Figure 4.2. The Traditional Communications Model

For most of history, advertisers talked to consumers—the traditional communications modeltraditional communications modelA one-way communication system in which the source created a message and selected the medium that carried the message to the receiver. was a one-way street. It was pretty simple, really: The source (such as an advertising agency) created a message (the advertisement) and selected the medium (newspaper, TV, outdoor, etc.) that carried it to the receiver (the consumer). The consumer may have given feedback to the source about the message (typically only indirectly, namely by buying the advertised product or service or not)—and of course she may have ignored it, just as people often do today—but the line of communication was clearly drawn. The producer called the shots and the message was univocal (one voice).

Flash forward to a more dynamic—and chaotic—picture. Today, advertising messages come from many sources simultaneously through different media that target different receivers (consumers, business partners, stockholders, even government officials). At the same time, receivers talk with one another and they may initiate their own communication with the sender, whether that organization wants to hear it or not.

The updated communications modelupdated communications modelThe interactive, nonlinear, and multivocal communication process prevalent in twenty-first-century advertising. is interactive, nonlinear, and multivocal (many voices). In addition, consumers now may choose to opt out of listening to a particular message—they often get to decide which messages they see or hear, and when. In the old days, opting out meant getting up to make a sandwich when a TV commercial came on, but today many of us have a lot more control to determine what messages will appear for us to consider in the first place. For marketers, this permission marketingpermission marketingA strategy in which consumers (receivers) indicate (for example, by searching for a certain topic on the Internet) that they are interested in receiving a communication before the sender transmits the message. strategy makes sense (even though some may be indignant that they’re losing control over the situation). The rationale is very simple: A message is more likely to persuade consumers who have agreed to listen to it in the first place.

Figure 4.3. A New Interactive, Nonlinear, Multivocal Communications Model

If we understand the communications model, we appreciate how messages affect people, how people make purchase decisions, and what influences these choices. These issues can help advertisers understand why people accept some messages while they ignore others. After all, it’s frustrating to be ignored—but in the world of advertising it’s also expensive.