Abstract
The study examines the Impact of Television Advertising on Buying Habits of Female Consumers using Mary Kay Cosmetics as a case study. The study utilized survey design to gather necessary information where simple random sampling was used to select a sample of the population. The study utilized primary data which was collected with the use of questionnaire that was administered to a sample of 200 female students between 100 to 400 level in University of Abuja. The obtain data was later analyzed using simple percentage and the hypotheses were tested using the chi- square analysis method. The result showed that television was viewed as the most preferred medium of advertisement of Mary Kay Cosmetics Products. The study reveals that though female consumers do not swallow hook, line and sinker whatever advertisements are beamed to them, they are however drawn to television advertisement by appeals of Mary Kay Cosmetics advertisements. The researcher made the recommendation based on the findings that more attention should be focused on using television medium for advertisement of Mary Kay Cosmetics.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
It will be safe to say that advertising has become an integral part of our life and society such that we cannot imagine any event, newspaper, magazine, TV serial, Cinema, etc. without advertising. Due to the powerful influence of advertising, companies spend lots of capital on the advertisement to stimulate sales and influence consumer’s buying behavior. The term advertising is derived from the original Latin word ‘advertere’ which means ‘to turn’ the attention. Every piece of advertising turns the attention of the readers, listeners, the viewers or the onlookers towards a product or a service or an idea. According to Dilogini and Shivany (2015), advertising is a form of communication intended to promote the sale of a product or service.
Sambe (2013) defined Advertising as a non- personal communication of information paid for and usually identified with the sponsor through the various media.
The strength of television advertisement is attributed to its high reach, ability to demonstrate, high impact medium and prestigiousness. As a result, television advertisement attracts its viewers with images and graphics.
According to Bryman and Bell (2011), television advertising is the most influential media even when there is no acting of purchase, the product still remains in our consciousness. Similarly, television advertisement impacts attitude, values, customs, norms, ethnicity, culture, religion and some other behaviors. According to Belk and Pollay (1985) and Kumaran (1987) cited in Dilogini and Shivany (2015), sometimes television advertisements may change our lifestyle; especially females.
Advertising has mandate to sell the advertiser’s goods and help the consumers to shop ‘wisely’ (Okoro, 1995:42). Advertising is important because it influences audiences by informing or reminding them of the existence of a brand or alternatively by persuading or helping consumers differentiate a product from others in the market (Fill, 2006:486).
Advertising through all media influences audiences (Latif & Abideen, 2011:156), but more particularly, the use of advertising claims seem to have become one major antic through which manufacturers of products facilitate the desired effects of ads on consumers. Through these claims, advertisers portray their products in the most favorable way possible. In some cases, they may stretch the boundaries to make a more persuasive claims or make statements so that consumers associate certain ideas and emotions with their product.
Television advertising can play a role in what a consumer buys and how a consumer behaves towards a product. This is because advertising not only provides information about a product but makes brand choices easier by providing facts on the distinguishing attributes of the brands advertised.
Ultimately, product positioning projected through television advertising aims to win sales, but some advertisements seek primarily to gain the reader’s attention or stimulate interest in hopes that purchases will follow. As a company, ‘Mary Kay Cosmetics’ may try to stimulate the females consumers to purchase their cosmetic products.
It is against this background that this study examines the impact of television advertising on buying habits of female consumers using Mary Kay Cosmetics as a case study.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
It is a known fact that television advertisements use persuasive techniques to appeal to consumers‟ sense of buying. It is also inevitable that television advertisements have a lot of impact on human behaviour. This impact may be either positive or negative. The kind of impact depends on the kind of advertisement.
Many a time, consumers have turned down the content of advertisements due to various reasons. Some consumers maintain that the information content of the advert is not enough, while some say that the information content of the advert does not reveal the contents of the product.
What are the buying habits of female consumers to television advertisements of Mary Kay Cosmetics? If the above submission is upheld, perception should explain or account for why a consumer should prefer buying certain Mary Kay Cosmetics products in a vast array of brands available in the market.
In the light of the above exposition, this study focuses on the impact of television advertising on buying habits of female consumers, using Mary KayCosmetics as a case study.
1.3 Research Questions
The following research questions will guide this study:
1. What is the exposure level of consumer’s exposure to Mary KayCosmeticstelevision advertisement?
2. What appeals to female consumers in Mary KayCosmeticstelevision advertisement?
3. To what extent do female consumers recall television advertisements of Mary KayCosmetics compared to other competing brands?
4. To what extent does television advertisement of Mary KayCosmetics influence female consumers to buying the products?
1.4 Purpose of the Study
In view of the stated problem, the following objectives are formulated:
1. To investigate consumer’s exposure to Mary KayCosmeticstelevision advertisement
2. To find out the part of Mary KayCosmeticstelevision advertisement that appeals to female consumers.
3. To examine female consumer’s level of recall of television advertisements of Mary KayCosmetics
4. To find out the extent to which television advertisement of Mary KayCosmetics influence female consumers to buying the products
1.5 Hypotheses
H0 – Female Consumer choice of Mary Kay Cosmetics products is not related to exposure to advertisements of the product.
H0 = Loyalty to Mary Kay Cosmetics products does not depend on the volume of advertising.
1.6 Significance of the Study
In one way, the significance of this study is to provide advertising practitioners with insight on how to direct television commercials to meet the need of the target audience. In another way, it is to help the society guide against undesirable influences of television advertisements.
It is also hoped that this study would significantly add to the existing body of knowledge, particularly, on the impact of television advertisements on consumers buying habits. This study will serve as reference material for students in the Public Relation department when conducting a similar study.
Also, this type of research is necessary and very helpful for companies who want to increase their sales volume. This research is very important because if we know the results of the research, then we can take decisions according to the results.
The research importance in the Nigerian context is very necessary because no study has been done on this topic using Mary Kay Cosmetics. Therefore, this research may be helpful for companies in Nigeria because situations and circumstances of every country are different and in the case of Nigeria, this research is needed.
1.7 Scope of the Study
In order to determine how television advertisements affect the buying habits of consumers, this study is focusing on female consumers of Mary Kay Cosmetics in University of Abuja. The researcher will only focus on the buying habits of these female consumers in University of Abuja towards Mary Kay Cosmetics, more specifically on television advertisements of the product in comparison with those of similar products.
1.8 Research Method
The method that will be adopted for this study is the survey research method. The survey research method is considered the most suitable for this particular study as copies of a questionnaire would be administered. The questionnaire which will serve as research instrument will be administered to female students in University of Abuja so as to delimit the study on the impact of television advertising on buying habits of female consumers using Mary Kay products as a case study. The research will make use of frequency table/percentages to analyze the descriptive characteristics of the respondents. The data generated for the study were analyzed using the simple tabulation format. The respondents were categorized according to the nature of this responses and the percentage for each responses will be calculated.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Advertising: A method used to attract the attention of the consumers or audience to a product. It is a means of persuading them to buy your view, opinion, ideas and products which are usually done by a sponsor.
Consumer: Someone who buys goods for consumption
Television: A piece of electrical equipment with a screen on which you can watch programmes with moving pictures and sounds.
Buying habit: The decision process and actions of people involved in buying and using products.
Impact: The powerful, immediate or dramatic effect that something or somebody has over another thing or person.