A Study On The Social Effect Of Advertising On The Nigeria Students

Project and Seminar Material for Sociology

Abstract

Advertisements affect our daily lives and as technology and the practice of marketing has developed over the course of history, we have become exposed to greater amounts of product and service campaigns. The purpose of advertisements is to educate the consumer with the goal of ultimately selling the product, and many companies and organizations would not be able to survive without the use of advertisements. Ultimately, it is a necessity for a business to prosper in a competitive market, but there are possible side-effects for the consumer that are beyond the intentions to buy.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the effects advertisements play on the college student in particular. Different static/multimedia advertisements have been shown to various college students ranging in gender and background to discover the comprehensive ramifications of specific promotions to study the moral and ethical impact that advertisements play on students¶ moral intent. An analysis and conclusion will be given, along with ideas for possible future studies. Recommendations will also be stated for marketers to be morally responsible for the advertisements they portray so the audience is not effected in a way that can lead to unwanted consequences.

Ultimately, the results did not support the original hypotheses, leading to thought provoking questions concerning our current marketing practices and the effectiveness of static and multimedia advertisements on college students. Future studies need to take place to reveal advertisements influencing the audience at hand.

Chapter One

Introduction

1.1 Background Of The Study

Advertisements are part of our social environment in the 21st century, and can be seen throughout any industrialized country. The average American is exposed to as many as 5,000 advertisements a day, stated by Jay Walker-Smith, and nearly 10,000,000 in their lifetime (Anderson & Palma, 2010). Ranging from print advertisements to commercials, consumers are bombarded with companies compelling them to purchase a product or service, and if the process of marketing and advertisements is not used in an ethical manner, disastrous results can occur; as such, the advertisements that are part of this environment can alter and potentially damage the audience to which they are being exposed (Gulas, 2000). For instance, certain advertisements can be seen as encouraging selfish, materialistic, and wicked desires (Pollay, 1986). Some have even argued that advertisements compete with prominent spiritual teachings of love, kindness, and goodness (Pollay, 1986).

Not all marketing advertisements are as damaging as others, but some can have long-term effects (Martin, 1993). It is important to note that negatively charged advertisements not only bring upon a change in the mental thinking of a subject, but also influence the actions of that subject (Capella, 2010).

1.2 Statement Of Problem

Advertising, like other promotional techniques, informs, persuades and reminds. It can change consumer’s beliefs, attitudes, images, and behavior. But for advertising to be effective on national level, enormous expenditures are required.Successful advertisements do not merely entertain, try to persuade the audience to buy, this is where the problem lies. People tend to have the notion that this persuasive quality of advertising has social effect on its audience, especially on students because they are still within the age of being influenced by the media. Hence, the essence of this study is to take a critical look into the social effects on Nigeria students having OS-POLY students as the population.

1.3 Objective Of The Study

The objective of this research study is to examine the short-term effects of advertisments on a person’s intention beyond that of purchasing desire. The focus of this research is to

Find how advertisements affect the moral, ethical, and spiritual attitudes of its viewers.
To find out if popular familiar advertisement impact student negatively
To find out if advertising distort reality in Nigerian students

1.4 Research Question

Hence, the current study attempts to answer the following research questions:

Do some advertisements increase the likelihood of a college student committing an illegal act?
Do popular familiar advertisement impact student negatively
Does advertising distort reality in Nigerian students?

1.5 Significance Of Study

It is the anticipation of the researcher that the result and findings of this work will help a lot of people and institutions. For instance the advert practitioners would have the opportunity to understand to what extent civil servants and business community response to advert messages and of course, the total impact on their social behaviour.

Similarly, the practitioner would be exposed to the media mix that achieves better results, with respect to wielding influence on civil servants and business community with the applications of advertising tool. Marketers would benefit as the study places them in a better position to design good marketing strategy capable of influencing the consumers especially in cases where paid workers are involved The study would also benefit students and researchers towards understanding the intricacies and technicalities of directing any advert activities to civil servants and business community; it would also be of benefit to free lance readers for enrichment of general knowledge.

1.6 Scope Of Study

The Enugu State under study was grouped as an area of study with emphasis on students in the state.

Chapter Five

Conclusion And Recommendation

5.1 Conclusions

The results of the study were unanticipated after reviewing past studies by other researchers in this area. Each of the four hypotheses were ultimately not supported with the scale being used, even with the radical difference in advertisement matter and type. According to the study, consumers¶ intentions were not influenced by the advertisements given in the environment they were presented, and the particular ad (either party or religious) had no effect on what they planned to do in the immediate future. This included the likelihood of studying, attending a church/religious facility, or drinking alcohol. It was assumed that an advertisement that promoted the consummation of alcohol would have an immediate influence on the viewer overall, but according to the study, it had no effect. Even the reminder of a Christian Ministry ad, played little effect on their intentions on attending a church in the coming week. It seemed the participants were ultimately transfixed in their future intentions and the substance of these advertisements did not have the perceived influence previously hypothesized. The duration of the advertisement (static or multimedia) seemed to have no effect on the participant. One would assume that a longer commercial would have more influence on a viewer, but according to this study, the assumption was not supported. Even the difference in male and female seemed to have little weight in the matter of influence. According to the study, men and women do not differ in the impact these types of advertisements play on their future intent.

5.2 Recommendations

The results of the study should motivate a marketer in the direction of novel ventures with the goal of reaching the college audience and away from traditional means of advertisements. Previously, one would assume that advertisements, either a billboard or a 30second commercial, would suffice in influencing the viewer, but according to the research conducted, these methods seem to have little or no effect on the educated adult. In a day filled with thousands of advertisements, the viewer seems to be unreceptive and uninfluenced to the approach traditional marketing plays on their psyche.

The overall environment could very well be so saturated with advertisements that they truly have a diminutive effect on the viewer. This is good news concerning the negative moral implications a traditional advertisement could play on a college student, but is vexing for the marketer and the business or organization administrating the advertisement. If the results of the study are true, marketers need to take proper actions and innovate their approach, away from traditional means. Personalized strategies of promotion could lead to greater influence and allow the viewer to be more attracted and, ultimately, more likely influenced to purchase a certain product. Even moving away from static and multimedia ads, and directly target the audience in person on the college campus, could be innovative enough to draw in the attention desired.

The study is stirring because it seems that the field of marketing is entering into a new era of challenges. Traditional means are becoming unsuccessful and the audience is changing, but it is important to note, this study should not outweigh past studies on the effects advertisement play on a person’s social and ethical being being without being first replicated with different segments of the market and other demographics.

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