INFLUENCE OF ADVERTISING ON CONSUMERS PATRONAGE OF CHAMPION LAGER BEER
INTRODUCTION
- Background of the Study
All over the world today, various brands of beer exist in the market for consumer to patronize. The ability of the producers of those products to influence the consumers to desire the products depends on the marketing strategies adopted by the manufacturers to properly inform and create the needed awareness on their availability in the market and what benefits the consumers stand to gain after consumption.
It is on this ground that advertising serves as an essential tool for attracting the attention of consumers to a product. The ultimate function of advertising is to expose the products to the notice of consumers or buyers, awaken their interest to at all time demand such products.
The aim of advertising lies in the mass audience or consumer approval of the products for which Wright (1983. p. 252) writes that ‘Although market function is to sell, advertising purpose is to aid the selling process through communication with prospective consumers”.
It is therefore necessary at this part to note that a product which is not advertised, may not attract the needed purchasing patronize of the consumers, hence the producers and sellers stand the risk of not selling much of their products because the desired awareness about its presence in the market is not created.
According to Akpan (2006, p. 193) ‘Advertising is the provider of market information and it potential effect whose purpose is to sell their products, good and services. Advertising is the most visible activity of business at it invites people and most importantly, consumers to try their goods or products. The strength of advertising are numerous and among them is the fact that it is an efficient source of information for the consumers and producers about product quality. It encourages competition by providing information cost and foster clear brand accountability such that where the expected satisfaction is not achieved, the consumer can hold the producer responsible.
There are six conditions necessary for conducive advertising there are:
i The brand must be a good product capable of satisfying the advertised needs of consumers.
ii The product must not just have a significant differential but also a demonstrate one.
iii The product should be identifiable by brand name and trademark
iv A standard of quality of the product must be maintained
v The price of the product fit into the market prize standard.
vi The product must be that which can be sold impersonality
The communication function of advertising basically include precipitation persuasion reinforcement and remainder value Akpan (2006, p. 174). The role of precipitation in advertising is to intensify existing wants and needs as much as creating awareness and knowledge. In persuasion, advertising does not only increase wants and needs, but also intensifies emotions and feelings which lead to a good fame of choice.
Reinforcement in advertising helps to legitimize consumers purchasing decision, as reminder functions is to trigger habitual buying behavior. Advertising changes consumers’ orientation and perception either in favour or against the consumption of certain products based on the envisaged gains and what are not considered as important to the consumers of those product. It is on this assumption that Dyer (1982, p. 160) write that, the primary task of advertising is to distract people attention from other competing signals and then directs such attention towards something in form of a product or service.
A well advertised product of the Nigerian Breweries Limited, NBL, and Champion Breweries Limited, attract consumers’ attention. this is because information about product advertised contains compelling, inducing and persuasion contents identifying benefit consumers will derive from the consumption of the products, gains which may not be available in other product of same values. It is on this premise that Wilimshurst (1985, p. 56) opines that the marketing stand point for advertising lies in.
Advertising is a highly public mode of communication. Its public nature confers a kind of legitimacy to the product and also suggests a standardized offering. He further highlights the constituents of the marketing concept to induce the identification of factual or potential consumers demand, the development and marketing of products, services or ideas to satisfy identified consumer demand, the communication of the want satisfying qualities of products, services or ideas to targeted consumer and making goods and services to reflect costs, competition and the consumer’s ability to buy the products.
Influence of advertising is the special styling or packaging incentive which must be well structured in the multi-media such as television, radio, billboards, newspaper, magazine, poster etc designed with the desired and expectation of the targeted consumers. Any medium used must state the products, name, and the expected benefits inherent in the product against other competing ones available in the maker. It is very necessary that the advertising medium identifies the firm which produces the product as this would make it difficult or the consumers to change the brand due to fear for qualify and the risk of patronizing an alternative that may not be good enough. This is the reason Wright (1982, p. 258) explains that “Each medium has its own way of involving audience with the right, sound small, taste and touch of product advertising”.
Advertising detects the pace and the extent to which the consumer accepts the product. Here, the general function of advertising is to provide market information and views that influence the consumers and buyers in such a way that it inspires their demand behaviours and facilitates them toward such needs. However, despite the fact that advertising plays a major role in informing, persuading and influencing our attitude towards products. Companies, lifestyle and public issues, other factors such as prize, brand name and the quality of the products as well as the benefits of consuming such products also influence consumers patronage. This study, therefore, seeks to examine the influence of advertising on consumers’ patronage of champion Lager Beer.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
In today’s competitive market, the advertising has been considered an the most effective weapon or instrument used in drawing the attention of prospective consumers to the availability of products goods and service, drawing industries as well as other companies the world over employ advertising to communicate information about their product, their features and location of sale. As an instrument of persuasion, advertising persuades consumers to patronize the advertised products and services. The food and beverage industries have utilized advertising in order to increase their consumers’ base. The power of advertising in shaping contemporary lifestyle is astounding. It is commonly believed that what viewers see and hear influences their attitudes, their manners speech and often their daily buying habits. It has not been established the extent to which advertising has influenced consumers’ patronage of champion Lager Beer. Therefore, the question is: To what extent advertising influenced consumers’ patronage of champion Lager Beer?
1.3 Objectives of the Study
This study was guided with the following objectives:
i To ascertain if champion beer consumers are exposed to any advertisement on champion Lager Beer.
ii To find out the particular advertisement medium in which Uyo, champion beer consumers are exposed to advertisement on champion lager Beer.
iii To determine the factors that determine or prompt champion lager beer consumers to brand loyalty to champion beer.
iv To find out if the advertisement of champion beer have any effect on the consumption pattern of champion beer consumers in Uyo.
1.4 Research Question
This study sought answers to the following research questions:
i Are Uyo champion beer consumers expose to any advertisement on champion lager beer?
ii What particular advertisement medium are Uyo champion beer consumers exposed to advertisement on champion beer?
iii What are the factor that determine or prompt champion beer consumers brand loyalty to champion beer?
iv Does advertisement of champion beer have any effect on the consumption pattern of champion beer consumers in Uyo?
1.5 Significance of the Study
This study is significant because its findings would contribute immensely to the marketing communication literature. Its findings would be relevant to champion company as it would provide benchmark to judging if their financial expenditure on advertising has a proportionate benefit by way of influence on the target audience (i.e. consumers and the publics).
The study’s finding would also help advertising agencies who designed adverts for clients to assess the effectiveness or otherwise of their creative works. Through the findings of this study advertising agencies and practitioners would improve on creative strategies especially as it concerns products advertising of food, beverage or the brewing industries. This study’s finding will ultimately contribute to knowledge as well as encourage further research in the field of marketing communication.
1.6 Delimitation of the Study
Considering the fact that the total population of Uyo Local Government Area may be totally large to be study therefore the study was delimited to consumers of champion lager beer within Uyo metropolis because of cost and time constraints.
1.7 Limitation of the Study
In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints which almost marred the completion of the work. The limitation stem from lack of financial support to photocopy essential documents needed for the researcher, the lack of essential literature in the field under investigation.
Furthermore, the researcher faced uncooperative attitude of research respondents who could not respond swiftly to the questionnaire administered on them. Although the period gave the researcher a hard time, attempt was made to come this far. The exercise was highly academic and rewarding.
1.8 Definition of Terms
Influence: These are those factors that affect the consumers of champion Lager Beer in decision making process.
