Development of messaging, the strategic communicators way

Hello class (and others) and welcome once again to my media is on the rise blog. This week I will be discussing the development and placement of messaging, the strategic communicators way. First of all, in order to have a successful and compelling message is having a focused communications plan. A successful strategic message will define and prioritize the audiences. Let your audience know who will receive the messages and focus on the common ground between them. Identify where key audiences are coming from by gathering their information needs so your messages can influence and drive appropriate action. Agree on having a clear and compelling message about the topic. This way you are not confusing the audience that you are trying to target. Connect with your audience by letting them in and letting them know what is important to you. By delivering your messages with confidence they will hit their mark and you can continue to improve your platform and master your delivery. In this weeks TED video, Morgan Spurlock talked about going to all of these different brands and trying to get them to come on board for his film that would focus on brand marketing. He didn't just want their brand in the movie he also wanted them to finance the film. Alot of the brands turned him down because either they didn't understand the concept, didn't know how receptive people were going to be about the film, or didn't want to spend the money. One guy said up front that he thinks that most of the responses would be no. Another pretended to be interested until the camera was turned off. I think it was up to 500 companies that said no because they would have no control of the final product. The point is that Morgan Spurlock remained persistent and eventually was able to get 17 brands to come on board. The film ended up premiering at the Sundance Film Festival and it gained alot of momentum. I bet those companies that said no are wishing they had been apart of the project now.

Transparency

Another thing that Morgan Spurlock mentioned in the video was transparency and I gonna talk about that for a little bit. Well first of all what does transparency mean? Transparency implies openness, communication and accountability. Transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed. The thing is people talk about transparency all the time whether it be politicians, CEO's, or the president but when it is actually time to be transparent people become scared. Becoming transparent is unpredictable and people think that being transparent will show something that they don't want to be seen. Transparency should be embraced though. A little honesty can go a long way especially today. People don't like being lied to and things being kept a secret because when it does come out it be alot worse then if you had been upfront from the start.

Repeating messages

  

I see messages get repeated all the time whether it be advertisements online through social media, television, newspapers etc. but what happens over time and what is the attitude toward messages that are repeated over time. When a message is repeated a moderate number of times the attitude change can be favorable. With more exposure such as a certain song in rotation everyday,a movie trailer playing during every commercial break or an advertisement popping up in your Facebook news feed, that gain is lost. With too frequent exposure people become bored or feel their freedom is threatened and react by generating negative thoughts. Attitude change is related to position and frequency of exposure. Having a moderate repetition condition can have a more favorable attitude towards that exposure.

Product Placement

Product placement stands out as a marketing strategy because it is the most direct attempt to derive commercial benefit from the context and environment within which the product is displayed or used. Product displacement is used to accommodate sponsors that refuse to allow their products to be used in non-flattering settings.

 

Today's marketers are looking for alternative approaches to communicate with their target population. I remember back when the Nintendo Wii launched in 2006 and from then until about 2009 they had a campaign called the Wii would like to play campaign. These commercials were so creative in that in had to Nintendo executives driving around going to peoples houses and knocking on their door telling them Wii would like to play. They would then play the Wii console together whether it being Wii sports, Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda etc. Everyone instantly understood what the Wii console was about and was a big reason why it ended up being the best selling console of the last console generation (Wii, Xbox360, Playstation 3) The campaign would go on to win the 2008 Effie Award for New Product or Service. That was a great way in my opinion of product placement.

Product placement is not a new promotional tool. As early as the 1800s product placement has occurred. Product placement has a wide range of promotional applications. Researchers have examined the effectiveness of product placement with respect to brand recall and recognition and audience attitudes.

 

Films have been the most frequently studied vehicles for product placement. Furious 7 came out earlier this month and I've seen some people complaining about Corona beer being everywhere in the movie. The Avengers: Age of Ultron is coming out May 1st. It is the sequel to the Marvel's The Avengers that was released in 2012. It is expected to be the biggest movie of the summer and will probably beat the first movie as the third all time highest grossing movie. I can only imagine how much product placement will be in this movie seeing as how the first had alot from Acura. Prominent placements achieve high awareness, but result in negative consumer attitudes and thus low purchase intention whereas the effects of subtle placements are typically opposite which is what I mentioned earlier about not giving consumers so much of your product that you end up hating it. All in all, the right amount of product placement can go along way of your product being a success.