The effects of non-verbal communication in television advertisements : a communication study

Abstract

Title - The effects of non-verbal communication in television advertisements: a communication study. Introduction - Literature related to non-verbal communication reveals that there are a variety of different non-verbal elements. Most of these elements occur within television advertisements.

Little research in related social disciplines have analyzed non-verbal communication within the television advertising context, although a number of researchers have recognized the importance of non-verbal communication in advertising and marketing. The interest and research in this area is therefore in its infancy stage. Objectives - Since non-verbal communication occur in all television advertisements, the main objective of this thesis was to determine consumer reactions towards broad non-verbal categories. These broad categories were selected from an extensive literature study and specific non-verbal elements were classified under facial expressions, body movements, physique, artifacts and para-language. A second objective was to access if black and white consumers should be approached differently when emphasizing non-verbal elements in television advertisements. The third objective was to determine if there were any correlation between the above-mentioned non-verbal variables and television-viewing behaviour. The fourth objective was to determine if there were any correlation between the following advertising variables and television-viewing behaviour:

Comprehensibility, acceptability, identification, culture-specific events and the persuasiveness of the advertising message. Method - It has been indicated that non-verbal communication research in television advertising is a relatively recent phenomenon. The literature study indicated certain voids in the research and the multi-disciplinary approaches. As a result of the exploratory nature of this research, a descriptive survey method was used in order to assist the present perceptual differences between black and white respondents towards non-verbal communication in television advertisements. More than 40% of the total registered undergraduate Communication students at residential campuses (during 1990) in South Africa were used in the sample. They were exposed to the selected stimulus material within their ordinary lecture or practical periods and were asked to respond to the questionnaire statements. Statistical analyses - The following statistical analyses were concluded on the samples' responses: Frequency and cross tabulations, Pearson (r), Cronbach's coefficient alpha, z-tests, analyses of variance, and lastly, Tukey's studentized range (HSD) tests. Important findings - The most important finding is the fact that white and black respondents react differently to non-verbal communication in television advertisements. Consequently, the effect of these variables on the destination is also different. Television-viewing behaviour during the week and weekends on campus and at home showed no correlation to any non-verbal variables, or any advertising variables in television advertisements. This finding has lead to the conclusion that the individual's perceptions of these elements are probably formed by the individual's family, his interpersonal relations and the place

where he was brought up. As a result, this thesis proposes a model of non-verbal perceptibility of television advertisements. Here the emphasis is placed on effectively reaching different dominant target markets by means of non-verbal variables in television advertisements.