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Part Three Analyzing the Communication Process
Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
III. Analyzing the
Communication Process
5. The Communication
Process
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
The likelihood of counterarguing is greater when the message makes claims that
oppose the receiver’s beliefs. For example, a consumer viewing a commercial that
attacks a favorite brand is likely to engage in counterarguing. Counterarguments relate
negatively to message acceptance; the more the receiver counterargues, the less likely
he or she is to accept the position advocated in the message. 27 Support arguments, on
the other hand, relate positively to message acceptance. Thus, the marketer should
develop ads or other promotional messages that minimize counterarguing and encourage
support arguments.
Source-Oriented Thoughts A second category of cognitive responses is
directed at the source of the communication. One of the most important types of
responses in this category is source derogations, or negative thoughts about the
spokesperson or organization making the claims. Such thoughts generally lead to a
reduction in message acceptance. If consumers find a particular spokesperson annoying
or untrustworthy, they are less likely to accept what this source has to say.
Of course, source-related thoughts are not always negative. Receivers who react
favorably to the source generate favorable thoughts, or source bolsters. As you would
expect, most advertisers attempt to hire spokespeople their target audience likes so as
to carry this effect over to the message. Considerations involved in choosing an appropriate
source or spokesperson will be discussed in Chapter 6.
Ad Execution Thoughts The third category of cognitive responses shown in
Figure 5-8 consists of the individual’s thoughts about the ad itself. Many of the
thoughts receivers have when reading or viewing an ad do not concern the product
and/or message claims directly. Rather, they are affective reactions representing the
consumer’s feelings toward the ad. These thoughts may include reactions to ad execution
factors such as the creativity of the ad, the quality of the visual effects, colors, and
voice tones. Ad execution-related thoughts can be either favorable or unfavorable.
They are important because of their effect on attitudes toward the advertisement as
well as the brand.
In recent years, much attention has focused on consumers’ affective reactions to
ads, especially TV commercials. 28 Attitude toward the ad (A → ad) represents the
receivers’ feelings of favorability or unfavorability toward the ad. Advertisers are
interested in consumers’ reactions to the ad because they know that affective reactions
are an important determinant of advertising effectiveness, since these reactions may be
transferred to the brand itself or directly influence purchase intentions. One study
found that people who enjoy a commercial are twice as likely as those who are neutral
toward it to be convinced that the brand is the best. 29
Consumers’ feelings about the ad may be just as important as their attitudes toward
the brand (if not more so) in determining an ad’s effectiveness. 30 The importance of
affective reactions and feelings generated by the ad depend on several factors, among
them the nature of the ad and the type of processing engaged in by the receiver. 31
Many advertisers now use emotional ads designed to evoke feelings and affective
reactions as the basis of their creative strategy. The success of this strategy depends in
part on the consumers’ involvement with the brand and their likelihood of attending to
and processing the message.
We end our analysis of the receiver by examining a model that integrates some of
the factors that may account for different types and levels of cognitive processing of a
message.
The Elaboration Likelihood Model
Differences in the ways consumers process and respond to persuasive messages are
addressed in the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion, shown in Figure
5-9. 32 The ELM was devised by Richard Petty and John Cacioppo to explain the
process by which persuasive communications (such as ads) lead to persuasion by
influencing attitudes. According to this model, the attitude formation or change
process depends on the amount and nature of elaboration, or processing, of relevant
information that occurs in response to a persuasive message. High elaboration means
the receiver engages in careful consideration, thinking, and evaluation of the informa-