A PROJECT REPORT ON

“IMPACT OF ONLINE ADVERTISING ON

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR WITH REFERENCE TO
EMAIL”

This project report is submitted to Rayagada Autonomous

College, Rayagada in the partial fulfilment Bachelors
Degree of Commerce for the examination of 6th semester
exam
Under the supervision and guidance of

MS.LIZA RANI SATAPATHY

LECTURER, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Submitted by
R.BHARGAV
COLLEGE ROLL NO: BC-15-002
EXAM ROLL NO: R15-COM-239
registration roll no. 36072/2015
 DeClaration

I hereby declare that the project report titled “Impact of Online

Advertising on Consumer Behaviour With Reference To Email” Is

an authentic record of the research work carried out by me under the

supervision of LIZA RANI SATAPATHY, Lecturer, department of

commerce, Rayagada autonomous college. I further declare that this has

not previously formed the basis of the award of any degree, diploma,

associateship, fellowship or other similar titles or recognition. This

thesis has been revised as per suggestions made by the internal

examiner.

R.BHARGAV RAYAGADA
DATE: RESEARCH SCHOLAR
 CertiFiCate
This is to certify that the project work entitled “Impact Of

Online Advertising On Consumer Behaviour With Reference

To Email is a bonafide work done by R.BHARGAV B.com

Final year session 2015-2018 in partial fulfilment of semester

exam of CBCS examination 2018 and has been carried out

under my direct supervision and guidance. The report or a

similar report on the topic has not been submitted for any

other examination and does not form a part of any other

course undergone by the candidate.

LIZA RANI SATAPATHY

LECTURER IN COMMERCE
RAYAGADA AUTONOMOUS COLLEGE
RAYAGADA.
 aCKnoWleDgment

The completion of this study would have been impossible without the material

and Moral support from various people. It is my obligation therefore to extend

my Gratitude to them. First of all I thank the Almighty God for giving me good

health and guiding me through the entire course.

I am greatly indebted to MS. LIZA RANI SATAPATHY who was my

supervisor for his effective supervision, dedication, availability and

professional advice. I extend my gratitude to the Principal Dr.K.Salva Raju,

and HOD MR. SUBRAT KUMAR PRADHAN enriching my research with

knowledge. My appreciation finally goes to my classmates’ and parents, with

whom I weathered through the storms, giving each other encouragement, for

being source of inspiration and providing time and freedom to develop this

project and for their positive criticism respectively.

R.BHARGAV

COLLEGE ROLL NO: BC-15-002 EXAM

ROLL NO: R-15-COM-239

1
Contents

CHAPTER 1 ....................................................................................................................................... 3
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................... 4
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY................................................................................. 5
1.2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE .......................................................................................... 6
1.2.1 PURPOSE OF A LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................. 6
1.3 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM ........................................................................................ 9
1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................ 9
1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................................................... 9
1.5.1 SCOPE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................ 9
1.5.2 SOURCES OF DATA .................................................................................................... 10
1.5.3 NEED OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................ 10
1.5.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY................................................................................ 11
CHAPTER 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 12
2.1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................... 13
2.2 HISTORY OF ADVERTISING: ............................................................................................. 13
2.3 HOW DOES ADVERTISING WORK? ................................................................................. 14
2.4 ONLINE ADVERTISING ........................................................................................................ 15
ONLINE ADVERTISEMENT-TYPES .................................................................................... 15
2.5 INTERNET ADVERTISING STRATEGIES ........................................................................ 16
2.6 GENERAL ONLINE ADVERTISEMENTS.......................................................................... 16
2.7 HOW EFFECTIVE ONLINE ADVERTISEMENTS CAN BE CREATED ..................... 17
2.8 MOST IMPORTANT ONLINE ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES DURING 2013 . 18
2.9 INTERNET MARKETING ................................................................................................... 19
2.9.1 EMAIL ............................................................................................................................ 20
Chapter 3 ......................................................................................................................................... 22
3.1 WHO IS THE CONSUMER .................................................................................................... 23
3.2 THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING THE CONSUMER .................................................. 23
3.3 THE CONSUMER DECISION PROCESS ............................................................................ 23
3.3.1 STEPS IN THE CONSUMER DECISION MAKING ................................................... 24
3.4 APPLYING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR KNOWLEDGE .................................................. 25
3.5 CONSUMER PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR THEORY .......................................................... 26
3.6 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR TOWARDS ONLINE ADVERTISEMENTS .......................... 27

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 3.7 WHAT IS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND
ADVERTISING? ............................................................................................................................ 28
3.8 HOW DOES ADVERTISING INFLUENCE PEOPLE (CONSUMER)? ........................... 29
3.9 ONLINE ADVERTISEMENTS AND ITS IMPACT ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ... 30
3.10 EFFECT OF ADVERTISING & PROMOTION ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR .......... 31
3.11 NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF ADVERTISING ...................................................................... 32
3.12 THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF ADVERTISEMENTS ...................................................... 34
CHAPTER 4 ........................................................................................................................................ 36
4.1 EMAIL ....................................................................................................................................... 37
4.2 BENEFITS OF EMAIL MARKETING ................................................................................. 37
1. Return on investment ............................................................................................................. 37
2. Immediacy ............................................................................................................................... 37
3. Global ....................................................................................................................................... 38
4. Easy to create........................................................................................................................... 38
5. Easy to measure....................................................................................................................... 38
6. Easy to share ............................................................................................................................ 38
7. Target fans of your brand ...................................................................................................... 39
8. Segmentation ........................................................................................................................... 39
9. Calls to action .......................................................................................................................... 40
10. Low-cost ................................................................................................................................. 40
CHAPTER 5 ........................................................................................................................................ 41
5.1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................... 42
5.2 SUMMARY OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................. 42
5.3 RECOMMENDATION ............................................................................................................ 42
5.4 Conclusions and Suggestions.................................................................................................... 43
REFFERANCE ................................................................................................................................... 44

2
CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

3
 ABSTRACT

With the rapid growth in technology, the internet is becoming an important one
stop point for consumers in finding most of their needs. Many consumers are
online every day for their personal work, but do they notice the ads, banners
displayed on that web page and most important their recall value. The current
study investigated the effectiveness of internet advertising on consumer
behaviour by conducting a case study of Berhampur University Student. The
study sought to determine the effectiveness of internet advertising on reach and
creation of awareness; Impact of email on online advertising. Impact of online
advertising over customers, Impact of email over consumer behaviour. The study
used a case study research design. The study used stratified sampling technique
.The primary data was collected using questionnaires. The data was presented
through percentages, means, standard deviations and frequencies. The study
found that internet advertising was effective on reach and creation of awareness
due to diverse usage, and established that its reliability as an advertising media
was low compared to TV and email. Internet advertising has significant
relationship with purchase decision of the consumers and therefore is a key
determinant in influencing consumer behaviour. The study determined that there
is a positive relationship between internet advertising and consumer purchase
decision and further recommends that companies should conduct a market
research on the different markets in various countries to ensure that the internet
advertising initiatives being implemented suits the targeted markets to improve
product purchases.

4
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Internet has roughly doubled the influence of the second strongest medium -- television -- and
roughly eight times the influence of traditional printed media. This shift in consumer influence
indicates a need and an opportunity for companies to reprioritize the mix of communications
channels they use to reach their customers. Consumers use the Internet in different ways to
make different decisions. For example, consumers are more likely to seek opinions of others
through social media and product-rating sites when making choices that have a great deal of
personal impact (e.g., healthcare options or major electronics purchases). But they do use
company-controlled sources when making transactional decisions on commoditized items,
such as utilities or airline tickets. The Internet has given consumers more control in accessing
information on products and services. There are several factors that contribute to consumers
pull for online content—consumers are the one who decide when, where, what, and how much
commercial content they wish to view. The Internet enables consumers to access an unlimited
range of products and services from companies around the world, and it has reduced the time
and effort they spend on shopping. Consumers play a much more active role in searching for
information online with some goal in mind, and that goal can influence individual behaviours
and responses to online information and advertisements (Smith, 2002). With the rapid
advancement in the computer industry, many companies have made the Internet as part of their
advertising media mix to take advantage of the online technologies. The Internet has become a
popular advertising platform because marketers found that the Internet possess greater
flexibility and control over the advertising materials. Since the Internet can be used as an
efficient marketing communication tool, both scholars and practitioners are interested in
understanding how to take full advantage and maximizing the value of this communication
medium. The growth of internet advertising is both globally and locally outpacing offline
advertising. While outdoor advertising is also experiencing growth, it is not growing as rapidly
as Internet advertising.

It is on this basis that the study investigated on the impact of online advertising based on a
consumer behaviour with reference to Email from RAYAGADA AUTONOMOUS to
determine the relationship between advertising and consumer behaviour.

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1.2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
"The process of reading, analysing, evaluating, and summarizing scholarly materials about a
specific topic is termed as review of literature." It is a critical summary and an assessment of
the current state of knowledge or current state of the art in a particular field.”

1.2.1 PURPOSE OF A LITERATURE REVIEW

 To provide the reader with an up to date account and discussion of the research
findings in particular topic.

 Helps to detect conflicting points of view expressed by authors. The conflicting points
given might be the indicators of diverging theories within the same topic.
 To analyse relevant research carried out on the same topic.
 To justify choice of research question, theoretical or conceptual framework.
 To ascertain the importance of the topic.
 To give backdrop information required to comprehend the study.
 To show readers the familiarity with significant or up-to-date research relevant to the
topic.
 To establish study as one link in a chain of research that is developing knowledge in
that field.
REVIEW OF RELATED STUDY
ANTHONY R. N. (2015) in his paper entitled “The Effectiveness of Internet Advertising on
Consumer Behaviour”. He mainly aimed to find the reliability of internet advertisement
through the recall, relationship between advertising and purchase decisions. His study had
benefited to marketers, business, government and academicians. Stratified sampling technique
was used to select the units for study. The study found that the effectiveness of internet
advertising on reach and creations of awareness was determined by the level of knowledge
about the existing platforms of advertisements and time spent on these media. The study
concludes that internet advertising influenced purchase decisions of the customers to moderate
extent as only nearly half of the respondents were influenced purchase decisions.

CHAUBEY D. S. (2013) has examined the “Measuring the Effectiveness of Online

Advertisement in Recalling a Product: An Empirical Study”. He made his study with an

6
objective to find out the consumer attitude towards online advertising, identifying the ability
of online advertising of product in building the ability of customers and the influencing the
purchase pattern. In order to achieve his objective he used the survey method by which data is
collected within the region of Dehradun (Uttarakhand). The study can be concluded that online
advertising if implemented properly can be an effective tool. There are variety of factors to be
considered for internet advertising that can be used to drive a potential customer to the website.
The factors like customers, product, technology and media are to be given importance. The
study found that the usefulness of the product as majority of the respondent recall the
advertisement because of its necessity and usefulness.

DESHWAL P. (2015) has studied on “Online advertising and its impact on consumer
behaviour”. The study was undertaking with an objective to understand the core concept of
online advertising and study its effect and importance on consumer behaviour. The study
depicts that businesses are spending more on online advertisement than before understanding
the factors that influence online advertisement effectiveness is crucial. Worldwide web is
becoming gradually a standard advertisement platform. The web is offering business
advertisement world with more rich tools. The actual impact of advertising is hard to trade and
quantity for both mass media and the internet.

PRIYANKA S. (2012) assessed on “impact of online advertising on consumer behaviour (with

special reference to e-mails”. The objective was to analyse consumer’s attitude towards Internet
advertising & its effect on their purchase behaviour pattern, their response to online
advertisements and their perception of companies which advertises online. The study has
focused on urban customers of above 18 years of age, so that they can recall the reasons which
affect their perception of internet advertisements. A cluster sampling has been used. A total
number of 100 respondents were surveyed. She found that the internet users of all ages have
the same perception towards the websites advertisements creates irritations among all age
group people. According to some respondents the internet advertisements have interactivity.
The study concludes that the relationship between age of the respondents and the websites that
are the most clicked at, are independent. In a survey of 100 respondents, 33 were used internet
for email access, 23 used for window shopping, 22 used for net surfing. Finally online
advertising is informative for all age groups and basically used for accessing email in.

7
ELISABETTA C. (2010) has studied on “The effectiveness of advertising”. The aim of the
paper is to propose a simple approach to monitor and control the encoding phase, too often
neglected by the doctrine and operators in the communication process. The paper is discusses
a possible methodology to investigate the degree of coincidence / discordance between what is
conveyed through the advertising and what is actually understood by some consumers. The
object of investigation is the verbal text of the spot in order to verify the level of understanding
of the message and, if necessary, to find the reasons of a wrong perceived meaning.

TELEGHANI MD has studied on” Internet Advertising and Consumer Behaviour in the
Purchase of Products”. Information and communications of new technologies, has created the
intelligence community and emergence this community has put a particular conditions facing
the audience. One of proposed fields is commercial advertising. Including advantages of
internet advertising can be cited to two-way communication with the audience, relatively low
cost, universal and boarding access. Internet advertising is efficient on consumer behaviour in
process of products purchase. Internet advertising have that fits needs of individuals and
contain sufficient information about the product types and could identify consumer behaviour
with respect to affecting factors and select appropriate strategies, can greatly contribute to the
process of purchasing and ultimately customer loyalty.

OSEWE O.G (2013) has studied on the “the effectiveness of internet advertising on consumer
behaviour”. The research undergoes three objectives; to determine the effectiveness of internet
advertising on reach and creation of awareness, establish the reliability of internet advertising
through recall, determine the relationship the internet advertising and purchase decisions. The
research has found the reach of internet is higher than that of other modes, its ability to attract
consumers is very low. Internet advertising is influenced by purchase decisions of the
customers to moderate extent as only nearly half of the respondents were influenced by the
purchase decisions. The study recommends that a similar study should be undertaken in private
university for comparison purpose to allow for generalisation of consumer behaviour. The
study concludes that the effectiveness of internet advertising on reach and creation of
awareness was determined by the level knowledge about the existing platforms of
advertisements adopted by various companies and the time spent on media.

LEVY AND CZEPIEL (1974) has studied on “advertising”. He refers advertising as “entire
realm in which people feel interest, pleasure and emotion and the presence or absence of
beauty’” and “aesthetic feeling can be stirred by many vehicles of experience- pictures, words,

8
 music, colours, shapes and movements”. They observe that “the elements of aesthetic reaction
are always present; aesthetics is pervasive”. They also note that aesthetic approach in marketing
is quite visible in product design where by the product becomes a work of art and the product
is decorated for aesthetic stimulation, design is reshaped to fit some aesthetic effect.

1.3 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The project report has formulated on “impact of online advertising on consumer behaviour with
reference to email” which has developed after review of related literatures and discussions with
experts.

1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the study is to find out the answers of the followings:

I. Impact of email on online advertising.

II. Impact of online advertising over customers.
III. Impact of email over consumer behaviour.

1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is a strategy that guides a research in providing answers to research

questions and for this, research survey is being done. “Accuracy of the study depends on the
systematic application of the method. It provides a detailed description of the research approach
adopted in this study.

1.5.1 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

“The Scope of Advertising Is Increasing Day-By-Day “Advertising has a very wide scope in
marketing and in the social system. The scope of advertising is described on the basis of
activities included under advertising and their forms and systems, objectives and functions. No

9
 product can be sold without some form of advertising. Advertising has following scope
Advertising Functions: No product can be sold without some form of advertising.

• Advertising creates demand.

• Promotes marketing system.
• Helps middleman.
• Builds image for the organisation.
• Makes customer aware of the price and attributes of the product leading to greater sales.
• Brings awareness in the masses.
• Consumer demand can be assessed by marketing researchers and advertising research.
• It helps in expanding the market.
• It helps the middleman to easily sell the product.
• It brings customers and sellers together.
• Advertisement is economical when targeted at the masses.

Advertiser: is the most important person as he is the customer and spends money on itched
gives employment to a lot of people and supports the advertising agencies. The advertiser also
has a great social responsibility to create a sound social and economic system.

1.5.2 SOURCES OF DATA

The data required for the study is collected from secondary sources. The sources of secondary
data used by the researcher include, Library research, Journals and Brochures on related
subject, opinions and views of various authors in related subject, conference/seminar papers
etc.

1.5.3 NEED OF THE STUDY

There is a much need to understand the effectiveness of online advertising over consumers.
The low costs reduce the cost of displaying online advertisements compared to offline ads.
Online advertising, and in particular social media, provides a low-cost means for advertisers to
engage with large established communities. Advertising online offers better returns than in
other media.

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1.5.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The research is restricted to only Rayagada district. The opinion of respondents might vary

from area to area. The sample size is less and time factor to collected data from respondents

need to be considered.

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 CHAPTER 2

THEORITICAL
FRAMEWORK ON

“IMPACT OF ONLINE
ADVERTISING ON CONSUMER
BEHAVIOUR”

12
2.1 INTRODUCTION

It can be said that advertising is a subset "promotions" in the marketing mix decisions and
promotions put simply involves the mass communication of the product offering to the target
market. Other than the obvious reason of persuading customers to make purchases, it is
imperative to promote the product offering in order to create an image of the product which
becomes one of its differentiating factors. Furthermore the promotion of a product offering is
important to reinforce the information the customers already have about the product. As
mentioned earlier, advertising is one of the components of promoting a product offering and
thus it is defined as "the paid presentation and promotion of products or services through mass
media such as television, radio, newspapers and the internet".

Traditionally, advertising is carried out on the television, radio and in newspapers however
disruptive technology like the internet and the phenomena it has made possible has changed
advertising and the effect it can have on consumers particularly where it concerns their
purchasing decisions. Illustrating this point, Google and Facebook have created new
environments which are part of the networks to which the planet belongs and which operate at
break-neck speed Furthermore, the internet and social networks have also changed the way
individuals communicate such that advertisements do not inherently have to be paid – a good
review from one consumer to a group of others can be all the advertisement that a company
would need. In addition to this, advertisements can now be interactive in such a way that the
information on the product passed on to the consumer is more targeted and customised. Thus
this paper will be exploring the impact of online advertisements on consumer purchasing
behaviour first by outlining the theories of how advertising works, then examining the effects
online advertisements on consumer purchasing behaviour.

2.2 HISTORY OF ADVERTISING:

In June 1836, French newspaper La Presse was the first to include paid advertising in its pages,
allowing it to lower its price, extend its readership and increase its profitability and the formula
was soon copied by all titles. Around 1840, Volney B. Palmer established the roots of the
modern day advertising agency in Philadelphia. In 1842 Palmer bought large amounts of space
in various newspapers at a discounted rate then resold the space at higher rates to advertisers.
The actual ad - the copy, layout, and artwork - was still prepared by the company wishing to

13
 advertise; in effect, Palmer was a space broker. The situation changed in the late 19th century
when the advertising agency of N.W. Ayer & Son was founded. Ayer and Son offered to plan,
create, and execute complete advertising campaigns for its customers. By 1900 the advertising
agency had become the focal point of creative planning, and advertising was firmly established
as a profession. Around the same time, in France, Charles-Louis Havas extended the services
of his news agency, Havas to include advertisement brokerage, making it the first French group
to organize. At first, agencies were brokers for advertisement space in newspapers. N. W. Ayer
& Son was the first full-service agency to assume responsibility for advertising content. N.W.
Ayer opened in 1869, and was located in Philadelphia.

2.3 HOW DOES ADVERTISING WORK?

There has been considerable debate on how advertising works however the general consensus
has been that there can be no single all-embracing theory that explains how all advertising
works because they have varied tasks .For example advertising that attempts to make an instant
sale by incorporating a return coupon that can be used to order a product is very different from
corporate image advertisements that is aimed at reinforcing attitudes. Nevertheless, the
competing views on how advertising works are the strong theory of advertising and the weak
theory of advertising – both theories are based on how they affect customers and their end
results. The strong theory follows that a customer passes through the stages of AIDA –
awareness, interest, desire and action. This theory argues that advertising is strong enough to
increase public's knowledge and change their attitude and as a result it is capable of persuading
new customers to purchase a brand .This is called the conversion theory of advertising: non-
buying customers are converted to buyers .The product has been criticised on two grounds; one
there is little evidence that consumers experience a strong desire before making a purchase
because in cases of inexpensive product a customer could very well purchase a brand on a trial
basis without any strong conviction that the brand is superior . The second criticism is that the
theory ignores what happens after action as advertisements in mature markets also targets
already established customers of the brand.

The weak theory follows that a customer passes through awareness, trial and reinforcement –
ATR. This ATR model or theory is widely supported in Europe with Ehrenberg (cited by
Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2013) explaining that advertising can work exactly the way the
ATR model theorises as there is no need for strong emotions like desire and conviction before
a first purchase is made. It could simply be a purchase for trial followed by reinforcements.

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2.4 ONLINE ADVERTISING

Online advertising is a type of mass communication which is based on traditional form of

advertising but develops its own communication strategies in correlation with the new technical
and medium based requirements. Broadly, online advertising is about delivering
advertisements to Internet/online users via Web sites, e-mail, ad-supported software and
Internet-enabled smart phones Examples of online advertising include contextual ads on search
engine results pages, banner ads, Rich Media Ads, Social network advertising, interstitial ads,
online classified advertising, advertising networks and e-mail marketing, including e-mail
spam.

ONLINE ADVERTISEMENT-TYPES

1. FLOATING AD

A floating ad is a type of rich media Web advertisement that appears uninitiated, superimposed
over a user-requested page, and disappears or becomes unobtrusive after a specific time period
(typically 5-30 seconds). The most basic floating ads simply appear over the Web page, either
full screen or in a smaller rectangular window. They may or may not provide a means of escape,
such as a close button. More sophisticated versions can come in any shape or size and include
sound, animation, and interactive components

2. EXPANDING ADS

These are ads that expand when users click on them. The ads do not expand just from moussing
over hyperlinks, which is a technique used by some other advertisers. They often take a long
time to download, which in turn can negatively impact the visitor's experience on that page.
Polite ad formats were developed to address this challenge by enabling advertisers to serve
larger file formats without disturbing the load time for the rest of the images on the page.

15
2.5 INTERNET ADVERTISING STRATEGIES

Two strategies useful in this regard include:

a) Awareness: “Dukafy” and “Brackets and Et” have expressed Awareness is one of the most
common permanent strategies on the Internet, especially for sites that have more complex
products and Purchasers need to larger range of information in related Products. To provide
more information, which improves the Possibility of creating value and satisfaction for a
website?
b) Entertainment: As the researchers suggest that television advertising for products simpler,
applies for internet advertising about less complex goods that have require detailed information
and Resources less to facilitate of purchase. Entertainment model Suggested by researchers
include different stimuli for the customers to see and stay on the website. (Rettie 2003)

2.6 GENERAL ONLINE ADVERTISEMENTS

In a study carried out on the effects of online advertisements on consumer buying behaviour of
branded garments in Pakistan(Afzal and Rabbani Khan, 2015), it was interestingly discovered
that there is no direct effect of online advertisements on the buying decisions of branded
garments whereas it was found that there is a significant indirect effect of online advertisements
on consumer buying decisions because of advertising characteristics and consumer attitudes
(Afzal and Rabbani Khan, 2015). Conversely, in another study carried out it was found that
contrary to the discovery of the study in Pakistan there was a direct link between online banner
advertisements and the making of purchases or purchase decisions (Li and Leckenby, 2004).
Interesting another study showed that revenue garnered as a result of online banner ads (which
attracted the most revenue) were on a high from 1998 when 56% of revenue made by the
respondent company were from online banner ads. However, by the year 2001 these numbers
had begun falling until 2003 when it was only at 21% (Li and Leckenby, 2004). These studies
did not give the reason as to the decline banner ads generated revenue. However the study in
Pakistan had reported that consumers seemed to place more stock on word of mouth such as
online reviews and a large percentage of the revenue generated by the participating companies
were from loyal customers and referrals (Afzal and Rabbani Khan, 2015). These go back to
reiterate the points of discussion in the previous section of this paper as to the effectiveness of
social media platforms and online reviews as a method of marketing. Thus it would appear that

16
 other methods or forms of online advertisement do not perform as well as social media
platforms and online word of mouth it terms of being revenue generators.

The logical question to ask then is why this is so? The answer is not far-fetched and probably
lies in the results of a study carried out on consumer perception of online advertisements
(Priyanka, 2012). The options provided were entertaining, informative, irritation, credibility,
interactivity and purchase. The respondents to these study were further adjusted for age in order
to get a clear picture as to the age range of consumers and their perspective (Priyanka, 2012).
Of the 100 respondents to the study, irrespective of age, 22 found online advertisements
informative, 18 found them irritating whilst 18 respondents have made purchases because of
online advertisements (Priyanka, 2012). Of those the respondents who made purchases 6 were
between the ages of 41-50 whilst 5 respondents were of the older than 50 age group (Priyanka,
2012). In addition a very small percentage of this age group found online adverts credible which
could mean that perhaps if they perceived online adverts as more credible they could be looking
to making more purchases (Priyanka, 2012). Surprising this age group also found online adverts
less irritating but also less informative (Priyanka, 2012). This could logically be reasoned to be
as a result of the fact that most purchasers of this age actually want more information before
they make purchases and are willing to suffer through online advertisements perhaps because
they are not skilled in surfing social media platforms to gain more information of the product
(the study also showed that only a very small percentage of the above 50 age group do not surf
the internet or engage in online window shopping) (Priyanka, 2012).

Thus it would appear that forms of advertisement other than social media and online word of
mouth walk a tight rope of being irritating and putting the consumer off thereby having a
negative impact on consumer purchasing decisions...

2.7 HOW EFFECTIVE ONLINE ADVERTISEMENTS CAN BE CREATED

Establish Clear Goals and Objectives: As with any marketing communications online
advertising needs to be driven by a set of advertising objectives. The following are possible
communication goals that an organization may want to achieve through its communications:

• Build brand loyalty

• Increase website traffic

17
 • Generate sales

• Build a social media following

• Improve customer convenience

Define Target Audience

• An organization must know who its target audience is, in terms of their age, gender, income
level, etc. Also, their likes and dislikes, preferences, expectations, demands from a product and
perception about the organization.

Define Communication The goal is to focus on a single benefit. In trying to communicate too
many things, the consumer will only get confused.

Select Target Rich Websites

Now that the organization knows who their target audience is and what they need to say, it’s
time to find out where their customers are. What sites do they frequent and how will the
organization get its ad displayed on those sites.

Choose Ad Placement and Sizes Where an ad is displayed on a website depends on the

website, the ad size, and the budget. Ads placed “above the fold” (ads that can be seen without
scrolling down) will get a higher click-through-rate (CTR). But in reality, it all depends on the
site, the content, and the visitor.

2.8 MOST IMPORTANT ONLINE ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES DURING

2013

Mobile Marketing: This year we will see access to websites by mobile devices rival and
surpass access by desktop and laptop environments. Marketers are already taking advantage of
this – $22 million was spent on mobile advertising alone for the three months to September
quarter in 2012, representing a 190 per cent year on year increase, and a 24 per cent increase
on the June 2012 quarter. It’s no longer enough to have a website that “looks ok” in a mobile
environment – your website should be responsive and targeted towards what people may want
to see on the go. Utilising search for mobile advertising and developing unique campaigns for
these environments is crucial.

18
 Social Media Marketing: Social media will become an effective tool in the hands of
discerning advertisers. Facebook, in its promotional posts and offers last year, allow marketing
within the mobile environment, which is where the majority of users access Facebook.
Promoted posts provide businesses with the ability to push a post out to not only fans, but
‘likers’ of fans, increasing the reach dramatically. Offers allow businesses to present advertised
offers which spread virally as people “accept” the offer acting as brand advocates for your
brand by pushing this to their friends. This is really only the tip of the iceberg. Social media is
projected to ramp up its revenue generating activities.

Pinterest:
Pinterest has seen massive growth – Pinterest now drives more traffic to business websites than
YouTube, LinkedIn and Google + combined. It’s been a quiet achiever when it comes to
businesses, as businesses discover ways they can harness this opportunity. For ecommerce
sites, the opportunity is obvious – posting images of products, listing prices and including
aURL to the site works well. For other businesses, it’s about thinking strategically with regards
to imagery that could help support the brand e.g. home builders showing interior shots of their
homes, restaurants posting food images and so on.

2.9 INTERNET MARKETING

Also known as web marketing, online marketing, webvertising, or e-marketing, is referred to

as the marketing (generally promotion) of products or services over the Internet. Marketing is
used as an abbreviated form for Internet Marketing. Internet marketing is considered to be
broad in scope because it not only refers to marketing on the Internet, but also includes
marketing done via e-mail and wireless media. Digital customer data and electronic customer
relationship management (ECRM) systems are also often grouped together under internet
marketing.

Internet marketing is broadly divided in to the following types:

 Display Advertising
 Search Engine Marketing (SEM.
 Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

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  Email Marketing

2.9.1 EMAIL
The first widely publicized example of online advertising was conducted via electronic mail.
On 3 May 1978, a marketer from DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation), Gary Thuerk, sent an
email to most of the ARPANET's American west coast users, advertising an open house for a
new model of a DEC computer. Despite the prevailing acceptable use policies, electronic mail
marketing rapidly expanded and eventually became known as "spam."

The first known large-scale non-commercial spam message was sent on 18 January 1994 by
an Andrews University system administrator, by cross-posting a religious message to
all USENET newsgroups. In January 1994 Mark Eberra started the first email marketing
company for opt in email list under the domain Insideconnect.com. He also started the Direct
Email Marketing Association to help stop unwanted email and prevent spam.

Four months later, Laurence Canter and Martha Siegel, partners in a law firm, broadly
promoted their legal services in a USENET posting titled "Green Card Lottery – Final
One?" Canter and Siegel's Green Card USENET spam raised the profile of online advertising,
stimulating widespread interest in advertising via both Usenet and traditional email. More
recently, spam has evolved into a more industrial operation, where spammers use armies of
virus-infected computers (botnets) to send spam remotely.

EMAIL MARKETING
Email marketing is directly marketing a commercial message to a group of people using
electronic mail email. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer
could be considered email marketing. It usually involves using email to send ads, request
business, or solicit sales or donations, and any email communication that is meant to build
loyalty, trust or brand awareness. Email marketing can be done to either cold lists or current
customer database. Broadly, the term is usually used to refer to: sending email messages with
the purpose of enhancing the relationship of a merchant with its current or previous customers,
to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business, sending email messages with the purpose
of acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something
immediately, adding advertisements to email messages sent by other companies to their
customers.

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TYPES OF EMAIL MARKETING

Email marketing can be carried out through different types of emails; Email Newsletters are
direct emails sent out on a regular basis to a list of subscribers, customers. The primary purpose
of an email newsletter is to build upon the relationship of the company with their
customers/subscribers.

Transactional Emails are usually triggered based on a customer’s action with a company.
Triggered transactional messages include dropped basket messages, purchase or order
confirmation emails and email receipts. The primary purpose of a transactional email is to
convey information regarding the action that triggered it. But, due to its high open rates (51.3%
compared to 36.6% for email newsletters), transactional emails are a golden opportunity to
engage customers; to introduce or extend the email relationship with customers or subscribers,
to anticipate and answer questions or to cross-sell or up-sell products or services. Many email
newsletter software vendors offer transactional email support, which gives companies the
ability to include promotional messages within the body of transactional emails. There are also
software vendors that offer specialized transactional email marketing services, which include
providing targeted and personalized transactional email messages and running specific
marketing campaigns (such as customer referral programs).

Direct emails involves sending an email solely to communicate a promotional message (for
example, an announcement of a special offer or a catalog of products). Companies usually
collect a list of customer or prospect email addresses to send direct promotional messages to,
or they can also rent a list of email addresses from service companies.

CHAT ADVERTISING
As opposed to static messaging, chat advertising refers to real time messages dropped to users
on certain sites. This is done by the usage of live chat software or tracking applications installed
within certain websites with the operating personnel behind the site often dropping adverts on
the traffic surfing around the sites. In reality this is a subset of the email advertising but different
because of its time window

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 Chapter 3

CONSUMER
BEHAVIOUR and
advertising

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3.1 WHO IS THE CONSUMER

A consumer is the final user of a product. It consists of all individuals, groups or

Households buying products for personal consumption. Kotler & Armstrong (2008:130)
defines consumer market as a combination of all individuals and households who buy or
acquire goods and services for personal consumption.

3.2 THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING THE CONSUMER

Engel, Kollat and Blackwell (1982) define consumer behaviour as those activities directly
involved in obtaining, consuming and disposing of products and services, including the
decision processes that precede and determine those acts. In the entire business world, the
consumer is the king, as every marketing effort is geared towards consumer satisfaction. As
competition is taking a lead in the business environment, the issue of how best a business
organization can satisfactorily meet the needs of the consumers of its product is a very serious
matter. This issue is at the heart of business survival. This is not just because consumers
represent part of the society but more, because the extent to which a consumer is satisfied with
a particular product or service, largely determines the competitive advantage that company has
over others. A consumer is likened to the biblical Samaritan woman who after being satisfied
with the words of Christ, went into Town announcing that she had found the Messiah because
He told her all about herself. So it is with a consumer and a product; once a consumer gains
satisfaction in a product, that he would introduce not less than five other consumers within a
space of time is very certain. On the other hand, the perception of a consumer towards a
particular product is of great concern to the marketer of the product. As mentioned in chapter
one of this study, purchasing of the marketer’s brand is dependent upon whether the marketing
and promotional variables of the marketer facilitate the purchase of such brand.

3.3 THE CONSUMER DECISION PROCESS

Consumer behaviour is all about the study of when, why, how, where and what people do or
do not in the process of buying a product. However, certain factors influence the consumer’s
decision to buy or not buy a product. These factors and the various steps undertaken by the
consumer in buying a product are summarized in the fig 3.2.1 below.

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 Experiences and Acquisition

3.3.1 STEPS IN THE CONSUMER DECISION MAKING

1. Problem Recognition: The problem recognition stage is where the consumer experiences
A state of felt deprivation (need) or wants. According to Nwaizugbo (2004:84), a problem
Stage is when the consumer feels an imbalance between his actual state and desired state. In
this case, a need had arisen to be satisfied, which must be properly identified to avoid Wrong
decision making.
2. Information Search and evaluation: Once the Consumer has recognized a problem, the
Next stage is to search for information in order to solve the problem. Here, the consumer
Seeks information on which brand that can solve the recognized problem. At this stage,
He may be faced with various brands which he evaluates for the purpose of selecting the
Best. In the evaluation process, he considers factors like, prices, qualities etc., as well as
The extent to which the product can solve the need.
3. Purchase decision: After evaluating the alternative brands and selecting the best, the
Consumer is now ready to make a purchase. It’s however, noteworthy that sometimes,
Purchase intention does not result in an actual purchase. This is where the role of the
Organization in facilitating the consumer to act his purchase intention becomes very necessary.

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 4. Post-purchase evaluation: It is very common for a consumer to experience concerns after
Making a purchase decision. As submitted by Kotler and Armstrong (2007:149), a Purchase
behaviour is the stage of the buyer decision process in which the consumer takes further action
after purchase, based on his satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The consumer, having bought a
product may feel that an alternative would have been preferable. Given This situation, the
consumer may not re-purchase immediately, but is likely to switch Brands in future time.

3.4 APPLYING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR KNOWLEDGE

(1) Consumer behaviour knowledge is applied in Marketing Management. A sound

understanding of the consumer behaviour is essential to the long-term success of
Any marketing programme. It is the corner stone of marketing concept which stress on
consumer wants and needs, target market selection, integrated marketing and
Profits through the satisfaction of the consumers.

(2) Consumer behaviour is also important in non-profit and social organizations. Such
organizations are govt. agencies, religious organizations, universities and charitable
organizations.
(3) Consumer behaviour is applied to improve the performance of government agencies as
well. For instance, the performance of government transportation is poor. It can be improved
by knowing the needs and wants of the consumers. Getting checks from them for their likes or
dislikes. Same can be applied to other organizations like
Universities and charitable organizations.

(4) Consumer behaviour also helps in marketing of various goods which are in scarcity. People
are made aware that gas, fuel, water and natural resources are in scarcity. Consumers are
encouraged to reduce their consumption of these commodities.

(5) Consumer benefit from the investigation of their own behaviour. When the consumer learns
the many variables that affect his behaviour. He gets educated and understands better how to
effect his own behaviour. What is learnt about consumer behaviour also benefit consumer in a
formal sense.

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 There can be many benefits of a product, for example, for owning a motor bike, one can be
looking for ease of transportation, status, pleasure, comfort and feeling of ownership. The cost
is the amount of money paid for the bike, the cost of maintenance, gasoline, parking, risk of
injury in case of an accident, pollution and frustration such as traffic jams. The difference
between this total benefit and total cost constitutes the customer value. The idea is to provide
Superior customer value and this requires the formulation of a marketing strategy. The entire
process consists of market analysis, which leads to target market selection, and then to the
formulation of strategy by juggling the product, price, promotion and distribution, so that a
total product (a set of entire characteristics) is offered. The total product creates an image in
the mind of the consumer, who undergoes a decision process which leads to the outcome in
Terms of satisfaction or dissatisfaction, which reflects on the sales and image of the product or
brand.

3.5 CONSUMER PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR THEORY

"Consumer behaviour is the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select,
purchase, use or dispose of products, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy needs and
desires"(Solomon and Bamossey, 2006, p6). Schiffman and Kanuk (2007, p3) also take a
similar approach defining consumer behaviour as the "behaviour that customers display in
searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of goods and services they expect
will satisy them".

Early economists led by Nicholas Bellona, John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern started
to scrutinise the foundation of consumer making decisions (Richarme 2007). They approached
the topic from an economic standpoint and focused only on the act of purchase and the most
predominant model from this viewpoint is the "Utility Theory" (Richarme, 2007). The Utility
Theory viewed consumers as entirely rational and self-interested making their purchase
decisions based upon the ability to maximise their use of their desired product whilst expending
minimum effort (Richarme 2007). Another approach to consumer purchase theory is the
psychodynamic approach which; the key tenet is that consumer behaviour is determined by
biological drivers rather than individual cognition or environmental stimuli (Bray 2008).
Perhaps the most widely cited is the cognitive approach which views the consumer as an
information procession (Ribeaux and Poppleton, 1978) who actively seeks and receives

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 environmental and social stimuli as informational inputs which subsequently aids decision
making (Bray 2015).

Sheth et al (1991) propose that there are five consumption values influencing consumer
purchase choices. The values are functional value, conditional value, social value, emotional
value and epistemic value. Three fundamental propositions are obvious in the proposed theory
and these are:

1. Consumer choice is a function of multiple consumption values.

2. The consumption values make different contributions in any given consumer purchase
choice.
3. The consumption values are independent.

3.6 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR TOWARDS ONLINE ADVERTISEMENTS

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3.7 WHAT IS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND
ADVERTISING?

Consumer behaviour and advertising are closely related because the main goal of advertising
involves using the behaviour of potential buyers. The art of advertising is to use visual images
and convincing copy to give consumers a sense of longing or need for products or services.
This also ties in with the study of marketing, the means by which advertising is delivered to
consumers through networking, advertisements, and other means of communication.
Advertising refers to ways in which marketers, retailers, and other professionals communicate
with potential consumers or prospects. It usually involves the use of paid printed media
communications, television spots, or Internet radio ads. Marketers must have a good grasp of
consumer behaviour and advertising of the way the two are connected before an effective
campaign can be implemented. Studies of past consumer behaviour and public opinion on
certain products should be performed well in advance. Advertisers must understand their
potential customers in order for their efforts yield a good return. The goal of any ad is to
persuade consumers that they need a particular product or service. To do this, the message of
any form of advertising must appeal to the product's key demographic, an ad must speak
directly to the person most likely to need or want the product being sold. For instance,
advertisers probably wouldn't use slang in an ad directed at investment brokers, nor would they
use images of scantily clad women to try and sell to new moms. In this way, advertising is
heavily linked to consumer behaviour, since no ad will influence a person's behaviour if it
seems irrelevant to his or her desires. Studying consumer behaviour and advertising is also
useful in other ways. Advertisers may go back and study the response rates and reactions to
previous ads to determine overall public opinion about them. This may include studies on what
people think of a particular brand's image or what they thought about the ad in particular. By
determining what consumers respond to best, more effective advertising can be delivered. The
study of consumer behaviour and advertising is typically a case of trial and error. Some ads,
even when they follow conventional wisdom, simply do not sell products. Many ineffective
advertising comes as the result of not appealing to the right demographic. Others bomb because
they don't address any demographic at all, but they focus solely on the product or service being
offered instead of on consumer needs.

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3.8 HOW DOES ADVERTISING INFLUENCE PEOPLE (CONSUMER)?

The primary function of advertising is to persuade people to buy something. Consequently,

understanding how advertising influences people is an exercise in understanding how
persuasion techniques are used in advertising to trigger buying decisions. Persuasion
techniques can be either rational, irrational or a combination of both.

INFORMATIONAL ADVERTISING
Rational techniques are used in so-called called informational advertising because information
is used to help people make informed buying decisions. A defining characteristic of
informational advertising is that it is "product" centered as opposed "user" centered advertising.
Informational advertising provides factual and relevant information about a product or service.
This information is provided under the presumption of knowing what is important to
prospective buyers who can accept the information as verifiable. Informational advertising
might focus on product features and benefits, product performance, comparisons with
competitive products or other fact-based arguments that lead consumers to logical and
informed decisions.

Transformational Advertising

Irrational techniques are used in so-called transformational or experiential advertising. Unlike

informational advertising that is product-centered advertising, transformational advertising is
user-centered advertising. This form of advertising is based on the promise of a singularly
unique user experience that the product or service delivers to users, which cannot be replicated
by competing brands. Transformational advertising promises user experiences that generally
improve one's quality of life, such as more fun, more glamorous, more exciting, warmer, richer
and more satisfying. Transformational advertising attempts to link the experience
communicated in the advertising with the experience of brand usage such that the experience
and the brand are interconnected.

IRRATIONAL TECHNIQUES
Irrational techniques in advertising appeal to people's emotions. Emotional appeals attempt to
substitute intuitive judgment for logic in the purchase decision-making process. This intuitive
approach to decision-making is dependent on how people "feel" about the brand and the

29
 company behind the brand. This is a matter of trust. People who hold advertisers in high regard
in terms of trust are more inclined to make decisions based on judgment rather than logic.
Emotional appeals obviously won't work when people don't trust or don't know the advertiser.
Therefore, before you can hope to have success with emotional appeals, you must earn the trust
of your target audience. You have a brand when you have the trust of your audience. Moreover,
your brand can command premium prices, because people readily pay higher prices for brands
they trust.

IMPLICATIONS FOR SMALL-BUSINESS OWNERS

If you want to grow the profitability of your business by commanding higher prices for what
you sell, use transformational advertising to build your brand. Fortunately, you no longer have
to use costly mass-media advertising to build a brand. The Internet and digital marketing
techniques now make it possible to gain trust and build a brand by targeting smaller audiences
that could be ideal for your business. You can find these audiences in online social media
communities, such as Facebook and Twitter, just to name two. Many small-business owners
also are having great success with content marketing. Content marketing is using self-generated
information content of interest and use to target audiences that positions you as the trusted
authority in your business specialty.

3.9 ONLINE ADVERTISEMENTS AND ITS IMPACT ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

The beginning on online advertising was in 1994 when Hot Wire sold the first ad banner on
their company's website. By year 2000 online advertising spending in the United States had
reached $8.2 billion dollars with these numbers increasing to $12.7 billion as more people are
connected to the internet and spend more time online. This is a clear sign that online advertising
has developed quickly in the last decade. Some of examples of online advertisements includes
floating ads, expanding ads, wallpaper ads, trick banners, pop-ups and pop-under (Bakshi and
Gupta, 2013). Now these are the ones instigated by marketers or producers themselves. This
paper however puts forward that if advertising (online advertising being no different) is a
method of mass-communicating product benefits then online word of mouth or reviews may
be considered as an additional method of online advertising albeit the marketers or producers
would have very little control as to how such reviews are presented.

Below are the factors influencing consumer behaviour:

30
 The factors influencing consumer behaviour are

a) Individual Factors: which include Demography, Perception, Motivation, Learning,

Belief and attitudes, Psychographics and values, personality and Self-concept.

b) Social Factors: these comprise cultural influences, social class influences, Reference
Group influences and family influences.

c) Situational factors: which could be viewed in the following ways:

1. Intensity of the response behaviour: Certain objectives or motives may propel a

Consumer to buy products. Whereas some consumers buy for immediate use or Future
consumption, others buy to give out. In any case, these buying decision Behaviours
may be termed: Routine response behaviour, Limited problem Solving or Extensive
problem solving. In the first case, the consumer is very familiar with all it takes to make
a decision and quickly does that without wasting time. In the case of limited problem
solving, the consumer may require further information before deciding to buy
especially a new product. Products that are occasionally purchased such as specialty
goods follow this Process. Finally, in extensive problem solving, the consumer must
follow the Entire buying decision process.

2. Some purchases may also be planned, routine, impulse or emergency.

3. Previous experience, interest, perceived risk of negative consequences, situation and
social visibility may also influence consumer purchase behaviour.

3.10 EFFECT OF ADVERTISING & PROMOTION ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Your small business needs to advertise and promote to attract customers. However, that doesn't
mean you can just put out your message and start counting the new customers. Advertising and
promotion affect consumers in ways you might find surprising. You need to know these effects
before you launch your campaign.

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 INCREASED AWARENESS

Advertising and promotion offer a news function to consumers. Viewers of ads learn about
new products and services available to them, much like they learn about events in the news.
This information function has a neutral role. It provides facts without approval or disapproval
from consumers. Customer behaviour at this stage encompasses expressions of curiosity.

ANALYSIS OF FEATURES

Consumers have a rational response to advertising when they look at the features of a product
or service. This response focuses on a logical listing of all the functional aspects of the offering.
This is an intellectual response, rather than an emotional one.

EVALUATION OF BENEFITS

When customers weigh benefits, they become emotionally involved with advertising and
promotion. Consumers identify ways the product or service can make them happier, improve
their lives or give them pleasure. This part of the consumer response is irrational and can lead
to impulse buying and competition to obtain the product.

REMINDERS

Repeated advertising messages affect consumer behaviour. This repetition serves as a reminder
to the consumer. Behaviour that stems from reminders includes suddenly thinking of a product
while shopping and making a decision to buy it, as if it had been on the consumer’s "to-do"
list.

PROMOTION OF LOYALTY OR ALIENATION

Consumer behaviour splits between loyalty and alienation depending on how well the product
lives up to its advertised benefits. Corporate behaviour – such as scandals or charity work –
can also affect alienation and loyalty responses. Once the consumer makes this choice,
advertising and promotion are not likely to undo that decision

3.11 NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF ADVERTISING

Advertising takes money, whether purchased through an online advertising service, print ads
in a newspaper or commercials on radio and TV. Designing the ads and the copy costs money,

32
as well. On the high end, companies spend up to $2.6 million for a 30-second commercial
during the Super Bowl. While the positive impact of advertising is bringing in sales dollars,
the negative impact is felt by those who are the target of the advertising.

MISREPRESENTATION
Advertising aims to present a product in the best light possible. There is some leeway in the
creative process. As the Gecko in the Geiko ads says, "That's just a dramatization, of course,"
referring to the idea that if you ask Geiko representatives for an English muffin, they'll serve
one up toasted with butter and jam. The problem arises when the dramatization crosses the line
into falsely representing a product. Hefty fines can result from false advertising when levied
by the Federal Trade Commission.

UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

Direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs has resulted in unrealistic expectations

about the effectiveness of drugs and their side-effects, according to the Food and Drug
Administration's study "Patient and Physician Attitudes and Behaviours Associated with DTC
Promotion of Prescription Drug." Voice-overs give the downside to the drug, but the visual
images show healthy, happy people. It's not unusual to hear that even death may be a side-
effect of a prescription drug. Beauty and health products may also not live up to their promises,
resulting in wasted consumer dollars. Disclaimers are often hidden in very small print on
product packaging and in out-of-the way spots in ads.

FALSE IMAGES
Advertising is ingrained in American culture, from children's programs on Saturday morning
to talk shows and prime time TV. Advertising even invades movies through product placement.
It's not an accident when a movie hero holds up a can of Coke instead of Pepsi. Advertising
influences how people feel about themselves -- often in a negative way. Based on the images
they see in advertising, women often feel they should be thin and beautiful and hold down full-
time jobs while also being full-time mothers. Advertising communicates that men should be
handsome, tall, athletic, caring husbands, thoughtful fathers and virile at all times. These
images are often unrealistic and unattainable.

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 CHILDREN
In his study "Review of Research on the Effects of Food Promotion to Children," Professor
Gerard Hastings found there is a link between food advertising and children's preferences
regarding what they will consume. Ads for many sugary cereals encourage children to ask their
parents for those particular products -- regardless of whether the products are good for the
children. It's not coincidental that the most heavily advertised toys during the holiday season
end up being the top sellers. Children are susceptible to advertising.

3.12 THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF ADVERTISEMENTS

Advertisements are messages paid for by a business or advertiser and delivered via a mass
medium with the attempt to persuade a target audience to like a brand, develop a more
favourable attitude or intend to buy. Small businesses often have limited budgets to spend on
advertising, but the positive effects are often worth it.

AWARENESS

Simply reaching out to the market to let them know you exist is a primary initial objective of
advertising. No matter how great your product or service, if no one knows you exist, you cannot
sell to them. An effective and often repeated advertisement helps your target audience become
more familiar with your brand and ideally recall it when a need arises for which your brand
intends to meet.

Induce Business

Advertisements are sometimes intended to induce immediate sales and revenue. Presentation
of sales promotions through ads are a way to drive business quickly. Television and radio ads
can communicate your message. In print advertisements, such as with magazines and
newspapers, you can include sales promotion tools, such as a coupon, right in the ad. New
businesses often use promotions to build a customer base, but they are also used to sell excess
inventory and create cash flow when needed.

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INFORMATION AND EDUCATION

In his January 2011 article "Unappreciated Benefits of Advertising and Commercial Speech"
for the website The Technology Liberation Front, Adam Thierer points out that advertisements
sometimes serve to inform and educate consumers. This is especially true when new brand or
products are introduced to the market or when product complexity means more education is
required. Understanding the value of an advertiser's brand relative to the needs they have helps
consumers make more informed decisions.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

From a financial standpoint, advertisements should generate a return on investment, indicates

Dan Keen of Break Studios in his April 2010 article "10 Benefits of Advertising."
Advertisements cost money to develop and place. Companies consider how much return of
investment they get in the form of heightened consumer awareness, improved brand sentiment
or direct sales. Evaluating results of advertisements is vital for companies to confirm a return
on investment and to avoid wasteful messages that do not accomplish the intended results.

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 CHAPTER 4
THE EFFECT OF EMAIL
MARKETING ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR.

36
4.1 EMAIL

Email is a common form of communication used for both personal and professional purposes.
With businesses coming to understand how effective email marketing can be, email marketing
is gaining in popularity. Email marketing tests and studies reveal that email marketing can
affect consumer behaviour, even convincing consumers to go to websites for more information
or to make a purchase.

4.2 BENEFITS OF EMAIL MARKETING

As discussed above (chapter 2.9.1), Email marketing is used by thousands of businesses of all
sizes across the globe. Those who are unfamiliar with this method of marketing may not
immediately understand why it is so popular amongst companies in a variety of industries –
but here are ten reasons why email marketing is seen by many as the most effective marketing
channel. Following are some of the benefits of email marketing:

1. Return on investment

In the business world, results are arguably all that matters. With this in mind, the main reason
that most businesses invest in email marketing is the fantastic return on investment. In 2011,
the Direct Marketing Association estimated that email marketing typically returns £40 for
every £1 invested. A number of sources have suggested that this is better than any other
channel.

2. Immediacy

Due to the immediacy of email, a business can start seeing results within minutes of its emails
being sent. A 24-hour sale is a brilliant marketing ploy that can be utilised by email, as it creates
a sense of urgency and convinces subscribers to take immediate action. Businesses typically
have to wait weeks until they see sales come in as a result of print or broadcast campaigns and,
even then, how can they be sure what was responsible for the purchase?

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3. Global

What other marketing platform lets you instantly send a message to thousands of people across
the world? Sure, social media can help you spread the word amongst a global audience – but
there’s no telling who’s actually reading your content. Alternatively, you can always get hyper
local using one of the other ten benefits – segmentation.

4. Easy to create

Email marketing doesn’t necessarily require a huge team or reams of technical nous in order to
be successful. It’s certainly possible to jazz up an email campaign with fancy templates, videos,
images and logos. Yet, some of the most successful campaigns utilise simple plain text emails,
suggesting that it’s the content of an email that is the most important thing. Many email
marketing platforms, ours included, offer Drag & Drop Editors, which allow you to create
stunning campaigns, quickly and easily.

5. Easy to measure

Another key benefit of email marketing is that it’s easy to see where you’re going wrong. Most
email marketing software will allow you to track open, click-through and conversion rates,
making it simple to spot how a campaign can be improved. These changes can be made almost
immediately too, whereas print or broadcast advertising requires quite a bit of effort to alter.

6. Easy to share

Subscribers can forward brilliant deals and offers to their friends at the click of a button. There
aren’t many other types of marketing that can be shared as easily as this. Before you know it,

38
subscribers could become brand evangelists; focused on introducing your business to a new
market.

More and more we see brands cleverly utilising this tactic, and social proof has become a huge
influence for online selling in recent years.

7. Target fans of your brand

Email marketing is one of the only channels that consumers ask to receive. The majority of
businesses using the platform only send messages to those who have signed up to receive them.
This can allow for much higher conversion rates as a business is only targeting those who
already have an interest in their brand. It is, of course, possible to send unsolicited email
marketing messages, but this is only likely to annoy consumers and result in a damaged brand
image. As a company that offers email marketing software, we strongly suggest that you don’t
use purchased lists for your email marketing – the results you’ll see from growing your list and
acquiring customers organically will lead for far stronger results.

8. Segmentation

Most marketing professionals would happily pay to ensure they were only spending money
targeting those who were interested in their brand. Email marketers can go one step further
though, by only sending emails to subscribers who meet certain criteria.
If a franchise only has an offer on in certain areas of the country, it can easily arranged for
emails to be sent only to those living in certain areas. If there is a sale on sports goods, it can
be arranged for only those who have shown an interest in sports to receive an email.

Email list segmentation works fantastically for brands who gain information about their
subscribers. Studies have shown that marketers who use this tactic often boast improved
engagement rates as a result. The old ‘spray and pray’ method of sending the same email to
every subscriber or customer no longer works, and the companies that see the best results from
their email marketing are segmenting data and campaigns to ensure that they’re sending the
most relevant message to individuals.

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9. Calls to action

Email marketing is great for taking advantage of impulse buying. There aren’t many other
marketing platforms which allow customers to go from witnessing an offer to purchasing an
item within two clicks of a button. With a tempting call to action and a link straight to the
checkout, email newsletters can drive sales like no other channel.

10. Low-cost
One of the most obvious advantages of email marketing is its lower cost compared to
mainstream marketing channels. There are no print or postage costs and no fees paid in
exchange for exposure on a certain billboard, magazine or television channel. Email marketers
might consider investing in specialist software to automate, track and evaluate their emails.
Granted, there may be a small overhead for sending thousands of emails at a time, but these
costs are far lower than what you would expect to pay using other marketing channels.

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 CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY,

RECOMMENDATIONS

AND CONCLUSION

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5.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations of the study in
line with the objectives of the study.

5.2 SUMMARY OF THE STUDY

The study found that the effectiveness of internet advertising on reach and creation of
awareness was determined by the level of knowledge about the existing platforms of
advertisements and time spent on email. On average, a person spent more than 4 hours on the
internet during his free time than that of TV and movies and print medium and therefore the
reach of internet medium is much better than that of other media. A higher percentage indicated
that they were made aware of existence of various products through email advertising and
therefore it was effective in creating awareness. The study revealed that the ability of the
respondents to recall the internet ads was low compared to TV, and therefore even though the
reach of internet is much higher than other forms, TV ads are much more reliable than internet
advertising Danaher and Mullarkey (2003). Internet advertising is a key determinant of
purchase decision of the customers as they consider it to be an interaction point between them
and the company from which they buy their products from. The study also established that
internet advertising has significant relationship with purchase decision of the consumers.

5.3 RECOMMENDATION

Why only online advertising… If there are other opportunities, on the internet…email plays an
important role in the field of advertising as consumers most probably visit their email for nearly
2-6 times a day. Email marketing is just like social marketing, the influence of traditional media
and marketing have over consumer perception is waning as people migrate to the variety of
social media technologies for entertainment and to share information with each other. But these
social media outlets are more than another channel through which to deliver messages to the
marketplace. Companies like Dell, Microsoft, Nikon and Nintendo are successfully using
social media and marketing strategies to understand and engage their audiences more deeply –
with demonstrable business results. Social media is making an impact on all aspects of business
communications today. Reliance is the latest additions to Social Media Marketing.

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5.4 Conclusions and Suggestions

It can be concluded that Online Advertising (with reference to Email) if implemented properly
can be an effective tool. The new Technologies have pave the way to a new era of interactivity
and creativity. There are a variety of Factors to be considered for Internet advertising that one
can use to drive a potential customer to the Website. The factors like consumers, products,
technology and media are to be given utmost importance. The motivating factors which affect
decision making for purchase can be analysed through the collected Data. The study looked
into the most effective factors which played an important role customer decision. The important
factors found were the usefulness of the product as majority of the respondent recall the
Advertisement because of its necessity and usefulness. Prices of the product displayed online
also Influence a lot of customer to recall the advertisement. It is also significant to note that
online advertisement is considered important to majority of the respondents and majority of
the respondents are of the opinion that they recall the product by seeing the advertising of the
product online. The study also found that there are several factors that motivate consumers’
ability to recall online advertisements. The study Email marketing is used by thousands of
businesses of all sizes across the globe. Those who are unfamiliar with this method of
marketing may not immediately understand why it is so popular amongst companies in a
variety of industries – but here are ten reasons why email marketing is seen by many as the
most effective marketing channel. Among the various modes of Online advertisement viz.,
Banner advertisement, floating advertisement, pop-up advertisement, and Music
advertisements are not as effective as embedded video advertisement.

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REFFERANCE

https://www.wisdomjobs.com/e-university/advertising-management-tutorial-348/scope-of-
advertising-10701.html
https://www.ukessays.com/services/example-essays/marketing/the-impact-of-advertising-on-
consumer-purchase-behaviour.php
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effect-advertising-promotion-consumer-behavior-26196.html

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effect-email-marketing-consumer-behaviour-1453.html--
References (3)
Responsys: Email Marketing’s New Rules of Engagement
Responsys: The Impact of One to One Marketing on Consumer Response
Forrester Research: Interactive Marketing Forecast

https://www.pure360.com/10-benefits-of-email-marketing/

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