COMPLETE SCHOOL PROJECT TOPICS & MATERIALS :
CHAPTERS: Chapter 1-5
|
DOC FORMAT: MS WORD/PDF
|
PRICE: ₦5,000
EFFECTIVENESS OF BILLBOARD ADVERTISING FOR LOCAL BRANDS: CONSUMER RESPONSES IN ONITSHA MAIN MARKET, ANAMBRA STATE.
Abstract
This thesis examines the effectiveness of billboard advertising for local brands, focusing on consumer responses in Onitsha Main Market, Anambra State, Nigeria. The study assesses how billboard elements such as location, design, visibility, message content, and creativity influence awareness, recall, attitudes, and purchase intentions among market traders, shoppers, and visitors. The methodology employed is a quantitative survey design, using a structured questionnaire administered to a stratified random sample of 400 respondents in Onitsha Main Market. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression to test relationships between billboard exposure and consumer behavioral outcomes. Findings indicate that billboards remain highly effective for local brands in busy commercial hubs, with high noticeability (often over 70-80% weekly awareness) driving brand recall and purchase decisions, though challenges like visual clutter and maintenance affect impact. The research emphasizes strategic placement and culturally relevant messaging for optimal results in promoting indigenous SMEs and local products in high-traffic markets like Onitsha.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Billboard advertising, a key form of out-of-home (OOH) media, continues to play a vital role in marketing communication, particularly in emerging markets where high population density, urban mobility, and limited digital access make outdoor formats highly visible and impactful (GeoPoll, 2024). In Nigeria, billboards are ubiquitous along highways, streets, and commercial zones, serving as cost-effective tools for building brand awareness, reinforcing messages, and influencing consumer behavior amid economic constraints and competitive local markets.
Local brands, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) dealing in consumer goods, fashion, food, and household items, increasingly rely on billboards to compete with multinational products. These brands benefit from billboards’ ability to deliver repeated exposure in high-traffic areas, fostering familiarity and trust in a market where “seeing is believing” remains culturally significant. Recent surveys show that 79% of Nigerian consumers notice billboards weekly, with 63% always registering the brand or message, making OOH one of the most effective channels for triggering responses like searching online, purchasing, or recommending products, often outperforming TV or digital in certain metrics (GeoPoll, 2024; Slice Media, 2025).
Onitsha Main Market, one of West Africa’s largest commercial hubs in Anambra State, exemplifies this context. As a bustling trading center with millions of daily visitors, traders, and buyers from across Nigeria and beyond, the market features dense billboard placements along access roads, entry points, and within commercial clusters. Local brands leverage these to target price-sensitive, impulse-driven consumers who prioritize visibility and perceived quality. Studies in similar Nigerian settings highlight billboards’ significant influence on purchase decisions for products like cosmetics, beverages, and fast-moving consumer goods, driven by factors such as location, visual appeal, and cultural resonance (Eze & Okafor, 2025; Ohazulike & Chendo, 2022).
Despite the rise of digital advertising, billboards retain relevance in Nigeria due to their permanence, broad reach, and ability to convey simple, memorable messages in environments with high visual competition (Abiwo, 2025). For local brands in Onitsha, effective billboard use can enhance market penetration, differentiate offerings, and drive sales in a competitive informal economy. This background underscores the need to evaluate billboard effectiveness specifically for local brands in such vibrant, high-stakes trading environments.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
While billboard advertising is widely adopted by local brands in Nigeria, questions persist about its true effectiveness in driving consumer responses amid challenges like advertising clutter, poor maintenance, power issues for illuminated boards, and competition from digital channels (Abiwo, 2025; Makinde & Adejumo, 2024). In Onitsha Main Market, where thousands of local traders and shoppers navigate crowded spaces daily, billboards may generate awareness but fail to convert into purchases if poorly designed, misplaced, or culturally mismatched.
Empirical evidence shows mixed outcomes: high noticeability exists, yet overload can lead to “visual noise” and diluted impact, particularly for resource-limited local brands unable to secure prime locations or invest in premium creatives (GeoPoll, 2024; Eze & Okafor, 2025). Studies in Anambra State confirm billboards significantly influence purchases for certain categories (e.g., cosmetics), but localized data on diverse local brands in Onitsha Main Market remain limited, hindering optimized strategies for SMEs (Eze & Okafor, 2025; Ohazulike & Chendo, 2022).
This gap contributes to inefficient ad spending, suboptimal ROI, and missed opportunities for local brands to build loyalty in one of Nigeria’s key commercial epicenters. Without targeted assessment of consumer responses such as recall, attitude shifts, and purchase intent, the potential of billboards for grassroots brand growth remains underexplored.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
- Assess levels of billboard exposure and noticeability among consumers in Onitsha Main Market.
- Examine the influence of billboard design elements on brand recall and awareness for local brands.
- Evaluate consumer attitudes toward billboard advertisements of local brands.
- Determine the impact of billboard advertising on purchase intentions and behavior.
- Identify challenges affecting billboard effectiveness for local brands in the market context.
1.4 Research Questions
- What levels of exposure and noticeability do consumers in Onitsha Main Market have to billboards?
- How do billboard design elements influence brand recall and awareness for local brands?
- What attitudes do consumers hold toward billboard advertisements of local brands?
- To what extent does billboard advertising impact purchase intentions and behavior?
- What challenges limit billboard effectiveness for local brands in Onitsha Main Market?
1.5 Significance of the Study
This study offers empirically grounded insights for brand owners, advertisers, and agencies operating within Anambra State, with particular emphasis on optimising billboard campaigns to enhance consumer engagement and sales performance. It makes three key contributions: first, it expands academic discourse on out-of-home (OOH) advertising within developing markets; second, it informs policy deliberations concerning outdoor media regulation; and third, it provides practical guidance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) regarding efficient resource allocation for promotional activities in high-competition commercial hubs such as Onitsha.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The research is delimited to consumer responses within Onitsha Main Market, Anambra State, with exclusive focus on billboard advertising for locally produced Nigerian brands (encompassing SMEs and indigenous products). Temporally, the study examines the five-year period spanning 2020 to 2025. Methodologically, it relies on primary survey data collected from market patrons, deliberately excluding comparative analyses with digital or alternative media platforms.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
Several constraints warrant acknowledgement. The dependence on self-reported survey data introduces potential biases, including recall inaccuracies and social desirability effects. Geographically, the singular focus on Onitsha Main Market restricts the generalisability of findings to other Nigerian commercial regions. Practical challenges inherent to high-density market environments such as respondent accessibility may impact response rates. Furthermore, macroeconomic fluctuations constitute uncontrolled variables that could influence observed outcomes.
1.8 Definition of Terms
- Billboard Advertising: Large outdoor static or digital signs displaying promotional messages for brands.
- Local Brands: Products from Nigerian-owned SMEs or indigenous companies targeting domestic markets.
- Consumer Responses: Awareness, recall, attitudes, intentions, and purchase behaviors toward advertised brands.
- Effectiveness: Degree to which billboards achieve marketing objectives like awareness and sales influence.
References
Abiwo, A. M. (2025). Billboards in motion: How location shapes advertising effectiveness in Nigeria. Medium. https://medium.com/@ayodelemartinsabiwo/billboards-in-motion-how-location-shapes-advertising-effectiveness-in-nigeria-46deb345b48e
Edegoh, L. O., Nwanolue, I. M., & Ezeh, N. C. (2013). Audience assessment of the use of models in billboard advertising: A study of consumers of Amstel Malt in Onitsha, Nigeria. Advances in Management & Applied Economics, 3(5), 1–12.
Eze, C. A., & Okafor, G. O. (2025). Billboard advertising and consumer purchase decisions of cosmetic products in Anambra State, Nigeria. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/391111479_Billboard_Advertising_and_Consumer_Purchase_Decisions_of_Cosmetic_Products_in_Anambra_State_Nigeria
GeoPoll. (2024). Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria case study. https://www.geopoll.com/resources/outdoor-advertising-association-of-nigeria-case-study
Makinde, O. O., & Adejumo, O. (2024). Visual communication in advertisement: A social semiotic analysis of selected billboards in Awka Metropolis. University of Calabar Journal of Linguistics and Language Studies.
Ohazulike, L. A., & Chendo, N. A. (2022). Billboard advertising effects on consumers’ purchase intent of Heineken in Onitsha Metropolis. International Journal of Advanced Research in Statistics, Management and Finance, 9(1), 1–15. https://internationalpolicybrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ARTICLE1-174.pdf
Slice Media. (2025). OOH advertising in Nigeria: 7 bold moves that grab attention. https://slicemedialimited.com/ooh-advertising-in-nigeria