121

CHAPTER-IV

IMPACT OF ADVERTISING ON CONSUMER DECISION

MAKING PROCESS

4.1 CONSUMER ADOPTION PROCESS: -

The modem concept of marketing considers the consumer, as the centre of

all organizational efforts .It is the consumer who shapes the production and

marketing policies of the firm. Consumer satisfaction is the key mission of

a business to survive in a competitive environment. But consumers differs

in their needs, Lifestyle, Personality .An in depth understanding of what

causes the consumers to buy particular goods and services is required by a

marketer. For this, the marketer undertakes research. This enables him to

determine which products are needed at the market place, which are

obsolete and how best to present these products to the consumers.

The framework for exploring consumer acceptance of new products is

drawn from the area of research known as the diffusion of innovations.

Consumer researchers who specialize in the diffusion of innovations are

primarily interested in understanding two closely related processes: the

diffusion process and the adoption process.

The diffusion process:-It is a macro process by which the acceptance of

an innovation (a new product, new service, new idea, or new practice) is

 122

spread by communication (mass-media, salespeople, . informal

conversations) to members of a social system (a target market) over a

period of time.

The adoption process:-It is a micro process that focuses on the stages

through which an individual consumer passes when deciding to accept or

reject a new product.

The adoption process.............

The second major process in the diffusion of innovations is adoption. The

focus of this process is the stages through which an individual consumer

passes while arriving at a decision to buy or not to buy or to continue using

or to discontinue using a new product. When consumers are faced with

buying decision associated with a new product, they are often more

hesitant. As a marketer of a new product it is important to understand the

process of consumption right from the first time the consumers learn about

the new product till their decision i.e., whether to adopt the product or not.

Stages in the adoption process: -

It is often assumed that the consumer moves through five stages in arriving

at a decision to purchase or reject a new product, which are based on an

extensive information search on the part of consumers. The five stages are
 123

1. Awareness: - During the first stage of the adoption process, consumers

are exposed to the product innovation. Product innovation can be done by

two ways i.e. either by changing the physical properties and the packaging

of the product such changes do not make the entire change in the product,

this is known as product modification or the other way is making overall

change and a distinct product is manufactured, this is known as product

innovation. Now, if manufacturers make changes to the product the main

function which is required to be performed is to make the awareness to the

consumers. Until and unless the consumers get the information and only if

the consumers are aware of new innovations and modifications then the

producers or manufacturers can grab a large share of market.

For example, automobile industries like Yamaha, Suzuki, maruti etc.

organizes large scale exhibitions to launch a new vehicle, even if they

make changes in certain features of two wheelers and four wheeler

vehicles.

2. Interest: - Once the consumers are aware of the product innovation,

they start developing an interest in the product or the product category.

Such an interest creates anxious to know more about the product. Hence,

process of search begins. The consumers search for information about how
 124

the innovation can benefit them. They search for the functions provided by

the product and how such a product will satisfy them.

3. Evaluation: -Based on their information collected, consumers draw

conclusions about the innovation or determine whether further information

is necessary. It is the stage where consumers make decisions that whether

they require more information about the product or the collected

information is sufficient. It represents a kind of “mental trial” of the

product innovation. When the evaluation is satisfactory, the consumer will

actually try the product innovation, when the mental trial is unsatisfactory,

the product will be rejected.

4. Trial: - At this stage, consumers use the product on a limited basis. It

represents a kind of “physical trial”. Their experience with the product

provides them with the critical information that they need to adopt or

reject. The product is used by the consumer and they make final whether to

adopt the product in future or to reject.

5. Adoption (Rejection): -Based on their trials and/or favourable

education, consumers decide to use the product on a full, rather than

limited basis, or they decide to reject it.

 125

Although the traditional adoption process model is insightful in its

simplicity, it does not reflect the full complexity of the consumer adoption

process

Reasons:

It does not adequately acknowledge that there is quite often a need or

problems i.e. recognition stage that consumers face before acquiring an

awareness of potential option or solutions.

The adoption process does not adequately provide for the rejection of a

product after its trial.

It does not adequately recognize that evaluation occurs through out the

decision making process and not solely at the evaluation stage.

As a partial solution to these shortcomings, consumer researchers have

added two additional stages between trial and adoption i.e. direct product

experience and product evaluation. The adoption starts with awareness

(Stagel) which leads to interest (Stagell) and evaluation (Stagelll), the

product can be rejected or tried (StagelV) before or after purchase. The

trial provides direct product experience serve to confirm the product

evaluation (StageVI) leading to subsequent rejection or adoption

(StageVII).
 126

(Consumer adoption process)

Source: Kotler Philip, Marketing Management, 1999, p.197

 127

4.2 CONSUMER ADOPTION BEHAVIOUR: -

Behaviour of consumer towards a product reveals the attitude of

consumers. An attitude may be defined as a learned orientation or

disposition toward an object or situation, which provides a tendency to

respond favourably or unfavourably to the object or situation. Attitudes are

the likes and dislikes. It shows how positive or negatives favourable or

unfavourable towards an object a person feels.

When a consumer uses a particular product, he makes some attitude which

is a combination of beliefs about the product attributes and evaluation of

these attributes as being beneficial or not.

A consumer while purchasing a product expects a lot i.e. satisfaction of his

desire, need or want.

These expectations can exist at 4 levels:

■ Expectation at general level

■ Expectation at the category level

* Expectation at the brand level

■ Expectation at the transaction level

Post purchase evaluation: Buyer’s behaviour

As consumers use a product, particularly during a trial purchase they

evaluate its performance in light of their own expectations.

 128

There are 3 possible outcomes of these evaluations:-

Pre sales:

During this stage the customer’s expectations start developing through the

various marketing stimuli. Here the critical issue is the availability of clear

and useful information on: -

* The product or service

* Quality aspects

* Core benefits

* Price

* Availability at sales outlets

* How to obtain

During sales:

When the customer is experiencing the use of the product to his specific

needs through the product catalogue or a sales talk of a sales person. The

following needs are required:-

* Opportunity to inspect the product

* Attrative sales environment

* Attentive services

* Reasonable and reliable delivery

* Enhancing the quality of goods

* Freedom to choose
 129

After sales:-

It refers to the period when the customer has started using the product or

service to meet his specific needs.

This will include: -

* Support or advice

* Replacement or refund

* Straightforward complaints procedure

* Repair and maintenance services

Regular research:

Regular research is necessary to keep a track of the changing levels of post

purchase behaviour and satisfaction of the consumers. Such research

provides customers perception.

1. Actual performance matches expectations- Neutral feeling.

2. Performance exceeds expectations- Positive confirmation.

3. Performance below expectations- Negative discontinuation.

For each of these 3 outcomes, consumer’s expectation and satisfaction are

linked. If the outcome of the post- purchase experience is in line with the

expectation or is not in line it is referred to favourable or unfavourable.

And this discrepancy will lead to either satisfaction (in case of favourable

reaction) or dissatisfaction (in case of unfavourable reaction)

 130

That means, the consumer adoption behaviour begins where the consumer

adoption process ends. It is concerned with the likes, dislikes, and

reactions of the customer after purchasing a product. After purchasing the

product, the consumer will experience some level of satisfaction or

dissatisfaction. The consumer will also engage in post purchase actions and

product uses of interest to the marketers. The marketer’s job does not end

when the product is bought but continues to study the consumer adoption

behaviour in the post purchase period.

The consumer may feel satisfaction or dissatisfaction after vurchasins a

product.

The consumer adoption behaviour of satisfied purchase:-

The buyer’s satisfaction is the function of the closeness between the

buyer’s product expectations (e) and the products perceived performance

(p) that is

S=F (E, P)
 131

If the product matches expectations, the consumer is satisfied, if it exceeds

them, the consumer is highly satisfied, and if it falls short the consumer is

dissatisfied. Consumers form their expectations on the basis of messages

they receive from sellers, friends and other information sources.

If there is narrow (or less) gap between the expectation and the

performance, there is more satisfaction. The consumer’s satisfaction or

dissatisfaction with the product will influence the subsequent behaviour.

If the consumer is satisfied, then he or she will exhibit a higher probability

of purchasing the product on the next occasion. The satisfied consumer

will also tend to say good things about the product and the company to

others.

The consumer adoption behaviour of dissatisfied purchaser:-

After purchasing a product, a consumer may detect a flaw. Some buyers

will not want the flawed product.

If the seller exaggerates the benefits, consumer will experience

disconfirmed expectation, which lead to dissatisfaction. A dis-satisfied

consumer responds differently. The dis-satisfied customer will try to

reduce the dissonance. They may try to reduce the dissonance by seeking

information that might confirm its high value

 132

Marketers should be aware of the full range of ways in which consumer

behaves after purchasing a produce and how he handle dissatisfaction.

Consumers have a choice between taking and not taking any action.

(Consumer adoption behaviour or consumer reaction and action)

Source: Kotler Philip, Marketing Management, Millennium Edition, p.184

 133

4.3 ADVERTISING AND CONSUMER DECISION­

MAKING PROCESS:

The advertisement is an important tool of promotion-mix. Advertising not

only attracts new customers but also reminds and maintains the old

customer. To sum up, advertising aim at increasing sales, educating the

consumer, assisting the salesmen providing satisfaction to society boosting

the morale of workers. In the modem viewpoint on marketing, whenever

the consumers purchase any product offering, they are looked upon as

seeking solutions to their problems. For example, when a person purchases

an air-conditioner, he is seeking a solution to the problem arising from hot

weather. The marketers need to understand these problems and the ways in

which the customers attempt to solve them. In course of solving their

problems, customers are said to undergo the following steps: -

1. Need Recognition

2. Information Search

3. Evaluation of Alternatives

4. Purchases Decisions

5. Post Purchase Experience

Now a day, Advertising acts as a ‘Informative tool” of Promotion-Mix.

It plays a vital role in the consumer decision-making process. To make

rationale decision, the Customers require adequate information regarding

 134

the Product, its Price, Availability, and Brand etc. Advertising is just like

the Salesman, which provides all the necessary information to the potential

customers.

* It provides information to the Consumer that where and when the

products are available.

■ It Provides the Customers information about various sales promotion

activities undertaken by the company.

* It Educates the Consumers about its use.

■ It Provides and educates the Customer about various merits and

demerits of a Product.

In this way, advertisement is an essence of consumer decision- making

process. It Provide all the required information to the Consumer to take

rationale and formal decisions to satisfy him.

4.4 IMPACT OF ADVERTISING ON CONSUMER

DECISION MAKING PROCESS:

The role of advertising in society has often being a subject of much debate.

Advertising is that activity by which visual or oral messages are addressed

to the general public. Its purpose is to inform or influence them in favour

of its offer. Today, the advertising has increased its horizon to such an

extent that its presence can be observed everywhere.

 135

Advertising had deep impacts on consumer behaviour. In such

stage of the consumer decision-making process, it makes

consumer to legitimise their decision by increasing their

knowledge through different information provided by

advertising. It has made the easy process for the consumers in

purchasing any product or services, through useful information

about the reasonableness of the price and quality of the

product.

The impact of advertising on the society may be positive or

negative depending upon the nature and environments in which

it is used. The positive impact of advertising is seen when it is

used for the social cause such as, promotion of family planning,

fighting social evils, ads used for energy conservation,

advertising related to contribution to the community and so on.

In such cases, advertising as a powerful media is an effective

and legitimate tool. The negative impact of advertising can be

seen when it is used to promote the toxic products such as,

liquor, cigarettes and many other social issues instigating

people to react. However, it will be fallacious to draw any

conclusion without considering various aspects of interface of

advertising with individual and institutional buyers and the

 136

society. The impact of advertising on consumer behaviour is the

qualitative change in the value of an exposure on the consumer

behaviour through medium. Behavioral • scientists have

formulated a number of sequential models, attempting to throw

light on the process, which the consumers pass through on their

way to action. In this series AIDA* approach was put forward

starting that consumer pass through the successive stage of:

attention-interest-desire-action. Another approach AIO** was

put forward by some of the behaviour scientist. This theory

emphasizes on the persons’ activities, interest and opinion

combining all together on the lifestyle of the consumer. The

former theory was highly criticized on the grounds that it

emphasizes too much on the message with the little

consideration of the role of the prospects.

Levidge and Steiner portray ‘the hierarchy of effects’

sequence as, awareness-knowledge-linking-preference-

conviction-purchase; while Colley speaks of a ‘marketing

spectrum’ which involves unawareness-awareness-

* E.K.Strong, The psycholoty of Selling, Me Graw Hill, New York,

1925, p9.
** Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, Analysis Planning
Implementation and Control, Prentice- Hall of India Limited, New Delhi,
1995, p. 182.
 137

comprehension-conviction and action. These models suggest

that consumer’s evaluation of competing brand could be carried

out even before a purchase had been made on the basis of

information provided by the marketers and their different

marketing tools. *

According to the model for predictive measurements of

advertising effectiveness given by Levidge and Gary A.

Stainer,** the consumers adoption process for the product are

as follow: -

Levidge Stainer Model of

Communication Hierarchy

Source: Philip Kotler, Marketing Management analysis

Planning Implementation and Control, 9th edition, p.611

The marketers attempt to achieve the above-mentioned changes

in the consumer behaviour through advertising and its different

* Michel J. Baker, The Marketing, Institute of Marketing Publication

Division, London, p. 129.
** Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, Analysis Planning
Implementation and Control, Prentice- Hall of India Limited, New Delhi,
1995, p. 611.
 138

applications. Today, consumers have delighted a lot through

advertising. It has helped them significantly in building-up the

brand awareness, improving the decision making process of

consumers. Today consumers’ liking their preferences, purchase

and repurchase of any products and services are mot affected by

the information provided by different advertisements through

different media. The important impact of advertising on

consumer behaviour can be seen in every walk of life. The

advertising has deep impact on both the economic as well as the

social aspects of the consumers.

The major impact of advertising on the consumer decision­

making process can be summarized under the following

headings.

4.4.1 Bringing Consumers from Unawareness to Awareness

State: A person would not buy a product if he is not aware of

the existence of the same. For example, if a person is not aware

of the existence of the new brand of detergent powder offered

by the company for sale, he wouldn’t buy the same. As a result

of intensive advertising using different mass media

communication system, the prospective customer become aware

about the availability of the consumer products such as

 139

detergent powder, toothpaste, shampoos, etc. in the market. The

high awareness of the product and services amongst the

consumer can be mainly attributed to the advertising and its

different applications.

4.4.2 Knowledge about Different Product: Having known

about the existence of the product, the potential consumer

would like to know more information on the same. It is seen

that most of the information needed by the consumer is

received by him through informative and descriptive

advertisement by the manufacturers. It is the outcome of

advertising that today; most of the consumers have gained

maximum knowledge about the products and services available

in the market.

4.4.3 Influencing Consumers in Building Their Liking and

Preference for the product: With the liberalization and

opening up of economy over the last decade, India is witnessing

rapid expansion of industrial activities and consumerism. The

emergence of multinational and modern technology brought

with it the feature, which is popularly known as the cutthroat

competition. Seller’s market became the buyer’s market and

consumer behaviour changed significantly. Today, building

 140

knowledge about the value of the product, its feature and

benefit derived from the purchase is not sufficient for consumer

to purchase a product. Manufacturers need to develop the liking

for the product. As compared to other product of the same type,

the potential consumer develops a special preference for a

product. This is achieved by promoting the product’s quality,

value, performance and other features through different form of

advertising of the products or services.

4.4.4 Developing Consumer’s Mind for Conviction and

Purchase of Product: The target audience might prefer the

product but do not develop a conviction about buying it. So, it

is necessary for the marketer to develop the conviction amongst

the consumer that product preferred by him is good and thus

consumer desire to buy the product provided, if consumers have

necessary purchasing power. The repeated advertising through

various media and repeated exposure of the product to the

target market audiences through personal selling, static display,

exhibitions, etc. has developed the conviction in the mind of

the people to purchase the said products. Even after developing

the conviction, some member of target audience wait for more

information and plan to act later. It is the advertising of the

 141

product along with the promotional selling such as, offering the

product at low price, offering premium or titling consumer to

try it on limited basis, that lead those consumers to take the

final step.

4.4.5 Impact of Advertising On the Process of Purchase and

Repurchase of the product: A consumers even after buying the

product wants a reconfirmation that purchase decision he has

taken was the right decision and that he has got his money

worth. This is achieved by the effective advertising of the

product.

4.4.6 Economic Impacts of Advertising: Advertising offers

positive economic services to producers and consumers. Much

of the industrial and agricultural development in many

countries is attributed to advertising because of its information

value. It has helped producer to reduce the cost of the

production and make the optimum use of resources. Marketers

are benefited because of increased demand through advertising.

Consumers are benefited, because, they acquire extensive

knowledge of market, products and services. The economic

impact of advertising can be seen in different Sectors, such as,

 142

its impact on production, marketing, consumer, business cycle,

industrial growth, agricultural growth and national income.

4.4.7 Social Impacts of Advertising: Impact of Advertising

can be seen in the social and cultural behaviour of the people.

It has given them a new way of life and form of satisfaction.

Advertising has influenced the social system and public

attitudes. The socially acceptable advertising is useful because,

it is good for the people. But, if it resorts to unethical

practices, the people will discard it. The positive impact of

advertising on the social system can be analysed under social

welfare, life style, and moral values. The negative impact of

advertising can be analysed under deceptive advertising,

harmful effect of advertising, confusing the people, forceful

selling, media misuse, and message problems.

4.4.8 Life Style and Values: Advertising has a lasting impact

on the life styles and values of society because, it receivers

wide publicity and influences the buying habit of the people,

who make the life style and value of the society. Buying

behaviour is widely influenced by advertising. This behaviour

is one of the several components of life style and the value of

the society. If the buying behaviour plays a negative role, the

 143

value of the society would be in jeopardy. The society observes

changes in the traditional values. The accepted norm and design

of the society are changed and new norms and pattern of

behaviour are established. On the other hand, if advertising, the

values of society, positively influences the buying behaviour is

influenced accordingly.

Advertising has wide impact on the consumer behaviour, which influences

the culture and the values of society? Literature, dance, drama, language,

religion, costumes, birth and marriage celebration, dress, home, school and

movement in society are greatly influenced by advertising. Advertising

encourages increase production and consumption. On the other hand its

philosophical acceptance has induced self-satisfaction. Children are

becoming more consumption conscious and materialistic. They discard the

old traditions and adopt modem style of living. The advantages of

advertising have been converted into dissatisfaction in the society.

4.4.9 Impact of Advertising on Social Welfare:

Impact of advertising can be seen easily in the field of social welfare. It has

contributed to the development of social welfare by disseminating

information and encouraging the growth of material utilities, production,

consumption and socio-economic welfare. The socio-economic needs of

the people are being satisfied through the advertising. Information

 144

regarding the availability of latest goods and services to the consumers are

made available through different forms of advertising. The people have

started consuming latest goods and services to satisfy their physical, social

and physiological needs. Investment and production have increased the

material welfare of the people.

4.4.10 Impact of Advertisement on the Consumption Pattern:

Advertising of the product in different media has improved the

consumption pattern of the consumer. As a result of advertising, they have

started consuming more articles than ever before. Consumers are well

aware of the availability of different product and services. Prices are

brought down because of the competition encouraged by advertising. The

concentration of the product is avoided because other firms too get

information on lucrative business available to them and enter the market

with their own product line. Production as a whole increases and

consumers can buy goods at reasonable prices.

4.4.11 Forceful Selling:It is believed that advertising leads to forceful

selling of the product by exploiting the sentiments and desires of the

consumers. It is seen that the marketer’s influence many consumers and

their hidden desires are exploited by the emotional appeals made by the

advertisements. In this way, consumers are persuaded to buy the products

of unwanted nature and inferior quality.

 145

4.4.12 Media Misuse: Advertising misuses the media of information.

Newspaper, television, etc. are overcrowded with advertisements. The

overcrowded advertisement in both, the electronic and the print media

force the audiences/readers to view/read them whether willingly or

unwillingly. They also waste the time and energy of the masses. Further,

the media is also being used to advertise such things, which are not in the

interests of the society at large, for example, the advertisements of

cigarettes, liquor, highlighting violence and terrorism etc. All such uses

represent the misuse of media by the advertisements and their advertisers.*

4.5 Evaluating advertising effectiveness:

At the beginning of the millennium, it is time to take stock of the way the

manufacturers, marketers, and service providers communicate with their

consumers. It is not that we need to undertake a review of existing

practices in consumer’s communication just because, it happens to be the

start of the new century. Radical changes have been taken place in all

spheres of the economic spectrum in the last decade, and the beginning of

new century has only added urgency to meet those challenges. The claims

that advertising efforts have been successful must often be viewed with a

good deal of uncertainty. There are many variables over which the

* MN Mishra, Sales Promotion and Advertisement, Himalayan Publishing House,

Mumbai, 1998,pp. 95-115.
 146

advertiser can not hope to have complete control, e.g. competitor’s action,

economic factors and prices. All of which may effect the advertising and

sales relationship. The sequential models of the advertising process are

used extensively in practice as a means to establish objectives for the

measurement of advertising success or failure.

In this context, it is imperative for business organizations to examine the

effectiveness of existing consumers’ communication practices. The rapid

increase in the number of media vehicles, audience fragmentation, a

continuous shortening of spans of consumer attention, and unlimited media

clutter, all call for a technique that can deliver communication effectively

without a huge like in communication expenditure.

Today marketer can no longer afford to compete with each other for a

share of consumers’ mind. Information overload and clutter has put brakes

to such efforts. Instead, communication will revert its original function. To

communicate rather than to persuade, brainwash or prejudice. As global

brands dominate, the business organization strive to build universal brand

images; economic of learning will precede those of scale and mass

individualization will force them to get better acquainted with their

consumer, every single one of them.

In the last few years, the rupee investment in all forms of advertising has

increased dramatically. The top Indian companies spend crores of rupees in

 147

advertising their product. A search study carried out on prominent Indian

companies in industrial marketing indicates an average ratio of

advertising/sales of around 0.3. In consumer market, this ratio is usually

higher and could even be 5% and more. *

This high ratio of advertising/sales supports the fact that advertising is a

powerful selling tool, yet, those who use advertising have learnt to their

sorrow that it does not produce always-good result. Some advertising and

advertising campaign turnout to be flop and other may give only fair

produce but many are very successful. Since, the stakes in the advertising

are too high, the competitions in the market place are too stiff and failure

of advertising campaign is too risky and expensive, therefore, it is

desirable to assess the effectiveness of advertising on consumer behaviour.

The effectiveness of advertising is evaluated for the following reasons:

* It is necessary to have some measure of the effect of advertising on

sale to intelligently determine the size of advertising appropriation.

■ When alternative media and copy available are under consideration,

some measure of the effectiveness of different copy, different media,

frequency and responsibility of insertion is necessary for efficient

management of this phase of advertising.

* Advertising and Marketing, Monthly Journal, April 98, p27.

 148

■ The dynamic nature of market change are such that price may

produce greater result of sales response in one period and

advertising on other.

■ There is a saturation point in advertising beyond which sales

response is negligible. It is necessary to know when this point has

been reached.

4.5.1 Various Methods of Evaluating Advertising Effectiveness:

The method of evaluating advertising effectiveness may be experimental or

survey. Under the experimental measures, consumers are given a

controlled exposure to the message and the effects are measured on the

basis of the change in opinion or attitude. The field experiments are

conducted to measure the effect of mass communication. Sample survey or

interview or questionnaires are used to obtain information about people

exposure to the advertising campaign i.e. message, media, costs, etc. The

effectiveness is evaluated on the basis of correlation between the exposure

and the attitude or action. In common parlance of marketing, the

measurement of advertising effectiveness is applied in dealing with

specific advertisement and campaign. Advertising effectiveness is

measured by pre-testing. Pre-testing of an advertisement prevents

expenditure that would not be profitable and leads to expenditure that gives

the best results. Post testing evaluation on the other hand, pertains to
 149

determining effectiveness of an advertisement or campaign after it has run.

It is normally more expensive and time consuming. However, it is superior

to pre-testing because uses the real life setting to collect and analyse data

in order to evaluate the advertisement effectiveness. The findings obtained

. from post testing can provide useful guideline for future advertisements. In

determining the advertising effectiveness the commonly used method are

given below:*

■ Inquiries: Answer back coupons, with some inducement, are

incorporated in many advertisements. The amount of response is an

indication of the effectiveness of the concerned advertisement.

* Recall Test: Here, the respondents are shown the magazine cover or

any other media vehicle, in which, the concerned advertisement

appear. Then, they are asked to tell which advertisement in that

publication they remember.

■ Recognition test: Here, the respondents are shown the

advertisement and asked if they have read them.

■ Sales Test: Here, the actual sales results before and after the
concerned advertising are examined. The sale result in the selected
“test market” are also compared to these in some chosen “control
*MS-63, Block-5, Product and Advertising Management, Indira Gandhi

National Open University Publication, New Delhi, pp. 74-75.

 150

market”, i.e. the market where the concerned advertising is not

done. This is done to eliminate certain factors, other than
advertising, which may also influence the sale.

Most advertisers try to measure the communication effect of an

advertisement i.e., its potential effect on awareness, liking and

preference. Another one is measuring the sales effect of

advertisement but it is felt that it is far difficult to measure.

In any study, an attempt is made to highlight the

communication effect of advertising, which will be achieved by

seeking to determine whether the advertising is communicating

effectively.

4.5.2 Communication Effect of Advertising

The aim of advertising is to take the potential customer from

unawareness to conviction stage through various steps of

communication process. If the advertising has achieved the

defined communication objective it can be said that the

advertising is effective.

Communication-effect seeks to determine whether advertising

is communicating effectively. For this, copy testing can be done

before an advertisement is put into media and after it is printed

 151

or broadcasted. Here are three methods of advertising

testing:*

1. Direct rating method

2. Portfolio test

3. Laboratory test

4.5.2.1 Direct Rating Test: In the direct rating method,

consumers are asked to rate the alternative advertisement.

These ratings are used to evaluate an advertisement’s attention,

read through cognitive affective and behavior strength. To a

certain extent, high rating indicates a potentially more effective

advertisement.

4.5.2.2 Portfolio Test: Through portfolio test, consumers

are asked to view/listen to a portfolio of advertisement taking

as much as time they need. Then, consumers are asked to recall

all the advertisements and their content aided or unaided by the

interviewer. Their recall level indicates an advertisement’s

ability to standout and to have its message understood and

remembered.

4.5.2.3 Laboratory Test: Laboratory test use equipment to

measures consumers’ physiological reaction, heartbeat, blood

* Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, Analysis Planning Implementation

and Control, Prentice- Hall of India Limited, New Delhi, 1995, p. 647.
 Vi

152

pressure, pupil dilution, perspiration to an advertisement. These

tests measure an ads attention getting power but reveal nothing

about its impact on beliefs, attitude or intention.

Advertisers are also interested in post-testing the overall communication

impact of a completed advertising campaign. To what extent did the

advertising campaign increase and brand awareness, brand comprehension,

stated brand preference and so on. After measuring the difference of

awareness, communication effect of advertising can be assessed. Among

the above stated methods of testing communication effectiveness, the

direct rating method and portfolio tests are the most commonly used? In

general, overall communication impacts of a complete advertisement

campaign are tested.

To conclude, in the present global context, advertising is the

most important phenomenon, which stimulate the buyers and

affect them to a great extent. In the present context, the

advertising has increased its horizon to such a extent that its

pressure can be felt everywhere. However, for making the

advertising more effective in future it is necessary to assess the

multidimensional role of advertising in future. Today, the

whole country is technically knit together and the people can

use common experience and aspirations through the mediation

 I

153

of various means of communication. The advertising plays an

important role in developing the consumers’ preference and

their perception towards the products and services. Generally,

the perception is “the process by which an individual selects,

organizes, and interprets information inputs to create a

meaningful picture of the world.” Advertising and individual

perception are closely related and are very helpful in bringing

in the social change. However, this change may be a positive or

negative depending upon the individual perception, value

lifestyle and concept. This helps the management in

formulating the programme for improving the advertising

efficiency. Keeping this into consideration, an attempt has been

made in following chapter “Analysis of Survey Results”, to

study the impacts of advertising on the brand preference of

consumers of the three consumer products, toothpaste,

detergent and shampoo by considering various aspects such as,

to what extent did advertisement campaigns increase brand

awareness, brand comprehension, stated brand preference and

so on. Probable response from the respondent will be used in

generating the brand preference of consumers through the

impact of advertising.