Impact of Advertising Recall on Brand Preference among
Communication Students in Ghana.
A study of TV adverts of MTN, TIGO, VODAFONE
and KASAPA .
Introduction
Advertising and
promotion efforts in Corporate-Ghana are quite strategic and directed towards
consumers for spontaneous or otherwise, delayed response. In recent times, the
business environment in Ghana has realized a competitive inclination in
advertising and promotion strategies among four telecommunication companies
namely, MTN, TIGO, VODAFONE and KASAPA (now EXPRESSO). Among other factors,
these telecom companies, supposedly, advertise with the aim of establishing
their unique brands because, promoting goods and services is a key ingredient
for establishing ubiquitous brands. A brand has been considered as one of most
powerful assets that a company has (Aaker,1996). The strength of a brand
comes from many sources, such as overall quality, brand loyalty, brand
awareness and personal values associated with a brand (Keller, 1998).
Many times
consumers have used the word ‘product’ and ‘brand’ interchangeably. However, a
brand and product are different in meaning. According to Kotler (2003), a
product is anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a need or want.
A product can be a physical good, service, retail store, person, place or an
idea. The American Marketing Association (AMA) explains, that a brand is a
name, a term, a sign a symbol or a combination of them, intended to identify
the product of one seller and differentiate it from those products of the
competition. These definitions provide a clear-cut difference. Meanwhile, there
is more to a brand than its unique quality of ‘differentiation’. Consumers,
usually experience the essence and value of a brand among other things.
That experience provides a lens for consumers to perceive the attributes that
may be associated with the brand. As consumers experience the brand a sense of
relationship is established. According to Kotler (2003), a brand can be related
to attributes, benefits, values, culture, personality, and users. In modern
marketing, a brand is treated as a complex idea, including symbolic and
psychological meaning that consumers assign to a brand, and can be described as
a network of interconnected concepts manifesting in the consumer’s mind (Kim et
all. 2006).
The quest to
build ubiquitous brands has compelled these telecom entities to use Intergrated
Marketing Communications (IMC) methods, with all available media, capable of
cutting through the clutter. The competitive nature of the promotion efforts of
these companies have been driven fully by media advertising such as TV, radio,
internet, press, outdoor, transport and some ambient media. Coupled with other
public relations efforts, the proliferation of adverts from these companies,
almost connote a nuisance to consumers. However, repetitive presentations of
material claims (messages), have the potential to help establish and develop
brands.
Establishing
and developing a brand in the minds of consumers should be the primary reason
why adverts from such companies in Ghana are widespread. Meanwhile, the array
of thoughts that seem to fill consumers minds look so cluttered that it is very
difficult to penetrate the minds of consumers for some percentage of mindshare.
The solution seems to lie in the art of bombarding
consumers with consistent advertising messages so that brands become more
memorable to consumers. In other words, repetition of adverts, have the ability
to plant the message in the mind of the consumer, which adversely, could
trigger displaced emotional responses.
But this is aided by ‘memory’ and ‘recall’. Fact is that, consumers must be
able to memorize ad messages in order to remember the ad and the associated
brand.
Memory means
retrieving a past experience (Sutherland
& Sylvester, 2006) and the ability to recall is aided by good
memory. Meanwhile, memory strength with regard to advertising recall, is also
supported by ‘retrieval cues’.
Retrieval cues enable consumers to remember other things. Our memories are
triggered by retrieval cues (Sutherland and Sylvester, 2006). For example, if one is trying to think of
somebody’s name, and the name would not come to mind instantly, the individual
is likely to resort to some features or attributes associated with the person
to help retrieve the name.
This
phenomenon, amazingly, is also true in advertising and brand recall among
consumers. Consumers by association,
have learned that adverts must present attractive, persuasive, glamorous and intriguing elements for effective communication to take place. As
they connect to such elements in the ad they take note of the elements that
appeal to them and then memorize them. Such elements may include, jingles,
attractive models, celebrities, colour schemes, and messages among others. That
is the more reason why presentation of advertising messages, regardless of the
style, must possess retrieval cues (elements) that are capable of helping
consumers to memorize advertising messages and related brands. This is very
important because according the Max Sutherland and Alice K. Sylvester, in their
book entitled Advertising and the Mind of
the Consumer;
‘The relevance of this to advertising is that advertisers
want their brand to be cued into
people’s minds when
they think of making a purchase
from that
product category.’
Advertisers must therefore ensure that
they expose consumers to ads with
strong retrieval cues that can help them tie the brand to. If the
above
assertion from Alice and Max, is true, then all things being equal,
there
must
be a correlation between advertising and purchase decisions, at least
in
the same product category. This study aims to ascertain the truth or
otherwise as it occurs in the telecommunications industry in Ghana.
The Challenge
Brand Association is a key indicator for measuring advertising effectiveness. Consumers’ ability to associate brands to material claims may depend largely on the rate of recall (ad messages) to brand preference. So that if the material claims, coupled with other elements in the ad are memorable, then it should serve as a stimulus for brand recall and favourably insight choice of brand.
But what remains a dilemma to advertisers is whether there is a correlation between recall of advertising claims and choice of brand at least in the telecommunication industry of Ghana? What is the relationship between advertising recall and brand preference among young communication students in Ghana? A critical observation of the television adverts of these network operators in Ghana, quite clearly indicate that creativity has improved. Concepts are well tuned to provoke or engage the mind of the viewer. Vocals and other sound elements are usually Ghanaian Oriented, spiced with western touch.
To cope with intense competition and to influence consumer behaviors is inevitable for companies to consider cultural, social, psychological and, personal status of consumers (Yakup & Jablonsk, 2012).
Visual impact is an added advantage, since visual elements such as text, models, shapes, colour and ambience are carefully crafted to serve as ‘retrieval cues’( Cues that certainly prompt the consumer to memorize the messages and jingles in the advert). For example, MTN’s just ended ‘Mobile Money’ campaign through broadcast media (TV) was embedded with excellent retrieval cues such as ‘minsa a kaa oooo.’ Like a cliché the local Akan phrase, which means ‘I have received’, clinched to the tongues of many Ghanaian consumers. The agency that created the ad must have done a good job. However, the advertiser MTN, would expect consumers to transfer the cliché. Coupled with other public relations efforts, the proliferation of adverts from these companies, almost connote a nuisance to consumers.
Brief Overview of Ghana’s Telecom Industry
One of the successful and highly noticeable industries in Ghana seems
to the Mobile Telecom Industry. Ghana is a very significant country in the
information and communication revolution in Africa. It is one of the first
countries to introduce liberalization in the telecommunication sector. Before
1994 Ghana’s telecommunication industry was basically about Post (Ghana Post),
Telephone and Telegraph which were all under a monopolized system put in place
by the incumbent government. The Ghana Post and Telecommunications Corporation
(GPTC), was established in 1974 as a public corporation and was responsible for
operating the nation’s telecommunications and licensing of telecom services
until October 1995.
After 1994, there was the deregulation of Ghana’s
telecommunication system under the Accelerated Development Program (ADP)
1994-2000, when the Government announced a five-year comprehensive
restructuring of the industry (Addy-Nayo, 2001), which allowed mobile telecom
network providers to operate and this in tend has created a competitive telecom
environment.
Ghana Telecom, a successor to the telecommunication
division of GPTC privatized its main line operations by awarding a
Malaysian-led Consortium (Telecom Malaysia) a 30 percent stake in the state
company. The growth of mobile telecom in Ghana has been rapid, innovative and
very competitive with intense effects on the economic development of the
country. One of the major functions of the Ministry of Communication is to
develop policies and initiatives aimed at promoting telecom growth and
developing the economy. Privatization of Ghana Telecom sector has seen to the
emergence of quite a number of Telecom networks. This research takes into
consideration four active telecom networks namely, MTN, TIGO, AIRTEL AND
VODAFONE.
MTN Ghana is headquartered in South Africa and it
operates in 21 countries in Africa and the Mid-East. In Ghana, it begun in its
operation in October 1996 under the brand name Spacefone, which later became
Areeba Ghana. It is operated by Scancom Ghana Ltd. MTN entered the Ghanaian
market after it acquired Investcom in 2006.
According to the Charts of the “Cellular Mobile Voice
Market Share" distribution of the six Telecom Mobile Companies in Ghana as
of March 2013, MTN currently has the highest market share of Mobile Voice
Subscribers of 12,024,068 (45.43%). (Source: National Communications
Authority).
Tigo (Millicom Ghana) happens to be a subsidiary of
Millicom International Cellular (MIC), UK/Luxembourg, which is one of the
leading international developers and operator of cellular telephone services
worldwide; primarily in emerging markets operating across Latin America and
Africa. It started operating in Ghana in 1991. The company was the first
cellular network operator in the country and the network provides cellular
telephony services to more than 30million customers in Latin America and
Africa. According to research, Millicom Ghana had over Twenty two thousand
(22,000) subscribers in 1998 with a market share of above 70 per cent of the
mobile market.
In 2002 Millicom Ghana introduced its GSM service
using MOBITEL/Buzz GSM as their brand name. Tigo was launched in Ghana in 2006
to supplant the old brand, MOBITEL with a new international brand. Currently
Tigo network coverage reaches almost every region in Ghana.
Airtel, is based in India. Its operation in Ghana begun after it took
over Zain Inc. late in 2010. Airtel Ghana was set up by Bharti Airtel, a
leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries
across Asia and Africa. It has launched its brand across 16 African countries
of which Ghana is one. In Ghana, Airtel replaced Zain. Provides services such
as Airtel Money, and Airtel talk chaw.
Vodafone, the world’s second largest Mobile Telecom operator begun
operation in Ghana after it acquired Ghana Telecom which was state owned.
Onetouch is the cellular arm of Ghana Telecom. It started its operations in
2000 providing nation-wide cellular services. Ghana Telecom (GT) is the
incumbent provider of telecommunication services in Ghana. As part of the ADP (1994-2000)
reform program, Ghana Telecom was incorporated on June 16, 1995 as a successor
to the telecommunications division of Ghana Posts and Telecommunications
Corporation (GPTC). On 20th February 1997, Ghana Telecom was officially
privatized to Telecom Malaysia Berhard with full management control.
Subsequently the government handed operations of the company to Telenor
Management Partner (TMP) till 2007. On July 3, 2008, the Government of Ghana
announced the sale of 70% share to Vodafone for the purpose of making the
company more profitable (www.ghanatelecom.com.gh).
Cellular Mobile Voice Market Share Trend – 2013
MARKET SHARE per MOBILE
OPERATORS
|
|
|
|
EXPRESSO
|
0.39%
|
0.38%
|
0.41%
|
MILLICOM (TIGO)
|
13.72%
|
13.74%
|
13.85%
|
SCANCOM (MTN)
|
45.51%
|
45.49%
|
45.60%
|
GT/VODAFONE MOBILE
|
23.43%
|
23.53%
|
22.98%
|
AIRTEL -MOBILE
|
12.25%
|
12.28%
|
12.40%
|
GLO MOBILE
|
4.70%
|
4.58%
|
4.76%
|
TOTAL
|
100%
|
100%
|
100%
|
|
|
|
|
Source: datablog.peacefmonline.com/pages/blog/24/app1/index2.php
Hypothetical propositions
- Hypothesis I: There’s
no legitimate connection between advertising recall and brand preference.
- Hypothesis II: Recall
of advertising will be high determinant for brand performance
Research Objectives
- To determine whether recall is in anyway related
to brand preference.
- To determine the strength of connection between
recalled brands and choice.
- To determine the thoughts and feelings that
respondent’s associate with these recalled brands.
- To determine respondents’ level of recall of TV
ads in terms of spontaneity and aided recall.
Significance and Scope of the Study: The study will add to the body of knowledge in the field
of advertising. It will also educate advertisers and other subsequent
researchers on the relationship between advertising recall as well as the need
for advertisers to be creative. It will again bring to light the power of
advertising and how advertising can affect brand preference and go further to
influence the brand’s growth. This study will find more on the relevance of
emotional appeal in advertising. The Journal of Advertising (2006) states
that Advertisers have long believed that advertising must arouse some
emotion to be effective.
According to the journal, affective response is
important for two main reasons. First, the key to branding is the triggering of
a meaningful emotional response, which is often, and perhaps always, the major
benefit of using the particular product. Second, the process that consumers go
through in deciding what brands to buy has a heavy emotion-based dimension to it.
In both cases, advertising can be an effective source of enhancement of these
emotional responses.The focus
of this research was on students in some tertiary communication institutions in
Accra, namely: African University College of Communications (AUCC), Adabraka-
Accra; Jayee University College (JAYEE), McCarthy Hills- Accra; and the Ghana
Institute of Journalism (GIJ), Osu- Accra. In this research, the quantitative research
method was used. The researcher visited three different locations in order to reach
respondents of the chosen communication institutions for the purpose of
gathering the necessary data for this research. The required respondents were
limited to the level 400 class of the various institutions.
to be continued
