Communication Campaign Analysis: Technology, Media, Theories

This report delves into the realm of communication campaigns, examining the evolution of communication technology and its profound impact on how information is disseminated and received. It emphasizes the crucial role of social media in modern campaigns, analyzing its applications and effectiveness in reaching target audiences. The report explores various communication campaign types, including individual behavior change and public will campaigns, and outlines their respective strategies and objectives. Furthermore, it highlights the significance of formative, process, outcome, and impact evaluations in assessing campaign success. The report also touches upon the development of information technology and its influence on communication, as well as the use of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter for building relationships and promoting products. The report concludes with a case study of SAAB Automobile AB, illustrating how social media can be leveraged to enhance brand reputation and market growth. The report also discusses key communication theories such as the Theory of Reasoned Action, Social Cognitive Theory, and the Health Belief Model.

Communication Campaign

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK...............................................................................................................................................1
Communication Campaign..........................................................................................................1
Development of communication and information technology....................................................3
Application of Social Media in communication campaign.........................................................5
Theories by Hasrina Mustafa......................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
.........................................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Communication technology is increasing vary rapidly and it is termed as the large social
revolution since the Industrial Revolution of 1760 especially in relation with human
communication. It includes applications of social media which change in the manner people
make, disseminate and receive information (Wakefield, Loken & Hornik, 2010). The main aim
of the report is to know about the advanced communication and information technologies in
communication campaigns. For this applications application of social media will be used for
such campaigns. In this report general information in regards with communication campaign,
explanation regarding development of communication technology, analysis of social media
application and the various theories will be discussed in this report.
TASK
Communication Campaign
Communication campaign can be defined as campaigns which make use of messaging,
digital media and an organised set of various activities related to communication in order to
make particular outcomes in large amount of individuals and also in particular time period. Such
campaigns impart ideas related with strategic purpose. They make an attempt for shaping
behaviour for needed social outcomes. Communication campaigns which are organised for
public increase chances of their success with the help of media efforts and also with the mix of
community based and interpersonal channels of communication (Communication Campaigns.
2011).
These campaigns also make involvement of conventional mix of commercials, posters,
brochures, advertisements and various other communication methods in order to achieve various
goals and objectives. Communication campaign make use of several strategies and techniques so
as to improve the life of individual and make world a better place.
Two main types of communication campaigns are there which are like individual
behaviour change campaign and public will campaign. Behaviour change campaign of
individuals exists in order to alter the behaviour of an individual which may lead to several social
problems or make promotion of behaviour which will lead to improved social well-being and
individual (Donnellan, Sheridan & Curry, 2011). It influences knowledge and beliefs regarding
behaviour and its results. Affects attitude and perceived social norms regarding the behaviour
1

acceptability between one's peers. It target audience is population segment where there is a need
of change in behaviour. These campaigns make use of social marketing and tools are like
television, radio, advertising etc. Another type of campaign is Public will campaigns which
attempts to make public action regarding the change of policy. These types of campaign make
attempts to raise or legitimize the social problem importance in the eye of public as the
motivation regarding change or policy action. Public will campaign increase issue's visibility as
well as its importance. It also affects social issue perception and increase knowledge in regards
with solutions which are on the basis of person who is responsible (Hwang, 2012). This
campaign affects the criteria which is used to make judgement about policymakers and policy.
Provide support in determining what is possible for public funding and service introduction. The
target audience of such campaigns are the segments of general public. Mobilization, community
organizing and media advocacy are some of its strategies and media tools are electronic
advertising, TV etc.
There are various theories also on which communication campaigns are based which are
like, Theory of reasoned action which explains that the mentioned behaviour is determined on
primary basis with the aim to perform such behaviour. Social cognitive theory includes self
efficacy which means the belief that a person has abilities and skills which are needed to perform
behaviour under several circumstances and motivation for performing behaviour are necessary
for change in behaviour. Another theory is health belief model which is on the basis of feeling of
getting threatened by the disease and the belief that benefit regarding adoption protective
behaviour of health will outweigh its perceived costs. Stages of change model is next theory
which views change in behaviour as a sequence of events or actions (Delgado-Ballester, Navarro
& Sicilia, 2012).
Evaluation of communication campaign can be defined as assessment of values and
impact of different communication activities. Evaluation can be defined into four types. They are
formative evaluation which shows front end evaluation and impact, process and outcome
evaluation which shows back-end evaluation. Formative evaluation assess the weakness and
strength of various materials used for campaigns and strategies during or before implementation
of campaign. Process evaluation is used to measure direct outputs and efforts of campaign , also
examine implementation of campaign and how there is involvement of activities in working.
Outcome evaluation measures changes and effect from campaign. Make assessment of outcomes
2

in communities and target population that come as a result of activities and strategies. It also
make measurement regarding policy changes. Impact evaluation makes measurement of long
term results and community level changes which are achieved as a result of campaign's aggregate
effect on individuals sustainability and behaviour.
There are various characteristics of effective communication campaigns. Their main task
is to capture the attraction or attention of appropriate audience by selecting different channels to
reach audience and by defining target customers or audience. They also deliver credible and
understandable message by clarifying message and sourcing credibility. These communication
campaigns also make delivery of message which influence understanding and belief of audience
and also create various social contexts which leads to produce desires results (De Vries, Gensler
& Leeflang, 2012).
There are also some vertical as well as horizontal complexities of these campaigns,
interventions of it are very unpredictable. It is difficult to make comparison and control groups.
There is also a lack of precision and knowledge regrading outcomes and results. Evaluators of
this campaign are having lack of various necessary tools.
Development of communication and information technology
Information technology can be defined as the application of computers used to
manipulate, store, retrieve, transmit and study information or data in the context of other
enterprises or business. It is a subset of communication and information technology. On the other
hand, communication technology can be defined as activity which is used for maintaining,
constructing and designing communication system. Digital communication technology is termed
as the construction and design of communication technology which is used for transferring
information in a digital form.
Development of information and communication technology referred to the use of
information and communication for facilitating social development. From the various evidence
which are gathered from developed countries, it can be seen that in the last two decades there are
many technological developments in information technology field. As a result, there are many
people who got access of different facilities which improves their standard of living. However in
some cases it is not welcomed by many people who are concerned for daily communication of
human being and different negative affects on their life (Donnellan, Sheridan & Curry, 2011).
Further development of information technology give more negative effects rather than positive
3

ones. Advanced developments have given many benefits in the life of people. Development of e-
mail has made communication faster and simpler which results in various benefits for commerce,
business and education. This also helps the part-time students that they can now register in any
university of their choice which are offering distance learning so they can study and work at
same time.
Development of communication technology is very necessary as it supports in the
development of different communication campaigns. Growth of information and communication
technology engage policy makers and stakeholders, assess opportunities and risks, establish
conducive environment and promotes exchange of information in order to bring positive change
with the help of sustainable development. Information and communication technology also leads
to overall development of planning in which there is a involvement of human behavioural factors
in designing of development of projects and objectives (De Vries, Gensler & Leeflang, 2012).
Furthermore, World Wide Web is also very helpful and it means that information and
knowledge on each and every subject is available everywhere. For instance, people can make use
of Internet for reading information regarding products before buying them. On the other hand,
there are some negative effects also of communication and information technology. There are
various people who feel that widespread email use is destroying communication's traditional
form like face-to-face communication , telephone and letter writing. Many parents have concern
regarding their children who are using unsuitable viruses and website.
Social Media is defined as the use of mobile and web-based technologies which turns
communication in interactive dialogue. Social media include different forms like social
bookmarking, video, rating, magazines, picture, podcasts, wikis, internet forums and weblogs. It
is obvious that tools of social media like twitter, Facebook etc. are widely used for
communication purpose. This type of communication is with person or a group of person. With
the support of social media, online sharing of information and knowledge between different
group of people can be done easily. Online sharing increase communication skills of an
individual. Social media is also very helpful in communication campaign as it allows to get fast
message from target audience (Delgado-Ballester, Navarro & Sicilia, 2012). Information and
content can also be shared immediately, whether a video or news announcement to catch
blogger's or reporter's eye who is browsing Facebook or twitter looking for ideas regarding
4

stories. People are continuously engaging and sharing information on social media so channels
like Pinterest and LinkedIn are important tool to engage with target audience.
Application of Social Media in communication campaign
In old days, non-targeted and traditional advertising which is done through magazines,
direct mail, radio, newspapers and televisions are the only way for making communication with
audience. This kind of media targets particular buyers with single message which is very
difficult. For long time, commercial media is being used for transferring message which are
designed for the development of consumer's feelings and attitude for brands. Today, various
messages are there which are being designed for provoking audiences into responding either
emotionally, cognitively and physically (Wakefield, Loken & Hornik, 2010).
The strategies and tools which are used for making communication with customers is
now changed with the existence of phenomenon which is called social media. This form of
media is very helpful in the communication campaigns which are done by many companies. It
describes different sources of online information that is used, created, spread and initiated by
consumers intent to educate each other about issues, brands, personalities, products and services.
Social media is one of the major factor which influence the aspects regarding behaviour of
consumer including evaluation, post purchase communication, information, awareness, attitudes
and opinions. Prior to the social media, company have very limited choice for attracting
consumers i.e. receive third party ink from media and buy expensive advertising (Hwang, 2012).
Application of social media can be understood with the help of case study of SAAB Auto
mobile AB. Company is manufacturing cars since the year 1949 and has its existence in more
than 50 countries and markets in Sweden, Great Britain, Australia, US, Italy, Germany, Norway
and France. It is a niche auto-mobile brand, manufacturing cars for global audience on small
scale. It relation with its scale, company enjoy customers, which are devoted to development,
history and brand. Saab in a short time made its existence in various social media platforms.
Company has its presence on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. They are willing to create their
own site Newsroom in order to become transparent and open in its marketing communication.
Social media helps company to build relationship and communicate with its consumers.
Saab is making use of social media in their communication and marketing campaigns instead of
traditional tools of marketing. With the support of social media, company is able to reach its
customers globally and can make more effective promotion of its services and products through
5

which they can increase their market growth and reputation (Maarek, 2011). Currently company
is making use of Facebook as largest platform of social media for marketing their products.
Facebook has many benefits, it covers movies, pictures, texts etc. as well as develop two way
communication. Consumers get news on their own news feed which is helpful for the members
to quickly receive information on private page. Company communicates message in different
forms with various social media tools. Company has also identified different pages which are
used by customers and on those pages they have made their presence so that it could be noticed
by desired consumers. In beginning company was afraid of using social media platform but later
it proved to be positive for them.
Theories by Hasrina Mustafa
Hasrina Mustafa has given many theories which are in relation with the communication.
Communication is very important as it helps in the management of several activities and
communicate various objectives and goals in an effective manner. The rapid development of
communication and media industries in a country supports in the significant rise in various
research related issues (Porter and et.al., 2011). It has been analysed from the observation that
there are only few academic studies which have utilized various experimental methods in
research of different topics. As per Hasrina Mustafa, communication is essence of life and is
very necessary. To express different views, human beings should make communication. An
individual should make communication so as to express their feelings, share feelings and
thoughts and pass information to other individuals or human beings. Communication theory
states that all the human beings which are there on planet makes communication although there
is difference in communication way. Universal law of communication theory says that every
living being make communication by body movements, gestures, speech, sound and visible
changes.
There is also a framework of communication theory through which communication
theory and communication can be examined. Its framework include:
 Mechanistic: This view point explains that communication is defined as the transmission
of various information from one party to another (Yzer, Southwell & Stephenson, 2012).
The first party is called sender and the second party is receiver.
6

 Psychological: As per psychological view point, communication is not just information
flow from sender to receiver but it is the sharing of feelings and thoughts with recipients.
It also involves receiver's feeling after the information is decoded by him.
 Social: It consider information as a result of interaction among receiver and sender. It
explains that communication is dependent on speech's content.
 Systematic: It suggests that communication is different and new message which is
developed when different individuals make its interpretation in their way and gain
reinterpret it and draw conclusion (Tiozzo and et.al., 2011).
 Critical: This view point says that communication is a process through which individual
express his authority and power between individuals.
In today's world, social networking sites is becoming an avenue where retailers will be
able to extend their campaigns in a wide range. The approaches and tools used for making
communication with customers is changed with the existence of social media, therefore,
businesses must learn how to make use of social media in their plan of business.
Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are getting stronger and advantage of it
can be taken for the popularity of communication campaign. With the use of this strategy, sales
can be driven effectively and there can be better engagement of consumers. Social media gauge
engagement where audience is not active, and then makes evaluation whether goals and
objectives are achieved or not. Use of social media also estimate effectiveness of communication
campaign. When company make use of communication campaign than social media will assist in
assessing brand compatibility (Rice & Atkin, 2012). When a social campaign is being carried
out, than that is the best platform which is used for achieving goals and objectives. Effective
campaigns are having holistic nature and are based on single social media platform. Social media
is considered as the best platform which for making effective communication campaign. People
today are very much interested in social media and thus it helps in development and success of
such campaigns.
CONCLUSION
Communication campaigns are the one which are developed and established in order to
make effective communication with general public. From the above mentioned report, it can be
concluded that communication campaigns play a significant role in the success and growth of
any firm and with the involvement of social media, such events make success. Social media is
7

the vital tools which helps in the development of communication as well as information
technology. Social media tools like Facebook, Twitter are widely used by many organisation for
the promoting their products and services to its desired customers. People in today's world are
very much active on such kind of social media platform and thus this is very helpful in making
effective communication campaign in the market for the general public or audience.
8

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
De Vries, L., Gensler, S., & Leeflang, P. S. (2012). Popularity of brand posts on brand fan pages:
An investigation of the effects of social media marketing. Journal of interactive
marketing. 26(2). 83-91.
Delgado-Ballester, E., Navarro, A., & Sicilia, M. (2012). Revitalising brands through
communication messages: the role of brand familiarity. European Journal of Marketing.
46(1/2). 31-51.
Donnellan, B., Sheridan, C., & Curry, E. (2011). A capability maturity framework for sustainable
information and communication technology. IT professional. 13(1). 33-40.
Hwang, Y. (2012). Social diffusion of campaign effects: Campaign-generated interpersonal
communication as a mediator of antitobacco campaign effects. Communication
Research. 39(1). 120-141.
Maarek, P. J. (2011). Campaign communication and political marketing. John Wiley & Sons.
Porter, S. C., and et.al., (2011). Improving parent-provider communication in the pediatric
emergency department: results from the clear and concise communication campaign.
Pediatric emergency care. 27(2). 75-80.
Rice, R. E., & Atkin, C. K. (Eds.). (2012). Public communication campaigns. Sage.
Tiozzo, B., and et.al., (2011). Development and evaluation of a risk-communication campaign on
salmonellosis. Food Control. 22(1). 109-117.
Wakefield, M. A., Loken, B., & Hornik, R. C. (2010). Use of mass media campaigns to change
health behaviour. The Lancet. 376(9748). 1261-1271.
Yzer, M. C., Southwell, B. G., & Stephenson, M. T. (2012). Inducing fear as a public
communication campaign strategy. Public communication campaigns. 4. 163-176.
Online
Communication Campaigns. 2011. [Online]. Available
through:<http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199756841/
obo-9780199756841-0055.xml>. [Accessed on 8th July 2017].
9