Abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the evaluating the role of online media in brand promotion i.e the effectiveness of online media in brand promotion focusing on four selected advertising agencies in Lagos. The study was anchored on Technological Determinism Theory (TDT). An Indepth-Interview research method was adopted and an Interview guide was used to elicit responses from the participants who were purposively selected. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data that were collected. Study found that all the advertising agencies are using social media advertising campaigns specifically Facebook Advertising, email marketing, apps and blogs advertising. Although, they identified some challenges that they face when using online advertising media for products and services such as the fact (1) the increasing fragmentation of the market (2) So many different channels and platforms available for advertising now, many online users now using ad blockers, difficult to track how many people click on an ad and then go on to purchase a product or service. It was recommended that students of advert and marketing be thought especially on the application of online media especially to ensure understanding of the new media, digital technology among others for adverts.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background to the Study
Almost all human activities on earth have been revolutionalised and witnessed the tremendous change from their conventional process due to advancement in the internet in this twenty-first century. One of the human activities greatly influenced in this era is a mode of shopping, marketing, advertising and communication. Online advertising sometimes called e-marketing, web advertising, digital advertising, internet advertising or simply online media of advertising; is a broad term used to describe the paid advertising that is posted or published on the Internet such as on social media, mobile apps, games, blogs and web pages.
The emergency of the internet particularly web 2.0 have introduced new templates and platforms where the advertisers can offer goods, services, ideas and concepts known across the globe (Wikipedia, n.d).It is the process of browsing and searching products information in a virtual online environment in order to provide sufficient information for a purchase decision, and then implement the purchase action (Mengli, M. and Rui, n.d).
However, online advertising is made possible especially via the use of search engines such as Google and Yahoo and to the recent Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and many more. For example, Google charges fees to help link sponsors of these advertisements to other sites on its search engine by using a method called ”pay per click”.Internet advertising is a big business, generating more than 16 million dollars in 2006.
One of the most common forms of advertising is “pay per click”. Whenever you do a search on Google for example, on the right side of the results page, you will see a number of sponsored links to products or services to what you are looking for “search for satellite radio” and you will get nine sponsored links” (Dominick, 2009).It should be noted that online advertising usually cone to the audience in the form of an unwanted or distraction to some consumers, especially the pop-up advertisement.
Online advertisement includes but is not limited to email marketing, social media marketing, mobile advertising (SMS), App Ad, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) etc (Wikipedia, 2017).
Easy access to the internet has driven consumers to shop online in fact according to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) communication policy (2001), online marketing and shopping is the third most popular activity on the internet after email use and web browsing (Muhammad, U. S. and Nasir, U. M., 2011).
The growing number of internet users is one of the factors responsible for online advertising practice. For instance, the number of internet users in Nigeria has further increased to 93.4 million, according to a new report on Internet status in the country. The report obtained by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator, indicated the country has recorded about 14 percent growth in mobile internet subscriptions between January and the end of December 2016.
According to the data, which shows that Nigeria’s mobile Internet ecosystem is gaining momentum, telecoms networks collectively boosted mobile Internet subscriptions on their networks from 81.8 million in January to 93.4 million in July (Kunle, 2015).The growth of online users thereby attracted marketers to recognize it used as an important part of their marketing communication strategies because it helps organizations to communicate with their customers in two-way i.e bi-directional or interactive in nature. These interactions help marketers determine customers’ needs and understand what their market might look like.Books, airline tickets/reservations, clothing/shoes, videos/games, phones, tablets, computers, journals, and other electronic products are the most popular items advertised on the internet (ACNIELSEN Report, 2007).
However, despite this dynamic nature of online advertising, it may be surprising that the online marketing advertising agency practices are still in their infancy as many online advertising agencies are just coming up (Joel, 2011).The emergence of digital platforms in Nigeria has given birth to some digital advertising agencies while many existing advertising agencies have integrated online to their practice in Nigeria such as Webcoupers, Byte Size, Wild Fusion & Anakle. Currently, WebCoupers LLC & WildFusion Group are Certified Partners of Google in Nigeria (Peter, 2015). It is against this background that the research investigates the effectiveness of online media in brand promotion among advertising agencies in Nigeria with the intention to ascertain the extent to which Nigeria advertising agencies have gone in terms of online advertising and digital marketing.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The dynamic nature of the 2lst century and more centuries to come rests on the technological revolution. No wonder, McLuhan in 1964 propounded the concept of “Global Village” regarding the entire globe as having the potentials of becoming a “global community” where information, business and news about anything and anywhere in the world would be readily available for anyone’s consumption in any part of the world.
However, the increase in the number of individuals and organizations that are exploiting the internet for business, communication, interaction, socialisation, education etc prompted marketers and advertisers to explore the new opportunity that comes with the emergency of the internet. But lack of trust in Nigeria due to the fraudulent activities online, absence of physical interaction and fear of being deceived and duped have been attributed to some of the challenges hampering online marketing, especially in Africa and Nigeria because online marketing is relatively a new medium of communication.
The research conducted by Olayinka (2015) indicated that internet users avert online shopping because of credit/debit card fraud, lack of privacy, non-delivery risk, lack of guarantee of the quality of goods and services as advertised among others. To this end, the research investigates the effectiveness of online media in brand promotion among advertising agencies in Nigeria with the intention to ascertain the extent to which Nigeria advertising agencies have gone in terms of online advertising and digital marketing.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
- To examine the extent to which the Advertising Agencies have adopted online media (internet) in showcasing products and services.
- To examine the perception of the Advertising Agencies towards online advertising.
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1.4 Research Questions
- To what extent have Advertising Agencies adopted (online media) internet in showcasing products and services?
- What is the perception of the advertising agencies towards online advertising?
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1.5 Scope of the Study
The research which explores the effectiveness of online media in brand promotion has been narrowed down to Alternative Advert Ltd., located at 7 Rasaq Balogun Street, Surulere Lagos and Click Edge Limited located at 48, Allen Avenue Ikeja Lagos. Others are Tequila Nigeria Limited Ikeja, Visage Media Nigeria, Ikeja and Olusam Advert & Information Company located at 10, Seliu Oje Off Sheri road Isolo Lagos. The five agencies were selected because of their online reputation and website outlook compared to the others while many also take in general media advertising services. Also, it will be difficult if not impossible to study all advertising agencies in Nigeria due to the time available for this study. Other considerable factors were geographical locations and other logistics.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The research is significant because is beneficial to business firms, schools, governments, individuals and researchers.
Company: Difference companies will find this research very interesting as it will keep them aware of the benefit of using online marketing when it comes to making products and services known to the world and how cheap it always be to use.
Researchers: People that will be carrying out research in relation to this will find the materials useful as it will provide them a clue to their own research.
Academic: It forms part of academic materials that students, lecturers, researchers, a company can turn to when looking for solutions to advertising on ICT, social media, the internet, GSM and other related aspect.
Advertising Agencies: Findings of this research will open the eye of many traditional advertising agencies to join the online network in this emerging world of no boundary.
Government: Government will see the need to promulgate and implement all the needed policies and activities that will moderate online advertising and campaign to ensure cyber safety for the users.
1.7 Operational Definition of the Terms
ICT: It refers to the Information and Communication Technology
Online Advertising: Online advertising is paid form of advertising that is published on the internet.
Advertisement: This is a paid form of the promotional message shared through media that are usually non-personal media for the purpose of persuading and influencing people to buy a product or service.
Social Media: Social media is a form of electronic communication that facilitates interaction based on certain interests and characteristics.
Online Media: these are various internet platforms such as social media, blogs, websites, app, games that are used for advert and marketing showcase.
“EVALUATING THE ROLE OF ONLINE MEDIA IN BRAND PROMOTION
PROJECT DETAILS:
Format = MS Word, Price = ₦4000, Chapter = 1-5, Pages = 52, References = Yes, Questionnaire =Yes, Table of Contents = Yes and Abstract = Yes
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