Relevance of the Adoption Process to Advertisers and Strategic Communication Planners

Discuss the relevance of the adoption process to advertisers and strategic communication planners

INTRODUCTION

According to Rogers (1996) ,diffusion is defined as the communication process by which a new idea or new product (innovation) is communicated through certain channel over time among the members of a social system. Diffusion is a special type of communication concerned with the spread of messages that are perceived as new ideas. An Innovation is an idea, practice or object perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption. The diffusion of innovations involves both mass media and interpersonal communication channels. That is, by sharing communication channels such as interpersonal communication or mass communication people can get information of an innovation and perceive its innovation as useful. (p. 409).

The four main elements in the diffusion of new ideas are:

(1) The innovation

(2) Communication channels

(3) Time

(4) The social system

Diffusion of innovation theory states that an innovation is an idea, new technique or new technology that diffuses or spreads through out society. A few people will adopt an innovation as soon as they hear of it other people will take longer to try something new and still others will take much longer. The pattern is that of an S-shaped curve.

When a new media technology or other innovation is adopted rapidly by a great number of people, it is said to explode into being.

Communication channels are the means by which messages get from one individual to another. They include interpersonal communication channels ,group communication channels and mass communication channels. All of these play a key role in the diffusion process .Mass media channels are effective in creating awareness and intrest . Thye also provide a lot of information to the public. Media are used to draw attention to innovations and as a basis for group discussions led by change agents .Group communication channels like peer groups play a key role in that through peer pressure and group think people are able to adopt or reject innovations . Interpersonal communication plays a significant role in persuasion , forming and changing attitudes. Main sources of information encompass stakeholders such as clients, suppliers or business partners, independent third parties such as government agencies or research institutions, and personal sources such as friends or near peers (Souitaris, 1999; Lee et al., 2002). Lee et al. (2002) differentiate between two modes of communication: written and oral communication. Written communication uses print media, letters or e-mails, whereas oral communication may occur via telephone or face-to-face (Lee et al., 2002). It is argued that interpersonal contacts and word-of-mouth communication have a greater effect on the development of perceptions, whereas mass media and written information better facilitate the creation of awareness (Agarwal and Prasad, 1998; Lee et al., 2002; Rogers, 2003). We assume that the quality of communication, that is aspects such as the accuracy, timeliness, adequacy and credibility of information (Mohr and Spekman, 1994), also affect the perceived attribute

Time has three dimensions . They include

Innovation-decision process that involves a mental process which an individual goes through beginning from first knowledge of the innovation to forming an opinion about the innovation , to a decision on whether to adopt or reject it , implementing that decision and conforming it.

Rate of adoption which is the speed within which an innovation is adopted .

Degree of Innovativeness.

A social system is defined as a set of interrelated units that are engaged in joint problem-solving to accomplish a common goal. The members or units of a social system may be

individuals, informal groups, organizations, and/or subsystems. The social system

constitutes a boundary within which an innovation diffuses.

The