16
A. Cappellieri et al.
behaviours aimed at deceiving the public, contrary to the principles of good faith,
loyalty and honesty, it is a good practice still today to pay attention when buying
any good or service. Specifically, greater attention should be paid during the most
particular and least frequent occasions of purchase, that is, when one buys a good
that is very expensive or that is not part of daily consumer behaviour.
This expression is still very relevant in its ability to highlight the importance of
information for the consumer.
Today, consumers must be aware of what they are buying and, at a time when
obtaining the information they are looking for has become very fast and easy, it is not
justifiable to behave in a disinterested manner. However, this excess of information—
from the print media to social media, radio, television and blogs—requires greater
consumers’ participation in selecting contents.
In the early years—more or less throughout the first half of the twentieth century—
of mass communication the media and messages available were limited number.
There were very few sources of communication and a symbolic universe not as
crowded with messages as today. Over the years, especially thanks to technological
innovation, the number of broadcasters and the number of messages has increased
dramatically, so that today we can precisely speak of a situation of abundance.
This not only generates, as already mentioned, an orientation effort in the person
who receives the message but also in the person who sends it. The downside is, in
fact, that in a mare magnum of information, brands or producers must ensure that
they find a way to be heard, to create a priority between the information they transmit
and communicate effectively to the public.
Communicating means, in fact, first of all, to transmit a message to one or more
people. A subject, action or message begins to live as soon as it is communicated.
Secondly, communication is the elaboration and sharing of meanings, which means
organizing a structured and understandable communication that does not frustrate
all the efforts of companies that operate in the name of sustainability. Ultimately, it
means building and modifying relationships, creating a community, but also making
sure that there is a responsible consumer who listens and is able to make a critical
and ethical assessment.
Communication is structured like a chain, and it only takes one link to weaken to
make it less effective or completely powerless.
The first link, the key element of the message, is the issuer who, through a channel
of transmission, sends the body of the conversation, the message, which in turn
contains a referent, or topic and is structured according to a code. Finally, through a
reception channel, the receiver receives the message sent by the issuer.
In this chain, each character has its own responsibility. The theme of sustainability, therefore the message, is extremely complex but at the same time it is a priority.
Therefore, in order to ensure that the message arrives unhindered from the issuer
to the receiver and is absorbed correctly, four factors are needed that, in communication theories, guarantee the effectiveness of the result: listening; mutual interest;
understanding and acceptance; and changing an attitude.
A. Cappellieri et al.
behaviours aimed at deceiving the public, contrary to the principles of good faith,
loyalty and honesty, it is a good practice still today to pay attention when buying
any good or service. Specifically, greater attention should be paid during the most
particular and least frequent occasions of purchase, that is, when one buys a good
that is very expensive or that is not part of daily consumer behaviour.
This expression is still very relevant in its ability to highlight the importance of
information for the consumer.
Today, consumers must be aware of what they are buying and, at a time when
obtaining the information they are looking for has become very fast and easy, it is not
justifiable to behave in a disinterested manner. However, this excess of information—
from the print media to social media, radio, television and blogs—requires greater
consumers’ participation in selecting contents.
In the early years—more or less throughout the first half of the twentieth century—
of mass communication the media and messages available were limited number.
There were very few sources of communication and a symbolic universe not as
crowded with messages as today. Over the years, especially thanks to technological
innovation, the number of broadcasters and the number of messages has increased
dramatically, so that today we can precisely speak of a situation of abundance.
This not only generates, as already mentioned, an orientation effort in the person
who receives the message but also in the person who sends it. The downside is, in
fact, that in a mare magnum of information, brands or producers must ensure that
they find a way to be heard, to create a priority between the information they transmit
and communicate effectively to the public.
Communicating means, in fact, first of all, to transmit a message to one or more
people. A subject, action or message begins to live as soon as it is communicated.
Secondly, communication is the elaboration and sharing of meanings, which means
organizing a structured and understandable communication that does not frustrate
all the efforts of companies that operate in the name of sustainability. Ultimately, it
means building and modifying relationships, creating a community, but also making
sure that there is a responsible consumer who listens and is able to make a critical
and ethical assessment.
Communication is structured like a chain, and it only takes one link to weaken to
make it less effective or completely powerless.
The first link, the key element of the message, is the issuer who, through a channel
of transmission, sends the body of the conversation, the message, which in turn
contains a referent, or topic and is structured according to a code. Finally, through a
reception channel, the receiver receives the message sent by the issuer.
In this chain, each character has its own responsibility. The theme of sustainability, therefore the message, is extremely complex but at the same time it is a priority.
Therefore, in order to ensure that the message arrives unhindered from the issuer
to the receiver and is absorbed correctly, four factors are needed that, in communication theories, guarantee the effectiveness of the result: listening; mutual interest;
understanding and acceptance; and changing an attitude.