Due to the complexity of the model, when describing it, it is easier to break it down into several parts. This model can be interpreted in many different ways. The backbone of the model is the four basic concepts of communicator, message, medium and reliever. The pointers leading into the communicator are all factors which affect the type of message that will be passed on. The communicators self image is how the communicator regards himself within the company and the image they want to create for the company. An example could be Monsoon.
The image of the company is sophisticated and expensive. The personality structure of the company allows different kinds of peoples ideas to be taken into account when an advert is being designed. Different people may have alternate ideas as to how sophisticated can be put across in print. The communicator working in a team also affects the final outcome. Where the communicator is within the organisation also affects the outcome. The designer of an advert is usually bought in by a company; therefore they may have only limited knowledge of the company and its customers.
Pressure and constraints caused by the public character of the media content refers to the legal or psychological aspects of the advert, such as not using offensive language or inappropriate pictures. The communicators’ social environment refers to the communicators’ way of gatekeeping and sorting information presented to them from their social surroundings. Essentially all these points are forms of research that helps the communicator decide upon a message. This communicator then forms a message, in this case in the form of an advert for Monsoon. The message must then be presented through a medium.
For Monsoon it is mainly adverts in magazines such as Cosmopolitan. This gives a clue to the sort of target audience that Monsoon are aiming their clothing and accessories towards. Between the medium and receiver there are a set of factors which determine whether the message is interpreted correctly. These factors may include the fact that the viewer is not reading the correct magazine, they may flick past that page by accident, or they may get sick of all the adverts in magazines, so they don’t even bother looking at them and just read the articles. On the far right of the model there are factors that influence the receiver themselves.
The receivers self image may affect their perception of the message. They may think that Monsoon are not their style of clothing, and avoid shopping there or looking at adverts associated with the shop. The personality structure of the receiver may be that hey aren’t a very confident person so they would never dare wear an item of clothing from Monsoon. The receivers social environment would also affect the effectiveness of the advert. It is uncommon to find students walking around a campus in Monsoon clothing, whereas a person who had to do a lot of socialising as part of their job, such as PR probably would.
Putting all these sections together creates the basic structure of the Maletzke’s model. There are also other factors on the model such as the receivers image of the communicator and the communicators image of the receiver. There’s also the case where there may be spontaneous feedback from the receiver. When studying adverts and campaigns there is no correct way in which the models being can be interpreted. It is down to the individual and their own understanding of it. Models can also only be used as guide because in reality, they are only a simplified version of events that can be used to cover a whole variety of events.
