PUBLIC PERCEPTION TOWARDS BILLBOARD ADVERTISMENT

PUBLIC PERCEPTION TOWARDS BILLBOARD ADVERTISMENT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background to the Study

To spread information about an idea, product, or service, advertising is a paid type of non-personal presentation of ideas, goods, and services by an identified sponsor (Puranik, 2011). Advertisement is the term used to describe the message that is delivered or spread. Almost no firm in the modern world does not advertise in the current marketing operations (Asemah, Edegoh and Ojih, 2013). The format of advertising varies, nevertheless, depending on the type of business. Advertising is the organized and composed non-personal dissemination of information about goods, services, and ideas by known sponsors through various mass media that is typically paid for and persuasive in character (Arens 2008, p.7).

This definition is closely connected to Dominick’s (2007, p. 321) definition of advertising, which states that advertising is any non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, and services that is typically funded by a named sponsor. According to Asemah, Edegoh, and Ojih (2013), advertising is a managed, recognisable, and compelling communication that is provided through the mass media and intended to increase product demand and foster a positive perception of a brand. The main goal of advertising is to increase sales of a good or service while simultaneously educating the public about the salient features of the good or service. The worth of the good or service can be effectively communicated to the general public through advertising. To inform in order to sell or acquire goods and services is the core purpose of advertising. The effectiveness of advertising depends on the use of strategy and creative abilities to accomplish its goals. The practice of influencing potential customers to purchase products or promote a business’s services is known as advertising (Kenechukwu, Asemah and Edegeoh, 2013). It is the area of marketing that has to do with informing clients about goods, names, and services. Advertising is a type of communication that attempts to persuade viewers, readers, or listeners to act in a certain way in response to certain products, ideas, or services (Asemah and Edegoh, 2012a).

Advertising commends ideas, goods and services to potential consumers through various traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, the new media and outdoor media such as billboard. Outdoor advertising is a medium of advertising which is used to reinforce the recall of brand names and pay offs (Okoro, 1998, p.158). It is one of the channels of mass communication. It is a medium usually used for dissemination of information or advertising message to a mass audience. The outdoor media have been described severally as “out–of-home media” and as the “traffic or position” media since they depend on people and/or vehicular traffic passing by their locations to deliver their advertising message (Amaechi, 1991, p.77). The billboard as a type of outdoor advertising is asserting itself as a powerful medium for the introduction of new products, with its appeal to all classes of consumers and its high visual impact. Billboard advertising generally belongs to point of purchase (POP). It is one of the most effective outdoor advertising techniques that are used in business every day. This explains why Russell and Lane (1962, p.50) cited in Mbadi (2005, p.65) successfully claim that “billboard survived the decline of the Roman Empire to become the decorative art of Europeans in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries”. The employment of models in billboard advertising has become customary in modern Nigerian society. This has had a significant impact on sales of goods, particularly. According to Belch & Belch (2001), businesses shell out astronomical sums of money to hire models to appear in their advertisements. This is due to the product’s attractive force, which attracts customers, keeps them interested, and gives the product individuality.
A model is someone who is hired to showcase, market, and promote commercial goods (particularly fashion apparel) or to be the subject of artistic creations (Wikipedia).

1.2     Statement of the Problem

The primary objective of every billboard advertisement, service, concept, etc. is to generate sales and profit. Although billboard advertising may seem exciting, the key to its success is in its ability to draw in, hold, and motivate customers to act by purchasing the desired good, concept, opinion, or service. Despite the numerous advantages of using attractive models in billboard advertising, there is a heated debate about whether or not these models are truly effective at communicating only the intended message to consumers.  The issues surrounding the usage of attractive models in billboard advertisements are numerous and diverse. Before his car passes past, the commuter has very little time to observe and enjoy the advertisement. The second issue is whether viewers are drawn to the models or the products they promote, and if viewers ultimately remember the promoted goods or the model’s face. This is a challenge since, in order to execute the necessary action, the audience must be drawn to and remember the product. So, the purpose of this study is to ascertain how Nigerians perceive billboard advertising.

1.3     Objective of the Study

The primary goal of this study is to ascertain how the general public feels about billboard advertisements. More specifically, the study aims to:

1. Determine how the public feels about billboard advertisements
2. Examine the impact of billboard advertising on an organization’s desire to maximize profits.
3. Learn about the difficulties associated with billboard advertising.
4. Determine if models featured in billboard advertisements draw more attention to themselves or the offered goods.

1.4     Research Question

1. How do people generally feel about billboard advertisements?
2. Does a company’s desire to maximize its profits have any impact on billboard advertising?
3. What are the difficulties with billboard advertising?
4. Do the models in outdoor billboard advertisements draw more attention to themselves or the offered product?

1.5     Research Hypothesis

Ho: there is no effect of billboard advertisement profit maximization of an organization

Hi: there is effect of billboard advertisement profit maximization of an organization

1.6     Significance of the Study

Organizations will be made aware of the importance of careful financial resource management through this research work. Amazingly, however, whenever a company experiences financial difficulties, the management team’s first thought is to reduce or eliminate the budget for advertising and promotions as a way to get out of their current situation. So, the design of this study is intended to help organizational managers understand how crucial measurement is to billboard advertising. Hence, efforts must be undertaken to determine the impact of such advertising before choices are made about whether to abolish it or reduce budgets.

1.7     Scope of the Study

This research work will be conducted in Ogun state, 7up bottling company products will be used in this research, also this research will examine the importance of billboard advertisement and the challenges it attract.

1.8     Delimitation of the Study

A hurdle during the study period will be finding funding for the general research activity. Moreover, respondents might not be able or willing to complete the surveys that were sent to them. a
Nonetheless, it is anticipated that these limitations will be overcome by making the best use of the resources at hand and investing more time in the research than is strictly necessary. It is therefore firmly anticipated that despite these restrictions, their impact on this research report will be negligible, making the study’s purpose and importance attainable.