Effect of Advertisement On Consumers
Effect of Advertisement On Consumers
It has been wrongly assumed that the advertising function is of recent origin. Evidences
suggest that the Romans practiced advertising; but the earliest indication of its use in this country
dates back to the middle Ages, when the use of the surname indicated a man’s occupation. The
next stage in the evolution of advertising was the use of signs as a visual expression of the
tradesman’s function and a means of locating the source of goods. This method is still in
common use. The seller in primitive times relied upon his loud voice to attract attention and
inform consumers of the availability of his services. If there were many competitors, he relied
upon his own personal magnetism to attract attention to his merchandise. Often it became
necessary for him to resort to persuasion to pinpoint the advantages of his products. Thus, the
seller was doing the complete promotion job himself.
Development of retail stores, made the traders to be more concerned about attracting
business. Informing customers of the availability of supplies was highly important. Some types
of outside promotion were necessary. Signs on stores and in prominent places around the city
and notices in printed matters were sometimes used.
When customers were finally attracted to the store and satisfied with the service at least
once, they were still subjected to competitive influences; therefore, the merchant’s signs and
advertisements reminded customers of the continuing availability of his services. Sometimes
traders would talk to present and former customers in the streets, or join social organizations in
order to have continuing contacts with present and potential customers.
As the markets grew larger and the number of customers increased, the importance of
attracting them also grew. Increasing reliance was placed on advertising methods of informing
about the availability of the products. These advertising methods were more economical in
reaching large numbers of consumers. While these advertising methods were useful for
informing and reminding and reminding, they could not do the whole promotional job. They
were used only to reach each consumer personally. The merchant still used personal persuasion
once the customers were attracted to his store.
The invention of hand press increased the potentialities of advertising. By Shakespeare’s
times, posters had made their appearance, and assumed the function of fostering demand for
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existing products. Another important event was the emergence of the pamphlet as an advertising
medium. The early examples of these pamphlets disclose their sponsorship by companies want to
generate goodwill for their activities. The low cost of posters and handbills encouraged a number
of publishers to experiment with other methods.
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RESEARCH OBECTIVES
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HISTORY OF ADVERTISEMENT
Archaeologists have found evidence of advertising dating back to the 3000s BC, among
the Babylonians. One of the first known methods of advertising was the outdoor display, usually
an eye-catching sign painted on the wall of a building. Archaeologists have uncovered many
such signs, notably in the ruins of ancient Rome and Pompeii. An outdoor advertisement
excavated in Rome offers property for rent, and one found painted on a wall in Pompeii calls the
attention of travelers to a tavern situated in another town.
In medieval times word-of-mouth praise of products gave rise to a simple but effective
form of advertising, the use of so-called town criers. The criers were citizens who read public
notices aloud and were also employed by merchants to shout the praises of their wares. Later
they became familiar figures on the streets of colonial American settlements. The town criers
were forerunners of the modern announcer who delivers radio and television commercials.
Although graphic forms of advertising appeared early in history, printed advertising made
little headway until the invention of the movable-type printing press by German printer Johannes
Gutenberg about 1450. This invention made the mass distribution of posters and circulars
possible. The first advertisement in English appeared in 1472 in the form of a handbill
announcing a prayer book for sale. Two hundred years later, the first newspaper ad was
published offering a reward for the return of 12 stolen horses. In the American colonies, the
Boston News-Letter, the first regularly published newspaper in America, began carrying ads in
1704, and about 25 years later Benjamin Franklin made ads more readable by using large
headlines.
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advertisers exactly what he paid to publishers plus an agreed upon commission. Soon Ayer was
not only selling space but was also conducting market research and writing the advertising copy.
Advertising agencies initially focused on print. But the introduction of radio created a
new opportunity and by the end of the 1920s, advertising had established itself in radio to such
an extent that advertisers were producing many of their own programs. The early 1930s ushered
in dozens of radio dramatic series that were known as soap operas because they were sponsored
by soap companies.
Television had been introduced in 1940, but because of the high cost of TV sets and the
lack of programming, it was not immediately embraced. As the American economy soared in the
1950s, so did the sale of TV sets and the advertising that paid for the popular new shows. Soon
TV far surpassed radio as an advertising medium.
The tone of the advertising was also changing. No longer did advertising simply present
the product benefit. Instead it began to create a product image. Bill Bernbach, founder of Doyle
Dane Bernbach in New York City; Leo Burnett, founder of the Leo Burnett agency in Chicago,
Illinois; and David Ogilvy, founder of Ogilvy & Mather in New York City, all came to
prominence in the late 1950s and 1960s and led what has been called the 'creative revolution.'
Bernbach's agency captured the spirit of the new age. Bernbach believed that advertising had to
be creative and artistic or it would bore people. He also believed that good advertising began
with respect for the public's intelligence. The ads his agency created were understated,
sophisticated, and witty.
For example, when Bernbach's agency picked up the account for the Henry S. Levy
Bakery in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, the agency created an ad that entertained New
Yorkers and provided fodder for many conversations. The ad showed a Native American eating a
slice of the bakery's rye bread with the headline, 'You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's.' But
it was the advertising for Volkswagen that made the agency's reputation. At a time when
American cars were getting bigger and bigger and the advertising for them trumpeted that bigger
was better, Doyle Dane Bernbach created a magazine ad that showed a small picture of the
Volkswagen Beetle surrounded by a sea of white space with the headline, 'think small.' An
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equally unconventional ad carried the headline 'lemon' beneath a photo of an apparently flawed
Volkswagen. The ad's copy explained that 'this Volkswagen missed the boat. The chrome strip
on the glove compartment is blemished and must be replaced…We pluck the lemons; you get the
plums.' In an era of hype and bombast, the Volkswagen ads stood out because they admitted
failure in a witty way and gave facts in a believable manner that underlined the car's strengths.
This wit together with a conversational and believable style was a hallmark of the advertising
created by Doyle Dane Bernbach and that style became highly influential.
The creative foundation established by Bernbach and others has been critical to the
success of contemporary advertising. The introduction of the TV remote control and access to
hundreds of cable channels mean that today advertising must interest and entertain consumers or
else they will simply use the remote to change the channel. New digital devices even threaten to
make it possible to edit out commercials. The development of interactive television, combining
the functions of a computer with access to high-speed transmission over cable lines or optical
fibers, will likely enable consumers to select from a vast video library. Consumers will be able to
determine not only when they watch something, but also, to a greater extent than ever before,
what they will watch. Some industry observers believe that as consumers gain greater control
over their viewing activities, they will find it easier to avoid advertising.
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DEFINITION OF ADVERTISING
The word advertising originates from a Latin word advertise, which means to turn to. The
dictionary meaning of the term is “to give public notice or to announce publicly”.
Advertising may be defined as the process of buying sponsor-identified media space or
time in order to promote a product or an idea.
The American Marketing Association, Chicago, has defined advertising as “any form of
non-personal presentation or promotion of ideas, goods or services, by an identified sponsor.”
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(ii) It should suggest better solutions to their problems.
(iii) The content of the advertisement is within the control of the advertiser, not the medium.
(iv) Advertising without persuasion is ineffective. The advertisement that fails to influence
anyone, either immediately or in the future, is a waste of money.
(v) The function of advertising is to increase the profitable sales volume. That is, advertising
expenses should not increase disproportionately.
Advertising includes the following forms of messages: The messages carried in-
Newspapers and magazines;
On radio and television broadcasts;
Circular of all kinds, (whether distributed by mail, by person, thorough tradesmen, or by
inserts in packages);
Dealer help materials,
Window display and counter – display materials and efforts;
Store signs, motion pictures used for advertising,
Novelties bearing advertising messages and Signature of the advertiser,
Label stags and other literature accompanying the merchandise.
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The activities excluded from advertising are:
The offering of premiums to stimulate the sale of products;
The use of exhibitions and demonstrations at fairs, show and conventions;
The use of samples and activities, involving news releases and the activities of personal
selling forces;
The payment of advertising allowances which are not used for advertising;
The entertainment of customers
Advertising Objectives
Each advertisement is a specific communication that must be effective, not just for one
customer, but for many target buyers. This means that specific objectives should be set for each
particular advertisement campaign. Advertising is a form of promotion and like a promotion; the
objectives of advertising should be specific. This requires that the target consumers should be
specifically identified and that the effect which advertising is intended to have upon the
consumer should be clearly indicated. The objectives of advertising were traditionally stated in
terms of direct sales. Now, it is to view advertising as having communication objectives that seek
to inform persuade and remind potential customers of the worth of the product. Advertising
seeks to condition the consumer so that he/she may have a favourable reaction to the promotional
message. Advertising objectives serve as guidelines for the planning and implementation of the
entire advertising programme.
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(iv) To increase support. Advertising impliedly bolsters the morale of the sales force and of
distributors, wholesalers, and retailers, ; it thus contributes to enthusiasts and confidence attitude
in the organizational. :
(v) To project an image. Advertising is used to promote an overall image of respect and trust for
an organization. This message is aimed not only at consumers, but also at the government,
shareholders, and the general public.
Importance of Advertising
Generally, advertising is a relatively low-cost method of conveying selling messages to
numerous prospective customers. It can secure leads for salesmen and middlemen by convincing
readers to request more information and by identifying outlets handling the product. It can force
middlemen to stock the product by building consumer interest. It can help train dealers salesmen
in product uses and applications. It can build dealer and consumer confidence in the company
and its products by building familiarity. Advertising is to stimulate market demand. While
sometimes advertising alone may succeed in achieving buyer acceptance, preference, or even
demand for the product, it is seldom solely relied upon. Advertising is efficiently used with at
least one other sales method, such as personal selling or point-of-purchase display, to directly
move customers to buying action.
Advertising has become increasingly important to business enterprises –both large and
small. Outlay on advertising certainly is the voucher. Non-business enterprises have also
recognized the importance of advertising. The attempt by army recruitment is bases on a
substantial advertising campaign, stressing the advantages of a military career. The health
department popularizes family planning through advertising Labour organizations have also used
advertising to make their viewpoints known to the public at large. Advertising assumes real
economic importance too. Advertising strategies that increase the number of units sold stimulate
economies in the production process. The production cost per unit of output is lowered. It in turn
leads to lower prices. Lower consumer prices then allow these products to become available to
more people. Similarly, the price of newspapers, professional sports, radio and TV programmes,
and the like might be prohibitive without advertising. In short, advertising pays for many of the
enjoyable
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entertainment and educational aspects of contemporary life. Advertising has become an
important factor in the campaigns to achieve such societal-oriented objectives such as the
discontinuance of smoking, family planning, physical fitness, and the elimination of drug abuse.
Though in India, advertising was accepted as a potent and recognized means of promotion only
25 years ago, its growing productive capacity and output necessitates the finding of consumers
and advertising plays an important role in this process. Advertising helps to increase mass
marketing while helping the consumer to choose from amongst the variety of products offered
for his selection. In India, advertising as a profession is in its infancy. Because of this fact, there
is a tremendous scope for development so that it may be productively used for the benefit of
producers, traders, consumers, and the country’s economy.
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CLASSIFICATION AND TYPES OF ADVERTISING
1. Product – Related Advertising
A. Pioneering Advertising
B. Competitive Advertising
C. Retentive Advertising
2. Public Service Advertising
3. Functional Classification
A. Advertising Based on Demand Influence Level.
A. Primary Demand (Stimulation)
B. Selective Demand (Stimulation)
B. Institutional Advertising
C. Product Advertising
A. Informative Product Advertising
B. Persuasive Product Advertising
C. Reminder-Oriented Product Advertising
4. Advertising based on Product Life Cycle
A. Consumer Advertising
B. Industrial Advertising
5. Trade Advertising
A. Retail Advertising
B. Wholesale Advertising
6. Advertising Based on Area of operation
A. National advertising
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B. Local advertising
C. Regional advertising
7. Advertising According to Medium Utilized
A. Pioneering Advertising:
This type of advertising is used in the introductory stages in the life cycle of a product. It
is concerned with developing a “primary” demand. It conveys information about, and selling a
product category rather than a specific brand. For example, the initial advertisement for black –
and – white television and color television. Such advertisements appeal to the consumer’s
emotions and rational motives.
B. Competitive Advertising:
It is useful when the product has reached the market-growth and especially the market-
maturity stage. It stimulates “selective” demand. It seeks to sell a specific brand rather than a
general product category. It is of two types:
A. Direct Type: It seeks to stimulate immediate buying action.
B. Indirect Type: It attempts to pinpoint the virtues of the product in the expectation that the
consumer’s action will be affected by it when he is ready to buy.
Example: Airline advertising.
Air India attempts to bid for the consumer’s patronage either immediately - direct action-
in which case, it provides prices, time tables and phone numbers on which the customer may call
for reservations; or eventually – indirect action – when it suggests that you mention Air India’s
name when talking to your travel agent.
C. Retentive Advertising:
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This may be useful when the product has achieved a favourable status in the market – that
is, maturity or declining stage. Generally in such times, the advertiser wants to keep his product’s
name before the public. A much softer selling approach is used, or only the name may be
mentioned in “reminder” type advertising.
2. Public Service Advertising
This is directed at the social welfare of a community or a nation. The effectiveness of
product service advertisements may be measured in terms of the goodwill they generate in favour
of the sponsoring organization. Advertisements on not mixing drinking and driving are a good
example of public service advertising. In this type of advertising, the objective is to put across a
message intended to change attitudes or behaviour and benefit the public at large.
3. Functional Classification
Advertising may be classified according to the functions which it is intended to fulfil.
(i) Advertising may be used to stimulate either the primary demand or the selective demand.
(ii) It may promote either the brand or the firm selling that brand.
(iii) It may try to cause indirect action or direct action.
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product or service. The advertiser attempts to differentiate his brand and to increase the total
amount of consumption of that product. Competitive advertising stimulates selective demand. It
may be of either the direct or the indirect type.
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change or action for an offering. It deals with the non-personal selling of a particular good or
service. It is of three types as follows:-
A. Informative Product Advertising
B. Persuasive Product Advertising
C. Reminder-Oriented Product Advertising
A. Informative Product Advertising:
This form of advertising tends to characterize the promotion of any new type of product
to develop an initial demand. It is usually done in the introductory stages of the product life
cycle. It was the original approach to advertising.
B. Persuasive Product Advertising:
Persuasive product advertising is to develop demand for a particular product or brand. It
is a type of promotion used in the growth period and, to some extent, in the maturity period of
the product life cycle.
C. Reminder-Oriented Product Advertising:
The goal of this type of advertising is to reinforce previous promotional activity by
keeping the brand name in front of the public. It is used in the maturity period as well as
throughout the declining phase of the product life cycle.
A. Consumer Advertising
Most of the consumer goods producers engage in consumer product advertising.
Marketers of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, scooters, detergents and soaps, cigarettes and alcoholic
beverages are examples. Baring a few, all these products are all package goods that the consumer
will often buy during the year. There is a heavy competition among the advertisers to establish
an advantage for their particular brand.
B. Industrial Advertising
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Industrial executives have little confidence in advertising. They rely on this form of
promotion merely out of fear that their competitors may benefit if they stop their advertising
efforts. The task of the industrial advertiser is complicated by the multiple buying influence
characteristics like, the derived demand, etc. The objectives vary according to the firm and the
situation. They are:
To inform,
To bring in orders,
To induce inquiries,
To get the advertiser’s name on the buyer’s list of sources,
To provide support for the salesman,
To reduce selling costs,
To help get items in the news column of a publication,
To establish recognition for the firm or its product,
To motivate distributors,
To recognition for the firm or its products,
To motivate distributors, to create or change a company’s image,
To create or change a buyer’s attitude, and
The basic appeals tend to increase the rupee profits of the buyer or help in achieving his
non-monetary objectives. Trade journals are the media most generally used followed by
catalogues, direct mail communication, exhibits, and general management publications.
Advertising agencies are much less useful in industrial advertising.
5. Trade Advertising
A. Retail Advertising
B. Wholesale Advertising
A. Retail Advertising
This may be defined as “covering all advertising by the stores that sell goods directly to
the consuming public. It includes, also advertising by establishments that sell services to the
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public, such as beauty shops, petrol pumps and banks.” Advertising agencies are rarely used. The
store personnel are usually given this responsibility as an added task to be performed, together
with their normal functions. The result is that advertising is often relegated to a secondary
position in a retail store. One aspect of retail advertising is co-operative advertising. It refers to
advertising costs between retailers and manufacturers. From the retailer’s point of view, co-
operative advertising permits a store to secure additional advertising that would not otherwise
have been available.
B. Wholesale Advertising
Wholesalers are, generally, not advertising minded, either for themselves or for their
suppliers. They would benefit from adopting some of the image-making techniques used by
retailers – the need for developing an overall promotional strategy. They also need to make a
greater use of supplier promotion materials and programs in a way advantageous to them.
A. National advertising
It is practiced by many firms in our country. It encourages the consumer to buy their
product wherever they are sold. Most national advertisements concentrate on the overall image
and desirability of the product. The famous national advertisers are:
Hindustan Levers
DCM
ITC
Jay Engineering
TISCO
B. Regional advertising
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It is geographical alternative for organizations. For example, Amrit Vanaspati based in
Rajpura claims to be the leading hydrogenated oil producer in the Punjab. But, until recently, it
mainly confined itself to one of the vegetable oil brands distribution to Malihabad district (in
U.P. near Lucknow).
C. Local advertising
It is generally done by retailers rather than manufacturers. These advertisements save the
customer time and money by passing along specific information about products, prices, location,
and so on. Retailer advertisements usually provide specific goods sales during weekends in
various sectors.
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Measuring Advertising Effectiveness
All advertising efforts are directed mainly towards the achievement of business,
marketing and advertising objectives i.e., to increase the sales turnover and thus to market the
maximum profit. The advertiser spends lakhs of rupees in to this advertising activity. In the
background of all these efforts, is an attempt to attract the customer towards the product through
advertising. As soon as the advertising campaign is over, a need is generally arisen to measure
the effectiveness of the campaign. Whether, it has achieved the desired results i.e. desired sales
profitability or results in terms the change in customer’ behaviour in favour of the company’s
product which will naturally, affect the future sale of the product.
In order to measure the effectiveness of advertising copy, two types of tests pre tests and
post tests- can be undertaken. Pre tests are generally conducted in the beginning of the creation
process or at the end of creation process or production stage. There are several pre and post tests
techniques to measure the effectiveness of the advertising copy.
The effectiveness of advertising in a particular media may also be measured
in any of the following ways –
(a) By giving different addresses to different media,
(b) Different newspapers may be selected for advertisements of different departments,
(c) Coupon blank etc. May be provided with the advertisement or
(d) Enquiry from consumers should mention the name of the source of information.
The technique is known as keying the advertising. Thus in measuring the effectiveness of
advertising we include measuring of the effectiveness of advertising campaign, advertising copy
and the effectiveness of individual media. This chapter deals these three problems.
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Importance of measuring the Effectiveness of Advertising
(1) It acts as a Safety measure
Testing effectiveness of advertising helps in finding out ineffective advertisement and
advertising campaigns. It facilitates timely adjustments in advertising to make advertising
consumer oriented and result oriented. Thus waste of money in faulty advertising can be avoided.
(2) Provides feedback for remedial measures
Testing effectiveness of advertising provides useful information to the advertisers to take
remedial steps against ineffective advertisements.
(3) Avoids possible failure
Advertisers are not sure of results of advertising from a particular advertising campaign.
Evaluating advertising effectives helps in estimating the results in order to avoid complete loss.
(4) To justify the Investment in Advertising
The expenditure on advertisement is considered to be an investment. The investment in
advertising is a marketing investment and its objectives should be spelt out clearly indicating the
results expected from the campaign. The rate and size of return should be determined in advance.
If the expected rate of return is achieved in terms of additional profits, the advertisement can be
considered as effective one.
(5) To know the communication Effect
The effectiveness of the advertisement can be measured in terms of their communication
effects on the target consumers or audience. The main purpose of advertising is communicated
the general public, and existing and prospective consumers, various information about the
product and the company. It is therefore desirable to seek post measurements of advertising in
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order to determine whether advertisement have been seen or heard or in other words whether
they have communicated the theme, message or appeal of the advertising.
(6) Compare two markets
Under this procedure, advertising is published in test markets and results are contrasted
with other. Markets – so called control markets – which have had the regular advertising
program. The measurements made to determine results may be measurements of change in sales,
change in consumer attitudes, changes in dealer display and so on depending upon the objectives
sought by the advertiser.
METHODS OF MEASURING ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS
Advertising is aimed at improving the sales volume of a concern so its effectiveness can
be evaluated by its impact on sales. Most of the managers believe that the advertisement directly
affects the sales volume and hence they evaluate the effectiveness of the advertising campaign by
the increase in the sales volume.
There may be two types measures
(i) Direct measures: and
(ii) Indirect measures:-
(1) Direct Measures of Advertising Effectiveness
Under direct measures, a relationship between advertising and sales is established. A
comparison of sales of two periods or two periods or two markets may be done and the
corresponding changes may be noted. The following are some of the methods that are generally
used in measuring that advertising effects.
(a) Historical Sales Method
Some insights into the effectiveness of past advertising may be obtained by measuring
the relationship between the advertising expenditure and the total sales of the product. A multiple
regression analysis of advertising expenditure and sales over several time periods may be
calculated. It would show how the changes in advertising expenditure have corresponding
changes in sales volume. This technique estimates the contribution that advertising has made to
explaining in a co relational manner rather than a casual sales, the variation in sales over the time
periods covered in the study
(b) Experimental Control
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The other measure of advertising effectiveness is the method of experimental control
where a casual relationship between advertising and sales is established. This method is quite
expensive when related to other advertising effectiveness measures yet it is possible to isolate
advertising contribution to sales. Moreover this can be done as a pre-test to aid advertising in
choosing between alternative creative designs. Media schedules expenditure levels or some
combination of these advertising decision areas. One experimental approach to measuring the
sales effectiveness of advertising is test marketing.
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attitude or customer recall of advertising message affect the sales or profits or goals of the
business indirectly. Despite the uncertainties about the relationship between the intermediate
effects of advertising and the ultimate results, there is no other alternative but to use indirect
measures. The most commonly used measures are –
(i) Exposure to Advertisement
In order to be effective, the advertisement must gain exposure. The management is
concerned about the number of target audiences who see or hear the organization message set in
the advertisement. Without exposure, advertisement is bound to failure. Marketers or advertisers
may obtain an idea of exposure generated by the medium by examining its circulation or
audience data which reveal the number of copies of the magazine, newspaper or journal sold the
number of persons passing the billboards or riding in transit facilities, or the number of persons
living in the televiewing or radio listening area, and the number of persons switching on their
T.V. and radio sets at various points of time. This number can be estimated by interviewing the
numbers of the audience for different media.
(ii) Attention or Recall of Advertising Message Content
This is one of the widely used measures of advertising results. Under this measure, a
recall of the message content among a specified group or groups or prospective customers is
measured within 24 hours of the exposure of the advertisement.
Attention value is the chief quality of the advertising copy the advertisements cannot be
said to be effective unless they attract the attention of the target consumers. There are two
methods for evaluating the attention getting value of the advertisements. One is pre-test and the
other is post-test. In a pre-test evaluation, the consumers are asked to indicate the extent to which
they recognise or recall the advertisement, they have already seen. This test is conducted in the
laboratory setting. Here consumers read, hear or listen to the advertisement and then researchers
ask question regarding the advertisement just to test the recall and then evaluate it. In post-test
method, the consumers are asked questions about the indication of recognition or recall after the
advertisement has been run. These measures assume that customers can recall or recognize what
they have viewed or listened to. Various mechanical devices are being used in the western
countries which provide indices of attention such as eye-camera etc.
(iii) Brand Awareness
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The marketers who rely heavily on advertising often appraise its effectiveness by
measuring the customer’s awareness about the particular product or brand. The assumption of
this type of measure is that there is a direct relationship between the advertisements and the
awareness. This type of measure is also subject to the same criticisms as is applicable to direct
measures of effectiveness (sales measures because awareness is also not the direct result of the
advertisements. It is also affected by many other factors. But, for new products, changes in
awareness can often be attributed to the influence of advertising.
(iv) Comprehension
Consumers generally use advertisements as a means of obtaining information about the
product, brand or the manufacturer. They cannot be informed unless they comprehend the
message (grasp the message mentally and understand it fully). Various tests for valuating
comprehension are available –
One is recall tests – an indicator of comprehension because it is evident that consumers
recall what they comprehend. Another measure of the variable is to ask questions about subjects
how much they have comprehended a message they have recently heard or seen. One may
employ somewhat imprecise test of the comprehension of a newspaper and radio advertisement.
One may ask typical target consumers from time to time such questions like ‘what did you think
of our new commercial?’ and ‘Did it get the message across’? The answers of these questions
will provide sufficient insight into advertising decision making.
(v) Attitude Change
Since advertising is considered to be one way of influencing the state of the mind of the
audience towards a product, service or organisation, the results are very often measured in terms
of attitudes among groups exposed to advertising communication. Several measures are used
ranging from asking the questions about willingness to buy the likelihood of buying to the
measurement of the extent to which specific attributes (such as modern or new) are associated
with a product.
(vi) Action
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One objective of advertisement may be assumed to be to stimulate action or behavior.
The action or intention to take an action may be measured on the intention to buy measuring
instrument. Under this type of measure, consumers are asked to respond why they are interested
in purchasing the product or brand. One type of action that advertisers attempt to induce is
buying behavior. The assumption is that if an increase in sales follows a decrease in advertising
expenditure, the change in sales levels are good indicators of the effectiveness of advertising.
Logic suggests that measurement of sales is preferable to other measurements.
Thus, these above measures (direct or indirect) are used to evaluate the effectiveness of
advertisements. It seems from the analysis of the above methods of measuring effectiveness that
directly or indirectly changes in sales or profits are taken as the measuring rod of the
effectiveness of the advertising.
COMMUNICATION EFFECTS OF ADVERTISEMENT
The management should attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of the advertising
campaign if the firm’s advertising goals are to be achieved and the ad effectiveness is to be
increased. By regular evaluation of the effectiveness, the short comings and the plus points
would be revealed and the management would be able to improve the campaign by negating the
shortcomings and retaining the favorable point. For this purpose, it is very necessary to know
how advertising affects the buyer’s behaviors. But this is very difficult task because
measurements are imperfect and imprecise.
The effectiveness of advertising can be measured by the extent, it to which it achieves the
objectives set for it. If it succeeds in attaining the objectives. Advertising can be said to be
effective otherwise it will be a waste of money and time. In this sense, advertising can be
recognized as a business activity like other activities.
In a very real sense the integrity of promotional activities rests on how well those
activities work. An advertising budget that is spent on some poorly defined task or on undefined
tasks may be regarded as an economic waste as compared to that spent to achieve the well
defined objectives for which the results can be measured. Any social institution upon which a
significant portion of our total productive efforts is expanded should be able to point to its
specific accomplishment. Indeed, it is a source of discomfort that specific results of advertising
activities have not always been subject to precise measurement. Both practitioners and critics
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feel that promotional activities should only be accepted as socio – economic – institution with
full right and privileges “when the means
exist to prove that advertising super are productive rupees’ It is undoubtedly a source of
embarrassment that we cannot exactly measure the effectiveness of advertising in definitive
terms.
The exact result of advertisement expenditure is very difficult to predict because.-
(a) The reaction of consumer – buyers to the advertising efforts cannot be known in advance.
(b) The reaction of competitors in the field cannot be guessed in anticipation and
(c) The unexpected events (such as change in social and economic environment and the
government policies etc.) cannot be accurately anticipated. Such events may influence the results
of the advertising efforts. If we take a hypothetical case of a retailer who contract to spent
Rs.5000 on advertisement with a local newspaper for a special sales even. The advertisement is
seen and the response is much greater than it is anticipated. What caused the success of sale?
They message theme colors etc., of the advertisement or the low prices quoted during the sale of
the superior quality of the product or absence of competition in the market on the day or the
favorable. Weather conditions or the goodwill of the firm etc. The overwhelming success of the
sale is the joint result of all the above variables and it is quite impossible to isolate the role of any
one variable. It is so because the cause and effect – relationship cannot be established in advance
when a multitude of variable impinge upon a particular event. It is entirely possible that a poor
advertising support may push up the sale because everything else falls into its proper place or the
reverse may be possible. But it does not mean that that we cannot measure the effects of
particulars advertising effort. The advertising executives are much concerned about the
assessment of the effectiveness of the advertising efforts. For this purpose, the management
needs answers to such questions as: was the advertising campaign really successful in attaining
the advertising goals? Were our T.V. commercials as good as those of our competitors? Will the
print advertisement, which we have designed, make consumers aware of our new product? To
get answers of these questions, various tests of effectiveness (Pre- tests and post – tests ) are
deeded to determine whether proposed advertisement should be used, and if they are not
satisfactory how they might be improved, and whether on going campaign should be stopped
continued or changed. Pre- tests are conducted before exposing target consumers to the
advertisements and post tests after consumers have been exposed to them.
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As indicated earlier, the advertisers are interested in knowing what they are getting for
their advertising rupees, So they test the proposed advertisement with pre test and measure the
actual results with a post test. In the past, protesting was done by the advertising agencies but
now the advertisers have been taking an increasingly active role in protesting process. Pre test
may be done either before an advertisement has been designed or executed after it is ready for
public distribution or at both points.
During protesting there is often research on three vital questions:-
(i) Do consumers feel that the advertisement communicates something desirable about the
product?
(ii) Does the message have an exclusive appeal that differentiates the product from that of the
competitors?
(iii) Is the advertisement believable?
Although a lot of money is spent on protesting yet the advertisers like to confirm the
results by post testing of their promotional campaigns due to the following reasons:-
(i) There is a need produce more effective advertising by retaining the good and removing the
bad.
(ii) The advertising executives can prove to the satisfaction of the management that a higher
advertising budget will benefit the firm.
(iii) There is a need for measuring the results to determine the level of expenditure that is most
promising.
Most research focuses on the communication effect rather than sales effect because it is a
long run process. In the short run, however sales may be slight and important but in the long run
its effects ob brands and companies may be of great importance. Indirectly it will affect the sales
in the long run, by changing the consumer awareness and attitude. The advertisers are therefore,
concerned with their impact on consumer awareness and attitude.
The communication effect on sales may be presented in the following figure:-
Communication Effect on Sales
Awareness
↓
Attitude
↓
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Trial
↓
Satisfaction
↓
Purchases or repurchase
Awareness builds a favorable or at least a curious attitude towards the product which
leads to experimentation. If consumer is satisfied with the trial he may decide to purchase the
product. There are many critical and unresolved issues in determining how to test the
communication effects of advertising. Among these are:-
(1) Exposure Conditions – Should advertising be tested under realistic conditions or under more
controlled laboratory conditions?
(2) Execution – Protesting a finished advertisement as an expensive and time consuming. Does
protesting a preliminary execution produce accurate and useful data?
(3) Quality Vs. Quantity Data- Quantitative data are the easiest and the almost precise
measurement. But qualitative data collected through interviews may provide information that
short answer questions never can.
Many types of advertising tests are conducted (different methods of pre tests and post –
test are given in question number) In T.V. commercials are tested by inviting a group of people
to the studio to view a program. The audience is then surveyed about the commercials. Print
advertisements are tested through dummy magazine portfolio tests.
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many situations the exact relationship between advertising activity and sales cannot be
established satisfactorily.
We can correctly assume that some sales will occur even though there is no advertising or
little advertising or conversely there will be no increase in sales after the point of saturation is
reached or it may be that sales will show a decreasing trend at this point in spite of large amount
of expenditure on advertising is done. It is so because advertising is no the only variable that
effect the sales.
Thus, we may conduct that sales effect of advertising is difficult to measure because a
number of variables affect the quantum of tales and the contribution of advertisement cannot be
measured separately unless all other variables are presumed to be constant. This situation is quite
hypothetical and almost nonexistent. Added to this is the fact that advertisement itself is made of
a variety of variables such as media, messages, colours, page or time of the day, locations, the
size of the headline and the appeals used. Thus even if the advertising variable is separated this
would still not answer the question about the effectiveness of the individual components of the
advertising campaign. So advertisers try to measure the communication effect of the advertising.
Suitability
In small business firms where the marketing research resources are limited advertising
managers may decide on less expensive and less relevant measures. The big business house,
which has more access to research, may decide on the more relevant and expensive measures.
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Factors Affecting Advertising
The final external factor in the planning framework concerns environmental factor social,
legal, and global. Law forbids deceptive advertising. One solution is to create brand advertising
that is vague and contains little specific information. However, such an approach can result not
only in ineffective advertising; by it can lessen the social value of advertising by reducing the
amount for useful information that it provides to society. Thus, and advertiser who attempts to
provide specific, relevant information must be well aware of advertising regulation.
Even more difficult consideration for people involved in the advertising effort is broad
social and economic issues. Another concern is that advertising, especially when it is more
irritating than entertaining, is an intrusion into an already excessively polluted environment. A
whole set of rules is emerging to cover advertising directed at children, and advertising for
products such as alcohol and cigarettes, and the use of environmental and health claims in
advertising.
Thus advertising has a tremendous impact on international marketing and the two
concepts therefore go hand in hand and are dependent on each other.
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IMPACT OF ADVERTISEMENT
1. Economic Impact
Most economists believe that advertising has a positive impact on the economy
because it stimulates demand for products and services, strengthening the economy by
promoting the sale of goods and services. Manufacturers know that advertising can help
sell a new product quickly, enabling them to recoup the costs of developing new
products. By stimulating the development of new products, advertising helps increase
competition. Many economists believe that increased competition leads to lower prices,
thereby benefiting consumers and the economy as a whole. These economists also argue
that by interesting consumers in purchasing goods, advertising enables manufacturers and
others to sell their products in larger quantities. The increased volume of sales enables
companies to produce individual units at lower costs and therefore, sell them at a lower
price. Advertising thus benefits consumers by helping lower prices.
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Other economists, however, believe that advertising is wasteful. They argue that
the cost of advertising adds to the cost of goods and that most advertising simply
encourages consumers to buy one brand rather than another. According to this view,
advertising simply moves sales from one company to another, rather than increasing sales
overall and thereby benefiting the economy as a whole.
2. Social Impact
Other critics express concern over the way advertising has affected women and
racial minority groups. Ads in the 1950s depicted women primarily as decoration or sex
objects. Although millions of women worked outside the home in the 1960s, ads
continued to focus on their role as homemakers. Whether owing to the feminist
movement or to women's increasing economic power, after the 1960s it became more
common to see women depicted in professional roles. However, many ads today still
emphasize a woman’s sexuality.
The way advertising has depicted racial minorities has also been harmful. Prior to
1960, African Americans were usually shown in a subordinate position. Due to the
influence of the civil rights movement, however, advertisers by the 1980s had begun to
depict African Americans as students, professionals, or business people. However, many
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African American organizations and community activists continue to object to the way
that alcohol and tobacco companies have seemingly targeted low-income minority
communities with a heavy preponderance of outdoor advertising for their products.
As ads have begun to more fully reflect the lives of women and African
Americans in the United States, increasing attention has been paid to the way in which
advertising shows other ethnic groups, including Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans,
and Eastern Europeans. There is still considerable debate over how advertising influences
public perception of gender and of particular ethnic groups.
At the same time, however, some critics warn that because advertising plays such
a major economic role, it may exercise undue influence on the news media and thereby
curtail the free flow of information in a free society. Reporters and editors, for example,
may be hesitant to develop a news story that criticizes a major advertiser. As a result,
society might not be alerted to harmful or potentially harmful conduct by the advertiser.
Most members of the news media deny that pressure from an advertiser prevents them
from pursuing news stories involving that advertiser, but some members of the media
acknowledge that they might not be inclined to investigate an issue aggressively if it
threatened to offend a major advertiser.
Advertisers may affect media programming in other ways, too, critics charge. For
example, companies that sponsor TV programs prefer relatively wholesome,
noncontroversial programming to avoid offending a mass audience. This preference
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causes TV networks to emphasize this type of programming. The result is that society
may be denied the benefits of being able to view challenging or highly original
entertainment programs or news programs on controversial issues. Because advertisers
are especially interested in attracting the 18 to 34 year olds who account for most
consumer spending, television shows are often developed with this audience in mind. If
the ratings show that a program is not attracting large audiences, particularly among 18 to
34 year olds, advertisers often withdraw support, which causes a program to be canceled.
As a result, shows that are more likely to interest and to be of value to older audiences are
not produced.
The impact of television on young children has received much attention. Research
suggests that children see television advertising as just another form of programming and
react uncritically to its messages, which makes them especially vulnerable to advertising.
There is also concern about the way in which adolescent girls respond to advertising that
features beautiful, thin models. Research indicates that many adolescent girls are unduly
influenced by this standard of beauty, become dissatisfied with their own bodies, and
may develop eating disorders in pursuit of a thin figure. New research suggests that
adolescent boys are also being influenced by advertising images of bulked-up, buffed
bodies. As a result, many become dissatisfied with their own body image, devote large
amounts of time to weightlifting, and may even take drugs that have harmful side effects
in order to develop more muscle. Those over the age of 60 are thought to be less
influenced by advertising, but some elderly people no longer process messages as easily
as younger people, making them more susceptible to questionable advertising claims.
3. Political Impact
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not become involved in electoral campaigns until the 1950s. But since then, political
advertising has grown in sophistication and complexity.
Various campaign finance reform proposals, however, have tried to address the
impact of television advertising on political campaigning. Because of the high cost of
television ads, the costs of political campaigns have skyrocketed, making it necessary for
candidates to raise money continually, even after they have been elected to office. Critics
say this factor jeopardizes the democratic process by making elected officials beholden to
wealthy contributors and by making it more likely that only the wealthy will run for
office. Some reform proposals have called for free airtime, but television and radio
networks have resisted this idea.
Critics of political advertising also charge that the 30-second television spot has
become more important to a political campaign than a thorough discussion of the issues.
As a result, voters are bombarded with image advertising rather than being acquainted
with the candidate’s positions. They contend that this practice is harmful to good
government. Issues are simplified, and candidates are “packaged and sold” much like a
consumer product, thereby distorting the political process.
4. Cultural Impact
Advertising can affect cultural values. Some advertising messages, for example,
encourage aggressive individualism, which may clash with the traditional cultural values
of a country where the collective or group is emphasized over the individual or humility
or modesty is preferred to aggressiveness. With the globalization of the world economy,
multinational corporations often use the same advertising to sell to consumers around the
world. Some critics argue that advertising messages are thus helping to break down
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distinct cultural differences and traditional values, causing the world to become
increasingly homogeneous.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
: Bhilai
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SAMPLING UNIT
Data have been collected through the survey method while surveys have been conducted in one
city:
i) Durg
ii) Bhilai
The data collected was both from the primary and secondary source. The primary data was
collected through questionnaires and was collected personally.
The secondary data was collected through books, magazines, company website and other
websites. All the area had segmented according the population of this area. I have considered
100 as sample size.
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HYPOTHESIS TESTING
H0: The difference among the parameter which influences the perception of consumers
towards the product is significant.
H1: The difference among the parameter which influences the perception of consumer
towards the product is insignificant.
STILL IMAGE 3 8 8 9
MOVING IMAGE 22 17 17 16
ENTERTAINMENT 10 5 4 7
INFORMATION 22 22 24 19
LANGUAGE 5 19 18 21
CELEBRITY 19 14 19 17
INTENSITY 16 12 11 13
SOCIAL ISSUE 5 17 18 19
NATIONAL ADS 23 23 16 14
LOCAL ADS 2 2 9 11
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Source of Sum of Degree of Mean F-Ratio 5% F-Limit
variation Samples freedom Square (from F-table)
Total 1476.57 39
Interpretation:-
Since when the statistical value is less than table value then the null hypothesis is accepted and
hence we can say that the difference among the determinants and parameters is insignificant.
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GRAPHICAL INTERPRETATION
Interpretation:
41
A large size of population is influenced by Television and Newspapers.
Interpretation:
42
People are more affected by advertisement with moving image.
Interpretation:
43
More number of people consider advertisement as a source of information rather than a
source of entertainment.
Interpretation:
44
Entertaining advertisement does not affect the opinion of customer about the product
Interpretation:
45
Information provided in the advertisement affect very much on the opinion of consumers
about the product.
Interpretation:
46
Language used in the advertisement affects a lot on the opinion of consumers about the
product.
Interpretation:
47
Presence of any celebrity affects on the opinion of consumers about the product.
48
Interpretation:
The effect of intensity is very powerful on the opinion of consumers about the product.
49
Interpretation:
50
Interpretation:
51
Interpretation:
National advertisements affect people’s opinion more than the local advertisements.
FINDINGS
Advertisements with moving image are more effective than advertisement with still
image.
Language used in the advertisement also plays important role in increasing effectiveness
of an advertisement.
Intensity of advertisement affects the perception of consumers towards the product and
leads them for its purchase.
Social issues included in advertisement affects the perception of high age group people.
National advertisement has more influence on consumer’s perception about the product
instead of local advertisement.
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LIMITATIONS
The marketing researcher has to face certain difficulties while he carries out
the research work. He knows the limitation beforehand, uncontrollable and others are
controllable. Some important limitations, which are faced by researchers as follows: -
Sample size restricted to 100 only which was very less according total population.
The responses given by respondents were not always accurate because the
respondents gave the response according to their understanding.
Survey is a time consuming process but the time to collect the data for research
was very less.
Sometimes the respondents are not willing to fill the questionnaire and hence
the resultant may not be correct.
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Marketing researchers studies the behavior that is rational. Very often, they do not
express their feeling correctly what they think. In such cases their habitual,
practice, preferences cannot be assessed correctly.
CONCLUSION
ANOVA reveals that all the determinants are not internally equal they
are significantly different from one another. Similarly, all the parameters are not internally equal
they are significantly different from one another.
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SUGGESTIONS
Advertisement should be according to the product and its suitability with different age
groups.
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REFERENCE
Books
1. Advertising Management – concepts and cases Mahendra Mohan.
2. Marketing Management – Philip Kotler
3. Branding – Geoffrey Randoll
4. Strategic Brand Management – Kapferer
5. Advertising and Sales Promotion Management – S.L.Gupta, V.V.Ratra
6. Advertising and Salesmanship – P.Saravanavel.
Internet
1. www.books.google.com
2. www.scribd.com
3. www.paulbeelen.com
4. www.decisionanalyst.com
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Questionnaire
I am Vishal Kumar Sharma pursuing II Semester of Master of Business Administration
from B.I.T. ( Durg ). I am doing my research report on “ A Study on Effect of Advertisement on
Consumers” as a part of my course curriculum. For this I require you to please fill this
questionnaire.
Name: ……………………………….................................
Sex: a. Male [ ] b. Female [ ]
Age:
a. Below 20 [ ]
b. 20 to 30 [ ]
c. 30 to 40 [ ]
d. Above 40 [ ]
Occupation:
a. Student [ ]
b. Business class [ ]
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c. House hold [ ]
d. Service class [ ]
a. Television [ ]
b. Newspapers [ ]
c. Magazines [ ]
d. Internet [ ]
e. Peers (friends/family) [ ]
a. Information [ ]
b. Entertainment [ ]
a. Yes [ ]
b. No [ ]
5. Does information provided in advertisement affects your opinion about the product?
a. Yes [ ]
b. No [ ]
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6. Does language used in advertisement affects your opinion about the product?
a. Yes [ ]
b. No [ ]
7. Does presence of any celebrity in the advertisement affects your opinion about the
product?
a. Yes [ ]
b. No [ ]
8. Does intensity of the advertisement affects your opinion about the product?
a. Yes [ ]
b. No [ ]
9. Does presence of social issues in the advertisement affects your opinion about the
product?
a. Yes [ ]
b. No [ ]
a. Yes [ ]
b. No [ ]
a. National advertisement [ ]
b. Local advertisement [ ]
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