Why do we Need Research? How research is used in marketing communication planning: 1. Market information 2. Consumer insight they do. 1. Market information 2. Consumer insight 3. Brand information 4. Media research 5. Message development 6. Evaluation research Marketing research includes: surveys in-depth interviews observational methods focus groups other methods ……to use in developing a marketing plan and ultimately, a brand communication pla Market Information Marketing information includes consumer perceptions of the brand, product catego brands. Brand information assesses the brand’s marketplace role and performance—leader, How do we gather information about a brand and the marketplace? We look at: an. ory, and competitors’ , follower, or challenger.  Brand information assesses the brand’s marketplace role and performance—leader, How do we gather information about a brand and the marketplace? We look at: The brand experience Competitive analysis Marketing communication audit Content analysis Consumer Insight Effective marketing communication rests on truly understanding the consumer. Become the basis for creating customer value, engagement, and relationships The creative team and media planners need to know as much as they can about the to reach. Collecting feedback: Can be obtained from customers as a part of interactive custom Monitoring buzz and tracking behavior: The Internet has made it easy to track comm Neuromarketing: Uses technical equipment to scan the brain as it processes informa decisions. Media Research , follower, or challenger. e people they’re trying mer contact. ments about a brand. ation and makes  Media Research Media planners, account planners decide which media formats will accomplish the o Media research gathers information about possible media and marketing communic Researchers then match that information to what is known about the target audienc Message Development and Diagnostics Writers and art directors often conduct their own informal research. They may: visit stores. talk to salespeople. watch buyers. look at client’s past advertising. Look at competitors’ past advertising. Evaluation Evaluates an ad for effectiveness after it has been developed and produced. Can be done before and after it runs as part of a campaign. objectives. cation tools to use. ce.  Evaluation Evaluates an ad for effectiveness after it has been developed and produced. Can be done before and after it runs as part of a campaign. Pretesting is research on an execution in its finished stages but before it appears in t Design the Study Secondary research is background research using available published information. Covers everything one can find on the product, company, industry, and competition reports, etc. Called “secondary” because it has been collected and published by someone else. Basic Research Designs Quantitative research design Quantitative research delivers numerical data such as: numbers of users and purchases. their attitudes and knowledge. their exposure to ads. other market-related information. Characteristics include large sample sizes and random sampling.  the media. n: sales reports, annual  Characteristics include large sample sizes and random sampling. Qualitative research design Explores underlying reasons for consumer behavior. Tools include: Observation ethnographic studies in-depth interviews case studies Used to probe such questions as: What type of features do customers want? What are the motivations that lead product purchase? What do our customers think about our advertising? How do consumers relate to the brand? What are their emotional links to the brand? Quantitative Methods Survey Research A quantitative method using structured interviews to ask a large number of people t questions. the same set of  Survey Research A quantitative method using structured interviews to ask a large number of people t questions. For accuracy, researchers select a random sample to represent the entire group, or p Can be conducted in person, by phone, by mail, or online Experimental research design Experimental research scientifically tests hypotheses by comparing message treatm respond. Used to test advertising appeals and executions in: product features design price various creative idea Sampling and Data Collection Participants are a representative sample of the larger group, a subset of the populat representative of the entire population. Random sampling allows researchers to make valid use of statistical analyses on the their findings. Qualitative Methods In-depth interviews  the same set of population. ments and how people tion that is e data and generalize  Qualitative Methods In-depth interviews A qualitative method using one-on-one interviews asking open-ended questions. Interviews are more flexible and unstructured. Smaller sample sizes mean that results cannot be generalized to the population. Focus Groups A small group of users or potential users gathers to discuss a product, brand, or mar The friendship focus group takes place in a comfortable setting where the host has r participants. Online focus groups are sometimes considered to be crowdsourcing, a form of digita Observation research Observation researchers study the actual behavior of consumers in settings where th and play. It is closer and more personal than most other types of research. Researchers use video, audio, and disposable cameras to record consumers’ behavio Ethnographic research Involves the researcher in living the lives of the people studied. Observers immerse themselves in a culture to study the meanings, language, interac rketing communication. recruited the al brainstorming. hey live, work, shop, or in a range of settings. ction, and behavior of  Ethnographic research Involves the researcher in living the lives of the people studied. Observers immerse themselves in a culture to study the meanings, language, interac people. The idea is that people’s behavior tells you more than you can ever get in an intervie Diaries Consumers are asked to record their activities through the use of diaries. Diaries are valuable in media research because they tell planners exactly what progr consumers watched. Diaries can also lead to a helpful reconstruction of a typical day in the life of a consu How do you Choose a Research Method? Validity means the research actually measures what it says it measures. Reliability means you can run the same test again and get the same answer. Quantitative methods are more useful for gathering data. Qualitative methods are better at uncovering reasons and motives. ction, and behavior of ew or focus group. rams and ads umer.