Effective communication is essential in all parts of today’s society, whether political, economic, social or cultural. For example, one of the most important skills that national leaders need is the ability to communicate their ideas and visions with the public, while inside companies, communication skills are considered the second most important quality for management after insight.

Yet many people still say communicating with others is difficult. Communication problems are blamed for conflicts between generations, political ideologies and the members of organizations. The fundamental reason is that communication still remains very self-centered. Although people want to be understood and have their feelings shared, communication still largely involves one-way instruction or conveying information. 

Six communication techniques from advertisement

Advertisement is a key tool for communication from the customers’ perspective. Hence, it can provide many lessons on how to communicate in a way that brings about mutual understanding.

One of the latest trends in advertising is a shift from assertion and persuasion to gaining buyers’ empathy. Against this background, this paper proposes six communication techniques through an analysis of awards of prominent advertising festivals and advertising campaigns selected by ad magazine Advertising Age.

Create a story

Using storytelling techniques can be a more effective route than sticking to dry facts. Because everyone can now easily access information, facts themselves have limits in creating empathy. In contrast, storytelling stimulates the imagination and curiosity, making people focus on the intended message. A case in point, Coca-Cola ran a TV ad based on a fantasy story where the process of filling the Coke bottle was depicted as a happy journey, repositioning the soda as a symbol of happiness.

Meanwhile, if the messages are abstract and conceptual, narrative discourses can be used to make them more concrete and thus better convey what was intended. For example, when storytelling combines with a company’s philosophy, its message can be delivered far more vividly.

Be fun

Communication can be helped by employing entertaining elements in unconventional formats or dramatic twists. Unexpected stimulus is a highly advanced communication strategy, as it breaks away from a pedestrian, common sense approach to excite attention. Meanwhile, fun elements create connectedness and spread empathy. The ad of De Bijenkorf, a department store chain in the Netherlands, had a novel ending to a grave situation.

Be considerate of others

Delivering the message that you are sufficiently aware of and concerned about the other party’s problems can open up the other’s mind and create a sense of empathy. If answers to these problems are also provided, the effect can be greater. Beverage maker Tropicana ran a TV commercial in which it introduced a new vitamin D-added drink by bringing winter “sunlight” to a northern Canadian town, promoting itself as a brand that knows you better than you know yourself.

Understand the context

To enhance communication, messages should be calibrated to the surroundings of the targeted audience. This is because the content and value of a message can be interpreted differently according to place and time. Messages can go naturally with a person’s surroundings or be in sharp relief to surroundings, both of which can amplify the impact of communication. Volkswagen entered the U.S. market in the 1960s when large cars dominated the market. The German automaker’s “Think Small” campaign, shifted consumers’ attention to small cars as economical and efficient alternatives.

Add a new meaning

This is involves rebranding a product to give it new value. In order to remake the image of a product it is important to interpret its characteristics on a new level. World-leading diamond company De Beers transformed diamonds from an investment asset to a universal symbol of love through its “A Diamond is Forever” campaign.

Speak with image

This involves communicating visually so people can quickly recognize the intention of a message and its effect can be long lasting. Aesthetic images can also be used to build a unique personality and to enhance communication. Instead of conveying messages in words, Mercedes Benz used witty visuals to illustrate the much shorter braking distance and time of its new brakes.

The six communication strategies are not just the realm of advertising, but can be applied in many other situations. For example, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright communicated her mood and intentions through the pin that she wore. Without a word said, her counterparts would know the position of the U.S. through subtle visual imagery. Similarly, the communication strategies offer ways for corporate management in Korea to gain the empathy and support of customers, employees. 

By Kim Kyung-ran, Lee Dong-hun and Seo Min-soo

This article was contributed by Samsung Economic Research Institute. The authors are research fellows at SERI. ― Ed.