ABSTRACT: The basic objective of this study was to investigate the influence of advert on students’ patronage of products and services. Advertising is a powerful tool for persuading customers to purchase goods and services by reaching out to them directly. The Cultivation Theory, Persuasion Theory, and Behavioural Theory were the foundations of this study. Survey research was used as the study’s research method. Questionnaire was used to gather data for this research from the respondents that were selected using quota sampling. The frequency and percentage method was used to analyze the data, and tables were used to illustrate it. The study finds out that many of the respondents were often exposed to commercials/advertisement greatly while advertisements from the newspaper, television, and radio are considered to be more persuasive. According to the survey, manufacturers should make every effort to have a consistent message in their advertising to attract more customers and raise awareness.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background to the study
The essence of being in a business by any commercial organisation is to produce for sales and profits. For an organisation to survive in business competition such organisation need to generate enough sales from its products or services to cover operating costs and reasonable profits. This is significant because the company does not just produce products for fun but to package, market, distribute and make more profit especially in this competitive market.
Of all marketing weapons, advertising has a leading impact on viewers minds, as its exposure is much more felt (Katke, 2007). The marketing mix has four subsets i.e. product, price, place and promotion. Advertising is a component of the promotional mix, which is used to create awareness about products and services for making purchase decisions
Definition of advertising as the non-personal communication of information usually paid for any usually persuasive in nature about products (goods and services) or ideas by an identified sponsor through various media. It is an exciting, dynamic, and challenging enterprise (Kamal, 2016). An advertisement is defined by the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) as a communication in the media paid for by an identifiable sponsor and directed at a target audience with the aim of transferring information about a product, service, idea or cause.
It is often persuasive communication in that it tries to persuade the consumers, reader, the listener or the viewer to take to the sponsor’s own point of view and also to take some appropriate action. It is not personal or face to face communication rather it is directed to a group of people. Advertising is impersonal communication of information about products, services or ideas through the mass media, and it is often persuasive and paid for by identified sponsors (Svetlana, 2014) cited in (Bovee, 1992). Advertising can be defined as a form of communication in the media paid for by an identifiable sponsor and directed “at a target audience with the aim of imparting information about a product, service, idea or cause.” (APCON, 2017).
Carthy (2004) writes that advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor”. It is any form of non-personal communication through the mass media that is paid for by an identified sponsor. Sarva (2005) define advertising as a public announcement to inform and persuade people to buy a product, a service or an idea using suitable mass media. According to Sarva (2005), an advertisement can include but is not be limited to any form of notice, label, wrapper, circular or any other information made orally or in printing.
Therefore, Dominick (2007) defines advertising as any form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods and services, usually paid for, by an identified sponsor. Also, Leo (2013) states that advertising is a controlled, identifiable and persuasive communication that is presented via the mass media and designed to develop product demand and to create a favourable image for a company.
Therefore, the essence of advertisement is to persuade buyers to buy particular goods or use a particular service with the hope to increase company profit. Monle and Johnso, (2005) come up with the main reasons and role that advertising play in business thus: It gives information about the product or services, its features and its location of sale, it informs the consumers about new products, advertising performs a persuasive mission. It tries to persuade consumers to buy particular brands or to change their behaviours toward the product and company. Also, it performs the reminder mission to remind consumers about a product to keep buying the advertised product instead of the rival brands while it equally helps to create a brand name for the product being promoted.
However, age, sex, educational background, religion, political affiliation among others determine the extent and how advertisement influence audience buying habit. Other factors that determine how certain media messages will influence the consumers buying behaviour are a type of appeals, technique, language and advertising media.
It should be added that the way certain advertising messages will influence youth may differ from how it may influence children and adults. For instance, students of Osun State Polytechnic Iree are youth and educated so they may be influenced by an advert in a way different from primary school pupils and the type of appeal for the students of Ospoly may be different from what they use for others.
Also, advertisers use different media of mass communication, ranging from print media (newspapers and magazines), broadcast media (radio and television) and billboards and to the recent online and digital advertising media in reaching out to the targeted audience. Pre-research information revealed that advertisers often use radio, television, newspaper, billboard and online to reach out to students of Osun State University, Osogbo who are persuaded to buy or use one service or the other ranging from phone, computer, fashion, training, data, wristwatch, eatery etc.
The research, therefore, set out to examine the influence of advertisement on the patronage of Osun State University, Osogbo with the view to know the extent to which exposure of students UNIOSUN has to influence their buying decision and what appeals to them in advertising messages.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Critics claim that advertising manipulates us into buying things by playing on our emotions and promising. The study, therefore, tries to examine the influence of advertisement on the patronage of Osun State University, Osogbo because consumers (students) are different personalities in terms of age, sex, social background, culture, religion, academic background among others and as a result, they are influenced differently since what appeals to some set of individuals may be different from others due to their need and taste. Some consumers by the virtue of their age or social status prefer certain products over another and vice versa and therefore influence their buying habits. It is against this background that the research examines the influence of advertisement on the patronage of Osun State University, Osogbo with the view to know the extent to which advertisement influences their choice of products and services.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
- To ascertain whether students of Osun State University, Osogbo are exposed to advertisements.
- To determine whether advertisements have influenced students of UNIOSUN buying habits.
1.4 Research Questions
- To what extent do students Osun State University, Osogbo exposed to an advertisement?
- To what extent has advertisements influenced students’ buying habits?
1.5 Significance of the study
This work though not exhaustive is quite necessary at a time the media an awash with all forms of advertisement to lure consumers.
It will educate consumers on the best ways to respond to advertisements while advertisers will learn to understand the need to follow the ethics of the profession by avoiding advertisements that are subversive. Students of advertising will also find this work useful as it will expose them to various forms of media advertisements.
Essentially, this study makes a significant contribution to the existing literature on the attitude of consumers towards larger products. The study will also be of great use to mass communication and marketing students who intend to take up similar studies.
1.6 Scope of the Study
This study which investigated the influence of advertisement on the patronage of students was narrowed to Osun State University, Osogbo. The students of the institution are used due to their proximity to the researcher and lack of funds to travel to many tertiary institutions.
1.7 Operational Definition of Terms.
Influence: This refers to the impact that advertisement messages do have on the students of Osun State University, Osogbo buying habits.
Advertisement: These are all forms of promotions given to various products and services by the manufacturers through radio, television, newspapers and even online in order to influence UNIOSUN students buying habits.
Patronage: This refers to how students of Osun State University, Osogbo are buying one product and service due to their exposure to its commercials.
Osun State University students: These are students of Osun State University, Osogbo patronise products and services from advertisers.