INTENSIVE PROMOTION AND STUDENTS CONSUMPTION PATTERN OF COCA-COLA PRODUCTS (A CASE STUDY OF INSTITUE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY (IMT) STUDENTS)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1            BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The practice of advertising can be traced back to ancient times. During this period communication played a vital role in transforming people’s attitude and behaviour towards a particular product or service.

However, during this period, advertisement was absent Historians believe that our door signs carved in stones and woods were used by ancient Greeks and Romans as advertising. At this point in time people were illiterate and the signs often stimulated the goods for sale and the Merchants such as knives, hoes etc.

Then came the invention of a moveable type of printing machine in 1450 by Johan G. Gerberg from Germany. This invention made possible   advertising on the print media like magazines newspapers, bill boards, hand bills and posters.

After the printing advertisement came a new and radio, it started in November 1920 in USA and rapidly become the primary means of communication on its trade came television. Television became another means of communication.

Advertising for so many decades has remained one of the major economic forces necessary for development but comparative studies show that both government and individual citizens of Nigeria are yet to utilize advertisement effectively towards the country’s economic recovery and national development.

Moreover, advertising can be defined as a non-personal communication directed to target audience through various medium in order to present, sell and promote product service, ideas, person, institutions and organization. Therefore advertising remains a vital door for economic and broad national development.

This research work is an attempt to find out how people react to advertisement in their consumption pattern of a particular product, service or idea. I have chosen students of the institute of management and Technology (IMT) Enugu to represent my universe while coca-cola product is my sample.

Be it as it may that advertising is still gross misunderstand and under utilize in Nigeria today. We really need to understand better and utilize advertising to achieve economic growth the current situation is one that advertising business largely dominated by American men who use them to market their good and services in the same vein government and its agencies need to use advertising