Today we had a guest speaker talk about the interaction of mass communication and interpersonal communication. It’s a hot topic in communication research right now. It should be.
Media effects are difficult to assess. Talking is one reason why. We’ve always known that.
From the earliest communication research, we’ve known some people are more influenced when others learn from the media and tell them.
Conversations.
If I watch an ad on television, it is most likely to softly wash over my brain like the unending waves of the ocean. A few seconds after it arrives, there is no trace it ever existed.
However, if for some reason it piques my interest enough to mention it to you — at the water cooler or on Twitter, it has the chance to make a real impact.
That’s the beauty of social media. It’s all about conversations.
I don’t want ads on my Twitter, but I like to know what you buy and do. I want to know when Chris Brogan has a good experience at Applebee’s.
It works both ways. It’s not just talking about an ad we saw. Talk about the good brands in your life. I’ll hear it. And then when their ad comes on TV, I’ll notice.
Communication and campaigns. A recriprocal chain of noticing what brands say.
And this chain only works when brands respect their consumers, too. If you deliver poor service or poor quality, those are conversations are ones you don’t want to have.
What brands are you talking about? Tell us in a comment.
I'm a cognitive scientist and communication scholar who manages a psychophysiology lab at Texas Tech. I teach courses about the cognitive processing of media messages and research methods.
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I was talking a little about Audi. http://www.timlaubacher.com/?p=127
I’m battling a monster headache tonight, but I felt the need to comment since you “tweeted” at me. I suppose I was talking about Tylenol.
The monster headache lasted all night? Which med works best for you? Tylenol for my chronic daily headaches.
I like Audi. As long as they’re under warranty. Otherwise, repairs kill you!
I don’t get headaches very often, but when I do, I don’t have much luck with any meds. Or I just don’t trust them, or something.
I think I just stay clear of Advil. I may have had a bad reaction to it once.
Lucky you! Being allergic most to cats — and having a cat, I have headaches every day.
This morning I’m all about Krispy Kreme. Not for their product, but for their services. Excalibur wants $15/day for internet access. For $2.50 I get a good cup of coffee and free wireless at the Kreme. I found out about it from word of mouth from others at the NATPE convention.
Just had another customer over my shoulder ask if wireless was free here. I paid it forward. Remember, SERVICE as much as product is what will get companies, businesses, employees, individuals, and friends through these tough times.
The Audioprof’s last blog post..Favorite of ALL TIME!?!–not that there’s anything wrong with that
Rob – Great points. If any readers here are business travelers, they will know how conference hotels abuse you for Wi-Fi. Part of the reason I am willing to pay for the BlackBerry. I am free of conference hotel tyranny.
Every night after my Wednesday night grad class, I see the Krispy Kreme on the side of the highway with the “Hot” light on. Even at 9:15 p.m., there are always cars in the drive through … one time there were 5 cars.
Wi-fi is becoming an essential. Too bad Hiltons, Hyatts, etc. don’t get it.
One of the brands you prompted me to remember is Allerpet/c for those people allergic to cats. After having our cat for five years, we discovered our younger son’s allergy problems included her. His allergic gave us a brochure with products from this company and it greatly reduced the cat’s effect on him. This product is a liquid that you place on a cloth and rub it on a cat as you pet the cat. It reduces the cat’s dander greatly, which is the main cause of allergic reactions to cats. If you look for it on the Internet, you can find out how to order it. It reduced the amount of headaches and other allergy related problems my son had once we started using this product.
My husband and I were discussing grocery stores Sunday night and the differences between them. We both said the same things about stores such as: I mentioned Tom Thumb and he said: “Their baggers know how to do their job right versus Kroger’s baggers who just throw everything in bags together and most don’t even double the plastic bags for heavy items.” We both decided the best overall service was with HEB’s Central Market and Whole Foods. Their food is high quality and their service, baggers included, is topnotch! So, we both are walking ads for Central Market, Whole Foods and Tom Thumb in the DFW area.
Kim — Easier to get rid of the cat.
The best grocery store in the world is Wegman’s. If you have every been to one, then you will know it is the gold standard. I cannot even describe it. Layers upon layers of awesomeness.
Wish we had more choices in Lubbock. United’s Market Street is tops here.
Oh, no–that cat needs you whether it admits it or not! I have not heard of Wegman’s–Where is that chain? I like awesome stores!
I am a walking ad for Brighton collectibles. I spent a little time this morning organizing Brighton jewelry and placing keys on a new Brighton key chain. I really like the high quality of their jewelry, key chains and luggage. I am also a huge fan of Estee Lauder skin care and cosmetics–I think about those products every morning and night as I use them. I tell my students to count the amount of brands they are exposed to every day–because they don’t believe me that it averages in the hundreds! They are amazed when they take the time to count all the brands they are exposed to daily. I can count 40 just in my kitchen and living room without opening the pantry.
Wegman’s is in the Northeast. http://www.wegmans.com
Just asked wife to describe it, she said, “French heaven on earth.”
The bakery, so many gourmet items. I think they had an olive bar. Child care. An excellent Halloween program. It was paradise in Ithaca. The fancy side of Wegman’s is as big as most grocery stores.
Talking about ASDA (UK supermarket chain, owned by Wallmart for American readers) – their online grocery shopping system failed us BIG TIME today. If you add to an already made (and paid for) order and let the session time out before confirming the extra items (say because your baby needs attention?), it simply cancels the entire order!! But even worse, it doesn’t even tell you its done it – we only discovered it when we went to add a few more items several hours later!!!! Now we have no order, and we’ve lost our delivery slot and the next available one is too late as the shopping is to feed our family who are coming to stay for the weekend. Their customer services can’t do anything about it, or provide any compensation, and just don’t give a f**k. Well, we don’t give a f**k about you either ASDA…
Thanks for the insight, Chris. Experiences such as this reinforce why the customer is always king.
One bad experience, and they may never get you back. And you complain online where other people will see it.
But how I would LOVE to have such a service available here.
I was going to post yesterday, but the problem was I couldn’t remember the name of the brand, only the box that it came in. I am talking about toothpaste, and Crest Toothpaste to be exact. But the problem was, I couldn’t remember if it was Crest or Colgate I use. I have been buying the same brand for as long as I could remember. Mint Gel. I could draw the box, but not name the brand. This got me thinking about how important branding is to a product. Maybe it isn’t in the name or catchy slogan as much as it is in a consistent look that the consumer identifies.
Hey, Mike!
The logo is everything. When we documents physiological responses to brands, we showed them the logos. Powerful physiological responses.
Just look at the logo quiz. It’s amazing how many we remember.
Packaging is a huge part of advertising. The Coca-Cola wavy link, the Nike swoosh, the Golden Arches.
Once driving through Missouri on I-44. My then three-year-old said, “There’s a Sam’s Club.” She couldn’t read super early, but she knew that logo even without reading the words.
Imprints on our brains, man.
You are so right about the importance of logos! My oldest son was about 19 months old and anytime he saw a BK or McDonald’s he’d yell–want Burger King or want McDonald’s. He recognized logos very eary–
Kim — The kids are such Pavlovian learners. Dreams for advertisers but not for parents.
See, to me this is exactly why we don’t need endorsement ads or statements – word-of-mouth from respected peers and friends is what I’ll listen to.
Your brand works for me, I’ll tell people. Same goes for if it doesn’t. And no amount of advertising will change my mind on that (I’m a stubborn bugger!)
Danny Brown’s last blog post..Free Subscriptions Cost Money Too
Danny, you’ll hear me say this a lot, but the early media research suggested that the media only influence about 8% of the people. But those people influence the you-know-what out of their friends.
So, we won’t get you. But your friends will. So we’ve gotta keep advertising to them. You are just collateral damage.