BSCOM 480 UOPX Persuasive Messages Discussion

BSCOM/480: Applied Communication CapstoneWeek 4 Discussion – Persuasive Messages
Materials
Textbook
Shires, J. (2021). Applied communication capstone. MyEducator.
Course Tools
MyEducator™
Persuasion is a key to the success of your messages. For this discussion, choose a video
advertisement or public relations message you found online.
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
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What is the primary persuasive approach the video uses?
What elements in the video demonstrate the persuasive approach?
Who is the priority audience? How do you know?
How effective do you think the video was in persuading the priority audience? Support
your response with strategies used in the video.
How could you make the video more persuasive for the priority audience?
Cite the source for your video according to APA guidelines.
Chapter 9: Developing Messages
Introduction
Topic 9 Introduction Transcript
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Differentiate between informative, persuasive, and dialogic campaigns.
2. Identify different types of rational propositions.
3. Identify different types of emotional content.
4. Create key message points.
5. Describe ways to increase the likelihood of audience reception of the message.
6. Create three messages based upon the message points and the strategies and tactics.
As we begin to create our messages, we need to identify three message types: informational, persuasive,
and dialogic (also known as conversational or interactive) messages.
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Informational: Informational messages can take the form of awareness or instructional messages. The goal of
awareness messages is to call a brand or cause to your attention. The instructional message attempts to show
you how to do something, such as register to vote or find information about a medication.
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Persuasive: The goal of persuasive messages is to get individuals to undertake a preferred action or avoid an
unpreferred action. Persuasive messages may attempt to convince you to get a mammogram, buy a product,
or give up smoking.
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Dialogic: Dialogic messages, also called conversational messages or interactive messages, attempt to create
a relationship between an organization, a brand, or a charity and the consumer.
Every campaign will contain a mixture of these message types. As we work through the process of developing
messaging and messages, we will discuss each of these in greater depth.
9.1Developing Themes from the Goal and Objectives Recap
Let’s remind ourselves of our goals, objectives, and strategies:
Goal Statement: To increase by 25% in one year the visits to physicians for preventative care in Barrytown for children
under 10 years old made by parents who are over 30 years old, have four or more children, and are uninsured.
Global Objective 1: To provide information concerning state and federal insurance programs for low-income households to
75% of our priority audience segment within two months of completing intermediate objective 1A.
Strategy: Develop informational material about the different state and federal insurance programs, eligibility requirements,
and instructions on how to sign up for the programs. The material will be distributed two months after the implementation
of the vaccination program and at the same time as the preventative care program.
Intermediate Objective 1A: To reach 75% of our priority audience segment with correct, understandable information on
vaccines in two months.
Strategy: Create an information campaign targeted at our priority audience segment creating stories around vaccinations.
The stories will talk about the different types of vaccinations (Hepatitis-B, DTaP, MMR, and others) with both cautionary
tales of children not receiving vaccinations and positive stories of children receiving vaccinations.
Intermediate Objective 1B: To implement an educational program within one month of completing intermediate objective
1A aimed at convincing members of our priority audience segment of the value of preventative care programs for children
under 10 years old.
Strategy: Develop or adapt a multilevel educational program aimed at kindergarten through fifth grade and an educational
program aimed at adults in our priority audience segment to educate the groups on the importance and value of
preventative care for children under 10.
Global Objective 2: To implement a program to promote family and clinical doctors to members of the priority audience
segment within two months of the start of the strategic communication plan.
Strategy: Develop an informational campaign about family and clinical doctors in the same geographic area as our priority
audience segment. Tell the doctors’ stories to help the priority audience segment see the doctors as individuals from
diverse backgrounds who care deeply about their patients. Focus on primary care physicians and pediatricians because
these are the physicians that will be treating the priority audience segment’s children.
Developing Themes
We want to come up with one simple message that we can center the rest of our messages around. There are some
criteria to developing a good theme:
1. It should be based upon your goal statement: Since the goal statement is what we wish to accomplish, any
theme that we develop should reflect the intent of the goal statement.
2. It should be brief: The theme should be fewer than fifteen words.
3. It should be memorable: The theme should be something that can be recalled easily.
4. It should appeal to your priority audience or priority audience segment: The theme should resonate with
individuals within the audience.
The theme is the key that needs to be in every message you create. Using the above criteria, let’s develop our theme for
the Barrytown strategic communication plan.
Parents, only you can keep your kids safe with preventative care.
This theme directly reflects the goal statement. It is also under fifteen words. It is memorable in that it echoes other safety
advice (e.g., “Kids, only you can prevent forest fires.”). However, the fit to our priority audience segment is not very good.
The parents, as we have remarked several times, do not trust vaccines or physicians. Targeting them in this way may
cause a backlash and make the priority audience segment reject our message.
Friends and family, together, protecting our children from disease.
The theme is connected to the goal statement by one word—protect. This theme includes the term “disease” but does not
mention preventable disease. It is under fifteen words. It is written using short phrases to make it more memorable. The
connection to the priority audience segment is better in this version of the theme. Since our priority audience segment is
more likely to get advice from friends and family, not health professionals, appealing to friends and family is a good
strategy.
One family, united, in ensuring our children’s health.
The theme directly reflects the goal statement through “ensuring our children’s health,” which relates to preventative care.
It is eight words, well under the limit of fifteen words. It, too, is written in short phrases to make the statement more
memorable. It connects to the priority audience segment by focusing on family, and thereby extended family. “Our family”
allows us to include neighbors, teachers, and hopefully—by the end of the strategic communication plan—physicians.
This is the theme that we will use to guide our messaging.
9.2How Messages Work
Now that we have our theme, we are ready to start developing messages. Before we start, let’s attempt to understand
how people might interpret messages. There are several theories on message production and reception. Some theories
see a direct cause and effect, while other theories have a much more complex relationship between the message and the
receiver. The theories below examine how individuals interpret media messages.
Theories on Message Reception
Early Theories
Magic Bullet
One of the earliest theories of message reception is the Magic Bullet, or hypodermic needle. The Magic Bullet
Theory states that there is a direct effect between the message sent and how the receiver acts on the message—
behavioral or attitude change is instant. If the message states that the receiver should buy Coca-Cola, the next time the
receiver is in the store and needs to buy soda, the receiver will buy Coca-Cola. The Magic Bullet Theory comes from
propaganda research during the early days of radio. Shortwave radio was used to spread pro-German and pro-England
messages in the United States, which was officially neutral. The United States government feared that listeners would be
swayed by these messages and start to advocate for entry into the war. states that there is a direct effect between the
message sent and how the receiver acts on the message—behavioral or attitude change is instant. If the message states
that the receiver should buy Coca-Cola, the next time the receiver is in the store and needs to buy soda, the receiver will
buy Coca-Cola. The Magic Bullet Theory comes from propaganda research during the early days of radio. Shortwave
radio was used to spread pro-German and pro-England messages in the United States, which was officially neutral. The
United States government feared that listeners would be swayed by these messages and start to advocate for entry into
the war.
Two-Step Flow/Opinion Leaders
Belief in the Magic Bullet Theory began to fade when studies did not show a one-to-one relationship between the
message and the behavior. Radio advertising was thought to be a very powerful force, but studies of elections did not
show a direct cause and effect relationship in terms of how people voted. Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel
Gaudet, among others, studied voting patterns in Erie County, Ohio, to see the effect that advertising had on opinion
formation about presidential candidates. What they noticed was not so much a direct media effect as an indirect mediated
effect. There was a step between the media and the individual voter, someone who gathered information from the media
about the candidates and passed it along to friends, family, and acquaintances. The direct effect of the magic bullet was
replaced by the Two-step Flow Theory of communication. Work by Lazarsfeld, Berelson, Gaudet, Gladys and Kurt Lang,
Robert Merton, and Elihu Katz further developed the theory, calling the intermediaries opinion leaders. Opinion
leaders were individuals who were seen as experts by community members on topics such as politics or fashion. Opinion
leaders come from every level of society and every profession. Katz studied doctors as opinion leaders in prescribing new
medications among a group of doctors, and Merton looked at fashion opinion leaders. The two-step flow and opinion
leaders inserted an interpersonal relationship between the media and the individual. The media’s influence was mediated
by another human being who gathered information and distributed it, putting to rest any idea of a direct effect.
Later Theories
Social Learning Theory
There was still concern over the media and its direct influence in the 1950s and 1960s, especially the imitation of
television and film violence. Albert Bandura set up several experiments to test if the Aristotelian idea of catharsis still held
true. Aristotle’s view was that watching violence on the stage had a cathartic effect of relieving individuals of violent urges.
Bandura had his assistants model violent behavior in front of children, both in person and through a television screen, to
see if children would recreate these behaviors when frustrated. Instead of being relieved of violent urges they felt when
frustrated, the children mimicked the violent behavior of the models and invented new violent behaviors. Children tended
to mimic the behaviors more often when they were modeled through the television screen rather than when they were
modeled in person. Bandura concluded from his studies that television had a social learning effect, which became a large
part of the Social Learning Theory. Just as children learn what appropriate behavior is by watching their parents, they
learn that violence is an appropriate reaction to problems by watching television. Individuals may not mimic the violence
immediately, but through repetition of the message that violence solves problems, they will exhibit the behavior later in
life. The media, then, had a strong effect on an individual’s attitude or behaviors.
Agenda-Setting Theory
Other research echoed this strong effect of the media. Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw studied a presidential
election in Chapel Hill, NC. They examined local newspapers, local television news, national newspapers (e.g., the New
York Times), national news magazines (e.g., Time), and national television networks to determine what issues the media
presented as the most important in the presidential race. Each media outlet chose these issues independently, based on
the outlet’s editorial processes and decisions. This was referred to as the media’s “agenda” and became part of
the Agenda-Setting Theory. McCombs and Shaw polled a group of Chapel Hill residents every week to see what issues
they believed were the most important in the presidential race; this was the public’s agenda. They then compared the two
datasets and found that the media’s agenda was reflected in the public’s agenda two weeks after the media set their
agenda. Thus the media were instrumental in helping the audience create an agenda. It is important to note that the
audience did not repeat the media’s views on the issues but reflected the issues the media felt were important; the media
can tell people what to think about but not how to feel about it.
Cultivation Theory
Some saw the media as having an effect, but it was not as strong nor as direct. George Gerbner also set about studying
violence on television. Gerbner and his assistants would watch one week of television each season and code all of the
violent acts they saw. The Violence Indexes cataloged which characters did what to whom and what were the
consequences of their actions. Violence done by the “good guys” was never punished, whereas violent acts committed by
the “bad guys” were met with equal or greater violence. The amount of violence was out of proportion with the actual
amount of violence in society. Every year the amount of violence on television grows. In heavy viewers of television, this
exaggerated proportion creates an irrational fear of being a victim of violence. Gerbner called this fear the mean world
syndrome since heavy viewers thought the world was a mean and scary place. Television cultivated this fear in the
individual, causing Gerbner to name the overall theory Cultivation Theory. The effects of Cultivation Theory take years to
develop. Unlike Bandura’s instant mimicking of violence, it takes many years of heavy viewing before mean world
syndrome fully develops. According to the Cultivation Theory, television and the media change audience members’
attitudes and behaviors, but these changes take time and do not occur instantly.
Articulation Theory
The last theory we will discuss is Stuart Hall’s Articulation Theory. This theory puts forth that messages are encoded
(written and produced) with a dominant or preferred reading intended. The message is supposed to be decoded by the
audience to receive the preferred meaning. However, this is not always the case. One group of viewers, the dominant, will
decode the message and agree with the preferred meaning. Another group, the oppositional, will decode the message
and reject the preferred meaning. A third group, the negotiated or articulated, will decode the message and agree with
part of the preferred meaning while rejecting other parts. Reading and decoding the message is relative to an individual’s
experiences, beliefs, values, and community (Hall argued that the readings were based only on social class, but this was
disproven). The meaning of the message is always open to interpretation, so any hope of a one-to-one correlation
between the producer’s intended meaning and the individual’s decoded meaning will be limited to those readers who take
a dominant reading. The media has a hit-and-miss relationship in attitude and behavioral change unless the message is
narrowly targeted and encoded.
Table 4.1
Theory Review
Theory
Effect
Overview
Magic Bullet
Direct, Immediate
Message leads to a direct response
Two-step Flow
Indirect
Message interpreted by an intermediary and distributed to community members
Social Learning
Direct, Immediate
Message teaches people how to act in society
Agenda Setting Direct, Delayed
The media sets the agenda of important issues in society and the audience reflects that agenda
Cultivation
Indirect, Cumulative
Attitude and behavioral changes take time and repetition
Articulation
Indirect, Cumulative
Interpretation of media messages is based on several factors (e.g., community and group norms)
All of these theories, except for the Magic Bullet, are still held in some form. The Magic Bullet has been discredited for its
almost miraculous proposition that people will react positively to the message. Two of the theories, Two-step Flow and
Social Learning, involve interpersonal elements as well as media messages. The Two-step Flow has an opinion leader
who gathers and disseminates information to friends, family, and community members. Social Learning Theory states that
individuals in society model appropriate and inappropriate behaviors that other people learn from. Agenda Setting,
Cultivation, and Articulation theories all have a strong role for the producers of messages. Agenda-setting has editors,
reporters, and others create a list of important stories that need to be considered. The public then adopts this list through
interaction with the media. Cultivation Theory states that people are led, or cultivated, to accept items such as violent acts
as natural and to come to believe that what they see accurately represents the real world. Articulation Theory has the
strongest role for media producers, having them code in, through the script and production elements, a preferred
message that the audience is supposed to decode.
How active do you believe the priority audience segment members are in interpreting our messages? The theory that we
have chosen, the Narrative Paradigm, says that the audience will judge the stories we tell (messages) based on narrative
coherence and fidelity. This would indicate that the audience is somewhat active in processing the message. Within the
reception theories, the approach closest to the Narrative Paradigm is the Articulation Theory. As message producers, we
need to be conscious of how the audience might decode our messages. Again, we have to return to the situational and
audience analyses to understand what ideas, individuals, and symbols the priority audience segment will respond to.
Theories on Message Production
We talked above about the three types of messages—informative, persuasive, and dialogic. Now let’s talk about how to
create the messages. To a degree, all messages are persuasive. We are trying to convince someone to believe
something or behave in a particular manner. We always need to focus on our priority audience or priority audience
segment while we are constructing messages. No matter how creative, funny, poignant, clever, or dramatic the message
is, if it does not appeal to the priority audience or priority audience segment, it will not succeed. Reference your situational
and audience analyses as you write messages to help you target the priority audience or priority audience segment.
Informative Messages
Informative messages in themselves are persuasive. Messages that aim at awareness need to convince the audience
members that they need to remember the cause or the brand. Messages that aim at instruction need to convince the
audience members that they need to complete the process. For example, a public service announcement from the 1970s
reminded legal aliens to go to their nearest Post Office to register their address. While this was an instructional message,
it added a persuasive twist by stating, “It’s the law.”
Technique
Informative messages can use many persuasive techniques:
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Competence: The person giving the information is someone recognized by the audience as an authority on the
topic. For example, the Surgeon General discussing how to brush your teeth.
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Charisma: The person giving the information is well liked by the audience. For example, a celebrity telling you
how to register to vote.
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Similarity: The person giving the information resembles the priority audience segment. For example, a person
who could have been picked from the priority audience segment explaining how to e-file your taxes.
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Credibility: The person giving the information is someone who has power by position or title. For example, the
President telling 18-year-old males how to register for the draft.
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Consequence: There will be repercussions if you fail to pay attention to the message or complete the action. For
example, the police commissioner telling people not to drink and drive.
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Reward: You will receive something in exchange for your cooperation. For example, if you fill out a survey, you
can get a $2.00 e-gift card.
Support
You can also support your points to help convince your audience to remember the cause or to perform an action. These
supporting points need to be consistent with your situational and audience analyses. Your data will help you choose the
type of support that will be most effective in convincing your priority audience or priority audience segment.
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Statistics: Statistics can help to convey the size of the issue. Use statistics sparingly, though, so your priority
audience or priority audience segment does not become overwhelmed by numbers.
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Stories: Stories help to bring a personal touch to your issue. They can reinforce statistics by providing a specific
case to a general trend.
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Examples: Examples are another way of providing a specific case. Like stories, examples can add to the power
of statistics. Unlike stories, examples are usually shorter. Several examples can be used in quick succession to
strengthen the effect.
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Testimony: A testimony given by someone who has competence, charisma, similarity, or credibility can help to
sway the audience on your issue. Make sure the testimony is correct and that you have quoted it correctly or you
may lose credibility and be in violation of the law.
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Quotes: Quotes are different than testimony in that a quote is generally only one or two lines and the author of
the quote is not as visible. Testimony tends to be much longer. Ensure that the quote is correct, or you may lose
credibility.
Persuasive Messages
In persuasive messages, the persuasion is much more overt. The intent of the messages is to change an attitude or
behavior. The approach that you take, the message you structure, the support you offer, and the appeals you make are all
important aspects of persuading the priority audience and priority audience segments.
Approach
There are three general approaches you can take to persuade the audience. Aristotle referred to these as the three
artistic proofs: λογός (logos/logical), παθός (pathos/emotional), and εθός (ethos/credibility).
Logical Appeals/Rational Propositions
Logical appeals are rational in that they are directed at the mind to invoke active thought. A rational proposition is an
attempt to convince through a well-reasoned and supported argument. Generally, there are three types of propositions
you can argue:
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Proposition of fact: You present a set of facts and argue that those facts are the correct ones to consider.
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Proposition of value: You present a value as the highest value and argue why others should accept that value.
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Proposition of policy: You present a policy and show why that policy should be adopted.
There are several ways of structuring propositions. Which one you choose is determined by the priority audience or
priority audience segment, the type of proposition you argue from, and the objectives and strategies in your plan.
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Specific case to general conclusion: Introduce a number of specific instances and draw a conclusion from
those instances. For example, you may list a number of locations of a grocery store chain that try to sell rotten
fruit and then claim that the chain has a policy of stocking overripe or rotten fruit. This is known as inductive
reasoning and is best used when the priority audience or priority audience segment agrees with your position.
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Premise to specific conclusion: Begin with a general premise (e.g., “all men are mortal”) and then apply other
premises (e.g., “Socrates is a man”). From those two premises, you can form a conclusion (e.g., “Socrates is
mortal”). This is called the classical syllogism, the main form of deductive reasoning. Let’s develop another
argument: Our first or major premise can be “The Federal Transit Administrations states that, for interstate travel,
any speed between 60 mph and 75 mph is safe.” Our second or minor premise is “Montana wants to set its
interstate speed limit at 75 mph.” We can conclude, then, that Montana is setting a safe speed limit. Deductive
reasoning is best used when the priority audience or priority audience segment is in favor of your position.
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Problem to solution: Begin with a need or a problem, establish that it is a problem, and offer a solution or a
satisfaction. You should structure the message by first discussing the need or problem. You want to make sure
members of your priority audience or priority audience segment understand the size of the problem, how it is a
problem, and how the problem affects them. Second, discuss the satisfaction or solution by explaining what the
solution is, how the solution solves the problem, and how the solution will affect the priority audience. Third, you
want to give the visualization of the benefits to the priority audience. Many charities will use this format to ask for
donations. For example, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will begin its commercials
by showing animals in abusive situations or in poor condition (need). The commercials will explain that the
ASPCA rescues the animals and brings them back to health, but the ASPCA needs donations (satisfaction). The
commercials then explain that by donating, the public can feel good about helping abused and injured animals
(visualization).
Let’s look at some examples.
1. You are lobbying the state legislature to increase the minimum wage to $12.00/hour statewide. You decide that as
part of your strategic communication plan, you will include messages that are propositions of fact, pointing out the
economic benefits of raising the minimum wage and refuting arguments about job loss and inflation. You
understand that the priority audience may be resistant to the idea, so you decide to cover each issue separately and
develop each rational proposition deductively. By using a deductive structure, you can get your most important facts
out before the legislator stops reading or listening.
2. You have been asked to design a strategic communication plan for an anti-littering campaign. You have decided
that you will include messages that are propositions of value. The value you will stress is care of the environment.
Your research shows that the priority audience is favorable to your position on littering. You decide to develop your
rational proposition inductively, stating specific cases that lead to your value of care of the environment. You
explain, through the specific cases, how saving the environment is the highest value.
3. Gang activity has increased in a community, and you have been asked to design a strategic communication plan
that will promote an anti-gang initiative for both community members and gang members. You know that you will not
be able to use the same messages for both groups. You decide to develop rational propositions that use a problemsolution structure. For the community members, your messages talk about gang violence, the new program, and the
benefits of a safer city. For the gang members, your messages talk about the risk of physical violence, the program,
and the benefits of increased economic opportunity.
It is always important to remember that your priority audience or priority audience segment will determine which of these
rational proposition approaches is best for your plan. The priority audience or priority audience segment will also
determine what types of support you use to back up your claims. Your situation and audience analyses should give the
information you need to make the best choice.
When you are making rational appeals, avoid poor reasoning or logical fallacies. A logical fallacy is an error in argument,
attempting to persuade the priority audience or the priority audience segment by giving incomplete evidence or broken
reasoning. It is an ethical breach to unwittingly include logical fallacies into your argument, but it is ethical malpractice to
deliberately include logical fallacies in an attempt to trick your audience into accepting your position. There are several
common logical fallacies:
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Ad hominem: An ad hominem fallacy involves attempting to refute another person’s argument by attacking the
person’s motivation or character rather than attacking the idea the person is stating. Ad hominem attacks
indicate that you have no good counterargument to the person’s position. It is an illogical shortcut to try and
undermine the speaker’s argument. An ad hominem attack is always a conscious decision to deceive an
audience, and it is always an unethical rhetorical device.
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Red herring: A red herring argument is an argument meant to disorient the audience and lead them to a different
matter than the one being discussed. A herring fish that has been smoked turns red and has an especially potent
smell. An early nineteenth-century journalist described using red herrings to draw hounds away from a hunt. The
term caught on. In the same way, a red herring argument is an argument intended to bring up a point not related
to the main argument. “That point is important, but we need to first consider this,” “that may be true, but what
about,” and “yes, but consider this” are all ways that red herring arguments are introduced. The newly introduced
argument is more favorable to the party employing the red herring. The red herring is always a conscious
decision to deceive the audience, and it is an unethical rhetorical device.
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Slippery slope: A slippery slope argument states that if we take the next step, it will end in disaster. Slippery
slope arguments ignore all of the steps between the first and the outcome. For example, the phrase, “If we
outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns” ignores a number of legislative and societal factors, any of which could
prevent the outcome. The person making the argument is often aware of the dismissal of the complexity between
the first step and the outcome. A slippery slope argument is an oversimplification, and it is an unethical rhetorical
device.
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Hasty generalization: A hasty generalization occurs when an individual either draws a conclusion based on too
few cases or draws a conclusion from non-representative cases. For example, if we argue against raising the
minimum wage by using the economic success of two states that did not raise the minimum wage or by cherry-
picking data from one state that raised the minimum wage and experienced inflation, we are drawing a hasty
generalization. When you want to inductively draw a conclusion, make sure you include several cases and
include negative examples. The hasty generalization is a conscious decision to deceive the audience, and it is
an unethical rhetorical device.
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Non sequitur: A non sequitur argument is like the red herring in that it is meant to distract from the main
argument. Unlike the red herring, the non sequitur is simply a point made to distract, not to lead to another point.
It is meant to cause the opponent to answer the new point rather than pursue the original argument. The non
sequitur is a conscious decision to deceive the audience and is an unethical rhetorical device.
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Bandwagon: A bandwagon argument states that if a large group of people is supporting a cause or an argument,
that argument cannot be wrong. It invites others to “jump on the bandwagon” and show support. Arguing that a
large number of people support an idea does not make the argument valid. Rather, it applies peer pressure to
the audience to follow along. Bandwagon arguments often overstate actual support for the position, consciously
or unconsciously. The bandwagon fallacy is a conscious decision to deceive the audience and is an unethical
rhetorical device.
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Strawman: A strawman argument occurs when an individual attempts to refute another person’s idea by
attacking the weakest part of the idea. The individual attempts to show that the whole argument is without merit.
For example, attacking a program that will benefit everyone on the grounds that it will cause a small increase in
property tax in proportion to the benefit is a strawman argument. Strawman arguments will create a backlash
once the audience understands the weakness of the objection. A strawman argument is a conscious decision to
deceive the audience and is an unethical rhetorical device.
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Questionable cause: A questionable cause occurs when the cause proposed is not strong enough or direct
enough to create the effect. For example, making the argument that the gasoline prices rose by ten cents
because of a one-cent increase in the gas tax. Make sure that the cause you give is strong enough to create the
effect and is directly connected to the effect. The questionable cause fallacy is a conscious decision to deceive
the audience and is an unethical rhetorical device.
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Appeal to misplaced authority: An appeal to misplaced authority is quoting someone as an authority on a subject
that the person does not have the education or credentials to speak about. For example, citing an actor on
medications because he once played a doctor in a movie. It is fine to have celebrities give testimonials for a
product or a cause, as long as they do not claim to have expertise in that area. An appeal to misplaced authority
can be a conscious decision to deceive the audience and is an unethical rhetorical device.
Make sure that your rational propositions are supported by good logic and adequate support. Shortcuts such as logical
fallacies may cause the priority audience or priority audience segment to agree with your point initially, but they can lead
to backlash when the audience members feel like they have been deceived.
Emotional Appeals
Emotional appeals can be very effective persuasive devices. Instead of making an argument that appeals to intellect,
emotional appeals develop images and situations to stir up the listeners’ or readers’ feelings. Emotional appeals carry with
them heavy ethical considerations. Since you are attempting to bypass the critical thinking faculties of your priority
audience or priority audience segment, you have to be sure that you are not unethically manipulating the audience
members to do something that will not be in their best interests. Whatever attitude or behavior you are asking the priority
audience or priority audience segment to adopt should benefit the members of that audience and not just yourself or your
organization or agency. Emotional appeals can appeal to positive or negative emotions. Which emotions you choose to
appeal to depends on your subject material. Here are a few of the more common emotional appeals.
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Fear: Fear appeals are the most common and are among the powerful appeals. Fear appeals work well under
certain conditions. First, the fear appeal must come from a credible source. If the individual giving the appeal is
not seen as credible by the audience, the fear appeal will not be successful. Second, the danger in the fear
appeal should be aimed at friends and family members of the audience member. Individuals are more likely to
respond if the threat targets their loved ones than if the threat targets themselves. Third, the threat in the fear
appeal must have a high probability of occurring. If the threat is too remote, either in time or distance, the fear
appeal will not be effective. Fourth, the threat of the fear appeal needs to be moderate. If the threat is too large
(e.g., an asteroid hitting the earth), the audience will feel like nothing can be done. If the threat is too small (e.g.,
a one-cent increase in the tax rate), then the audience will not be moved to act. While fear appeals can be
effective, you must use them with caution. Fear appeals, especially if done poorly, can create a backlash against
the organization or agency employing them. Instead of just rejecting the message, the individual hearing the
message may take a negative attitude toward the organization or agency. An appeal to fear is an appeal to a
negative emotion.
•
Love: Appeals to love are also very common. Love appeals deal with the love between family members, lovers,
and friends. Love is used to persuade someone to perform a behavior on another’s behalf. This could involve
buying a ring for a fiancé or spouse, expressing love for another person, or even washing children’s clothing with
the correct laundry detergent. Sometimes the behavior shown is performed on oneself for the protection of
others, such as buying life insurance, getting a medical exam, or stopping a dangerous habit. An appeal to love
is an appeal to a positive emotion.
•
Guilt: Appeals to guilt focus on either performing an act you should not have done or not performing an act that
you should have done. In some ways, it is the opposite side of the coin of love appeal. For example, with a love
appeal, you would encourage a man to stop smoking because he loves his children. Using a guilt appeal, you
would encourage a man to stop smoking because he might become ill and leave his children fatherless. The
efficacy of the appeal can depend on the intent of the advertisement. Turner et al. found that nonprofit
advertisements could be effective using stronger guilt appeals than brand advertisements. 1 An appeal to guilt is
an appeal to a negative emotion.
•
Fairness: Appeals to fairness are appeals to fair play. The appeal can be that something is unfair and needs to
be changed or that something is fair and needs to be continued. For example, an advertisement may ask voters
to approve an initiative to change a law because it is unfair and causing harm. Another advertisement from a
different group may ask voters to vote against the initiative because the law is fair and continuing the law will
bring good results. Appeals to fairness might also include emotions such as righteous indignation. An appeal to
fairness can be an appeal to either a positive or negative emotion.
•
Hope: Appeals to hope are appeals for a better future. The appeal usually asks for the listener or reader to take
a step to help make life better for an individual or group. For example, charities that ask for donations to provide
food, shelter, education, or medicine for children focus on how that action will make an individual child’s or
family’s life better. In these advertisements, you will hear phrases such as “make a brighter future,” “give her a
better day,” or “help improve his life.” An appeal to hope is an appeal to a positive emotion.
•
Humor: Humor is often included as an appeal to emotion, but it is not really, in itself, an appeal to emotion as
much as it is a tactic. The use of humor in a message can be very powerful in that it will cause the readers or
listeners to let their guard down and allow the message to “sneak in.” However, humor should always be used
carefully. What one person in your priority audience or priority audience segment finds funny may be offensive to
another person. Poor or ill-conceived humor can cause your message to be rejected and can create the same
type of backlash as a poorly formed fear appeal.
•
Poignancy: Appeals to poignancy create a sense of sadness and longing that is reduced or relieved at the end of
the advertisement. For example, a parent misses an adult child, the parent makes coffee, and the child shows up
at the door as the commercial ends. Poignancy can be used along with other appeals, such as hope or love, to
add to the emotional appeal. An appeal to poignancy is an appeal to a positive emotion.
Emotional appeals, done well, can be very effective in changing attitudes or behaviors. However, you need to make sure
you include messages with logical appeals so that you maintain the attitudinal or behavioral change you created.
Credibility
We briefly touched upon credibility earlier in this topic. Credibility is something assigned by the audience and is not
something a speaker intrinsically possesses. A speaker is assigned credibility based upon two
characteristics: competence and character. If the audience believes the speaker has special knowledge on the topic, has
researched the topic thoroughly, has evaluated the benefits and the drawbacks of the position, and speaks authoritatively
and dynamically, the speaker will likely be seen as competent. If the audience believes that the speaker has the
audience’s best interests in mind, does not stand to profit from advocating the position, has no bias or admits to personal
biases, is similar to the audience in background and values, and refers to the audience through collective personal
pronouns (us and we), then the speaker will likely be seen as having good character.
Competence and character can be increased through effective communication. There are several ways to enhance both.
Competence
•
Show the research: Providing research and facts will help to increase the perceived competence of the speaker
or writer.
•
Examine both sides of the issue: Calling attention to the other side of an issue will help the audience see the
speaker or writer as more competent. Explaining the opposing side fairly and accurately will show that the
speaker has considered all sides.
•
Use credible sources: Using sources that the priority audience or priority audience segment accepts as credible
will help to increase perceived competence. Each audience is slightly different, so make sure to return to the
situation and audience analyses to select sources.
Character
•
Be inclusive: Using collective pronouns (us and we) and inclusive language will help the priority audience or
priority audience segment identify with the speaker or writer.
•
Speak to the audience, not above them: Using vocabulary that the audience can easily understand will help
develop the speaker’s character. Do not speak or write at too low a level because the priority audience or priority
audience segment may see that as patronizing.
•
Reflect the audience’s beliefs and values: Identifying with the audience increases the audience’s goodwill and
the speaker’s perceived credibility. The speaker or writer needs to show the priority audience or priority audience
segment that they share similar values and beliefs.
•
Identify any biases on the topic: Identifying the biases up front will help to reduce uncertainty about the speaker
or writer and increase the audience’s goodwill. The speaker or writer should identify potential personal biases on
the subject. Trying to hide biases will make the audience suspect of the speaker’s or writer’s motive.
•
Focus on the benefits: Showing the audience the positive outcomes of the change will help to establish audience
goodwill. The speaker or writer proposing an attitude or behavioral change for the priority audience or priority
audience segment should focus on the benefits that will come to the audience members if they change their
attitude or behavior.
Credibility is crucial for any message, written or spoken. Without credibility, messages will fall flat with the priority
audience or priority audience segment. It is essential that you comprehend the beliefs and values of your priority audience
or priority audience segment and understand who the priority audience or priority audience segment will accept as
credible. The message is important, but who delivers it can be, in many ways, even more so.
9.3Crafting Messages
Topic 9.3 Transcript
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Now that we have discussed message reception and message production, let’s create some messages for our strategic
plan.
Theme: One family, united, in ensuring our children’s health.
Global Objective 2: To implement a program to promote family and clinical doctors to members of the priority audience
segment within two months of the start of the strategic communication plan.
Strategy: Develop an informational campaign about family and clinical doctors in the same geographic area as our
priority audience segment. Tell the doctors’ stories to help the priority audience segment see the doctors as individuals
from diverse backgrounds who care deeply about their patients. Focus on primary care physicians and pediatricians
because these are the physicians that will be treating the priority audience segment’s children.
Let’s recall what we learned from our situational and audience analysis. Our priority audience segment trusts family,
friends, and their children’s teachers more than doctors on the subject of preventative care. Audience members turn to
social media more than to other sources for information. We need to keep in mind the Narrative Paradigm theory, which
we will use to help us craft messages.
•
Our stories need internal coherence and external fidelity.
•
Our stories need to provide “good reasons” for why members of the priority audience segment need to seek
out preventative care for their children under 10 years old.
o
First, our stories must reflect the values of the individuals in our priority audience segment.
o
Second, our stories need to include the history, culture, and perceptions of the priority audience
segment.
o
Third, our stories need to “ring true” to the values of the priority audience segment.
o
Fourth, our stories need to be circulated repeatedly through the preferred media channels.
Our approach is two-way symmetrical, so the stories are invitations to start conversations with the priority audience
segment. We assume that members of our priority audience segment are active interpreters of our stories, consistent
with Articulation Theory. Members of the priority audience segment are seen as our collaborators, actively working to
create meaning.
Let’s design three messages: a short video piece, a long print piece, and a shorter print piece. The values we are
attempting to highlight in all of the pieces are family, caring, trust, and community. The “good reasons” we are giving the
priority audience segment are that the doctors are just like the audience members and that the audience members, and
their children, will be treated like family and not as impersonal clients.
Table 4.2
Date: March 25, 2022
Client: Barrytown Medical Clinic
Project 1: Dr. Emily Johnson Introduction
Run time: 00:30:00
Video
Dr. Johnson walking into
examination room.
Audio
(Upbeat music plays)
My life has been about helping others. I have always wanted to work with
children and make their lives better.
Text
Dr. Emily
Johnson
Pediatrician,
Barrytown
Medical Clinic
Video
Audio
Dr. Johnson sitting in a chair,
talking to the parent with a
child, around 8 years old, on
the examination table.
It’s important for me to form relationships with my patients and their families
and understand what they are going through.
Dr. Johnson examining child.
Dr. Johnson is smiling. The
child is smiling.
It’s important for me to let my patients know I care about them. That I want them
to stay healthy. That I am willing to go the extra step for them.
Dr. Johnson looks in child’s
mouth. Child has tongue
sticking out.
Dr. Johnson with her children. As a parent, I know how important the doctor-patient relationship is. I need to
She is bending down and
trust my physician is working to help my children. I trust Barrytown Medical
children run to her arms.
Clinic with my children. The staff treats my children like they are part of their
family. Barrytown Medical Clinic is a community of caring individuals.
Dr. Johnson carrying her child.
Dr. Johnson sitting down to eat
with her family.
Dr. Johnson helping a child
with homework.
Dr. Johnson putting a child to
bed.
I like that.
Text
Video
Audio
Door closing. Dr. Johnson
looks into the camera and
smiles.
Text
Barrytown
Medical Clinic
logo
One family,
united, in
ensuring our
children’s health.
318 Main Street,
Barrytown
For
appointments,
call (555)-5555555
Fade to black.
(Music reaches climax and fades out)
The above video script hits three points. First, that Dr. Johnson is a doctor who cares about her patients and families.
Second, that Dr. Johnson sees her job as forming relationships. Third, that the Barrytown Medical Clinic sees its
patients as family members. Since our priority audience segment trusts friends, families, and neighbors more than
doctors, the advertisement tries to frame Dr. Johnson as a neighbor in the community. How the shots will be framed is
important. Dr. Johnson needs to be framed as on the same level as the patient, the parent, and her own children. She
should not be shot looking down at any of the other people in the shot. This shows her as equal to the people she
interacts with, not above them.
This video is making an emotional appeal based on love and hope. Love is seen through Dr. Johnson’s relationship with
her patient and through her relationship as a parent to her children. Hope is seen through Dr. Johnson’s desire to keep
children healthy and safe. The video also tries to build Dr. Johnson’s character through her interactions with the patient
and with her children (identification with the priority audience segment who have children) and through her values
(family, caring, trust, and community). The point of the video is not to immediately drive people to Barrytown Medical
Clinic but to help create an identification of Dr. Johnson as “one of them” (member of the priority audience segment) and
as someone who shares their values.
The next piece that we will create will be a print advertisement featuring Dr. Johnson.
Figure 4.1: Print Advertisement 1
The above print advertisement is meant to hit three themes. First, Dr. Johnson believes that children and their families
are important and makes them a priority in her practice. Second, Dr. Johnson and her family are members of the
Barrytown community. Third, Dr. Johnson is active in and supportive of the schools. Again, this is an emotional appeal
since we are playing off the themes of love and hope. There is also an attempt to build up Dr. Johnson’s credibility
through character by showing she shares the core values of the priority audience segment (family, caring, trust, and
community plus education and commitment).
Our next print advertisement will again feature the same themes (family, caring, and trust plus cooperation). It will
feature just a quote from Dr. Johnson.
Figure 4.2: Print Advertisement 2
Once again, we are using emotional appeals and attempting to build Dr. Johnson’s credibility by focusing on character.
All of our pieces tie together and support each other. Each one shows narrative coherence by emphasizing the same
themes and presenting them in slightly different forms. All of the pieces tie together into one coherent story: Dr.
Johnson, a pediatrician, works for her patients and their families. She is a parent who loves her kids, a community
member who is committed to Barrytown, and a volunteer who helps to support the elementary school, teachers, and
students. She resembles, in values, the priority audience segment. She strives for the highest values of the priority
audience segment: family, caring, trust, and community. Repeating these messages, along with messages about other
physicians, will help to increase the standing of doctors in the eyes of the priority audience segment. It is important that
we do not introduce any contradiction. Contradiction will cause our audience to resist the message (Articulation Theory)
and reject the story we are telling (Narrative Paradigm). In the next topic, we will discuss where we can place these
pieces for the highest effect.
Chapter 10: Channels
Introduction
Topic 10 Introduction Transcript
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Describe the differences between traditional and social media.
2. Differentiate between earned and paid media.
3. Define influences and influencers.
4. Identify influences and influencers among the priority audience segment.
5. Relate channel placement to the tactics.
Previous
10.1Deciding on Channels
Topic 10.1 Transcript
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There are multiple channels for placing messages, and all have trade-offs in advantages and disadvantages. This topic
will describe the different types of channels, how to determine which channels provide the best return on investment, and
how to determine which channels are the best channels for the priority audience or priority audience segment.
Finding the Proper Channels for the Priority Audience Segments
By now, you should understand that the research is the key to finding the correct channels to reach your priority audience
or priority segment audience. You should also check the data for your priority audience’s or priority audience segment’s
patterns of behavior. For example, if you find that attending religious services is important for your priority audience or
priority audience segment, you should plan to place messages with local religious institutions. If you find your priority
audience or priority audience segment is responsible for buying groceries, you should look to extend your messaging into
supermarkets, grocers, and other retailers. Scour your data and look for places that you can reach your priority audience
or priority audience segment.
Traditional Media
Traditional or legacy media are defined as one-to-many communication channels. The message is sent to the receiver,
and feedback, if there is any, is usually greatly delayed (compare this to one-on-one and one-to-group communication
where feedback is instant). Many people in society still rely on traditional media for news, information, and entertainment,
but that group is aging while younger people are relying more on online media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and
Instagram that link to online traditional media sources.
Pamphlets and Flyers
The oldest forms of traditional mass media are flyers, posters, and pamphlets. These forms have long been used to
engage in political debates, spread opinion and propaganda, and inform the reading public. These traditional media forms
are all still in use today.
Pamphlets, short information booklets about a certain topic or a service, are available in most places, from doctor’s offices
to tourist hotels. Pamphlets have the advantage of being cheap to produce in large quantities. They also are circulated
easily. A single pamphlet may be read by many different people as it moves from place to place. For example, someone
picks up a pamphlet about a local tourist attraction. After reading it, she leaves it in a restaurant. The next person sees the
pamphlet on the table and carries it to his hotel room. After reading the pamphlet, he leaves it in the room. The next
person in the room reads the pamphlet and carries it to the next location. A disadvantage of a pamphlet is that it has to
compete for attention with other pamphlets in a rack. The person who selects it needs to actively choose it and read it.
Another disadvantage is that it is limited to photos and text. This restriction makes it harder for the pamphlet to stand out
from other pamphlets that look similar. Finally, the information in the pamphlet is dated as soon as it is printed. If the
information on the topic or service changes, it is difficult to collect all of the old copies and replace them with updated
copies.
Flyers—a single sheet of information about an event, cause, or sale—are posted in public places for individuals to read
when passing by the area. Effectively designed flyers can be helpful in gaining attention. Flyers are also relatively easy to
produce and distribute. Anyone with Microsoft Office, or another software package, and a good printer can produce them
easily. This accessibility helps to keep the cost very low. However, like pamphlets, they are also competing with other
flyers for attention. Anyone can come along and place a new flyer beside, or on top of, your flyer. Additionally, flyers are
so common that people largely ignore bulletin or notice boards. In addition to competing with other flyers for attention,
your flyer will have to compete against attention inertia—the reluctance of people to pay attention to anything.
Since printing is relatively inexpensive, we can use our advertisements for the basis of our flyers and hang them in places
that our priority audience segment frequents. We would not want to spend a lot of time and money designing and printing
these flyers since the return we will get is questionable. However, the flyers may serve as a way to reinforce the other
messages the priority audience segment is receiving.
Newspapers
Regular circulation newspapers have been around since the seventeenth century. With the addition of print advertising,
newspapers became an affordable means for individuals to get the news of the day. Many newspapers have suffered
from the move to the internet as the advertising business model, and especially classified advertising, has left many
newspapers with revenue shortfalls, leading to numerous daily and weekly newspapers consolidating or going out of
business. However, the newspaper, either online or in print, is still an effective way to get a message out.
There are two ways to include newspapers in your strategic communication plan. The first is through coverage of
community events. We will talk about this strategy more when we discuss earned media. The second is through
advertising. You want to be sure to look at the newspaper’s advertising rate card. It will give you information such as the
paper’s geographical reach, demographics, circulation (number of copies printed), and readership (number of people who
actually read the newspaper), along with the cost by page size (1/8 page, 1/4 page, 1/2 page, and so on). You can pick a
particular section of the newspaper for your advertisement to run in or choose a cheaper “Run of Paper” placement where
your advertisement could appear anywhere in the newspaper.
Newspapers can be very cost-effective if they are one of your priority audience’s or priority audience segment’s channels.
The cost to reach one thousand people (CPM) is inexpensive compared to television, which we will discuss below.
However, newspapers are being read, in print form, by fewer and fewer people overall, driving the CPM higher.
If we can get newspapers to consider our physicians’ life stories newsworthy, we can get placement in the newspapers
without purchasing an ad. One of our tactics in Topic 7 was to get news coverage of the physicians. We can create press
releases and write columns for the newspapers to print. However, our priority audience segment does not read
newspapers, so while news coverage would be nice (and inexpensive), we should not consider advertising in the
newspapers. We could place the two print ads in the local newspaper, but we need to weigh the cost of the
advertisements versus the benefits of running them. News stories and advertisements may get the attention of some
influencers (see below), but the cost is too much for the benefits we will get from running the advertisements.
Radio
Radio has one unique advantage—it is the medium that every car comes installed with. While many other media have
come along to supplant radio (e.g., satellite radio, podcast, and music streaming services), radio has managed to reinvent
itself and survive. The first transition was with the widespread acceptance of television. Much of radio’s programming
shifted from radio, an audio medium, to television, an audio-visual medium. Radio shifted to programming music and
attracting a younger demographic. The second transition was with the widespread acceptance of FM (frequency
modulation) radio. FM’s higher sound quality was better for music, so AM (amplitude modulation) radio shifted to talk radio
format. AM/FM radio still draws a strong audience today. According to Nielsen, more than 92% of all adults listened to
radio at least one time per week.1
Radio, if it is one of your priority audience’s or priority audience segment’s preferred channels, can present you with ways
to communicate with that audience. While many stations in a media market have been sold to chains such as I Heart
Radio, there are still local stations that you can partner with. For example, members of your organization or agency can
be invited to speak on a local talk radio show and discuss your product or program, to sit in with morning or afternoon
hosts and discuss your product or program, or to receive coverage through a public radio station or news radio station.
Advertising on the radio can be cost-effective. Like newspapers, radio stations have a rate card that discusses their
demographics and gives the CPM for different dayparts. Which dayparts are the most expensive for advertising will
depend on the format of the station. For example, talk radio will have the most expensive slots during the morning drive
(5:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m.) and afternoon drive (3:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.). A contemporary hits (CHR) station or hot hits
station that plays the most popular songs will have the most expensive slots during the early evening (7:00 p.m.–11:00
p.m.). An adult contemporary station may have the most expensive slots during midday (10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.). These are
the times that each of these formats has the highest listenership. Radio is broken down into several different formats and
subformats. Finding a station that matches your priority audience or priority audience segment is not difficult. If you are
purchasing advertisements (spots) for radio, you have to account for two different costs. The first is the cost to produce
the spot. This can be done by a radio station or a production house for a fee. If your organization or agency has an inhouse production facility, this will save you some cost. The second is the cost to air the spot. If you buy a single spot, you
will be charged the highest price for that daypart. You can get a discount if you buy multiple spots over the course of
several days. The cheapest way to advertise is a run of schedule (ROS) purchase. This consists of buying several spots,
let’s say 100, over the course of a period of time, let’s say two months. The radio station will guarantee a certain number
of spots will air in prime dayparts and that the rest will be placed in available slots throughout the broadcasting day. You
can check with the station’s traffic office to get a list of when your spots aired.
The advantage of advertising on radio is that the formats are flexible enough to help you find the correct demographic fit
for your priority audience or priority audience segment. The listenership for radio is still relatively high. The CPM relative to
newspapers is higher but is still much lower than the CPM for television. If your organization or agency can get onto radio
talk shows, that radio presence will raise the profile of the program and the organization or agency. The disadvantage is
that younger audiences are moving away from radio. Radio listening rates are lowest for those 12–18 years old. This
group is more likely to hear paid advertisements than free news or talk show coverage, so it may be more expensive to
reach this group.
We certainly would want to work to get our organization’s or agency’s staff on radio talk shows to promote the program. It
would be helpful if we had the physicians who are part of our program appear on radio talk shows to answer questions
about preventative care for children. These should not, however, be a primary focus because radio is not a
communication channel favored by our priority audience segment. Likewise, we should not allocate a lot of our budget for
radio advertisements since the return on investment will be low.
Television
Television is the newest of the traditional media. Television is an audio-visual medium combining sound and image that is
generally divided into three different sources—broadcast, cable, and satellite. Broadcast television is governed by the
Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and, for advertising, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Cable is
considered and regulated differently than broadcast in that broadcast television is transmitted over the public airwaves
and enters the home while cable is sent via wire (or fiber optics) and is purchased by the consumer. Satellite television is
closer to cable in regulation. For our discussion, we will focus primarily on broadcast television (which we will refer to
as television) and touch briefly on cable.
Television, like radio, is divided into dayparts. The most familiar of these parts are primetime (8:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m.), early
fringe (4:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.) with the local news, and late news (11:00 p.m.–11:30 p.m.) with the late local news. As with
radio, television targets certain demographics at different times of the day. For example, the daytime daypart (10:00 a.m.–
4:30 p.m.) features programming targeted at the 50+ demographic and stay-at-home parents. Primetime programming
aims to pull in the 18–40 demographic. It is possible to target your advertisements to reach your priority audience or
priority audience segment. The most expensive dayparts for advertising are primetime, early fringe, and late news.
Primetime will have very few spots available since network programming comes packaged with national advertisements.
Early fringe and late news will have more availability, but since local news programs tend to be the highest-rated
programs for the station, these spots will also be expensive.
Most stations will produce between two and five hours of news each day. Getting your event covered by the media may
be difficult, depending on your media market. Larger markets will have more hours of news, but there is more competition
for the stations’ attention. Smaller markets will have fewer hours of news, but there will be less competition for attention,
especially on the weekends (we will discuss events and event coverage below).
Advertising fundamentals for television are similar to those for radio. You will have an initial up-front cost to produce the
television spot, which, depending on your media market, may be quite expensive. Purchasing a single spot during a
particular daypart will be more expensive than buying multiple spots throughout the broadcast schedule. A run of schedule
buy will allow you to buy more spots at a discount. Like in radio, you will be guaranteed a certain number of plays in prime
dayparts, but the rest of the spots will air wherever the station has an open spot. You can check with the traffic office to
get a report of when your advertisements were aired.
While television should be part of your strategic communication plan, it is important to note that television viewership is
declining across all demographic groups. Those under 18 years old have shown the biggest drops in daily viewing time
while those 50+ have shown the smallest decrease in viewing time.
Cable is another important element of your strategic communication plan. You can purchase advertisements during cable
programming that will air during specific programs. Cable has an advantage in that you can target specific areas and
neighborhoods with your advertisements, allowing you to contour your advertising to your priority audience or priority
audience segment. Cable advertising also tends to be cheaper than television, with a much better CPM.
We are already planning to produce a video for the program. We can give this to the local television stations and see if
they will run it as a public service announcement (PSA). PSAs are a way that stations fulfill their service requirement to
the community. They are expected to spend part of their broadcasting week providing public service. However, when the
video will be run is questionable. PSAs are used to fill open spots in the station’s advertising inventory. The video could be
as easily run at 3:00 a.m. as 1:00 p.m., so there is no guarantee that the video will be slotted at a time the priority
audience segment will be watching. Cable provides a better avenue since we can choose the cable channel in which the
video will air. With careful selection, this will be more likely to air in a place and time where the priority audience segment
will see it. The video should air as a PSA on broadcast television, but we should not buy slots because the cost is too
high, the return on investment is too low, and our priority audience segment does not use broadcast television as a
primary source for information. If the price is reasonable, cable should be considered since targeting specific cable
channels will increase the return on investment.
Social Media and New Media
Social media has many significant differences from traditional media. While social media is still a “one-to-many” media,
the one (the individual user), is a decentralized sender. In traditional media, each newspaper, radio station, and television
station is centralized from one location and sends a single message to all users. In social media, there are many senders
instead of one collective sender. Feedback is a critical feature of social media. Messages are sent out by individuals
looking to interact with other users through comments, likes, and shares. Social media channels allow you to form
relationships with followers and “friends” and to have extended conversations.
There are several programs and applications you can use to monitor and post to social media sites. Hootsuite, Buffer, and
Social Pilot, among others, can help you to schedule social media posts so that they are timely and relevant. These sites
also allow users to view statistics on social media return on investment (ROI), set up ads, and react to comments and
feedback.
Facebook
Facebook is the largest of the social media platforms, with nearly 1.8 billion daily active users and 2.7 billion monthly
active users worldwide. The platform offers the ability to post pictures, messages, and videos and to react to and
comment on your Facebook friends’ News Feed. Users can create groups centered around shared interests. The main
section of Facebook is the News Feed, where friends’ posts, advertisers’ posts, sponsored posts, and suggested posts
mix together. The order in which the posts appear depends on Facebook’s algorithms. The algorithms look at a number of
“signals,” including what posts you have reacted to, what posts you have commented on, what posts you spent the most
time reading, what your closest friends’ interests are, and what “people that resemble you” comment on, react to, and
linger over. The algorithms are proprietary to Facebook, so it is difficult to predict what will show up on the News Feed.
This makes it a challenge to ensure that posts promoting your organization’s or agency’s programs get seen.
Facebook should be part of your strategic communication plan, especially if it is the preferred channel for your priority
audience or priority audience segment. There are several ways in which you can reach out to your audience. First, you
can write a post on behalf of your organization or agency. If the algorithm matches your post with the interests,
geographical locations, or other algorithmic signals for your intended segment, your post may appear on your priority
audience or priority audience segment members’ News Feed. Second, and much more targeted, is sponsoring a post.
You can choose the post, set the goal of increased engagement with the post, choose the audience characteristics of the
individuals who you want to see the post, and then set your budget. The higher the budget, the more times the post will
connect to your designated audience. Third, you can create a Facebook ad. The Facebook Ads functionality gives you
more control to fine-tune the demographic and psychographic characteristics of the intended audience. Facebook Ads will
make it more likely that the post will show up in the News Feeds of your priority audience or priority audience segment.
Maintaining an active Facebook page for your program is key. You need to provide consistent and continuous content for
the page to maintain audience interest. You will also need dedicated staff to monitor the page and the conversations
people have about your program and organization or agency. Reputation management, finding and responding to both
positive and negative comments, is important for all social media platforms. This is especially true for Facebook, which
has the biggest reach of any platform. The quicker that problems, complaints, and negative comments are addressed and
dealt with, the better your reputation online.
One key and useful feature of Facebook is Facebook Groups. A Facebook Group is a space for people with shared
interests to interact. For example, if you are creating a plan for a flower show, you may have a Facebook Group for each
classification of plant. People can interact and you can promote the flower show effectively. Since the Facebook
algorithms privilege groups in the users’ News Feeds, you can keep your show in front of the members of the groups
continuously. Facebook Groups are free to start, so you can cheaply connect with members of your priority audience or
priority audience segment.
Facebook is the primary information source for the priority audience segment, so we need to take advantage of the
service. First, we will need to create accounts for our program. We will want to make a main account for the project with
additional accounts for each of the individual objectives. For example, since we are working with area pediatricians, we
might use “Barrytown Doctors” for objective 2. We can place our video and both advertisements on our page. Second, we
will want to start groups for different topics. For objective 2, we will want one group where Barrytown residents can ask
doctors health questions. We will want to start a second group to discuss Barrytown doctors. Third, we want to set up
Facebook Ads to target members of our priority audience segment. We will want to use the following demographics:
•
Geographic area: Barrytown and unincorporated areas around Barrytown
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Sex: Male or Female
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Age: 30–45
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Children: 4+
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Income: $0–$60,000
•
Education: Some college, a high school diploma, or no diploma
We can further contour who sees the advertisements by selecting user interests. This will allow us to promote our
account, groups, and, if we have them, events. It will also allow us to set a budget so we can keep costs under control.
We will want to promote the video initially since it will be a major outlay to produce. We can promote other video content
as we develop it. We must have a designated person to monitor the accounts so we can respond to comments, update
information, find information to share on the account and in the groups, and generally keep the account active.
This type of campaign is consistent with the tactics we developed in Topic 7. We identified a key tactic as setting up a
social media campaign, and we focused on Facebook since it was our priority audience segment’s main source of
information. By implementing this, we are utilizing the strategy to get the physicians’ stories out to our audience.
Twitter
Twitter is a service for sending short messages (280 characters). Twitter has nearly 150 million users sending over 500
million messages, or tweets, a day. Users can send, respond to, love, and retweet messages to their followers. Twitter is
used by many news outlets, politicians, and businesses to push messages directly to their followers. Tweets can contain
images and short videos to gain attention. Often the tweets contain a link to a website or other social media service so
that readers can get more information. Twitter can be a good way to advertise events and programs. Using an application
like Buffer or Hootsuite will allow you to schedule reminder tweets for events.
An important feature of Twitter is the use of hashtags (#Barrytowncares). Hashtags are key words or phrases within a
tweet that allow tweets to be searched. If enough users include the hashtag within their tweets, the hashtag will trend and
be featured under the “What’s Happening” column on the Twitter homepage. “What’s Happening” contains national and
international trending hashtags, but it will also show hashtags trending locally. It can be another way in which you can
draw attention to your program or product.
We will want to include Twitter in our social media, but we do not want to put as much time and resources into it as we put
into our Facebook accounts. We should have a main account for the program in which we tweet out information about the
program, send reminders, post videos, and provide links to our primary Facebook account and groups. We will also want
to retweet news stories that will support improving our priority audience segment’s trust in physicians and any news
coverage the program gets. The Twitter account should be kept active, but it should not be the main focus.
Instagram
Instagram is a social media platform owned by Facebook. Instagram has nearly 145 million users in the United States
alone (the majority of its one billion users are outside the United States). Users share photographs, videos, and memes
with their followers and other Instagram users. The most active users are generally between 18–29 years old. Users
spend an average of 30 minutes per day on the service. If this group is within your priority audience or priority audience
segment, Instagram should be part of your strategic communication plan.
Instagram, like Twitter, makes use of hashtags. Using a consistent set of hashtags can make it easier for individuals to
find your posts. Instagram, like Facebook and Twitter, gives you the ability to create polls. Polls are a way to judge
content, but they can also serve as a way to create interaction and engagement with your social media accounts. The
point of your use of all social media platforms is to spread and create engagement with your message. Anything that will
grab a user’s attention should be part of that.
Instagram’s demographics do not match those of our priority audience segment. While we should maintain an active
account, we do not want to expend resources on Instagram.
Earned, Shared, Owned, and Paid Media
What Is Earned Media?
Earned media are media that your organization or agency has created that appears on another medium or platform
without payment. For example, your agency creates a Facebook video that is reshown by a local television station during
its newscast. Another example would be when information about your program is shared by someone who writes a blog.
The material is repurposed by an outside party for its own use. This can be helpful in extending the reach of your social
media campaign among the priority audience or priority audience segment.
What Is Shared Media?
Shared media are social media posts that your organization or agency has created that are shared or retweeted by other
people to their social media followers. Shared media helps to spread your message across the different social media
platforms, extending the message’s reach. One way to get both earned and shared media is to make content that is
creative and memorable and that plays to individuals’ emotions. Content that resonates emotionally with the audience is
likely to have a life beyond the social media accounts that posted it.
What Is Owned Media?
Owned media are the accounts that your organization or agency has registered and controlled. These can include social
media accounts and other websites. It is important that the person designated to post material, generally called a social
media manager, keeps track of the accounts and websites and makes sure that there is consistency in the look and
design across platforms.
What Is Paid Media?
Paid media are the media that the organization has paid to place on social media sites. Monitoring the reach of the
sponsored posts and advertisements is important to ensure that the ads are reaching the promised number of users and
the correct demographics.
Finding the Influences and Influencers
In order to create behavioral or attitudinal change in our priority audience or priority audience segments, we need to know
what forces and individuals help the priority audience members to make up their minds about key topics. That is, who and
what are the external forces that may help or hinder our attempts to change behaviors and attitudes?
What Are Influences?
Influences are “whats”—what external forces (e.g., societal, cultural, economic, and political) will allow for or prevent the
desired behavioral or attitudinal change? That information can be found in the situation and audience analyses. Let’s
return to Barrytown and try to identify the influences for why children are not receiving preventative care.
•
Economic—Very few have insurance
•
Economic—Many are below the poverty line for a family of five to six people
•
Economic—Employment status
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Cultural—Mistrust of medicine and medical personnel
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Environmental—Friends’ and family’s bad experiences with doctors
•
Environmental—Bad information about vaccine safety
We need to prioritize these in terms of the amount of influence. This will be partially based on the data and partially based
on our judgment.
1. Environmental—Friends’ and family’s bad experiences with doctors
2. Cultural—Mistrust of medicine and medical personnel
3. Economic—Very few have insurance
4. Environmental—Bad information about vaccine safety
5. Economic—Many are below the poverty line for a family of five to six people
6. Economic—Employment status
If these seem familiar, it is because we identified some of them earlier. We are addressing many of these influences as
we design the strategic communication plan. Other influences, such as poverty, are outside of our ability to address.
However, we must recognize this because it will create a constraint on our priority audience’s or priority audience
segment’s behaviors and attitudes.
What Are Influencers?
Influencers are “whos”—who are the people who will help the members of our priority audience or priority audience
segment make a decision? Again, we must go back to the situation and audience analyses. Influencers for our Barrytown
priority audience segment include
•
Family members,
•
Extended family members,
•
Close friends,
•
Neighbors, and
•
Teachers.
We also need to prioritize these influencers.
1. Family members—Our priority audience segment members identify as being close to family.
2. Teachers—Our priority audience segment members like and trust their children’s teachers.
3. Close friends—Our priority audience segment members report having a small circle of close friends.
4. Extended family members—Our priority audience segment members report having good relations with extended
family members.
5. Neighbors—Our priority audience segment members report liking their neighbors.
We need to be able to get our messages to these groups of influencers. Some groups, such as teachers, we have actively
included in the strategic communication plan. Other groups, such as close friends and family members, may be part of our
priority audience segment. Like with the influences, we must take the influencers into account when creating the strategic
communication plan.
10.2Deciding on Events
As we create our strategic communication plan, we need to decide if our outreach into the community will involve events
and activities. Events can be a good way to reach influencers such as neighbors and a good way to try and get traditional
media coverage, but we always must weigh the cost of the event against the benefits that the event will bring. There
needs to be a specific reason for the event that supports the goal or an objective. If we are just holding an event with no
criteria for judging its success, we probably do not need to hold the event.
One of the tactics we planned for our strategic communication plan is a meet-and-greet for community members and our
physicians. The criteria for assessing the success are whether individuals who come to the event trust the physicians
more after meeting them. We will need to determine what will draw the priority audience segment to the event. Once we
determine the hook, we will need to determine how to incorporate the physicians and encourage interaction with the
audience. Finally, we need to determine how we will promote the event among our priority audience segment.
The easiest way to hook the priority audience segment would be with a giveaway. We would need to find something that
would draw a significant number of members of our priority audience segment. Since they have four or more children, a
backpack with school supplies might be a major enticement. We can have the physicians stationed at the tables to help
distribute the materials to the families. We could also offer to have the physicians do some simple medical exams for the
children so the priority audience segment would see the children and physicians interacting. We could promote this
through our social media platforms with paid advertisements and also distribute the information to the children’s teachers
to send home with the students. Flyers would also help to remind the priority audience or priority audience segment and
reinforce the messages from social media and the teachers. A slip of paper could be included that has a QR code to a
survey where we could ask the participants questions about their attitudes toward the physicians. If there was a large
enough (say an increase of 1.5 on a seven-point Likert scale) and a statistically significant difference in reported attitude
toward physicians, we could say that the event was successful.