CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Advertising has grown increasingly popular as an object of enquiry a field of

professional practice and an index of modern business. Advertising therefore is the

dissemination of sales message through purchases time and space Fletcher (1979). It is

also a form of communication through media about products services or ideas paid for

by an identified sponsor Ozor (1998:p.1).

Advertising is an exciting dynamic and challenging enterprise. Its often

persuasive fascinating and its materialistic nature makes it an object of criticism and

misunderstanding Benson-Eluwa (2004p.3). It is the non-personal communication of

information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products services

or ideas by an identified sponsor through the various media Bovee and Aron (1986).

Advertising however performs functions such as marketing communication

education and socialization. It is now a tradition that every business organization

communicates with its diverse audience which include; government consumers

shareholders distributors employees suppliers and the general public about their new

products and policies. Consumer behaviour on the other hand is as varies as consumers

themselves. There is no direct link between the act of placing an advertisement in the

media and the behaviour of consumer purchasing the product in the sense in which

there is a direct link between the consumer purchasing the product and the product

leaving the factory. Consumer’s reaction to an advertisement for a product can be

varies ranging from a desire to purchase the product to absolute apathy. However

placing advertising in the media is a form of communication which is capable of buying

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about a kind of action at a distance in an action which will have a profound effect on

the eventual sale of the product.

Advertising generally works on the audio-visual senses of consumers and

thereby set up in their minds a chain of reactions capable of influencing their buying

decisions Nworah (2004:p.2) the ease with which advertisements succeed in the

process of influencing consumer behaviour will depend highly on the credibility of the

message. In the light of the foregoing this research is set out to examine the impact of

television advertising of Etisalat on its consumers. Emerging Markets

Telecommunication Services (EMTS) trading as Etisalat is a Nigerian Company duly

incorporated under the laws of Nigeria in partnership with Mubadala Development

Company and Etisalat of the limited Arab Emirates.

Incorporated in Nigeria as a private company it acquires the limited Access

license from the federal government in January 2007. The license includes a mobile

license and spectrum in the GSM 1800 and 900MHz bands. Etisalat acquires a 40%

stake in EMTS and is now the operator of the unified Access license. Etisalat has been

the telecommunications services provider in the United Arab Emirates since 1976 and

has footprint in 18 countries traversing the middle East Asia and Africa. In its many

years of operations. It has built up state-of-the-art telecom infrastructure and taken a

leadership position of innovation and quality service delivery among regional and

international operators.

In Nigeria Etisalat made the first official call on its network on the 13

th

of

March 2008 in the presence of officials from the Nigerian Communications

Commission (NCC) and the senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In September of

same year it kicked off commercial operations with the innovative 0809 you chose

campaign which enables Nigerians choose numbers special to them as their mobile

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numbers. Full commercial operations began in October 2008. In the same year in a bid

to make the product (Etisalat) popular in Nigeria they used the face of a very popular

Nigerian musician called Banky W so as to boost the sales and recognision of the

product. The advert was placed in leading television stations nationwide thereby

reaching a large audience. This made Etisalat to be more popular because they used the

face of a celebrity the whole nation like.

Television advertising is the most powerful form of advertising because it is

welcomed into the home by potential customers and it includes the following elements

sight sound motion and emotion and its kind of affordable. Television programming

produces and paid for by an organization which conveys a message typically to market

a product or service. Advertising revenue provides a significant portion of the funding

for most privately owned television network. The vast majority of television

advertisings today consist of brief advertising spots ranging in length from a few

sounds to several minutes. Television advertisement have been used to promote a wide

variety of goods services and ideas. Some of the things involves in television

advertisements creating a television advertisement that meets broadcast of standards

and placing the advertisement on television via a targeted air time media buy that

reaches the desired customer. To accomplish these tasks it is important to choose a

television production company and advertising agency with pertinent expertise in these

two areas and it is preferable to choose an agency that both produces advertisements

and places air time because expertise in broadcast quality production and broadcast

standard is vial to gaining the advertisement’s acceptance by the networks.

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1.2 Statement of the Problem

The tempo of present day economic activity is such that advertising has

assumed an important role in the realization of corporate goals and through that the

overall achievements of growth targets for the economy large sums of money have

been spent in attempting to justify and measure the impact of advertising in our

growing economy. Yet it has not been possible to measure the effectiveness of

advertisement in a given marketing programme. In a given market situation advertising

plays a large or small role depending upon circumstances.

However despite the potency of advertising in the growth of business and sale

of products some problems are associated with the consumer awareness of Etisalat

products and the actual impact of advertising on their patronage. Some of the problems

encountered in the course of advertising Etisalat mobile products are; the problem of

how to communicate with their audience of different demographic and psychographic

trends; the problem of the appropriate media to use that the audience will have access

to act all time; the problem of the appropriate time to reach the target audience and the

problem of the actual impact of advertising on consumers and how to determine such

impact. These are the hitches encountered in advertising Etisalat mobile products and

measuring of its impact on consumer. Therefore it is pertinent to ask her what is the

actual impact of advertising on consumer buying habit?

1.3 Objectives

1. To find out if Etisalat customers in Owerri are exposed to their TV.

commercials.

2. To find out the rate these people are exposed to the TV. commercials.

3. To find out the impact of the TV. commercials on the Etisalat potential

customer in Owerri.

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1.4 Research Questions

1. Are the people of Owerri exposed to Etisalat TV. commercials?

2. What is the rate to which these people are exposed to the TV. commercials?

3. What are the impacts of the TV. commercials on the Etisalat potential

customers in Owerri.

1.5 Research Hypothesis

Ho: Etisalat mobile customers in Owerri are not exposed to Etisalat mobile’s TV.

commercials.

H

1

: Etisalat mobile customers in owerri are exposed to Etisalat mobile’s TV.

commercials.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The scope of this study is to determine the impact of TV. advertisements on

Etisalat mobile on residents of Owerri metropolis. In a broad sense the area of this

study covers all the states in Nigeria but for practical purpose the area of coverage has

been limited to Owerri. This decision has been made bearing in mind that Etisalat uses

are broad and can be delimited to a particular segment in the study for effective

research. Owerri is the capital of Imo state and possess the potentials and characteristic

capable to generate relevant data for the intended purpose of the study. Like every other

modern town the residents of Owerri are literatures with different educational

qualifications and are exposed to the technological devices used for advertising.

Therefore the results obtained from this study can be applied to all Etisalat users.

1.7 Significance of the Study

This study will be of immeasurable importance to Etisalat mobile company

researchers scholars advertising practitioners media houses and the general public.

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The focus of the study is how to determine the impact of TV. advertisement on

consumers and the best advert strategy to reach to target audience. This will help

Etisalat mobile company to know the need of their customer and how to satisfy them. It

will help them to reach their target audience with the best approval thus help them to

sale their products more rapidly and maximize more profit.

1.8 Operational Definitions of Significant Terms

Advertising: This is the means through which Etisalat present communicate and

promote sales of its products to prospects through the media.

Television: This is the activity profession or medium through which Etisalat mobile

broadcast on television.

Audience: These are the people who patronize or speculate Etisalat mobile products.

Market: This is a place where the purchase and sale of Etisalat mobile products and

services are done.

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