similar image. Because of this, opinion leaders are powerful factors in marketing communications. Having opinion leaders endorse a brand can increase brand awareness and sales. Due to this, large companies pay highly influential celebrities to endorse their products. You can receive the opinion leaders' thoughts or feelings towards the product/service through paid advertising, social media, blogs, or any other form of written media. These can be direct, or indirect influences. Opinion Formers are consumers who are regarded by their peers as being highly knowledgeable and trustworthy. They are considered experts in selecting the highest quality products due to their extensive knowledge, and as such are able to influence the purchasing behavior of other consumers despite lacking the celebrity status of an opinion leader. They have specialized knowledge about the area which corresponds with the product, service or business. For example, this could be a doctor sponsoring a form of medication, or a personal trainer recommending a sports brand to the customer. This means that both opinion leaders and opinion formers have a large influence on the consumer and their perceived view of the business, product, or service provided. If a brand is specializing in the sale and manufacturing of makeup products, the business would want to look at someone who is both known for their knowledge about makeup and also someone who they know is popular within that community, so that the message is as widespread throughout their target market as possible. Opinion leaders add another link in the communication process, acting as a "meaning filter" for the receivers of the message. The message is sent from the sender and the opinion leaders share their opinions with the targeted audience. Mass media Television Television has since its inception dominated the advertising media scene, due to its combination of visual and aural stimulation, allowing for greater attention grabbing and more effective transmission of messages than other forms of media. It has a few disadvantages: television commercials suffer from being "zipped" and zapped". "Zipping" is the term given to fast forwarding commercial break sessions during the pre-recording of programs. Often viewers will record programs purely so they can be viewed without the commercial breaks. "Zapping" is the term given to the habit of many consumers to change channels during commercial breaks. This is also done to avoid watching advertisements. Using television advertisements is beneficial due to its wide reach and the degree