AN APPRAISAL OF ADVERTISING AS A TOOL FOR PROMOTING SALES OF SOFT DRINKS

(A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED SOFT DRINKS COMPANY IN KADUNA) 

CHAPTER ONE

        INTRODUCTION     

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Advertisement is one of the four major tools that companies use to direct persuasive communication to target buyers and publics. It consists of non- personal or one-way forms of communication conducted through paid media under clear sponsorship. The advertisers included not only commercial firms but museums, fund raiser and various social action organisations seeking to advertise their causes to various target publics. As a matter of fact, the thirty four largest advertising spender in the u.s is the American government within the commercial sector, the top one hundred national advertisers account for approximate one-fourth (1/4) of all national advertising.

The U.S. soft industry began in the late 1880s. John S. Penberton, an Atlanta pharmacist. Developed the coca-cola brand as a soda fountain drink in 1886 and poisoned it as a “brain tonic and intellectual beverage” (Govan and livingood 1977). Both the coca-cola brand and company took an early lead in the soft-drink industry. For the achieved national distribution early on and the company has consistently dominated the industry.

Currently, coca-cola products are sold in about 200 countries with more than 230 different brands. Best-known beverage brands in the U.S include coke. Diet coke, mello yellow, fanta, minute maid, Mr. pibb, Nestea, sprite, Barq`s Root Bear, Dasani Water, Fresca, Fruitopia, and Hi-c (www. Coca-cola.com 2002) seven-up Bottling Company Plc was founded in 1951 by the late Sheik Mohammed El-Khalil. Production started on October 1st 1960. Our brands include 7-up, Pepsi, Mirinda (orange, soda, tonic), and teem. Flavours are added as and when need is justified. We are committed to a culture of excellence in all our activities. Hence, we strive to position our

company to meet and exceed the expectations of our employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, government and its agencies, including the general public.

In line with the following; our mission is

“To refresh and inspire a youthful lifestyle”

OUR VISION

“To be the most admired and innovative company in Nigeria

Although advertising is primarily a private enterprise marketing tool, it is used in all the countries of the world including socialist countries. Advertising is a cost effective way to dissemination messages, whether it is to build brand preference for coca cola all over the world or to motivate a developing nations consumer to drink milk or to practice birth control.

Organization obtains their advertising in different ways. In small companies advertising is handled by someone in the sales or marketing department, work with an advertising agency. Large companies set up their own advertising departments, whose managers report to the vice president of marketing. The advertising department job is to develop the total budget approve advertising agency advert and campaigns and handle direct mail advertising, dealer displays and other forms of advertising not ordinarily performed by the agency. Most companies use an out side advertising agency to help them create advertising campaigns and to select and purchase media.

In developing an advertising programme marketing managers must always start by identifying the target market and buyer motives.

The advertising Naira support various media magazine and newspaper space; radio television; out door displays (poster, billboards, signs, skywriting); direct mail; novelties (match boxes, pens, calendars); tear pads (carbus) catalogues; directories (yellow pages), and circulars. And advertising has many purposes; long term build-up of the organizations, corporate image (institutional advertising), long term build-up of a particular brand (brand advertising) information dissemination about a sale, or event (classified advertising), announcement of a special sale (sale promotional advertising) and advocacy of a particular cause (advocacy advertising).

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Although, there has been a great deal of work directed at evaluating advertising effect on product and or services, this has remain unsolved. Giles (1983) said “it is virtually impossible except in mail-order selling or certain direct mail campaign to quantify exactly the contribution of advert to profit.”

Stanton (1983), also said that its difficult to identify the result of any given advert or an entire campaign. He also said that one couldn’t attribute a given unit of sales to any specific advertisement or campaign.

Based on the above context, one can categorically say that its difficulty to trace the impact of advert to the success of a product. Increment in sales volume of any soft drink could have been as a result of any other than advertising effectiveness.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

1             To determine what patterns the advertising message can take and how effective are these pattern.

2             To highlight on the various types of media and the factors to consider before choosing any particular types.

3             To evaluate the effectiveness of advertising through sales and communication research.

4             To suggest the ways and manners through which advertising problems can be tackled and improved upon.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

TO PGDE/marketing students or would- be researchers, this will provide a pedestal upon which a better and improved research work can be build upon.

To the employers and employees of the various soft drinks industry, some of the suggestion made in this write up will be of immense benefit to them in terms of strategies development and increase in sales volume and profitability through the various strategies that is suggested.

To other library users, this will be of immense benefit to them.

ASSUMPTION OF THE STUDY

The following assumptions are inherent in this study.

1.     The researcher assume that irrespective of the amount of money that is spent on advertising, it will not yield an equal corresponding amount of increase in sales

2.     However, it is generally assumed that a small amount of money spent on promotion (advertising) will yield a significant amount of increases

RESEARCH QUESTION

The following research question will be raised by the researcher.

1.     What’s the pattern of advertising message and how effective are these patterns?

2.    What are the various types of advertising media and the factors to consider before choosing a particular type?

3.           How can the advertising effectiveness be evaluated?

4.           Recommendations were based on manners through which advertising problems can be tacked and improved upon.

DEVELOPMENT OF HYPOTHESIS

Ho 1:       There is no significance difference in the mean responses of staff of 7up bottling and coca cola on types advertisement messages and its effectiveness.

Ho 2:       There is no significance difference in the mean responses of staff of 7up co and coca-cola co on advertising media and factors to consider before choosing a media type.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The research work will only cover the sales and activities of soft drinks products as well as its organisations and various depots around Kaduna metropolis.

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

PROMOTION: - Is all that which is associated with the stimulation, inducing and persuading individuals or group of people towards a particular act, ideas, information, an object or product.

ADVERTISING: - this is any paid form of non-personal presentation of information, ideas, goods and services by an identified sponsor.

ABOVE-THE-LINE-MEDIA:- it is advertising using conventional media such as radio, television, newspapers, cinemas etc.

BELOW-THE-LINE-MEDIA- advertising using other means other than the conventional methods. E.g free gifts and material.

APPROPRIATION:- this is the money budgeted for advertising campaign.

ADVERTISING MEDIA:- this is used to refer to the channels used in conveying the advertising message.

ADVERTISEMENT:- this is used to refer to the message being packaged and sent across to the customers or prospective customers.