Download - TAKORADI POLYTECHNIC REPOSITORY

THE MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE ROLE AND VALUE OF ADVERTISEMENT IN
SEKONDI-TAKORADI
BY
SHUAIB ABDUL-RAUF
07070268
A PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF GRAPHICS OF SCHOOL
OF APPLIED ART TAKORADI POLYTECHNIIC IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN
COMMERCIAL ART.
MAY 2010
DECLARATION
I hereby declared that this submission is my own work towards the Higher
National Diploma in Commercial Art Graphic option and that, to the best of my
knowledge it contains no material previously published by another person nor
material which has been accepted by other tertiary institution, except where due
acknowledgement had been made in the text.
Candidate
Shuaib Abdul-Rauf
…………………….
…………………………
Signature
Date
Certified by
Mr. Jacob Nyarko
…………………..
(Supervisor)
…………………………
Signature
Date
Certified by
Dr. Samuel
A. Bentum ….…………..
(Head of Department)
………………………
Signature
Date
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
All thanks are due to Almighty Allah for His grace and guidance and protection
throughout the three years course of study in Takoradi Polytechnic.
I formally thank Mr. Jacob Nyarko who supervised the project from day one till
the last day. And may Almighty Allah grant him and his family mercy and
guidance all the way through in all endeavors.
My other thanks go to my family and everyone who might have helped me one
way or the other and those who wished to have helped but were not able and my
dear Akuffo Judith Esiwonam.
Again I also appreciate the financial and spiritual support from my brother and
sisters Mohammed Awal, Umul, Surayah, Libabet,and Rahmet. Without them, I
wouldn’t have reached where I am today. I say big thank you and may Almighty
Allah grant you all refuge from here and thereafter.
My last positive reception goes to all lectures, colleagues in Takoradi Polytechnic
and my love ones.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE
PAGE
Certification
i
Acknowledgement
ii
Table of contents
iii-iv
List of tables and graph
v
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of the study
1- 6
1.2
Problem statement
6
1.3
Objectives of the study
6
1.4
Scope of the study
7
1.5
Significance of the study
7
1.6
Limitation to the study
7
1.7
Organization of the study
8
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0
Introduction
9
2.1
Definitions of various authors
9 - 11
2.2
Importance of advertisement
11
2.3
Types of advertisement
12 - 13
2.4
Forms off- line advertisement
13 - 22
iii
The role and value advertisement
23 - 32
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
3.0
Introduction
33
3.1
Sources of data
33
3.2
Population
3.3
Sample size/ sampling
3.4
Research instrument
3.5
Administration of instrument
35
3.6
Limitation
35
33 - 34
34
34 - 35
CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS
4.1
Analysis of Findings
4.2
Questionnaire
36 - 49
50
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1
Summary
51- 52
5.2
Conclusion
52 - 53
5.3
Recommendations
53 - 54
Bibliography
55
iv
LIST OF TABLE
TABLE AND GRAPH
PAGE
Table and graph 1
36 - 37
Table and graph 2
38
Table and graph 3
39
Table and graph 4
40
Table and graph 5(a)
41
Table and graph 5(b)
42 - 43
Table and graph 6
44
Table and graph 7
45
Table and graph 8
46
Table and graph 9
47
Table and graph 10
48
Table and graph 11
49
v
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background to the study
Advertising is a form of communication used to influence individuals to purchase
products or services or support political candidates or ideas. Frequently it
communicates a message that includes the name of the product or service and
how that product or service could potentially benefit the consumer. Advertising
often attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume a
particular brand of product or service. Modern advertising developed with the rise
of mass production in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Commercial advertisers often seek 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. Different types of media can be used to deliver these
messages, including traditional media such as newspapers, magazines,
television, radio, billboards or direct mail. Advertising may be placed by an
advertising agency on behalf of a company or other organization.
Organizations that spend money on advertising promoting items other than a
consumer product or service include political parties, interest groups, religious
organizations and governmental agencies. Non-profit organizations may rely on
free modes of persuasion, such as a public service announcement.
Money spent on advertising has increased in recent years. In 2007, spending on
advertising was estimated at more than $150 billion in the United States and
$385 billion worldwide, and the latter to exceed $450 billion by 2010.
Advertising is communication used to influence individuals to purchase products
or services or support political candidates or ideas. Advertising can be displayed
on billboards, newspapers, T.V., websites, movies and more.
1
Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and wall posters. Commercial
messages and political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of
Pompeii and ancient Arabia. Lost and found advertising on papyrus was common
in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Wall or rock painting for commercial
advertising is another manifestation of an ancient advertising form, which is
present to this day in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. The
tradition of wall painting can be traced back to Indian rock art paintings that date
back to 4000 BC. History tells us that Out-of-Home advertising and Billboards are
the oldest forms of advertising.
As the towns and cities of the Middle Ages began to grow, and the general
ordinary citizen was unable to read, signs that today would say cobbler, miller,
tailor or blacksmith would use an image associated with their trade such as a
boot, a suit, a hat, a clock, a diamond, a horse shoe, a candle or even a bag of
flour. Fruits and vegetables were sold in the city square from the backs of carts
and wagons and their proprietors used street callers (town criers) to announce
their whereabouts for the convenience of the customers.
As education became an apparent need and reading, as well as printing,
developed advertising expanded to include handbills. In the 17th century
advertisements started to appear in weekly newspapers in England. These early
print advertisements were used mainly to promote books and newspapers, which
became increasingly affordable with advances in the printing press; and
medicines, which were increasingly sought after as disease ravaged Europe.
However, false advertising and so-called "quack" advertisements became a
problem, which ushered in the regulation of advertising content.
As the economy expanded during the 19th century, advertising grew alongside.
In the United States, the success of this advertising format eventually led to the
growth of mail-order advertising.
In June 1836, French newspaper La Presse was the first to include paid
advertising in its pages, allowing it to lower its price, extend its readership and
2
increase its profitability and the formula was soon copied by all titles. Around
1840, Volney Palmer established a predecessor to advertising agencies in
Boston. Around the same time, in France, Charles-Louis Havas extended the
services of his news agency, Havas to include advertisement brokerage, making
it the first French group to organize. At first, agencies were brokers for
advertisement space in newspapers. N. W. Ayer & Son was the first full-service
agency to assume responsibility for advertising content. N.W. Ayer opened in
1869, and was located in Philadelphia.
At the turn of the century, there were few career choices for women in business;
however, advertising was one of the few. Since women were responsible for
most of the purchasing done in their household, advertisers and agencies
recognized the value of women's insight during the creative process. In fact, the
first American advertising to use a sexual sell was created by a woman – for a
soap product. Although tame by today's standards, the advertisement featured a
couple with the message "The skin you love to touch".
In the early 1920s, the first radio stations were established by radio equipment
manufacturers and retailers who offered programs in order to sell more radios to
consumers. As time passed, many non-profit organizations followed suit in
setting up their own radio stations, and included: schools, clubs and civic groups.
When the practice of sponsoring programs was popularized, each individual
radio program was usually sponsored by a single business in exchange for a
brief mention of the business' name at the beginning and end of the sponsored
shows. However, radio station owners soon realised they could earn more
money by selling sponsorship rights in small time allocations to multiple
businesses throughout their radio station's broadcasts, rather than selling the
sponsorship rights to single businesses per show.
This practice was carried over to television in the late 1940s and early 1950s. A
fierce battle was fought between those seeking to commercialize the radio and
people who argued that the radio spectrum should be considered a part of the
commons – to be used only non-commercially and for the public good. The
3
United Kingdom pursued a public funding model for the BBC, originally a private
company, the British Broadcasting Company, but incorporated as a public body
by Royal Charter in 1927. In Canada, advocates like Graham Spry were likewise
able to persuade the federal government to adopt a public funding model,
creating the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. However, in the United States,
the capitalist model prevailed with the passage of the Communications Act of
1934 which created the Federal Communications Commission. To placate the
socialists, the U.S. Congress did require commercial broadcasters to operate in
the "public interest, convenience, and necessity". Public broadcasting now exists
in the United States due to the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act which led to the
Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio.
In the early 1950s, the DuMont Television Network began the modern trend of
selling advertisement time to multiple sponsors. Previously, DuMont had trouble
finding sponsors for many of their programs and compensated by selling smaller
blocks of advertising time to several businesses. This eventually became the
standard for the commercial television industry in the United States. However, it
was still a common practice to have single sponsor shows, such as The United
States Steel Hour. In some instances the sponsors exercised great control over
the content of the show - up to and including having one's advertising agency
actually writing the show. The single sponsor model is much less prevalent now,
a notable exception being the Hallmark Hall of Fame.
The 1960s saw advertising transform into a modern approach in which creativity
was
allowed
to
shine,
producing
unexpected
messages
that
made
advertisements more tempting to consumers' eyes. The Volkswagen advertising
campaign—featuring such headlines as "Think Small" and "Lemon" (which were
used to describe the appearance of the car)—ushered in the era of modern
advertising by promoting a "position" or "unique selling proposition" designed to
associate each brand with a specific idea in the reader or viewer's mind. This
period of American advertising is called the Creative Revolution and its archetype
was William Bernbach who helped create the revolutionary Volkswagen
4
advertisements among others. Some of the most creative and long- entirely
devoted to advertising, such as QVC, Home Shopping Network, and Shop TV
Canada.
Marketing through the Internet opened new frontiers for advertisers and
contributed to the "dot-com" boom of the 1990s. Entire corporations operated
solely on advertising revenue, offering everything from coupons to free Internet
access. At the turn of the 21st century, a number of websites including the
search engine Google, started a change in online advertising by emphasizing
contextually relevant, unremarkable ads intended to help, rather than inundate,
users. This has led to a plethora of similar efforts and an increasing trend of
interactive advertising.
The share of advertising spending relative to GDP has changed little across large
changes in media. For example, in the U.S. in 1925, the main advertising media
were newspapers, magazines, signs on streetcars, and outdoor posters.
Advertising spending as a share of GDP was about 2.9 percent. By 1998,
television and radio had become major advertising media. Nonetheless,
advertising spending as a share of GDP was slightly lower—about 2.4 percent.
A recent advertising innovation is "guerrilla marketing", which involve unusual
approaches such as staged encounters in public places, giveaways of products
such as cars that are covered with brand messages, and interactive advertising
where the viewer can respond to become part of the advertising message.
Guerrilla advertising is becoming increasing more popular with a lot of
companies. This type of advertising is unpredictable and innovative, which
causes consumers to buy the product or idea. This reflects an increasing trend of
interactive and "embedded" adverts, such as via product placement, having
consumers vote through text messages, and various innovations utilizing social
network services such as MySpace.
On the other hand the same advertising techniques used to promote commercial
goods and services can be used to inform, educate and motivate the public about
5
non-commercial
issues,
such
as
HIV/AIDS,
political
ideology,
energy
conservation and deforestation.
Advertising, in its non-commercial guise, is a powerful educational tool capable of
reaching and motivating large audiences. "Advertising justifies its existence when
used in the public interest - it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for
commercial purposes." - Attributed to Howard Gossage by David Ogilvy.
Public
service
advertising,
non-commercial
advertising,
public
interest
advertising, cause marketing, and social marketing are different terms for (or
aspects of) the use of sophisticated advertising and marketing communications
techniques (generally associated with commercial enterprise) on behalf of noncommercial, public interest issues and initiatives.
In the United States, the granting of television and radio licenses by the FCC is
contingent upon the station broadcasting a certain amount of public service
advertising. To meet these requirements, many broadcast stations in America air
the bulk of their required public service announcements during the late night or
early morning when the smallest percentage of viewers are watching, leaving
more day and prime time commercial slots available for high-paying advertisers.
Public service advertising reached its height during World Wars I and II under the
direction of several governments. (Wikipedia.org.2009)
1.2
Problem Statement
The erroneous believe about the role and value of advertising in Ghana.
1.3
Objectives of the study

To explore what does advertising do.

To find out why do companies advertised.

The benefit the consumer gain when products are advertised
6

The value advertising brings to society.

The restraint of advertising.

The contribution of marketing industry.
1.4
Scope of the study
The researcher has concentrated his research within the twin city (SekondiTakoradi) in the western region of Ghana. Moreover, the study is confined to offline media tools thus news papers, radio, television, and others due to financial
constraints, unavailability of books.
1.5
Significance of the study

To serve as source of references book in libraries to next generation and
entrepreneurs.

To clear the misapprehension people have concerning advertising
emphatically as too expensive.

To encourage prospective advertisers to choose appropriate media for
good dissemination of message other than looking at its costiveness.

To make the ordinary person understands that advertising does not only
benefit the media and the advertiser but benefit everyone from the
individual and the nation as a whole.

As a tool to counteract dead economic growth to live when demand for
advertising is high.
1.6
Limitation
In the process of the research work, the researcher faced some difficulties.
Questionnaires getting relevant information from the correspondent completing
was very difficult and that delayed the researcher in the time of collection of data
for the study.
7
Also, getting information from books retarded the progress in process of the
research and financial constraints to places fish out fact and buying of
stationeries for the write up.
1.7. Organization of the study
The study comprised of five chapters. Chapter one talks about the introduction
comprising of background of the study, problem of the statement, objective of the
study, scope of the study, significances of the study, limitation and organization
of the study.
Chapter two explored mainly the literature review. Here diverse views about the
subject matter put together by various authors are given due consideration.
Perception and response from individuals are also discussed.
Chapter three entails the methodology employed. It takes into account the
various techniques or methods used by the researcher to undertake the study. It
also outlines s software applications to run data where necessary.
Chapter four looks at the interpretation research results and its analysis using
figures, tabular and graphical representations
The final chapter provides summary, conclusion and recommendation based on
study findings.
8
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0
Introduction
This chapter presents a review of the related literature on advertising as one of
the marketing communication technique. In the review, attention is given to what
is advertising, types of advertising, importance of advertising, types of offline
advertising media and the role and value of advertising.
2.1
Definitions of various authors

Courtland L. et al, defined advertising as the paid, non personal
communication of information about products or ideas by an identified
sponsor through the mass media in effort to persuade or influence
behavior.

Advertising Association (AA) definition and Institute of Practitioners (IP)
definition. According to Advertising Association, ―Advertising is a means of
making known in order to sell goods or services‖. From the Institute of
Practitioners (IP) ―Advertising presents the most persuasive possible
selling message to the right prospects for the product or services at lowest
possible cost‖. The first definition distinguishes advertising from any thing
that merely makes known such as a shop facia board bearing only the
tradesman‘s name, a brass plate outside a doctor‘s surgery, a house or
street, directional sign. They all make known but they sell nothing. The
second also explain that
not only emphasis the selling intent
of
advertising but shows that effective and market research to define
prospects, and efficient media planning and buying.( : Frank J.1993).
9

According to George E.1995. Defined advertising as ―any paid form of non
personal communication about an organizations, products, services, or
ideas by an identified sponsor‖.

From William O. et al 2004 defines advertising as ―marketing
communication element that is persuasive, non personal, paid for by an
identified
sponsor
and
disseminated
through
mass
channels
of
communication to promote the adoption of goods, services, persons, or
ideas‖.

Advertising is ―any paid form of non personal communication about an
organization, goods, service, or ideas by an identified sponsor‖. The paid
aspect of this definition is important because the space for advertising
message normally must be bought. An occasional exception is the public
services announcement where the advertising time or space is donated.
The non personal component of advertising is also important. Advertising
involves mass media such as television radio, and magazine which are
non personal and do not have an immediate feedback loop as does
personal selling. (Eric N. et al, 2007).

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, 1974 defines advertising as ―the
technique and practices used to bring products, services, opinions or case
to the public notice for the purpose of persuading the general public to
respond in certain way toward what is advertised‖.
In effect from the above definitions, the following deductions were made:
Advertising is not limited to the selling of goods and services only but can
be used as technique and practices to carry out announcements and
political messages or campaign through any of the media outlet. Also, the
researcher realized that advertising plays a very important role and it is
valuable for all organizations. Moreover, others are of the view that
10
advertising is expensive, useless at a point in time and blatant liar which
persuade people to take action that they don‘t want to.
However, the researcher is of the view that these erroneous belief are
likely to happen when certain thing are overlooked ; thus in appropriate
choice of media outlet, the time of advertisement, over exaggeration of
advertisement which
infringes upon the fundamental human right of
prospects buyer and listeners.

From the above definitions, the researcher noted that advertising is a
―technique and practices of non personal communication about goods and
services, opinions or case to public notice for the purpose of persuading
the public to respond in certain way towards what is advertised by an
identified sponsor through the media‖.
2.2
Importance of Advertising
Spending on advertising is huge. One often quoted statistic by market research
firm Zenith Optimedia estimates that worldwide spending on advertising exceeds
(US) $400 billion. This level of spending supports thousands of companies and
millions of jobs. In fact, in many countries most media outlets, such as television,
radio and newspapers, would not be in business without revenue generated
through the sale of advertising.
While worldwide advertising is an important contributor to economic growth,
individual marketing organizations differ on the role advertising plays. For some
organizations little advertising may be done, instead promotional money is spent
on other promotion options such a personal selling through a sales team. For
some smaller companies advertising may consist of occasional advertisement
and on a very small scale, such as placing small ads in the classified section of a
local newspaper.
Moreover, most organizations, large and small, that rely on marketing to create
customer interest are engaged in consistent use of advertising to help meet
marketing objectives. This includes regularly developing advertising campaigns,
11
which involve a series of decisions for planning, creating, delivering and
evaluating an advertising effort.
2.3. Types of advertising
If you ask most people what is meant by "type" of advertising, always they will
respond by defining it in terms of how it is delivered (e.g., television ad, radio ad,
etc.). In marketing, type of advertising refers to the primary "focus" of the
message being sent and falls into one of the following four categories:

Product oriented advertising

Image advertising

Advocacy advertising

Public service advertising.
2.3.1 Product oriented advertising
Most advertising spending is directed toward the promotion of a specific good,
service or idea, what we have collectively labeled as an organization‘s product. In
most cases the goal of product advertising is to clearly promote a specific
product to a targeted audience. Marketers can accomplish this in several ways
from a low-key approach that simply provides basic information about a product
(informative advertising) to blatant(clear) appeals that try to convince customers
to purchase a product (persuasive advertising) that may include direct
comparisons between the marketer‘s product and its competitor‘s offerings
(comparative advertising).
However, sometimes marketers intentionally produce product advertising where
the target audience cannot readily see a connection to a specific product.
Marketers of new products may follow this "teaser" approach in advance of a
new product introduction to prepare the market for the product. For instance, one
week before the launch of a new product a marketer may air a television
advertisement proclaiming "After next week the world will never be the same" but
do so without any mention of a product or even the company behind the
12
advertising. The goal is to create curiosity in the market and interest when the
product is launched.
2.3.2 Image advertising
Image advertising is undertaken primarily to enhance an organization‘s perceived
importance to a target market. Image advertising does not focus on specific
products as much as it presents what an organization has to offer. In these types
of advertising, if products are mentioned it is within the context of "what we do"
rather than a message touting the benefits of a specific product. Image
advertising is often used in situations where an organization needs to educate
the targeted audience on some issue. For instance, image advertising may be
used in situations where a union has occurred between two companies and the
newly formed company has taken on a new name, or if a company has received
recent negative publicity and the company wants to let the market know about
that union or sale of the company. Example the sale of Spacefon a
telecommunication company to areeba and areeba to MTN, and the recent
negative publicity the Kinaphamer a Pharmaceutical Company has received
about dealing with illegal drugs in their manufactured product.
2.3.3 Advocacy advertising
Organizations also use advertising to send a message intended to influence a
targeted audience. In most cases there is an underlying benefit sought by an
organization when they engage in advocacy advertising. For instance, an
organization may take a stand on a political issue which they feel could
negatively impact the organization and will target advertisements to voice their
position on the issue.
2.3.4 Public service advertising
In
some
countries,
not-for-profit
organizations
are
permitted
to
run
advertisements through certain media outlets free-of-charge if the message
contained in the ad concerns an issue viewed as for the "greater good" of
13
society. For instance, ads directed at social causes, such as teen-age smoking,
illegal drug use and mental illness may run on television, radio and other media
without
cost
to
organizations
sponsoring
the
advertisement.
(http://www.buzzle.com).
2.4.
Forms of off-line advertising media
According to David E, if you are ready to get the word out about your business,
one of the steps that you need to do is to select the right media to advertise and
promote your business.
According to Lyve Alexis Pleshette for a small business, every dollar is precious.
Small businesses do not advertise for the sake of advertising. Instead, they want
to get the most return for their investment. Your advertising campaign should
translate to greater sales, more profits and healthier bottom line.
While there are a number of venues where you can promote your business, you
need to ask three important questions:

Where are my target buyers?

What is the best medium to reach them?

Can I afford to launch an effective campaign using this medium?
An important step to developing your sales and marketing plan is to select the
right media to send out your message. There are no hard-and-fast rules as to
which media is better. The right media for one business may be wrong for
another. (By Lyye Alexis Pleshette)
According to David E. Rye with a reference book of an excellent small business
"How to Start and Operate a Successful Small Business: Winning the
Entrepreneurial Game" explain relative advantages and disadvantages of the
advertising media most frequently used by small businesses:
14
2.4.1 Newspaper
Newspapers are one of the traditional mediums used by businesses, both big
and small alike, to advertise their businesses.
Advantages

Allows you to reach a huge number of people in a given geographic area

You have the flexibility in deciding the ad size and placement within the
newspaper

Your ad can be as large as necessary to communicate as much of a story
as you care to tell.

Exposure to your ad is not limited; readers can go back to your message
again and again if so desired.

Free help in creating and producing ad copy is usually available

Quick turn-around helps your ad reflect the changing market conditions.
The ad you decide to run today can be in your customers' hands in one to
two days.
Disadvantages

Advertising space can be expensive.

Your ad has to compete against the clutter of other advertisers, including
the giants‘ ads run by supermarkets and department stores as well as the
ads of your competitors.

Poor photo reproduction limits creativity.

Newspapers are a price-oriented medium; most ads are for sales.

Expect your ad to have a short shelf life, as newspapers are usually read
once and then discarded.

You may be paying to send your message to a lot of people who will
probably never be in the market to buy from you.

Newspapers are a highly visible medium, so your competitors can quickly
react to your prices.
15

With the increasing popularity of the Internet, newspapers face declining
readership and market penetration. A growing number of readers now skip
the print version of the newspaper (and hence the print ads) and instead
read the online version of the publication.
2.4.2 Magazines
Magazines are a more focused, albeit more expensive, alternative to newspaper
advertising. This medium allows you to reach highly targeted audiences.
Advantages

Allows for better targeting of audience, as you can choose magazine
publications that cater for your specific audience or whose editorial
content specializes in topics of interest to your audience.

High reader involvement means that more attention will be paid to your
advertisement.

Better quality paper permits better color reproduction and full-color ads

The smaller page (generally 8 ½ by 11 inches) permits even small ads to
stand out.
Disadvantages

Long lead times mean that you have to make plans weeks or months in
advance.

The slower lead time heightens the risk of your ad getting overtaken by
events.

There is limited flexibility in terms of ad placement and format.

Space and ad layout costs are higher.
16
2.4.3 Yellow pages
There are several forms of Yellow Pages that you can use to promote and
advertise your business. Aside from the traditional Yellow Pages supplied by
phone companies, you can also check out specialized directories targeted to
specific markets (e.g. Hispanic Yellow Pages, Blacks, etc.); interactive or
consumer search databases; Audiotex or talking yellow pages; Internet
directories containing national, local and regional listings; and other services
classified as Yellow Pages.
Advantages

Wide availability, as mostly everyone uses the Yellow Pages.

Non-intrusive.

Action-oriented, as the audience is actually looking for the ads

Ads are reasonably inexpensive.

Responses are easily tracked and measured.

Frequency.
Disadvantages

Pages can look cluttered, and your ad can easily get lost in the clutter

Your ad is placed together with all your competitors.

Limited creativity in the ads, given the need to follow a pre-determined
format.

Ads slow to reflect market changes
2.4.4 Radio
Radio advertisements are broadcasted as radio waves to the air from a
transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. Airtime is purchased
from a station or network in exchange for airing the commercials. While radio has
17
the obvious limitation of being restricted to sound, proponents of radio advertising
often cite this as an advantage.
Advantages

Radio is a universal medium enjoyed by people at one time or another
during the day, at home, at work, and even in the car.

The vast array of radio program formats offers to efficiently target your
advertising dollars to narrowly defined segments of consumers most likely
to respond to your offer.

Gives your business personality through the creation of campaigns using
sounds and voices.

Free creative help is often available.

Rates can generally be negotiated.

During the past ten years, radio rates have seen less inflation than those
for other media.
Disadvantages

This is because radio listeners are spread over many stations; you may
have to advertise simultaneously on several stations to reach your target
audience.

Listeners cannot go back to your ads to go over important points.

Ads are an interruption in the entertainment. Because of this, a radio ad
may require multiple exposure to break through the listener's "tune-out"
factor and ensure message retention.

Radio is a background medium. Most listeners are doing something else
while listening, which means that your advertisement has to work hard to
get their attention.
18
2.4.5 Television
The TV commercial is generally considered the most effective mass-market
advertising format, as is reflected by the high prices TV networks charge for
commercial airtime during popular TV events. The annual Super Bowl football
game in the United States is known as the most prominent advertising event on
television. The average cost of a single thirty-second TV spot during this game
has reached US$3 million (as of 2009).
The majority of television commercials featured a song or jingle that listeners
soon relate to the product.
Advantages

Television permits you to reach large numbers of people on a national or
regional level in a short period of time.

Independent stations and cable offer new opportunities to pinpoint local
audiences.

Television being an image-building and visual medium, it offers the ability
to convey your message with sight, sound and motion.
Disadvantages

Message is temporary, and may require multiple exposures for the ad to
rise above the clutter.

Ads on network affiliates are concentrated in local news broadcasts and
station breaks.

Preferred ad times are often sold out far in advance.

Limited length of exposure, as most ads are only thirty seconds long or
less, which limits the amount of information you can communicate.

Relatively expensive in terms of creative, production and airtime costs.
19
2.4.6 Direct Mail
Direct mail, often called direct marketing or direct response marketing, is a
marketing technique in which the seller sends marketing messages directly to the
buyer. Direct mail includes catalogs or other product literature with ordering
opportunities; sales letters; and sales letters with brochures.
Advantages

Your advertising message is targeted to those most likely to buy your
product or service.

Marketing message can be personalized, thus helping increase positive
response.

Your message can be as long as is necessary to fully tell your story.

Effectiveness of response to the campaign can be easily measured.

You have total control over the presentation of your advertising message.

Your ad campaign is hidden from your competitors until it's too late for
them to react.

Active involvement - the act of opening the mail and reading it -- can be
elicited from the target market.
Disadvantages

Some people do not like receiving offers in their mail, and throw them
immediately without even opening the mail.

Resources need to be allocated in the maintenance of lists, as the
success of this kind of promotional campaign depends on the quality of
your mailing list.

Long lead times are required for creative printing and mailing.

Producing direct mail materials entail the expense of using various
professionals - copywriter, artists, photographers, printers, etc.

Can be expensive, depending on your target market, quality of your list
and size of the campaign.
20
2.4.7 Telemarketing
Telephone sales, or telemarketing, are an effective system for introducing a
company to a prospect and setting up appointments.
Advantages

Provides a venue where you can easily interact with the prospect,
answering any questions or concerns they may have about your product
or service.

It's easy to prospect and find the right person to talk to.

It's cost-effective compared to direct sales.

Results are highly measurable.

You can get a lot of information across if your script is properly structured.

If outsourcing, set-up cost is minimal.

Increased efficiency since you can reach many more prospects by phone
than you can with in-person sales calls.

Great tool to improve relationship and maintain contact with existing
customers, as well as to introduce new products to them.

Makes it easy to expand sales territory as the phone allows you to call
local, national and even global prospects.
Disadvantages

An increasing number of people have become averse to telemarketing.

More people are using technology to screen out unwanted callers,
particularly telemarketers.

Government is implementing tougher measures to curb unscrupulous
telemarketers.

Lots of businesses use telemarketing.

If hiring an outside firm to do telemarketing, there is lesser control in the
process given that the people doing the calls are not your employees.
21

May need to hire a professional to prepare a well-crafted and effective
script.

It can be extremely expensive, particularly if the telemarketing is
outsourced to an outside firm.

It is most appropriate for high-ticket retail items or professional services.
2.4.8 Specialty Advertising
This kind of advertising entails the use of imprinted, useful, or decorative
products called advertising specialties, such as key chains, computer mouse,
mugs, etc. These articles are distributed for free; recipients need not purchase or
make a contribution to receive these items.
Advantages

Flexibility of use.

High selectivity factor as these items can be distributed only to the target
market.

If done well, target audience may decide to keep the items, hence
promoting long retention and constant exposure.

Availability of wide range of inexpensive items that can be purchased at a
low price.

They can create instant awareness.

They can generate goodwill in receiver.

The items can be used to supplement other promotional efforts and media
(e.g. distributed during trade shows).
Disadvantages

Targeting your market is difficult.

This can be an inappropriate medium for some businesses.

It is difficult to find items that are appropriate for certain businesses.
22

Longer lead time in developing the message and promotional product.

Possibility of saturation in some items and audiences.

Wrong choice of product or poor creative may cheapen the image of
advertiser. (David E.et al)
2.5
The Role and Value of Advertisement
2.5.1 Advertising
Advertising creates awareness of the options available to targets and helps to
identify the products that best fit our needs.
For the purposes of this project, ‗products‘ are intended to mean any object of an
advertisement, including nonmaterial ‗products‘ such as services, newspaper
subscriptions, holiday destinations etc.
2.5.2 Consumer desired response
We can distinguish four different stages in the consumer‘s choice of a product –
awareness, knowledge, preference, purchase. Advertising can play a role at
each of these stages (though not necessarily at the same time):
Awareness: ‗I remember that brand‘.
Knowledge: ‗I understand what they are offering me‘.
Preference: ‗I choose this product over the competitor. Preference can be based
on both emotional and rational benefits. Example of a rational benefit: Volvo –
Safety.
Purchase: ‗I am going to try it out/buy it again‘.
2.5.3 Importance of Advertisement to Companies
Advertising allows companies to match supply with demand and to build brands
with clear values and personalities.
23
What is a Brand? One widely accepted description says: ‗If a customer can
perceive that a product or service has a unique identity that differentiates it and
they can describe it and the unique set of benefits it offers, then it is a brand‘.
At each of the four stages of choosing a product, companies use advertising for a
distinct purpose. Advertising can: Create awareness by establishing a product‘s
brand name. It is also accepted as one of the choices among the consumer‘s list
of options; Increase knowledge of the product by providing information on its
attributes: how it works, how much it costs, where to get it etc. Beside it creates a
preference for the product by differentiating it from the competition: cheaper,
higher quality, easier to use, more fun etc. If it does its job well, advertising can
ultimately be successful in convincing the consumer to buy the product.
2.5.4 Advertisement benefits to consumer
This section looks at four ways in which advertising has a direct benefit for the
consumer:
Advertising is the driver of consumer choice.
Advertising makes brands accountable to consumers.
Advertising generates a better value proposition for consumers.
Advertising is used by us all every day.
2.5.5 Advertising promotes choice
We live different lives and have different values and needs. A product that is right
for one may not be right for another. There are many levels on which advertising
can promote choice. For instance, advertising tells us about differences in prices
for the same or comparable products; differences in quality between comparable
products; also, tells us about products that best fit our own individual tastes;
convenience about products that best suit our lifestyle.
Companies seek to respond to these differences in values and needs.
Advertising helps them to link their offering with such diverse demand. It allows
them to provide a much broader range of options than would otherwise be the
24
case. By telling us about these options, advertising ensures that we don‘t need to
settle for second best. It helps us exercise our right to choose.
2.5.6 Accountability
Advertising is a public commitment. On the basis of advertising, the consumer
has precise expectations about what a brand will deliver. Through advertising, a
brand establishes a ‗contract of confidence‘ with its consumers. Failure to meet
the consumers‘ expectations risks breaking the brand‘s ‗contract of confidence‘
and undermining consumer trust in the brand. When trust is lost, consumers will
easily switch to another brand. As a result, advertising makes a brand publicly
accountable.
In 2004, the company Ingersoll Rand had to replace 380,000 of its supposedly
impregnable Kryptonite brand bike locks in 21 countries after it emerged they
could simply be picked with a pen. The experience cost the company $10 million
– reducing the lock division‘s operating margins by almost a quarter compared
with the previous year. The reason, however, was not a looming lawsuit. The
company felt obliged to avoid the embarrassment of breaking the promise it had
made to its customers.
2.5.7 Better Value Proposition
Advertising enables new companies to enter into the market, and allows existing
companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors. This helps promote
and stimulate competition.
Competition forces companies to keep improving the value of their products for
their consumers: driving down prices and driving up quality.
When bans on advertising were lifted in some US states, the FTC estimated that
prices of spectacles fell by 30% to 40% thanks to public awareness and
competition.
Value does not have to be material it can also be created in meeting specific
tastes and preferences.
25
2.5.8 Everyone Advertises
Not just big businesses advertise. The top 100 marketers account for only 20% of
all media advertising expenditure. Advertising is critical for start-ups who want to
break into the market with novel products.
It is also essential for small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the backbone
of any economy, to succeed.
Governments use advertising to communicate about public services and
government projects, and to tackle social problems like domestic violence, drunk
driving, or low disease awareness.
Civil society groups, NGOs, universities, museums, operas all advertise to
showcase their events and projects.
All of us advertise when searching for jobs and houses in the classifieds, when
distributing fliers for an event, or when selling products.
2.5.9 Advertisement benefits to society
This section looks at the numerous benefits of advertising to society: Advertising
generates economic growth and jobs; Advertising turns innovation into products
we use; Advertising funds a pluralistic media landscape, empowering free
speech in an open, democratic society; Advertising supports cultural and sports
and is a source of creativity and creative values.
2.5.10 Economic Growth
By helping businesses succeed in the marketplace, advertising is a cornerstone
of a dynamic economy. Successful companies create more jobs, pay more tax
for inward investment and contribute directly to economic growth.
According to (1991 -2000) GDP a cross major markets demonstrated that there
is a direct correlation between advertising and economic growth. There is a
positive correlation between the rates of total investment in advertising and the
average rate of growth in GDP (1991 to 2000) across major markets.
26
A higher rate of advertising investment as a percentage of GDP directly
increases the rate of return on other tangible and intangible investments (e.g.
R&D, product development, skills training). Business sectors where advertising is
used effectively are that those with the most dynamic market share movement
and therefore those in which competition, a recognized driver of growth, is
liveliest.
Those countries in which relatively little is invested in advertising are also those
in which economic growth is weakest. Sectors with a high advertising investment
rate ‗over-contribute‘ to growth in consumption, and therefore to economic
growth. The advertising industry itself, too, contributes disproportionately to
economic growth. In 2007, 6.4% of the communications industry the third-fastest
growing sector of the US economy. Within the wider advertising industry added
value is increasing twice as fast as in the economy as a whole.
2.5.11 Intangible Assets
Increasingly, a country‘s wealth is not based on physical assets but on its
intellectual and human capital: the capacity to innovate, create concepts and
produce ideas. These intangible assets are a key element of any knowledgebased economy. Intangible assets allow national economies to remain
competitive in the global market. Brands (alongside human resources) are one of
the largest intangible assets of an economy.
According to Advertising Age, ‗21st Annual Global Marketers - PART 1: Global
Advertisement Spending by Marketer‘, November 19 2007; WARC, World
Advertising Trends 2007 on average, the brand constitutes 30% of the stockmarket value of listed companies.
Advertising builds and sustains brands, guaranteeing the promise of long-term
profitability. Countries too have their own identities and ‗brands‘. We often think
of particular products that come from these countries as symbolizing a certain
quality, taste or idea. Just imagine a ‗un-branded‘ France, Japan or US.
27
Also, companies too are using advertising to help address societal challenges.
They are increasingly conscious that, beyond selling brands and ideas,
advertising can be used to show how their products and their initiatives can help
make a difference.
Advertising enables companies to differentiate themselves on basis of their
ethical, environmental and social credentials. Evidence has shown that Procter &
Gamble‘s Ariel consumers in the UK are twice as likely as the average consumer
to reduce their wash temperature to 30° since the launch of the Ariel Cool Clean
UK Campaign.
2.5.13 Job Creation
Through its positive effect on economic growth, advertising helps generate jobs.
In the US advertising plays a key role in generating 18.2 million of the 126.7
million jobs. The wider advertising industry itself has a positive leverage effect on
job creation. The advertisement industry‘s contribution to employment growth is
two to four times greater than the average for the overall economy.
2.5.14 Innovation
Innovation is widely recognized as the single most important ingredient in any
modern economy. Advertising helps turn innovative ideas and technological
developments – often in danger of remaining unexploited – into products we use.
Innovation on its own does not create economic value: we need advertising to
make R&D investments profitable. From the MP3 technology for playing
electronic music was invented in Germany by the Fraunhofer Institute, a research
body. The first patent for the technology was registered in 1989. Yet it was
brought to market as a commercially viable product by US-based Diamond
Multimedia in 1998.
When Sir James Dyson launched the ‗bagless‘ vacuum cleaner in the 1980s it
went largely unnoticed. The breakthrough came more than ten years later,
following a memorable ad campaign with the slogan ‗say goodbye to the bag‘
28
which revolutionized the vacuum cleaner market and soon led other
manufacturers to introduce their own ‗bagless‘ models.
2.5.15 Media Pluralism
Advertising funds a diverse, pluralistic media landscape. Without advertising,
many of the world‘s media as we know them would not exist.
By supporting multiple voices, advertising ensures diversity in the marketplace of
ideas. It is essential for an open, democratic society
On average, newspapers and magazines rely on advertising revenue for over
50% of their earnings. On television and radio, the huge variety of sport, drama,
news and children‘s programs that we have come to expect would be unthinkable
without advertising.
An estimated 94% of revenues from children‘s TV advertising are directly
reinvested in children‘s programs. Most content and technology available online
is free – paid for by advertising. Advertising as an art, as a need and especially
as a duty, is an integral part of the freedom of expression. It is impossible in a
democracy to separate the freedom of publishing or broadcasting news, opinions
or entertainment, from the freedom of advertising.‘13 (Francisco Pinto Balsemao,
Former Prime Minister, Portugal)
2.5.16 Sports and culture
Advertising and sponsorship play an essential role in enabling sporting events
such as the Olympic Games and the football World Cup. It also heavily
subsidizes the transmission of such events to a global audience.
According to Michael Payne (IOC Marketing Director 1983-2004) the costs of
running the 2012 Olympics in London – estimated at £2bn – will be entirely
funded through sponsorship and related revenues. ‗No advertising at the Olympic
Games but no games without advertising.‘ In the arts, sponsorship subsidizes
and pays for major exhibitions whether at the Museum of Modern Art or the
Guggenheim or for performances at La Scala or the Opéra National de Paris.
Global spending on sponsorship exceeded $30 billion in 2005.
29
Sponsorship also supports grassroots and community sports teams, cultural
events and aspiring artists.
Proof-point: Damien Hirst, today one of the most eminent contemporary artists,
started his rise to fame with a student exhibition sponsored by the London
Docklands Development Corporation.
2.5.17 Creativity and Creative Values
Advertising plays an important role in social and art history and provides
substantial work and public display for the talents of the world‘s best
photographers, designers, film makers, graphic artists, indeed artists of every
description. Toulouse-Lautrec was an advertising guy!
Advertising champions creative values and inspirational and innovative ideas. It
supplies a constant source of wit, humor, neologisms, catch phrases and
profound and provocative ideas. Advertising also allows the creative industries to
flourish.
2.5.18 Advertisement limitation
It is important to acknowledge the limitations of what advertising can do.
Advertising cannot convince us to buy a product against our better judgment.
Advertising cannot deliver success for product consumers do not want, or whose
quality does not live up to consumer expectations.
Research shows that 75% of new product launches fail: nothing kills a bad
product like good advertising. Advertising cannot afford to ignore societal
expectations of responsible advertising, as it would jeopardize consumers‘ trust
and undermine the very purpose of advertising. These expectations are
recognized in the self-regulation codes which the industry sets for itself.
2.5.19 Contributions of the Marketing Industry
The marketing industry contributes directly to a better society: Advertising helps
address societal challenges through social marketing; Advertising helps promote
sustainable
development;
The
marketing
30
industry
ensures
responsible
advertising through a model of effective and responsible self regulation; The
marketing industry is actively engaged in teaching media literacy.
2.5.20 Social marketing for a better society
Public service announcements (PSAs) have been proven to be effective in
raising awareness about social issues and changing societal behavior for the
better. (U.K Department of Culture, Media and Sport). The Olympic Turnaround
European Sponsorship Association has also contribute awareness creation
through reducing the casualties of road accidents by encouraging the use of seat
belts, educating citizens about the risks of drunk driving, encouraging the use of
hot-lines for depression, fighting domestic violence and increasing AIDS
awareness.
2.5.21 A model of effective and responsible industry self-regulation
The industry sets the common global standards for marketing communications in
the International Chamber of Commerce Consolidated Code on Advertising and
Marketing Communication Practice (2006).
All marketing communications have to be legal, decent, honest and truthful.
Self-regulation also allows fast, free and flexible consumer protection.
It is paid for by the marketing industry at no charge to the consumer.
The advertising industry has been commended on its self-regulatory system by
the European Commission.
Governments from India to Brazil rely on the advertising industry to help ensure
responsible advertising through self-regulation.
According to comprehensive, independently-verified monitoring of self-regulatory
systems shows compliance rates above 95%.
31
2.5.22 Teaching media literacy
Media Smart is an educational program designed to help children ages 6-11
understand and interpret advertising. The content and pedagogic methods are
developed by independent experts. All costs are covered by the industry. Over
£4 million has already been spent on this program. Media Smart has been
endorsed by the WHO, European Commission, the UK & Dutch Governments,
and teachers.
Media Smart is currently used in the UK, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands,
Sweden, Finland, Hungary and Portugal, with more to follow. Similar initiatives
exist in other major markets.
Today, materials are in use in 20,000 schools across Europe, reaching 3 million
students.
From the above, it can be deduced that the merit of running campaigns far
outweighs the demerit and that the value of
underestimated.
32
advertising cannot be
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
3.0
Introduction
This chapter deals with presentation of procedures and technique use to collect
data for the study. It also outlines the description of population, sampling
procedures, research instruments, administration of instrument and limitations
prior to the study. The methodology seeks to access the view of people about the
role and value of advertisement in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis.
3.1
Source of data
The data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. The primary
sources include libraries and institution, seminars etc. while the secondary
sources are internet, radio, television etc. Questionnaires were used to collect
the primary data. The primary data was obtained directly through interaction with
the respondents who responded to question for the research.
3.2
Population
The researcher has chosen Sekondi-Takoradi as his area for the study. SekondiTakoradi is located in the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is it
regional capital popularly the twin city. According to the Sekondi-Takoradi
Metropolitan Assembly there are twenty-seven vicinities. This include Western
Tanokrom, Apremdo, East Tanokrom, Airport Ridge, Kweikuma, Bakaekyir,
Ketan-Bu-Adiembra,
Kojokrom,
Ahinkofi,
Ngyeiresia
Village,
Ngyeiresia-
Essupon- Mpintsin, Effia, Mpentmnserew, Kenten Road,Estate, Mempeasem,
Chapel Hill, West Fijai, West Anaji, N/Ahinnkofi –Kansa –Diabene, East
Anoe/North Mpintsin, Beach Road, North Kwesimintsim, Whindo, Asakae –
Mpatado – Adientem, Effiakuma Eastate, Sofokrom, and Esssupon – Upper
Inchaba.(STM,2010.
33
However, this study is limited to a certain targeted population that is persons
from the age of (13 -75+) years. The age range is chosen as a result of the class
of people the researcher has taken as target population specifically market cycle
(The Central Business District), these include advertising industry, students,
working class, and lay person within the Sekondi-Takoradi.
This is because very soon the town will take a new face as one of the best areas
to make business in Africa as a result oil found at the Cape Three-Point in
Western Region near the coastal area. This area is chosen as result of proximity
to the researcher.
3.2
Sample size/ Sampling
The sample size of the study is critically analyze and estimated in order to ensure
fair responses where equitable questions covered in proportion to the size of
each group or class. However, the total sum of the entire target population is
considered as hundred (100%) being the sample size which is composed of
Advertising Industry (10%), students (30%), working class or group (20%), and
ordinary person(s) takes (40%) of target population. However as rightly estimated
in the previous paragraph, the sample size for the research as 100; however 97
responded and returned their questionnaire and 3 did not returned.
3.3
Research instrument
The research instrument employed is questionnaires. It is one of the effective
methods of data collection which is usually accompanied with number of
questions for the respondent to react or say their views base on the open and
closed ended questions put in the designed questionnaire. It is a written
collection of self-repot questions to be answered by selected a group of research
participants. It is efficient because, it requires little time, and expense and permits
collection of data from large sample. Also, it allows respondents the ample time
to answer questions well in context of what they were questioned on unlike
34
interview that needs quick responses which make respondents answer questions
without judgment, because they do so under intense pressure.
The researcher structured the question in that it will be easier to be responded to
without any further explanations. The questionnaires include ten close and one
open ended questions.
3.4
Administration of instrument
The
questionnaires were
administered
using
the
appropriate
sampling
techniques and identified participants are persons who have the desire
information and are willing to give it. However, questionnaires were delivered
through personal administration (hand) in officers, market places, and
institutions. The respondents were given one-week for the return of
questionnaires with views. Those who were not able to meet the exact day for
submission were given additional days for completion.
3.5
Limitation
In the process of the research work, the researcher faced some difficulties. One
of the major limitations is the issue of funding. Money is needed to seek for
information, typing and printing, transportation and many more. Also, there are
no adequate books in the libraries to back research from institutions was one of
the challengers confronted. ―Come anther time for your inquiries but for now we
are very busy‖ were the answers received often.
35
CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS
4.0
Introduction
The analytical research method was use to analyzed the data in respect to each
question. The data obtained were coded and analyzed using tables and graphs
extracted from the use of Microsoft Excel Package. Microsoft Package is one of
the appropriate tools used because the result is easy to translate into tables,
graphs and pie chart among others. Secondly, of the major packages, Microsoft
Excel seems to be the easiest and most widely use statistical technique. The
data were analyses according to major themes so as to reflect the order of
research questions
Advertising is a form of communications which inform and educate potential
customers about product and services, and how to obtain and use them.
Advertisers also seek to give product and service a good personality that is
unique, appealing and appropriate so that the consumer will want to choose them
over similar products and services that might fulfill the same need. This is
enhanced by the medium or channel used for the advertisement.
4.1
Respondents experience of advertisement
From the data collected on the question of whether consumers have ever seen or
listen to advertisement before. 97 respondents have testify that they have ever
listen or seen advertisement which represents 100% of the entire sample size
and non said otherwise representing 0%.This means that advertisement are
being run on every medium outlets. Also, it implies that we see or hear
advertisement everywhere we find ourselves. As shown in table 1 and graph 1
below.
36
Table 1
Respondents
No of respondent(s)
Percentage (%)
Yes
97
100
No
0
0
Total
97
100
experience
Graph 1
Respondents experience of
advertisement
No. of respondent(s)
120
100
80
60
Series1
40
20
0
Yes
No
Respondents experience
4.2
Respondents encounter with advertisement in a day
Accessing consumers encounter with advertisements in a day the researcher
noted that majority of the media houses will not be in business if they should stop
running advertisements. This is because more airtime on all media channels are
being sold for advertisements. From the data gathered, 6 of the respondents
have confirm that they get confronted by 1 advertisement in a day, representing
6.2%.17 respondents also said they get confronted with two advertisements in a
day, representing 17.5%, while 19 respondents have also indicated that they
37
see advertisement three times within a day, representing 19.5%. 42 respondents
forming
the
simple
majority
of
respondents
representing
43.3%
spot
advertisements several times. This shows that most media outlets make so much
money from advertisers and greater airtime on media outlet is being taken by
advertisement. This is an indication to businesses to continually put their
messages across to public. As shown in table 2 and graph 2 below.
Table 2
Respondents encounter
No of respondent(s)
Percentage (%)
1
6
6.2
2
17
17.5
3
19
19.6
4
13
13.4
Several more
42
43.3
Total
97
100
with advertisement
Graph 2
No. of respondent(s)
Respondents count of advertisement in a day
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Series1
1
2
3
Respondents count
38
4
More than
4.3
Medium respondents often listen or see advertisement
From the information gathered to determine which medium is frequently used, it
was noticed that television is the highly viewed medium. 36 of the respondents
stated that the advertisements they see often is on television which represents
37.1% of the respondents while 31 respondents for radio representing 31.9% of
the total respondents, and poster and billboard pulled 13 respondents
representing 13.4%. Furthermore, it was realized that newspaper and magazine
have the least consumers‘ favorite at 12.4% and 5.2% respectively. As shown in
table 3 and graph 3 below.
Table 3
Favorite medium
No of respondent(s)
Percentage (%)
Radio
31
31.9
Television
36
37.1
Magazine
5
5.2
Newspaper
12
12.4
Poster and billboard
13
13.4
Total
97
100
Graph 3
No. of respondent(s)
The medium respondents often listen
or see advertisements
40
30
20
Series1
10
Series2
0
Radio
Television
Magazine Newspaper Poster and
billboard
Preffered Medium
39
4.4
Respondents’ reaction after advertisement
Advertisement stimulates demand of product and services. Here the researcher
sought respondents‘ reaction after advertisement; this is because some school of
thought holds that it wets consumers appetite to test the product or service
whether it is good or not and other also concludes that the product is just being
portrayed so but in reality is not . From the data collected, 79 respondents act
feel positively representing 81.4% while 18 respondents representing 18.6%
responded negatively. This means that majority of consumers get influenced to
buy products and services advertise businesses. As shown in table 4 and graph
4 below.
Table 4
Reaction after
No of respondent(s)
Percentage (%)
Positive
79
81.4
Negative
18
18.6
Total
97
100
advertisement
Graph 4
No. of respondent(s)
Respondents reaction after
advertisement
100
80
60
40
Series1
20
0
Positive
Negative
Respondents reaction
40
4.5(a) Are Advertisement Important?
From the data collected for the research, it indicated that 91 respondents are in
support that advertisement should be encouraged representing 93.8% and 6 of
the respondents see advertisements not being relevant but blatant lie to persons,
because they let consumers buy things they do not wish to (impulse). This
represents 6.2% of total respondents. As shown in table 5 and graph 5 below.
Table 5
Respondents view
No of respondent(s)
Percentage (%)
Yes
91
93.8
No
6
6.2
Total
97
100
Graph 5
No. of respondent(s)
Are advertisement important
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Series1
Yes
No
Respondents view
41
4.5(b) Importance of advertisement
Finding out the views of respondents whether advertisement is very important to
a country, the study indicated that the growth of country‘s economy partly lies on
advertisements. From the data gathered, it has shown that majority of the
respondents agreed that advertisements bring about awareness, employment,
educative, and finally generate revenue through income taxes from the media
and advertisers. 44 respondents believes that advertisement create awareness
representing 45.4%, 26 respondents agreed it brings about employment, 17
respondents also confirmed that is very educative representing 17.5% and 10
respondents indicated it generates revenue for the nation through taxation.
Table 5 (b)
Importance of
No of respondent(s)
Percentage (%)
Awareness
42
43.3%
Employment
24
24.7
Educative
15
15.5%
Revenue (tax)
8
8.2%
None
6
6.2%
Total
97
100
advertisement.
42
Graph 5 (b)
No. of respondent(s)
Importance of advertisements
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Series1
Series2
Respondents reason
4.6
Advertisement promotes sales
Advertisement creates demand in products and services and makes it possible
for introduction of mass production. It is not only beneficial to advertisers and
media but also to retailers, consumers and the state through income taxes from
both promoters. On this basis, running a business without advertisement is like
selling in the dark. To buttress this, the above table (5b) / graph (5b) indicates
that with advertising, as much as 43.3% of the consumers become aware.
Generally respondents indicated that advertisements really promote sales. From
the data in Table 9, 97 respondents, which represent 100%, responded that
advertisement has a positive effect on sales of product and services. ―At each of
the four stages of choosing a product, companies use advertising for a distinct
purpose. Advertising can: Create awareness by establishing a product‘s brand
name. It is also accepted as one of the choices among the consumer‘s list of
options; Increase knowledge of the product by providing information on its
attributes: how it works, how much it costs, where to get it etc. Beside it creates a
preference for the product by differentiating it from the competition: cheaper,
43
higher quality, easier to use, more fun etc. If it does its job well, advertising can
ultimately
be
successful
in
convincing
the
consumer
to
buy
the
product.‖(http://info.wfa.be/Value_of_advertising_speaking_notes.pdf).
As
shown on table 6 and graph 6 below.
Table 6
Advertisement
No of respondent(s)
Percentage (%)
Yes
97
100
No
0
0
Total
97
100
promotes sales
Graph 6
Advertisement promotes sales
No. of respondent(s)
120
100
80
60
Series1
40
20
0
Yes
No
Respondents view
4.7
Advertisement is deceptive.
From researchers point of view not all advertisements are deceptive and those
that are deceptive only encourages first time sales and not repeat sales. This is
because first time sale tells consumer the standard of products and services
44
whether good or bad. From the data collected, 72 respondents revealed that
advertisement is deceptive representing 74% of the respondents and 25
respondents indicated that is not representing 25.8%. This means that majority of
producers if not all do not portrayed the exact from product or services providers
advertised. As shown in Table 7 and graph 7 below.
Table 7
Advertisement is
No of respondent(s)
Percentage (%)
Yes
72
74.2
No
25
25.8
Total
97
100
deceptive
Graph 7
Advertisement is deceptive
No. of respondent(s)
80
70
60
50
40
30
Series1
20
10
0
Yes
No
Respondents view
4.8
Advertisement influences on choice.
Again, assessing whether advertisements influence consumers‘ choice, the study
revealed that advertisements have positive effect on consumers as to what
45
products and services they go for in case there is similar ones on the market.
This is because from the data collected it has shown that, 75 respondents
indicated that advertisement really dictates to them representing 77.3% and 22 of
the respondents disagree representing 22.7%. This implies businesses must
continue to advertise. As shown in table 8 and graph 8 below.
Table 8
Advertisement
No of respondent(s)
Percentage (%)
Yes
72
77.3
No
22
22.7
Total
97
100
influences on choice.
Graph 8
No. of respondent(s)
Advertisements determines your
choice of product and service
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Series1
Yes
No
Respondents view
4.9
Advertisement promotes competition.
Here the research persona is of the scrutiny that advertisement brings in
competition among various competitors as to which product or service is the
46
best. For example when you look at all networks advertisement in the country, it
is clear that MTN spend so much on advertisements but have poor network
services. Despite this problem, there is still high patronage of MTN network and
the trick is advertisements with a focus on the slogan ―every where you go‖
which sticks in the listeners memory and TIGO spends little on advertisements
and better services network yet they cannot compete MTN in terms of market
share. From the data collected it has shown that 92 respondents believe that
advertisement brings competition and as edge over other competitors
representing 94.8% and 5 respondents disagree which represents 5.2% of the
respondents.
Table 9
Advertisement
No of respondent(s)
Percentage (%)
Yes
92
94.8
No
5
5.2
Total
97
100
promotes competition
Graph 9
No. of respondent(s)
Advertisement promotes
competition
100
80
60
40
Series1
20
0
Yes
No
Respondents view
47
4.10
Advertisement is expensive.
It is been argued that adverts are expensive and unnecessary. As to this
assertion is true or not, respondents were subjected to determine. 91
respondents have approve that advertisements are really expensive representing
93.8% and 6 of the respondents disagree that advertisement is not expensive
representing 6.2%. As shown in table 10 and graph 10 below.
Table 10
Advertisement is
No of respondent(s)
Percentage (%)
Yes
91
93.8
No
6
6.2
Total
97
100
expensive
Graph 10
Advertisement is expensive
No. of respondent(s)
100
80
60
40
Series1
20
0
Yes
No
Respondents view
48
4.11
General comments on advertisements
Finally 68 respondents commented that advertisement should be encouraged,
because it builds awareness, educative, creates employment and also increases
the per capital income of country‘s revenue through taxation, which represents
70.1% and 29 respondents commented that there is so much fiction in
advertisement making it illusive and tends to be deceptive consumers.
Furthermore, they stated that advertisements run on media outlet should be
appealing, interesting, and clear concept. As shown on table 11 and graph 11
below.
Table 11
General comment
No of respondent(s)
Percentage (%)
Positive
68
70.1
Negative
0
0
Recommendation
29
29.9
Total
97
100
Graph 11
No. of respondent(s)
Respondents general commentary
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Series1
Series2
Positive
Negative
Respondents view
49
Recommendations
THIS EXERCISE IS TO SEEK THE VIEW OF THE PUBLICS ON THE PROJECT OF H N D
STUDENT IN TAKORADI POLYTECHNIC FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSE, YOUR MAXIMUM
ASSISTANT IS REALLY NEEDED TO MAKE THE EXERCISE A SUCCESSFUL ONE.
1. Have you ever seen or listen advertisement before? Yes [ ] or No [ ]
2. How often are you confronted with advertisement in a day? 1[ ]. 2[ ]. 3[ ].
4[ ] and if more state………………….
3. Which medium do you often get advertisement message(s) Circle the
preferred medium?
A. Radio (b) Television (c) Magazine (d) Newspapers (e) Poster and
billboard
4. How do you react after the advertisement? Positive [ ] or Negative [ ]
5. (I) Are advertisements important? Yes [ ] or No [ ]
(II) If yes why? Circle one of preferred reasons.
(a) Awareness (b) Employment (c) Education (d) Revenue (Tax)
6. Does advertisement promotes sales?
Yes [ ] or No [ ].
7. Are advertisements deceptive?
Yes [ ] or No [ ].
8. Do advertisements determine your choice of products and services?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
9. Does advertisement promotes competition?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
10. Are advertisements expensive? Yes [ ] or No [ ].
11. What are your general comments on advertisement?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
.
50
CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1
Summary
Advertising is a form of communication used to influence individuals to purchase
products or services or support political candidates or ideas. Advertising can be
displayed on billboards, newspapers, T.V., websites, movies and more.
Frequently it communicates a message that includes the name of the product or
service and how that product or service could potentially benefit the consumer.
Advertising often attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to
consume a particular brand of product or service. Modern advertising developed
with the rise of mass production in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Commercial advertisers often seek 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. Different types of media can be used to deliver these
messages, such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, billboards or direct
mail. Advertising may be placed by an advertising agency on behalf of a
company or other organization.
Organizations that spend money on advertising promoting items other than a
consumer product or service include political parties, interest groups, religious
organizations and governmental agencies. Non-profit organizations may rely on
free modes of persuasion, such as a public service announcement.
Money spent on advertising has increased in recent years. In 2007, spending on
advertising was estimated at more than $150 billion in the United States and
$385 billion worldwide, and the latter to exceed $450 billion by 2010.
51
However the study comprised of five chapters. Chapter one talks about the
introduction comprising of background of the study, problem of the statement,
objective of the study, scope of the study, significances of the study, limitation
and organization of the study
Chapter two explored mainly the literature review. Here diverse views about the
subject matter put together by various authors are given due consideration.
Perception and response from individuals are also discussed.
Chapter three entails the methodology employed. It takes into account the
various techniques or methods used by the researcher to undertake the study. It
also outlines s software applications to run data where necessary.
Chapter four looks at the interpretation of research results and its analysis using
figures, tabular and graphical representations.
The final chapter provides summary, conclusion and recommendation based on
study findings.
5.2
Conclusion
Despite all criticism the role and value of advertising can not be under estimated.
This is because this research has shown that advertising plays a vital role in
arousing consumers‘ desire and subsequently responding to given product. It
creates awareness, knowledge, preference and purchase about products and
services over similar ones. From the research findings 93.3% of the respondents
have indicated that advertising should be encouraged. This is because
advertising creates awareness, brings about employment, very educative and
increases the countries per capital in through income tax revenue for country‘s
project developments. Also advertising acts as consumer driver of choice which
makes brands accountable to consumer and generates a better value proposition
for consumer.
52
Advertising helps the consumer to distinguish product and services that is right
for a consumer and may not be right for another in terms of the chemical
composition. More so there are many levels on which advertising can promote
choice. For instance advertising tells consumers differences in prices for the
same or comparable product; quality, and convenience about products that best
suit our lifestyle. To back the earlier submission 77.3% of the respondents
revealed that advertisement really determines their choice of product or services
at a point of sales.
Advertising makes companies accountable to consumers. This is because is
through advertising brand, establishes a ―contract of confidence‖ with it
consumers. Failure to meet the consumer expectation risks breaking the brand‘s
performance on the market and undermining consumer trust for it. When trust is
lost, consumers easily switch to another brand. As a result, advertising makes
brand publicly accountable and this minimizes too much fiction in advertisements
as perceived by 74.5% of the respondents that advertisement is deceptive.
Concerning the societal benefit of advertisement, advertising generates
economic growth and jobs. It also funds a pluralistic media, landscape,
empowering free speech in an open, democratic society supports cultural and
sport and in creativity and creative values.
Advertisement brings about economic growth by helping businesses to succeed
in marketplaces and also as a cornerstone of a dynamic economy. Successful
companies create more jobs, pay more tax for inward investment and contribute
directly to economic growth. However there is no disputable fact about this,
because from the findings 100% of the respondents mentioned that
advertisements actually promote sales.
5.3
Recommendation
Since the role and value of advertisement can not be overlooking then
Companies, Entrepreneurs and other minor business should deem it very
53
important to advertise their product and services. Lyve Alexis Pleshette said ―For
a small business, every dollar is precious. Small businesses do not advertise for
the sake of advertising. Instead, they want to get the most return for their
investment. Your advertising campaign should translate to greater sales, more
profits and healthier bottom line.‖ Learn the advantages and disadvantages of
each advertising medium that you can use to provide your business the winning
edge. (PowerHomebiz.com)
Also advertisement concept must be fantastic to keep the listener and viewer
focus, it must be appealing to the viewer and good sounds in term of radio
advertisement for the listener and interesting. This is because 29.9% of
respondents complain on how the advertisement are being rendered on media
outlet.
54
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