Marketing communication: principles and practice

THREE PERSPECTIVES ON MESSAGES
A ‘message’ can be best be defined as an intended meaning for a written,
aural or visual text. But how it will be interpreted depends upon the reception
A C O M M U N I C A T I O N C O N C E P T
31
BOX 2.2 COMMENT: PERCEPTION–CONCEPTION AND THE
APPRECIATIVE SYSTEM
When we say that we have a perception of a situation or event, we usually mean that
we have a particular meaning or understanding of it. Perhaps our thinking would be
straighter if we spoke of a conception rather than a perception.
The appreciative system captures data through perception. This is translated into
meaning before being judged in advance of deciding what action to take.

---

environment: not only the linguistic and ideological codes of the producer
and ‘viewer’, but also alternative information. We can call this environment
the culture of the consumer.
O’Keefe (1988) shows that when messages are designed, one of three
design logics or conceptions of communication underlies the style, format,
content, and medium selected (Figure 2.5). 
A C O M M U N I C A T I O N C O N C E P T
32
Premise
The process and
practice of
communication is to
make common
Transmission model
Transporting a message or
meaning as information through a
medium from one person to
another to create understanding
Cultural model
Participates in the
production and ritualistic
reproduction of a taken-for-
granted, shared, culture
‘map’, through language,
meaning-making, sense-
making, and interpretation
Application
These models are
complementary. Problems arise
when communication is used
as a means of domination