24210 Chap.5 The Communication Process: Persuasion and the ELM
The Communication Process: Persuasion and the ELM
The process
Lecture 4 traces a message from a source that encodes it, through a personal or non-personal channel, to a receiver who decodes it and responds, with feedback closing the loop and noise interfering throughout.
Meaning and noise
Messages carry literal and symbolic meaning; semiotics separates the object, symbol and interpretant.
Noise arises from transmission faults, distractions, clutter and a lack of common ground.
Persuasion
Traditional response models set cognitive, affective and behavioural objectives, though no fixed order is universal. Cognitive responses sort the thoughts an ad provokes, and the elaboration likelihood model sends involved consumers along the central route and others along the peripheral route.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Source, encoding, channel and receiver
- 02
Semiotics: object, symbol, interpretant
- 03
Four sources of noise
- 04
Response models and their limits
- 05
Cognitive responses to ads
- 06
The elaboration likelihood model
Worked example · free
Trace a radio ad through the communication process
- 1Source and encoding: the chain encodes its offer verbally and musically, with the number as the key information.
- 1Channel: radio is a non-personal channel that reaches drivers, so the timing puts listeners in a distracting situation.
- 1Decoding: drivers attend to the road, so the number is not decoded or retained; this is noise from situational factors.
- 1Response and feedback: few calls tell the source the message was not decoded as intended; switch to a short web address or a different time slot.
Key terms
- Interpretant
- The meaning a receiver takes from a symbol in the semiotic view of a message.
- Source Derogation
- A cognitive response that doubts or discredits the speaker in an ad.
- Fields of Experience
- The common ground between sender and receiver that lets the decoded message match the encoded one.
The Communication Process: Persuasion and the ELM FAQ
What are the elements of the communication process?
A source with information to share, encoding into symbols, a message carried by a personal or non-personal channel, a receiver who decodes it, a response such as awareness or a sale, and feedback to the sender. Noise can interfere at any point, and overlapping fields of experience help meaning survive the trip.
What counts as noise in marketing communication?
Lecture 4 names four sources: white noise from transmission faults, situational factors such as distractions, clutter from competing messages, and a lack of common ground that leads to poor encoding. Only the last is fully in the brand’s hands.
What does semiotics add to message design?
It shows that every message has an object, such as a brand or attribute, a symbol chosen to represent it, and an interpretant, the meaning the receiver takes, such as caring or glamorous. The Week 4 tutorial asks you to choose symbols that convey love, caring and softness for a tissue brand.
Why are traditional response models criticised?
They usefully give each stage a measurable objective, cognitive, affective or behavioural, but the lecture warns that buyers do not always follow the stages in one fixed order. Evolving models such as the three-orders model and network or grid models explain low-involvement buying and nudging better.
What are the central and peripheral routes?
In the elaboration likelihood model, consumers with the motivation and the ability to think it through take the central route and weigh detailed arguments, while low-involvement consumers take the peripheral route and respond to cues such as design, endorsement or social proof. Apple’s iPhone example uses both for different segments.
What kinds of thoughts can an ad provoke?
Product or message thoughts, which are counterarguments or support arguments; source-oriented thoughts, which derogate or bolster the speaker; and ad execution thoughts about the ad itself, which shape the attitude toward the ad.
What are emotional and behavioural bonding?
They are the two ways the lecture says consumers engage with a brand. Emotional bonding is rapport built on brand benefits, personality and emotional ties; behavioural bonding is shown in actions such as buying, commitment and loyalty. An objective can aim at either.
Assessment move
Sketch the process model from memory and label one real example at every element, including its noise. Collect two ads, one built for each ELM route, and fill in signs, route, cue, effort and audience for both. Then decide which route your group’s main touchpoint should use and why. Finally, list the noise your main channel is likely to face and one encoding choice that reduces it.
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