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 theory states that individuals goes through five steps process before adopting new ideas or products which is the adoption model

Awareness (Knowledge)

Interest (Persuasion)

Evaluation (Decision)

Trail ( Implementation)

Adoption (Conformation)

The Diffusion Theory separates people into five categories of how they adopt new innovation: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards.

How the theory relate to public Relations .

For public relations, marketing, and advertising campaigns to be effective, it is essential to comprehend how people process information and make judgments. In the field of public relations, it is crucial to be able to successfully communicate with a target audience in order to change their behavior. The steps one takes when digesting new information and coming to judgments are succinctly described by the Diffusion Theory. Public relations professionals that comprehend this theory have a clear roadmap to follow when developing a campaign and are aware of exactly what to do at each stage of the Diffusion Theory process. A public relations professional might get assistance from this organization in creating a goal and an efficient plan for each stage of the campaign as a whole and process. Stage one, for instance, is consciousness. To raise awareness of the item or concept at the core of the campaign, the public relations professional must first make sure there is enough media coverage, promotional material, press releases, etc.

The second phase of interest or persuasion indicates to the practitioner that they will need to persuade the consumer of the need for this product or the importance of an ideology. Fact sheets, comparisons to related products, pertinent data, or just explaining to the customer how it would improve their life can all be used to do this.

The public relations professional can infer from the third and fourth steps of evaluation and trial that the consumer will need to be able to sample this idea or product in some way without making a formal commitment. They may use strategies like a 30-day trial or a test product in a store to make this possible. Ideas are more challenging to quantify in terms of stages since a person is free to alter their perspective, but these actions signal to the practitioner that there will be a trial period while the client determines whether or not to be interested in the concept.

A public relations professional’s ultimate goal is adoption, which comes after the last stage. At this point, a person will decide whether to accept or reject a product, join the cause, and alter their behavior and way of thinking in response to the campaign. If a campaign’s primary objective was not widely adopted, a practitioner might assess the prior steps and determine how they might be altered and improved going forward.

Public relations professionals can also benefit from understanding the Diffusion Theory select your target. They may choose to target early adopters and early majority members in order to have a successful campaign because they are more likely to adopt innovation and act as role models and influencers for others. Targeting people who frequently belong to the laggard and late majority groups would not be as successful.

A campaign can be run and carried out successfully thanks to the Diffusion Theory’s crystal-clear organization of how to do it. Public relations professionals can better target their campaigns to their audience by using this theory’s increased understanding of how people process information and make decisions.