ABSTRACT
This study examines if television adverts of peak milk
influences the buying behavior of consumers in thinker’s corner, Edo state
irrespective of its cost and price. The objectives of this research work was to
find out how television advertising of peak milk increases the number of its
consumers and to know if consumers continue to use peak milk even after using
it for the first time. This research was confined to only one theoretical
framework which is the Agenda setting theory. A sample size of 200 respondents
were drawn using the simple random sampling technique and the survey research
method was applied using questionnaire as research instrument.
At the end of the study, it is concluded that to an
extent television advertising of Peak Milk increases its consumers. It is
therefore recommended that WAMCO Nigeria plc should make their products
affordable since consumers keep using Peak milk after using it for the first
time due to a good television advert.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of study
As
a result of limited resources, consumers weigh many aspects of a product to
determine if such a product is worth the pains of expenditure. Such aspects
include; the price of the product, its relative advantage over other products,
its quality and quantity to determine how such product can serve large-sized
families. The hardship encountered in Nigeria society today, can even make some
families to decide to stop taking their usual Peak Milk menu till the economy
improves. However, advertising is a persuasive form of communication, which
most times trigger the urge to buy goods and services irrespective of the
amount in the pockets. Some consumers are also loyalists to certain goods and
services, and so, hardly do without them.
Television
advertising has the peculiar advantage of communicating using different
languages and other dialects. As such, these messages are quickly appreciated.
Advertising helps to announce the existence of a product or service and the
strategies in using them. However, television stations advertise a wide range
of products in order to satisfy their many clients. This means that the manner
and creativity used in communicating some products may determine to what extent
the consumers may seek these products over others.
Advertising and communication go hand in hand
because it is a form of communication. According to Advertising Practitioners
Council of Nigeria (APCON) advertisement is defined as a communication in the
media paid for by an identified sponsor and directed at a target audience with
the aim of imparting information about a product, service, idea or cause. According to Bovee (1992) advertising is the
non-personal communication of information usually paid for and usually
persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors
through the various media. You cannot talk about advertising without talking of
the media or channels for it. Advertising agencies and the mass media need each
other to survive as advertisements cannot go viral for the public to patronize
the products without the mass media while mass media cannot last long without
funds got from the advertisements. These various media include television, television,
newspaper, magazines, etc.
According to Okunna
(2012), television is an audio medium for communication. As a medium, it has
the capacity to cut through the barriers of illiteracy and poor infrastructural
facilities which could limit the ability of other media channels to reach large
audiences. Television is by far the most widely used mass medium because it has
some peculiar qualities such as:
Being relatively
cheap, can be operated without electricity and it is easily portable and used
by both the educated and illiterate.
Have you been
driving along the road and found yourself humming to a television jingle?
That’s television advertising at work. Television advertising is when
advertisers buy commercials frequently called spots in the television industry,
to promote their products and services. Advertisers pay commercial television
stations for airtime and in exchange the television station broadcasts the advertiser’s
commercial to its audience. The broadcast of commercials on television needs
real feel orientation and voice is the single major determinant that draws the
attention of audience.
The history of
television advertising can be traced back to the 20th century, where television
equipment manufacturers and retailers operated most television stations, and
used them primarily to promote television sales, rather than to profit. Television
stations at the time were seen more as an investment to entice households to
purchase televisions, and less as a standalone revenue stream.
Between 1919
and 1922, television stations began to ramp up their offerings, and it became
the norm to broadcast continuously. Station owners began obtaining business
licenses and seeking ways to make the medium self-sufficient. Thus, television
advertising came to be.
The first
recognized form of television advertising came in early 1922 when AT&T
began to sell toll broadcasting opportunities, in which businesses could
underwrite or finance a broadcast in return for having their brand mentioned on
air. Later that year, the New York television station WEAF was the first
station to run an official paid advertisement. These forms of television
advertising become more and more popular, leading stations into the golden age
of television.
For television advertising to take place, the
target audience which is the ‘consumer’ must be considered. Therefore, a
consumer is a person who buys goods and uses it for services. Consumer behavior
is the process whereby individuals decide what, when, where, how and from whom
to purchase goods and services (Walters and Paul). Buying and selling are
activities individuals can never stop doing. Buying is one of the actions of
any individual when going to purchase something. The process they use to select
and choose any products and services are known as buying behavior of that
individual.
Milk is a white liquid produced by the
mammary glands of mammals. All mammals, including humans, normally produce milk
to feed their offspring until they are ready for solid food.
Peak Milk is a milk product
manufactured by ‘Wamco Nigeria plc’. It has been in existence since 1954 till
date. Peak has been described as “a truly Nigerian iconic brand” as the brand
marks its 60 years in the dairy market. WAMCO’s Managing Director, Mr. Rahul
Colaco expressed appreciation of Nigerians’ loyalty to Peak milk and
“particularly those who have come from far and near for the celebration of 60
years of nourishing Nigeria with quality dairy nutrition.” Peak milk comes in
different sizes and assortments such as Peak evaporated Milk, Milk Powder,
Choco, Peak UHT full cream. Peak evaporated milk comes in different sizes; Peak
regular, Peak easy, Peak gold, Peak wazobia. Its nutritional value includes ;
whole cow’s milk, stabilizer E339, with added vitamin B12+folic acid, iodine,
vitamins A, D3, B1 and B6. Other milk products in competition with peak milk
are: Three crowns milk, Oldenburgher Milk powder, Dano milk, Hollandia Milk,
Cowbell Milk, Juno Milk, Kerrygold instant full cream milk powder, etc.
Consumers’ buying behavior
is one of the processes of decision-making of any buyer both individually and
in groups such as how emotions affect buying behavior. The buying behavior of a
consumer changes according to different conditions such as demographic,
culture, tradition, climate, etc.
1.2 Statement of the problem
There is an
increase in the production of other milk products and the competition between
Peak Milk and others is rapid. Statistics have proven that milk is an essential
and more available food for growth. Children, young people and adults are
respectively advised to take milk. Evidence from literature shows that there is
no consistent pattern of milk consumption in Edo state. As a result, it is not
clear if consumers buy milk based on the ones they see, the prices or if they
are indeed motivated by television advertising. It is this lack of clear
understanding of the role of television advertising in relation to other
variables like cost, availability in the consumption of Peak milk that this
study seeks to find out if television advertising influences consumer patronage
of Peak Milk. Can television advertising influence the buying of Peak milk in
as much the price is higher than other milk products?
1.3 Objectives of the study
1.
To find out how television advertising of Peak Milk increases the number
of its consumers.
2.
To find out whether customers buy Peak Milk after watching to its
adverts.
3.
To find out if the consumers continue to use Peak Milk after using it
for the first time.
1.4
Research questions
1.
How does television advertising of Peak Milk increase the number of
consumers?
2.
Do consumers buy Peak Milk after watching to its adverts?
3.
Do consumers keep using peak milk after using it for the first time?
1.5 Hypothesis
H1 – Television
advertising of peak milk influences the buying behavior of consumers.
H0 – Television
advertising of Peak Milk does not influence the buying behavior of consumers.
H1 – Consumers can
buy peak milk after watching to its advert.
H0 – Consumers
cannot buy peak milk after watching to its advert.
H1 – Consumers keep
using peak milk after using it for the first time.
H0 – Consumers stop
using peak milk after using it for the first time
1.6 Significance of the study
The significance of
this study is to enable television stations know the extent their adverts are
being acknowledged by the watching audience. It will help to evaluate the
advertising programs of television stations in Edo to determine their
compatibility to audience. The knowledge from this research will contribute to
existing knowledge on the subject matter.
1.7
Scope of the study
The scope of the
study centers on consumers in Thinker’s corner, Emene, Edo state.
1.8 Operational Definition of Terms
Advertisement – a
communication in the media paid for by an identified sponsor and directed at a
target audience with the aim of imparting information about a product, service,
idea or cause.
Consumer– a consumer is a person who buys goods and
uses them for his or her benefit.
Television
advertising –
commercials of television industry paid for by an advertiser.
Buying behavior – The process consumers use to select and
choose any products and services.