CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Every organization has the need to increase sales volume in order to yield maximum profit to the organization; at the same time to create awareness of the products of the organization and finally convince customers to make purchases commitment to the organizations brand of products. Advertising basically as an integral part of the marketing program, has long been recognized as a means of spreading information to the various sectors of the economy for accomplishing various marketing goals.

It is a means by which an organization makes known to the public what it wants to sell or buy. Advertising messages also enlighten the consumes on the usefulness of a product, services or idea and consequently create in the consumer a desire to procure such product or act favorably towards such services or idea. By itself, advertising is a vital marketing tool that helps to sell goods services, images and ideas through information and persuasion (Ebue, 2015:53) he also maintained that many firms allocate the largest share of the promotional budget to advertising as an indication of its vital role in the sale of products. Basically, the aim of advertising is to stimulate the need awareness of a product, convince the customer and finally lead them to act, (making purchase) which consequently, increases the sales volume in an organization. Therefore, advertising is a very powerful marketing communication tool for increasing sales in an organization thus, it becomes imperative that every profit or non profit oriented organization needs to advertise in order to achieve the main bottom live of being in business.

This study is an effort to determine the extent in which advertising has contributed to the awareness, persuasiveness of the firms products or brands and in tarn increase sales in John Holt Ventures Ltd Okpara avenue Enugu. John Holt Ventures as a business outfit at about 1827 in liver pool and later developed into a group of companies. John Holt was incorporated in Nigeria in 1910 as a buying out fit, manufacturers and distributors, sales and services of machninees, industrial equipments and other items like  motor cycles, generators, speed engine boats etc.John Holt Ventures Ltd has branches all over the nation and used advertising in getting them products across to their numerous customers.

1.2  STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

John Holt Ventures Ltd is the leader in the distribution, sales and serving of machineries and industrial equipment in Nigeria and has remained successful in business since its inception.

1.3  OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The primary aims of the study are as follows

i. To ascertain whether advertising by John Holt creates awareness of its products and persuade consumers to buy the products

ii. To find out of John Holt’s advertising messages / programs provide information needed by the consumers to make purchase decision.

iii. To know whether John Holt ventures advertising message / programs influence consumers attitudes towards brand patronage of the organization offerings.

iv. To ascertain whether, advertising actually increases the sales volume in John Holt Ventures

v. To ascertain the most efficient and effective media of advertising for the organization

vi. To make recommendation as to how to improve other media of John Holt Ventures.

1.4  RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

HYPOTHESES I

Ho: John Holt Ltd advertising message does not create awareness of its products.

Hi: John Holt Ltd advertising message creates awareness of its products.

HYPOTHESES II

Ho2: The use of advertising message does not increase sales volume of John Holt Ltd.

Hi2: The use of advertising message increase sales volume of John Holt Ltd.

HYPOTHESIS III

Ho3: John Holt Ltd’s advertising messages does not influence consumer to continuously patronize its products.

Hi3: John Holt Ltd’s advertising messages influence consumer to continuously patronize its products.

HYPOTHESES IV

Ho4: Advertising does not lead to frequent purchase of the organization’s offerings.

Hi4: Advertising lead to frequent purchase of the organization’s offerings.

1.5  SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Business is undertaken to satisfy customer and maximize profit and this will be invariably actualized when the sales volume increases in an organization, which can be achieved through the use of advertising. This stud will be of immense benefit to John Hold Ventures Ltd in restructuring its advertising messages in a way that will be able to create awareness and influence consumers to make quick purchase decision on the organization’s offerings. It will further help John Holt Ventures Ltd to ascertain and appropriately allocate advertising budge to the media which advertising impacts mostly contribute to the increase in sales and continue using other media so as to maintain the increase in sales.

1.6  SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study is a case study in the area of advertising as a tool for increasing sales in an organization (John Holt Ventures, Okpara Avenue Enugu) the researcher carried out the study in Enugu metropolis.

1.7  DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

ADVERTISING: Is defined as any paid form of non – personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor, “Involves the use of mass media”. Ebue (2010)

ADVERTISING: Is defined as consisting of all the activities involved in presenting to a group a non – personal, oral or visual, openly sponsored message regarding a product services, or idea (Stanton 2011)

ADVERTISING OBJECTIVE: It is a specific communication task to be accomplished with a specific target audience during a specific period of time. (Kotler and Armstrong 2011).

ADVERTISING MEDIA: This refers to all communication vehicles responsible for the delivery of promotional message to them target audience (Okafor 2015)

BRAND LOYALTY: It is the consumer’s conscious or unconscious decision expressed through intention or behaviour to repurchase a brand continually (Bovee and Arens 2012).

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR: It is “the behaviour that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using evaluating and disposing of product, service and ideas which they expect will satisfy them needs” (Schults 2010)

MARKETING COMMUNICATION: Is defined as the efforts by a company to design and disseminate information about its products existence, features and terms and the benefit to the target market using different medium” (Adirika Ebue and Nnolim 2017)

MEDIA SELECTION: It is the determination of the best medium or vehicles to deliver an advertising message to the prospective customers (Ebue 2010)

TARGET AUDIENCE: This is where any advertising is usually aimed at a particular segment of the population (Bavee and Areas 1992:6).