Marketing Communications

84 CHAPTER 3 HOW MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS WORK

How exactly the message substance or affective responses are processed is likely to depend

on consumers’ elaboration likelihood. Therefore, we distinguish six types of marketing

communications models based on two dimensions (see Table 3.2). The first dimension

pertains to elaboration likelihood which can be either high or low. The second dimension is

related to the attitude component on which attitude formation is mainly built, i.e. cognition,

affect or behaviour.

High elaboration likelihood, cognitive attitude formation

The models that will be discussed here are relevant if the consumer’s motivation, ability

and opportunity are high and especially when cognitive elements are important for attitude

formation. An example is someone who is going to buy a home video installation and tries to

compare objectively the different brands available on several attributes (price, sound quality,

etc.) before making a decision.

Multiple attribute models

The most famous multiple attribute model is no doubt the Expectancy–Value model,

or Fishbein model.^35 In this model, brand attitudes are made up of three elements: relevant

product attributes, the extent to which one believes the brand possesses these attributes,

and the evaluation of these attributes or how good/bad one thinks it is for a brand to possess

these attributes. More specifically, brand attitude is represented by the weighted sum of the

products of brand beliefs and attribute evaluations:

Abooiie

i

n

=

=

∑

1

where: Ao = attitude towards object o

boi = belief of object o possessing attribute i

ei = evaluation of attribute i

n = number of relevant attributes

Table 3.2 Six types of attitude formation and change

Elaboration likelihood based on

motivation/involvement, ability and opportunity

High elaboration central-

route processing

Low elaboration peripheral-

route processing

Attitudes

based on:

Cognitions     Multi-attribute models

   Self-generated persuasion

   Heuristic evaluation

Affect     Feelings-as-information

model

   Ad transfer

   Feelings transfer

   Classical conditioning

   Mere exposure effect

Behaviour  Post-experience model

   Perception–Experience–

Memory model

   Reinforcement model

   Routinised response behaviour

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