01.

Communication Process
Elements of Communication
The word communication has its root in the Latin word Communicare, which means to share. Communication is a two way process in
which there is an exchange and progression of ideas towards a mutually accepted direction or goal. For this process to materialize, it is
essential that the basic elements of communication be identified .these elements are:
1. Sender/ Encoder/Speaker : The person who initiates the communication process is normally referred to as the sender. From
his personal data bank he selects ideas, encodes and finally transmits them to the receiver. The entire burden of
communication rests upon the encoder or the sources. His choice of images and words, and the combination of the two is
what goads the receiver to listen carefully. It is, therefore, necessary in accordance with the expectations of the receiver, the
level of acceptance is going to be higher.

2. Receiver/decoder/Listener: The listener receives an encoded message which he attempts to decode. This process is carried
on in relation to the work environment. If the goal of the sender is envisioned as similar to the receiver, the listener becomes
more receptive.

3. Message: Message is the encoded idea transmitted by the sender. The formulation of the message is very important, for an
incorrect patterning can make the receiver lose interest. The sender has to carefully decide on the order in which he would
like to present his ideas. The ordering should be based on the requirements of the listener so that its significance is
immediately grasped. The minute the receiver finds his goals codified in the message, he sits up, listens and responds.

4. Medium/Channel: Another important element of communication is the medium or channel. It could be oral, written or nonverbal. Each medium follows its own set of rules and regulations. In oral communication one can afford to be a little
informal, but when using the written mode, all rules of communication need to be observed.

5. Feedback: This is the most important component of communication. Effective communication takes place only when there is
a feedback. Feedback puts the message back into system as a check against misunderstandings. Miscommunication results in
typical responses like This is not what I meant or This was not my intention. If feedback is solicited on all occasions, these
errors can be minimized. Fallacious statements or erroneous conclusions are made because of lack of confirmation through
feedback and discrepancy between the message transmitted and understood. Feedback indicates whether communication has
attained its goal. It helps the sender to know if there are corrections to be made and ensures the receiver has understood the
communication as intended.
Advertising Definitions
1. According to AMA (Marketing point of view) - Advertising is paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of goods,
service and ideas by an identified sponsor.
2. (Communication point of view) it is controlled identifiable information and persuasion by means of mass communication media
under clear sponsorship.

Process of Communication
The sender encodes the message and sends it through a channel. The channel is the language used words, actions, signs, objects, or a
combination of these. The receiver receives the message, decodes it, and acts on it. If the message received is the same as the message
sent, there will be a response; if not, there has been a breakdown of communication. This may happen because of noise. The
transmission of the receivers response to the sender is called feedback. If you are sending a message to somebody, your
communication cycle is complete only when you get a response from the recipient of your message. Otherwise you need to resend the
message. Communication takes place in a well-defined set up called the communication environment. Messages themselves are
transferred through a medium, the channel. Language is the tool we use through these channels to exchange information.
In brief, the essentials of effective communication are:

. A common communication environment

Two major parties in communication are Sender and receiver.

Two major communication tools are message and media.

Four major communication functions are encoding, decoding, response and feedback.

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The last element is noise ( random and competing messages that may interfere with the intended communication )
Message
formation:
Encoding
strategy and
tactics by Ad
agency

Source

Advertiser
(objective)
endorsers

Encoding

(appeal
Theme, color,
sound, script,
editing)

A Model of Communication Process

Public opinion
Marketing strategy
( motive)
Competition
Other noise

Decoding

Receiver:

Done by
individuals
Personality.
Learning, etc

Media

(channel)

message

Message
reception &
response
Perception
Learning
persuasion

Noise : internal
Perceived Needs
Information processing
Attitude & opinions
Other Noise

Media
Mix:
(one way
and two
way)

Feedback

The model underscores the key factors in effective communication. Sender must know what audience they want to reach and what
responses they want to get. They must encode their messages in a way that must be understood by their target audience. Target
audience decodes those messages according to their perception, learning, attitude, etc. The messages must be transmitted through a
(may be more than one) media to reach the target audience and they should develop feedback mechanism to know the customer
response. For a message to be effective, the senders encoding process must be at per with the receivers decoding process. The more
the senders field of experience overlaps with that of the receiver, the more effective the message is likely to be. The senders task is to
get his or her message through to the receiver.

RECEIVER
(AUDIENCE)

CHANNEL
(word of mouth)

SOURCE

CHANNEL
(MEDIA)

Basic Difference between Normal Communication Process and Advertising Communication Process

DESTINATION

A Model of Advertising Communication Process

Sources are of many types in the context of Advertising, such as company offering the product, the particular brand,
spokespersons used, model, etc.)
Messages:
The message refers to both the context and execution of the advertisement. It is totality of what is perceived by the receiver
of the message.

The message can be executed in a great variety of ways and can include use of humor and fear.
Channel:
The message is transmitted through some channel from the source to the receiver.

The channel in an advertising communication system consists of one or more kinds of media such as radio, television,
newspaper, magazines, billboards, point of purchase, displays and so on.
Receiver:
The receiver in an advertising communication system is also called the target audience.

Audience can be described in terms of audience segmentation variables, lifestyles, benefits sought, demographics and so on.

Particular interests of a person might regulate the involvement to the product and willingness to search for the product.

The demographic, psychographic and social characteristics of the receiver provide or influence the basis for understanding,
communications, persuasion and market process.
Destination:
The advertising communication model does not stop at the receiver bet allows receiver as the interim source and the
destination becomes another receiver.
Role of Source
As we saw in the earlier diagrams, communication begins with source (both in case of advertising communication and simple
communication processes). At the time of inception every advertiser is trying to enhance awareness level and increase sales but, with
the passage of time it changes. Source may be the Advertiser, agency, endorsers, music, story, voice, voice-over, etc. They convey this
message through conventional media and that would be received by receiver. This receiver may be true receiver in terms of

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01. Communication Process Page 3 of 3

consumption (consumer/user) or it may be the person who will influence the main consumer. In case of very good product receiver
may be the first time satisfied user who will convey his/her experience to next consumer and convinced them to buy it.

Media
After choosing the message, the advertisers next task is to choose media to carry it. The steps, here, as following:
Deciding on Reach, Frequency and Impact: Media Selection involves findings the most cost-effective media to deliver the desired
number of exposures to the target audience. The effect of exposures on audience awareness depends upon the exposures reach,
frequency and impact.
Choosing Among Major Media Types: The major conventional advertising media include Newspaper, Television, Radio, Direct
mail, Magazines, Hoardings, and Brochures etc. Among the modern emerging media, one may choose from the Internet, Mobile
messaging, Digital Magazines, Mobile hoardings etc. Media Planners make their choice among media categories by considering the
following variables: Target-audience and media habits, Product, Message and Cost.
The other steps of deciding on media are:
Selecting specific vehicle
Deciding on Media Timing and
Deciding on Geographical Allocation

Audience
To send out a meaningful communication, the sender needs to know the audience he is dealing with. Modern management researchers
have identified five types of audiences:
Primary audience: This is the audience that will decide the fate of the communication-to act on it or not to act on it. The
housewife who selects the washing soap is the primary audience to a soap advertisement.

Secondary audience: These are the people who comment on the message. The husband who may buy the soap from the store
is the secondary audience.

Initial audience: These are persons who are the first to receive the message and then pass it on to someone else to deal with.
The general manager may be the one to receive and pass on a complaint to the sales manager. The general manager, then, is
the primary audience.

Gatekeeper audience: These are people who have the power to stop the message before it reaches the addressee. The
secretary to the chairman is a gatekeeper audience.

Watch dog audience: These include all alert bystanders who see a message conveyed and, if necessary, react favourably or
otherwise. Animal right activists, as a watch dog audience, may object to someone advertisements.

Noise
Noise is defined as any unplanned interferences in the communication environment, which causes hindrances in the transmission of
the message. When you communicate, you desire that the message received should be the same as the message sent. But this is not
always the case. Sometimes, this is due to the presence of noise. Noise interpretation or the decoding part of the communication
process.
Noise can be classified as channel and semantic. Channel noise is any interference in the mechanics of the medium used to send a
message. Familiar examples of channel noise are distortion due to faculty background, noise in telephone lines, illegible handwriting
etc. Semantic noise is generated internally, resulting from errors in the message itself. It may be connotative meaning of a word. Other
examples of semantic noise are ambiguous sentence structure, faculty grammar, misspellings, and incorrect punctuations.
The process of communication is susceptible to noise- that which hiders communication. To overcome noise, the sender usually builds
redundancy in the transmission. Communication, in order to be successful, should provide and ensure minimum noise and continuous
feedback.