Variables of Promotion Campaign

Now we will look at the variables which make up the promotion campaign for any product/company. We will be dealing mainly with the source, message and channel components of the communication system. Persuasion Matrix is used for evaluation of how controllable components interact with the whole consumer response process. This matrix consists of the controllable elements (independent variables: communication components- source, message, channel, receiver and destination) and the dependent variables ie the steps a customer goes through in being persuaded (message presentation, attention, comprehension, yielding, retention and behavior).

Now we will be dealing with each of the components separately.

Source Factors

Source is a person involved in communicating a marketing message either directly or indirectly. There are mainly two types of sources

• Direct sources- It is when person himself delivers the message or demonstrates the product/service Ex Deepika Padukone in the recent Yamaha Ray advertisement where she is shown using the scooty herself.

• Indirect sources- It is a person who need not use the product but enhances the appearance of the advertisement.  Ex Tiger woods featured in the Accenture advertisement

Companies mainly look for three basic categories of source attributes which can help them in making the campaign effective and successful leading to more sale

1. Source Credibility

Example: Sensodyne in this add tried to capitalize on the credibility and the expertise of the dentist to promote their product.

Example: Using corporate leaders as spokespeople 

2. Source Attractiveness- It mainly encompasses the similarity, familiarity and likability of the receiver of the message for the source. These sources can be sports person, movie stars or even people who are admired for their physical appearance, personality or talent.

3. Source Power- A source has power when he or she can actually administer rewards and punishments to the receiver. When a receiver perceives a source as having power, the influence process occurs through a process known as  compliance. Example: Polio ad featuring Amitabh Bacchan to persuade people to take their children for polio drops.  

Message Factors- These factors mainly consist of structure of the message and appeal.

Message structure has mainly five components order of presentation, Conclusion drawing, message sidedness, Refutation, Verbal v/s visual messages. Example: This is an Advertisement by Avis the car rental company which is an example of two –sided message wherein they not only say that they are no. 2 in the industry but at the same time claim that they are more hard working as compared to their competitors.

Message appeal:

Comparative advertising: These are the advertisements launched by The Hindu and Times of India and is a classic recent example of comparative advertising. 

Fear appeals: Anti-smoking ad by Tak-nak a national anti-smoking campaign by Malaysian Health Ministry

Humor appeals: Example: Flipkart uses humor appeal to communicate the idea that their products are original and come with a warranty. 

Channel Factors

The effectiveness of the channel depends on a number of factors whether the channel is personal or non-personal. In case on non-personal channels what is the mass media used whether it is print ads, broadcast or internet is determined by your target segment and the channels they are exposed to. The exact place for these communications can further be determined by the context and the environment in which these products exist.