Advertising Information

Change, or Reinforce?


Do you know about the distinction - and it's a useful one - between communication that tries to reinforce and communication that tries to get change?

If you follow politics you'll already be familiar with this idea: Incumbents send messages that reinforce existing voter behavior, while challengers call for changes.

Any thoughtful marketing communication (and political communication is marketing communication) will be strongly influenced by this distinction, which affects not only the content, but also the presentation, and perhaps even the medium.

For example, suppose you own a bookstore and every couple of months you send a newsletter to all residences within a two mile radius.

Now, if you have good market share and you're profitable, you won't want to rock the boat. You'll want to reinforce existing behaviors (which include buying at your store).

On the other hand, if you just opened a new bookstore and need to take market share from other bookstores, then you want change existing book buying behavior.

Another example: Suppose your employee safety program has worked well for the past year and you want to maintain the practices that led to this longest-ever period without an accident. Your communication would reinforce. On the other hand, if the safety record was unacceptable, you would try to get change through your communication.

In a change situation, we want to upset the status quo, to challenge existing beliefs and ways of doing things. That means the words and style could be somewhat inflammatory.

We can do this by making bold claims or allegations: Just listen to, or look at, advertising claims like these: "If you shop at Joe's Bookstore, you may be paying too much!" or, "Drive a bit further and save a lot more at Jane's Bookstore!"

Change also might be hurried by painting negative scenarios , as in "Unless we get more efficient, senior management will outsource the whole department."

Tactically, change usually demands more communication, as in more often and more words or pages. As you can imagine, it takes more communication to drive change than to stay on the same course.

There are also tactics we can use to reinforce existing beliefs or actions.

To maintain the status quo we can stress a service record, as in, "Serving you with quality and service for 25 years." or "Your performance has been very good over the past year, Betty. Keep up the good work."

Reinforcement does not automatically rule out change; however, it emphasizes incremental and gradual change rather than major and abrupt change.

You can also appeal to shared values or experiences to reinforce. Nothing commits us to staying the course like emotional cues that link good times to the status quo. For example, consider the power of an advertising slogan that begins, "Remember when...." It connects a powerful, positive emotion with a product or service. By extension, the product or service offers an opportunity to relive that good time.

In summary, make a distinction in your communication between reinforcing and changing. Decide which way you want to go, and then choose the appropriate strategies, tactics, and tools.

Robert F. Abbott writes and publishes Abbott's Communication Letter. Learn how you can use communication to help achieve your goals, by reading articles or subscribing to this ad-supported newsletter. An excellent resource for leaders and managers, at: http://www.communication-newsletter.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Boston Globe

Why Don’t Newspapers Do a Better Job of Advertising?
New Yorker, United States - 4 hours ago
Of course, they’re serious about the advertising they print, and I presume they hope that their advertisers believe that big ads work to garner customer ...
Video: Money Minute: Times Ads, Hyundai, Construction AssociatedPress
US: Newspapers adopt front-page advertising editorsweblog.org
Globe joins papers selling front-page ads Boston Globe
MarketWatch - BNET
all 375 news articles


mediabistro.com

A Lawyer’s Call for a Greater Black Presence in Agencies
New York Times, United States - 7 hours ago
By STUART ELLIOTT THE inability of the advertising industry to fill its desks, cubicles and offices with a diverse work force is coming under fire again, ...
Madison Avenue Accused of Racial Bias BusinessWeek
Racial Discrimination in the Advertising Industry Civilrights.org
Diversity Study Takes Ad Biz to Task Adweek
AdAge.com - Crain's New York Business
all 19 news articles


Times Online

Billboards advertising sex treatment to go
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - 11 hours ago
Billboards advertising a nasal spray claimed to treat sex problems for men will be taken down after hundreds of complaints. Hundreds of letters and emails ...
'No God' campaign draws complaint BBC News
Christians demand proof for atheist ad claims in Britain AFP
On the buses: Advertising atheism Scotsman
Times Online - Sheffield Telegraph
all 492 news articles


dBTechno

mocoNews.net - Microsoft Plunges Into Mobile Advertising With ...
Washington Post, United States - Jan 7, 2009
The second thing to point out is the vote of confidence on Microsoft's behalf that they believe the the mobile search and advertising market could be of ...
Verizon chooses Microsoft for mobile search and advertising services Unwired View
Verizon Wireless Selects Microsoft for Mobile Search and Advertising PR Newswire (press release)
Microsoft Picks Verizon Over Google, Yahoo For Search, Mobile Ads eWeek
BNET - Mobile Burn
all 267 news articles


RIU Hotels & Resorts Launches Advertising Campaign in California
MSNBC - 18 hours ago
MIAMI, FL - RIU Hotels & Resorts will launch its first ever television advertising campaign in California on January 11, focusing on their two all-inclusive ...


BU Today

Alan Holliday, a retired College of Communication associate ...
BU Today,  MA - 5 hours ago
“Alan was a throwback to another time — an absolute gentleman,” recalls John Verret, a COM associate professor of advertising. “We met nearly four decades ...
Ad veteran Holliday dies Bizjournals.com
RIP Alan Holliday mediabistro.com
Hill Holliday cutting Boston staff Bizjournals.com
all 9 news articles


World Baseball Classic(TM) Selects Grey New York for Advertising ...
PR Newswire (press release), NY - 6 hours ago
8 /PRNewswire/ -- World Baseball Classic, Inc. has awarded Grey New York the advertising assignment in support of its premier international baseball ...
World Classic Baseball Drafts Grey Adweek
all 16 news articles


CanMag

Super Bowl 3-D Advertising
Right TV, CA - 12 hours ago
Aliens commercials will give a 90 second preview of the new movie and is “perhaps the biggest media-advertising event in history. ...
Super Bowl XLIII in 3-D Examiner.com
No 3D Monsters promo for Canada Toronto Sun
DreamWorks, Pepsi Offer 3-D Glasses for Super Bowl Ads Home Media Magazine
Artistdirect.com - Detroit Free Press
all 383 news articles


Campbell Appoints Maureen Linder Vice President Global Advertising ...
WELT ONLINE, Germany - 20 hours ago
Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) today announced the appointment of Maureen Linder as Vice President of Global Advertising and Design. ...


Up in Smoke: Tobacco Advertising
MSNBC - 20 hours ago
By Kyle Reyes In 1998, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company was one of many that agreed to a settlement, essentially removing its creative marketing arm. ...

Advertising - Google News

home | site map | Tele88.co.uk | Soscili.com | UltimateWealthCorner.com | JustDial.tk | bennyong.com
© 2006 Velocity Spark Network. Hosted by Hostonfire.com