Graeff 1995
Graeff 1995
Graeff 1995
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Introduction
The fundamental goal of marketing is to create and maintain exchanges by
promoting products and services that satisfy the needs of consumers.
Designing effective promotional strategies is basically a communication
problem. In fact, at its most fundamental level, marketing is communication.
Consumers communicate their goals, wants, needs and desires through their
responses to various forms of marketing research. Marketers communicate
information about their products through various forms of promotion (e.g.
advertising). The goals of marketing communication are to stimulate interest
in the brand, create positive brand attitudes, show how a product can satisfy
consumers’ wants, needs and desires better than competing products, and
persuade consumers to behave in desired ways (e.g. try a new product, make
a purchase, visit a retail store, tell a friend about a positive product/purchase
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experience).
Five components of Basic models of communication include five components. A sender
communication (marketer) encodes a message which is transmitted via a medium to the
receiver (consumer). After the receiver decodes (interprets, comprehends)
the message, the sender seeks feedback about whether or not the message
was received and had the intended effect on the receiver. This article
examines a critical component of marketing communication: the process by
which consumers comprehend (decode) product information.
Consider the case of a marketer who communicates through advertising that
a new pick-up truck has a large eight-cylinder engine. How do consumers
comprehend (decode) this advertised information? What does this
information mean to consumers? Do consumers come away from this
advertisement knowing only that the truck has a large engine, because that is
the only product-related information stated in the advertisement? In
comprehending (decoding) advertised information, do consumers extract
only the literal meaning of what is directly stated? How should marketers
measure the way in which consumers comprehend product information and
the meanings they form about products?
Subjective beliefs of As this article will outline, the desired effects of marketing communication
consumers and promotional strategies (e.g. positive brand attitudes, positive purchase
intentions) are guided by the individual subjective beliefs consumers form
about communicated product information. These beliefs may not be the
exact literal interpretations of the product attributes or characteristics
described in marketing communications. After viewing an advertisement,
consumers may know more about a product than what they are directly told
in the advertisement. Thus it is important to understand the process by which
consumers form product-related meanings and the types of beliefs
consumers form during product comprehension.
The purpose of this article is to review past views of product comprehension
and to present a constructive view of product comprehension. This new view
28 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING VOL. 12 NO. 2 1995 pp. 28-39 ©MCB UNIVERSITY PRESS. 0736-3761
is represented as a general conceptual framework highlighting the personal
interpretations consumers form during product comprehension. This
constructive view of comprehension has implications for designing effective
promotional strategies.
“Correct” comprehension
Typically, comprehension has been viewed as the degree to which
consumers “correctly”, or “accurately” comprehend advertised messages.
Many marketers have argued that consumers comprehend by extracting
literal meanings from promotional messages. Miscomprehension has often
been defined as extracting either confused or incorrect meanings from
advertisements, as evidenced by an inability to recall correctly the specific
idea units presented in an advertisement or answer post-exposure quizzes
(Jacoby and Hoyer, 1987). However, being able to recall advertised
information correctly does not indicate how consumers “decoded” the
information to determine its “meaning”.
Differing personal Unfortunately, a literal view of product comprehension is independent of
interpretations context and situational factors. As such, two consumers should comprehend
an advertisement by extracting the exact same idea units or product claims
intended by the marketer.
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“Constructive” comprehension
The decoding component of the communication process deals with the issue
of how things become meaningful. To grasp the meaning of a thing is to see
it in its relations to other things; to know how it operates or functions, what
consequences follow from it, what causes it, and how it can be used (Dewey,
1963).
How things become Comprehension is a constructive process. That is, people comprehend by
meaningful first integrating given information with prior knowledge, and then forming
inferences to construct coherent, personally relevant meanings. Going
beyond the information given to infer a message’s meaning is an integral
aspect of comprehension. People comprehend by forming inferences, and
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Meaning
This constructive view of comprehension is contrasted with literal views of
comprehension in its treatment of “meaning.” According to previous
approaches to comprehension, “meaning” resides in the message. The
comprehender’s (consumer’s) job is to uncover it correctly and accurately.
In contrast, the constructive view of comprehension argues that by drawing
on prior knowledge, consumers actively “construct”, or “create” the
meaning of the advertisement or product. Because consumers have
different backgrounds, knowledge and experiences, each consumer will
form idiosyncratic personal interpretations that may be “correct” to them,
yet very different from the personal interpretations formed by other
consumers.
Brand attitudes Consumers’ brand attitudes and purchase intentions are not based on
product information. Rather, they are based on consumers’ own personal
interpretations of product information. As such, marketers should be
Product comprehension
This constructive view of product comprehension is represented in Figure 1.
Consumers evaluate products based on the personal interpretations (beliefs)
they form about the product information. Some of the beliefs consumers
form may be literal interpretations of the product information. If an
advertisement states that product X has two attributes, A1 and A2,
consumers form mental representations about these presented attributes.
Consumers also form personal interpretations that go beyond the advertised
product information (Figure 1). These beliefs deal with the personal
relevance of the product and the advertised information. Consumers may
infer that because a product has certain attributes or features (A1 and A2), it
also has other attributes or features (A3). A new camera advertised as having
a self-timer may be comprehended by inferring that it also has auto-focus
and shutter speed controls. Inferences are very useful. With them, consumers
can base product decisions, judgments, and evaluations on more than just the
product-related information supplied by marketers.
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Means-end chain theory Consumers also infer personally relevant consequences of purchasing or
using the product. This is the basic idea behind means-end chain theory
(Gutman, 1982). According to means-end chain theory, consumers form
product knowledge at varying levels of abstraction. For instance, consumers
know that certain concrete product attributes (low calorie foods) are the
causal means to achieving more abstract product consequences (reduced
weight) and highly abstract personal goals or values (increased confidence
and self-esteem).
Consumers may comprehend a new exercise machine advertised as having
lightweight construction, easy moving parts, and a five-year warranty by
inferring the personal interpretation, “If I buy and use this machine I can
reduce my cholesterol level, live longer, and get more enjoyment out of life
with my family and friends”. To construct personal interpretations of what
products mean to them, consumers infer meaningful, personally relevant
Consider a father who is purchasing cars for each of his two sons. If one son
owns a boat, the large engine might be evaluated favorably because it
“means” that the truck can pull the boat. If the other son does not own a
boat, the large engine might be evaluated unfavorably because it “means”
higher gas bills. The ability to recall that the truck has a large engine does
not indicate how the father comprehended and evaluated the truck. His
interpretation and evaluation depends on the situation within which the
product information is comprehended.
In sum, this view of product comprehension posits that consumers evaluate
products by asking the question, “what does this attribute, feature, or
characteristic mean to me?” The meaning of product information is
constructed by forming personal interpretations about a product’s self-
relevance (“When and how could I use this product?”, “In what situations
would this product be beneficial to me?”).
work, freshens your breath, and moistens your mouth. However, the
advertisement also encourages a higher level connection (interpretation) by
showing a picture of an attractive older man and woman sharing a close
intimate moment. This encourages the interpretation, “This gum will allow
me to be confident when I am close to others (members of the opposite
sex)”. The real persuasive effect of this advertisement, however, comes from
consumers’ inferring confidence when close to an individual they personally
know.
Personal interpretations An advertisement for IBM computers, titled “Balancing act”, shows a
picture of a father holding his young daughter while working on his
computer at home. This advertisement encourages a positive interpretation
based on the means-end connection between the product (IBM computer)
and a desired personal goal or value by stating that IBM is “The first
computer to understand you don’t just have a job. You have a life”. This
encourages consumers to consider specific aspects of their own lives that can
benefit from being able to work at home.
An advertisement for NordicTrack health equipment states, “Give the gift of
good health this Christmas…NordicTrack”. This encourages the personal
interpretation that purchasing this product will lead to a desired goal – good
health. Consumers may go on to interpret other personally relevant
consequences of good health.
An advertisement for Mazola Corn Oil shows a grandfather playing
racquetball with his granddaughter. Superimposed over this picture is the
statement, “Mazola does what? They said a diet with Mazola could bring
down my cholesterol. I didn’t believe it till my level dropped 17%”. This
advertisement encourages the interpretation that using Mazola Corn Oil will
help reduce cholesterol levels, and also lead to personally relevant goals of
living longer and being able to enjoy time with grandchildren. Favorable
brand attitudes and purchase intentions toward this corn oil result from
Conclusions
Effective promotional To develop effective communication and promotional strategies, marketers
messages need to understand consumers’ comprehension processes. According to the
view presented in this article, product comprehension is more than merely
extracting the direct literal meaning of advertised product information.
Product comprehension is the process of actively constructing the meaning
of product information by forming personal interpretations about a
product’s self-relevance. To construct coherent product meanings,
consumers may form beliefs about product consequences, a product’s
appropriateness to various users and situations, and even personal goals or
values. Promotional messages should be designed to suggest, encourage
and facilitate personal interpretations of a product’s self-relevance. To
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