Communication Objectives

Chris Fill best explains communication by saying communication itself is the process by which individuals share meaning. Therefore, for a dialogue to occur each participant needs to understand the meaning of the other's communication. For this overall process to work, information needs to be transmitted (Dibb et al., 1991) by all participants. It is important, therefore, that those involved with marketing communications understand the complexity of the transmission process. Through knowledge and understanding of the communications process, they are more likely to achieve their objective of sharing meaning with each member of their target audiences and so have an opportunity to enter into a dialogue.

(Source: A linear model of communication Fill C, Marketing Communications, Contexts, Contents and strategies, 1999, pg24)

Schramm's model above shows the communication process where each part of the model has a different section, source, encoding, decoding and the receiver (target audience).

The source relates to the company/ brand that is offering the event/ sending the message. Encoding is transferring the intended message into a symbolic style that can be transmitted. Signal is the transmission of the message using particular media. Decoding is understanding the symbolic style of the message in order to understand the message. Receiver is the individual or organisation receiving the message. Feedback is the receiver's communication back to the source on receipt of the message. Noise is distortion of the communication process, making it difficult for the receiver to interpret the message as intended by the source.


The model and its components are straightforward, but it is the quality of the linkage between the various elements in the process that determine whether the communication will be successful, (Fill, C, 1999)