CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Business environment throws dynamic challenges in the form of ever-growing competition. Product and brand extensions pose a challenge in terms of getting customer attention. Marketing metrics become a serious concern for marketers, who apply a variety of tools to overcome the competition. Advertisement is a vital tool used by marketers to sell their products or services. Advertisement reaches consumers through their TV sets, computers, radios, newspapers, magazines, mailboxes and more.

The usage of advertisement as a measure to build long-term competitive edge gains momentum in twentieth and twenty-first century only. Economists of the nineteenth century and before hardly paid any attention to advertisement. It so happens since the attention of the economists of nineteenth century was devoted largely towards the theory of perfect competition, which hardly sees any role for advertisement (Bagwell, Ramey and Spulber, 2007). Advertisement is regarded as being persuasive, informative and complementary with the advertised product (Bagwell, Ramey and Spulber, 2007). American Marketing Association defines advertisement as any paid form, non-personal presentation of ideas, products and services by an identified sponsor. Similarly, Advertisement is any paid form of non-personal communication about an organization, product, service, or idea by an identified sponsor (Alexander, 1965). Burnett (2008) also views advertisement as a tool of non-personal communication aimed at disbursing marketing related information to a target audience, usually paid for by the advertiser and delivered through mass media in order to achieve the specific objectives of the sponsor Historically, the research work studying advertisement has focused largely on sales and profit response of marketing actions. The foremost function of advertisement has been seen in terms of increasing sales revenue. Thinkers find that advertisement helps in generating sales both in short-run and long-run (Dekimpe and Hanssens, 1995; Lee et al, 1996; Leong et al, 1996; Leach and Reekie, 1996).

Advertising attracts the attention of the consuming public. Most often, firms in various industries try to stimulate sales through the manipulations of consumers psychological, emotional and economic rate of mind through the means of advertising this often happens when there is an intense competition in the business line, manufacturers or producers find a pressing need for promotional or advertising activities.

Advertising in other words called communication mix is used in promoting a product both new and old that is communicating the consumers in the use and purpose of the new product, including the need for it.  Since the purpose of advertising is to change customers attitude or patterns of behavior toward a product or service in a direction favourable to the advertise as well as increasing the sales volume. It is pertinent therefore, for firms to embark on descriptive informative advertisement attract attention to the existence of a new product and motivating the public to buy a trial supply or perhaps accept a free sample may be rendering a desirable service advertising as an exercise in information persuasion and communication is related because to inform is to persuade and a person who is persuaded is also informed, and persuasion and information become effective through some form of communication, therefore advertising, promotion is the design and management of a marketing subsystem for the purpose of informing and persuading present and potential customers. Moreover, when a new product is introduced in the market, an initial risk to take buyers aware of it’s value and  and existence. The role of information in promotion, however, is too restricted to new product because buyers differ in stage of their relationship with a product. Even products that have been in the market for years still need information support.

It’s also needed during periods of shortages, promotion in this period could take the form of structural information, emphasizing on product conservation or an instructional programme to help consumers with product. It can also be very useful to stimulate sales when the company is having very low sales. Obviously, the basic objective underlying all advertising on the part of the production in an increase of sales volume brought about the advertisement. This aim may be further, subdivided in terms of dimension and by devising strategies aimed at achieving either short or long term gains however, both aims will be achieved, but the immediate objective until condition the strategy and the promotional tools employed.

By and large use can infer that the motive of advertising is not to write great literature but to present the prettiest picture or to entertain the audience through some or all of these elements are often present in advertising. Advertising is first and for most a sales tool and we must never lose sight of that fact.

Again advertising is also a major stimulant to vigorous economic growth and stability.  Advertising promotes a more efficient use of the natural resources, it is a key linking the marketing process, the aim of which to produce what the market needs and can absorb.

Having dealt extensively with the concept of advertising, we can now look into the impact of advertising.  So once it has been determined that a key problem or opportunity for the brand / product involves it’s communication with consumers, thus, an integral part of the advertising planning and decision making process is an assessment of the role that advertising is  meant to play.

As in the part of communication mix, once this perspective has been gained the brand manager must design a marketing and communication plan with the different elements complement and each other increasing the sales of the brand. Advertising as a communication tool and in most cases, is advantageous to set objectives and measures the result in terms of intervening variables like brand awareness, brand image, or attitude. However, these communication tasks are ultimately expected to create a behavioural response to the market place.

Also, advertising as a sales tool has acquire a wide range of acceptance as a functional form of promoting sales.  Firms, therefore, should adopt it so as to enable properly set an objective selection of tools, effectives implementation and channeling of resources as well as profit maximization through increased sales.

According to Adirika, Ebue and Nnokim (2006) advertising is a powerful marketing communication tool used by companies to fulfill the promotional tool. It is an impersonal form of communication or presentation of goods, ideas, or services conducted through paid media under open or identified sponsorship.  Everything about advertising is a sponsor sending a message, called advertisement, through one mass media (radio, television, newspaper, magazines) to reach large numbers of potential use of buyers of product.  By itself, advertising is a vital marketing tool that helps to sell goods, services, images and ideas through information and persuasion.  Many companies consider advertising a superior promotional tool to personal selling, sales promotion or publicity. This is because advertising provides multiple presentation to masses of people with one message, compared with personal selling that involves individual contact with each prospect. Sales promotion frequently requires individual contact also, publicity may provide multiple simultaneous presentation like advertising, but the firm has limited control on the message content and placement.  While advertising is given such a credit, it is crucial to our understanding, therefore, that we appreciate from the start the real place of advertising in marketing, the best advertisement cannot sell a product that they feel are of poor quality, too expensive or below expectations. As a matter of fact, the best way to kill a bud product is to advertise if.  Advertising on it’s own rarely sell promotion mix variables, and the other marketing concerns including product development and research.  Most  advertisement are designed to make both personal selling and sales promotion easier by informing, persuading reminding, reassembling, reinforcing and establishing positive attitude and images towards product and a company.  Simply bet advertising enhances the potential customers responses to the company’s activities. as a tool of marketing, advertising therefore can defined as “Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods and services by an identified sponsor” (American marketing association).

1.2   Statement of the Problem

According to Kotler and Armstrong (2005) advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor.

Most business establishments generally cherish competition especially when it is healthy and worthwhile. Competition also thrives well in a mixed economy as a Nigeria where the tents of capitalism provides for free enterprise activities. In a pure Nigerian competitive market situation like the one that exists here in the market with Port Harcourt as a case study, a marketing manager often faced with the problem of how to determine the demand for his product in a particular market segment and also the issue of finding out and separating those that are inconsistent in the demand pattern of his product Agu, C. A. Nnamani, C. J. Ejike (1998).

Looking at the growth trend of the detergent, market, facts portray that competition will continually grow.  Therefore, makers of OMO blue detergent need to have an edge over it’s competitors. This can be achieved through research by designing suitable balanced strategies to out with competitors and also to determine the strength of the promotional mix for purpose of stimulating demand of it’s own product brand.

1.3   Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to examine the Impact of  advertising and the marketing performance of detergent of elephant extra of PZ industry in Port Harcourt. The specific study objectives are:

Examine the association between Social Media in detergent manufacturing companies in Port Harcourt.

Examine the relationship between Email in detergent manufacturing companies in Port Harcourt.

Examine the relationship between online Communication in detergent manufacturing companies in Port Harcourt.

1.4   Research Questions

The following research questions are posed to guide this study.

1.     To what extent does Social Media affect detergent manufacturing companies in Port Harcourt?

2.     To what extent does Email affects detergent manufacturing companies in Port Harcourt?

3.     To what extent does online Communication in detergent manufacturing companies in Port Harcourt?