COVENTRY UNIVERSITY DISSERTATION TELEVISION VS ONLINE ADVERTISING: THE CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE PREPARED BY: AMBIKA KHANNA STUDENT ID: 3500576 MA MARKETING & ADVERTISING 1/12/2012 ABSTRACT THIS DOCUMENT STUDIES THE CONSUMERS PREFRENCE OF TELEVISION AND INTERNET AS ADVERTISING MEDIA. IT THROUGH QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE METHODS OF RESEARCH TRIES GAIN INSIGHTS INTO THE CONSUMERS PERCEPTION OF CURRENT TRENDS IN TELEVISION 7 INTERNET ADVERTISING. THESTUDY USES GROUNDED THEORY AND PRIMARY RESEARCH TO ESTABLISH THE POSSIBLE REASONS FOR PREFERENCE OF ONE ADVERTISING MEDIAOVER ANOTHER.
THE STUDY CONCLUDES THAT TELEVISION IS STILL THE MORE POPULAR MEDIA WITH THE CONSUMERS AS IT IS CONSIDERED TO BE MORE ENTERTAINING WHEREAS INTERNET AS A MEDIUM IS HIGHLY RELIED ON WHEN IT COMES TO INFORMATION AND INSTANT ACESS TO PRODUCTS AND OFFERS. 1 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE NO. ABSTARCT 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3 INTRODUCTION 5 LITERATURE REVIEW 8 PROPOSITIONS TO BE STUDIED 26 METHODOLOGY 27 DATA ANALYSIS 37 DICUSSION 51 CONCLUSION 52 SCOPE FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 53 REFERENCES 53 APPENDIX 58 2 3500576
DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor and my guiding light during the course of this research project Miss Sarah Hydes, who was there with me at every step guiding me and helping me with any hurdles that I faced while conducting the research. Her constructive criticism were taken into account and helped create a more accurate report. I would like to thank my family & friends who were there for me selflessly. Most of all I would like to thank God for his grace and kindness. 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING 1. INTRODUCTION 1. 1 BACKGROUND Advertising has long been a part of most integrated marketing communication plans, most advertisers have concentrated on television media, having the highest reach. But with the onset of the recession the focus of advertisers has shifted from tr aditional media to online media (Kirchhoff, 2009). According to Waterman et al (2009) “Internet advertising remains small, but is growing even more quickly than multichannel television advertising. With the wide reach and easy access to the internet as a media and the various paid product reviews available on the internet (Kirchoff,2009), it has become important for advertisers to understand what drives the consumer to pay attention to one media more than the other, and the factors which affect recall. Is it just based on needs or does the trust generated by an advertisement affect consumer perception of the product or the brand? Advertising today is based on what the consumer needs, the advertisers then make an effort to convert the need into a „want? y the means of an advertisement which allows them to retain the consumer and generate a certain level of recall and brand value. The advertisers do this by trying to understand the consumer? s needs and their goals. They make the consumers feel they can achieve their goals by using the product by portraying the product in such a way which is reflective of the target consumer? s perception of desired self (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007, pg 87). The fact that consumers have a choice, even in terms of the advertising they want to be exposed to, has to be taken seriously by researchers.
Therefore the medium which is used to reach to the audience and its effectiveness in terms of the trust of the consumer in the medium and the recall it generates is of immense importance (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007, pg 13). Ducoffe (1996) suggests that most exposures to advertisements are made when the consumer is not actually shopping for the products, thus they are a waste. Therefore the advertisers now focus on the interactive element of advertising which gives them the scope to get the consumer to revert back to the company and 4 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING uild a long term relationship with them. With the growth of internet advertising the advertisers have more opportunities to reach out to the consumers and get them involved (Evans, 2009). This study is aimed at consumers who are well exposed to the television and internet as advertising media. This study has been undertaken to understand the factors which motivate people to pay attention to the various types of advertisement in a particular media. The study looks to understand the consumer? s take on which media works for them better in terms of recall and trust.
Wang et al (2002) suggest that it is important to understand that the consumer is not passive and evaluates their need satisfaction before purchasing a product, thus advertising needs to ensure that it should not only be able to gain the consumers attention but also gain their trust in order to convert the curiosity about a product or service into a successful enquiry for the product. Neilsons Online Global Survey (2009) shows that people trust television advertisements more as compared to online banner advertisements, although the degree of trust in online reviews is much higher than that of trust in television advertisements.
The survey suggests that all over the world 61% people trust television advertising, whereas in Europe 49% completely or somewhat trust television advertising. The Global average for trust in online media is 41% whereas the trust in Europe is 36%. Stone (1999) suggests that internet allows not only two way communications but also scope for a commercial transaction; therefore it is easier to convert advertisements into business transactions online, thus increasing value to customers who would otherwise place their orders on the phone or visit a store.
The Neilsons online consumer survey (2009) suggests that two thirds of the global consumer thinks that advertising allows the consumers to make more informed choices. The survey also suggests that the highest trusted form paid advertising is signed up e-mails followed by brand sponsorships. Consumer trust is often subjective based on familiarity with the brand and the medium and the security of the consumer, apart from the perceived risk. (Ha , 2004). It is thus important to understand how these factors lead a consumer to perceive the relevance of a particular medium particularly internet.
Another important factor is the value of the information passed on to the consumer as it is one of the main functions of advertis ing 5 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING (Kotler et al 2009). The relevance and the accuracy of the content contribute to the trustworthiness of an online advertiser. (Abels et al, 1999). The way the content is presented also often aids recall. The consumers? find advertisements with comic content easier to recall in both television and online advertising, although the television advertisements are more engaging than online advertisements based on comic element, emotion and the informational content. The Neilson online consumer survey,2009). This study has been conducted based on a combination of secondary and primary research. The secondary research has been used to understand the already existing data and expert opinions of the researchers related to online and television advertising in order to build a foundation for the research. Further a survey and In depth Interviews have also been conducted to understand the following: Which media is preferred better by the consumer? Which types of online advertisements are more popular? Is online advertising more specific and informative?
Does television advertising motivate the consumer to buy the product? What are the tangibles that a consumer notices about a television advertisement? What factors aid recall in both Television and Online Advertising? The data has been collected and systematically analyzed, based on which conclusions have been drawn. The study also has some limitations and managerial implications which have been discussed later. 1. 2 AIM The study aims to understand the consumer perception of the current television and online advertising. It aims to understand which form of advertising do consumers prefer 6 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING nd also establish the reasons as to why consumers prefer one form of advertising over the other. 1. 3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The objectives for the study are as follows: To understand consumer preference between Television advertising and Online advertising. To establish grounds based on which consumers may prefer one form of advertising over the other. To understand the factors which enhance consumer recall and trust in Television and Internet 2. LITERATURE REVIEW In order to understand how consumers perceive advertising on television and on the internet, it is important to understand how consumers perceive advertising in the first place.
The literature review forms in this study forms the basis for conducting primary research. The work of various authors has been studied, reviewed and analysed in order to gain insights on what have been the trends of consumers till now relating to television advertising and internet advertising. The literature review also studies the scope in television and online advertising. 2. 1 CONSUMER PRECEPTION OF ADVERTISING Advertising by definition is a structured and composed, non personal form of communication of information. Most advertising we see, in most mass medi a is consumer oriented.
The focus of all of it is to drive the end consumer to purchase the product or service (Arens, 2006). Literature suggests that advertising is not necessarily seen with keen interest, unless what is being advertised is of value to the consumer. Whether its television watching or 7 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING internet browsing, there are multiple activities carried out by the consumers, especially in order to avoid the commercial breaks and in case of the internet, consumers have the free choice to close the advert all together or to skip it (Blunden & Blunden 1996; Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007).
It is important to track consumer attitudes towards advertising due the cumulative effect the consumer attitude can have on the exposure, attention and reaction that consumers have towards any particular advertisement. (Alwitt & Prabhakar, 1999) Blunden & Blunden (1996) in their book advertising in a multimedia age mention that with the advent of globalization, the new media particularly internet provides a platform for advertisers to send out a globally uniform message across various cultures without many extra costs. Key roles of Advertising to the consumer
Information Entertainment Every day culture Figure 1 According to a report of Advertising Standards Authority prepared by Rothwell and Hutchinson (2002) the consumer views advertising to be a part of daily life, in the absence of which life could be dull and boring. According to this report the consumers perceive advertising to have the following roles: Everyday Culture: Advertising today blends into the daily life of people, by creating needs and wants in their minds. Advertising also generates views of how 8 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING eople want to be seen in the society and forms the basis of self image. This fact mentioned by Rothwell and Hutchinson (2002) is also backed by the theory of Self –Perception (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007) which states that the consumer observes and makes judgments about their own behavior and choices. In case a decision works in their favor they would attribute the success to themselves and incase it does not they would attribute it to the source. Marketers use the theory of Self Perception using the Attitude towards the ad model of consumer behavior given by Schiffman and Kanuk (2007).
The authors state that the consumer forms various feeling and judgments based on the exposure to an advertisement which in turn affect the consumer? s attitude and their perception towards a brand based on what it could make them look like or what it would deliver to them. Entertainment: Rothwell and Hutchinson (2002) in their research found out those 2 things which drive consumers towards advertising especially in terms of television advertising is that firstly they are high on entertainment. The consumers today feel that the advertising is very clever and the consumer has to pay attention to get to the message.
Another feature which consumers enjoy is humor which seems to make its way into the consumers mind. This theory is relevant for both Television and Internet advertisements which try to work on the emotional appeal. Tony Yeshin (2006) in his book Advertising states that humor when integrated well with the brand messages and imagery with an element of surprise is seen to enhance attention, credibility, recall, evaluation and purchase intention as shown by various researchers. (Weinberger et al, 1995; Cline et al, 2003; Alden, Mukherjee & Hoyer, 2000).
Information: consumers value the information provided by advertising and prefer advertisements which inform them about new products or offers or prices of products rather than just acting as reminders of the brand (Rothwell and Hutchinson, 2002). Tony Yeshin (2007) in his book Advertising talks about the Informational function of advertising and states that the advertising focuses on keeping the customer informed, the information itself could be for a new product to a new user, for an old product to a new user, new uses of an old product etc. 9 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING ased on the purpose of advertising. According to the Neilson online global survey (2009) on Advertising, by providing information advertising allows consumers to make better choices. Apart from that advertising delivers values such as public service economic opportunities and creating value for customer via competition. It is at the same time important to understand what the consumer perceives of differen t media which advertisers use. According to various authors despite consumer? s opinion of it being intrusive, Television remains the biggest medium for advertising. Kirchhoff, 2009; Tony Yeshin, 2006; Rothwell & Hutchinson, 2002). According to Kirchhoff (2009) in the time of recession where every form of advertising is seeing a downfall, it is only internet advertising that has seen growth. Kirchhoff (2009) in her work also mentions that interactive advertising on platforms such as social networks, gaming, mobiles, online videos and websites holds the key to the future of advertising. Thus it can be said on the understanding of the work of authors mentioned above that consumer attitudes towards advertising are based on their day to day preferences, way of living and culture. . 2 THE GROWTH ONLINE ADVERTISING With the growth of new media the advertising is moving from the push concept of marketing towards the pull concept of marketing (Blunden & Blunden & Blunden & Blunden, 1996). According to Corey (2005) pull strategy is designed to generate endconsumer response. It is used as a tool of trust building, interactive form of communication which leads to the consumer pulling the products through channels. Corey (2005) also states that Pull strategy has often been seen to establish a brand identity and personality, by allowing the consumer to interact with the brand.
Blunden & Blunden (1996) suggests that the advertising in the new media, particularly internet focuses on three main elements: 10 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Communication: the message should be clear and innovatively represented to gain consumer attention and retain it as well. Information: the information provided should be relevant and easy to understand and should motivate consumer response. Service: there should be sources of instant service available in order to cater to any consumer interaction.
The authors (Blunden & Blunden, 1996) mentions in the book “Advertising in a Multi Media Age”, that it is important to deliver the above three elements to the consumer as with the growth in technology the communication is now on a one to one basis. The consumer engages with the message directly due to its constant availability and no space or time constraints. This also works to the advantage of advertisers as they are able to keep a tab on consumer responses and the message can be altered easily and widely sent without compromising on content.
The authors suggest that the success of online advertising is based on the level of involvement it is able to generate with the consumer rather than the exposure. With its wide reach and scope for interactivity, online advertising can lead to serious branding activities. Previous researches have shown that consumers find advertising on the internet both informative and entertaining; however the consumer focus remains on the informative element of the advertising (Ducoffe,1996; Diaz et al, 1996; Mehta and Sivadas, 1995). Advertising on the Internet is a great source of income for web based business.
And with further growth predicted for internet, it is growing into a global phenomena reducing the cost and increasing the effectiveness of advertising by allowing the marketers to target the consumers who are interested in their products and services and are more likely to act on the advertisements they are exposed to. (Evans, 2009) Online Advertising revenue has increased from 8. 1 billion dollars in 2000 to 21. 2 billion dollars in 2007. Over all Internet advertising has shown a growth of 8. 8% during the same time period. (Interactive Advertising Bureau Press Releases 2000-2007) 11 500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Figure 2 Source: Interactive Advertising Bureau Annual Report and Press Releases, 2000 -2008. Literature (Blunden & Blunden 1996; Zeff & Aronson, 1999) suggests the following advantages of online advertising: 12 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING High degree ofConsume r control Consumers /consumer responses can be easily tracked Effective Targeting Advantages of online advertising Not bound by geographic al limitations Deliverabilt y/High quality entertainme nt Flexibility Figure 3
Online advertising first started in the form of promotional emails for discussion groups in the early 1990? s. Over the years what started out as a medium for early adopters, internet by 1998 had turned into an important platform for mass marketing, gaining wide acceptance from audience for advertising on the internet (Zeff & Aronson, 1999). Some popular forms of advertising on the Internet have been explained by Zeff and Aronson (1999) as follows: Websites as advertisements: they were seen as the first kind of Internet advertising, but since they were either too simple (focused on giving out brochure 13 3500576
DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING like information) or too complicated (technical features and complicated design) they failed initially. Since then marketers have come a long way. Today the websites not only act as a mirror to the brand image but also provide the marketer a platform to sell himself to the vast pool of consumers, interact with them and develop a relationship with them based on two way communication and understanding their needs. From being technically complicated the websites today have gone to being innovatively simple. They use humor and contextual information to convert a browser into a buyer.
A very good example for this has been cited by Zeff and Aronson (1999) they mention the Cadillac website which allows the consumer to chose the model of the car they want to buy and then from that point onwards, the user can decide on all the options they want in the car from the exterior colour to the interior design. Direct Mails: what started out as email newsletters, discussion lists and sponsorships has evolved into advertisers sending direct mails to their consumers. Direct mailing is a brand building exercise which acts as a time to time reminder of the brand and helps gain an insight into changing consumer trends.
Although it has been a popular mode of advertising, it has been very often criticized for its Spam status and poor results. ( Zeff & Aronson, 1999) Banners: Banner advertising is a standardized type of online advertising (typically 468 ? 60 pixels in size) that consists of graphic and textual content and contains a link to the advertiser? s Web site (Manchanda et al. 2006). Banners have been one of the mostly spent on form of web advertising. From being static to interactive today banners have evolved which allow the consumer to view videos or even complete transactions without actually leading to the website of the brand.
Banners today are more interactive and entertaining. The role of banner advertising has changed from generating website traffic to creating brand recall and providing the customer a good experience. (Zeff 7 Aronson, 1999) 14 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING According the study on online behavioral advertising (2009) by the Internet Advertising Bureau 50% more people can trust online advertising than five years ago. The study also states that almost 46% people like online advertising and reflect a positive attitude towards it. Figure 4 Source: Internet Advertising Bureau (2009) 5 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Figure 5 Apart from the traditional forms of online advertising, online advertising today based on elements of interactivity uses more creative and wide spread instruments such as games and social networking websites to cater to the advertising needs of the consumers. Online advertising has gone another notch above by using 3 -D advertising to enhance consumer experience. Using 3-d effects in advertising products has been seen to enhance the consumer experience and increase advertising effectiveness. Debbabi et al, 2010). The study of the literature in this section suggests that internet as a medium has come a long way and the way consumers utilize it is also dynamic. Thus in an age where internet is one of the most popular mass medium it has become important to understand what drives the consumer to notice and trust one form of advertising over another. 2. 3 THE CHANGING SCENARIO OF TELEVISION ADVERTISING Hackley (2010) in his book Advertising and Promotion argues that TV till date remains the most prestigious way of reaching out to an audience of millions.
Although it has a wide reach and is capable of creating huge dramatic impact Television advertising can prove to be very expensive. The reason for this can be attributed to the fact that 15 16 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING commercial programme makers serve the entire UK via the ITV network and the BBC does not carry any advertising on any of its channels. (Hackley, 2010) Arens (2006) in his book Contemporary Advertising states that Television as a medium of advertising is available to advertisers in two main forms broadcast and cable.
Although Television has been used in the past as a strict form of mass media, today it is much more versatile than that. From offering advertising about mass consumption goods to niche advertising, today Television advertising caters to a variety of advertisers needs. The Author is of the opinion that Television apart from delivering creative big ideas also plays a very important role in building brand personality and consequently develops consumer relations with the brand.
Today advertisers use it as a leverage tool, where the consumer can identify themselves as prospects by responding to a commercial and interacting further with the brand via other media such as internet or SMS. Kotler et al (2009) in their book Marketing Management back the above theory by mentioning two major strengths of Television advertising, first it can be effective means of demonstrating product attributes and persuasively explaining their corresponding benefits to the consumer. Secondly it helps define brand personality with the use of imagery.
Hackley (2010) further feels that television as a medium is so powerful that it tends to dominate in a room demanding attention even if the viewers are not necessarily interested. It is the medium which reflects and projects audience fantasies and aspirations and brands use this to promote themselves as accessories to these aspirations. The author further explains that TV as a medium has the power to convey different values across various cultures and has the ability to adapt to the various ways people perceive the information broadcasted on it.
TV is seen as a social medium which reaches to the people looking for entertainment, information and ideas about new ways of living and consuming. 17 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING However television advertising is not without its limitations. Zhao et al (2011) cited authors such as Kent (1993) and Zhao (1997) who in their work mention that the growth of clutter in television advertising has always been of concern to marketers, as it causes great amount of confusion in the mind of the consumer and may even be a negative influence on the overall success of television advertising.
Nail (2004) supports this argument by stating that most consumers, even those who believe advertising claims or pay attention to forms of advertising online and offline are keen on signing up for devices and services which allow them to block advertisements. The reasons for this trend have been showcased in the figure below: Figure 6 Source: Nail (2004) Bellman et al (2010) in their study of using interactive banners to reduce television advertisement avoidance stated that the use of interactive banners can re duce the frequency of channel switching by almost 40%, although they did reduce the recall of the viewers.
However they also stated in their work that it has become important to retain the consumer at any cost, rather than letting them avoid advertisements . The Authors are of the opinion, that with the change in time and development of new technologies, Television advertising, which was once seen as an intrusive one way form of communication has turned into an interactive form of communication, allowing sco pe for feedback and further enquiry, via communication channels like the internet and 18 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING telecommunication.
Brian and Margot Blunden & Blunden & Blunden & Blunden (1996) suggest that the two toughest challenges phased by television advertising are: Networked Interactivity: with the internet offering various opportunities of detailed interaction and the growth of niche marketing, television is mostly competing for consumer time which is finite in nature. Internet here gains serious advantage in terms of information retrieval, gaming, transactional activities etc. Interactive Video Networks: with the growth of high quality video channels and online version of television channels, the way television advertising is perceived has changed a lot.
With great audiovisuals of products available on servers, consumer? s choice has become paramount and programming today reflects more and more of the marketplace. Television is growing into a mass medium with something to offer to a niche market at the same time. As the viewers control over his/her viewing increases, advertising is moving towards a more specialized strategy in terms of targeting and even in terms of content. (Blunden & Blunden & Blunden & Blunden, 1996)
In this age where Advertising can easily be perceived as intrusive it is important to understand what drives the consumer to trust a certain form of advertising and to understand what draws the consumer? s attention. According to Neilson? s online global survey of advertising (2009) the trust in television advertising since 2007 to 2009 has increased by 2%. Further the trust in Brand sponsorships has increased from 49% in 2007 to 63% in 2009. The survey further shows that the trust in all advertising categories online has increased. These are positive signs which show that although there is clutter in the 19 500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING advertising world and brands have various claims to make, the trust of the consumer may be shifting from one medium to another but is not lost. This can be further understood by the charts given below which give a clear idea of level of trust in various advertising media. Figure 7 Source: Neilsons Online Global Survey for Advertising (2009) 20 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING In Neilsons Online Global Survey for Advertising (2009) the elements of humor and emotion are very important for the consumer to be engaged in advertising.
According to their survey they found that the consumer engagement in TV adverts was more than the consumer engagement in online video adverts. This is further validated by the chart given below: Figure 8 Source: Neilsons Online Global Survey on Advertising (2009) Though television is still the most widely used form of advertising, the way television is used and programmed all over the world has changed a lot. This study intends to understand how consumers are dealing with the interactive element of television advertising and how do they perceive television advertising in today? world. 2. 4 ONLINE VS TELEVISION MEDIA FOR ADVERTISING Traditional media although offer a very wide reach they have a definite schedule and are broadcast at a particular time, the advertisers can not in this case do much to ensure that the consumers they have targeted are exposed to the advertisement. The consumers may often be undertaking more than one activity while viewing television; 21 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING they may get up for a coffee or switch channels, all these factors of avoidance are out of control of the advertiser. (Evans, 2009)
Internet and Online advertising offer a distinct advantage over television in thi s case; they allow the advertiser to track consumer activity and the level of engagement of the consumer in a particular advertisement. (Zeff & Aronson, 1999; Evans, 2009). Further Evans (2009) that since it is easy to track consumer activity online it is also easy to offer advertising related to the activities the consumer is involved in thus creating a link between the two and creating a relationship between the brand, the advertisement and the consumer. A great example of this is the advertising on face book.
Based on recent online history and the personal likes and is likes updated by an individual on their profile advertisements are updated on the wall of the individual thus offering what the consumer may be interested in on a platform that the consumer chooses to be exposed to on a frequent basis. Blunden & Blunden (1996) in their book Advertising in the Multimedia Age state that television advertising is bound by textual, visual and acoustic formats in order to convince the consumer that the product being advertised is a way of fulfilling their desires.
The consumer in such a case has to go through the entire advertisement to get the message. The linear form of communication makes television advertising strictly a form of push marketing whereas the Internet works on the pull marketing concepts, the advertising on the internet allows the consumer to view the advertisement on a one to one basis and engage with it, allowing the consumer access to it without any limitations of time and space making online advertising more niche in its approach. Nel et al. 1999) suggests that offline business extend their business online to offer support to it just as TV networks are doing so thus keeping their target audience with them. In order to ensure that this consumer market is not lost to advertisers media companies have introduced many cross-platform advertising packages that use both online and offline versions of the media to make the medium more attractive to advertisers. For example, NBC used its cross-platform advertising package for its Winter Olympics program and achieved considerable success (Beard 2002). 2 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Although many studies have been conducted about the online advertising and television advertising (Evans, 2009; Forest, 1998; Nail, 2004; Debbabi, 2010; Bellman, 2010) there is not much written about what the consumer thinks of the changes in the advertising media and the changes in the pattern of advertising in both media. Forrest et al (1998) states that “New theoretical models are emerging to explain the many-to-many communication processes evolving (Hoffman & Novak 1996) from Internet communication.
However, theorizing and further research needs to extend beyond the process to the structure of attitudes to Internet advertising, as has been proposed by the current research. ” Based on the study of the above mentioned literature it can be said that both television advertising and Internet Advertising have evolved a lot. Television has gone from being one way communication to adopting a more interactive approa ch of advertising by making online websites a part of their advertisements and moving towards recorded television allowing people to skip commercials altogether.
Similarly Internet is also continuously evolving, with new forms of advertising becoming popular; it has become crucial to understand that eventually it is up to the consumer to choose what they want to pay attention to and what they chose to remember. Thus making the consumer the king, with the advantages of both the media, it becomes essential to understand what makes the consumer remember the advertisements in one media better than the other and what kind of advertisements work in which type of media. 2. 5 SCOPE FOR TELEVISION & ON-LINE ADVERTISING
The advertising scenario is dynamic and is changing rapidly. With the digital media gaining more and more importance the advertising campaigns are cross channel. Kirchhoff (2009) in her work states that the internet will have to focus on the new developing platforms for advertising and be creative with it in order to gain the consumers attention and retain it. For a better understanding of the consumer and a wider reach, advertisers have to focus on platforms such as social networking and gaming. 23 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING
Online advertising is moving towards behavioral marketing, meaning it is based more and more on the information provided by the consumer on various platforms such as facebook or websites where they are registered. Ingis et al (2009) in their report developed for the Advertising Association of America state that a dvertising today is based on the major following fundamentals: Transparency Data safety and sensitivity Consumer control With the growth in interactivity these three aspects of online advertising need to be considered seriously.
Further in television Brennon (2011) in his nueroscientific study of advertising on television states that advertising on television works at a very deep level. Advertising on television is more about creating emotional associations, telling stories & influencing the way we feel about brands rather than creating awareness alone. The study conducted by Brennon (2011) states that television as a medium is more about engagement and thus affects the emotional part of the brain more than the rational part. Brennon argues that what makes television commercials work is the creativity.
The advertisers must focus on the fact that the advertisement should be able to tell the story in an emotionally engaging manner, the most effective tool for which is music. The study states that TV as an advertising medium generates almost 30% higher levels of emotional intensity, engagement and detailed long term memory, all of which are indicators of future brand purchase. It also suggests that internet as a medium of advertising is more effective when appealing to the rational part of our brain and is more attention in terms of visuals. The study further states that launching a campaign which uses television and nternet advertising in a manner that it compliments each other, tends to increase the level of 24 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING engagement, but that is order specific, i. e. first the consumer has to be exposed to television advertisements followed by online reminders or engaging activities. In conclusion, it can be said that, based on the thorough study of the literature that the way the consumer perceives any form of advertising or the medium of advertising is not only content based but also depends on the exposure to the medium, personal needs and wants.
The use of emotion and information along with clear feedback or response options are the common links in both television and online advertising. Both the media are functioning on the basis of interactivity and the aim of all advertising it seems has become to get the consumer to revert back the advertising brand. The study ther efore focuses on finding out the motivational factors which lead the consumer to pay attention to a particular advertisement or respond to it.
The study also focuses on understanding a deeper understanding of how entertainment and use of emotion aids recal l and trust in advertising in one medium over another by using qualitative methods. Further the study uses quantitative methods in order to understand the general preference of the consumers of television and online advertising. It analyses the trust, valu e and engagement factors which consumers consider important using an online survey. Having understood how consumers react to different media can have various managerial implications for the companies which have been highlighted in the study later on. . PROPOSITIONS TO BE STUDIED Before commencing the primary study, it is important to understand the propositions being investigated. The through study and analysis of the literature in the above section has highlighted that although a lot has been said about consumer attitude towards advertising, the growth of internet as an advertising medium and the dominance of television, there are no studies in particular which take in the consumers perspective about the advertising in both television and internet as media and account for popularity with the consumers.
This study aims to find answers to the following propositions: I. To understand which of television advertising & online advertising is more popular with the consumers? 25 3500576 II. DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING To understand which features of television advertising & online advertising do consumers enjoy? III. To understand why consumers trust advertising in one medium over another? IV. To understand what motivates recall in one medium over another for the consumers? 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This section examines the methods which have been used to carry out the study.
A critical examination of all the methods used has been undertaken to ensure that they are best suited for this study. Proctor (2000) in his book “Essential of Market Research” defines market resea rch as the disciplined collection and evaluation of specific data, in order to help suppliers understand their consumers better. (Citing: Chisnall, 1992) 4. 1 SCOPE OF THE STUDY This study has been conducted in order to gain an insight into the consumer understanding and preference of the advertising in Television and online media.
Understanding of literature in the previous section suggests that although a lot of research has been conducted in terms of the consumer belief towards a dvertising in different media, there is very limited research available which is indicative of what is the consumer? s evaluation of advertising in the current media and gets the consumer to notice advertising in one medium over another. The study has been conducted in two phases: the exploratory and the descriptive.
The study uses a mixed methods approach of marketing research, using quantitative and qualitative research methods in order to understand consumer perspectives on television and online advertising. Johnson et al (2004) in their work state the following advantages of mixed methods approach 26 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING A mixed method approach allows a larger array of questions to be answered more specifically. The use of quantitative and qualitative methods allows the researcher to validate the data in terms of numbers as well as attributes.
A mixed methods approach helps increase generalization of the results and use the numbers to validate insights. Can provide stronger evidence by convergence of both results. Bryman (2006) further states that conducting a mixed methods research can be advantageous as it allows the researcher to clarify the nature of their intentions and accomplishments. The study through comparison of trust and popularity of advertising in television and online media helps gain an insight into what the consumers are willing to pay attention to and whether it has any effect on their purchase decision and overall experience further enhancing recall.
The quantitative part of the study allows the consumer motivations and preferences be represented in numbers showing a clearer picture of consumer choices of exposure and the quantitative part of the study is reflective of the causes for the choices. 3. 2 RESEARCH DESIGN Churchill (1979) defines research design as the tool for overall guidance for the collection and analysis of data. Research design is very important as it acts as a very critical link between the theory and data collected (Nachmias & Nachmias, 2008).
Bryman and Bell (2007, p. 40) state that the research design is reflective of the priority given to the different dimensions of the research process. The research design for this study can be depicted as follows: 27 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Research Design Exploratory Face to face Interview (6) Descriptive Online Survey (100) In Depth Interviews (4) Figure 9 The research has been conducted in two stages. The first being the exploratory research where the study tries to establish the grounds for the actual study.
This phase uses qualitative tools to probe the consumer in order to gain insight into consumer habbits and perceptions relating to television viewing and internet browsing. The study focuses on the consumer specific aspects of television and online advertising to are the consumers aware about and how much attention they pay to these forms of advertising followed by Descriptive research using Quantitative an d Qualitative research about Television Vs Online advertising – the consumer? s perspective. The descriptive phase deals with representing consumer preferences in numbers.
Exploratory research can be defined as the study undertaken to identify new problems without any awareness of the nature of the problem or to define characteristics or variable which affect the nature of the problem. The exploratory research is used in order to gain insights in to the general nature of the problem and the relevant factors which need to be considered (Aaker, Kumar and Day, 2001). The study uses exploratory research to understand the consumer dynamics and usage of television and internet as media.
The exploratory research aims to understand the consumers? usage of television and internet and their perception of features of television and online advertising that the consumers notice and what they like about television and online 28 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING advertising in particular. Since the consumer? s perception of the advertising in both media cannot be gauged, this phase of the study uses unstructured face to face interviews in order to conduct the exploratory research. Aaker, Kumar and Day, 2001) The findings from the exploratory research have been used as the premises for the Descriptive research, by using the findings to design the questionnaire and the in depth interviews. The second phase of the research is Conclusive –Descriptive. According to Aaker, Kumar& Day (2001), descriptive research is widely used in market research to describe systematically a phenomenon, attitude towards an issue, service or programme. Glass & Hopkins (1984) in their work state that descriptive research can be both, qualitative and quantitative.
It involves gathering data which is descriptive of an event or situation which can further be organized in to data tables and charts which describe the outcomes of data collection. This phase of the study uses both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. This phase aims to understand which medium is preferred by most consumers in terms of advertising appeal and experience. In this section the study is designed to gain insights into motivating factors which may lead to an inclination towards advertising in one medium over the other.
In order to understand over all preference of the consumer, an online survey has been used and in order to understand the possible motivating factors in depth interviews have been conducted. 3. 3 Data Sources The study has been conducted based on relevant sources both secondary and primary. Secondary data has been used to understand the existing theories and consumer perspectives on advertising in general and advertising in different media. Primary data has been collected in order to highlight which of television or internet advertising is more popular among the consumers of today and why?
Secondary Data Secondary data refers to the already existing data which has been collected by persons or agencies for purposes other than solving the problem at hand. (Aaker, Kumar & day, 29 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING 2001) Aaker, Kumar& Day (2001) list the following benefits of using secondary data as a part of a research a) It forms the basis of primary research and helps understand and define the problem. b) Study of secondary data may provide enough information to resolve the problem. ) Study of secondary data helps understand data collection methods and plan the research accordingly. d) It helps define the population and set criteria for data collection. According to Proctor (2000) secondary data can be either internal: produced within an organization based on its day to day operation or external: collected from a wide variety of sources such as journals, books, trade publication etc outside an organizatio n. Books have been used extensively in the study for underlying theories. The theories have then been validated and their application has been studied through various articles.
The study uses secondary data from journals which have been accessed via student resource bases such as EBSCO, EMERALD & SAGE. The books in this study have been accessed via the Lanchester Library at Coventry University. Primary Data Primary data refers to the data which has been collected for the first time in order to address a particular problem or to find answers to particular questions; it is usually conducted by market research institutions, educational institutions, government bodies and independent researchers (Curtis, 2008).
Primary data helps the researcher actually gain answers to the research questions and move towards finding a solution to the research problem. It helps identify the relationship between existing variables and also if there are any new factors which need to be considered are brought into light. The primary data for the purpose of the study has been collected using an online survey with 100 Coventry university students and 4 in depth Interviews with Coventry university students. 30 3500576
DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING 3. 4 Data Collection Methods Data collection is an important part of this study as it helps fulfill our objectives of trying to find out consumer preferences of television advertising and online advertising. For the purpose of this study both quantitative and qualitative methods of da ta collection have been used. a) Quantitative Data The quantitative data plays an important role in this study, as it helps establish the overall preference of the consumers.
Johnson (2004) in their work mention advantages of the quantitative data, these have been listed below: It helps validating existing theories and also allows generalization of results. It helps assess cause and effect relationships better. Quantitative data is relatively easy and less time consuming to collect. It is precise in nature and data analysis is simpler. It is relatively independent of researcher bias. The Quantitative data for this study has been collected using an online survey. A Survey has been most often used to undertake descriptive studies.
The Survey has been used as a main tool for data collection in this study as it allows the researcher to examine and explain the differences in choices and the relationship with factors that affect consumer choices (Saunders et al, 2007). Curtis (2008) states that the type of survey to be conducted depends on various factors such as the number of respondents required for the survey, time constraints, budget constraints &characteristics of the sample population. 31 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING
The survey for the purpose of the study is structured and has been designed online. It has been posted out to a database of 100 Coventry University students via social networking sites namely facebook. Couper (2001) in his review of web based surveys states that with the mass reach of internet and the low cost that it offers, internet has become an easier medium for the researcher to reach out to the samples without being bound by geographical or time limitations. This allows the researcher to gain insights into a wider variety of data and reduce to some extent sampling bias.
This statement is also backed by Curtis (2008) who states that online surveys are particularly advantageous when sending it out to study internet users and they allow the surveys to be completed quicker and with minimal or sometimes no cost at all. T he survey for this study is a structured close ended survey which has been designed using the internet survey website- www. kwiksurveys. com . The survey aims to understand consumer attitudes towards television and online advertising thus the questions have been designed such that each question offers multiple choices.
The survey also uses likert scale in order to understand consumer attitude towards online and television advertising (Proctor, 2001). The survey has been attached in the appendix. b) Qualitative data The study uses qualitative methods of data collection in the exploratory as well as descriptive phase. In the exploratory phase, personal interview has been used in order to gain insight in to consumer? s behavior towards advertising on television and internet. The personal interview has been seen as one of the best methods for in home interviews. Proctor, 2001) for the purpose of the study the personal interview has been conducted at home for 6 different people in their homes. The interviews are brief and friendly and don? t last for more than 20 minutes. The interview has been designed so as to understand what the consumers are watching and what are they actually paying attention to in terms of advertising. The interview guide has been attached in the appendix. The personal interviews use a mix of open and closed ended questions. 32 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING For the descriptive phase In depth Interviews have been conducted.
Webber and Byrd (2010) define In depth interviews as “a qualitative research method which uses open ended questions to uncover information on a topic and allows interviewees to express their opinion and ideas in their own words. ” Despite the fact that the survey does include questions which measure consumer attitude, it was important to include in depth interview in the study because survey often relies on the assumption that the interviewees have understood the questions as intended and that the survey is capable of capturing the complete reality (Berg, 2009; Esterberg, 2002) however this may not always be true.
Thus the study uses In -depth interviewing which acknowledges the subjective approach of the interviewee and gives them scope for addressing the question as per their reality (Webber & Byrd, 2010). Proctor (2001) states the following advantages of in depth interviews ? There is no group pressure, thus the respondent is free to reveal their true feelings. ? The one to one scenario makes the respondent feel important and valued. ? Respondents can be probed at length to reveal their true feelings and under laying motivation. ? Allows greater scope for non verbal feedback.
The in depth interview for the purpose of this study has been conducted with 4 samples, each interview lasts for 30 minutes. The interview uses some projective t echniques. Projective techniques can be defined as techniques which help penetrate individual? s defense mechanisms allowing their true emotions to emerge. (Proctor, 2001) For the purpose of this study word association test and sentence completion test have been used. The respondent is given a series of words or incomplete sentences which they have completed based on what comes to their mind when they think of the word or sentence given. Proctor, 2001) 33 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING The in depth interview has been based on an interview guide which was developed to give a direction to the interviewees. According to Webber and Byrd (2010) an interview guide includes specific questions, topics of interest and ques which can be used in combination thus leaving scope for flexibility of the interviewer. The interview guide helps shape the structure of the interview as per the comfort of the interviewee. The interview guide leaves scope for follow up questions and thus making it easier to tap the respondent? s views.
The interview guide for the in depth interviews in the study has been attached in the appendix. Furthermore the In depth interviews have been videotaped for the purpose of accuracy in analysis (Webber & Byrd, 2010) with the consent of the respondents, the consent forms for which have been attached in the appendix 3. 5 SAMPLING According to Ross (1978) sampling in educational research is generally conducted to study a part of the population in detail rather than the whole population itself. The information gained from the study of this sample is used to develop generalizations about the population.
To sample is to examine a portion of a whole in order to judge the nature of the whole. (Proctor, 2001) The sampling plan used to choose the sample for both the survey and in depth interview is based on the model given by Proctor (2001) Defining the Target population Developing a sample frame Selecting a sample design Figure 10 34 Defining the sample size Selecting the sample members 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Sample Population: The sample population for this study is students of Coventry University, UK. The population has been defined by Proctor (2001) as the sum total of what is being measured.
Sampling method: for the purpose of this study, the Sampling method used is non-probability judgment sampling. Proctor (2001) defines judgment sampling as the sampling based on the purpose. Ross (1978) states that “The process of judgment, or purposive, sampling is based on the assumption that the researcher is able to select elements which represent a „typical sample? from the appropriate target population. ” For the purpose of this study the judgment was based on the usage of internet for over 2 hours. Over 150 respondents were contacted for the purpose of the study of which 100 responses were successfully received and evaluated.
Sample size: the sample size for the online survey is 100. For the exploratory phase a sample size of 6 personal interviews has been used. The sample size for in depth interviews in the descriptive phase is 4. The samples fall in the age group between16-45. The samples belong from different nationalities. For the purpose of this study they have been asked to mention their ethnicity, which can be categorized as Asian, British, African and other. The samples are students pursuing bachelors and masters degree. 3. 6 DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS The data analysis for the study uses tabulation.
According to Proctor (2001) tabulation involves laying out data in easy to understand summarized tables. Patterns in the data can be easily identified and are easier to represent in the form of graphs. The data collected from the survey has been converted in to a table using Microsoft excel. The data collected from personal interviews and in depth interviews has been recorded with the due permission of the participants and transcribed. The data transcribed has been analysed using content analysis and study of semiotics. Content analysis has been used in order to understand common themes which emerge in terms of the consumer? perception of advertising in both the media (Weber, 1990). Semiotics has 35 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING been used in order to look out for signs and body language during the interviews which are indicative of any sort of attitude or emotion towards advertising in television or online media. These tools however cannot be used as complete proof of the consumers attitude towards the subject, and thus will only be used to highlight the common possible themes and gain insights into possibly existing attitudes. 3. 7 DATA REPRESENTATION
The results and data interpreted for the study have been represented using tables, graphs and diagrams. 3. 8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY There are no major limitations to the study. The study is a low risk project and has been approved by the supervisor. An ethics form stating the same has been attached in the appendix. The limitations for this study can be stated as follows: Because of Judgment sampling, there could have been a sense of bias based on the exposure of the researcher to target population. The researcher may have passed the survey around to a known group of samples belonging to the target population.
The in depth interview has been conducted with only 4 participants due to lack of time, thus they may not represent the views of everyone on the whole. Each respondent of the interview has subjective views based on their experience thus they cannot be used as a standard measure to judge the attitude of an entire population. 5. DATA ANALYSIS 5. 1 RESULTS OF THE EXPLORATORY RESEARCH The exploratory research was conducted with six people who were interviewed face to face. During the course of the conversation the suggested the respondents suggested 36 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING hat being students they usually end up browsing online more than they spend time watching television. One of the respondents said that “I enjoy watching some advertisements on television in between programmes only if they are funny. ” While another said that “I cannot really sit through commercials, I end up getting up for tea or something. ” The results of the exploratory research highlighted the following areas to be focused on for the descriptive phase of the research: The emotional and rational aspects of the advertisemnts need to be understood based on the media.
For example one of the respondents said that “I prefer clicking on an internet advertisement because I am bound to find some relevant information there whereas TV advertisement is just a form of entertainment for me. Online advertisements are easier to avoid but they offer better deals. For example one of the respondents said “I can simply close an advertisement and carry on, at the same time if it has a great discounts or deal to offer I will have the option to look up the deal and even make the purchase then and there.
The focus has to be on understanding the attitude of the respondents towards the advertising in TV and Internet and defining a definite preference for one over the other. 5. 2RESULTS & FINDINGS OF THE ONLINE SURVEY The survey was completed in the duration of 5 weeks starting 20th November 2011 and ending 28th December 2011. The results were extracted from the website www. kwiksurveys. com in the form of a pdf which gives detailed understanding of the overall responses to each question. Further an excel sheet giving an overview of individual responses to each question has been extracted both of which has been attached in the appendix. 7 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Based on the online survey, the study found that most of the students who filled in the survey were Asian followed by equal number of Africans and British. Most students were in their 20? s. 7. 22 % 7. 22 % 80. 41 % 5. 15% Asian African British Other Figure 11 Based on the data collected it can be said that over all students spend more time browsing on the internet these days rather than watching television. Most students watch television for 0-2 hours. The comparison of time spent watching television in day to time spent browsing online is depicted in the figure below: 8 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Time spent watching tv vs browsing online 100 78. 35 27. 27 80 2. 06 60 6. 19 13. 4 40 0-2 hrs 22. 22 29. 29 2-4 hrs 4-6 hrs 21. 21 20 more than 6 hrs 0 Time spent watching TV Time spent Browing Internet Figure 12 60% of the sample who took the survey said that they skipped advertisements shown on television. Despite the high number of people skipping advertisements, the advertisements which people found most appealing were humorous ones; in second place were the ones which offered deals & discounts followed by the ad vertisements using emotional appeals. of people who skip Tv advverts 38. 78 yes 61. 22 Figure 13 39 no 3500576 DISSERTATION-MA ADVERTISING &MARKETING Type of Television advertisement found appealing 100 80 61. 62 60 40 16. 16 20 11. 11 10. 1 1. 01 0 Tv Ad Appeals Humorous Deals Emotional Social messages Ads for websites Figure 14 61. 62% of the people said that they found humorous advertisements easier to remember. Further they said that 16. 16% people remembered advertisements which offer deals and discounts.
Cline & Kellaris (2007) concluded in their work that when humor is well related to the message of the advertisement not only aids brand recall but also increases consumer? s ad recall.
