ABSTRACT
This study was meant to examine the impact of TV. Advertising on the marketing of GSM services in Enugu Metropolis (A case study of MTN). The population of the study includes operators/customers, GSM dealers and management and relevant staff of the case organization Top man formular was used in determining the sample size of customer while census was used for the management/relevant staff of MTN Company.
Questionnaires were administrated to the ten zones within Enugu metropolis, data collected were analyzed from the data analyzed, the researcher made the following finding. Operating of MTN GSM phones are yet to appreciate the importance of designing an optional combination of advertising in their operations. The customers interviewed shows that it is a big headache putting a call across to Nitel line from MTN phones or Econet phones as it was equally as difficult either calling Econet from MTN. The promotional strategies adopted by these operation of GSM (ECONET, MTN and NITEL) Impact positively on their profit and increases the customers patronages but it was equally discovered that customers are not satisfied with the quality of service rendered. The major players on the ground now in Enugu metropolis is MTN, followed by NITEL, ECONET is said to start for operations in Enugu Metropolis. Despite the high level of product awareness attained in the promotion. It was discovered that the product is not readily available to in some parts. Particularly in the remote part of Enugu metropolis. Most of the respondent still believe that price/charge of the product is commensurate with the quality. The practice operators of automatically sending calls to vice mail mode and deducting money whether the caller want that service or not is seen as exploitative and lack transparency. The caller should only be charge after excising the option of recording is message and sending same. Findings obtained from the responses to the research questions established that subscribers are preponderantly exposed to the two networks advertising messages and that while advertising has a great influence on subscribers choice of networks, a host of other influence factors exist such as wide network coverage area, free midnight calls/lower tariff, promos such as recharge and win, free airtime, etc. among others. These resulted in the recommendations for practitioners to always look deeper for such other influence factors which blend with advertising to achieve maximum influence.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
This is the study for a company to execs above others in the competitive market; such a company must surely value the importance of advertising.
Onyebuagu (1995:365) is of the opinion that the immediate purpose of advertising is not physically to bring buyers and seller together but to communicate sales-motivating information, ideas and suggestions to particular target prospects or customers, so as to increase the probability to make sales. This explains why same companies investing amount of money in advertising, to ensure that their products are brought to the knowledge off the consumers who will reciprocate by patronizing such products. Irrespective of a product, what advertisement to compliment the efforts of their promotional tools such products may not sell, where it does, its continuing is in doubt.
Advertising to some extent is the most visible element of promotional mix which at the same time attracts much of controversial system to its impact on consumers buying decision. Among the firms promotional decision are media selection and scheduling decision these decision involves determining the best medium of means to deliver and advertising message to the prospective consumers or customers. According to Ebue’s media selection (2000:100) is the means by which the advertiser reach their target audience with advertising message one of the major selection is having an in death knowledge and understanding of the media characteristics which is the stand point for selecting a given medium from a whole lot of available media. These media are news-paper, magazines, radio, direct mail, out door and television. Television advertising is an important medium for creating consumer awareness for goods and services.
In the view of Ebue (2000:103) television is fast becoming an important medium for advertising. It is the faster growing advertising medium. He also pointed out that the unique quality of television led in its ability to combine many of the functions performed individual by other media.
Kolter (2000: 585) added that is has the advantage of combing sight, sound and motion appealing to the sense. It has such limitation as high absolute cost, high Chatter, fleeting exposure, less audience selectivity, sufficient it to say at this point that different media type may reach their frequency and impact capacity. Thus each advertising vehicle or means has its own specific edge over others.
A firms choice of television advertising vehicle or means for achieving its advertising objectives is a function of selecting, the vehicle, ability to reach its specific target audience market its penetration and courage ability. The can be exposed to a message, its scheduling flexibility in terms of lead time, cost which could be relative or absolute, additional climate production quality and life span and the degree of acceptability and cooperation a medium can achieve among advertising intermediates.
Given all these characteristics, a television advertising has an edge over the media through its unique ability of combing vision, audio and motion, reach a large audience at a time with a simple message.
Ebue (2000:103) observed that this achieved through its ability to create drama suspense, colour and emotion.
Edoga and Ani (2000:278) stated that television advertising has the following advantages.
Reaches a large audience combines sight and sound uses picture motion for effect light attention. Appeal to the senses short limitation is high absolute cost perishable message. High clutter.
It is because of the importance of television advertising on the marketing of goods and services that researchers therefore in this study evaluate the impact of television advertising on the marketing of MTN’s GSM service.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In recent times television advertising has become a veritable promotional medium for firms to achieve their marketing communication objectives, particularly in the marketing of GSM production/service.
At this point, it is obvious that the competition faced by MTN is serving as other competitors are trying to take up part of their market share.
Also many customers complain of not being exposed to the television advertising more so, there is problem in communications since most of the villagers cannot understand the universal English correctly. Consumers also complained that they are not really exposed to television advertising. Most often there would be power failure thus affecting the advert message. Moreover some of these customers cannot afford television more especially those in the remote areas off the state.
Television stations here in Enugu State stars operation late in the evening unlike other television stations in place like Lagos etc. They stairs early enough or even operate till daybreak thus most of the consumers who would have loved to watch television programme were not exposed. It is equally of note that product advertised needs them. There is also competitions in the market, each of these firms in the marketries to out smart others , thus in this project work, researchers identified the problems associated with television advertising on marketing of GSM project/service.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The basic objectives of this study are:-
- To determine whether the level of awareness of MTN is a result of television advertising.
- To determine the impact of television advertising on the marketing of MTN product/service.
- To find out why consumers prefer television advertising to other types of advertising.
- To discover why television influence consumers demand of MTN.
- To determine whether television advertising MTN leads to increased profit of the company.
- To determine practical solution to the problems of television advertisement identified in the research work.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
- Does television advertising have a significant impact on customer awareness of MTN’s GSM services/product in Enugu.
- Does television advertising has positive effect on the profit of GS M manufactured by MTN.
- Does exposure to television advert on MTN influence customers demands of the services/product?
- Does television advertising have a negative effect on the consumer and on their purchasing decision?
- Does television advertising encourage regular purchase on the part of MTN products/services in Enugu State?
- Is television advertising an efficient source of information to the MTN product/service?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The growth in technology in Nigeria has had a great impact on television advertising, that is television advertising has been rapidly on the increase in recent times, indicating its importance on the marketing of MTN’s GSM service.
In view of this fact, this study is very important in ensuring effective and efficient television advertising by MTN. this study will enable advertising with other manufacturers of GSM product/service. The result of the study will enable MTN to review and improve their television advertising on time to tome which might as well help them to increase sales.
The study will equally help others in related industries. Again both the reader and the researchers will gain immensely from the study as the information contained will wider their scope of understanding and knowledge the area of the study.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research was undertaken to examine the role of television advertising on the marketing of MTN’s GSM services in Enugu metropolis.
However, in the view of the limited resources, time and other constraints, emphasis was placed on MTN’s GSM service/product within Enugu metropolis.
1.7 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Consumer Choice Behaviour Theory. Theoretically, this study is leveraged on the Consumer Choice Behaviour Theory, which postulates that consumer behaviour is greatly influenced by a system of alternatives in respect of expectations of rewards and needs satisfaction vis-à-vis the required cost or effort. According to Hansen, cited in Okoro and
Barikui (2006:90-106),
In a choice process, the evaluation of relevant concepts can be referred to as the value importance of the concept while the strength of the relationship between the alternatives and salient values are referred to as perceived instrumentality.
Hansen regards the reward or benefits influence on consumers as “perceived
instrumentality” and concludes that the recipient of a message (a potential consumer) will therefore pay more attention to the message if they perceive that the reward or benefit is great.
Supporting the reward or benefit line angle Rivers and Schramm, cited in Okoro and Barikui (2006:90-106), produced a formula for depicting how people react to information. Called “fraction of selection”, it is represented thus:
Expectation of reward
Effort thought to be required
= Likelihood of selection.
This implies that the likelihood that the consumer of a message will respond to the message is enhanced when the benefit or reward is more than the cost and effort required
to attain it.
It is thus obvious that the reward or benefit factor is crucial to the Consumer Choice Behaviour Theory. It is the influential element of the theory which informs the preference(s) or buying behaviour of the consumer. It plays out in all marketing communication situation as with GSM network marketing. Relative to this study therefore, the Consumer Choice Behaviour Theory holds out that the potential subscriber will pay more attention and is more likely to buy if the benefits promised by the advertising campaign message far outweighed the cost and effort involved in having the phone.
Limited Effect Theories. This study can also be anchored on the Limited Effect Theories of mass communication. Particularly, that propounded by Paul Lazarsfeld’s pupil-researchers in the immediate post-Halloween 1938! Limited Effect Theory suggests that mass media effect is limited by certain factors. These are, 1) Individual Difference which says that the level of intelligence, education and some unique psychological phenomena about a person affects how that person receives a mass media message; 2) Social Categories which says that the religious, political and associated social affiliations to which an individual belongs may limit how that person responds to a media message; and by no means the end, 3) Personal Relationships which drives the idea that friends and family members can affect how an individual responds to a mass media message. (Baran, 2007:418) and (Bittner, 1989:376).
The key point here is that as much as each of the above is agreed to have the pulling capacity to the negative polarity on the individual, the equal potentiality is there for each of them to pull the individual to the positive end of the pole. This informs that the theories work in two dimensions. Applied to the subject of this x-ray – GSM network of subscription vis-à-vis the influence of advertising campaign messages – relations and friends can influence one another’s choice positively; religious and political membership can influence each other positively for a choice as well as an individual’s cognitive development or perception is a primary aid in positive or negative choice decision in a given advertising message context. Group behaviour generally are based on trust, mutual interest and loyalty to each other for which reasons they look toward the other for a standard truth or reality. Therefore advertising messages that meet their social standards will influence their group choice of the networks of subscription. A useful information for targeted advertising messages.
1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
A research, striving to unearth hitherto unknown realities would have been an exciting and enjoyable exercise, but this turned out to be very rigorous.
The researcher was massively handicapped by lack of textbooks that adequately addressed the topic. Thereby, secondary data were as difficult to obtain as primary data that led into the jungle of the unexpected. The field exercise revealed a lukewarm attitude towards research matters and point to the fact that some Nigerians are less interested in anything that does not involve cash flow. Jocularly or otherwise, some would ask “What’s in it for me?” This required extra explanation and persuasion before questionnaires are accepted for completion.
Time was another area where difficulty was experienced. This is because; a research work of this magnitude was carried out simultaneously with class room work and other personal obligations.
1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS
™ Advertising
Advertising herein refers to routine corporate advertising of products and services by organizations to procure patronage.
™ Advertising Campaign
In this research, Advertising Campaign which otherwise is a strategic, highly scheduled, period-specific and intense advertising campaign programme is fused with usual corporate routine advertising as above defined. Therefore both are used interchangeably to mean either.
™ Competitor(s)
In this study competitor(s) is used in a pronoun sense for the GSM networks, that is, MTN, Econet, Globacom, etc.
™ Consumers
This denotes subscribers to or users of the various mobile telecommunications networks.
™ Industry
Herein, industry means the entire commercial activities spanning the telecommunication sphere as a distinct component of the national economy.
™ National Carriers
This is a designation for the national telephone company – NITEL – whose license covers the nation and covers all aspects of telecommunication including landline services provision. Second National Carrier refers to Globacom, which was also equally licensed.
™ Network(s)
This refers to the various telecommunication companies operating GSM services in Nigeria – Globacom, MTN, Zain, etc.
™ NITEL
This means Nigerian Telecommunications Limited – the national telephone company and First National Operator (FNO).
™ Product(s)
This designates the various offerings of the GSM companies such as voicemedium, Sim pack and allied services attached thereto, e.g. Internet service,
GPRS, 3G, etc.
™ Telecommunication
Telecommunication in this research exercise refers to telephone and related services thereto – GSM, landlines, intercellular, etc.
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