Dheeraj Gowan
Research Scholar, Deptt. Of Commerce/Management
V. B. S. Purvanchal University, Jaunpur (U.P.)
Advertisement, which is a crux of any market economy, plays a
pivotal role in the economic progress of a nation. Even the erstwhile socialist
nations no longer consider advertisement as a taboo rather they are veering
round to the view that it is an indispensable component of any sales promotion
measure with its benefit spreading over a long period of time. Advertising is
indeed the only direct method which helps to reach masses of potential buyers.
Advertising, being dynamic, changes with changing methods of distribution and
consumption. Advertisements have become the part of life for everyone as a
listener through some media or other. In the present era of information
explosion and media influence, these advertisements plays a major role in
changing the settled perception or thinking, which is otherwise called
attitude, of the consumer and also the consumption pattern of the society in
general. Thus, the impact leads to cultural and social changes to a great
extent. Under this situation, efficacy of the manufacturers, marketers and
advertisers is tested in churning out advertisements, matching the expectations
of the consumers, which may gradually bring about desired attitudinal changes
in them.
Need for Advertisement- Advertisement plays a major role in
every walk of life. The divergent sections of the society may need
advertisement for a variety of reasons from information sharing to consumer
persuasion to decision making. The paramount reasons which may necessitate the
use of advertisements may be:
(i) Advertising
is a way of communicating information to the consumer which enables him or her
to compare and choose from the products and services available. Advertisement
enables consumer to exercise their rights of free choice.
(ii) Advertising is the most economical means by which a
manufacturer on an Institutional body can communicate to an audience whether to
sell a product or promote a cause of social welfare such as a civic drive.
(iii) Advertising, being a necessary means of communication
is an inseparable part of free speech.Any restriction on the right to
recommended legitimate goods, services or ideas in public will diminish the
fundamental right of the freedom of speech.
(iv) Advertising is an essential and integral to the
marketing system. It is sometimes maintained that the marketing system is
nothing but the consequence of a country's social and economic growth. The fact
is that advertising is the main key tool used to a country's growth.
Essentials of Effective
Advertisement- The measure of any advertisement is its effectiveness in reaching out to
the consumers; there are a few agreed principles which govern the effectiveness
of an advertisement. Some of the principles, which are the key ingredients,
have been dealt here.
Importance of Claim- The most important factor determining the
effectiveness of an advertisement is the importance of claim made in it. Many
advertisements make important claims. But these claims should be important for
the consumer too. If a buyer gives importance for quality, there is no point in
speaking about the cheap price, similarly if cheap price is important the
advertisement should highlight only that. Nowadays advertisement agencies
concentrate on USP, i.e., unique selling proposition. Each advertisement must
make a strong factual claim to pull the consumer into the store to buy.
Believable- This can be incorporated in many ways.
One way is to quote facts and figures about tests proving your claim. However,
negatively speaking, the advertisements should not mention anything
unbelievable.Sometimes advertisement given in prestigious magazines is believed
by the readers.
Uniqueness- The advertisement itself must have
something unique about it. Uniqueness draws attention. According to the four
fold principle of AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire and Action-buying), It is a
mistake to depend entirely on uniqueness. It should be followed by proper
claims, and believability. Typically advertisement whose major objective is to
gain brand recognition and acceptance rather than gaining conviction or buying
action rely on uniqueness.
Repetition- Repetition is one of the key concepts of
advertising. It is better to have a long series of small advertisement than one
extremely long advertisement. Repetition is a basic principle of memory.
Naturally, the more times an advertisement is run, the more likely it is that
any person has seen one of the advertisements recently. Repetition and regency
are usually closely related. In fact, an advertisement is better read upon
repeating.
Situations Favouring
Advertisement- It is
imperative that the situation must be ripe for an advertisement to bear the
fruits of optimum return or reward. The advertiser must constantly assess the
situation to choose the right environment and ideal time for an advertisement
to be launched. The conditions favouring an advertisement are as follows:
Ø When there is a favourable primary demand of
particular product.
Ø When there is a distinctive product
differentiation from other competitive brands.
Ø When mass market is penetrated.
Ø Possibility of powerful emotional buying
motive is seen in the advertised product.
Ø Favourable managerial personnel personal and
company policies.
Ø Non-Exaggeration of facts in product
advertisement.
Ø Effective research work conducted for a
particular product to be advertised.
An Ideal Consumer Feeling -
Response to an Effective Advertisement- In order to ensure that the advertisements reach the
target consumers in a most effective way and budgets right response from them,
it has to be ensuring that such advertisements are presented in the right way.
The following steps on the part of the consumer may ensure that the
advertisements are on the right track.
- Getting
attracted towards the advertisements.
- Listening
and observing the contents of the advertisements in full.
- Continuous
watching of the same over a period.
- Comparing
the advertisements of similar products.
- Learning
more about the product, the producer and the advertiser
- Making a
trial purchase as follow up activity.
- Using the product
as per the instructions.
- Assessing
the level of utility of the product individually.
- Ascertaining
the level of utility derived with other similar consumers.
- Comparing
the level of utility of the product with similar products.
Effective Advertisement and
Consumer Attitude- The
following model exemplifies the attitude or response of a consumer to an
advertisement and a glance through the following pictorial presentation would
simplify our understanding of the advertisement's effects on thinking response
and it also magnifies the peripheral and associative effect of an
advertisement.
A Model of the Feeling - Response to Advertisement
Decreases amount of total
Thinking
Raises
product attribute Increases ratio of positive to
Valuations negative
Transform
Use Experience Increase Positive product
Attitude
Advertisement Increases
Attitude toward
- Evoked the
Advertisement
Positive
Affective
Response
Increase Evaluation of
Advertisement
Characteristics
A rather simple explanation of how a
feeling - response advertisement works is that people like it or dislike it is
an advertisement, and this attitude gets transformed to or associated with the
product in the advertisement. There is thus the potential for a direct casual
link between the attitude towards an advertisement and the attitude and
behaviour towards a product. As noted in the diagram, feelings engendered by an
advertisement can create or influence an attitude towards the advertisement
directly, as well as indirectly, through assessments of the quality of the
advertisement's exceptional characteristics. In fact, some researchers believe
that attitude to the advertisement really has two different components; an
affective one, reflecting the direct effect of the feelings evoked by the
advertisement, and a second more cognitive one, reflecting how well is the
advertisement made and how useful is the advertisement.
It
is important, in understanding how an advertisement ultimately affects consumer
attitude, to see what kind of attitude people develop toward the advertisement
itself. if the way the advertisement is made is evaluated favourably, then the
advertisement should elicit a favourable attitude towards itself and
vice-versa. In respect of the viewers of the advertisement, how far does it
influence them? The customers are to depend on the advertisements, only till he
gets the product. After buying and using the product for the first time, comes
the response to the advertisement. This can be in three different levels viz.
At
the first level, when the consumers are fully satisfied, they will respond
favourably to use the product continuously, subject to the price and the
availability of the product. Continuous advertisement in various media further
influences the listeners to build up a positive attitude towards the product.
The
next level is the stage of getting dis-satisfaction by the consumers on the use
of the product, on persuasion by the advertisement. This will lead to consumer
resistance to the product. The dissatisfaction at this state means that the
quality or the contents of the utility value of the product might not have
reached the height expectations created by the advertisement. If the product or
service at this stage is able to satisfy at least a section of the people, then
it can service higher and thus will serve as forbidding factor.
The
third situations leads to a stage, when the viewers understanding that the
advertisement misguides them or giving a wrong information deliberately. Under
this situation the viewer loses confidence on the advertiser, producer and the
seller. This leads to a negative attitude on the marketing of the products of
the company in general. The defects are to be brought to the knowledge of the
producer to give a chance for him to correct the mistakes, if it is so. When
there is no proper response for this complaint, then it leads to earning
discredit from the customers.
Conclusion- Advertisement, the foregoing discussion show, is a
sharp double edged weapon. When the claims of an advertisement correspond with
the features of a product purchased as a consequence of such advertisement, the
advertisement is bound to create a positive attitude among the consumers in the
long run. On the other hand, when the features of the product purchased do not
corroborate the claims made in advertisement, those advertisements are sure to
create a negative attitude among the consumers. It is therefore essentials that
an advertisement aims to create faith and goodwill in the minds of consumer
about the product featured by conforming to the core principles of
believability, uniqueness, reputation and reasonable claims.
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