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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
III. Analyzing the
Communication Process
6. Source, Message, and
Channel Factors
• Humor does aid awareness and attention, which are the objectives best achieved by
its use.
• Humor may harm recall and comprehension in general.
• Humor may aid name and simple copy registration.
• Humor may harm complex copy registration.
• Humor may aid retention.
• Humor does not aid persuasion in general.
• Humor may aid persuasion to switch brands.
• Humor creates a positive mood that enhances persuasion.
• Humor does not aid source credibility.
• Humor is generally not very effective in bringing about action/sales.
• Creatives are more positive on the use of humor to fulfill all the above objectives than
research directors are.
• Radio and TV are the best media in which to use humor; direct mail and newspapers
are least suited.
• Consumer nondurables and business services are best suited to humor; corporate
advertising and industrial products are least suited.
• Humor should be related to the product.
• Humor should not be used with sensitive goods or services.
• Audiences that are younger, better educated, upscale, male, and professional are best
suited to humor; older, less educated, and downscale groups are least suited to humor
appeals.
humor in terms of media, product, and audience factors. The general conclusions of
this study are shown in Figure 6-6.
The final controllable variable of the communication process is the channel, or
medium, used to deliver the message to the target audience. While a variety of
methods are available to transmit marketing communications, as noted in Chapter
5 they can be classified into two broad categories, personal and nonpersonal media.
Personal versus Nonpersonal Channels
There are a number of basic differences between personal and nonpersonal communications
channels. Information received from personal influence channels is generally
more persuasive than information received via the mass media. Reasons for the differences
are summarized in the following comparison of advertising and personal selling:
From the standpoint of persuasion, a sales message is far more flexible, personal, and powerful
than an advertisement. An advertisement is normally prepared by persons having minimal
personal contact with customers. The message is designed to appeal to a large number of persons.
By contrast, the message in a good sales presentation is not determined in advance. The
salesman has a tremendous store of knowledge about his product or service and selects appropriate
items as the interview progresses. Thus, the salesman can adapt this to the thinking and
needs of the customer or prospect at the time of the sales call. Furthermore, as objections arise
and are voiced by the buyer, the salesman can treat the objections in an appropriate manner.
This is not possible in advertising. 67
Effects of Alternative Mass Media
The various mass media that advertisers use to transmit their messages differ in many
ways, including the number and type of people they reach, costs, information processing
requirements, and qualitative factors. The mass media’s costs and efficiency in
exposing a target audience to a communication will be evaluated in Chapters 10
through 12. However, we should recognize differences in how information is
processed and how communications are influenced by context or environment.
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
Figure 6-6 Summary of
top ad agency research and
creative directors’ opinions
regarding humor
Channel Factors
187
Chapter Six Source, Message, and Channel Factors