CHAPTER 1
Introduction
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Advertising
has become an essential element of the corporate world and hence the companies
allot a considerable amount of revenues as their advertising budget.
Advertising can be explained as a promotional strategy that serves as a very
important tool that creates awareness in the mind of a potential consumer to
patronize a product. To consumers, the role of advertising is to provide
information efficiently and economically as possible to potential buyers.
Closely related to the function of the information of the consumer is the
belief that advertising promotes greater choice for the consumer.
Advertising
involves a form of communication proposed to persuade an audience (viewers,
readers or listeners) to buy or take some action upon products, ideas, or services.
It usually includes the name of a product or service and how that product or
service could benefit the consumer, to persuade a target market to purchase or
to consume that particular brand. Commercial advertisers, as in the case of
telecommunication sector, often intend to generate increased consumption of
their products or services through branding, which involves the repetition of
an image or product name in an effort to associate related qualities with the
brand in the minds of consumers.
McDaniel,
Lamb and Hair.Jr. (2006) defines
advertising as “any form of paid communication in which the sponsor or company
is identified”. Traditional media such as Television, radio, newspapers,
magazines, books, direct mail, billboards and transit cards (advertisements on
buses and taxis and at bus stops) are most commonly used to transmit
advertisements to consumers and almost all companies selling a good or service
use some form of advertising, whether it be in the form of a
multimillion-dollar campaign or a simple classified ad in a newspaper. One of
the primary benefits of advertising is its ability to communicate to a large
number of people at one time. Advertising reinforces positive attitudes towards
brands, when consumers already have a favorable frame towards product brand,
advertising often influence them positively. Also, when consumers are already
loyal to a brand they tend to buy more of that brand when advertising and
promotion is increased. Advertising
has been defined simply as a form of communication through the media about
products or ideas, a message that is paid for by an identified sponsor
(Anyacho, 2007).
Advertising is the action of
calling public attention to something, especially by paid announcements. Any
medium that can take a message from an organization to a potential consumer can
be used for advertising. Of course, the most popular media are television,
radio, the Internet and print, such as newspaper, magazines, etc. Sponsorships are agreements where a
company pays an individual or organization to promote its products and
services. Advertisements used in today's world are creative and innovative.
Marketers have started thinking out of the box and are coming up with new ideas
to create a better perception in minds of the consumers and impress them to buy
their products. Nowadays there is a very special emphasis on the content of the
advertisements. Advertising is content and content is advertising (Tech Dirt,
2008). There is no such thing as just 'advertising' anymore. It needs to have content
that will attract the potential consumers towards it, make them contemplate
upon it, change their opinions and eventually make them put forth purchase
intent. The only way to capture the consumer's attention like this is to make
the advertisement entertaining, interesting and relevant.
This
reaearch will also focus on consumer brand preference, buying behavior in
relation to advertising and telecommunication sector. Consumer behavior is
"The study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they
use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or
ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the
consumer and society". Consumer behavior is the study of when, why, how
and where people do or do not buy a product. It deals with psychology,
sociology and economics and attempts to understand the buyer decision making
process both individually and in groups. Consumer Brand Preference is the
measure of brand loyalty in which a consumer will choose a particular brand in
presence of competing brands, but will accept substitutes if that brand is not
available.
According to Lane, Whitehill King and Reichart
(1999) explained that Consumer behavior is need driven and this means that a
purchase is the culmination of a process that begins with the recognition that
some problem can be solved by a particular product or service. The problem may
be Utilitarian or Hedonistic, for instance we buy a new phone to communicate to
business partners, family, friends and love ones or to impress the people
around us. To a large degree, our purchases have elements of both and consumers
search for products that satisfy their needs and wants at both levels.
Jefkins
(1994:15) “Advertising is not only about providing information, it must be in
such an interesting, original and persuasive way that the consumer is urged to
take action.” This means that advertising goes beyond providing details for a
particular product, after receiving information on the product they should be
persuaded to get the product as a result of the awareness that has been
created. Advertising contributes to the launching of a new product, it
increases consumer brand loyalty for existing brands and maintains the sales of
mature brands. This means that advertising creates awareness of useful products
so that businesses can build shareholder value by profitably moving inventory.
While
writing on advertising nature and scope, Etzel et al. (1997) succinctly capture
all advertising as having four features:
(i)
A verbal and or visual message
(ii)
A sponsor who is identified
(iii)
Delivery through one or more media
(iv)
Payment by the sponsor to the mediacarrying the message.
Summarizing
the above, they conclude that “advertising then consist of all the activities
involved in presenting to an audience a nonpersonal, sponsor-identified,
paid-for message about a product or organization”.
When
competition is intense and the consumers are faced with brand choice in the
market, it becomes essential for the manufacturers to understand the major
factors that can attract the attention of buyers to his own brand. These then
form the foundation for marketing planning and action.
There
is need to understand that to create brand preference advertisement is a very
important factor and huge amount of money and resources are spent on
advertisements from time to time. Nevertheless there are obstacles that may
affect consumer brand selection. There is a great relationship between
consumers’ exposure to advertising and their possibility to buy the ones
advertised. In the world of today, creating a brand and making it of great
value requires a long process that requires a lot of planning. Branding does
not only refer to the name of a firm. It is an existing name for a new product,
an advertising campaign, marketing logo. Brand are key players in developing
customers life and strengthening the economical condition of companies.
Brand preference means is
when you choose a specific company's product or service when you have other,
equally-priced and available options. It
is a reflection of customer loyalty, successful marketing tactics, and brand strengths.
According to Business Dictionary Brand
Preference can be defined as Measure of brand
loyalty in which a consumer will choose a particular brand in presence
of competing brands, but will accept substitutes if that brand is not available.
Consumer Preference is
a marketing term meaning a consumer
likes one thing over another. The role of advertising
in this process is to provide information as efficiently and economically as
possible to potential buyers. Advertising is particularly proficient in
providing information and introducing consumers to new products and services.
The perception of preference has been considered in different disciplines such
as economists, psychologists, sociology. However there is no commonly agreed
definition of preference among these disciplines. For example, economists
believe that preferences are exogenous, stable, and known with adequate
precision and are revealed through choice behavior. The economic view of
preference had been criticised for assuming that preferences are stable and
endogenous. An individual’s preferences are not stable and can be endogenous or
exogenous. In marketing literature, the word preference means the desirability
or choice of an alternative. Preferences
are above all behavioural tendencies (Zajonc and Markus, 1982). Brand
preference is defined variously as the consumer’s predispositions toward
a brand that varies depending on the salient beliefs that are activated at a
given time; the consumer biasness toward a certain brand; the extent to
which a consumer favors one brand over another.
TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY IN
NIGERIA
Telecommunication is the transmission of signs,
signals, writings, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic
systems, as defined by the International Telecommunication Union
(ITU).
Telecommunication occurs when
the exchange of information between communication
participants includes the use of technology. It is transmitted either electrically
over physical media, such as cables, or via electromagnetic radiation. Such transmission paths are often divided
into communication channels which afford the
advantages of multiplexing. The term is often used in its
plural form, telecommunications,
because it involves many different technologies.
Deregulation of the mobile phone
market has led to the introduction of Global System for Mobile
Communication (GSM) network providers operating on the
900/1800 MHz spectrum, MTN Nigeria, Airtel,
Globacom,
and Etisalat.
Use of cell-phones has soared, and has mostly replaced the unreliable fixed
line services of Nigerian
Telecommunications Limited (NITEL). With the expiration of the
exclusivity period of the main GSM network providers, Nigeria's telecom
regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission
(NCC), introduced the Unified Licensing Regime. It is hoped that telcos with
unified licences will be able to provide fixed and mobile telephony and
Internet access as well as any other communications service they choose to
offer. In March 2011 the NCC started registering SIM cards.
An October 2011 estimate placed the number of mobile phones at about 88
million, with most people having more than one cellphone.
The
introduction of mobile telecommunication in Nigeria in 2001 represents an era
in the evolution of the telecommunication industry in the country.
Telecommunication makes it possible to carry out multiple tasks that was not
possible with the use of analogue phones.
Akpabio
(2003:132-137) analyse the mobile phone from the point of the capacity for
ownership by even poor people. In his perspective, during the pre-GSM regime of
analogue landline telephones, Nigeria perhaps ranked lowest in telephone
ownership. He submits that overwhelming majority of citizens resorted to
business centers or phone booths which were few and far between. These, he
said, were also marred by long queues, general disorderliness and frustration.
This can be reconciled with the observation of cost-effectiveness over which
Shoki and Ufuophu-Biri (2007:182) again favour the smart mobile phone piece.
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The
following are the objectives for the this study
i.
To find out the extent at which Etisalat
adverts can motivate consumer brand preference.
ii.
To determine if Etisalat adverts
influence their choice of network.
iii.
To examine the impact Etisalat adverts
have on existing and prospective customers.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
i.
To
what extent can Etisalat adverts motivate consumer brand preference?
ii.
What
is the influence of Etisalat adverts on choice of network?
iii.
What
impacts does Etisalat adverts have on existing and prospective customers?
RESEARCH
HYPOTHESIS
The
hypothesis formulated to aid the study are given as follows
H1:
Etisalat adverts does not motivate consumer brand preference.
H2:
Etisalat adverts does not influence choice of network.
H3:
Etisalt adverts does not have impact on existing and prospective customers
SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
This study will provide statistical
information to the impact advertising plays in motivating brand preference for
Etisalat network; It will make companies and manufacturers know the role
advertising plays in making consumers to prefer their brand to other brand in
the market, It will help consumers know
the level at which adverts can create awareness and influence consumers in
patronizing their products or services, It will help companies and
manufacturers know how consumers view their products and how consumers recall
Etisalat adverts.
To the media professionals and
advertising practitioners, it will help them know the areas they need to
improve and focus on when advertising for a product or service. It will help
them know or consider the target market to be reached as well as the socio
economic and demographic characteristics of consumers.
It will help companies and
organizations analyze their approaches when they want to advertise a product so
as to make sure that the adverts has a very strong effect that can motivate
people to chose and keep patronizing a particular brand.
To media scholars, this study will
provide or add adequate literature that dwells on the significant roles that
advertising plays in making people know about a product and also patronize
these products. Also the huge impact advertising has in motivating brand
preference. This study will also provide alphabetical meaning to the issues
that surround Etisalat network.
SCOPE
OF STUDY
This study critically examines the
impact advertising have in motivating consumer brand preference of Etisalat
Network. Other telecommunication network will be excluded such as MTN, Airtel
and Glo Mobile. This study centers on the view of the Undergraduates students
of University of Ilorin.
OPERATIONAL
DEFINITIONS
1.
Impact
A significant or strong influence, a
strog effect of impression
2.
Advertising
It can be defined as a paid non personal
communication of information about products or
ideas by an identified sponsor through the mass media in an effort to
persuade or influence behavior.
3.
Motivating
To be the motive of something or
someone, to cause or stimulate to act, to be the underlying cause of an action
of a certain kind.
4.
Consumer
A consumer can be defined as an individual who buys products or services for personal use and not for manufacture or resale. A consumer is also someone who can
make the decision whether or not to purchase an item at the store, and someone who can be influenced
by marketing and advertisements. In this study is either someone using Etisalat network or
a potential consumer.
5.
Brand
A unique
design, sign, symbol, words or a combination of these employed in creating an
image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors. It
can also be defined as a product or service that is publicly distinguished from
other products, services or concepts so that it can be easily communicated and
usually marketed.
6.
Preference
A liking
for one alternative over another or others. It can also mean the selecting of
something over another or others.
7.
Network(s)
This refers to the various telecommunication
companies operating GSM services in Nigeria which are Globacom, MTN, Airtel
etc.
8. Telecommunication
The exchange of information over significant
distances by electronic means.
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