Elike Ikechukwu Masters Project

EFFECTIVENESS OF WEB LINKS USED IN TELEVISION COMMERCIALS

IN INFLUENCING PRODUCT PATRONAGE

ELIKE IKECHUKWU

PG/MA/13/64789

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE

STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF A MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN

MASS COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION,

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

DR. NNANYELUGO OKORO

SUPERVISOR

JULY, 2015

TITLE PAGE

EFFECTIVENESS OF WEB LINKS USED IN TELEVISION COMMERCIALS

IN INFLUENCING PRODUCT PATRONAGE

ELIKE IKECHUKWU

PG/MA/13/64789

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE

STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF A MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN

MASS COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION,

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

DR. NNANYELUGO OKORO

SUPERVISOR

JULY, 2015

CERTIFICATION

This project report written by Elike Ikechukwu with registration number PG/MA/13/64789, is

certified as having met the requirements of the Department of Mass Communication and the

School of Post Graduate Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka for the award of a Master of

Arts degree in Mass Communication.

……………………………………… …………………………

Dr. Nnanyelugo Okoro Date

(Supervisor)

……………………………………… …………………………

Dr. Greg Ezeah Date

(Head of Department)

……………………………………… ………………………….

Date

(External Examiner)

Effectiveness of Web Links used in Television Commercials in Influencing Product

Patronage

Elike Ikechukwu

PG/MA/13/64789

A project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the

Master of Arts degree in Mass Communication

Supervisor

Dr. Nnanyelugo Okoro

March 2015

Abstract

This research set out to find out the effectiveness of web links used in television commercials.

The primary aim is to find out if it has helped to provide audience additional information,

thereby stimulating patronage of advertised goods. Through the use of survey, the study sought

to ascertain from broadcast audiences living in three major cities in Abuja, Lagos and Delta

states of Nigeria if they actually follow the links and more so, if what they find on the webpages

influences them to make eventual purchase. Multistage sampling was employed to select adult

members of the population who have purchasing power. The findings of the study revealed that

majority of television audience do not follow web links used in television commercials due to

factors such as low exposure to commercial messages and poor access to internet. However,

without the additional information provided through the internet, that is, via the web links,

many of the audience will patronise the product being advertised. It is therefore recommended

that emphasis should be made in strengthening the contents of television commercial messages

and those last seconds used in the display of web links can be effectively utilised to display

additional product information. Also, for now, investment should be reduced in financing

webpages aimed at providing additional product information in anticipation of visit from

television audience pending increased exposure to television commercials and access to

internet in the country.

i

Dedication

This work is dedicated to all those who attempt to improve the practice of advertising and

broadcasters alike.

ii

Acknowledgements

I must acknowledge the efforts of my enviable supervisor, Dr. Nnanyelugo Okoro., my Head

of Department, Dr. Greg Ezeah and Dr. L. I. Anorue all of whom have contributed

tremendously in making this work a success. To my parents, siblings and friends, I’m also very

grateful.

iii

Table of Contents

Abstract

Dedication . . . . . . . . . . i

Acknowledgement . . . . . . . . . ii

Table of contents . . . . . . . . . iii

List of tables and charts . . . . . . . . v

Chapter One: Introduction

1.1. Background of the study . . . . . . . 1

1.2. Statement of the problem . . . . . . . 3

1.3. Objectives of the study . . . . . . . 4

1.4. Research questions . . . . . . . 4

1.5. Definition of terms . . . . . . . . 5

1.6. Significance of the study . . . . . . . 5

Chapter Two: Literature Review

2.1. Focus of the literature . . . . . . . . 7

2.2. Empirical review . . . . . . . . 7

Why TV Commercials . . . . . . 7

Web links and television commercials . . . . 13

Television commercials and the second screen . . . 16

Consumer behaviour theory . . . . . . 17

Technological determinism theory . . . . . 20

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Chapter Three: Methodology

3.1. Research design . . . . . . . . 24

3.2. Population of study . . . . . . . . 24

3.3. Sample size . . . . . . . . . 25

3.4. Sampling technique . . . . . . . . 25

3.5. Instrument of data collection . . . . . . . 28

3.6. Method of data collection . . . . . . . 28

3.7. Method of data analysis . . . . . . . 28

Chapter Four: Data Analysis and Presentation

4.1. Data analysis . . . . . . . . . 29

4.2. Discussion of findings . . . . . . . 38

Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

5.1. Summary . . . . . . . . . 41

5.2. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . 41

5.3. Recommendations . . . . . . . . 42

References

v

List of Figures, Charts and Tables

1. Newspaper political advertising from 1774 . . . . . 9

2. Population distribution across the three states . . . . 27

3. Sample population distribution from the three states . . . . 27

4. Age and gender distribution . . . . . . . 29

5. Occupation and income distribution of the respondents . . . 29

6. Viewership of television commercials and notice of web link placement . 30

7. Frequency of exposure and recall . . . . . . 31

8. Visit of product/service webpage . . . . . . 32

9. The frequency of visit to product/service webpage . . . . 33

7. If the webpages visited provided additional information . . . 34

8. User experience and patronage of product/service . . . . 35

9. Level of influence of website on decision . . . . . 37

10. Willingness to visit webpage before patronage . . . . 37

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Since the internet came into the public domain, businesses have adopted it as a medium to

make their presence known and reach out to their customers by providing graphic details and

information of their products and services. Marketing products on the Internet costs less

(www.alternateadverts.com) and it has been a very effective way of keeping in touch since it

is hardly restricted by time and space (pages) unlike the broadcast and print media where cost

of commercial increases significantly with time and space allotted respectively. For instance,

for 60 seconds advertisement on Africa Independent Television national network cost between

N331,900,00 - N365,000.00 for a single slot from early morning to evening hours on weekdays

and between N137,646.00 and N44,028.00 for mid news spot on Ray Power FM (Daar

Communications Plc na.: p.7-13). These rates are just for a single slot of 60 seconds.

On the other hand, commercial messages can be placed on the Internet as a webpage where

new product information can also be delivered directly to (subscribed) customers' devices like

mobile phones and PCs using such web hosts as www.webs.com and www.wix.com. For a

month, some webhosts charge a fee of about N3,000.00 to host a product website while a few

others host for free. Thus, according to Belch & Belch (2003: p.29), many companies recognize

the advantages of communicating via the Internet and are developing web strategies and hiring

interactive agencies specifically to develop their websites and make them part of their

integrated marketing communications programmes.

The estimated total population of Nigeria is 134,400,000 (National Bureau of Statistics, 2010,

p.22). A study by World Internet Stats (July, 2015) places the number of Internet users in the

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country at 67,319,186 - a figure larger than the combined population of Malaysia (29.8

million), United Arab Emirates (9.3 million) and Singapore (5.4 million) (Population

Reference Bureau, 2013, p.7-12). This presents a viable market for advertisers and producers

who can use Internet channels like Youtube.com which recorded “4 billion views daily mark

in 2012, about eight months after it had reached the 3 billion mark” (Owen Williams, 2015) as

a channel for reaching their prospective consumers. But because there are tons of webpages in

the internet and in a country like Nigeria where the targets of these businesses rely heavily on

GSM service providers to access the internet at a cost, "with over 60% of the population still

earning under $1.25 per day" (gsmaintelligence.com), they are wont to stay offline until some

other information from friends or the broadcast media arouses their interest to go online to

access a specific page or item.

Realizing that "companies that are using the Internet effectively are integrating their web

strategies with other aspects of their integrated marketing concept", (Belch & Belch, 2003,

p.29), advertisers in Nigeria tend to add their web links to broadcast commercials to attract the

target audience to their webpages. There, the audience can spend more time browsing through

the catalogue to see and evaluate other details that could not be captured within the short airtime

allocated by the broadcast media. This is in anticipation to stimulate eventual patronage.

This research is therefore set to examine the effectiveness of web links used in broadcast

commercials through the use of questionnaire to find from broadcast audiences living around

the commercial areas of Abuja, Lagos and Delta states if they actually follow those links and

more so, if what they find on the webpages stimulate them to make eventual purchase.

While we await a general adoption of smart TVs by consumers, we can for now easily tell the

frequency and demographic details of only users who directly click on hyperlink from another

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website or other online files using a computer or mobile devices. This is achieved using web

analytical tools like Google Analytics. Web analytics—also referred to as Web metrics, e-

Metrics, or e-analytics—is the science of Internet audience measurement and analysis. It deals

with the consultation of Web sites, the gathering of Web usage data, the computation and

presentation of metrics, and the exploitation of the results, in order to improve the satisfaction

of Web site objectives (Jean-Pierre Norguet, 2004, p.2). This study thus focuses on those who

see and hear them on their broadcast medium (television) whose information yet seems under

served to researchers and advert analysts.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

For decades, advertisers relied heavily on the broadcast media to sell clients' products. This

was due to its inherent advantages- simultaneous wide reach that induces mass appeal, the

graphic nature of television and the sound effects of radio which aid understanding and

retention. Today, to make up for its shortcomings- its transient nature, short time for

commercial messages and huge cost to advertisers, advertisers tend to introduce a synergistic

approach of message delivery. This is through bridging television and the Internet by adding

web links of product information online to TV commercial messages.

So far, there has been no clear record of success made through this effort. The level of

effectiveness has not been gauged to see if the use of weblinks in television commercials has

actually brought about gains for businesses through stimulating and increasing patronage.

This study was conducted to ascertain if the addition of weblinks in television commercials has

yielded any benefits. It probed the level of audience exposure to television commercials,

especially commercials with weblinks and to extent to which this has been able to stimulate

gainful patronage. This work therefore rationalizes if the approximate five seconds spent on

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displaying hyperlinks is efficient or should be put to more efficient use by advertisers to

promote sales.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The following are the objectives which this work was set to achieve:

1. To find the level of television audience exposure to web links in TV commercials.

2. To probee the extent at which audience make use of the web links by visiting the

webpages of the product advertised.

3. To examine if webpages visited do influence the audience in making purchase decision.

4. To examine the level of influence of the web pages visited has on the patronage of

advertised goods/services.

1.4 Research Questions

At the end of this research, answers to the following questions were provided through the

questions raised in the research instrument and discussion of findings:

1. What is the level of audience exposure to web links used in TV commercials?

2. How often do audience make use of the web links supplied in TV commercials?

3. Do the contents of the web pages visited influence the audience in making purchase

decision?

4. What is the level of influence of the webpage visited on the audience decision?

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1.5 Definition of Terms

In order to enhance clarity of meaning and understanding, the following terms which were used

repeatedly in this work are hereby conceptually defined.

Effectiveness: this term implies having the potency of producing results or influencing change

that leads to improvement. In this study, it can best be explained as having impact which is

capable of producing positive outcome like improved sales of advertised goods and services.

Television Commercials: these are paid-for television messages directed at the audience with

the aim of selling the idea, goods or services of an identified sponsor. It is often referred to as

television advertisement or TV ad. In this study, the term TV commercials will refer to

sponsored messages intended to sell the goods and/or services to the audience.

Web link: often referred to as hyperlink, these are texts that are used to represent the unique

address of a webpage in the internet. It is like the postal address to a particular home in a city.

An example is http://www.apple.com where http (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) tells the

computer the type of route to following to get to the location, www indicates that it is an address

among the various webpages in the website area of the internet, apple is the unique identifier

which states specifically the name of the home (homepage) then .com (Commercial) tells of

what kind of business is done in the location. Throughout this research the term will refer to

such addresses, especially those used in TV commercials.

1.6 Significance of the Study

When concluded, this study will contribute to the vast body of existing knowledge on television

and online advertising through investigating a salient aspect of advertising and broadcast today.

To this end, it will enable scholars gain insight and perhaps open new areas of investigation

which for now lack significant literature in Nigeria.

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It will also aid professionals in making decisions on the allocation of resources in a bid to

increase visibility and market share through the use of the traditional and modern media of

communication.

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Focus of Review

In this part of the research, theories were used to strengthen the foundation of the study while

views from previous studies in related areas were adduced to form the building blocks. The

purpose of these are that theories are grand rules that have been tested to best explain the

relationship that may exist among variables and because researches are not done in isolation,

views raised and unresolved questions in previous studies can help provide structural guide

within which new studies can be framed. Thus, the literature review was carried out looking at

previous scholarly materials that have bearing on this area of study and two theories in the

following order:

1. Why TV commercials?

2. TV commercials and the second screen

3. Consumer behaviour theory

4. Technological determinism theory.

2.2 Empirical Review

Why TV Commercials?

Advertising has a long history. Its origin, some historians have attributed to days of the early

men when craftsmen used signs to mark and identify their products displayed in conspicuous

places. According to Kotler and Keller (2005), the urge to advertise seems to be a part of human

nature evidenced since ancient times. Yet, for some, it possibly started with the emergence of

papyrus in Egypt as a medium for sharing messages of commercial value. There are also others

like Adekoya (2011), who believe that advertising can be traced back to the times of the ancient

Roman Empire as he noted that "excavations at Pompey reveal that each little shop had an

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inscription on the wall next to the entrance to tell the passer-by whether the shop was the place

to buy bread, drinks or other goods" (p.7). Modern advertising however took its lift from the

period of the industrial revolution and the rise of capitalism.

As O'Guinn, Allen and Semenik (2009), aptly note,

"The tenets of capitalism warrant that organizations compete for resources,

called capital, in a free-market economy. Part of the competition for

resources involves stimulating demand for the organisation's goods or

services... The industrial revolution was a basic force behind the rapid

increase in mass production of goods and services that required stimulation

of demand, something that advertising can be very good at. By providing a

need for advertising, the industrial revolution was a basic influence in its

emergence and growth" (p.77).

Spanning the period from 1750 to about 1812, the revolution spread from Western Europe to

North America causing significant changes in the way people produce and consume

commercial items. This was fostered by the technology of the day. Technology did not only

foster the mass production of items, it also aided in the communication of the availability of

commodities. Newspapers and magazines like the Pennsylvanian Gazette and Harpers Weekly

played very significant roles at such an early stage of advertising development as the printing

press was available to aid publication. Also significant as Pope (na.) noted, is that Eighteenth

and nineteenth century advertisements were not only for consumer goods. A particularly

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disturbing form of early American advertisements were notices of slave sales or appeals for the

capture of escaped slaves (p.2). Here are some examples of such early advertisements

There were also political advertisements like the popular Benjamin Franklin "Join or Die" 1774

advertisement.

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These publications marked an important stage in the beginning of modern advertising.

Advertising works in tandem with the existing media technology of the day. As such, whenever

a new media form emerges, advertisers seize the opportunity to spread their messages

capitalizing on the potentials of that medium over the previous ones. In some cases, they engage

in media-mix.

The development of the transistor, electricity and the invention of the telegraph in the 19th

century gave rise to man's communication of messages over distance for the first time through

radio wave. This also marked a period of transition in modern advertising from print to

electronic media. It was like the dawn of a new Information Age. In their work tilted, Agent-

Based Advert Placement System for Broadcasting Stations Vincent, Folorunso and Akinde

(2009), noted that radio is the first ‘modern’ media form, and had a huge impact on the history

of the 20th century. People have likened the explosion of radio in the 1920s to what is

happening with the internet today (p.1).

Though an outcome of the creative ingenuity of engineers and scientists, marketers saw

broadcast as an avenue to communicate the availability and nature of goods and services to

distant prospects. So, in the late 1920s several radio advertisements were already on the

airwaves actuating audiences to become consumers of specific products. Radio was able to

breach the gap of distance as existing newspapers were not able to cover long distances and

they were also not printed in sufficient quantity to go round. Also, the audience were able to

get advert messages without the need for subscription as they did with newspapers.

Radio was the rave as people found in it a source of entertainment and information, they were

always glued to their radios. This made it easy for advertisement on radio to get to the people

more easily. Also, radio required no form of formal education for the messages to be

understood unlike newspaper that one needs to be able to read in order to understand. Radio

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transmitted in the language of the people, using their day-to-day conversational styles thereby

achieving great psychology proximity. The people saw radio as their voice, the voice of a friend

and a neighbour, so its messages were readily acceptable.

However, the monopoly of the airwaves by radio was short-lived due to the works and

inventions of Willoughby Smith, Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, Boris Rosing and Vladimir Zworykin,

John Logie Baird, Lee de Forest and Arthur Korn. While the name of the new rival, television

was coined by Constantin Perskyi in 1900, John Baird in January 26, 1926 made what can be

rightly said as the world's first demonstration of a working television system at his 22 Firth

Street laboratory in Soho, London to members of the Royal Institution. From this moment on,

the stage was set for the transmission of visual messages (including advertisements) over long

distances.

Television brought with it the ability to appeal to our visual and auditory senses by its display

of motion pictures and production of sound. Also, most often, it stimulates the sense of smell,

taste and touch as we witness pictorial contents of things we recall to have pleasant smell and

the reaction of actors towards them, colourful smoky food on screen arouses our taste buds and

the variation of rough and smooth textures makes us imagine how such objects will feel close

to our skin. Thus, we get engaged in the onscreen action.

Television also brought about the death of distance between the market and the audience as

they cannot only read or hear about commodities, but now see and "feel" them just before their

eyes. This offered marketers and advertisers an opportunity to bring their goods and services

home to their prospects.

The emergence of television in the media landscape introduced a huge amount of diversity in

media selection for advertisers. And because media budgeting implies allocating available

12

resources to achieve maximum returns through effective target reach just as Doghudje (2005)

cited in Onyenyili (2010), emphasized that media planning is essentially the judicious

allocation of the media budget to deserving media and a medium is deserving if it has the

desired reach and impact and is cost effective. Advertisers are therefore, faced with a manifold

of media options, but in selecting, they must ensure that the medium or desired media-mix

meet certain requirements for ads effectiveness by asking some basic questions. Some of these

basic questions are enumerated by Sissors and Baron (2010) thus;

1. In which media should I place ads?

2. How many times a month should prospects see such ads?

3. During which months should the ads appear?

4. Where should the ads appear? In which markets and regions?

5. How much money should be spent on each medium?

In today's electronic era, television has achieved a wider audience reach than any medium

before it. In the United States, according to a Nielsen May 2014 report titled Advertising and

Audiences: State of the Media (2014, p.5), less than 20 years (since 1995), the amount of

African-American TV households increased by almost 40 percent, and Hispanic TV

households more than doubled. The case is not different from Nigeria. Overall, 78.9% of

Nigerians say they have a working television in their household (Gallup, 2012). It is not just

enough that the audience are getting glued to their screens, they are also reading less of the

printed media. A study in 2010 by Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) across the

country reveals that the daily sales figure of all the newspapers was less than 300,000 meaning

that only one in every 470 Nigerians buy newspapers daily (Ekeng, 2010). A similar study by

Popoola (2010) shows that all the newspapers in Nigeria today have combined circulation

figure that is far less than 500,000 copies per day of Daily Times of Nigeria in 1980 when the

population of Nigeria was about half of what it is today.

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Advertising is about reaching the target audience and advertisers are wont to use the media that

has the high tendency of reaching the most audience effectively. In analysing the data of his

study titled mass media advertising in Nigeria: problems and prospects, Ossai (2006), noted

that while testing for the preferred medium for placing advertisements, 49.3% of the population

comprising practitioners agreed that television is the best, 22.3 radio, 18.3 magazine and 10%

newspapers. These figures correlate with what he found about audience level of believability

and acceptability as his test for media credibility shows that 50% of the population agree to

believe advert on television, 22% for radio, 14.7% from magazine and just 13.3% for

newspaper, thus, giving television a combine rate of total credibility level of all the other media

put together.

Web Links and Television Commercials

The emergence of the internet in the public domain has made the availability of information

readily available. Besides that, as Bruner (2005, p.3) noted, “no medium since black-and-white

television has penetrated 50% of households as quickly as the internet” making it a mass access

medium. Also, in a study of Digital vs Traditional Media Consumption (Summary), Mander

(2014, p.4) stated in Global Web Index that, people are spending more time each day online

rather than on traditional forms of media. Internet users now spend a daily average of 6.09hours

on online media. This shows that the internet provides a wide array of content and many

persons are using it, especially switching the time once spent on traditional media to the new

medium. For Hoffman and Novak (1996), the internet provides an efficient medium for

advertising. Therefore, the once cherished media by advertisers might be losing its ability to

spread advertisers’ messages effectively to majority of prospects.

Over the years, various researchers have tried to work out this trend. Some attempts have been

made to fuse the traditional media and the new medium into a single interface such as the Smart

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Tv to enhance user experience and effective content delivery. An early study by Jakob Nielsen

(1997), outlined a key feature in when TV meets the Web. He stated that “the web on TV is

about integration with broadcasting without too much user initiative” while “the web on

computer is about interaction and maximizing user initiative and empowerment”.

What is most important is that, if the internet and traditional media are effectively tied together,

this may lead to higher profit margin especially for advertisers. The reason being that the

internet is rapidly becoming the hub of newspapers, radio and television through media

streaming and as a social platform. A study on Advertising spending by Interactive Advertising

Bureau (IAB) for full year 2013, cited by Meeker (2014, p.15) in Internet Trends 2014 - Code

Conference reveals the disparity in percentage of total media consumption time in relation to

total advert spending across media platforms. Print which got 19% of Ads spending for 5%

time spent, for television, 38% time was spent on 45% Ads spending while for internet 25% of

time was spent on Ads worth 22% spending, then mobile devices which has the largest total

exposure in relation to Ads spending had 20% time on a 4% ($7.1billion) spending from the

total Ads spending across all platforms. These trends portend opportunities for the internet and

mobile as a viable source of adverts revenue with low Ads spending. From the statistics offered

by IAB, internet and mobile Ads possess $30billion opportunity.

This is not just an issue for advertisers but also a problem for the television. Pisharody (2013,

p.1) while studying The Future of Television asserts that “the television industry which has

been a model for stability and success since the 1950s, is now under intense pressure to

maintain its revenues streams and margins in the face of internet-based competition. With

advertising revenues especially threatened, it is not clear how broadcast networks can continue

to remain sustainable.” However, since the Time Warner trials of interactive video in Orlando,

Florida in the early 90’s, various television hardware manufacturers like Sony, Samsung and

15

LG and online streaming service providers have tried to develop a synergistic merger of the

internet and traditional television. This has given rise to such nomenclatures as Internet TV,

Smart TV, IPTV, Connected TV and Hybrid TV. This era of television marks an epoch of

technological convergence between computers and traditional television.

For advertisers, this creates a new venture for delivering contents aimed directly at the targets.

It has also led to interactive digital advertising and addressable advertising. Interactive

advertising entails system of sending promotional messages to target audience who in turn

supply feedback to the advertising. This feedback helps advertisers in making key decisions by

providing consumer data for analysis. Also, according to Roberts and Ko (2001, p.21), the

interactivity of the internet provides advertisers opportunities to identify customers,

differentiate them, and customize purchasing and post-purchase service. Schumann and

Thorson (1999), also noted that, interactivity allows customers greater access to companies

through customer discussion groups, direct ordering and links to more information.

This would have been the ideal state of traditional television for all and to the benefit for

advertisers except for the prohibitive cost of Smart internet television. Also, as IP Television

(na.), noted, smart TV or Connected TV is predicted to become a mainstay of TV distribution

and consumption, but is still struggling in some (countries) with low connection figures. These

and some other factors have made television viewers to utilise their mobile devices such as

smart phones and tablets PCs as sources of internet even while watching television

programming in the traditional box television, the mobile devices serving as a second screen.

TV Commercials and the Second Screen

Today the trend has changed some more. With the evolution of the digital age, advertisers

cannot just place advertisements on television and go to sleep hoping to win patronage. A

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whopping 86 percent of U.S. smartphone owners say they use their devices as second-screens

while watching TV, and nearly half do it every single day (Nielsen, 2014, p.5). Studies by

Yellow Pages (2013), reveal what audiences are doing as they watch television. Over four in

ten (42%) social media users said they use social media while watching TV (p.32). The same

study shows that 25% of those who use social media, did so to follow or find out about

particular brands or businesses in general, while 20% did so to research products/services they

might want to buy. According to Terragon Insights (2012), Nigeria has the largest Internet

population in Africa...the average netizen (Internet user) spends not less than 3hours on the

Internet per day...and news and information accounts for 78% of their activities online (p.13-

21). This shows that the audience are not just passive but active viewers who are constantly

seeking, verifying and comparing messages.

Nielsen (2014), report stated that the average person views 5 hours of television per day, which

at 15 minutes of commercials per hour accumulates to an enormous bombardment of

advertising exposure. So the question is how to make an advertisement more effective than the

rest. There is the persistent need to give compelling details about a product or service to

convince the audience to buy it and not the other competing products. But will the standard

one minute per ad slot be sufficient? Will successive repetition of the message not reduce cost

effectiveness?

The average Nigerian netizen spends not less than 3 hours on the Internet daily (Terragon

Insights 2013, p.16). Tapping into these hours spent on the second screen can increase

advertisers’ chance of success. More so, a study by Neilson (2014, p.17) conducted in the

United States reveals how the second screen enhance...experience. It shows that while watching

television, 66 percent viewers surf the web on their tablets and 52 percent on their smartphones,

17

44percent shop on their tablet while 24 percent on their smartphones and 16 percent buy a

product being advertised on television while using their tablets while 8 using their smartphones.

It sums this trend by stating that "U.S. Citizens are using second screens in ways that are natural

extensions of the programming they watch" (p.17).

Perhaps this is why advertisers add hyperlink, that is, a link to the product or service page

online to the last few seconds of their message so that viewers can easily look it up for more

information on the product or service.

However, there has been no research in Nigeria to prove how effective this has been in selling

the advertised product or service. This is the gap that this work intends to fill.

2.3 Theoretical Review

Consumer Behaviour Theory

In today's socio-business environment, "with consumers being bombarded with messages, the

path to purchase is not a straight line anymore. The more we can understand about ad exposure

and decision making process, the better" (Neilson, 2014, p.19).

To understand why consumers relate with producers' goods and services the way they do, it is

important to understand the variables that underlie these behavioural patterns. This is what the

consumer behaviour theory seeks to address.

Beginning about 300 years ago, early economists led by Nicholas Bernoulli, John Von

Neumann and Oskar Morgenstein started to examine the basis of consumer decision making

(Richarme, 2007). Enquiries into consumer behaviour also gained momentum from the efforts

at the Ford Foundation when they commissioned a two years study of the state of marketing

knowledge in America Business School. This led to the emergence of several theories and

18

model approaches aimed at explaining the various observable psychological, economic and

social variables that underlie consumer behaviour. Some examples are Howard Sheth Model,

Life-cycle hypothesis, Relative Income and Nicosia Model. They all look at the patterns, why

and how consumers make purchase decisions, thus, explaining the motivation and factors that

influence such decisions. According to Ifezue (1990, p.40), cited in Okoro (2013, p.252),

motivation refers to the drives, urges, desires or wishes which indicate the sequence of events

known as behaviour.

Consumers are viewed as rational decision makers who are only concerned with self-interest

(Schiffman & Kanuk, 2007; Zinkhan, 1992). Thus, they seek available means of getting

information for various products to compare in order to purchase the goods or service that will

offer them optimal satisfaction at the least cost. There are various reasons why consumers

behave in this fashion. It is believed that human wants are many but the resources to satisfy

these wants are few. Hence, consumers try to achieve equilibrium satisfaction in the allocation

of scarce resources and need satisfaction. According to Moshtagh (2004, p.1), a consumer

attempts to allocate his/her money income among available goods and services so as to

maximize his/her utility (satisfaction). Some other determinants of consumer behaviours are

sociological and behavioural such as family, cultural factors, opinion leaders, social class and

caste, lifestyle, motivation, perception, learning, beliefs and attitude.

Some scholars hold that consumer behaviour are also influenced by hidden or unconscious

motivations. According to Okoro (1992, p.12), consumer behaviour analyses are replete with

cases of irrationality in purchasing behaviour, owing to what the Freudian Theory has

recognized as unconscious motivation which is said to greatly influence behaviour. These are

strong factors that can significantly shape consumer behaviour. However, because these

19

unconscious motivations are difficult to observe, predict or measure, theorists focus more on

the examinable factors to provide structured understanding of consumer behaviour.

Thus, consumer behaviour theory presents strategies on how consumers try to achieve

satisfaction through two major approaches – the Cardinal and Ordinal approaches.

The cardinal approach emanates from the thoughts of nineteenth century scholars such as

Jevons, Meager and Walras. They posit that utility is measurable in the cardinal sense, which

means that the difference between two measurements is itself numerically significant

(Moshtagh, 2004, p.3).

Ux=f(x), U=f(y)

Utility is maximized when MUx/MUy=Px/Py

The cardinal approach to understanding satisfaction assumes that utility can be measured

mathematically and it follows the law of diminishing marginal utility with emphasis on units.

What this entails is that consumers are quality and price sensitive and are interested in knowing

how much of a particular product will meet their need in contrast to competing products.

Some economists have suggested that utility can be measured in monetary units by the amount

of money offered for the commodity (Abdirisapsaid, 2011, p.1).

The ordinal approach is based on the studies of Slutskey, Hicks and Pareto. They posit that

“utility is measurable in the ordinal sense. That is, the utility derived from consuming a good

such as X, is a function of the quantities of X and Y consumed by the consumer” (Moshtagh,

2004, p.4).

U=f(x,y)

This approach implies that “consumers cannot measure satisfaction numerically or subjectively

instead they can rank the different baskets or bundles so as to choose the best basket

20

(Abdirisaqsaid, 2011, p.1). Commodities are ranked to ascertain the utility each one will offer

the consumer.

This economic approach to understanding consumer behaviours helps to explain why

advertising audience seek information and how they utilize such information in purchasing

advertised goods and services. In today’s market, there are various competing commodities

claiming to offer specific consumer needs – one better than the other and producers are eager

to deliver their products to the consumers. This is in their realization that “consumption is the

sole end and purpose of all production” (Adam Smith, 1937, p.125).

Producers employ advertising media as a means to supply product information and availability

to the consumer. The consumer on the other hand use the media as a means of getting

information to scrutinize diverse products offered in order to make purchase decision. This is

especially so in today’s information revolution era. This is typical of active audiences using

the media to satisfy their curiosity. These audience are very likely to follow web links used in

television commercial messages to get more information on products.

Technological Determinism Theory

Due to consumers’ varied needs and limited resources, they tend to lay their desires in some

form of hierarchy as Maslow (1970) suggests through his Needs and Motivation Theory. In

order to allocate thorough values to each need from sets of competing commodities, the

consumer seeks information. It was common place to ask friends and family members about

preferences for competing needs.

In an era like ours where technology drives majority of our activities, consumers conform to

Veblen's (1973) view of the technological determinist human. He asserts that people in modern

societies due to the proliferation of technological infrastructure tend to believe that they can

21

make their hopes and expectations in life come through simply by utilizing technology. This

view which attempts to sum up the technological determinism theory focuses on technology

and how it is used to shape society. This is why Chandler (2000), noted that

"They say that technologies such as writing or print or television or the

computer 'changed society'. In its most extreme form, the entire form of

society is seen as being determined by technology; new technologies

transform society at every level, including institutions, social interaction

and individuals."

Though Veblen's assertion may be inadequate in explaining modern advertising and consumer

behaviour, it nonetheless explains how technologies can transform human behaviour within his

environment and his interaction with technology. It does ignore the fact that most often

advertisement (media) messages are thrown at consumer without their deliberate search for it.

Although, according to Underwood (2002), there is speculation about the way that information

and communication technologies may be determining our world, its social structures and

economies as well as individual consciousness. "Advertisements are all around us today and

have been for a long time; advertising-free 'good old days' just don’t exist" noted Pope (na. p.1)

in his discussion of Making Sense of Advertisements. The consumer comes across countless

number of adverts each day from billboards, on the radio, pedestrian clothing, and posters, on

the television and on the web (Internet). The consumer who now inadvertently becomes the

audience of advertised contents selectively pays attention to the advertisement of commodities

in their hierarchy of needs. Because ad messages, especially on the electronic media are brief

highlights and often unable to convey all the details of a product, the consumer who seeks

additional information may take a step forward by following the web link added to the

advertised goods on television. This is more so in today’s internet societies.

This picture of humans as active seekers out to satisfy specific needs through the application

of modern technologies sits well with the ideas Katz, Blumler and Gurevitch brought to their

22

studies of how people utilise mass communication (West and Turner, , 2010, p. 394). This is

the central idea encapsulated in the Technological Determinism Theory.

This theory shares some boundary with Social Marketing Theory which according to Barran &

Davis (2010, p.284)

assumes the existence of a benign information provider seeking to bring

about useful, beneficial social change. It gives these providers a framework

for designing, carrying out, and evaluating information campaigns. In its

most recent forms, it pays increased attention to audience activity and the

need to reach active audiences with information they are seeking. Target

audiences are identified according to their information needs.

Recommendations are made for stimulating audiences to seek information

and for packaging and distributing information so that audiences will find

it easy to get and use.

Its difference lies in the fact that like Diffusion of Innovation Theory, it focuses more on the

providers of information, that is, in this case, the advertiser who tries to bring about a change

in consumer perception by providing information in anticipation to modify their behaviour for

favourable patronage.

Blumler, (1979), in his discussion of the “Extraordinary Range of Meaning” offered two key

points that relate directly to how consumers use the media. He noted that “people’s use of the

media reflect their existing interests and preferences; and consumption of media content can

be directed by people’s prior motivation”. This falls in line with three of five assumptions

offered by scholars like Katz and Gurevitch (1974) as follows:

1. The audience is active and its media use is goal oriented

2. The initiative in linking need gratification to a specific medium choice rests with the audience

member.

3. Value judgment of media content can only be assessed by the audience (West and Turner, ,

2010, p.397).

These go to show that the media audience is an active participant who recognizes his needs and

tries to satisfy them albeit through the use of media technology.

23

Consumers are offered a mélange of products through media advertisements. They selectively

pay attention to those that fall in line with their needs. Then they may take the next step –

search for additional information and evaluation of alternatives. This falls in line with the

Consumer Decision Model (Engel, Kollat & Blacwell, 1968).

In an attempt to simplify the search for additional information, advertisers add internet links to

their product information on their broadcast advertisement. This is to compensate for the lack

of time to elaborate on product details in the broadcast media. The audience may follow this

link in anticipation that it will satisfy his curiosity and aid his purchase decision. This is what

the Uses and Gratification Theory elucidates – active audiences, putting the media into use to

satisfy their needs.

This is quite different from Media Dependency Theory. Though they both share the views of

theories that study from the audience-media-usage perspective, what sets them apart is that

media system dependency theory goes further to look at the effects of the media on the audience

due to its usage. It anticipates variable change in behaviour while technological determinism

theory simply explicate how we strive to meet our need for information through active

employment of modern media.

"Media system dependency theory states that as a person becomes increasingly

dependent on the media to satisfy their needs, that media will become more

important in a person's life and thereby have increased influence and effects on

that person." Ball-Rokeach, Sandra J; DeFleur, ML (1979, p.81-96).

24

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design

Bearing the nature and objectives of this study in mind, the survey method was used. The

quantitative method was used to collect data. The justification for this approach is that the

quantitative data and results provide a general picture of the research problem.

Survey is proven to be very efficient in sampling of peoples’ opinion using questionnaire

for the collection of quantitative data. The survey method scientifically describes a

phenomenon and its relationship in the actual environment at a given time (Nwambueze, 2013,

p.36). Lending credence to this Baran (2002, p.408) notes that “it allows mass communication

researchers to measure characteristics or behaviours of a sample group, then generalizing back

to the population which is the group under survey”.

3.2 Population of Study

The population of this study comprises of all those living in Lagos State, Delta State

and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. The 2006 national population census figures

published by The National Population Commission in April 2010 puts the population of the

states as follows:

Abuja (FCT) - 1,406,239

Delta State - 4,112,445

Lagos State - 9,113,605

Total population = 14,632,289

25

3.3 Sample Size

To determine the sample size of this study, the infinity formula (Godden, 2004) was

used. According to the formula, where the population is greater than 50,000 the sample size is

derived as follows:

Z2 x (p) x (1 –xp)

SS = _______________

C2

Where:

SS = Sample Size

Z = Z-value A (where 1.96 is for a 95 percent confidence level)

P = Percentage of population picking a choice, expressed as decimal B

C = Confidence interval, expressed as decimal (e.g., .04 = +/- 4 percentage points)

A Z-value (Cumulative Normal Probability Table) represents the probability that a sample will

fall within a certain distribution.

The Z-values for confidence levels are:

1.645 = 90 percent confidence level

1.96 = 95 percent confidence level

2.576 = 99 percent confidence level

SS = 1.962 x (0.5) x (1-0.5)

__________________

0.042 SS = 600

Therefore, for a population of 14,632,289, the basic sample size was 600.

3.4 Sampling Technique

The sampling technique used for this research was the clustering multi-stage sampling

technique. According to Osuala (2005, p.134), clusters are often geographical areas such as

local government wards or institutions, such as schools, hospitals and employee… A three-

26

stage sample has three separate stages of selection, for example, selection from constituencies,

then wards, and finally adults within selected wards.”

Stage one:

In order to achieve balanced data collection, three states were chosen from three geo-political

regions of Nigeria. These were purposively selected due to the level of technological

advancement and business activities evident in the areas. Abuja, being the Federal Capital

Territory and centre of political activities in the country, Lagos representing the commercial

centre due to the level of business activities in the state as a result of its sea and air ports and

industries while Delta State representing the oil rich region, oil being the major export

commodity of the country has generated enormous businesses and commercial activities in the

state.

Stage Two:

Due to the fact that the population for each state is so enormous and thus will be difficult to

handle within the scope of this research, the researcher decided to narrow down further by

purposively selecting local government areas and council perceived to have the most active

business activities throughout each year. Therefore, from Lagos State Ikeja and Lagos Island

became the preferred areas for the study, while in Abuja, the Abuja Municipal Area Council

was selected and for Delta State, Warri South Local Government Area was selected. The reason

for selecting two local government areas in Lagos State was to achieve balance given the ratio

of total population of the state compared to Abuja and Delta State.

27

Each of the selected local government areas have the following population figures:

State LGA Population

Abuja Abuja municipal area

council

776,298

Delta Warri south 311,970

Lagos Ikeja 317,614

Lagos island 212,700

Stage three:

In each of the selected states, proportional representation was made based on the total

population of the state using the sample size as the denominator. This is because the local

governments selected may have lower population which will not be proportional representative

of the entire state. The following formula was employed:

Population of state x Sample size

Sum of three states population 1

Giving rise to the following figures sampled from each state:

State LGA Population for study

Abuja Abuja Municipal Area

Council

57.7

Delta Warri South 168.6

Lagos Ikeja + Lagos Island 373.7

Total 600

Furthermore, in all the local government areas selected, questionnaire will be administered to

the qualified respondents. That is, those who watch television and have access to the internet

28

either on their mobile devices or on a desktop computer and also have the financial resources

to make purchase.

3.5 Instruments for Data Collection

For this study, questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. The questionnaire is

designed to contain fifteen questions. While the first four questions were used to gather

demographic data, the other eleven questions were made to elicit responses specific to the

research objectives.

3.6 Method of Data Collection

Both the primary and secondary methods were utilized in this study. The primary

method focuses on the use of questionnaire for collecting data while the secondary method

include the consultation of relevant journals, books, internet materials, etc that have bearing

on this study to help in the interpretation of the data.

3.7 Method of Data Analysis

Frequency tables, simple percentages and bar chart were used to present and analyze

the data generated. The data that were presented in these statistical instruments were further

explained using simple paragraph by paragraph analysis.

29

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION

4.1 Data Analysis

In this chapter, the data collected from the three states being studied through the use of

structured questionnaire were analysed through the use of simple tables, percentages,

frequencies and bar charts. For easy understanding and structure, the data were analysed step-

by-step in the order in which the research questions were raised in chapter one.

Six hundred valid copies of the questionnaire were returned from the field with data

from the respondents. The demographic data of the respondents are as follows:

Table 3.1 Age and gender distribution

Variable Gender

Male Female

Age

16-25 136 (22.7%) 132 (22%)

26-35 120 (20%) 108 (18%)

36-45 44 (7.3%) 40 (6.7%)

46 - above 16 (2.7%) 4 (0.7%)

Table 3.2: Occupation and

income distribution table of

the respondents

Income

1,000 - 50,000 51,000 - 25,000 250,000 and above

Occ

up

ati

on

Self-employed 36 (6%) 28 (4.7%) 4 (0.7%)

Civil servant 20 (3.3%) 144 (24%) 0

Private sector 52 (8.7%) 100 (16.7%) 16 (2.7%)

Student 188 (31.3%) 0 4 (0.7%)

Unemployed 8 (1.3%) 0 0

30

Research question 1: What is the level of audience awareness of web links used in

television commercial?

To provide answer to this question, four (4) questions (5 – 8) were raised in the questionnaire

and the data gathered through these questions are thus presented:

Question five (5) in the questionnaire was aimed at finding out how many of the audience

actually watch and pay attention to commercial messages on television while question six (6 )

was aimed at revealing how many of the viewers have ever noticed the web links inserted in

some commercial messages. From the responses to these questions, it was noticed that most

television viewers do pay attention to commercial messages as 532 agreed to watch and just 68

say do not. Of the 532 that watch commercial messages, 488 agreed to have seen web links

used in television commercial messages and only 44 have not seen such. The data is presented

below:

Table 3.3: Viewership of TV commercials and notice of web link placement Do you watch Tv Commercials

Yes No

Notice of insertion of

web links

Yes 488 (81.3%) 0

No 44 (7.3%) 68 (11.3)

To find out from the audience who notice the insertion of web links in commercial messages

the frequency at which they see such and the rate at which they can recall messages with web

links, questions 7 – 8 were presented to the respondents and the data gathered are presented

here below. The data were also aimed at finding out if the frequency at which the audience see

such messages with web links have a significant relationship with the rate at which such

messages can be recalled.

31

Table 3.4: Frequency of exposure and recall How often do you notice

Very often Regularly Rarely

Remembering of

message with web links

Yes 144 (24%) 116 (19.3) 96 (16%)

No 28 (4.7%) 36 (6%) 112 (18.7%)

Source: Field survey

Chart 3.1: Frequency of exposure and recall

The table and clustered chart above reveal the frequency at which viewers are exposed to

commercial messages with web links and the rate at which viewers are able to recall some of

the messages. The chart presents clearly the relationship that exist between the two as it shows

that those who see such messages very often tend to recall them the most while most of those

who rarely see messages with web link cannot remember seeing such messages. Thus,

repeating such messages may enhance recall.

Therefore, the answer to research question one can be adduced from the preceding tables and

chart. As can be seen from the data presented in tables 3.3 to 3.4, most respondents represented

by 532 of the population do watch commercial messages and a substantial number of them,

that is, 488 are aware of the insertion of web links in some commercial messages. Furthermore,

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Yes No

Frequency of exposure andrecall

Very often

Regularly

Rarely

32

of the 488 that are aware of the insertion of web links in commercial messages, 144 see them

often and 116 see them regularly while 96 rarely see such messages. Also important is the fact

that majority of those who see the messages regularly can easily recall seeing such messages

and those who see them rarely can hardly recall messages with web links, therefore establishing

a relationship between extent of viewership and level of recall.

Research question 2: How often do audience make use of the web links provided in

television commercials by visiting the product/service website?

To provide answer to the research question above which is aimed at finding out if the audience

put such links into use by actually following them to the product website in order to get more

information, questions 9 and 10 were drafted in the questionnaire and the data gathered through

them from the respondents are presented below.

Question 9 reads, have you ever visited any of the product websites?

The audience response to this question is presented in the following table:

Table 3.5: Visit of product/service webpage

Have you visited product website

Yes 340 (56.7%)

No 260 (43.3%)

Total 600 (100%)

33

Chart 3.2: Visit of product/service websites

The responses presented in table 3.5 above represent the feedback given by the respondents

from the entire population who in response to question 6 of the questionnaire stated that they

have noticed the insertion of web links in television commercials as table 3.3 shows.

The table reveals that 340 respondents from the 488 who have noticed the insertion of web

links do actually follow the links to the product webpage in order to get additional information

that could not be captured within the usual 60 seconds timeframe for television advertisements.

To find out from the 340 respondents the frequency at which they do visit such webpages,

question 10 asked how often do you make use of the web link by visiting the product/service

webpage? The response to this question is presented below.

Table 3.6: The frequency of visit to product/service webpage

How often do you visit the website?

Always Rarely Just a few times

88 (14.7%) 192 (32%) 60 (10%)

Respondents who have used the weblinks

Yes

No

34

Table 3.6 revealed that a few, that is 88 (14.7%) of the respondents always make use of the

web links by visiting the webpage while 192 (32%) do so rarely and 60 (10%) have done so

only just a few times. These figures contrast sharply with those in the entire population 260

(43.3%) who either do not use them at all or have not noticed the insertion of web links. To

probe further in order to find the effects of these links and the webpages on the audience, if

they influence the audience who has become a prospect to patronise the goods and services,

research question three (3) was asked.

Research question 3: Do the contents of the webpages visited influence the audience in

making purchase decisions? To provide answer to the question above, three questions were raised in the questionnaire

forming questions 11-13. The answers elicited from the respondents are presented below. First

of all to find out if there is a disparity in between the webpages and the television commercial,

that is, if additional information are actually provided through the webpages, question 11 asked,

Did the webpages you have visited supply you sufficient additional information than what you

had seen on television?

Responses got for this question is presented below.

Table 3.7: If the web pages visited provided additional information.

Did the webpage supply additional info

Yes No

292 (48.7%) 48 (8%)

A good number of the respondents represented by 292 (48.7) who have made use of the web

links by visiting the webpages opine that the webpages supply additional information than was

conveyed in the television commercial. This reveals that additional information are supplied

for the product/service by the website but to find out the quality and how useful this information

are to the user, questions 12 and 13 were raised. Question 12 asked, what was your experience

35

on the webpages like? While question 13 was would you have patronised the product without

visiting the web site?

The answers to these two questions are presented thus:

Table 3.8: user experience and patronage

What is your experience?

Satisfactory Poor Indifferent

Would you have patronise

the product without

visiting the website?

Yes 124 (20.7%) 16 (2.7%) 36 (6%)

No 124 (20.7%) 16 (2.7%) 24 (4%)

From the responses presented in table 3.8 above, majority of the users represented by 248

(41.3%) said they had satisfactory experience when they visited the webpages while for 32

(5.3%) their experiences were rated as poor and for 60 (10%) they felt indifferent. In an attempt

to find out if the user experiences of the website have any influence on patronage, those who

had satisfactory experiences were equally divided on their views as 124 said “Yes” and another

124 said “No” and also for the 32 respondents rated to have had poor user experience, 16 said

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Yes No

Indifferent

Poor

Satisfactory

36

“Yes” and another 16 said “No” while for the 60 respondents who felt indifferent, 36 noted

that they would have patronised the product/service without visiting the website and 24 would

not have.

So, in response to research question 3, these tables have shown that the audience agree to have

got additional information from the websites than the television commercials did convey but

they are almost equally divided on their opinion that they would have bought the product even

without visiting the webpages as just a difference of 12 respondents split the views in favour

of those who opined that they would have bought the product without visiting the product

website. Therefore, we can say that the effectiveness of the web links used in television

commercials is less than average.

In order to ascertain the extent at which the additional information found in product websites

are potent in influencing buyer’s decision, research question four (4) was raised thus:

Research question 4: What is the level of influence the web visited has on audience

decision to purchase?

To address this research question above, question 14 - To what extent did the content of the

webpage influence your decision to purchase? was presented in the questionnaire. The

responses got through this question are presented below.

37

Influence of website on decision

Great extent Just a little Not at all It made me not to purchase

192 (32%) 128 (21.3%) 16 (2.7%) 4 (0.7%)

In rating the perceived level of influence the audience felt the webpages have on them, 192

(32%) of the respondents agree that to a great extent, it influence their decision to make

purchase, 128 (21.3%) agree to it having just a little influence on their decision to make

purchase, 16 (2.7%) felt it had no influence on them at all while 4 (0.7%) of the respondent

noted that the additional information supplied in the product website influenced him not to

make purchase.

Question 15 of the questionnaire ‘would you always want to visit a product webpage if

available before buying the product?’ was asked to elicit from the respondents their opinion,

all other factors being present, if they would want to visit a product website got from

a television commercial before buying the product.

Willingness to visit webpage before

patronage

Yes No

396 (66%) 204 (34%)

38

The table and chart above represent the views of the sample population. It reveals that majority

represented by 396 (66%) of the respondents if exposed to web link in television commercial

and with the needed facilities to access the internet they will want to visit the product website

before deciding to patronise the product being advertised. About one-third of the respondents

will not use the web links regardless of the presence or absence of facilities needed to access

the internet.

3.2 Discussion of Findings

This work was laid out to find how effective web links used in television commercials have

been in influencing patronage among Nigerians living in the urban centres of three states in

Nigeria – Lagos, Abuja and Delta States. Copies of the questionnaire were administered and

six hundred (600) valid copies were collected and analysed as presented in the tables and charts

above proving answers to the research questions raised in the study. From the analysis, the

following findings were made:

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Willingness to visit webpage before purchase

Yes

No

39

1. Majority of the respondents watch commercial messages and most of them have been

exposed at varied degrees to commercials having product web links which is aimed at

supplying them additional information through a website. Also, their ability to

remember products with web link is related to the extent of exposure, that is, those who

have seen a television commercial with web link can easily recall it than those who

have seen it just a few times.

2. Of the respondents, just a little above half (340 of 600) have actually used the web links

by visiting the websites with 88 doing so always when they come across such

commercials.

3. The data revealed that the respondents experiences differ, though most of those who

used the link were satisfied with the additional information they got from the websites.

However, of those who had satisfactory and poor user experience, 50% of them noted

that they would have bought the product even without visiting the website. Therefore,

there is no significant relationship between the amount of information presented in the

site and patronage.

4. The web links provided in television commercials have been able to influence 320 (that

is 53.4%), audience to make purchase, doing so to a great extent for 192 (32%) of the

respondents and just a little for 128 (21.3%).

5. Because there are numerous factors that may prevent audience from using web links

presented in television commercials, the researcher tried to find out if all these other

factors are accounted for, how many of the respondents would actually use the web

links to get more information. It was revealed that most of the respondentsviewers

would want to visit the product site before making purchase.

40

Therefore, it is clear that most television audience do not follow the web links presented in

television commercials to get additional information due to other factors such as low level of

exposure to such commercials and access to the internet. Regardless of the amount of additional

information provided by the website, many respondents will still patronize the product being

advertised.

This goes to show that though the internet is very helpful in providing additional product

information which may in turn induce prospects to make purchase, it largely remains successful

as a separate platform, distinct from television. The use of web links in television commercial

in Nigeria, no doubt in few years may become more relevant when there is significant increase

in access to television and internet in most parts of the country and at less cost to the audience.

Though there is the likelihood that when such a study is carried out in more advanced countries

like the United States of America, the data and findings will be largely different due to the

varied degree of access to internet and availability of television.

41

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, RECOMMEDATION AND CONCLUSION

5.1 Summary

This work was aimed at finding out if the web links added to television commercials in order

to provide additional information for the prospects has been useful and to determine the level

of relevance it has in influencing patronage. Through the use of questionnaire presented to the

population of the study spread across three states of Nigeria, data were gathered and analysed

to provide answers to the questions raised by the study. The study found out that just about half

of the population actually put the web links into use and those that do are not strongly

influenced by the added information as most of the respondents who have visited the websites

responded that they would have patronized the product even without visiting the websites.

However, majority of the sample population hold that if all the facilities needed to access the

web links are present, that when exposed to such web link for a product, they would like to

visit the website before actually making decision to patronize the product or not.

5.2 Conclusion

This study was set out to find out the effectiveness of web links used in television commercials

in influencing audience to make eventual purchase. Through the data collected from the three

states understudied it was revealed that majority of television viewers are exposed to

commercial messages with web links. However, only about 56.1% of the respondents do

actually follow these links to the websites as directed, with 32% stating that the information

got through the websites has greatly influenced them to make purchase. Yet, 20.1% stated that

they would have patronised the product without visiting the website and 66% would want to

visit a product website if possible before buying a product being advertised having web link.

Thus, it can be stated in summary that though the inclusion of web links in television

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commercials can help enhance sales of a product/service, it should however be done in order

to convey precisely the advertiser’s message and also in combination with other marketing

strategies to maximize outcome.

5.3 Recommendation

From the study and findings made, the following recommendations have been proffered:

1. Advertisers should aim at increasing the repeat times of their commercial messages as

repeated message can stimulate recall and on this level may influence sale.

2. Regardless of the finding that only a few persons actually do follow these links,

advertisers should not be deterred from adding them to their television commercials as

some of the factors that affect the use of such links are not linked to the message or the

link themselves but the availability of the required technologies to access them on the

internet.

3. Advertisers should come up with more creative strategies that may help in highlighting

the major highpoint of their products/services. This messages for a product each

highlighting specific utility of the product but emphasizing the product name and its

market. This way, while the audience get to hear about the diverse usefulness of the

product, the brand is being re-emphasized and studies have shown that message

repetition can aid product recall and to a limited extent, brand loyalty.

4. When web links are provided, advertisers should ensure that the webpage contains

sufficient message succinctly presented to meet users’ needs and, in effect, stimulate

patronage. This is because poor message presentation on the webpage may reduce the

appeal the television commercial has been able to garner.

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Draft Questionnaire

To provide structured explanation of the questions and how they will help provide answers to

the research questions, I have placed the questionnaire questions here under each research

question they address only for the purpose of supervisory assessment.

1. What is the level of audience awareness of web links used in television commercials?

a. Do you watch commercial messages on television? Yes No

b. Have you ever noticed the insertion of web links on any television commercial? Yes No

c. If yes, how often do you notice them on the commercial messages? Very often Regularly Rarely

d. Can you remember any television commercial message that has a web link? Yes No

e. If yes, please state the name of the product/service, advertiser or the web link? …………………………………………………………………………………

2. How often do audience make use of the web links by visiting the product/service web sites? a. Have you ever visited any of the product website?

Yes No

b. If yes, how often do you make use of the web link by visiting the website? Always Once in a while Just a few times

3. Do the contents of the web pages visited influence the audience in making purchase decisions? a. Did the web pages you have visited supply you enough additional information than what

you had seen on the television? Yes No

b. What was your experience on the web page like? Satisfactory Poor Indifferent

c. Would you have patronize the product without visiting the web site? Yes No

4. What is the level of influence the web page visited on the audience decision to purchase? a. To what extent did the content of the web page influence your decision to purchase?

Great extent Just a little Not at all

It made me not to purchase

b. Would you always want to visit a product web page if available before buying the product? Yes No

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