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• Trustworthiness - being honest, ethical and believable. The influence of a knowledgeable source will be lessened if audience members think he or she is biased or has underlying personal motives for advocating a position.

A durable would do well to choose a celebrity who has an `expert association' with the product usage - a microwave using a celebrity known for her expertise in cuisine. A washing machine brand using a cricket celebrity would offer little advantage unless he has a charismatic presence in a specific region.

Information from a credible source influences beliefs, opinions, attitudes and behavior through a process known as internalization, which occurs when the receiver adopts the opinion of the credible communicator since he or she believes information from the source is accurate. Once the receiver internalizes an opinion or attitude, it becomes integrated into his or her belief system and may be maintained even after the source of the message is forgotten.

A highly credible communicator is particularly important when the message recipients have a negative position toward the product, service, company, or issue being promoted, because the credible course is likely to inhibit counter-arguments. Reduced counter-arguments should result in greater message acceptance and persuasion.

Attractiveness

It encompasses similarity, familiarity and likeability. Similarity is a supposed resemblance between the source and the receiver of the message, while familiarity refers to knowledge of the source through exposure. Likeability is affection for the source as a result of physical appearance, behavior or other personal traits.

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* Contributed by -
Bhawna Sikka & Vaibhav Hari,
PGDBM 2006,
IMT, Ghaziabad.