Interactive Communications and Consumer Behavior – by : Dr. Ir. Chairy, SE, MM (16th March 2011)

Interactive communication is an exchange of ideas where both participants, whether human, machine or art form, are active and can have an effect on one another. It is a dynamic, two-way flow of information. (Wikipedia.com)

Consumer behaviour is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy a product.

It blends elements from psychology, sociology, socialanthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general. (Wikipedia.com)

The Elements of Communication

Decisions, Decisions: Tactical Communication Options

·         The message initiator (the source)/the sender.

·         The medium.

·         The message.

·         The target audience (the receivers).

·         Feedback – the receiver’s response.

Interactive Communications

     The traditional communications model doesn’t tell the whole story…

·         Consumers have many choices available and greater control to process messages

·          Permission marketing

-       More successful in persuading the consumers who have agreed to let him or her try.

Update Communications Model

·         Consumers are now proactive in communications process: VCRs, DVRs, video-on-demand, pay-per-view TV, Caller ID, Internet.

The Source

·         The source of a message can have a big impact on the likelihood that a message will be accepted

·         Expert, celebrity, or “typical consumers”?

-       Utilitarian products/high performance risk products: vacuums

-       High social risk product: jewelry, furniture

-       Everyday product/low risk product; cookies

·         Two particularly important source characteristic: credibility and attractiveness

The Source Credibility

·         Source’s perceived expertise, objectivity, or trustworthiness

·         Credibility of informal sources

-       Strong – have nothing to gain from the transaction; WOM

·         Credibility of formal sources

-       Not-for-profit sources > for-profit sources

Credibility of Spokespersons and Endorsers

·         Endorser credibility are important when message comprehension is low

·         Match must exist between product attributes and endorser attributes

·         Credibility is higher when endorser’s demographic characteristic are similar to those of target audience

·         ………..(the person)?

Emma Watson for Burberry

Message Credibility

·         The source.

·         The reputation of the medium; the retailer.

·         Consumer’s previous experience with the product.

The Sleeper Effect

·         The process whereby differences in attitude change between positive and negative sources seem to diminish overtime.

·         Both positive and negative credibility effects tend to disappear after a period of time (six weeks).

·         Dissociative cue hypothesis: over the time the source and the message become disassociated in the consumer’s mind; consumers simply forget the source faster than they forget the message.

Source Bias

·         Knowledge bias: source’s knowledge about a topic is not accurate

·         Reporting bias: a source has the required knowledge but his or her willingness to convey it accurately is compromised (Taufik & Yonex)

·         Britney Spears drinks coca-cola & “drives Honda City”; Jamie Aditya drinks Teh Botol, etc.

Hype Vs Buzz: The Corporate Paradox

·         Hype: corporate propaganda planted by a company to create product sensation; inauthentic

·         Buzz: word of mouth that is viewed as authentic and generated by customers

·         The corporate paradox: the more involved a company appears to be in the dissemination of news about its products, the less credible it becomes.

The Source Attractiveness

·         The source’s perceived social value.

·         “What is beautiful is good” stereotype : physical attractiveness.

·         Celebrities as communications sources; match-up hypothesis; the drawbacks of celebrity endorsers.

-       Madonna & Coca-cola

·         Non human endorsers

-        Cartoon characters and mascots, virtual models

The Message

      

     Words or Picture?

·         Verbal stimuli affect the utilitarian aspects of a product.

-        High involvement situation; more frequent exposure.

·         Visual stimuli affect aesthetic evaluations.

·         Verbal element are more effective when reinforced by an accompanying picture: increase consumer recall of the verbal information.

Repetition

·         Double-edged sword: awareness Vs habituation

·         Limiting the amount of exposure per repetition (15 second spots)

     

 One-Versus Two-Sides Messages?

·         One sided; stress only favorable informations

·         Two sided: both good and bad points are presented

·         Friendly Vs unfriendly/critical audience

Drawing Conclusions?

·         Personally relevant message: people will pay attention to it and spontaneously inferences

·          Hard to follow arguments or consumer’s motivation to follow is lacking: draw conclusions

Comparative Advertising?

·         Brand positioning strategis

·         Assist recall of the competitor’s brand?

Message Framing?

·         Positive message framing: stress the benefits to be gained by using the products – low involvement situations; independent self image

·         Negative message framing: stress the benefits to be lost by not using the product – high involvement situations; interdependent self-view

Order Effects?

·         Primacy effect Vs recency effect

·         The first, the last or in between?

Emotional Vs Rational Appeals

·         The kind of audience (education)

·         The degree of involvement

Sexual Appeals

·         Varies from country to country

·         Must be relevant to the product

Humorous Appeals

·         Low involvement products

·         The audience already has positive attitudes toward the brand

·         Younger, better-educated, upscale, professional tend to be more receptive

Impact of Humor on Advertising IMPACT

·         Humor attracts attention

·         Humor does not harm comprehension

·         Humor is not more effective at increasing persuasion

·         Humor doesn’t enhance source credibility

·         Humor enhance liking

·         Humor that is relevant to the product is superior to humor that is unrelated to the product

·         Audience demographic factors affect the response to humourous advertising appeals

·         The nature of the product affects the appropriateness of humorous treatment

·         Humor is more effective with existing products than with new products

·         Humor is more appropriate for low-involvement product and feeling-oriented products than for high-involvement products.

Fear Appeals

·         Negative relationship between the intensity of fear appeals and their ability to persuade

·         More commonly used in social marketing context

·         Should be examined carefully before they are used. 

Conclusion

Komunikasi yang interaktif (interactive communication) pada dasarnya tidak bisa dilepaskan dari dunia periklanan. Dari komunikasi yang interaktiflah, iklan yang dibuat dapat menarik perhatian siapa saja yang melihatnya. Masing-masing iklan juga menentukan feedback dari audiens, yang dalam hal ini disebut dengan perilaku konsumen (consumer behavior).

Iklan yang interaktif dapat dibuat dengan melibatkan beberapa aspek seperti endorser, konsep, dan lain sebagainya. Semakin menarik dan interaktif iklan yang dibuat, maka akan semakin baik perilaku konsumen yang muncul. Jika iklan yang dibuat dapat mengkomunikasikan pesan yang ingin disampaikan dengan baik, maka perilaku konsumen juga akan baik, tidak lupa juga, iklan yang dibuat juga harus disesuaikan dengan target kosumen yang dituju untuk mencapai hasil yang maksimal.