Relative Communication Power of Selected Advertising Media

[a] Department of Business Administration， University of Lagos， Akoka， Lagos， Nigeria.

*Corresponding author.

Received 12 February 2013； accepted 16 April 2013

Abstract Advertising is a major communication tool employed to impart information， develop attitude and induce action. DAGMAR communication spectrum theory specifies that in order to attain its objectives， an advertisement must create awareness， ensure message comprehension and conviction； and stir purchase action.

Achieving marketing and communication objectives have become more daunting with the present upsurge in media cost and fragmentation as consumers are exposed to ever-increasing number of media daily. Thus， attaining communication effectiveness requires pragmatic management of multimedia channels. Unarguably therefore， exploring different ways in understanding the potentialities of the many media types available is imperative. Hence， the present study sought to explore the relative strengths of some selected media such as television， radio， transit and packaging in moving prospects through the entire levels of the communication spectrum.

The study was purely descriptive. Closed-ended structured questionnaires served as study instrument administered on 350 randomly selected respondents from Surulere local government area of Lagos state， Nigeria. Using SPSS （version 19） the generated data was rightly analyzed through the aid of pertinent statistical tools.

Results show television to have relatively higher strengths than the other media under study in all four elements of the communication spectrum. Radio and transit have their best strengths in awareness creation while packaging’s strength lies best in moving prospects from message comprehension and conviction to stirring them to purchase action.

A combination of television， radio and transit is recommended as the right media mix to achieve awareness creation. Also， a cocktail of television， packaging and radio will provide the best media mix when the overriding communication goals are to enhance adequate understanding of product/service， convince and persuade prospects to purchase action. Further study to unveil the strengths of the rest of the media， is suggested.

Key words： Advertising； Media； Marketing communication； Promotion

INTRODUCTION Different meanings are frequently given to the concept of advertising. Such meanings include sales promotion， publicity， selling and marketing. Advertising is defined by experts as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of goods， services， ideas and a person by an identified sponsor （Kotler Armstrong， 2004； Jobber， 2010）.

Advertising is a form of mass communication， so is a letter or personal call by a salesman on a customer， a story in the newspaper/magazines， a political speech， or play on television. In fact， all of the fine arts， music， poetry， painting and drama are forms of communication. They convey a frame of mind. These forms of arts make contact and as such seek to transmit a mood or message from one mind to the other.

Advertising as a form of communication in this study get separated from any other forms of communication through the inclusion of the term “commercialization” or“paid”. It is therefore paid for by a sponsor who expect to induce some kind of action on the part of the listener/ target audience that will be beneficial to the advertiser usually marketers. In summary， advertising may be defined as mass， paid communication， the intention of which is to impart information， develop attitude and induce action beneficial to the advertiser according to this study， the seller.

In DAGMAR’s communication theory （Thellefsen， T.， Andersen， C. Sorensen， B. （nd）； Colley， 1961）， an advertiser should seek to induce action in the following direction：

1. OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

（1） To determine the difference （if any） that exist in the awareness creation abilities of the selected media in conducting the customer through the communication spectrum.

（2） To identify whether customer’s comprehension of advertisement messages by marketers of low risk products as carried in the selected media are the same.

（3） To verify the relative strength of the selected media in the conviction element of the communication spectrum.

（4） To investigate the relative effectiveness of advertisements placed in the selected media in stirring people to purchase action.

2. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

（1） Is there a difference in the awareness creation abilities of the selected media in conducting the customer through the communication spectrum？

（2） Will customers’ comprehension of advertisement messages differ among the selected media？

（3） Is there a difference in the strength of advertising messages in the selected media in taking customer through the conviction element of the communication spectrum？

（4） Do advertisements carried in the selected media differ in stirring customers to purchase action？

3. REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE Solomon and Stuart （2000） defined advertising as a nonpersonal communication paid for by an identified sponsor using mass media to persuade or inform. Advertisement must be well communicated to the consumers to achieve marketing objectives. No matter the focus of the advertiser which may range from creating awareness of a product to persuading buying decision， there must be adequate communication with the consumers. In the study of how advertising works， the different stages involved in moving a prospect from the stage of unawareness to a position of action， it was obvious that each stage requires effective communication. Effective communication in turn requires that the most suitable advertising medium or media be employed.

Advertisers must employ effective advertising medium or media to achieve marketing objectives. Wells， Moriarty and Burnett （2006） identified three basic media types of print media， broadcasting media， interactive and alternative media. According to Kervin， Hartley， Berkowitz and Rudelius （2006） decision on media selection is related to the target audience， type of product， nature of message， campaign objective， available budget and costs of the alternative media. Thus， this research intends to ascertain the relative power of four selected media： television， radio， packaging and transit form of advertisements in achieving the communication objective of the advertiser.

In order to measure advertising effectiveness， Colley（1961） cited in Karlsson （2007） prepared a report for National advertisers entitled “Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results”， abbreviated to DAGMAR （Belch Belch， 1995） which was later published as a book with the same title in 1969 （Mackay， 2005）. DAGMAR was created to encourage measurable objectives for each stage of communication spectrum（Smith Taylor， 2002 cited in Karlsson， 2007）.

In Dagmar theory， the advertising communication expectations are identified under the four basic elements of awareness， comprehension， conviction and action. Such advertisement should assist the prospects in knowing the existence of the product， have a clear understanding of the product features and uses， assist the prospect in achieving a mental disposition of conviction to purchase the product and finally nudge the prospects into buying the product or service. Advertising media carry the message of advertisement from the advertiser to the consumers. It is the vehicle that conveys the message of the advertiser to the consumers. However， in performing the function of message carrier， advertising media have their relative power. Advertisers therefore must put in consideration these media relative communication power in choosing among the available options. Armstrong and Kotler （2003） and Solomon and Stuart （2000） came up with the strengths and weaknesses of the different advertising media. Kotler and Keller （2007） stated that developing effective communications requires eight steps including identifying the target audience， determining the objectives， designing the communication， selecting the channels， establishing the budget， decide on the media mix， measure the results and manage integrated marketing communications.

According to Armstrong and Kotler （2003） media decisions depend on reach， frequency， impact， major media types， specific media vehicles and media timing. Perrault and McCarthy （2005） stated that traditional media choices are more limited in some international markets， so marketers must be creative to communicate their messages. In North Africa and the Middle East， Coke uses hot-air balloons. The 12 stories tall Ariel shirt was mounted on a building in China. Kervin， Hartley， Berkowitz and Rudelius （2006）， Perrault and McCarthy（2005） Armstrong and Kotler （2003） and Solomon and Stuart， （2000） came up with the advantages and disadvantages of major advertising media including， television and cable， newspaper， direct mail， radio， Yellow Pages， magazine， outdoor and internet. According to them， Television and Cable have the advantages of demonstration， good attention and wide reach. However， it has shortcomings such as being expensive in total， clutter and less selective-audience. Radio on the other hand has advantages of good local acceptance， high geographic and demographic selectivity， low cost， wide reach， segmented audience and repetitive， but also limited by factors such as weak attention， many different rates， audio only， fleeting exposure， low attention， fragmented audience and short exposure. Outdoor media have advantages of being flexible， has high repeat exposure， low cost， low message competition， and good positional selectivity. Disadvantages however include， little audience selectivity and creative limitation.

Solomon and Stuart， （2000）， Perrault Jr. and McCarthy（2005） considered the advertising communications process. According to Perrault Jr. and McCarthy，（2005） advertising communication process is a source trying to reach a receiver with a message. Advertising and other element of promotion mix require effective communication； promotion is wasted when it doesn’t communicate effectively. Solomon and Stuart， （2000） defined communication process as any way that marketers reach out to consumers， from a simple highway billboard to a customized message sent via e-mail to a busy executive. According to Solomon and Stuart （2000）， a communication’s model specifies that a number of elements such as a source， a message， a medium and a receiver are necessary for communications to occur.

Elliot and Speck （1998） investigated six major media and found that Television and Magazines exhibited the highest level of advertising related communication problems， such as perceived clutter， hindered search and disruption. Mackenzie and Lutz （1989） in their study of the structural antecedents of attitude toward advertising in an advertising pretesting context， identified attitudes toward the advertiser and attitudes toward advertising. Haque， Rahman， Ahmed， Yasmin and Asri （2011） assessed the impact of advertisement towards consumers and quoted Frandsen （2009） that entertainment and likeability are effective in advertising and influence the mentality of the customers. O’Donohoe （1993） in her work on advertising uses and gratifications， stated that various practitioners and researchers have argued that research should address what consumers do with advertising， rather than what advertising does to them. Crosier （1983） stated that advertising is consumed for seven reasons including product information， entertainment， implied warranty， value addition， post-purchase reassurance， vicarious experience and involvement. According to Kelley and Jugenheimer （2004） print media is easily available anywhere and anytime， spreads more widely， fast flowing information to people than electronic media. Jan （2002） stated that print media play an effective role in informing people， making people think and shaping people’s attitude.

As captured in past studies， packaging has since late 19th century to early 20th century served as a medium for organizations’ legal/regulatory and promotional information needs （Ladipo Olufayo， 2011）. In serving the promotional needs of organizations Ladipo Olufayo （2011， p.183） argue that “in order to influence consumer decisionmaking and hence product or brand choice， packaging is in modern times， variously employed to disseminate product information to buyers. In modern marketing it has become the practice to use packaging to disseminate information concerning： （i） the content of the package， （ii） the benefits that may derive from the use of a product. The use of package copy claims represents another strategic use of packaging to disseminate product information.”

According to Brassel （2010） television media offers creative advertising in view of its ability to appeal to watching， hearing， and strengthen interest through the dimensions of movement and realism of full color. Katrandjidev （2007） carried out a study on public attitude towards advertising and presented viewers’ behavior during commercial break. According to him， less than 10% viewers watch the entire commercials and about 50% watch only part of the commercials while the remaining 40% either change the channels or decide to do other things while the commercials are ongoing. Alwitt and Prabhaker （1992） suggested that consumers’ attitude to television advertising are related to the functions it provides for them.

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Analysis of respondents’ bio data in Table 2 reveals that 62.5 percent are male while 32.5 percent are female. Marital status of these respondents further shows that majority， who are single， constituted 59.6 percent of the poll while 39.2 percent of these respondents are married. Respondents who are divorced /separated and those that are widowed tied at 0.6 percent.

20.4 percent of respondents are young adults whose age range between 18 to 25 years. Majority of respondents（68.7 percent） are within the age range of 26 to 40 years. While 9.7 percent of respondents fall within the age of November， 2012. The instruments were recovered after fourteen days of administration； the time frame was necessary in order to avoid putting respondents under pressure and in consequence bias the outcome of the study. Out of 350 copies of the questionnaire administered， 339 were completed and successfully recovered， giving a success rate of 96.9 percent. The adopted time frame of the study coupled with the simplicity of the instrument was considered by the authors as motivating factors for respondents’ positive attitude toward the study instrument. Again the middle class nature of the respondent was an added advantage. The copies of the instrument were subsequently subjected to data analysis through the agency of SPSS.

As shown in Table 3 and depicted in Figure 1， with a score of 63.9 percent respondents overwhelmingly rated advertising on television as the highest in creating awareness for products. Radio advertising scored a dismal 18.9 percent. Transit advertising and advertising on packaging did not fare better with scores of 8.9 percent and 8.3 percent respectively

Table 4 and Figure 2 depict the performance of the selected media in their various abilities to engender respondents’ comprehension of advertisement messages. Majority of respondents （65.7 percent） believe that they understand advertisement messages better with television ads， 11.5 percent chose radio while advertising on packaging and transit advertising received 15.3 percent and 7.4 percent affirmations respectively.

Table 6 and Figure 4 highlight the abilities of advertisements on the selected media to stir respondents to purchase action. On this communication element， Ad on packaging got a score of 36.9 percent. Ad on radio has 8.8 percent. Also ad on television scored 48.7 percent while transit ad polled a score of 5.6 percent.

Table 7 shows the ranking of the selected media based on their relative ability to successfully carry prospects through awareness creation， comprehension， conviction and action - the four communication elements of advertising. As the results have shown advertising on television rank the highest and maintain first position in all the four elements of communication spectrum under study. However， it is important to note that in awareness creation， comprehension and conviction， television clearly outscored the rest of the media. In propensity to stir purchase action， television as a medium marginally out performs packaging with 11.8 percent as both have scores of 48.7 and 36.9 respectively.

Advertising on radio ranks 2nd in awareness creation， and thereafter maintains 3rd position in its ability to engender comprehension， conviction and action. In the awareness creation where radio has its best score of 18.9 percent， it is still a dismal performance when compared to television as the gap between them is very wide （44.8 percent）.Transit advertising ranked 3rd on awareness creation （outscoring packaging with 0.6 percent） and subsequently maintains 4th position in comprehension， conviction and action. Advertising on packaging on the other hand， is relatively weak on awareness creation as it occupies 4th position yet relatively strong in engendering comprehension， conviction and purchase action as it occupies 2nd position in all of these three elements of communication. With a score of 36.9 percent advertising on packaging has its strongest point in stirring consumers to purchase action playing second fiddle only to television advertising.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

As noted by Schultz （2002， p.6 cited in Naik Raman， 2003） “consumers … live in a world of simultaneous media usage. They watch television while they surf the Net. They listen to radio while they read the newspaper. They page through a magazine while they download music from the Web… What we really need today is a new approach to media planning， one that recognizes consumers’ increasing ability to multitask and … [to] use a number of media simultaneously.”

Added to the above is the fact that media fragmentation is on the rise with consumers having an ever-increasing number of channels to choose from. Cost of media is equally mounting thus making media selection and mix both imperative and challenging.

Literature as reviewed has not only shed light on the agreement of experts on the meaning and role of ‘commercialization’ in describing the concept of advertising， but further buttresses the role of selection of most suitable media in fostering effective communication. Factors that influence media selection decisions include the target audience， type of product， nature of message， campaign objective， available budget and costs of the alternative media （Armstrong Kotler， 2003； Kervin， et al.， 2006； Kotler Keller， 2007）.

The three basic media types identified in literature are print media， broadcast media， interactive and alternative media； and each habours some strengths and weaknesses （Solomon Stuart， 2000； Wells， et al.， 2006）. Interestingly， different types of media working together create synergy and advertisement carry-over effect （Belch Belch， 1998； Naik Raman， 2003）. However， as noted by Mantrala （2002）， in spite of the existence of synergy in multimedia communication， its role in multimedia planning is still hazy.

Undoubtedly， exploring different ways in understanding the potentialities of each medium and their relative strengths in creating a lasting communication impact will be helpful in media planning， selection and mix. Hence， the present study sought to explore the relative strength of some selected media such as television， radio， transit and packaging in moving prospects through the entire levels of the communication spectrum. The study was purely descriptive and data collected rightly analyzed through the aid of pertinent statistical tools.

As results have shown television has been rated the best in all four elements of the communication spectrum， with very high scores in awareness creation， comprehension and conviction. In creating purchase action， television came tops though with a lower margin， as packaging is hot on its trail. This outstanding performance of television as a medium for advertising can be attributed to its ability to appeal to watching， hearing， and strengthened interest through the dimensions of movement， demonstration and realism of full colour（Brassel， 2010）.

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