Abstract
The major thrust of this work is to arise the impact of television advertising on Etisalat
market audience; a study of Owerri metropolis, Imo state (January – June 2013). This
work is divided into five chapters, using the survey method a quantitative tool of data
analysis. This work is aimed at solving the problem of how to communicate with
different demography of audiences of the Etisalat company and the appropriate media
to use. This work also helps Etisalat mobile company to know the need of their
customer and how to satisfy them, this research work helps Etisalat company to know
if the people of Owerri are exposed to their TV commercials or not. Many literary
works and concepts were reviews. The questionnaire approach was also employed to
ensure that varying and various shades of opinion about the subject of the research were
obtained. One hypothetical question was formulated and tested using the chi-square
technique at 0.05% probability level for appropriate inferences
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 (2004,p.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 13th 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.
H1: 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.