New Media Mania

The study of mass communication and media effects on populations has a “natural history” in that it is influenced by the circumstances of “time and place” (McQuail, 2005). Ironically the same can said for media effects themselves. But, according to McQuail, it took four phases in the history of mass communications scholarship to figure this out! I’ll summarise:-

1. All-Powerful. The first phase began at the turn of the 20^th century and lasted until the 1930s. Media was seen by most commentators as all-powerful. This was based on the observation of propagandists’ use of media to influence their respective “masses” during the First World War.
2. Powerful? Yes! No! Yes! Umm, No? In the 1930s, studies inspired by social psychology then led the transition to an empirical enquiry into media effects, which lasted until the 1960s, and collectively failed to draw strong conclusions for or against a theory of an all-powerful media. Specific studies that did draw strong conclusions were often motivated by vested interests or simply badly designed. By 1960, scholars such as Klapper (1960: as cited by McQuail, 2005) were arguing that mass communication “functions through a nexus of mediating factors”, such as the social, economic, and cultural contexts of the receiver. Many variables were at play. Scholarly disillusionment set in during which time media was briefly assumed to be powerless!
3. Powerful Sometimes. The third phase of the history of the study media of effects (1960s and ‘70s) was concerned with trying to explain the relationship between mediating factors and the day-to-day observable influence media does have (to at least some degree) on individuals’ opinions and behaviours. The mediating factors considered grew over time and included such things as the receiver’s degree of exposure to media, his/her disposition and motivation, and, eventually, consideration of the process of constructing a message.
4. Power is Negotiable. The third phase naturally evolved to become the “social constructivist” school of thought, which dominates to this day. This pays attention to how and why messages are constructed by the transmitter, how and why they are construed by the receiver, and the influences acting upon the transmitter, receiver, and everything in between – “a terrain of continuous negotiation”. McQuail calls this “negotiated media influence”.

It might be interesting to compare the history of the study of mass communications and media effects as posited by McQuail, with the history of marketing communications theory and practice. A study of mass communications theory at the turn of the 20^th century would suggest that if you made something then advertised it, the masses would buy it. And that was the attitude many producers took. Competition wasn’t as fierce, and society and the media that served it weren’t as diverse.

By comparison, there are a lot of variables for mass communications scholars to consider when studying media impacts in the 21^st century, just as there are many things for marketing communication professionals to think about before committing resources. And this is where the “formative research” comes into play. But before that …

… Take a Proper Gander at This

Just like the propagandists of the First World War, it is the job of a marketing communications professional to (attempt to) harness the “all-powerful” potential of media to deliver an irresistible message to his/her target market(s). The marketing communications professional should do this via any means possible – within, ethical, legal, and budgetary constraints, of course! Indeed, to achieve this s/he can do a lot worse than learn from the great propagandists of the past and present.

Propagandist techniques can and are and always have been employed by the marketing communications profession, even as professionals might reject the label “propaganda”. Despite its negative associations with politics – and some pretty nasty politics at that – what propaganda is really all about is influencing an audience. Therefore the very objectives of propaganda and marketing communications are consistent: They both seek to inspire belief and/or action.

And the means jive nicely as well. Effective political propaganda taps into a common mood of dissatisfaction or aspiration, offers a solution, and develops consistent and repetitive messages. It is often fronted by a charismatic spokesperson and employs multiple media to reinforce its message in various contexts. An effective integrated marketing communications campaign also taps into a feeling of dissatisfaction or aspiration, offers a solution couched in consistent and repetitive messages, employs multiple media to reinforce those messages in various contexts, and may recruit an opinion leader or celebrity to act as a spokesperson.

Same job. Different name.

Why Formative Research?

In order for an organisation to maximise its chances of attracting and retaining customers, it must effectively become customer-centric. It must understand the customer and the world in which the s/he lives. Based on an understanding of its target market and the environment in which it must operate to reach it, the organisation should then develop a strategy to guide all its decision-making, be it related to research, development, design, production, pricing, distribution, structural, and financial. This is a cyclical input-throughput-output approach.

Marketing communications strategies and plans are no different. Indeed, viewed as a strategic management function, marketing communications is a critical contributor to both the body of knowledge upon which an organisation bases its strategy and the realisation of the strategy itself. For it is the marketing communicator’s job to understand customer needs and behaviour, which is as critical to product design, pricing, and distribution as it is to media selection and the development of core messages that effectively promote the product.

For a marketing communications professional, formative research is essentially a situation analysis to determine what needs to be communicated to whom and through what medium in order to achieve a desired strategic or tactical outcome. Formative research can employ all the tools available in the marketing researcher’s toolkit – formal and informal, primary and secondary, quantitative and qualitative – as appropriate to the objectives and the resources available.

It can be thought of a two-stage process where exploratory research informs the direction and aims of the strategic or tactical communications, and development research determines target audiences, messages, media, timeframes, and cost. Benchmarks must also be set in order to facilitate summative research, which will evaluate the effectiveness of the tactic or strategy after the fact. The first stage, exploratory research, might be best served by qualitative research methods, such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, ethnographic studies, testimonials, and case studies. The next phase, development research, gets more specific using quantitative methods such as surveys, controlled experiments, and content analysis.

Formative Research in a Crisis

All of these techniques are potentially very useful in designing a fully-integrated program of communications for the next 12 months. They are also applicable in a crisis situation where events dictate the pace of a response, as in this hypothetical example:-

Kate is a marketing communications practitioner for a hypothetical automobile manufacturer Yotayo. Every day after lunch, Kate monitors references to Yotayo on online social networks. There are always “flame wars” between “fan boys” of various car brands online so a steady stream of negative stuff is normal. However, over the course of a week she notices a rising number of references to a specific problem being forwarded and “retweeted”.

Concerned, she contacts some of the individuals directly to discuss their issues over the phone. Kate discovers through the interviews that several Yotayo owners have been experiencing strange and disconcerting automatic gear changes. Some owners have even taken their vehicles to their local Yotayo service stations where they were told after cursory checks that there was nothing wrong. Ever diligent, Kate acts on this information immediately by alerting senior managers. But her job is only just beginning.

Based on what she discovers over the phone, Kate devises survey questionnaires for customers and service centres to determine how extensive the complaint has become. She engages the help of a large call centre to deliver a statistically significant sample as soon as possible. The result of the survey determines which models and in which markets are affected by a potential gear box problem. The analysis and conclusion convince management that a product recall is necessary.

Kate devises messages that 1) individually inform owners of the affected models about what to do and how they will be compensated, 2) matter-of-factly inform the public about the fault before the media get hold of the story, and 3) position Yotayo as a proactive and responsible corporate citizen concerned with public safety and the well-being of its customers. Because there is no time, Kate foregoes the option of quick focus groups to test the tone and content of the messages to be used. Instead she spends time reminding Mrs Yotayo, Chair of the Yotayo board of directors and most senior member of the founding family, about what happened to Toyota when its leadership refused to publicly acknowledge a problem until it was too late. She prepares Mrs Yotayo to be the spokesperson and voice of reassurance for the product recall campaign.

In this hypothetical, a mix of qualitative research tools – informal monitoring of social networks, more formal in-depth interviews with customers, and a case study – helped identify a problem that might have gone on to irreparably damage the brand if left uncorrected. Customer and supply chain surveys then quantified the extent of the problem and helped determine what resources would be required to effectively manage it.

Formative Research for a New Market

Having read a fair bit about the study of media effects in Theory, I have it in my head that an analysis of the media environment may serve as the perfect starting point for a marketer considering entering a new foreign market. Based on conclusions drawn from an exploratory research study of the media environment, the marketer might determine whether more specific market research is a worthy investment of time or resources.

An exploratory study of the media environment might encompass the diversity of media channels and their ownership and control, the availability and rates of consumption of media in the population, as well the content itself and who creates it. Here is an incomplete list of clues which an analysis of a nation’s media environment might offer up to a marketer:-

1. How much control the powers that be exert
2. How “free” society is
3. How consumerist/materialistic the society is
4. What attitudes, fears, and aspirations might be held by the population
5. The competitive environment
6. Media most likely to reach appropriate targets

Note that the conclusions drawn from 1) and 2) should naturally influence how much faith one places in any further analysis. For example, if media is heavily government-controlled then it is less likely to be an accurate mirror of society.

Help Me Understand: What Do You Think?

References

Cumberbatch, G, 1989, ‘Overview of the effects of the mass media’ in Cumberbatch, G & Howitt, D (eds) A measure of uncertainty: the effects of mass media, John Libbey, London, pp 1-29

McQuail, D, 2005, Mass communication theory: an introduction, 5th ed, Sage, London, pp 49-76; 455-478

David, FR, 2009, ‘The external assessment’, Ch 3 in Strategic management: Concepts 12th ed, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, pp 70-101

Leedy, PD, & Ormrod, JE, 2005, ‘Descriptive research’, Ch 9 in Practical research: Planning and design 8th ed, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, pp 179-216.