Abstract

This paper examines the basic process, history and uses for the Diffusion of Innovations Theory and seeks to suggest that there are many uses for this theory in the planning of public relations campaigns. Understanding the five categories of innovation adopters and the five-step process that individuals undergo when making decisions is critical to reaching an audience effectively and changing behavior.

Keywords: Diffusion Theory, public relations, campaigns, innovation, innovation adoption

Diffusion Theory in Public Relations

The subject examined in this paper is the Diffusion Theory or the Diffusion of Innovations, which breaks down the process of how people perceive, process and make decisions in regards to new information and products. Diffusion is defined as “the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system” (Rogers, 2010). The diffusion of innovation is unique in the fact that this communication is concerning new ideas and the diffusion of this innovation throughout society brings about social change (Rogers 2010). The Diffusion Theory suggests that there are five different categories of individuals that go through the process of adopting innovation and that these individuals adopt a new idea by going through five distinct steps: awareness, interest, evaluation, trial and adoption.

This paper seeks to prove that the Diffusion Theory is an accurate model for the way that individuals cognitively process innovation and that this theory can be extremely beneficial to the way that public relations practitioners understand how people behave and make decisions.

Diffusion Theory

History

This widely-used theory is accompanied by many others that discuss diffusion through people and time as a primary means for the spread of information. Some of the first research of diffusion took place in a study by Bryce Ryan and Neal Gross in 1943 at Iowa State University. These agricultural focused researchers interviewed people who commonly adopted innovation and sought to learn the different factors about how and why they made their decisions about a product. Building from this research, Everett M. Rogers published the book Diffusion of Innovations in 1960, which was comprised of four theories. One theory, The Innovations Decision Process, states that the diffusion process occurs over time and can be broken down into five unique and distinct stages (Surry, 1997). This particular theory is the basis for the Diffusion Theory in mass communications.

Five-Step Adoption Process

The Diffusion Theory states that individuals go through a five-step process when adopting new ideas or innovations. These steps are awareness, interest, evaluation, trial and adoption (Surry, 1997).

The first step in the process is awareness. In order to begin evaluating whether a product or idea is worth adopting, an individual must first be made aware that this product or idea exists. The second step is for the individual be persuaded to the reasons why they should use this product or have interest in the idea. Once an individual decides that they are interested, they must go on to step three and evaluate the information to decide if it is worth trying out. If the individual’s evaluation is that they would like to try the idea or product, they will take part in the 4th step: trial. If the subject of this process is a product, this step may include going to a store and using a tester or taking part in a 30-day trial. The final step in this process is adoption. If the individual is satisfied with their experience after all of the previous steps, they may chose to adopt the idea or product (Surry, 1997). This could be by either committing to the purchase of a product or changing one’s behavior to exhibit a certain idea or way of thinking in their everyday life. This is the stage where a person may also decide to reject the product or idea.

Diffusion Theory Adoption Model

This model clearly shows the five-step adoption process that each individual undergoes in the order that they occur and lead to the next process

The Diffusion Theory also states that there are five specific categories of people that go through this process. It starts with a group of early innovators and adopters that inspire, create and adopt innovation and then spread it through the rest of society.

Categories of Innovation Adopters

The Diffusion Theory separates people into five categories of how they adopt new innovation: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. Innovators are those who come up with the big ideas. They require the shortest amount of time to adapt to changes and are usually risk takers. Early adopters are open-minded and constantly looking for new things to try and new ways to be trend setters. They often serve as “opinion leaders” and role models within their societies and groups that allow them to influence others. The early majority splits the largest group and is comprised of people who regularly interact with peers and are open to change. However, their adaptation may be slower and require more guidance than early adopters. Members of the late majority group, making up the second half of the majority, usually only adapt to change due to peer pressure. They often have a harder time adjusting and are only motivated to change in order to keep up with those around them. Laggards are very resistant to change and are generally determined to maintain things as they are. They usually believe that technology is a hindrance and are usually not in contact with opinion leaders or innovators and early adopters (Kaminski, 2011).

Diffusion of Innovation Adopter Categories Model

Image (Kaminski, 2011)

Based on this image, it is clear that most people fall somewhere in the middle of the curve. This means that they are both influenced by their peers to adopt innovation and also act as influencers to those that adopt a little bit later than them.

Application of Diffusion Theory in Public Relations

Understanding how people process information and make decisions is crucial to successful public relations, marketing and advertising campaigns. In public relations there is an emphasis on the ability to reach a target audience through methods and tactics that will reach them effectively and influence their behavior. The Diffusion Theory provides a clear and concise guideline to explain the steps one undergoes when processing new information and making decisions. Understanding this theory allows for public relations practitioners to have a clear outline to follow when planning a campaign and allows them to know exactly what to do at each stage of the Diffusion Theory process. This organization helps a public relations practitioner come up with a goal and an effective plan for each step of the process and campaign overall.

For example, stage one is awareness. The public relations practitioner must first ensure that there is enough media coverage, promotional materials, press releases, etc. to spread awareness of the product or idea at the center of the campaign.

The second step of interest or persuasion tells the practitioner that they will need to somehow convince the consumer of why they will need this product or why they should care about an idea. This can be done through fact sheets, comparison to similar things, relevant statistics or simply telling the consumer why it will make their life better.

The third and fourth steps of evaluation and trial tell the public relations practitioner that the consumer will need to be able to somehow try this idea or product without a formal commitment. In order to allow for this, they might implement something such as a 30-day trial, or a tester product in a store. Ideas are more difficult to measure in steps because a person is able to change their way of thinking freely, but these steps tell the practitioner that a trial period will take place while the consumer decides whether or not to care about the idea.

The final step, adoption, is the end goal for a public relations practitioner. This is where an individual will make the decision to either buy or reject a product, or jump on board and change their way of thinking and behavior as a result of the campaign. If many people did not adopt the main goal of a campaign, a practitioner can evaluate the previous steps and see how they can be changed and improved upon in the future.

The Diffusion Theory can also be useful in helping public relations practitioners decide who to target. In order to have a successful campaign, they may want to target early adopters and early majority members as they are more open to adopting innovation and serve as role models and influencers to spread the message to others. It would not be as effective to target individuals who have a tendency to fall into the late majority and laggard groups.

The Diffusion Theory clearly organizes the way that a campaign can be run and allows for it to be executed effectively. This theory provides a greater understanding of how an individual processes information and makes decisions which allows public relations practitioners to tailor a campaign perfectly to their audience.

Campaign Examples

Since the Diffusion Theory is so widely used, there are countless campaigns and products that catch on through the process. However, one of the best and easiest examples to follow is how this theory was put to use with Apple and the iPhone.

The iPhone was such a cutting edge and innovative product; the team at Apple had no idea that they would eventually change the world. The widespread adoption of the iPhone can be broken down using the Diffusion Theory adopter categories and five-step adoption model. The creators of the iPhone can be categorized as the innovators while the first people to embrace this revolutionary new idea of a smartphone were the early adopters. These are the people that are camping outside of the the Apple store when a new version is released. The early majority later adopted the iPhone after hearing about it through peers and influential people in their social groups. They eventually served as models to the late majority and over time the laggards had to get a smartphone because they are basically essential in order to keep up with society.

Each person that eventually made the decision to purchase an iPhone went through the five-step adoption process. They had to become aware of the product, decide if they were interested or be persuaded into trying it, decide whether they would try it, test it at the Apple Store and make the decision to purchase an iPhone or to keep their old phone.

Technology is a classic and common example of early adopters and the process of the Diffusion Theory, but not the only one. Another example of the Diffusion Theory in action is the Frito-Lay initiative to make snacks healthier with SunChips. This campaign followed the Diffusion Theory in a way that created brand awareness and set the pace for many other companies to create healthy options for snacks.

Consumers had to go through the five-step process to learn about SunChips. They had to become interested in them or be persuaded to try them, decide whether or not they would try the snack, eventually try it and choose whether they would implement SunChips and healthier snacks into their lives. Each consumer had to go through these steps when it came to trying the product and the widespread adoption of this product lead to the trend of healthier snacking for many companies.

There are countless campaigns and products that use the Diffusion Theory every day. Everyone goes through this process when making decisions about adopting new products or ideas and may not even know it.

In conclusion, the Diffusion Theory is a five-step process that an individual goes through when making decisions on whether to adopt innovation. The steps include: awareness, interest, evaluation, trial and adoption. There are also five categories of individuals that influence the way that the innovation is disseminated throughout society: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. Understanding this theory and the way that people process information individually and throughout their social groups can provide immensely valuable information for public relations practitioners and those trying to influence consumer behavior. The diffusion theory can help to organize effective campaigns and create goals within a campaign. The Diffusion Theory is widely-used and helps to explain people’s behavior and decision making, which can benefit public relations practitioners in almost every campaign.

 

References

Kaminski, J. (2011). Diffusion of innovation theory. Canadian Journal of Nursing Informatics, 6(2), 1-6.

Rogers, E. M. (2010). Diffusion of innovations. Simon and Schuster.

Surry, D. W. (1997, February). Diffusion theory and instructional technology. In Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (pp. 1-12).