IMPACT OF ADVERTISING ON THE PURCHASE OF ETISALAT RECHARGE CARDS
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IMPACT OF ADVERTISING ON THE PURCHASE OF ETISALAT RECHARGE CARDS
ABSTRACT
This study identified and analysed the impact of advertising on the purchase of Etisalat recharge cards, using Auchi Metropolis as a case study. Information was acquired from both primary and secondary sources.
The analysis and tests were carried out using proven statistical procedures such as frequency distribution tables, chi-square tests, null hypothesis, alternate hypothesis, and simple percentages.
This study was conducted to determine the extent to which advertising aids in informing, persuading, and influencing consumer purchasing decisions for Etisalat recharge cards. According to this study, advertising solely highlights the product’s positive qualities while concealing its negative aspects.
Manufacturers were also advised to fill and stretch their line of Etisalat recharge cards, control their channel, and conduct their periodic resource not only to withstand the wind of change but also to measure the effect of such marketing activities on demand,
as marketing is merely a civilised form of warfare in which most battles are won with words, ideas, and disciplined thinking.
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The ability to communicate is fundamental to management at all levels.
Advertising is a type of external communication. At the heart of advertising is knowledge of how consumers react to various methods and how these strategies may affect the image of the organisation and its product.
Advertising is a paid kind of non-personal communication or presentation that promotes values, goods, and services by a specific sponsor (America Marketing Association [AMA] 1960).
Advertising messages can be delivered to customers via mass media such as radio, television, newspapers, magazines, direct mail, mass transit, vehicles, and outdoor displays.
Advertising, to some extent, is the most feasible component of the promotional mix, alongside sales promotion, personal selling, and publicity. Among all of these, advertising is viewed as playing a critical role in the dissemination of corporate information to the target market and the wider public; nonetheless, advertising has sparked several debates about its impact on consumer purchasing decisions.
On the basis of this, Duncan (1974) argued that “provided the consumer is free, firstly to agree with or ignore arguments and secondly to choose any particular product in preference to another,
there is little scope for condemnation of persuasive advertisement” . In support of this fact, Etisalat’s president and CEO remarked that advertising and product positioning are practically everything.
Some people believe that advertising only deceives and cheats consumers. Baster A.S.J. believed that “the majority of information advertising is and has always been a campaign of exaggeration, half truth, intended ambiguity, direct les, and general deception.”
According to Baber (1991, p.12), good communicators wield considerable power in persuading and influencing their audience, leaving little or no room for the receiver to utilise their discretion.
Critics argue that advertising largely promotes materialism, incorrect economic decisions, and causes individuals to become morally and mentally corrupt. Neil H. Borden observed in his book, The Economic Effects of Advertising, that the use of influence in commercial relations is one of the characteristics of a free society,
just as persuasion and counter-persuasion are freely exercised in many aspects of our society, including the home, the press, the classroom, the pulpit, the court of law, the political forum, the legislative halls, and government agencies.
Despite these controversies, both rich and developing countries spend a lot of money on advertising each year. Regardless of these problems, there are numerous significant benefits to advertising not only for a product, but also for a country’s economy and to improve a country’s strong public relations, which encourages countries and commercial organisations to invest.
Good advertising strategies reflect a positive picture of a country, organisation, and its products. This, of course, raises customer knowledge of the organization’s product, which benefits a country’s balance of trade by increasing demand and the organization’s internal rate of return.
On product, advertising influences target groups while also defending the goods. It may also generate interest in the product category, aid in the repositioning of a mature product, and, most significantly, highlight the product’s features, benefits, and applications.
However, it is considered that some products are more advertiseable than others. Stanton (1991), citing advertising specialist Neil Borden, outlined five product criteria that indicate when advertising may be most effective.
i. The primary demand trend for the product should be positive. Advertising cannot sell an Etisalat product that is undoubtedly disliked by the target demographic.
ii. There should be some attributes that distinguish an Etisalat product from those of its competitors. Etisalat’s attributes could include goods, price, distribution, and promotional advantages such as personal selling, sales promotion, and exposure.
iii. There should be certain secret features of Etisalat products that, when marketed, would have an influence on the recipient.
iv. The emotional purchase motivation should be given. The advertising pitch for Etisalat products can elicit such emotions.
v. Etisalat sellers should have appropriate funds and efficient media vehicles at their disposal.
Overall, the primary goal of all marketing efforts, including advertising, is to produce consistent sales that generate direct money for the sellers and manufacturers of Etisalat recharge cards.
It is believed that the most expensive and contentious aspect of the promotional mix requires additional research in the realm of consumer behaviour.
It is important to note that advertising is only one component of the promotional mix that influences consumer purchasing decisions; thus, it is hoped that the findings of this study will be more useful in conjunction with other influence variables in the context of consumer purchasing behaviour.
1.2 Statement of the Research Problem
With the growth of communication service providers, there is every sign that competition will exist. Users of such services will be unable to use them unless they are aware of their presence.
Etisalat recharge cards are relatively new in the telecommunications business. If these recharge cards are to be purchased, Etisalat must make a concerted effort to promote its offering.
A simple examination at most advertisements on television and in other media reveals that nothing is said regarding Etisalat’s offerings. The researcher had to conduct this study in order to encourage such a corporation.
So the problem of this study is expressed in the form of a question: what effect does advertising have on the purchase of Etisalat recharge cards?
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The primary goal of this research is to determine the extent to which product promotion influences the decision to acquire Etisalat recharge cards.
The research objectives, stated explicitly, are:
i. To investigate the extent to which advertising contributes to informing, persuading, and influencing customer purchasing decisions for Etisalat recharge cards.
ii. Determine the impact (if any) of gender, age, education, nationality, and occupation on the use and purchase of Etisalat recharge cards.
iii. Determine the relationship between pricing and sales volume in order to assess the effectiveness of advertisements.
iv. Based on the findings of this research, indicate how to deploy advertising activities at various phases of the process to increase the effectiveness of the sales strategy for Etisalat recharge card products.
1.4 Significance of the Study
Essentially, this research focuses on an in-depth examination of the advertising techniques and strategies used in the sale of Etisalat recharge cards, as well as their impact on consumer decision-making.
The relevance of this research stems from the fact that its beneficial output will be extremely useful in resolving economic problems caused by recharge card manufacturers’ failure or underperformance in advertising.
As a result, the researcher expects that the findings of this study will benefit etisalat recharge card manufacturers by concentrating their attention on the impact of advertising on etisalat recharge card purchases. It will help organisations understand the processes involved in advertising and the need to budget money for efficient advertising.
1.5 Scope of Study
This study is being conducted to investigate the impact of advertising on the purchase of Etisalat recharge card brands in Auchi metropolitan. However, given the nature of this research, appropriate effort will be made to cover the entire Auchi city in Edo State.
Nonetheless, it is hoped that the study’s findings would be applied to other areas of the country after some fair adjustments have been made.
1.6 Limitations of the Study
The main limitation of this research is respondent bias; majority of them believed that the information needed was for something other than this research.
There was also the issue of funding; the cost of obtaining materials such as duplicating papers and gathering vital information from responses posed a significant challenge, but with God’s grace, I was able to sail through.
Finally, there was a high tension and chicken-up programme at school, and the time for this research task was too short, causing the researcher to overstretch himself in the process of acquiring the required facts that would make this research study worthy of acceptance.
Regardless of these issues, the researcher is confident in the significance of the data gathered and assures that the aforementioned challenges did not undermine the study’s usefulness.
1.7 Statement of Hypothesis
The researcher used the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis I
Ho: Users of etisalat recharge cards lack confidence in marketed etisalat recharge card brands.
Hello: Users of Etisalat recharge cards have more trust in advertising brands of Etisalat recharge cards.
Hypothesis II.
Ho: The advertising of Etisalat recharge cards does not cause consumers to recognise needs that they would otherwise highlight.
H: Advertising for Etisalat recharge cards causes consumers to recognise needs that they would not otherwise highlight.
Hypothesis III.
Ho: Advertising cannot make members of the same household prefer different brands of Etisalat recharge cards.
Hello: Advertising makes members of the same household prefer different brands of Etisalat recharge cards.
1.8 Operational Definition of Terms
This exploratory research project makes use of a variety of materials. As a result, the key terminology employed are operationally defined based on the researcher’s goal and context.
Therefore, the concepts are defined as follows:
1.Advertising: Any paid, non-personal presentation of ideas, commodities, or services by a specific sponsor.
2.Attitude: They refer to a person’s favourable or unfavourable acquisition of knowledge through thought or observation, emotional sensation, and action inclination towards certain objects in ideas.
3.Brand: According to the researcher, a brand is any name, word, sign, symbol, or design that is meant to identify and separate the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers from those of competitors.
4.Market: This refers to all present and potential buyers of a product.
5.Target Market: The researcher means a well-defined group of consumers whose demands the company intends to meet.
6.Product: A product is anything that may be sold to a market for attention, acquisition, usage, or consumption in order to satisfy a want or need, such as physical things or ideas. It can also be defined as a set of tangible and intangible features such as packaging, colour, price, quality, and brand, as well as the seller’s services and reputation.
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