ABSTRACT
Television advertising is one of the media of advertising alcoholic products to target consumers. The medium employs the use of frequency, repetition, attractions, captivating messages and colourful demonstration. The major purpose of the study was to determine the influence of television advertising on consumers of alcoholic products in Taraba State. Survey research was adopted for the study. A total of 1.920 consumers of alcoholic products were randomly sampled, stratified along senatorial zones and local government areas in Taraba State out of a population of 38,379. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The reliability coefficient of the instrument was 0.89 using Cronbach Alpha method of determining reliability. Three experts validated the instrument. Five research questions and four null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. Frequencies, mean and standard deviation were used to answer the five research questions, while z-test statistics were employed to test the four null hypotheses. It was found that television advertising influenced consumers of alcoholic product to a great extent. It was recommended that advertisers of alcoholic product should improve on their advertisement for greater impact and that deceptive advertising of alcoholic products should be discouraged.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Television is an electronic device or equipment with a screen glass which shows broadcasts and programmes with moving pictures and sounds. It is used for news broadcasts, interviews, showing of films or movies, dramas, exhibitions, demonstration, and advertising. Osuala (1998) defined advertising as any form of non-personal presentation of goods, services or ideas for action, openly paid for by an identified sponsor. The aim of advertising is to provide public service because it gives information about products and the job of selling. Successful advertisements engage the mind of the consumer and motivate him to buy the advertised product.
Television advertising is the use of television in advertising goods, services or ideas. It seeks to influence intended target market. Influence refers to the power to affect somebody’s action and character or belief especially by providing an example to follow (Jonathan, 1995). It means convincing others that a suggestion will benefit them. For example, television advertising on a particular type of beer seeks to influence viewers towards accepting it by giving examples of how the product is being used and the benefits thereof.
Consumers refer to ultimate users of goods, services and ideas. Cosumers can be individuals and households who buy goods and services for personal and final consumption. They buy goods not to resell, but to use them up. According to
Ehikwe (2005), consumers are individuals who seek to solve a problem and satisfy want by use of existing and future products. A product, on the other hand refers to anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. A product includes physical objects, services, persons, places organizations and ideas (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders and Wong, 2002). Beer and spirit are examples of products.
Alcohol is a colourless liquid contained in drinks such as beer, wine, spirit, etc which can make people who take it drunk (Jonathan, 1995). The Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) (1988) classifies alcoholic products by proof of percentage (alcoholic content) into (i) class A – 5% proof and below to cover beers, ales, stouts and class B – 6% and above proof, to cover such products as strong wines and spirits. People who consume alcoholic products are called consumers of alcoholic products. Consumers of alcoholic products are found urban and rural areas, male and female, married and unmarried young and old consumers. Those of them that are exposed to advertising on the television are likely to be influenced by it.
Frequency refers to the average number of exposures to an advertisement by each viewer during the same period the reach is being taken or considered. Every advertisement seeks to get a specific percentage of the number of target customers. Each time an organization advertises its product(s), it tries to determine the number of slots that the advertisement will be aired by the advertising medium. It may be daily, weekly, monthly, etc. The essence of this is to ensure that target
customers will have the opportunity of listening to or viewing the advertisement. Frequency can also be seen as the number of times the average person in the target market is exposed to an advertisement during a given period of time (Kotler, et al,
2002). It is a measurement of how many times an average person in the target market has seen a given advertisement at a given period. For example, an advertiser might want an average of three. This means that the average person in the target market should be exposed to the advertisement at least three times at a given period.
Television advertising encourages repetitiveness. Repetitiveness refers to a situation where a particular advertisement on an alcoholic product is being repeated several times to catch the attention of viewers. Repetition and intrusion are two basic features of modern television advertising (John and Kellner, 2006). This reveals the power of advertisers as opposed to consumers commercially. Supported media are structured so that advertisements intrude and or interrupt media contents of non-commercial television broadcasting every few minutes for commercial messages on alcoholic products, for instance. Many advertisements are endlessly repeated because consumers may not be interested. Repetition, therefore, forces audience and eventually influences behaviour. Repetition reinforces behaviour of consumers of alcoholic products, in this case.
Attractiveness refers to the power to attract, please or interest (Jonathan,
1995). John and Kellner (2006) stated that it involved the concept of commodity aesthetic. The authors added that “commodity aesthetic or attractiveness shapes
value, perception and consumption behaviour of individuals so as to integrate them into life-styles of consumers. The concept of commodity aesthetic or beauty emerges within the problem of realization and the tension between messages directed to male and female audiences. Television advertisers utilize different codes and strategies to appeal to different audiences and genders. For instance, “beauty” “family relations” and “romance” are codes used to address female audiences, while rugged codes are primarily male advertising codes. Whatever attracts, influences behaviour or action. Television advertising is always presented attractively, thereby inducing or influencing behaviour of consumers.
Messages are words or symbols used by advertisers to communicate to target customers. They are sometimes referred to as advertisement or copy. Adequate consideration is given to the message to be conveyed. Planning of messages is of paramount importance in television advertising. Generally, the purpose of advertising is to get target consumers to think about or react to a product or company in a certain way (Kotler, et al 2002). People will respond only if they believe they will benefit from so doing. Messages on television advertising are usually plain, straight-forward, outline of benefits and positioning points that the advertiser wants to stress properly.. Messages develop a compelling desire in customers. Advertisers seek to appeal to their target market through messages. To achieve this objective, messages are generally meaningful, pointing out benefits that make the product more desirable or interesting to customers. Messages are believably presented and distinctive in terms of telling consumers how the product
is different from competing brands. Messages on television advertising are presented stylishly, good tone, appropriate words and beautiful format for presentation. This leaves the target customers with no option than to get interested and react in the desired way.
Television advertising involves demonstration. Demonstration refers to the dramatization of how to use a product and the benefits derivable from it. The presentation and demonstration in television advertising are done in such a way that they are colourful, enticing and glamorous. Colourfulness refers to beautiful scenes in which demonstration takes place. In making sure that demonstration achieves its objective, care is always taken in choosing the place and type of demonstrators. Demonstration has greater influence on consumers because of its practical nature. It tends to improve loyalty and preference. Visual aids can show how a product performs and provides other information about it (Kotler and Keller, 2006).
Statement of the Problem
Television advertising is one of the several media through which advertisements concerning goods, services and ideas are made to the public. This medium of advertising encourages adequate frequency which allows messages to be aired repeatedly and sometimes interrupts non-commercial broadcasts or programmes in order to catch the attention of intended consumer. This is capable of contributing to the increasing rate of alcohol consumption in Taraba state.
Television advertising attracts attention considerably. This is because viewers see practically whatever is happening on screen. Beautiful, handsome and healthy people are always used to suggest that these people are beautiful, handsome and healthy because they consume advertised alcoholic products. Viewers or target consumers who are exposed to such advertisement would want to consume the product in order to be beautiful and healthy as suggested in the advertisement. However, the attraction in this case is not real as pictures sometimes present a person more beautiful or handsome than he is.
Messages on television advertising are conveyed planfully, enticing; splendid and glamorous. These have the possibility of arresting interest and the desire to patronize a given alcoholic product. Even though there are other media of advertising such as newspapers and magazines, posters which utilize messages, too. But the effect of messages on television seems to be more. This is because in this medium, as the product is being advertised; the viewers are seeing what the advertiser is doing. It is said that seeing is believing. The tendency for such an advertisement to influence the behaviour of consumers seems to be remote. On the contrary, messages on television advertising are exaggerated. They do not convey exactly the qualities of a product, but overstate qualities and other attributes.
Demonstration of how a product is to be used and its benefit(s) is another aspect of television advertising. Demonstration involves dramatization or dances. In dramatizing the consumption of a product, viewers see the demonstrators and how they conduct themselves. They are more likely to be influenced than other
media of advertising where such demonstration does not take place. However, demonstration seems to carry some elements of deception since demonstrators try to please advertisers by pretending that the product is extremely good and does not have any problem.
Over the past few decades, the consumption of alcohol is on the increase. Different media are used to advertise alcohol. Television advertising is one of them. This medium uses several methods to convince target consumers to patronize alcoholic products.
Purpose of the Study
The major purpose of this study was to determine the influence of Television Advertising on Consumers of Alcoholic products in Taraba State of Nigeria. Specifically, the study:
1. determined to what extent frequency of television advertising influences consumers of alcoholic products in Taraba state
2. determined to what extent repetitiveness of Television influences consumers of alcoholic products in Taraba state
3. ascertained to what extent attractiveness of television advertising influences consumers of alcoholic products in Taraba State.
4. determined to what extent the messages on television advertising influence consumers of alcoholic products in Taraba State.
5. determined to what extent colourful demonstration on television advertising influences consumers of alcoholic products in Taraba State.
Research Questions
The following were the research questions for the study:
1. To what extent does frequency of television advertising influence consumers of alcoholic products in Taraba State?
2. To what extent does repetitiveness of television advertising influence consumers of alcoholic products in Taraba State?
3. To what extent does the attractiveness of television advertising influence consumers of alcoholic products in Taraba State?
4. To what extent do the messages on television advertising influence consumers of alcoholic products in Taraba State?
5. To what extent does the colourful demonstration on television advertising influence consumers of alcoholic products in Taraba State?
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were tested in the study at 0.05 level of significance:
1. There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of urban and rural consumers of alcoholic products in Taraba State.
2. There is no significant difference between the mean responses of male and female consumers of alcoholic products on the influence of television advertising in Taraba State.
3. There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of young and old consumers of alcoholic products on the influence of television advertising in Taraba State.
4. There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of married and unmarried consumers of alcoholic products on the influence of television advertising in Taraba State.
Significance of the Study
The findings of this study would benefit advertisers of alcoholic products in evaluating the impact of advertising on consumers of alcoholic products.
The findings of this study would also benefit the general public in sensitizing them on the benefits derivable from consuming alcoholic products.
The findings of this study would benefit government at all levels to come up with legislations that would regulate the excesses of advertisers of alcoholic products by limiting advertisements on them and/or insistence on truth in what they say about their products.
Furthermore, the findings of this study would be of immense benefit to society. This would be in the area of reducing unemployment as more consumers would result in increased production of alcoholic which would to employment of more people to meet demand.
Again, the findings of this study would benefit researchers who may wish to conduct researches on television advertising and other related issues/problems
Delimitations of the Study
This study was delimited to the consumers of alcoholic products advertised on television such as Gulder, Star, Guinness, Stout, Heineken, etc, in Taraba State. The study excluded alcoholic products that are produced locally and not advertised on television in the area. The products included “burkutu” (a brownish alcohol made from guinea-corn; tastes sour), palm-wine, ogoggoro (a whitish and highly intoxicative gin produced from sugar-cane chaff), and “pito” (a brownish alcohol produced from guinea-corn; tastes a little sweet, but intoxicative).
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
INFLUENCE OF TELEVISION ADVERTISING ON CONSUMERS OF ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS IN TARABA STATE
PROJECTOPICS.com Support Team Are Always (24/7) Online To Help You With Your Project
Chat Us on WhatsApp » 07035244445
DO YOU NEED CLARIFICATION? CALL OUR HELP DESK:
07035244445 (Country Code: +234)YOU CAN REACH OUR SUPPORT TEAM VIA MAIL: [email protected]