Advertising Media India | Marketing Dissertations

Chapter 1

Introduction

I think one of the major roles of any company whether in a domestic market or international market the role of a marketer is to create an awareness of the product among the general public and attract general customers. However good the product is, without knowledge of the product and desires for the customer on the product it is impossible to create a brand or a successful product image. And the best thing that a company can do this is by launching an effective advertising campaign that kindles the emotions of customers in all positive sense.

Advertising is the simplest way of informing or drawing attention or telling a group of potential audience regarding the product or company. Advertising can take several forms and it’s the duty of the advertising department of that particular company to conduct the market research and decide what are the most important things that have to be concentrated while launching an advertising campaign.

Based on the research I conducted and analysis over several authors I was able to obtain what was the main goal of advertising and what are the various factors that influence in advertising. The main part of my research was to find how culture has an impact on advertising and what are the various strategies that can be used by multinational companies while entering a country like India.

As marketers how can we integrate various communication methods in order to produce an effective advertising campaign resulting in producing a successful product? The main purpose of this chapter is to give some details in research background. This chapter will also give information on research aim and objectives. And the main part of the research is how advertising strategies vary while entering India. In order to understand the environment of India a detail study was conducted and I have drawn the conclusion.

1.1 Research Background

India is a large country which has a large population around 1.14 billion currently and rapidly growing and for any multinational company entering India the market share they might target can be never enough. However the country has 28 states with 18 languages recognised. Though English is the medium of education through out the country the next most widely used language is Hindi which also the national language of the country. So for any company entering India as to decide which part of the country they are entering into and which market segment they are planning to advertise and what language is used there.

India can be divided into two parts the north and south. In north the language that is most popular are Hindi followed by Marathi and Bengali where as in the south Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam are spoken in different states so companies do not have only the need of creating an advertisement blending the cultural impacts but also catering the local needs of each and every particular region.

India has become potential emerging nation since China makes an entry to join the World Trade Organisation. Geographic advantage is only one part of the factors that speed up the growth of the Indian economy. India, however, also has other factors that attract the interest of foreign investment, such as FDI attractiveness, cheap materials, the education rate and low labour costs. When foreign companies enter Indian market, mass advertisement does pay significant part in making a good sale.

This is because advertising can persuade consumers to think about their own self-image, influencing them to follow the advertisement’s message. However, when entering a market like India, cultural factor is also important because customers in each culture have different tastes. As a result, marketers have to take into consideration standardisation and adaptation because local customers will have different advertising appeals. The company’s image also will have a great influence of the customer. Because the brand is contributed from the company’s image and based on the product and its brand appeal the advertising campaign can follow a standardised strategy or opt to choose an adapted strategy. But India has already mentioned is such a large country companies entering will have to work hard as they require to enter several countries in one country like India because of its diversity in languages, cultures and values.

1.2 Research Aim

This research aims to develop effective advertising strategies for foreign firms when entering India market.

1.3 Research Objectives

• To understand factors that can influence Indian customers to remember advertisement

• To know under consumer behaviour of Indian customers

• To know the implications of adverting on consumer behaviour

• To what extent advertising has importance

• How cultural values are essential in advertising going international

• To make qualitative analysis of advertising across cultures

1.4 Various media channels in India

According to my research 80% of the population above the age of 16 is exposed to some media or the other in India. Whether its students or kids or homemakers or proffesionals.There are various media channels in India and all of them are considered to be effective and the question comes how the company is going to distribute in various media and identifying which media would give the best result.

The various media channels in India are Television, Press, Radio, Cinema, Posters/Hoardings, and Internet. When it comes to Television the company has to decide who they are targeting are they homemakers or kids or working professional or students. When it comes to television certain channels that the company can never let chance are in television are news channels and sports channels.

When it comes to news channels there are several news channels how ever there are media networks which telecast in each regional state in their own language. The next is sports channels and India is country in which majority of the population watch television in order to watch cricket matches. Home makers in India are really interested in television and spend most of their time in watching serials and the various serial programs can be the target location for targeting home makers. When it comes to kids the kid’s channels is the best place.

In the later part we will discuss the various television categories in detail. Similarly in newspapers and radio they can be categorized.

However the whole campaign depends on the company to decide who they want to market their product and how they want to market it.

1.5 Role of Cultures in India

When it comes to culture India is one of the oldest and the most unique country. Country is so large and with varied cultures it is very difficult to understand them very quickly. As a result India varies amazingly throughout the country when culture is concern.

Different culture in different parts of the country north, south, north east all of them have their own distinct features. Every state has its own unique culture and with a country with 28 states it is not possible to cater the need of entire nation in respect to culture. India is the home of various ancient civilizations including four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. India is the home of various life styles, languages, cuisine and music.

For example when we consider cuisine it varies from culture to culture within the same country and every cuisine is different from each one. Similarly music and dance itself is completely different from north and south. In north it is bhangara, Hindustani. Where as in the south it is bharatanatayam, folk etc.India is a nation of festivals with so much cultural diversity festivals are celebrated with lights, fireworks, prayers and rituals.

So when any multinational entering has to study the culture of that particular region understand the culture and then try to impact the advertising. They have to analyze whether they product will be suitable for that culture without creating any issues.

1.8 Significance & Scope of Study

“The study undertaken fulfils the requirements of the research outlined in the dissertation objectives. The study attempts to highlight the theoretical concepts from the course work and correlates those concepts with the research conducted in order to comes up with an analysis on what are the advertising strategies for a multinational company while entering India and what are the cultural influences that must be concentrated in order to succeed Therefore a thorough research had been conducted with the help of questionnaire and secondary data.” My own work (2008)

1.9 Limitations of the Study

“ The major limitations of study is that advertising in a country like India has various effects on various targets and most of our respondents are students and the response we achieved are from a narrow group because with the time limit it is not possible to analysis the entire market because it is very broad. Most of the questionnaires where answered by age group ranging between 18-25 and they responses cannot be considered entirely because it is not possible to predict whether they answered what they meant. The data obtained was cross checked. But however the responses cannot be 100% accurate.” My own work (2008)

1.10 Structure of Dissertation

The dissarteation is divided into five chapters inorder to make a detail analysis of how multinational companies can advertise while entering India. It gives a inroduction on advertisement and on India what are factors that should be concentrated and a brief description of the media.The second chapter gives the litreature review by introducting what is advertisement ,what are the ethics,how culture and advertisement must be blended.How to define objectives and what are the various advertising styles.

The third chapter defines the research methods and how to determine various advertising strategies. Inorder to know this we have to understand consumer behaviour and needs. This chapter aims to represent research findings, which are described in descriptive fashion. The collected data are analysed on the basis of a comparative qualitative analysis, with related or similar studies. This is the final chapter of this research and it aims to provide recommendations and suggestion, explain limitations and produce proposal for further research.

Chapter 2 - Literature Review

Introduction

This chapter aims to discuss and analyse related theories and concepts of advertising. It also reviews and discusses research findings of similar studies. It is claimed that advertisements can lead to buying decision making and several studies have also stated that many customers believe messages in the adverts to be truthful and unbiased (Dotson & Hyatt, 2005).

Today’s advertising requires a detail analysis of the target consumer and the advertisement must reach the customer in an effective way that it relates with him/her and stands out of other products. The main goal of advertisement according to my research is it is not to show that it’s better than others but how different it is which makes it stand out in the crowd. The product has to emotionally touch the customer in order to make the customer a real differentiation to cut through the rest and reach the target.

There are several challenge that advertising face today but according to a study by Kroeber-Riel (1990, cited in Appelbaum and Halliburton 1993) in Germany, as much as 90 per cent of the information provided to consumer is ignored. They argue that advertising will need to capture the consumer’s attention and deliver the message in an original way that will enable the consumer to remember and identify with both message and the brand.

According to Bullimore (1995) ‘without advertising, we would not have brands or innovation, consumer choice, value for money or our diverse media’. In order to understand the role of advertising we have classify advertising on for types, they involve in identifying our target audience for example when chocolate companies such as Kit Kat are advertising they must target mainly kids the next one is what is the purpose and next one is the media used whether it is television or radio or newspapers or magazines or cinema or any combination of them. And the last classification is based on the geographic area that it needs to address.

2.1 Definition of Advertising

According to Phillip Kotler (2003), advertising is the most popular marketing communication tools because it is widely used in all business sectors. Terry Flew (2002), defined advertising as:

“The way in which the mass media in all of their forms affect the way the audiences act and behave in their daily lives. The forms of media include television, films, songs and other similar forms.”

(Flew 2002, p. 12)

Under the concept developed by Kotler, key advertising instruments consists of both print and media adverts, such as print and broadcast adverts, audiovisual material, package-outer, brochures and booklets, billboards, display signs, symbols and logos, motion pictures, posters and leaflets, videotapes and reprint of adverts. However, in the recent years, a rapid development of technology has implications on the growth of media and advertising (Grips, 2002).

A research showed that new forms of media, such as DVD and the internet changes the way people consume media or advertised products and services. The fast development of media has raised a question on the issues of media influence affect on attitude and belief of customers. Inoculation model is one of the popular passive audience theories, explaining that upon being exposed to advertising’s messages, viewers become instantaneously immune to them.

The concept of inoculation model was used to examine the effect of advertising message on consumer behaviour by many researchers. One of the interesting studies was carried out by Karen Hartman (2000) who presented a snapshot of researched published between 1990 and 1999 and studied negative political advertising, mainly in the US. Hartman used showing themes, such as typologies, effects of negative advertisements, media coverage of political campaigns and the actual candidate behaviour, to categorise the literatures. Research finding indicated that a long term exposure to negative message can effect the perception and attitude of the viewers towards politicians and political parties.

2.2 Consumer’s attitudes towards advertisement

In my research I understand that consumers are more favourable than unfavourable towards advertising. They not only recognise the negative effects but also the positive economic impact f advertising industry. Advertising is a method in which companies can motivate a consumer in making a decision. Because the advertising if effective can create a connection and help the consumer to take a decision quickly and easily. According to Abernethy and Franke (1996) argue that the evidence on consumer attitudes toward advertising shows that consumer prefer advertising that helps indecision making.

Providing information that differentiates a brand from its competitors tends to increase commercial recall, comprehension and persuasion. They cite a 1995 study by Ducoffe that found information in advertising to be the single factor most strongly correlated with overall advertising value. Their review of audience perceptions of commercials revealed the informative/effective factor to be the best predictor of ad likeability and brand attitudes. Their summary is that advertising information is an important influence on consumer’s responses to both the ad and the brand.

The Advertising Standards Authority Report (Ford-Hutchinson and Roth well 2002) similarly identified a series of consumer attitudes towards advertising and confirmed many of the previous studies:

• Advertising is everything with a name on it. As noted earlier, from the consumer perspective, the term ’advertising’ encompasses every piece of brand, product or service communication. It obviously includes the key media of advertising but also other aspects of ‘selling’ such as direct mail, door drops, the internet branded clothing, sponsorship, branded text messages and even telephone sales.

• Life without advertising would be dull. Advertising is part of the environment. For some mainly older respondents, there is perhaps, too much advertising, but the majority embrace it as part of life. They indicate that without it there would be less information, entertainment and street colour, and less to talk about.

• Advertising is an indicator of business health

• Advertising has got better. It is felt to be cleverer, more reflective of real life, more entertaining and more tuned to different targets.

• Consumers are concerned about ‘untruthful truthful advertising’, advertising that dose not lie, but is economical with the truth. It mainly concerns the advertising of financial products that highlights substantial benefits but is vague about risk or downsides. It is epitomised by advertising for accident claims companies consolidation of debts and loan offers.

• Overall the regulatory bodies were felt by the public ‘to be doing good job’. However, in the area of untruthful, truthful advertising’ it was felt that ‘they’ should be more active, invasive and controlling in order to protect consumers.

2.3 Ethics of Advertising

In 1972 William Franken (cited Zinkhan 1994) defined ethics as a set of moral principles directed at enhancing societal well-being. He sub divided this into moral principles: beneficence-which concerns doing good; and justice-which is the practice of being fair.

Bush and Bush (1994) defined ethics as ‘just or right standards of behaviour between parties in a situation, based on individual moral philosophies’

Another major problem in advertising is to understand the ethics any thing that is said to be right or wrong must be accepted only if they are justified. Zinkhan (1994) acknowledges that when making these difficult moral choices there are many places to turn for guidance including personal conscience, company policy, industry standards, governmental law or regulation, and organised religion. Any advertising that is said to be not following the ethics are those that have significant harmful effects for section of people.

Robin and Reidenback (1998) take a much broader view of ethics in marketing communications and point out the degree to which the basic functions are seen to be ethical or unethical they suggest that advertising, in particular, must be measured within an understanding of our history the time in which they are applied their context, the expectations of society the requirements of capitalism and our best understanding of human behaviour

2.4 Advertising & Culture

Culture is the main factor influencing consumers to develop perception toward brands and products (Maxwell, 2001). A study investigated homogeneity versus heterogeneity of global consumption, emphasising on culture price/brand effect model of middle class consumers in the US and India. The main purpose of the study is to compare the consumers of developing countries to those in industrial nations as well as comparing culture differences of the two nations and see whether it affect the way customers perceive. Research finding indicated that consumers in India have a lower perception toward brand than that of consumers in the US.

It showed that Indian consumers need to be convinced of standardised quality. And the differences between Americans and Indians influence how price and brand affect their buying decision making. Indians appeared to be tougher consumers to whom to sell as compared to American buyers. This research finding signifies that cultural differences influence the way people think, implement and interpret. Thus, it can be assumed that marketers must take cultural factor seriously when entering Indian market because consumers in India need to be convinced of standardised quality.

In addition, when companies go across border, adaptation should be considered. Marketers can use the same strategies from home when they entering foreign markets, but this tactic may business goal Discussed in an article, focusing on positioning of products in foreign markets; it claimed that it is logical that consumers would react differently to different categories of product. Marketers must understand consumers’ perceptions of international, national and private brands because it enable them to know consumer needs and to position products better against the background ofdifferences in product quality, price, prestige, and the like. Therefore, to positioning the products and service in overseas market effectively, firms must understand different demands of consumers in different countries (Ghose & Lowengart, 2001).

2.5 Advertising Objectives

Advertising objectives are to be decided at the beginning of any advertising campaign. Objectives are measurable and defined clearly. The advertising must be designed in way that it can achieve its goal. For example it can developed in order to bring a product awarness,product launch,brand choice,image change or some other aspect of advertising communication.Objectives should be always precise and narrow and they must be developed in a limited set of targets. Creating wide objectives to be attained within a short span of time and limited but will make the advertising campaign loose its effectiveness.

According to Murphy and Cunningham 1993 ‘Advertiisng objectivees are simply statements describing what is to be accomplished by advertising to capitalise on opportunities and/or overcome problems facing the adveriser during the planning period’

Many investors think the amount spent on advertising would directly produce the sales which according to the research is not true. Because sales achievements are not only related to advertising because lack of performance in some other areas will also result in the goals not being achieved. But inorder to achieve the sales target advertising plays a important role but the argument is advertising alone cannot achieve sales targets.

According to Pincott 2001 there are many statements of advertising objective and,whilst the following list is not exhaustive ,it indicates the type of objectives that might be set for an advertising campaign.

Awareness and saliency:

Raise the profile of the brand by x per cent;

Build awarness of brand by x per cent;

Make consumers aware of brand’s promotion;

Drive saliency;

Raise awarness of the brand at launch;

Educate the consumer of the benefits of the brand;

Reinforce perceptions;

To maintain the brand positioning

Revive brand relevance and appeal;

Reflect the size and status of the brand;

Remind current and lapsed users that the brand;

Build on past brand strenghts and remedy perceptual weakness;

Enchance the special regard with which the brand is held;

Change perceptions;

Reposition the brand;

Encourage reassesment of the brand

To express the brand values in contemporary manner:

Change the basis of consumer evalations of the product caregory;

Change behaviour;

Encourage increased use of the product;

Gain trial;

Get kids to ask Mum for the brand;

Increase penetration of the brand amongst(a defined target group).

As mentioned above there can be various objectives but it is most appropriate for the company and the marketers to decide what they want achieve and within what time.For example a company launching a business mobile can clearly decide that its target audience are business people and decide their goals.The more appropriate the

Use of Market Research in India

Rit Cifton(1997) has defined internation advertising as an approach ‘seeking a common perspective across markets….but not in as ambitious a way as global advertising which seeks to standardise as much as possible’.Without market research it is impossible to forecast the future. The various reasons for market research is to determine the availability and relevance of media channels in India. What are the most effective influence of media in consumers mind.

What is the fastest way of reaching the consumers and what is the most effective. Marieke de Mooij(1991) argues that:’Advertising to be effective,must derive from and be part of a culture sharing the language and values of the target audiences.’It is possible to stand out this by developing global themes.

Advertisers have a main question of whether standardising or adapting their strategy and when they have answer this they have to analayse their product and determine how it can relate to their target audience.In India the advertising propositon must be targetted with a multi-lingual perspective from the outset.Good advertising avoids subtitles .Different regions require different costume for example a ad featuring in north india requires a number different features than that require in India for example it potrays a family in North India it has show different in style of wadrobe,house and how they talk to audiences down south.

When a advertisement has to be translated from one language to a nother it can be done quite easily and it requires a lot of space. The cuisine differs from region to region and state to state in India can vary. Advertising literacy is very important.

Mary Goodyear (1996) differentiates the components of advertising literacy in the following table:

THE COMPONENTS OF ADVERTISING LITERACY

LOW CONSUMERISATION	HIGH CONSUMERISATION
Product attributes	Product Benefits
Focus on products	Focus on usage
Rational	Emotional
Realistic	Symbolic
Fact	Metaphor
Makers’s language	Brand language
Salesperson	Consumer
Packshot	Consumption
Left brain	Right brain
Selling	buying

Source:Goodyear 1996

Statements used in one country as humourous can be very critzing in another country. India Therefore proper analysis of culture ,languages and colours are very important. For example several colours have different meaning in India.The value of research in the international context as said by Bannister et al.1997

The value of research in the international context Source:Bannister et al.1997

Research ↓ Position→Emotional or informative ↓ Appeal→Romance,sex,social reward,etc ↓ Tone →Humour,soft sell,narrative,etc ↓ Advertsing concept→ Format→ cartoon,slice of life,music ↓ Media

Role of colors in India

India a land colors different colors mean different meanings through out the country. In peoples mind colors are associated with festivals,occasions,religions,happiness,lifestyles and beliefs. Being a vast country the same color can be associated with different meanings in different part of the same nation . What I have tried is to consolidate and come to general view of colors and how their associated with the mind of the people. Inorder to anlayse this certain color are accepted as total different meanings in different cultures.

When we consider the color red it indicates power,happiness and fearless.In most wedding the red is used for decoration because it indicates happiness and prosperity where as the same color red in southern part of India is accepted as a violent and very dangerous.In India once a girl gets married she is suppose to keep a red powder on her forehead indicating that she is married.The colour black is usually a color which the product could better stay away from because in India

Black is regarded as evil color. It represents negativity and darkness. Yellow is a color which is usually associated with herbs , yellow which is associated with turmeric which is used for ladies and kids which they apply on their faces to give them a brighter appearance and take all the dirt away it indicates cleaniness ,purity and sancity.Every religion as a color associated with them for Hindus the color that reperesents gods are usually red and blue. Because blue is represent by Lord Krishna and red is the symbol of Goddess Durga. Where as the majority of the people following Islam their sacred color is green.

White is a color in most part of the nation which indicates loss of happiness. It is usually allowed to wear in funerals. A widow wears a white dress to indicate that she has lost her loved one and she will stay from the happiness and joy here after.But some people also regard white as divine and purity.Contrary to the West where heritage and richness is showed by purple in India pink potrays royality.

Being such a large country a color need not have the same meaning in every part of the nation but the role of the company is to analyse the consumers mind set and how they relate to colors and decide which color would best suit to depict their product.

Role of language in Indian Advertising

India has 18 national languages and around 250 spoken languages so when a company is entering it cannot be happy to provide subtitles on every language. But according to my research what I understood was the total nation can be categorised into 4 to 5 important languages advertisers should concentrate on.

In northern part of India the most frequently spoken language is Hindi and it can be used to cover majority of the consumers.The problem comes when it as to address the consumers down south where there are four regional languages and each one is different from the other.The four languages are tamil,telugu,kanada and malayalam.So if company has to advertise in the southern part of India it is necessary for it advertise in all four languages.

The best solution is to standardise the language. English is spoken through out the country and English can be a good medium to communicate through out the country.The main drawback is if the product is global and universal it will not face any problems but if the product targets a specific target region or consumers of specific culture they have to adapt accordingly.

Even the languages used in different regions might be the same but advertisers must even concentrate on how the words are pronounced because in southern part of India the same language ‘Tamil’ has a number of different slangs which differentiates the person speaking from different part of the region.

For example in Tamil Nadu southern part of India the way tamil spoken by a person from Chennai will varie from Tamil spoken by a person from Coimbatore.Both Coimbatore and Chennai are big cities and have good population when the company is targetting the consumers in chennai it is most appropriate the advertisements on television to have the language spoken in their own home town style which will create a likeness towards the product.

Language plays a major role when we are adapting in India but it is important to understand how complex role it is to adapt to some many different languages. The main duty of the advertisers to identify what are the most important languages they have to adapt.

Mass media in India

Home of 1.14 billion people when it comes to mass media communication India is far developed in Printed as well as electronic. India is one of the largest newspaper markets after china with around 78.7 million copies sold every day. The country has a growing middle class consumers and booming economy which has resulted in enormous consumer spending and advertising. The main reason is people still trust and respect newspapers and believe the information on it to be true. It has more than 20000 journals printed in English and most of them translated into their regional languages. Some of the most read English newspapers are ‘The Hindu’ and Express network papers.

Most of the newspapers are translated into regional languages but however English newspapers are more read and widely distributed through out the country. Though there are several other languages Britain’s English is accepted through out country from the old to the young. The magazines are very large sector and have a huge potential of reaching large consumers when it is national level they can be categorised as general magazines, sports, kids, womens and cinema magazines. Most of the magazines are also covered in their regional languages. So based on the product and target audience the corresponding magazine can be chosen.

The television network in India is fast growing and the national channels which are free to watch are available through out the region and can even reach rural areas. According to Arthur Andersen television reaches around 78.9 % of the urban population and around 39.8 % of the rural population. And there are around 80 million households in India who have access to television. But with the rapid growth of satellite channels there is wide possibility for advertisers to use their advertisement on the channels more affectively for their sole purposes.

For example cricket is watch through out the country and during a match the company can advertise on a channel telecasting the match. However the cost would be must higher than any general telecast but the total reach would be so large and it would not be restricted by languages or culture. When launching a kid’s product kids channel is the best because the two major kid’s channels are cartoon network and pogo which are English channels and the advertisements need not be regional.

When a product is given to a customer it has to be local as possible they should be able to differentiate themselves from being a local rather than an alien. And the best way to show it is by proper advertising. When it comes to using the postal network that is for direct marketing it is a potential country. Because it has a well developed postal network and people do not shift their houses quite often. In most region of India they still practice joint family system in which 2 to 3 generations live together and do not split up. As a result of this it is a cheap means of communication. The target group is more and contact ratio will be must more.

According to CIA India has around 49.75 million (2005) telephones main line in use and 233.62 million mobile connections in use. Telemarketing has not been much developed in India where people trust in viewing their products and feeling them even before they make a purchase. So trying to advertise or sell a product over the phone is not quite appropriate. And most of the communication needs to be in local language because there will be some one at the home who dose not knows English and they would find it very hard to respond. There are different times in which consumers would not be happy to listen and respond for example they would not like to talk early in the mornings and after 6 in the night.

They would not be associated with conversation that would disclose their personal details. It is also not possible to obtain their direct debit or bank details over the phone because in India they would not make the purchase until they have build a trust. And also expect after sale services. it can work out well in cities but in under developed areas it cannot be much effective. With the growth of mobile industry it is possible to have more contact ratio than before but it cannot be assured how effective the message would reach the consumer.

With a variety of options it is clear mass media communication for India is wide and very efficient but it is up to the advertiser to understand which media will be most appropriate.

Localization

For a multinational to enter India it must adapt itself so that it can portray as a local than a foreigner. Several multinational have bent them so effectively that they have showed themselves as local and attracted consumers.

Brands that are global once they enter India they show them how well they have tailored themselves to match the Indian market. One important example is McDonalds a fast food restaurant outlet through out the world when it enter India it changed itself completely to show it has local. Beef burgers sold in Mc Donald’s where replaced by vegetable burger because in India beef was not consumed by majority of the population because cow was regarded as a sacred animal. So Mc Donald’s not only changed their products by adding Mc Aloo Tikki burger a local potato burger they also used look alike of Indian film stars. The message it expressed was the prices are low like old good times. This was so local and created an quick connection to every average Indian.

For a multinational the target is India’s growing middle class of an estimated 200-350 million their strategy was very effective. The McDonald’s advertisement is a classic example of ‘go global act local’

A mixture of globalization and localization is the best strategy any multinational can opt to reach every Indian. For example Coke a multinational drink company which is known for its brand need not necessarily adapt itself to India but it plays a smart role on advertising in India. Coke ads are completely local in each region of the country the use of the celebrities for the promotion can be best understood while analyzing how coke ads are given to consumers. Coke ads have film stars and they vary so much from the part of the country they are telecasted.

Coke ads in North India usually have celebrities like Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai where as ads in down south have their local film stars like Vikram and Vijay. All these stars have a great market potential and these ads create a great impact on the consumers and make them feel the product is completely local and it is for them. Glocalization, explained Zubin Driver, network creative director of the television channel CNBC’s TV18, is a product of globalization and the local reaction to it. 2.6 Advertising Appeals

Advertising formats can be of several varieties they can apple rational or emotional or both. Advertising appeal refers to the basis or approach used in the advertising to attract the intrest amd attention of consumers and influence their feelings towards the product.As Ogilvy and Raphaelson(1982) state:Few purchases of any kind are made for entirely rational reasons. Even a purely functional product such as a laundry detergent may offer what is now called an emotional benefit-say the satisfaction of seeing one;s children in bright clean clothes.

Appelbaum and Halliburton(1993) provide a table illustrating the various formats used within advertising:

• Slice of life

• Story around the product

• Testimonials (by experts)

• Testimonials (by celebrities)

• Tesitimonials(by ordinary people)

• Talking heads

• Characters associated with the products

• Demonstrations

• People in action

• Cartoon

• International versus national

Chapter 3 - Research Methodology

Introduction

This study aims to find the most effective and suitable advertising strategies for foreign firms when entering Indian market, and thus, consumer behaviour and consumer needs must be understood before doing do. To gain such information, several steps have to be carried out. Therefore the main purpose of this chapter is to provide information on research methods used.

3.1 Research Design

This research consists of Exploratory Research and Descriptive Research. The details on each process are provided as below.

3.1.1 Exploratory Research

This is the first step to gain an understanding on the implication of advertising on consumer behaviour. As previously explained in Literature Review, advertising can influence consumers in different ways. To accomplish this process effectively, primary research is conducted in this stage. Focus group interview is used during this stage to gain primary data.

3.1.2 Descriptive Research

Descriptive research is a process after the focus group interview. And the main aim of descriptive research is to analyse the primary data. Primary data in this research are represented in descriptive fashion, based on supported theories from different sources, such journal articles, books, internet and newspapers.

3.2 Type and Source of Information

There are two types of data, including primary data and secondary data. And for a better understanding, details on both data are described as below.

3.2.1 Primary Data

Primary data are information collected by the researchers rather than from others. Primary data can be easily defined as information that does not exist and the process to gain such information involves some research programs, such as observation and experiment (Schmidt & Hollensen, 2006). Research methods used to obtain primary data include questionnaires, protocol analysis, focus group, action research, individual in-depth interview, project methods, and Delphi research.

In this study, primary data are collected through the use of questionnaires. Primary research comprise of data that is not available or written in any form. Price. (1994) highlights that the “essence of a primary source of information is the one which involves the researcher into direct experience and observation with the real world”. As Price states “primary data (field research) refers to original data that has been generated through primary data collection (experimentation, observation or questionnaires)”.

The terms quantitative and qualitative are two approaches to research (Punch 2005). “Quantitative research is widely accepted as the approach; which employs data into numbers whereas qualitative research refers to data which are not in the form of numbers” (Punch 2005). Punch (2005) argues that “quantitative research is more structured, compared with the qualitative approach, based on the fact that the first employs structured research questions, conceptual frameworks and designs”. Price (1994) recognizes “this basic distinction between those two approaches and relates qualitative approach with words and quantitative with numbers. It is his belief that the quantitative approach can be found in studies in which the data can be analyzed in terms of numbers while qualitative research put emphasis on describing people’s attitudes, opinions and various situations without the use of data”.

Quantitative research will provide us with statistical information from the responses to the questionnaires, through which it will hopefully be possible to establish a correlation between the variables of the study. Quantitative research can be break down into various categories, which had been selected depend on research objective and the types information you would like to gather. It categorize into

Descriptive Research: According to Ouyang, R. (2003) “It involves collecting data in order to test hypotheses or answer questions concerning the current status of the subjects of the study.” As in this dissertation we had to test the prescribed hypothesis that’s why this sort of quantitative research fall into descriptive research. That can verify any hypothesis with the help of filling out questionnaire.

Co relational: “This research attempts to determine whether and to what degree a relationship exists between two or more quantifiable variables. However, it never establishes a cause-effect relationship. The relationship is expressed by correlation coefficient, which is a number between .00 and 1.00.” Ouyang, R. (2003). So using this type of research might not feasible for the dissertation, as we just need to verify the given the assumption, not want to compare any given variable.

Cause-comparative: “This type of research is only feasible when we need to get the cause and affect relationship of any given scenario. Such as if the advertising increases by 20% what effect will it going to bring on the sales. It basically determines the cause and aftermath, if it had been implemented. Therefore using this type of research doesn’t have much relevance to the objective we are going to achieve through questionnaire.” Ouyang, R. (2003)

Experimental: “Experimental research not only establishes the cause-effect relationship but it also does the comparison of two as well, as the cause is manipulated. The cause, independent variable makes the key difference. The effect works as a dependent variable which depends on the independent variable cause, explain by Ouyang, R. (2003).”

While on the other hand qualitative research provides definitive scientific information regarding the opinions and behaviors of the subjects in the research study. Qualitative research is used to achieve a variety of objectives.

• Obtain helpful background information

• Identify attitudes, opinions and behavior shared by a target group

• Prioritize variables for further study

• Fully define problems

• Provide direction for the development of questionnaires

Price (1994) “Primary researches include the collection of data which are non-published or written in any form. The essence of a primary data is that it involves the researcher in direct experience and observation with the real world”. Considering Price (1994) words, primary data also refers to “original data that has been generated through primary data collection such as experimentation, observation or questionnaires.” Questionnaire is used as a tool of primary data during this dissertation in order to come to any conclusion.

Both approaches are classified as valid and useful according to Blaxter, Hugh and Tight (2001), and in a variety of cases, “it is not rare to use both for one investigation. Although questionnaires are considered to be research tools of an enhanced quantitative nature, and interviews and observations as qualitative research tools, this is not always the case.” According to Blaxter, Hugh and Tight. (2001) “questionnaires include qualitative data such as attitudes and opinions; whereas interviews can be structured and analysed in a quantitative approach. Thus, there is no clear distinction between those two approaches, especially when referring to the design of the research tools and data analysis.”

“There are many ways to undertake the gathering of primary data, including conducting surveys to create market data or using other research instruments such as questionnaires, focus groups, interviews, etc. noting first-hand observations. Following are the list of various approaches that can be used but had not used in order to gather primary data:” Arab, F. (2007).

Personal Interviews

Using the personal interview as a source of gathering primary data may be expensive, but it requires more to time deal with respondent as, there has been a series of question which had been asked from the subject, and most of them are open ended question, which were more time consuming than filling out the questionnaire. Beside this using personal interview might not eliminate privacy factor, as their identity should have known to the person asking questions, which might disrupt the privacy consideration, and they might formulate their response in order to hide out their identity. Therefore using questionnaire is much more feasible in this dissertation to collect primary data. Personal interview still have some distinct features which may beneficial depend on the objective of research, type of respondent, and especially when we have to measure attributes and behavior. Personal interview key features are

• Extensive probing questions

• Usually recorded on an audio tape

• Uses open-ended questions

• Conducted on a one-on-one basis

• Uses an unstructured form of survey

• Interview typically lasts up to one hour

• Usually no more than 50 persons are interviewed

Focus Groups

Focus group is a form of qualitative research in which group of people had been asked about their attitude and concern regarding any product, service or concept. Questions had been asked in an interactive group session where participants are free to talk with other group members. Using focus group might not be the feasible idea, as usually focus group had been conducted when you need to determine the reaction of respondent towards any product or service. In order to evaluate potential of any in process concept or prototype focus group is feasible.

With the use of questionnaire allow us to cover the large area of target population whereas focus group elicits information from around 6 to 24 people who represents the group of population. The core reason to use focus group is get the deeper understanding of any particular issue discussed during the focus group session. Focus group core characteristics are

• Quantitative research creates statistically valid market information. Some common uses for quantitative research include:

• Substantiate a hypothesis or prove a theory

• Minimize risk

• Obtain reliable samples for projecting trends

• Groups of 8-12 people

• Led by a moderator who follows a script

• Groups are audio or video recorded

• Meetings last from 1-2 hours

• Minimum of two groups scheduled per target market

• Group dynamics factor in data collection

There had been various other techniques which could have used under quantitative research in order to gather primary data. Personal surveys, telephone and mail surveys seem to be most common quantitative techniques. Though they have not used during the research process in dissertation but they still have principal importance as primary data collection tool.

Personal Surveys

Advantages of personal surveys are:

• Flexibility with location and time for gathering information

• Interviewer can use visual displays

• Interviewer can observe reactions, probe and clarify answers

• Technique usually nets a high percentage of completed surveys

• Allows for good sampling control

Disadvantages of personal surveys are:

• Expensive

• Time consuming

• Interviewer biases may disrupt the result of the personal interview.

Telephone Surveys

Advantages of telephone surveys are:

• Small response bias

• Quick response

• Lower cost than personal surveys

• Cover wide geographic area

Disadvantages of telephone surveys are:

• Time constraint.

• Hard to discuss certain topics.

• Can be expensive compared to mail surveys.

• Difficult to reach busy people.

Mail Surveys

Advantages of Mail surveys are:

• Wide distribution and low cost

• Interviewer bias is eliminated

• Anonymity of respondents

• Respondent can answer at leisure

Disadvantages of Mail surveys are:

• Accurate lists are not always available.

• Response is not necessarily representative of the target population.

• Limited to length of survey.

• Not timely.

• Clarifying and probing of answers is not possible.

• Question order bias.

• Unable to guarantee a specific total sample.

3.3 Limitations

One of the most important issues we should aware of is the limitations of any research method and its effect on the overall project. There is always room for improvements in research projects of this kind. The issues of limited time, access and money are crucial, as the period of this dissertation’s design, implementation and final writing-up is also limited.

Thus, useful outcomes and lessons can be learned from such an effort, such as the importance of learning how to utilize research and face difficulties during the undertaking of the primary research, collecting and analyzing data as well as to work to specific deadlines while coping with large amounts of data.

3.5 Primary Research Activities

Primary data has been collected through questionnaire, which is an effective tool of collecting primary data. The core motive for given preference to questionnaire in order to gather primary data as they are less time consuming and because the time frame for the dissertation is limited therefore questionnaire seems to be the viable choice. Though the other tools of primary research can also be used personal interview or telephone or mail surveys but they cost more money than questionnaire.

Questionnaire is relatively seems to be cheapest form of primary data collection tool. Another critical factor which give questionnaire superiority to other primary data collection tool, as the result we get from questionnaire are quite easy to analyze or interpret; while on the other hand result gather from personal interview or focus group may be complicated to analyze as in these methods we have measure their behavior as well, which is bit hard to interpret.

By using the questionnaire I want to analyze what are the factors that attract them to wards an advertisement how they stand different.

Initially questionnaire had been started with "sampling". Sampling allows the researcher to reach conclusions about a population within a certain degree of accuracy without having to survey everyone. It is not necessary to have a large sample size. Given the nature of the project the issue of sampling for the questionnaire is a little more straightforward than for some areas. Sample will be taken from students and those who are working in the organizations who are exposed to all media of advertisement. Designing the questionnaire is one of the core processes of primary research activity.

3.2.2 Secondary Data

Secondary data is information refer to information gathered by others rather than researcher. And in most cases, they are collected for some other purposes. Secondary data can be obtained from various sources. In this study, secondary data are collected from internet, journal articles, website and newspapers.

This dissertation is also done with secondary research, “the research that looks for data that have been produced and structured by someone else.” (Price 1994). This involves information that already exists elsewhere, such as in studies already undertaken on this area as well as published books, articles journals, articles on the internet and other sources.

According to Jankowicz, A. (1995) “Secondary research aims to provide the necessary theoretical background or in other words the conceptual framework, which will be the basis for the implementation of the aim and objectives of the study”. This basic aspect of properly designed and accomplish research is developed from a sound knowledge and perceptive of the subject area, so research should start with the collection of data, review and critical appraisal of existing information in the subject area. Secondary Research is quite easiest and economical type of research, but needs to be done carefully.

As a result maximum time of dissertation will involve locating and gathering information from reliable sources. It is also taking into account to use a wide variety of material; in order to have a comprehensive background to the subject, as well as a good indulgent of all the issues involved which are of relevance to research area.

Though in order to be able to make some recommendations and to reach some conclusions over the validity of previous research, the collection of primary data is imperative. This will be achieved through a questionnaire which had been filled by the people working in an organization. From the questionnaire we try to determine the people response towards the advertisements and which part of culture influences their desire towards the products. The survey will be constructed following a comprehensive study of secondary material available.

3.7 Research design

Jankowicz (2005) defines the design of a research as “the deliberately arrangement of conditions for analysis and collection of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy of procedure. He is going on to explain why the design of a research work is essential and also why different research approaches require different types of data collection and gathering.” Jankowicz (2005) also states “that design is appropriate in order that the data will be:”

• Of a relevant nature to the thesis or to the argument (research questions or hypotheses);

• Reliable and valid so that will consist an adequate test for the thesis;

• Accurate so that will establish causality, especially in situations where the research has to go beyond description to explain what is happening in the real world;

• Capable to provide findings that could be generally applied to a range of situations and cases.”

3.8 Sampling

Sampling is explain by Jankowicz (2005) as “the deliberate choice of a number of people; the sample, who are going to provide the research with the necessary data from which conclusions are to be drawn. Those conclusions will be valid for a larger group of people, the population, which is represented by the sample.” In other words, “it is impossible for any kind of research to gather data from everyone who falls in the specific category which is being researched” Denscombe. (1998). Therefore, “sample is called the selection of people from the whole population”. Robson. (1993).

3.9 This Study

Questionnaires in general are an effective tool of collecting information quickly and cheaply. The sample of population for the questionnaire will comprise people working in an organization, selected at random. Sample size of 30 had been chosen, as 30 seem to be sufficient number in order to make any conclusion. Initially the questionnaire was piloted to a sample group of 5 respondents in order to verify whether the questionnaire works in the way in which it is intended or if the questions require some adjustment.

The questionnaire included dichotomous (yes, no or don't know agree or disagree) questions and multiple choice questions. These types of questions by far are the easiest to analyze.

3.10 Analysis

“The analysis will be made of the responses, coding responses that are not simple yes/no answers. Responses to questions will be collated and evaluated. The resulting table of figures will need careful analysis, which will then be translated into statistical representational graphs and charts. Within the questionnaire there will be some questions that basically ask the same thing but from different angles, to enable accurate checking of the responses for consistency.” Saunders, M. et al (2003).

Chapter 4 - Research Results & Data Analysis

Introduction

This chapter aims to represent research findings, which are described in descriptive fashion. The collected data are analysed on the basis of a comparative qualitative analysis, with related or similar studies.

4.1 Demographic Results

Classify by gender

Gender	Frequency	Per cent
Male	7	46.67%
Female	8	53.33%
Total	15	100.00%

Classify by age

Age	Frequency	Per cent
25 – 30 year-old	4	26.67%
31- 35 year-old	8	53.33%
35-40 year-old	3	20.00%
Total	15	100.00%

Classify by level of education

Age	Frequency	Per cent
Undergraduate Degree	7	46.67%
Master’s Degree	5	33.33%
PhD	3	20.00%
Total	15	100.00%

Based on the above tables, it can be assumed that most of the respondents are female, with 53.33 per cent contribution, while male subjects represent 46.67 per cent. Also, majority of the respondents are aged between 31 and 35 year-old, with the contribution of 53.33 per cent. In addition, most of subjects hold undergraduate degree, with 46.67 per cent, followed by Master’s degree, with 33.33 per cent and PhD, with 20 per cent, in that order.

4.2 Demographic Relations & Advertising Influencing Buying Behavior

4.2.1 Age & Type of Advertising

Criteria

Age 25-30 31-35 40-45 Total

TV advertising	100.00%	87.50%	100.00%	287.50%
Magazine advertising	75.00%	37.50%	100.00%	212.50%
Internet banner/advertising	100.00%	100.00%	0.00%	200.00%
Poster advertising	50.00%	75.00%	66.67%	191.67%
Radio advertising	50.00%	50.00%	33.33%	133.33%

Based on the data in the above table, it can be seen that the most effective promotional tool is television advertising, followed by magazine advertising and internet advertising, in that order. However, when look at different group age of customers, it can be seen that customers aged between 40 and 45 year-old tend to rely on older type of advertisement, such as television and poster adverts. In contrast, customers aged below 35 year-old appear to be familiar with new media advertisement like internet banner. This research indicated that when foreign companies enter India, they should know their target market, so that they can use the right promotional channel to reach their target customers.

4.2.2 Advertising Themes

Criteria	Percentage
Funny theme	93.33%
Fear theme	60.00%
Emotional theme	80.00%
Beneficial theme	73.33%

According to research finding, it can be assumed that funny advertising theme is the most effective concept, followed by emotional theme and beneficial theme, respectively.

Chapter 5 – Conclusion

Introduction

This is the final chapter of this research and it aims to provide recommendations and suggestion, explain limitations and produce proposal for further research.

5.1 Recommendations & Suggestions

Based on research finding, it can be seen that different types of advertising are in the interest of different group age customers and thus, when foreign firms must know their target market before developing advertising strategies. However, the most effective advertising tools include television advertising, magazine advertising and internet/banner advertising. Foreign firms entering Indian market can consider the following options.

5.1.1 Promotional Strategy

Advertising & Public Relation

Advertising is significant to the success of products/services. Therefore, building brand awareness for new products/services in India market to the target customers through advertising and public relation to create product acceptance is the first priority that the company should win over.

Television Advertising: Select television programs with the same target audience such as music programs, sports programs etc. This tactic can be done by launching television advertising from original countries if it fits in term of culture. For example, some customers may prefer international brand over local brands. This technique is useful for brand name products in particular.

Internet/ Banner Advertising: Select Website browsed by the same target market, such as Yahoo and Hotmail which are popular among all group ages.

Magazine Advertising: Select the magazines that have the same target audiences such as teenagers’ magazines and men magazines, such as Forbis and Elle.

5.2 Limitation & Further Research Topics

The limitation of this study involves the scope of the study. This research only focuses on examining types of advertising and effective themes that can influence buying decision of Indian customers. And thus, research finding of this study cannot be fully applied to customers in different cultures, especially those in the Western world. Thus, a further research topic can investigate the importance of advertising among British customers, or a further research topic can investigate the significant of advertising on customers when they make decision to purchase specific products.

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Appendix 1

Focus Group Questions

• What is advertising and why you think it important to you?

• You may know some of these adverting tools (show card); so what can it gives you and how can it help you to make buying decision?

Criteria	Percentage
TV advertising
Magazine advertising
Internet banner/advertising
Poster advertising
Radio advertising

• Do you know these advertising tools (show cards) and what do you think about them?

• How you compare these advertising themes (show cards)?

Theme of Advertising

Criteria	Percentage
Funny theme
Fear theme
Emotional theme
International brand theme
Benefit of products/services theme

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