IMPACT OF ADVERTISING IN THE MARKETING OF AIRLINE SERVICES AND THE CASE STUDY
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
In every facet ‘of business, be it profit or nonprofit oriented, the owners of such business concern must focus on techniques to create awareness for its products, service and ideas. For a system of transaction to take place, marketing thus call for more than developing a product, pricing and making it readily accessible to the target market. As firms make good products, they must inform consumers of the products and carefully position these products in the consumer’s mind. And to do this, they must use a mass promotion tool called Advertising.
In the modern economy with dispersed large population, interpersonal communication especially between producing units and their customers is no longer tenable, Hence advertising helps to stimulate and sustain the vigor and momentum of economic activities through the enhancement of the consumption behaviour of the citizens. Also the image of a company is enhanced through the establishment of reputation for trustworthiness of progressive and social responsibility brought about by advertising in the minds of both actual and potential customers. But the extent an advertising is packaged and the awareness created will make the difference both positively or negatively on the intention of gofidrof such business. Advertising plays a great role in a nation’s development as the reaction to any customer towards any product or service is enhanced by advertising. The key point of every organization is to sell its product and this can only be done successfully through an advertising campaign.
Advertising beyond any doubt started as early as 1861 through town criers, local sign post and through local song instruments. (Onyebunagu 1983: 27).
Advertising involves four elements, the source, message, channel and receiver. The source is represented by the advertiser who produces an advertisement which is the message through mass media (communication channel) then to the target audience which is the receiver. The vital part of communication known as feedback is measured in terms of sales realized. Advertising intervene in nearly all aspects
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of economic and cultural lives. It highlights and stimulates certain vitality in production and trade. Advertising give Industries, Companies like Nigeria Airways faster access to the market for the introduction of new products and services and reinforce consumer awareness for the existing products. It also tries to transmit feelings, commitments and convictism as well as to transmit them persuasively. For advertising to meet it goals it most have a purpose.
Advertising has been defined as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. (Kotler & Armstrong 1989 p434). Ar.identified sponsor could be forms, companies, Airlines, Non-profit and individuals who are in a way identified in the advertising message. With reference to the definition above, advertising therefore could be regarded as a mino to our society. As stated by Hobson 1988, advertising is not only a means of informing mass market, but a promotional medium in which government and other organizations can channel their ideas and the Airline induct
such as ARIK Airways Ltd., the importance of advertising cannot be over stressed due to large influx of people in the Airline business, meaning that the highest advertiser in the industry is the “king in the market”. The Airline uses advertising to inform its customers about its services. These services are in form of reduced Airfares, change of schedules, promotional and seasonal fares etc.
Advertising helps to keep the customers abreast of the services the Airline offers at any point in time. If the Airline falls to advertise, the public would not be aware of its services and this could give its competitors the advantage of misleading or taking over its customers.
The Airline uses TV., Magazines, Newspapers and Radio for the bulk of its advertisements. Besides in other advertising programmers, the advertisers has to predict through certain principles of budget depending on the means of communication considered which must be well designed and tailored to meet their consumption. Because of the fact new Airlines are being established everyday and the ones already existing are trying one way or the other to outpace the other, the importance of advertising which are awareness creation of its products and consumer persuasion towards the product becomes imperative. ARIK AirLINE Ltd. being a national carrier and competing with other foreign airlines should use advertising as a strategy to. differentiate its services from others.
1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
As stated earlier, advertising is the mirror through which the public gets to know
about a company or firm and what they do. Often times a lot of money is spent on advertising without ascertaining the return of what is invested in the advertisement.
Looking at the activities of the Airline Industry in the past three years has shown an increase in Airline patronage which is brought about by increased advertising. But sometimes managers complain thus “we are not recording profit compared to when we did not advertise”. Consequently, the purpose of advertising which is to induce buyers to adopt favorable attitude towards the Airline products is marred. It is the entire responsibility of the managers to employ advertising as a marketing tool. But the unfortunate thing is that most Managers create problems for their advertising departments in their erroneous use of advertising. Many Marketing Managers do not plan ahead of schedule and this creates problem for their advertising Departments which are usually required to operate on schedule.