ANTHI BALOUKESERLIS

Review of

Creative Process

&

Group Communic

ationIntroductionCommunication, is “the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing or using some other medium”. (Oxford Dictionary) However, in regards to marketing, communication is the alpha and omega of determining success.

In our epoch, with technology enabling the ‘exchange’ of information, marketers must pay close attention to detail in every aspect of communicating. This involves thorough research in order to select the most suitable source to convey the message and the most appropriate channels to make sure the receiver ‘gets the right message’.

In this review, the focus is on integrated marketing communications (IMC), which is; the management process of integrating all marketing communications (MC) activities across relevant audience points to achieve greater brand cohesion. (Pickton, D & Broderick, A, 2005, p 26)

Some of the theories for successful communication will be analysed in view of shedding light on how the various MC activities are integrated. This includes: The marketing communications model, the hierarchy of effects model, Belbin’s team role model and message strategies.

Two group activities were carried out; one involved generating ideas based on an image and the other involved producing an image based on a slogan. Based on the theories in this review, I will discuss how these activities were carried out and what led to our final production.

To sum up the review, I will discuss my reflection upon what I have learnt and how to successfully integrate MC activities so as to achieve optimal results.

STAGE 1 – COLLABORATION

The decision on who would participate in this project was rather simple. I wanted to have a range of personalities and ages. I went to my friends’ house (Bob and Jo) along with my daughter.

The group consisted of four members, including myself. Bob, 39 years old, is a Market Analyst who works for the ANZ bank. Jo, 43 years old, is a Project Manager who works for a private company in Richmond, specializing in the commercial building industry. Georgie (my daughter), 18 years old, is a yr 12 Art student at Rosehill Secondary College and of course myself, 43 years old who is an ex-English teacher and current student.

Thinking outside the box

The first task involved listing possible uses for a particular item. I was given a picture of jelly beans. The group had to brainstorm ideas on what jelly beans could be used for. This exercise took approximately 10 minutes as we felt the need to justify our ideas at certain points during the procedure.

A picture is worth a thousand words

The second task involved communicating the meaning of an assigned slogan by producing one image to capture the meaning as best as we could. I emphasised

that we were not allowed to use any letters, numbers or symbols on a keypad so that we could focus on just a single image. The assigned slogan was ‘it’s worth the wait’. It took us about 15 minutes before actually starting to draw an image.

STAGE 2 – COMMUNICATION ANALYSIS

Effective communication

The communication process is based on eight components:

The sender/source and the receiver/audience (major participants)The channel/transmission device and the message (communication tools)Encoding, decoding and feedback (functions and processes)Noise (interfering extraneous factors)

Depending on the message, the source must be chosen carefully. The basic source attributes are: credibility, attractiveness and power. For example, if a message is aimed at teenagers or young adults, then an effective source would be an attractive, young celebrity whom they (teenagers) could identify with. The source is responsible for encoding communication. This involves translating the message into words or images by putting information into symbolic form. For example, using an image of balloons would convey a sense of fun, celebration or party. In addition, the method of transmitting the communication from source to receiver is important. For instance, it would be pointless trying to communicate a message to teenagers via newspaper since teenagers rarely read newspapers.

The choice of the receiver is a challenge since the process of decoding and encoding the message must match in order for the communication to be effective. The main approaches to targeting a receiver are: demographic, socio-cultural, geographical and behavioural. For example, it would be ideal to take a behavioural approach when marketing a fitness centre.

One of the most important processes is feedback. This involves the receiver responding to the message being communicated. The source uses feedback to determine the success of communication. Depending on the feedback, the source will adjust the message so as to improve it.

Noise, in regards to communication, is any extraneous factor that interferes with the message. For example, distortion on the radio or losing Wi-Fi signals when viewing the web.

Semiotics, which studies the nature of meaning in all forms of communication, is a major attribute in marketing. Semiotics plays a vital role in decoding a massage. Consequently, when marketers produce an image to position their product, they must consider how the receiver will interpret it. One contributing factor to successfully conveying the meaning of a message would be to set aside one’s Self-reference criterion (SRC). This is when one subconsciously responds to a situation which reflects on his or her own values and beliefs. Some messages may be offensive due to SRC and to avoid failures, cultural differences must be taken into account. For example, an ‘ok’ sign in Australia (formed with the thumb and forefinger) is appropriate for a tradesman to advertise his services, however in Spain, it one of the most obscene gestures and the meaning of the message would be totally misinterpreted. (Catoera et al. 2012)

Attitudes and Persuasion

In any type of communication, the objective is to inform, convince or persuade the receiver. This can be achieved by using message strategies such as cognitive, affective or conative.

The cognitive strategy uses logic to influence the receiver’s beliefs and knowledge. This could be in a generic form – where the source does not make any attempt to differentiate itself from competitors, pre-emptive form – where the source makes a generic claim with an assertion of superiority, the hyperbole – where the source makes an untestable claim based on some attribute or benefit, the unique selling proposition – where the source distinctly differentiates itself by making a claim based on its uniqueness and lastly, the comparative – where the source makes a claim of superiority based on a comparison to its competitors. For example, the ‘crimsafe’ ad (on the radio) claims that if your security products are not ‘crimsafe’ then you are not protected from criminals.

The Affective strategy invokes feelings or emotions to increase the likeability of a product. This could be in an emotional form – where the source aims to reach the consumer through emotions. Emotions can be positive or negative; joy, excitement, compassion or fear, guilt, disgust and regret. For instance, a pharmaceutical company might advertise an ointment for cold sores by projecting an image of a hideous, inflamed sore on a person’s lip, creating a feeling of disgust. Another form could be resonance – where the source relates itself to life experiences. For example, most insurance companies show instances of accidents to market their products.

The conative strategy is aimed to cause a type of action or response. It could be an action inducing form – where the source calls the receiver to respond to its product during or after use, or promotional support – where the source calls the receiver to take immediate action. For example, handing out free samples of a product in a shopping mall would call for customers to accept and try the product or reject it.

The method of persuasion is interdependent on the message being conveyed and the right audience. For example there would be no point in trying to persuade an Indian to buy a meat pie since most Indians do not eat beef.

Group influences and rolesICM involves bringing together all the marketing communications activities. Therefore, it is fair to conclude that more than one person is involved.

According to Belbin, successful management teams depend on certain roles. The roles are as follows:

Role CharacteristicsShaper Highly motivated, like to challenge lead and push others,

headstrong, thrive on pressure and generate actionPlant Highly creative, introverted, autonomous, react strongly to

criticism, great for innovating and solving complex problemsCo-ordinator

Mature, trusting, confident, calm, ability to pull a group together and delegate, spots new talent, great as team leaders

Monitor Evaluator

Serious minded, prudent, cynical, slow deciders, critical thinkers, take into account all factors to make judgements, good analysts

Resource investigator

Natural negotiators, great communication skills, resourceful, inquisitive, ready to see possibilities of anything new

Implementer

Well organised, practical, reliable, hardworking, self-disciplined, will carry out necessary task regardless of feelings

Team worker

Perceptive, diplomatic, flexible, adaptive, good listeners, avoid conflict, supportive, encourages contribution from team members

Completer Finisher

Reluctant to delegate, dislike carelessness, pay attention to detail, follow through tasks, like to be accurate and focused

Specialist Pride themselves on having technical skills and knowledge, priorities are to maintain professional standards, very committed, are good at making decisions involving in-depth expertise.

R Meredith Belbin, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail (Butterworth Heinemann, 2nd ed, 2004)

In IMC, due to the nature of the task, group work is essential for success. Each member has a certain role which contributes to the group as whole.

The creative process

Creativity involves producing something new and a ‘process’ involves steps. Hence the creative process is simply defining the steps taken to produce something new.

Initially, the first step in a creative process is to generate ideas. According to Kotler (2008) some techniques used to achieve this are: Attribute listing – where people list the major attributes of an existing product and then modify the each attribute in search of a new product.Forced relationships – where several objects are considered in relation to each other.Problem/need identification – where consumers are asked about needs, problems and ideas.Brainstorming – where a group is given a specific topic (related to the problem/need) and allowed to suggest any idea, sensible or silly.Synectics – where a group is given a broad topic (related to the problem/need) and general ideas are generated initially then once the group has ‘run out of’ ideas the topic is more specified and more ideas are generated.

Another step in the creative process is producing a creative brief. This is basically a statement of intentions outlining the message theme to be marketed as well as other pertinent information. ( Clow, K & Baack, D, 2007 p 219)

A creative design is also mandatory in the creative process. There are theoretical frameworks such as: the means-end theory, the hierarchy of effects theory and the verbal or visual elements. In this review I will focus on the hierarchy of effects; Awareness – Knowledge – Liking – Preference – Conviction – Actual purchase. ( Clow, K & Baack, D, 2007 p 204)

All the steps in the creative process play a vital role in getting the message across.

STAGE 3 – RESULTSExercise 1 – List all the possible uses for jelly beans

(The creative process)When carrying out this activity, the techniques used for generating ideas was attribute listing, brainstorming and synectics. (Kotler P, 2007 )I addressed the group with a picture and said, ’we have to list all the possible uses for jelly beans’. The immediate response was to list the uses already known such as: to eat, lick, for art and as a reward. Then the brainstorming technique came into effect after I suggested a possible use could be to decorate. The group started coming with ideas that are not known to us, no one was criticising or evaluating and we all welcomed every idea. At this stage, some of the ideas mentioned were: for counting, to teach colours and as a weapon. After we ran out of ideas, I mentioned that the uses did not have to make sense just be possible – synectics. That’s when most of the ideas came flowing through.

(Group influences and roles)Initially, the roles in the group were not defined. I was the coordinator and the shaper. I pulled the group together and was highly motivated. Georgie was the plant and team worker, introverted and a good listener. Jo was the monitor, making shrewd judgements and Bob was the Completer and specialist, trying to make sense of things and showing his professionalism. However, during the process the roles shifted. Jo became the coordinator, the shaper and the resource investigator. She kept the group motivated and came up with the most ideas.

(Attitudes and persuasion)The message strategies used in exercise 1 were initially cognitive. We all listed the possible uses for jelly beans using logic and knowledge. Then Jo used the affective strategy, trying to persuade us that jelly beans can be used as toe separators and as ear plugs. Her tone of voice and body language made us all excited about this use that no one else thought of. In the hierarchy of effects, the

message had shifted from awareness and knowledge to liking and even preference.

(Effective communication)Jo and Georgie, both having studied art, were credible sources. Bob and I trusted that the ideas they came up with were due to their knowledge in creativity. Jo encoded the message, by moving around and showing us what she meant. This resulted in us in decoding the message correctly and adopting the idea.

This is the list we came up with, in alphabetical order.Exercise 1 - Possible uses for jelly beans

Jelly beans can be used: As a cigarette substitute As a curtain As a decoration As a flavour additive As a fly repellent As a gift As a gravel replacement As a mixer for alcoholic beverages As a reward/incentive As a weapon As an aroma As beads on an abacus As buttons As earplugs As jewellery As medicine (diabetes) As toe separators As weights For bouncing To block a bleeding nose To count To eat To exercise mouth To fill in time To illustrate To level an uneven table To lick To lure To make a cocktail

To make a collage or a picture To manipulate To teach colours

Exercise 2 – Produce an image which captures the meaning of ‘it’s worth the wait’

(Group Influences and roles)By the time we got to the second exercise, our roles in the team were more defined. Jo was the Coordinator and shaper. She delegated and decided that Georgie should draw the image and influenced the whole group on what the final product should be. For example, we started off by suggesting a cue of people waiting for an ice-cream. Then we went on to anything relating to a cue of people when Jo suddenly shouted ‘a chastity belt’. I’m not sure if it’s the way she said it or the actual idea that was convincing, but we all got very excited.

(Attitudes and persuasion)The message strategies used in activity 2 were affective. The resonance approach was used. The image of a chastity belt conveyed a message that we could all relate to from past experience. Virginity, in most societies, is considered sacred and losing it is something quite personal but worth waiting for. We subconsciously used sex to appeal to our audience as it has a powerful effect when used appropriately. However, as we all thought it was a bit too serious, we added the bolt cutters. Without consciously meaning too, the message became more memorable. Contradicting the meaning, ‘it’s worth the wait, but it’s so good that if you can’t wait, we’ll find a way around it’.

(The creative process)Brainstorming was the technique used in this activity. We all thought out aloud and hoped one of our ideas would be adopted. Every idea sparked off other ideas until we decided on the final image. In the hierarchy of effects we were funnelled into the point of conviction. In actually designing the message, we used dramatization where we presented a problem and a solution using a high level of suspense.

(Effective communication)The source we used to communicate the message was affective. A chastity belt on a youthful body is something that most people can identify with. We were

most careful about what to include and omit. The semiotics we decided on including, were: hearts to depict love, a youthful body to illustrate innocence,bolt cutters to depict evil and of course the chastity belt to depict forbidden temptation. We were going to include a cue of young men but thought it might be offensive to males and the lesbian/gay audience. We also decided not to draw a head as it would limit the message and imagination.

This is the image we produced.

Exercise 2 - An image which captures the meaning of ‘it’s worth the wait’.

Conclusion

I was fascinated at how the theories I had read in the literature linked to the activities we carried out. Especially at how the techniques used to generate ideas determined the message we aimed to communicate.

The importance of integrating all the marketing activities became noticeable as the group drew upon a decision. The fact that we collaborated and completed the task effectively was due to the maturity of the group members and collective team work.

I have learnt that in order to succeed in IMC all aspects of marketing must be taken into account and that they are all interdependent.

References

R Meredith Belbin, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail (Butterworth Heinemann, 2nd ed, 2004) viewed 22 April 2014http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.18832!/file/8-Horn-Team-roles-handout.pdf

Catoera, P.R, Sullivan Mort, G, Weerawardena, J, D’Souza, C, Taghian, M, Graham, J,L, 2012, International Marketing, 2nd Edn, McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd, North Ryde, NSW.

https://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/~moorman/GeneralMills/Section3/Section3Documents/Synectics-Kotler.pdf

1. Neil Kotler and Philip Kotler, Museum Strategy and Marketing: Designing Missions, Building Audiences, Generating Revenue and Resources, Jossey Bass, 2008.