THE STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF RADIO ADVERTISING ON THE MARKETING OF CONSUMERS PRODUCTS IN IMO STATE

CHAPTER ONE

1.0    INTRODUCTION

          According to Bryan Alaspa and Ehow contribution writer radio was first broadcasting medium that became, universally popular. It was only a matter of time before advertisers would take advantages of the format.

Radio comes of age – the very first broadcast occurred in 1906 courtesy of reginal Fessender. The first commercial radio was broadcast in 1922 from radio station WEAF.

The Heyday of radio programming and advertising peaked during the 1930’s and 1940’s. Today radio still earns its money through advertising, although shows are generally no longer sponsored by single advertisers. More so, radio advertising makes its easy for the customers or consumers to be awareness of a product, adopt them and become brand loyal to a particular product.

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

        In all promotional tools, advertising has a particular feature and advantages of communicating to a mass audience through the mass media. It share the functions and objectives of informing, educating and persuading the actual and potential customers of an organization with the other promo tools like the personal selling and public relationship (PR) publicity.

        It primary objectives is to ensure effective communication from manufacture/distributor to the consumers which is intended to elicit some kind of response desired by the advertiser. The advertisement reaches its intended audience through various points and electronic media.

In adopting advertising as a promo tool, management usually undertake certain preliminary decisions to ensure that the purpose of which advertisement programme is being adopted is realized. First select the advertising media and developed advertising message. As the most criticized, advertising have been made improve through this years. It has impacted more than any other promotional tool in the area of creating customers awareness, information dissemination and education of the mass and customers in particular.

Advertising in the ancient era was crude compared with the present day standard. Though the basic reason for using advertising which is to communicate information and ideas to a group of people in order to change or influence their altitude towards the goal of the advertiser was the same as now. In the olden days, three main forms of advertising were in use: -

1. TRADE MARK: In the early days organizations for ease of identification of their product placed marks on their products to distinguish its from other products. These marks latter translated to the present day trade mark, which is now backed by law. These marks were used to protect the consumer by ensuring that they get what they wanted.
2. TOWN CRIER: Men were paid to circulate information through the neighbor hood to inform people of the existence of goods, services and ideas. The individual revolution of the 18th century brought about improve production and exchange and this result in mass production of goods. Mass production of goods created wide gap between the producer and customers and this necessitated the application of modern marketing techniques to bridge the gap between the consumer and producers. Part of the modern marketing technique applied to bridge the gap was advertising. Advertising through mass media therefore made it possible for producer to brig their products to the knowledge of their numerous prospects. Advertising through the media has made it possible for producers to bring their products to the knowledge of their numerous prospects. In order to reach the potential buyers with information different forms of vehicles are employed among which are: -
   • Radio
   • News paper/magazines
   • Bill boards
   • Television
   • Hand bill etc

In this study, radio advertising is analyzed to show it impact on the marketing of consumer product – (a case study of Jordan product in Owerri municipal). A radio is an electronic gadgets used for receiving information through sound. Radio functions from a station from which information is broadcast and which is received through a corresponding brand and wave.

Radio advertising is a method by which producer and seller use radio time to give information to their prospective customers through audio process. More especially the purpose of radio advertising and induced any other type of medium is to enhance potential buyers responses to the organization and its offerings. It seeks to do this by providing information by channeling desires and by supplying reasons for preferring a particular organization offer. Radio advertising Imo state has been evolving from a sport announcement sort of, to a more specialized method of passing information to the public concerning the existence of the product items. The use of radio as producers and seller are findings it more convenient in reaching the majority of the potential buyers especially in the rural are where other forms of advertising vehicles cannot be easily reach.

In Imo state the imo broadcasting corporation (IBC) and eastern heartland F.M. station, air radio advertising in imo state, since they are the radio state where people buy airtime for their prospect of informing their prospective audience in the state about the on going things. With the use of  imo broadcasting corporation (IBC) and heartland F.M. airtime, advertisers are able to penetrate more deeply into the rural areas than any other form of advertising medium. By penetrating, it means the size of audience reached with a particular medium. With the rate of development of imo state, it is noticeable that it is much easier to reach people in the rural area through radio advertisement than others likes newspapers, magazines, television, bills board etc.

Advertises find radio advertisement more useful due to the availability of radio in the area with the vast number of audience. About 75% of the families in imo state, especially Owerri municipal have radio, which means that penetration and coverage of radio advertising is 75%. Due to the high percentage of the families that have radio, in Owerri municipal in imo state, when compared with the access other channels of information, it has gained ground among producers and sellers of consumers goods.

        Radio advertising is not limited to the people in their house, about 65% off the cars in Owerri municipal in imo state road have radios and as such advertising messenger conveniently reach them while in their cars.

        In this research, the researcher wishes to review broadly the impact of radio advertising on both the advertising and the target market in mind to be reached. A closer look on the timing, frequency language and general construction of radio advertisement will be taken,.

1.2    STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

          Advertising has a unique feature of reaching a large audience/people that scattered over a wide area does not means that it has no problem that is facing them. Here are some of the problem which the researcher prepared will be look into: -

1. COST: The researcher find out that in many occasion, cost of advertising through radio is a time high with relative return on investment as such advertiser undertake in order to see that his product sales.
2. Most people cannot interpret advertising message due to their inability to understand the language used in the communication.
3. Advertising makes some people to buy a product which they have no intention of buying.
4. Talent artist: Radio advertisement requires talented artist who must be proficient in the language of the target market.
5. The degree of information diffusion via radio (measurement) of listenership and audience) the limitation of below the line and above the line advertising media.

1.3    OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

          The aim of the production is to satisfy the needs of the actual and potential customers with the output of an organization. Goals cannot be achieve if the producers unable to bring the products and their attributes to the knowledge of the potential customers and users.

Radio advertising is concerned with giving information about product and producers to the customers through sound.

The objective of this research is to: -

• Review the role of radio advertising as one of the ways of communicating to the customers, the values in goods and services as well as the organization.
• Compared radio advertising with other with a view to findings out the relative advantage of over others.
• Identifying the problem confronting producer and marketing organization that uses radio as means of advertising their products.
• Find out the problem which consumers have in decoding advertisement message so as to help in rationale purchase decision making.
• To find out the actual time suitable for airing commercial adverts, so as to get the target audience.
• Recommend ways of handing advertising to ensure effective dissemination of information for the purpose of achieving organizational objectives.

1.4    SCOPE OF THE STUDY

          The study seeks to determine whether radio advertising influence consumers purchase attitude or otherwise in Owerri municipal in imo state. The study is limited to radio advertising, its impact on the marketing of consumers product in Owerri municipal in imo state.

        The research is limited to Umuonyima, Ama Awaom and Umuoronjo. This is as a result of the cost carrying the research beyond Owerri municipal in imo state and that of the limited time to cover other area within the scope. None availability of means to get to these areas as regards to poor road network.

Equally, the researchers have limited time which will soon elapsed because of their final examiner in the school. But wishers that other will continued from where she stopped.

Another thing is the lack of fund which would have helped in carrying out the research at least in three to five companies of Jordan’s which is scattered in many states.

1.5    RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What part does radio advertising play in communicating value of good and services to large audience?
2. What role did radio advertising played over the sale of this JORDAN TOOTH BRUSH?
3. In what ways did radio advertising have advantages over other means of advertising?
4. What are the difficulties/challenges that face the marketing organization that use radio as means of product advertising?
5. What problem do the target audience encounter in comprehending advertising message?
6. When is mores appropriate for airing commercial advertisement to reach target audience?
7. What are the most suitable ways of handling advertising to achieve the goals of the organization?

1.6    RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS/STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS

        In order to have good insight and to accomplish the research work efficiently, three hypothesis are made as guide to work.

• Radio advertising attract consumers interest to a company’s products.
• Radio advertising does not influence the consumers purchase attitude.

1.7    SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY

• In view of the role of radio advertising to important role of the significance of this research is to suggest ways of improving the effectiveness of radio advertising in Nigeria.
• Radio advertising will also serve as the basis of good information about a new product and already existing one that have been improved.
• It will also serve as the ultimate means of reaching the prospect/audience in an environment.
• Above all to serve as a prove to scholars who will want to reinvestigate this work that radio advertising has a positive impact on the marketing organizations.

1.8    LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

          This research work does not go as smooth as people may think. It was hampered by the following: -

• FINANCE: As a result of economic hardship in the country, I found it difficult to get enough money to make my work or research more attractive than one may imagine.
• TIME FACTOR: The time given for the research work as too short hence I combine the project with normal work to ensure speedy completion of the work.
• NON AVAILABILITY OF LITERATURE: Advertising as a subject, it is a relatively small one and no much has been published about it hence it was difficult to get enough information to buttress the impact of radio advertisement on the marketing of consumers products.
• SAMPLE SIZE: During the research, I encountered the problem of reaching a reasonable sample size of the population in order to have actual an genuine opinion.

1.9    DEFINITION OF THE STUDY

1. PRODUCT: Anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition or consumption that might satisfy a need.
2. SERVICE: Any intangible benefits that one can offer to another person without resulting in the ownership of anything.
3. CONSUMER: Consumers are individuals who purchase goods and service offered for sale by marketing institution in order to satisfy personal or household needs, wants and desires.
4. TARGET MARKET: A well defined set of customers (mass or portion) that the company identified their need and plans to satisfy them.
5. TRADEMARK: This is a registered brand name of a patient right given to the use over the use of a name or sign as a mark of identification. It gives a legal backing and protection to the owner.
6. ADVERTISING: This is a paid form of non personal communication that is transmitted to consumers through mass media such as radio, television etc.
7. ADVERTISING AIRTIME: This involves scheduling the advertising in relation to the right time during the day or during the business cycle as it may get hour favorable responses from the target audience.
8. MASS MEDIA: This is the various vehicles for promoting a message to a great number of people at any given time example print media (newspapers, and magazines) broadcast (radio and television) direct (mail and bill board).
9. PROSPECTIVES: These are the people who have a need and strong potential interest in a particular product and have the ability (purchase power) to pay for it.