CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Modern marketing calls for more than developing a good product, pricing it attractively and making it accessible. Companies and individuals must also communicate with present and potential stakeholders, and the general public. For most companies and individuals, the question is not whether to communicate but rather what to say, how to say it, to whom and how often. But communication gets harder and harder as more and more companies clamour to grab the consumer’s increasingly divided attention. To reach target markets and build brand equity, holistic marketers are creatively employing multiple form of advertising.
In Nigeria over the years, companies and individual service providers have been trying to improve on the creativity in their adverts so as to meet world standard and again create the necessary awareness that a product needs.
1.2 Background of the Study
Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade its viewers, readers or listeners to take some actions. It usually includes the name of a product or service and how that product or service could benefit the consumer, by persuading potential consumers and customers to purchase or to consume that particular brand. Modern advertising developed with the rise of mass production in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Advertising could also be seen as an element of a marketing communications program. It is usually not the only one-or even the most important one in terms of building brand equity. The marketing communication mix consists of six major modes of communication.
1. Advertising: Any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of idea, goods or services by an identified sponsor.
2. Sales promotion: A variety of short term incentives to encourage trial or purchase of a product or service.
3. Events and Experiences: Company sponsored activities and programs designed to create daily or special brand-related interactions.
4. Public Relation and Publicity: A variety of programs designed to promote or protect a company’s image or its individual products.
5. Direct Marketing: Use of mail, telephone, fax, e-mail or internet to communicate directly with or solicit response or dialogue from specific customers and prospects.
6. Personal Selling: Face-to-face interaction with one or more prospective purchasers for the purpose of making presentations, answering questions and procuring orders.
The above listed are the elements of a marketing communication mix of which advertising is one. Therefore, the researcher wants to really find out the role that advertising plays in the mix hence, the topic “The Impact of Advertising on the Sales Performance of Consumer Goods”. A case study of Unilever Nigeria plc and proffer a solution applicable in this present time to ensure that advertising impacts positively on sales.