This comes to us from a fellow post-grad student of mine. I felt inclined to share it with the masses.
"I agree that the mind has an extraordinary ability to interpret what is being said, written, drawn,etc. That, I think has more to do with a more biological sense of decoding that is based solely on the abilities of the brain to process what it has seen, heard, etc. I think that decoding in a marketing sense is using the experience and knowledge of a person to interpret the meaning conveyed in a message. For instance, the world is much more technologically advanced these days. There is new terminology coming out everyday that is being added to the dictionary that would have meant nothing even 5 years ago. For a Gen Yer, they probably know it all. However, for our grandparents, they may not be familiar with it all. So if a computer company is targeting a new software to the elderly, they probably don't want to use all of the up-to-date lingo or even if they are mass marketing something, they need to be aware that everyone is not "up" on the lingo. It may be confusing to the elderly or to anyone else who has little knowledge of technology. In this example, a person's lack of knowledge could be a huge stumbling block to them decoding the message. A company needs to know these things along with experiences of their target group in order to correctly encode the message they plan to send. "
Now, I am not one to say screw those who are not active consumers of the new "tech" and "buzz", but the same was thought about television. To avoid misquoting I will paraphrase by saying a prominent member of the scientific or technological community visited The Worlds Fair. After seeing the innovation he pronounced boldly that TV would never catch on because family's wouldn't want to have to sit in front of it for hours on end. We all know how that one played out.
I think that's the beauty of the model in the Gen X, Gen Next groups. It is dynamic; ever seeking the perfect media mix. Yes, there are road blocks for many. But as a whole, the target markets are being put more and more in the driver seat. Focus groups are becoming obsolete. Feedback happens in realtime such as twitter or company blog comments are exit surveys. The sites like Google Adwords, Analytics and other coding programs like SPSS tell these companies not only the best ways to communicate, but the best media vehicles as well.
All you hear anymore is SEO this and click through rate that. People, we are telling these gigantic corporations how to speak to us. Granted I'm younger and may very well be biased on the subject, but Pepsi opted out of a multi-million dollar Superbowl ad this year in favor of allocating those funds towards social media. That has to mean something right? I for one will not forget the foundational value of the traditional communication model , nor will I cease to venerate the likes of Berlo for his "simplest and most influential message-centered model of our time" I do not however have any qualms about expressing by love for the personal evolution the industry is undergoing.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to check my facebook. Adieu.
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