A

THESIS ON

“THE IMPACT OF ADVERTISEMENT of consumer goods on

CUSTOMER’S BRAND PREFERENCE”

THESIS SUBMITTED TO

MAGNUS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS IN THE PARTIAL

FULFILMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE
DEGREE

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

SUBMITTED BY

CHANDRIMA DUTTA

ENROLLMENT NO: MO2O8009

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Prof. Narayan Prasad

ABSTRACT

1
Advertising is a form of communication used to help sell products and
services. Typically it communicates a message including the name of the
product or service and how that product or service could potentially benefit
the consumer. However, Advertising does typically attempt to persuade
potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand
of product or service. Modern advertising developed with the rise of mass
production in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The crescendo of
celebrities endorsing brands has been steadily increasing over the past 20
years or so. Marketers overtly acknowledge the power of celebrity in
influencing buyer's purchase decision. They have firm believe that
likeability or a favorable attitude towards a brand is created by the use of a
celebrity. The crore of rupees spent per year on celebrity endorsement
contracts show that celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Sharukh khan and
Sachin Tendulkar play an important role for the advertising industry. It is an
established fact that celebrity endorsement can bestow unique features or
special attributes upon a product that it may have lacked otherwise.

My thesis deals with the impact advertisement creates on a customer’s

preference of a brand. In other words, how does an ad in a
television,radio,newspaper ,hoardings and banners lure a customer to go
and purchase the product. Does he purchase because of the benefits or
because he liked the advertisement which has created a positive impact on
him.

INTRODUCTION

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Advertising is the means of informing as well as influencing the general
public to buy products or services through visual or oral messages. A
product or service is advertised to create awareness in the minds of
potential buyers. Some of the commonly used media for advertising are
T.V., radio, websites, newspapers, magazines, bill-boards, hoardings etc.
As a result of economic liberalization and the changing social trends
advertising industry has shown rapid growth in the last decade.
Advertising is one of the aspects of mass communication. Advertising is
actually brand-building through effective communication and is essentially a
service industry. It helps to forms the basis of marketing. Advertising plays
a significant role in today's highly competitive world. A career in
advertisement is quite glamorous and at the same time challenging with
more and more agencies opening up every day. Whether its brands,
companies, personalities or even voluntary or religious organizations, all of
them use some form of advertising in order to be able to communicate with
the target audience. The salary structure in advertising is quite high and if
you have the knack for it one can reach the top. It is an ideal profession for
a creative individual who can handle work-pressure. Today, new areas are
emerging within advertising like event management, image management,
internet marketing etc. Event management wherein events are marketed,
Image management wherein a a particular profile of an individual or an
organization is projected. Internet marketing has also brought about a lot of
changes in advertising as Internet means that one is catering to a select
group of audience rather than a mass audience .Today 'Celebrity
Endorsement' has attracted immense debate on whether it really
contributes to the brand building process or whether it is just another lazy
tool to make the brand more visible in the minds of the consumers.
3
Although it has been observed that the presence of a well-known
personality helps in solving the problem of over-communication that is
becoming more prominent these days, there are few undesirable impacts of
this practice on the brand. The issue of matching the values of the celebrity
with the brand values is also very important, i.e. getting the right celebrity to
endorse the right brand. Consumers perceive the brand as having superior
quality because it has been endorsed by a credible source. This makes
endorsement as one of the indictors of quality for any brand. Corporate
credibility along with endorser credibility plays a significant role in the
attitude of the consumer towards the brand and the advertisement
respectively. On the other hand, the over popularity of the celebrity
sometimes overshadows the brand.

OBJECTIVES:

4
 1) A study on the impact of electronic media on brand preference.

2) A study on the impact of print media on brand preference.

3) A study on the impact of other media on brand preference.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN:

Primary data:

-Through questionnaire.

Secondary data:

- Through internet

Sample Procedure : Random sampling

Research design: the primary data and secondary data will be studied and
analyzed appropriately and interpreted to extract certain facts. Whenever
necessary statistical tools and financial tools like tabulation, graphs etc will
be used to present the findings effectively

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This project helps in projecting the impact of advertisement on

customer’s brand preference. It also shows how celebrity endorsement
impact customers.

LIMITATIONS

1. An in depth study might not be done because of time constraints.

2. The study will be conducted in Bangalore city only.

LITERATURE REVIEW

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Advertising, sales promotion and public relations are mass-communication
tools available to marketers. As its name suggests, mass communication
uses the same message for everyone in an audience. The mass
communication tools trade off the advantage of personal selling, the
opportunity to tailor a message to each prospect, for the advantage of
reaching many people at a lower cost per person (Etzel et al., 1997).
Today, definitions of advertising abound. We might define it as
communication process, a marketing process, an economic and social
process, a public relations process or information and persuasion process
(Arens, 1996).
Dunn et al. (1978) viewed advertising from its functional perspectives,
hence they define it as a paid, non-personal communication through
various media by business firms, non-profit organization, and individuals
who are in some way identified in the advertising message and who hope
to inform or persuade members of a particular audience. Morden (1991) is
of the opinion that advertising is used to establish a basic awareness of
the product or service in the mind of the potential customer and to build up
knowledge about it. Kotler (1988) sees advertising as one of the four major
tools companies use to direct persuasive communications to target buyers
and public noting that “it consists of non-personal forms of communication
conducted through paid media under clear sponsorship”. According to him,
the purpose of advertising is to enhance potential buyers’ responses to the
organization and its offering, emphasizing that “it seeks to do this providing
information, by channeling desire, and by supplying reasons for preferring a
particular organization’s offer.
While writing on advertising nature and scope, Etzel et al. (1997) succinctly
capture all advertising as having four features:
6
(i) A verbal and or visual message
(ii) A sponsor who is identified
(iii) Delivery through one or more media
(iv) Payment by the sponsor to the media carrying the message.
Summarizing the above, they conclude that “advertising then consist of all
the activities involved in presenting to an audience a nonpersonal, sponsor-
identified, paid-for message about a product or organization”.
Those views of Etzel et al. (1997) coincide with the simple but all-
embracing definitions of Davies (1998) and Arens (1996). For instance,
while
Davies states that “advertising is any paid form of non-personal media
presentation promoting ideas/concepts, good s or services by an identified
sponsor. Arens expressing almost the same view describes advertising as
“the personal communication of information usually paid for and usually
persuasive in nature about products (goods and services) or ideas by
identified sponsors through various media”.
From the foregoing, it could be concluded that the purpose of advertising is
to cerate awareness of the advertised product and provide information that
will assist the consumer to make purchase decision, the relevance of
advertising as a promotional strategy, therefore, depends on its ability to
influence consumer not only to purchase but to continue to repurchase and
eventually develop-brand loyalty. Consequently, many organizations
expend a huge amount of money on advertising and brand management.
A brand is a name given by a manufacturer to one (or a number) of its
products or services.
Brands are used to differentiate products from their competitors. They
facilitate recognition and where customers have built up favorable attitude
7
towards the product, may speed the individual buyers through the purchase
decision process.
Individual purchasers will filter out unfavourable or un-known brands and
the continued purchase of the branded product will reinforce the brandloyal
behaviour. Without brands, consumer couldn’t tell one product from another
and advertising then would be nearly impossible

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTERS PARTICULARS PAGE NO

1 ABSTRACT
2 INTRODUCTION
3 OBJECTIVE
4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

8
 5 SCOPE OF STUDY
6 LIMITATIONS
7 LITERATURE REVIEW
8 ADVERTISING 1
i. DEFINITION
ii. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF
ADVERTISING
iii. MEDIA ADVERTISING
9 ADVERTISING OBJECTIVES 15
10 ADVERTISING PLANNING FRAMEWORK 17
i. THE ADVERTISING PLAN
ii. THE EXTERNAL FACTORS
11 ADVERTISING INDUSTRY 20
i. ADVERTISING AGENCY
ii. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
iii. ADVERTISING BUDGET
12 MEDIA BRIEF 23
i. DIFFICULTIES IN SELECTION OF MEDIA
TYPES
13 BRAND 29
i. DEFINITION
ii. SIX LEVELS OF MEANING
iii. BRAND-FROM CONSUMER’S POINT OF VIEW
iv. BRAND- FROM MANUFACTURER’S POINT OF
VIEW
v. BRAND AWARENESS
vi. BRAND KNOWLEDGE
vii. BRAND RECOGNITION
viii. BRAND IMAGE

14 BRAND PREFERENCE 40
i. ABOUT BRAND PREFERENCE
ii. IMPORTANCE OF BRAND PREFERENCE
iii. BASIC COMMUNICATION MODE
iv. BRAND PREFERENCE CHOICE CRITERIA
v. BRAND ENDORSEMENT BY CELEBRITIES
vi. SCOPE OF CELEBTITY ON BRAND
PREFERENCE
vii. SUCCESSFUL CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS
viii. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF
CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS
ix. NEED FOR CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS

9
15 INFLUENCE OF ADVERTISING ON CUSTOMER’S 52
BRAND PREFERENCE
16 ADVERTISING RESEARCH 56
i. IMPORTANCE OF ADVERTISING RESEARCH
ii. MEDIA RESEARCH
17 IMPACT OF COLOUR ON CUSTOMER’S BRAND 61
PREFERENCE
18 IMPACT OF PACKAGING 63
i. FORMS OF PACKAGING
ii. SIGNIFICANCE OF A TRADE MARK
18 ANALYTICAL INTERPRETATION
i. TABLES
ii. CHARTS
19 FINDINGS
20 SUGGESTIONS
21 CONCLUSIONS
22 APPENDIX
REFERENCES

10
 Advertising is a non-personal
form of promotion that is delivered through selected media outlets that,
under most circumstances, require the marketer to pay for message
placement. Advertising has long been viewed as a method of mass
promotion in that a single message can reach a large number of people.
But, this mass promotion approach presents problems since many exposed

to an advertising message may not be within the marketer’s target

market, and thus, may be an inefficient use of promotional funds. However,
this is changing as new advertising technologies and the emergence of
new media outlets offer more options for targeted advertising. Advertising

11
also has a history of being considered a one-way form of marketing

communication where the message receiver (i.e., target market)

is not in position to immediately respond to the message (e.g., seek more
information). This too is changing. For example, in the next few years

technologies will be readily available to enable a television

viewer to click a button to request more details on a product seen on their
favorite TV program. In fact, it is expected that over the next 10-20 years
advertising will move away from a one-way communication model and

become one that is highly interactive. Another characteristic that

may change as advertising evolves is the view that advertising does not
stimulate immediate demand for the product advertised. That is, customers

cannot quickly purchase a product they see advertised. But as more

media outlets allow customers to interact with the messages being
delivered the ability of advertising to quickly stimulate demand will improve.

INFORM PERSUADE REMIND

UNAWARE AWARENESS INTENT PURCHASE

S

12
 Advertising is only one element of the promotion mix, but it often
considered prominent in the overall marketing mix design. Its high visibility
and pervasiveness made it as an important social and encomia topic in
Indian society. Promotion may be defined as “the co-ordination of all seller
initiated efforts to set up channels of information and persuasion to facilitate
the scale of a good or service.” Promotion is most often intended to be a
supporting component in a marketing mix. Promotion decision must be
integrated and co-ordinate with the rest of the marketing mix, particularly
product/brand decisions, so that it may effectively support an entire
marketing mix strategy. The promotion mix consists of four basic elements.
They are:-
 Advertising
 Personal Selling
 Sales Promotion, and
 Publicity
 Advertising is the dissemination of information by non-personal
means through paid media where the source is the sponsoring
organization.
 Personal selling is the dissemination of information by non-
personal methods, like face-to-face, contacts between
audience and employees of the sponsoring organization. The
source of information is the sponsoring organization.
 Sales promotion is the dissemination of information through a
wide variety of activities other than personal selling, advertising
and publicity which stimulate consumer purchasing and dealer
effectiveness.

13
  Publicity is the disseminating of information by personal or non-
personal means and is not directly paid by the organization and
the organization is not the source.

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF ADVERTISING

It has been wrongly assumed that the advertising function is of recent
origin. Evidences suggest that the Romans practiced advertising; but the
earliest indication of its use in this country dates back to the middle Ages,
when the use of the surname indicated a man’s occupation. The next stage
in the evolution of advertising was the use of signs as a visual expression
of the tradesman’s function and a means of locating the source of goods.
This method is still in common use. The seller in primitive times relied upon
his loud voice to attract attention and inform consumers of the availability of
his services. If there were many competitors, he relied upon his own
personal magnetism to attract attention to his merchandise. Often it
became necessary for him to resort to persuasion to pinpoint the

advantages of his products. Thus, the seller was doing the

complete promotion job himself. Development of retail stores, made the

14
traders to be more concerned about attracting business. Informing
customers of the availability of supplies was highly important. Some types
of outside promotion were necessary. Signs on stores and in prominent
places around the city and notices in printed matters were sometimes used.
When customers were finally attracted to the store and satisfied with the
service at least once, they were still subjected to competitive influences;
therefore, the merchant’s signs and advertisements reminded customers of
the continuing availability of his services. Sometimes traders would talk to
present and former customers in the streets, or join social organizations in
order to have continuing contacts with present and potential customers.
As the markets grew larger and the number of customers increased, the
importance of attracting them also grew. Increasing reliance was placed on
advertising methods of informing about the availability of the products.
These advertising methods were more economical in reaching large
numbers of consumers. While these advertising methods were useful for
informing and reminding, they could not do the whole promotional job. They
were used only to reach each consumer personally. The merchant still used
personal persuasion once the customers were attracted to his store. The
invention of hand press increased the potentialities of advertising. By
Shakespeare’s times, posters had made their appearance, and assumed
the function of fostering demand for existing products. Another important
event was the emergence of the pamphlet as an advertising medium. The
early examples of these pamphlets disclose their sponsorship by
companies want to generate goodwill for their activities. The low cost of
posters and handbills encouraged a number of publishers to experiment
with other methods.

15
DEFINITION OF ADVERTISING

The word advertising originates from a Latin word advertise,

which means to turn to. The dictionary meaning of the term is “to give
public notice or to announce publicly” .Advertising may be defined as the
process of buying sponsor-identified media space or time in order to
promote a product or an idea.
The American Marketing Association, Chicago, has defined advertising as
“any form of non-personal presentation or promotion of ideas, goods or
services, by an identified sponsor.”

16
Print Media

Print media is a very commonly used medium of advertising by

businessman. It includes advertising through newspaper, magazines,
journals, etc. and is also called press advertising.

a) Newspapers
You must have read Newspapers. In our country newspapers are published
in English, Sinhala and Tamil. These are the sources of news, opinions and
current events. In addition, Newspapers are also a very common medium
of advertising. The advertiser communicates his message through
newspaper which reaches to millions of people.

17
Advantages
 Newspapers normally have wide circulation and a single
advertisement in the newspaper can quickly reach to a large number
of people.
 The cost of advertising is relatively low because of wide publication.
 Generally newspapers are published daily. Thus, the same
advertisement can be repeated frequently and remind reader
everyday.
 The matter of advertisement can be given to newspapers at a very
short notice. An even last minute change in the content is also
possible. This makes advertising quite flexible.
 Newspapers are published from different regions and in different
languages. Hence, they provide greater choice to advertisers to
approach the desired market, region and readers through local or
regional language

Limitations
 Newspapers are read soon after they are received and then are kept
generally in some corner of the houses. After 24 hours we get a fresh
newspaper and this makes the life of the newspaper short.
 People read newspapers mainly for news and pay casual attention to
advertisement.
 Illiterate persons can not read and thus, newspaper advertising does
not benefit them.

b) Periodicals
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Periodicals are publications which come out regularly but not on a daily
basis. These may be published on a weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bimonthly,
quarterly or even yearly basis. For example you must have come across
magazines and journals like India Today, Femina, etc. All these periodicals
have a large number of readers and thus, advertisements published in
them reach a number of people.

Advantages
 Periodicals have a much longer life than newspapers. These are
preserved for a long period to be referred in future or read at leisure
or read again, whenever required.
 Periodicals have a selected readership and so advertisers can know
about their target customers and accordingly selective
advertisements are given.

Limitations
 Advertising in periodicals is costlier.
 The numbers of people to whom the advertisements reach are small
in comparison to newspapers.
 The advertisement materials are given much in advance; hence last
minute change is not possible. This reduces flexibility.

19
Electronic Media

This is a very popular form of advertising in the modern day

marketing. This includes Radio, television and Internet.

Radio Advertising
All of us are aware about a radio and must have heard advertisements for
various products in it.
In radio there are short breaks during transmission of any programme
which is filled by advertisements of products and services. There are also
popular programmes sponsored by advertisers.

Advantages
 It is more effective as people hear it on a regular basis.
 It is also useful to illiterates, who can not read and write.

20
  There are places where newspapers reading may not possible, but
you can hear radio.
For example, you can hear radio while traveling on road or working at
home; but you can not read newspaper. Similarly, while driving you can
hear a radio but cannot read a newspaper.

Limitations
 A regular listener may remember what he has heard. But, occasional
listeners tend to forget what they have heard in Radio.
 The message that any advertisement wants to communicate may not
be proper as there is no chance to hear it again immediately. There
may be some other disturbances that distort communication.
 In comparison to Television, Radio is less effective as it lacks visual
impact.

Television Advertising

With rapid growth of information technology and electronic

media, television has topped the list among the media of advertising. TV
has the most effective impact as it appeals to both eye and the ear.

Advantages
 It is most effective as it has an audio-visual impact.
 With catchy slogans, song and dance sequences, famous
personalities exhibiting products, TV advertising has a lasting impact.

21
  With varieties of channels and programmes advertisers have a lot of
choice to select the channel and time to advertise.
 With regional channels coming up any person even illiterates can
watch the advertisements and understood it by seeing and hearing.

Limitations
 TV advertisements are usually expensive to prepare as well as to
telecast.
 With almost every manufacturer trying to communicate their message
through TV advertising the impact among the viewers is also
reducing. Now-a-days people are switching on channels whenever
there is a commercial break.

Internet
It is the latest method of communication and gathering information.If you
have a computer and with an access to internet you can have information
from all over the world within a fraction of second. Through internet you can
go to the website of any manufacturer or service provider and gather
information. Sometimes when you do not have website addresses you take
help of search engines or portals. In almost all the search engines or
portals different manufactures or service providers advertise their products.

Advantages
 Information from all over the world is made available at the
doorsteps.
 User can see the advertisement at their own time and as per their
requirement.
22
Limitations
 It is not accessible without a computer.
 It is not very suitable for general public.
 It is not suitable for illiterate and those having no knowledge about
the operation of Internet.

Other Media
All the media of advertising discussed above are mostly used by
consumers while they are at home or inside any room, except radio and
newspapers or magazines to some extent. Moreover in all these media, the
consumer has also to spend some money to access the advertisement.
However, there are other media available, where the consumer has to
spend nothing and he can see such advertisements while moving outside.
Some of such advertising are hoardings, posters, vehicular displays, gift
items, etc.

Hoardings

While moving on roads you must have seen large hoardings

placed on iron frames or roof tops or walls. These are normally boards on
which advertisements are painted or electronically designed so that they
23
are visible during day or night. The advertisers have to pay an amount to
the owners of the space, where the hoardings are placed.

Posters

Poster are printed and posted on walls, buildings, bridges

etc to attract the attention of customers. Posters of films which are
screened on cinema halls are a common sight in our country.

Vehicular displays

You must have seen advertisements on the public transport

like buses, trains, etc. Unlike hoardings these vehicles give mobility to
advertisements and cover a large number of people.

What Advertisement Is?

Advertisement is a mass communicating of information

intended to persuade buyers to by products with a view to maximizing a
company’s profits.
The elements of advertising are:
 It is a mass communication reaching a large group of consumers.
 It makes mass production possible.

24
  It is non-personal communication, for it is not delivered by an actual
person, nor is it addressed to a specific person.
 It is a commercial communication because it is used to help assure
the advertiser of a long business life with profitable sales.
 Advertising can be economical, for it reaches large groups of people.
 This keeps the cost per message low.
 The communication is speedy, permitting an advertiser to speak to
millions of buyers in a matter of a few hours.
 Advertising is identified communication. The advertiser signs his
name to his advertisement for the purpose of publicizing his identity.

Advertising Objectives

Each advertisement is a specific communication that must be

effective, not just for one customer, but for many target buyers. This means
that specific objectives should be set for each particular advertisement
campaign. Advertising is a form of promotion and like a promotion; the
objectives of advertising should be specific. This requires that the target
consumers should be specifically identified and that the effect which
advertising is intended to have upon the consumer should be clearly
indicated. The objectives of advertising were traditionally stated in terms of
direct sales. Now, it is to view advertising as having communication
objectives that seek to inform persuade and remind potential customers of
the worth of the product. Advertising seeks to condition the consumer so
that he/she may have a favorable reaction to the promotional message.
Advertising objectives serve as guidelines for the planning and
implementation of the entire advertising programme.

25
The basic objectives of an advertising programme may be listed as
below:
 To stimulate sales amongst present, former and future consumers. It
involves a decision regarding the media, e.g., TV rather than print ;
 To communicate with consumers. This involves decision regarding
copy;
 To retain the loyalty of present and former consumers. Advertising
may be used to reassure buyers that they have made the best
purchase, thus building loyalty to the brand name or the firm.
 To increase support. Advertising impliedly bolsters the morale of the
sales force and of distributors, wholesalers, and retailers, ; it thus
contributes to enthusiasts and confidence attitude in the
organization. :
 To project an image. Advertising is used to promote an overall image
of respect and trust for an organization. This message is aimed not
only at consumers, but also at the government, shareholders, and the
general public.

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ADVERTISING PLANNING FRAMEWORK
Plans are nothing, planning is everything.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

The advertising management is mainly concerned with planning

and decision making. The advertising manager will be involved in the
development, implementation, and overall management of an advertising
plan. The development of an advertising plan essentially requires the
generation and specification of alternatives. Decision making involves
choosing from among the alternatives. The alternatives can be various
levels of expenditure, different kinds of objectives or strategy possibilities,
and kinds of options with copy creation and media choices. Thus, the
essence of planning is to find out the feasible alternatives and reduce them
to decisions. An advertising plan reflects the planning and decision –
making process and the decisions that have been arrived at in a particular
product and market situation.

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The Advertising Plan
As pointed out earlier, advertising plan and decision making focus on three
crucial areas; objectives and target selection, message strategy and
tactics, and media strategy and tactics. Let us elaborate on these points:
1. Objectives and Target Selection

Objectives in advertising can be understood in many ways. An

important part of the objective is the development of a precise, disciplined
description of the target audience. It is often tempting to direct advertising
at a broad audience; but everyone is a potential customer. It is best to
consider directing the advertising to more selected groups to develop
stimulating copy. It is quite possible to develop several campaigns, each
directed at different segments of the market, or to develop one campaign
based on multiple objectives.
2. Message Strategy and Tactics

Messages strategy must decide what the advertising is meant to

communicate – by way of benefits, feelings, brand personality, or action
content. Once the content of the campaign has been decided, decisions
must be made on the best-most effective-ways of communicating that
content. The decisions, such as the choice of a spokesperson, the use of
humor or fear or other tones, and the selection of particular copy, visuals,
and layout, are what we call “message tactics”

3. Media Strategy and Tactics

28
 Message strategy is concerned with decisions about how
much is to be allocated to create and test advertising copy, media strategy
concerns decisions on how many media rupees to spend on an advertising
campaign. Media tactics comprise the decisions on which specific media
(television, radio magazines, etc.) or media vehicles (Reader’s Digest, etc.)
to spend these dollars.

EXTERNAL FACTORS

The external factors in the planning framework are

environmental, social and legal considerations. To a considerable extent,
these exist as constraints on the development of an advertising plan and
decision making. In developing specific advertisement, there are certain
legal constraints that must be considered. Deceptive advertising is
forbidden by law. What is deceptive is often difficult, because different
people can have different perceptions of the same advertisements. Thus,
an advertiser who attempts to provide specific, relevant information must
be well aware of what constitutes deception in a legal and ethical sense
and of other aspects of advertising regulation.

Even more difficult consideration for people involved in the advertising

effort is broad social and economic issues as stated below.
 Does advertising raise prices or inhibit competition?

29
  Is the use of sex or fear appeals is appropriate? Women and minority
groups are exploited in advertising by casting them in highly
stereotyped roles.
 Is it more irritating than entertaining?
 Is an intrusion into an already excessively polluted environment?
 Advertising directed at children.

Advertising Industry
The advertising industry consists of three principal groups:
 Sponsors;
 Media; and
 Advertising agencies or advertising departments.
Advertising agencies are of two basic types, viz., Independent; and House.
An independent agency is a business that is free to compete for and select
its clients. A house agency is owned by its major client. A house agency is
not completely free to serve other clients. The advertising department an
integral part of the organization it serves.
The advertising agency provides for the client a minimum of:
 Media information, such as the availability of time and space
 Creative skills, such as “campaign planning” and “appeal planning”

and
 Research capabilities, such as providing brand preference data.

What is an Advertising Agency?

30
An advertising agency is an independent organization set up to render
specialized services in advertising in particular and in marketing in general.
Advertising agencies started as space brokers for the handling of the
advertisements placed in newspapers. Over the years, the function of the
agencies has changed.
Their main job today is not to aid media but to serve advertisers.

Advantage of Using Agencies

 The marketer gains a number of benefits by employing agencies. An
agency generally has an invaluable experience in dealing with
various advertising and marketing issues.
 The lessons which agency learned in working with other clients are
useful inputs for the marketer.
 An agency may employ specialists in the various areas of preparation
and implementation of advertising plans and strategies.
 The personnel are not members of the marketer’s management
team. They bring objective and unbiased viewpoints to the solution of
advertising and other marketing problems.
 The discounts that the media offer to agencies are also available to
advertisers. This is a strong stimulus to them to use an agency, for
the media cost is not much affected thereby.
 The company normally does not have as many types of specialists as
a large or medium-sized advertising agency has because an agency
can spread the costs or its staff over many clients. It can do more for
the same amount of money.
 The company can also get an objective, outside viewpoint from an
agency, assuming that the agency representatives are not acting as
“Yes man” in order to keep the advertiser’s account.
31
  A related point is that the company can benefit from the agency’s
experience with many other products and clients.
 Another advantage is that agency feels a greater pressure than the
company’s own department to produce effective results. The relations
between an agency and a client are very easy to terminate; but it is
difficult to get rid of an ineffective advertising department.
 The manner in which agencies are compensated, the use of an
agency may not cost the advertiser a single paisa.
.
ADVERTISING BUDGET

The size of the advertising budget can have an impact upon

the composition of the advertising mix. In general, a limited promotion
budget may impel the management to use types of promotion that would
not be employed otherwise, even though they are less effective than the
others.
Industrial firms generally invest a larger proportion of their budgets in
personal selling than in advertising, while the reverse is true of most
producers of consumer goods. Organizations with small budgets may be
forced to use types of advertising that are less effective than others.
Some marketers find it necessary to restrict their efforts primarily to
personal selling and publicity. There are organizations with small promotion
budget which take the opposite course of action. They concentrate on
advertising and sales promotion, and neglect other methods. Some
marketers advertise in expensive ways (through classified advertisement in
newspapers and magazines) and spend virtually nothing on personal

32
selling. There is universal difficulty of relating advertising expenditures to
sales and profit results. Determining the results of advertising and
consequently the amount of money to be allocated in advertising budget
are complicated by several major difficulties as follows:
 The effects of external variables such as population, or income,
changes on economics conditions and competitive behavior;
 Variations in the quality of advertising;
 Uncertainly as to the time-lag effect of advertising; and
 The effect of the firm’s other marketing activities, such as product
improvement and stepped-up personal selling. The above
complexities make the companies resort to more than one method of
determining the size of their advertising budget. Advertising Budget
involves the allocation of a portion of the total marketing resources to
the advertising function in a firm. The size of the budget allocation
should be based on the potential contribution that advertising can
make. Advertising budgeting should be based on a careful analysis of
the opportunity for using advertising.
.
Media Brief

Each medium has its merits and its handicaps. The

suitability and profitability of any one type varies from manufacturer to
manufacturer and may vary for a single manufacturer too. Changes are the
only rule. The buyers constitute his market; they are to receive his
advertising coverage consists of the advertiser’s reaching the maximum
number of these buyers include both his current and prospective
customers. The advertiser has to determine how many there are and where

33
they are. Then the selection process involves how to send an effective
advertising message economically to the group of buyers, the length of the
campaign period and the cost which he can afford-at a figure which will
make the advertising effort profitable.

Difficulties in Selection of Media Types

Audience Measurement:
The media sell circulation or the opportunity to develop circulation. There is
a gross aspect to circulation (how many products were bought last month)
and a net aspect (how many of those purchasers are prospects for the
product saw the advertisement in the broadcast media). Measurement of
the same is not as easy as advertisers would think.

Reliance on a Particular type of Medium:

How much of his promotion effort should a manufacturer place in
magazines and how much on TV, how much in outdoor or point of
purchase? Which should be dominant and which are supplementary?
These factors play a key role in selection of a particular type of media.
Media costs, the costs of space and time, are the largest single expense
item in most advertising budgets. The selection of media types to be used
in an undertaking, therefore, deserves and even demands, the very best
thought and judgment of on the part of the top management. The points to
be considered are:
 Availability: Regional markets may be so limited that national
circulation of magazines should not be used. A product may have so

34
 slight a market that a medium such as the radio would not be
indicated for use.
 Selectivity: Some ideas demand visual presentation and others
demand oral presentation. The radio cannot accommodate stories
requiring a physical form, and outdoor advertising cannot
accommodate long stories.
 Competition: is a matter which the advertiser cannot ignore. A
company may select media types not used by its competitors, based
on distinctiveness and domination.

35
Selection of Individual Media
Selection of individual media to carry advertising requires the consideration
of the points like circulation; the quality and quantity of a medium’s
circulation, Prestige, Influence, Readership, etc.
.
Duplication

An advertiser must have coverage or else his message will not

reach as many buyers as he must reach. As an advertiser adds magazine
after magazine to his list to increase his coverage; he finds duplication
inevitable. One way of averting duplication is to use only one of the
magazines; another is to run a different advertisement. The duplication
limits an advertiser’s coverage. The points in favour of duplication are
repetition and frequency.

Frequency

The term frequency refers to the number of advertisements of the

same size appearing in an individual medium for a given period such as per
day, per week, per month, or per campaign. There is no formula to
determine the ideal frequency. The two factors are the size of the
advertising fund and the size of the advertisement to be run. If these are
known, frequency can be derived. The two other factors are the number of

36
media and the advertising period. As the number of media increases, there
is pressure for a lower frequency, or to shorten the advertising period. The
other possibilities are to enlarge the fund, or to reduce the size of the
advertisement. Manufacturers cannot ignore the fact that what the
competitors are doing in respect of frequency. The more often a message is
repeated, the greater the proportion of it the consumer remembers.

Size of advertisement
The size of advertisement influences the frequency. The size of an
advertisement can be derived if the advertiser:-
 Determines the size of the advertising fund,
 Decides the numbers of individual media to be used, and
 Decides the number of advertisements to appear during the
advertising period.
The purpose of the advertisement may be the strongest influence in
determining its size; a large space is used to announce, a small space is
used to remain. The amount of copy, the number of products included in
one advertisement and the illustration needs of the advertisement all help
to determine size. Salesmen and dealers may also decide how large
advertisements should be.
Colour

Colour is a factor which influences frequency. Colour

influences the size of the advertisement and size in turn determines
frequency. Colour commands a premium price.

37
Re-run on Advertisement
Repetition has a considerable effect on advertising costs, and its frequency.
Re-run is considered unless it has performed well on its first appearance. It
is most common in mail order business and advertising that uses small
space. It is not common for large advertisements. Indirect action
advertisements should be re-run. The reinforcement of consumer memory
is another benefit of a re-run. There are savings on a re-run. New readers
are added whenever and advertisement is re-run.

Positioning

It involves the development of a marketing strategy for a

particular segment of the market. It is primarily applicable to products that
are not leaders in the field. These products are more successful if they
concentrate on specific market segments than if they attack dominant
brands. It is best accomplished through an advertising strategy, or theme,
which positions advertisements in specified market segments

38
 rand

Perhaps the most distinctive skill of professional marketers is their

ability to create, maintain, protect, and enhance brands. The American
Marketing Association defines a brand as follows: “A Brand is a name,
term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify

the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and the

differentiate them from those of competitors”. In essence, a brand identifies
the seller or marker. It can be name, trademark, logo, or other symbol.

Under trademark law, the seller is granted exclusive rights to the

use of the brand name in perpetuity. Brands differ from other assets such
as patents and copyrights, which have expiration dates. A brand is
39
essentially a seller’s promise to deliver a specific set of features, benefits,

and services consistently to the buyers. The best brands convey a

warranty of quality. But a brand is an even more complex symbol. It can
convey up to six levels of meaning:

Attributes: a brand brings to mind certain attributes. Mercedes

suggest expensive, well-built, well-engineered, durable, high-prestige
automobiles

Benefits: attributes must be translated into functional and

emotional benefits. The attribute “durable” could translate into the
functional benefit. The attribute “expensive” translates into the emotional
benefit.

Values: the brand also says something about the producer’s

values.Mercedes stand for high performance, safety, and prestige.

Culture: the brand may represent a certain culture. The

Mercedes represents German culture: organized, efficient, high quality.

Personality: the brand can project a certain personality.

Mercedes may suggest a no-nonsense boss (person), a reigning lion
(animal), or an austere palace (object)
40
 User: the brand suggests the kind if consumer who buys or
uses the product. We would expect to see a 55-year-old top executive
behind the wheel of Mercedes, not a 20-year- old secretary.
If a company treats a brand only a name, it misses the point. The branding
challenge is to develop a deep set of positive associations of the brand.
Marketers must decide at which level(s) to anchor the brands identity. One
mistake would be to promote only attributes. First, the buyer is not as
interested in attributes as in benefits. Second, competitors can easily copy

attributes. Third, the current attributes may become less

desirable later.
Promoting the brand only on one benefit can also be risky. Suppose
Mercedes touts its main benefit as “high performance”. Then several
competitive brands emerge with high performance as compared to other
benefits. Mercedes needs the freedom to maneuver into a new benefit

positioning.

From consumer’s point of view:

 Identification of source of product
 Assignment of responsibility to product maker
 Risk reducer
 Search cost reducer
 Promise, bond, or pact with maker of product
 Symbolic device
 Signal of quality

41
Brands identify the source or maker of a product and allow consumers to
assign responsibility to a particular manufacturer.
From an economic perspective, brands allow consumers to lower search
costs for products both internally and externally.
 Consumers offer their trust and loyalty with the implicit understanding
that the brand will behave in certain ways and provide them utility
through consistent product performance and appropriate pricing,
promotion, and distribution programs and actions. Brands can serve
as symbolic devices, allowing consumers to project their self-image.
 Certain brads are associated with being used by certain types of
people and thus reflect different values or traits. Researched have
classified products and their associated attributes into three major
Final Assignment Brand Management categories: search goods,
experience goods and credence goods.
There is difficulty in assessing and interpreting product attributes and
benefits so with experience and credence goods, brands may be
particularly important signals of quality. Brands can reduce the risk in
product decisions. These risks involve functional, physical, financial, social
psychological and time risk.

From manufacturer’s point of view:

 Means of identification to simplify handling
 Means of legally protecting unique features
 Signal of quality level to satisfied customers
 Means of endowing products with unique associations
 Source of competitive advantage
 Source of financial returns

42
Brands help manufacturers to organize inventory and accounting records. A
brand also offers the firm legal protection for unique features of the product.
A brand can retain intellectual property rights, giving legal title to the brand
owner. Brands can signal a certain level of quality so that satisfied buyers
can easily choose the product again. This brand loyalty provides
predictability and security of demand for the firm and creates barriers of
entry that make it difficult for other firms to enter the market.

BRAND AWARENESS

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 Whether it is a serial in a regional satellite channel or a One
Day International cricket match, there is a non-stop stream of
advertisements, which clutter the commercial break. Well-established
brands attempt to sustain brand recall while new ones try appealing to
prospective consumers to get into their `consideration’ set. There are ads
for children, housewives and youth. With advertising expenditure in the
order of Rs. 8000 Crores per annum in the recent times and the
proliferation of brands across categories, there is a strong need to consider
the effectiveness of these advertisements. The idea is not to cease

advertising but to consider how considering decisions would

have to be considered with non-advertising alternatives. These non-
advertising alternatives may also enable a brand to create and sustain
consistent associations, which may be desirable in terms of long-term
implications. A contemporary approach that creates a synergy between
various aspects of a promotional mix (advertising included) provides a
refreshing approach towards marketing communications. There may be
several objectives of advertising and a promotional mix could be used in an

44
 innovative manner to address each of these objectives depending
on the product category and target segment.

Brand Knowledge
Brand knowledge refers to brand awareness (whether and when
consumers know the brand) and brand image (what associations
consumers have with the brand). The different dimensions of brand
knowledge can be classified in a pyramid (adapted from Keller 2001), in

which each lower-level element provides the foundations of the

higher-level element. In other words, brand attachment stems from rational
and emotional brand evaluations, which derive from functional and
emotional brand associations, which require brand awareness. Brand
knowledge measures are sometimes called “customer mindset” measures
because they capture how the brand is perceived in the customer’s mind.

45
The Brand Knowledge Pyramid

Brand awareness measures the accessibility of the brand in memory.

Brand awareness can be measured through brand recall or brand
recognition.
Brand recall reflects the ability of consumers to retrieve the brand from
memory when given the product category, the needs fulfilled by the
category, or some other type of probe as a cue.

46
Brand Recognition
Brand recognition reflects the ability of consumers to confirm prior
exposure to the brand (i.e., recognize that it is an “old” brand that they have
seen before and not a “new” brand that they are seeing for the first time). In

a recognition task, consumers see a stimulus (e.g., an ad for the

brand, a brand name) and must say whether they have seen it before (e.g.,
last night on television, in magazine X, etc.).
It is important to make the task as realistic as possible by allowing only a
short amount of time to answer the recognition question and by using
realistic stimuli and context. If you want to use recognition as a measure of
the performance of different marketing decisions (say, different logos or

ads), you should expose one group to one version of the target
stimulus and another group to the other version of the target stimulus.
However, to make the task more realistic, both groups should also be
exposed to other stimuli (e.g., competitors' brands). In a second step,
people see the “old” stimuli again, along with completely new ones, and are
asked to decide if each stimulus is “old” or “new” (i.e., if they have seen
them before or not).

47
Brand Image

Brand image is defined as consumer perceptions of a brand and

is measured as the brand associations held in consumers’ memory. To
measure brand image, you can either use and adapt an existing list of
brand associations or start from scratch by eliciting brand associations and
then measuring the strength of these associations. The outcome of this
exercise is usually a short list of the positive and negative associations
consumers have with the brand, ranked by strength. For comparison
purposes, it is useful to report the average strength of each association
with the brand and the strength of the association with competing brands,
and to do this for each target segment (e.g., brand users and users of
competing brands).

48
Brand preference

People begin to develop preferences at a very early age. Within any

product category, most consumers have a group of brands that comprise

their preference set. These are the four or five up market brands
the consumer will consider when making a purchase. When building
preference, the goal is to first get on the consumer’s preference sets, and
then to move up the set’s hierarchy to become the brand consumers prefer

the most – their up market brand. Gaining and maintaining consumer

preference is a battle that is never really won. In every product category,
consumers have more choices, more information and higher expectations
than ever before. To move consumers from trial to preference, brands need

49
to deliver on their value proposition, as well as dislodge someone
else from the consumer's existing preference set.
Preference is a scale, and brands move up, down and even off that scale
with and without a vigilant brand management strategy. Pricing,
promotional deals and product availability all have tremendous impact on
the position of our brand in the consumer’s preference set. If all things are

equal, the best defense is to make us more relevant to consumers

than the competition. The brands potential can only be fulfilled by
continually reinforcing its perceived quality, up market identity and
relevance to the consumer. The same branding activities that drive
awareness also drive preference. And, while awareness alone will not

sustain preference, it will improve the brand’s potential for building

and maintaining preference.With a great story and a large enough
investment, awareness can be attained rather quickly. It takes time,
however, and constant revaluation to build brand preference. Aristotle
professed, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act,

but a habit.” Attaining and sustaining preference is an

important step on the road to gaining brand loyalty. The ability to generate
more revenue, gain greater market share and beat off the competition is
the reward given by consumer toward particular brand.
Brand preference is the Selective demand for a company's brand rather
than a product; the degree to which consumers prefer one brand over
50
another. In an attempt to build brand preference advertising, the advertising

must persuade a target audience to consider the advantages of a

brand, often by building its reputation as a long-established and trusted
name in the industry. If the advertising is successful, the target customer
will choose the particular brand over other brands in any category.

This brings us to the question of why people prefer one brand

over another. Some people like smoking Marlboro, while others prefer
Camel or Winston. Is this because they have tried all cigarette brands
before they chose one for them?

The reality is that different kinds of products have different

images appealing to different people.
Other than the addition of television and the Internet as highly effective
media, there have been few changes in advertising since its birth. Yet the
mysteries about what is “good” or “bad” advertising prevail. The truth is that
if your ads do not change brand preference, they are not doing their job. If

they do change brand preference, people will be three times more

likely to purchase your product. The point to reiterate is that simply getting
someone to remember your ad will not change whether or not they buy
your product.

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Basic communications model for development of brand preference

To better understand the process of brand preference, let's first look at a

basic communications model. The five components of this model are
sender, medium, filter, receiver, and feedback. On a daily basis, we are
exposed to messages (sender/medium) via our radio, television, billboards,
Internet, mail, and word-of-mouth. Although these messages are pervasive,
we continually screen out (perceptual screen) or ignore content that has
little or no relevance to us. All messages are coded patterns and
sensations – colours, sounds, odours, shapes, etc. Those messages
deemed recognizable, or a basis for a relationship, are decoded and stored
in our memory (filter/screen). A successful convergence between sender

and receiver will result in some type of response to a brand's

52
compelling message (feedback). Stored experiences in our long-term
memory are connected through a series of nodes and networks.
Consumer prefer particular brand because they find it easier to interpret
what benefits brand offers feel more confident of it and get more
satisfaction from using it . Because of such consumer preference, the
brand can charge a higher price, command more loyalty, and run more
efficient marketing programmes .The brand preference therefore command
a higher asset value.

Brand Preference choice criteria

There are six criteria choose brand preference. The first three element
categorized as “Brand building” in terms of how brand preference can be
built up. And last three elements are known as “defensive” because it
preserved in the face of different opportunity or different brands available in
market.
 Memorable: How easily particular brand are recalled?
 Meaningful: To what extent particular brand prefer in corresponding
category? Does it suggest something about a product ingredient or
the type of person who might use the brand?
 Likeability: How aesthetically appealing do customer finds the brand
element? Is it inherently likeable visually, verbally and in other ways?
 Transferable: Can the brand element be used to introduce in new
product in the same or different categories?
 Adaptable: How adaptable and updatable is the brand element?
 Protectable: How legally protectable is the brand element? How
comparatively protectable?

53
Brand Endorsement by Celebrities

The motif behind total branding may be decocted as an attempt

to amalgamate diverse activities to win customer preference. The
crescendo of celebrities endorsing brands has been steadily increasing
over the past years. Marketers overtly acknowledge the power of celebrities
in influencing consumer-purchasing decisions. It is a ubiquitously accepted

fact that celebrity endorsement can bestow upon a product

special attributes it might not otherwise have. But everything is not honky-
dory; celebrities are after all mere mortals made of flesh and blood like us.
If a celebrity can aggrandize the merits of a brand, he or she can also
exacerbate the image of a brand.
If I may take the liberty of rephrasing Aristotle’s quote on anger, "Any brand

can get a celebrity. That is easy. But getting a celebrity

consistent with the right brand, to the right degree, at the right time, for the
right purpose and in the right way... that is not easy."

54
Celebrity endorsements are impelled by virtue of the following motives: -

 Instant Brand Awareness and Recall

 Celebrity values define, and refresh the brand image
 Celebrity adds new dimensions to the brand image
 Instant credibility or aspiration PR coverage
 Lack of ideas
 Convincing clients

55
Successful Celebrity Endorsements for a Brand - An Indian
Perspective

The latter part of the '80s saw the burgeoning of a new trend in
India - brands started being endorsed by celebrities. Hindi film and TV stars
as well as sports-persons were roped in to endorse prominent brands.
Advertisements featuring stars like Tabassum (Prestige Pressure
Cooker), Jalal Agha (Pan Parag), Kapil Dev (Palmolive Shaving Cream)
and Sunil Gavaskar (Dinesh Suitings) became common. Of course,
probably the first ad to cash in on star power in a strategic, long-term,
mission statement kind of way was for Lux soap, a brand which has,
perhaps as a result of this, been among the top three in the country for

much of its life-time. We had the Shah Rukh-Santro campaign

with the objective of mitigating the impediment that an unknown Korean
brand faced in the Indian market. The objective was to garner faster brand

56
recognition, association and emotional unity with the target group. Similarly,

when S. Kumar's used Hrithik Roshan, then the hottest advertising icon for
their launch advertising for Tamarind, they reckoned they spent 40-50 per
cent less on media due to the sheer impact of using Hrithik. Ad recall was
as high Witness the spectacular rise of Sania Mirza and Irfan Pathan in

endorsements in a matter of a few months.

Advantages of a Celebrity Endorsing a Brand

Establishment of Credibility: Approval of a brand by a star fosters a

sense of trust for that brand among the target audience - this is especially
true in case of new products
Ensured Attention: Celebrities ensure attention of the target group by
breaking the clutter of advertisements and making the ad and the brand
more noticeable.
PR Coverage: This is another reason for using celebrities. Managers

perceive celebrities as topical, which create high PR coverage.

57
Higher Degree of Recall: People tend to commensurate the personalities
of the celebrity with the brand, thereby, increasing the recall value.

Associative Benefit: A celebrity’s preference for a brand gives

out a persuasive message - because the celebrity is benefiting from the
brand, the consumer will also benefit.
Mitigating a Tarnished Image : Cadbury India wanted to restore the
consumer's confidence in its chocolate brands following the high-pitch
worms’ controversy; so the company appointed Amitabh Bachchan for the
job. It helps to reform the company’s image.
.

Psychographic Connect: Celebrities are loved and adored by

their fans and advertisers use stars to capitalise on these feelings to sway
the fans towards their brand.
Demographic Connect: Different stars appeal differently to various
demographic segments (age, gender, class, geography, etc.).
Mass Appeal: Some stars have a universal appeal and, therefore, prove to
be a good bet to generate interest among the masses.
Rejuvenating a Stagnant Brand: With the objective of infusing fresh life
into a stagnant brand celebrities are used.

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Disadvantages of a Celebrity Endorsing a Brand
The celebrity approach has a few serious risks: -

Reputation of the Celebrity may Derogate after he/she

has endorsed the Product: The behaviour of the celebrities reflect on the
brand, celebrity endorsers may at times become liabilities to the brands
they endorse.

The Vampire Effect: This terminology pertains to the issue of a

celebrity overshadowing the brand. If there is no congruency between the
celebrity and the brand, then the audience will remember the celebrity and
not the brand.

Inconsistency in the Professional Popularity of the

Celebrity: The celebrity may lose his or her popularity due to some lapse
in professional performances.

Multi Brand Endorsements by the Same Celebrity would

Lead to Over-exposure: The novelty of a celebrity endorsement gets
diluted if he does too many advertisements. This maybe termed as

59
commoditization of celebrities, who are willing to endorse anything for big
bucks.

Mismatch between the Celebrity and the Image of the

Brand: Celebrities manifest a certain persona for the audience. It is of
paramount importance that there is an egalitarian congruency between the
persona of the celebrity and the image of the brand. Each celebrity potrays
a broad range of meanings, involving a specific personality and lifestyle
Despite the obvious economic advantage of using relatively unknown
personalities as endorsers in advertising campaigns, the choice of
celebrities to fulfill that role has become common practice for brands
competing in today's cluttered media environment.

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Influence of advertising on consumer’s brand preference

The essence of being in business by any business outfits is to

produce for sales and profits. In order to remain in business an
organization must generate enough sales from its products to cover
operating costs and post reasonable profits. For many organizations, sales

estimate is the starting point in budgeting or profit planning. It is so

because it must be determined, in most cases, before production units
could be arrived at while production units will in turn affect material
purchases. However, taking decision on sales is the most difficult tasks
facing many business executives.

This is because it is difficult to predict, estimate or determine with

accuracy, potential customers’ demands as they are uncontrollable factors
external to an organization. Considering, therefore, the importance of sales
on business survival and the connection between customers and sales, it is
expedient for organizations to engage in programmes that can influence

consumers’ decision to purchase its products. This is where

advertising and brand management are relevant. Advertising is a subset of

61
promotion mix which is one of the 4ps in the marketing mix i.e product,

price, place and promotion. As a promotional strategy, advertising

serve as a major tool in creating product awareness and condition the mind
of a potential consumer to take eventual purchase decision.
When competition is keen and the consumers are faced with brand choice

in the market, it becomes imperative for the manufacturers to

understand the major factors that can attract the attention of buyers to his
own brand. Major tools companies use to direct persuasive
communications to target buyers and public noting that “it consists of non-
personal forms of communication conducted through paid media under
clear sponsorship”. According to him, the purpose of advertising is to

enhance potential buyers’ responses to the organization and its

offering, emphasizing that “it seeks to do this providing information, by
channeling desire, and by supplying reasons for preferring a particular
organization’s offer.
From the foregoing, it could be concluded that the purpose of advertising is
to cerate awareness of the advertised product and provide information that

will assist the consumer to make purchase decision, the relevance

of advertising as a promotional strategy, therefore, depends on its ability to
influence consumer not only to purchase but to continue to repurchase and
62
eventually develop-brand loyalty. Consequently, many organizations
expend a huge amount of money on advertising and brand management.
A brand is a name given by a manufacturer to one (or a number) of its
products or services. Brands are used to differentiate products from their
competitors. They facilitate recognition and where customers have built up
favorable attitude towards the product, may speed the individual buyers

through the purchase decision process. Individual purchasers will

filter out unfavorable or un-known brands and the continued purchase of
the branded product will reinforce the brand loyal behaviour. Without
brands, consumer couldn’t tell one product from another and advertising
then would be nearly impossible.
Advertiser’s primary mission is to reach prospective customers and
influence their awareness, attitudes and buying behaviour. They spend a lot
of money to keep individuals (markets) interested in their products. To

succeed, they need to understand what makes potential customers

behave the way they do. The advertisers goals is to get enough relevant
market data to develop accurate profiles of buyers-to-find the common
group (and symbols) for communications this involves the study of
consumers behaviour: the mental and emotional processes and the
physical activities of people who purchase and use goods and services to

63
 satisfy particular needs and wants .The principal aim of consumer
behaviour analysis is to explain why consumers act in particular ways
under certain circumstances. It tries to determine the factors that influence

consumer behaviour, especially the economic, social and

psychological aspects which can indicate the most favoured marketing mix
that management should select. Consumer behaviour analysis helps to
determine the direction that consumer behaviour is likely to make and to
give preferred trends in product development, attributes of the alternative

communication method etc. consumer behaviours analysis views

the consumer as another variable in the marketing sequence, a variable
that cannot be controlled and that will interprete the product or service not
only in terms of the physical characteristics, but in the context of this image
according to the social and psychological makeup of that individual
consumer (or group of consumers). Advertising helps in projecting product
quality and value before the consumers. Advertising has a major influence
on consumers’ preference and it has, in no small measure, contributed to
its success. The same thing goes for its quality. The stage a product is in its
life cycle is very important to a marketer as it help in determining the type of
marketing strategies to be embarked upon in respect of the said product.

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ADVERTISING RESEARCH
Advertising research is a branch of marketing research, and is both a sort
of insurance to avoid wasting money on in effective advertising and a
means of monitoring the effectiveness of a campaign while it is running and
after the campaign has ended. It is also possible and advantageous to ling
advertising research with other forms of marketing research which the
company is undertaking. Today the advertisers have the benefits of many
sorts of research, and they are usually recommended and commissioned
by an advertising agency. In fact, in its own interest a good advertising
agency may insist on the use of research to ensure that it produces and
conducts successful advertising.
“The advertising research is applications of marketing research aimed at
the measurement of advertising effectiveness and improves advertising
efficiency. The primary aim of advertising is to sell an idea, goods or
services whereas the ultimate goal of research is to measure the impact of
advertising on sales of that idea, good or service.”
Research is not confined to testing creativity. There is a wealth of
independently researched statistical information on sales, readership and
audience figures regarding all the principle media so that the most
economic media can be used. In addition to this it is possible to control the
duration of appearance of an advertisement by assessing when enough
65
people have had the opportunity to see the advertisement a sufficient
number of times.
This is in line with the IPA definition of advertising which refers to
presenting “the most persuasive selling message to the right prospects for
the product or service at the lowest possible cost.”

Importance of advertising research

Advertising deals with many imponderables. Its aim is to

influence the minds and emotions of millions of prospective buyers. It is a
mass demand creation device, so its message must be standardized.
Furthermore, conditions in the market are constantly changing. It is also
expensive and highly competitive. In view of the many difficult problems
which overwhelmed advertising a great deal of attention is devoted to the
development of research techniques to provide better knowledge on which
to base advertising decisions. The two areas are embracing the most
pressing problems are those of advertising copy and advertising media.
The ethics and effectiveness of advertising are highly controversial
subjects. Measuring of advertising effectiveness poses many challenging
questions to those who create, sell and utilize advertisements. It is a widely
accepted fact that advertising is a great force linking the producer and the
consumer. The need of research in advertising is also significant because a
tremendously large number of people are dependent for their earnings from
this area.

66
MEDIA RESEARCH
Media selection is finding the most cost effective media to deliver the
desired number and type of exposures to the target audience. The media
planner has to know the capacity of the major media types to deliver reach,
frequency and impact. The major media types are T.V., newspaper, radio,
magazines or journals etc.

PRINT MEDIA
For many years advertisers have not been satisfied with circulation data as
the sole yardstick for buying advertising media. It has been clearly
demonstrated that the number of readers of a given copy of a publication
not only significantly exceeds circulation but also varies from gross
circulation figures as between various publications. An increasing amount
of research has been applied in resent years to the measurement of actual
reading audiences. Techniques for measuring reading audiences are now
sufficiently perfected so that these data are generally accepted and widely
employed. Newspapers and magazines are the most common types of
print media. As the media circulation increases so, does the attractiveness
of a newspaper or magazine to an advertiser, and the medium may raise
the advertising rates. The best way to measure a publications’ is through
measuring its readership or total audience. Media buyers need to know the
67
accurate circulation and readership figures to compare costs among
various publications that reach similar audiences.

BROADCAST MEDIA
The most extensive research in connection with broadcasting media is the
measurement of listening and viewing audiences. The following methods
are commonly employed.
 The recall method:
The recall method obtains its data through listener surveys in which the
respondent is asked to report the television and radio programs he heard
during a specified period of time previous to the interview.
 The diary method:
In the coincidental diary method a form listing broadcasting stations and
time periods is left with the respondent, who makes notations of programs
received. The diaries are usually designed so that they can be attached to
the radio or television set for convenient recording.
The chief advantage of this method is that the respondent records his
listening or viewing at the time, thus eliminating the burden on memory. It
also has the advantage of making it possible to obtain classification data
regarding the listener or viewer.
The primary weakness of this method is inaccuracies of reporting because
there is a constant tendency to neglect to make entries at the time the set
is actually in use.
 The coincidental method:
68
In this method investigators call telephone subscribers according to a
predetermined sampling pattern. It provides more accurate data than other
survey methods, since it eliminates the necessity for memory or entries in a
diary. Also it is based on a report of actual viewing or listening rather than
mechanical evidence that the radio set was operating.

 The audiometer method:

The audiometer is attached to TV or radio sets at random in the homes of
potential consumers. The device maintains on a magnetic tape a
continuous record of the set in usage channel on and the station channel to
which tuned. Its advantage is that with the aid of audiometer one can
accurately measure the set in use from a valid sample. Its disadvantage is
that it does not indicate who is watching the set or listening to a radio set. It
only records whether the set is tuned on to a particular channel or station. It
tells nothing about the audience presence and their behavior.

Advertising research is not conducted much in India.

This is because Indian companies are not much aware of the techniques of
its research and the benefit they can get out of this activity. Of late, they are
now spending huge amount on advertisements released in various media.
But they do not initiate to find whether expenditure made by them is
bringing some worthwhile results in the form of increased sales and profits.
If yes, to what extent the increase in sales is due to advertising.Because
the increase in sales is due to other factors operating in the market place.
Therefore, it is the high time that the Indian business organizations
understand the importance of advertising and measure its effectiveness.
For any firm incurring expenditure on advertising, it is essential that some
69
percentage of the advertising budget should be embarked for the
advertising research

Impact of colour on customer’s brand preference

Color is part of our daily

lives. People use colors to express themselves and their emotions, to adapt
to weather conditions (e.g., dark colors are used in winter to absorb the
heat better while light colors are used in the summer to stay fresh), and
also to simply help themselves feel confident with their bodies and
appearance. Research indicates that over 80% of visual information is

related to color: i.e., color conveys information. It identifies a

product or a company, as well as the quality of the merchandise and much
more . Color can influence consumers’ purchase decisions, how they see
things, their emotions, and thus it is integral to marketing. Color

70
photographs are commonly used in ads because they are thought to have
superior attention getting properties. For this reason, it is extremely

important to understand how color affects attitudes, beliefs, and

feelings. Marketers can then apply such knowledge to develop effective
promotional strategies and tactics. For instance, a package can be

designed to appear taller or shorter: e.g., light-colored packaging

may make a package appear larger, whereas darker colors may minimize
the perceived size . The right colors communicate meaning and please the
eye, whereas the wrong colors can be unpleasant and even unsettling. As
a marketing tool, color can also be a subliminally persuasive force. As a

functional component of human vision, color can capture

attention, relax or irritate the eyes, and affect the legibility of text. All things
considered, the right colors empower and contribute to the success of an
advertising campaign, a product, a service, or even an interior space. In

contrast, using the wrong colors can be a costly mistake. Colors

can also influence customers’ emotions, positively or negatively. Previous
research has shown a consistent association of colors with certain feelings

71
and experiences. For example, the color “Blue” is soothing and associated
with wealth, trust, and security, whereas “Red”

connotes excitement and stimulation. For example, it is expected

that viewers’ perceptions of a brand’s image/personality will reflect the
image associated with the ad’s background color (e.g., a brand will be

judged to be more vibrant and exciting when it is advertised with a

red background versus a more calming blue background).
Impact of Packaging
Requirements of good packaging

 Functional - effectively contain and protect the contents

 Provide convenience during distribution, sale, opening, use, reuse,
etc.
 be environmentally responsible
 Be cost effective
 Appropriately designed for target market
 Eye-catching (particularly for retail/consumer Sales)
 Communicate attributes and recommended use of the product and
package
 Compliant with retailers' requirements
 Promotes image of enterprise
 Distinguishable from competitors' products

72
  Meet legal requirements for product and Packaging
 Point of difference in service and supply of Product.
 For a perfect product, perfect colour.

Forms of packaging

 Specialty packaging — emphasizes the elegant character of the

product
 Packaging for double-use
 Combination packaging two or more products packaged in the
same container
 Kaleidoscopic packaging — packaging changes continually to
reflect a series or particular theme
 Packaging for immediate consumption — to be thrown away after
use
 Packaging for resale — packed, into appropriate quantities, for the
retailer or wholesaler.
 Trademarks

Significance of a trademark

 Distinguishes one company's goods from those of another

 Serves as advertisement for quality
 Protects both consumers and manufacturers
 Used in displays and advertising campaigns

73
1. Age group of respondents.

AGE GROUP OF RESPONDENTS NO. OF RESPONDENTS

20-25 50

26-30 42

31-35 22

36-40 29

41-45 7

74
Figure 1. Survey Report

Inference:

The survey conducted shows that most of the respondents were of the age group of 20-
25 years and the least respondents were of 41-45 years.

2. Respondents of different gender.

RESPONDENTS NO. OF RESPONDENTS

MALE 86

FEMALE 64

75
Figure 2.Survey Report

Inference :

This chart shows that mostly the male are more interested in branded products than the
female category.

3. Which are the favourite brands?

FAVOURITE BRANDS NO. OF RESPONDENTS

LEVIS 40

PEPE JEANS 13

WEST SIDE 12

SAMSUNG 10
76
 ADIDAS 28

NIKE 16

SONY 16

REEBOK 15

Figure 3.Survey Report

Inference:

In this chart it is clear that the most liked brand is Levis followed by Adidas which are
both apparel companies.

4. Why the brands are preferred by the respondents?

77
 PREFERENCE CRITERIA NO. OF RESPONDENTS

QUALITY 62

COMFORTABLE 42

STYLISH 23

RELIABLE 16

FEATURES 7

Figure 4.Survey Report

Inference:

The brands like Levis and Adidas and many more are liked by the respondents because
of the good quality which shows a percentage of 41 and comfortable which has a
percentage of 28.The brands are even liked because they are stylish,reliable and
because of its features.

78
5. From where you get the information about these brands?

INFORMATION SOURCE NO. OF RESPONDENTS

NEWSPAPERS 32

TELEVISION 66

RADIO 6

INTERNET 10

HOARDINGS 11

WORD OF MOUTH 25

Figure 5.Survey Report

Inference:

The respondents said that they got the information of vthese brands from different
media like television,newspaper,radio,word of mouth,etc..According to the survey,
television has given information to 44% respondents,newspaper to 215, through word of
mouth to 17% respondents,from radio to 4%,internet 7%,and last hoardings to 7% of
respondents.This shows that atelevision creates more impact on customers .

79
6. If you are searching for information of a brand which media will you look for?

MEDIA PREFERENCE NO. OF RESPONDENTS

PRINT MEDIA 25

ELECTRONIC MEDIA 79

OTHER MEDIA 17

WORD OF MOUTH 29

Figure 6.Survey Report

Inference

In this chart the respondents have said about their preference of media to get
information about their brands.53% have said that they prefer electronic media like
television,internet.17% have voted for print media like newspapers,magazines 19% said

80
that they go with wordof mouth from friends,family,relatives,etc. and 11% choose other
media.

7. Do you rely on advertisement?

DO YOU RELY ON NO. OF RESPONDENTS

ADVERTISEMENT

YES 58

NO 24

SOMETIMES 56

RARELY 12

Figure7.Survey Report

Inference

81
The respondents were asked whether they believe on advertisements.39% said that
they rely on advertisements and utilize the information given,16% said that they do not
believe,37% said that they sometmes believe if they find the information rational,and 8%
rarely believe.

8. Do you change your perception of a product by just seeing the advertisement?

CHANGE OF PERCEPTION NO. OF RESPONDENTS

DUE TO ADVERTISEMENT

YES 21

NO 52

SOMETIMES 59

RARELY 18

82
Figure 8.Survey Report

Inference

In this chart the respondents were asked if they change they thinking about a product
after seeing yhe advertisement.14% respondents said that they change their perception
of a product after seeing the advertisement,35% said that they do not change,39% said
that sometimes they change and 12% said that it is rarely that they change their
perception after seeing an advertisement.

9. Do you think advertisement is necessary for your decision making?

NECESSITY OF NO. OF RESPONDENTS

ADVERTISEMENT IN
DECISION MAKING

ALWAYS NECESSARY 36

83
 SOMETIMES NECESSARY 88

NOT NECESSARY 26

Figure 9.Survey Report

Inference

In the survey the respondents were asked how much they feel advertisement is
necessary in their decision making.24% said that it is always necessary in decision
making,59% said that advertisement sometimes plays a necessary part when they take
a decision,and 17% said that advertisemnet is not necessary in decision making .

10. What are the factors which influence your decision making process?

FACTORS INFLUENCE NO. OF RESPONDENTS

84
 DECISION MAKING PROCESS

PRODUCT FEATURES 55

ADVERTISEMENT 29

COST 37

OPINION OF FRIENDS 20

OTHERS 9

Figure 10.Survey Report

Inference

This chart shows what are the factors considering which a respondent will be influenced
to decide to buy a product.37% said that the features of the product will influence
them,19% said that advertisemnet will influence them to decide as they will get lots of
information about the product,25% said that the cost of the product makes tham decide

85
to buy a product,13% said that they will go by the opinion of friends and rest 6% said
that there may be othrer factors which will influence them to decide

11. What do you look for in an advertisement?

WHAT YOU LOOK FOR IN AN NO. OF RESPONDENTS

ADVERTISEMENT

PRICE 59

BENEFITS 32

BRAND ENDORSERS 20

OFFERS 18

QUALITY 21

86
Figure 11.Survey Report

Inference

In the survey the respondents were asked what are the apspect that they see in an
ad..40% said that thay see the price,21% said that they see that benefits shown in tha
ad.,13% see the brand endorsers,12% see the offers given and 14% see the quality tpof
the product shown in the ad..This shows that in larger amount customers see the price
aspect when they see an ad ,

12. Do you purchase a product just because your favourite celebrity is endorsing it?

DO IT YOU PURCHASE A NO. OF RESPONDENTS

PRODUCT BECAUSE YOUR
FAVOURITE CELEBRITY IS
ENDORSING

YES 72

NO 50

SOMETIMES 28

87
Figure12. Survey Report

Inference

In this chart the question asked to the respondents was if they purchase a product only
because their favourite celebrity is endorsing a particular product. For this 48% said that
they purchase only because their celebruty is endirsing it,33% said that they do not
purchase because of the celebrity and 19 % said that sometimes they purchase it since
their favourite celebrity is endorsing it.This is clear that celebrity endirsement plays a
great part in the brand preference.

13. Do you purchase a product just by getting attracted to the product?

88
 DO YOU PURCHASE BY NO. OF RESPONDENTS
GETTING ATTRACTED TO
THE PRODUCT

YES 45

NO 29

SOMETIMES 60

RARELY 16

Figure13.Survey Report

Inference

According to the survey the 30% respondent said that they buy a product by getting
attracted to it,19% said that they do not buy by getting attracted ,40% said that
sometimes by getting attraced they buy the product and 11% said that rarely the get
attracted and purchase a product.

89
14. What are the factors in an advertisement which will make you change your brand
loyalty?

FACTORS WHICH CHANGE NO. OF RESPONDENTS

BRAND LOYALTY

BENEFITS 35

VALUE FOR MONEY 50

NEW FEATURES 28

DISCOUNT 19

WORD OF MOUTH 18

90
Figure 14.Survey Report

Inference

The respondents were asked what are the reasons which will make them change their
brand loyalty.23% said that the benefits of another product may make them change their
brand loyalty,33% said that the value for money may make them change,19% said that
new features in another prduct may compel them,13% said discounts offered by another
brands may make tham swirtchers,and last word of mouth from friends and family may
make them like another brand.Through this survey it is clear that in comparison to other
factors valur foe money plays a great role for customers to change the brand
preference.

15. If you hear the name of a brand through advertisement what do you recall?

WHAT YOU RECALL FROM NO. OF RESPONDENTS

ADVERTISEMENT

MUSIC 56

TAG LINE 27

ENDORSERS 21

PRODUCT 26

BENEFITS 20

91
Figure 15.Survey Report

Inference

The respondents were asked what they can recall after they see or hear an ad..38% of
the respondents said that they can recall the music which was played in the ad.,18%
can remember the tag line,14% they remember the brand endorser, 17% can recall only
the product and 13 % they recall the benefits that were shown in the ad..This makes it
clearly evident that music in an ad. makes it possible for consumers to recall the
particular brand.

16. What are the things that should be highlighted in an advertisement?

WHAT SHOULD BE NO. OF RESPONDENTS

HIGHLIGHTED IN AN
ADVERTYISEMENT

BENEFITS 35

TAG LINE 45

92
 BRAND NAME 26

COMPANY NAME 18

ENDORSERS 12

PRODUCT FEATURES 14

Figure 16.Survey Report

Inference

Through this chart it is shown what are the things that should be given more priorty in
an ad..23% of the respondents said that the benefits of a product should be
highlighted,30% said that the tag line should be highlighted so that the customers can
recall and their brand preference will increase,17% said that tha brand name should be
highlighted,12% said that company name should be given more priority,8% said that
endorsers should be brought in the lime light,and rest 10% said that the features of the
product should be highlighted.From this survey we can say that ,tag line of a brand
should be brought in lime light so that brand preference of that particular prouct will
increase.

93
17. If a product is misinterpreted by your friend would you believe him or go on with your
own view?

WHAT YOU DO IF A PRODUCT NO. OF RESPONDENTS

IS MIS INTERPRETED

BELIEVE MY FRIEND 39

GO WITH MY VIEW 63

REFER ADVERISEMENT 29

REFER INTERNET 19

Figure 17.Survey Report.

Inference

The respondents were asked if their friend mis interprets a product what they will
do.26% said that they will believe their friend and go with the product,42% said that they
will analyse and go with their own view,19% said that they will refert advertisement and

94
rest 13% will refer internet to get the correct information.This shows that customers are
very conscious about a product and they will evaluate themselves and buy a product .

18. Do you prefer going to any store just by seeing the offers on hoardings and banners?

DO YOU GO TO STORES BY NO. OF RESPONDENTS

SEEING HOARDINGS AND
BANNERS

YES 75

NO 22

SOMETIMES 38

RARELY 15

Figure 18.Survey Report

Inference

95
The respondents were asked if the go to stores by seeing the hoardings and
banners.50% of the respondents said that the see the banners and hoardings and go to
shop,15% said that they do not shop by seeing the banners and hoardings,255 said
sometimes they do,and 105 said that it rarely happens that they see and thaen go to
shop.Through this we come to know that banners and hoardings showing that product
with its other facets creates brand awareness and also induces brand preference .

19. After you experience any product do you convey the message to others
(positive\negative)?

DO YOU CONVEY MESSAGE NO. OF RESPONDENTS

AFTER YOU EXPERIENCE A
PRODUCT

YES 79

NO 26

SOMETIMES 33

RARELY 12

Figure 19.Survey Report

96
Inference

The respondents were asked if they convey word of mouth after they experience a
product whether it be positive or negative.53% of the respondents said that they convey
word of mouth to their friends and family after they use a product,17% said that they do
not do so,22% said that sometimes they do it if the product has some problem and 8%
said that they rarely s[read word of mouth to any one.

20. What is your response to repeated advertisement in Tv\radio?

WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE NO. OF RESPONDENTS

TO REPEATED
ADVERTISEMENT

YES 68

NO 27

GET IRRITATED 36

CHANGE THE CHANNEL 19

97
Figure 20. Survey Report

Inference

In this question the respondents were asked to give a feed back about repeated
ads. which are shown in different media especially electronic media.45% of the
respondents said that they do not have any problem ,18% said that they do not
like that every moment ads are shown,24% said that they get irritated and rest
13% said that they change the channel when repeated ads of the same product
comes.

21. How important is music in advertisement?

IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC IN NO. OF RESPONDENTS

ADVERTISEMENT

VERY IMPORTANT 79

SOMETIMES IMPORTANT 38

98
 NOT IMPORTANT 30

Figure 21.Survey Report

Inference

In this survey the respondents were asked how much they feel is music important in an
ad..54% of the respondents said that music plays an important role in
advertisemnets,26% said that sometimes its important and 20% said that music is not
important in ads..This survey proves that music in an ad boosts the quality of an ad.
and also it creates a positive impact on brand prference.

99
22. Do you refer Google search before making purchasing decision?

DO YOU REFER GOOGLE NO. OF RESPONDENTS

SEARCH BEFORE
PURCHASING

YES 82

NO 25

ALWAYS 27

RARELY 16

Figure 22.Survey Report

Inference

100
In the survey the respondents were asked do they refer google search before
purchasing a product.54% said that they refer google search to find about the product
before purchasing it.This also brings in light that now a days people are technologically
aware and do search before they buy.17% said that they do not go for google
search,18% said that always what ever be the product they refer internet before they
purchase, and 11% of the respondents rarely do that if the product is of very
importance.

23. What are the aspects you look for in internet for information on your preferred
brands?

ASPECTS YOU LOOK FOR IN NO. OF RESPONDENTS

INTERNET

PRODUCT FEATURES 75

DEALER NETWORK 29

PRICE 32

DELIVERY 14

101
Figure 23.Survey Report

Inference

The respondents who refer internet werev asked what aspect thay look for in ainternet
about a brand or a product.50% of the respondents said that the refer internet to know
about the product features,19% said they look for dealer network

24. Does the internet advertisement in the website create brand awareness?

DOES INTERNET NO. OF RESPONDENTS

ADVERTISEMENT CREATE
BRAND AWARENESS

YES 78

NO 22

SOMETIMES 35

RARELY 15

102
Figure 24.Survey Report

Inference

In this survey 52% of the respondents said that internet creates brand awareness,15%
said that it does not create brand awareness,23% said that it sometimes creates brand
awareness,10% said that rarely it does so.This shows that internet really creates brand
awareness

25. Do you think internet is the most reliable source of information?

IS INTERNET A RELIABLE NO. OF RESPONDENTS

SOURCE

YES 82

NO 41

103
 SOMETIMES 27

Figure 25.Survey Report

Inference

55% said that internet is a very reliable source.this means that customer’s believe in
internet advertisemnet which will help in creating good brand preference .

26. Have you ever online shopping?

HAVE YOU DONE ON LINE NO. OF RESPONDENTS

104
 SHOPPING

YES 77

NO 35

SOMETIMES 24

RARELY 14

Figure 26.Survey Report

Inference

52% have said that they have done on line shopping.This means that customer’s rely on
internet information about the products and also they do on line shopping .

105
27. Did you visit company’s website before purchasing?

DO YOU VISIT COMPANY’S NO. OF RESPONDENTS

WEBSITA BEFORE
PURCHASING

YES 61

NO 89

Figure 27.Survey Report

Inference

The respondents were asked if they visit company’s website before they purchase.41%
said that they visit company’s website before they purchase and 59% said that they do
not visit. This shows that though they do not visit company’s website they visit other
search engines to know about the product.

106
FINDINGS

 The most preferred brand is Levis with 48 respondents out of 150

respondents.

 62 respondents prefer their brands because of its quality.

 66 of the respondents acquire information about their brands from

television.

 79 respondents said that they would prefer electronic media than any
other media to get information about a brand.

 58 respondents said that they rely on advertisement which shows that

advertisement is important.

 59 respondents said that sometimes they change their perception of a

brand by seeing an advertisement.

 55 respondents have said that product features influence their decision

making process.

 59 respondents out of 150 said that they look for the price of a product in
an advertisement.

 72 respondents said that they purchase a product because their favourite

celebrity is endorsing it.

107
 50 respondents said that value for money shown in an ad makes them
change their brand loyalty.

 When it was asked what they recall after seeing or hearing an ad 56

respondents said music.

 45 respondents said that the tag line should be highlighted in an

advertisement.

 75 respondents have said that they go to the stores by seeing the

hoardings and banners.

 79 respondents said that they spread word of mouth after experiencing a

product.

 79 respondents said that music is very important in an advertisement.

 82 respondents said that they refer google search before purchasing a

product.

 78 respondents said that internet advertisement really creates brand

awareness about a product.

 82 respondents said that internet is a reliable source for collecting

information about a brand.

 77 respondents said that they have done on line shopping.

 89 respondents said that they do not refer company’s website before

purchasing.

108
CONCLUSION

 According to this study, it has found out that people notice advertisements
and the awareness level of the brand is good only because of
advertisements.

 Based on this study I would say television advertisements have more reach
to the people.Customers prefer television in comparison to other media
since they get both the audio and visual effects .This also proves that
customer’s rely on advertisements shown in media

 Customers of the age group of 20-25 are more interested in

advertisements and brands.

 The customers like branded products because of the quality it possesses..

 For an advertisement to be effective the price, the music and the tag line
should be highlighted. These three aspects create a great impact in brand
preference.

 Hoardings and banners also create brand awareness of a product and are
important to increase brand preference.

 The customer’s also spread word of mouth after they use a product.

 This survey also makes it clear that customer’s(especially of the younger

generation) refer internet before they purchase and they search for the
product features shown in internet advertisements.

109
Suggestions

 Companies should research continuously for quality improvement.

 Develop more effective advertising campaigns

110
  Advertising messages should both be persuasive and reminder-oriented. .
 Comparative advertising is useful in this regard.
 Television combines motion, sound, and special visual effects for
which it is the most preferred media for advertisements.
 To employ integrated advertising of their product.
 More budgets could be devoted to TV adverts in view of the
consumers’.

Appendix

MAGNUS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

BANGALORE

Name:
Contact No.:
Address:
Gender:
Age :
1. Which are your favourite
brands……………………………………………………………...................................
2. Why do you prefer these
brands……………………………………………………………………………………………..
3. From where did you get the information about these brands
o Newspapers
o Television
o Radio
o Internet
o Hoardings
o Word of Mouth
4. If you are searching for information of a brand which media will you look to

o Print media
o Electronic media
o Other media
o Word of mouth

111
 5. Do you rely on advertisement?

o Yes
o No
o Sometimes
o Rarely
6. Do you change your perception of a product by just seeing the advertisement?

o Yes
o No
o Sometimes
o Rarely
7. Do you think advertisement is necessary for your decision making?

o Always necessary
o Sometimes necessary
o Not necessary

8. What are the factors which influence your decision making process?

o Product features
o Advertisement
o Cost
o Opinion of friends
o Others
9. What do you look for in an advertisement?
o Price of the product
o Benefits of the product
o Brand endorsers
o Offers
o Quality of the product
10. Do you purchase a product just because your favorite celebrity is endorsing it?
o Yes
o No
o Sometimes
11. Do you purchase a product just by getting attracted to the advertisement?
o Yes
o No
o Sometimes
o Rarely
12. What are the factors in an advertisement which will make you change your brand loyalty?
o Benefits
o Value for money
o New features
o Discount

112
 o Word of mouth
13. If you hear the name of a brand through advertisement what do you recall?
o The music
o The tag line
o The endorsers
o The product
o The benefits
14. What are the things according to you should be highlighted in an advertisement?
o The benefits
o The tag line
o The brand name
o The company name
o The endorsers
o The product features
15. If a product is misinterpreted by your friend would you believe him or go on with your view?
o Believe my friend
o Go with my view
o Refer advertisement
o Refer internet
16. Do you prefer going to any store just by seeing the offers on hoardings and banners?
o Yes
o No
o Sometimes
o Rarely

17. After you experience any product do you convey the message to others (positive/negative opinion)?
o Yes
o No
o Sometimes
o Rarely
18. What is your response to repeated advertisement in Tv/radio?
o Yes
o No
o Get irritated
o Change the channel
19. How important is music in an advertisement?
o Very important
o Sometimes important
o Not important
20. Do you refer Google search before making purchasing decision?
o Yes
o No
o Always
o Rarely
21. What are the aspects you look for in internet for information on your preferred brands?

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 o Product features
o Dealer network
o Price
o Delivery
22. Does the Internet Advertisement in the website create brand awareness?
o Yes
o No
o Sometimes
o Rarely
23. Do you think internet is the most reliable source of information?
o Yes
o No
o Sometimes
24. Have you ever done online shopping?
o Yes
o No
o Sometimes
o Rarely
25. Did you visit company’s website before purchasing?
o Yes
o No

References

1. www.geocities.com/prof_rajagopal/labr1

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2. www.scribd.com/doc/../impact of celebrity endorsement
on overall brands

3. www.krepublishers.com/...../

4. www.indiamba.com/Faculty_Column/FC706/fc706

5. www.csulb.edu/colleges/cba/honors

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 GLOSSARY

Advertising
Promotion of a product, service, or message by an identified sponsor using paid-for
media.
Banner Adverts
Adverts on web pages used to build brand awareness or drive traffic to the advertisers
own website.
Brand
The set of physical attributes of a product or service, together with the beliefs and
expectations surrounding it - a unique combination which the name or logo of the
product or service should evoke in the mind of the audience.
Comparative Advertising
Advertising which compares a company's product with that of competing brands. Must
be used with caution to avoid accusations of misrepresentation from competitors.
Competitions
Sales promotions that allow the consumer the possibility of winning a prize.
Competitive Advantage
The product, proposition or benefit that puts a company ahead of its competitors.
Competitors
Companies that sell products or services in the same market place as one another
Consumer
Individual who buys and uses a product or service
Customer
A person or company who purchases goods or services (not necessarily the end ?
consumer?)
.Customer Loyalty
Feelings or attitudes that incline a customer either to return to a company, shop or outlet
to purchase there again, or else to re-purchase a particular product, service or brand.

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Customer Satisfaction
The provision of goods or services which fulfil the customer?s expectations in terms of
quality and service,
in relation to price paid
Endorsement
Affirmation, usually from a celebrity, that a product is good
Marketing
Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and
satisfying customer requirements profitably. CIM's official definition.
Marketing Mix
The combination of marketing inputs that affect customer motivation and behaviour.
These inputs traditionally encompass four controllable variables 'the 4 Ps': product,
price, promotion and place. The list has subsequently been extended to 7 Ps, the
additions being people, process and 'physical evidence'.
Objectives
A company's defined and measurable aims for a given period.
Packaging
Material used to protect goods; also an opportunity to present the brand and logo.
Positioning
The creation of an image for a product or service in the minds of customers, both
specifically to that item and in relation to competitive offerings.
Promotional Mix
The components of an individual promotional campaign, which are likely to include
advertising, personal selling, public relations, direct marketing, packaging, and sales
promotion.
Quantitative Research
Market research that concentrates on statistics and other numerical data, gathered
through opinion polls, customer satisfaction surveys and so on. Compare 'qualitative
research'
.

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Sampling
The use of a statistically representative subset as a proxy for an entire population, for
example in order to facilitate quantitative market research.
Sponsorship
Specialised form of sales promotion where a company will help fund an event or support
a business venture in return for publicity
Stakeholder
Word of Mouth
The spreading of information through human interaction alone.

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