20 communication theories that planners must know in 2020

Introduction丨The core of advertising is communication

The core of advertising "commercial advertising" is to spread a message , change or reinforce people's views from a commercial dimension, and thus prompt people to take certain actions .

As a person who majored in communication , I would like to share with you some communication theories involved in the strategy formulation and implementation process of Party A and Party B in the past.

The mass media cannot determine people's specific views on a certain event, but they can influence people's attention to specific facts and opinions by setting relevant topics, that is, by focusing on reporting related events and agendas.

For example, the Weibo hot search list , is it because the list is created because more people search, or is it because of the list that more people search? The seemingly inexplicable Rashomon is actually the lifeblood of business.

As the hot search channel of the platform, the hot search list shows users which information is currently the most searched and most concerned topic by users, thereby influencing the users' own agenda setting, that is, what information is currently important and should attract attention .

Alibaba's Double 11, which has been held for 11 years, is a classic example. On this day, young people across the country are excited, and the question they often ask and discuss is "What are you going to buy on Double 11 this year?" The media and businesses promoted the product extensively, and consumers went on a shopping spree. If the Spring Festival is the biggest festival for Chinese people to get together, then Double 11 is the biggest pilgrimage ritual for young people to shop .

Agenda setting also has another level of extension. For example, the recent “PR withdrawal” incident of a certain large company is a reverse agenda setting , that is, by withdrawing the hot search list, it unilaterally believes that the event can be eliminated from the user’s agenda setting.

The continuous commercialization of the media has caused the public agenda attributes that it should have been endowed with to gradually transform into commercial agenda setting . But at the same time, there is still the phenomenon of individuals influencing the public agenda, and both sides are in a relationship of mutual game .

Theoretical attributes: theoretical explanations of social psychological phenomena

Theoretical source: 1974 | German female sociologist Noelle Neumann | A paper published in the Journal of Communication

People are afraid of having their opinions isolated , so when they disagree with the majority, they choose to remain silent , which makes the other side more powerful. This cycle continues, with the number of silent people gradually decreasing and the dominant opinion gradually rising, thus causing extreme polarization .

In a discussion of an event, if one opinion prevails and those who hold different opinions are insulted and attacked , those who originally held different opinions will remain silent . People who are hesitant will tend to lean towards the prevailing opinion.

Zhao Gao's "calling a deer a horse" is a typical example. When you see people succumbing to Zhao Gao's tyranny, you will weigh whether to say it is a deer and be framed based on facts, or to say it is a horse and seek temporary preservation. Over time, more and more people called a deer a horse, and fewer and fewer people kept calling it a deer.

Theoretical attributes: Mass communication and class differentiation theory in information society

Theoretical source: 1970 | American scholar Tichenor et al. | PJ Tichenor, "Mass Communication and Differential Growth in Knowledge", Public Opinion Quarterly, Summer, 1970, pp.158-170.

That is, the knowledge gap . Since people with higher socioeconomic status can usually obtain information faster than those with lower socioeconomic status, the more information the mass media transmits, the more the knowledge gap between the two tends to widen.

Although the Internet claims to equalize information, people with higher knowledge reserves and better social relationships are better able to judge and collect high-quality information , so they have priority at the information level. At the same time, as more knowledge is accumulated, the interpretation of things becomes more thorough .

In general, in terms of the degree of exposure to information and the ability to interpret information , people with more knowledge form a double knowledge gap compared to ordinary people.

For example, the "class reunion" phenomenon that everyone often discusses: why are those classmates who were once so stupid doing so well, while some are even standing still? I have found that there are often some phenomena: some friends enter famous companies after graduation and meet many capable and motivated people. In such a group, they dare not slack off, but continue to improve their own abilities and expand their network. Over time, the degree of understanding of social information and trends has become different, and as a result, a large gap in ability has opened up between us and our former classmates.

Attribute: The role of communication organizations in the information production process

Source: 1947 | Kurt Lewin | "Channels of Group Life"

Gatekeepers are individuals or organizations that screen and process disseminated information . Only information that meets certain standards can enter the communication channels.

The main reasons for the existence of "gatekeeping behavior" include the following three aspects: (1) The diversity of information : information is endless, and its properties and functions vary greatly - filtering and screening are needed; (2) The diversity of communicators : the purposes of communicators are different - choose information that meets the purpose; (3) The heterogeneity of audiences : the needs of audiences are different - choose different information to meet different needs.

This theory is best explained by the "Great Leap Forward" . News such as "10,000 kilograms per mu" and "people standing on rice straw" are what the media gatekeepers want you to see. For example, some live broadcast data are exaggerated and selectively reported in order to achieve the goal of meeting KPI.

Psychological knowledge; sociological knowledge

Source: American social psychologist GH Mead

The subjective self is the self that already exists in reality, and the objective self is the self that meets social expectations . Communication creates a process from the subjective self to the objective self.

Communication is the process of customizing the image of the objective self according to its own purpose, so that consumers psychologically identify with the process of moving from subjective self A to objective self B. The way of product placement is that only by possessing it can one form the client self that society expects.

For example, many boys are struggling between their own "poor" self and the "rich" objective self required by their mother-in-law. And the contradiction between the "incapable" self and the "kneeling and licking" self in the workplace.

Attribute: Early strong effect theory of news media communication effects

Source: Popular in the 1920s-1940s | Schramm

This theory holds that in the process of news dissemination, the communicator is active while the audience is passive . When the communicator fires the "information bullet", the recipient will be hit and fall down, and the communication effect is direct and obvious.

The magic bullet theory is applicable to specific occasions , such as war, disaster, difficulties and other extremely harsh environments. Because people are in a situation threatened by the environment , communication can produce more extreme effects . Because at this time, people's mental state is extremely fragile and unstable. When people are in a neurotic state, they tend to believe what they want to believe .

In addition to the influence of the overall society and individual external environment, it is also related to the authority of the communication media (that is, the credibility of the information source) and the quality characteristics of the audience (that is, whether they can distinguish the authenticity of the information).

For example, the rush to save salt by Chinese people due to the nuclear radiation in Japan . Due to the secondary processing of information by some unscrupulous media, people were worried that salt would be in short supply, which led to the hoarding of salt. Because disasters may affect them, people become neurotic and are therefore more likely to be hit by bullets fired by the medium.

Attribute: The impact of online information on the audience

Source: Cath Sunstein, Professor of Harvard Law School | "Information Utopia"

The information cocoon appears in the form of a “personal daily report” . With the dramatic increase in the amount of social information and the development of network algorithm technology, the algorithm will push customized information based on the content you are interested in, thereby tailoring a "personal daily report" based on your reading interests.

In today's manifestation, it is mainly the push of information content through information flow . When an individual is confined to an information environment constructed by his or her own interests, his or her information acquisition also becomes procedural and stereotyped , replacing the global perspective with the one-sided perspective of personal needs, thus confining his or her vision to the cocoon of his or her own creation.

So, is this really the algorithm? When thinking about technological development and iteration, there is an original underlying thinking logic, which is business value . The purpose of the algorithm is to improve user retention while creating a relatively comfortable cocoon for you. Just like when you like a song and set it to loop, you will get bored of it after a while. In order to prevent you from getting bored with it, your information needs will be appropriately overflowed so that you will continue to use it.

If you often watch silly videos on TikTok , you will find that the system may think that you are an silly person and will often push some very funny videos to you. This is the "algorithm feeding" phenomenon in the Internet era. But after a while, you'll also see some highbrow videos, which are a way to test the algorithm's interest in some appropriate spillover . Test whether you are a "high-level" person. If you are, continue feeding him. If not, change the food until you like it.

Attribute: Weak social ties

Source: 1967 | Stanley Milgram, Professor of Psychology at Harvard University

No matter who you want to meet , you need to go through at most 6 people , such as Jack Ma and Pony Ma. Social relationships have the connections of weak ties , but the logic of strong ties , because you only need 5 people to get to know anyone.

This theory is an exhaustive method and is the most ideal state . For example, you can reach anyone through 5 people, but it is basically impossible for the 5 people in the middle to contact all your friends.

To give an example, I play King of Glory, and I have a good friend who is number one in the country. Maybe through my friend’s circle of domestic players, I can get to know Shen Teng who plays Ahn’Qiraj, or even Ma Huateng of Tencent.

Attribute: A phenomenon in social psychology

Source: Lippmann | Public Opinion

Also known as stereotype , it refers to the fixed and simplified ideas and impressions that people hold about specific things. This idea or impression is usually accompanied by a value judgment and feelings of likes and dislikes about that thing. Stereotypes can provide people with a simple reference standard for judging things, but they also hinder people's acceptance of new things.

Stereotypes have two effects: (1) Positive effect : judging a certain type of person within the scope of public cognition and drawing conclusions based on inherent cognition simplifies the cognitive process ; (2) Negative effect : making universal conclusions based on limited experience and inductive reasoning can easily lead to preconceived ideas and generalizations .

There are too many such phenomena. For example, do you all think that programmers wearing plaid shirts, nouveau riche driving Land Rover, and super VIPs in bathing centers driving Cadillacs...

Attribute: How personal information is processed

Source: Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget

The so-called schema refers to the basic pattern of human cognitive behavior , or mental structure, cognitive structure or cognitive guidance structure. When we are exposed to new information/new things, encounter a new event, or enter a new place, our past relevant experience and knowledge will guide us to quickly recognize, reason and judge the new situation, and respond with attitude or behavior in a timely manner.

As a pre-stored cognitive structure in our brain, the schema affects the entire process and results of information processing for each of us. The schema is the result of repeated past experiences and the formation of cognition.

In the market environment, there are only two types of products corresponding to consumer templates. (1) Old cognition corresponds to old categories , that is, the product selling points in existing categories meet consumers' inherent cognition, and there is no need to do too much market education for consumers; (2) Old cognition corresponds to new categories , that is, creating new categories to meet consumers' old cognition, which is often referred to as positioning.

For example, Chinese people often talk about the phenomenon of getting "inflamed". Basically, as long as you have a small problem, they will think it is caused by getting "inflamed". Therefore, Wanglaoji defined its slogan as "If you are afraid of getting a sore throat, drink Wanglaoji."

Attributes: Mass Communication Persuasion Skills

Source: Hovland | "Communication and Persuasion"

Use the "alarm bell" method to arouse people's crisis and tension, and promote changes in their attitudes and behaviors in a specific direction. Sounding the alarm can conflictingly draw people's attention and even action. But an excessive approach can backfire.

The ultimate goal of creating a sense of fear is to transform it into action , by creating a moderate tension effect to cause changes in the attitude and behavior of the person being persuaded.

This reminds me of the slogan during the epidemic that encouraged people to wear masks: "Mask or ventilator, you choose one of the two", which actually applied this theory.

Attributes: Cognitive Theory

Source: Fiske, Taylor

The foreshadowing effect describes the influence that previous context has on the interpretation of new information . The public has many criteria for evaluating a phenomenon, but they often choose only one or two criteria. Therefore, before the public makes an evaluation, as long as the communicator continues to reinforce a certain standard or attribute , it can divert the public's attention and set a starting point for the public to think about the problem, that is, to lay the groundwork for opinions before making judgments.

For example, if your colleague recommends a book to you, you may not pay attention to it at the time. But when you hear more friends or see others recommend it in articles, you are very likely to actually read the book. This is also the core essence of communication, repeat, repeat and repeat again.

For example, the brainwashing message of Melatonin, “I won’t accept any gifts this year, and if I do, accept Melatonin,” keeps repeating in your mind. Over time, Melatonin will pop up when you want to give a gift.

Attribute: Mass Communication

Source: British Cultural Studies School Hall

Information content is expressed through certain codes (text, images, sounds, etc.). The communicator encodes the information in a specific form, and the receiver interprets the received code. The communicator customizes the coding according to his or her own purpose, and the recipient will interpret the information in his or her own way due to his or her own circumstances, such as social status, cultural background, identity role, thoughts and emotions.

Advertising communication is a process of encoding and decoding. It is based on the core elements of communication and carries out targeted encoding according to consumer portraits, making it easy for consumers to decode.

For example, when a straight man speaks sweet words, although he is expressing love, the other person may be speechless in response. For example, if a girl says that her hands and feet feel cold, the boy will search on Baidu and finally reply, "Eat more ginseng." You intended to answer in a warm and caring way, but when the other party decoded it, they thought you were straight.

Attribute: Mass Communication Effect

Source: 1940s-1960s | Lazarsfeld, Katz, Klapper

Communication is a two-way interactive process, and the audience does not interpret according to the specific route set by the communicator. Audiences have different characteristics and differences . They will selectively access, absorb and interpret the content of the media based on their own needs and views, and will not accept all the information disseminated by the communicator.

Just like when reading the Dream of the Red Chamber, Confucian scholars see the Book of Changes, Taoists see lust, talented men see love, revolutionaries see the expulsion of the Manchus, and gossipers see the secret affairs of the imperial palace... For every thousand readers, there will be a thousand Hamlets.

Attribute: A cognitive tendency of mass communication influence

Source: 1983 | WP Davidson, Columbia University, "The Third Person Effect in Communication"

The third person hypothesis states that some events have different effects on the social level (on other people) than on the personal level (on me or you), with the former having a greater impact than the latter.

The process of generating the third-person effect cognition is as follows: first-person effect : people believe that the communication media has an impact on themselves; third-person effect : people believe that the communication media has an impact on others; third-person effect cognition : the cognitive gap between the third-person effect and the first-person effect.

For example, many years ago some parents proposed banning Internet cafes/games. They believed that the existence of Internet cafes would have little impact on them because they have their own judgment and would not become addicted. But it is different for teenagers. They have poor self-control, and being addicted to the Internet will affect their studies.

Attributes: Classic model for studying communication process

Source: 1948 | Harold Lasswell | "The Structure and Function of Communication in Society"

There are five basic elements that constitute the communication process, and they are arranged in a certain structural order, forming what people later called the "5W" model or "Lasswell" model.

These five Ws are the first letters of five question agents in English, namely: Who , Says What, In Which Channel, To Whom , With What Effect. Later, British communication scholars summarized this model as shown below.

Recently, I often receive sales calls from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The customer service is a communicator. The message is to get me to buy, but they tell me through the phone channel that it has no effect.

Attribute: One audience

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Unlike mass society theory, segmentation theory recognizes individual differences . Different social groups have different cultures, attributes, and needs . Their attitudes and behaviors are constrained by their group attributes. Therefore, their interpretations and responses to the same information are also different. Segmented audiences mean different masses .

When it comes to communication, the right information should be transmitted to the right people so that it can arouse the expected resonance and feedback from the audience, and ultimately achieve two-way interactive behavior. Precision marketing is selective marketing based on convenience. It should also be noted here that because different groups of people gather on different platforms, when choosing communication, it may correspond to a specific media platform or even a specific channel or KOL type.

Attribute: Medium Attribute

Source: 1969 | McLuhan | "The Medium is the Message"

People often think that media is just a carrier of messages, and the communication community often distinguishes between mass media and media messages when studying communication elements. But McLuhan believes that the medium itself is the content , and the content is also a medium.

For example, the content in mobile phones not only affects people's cognition and attitude, but also turns more people into "head-down tribe" in terms of the impact on society as a whole. The information is numerous and scattered, and as mobile phones continue to become smarter, they have also become an indispensable tool for people.

This is the difference between content and form. Content is merely an extension of permutations, combinations and depth. You will find that the content has not brought about any essential changes from ancient times to the present. But the form has undergone earth-shaking changes.

Printing influenced the Western Enlightenment , television had a groundbreaking impact on the logic of advertising communication, and mobile phones broke down information into smaller granularities and provided fast-food interpretations . What dominates all of this is form rather than content, so the media itself is the subject that brings profound changes to social change - the medium is the message.

Attributes: Media attributes Relationship between media and content

Source: 1965 | McLuhan | Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man

McLuhan believed that any medium is nothing more than an extension or extension of human feelings and senses . Written/printed media, radio, and television are extensions of human vision, hearing, and visual-auditory abilities, respectively.

Media is a generalized medium "such as transportation". For example, transportation is an extension of the legs, a telescope is an extension of vision, a telephone is an extension of the ears and mouth, and multimedia such as televisions and computers are the overall extension of the nerve center. So this is a metaphor about media.

Attribute: Audience Research

Source: 1977 | Canadian communication political economist Dallas Smythe | "Communication: The Blind Spot of Western Marxism"

According to Smyth's study of advertising-driven mass communication commodity forms, programs may be interesting and more often useful parts of radio and television, but the news, ideas, images, entertainment, speech and information produced by the mass media are not its most important products. The mission of a media company is actually to aggregate and package audiences for sale . This reveals that the real commodity of commercial broadcast television is audience.

This is easier to understand when applied to marketing communications. For KOLs, in terms of selling advertisements, the most important thing is not the specific content, but the KOL audience group formed by this content. KOLs sell their audiences in packages to earn income. On this basis, KOLs will actively produce content for fans to watch.

We must not make the mistake of "theory only". Theory is a summary and generalization, not a final conclusion. Strategists should use global thinking to control theories, rather than letting theories dominate their brains.

Author: Zang Feng

Source: Self-cultivation of strategic people

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