ABSTRACT
This research work identified and analyzed the impact of advertising on the purchase of Etisalat recharge cards, a case study of Auchi Metropolis. Information were gathered through primary and secondary sources. The analysis and test were carried out in reliable statistical techniques such as frequency distribution table and the use of a chi-square, null hypothesis, alternate hypothesis and simple percentage. This study was designed to examine the extent to which advertising help in informing, persuading and influencing consumer purchasing decision of Etisalat recharge cards. This research work identified that advertising only show the good quality of the product but hide the bad aspect. Recommendations were also made to manufacturers on the need to fill and stretch their line of etisalat recharge cards, control their channel and to conduct their periodic resource not only to withstand the wind of change but also to measure the effect of such marketing activities on demand and because marketing is merely a civilized form of warfare which most battles are won with words, ideas and discipline thinking.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1Background of the Study
At the heart of management, is that all levels of responsibilities lies on fundamental requirement of being able to communicate.
Advertising is a form of external communication. At the core of advertising lies the information, knowledge of how consumers respond to different strategies and how these strategies might effect the image of the organization and their product.
Advertising is a paid form of non-personal communication or presentation and promotion of ideals, goods and services by an identified sponsor (America Marketing Association, [AMA] 1960). Advertising message can be transmitted to consumers through mass media such as radio, television, newspapers, magazines, direct mail, mass transit, vehicle and outdoor display.
Advertising to some extent is the most viable element of the promotional mix like sales promotion, personal selling and publicity. Among all these, advertising seen to play a very important role in dissemination of business information to the target market and the general public, at the same time, advertising attract plenty of controversies as to its impact on consumer purchase decision. It is based on this that Duncan (1974) wrote that “provided the consumer is free, firstly to agree with or ignore arguments and secondly to choose any particular product in preference to another, there is little scope for condemnation of persuasive advertisement”. It was also in support of this fact that the president and chief executive officer of Etisalat produce stated that advertising and positioning of product are almost everything.
There are people that do not see anything good about advertising except that it deceived and cheat consumers. It was with this view that Baster A.S.J. wrote that “the major part of information advertising is and always has been a campaign of exaggeration half truth, intended, ambiguity, direct les and general deception. Baber (1991, p.12), it is in line with this argument and criticism that skilled communicators exercise great powers in persuading and influencing their audience with little or no room for the receiver to use their discretion critics believe that advertising primarily promotes materialism, irrational economic decision and make people to be morally and mentally corrupt. Neil, H. Borden, in his book, the economic effects of advertising observed however that the use of influence in commercial relations is one of the attributes of a free society, just as persuasion and counter-persuasion are exercise freely in many works of life in our society in the home, in the press, in the classroom, on the pulpit, in the court of law, in the political forum, in the legislative halls and in government agencies.
Notwithstanding these controversies, huge amount of money are spent annually by both developed and developing countries of the world on advertising. Irrespective of these controversies, there are a lot of huge benefits of advertising not just to a product but for the economy of a country and to enhance a country’s good public relations that makes countries and business organization to invest on it. Good advertising techniques portrays good image of a country, organization and its products. This of course increases customers awareness of the organizational product which will subsequently favour a country balance of trade through increased demand and increase in organizational internal rate of returns.
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