ABSTRACT
In this study, an attempt was made to evaluate the problems and prospects of
mass media advertising in Nigeria. We talk of the media mix and the multi-media
approach to public relations and advertising, but we seem to be uncertain which
particular medium is more success-oriented in carrying out advertising functions —
radio and television on the one side and newspapers, magazines and books, on the
other.
This researcher put forward four hypotheses:
HA: Television is better in carrying quality advertisements than the other
media.
HO: Television is not better in carrying quality advertisements than the other media.
HA: Mass media advertising contributes to national development.
HO: Mass media advertising does not contribute to national development.
HA: Broadcast commercial messages have more credibility than print media
messages.
HO: Broadcast commercial messages do not have more credibility than print media
messages.
HA: The influence of advertising on the audience depends on the medium carrying
it.
HO: The influence of advertising on the audience does not depend on the medium
carrying it.
The survey research technique was used to gather data through the
questionnaire distributed to media audience in Enugu
State.
At the end of the research, this researcher tested the four hypotheses and
found out that they were all positive. Other findings were that an advertiser judges an
advertising medium according to exposure opportunity, the number of people who
might see the advertisement, and message opportunity, which is the way in which a
particular medium carries the advertisement .
In conclusion, it can be deduced from the findings that media characteristics
govern the choice of media in advertising.
This researcher recommends that for advertising to bring about national
development, its messages should, apart from selling goods, services and products,
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should be in line with some well known development-oriented media theories such as
the Social Responsibility,
Democratic-Participant, and Development Media theories.
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LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 4.1: Exposure to Mass Media Advertising 38
Table 4.2: Listenership/Readership of Commercials or Adverts 38
Table 4.3: Frequency of use of Radio, Television, Newspaper 39
And Magazine for Advert Information
Table 4.4: Comparison between Television and other Media 40
In terms of carrying quality Advertisements
Table 4.5: Best Medium for carrying Advertisements or commercials 40
Table 4.6: Comparison between the Credibility of Broadcast 41
Commercial Messages and that of the Print Media
Table 4.7: Mass Media Advertising and National development 41
Table 4.8: (Hypothesis one) Comparison between Television
and other Media in terms of carrying quality Advertisements 42
Table 4.9: (Hypothesis Two) Mass Media Advertising and
National Development 42
Table 4.10: (Hypothesis three) Comparison between the Credibility
of Broadcast Commercial Messages and that of the Print Media 43
Table 4.11: (Hypothesis four) Influence of Advertising, the Audience
and the medium 43
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Title page i
Certification ii
Approval Page iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgement v
Abstract vi
List of Tables viii
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Preamble 1
1.2 The Research Problem 2
1.3 Statement of the Research Problem 3
1.4 Objectives of the study 3
1.5 Significance of the study 4
1.6 Research Questions 4
1.7 Hypotheses 4
1.8 Definition of variables 5
1.8.1 Conceptual definitions 5
1.8.2 Operational Definitions 5
1.9. Assumptions 6
1.10. Scope and limitations of the study 6
CHAPTER TWO
Literature Review
2.1 The concept of advertising 7
2.2 Historical Development of print Media Advertising 11
2.3 History of Broadcast commercial 13
2.4 Advertising in Nigeria 13
2.4.1 Advent of the Mass Media on the Advertising Scene 13
2.4.2 Types of Media Commercials 14
2.4.3 Print and Broadcast Advertising in Nigeria 15
2.4.4 Problems of Radio and Television Advertising in Nigeria 16
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2.4.5 Mass Media Advertising and Media Preferences 21
2.4.6 The Mass Media—-Types, Origin, Development and
Characteristics 26
2.4.7 Functions of the Mass Media 30
2.4.8 Advertising Revenue and Mass Media Survival in Nigeria 31
2.4.9 Summary of Literature Review 33
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design 34
3.2 Research Setting and Population 34
3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique 35
3.4 Instrument for Data Collection 35
3.5 Validity and Reliability of Instrument 35
3.6 Administration of the Instrument 35
3.7 Method of Data Analysis 36
3.8 Expected Results 36
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
4.1 Response Rate 37
4.2 Demographic Characteristics 37
4.3. Results 37
4.4. Discussion 44
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CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY
5.1 Summary 45
5.2 Recommendations for further study 45
References 47
Appendix I The Questionnaire (Measuring Instrument) 50
Appendix II How Advertising Messages and Other Broadcast Programmes
Reach the Media Audience 55
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 PREAMBLE
The mass media of communication are divided into two–print and electronic.
According to Okunna (1999:66), the electronic media of radio and television are
distinct from other electronic media because they make use of transmission
technology through which their signals are scattered far and wide. Hence, of all the
electronic media of communication only radio and television are referred to as
broadcast media.
Okunna (1999:66) goes further to say that this technology involves the use of a
transmitter which generates waves (electromagnetic impulses) that carry voice
transmissions or messages which make up radio and television programmes. Radio
waves travel through the air, carrying the programmes to homes and other locations
where they are received through radio and television sets. There are no wires
connecting the transmitter to these receiving sets, hence communication through the
broadcast media is also known as wireless communication or wireless transmission
(see appendix II of this work).
Radio and television carry different types of messages called programmes. One
of such messages is advertising. Advertising is defined by the Advertising Practitioners
Council of Nigeria (APCON) as communication in the media paid for by an identifiable
sponsor and directed “at a target audience with the aim of imparting information about
a product, service, idea or cause.”
The thrust of this research is to find out whether the broadcast media of radio
and television are more efficient media of advertising than other media of
communication – print and electronic.
Books, newspapers and magazines are part of the print media while the other
media like ultra-wave billboards, recordings, films, cinema, slides
and telephones belong in the electronic media.
This researcher set out to investigate, in an empirical way, whether the
broadcast media are the best media or tools to carry advertising in Nigeria, knowing
the potentials, limitations and characteristics of both print and electronic media of
communication.
Whereas the print media are known for their possession of certain
characteristics such as permanence and special mental demand, the broadcast media
are known to possess characteristics such as transience, limited airtime and limited
mental demand.
When we write for the print media, we are writing information that will be taken
in through the eye. On the other hand, information written for the broadcast media is
taken in primarily through the ear.
This researcher set out to find out how far these basic differences
between the print media and the electronic media would influence consumer behavior.
1.2 THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
Eminent scholars in the field of Mass communication like Festinger (1957),
Schramm (1976), Rosengren (1985), Tan and Tan (1986) McQuail (1987:4), Bittner
(1989:376) and Okunna (1999:176) have carried out mass media effects studies which
have come out with revelations that give us an insight into what effects mass media
messages could have on the audience. However, studies of effects of mass media
advertising on the audience are quite different from studies of which media are best to
be used for advertising campaigns.
In Nigeria, so many media of communication are involved in the competitive bid
to advertise products, goods and services. Little is known as to which of them is most
appropriate and more rewarding to be used as a medium or media of advertising. It is
necessary to find out the most suitable medium or media of advertising so as to know
which of them is most likely to make a more lasting impact on the mass media
audience.
Advertisement rates are exorbitant and the financial means with which to
advertise goods, products and services is not easy to come by. If the identifiable
sponsors of advertisement must pay heavily for the advertised commodities, is it not
wise then that they choose the most efficient media or tool to do the job of advertising?
A British historian and essayist, Thomas B. Macaulay, once said, “Advertising is
to business what steam is to industry—-the sole propelling force. Nothing except the
mint can make money without advertising.”
Many scholars and academics, including professionals and proprietors in the
field of broadcasting, share Macaulay’s point of view. De Fleur and Dennis (1994:318),
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for instance, agree that “almost without exception, Macaulay’s principle holds true for
businesses today, and is especially true for the mass media.”
Macaulay’s view is generally true for advertising, but there is still a need to
determine which of the media is best for carrying advertising messages. This is
particularly necessary in view of the distinctions in the characteristics of the different
media–print and broadcast.
1.3 STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
As stated earlier, print media messages are in a permanent form and so the
reader of these messages has the privilege of visiting and revisiting the message as
often as he likes. If he forgets a message or a point in a message, he could still get a
copy of the message. In the broadcast media, once a message is given, within a few
seconds, the audience forgets it. If the broadcast media have reach and glamour, do
these attributes place them at an advantage over the print media?
Constant power cuts in Nigeria is a veritable source of worry and frustration to
many a consumer of broadcast media messages. Once there is electric power outage,
media consumers are forced to look for alternative power sources.
The audience has no such worry if he is a print media consumer. Messages are
waiting for him in a permanent, printed form whether there is power cut or not. In the
case of broadcast media, messages can never wait. As the media audiences look for
alternative power sources, the messages keep going and very soon get to the end.
Which of the mass media of communication then is the best to be used as a tool for
advertising in Nigeria? Where do the media audience get more benefits from
advertising? From which medium or media?
It was the aim of this researcher to delve into this area of study with the hope of
coming out with empirical findings.
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this research are as outlined below:
1. To find out the various reasons given by the mass media audience as to which
medium is better in carrying quality advert messages than the others.
2. To determine the extent to which mass media advertising contributes to national
development.
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3. To determine whether broadcast advert messages have more credibility than
the print media advert messages.
4. To find out whether the influence of advertising on the audience depends on the
medium carrying it.
5. To offer useful suggestions and recommendations in this area of study.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is significant in that it aims to find out the problems and prospects of
mass media advertising in Nigeria and the suitability of various mass media of
communication for advertising. If the broadcast media, for instance, are preferred by
the audience, what are the likely reasons for the preference?
This research will enable the researcher to break a new ground in a relatively
new field of study in mass communication. It is envisaged that the knowledge acquired
in the course of this study will help in no small measure in encouraging other
researchers who may be interested in replicating this study.
Managers of the print and electronic media, advertisers and advertising
agencies, governments as well as private individuals stand to gain from this study.
1.6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
For the purpose of this study, answers were sought to the following questions:
1. Are the broadcast media of communication better tools for advertising than the
other media of communication or are the latter better than the broadcast
media?
2. Which of the media of mass communication has more credibility than others?
3. Does advertising influence the media audience more when carried by the
broadcast media than it does when carried by the print media?
4. Which medium is preferred more for the purpose of advertising?
1.7 HYPOTHESES
For the purpose of this project, this researcher put forward four hypotheses:
HA: Television is better in carrying quality adverts/commercials than other media.
HO: Television is not better of carrying quality adverts/commercials than other
media.
HA: Mass media advertising contributes to national development.
16
HO: Mass media advertising does not contribute to national development.
HA: Broadcast commercial messages have more credibility than print media
messages.
HO: Broadcast commercial messages do not have more credibility than print media
messages.
HA: The influence of advertising on the audience depends on the medium carrying
it.
HO: The influence of advertising on the audience does not depend on the medium
carrying it.
1.8 DEFINITION OF VARIABLES
1.8.1 CONCEPTUAL DEFINITIONS
* Mass media is defined as media used for communicating to a mass of people
simultaneously.
* Broadcasting is defined as the dissemination of information, ideas, opinions,
messages using the radio or television as channels.
* Tool is defined as an implement used in performing a task.
* Credibility is defined as the amount of confidence or trust reposed on
something or someone by another.
* Advertising is the selling of goods, products and services by creating
awareness on them in the potential consumer.
1.8.2 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
* Mass media, operationally, is defined as radio, television, newspaper and
magazine.
* Broadcasting for the purpose of this research refers to the use of radio and /or
television to transmit advertising messages.
* Tool, in this study, is used as synonym for medium or a channel.
* Credibility is defined as the belief the media user has in the advertising
message.
* Advertising is that portion of the media occupied by a message intended to sell
goods, services and products.
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