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Do Advertising Tools Create Awareness,

Provide Information, and Enhance
Knowledge? An Exploratory Study
a
Sakkthivel A. Manickam
a
Sur University College, Sur, Sultanate of Oman
Published online: 27 Jun 2014.
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To cite this article: Sakkthivel A. Manickam (2014) Do Advertising Tools Create Awareness, Provide
Information, and Enhance Knowledge? An Exploratory Study, Journal of Promotion Management, 20:3,
291-310, DOI: 10.1080/10496491.2014.908798
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Journal of Promotion Management, 20:291–310, 2014
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1049-6491 print / 1540-7594 online
DOI: 10.1080/10496491.2014.908798
Do Advertising Tools Create Awareness,

Provide Information, and Enhance
Knowledge? An Exploratory Study
SAKKTHIVEL A. MANICKAM
Sur University College, Sur, Sultanate of Oman
The paper intends to construct an array of advertising tools and

tests the influence of the same in creating awareness, providing
information, and enhancing knowledge of female consumers. The
constructs focus on testing the impact on the aforesaid aspects.
The results revealed that advertising tools exert impact in creating
awareness, providing information, and enhancing knowledge of
the target respondents. However, the advertising tools found to be
more effective in providing information and enhancing knowledge.
The results also revealed that (1) outdoor advertisements found to
have more impact in creating awareness and (2) store advertise-
ments found to elicit more influence in providing information and
enhancing knowledge.
KEYWORDS advertising tools, creating awareness, providing in-

formation, enhancing knowledge, female consumers, linear regres-
sion model, construct analysis
INTRODUCTION
The role of advertising is prominent in today’s competitive business world,

as companies spend billions to build brands, identify, target, reach, and in-
fluence target consumers to buy products/services. Advertising is meant to
achieve certain goals such as creating awareness, providing necessary infor-
mation to the target consumers, and enhancing knowledge, thus leading to
final purchase. Creating awareness is the primary role of advertising such
Address correspondence to Sakkthivel A. Manickam, Department of Business Adminis-

tration, Sur University College, P. Box 440, Sur P.C.411, Sultanate of Oman. E-mail: drsakk-
thi@gmail.com; sakkthivel@suc.edu.om
Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at
www.tandfonline.com/wjpm.
291
292 S. A. Manickam
as communicating to target consumers on products, services, experiences,

ideas, and so forth, offered by the companies (Day, 1971; Baron, 2004;
Appleby, 2011). Companies use different advertising tools to communicate
and it is vital to identify the role and impact of the advertising tools in
achieving effective communication in reaching the target consumers. The
communication consists of a message or information pertinent to products,
services, experiences, ideas, and so forth, which would be communicated
through different advertising tools (Bucklin, 1965; Wedding, 1975; Lamons,
1998; Modonski, 2004; Lee et al., 2010). The study intends to identify the
role and impact of the advertising tools in providing the information to the
target consumers. The communication of the aforesaid message or informa-
tion is aimed to enhance knowledge of the target consumers, thus enabling
the consumers to select and make a purchase (Wedding, 1975; Friestad &
Wright, 1995; Li, Daugherty, & Biocca, 2002; Yim, Cicchirillo, & Drumwright,
2012). The study aimed to identify the impact of advertising tools in enhanc-
ing knowledge of the target consumers. Such a study was proposed to be
conducted among the female consumers of the Middle Eastern countries as
the initial literature review suggested no such studies had been attempted
to evaluate the effectiveness of advertising in achieving the aforesaid goals
pertinent to female consumers in the Middle Eastern countries. Therefore, a
study was proposed to attempt to revisit the goals of advertising and test-
ing the effectiveness of the same in achieving the aforesaid goals. Research
on the impact of advertising on consumers was commenced as early as the
1970s (Nelson, 1970). The studies suggested that advertising tools exert influ-
ence on buying behavior (Vakratsas & Ambler, 1999; Sakkthivel, 2011a). The
companies use different advertising tools, primarily of an interactive nature,
to influence buyer behavior (Pavlou & Stewart, 2000). The advertising tools
exert an influence on buying behavior (Sakkthivel, 2011b). The availability
of a huge array of advertising tools to communicate and reach target con-
sumers creates a dilemma for companies to determine the most appropriate
advertising tools that would influence and impact the target consumers’ buy-
ing and decision making behaviors. Moreover, the companies depend on
these advertising tools to build brand in order to ensure mind share among
the target consumers and to obtain the money (wallet) share. Advertising
focusing on female consumers has not been well researched and few studies
have been attempted thus far (Mackay & Covell, 1997; Wolin, 2003). Given
the rapid increase of women’s role in buying decision, a serious research is
called for to identify the influence of advertising on female consumer buying
and decision behavior. The role of female consumers is rapidly expanding in
terms of involving in individual to family decisions and capturing the market
space through significant contribution through buying products and services
(Warner, 2005; Brown, Orsborn, & Underhill, 2006). Moreover, female con-
sumers receive information related to the availability of products/services
through different sources, including company advertising.
Impact of Advertising Tools 293
TABLE 1 Development of Constructs Chosen for the Study
Advertising tools (Creating awareness) Advertising Tools (Providing information

VS1 (5) and enhancing knowledge) VS2 (5)
TV advertisements, print advertisements, TV advertisements, print advertisements,

outdoor advertisements, store outdoor advertisements, store
advertisements, internet advertisements advertisements, internet advertisements
VS = Variable Segment. Figures in parentheses indicate the number of variables.
However, it is not clear which of the aforesaid sources influenced the

buying and decision making behavior of the female consumers toward buy-
ing different products/services. Few studies attempted to identify the impact
and effectiveness of advertising tools in creating awareness, providing infor-
mation, and enhancing knowledge of target consumers, particularly female
consumers. In order to bridge such a gap, it is imperative to conduct a

cutting edge research study to identify suitable advertising tools that would
help companies create awareness among target consumers and to provide
information and enhance the knowledge of female consumers regarding the
availability of different products/services, which would ultimately lead to se-
lection of the products/services by sponsored companies (Jaffe, 1991; Stern,
1993, Mackay & Covell, (1997; Stern, 1999; Mostafa, 2011). In the following
sections we will review research work conducted for the identification and
construction of different advertising tools in television, print, and store ad-
vertisement among others. Based on the literature, selected constructs will
be tested to find their influence in creating awareness, providing informa-
tion, and enhancing knowledge of female consumers toward buying life
style products. The researcher used the life style products as an indicator
to test the impact of the advertising variables as female consumers from the
selected research location (Oman) spend millions to buy life style products.
The rationale behind the selection of female consumers as target respondents
for this novel study is that the female consumers use diligence in looking
for information through different advertising media in order to choose a
product/service of their liking. Hence, the aforesaid respondents have been
selected to test the impact of the selected constructs in creating awareness,
providing information, and enhancing knowledge.
TABLE 2 Description of Reliability Statistics (Cronbach’s) of the Constructs Selected for the
Study
Advertising tools (Providing information

Advertising tools (Creating awareness) and enhancing knowledge)
VS1 (5) VS2 (5)

0.921 0.933
294 S. A. Manickam
TABLE 3 Description of Reliability Statistics (Cronbach’s) of the Individual Advertising Tools

Pertinent to Constructs Selected for the Study
Advertising tools (Providing information

Advertising tools (Creating awareness) and enhancing knowledge)
VS1 (5) VS2 (5)

TV advertisements (0.899) TV advertisements (0.803)
Print advertisements (0.821) Print advertisements (0.898)
Outdoor advertisements (0.852) Outdoor advertisements (0.842)
Store advertisements (0.804) Store advertisements (0.886)
Internet advertisements (0.860) Internet advertisements (0.922)
The study is unique and novel as it proposed the study of the influence
of the selected variables on three major aspects of promotion such as creating

awareness, providing information, and enhancing knowledge, thus leading
to purchase. Female consumers from Oman have the financial freedom to
spend money for products/services of their liking and are not exposed to
different advertising tools as in other countries. The media, including inter-
net, are restricted and controlled by state authorities in line with religious
sentiments. Hence, companies may have to use available advertising media
to reach the target consumers. At this juncture, a study of this nature would
provide a much needed cue and direction for the companies with regard
to understanding the effectiveness of advertising tools among the target re-
spondents. Hence, the outcomes of the study would help the companies to
understand the influence of the aforesaid variables in achieving the major
aspects of promotion and exert influence on female consumer buying and
decision behavior pertinent to female consumers, specific to Oman and, in
general, in Middle Eastern Countries as there is a dearth of literature pertinent
female consumer behavior toward advertising tools and their effectiveness.
TABLE 4 Demographic Profile of the Respondents
Demographic Variables Profile
Age Below 20: 22%; 21–30: 54%; 31–40: 16%;

41–50: 4.67%; Above 50: 2.67%
Marital status Married: 60%; Single: 40%
Employment status Employed: 47%; Unemployed: 53%
Occupation Banks: 11%; Company: 11%; Students:
18%; Teacher: 9%; Ministry: 9%;
Homemakers: 40%
Monthly income (R O) 500: 69%, 501–1000: 26%; 1001–1500:
(1 RO = 2.6 USD 4.7%
(Approx.)
Family status Joint: 37%; Separated: 63%
Location Town: 60%; City: 40%; Village: 0%
TABLE 5 Multiple Linear Regression Analysis: Creating Awareness
Regression equation Regression coefficient t-value p-value
Constant 0.939
TV advertisements (X1 ) 0.182 4.413 0.001
Print advertisements (X2) 0.155 3.147 0.001
Outdoor advertisements (X3 ) 0.213 5.530 0.001
Store advertisements (X4 ) 0.046 1.053 < 0.001
Internet advertisements (X5 ) 0.140 3.691 0.001
R2 value 0.672
F value 61.938 0.001
The study provides valuable input and makes a significant contribution to ex-
isting literature with reference to the advertising focus on female consumers
and, more so, on identifying the impact of the same in creating awareness,
providing information, and enhancing knowledge.
IMPACT OF ADVERTISING TOOLS IN CREATING AWARENESS,

PROVIDING INFORMATION AND ENHANCING KNOWLEDGE
The following literature review attempts to provide an overview of the studies

conducted pertinent to different advertising tools and the impact of consumer
behavior. The author made an attempt to find the selected reviews pertinent
to the problem defined for the study in order to assess the aspects and con-
tribution of such studies. Such a review would reveal the gaps prevalent with
reference to identifying the impact of advertising tools in creating awareness,
providing information, and enhancing knowledge among female consumers
from Middle Eastern countries. The author designed the hypotheses in order
to examine the impact of the advertising tools in achieving the aforesaid
aspects. Hence, the following literature review is not exhaustive, but they
TABLE 6 Multiple Linear Regression Analysis: Providing Information and Enhancing

Knowledge
Regression equation Regression coefficient t-value p-value
Constant 0.931
TV advertisements (X1 ) 0.148 4.022 0.001
Print advertisements (X2) 0.122 3.315 0.001
Outdoor advertisements (X3 ) 0.151 3.311 0.001
Store advertisements (X4 ) 0.202 4.378 0.001
Internet advertisements (X5 ) 0.099 2.608 0.001
R2 value 0.703
F value 71.524 0.001
296 S. A. Manickam
are indicative; however, they have provided a clue to define the problem of
the study.
Impact of TV Advertisements in Creating Awareness, Providing

Information, and Enhancing Knowledge
Resnik and Stern (1977) conducted one of the early studies to identify the
impact of information content of television advertisements on consumer be-
havior. The study analyzed the effectiveness of information in influencing the
consumer buying behavior. Moschis and Moore (1982) observed the effect
of television advertising on the two selected groups of consumers through
a longitudinal study. The study also focused on determining the effect in
the short to long run. Friestad and Wright (1995) examined the beliefs of
lay people and consumer researchers toward the influence of television ad-
vertising in persuasion and found similarities and dissimilarities including
persuasion knowledge. Stewart and Furse (2000) studied the effectiveness of
advertising executional devices in television commercials. They also identi-
fied answers for executional devices and evaluated their effectiveness. Baron
(2004) investigated the role of television advertisements in creating aware-
ness of a product through national television and found the significance
of prime time and daytime television was vital for product introduction.
The reviews indicted the influence of television advertising information on
consumers (Resnik & Stern, 1977); other studies (Moschis & Moore, 1982;
Stewart & Furse, 2000) focused on the influence of television advertisements
on different groups and effectiveness. Hence, there is a gap in the research
to create awareness and enhance knowledge with reference to television
advertisements. This study aimed to bridge such identified gaps.
Impact of Print Advertisements in Creating Awareness, Providing

Edell and Staelin (1983) embarked on one of the earliest studies for test-
ing the model on the information process of pictures with regard to print
advertisements in a laboratory testing. Yi (1990) explored the options of iden-
tifying the effectiveness of print advertisements in providing information and
evaluation aspects (cognitive and affective). Yi (1993) observed the impact
of prior knowledge on consumer understanding of print advertisements and
the influence of the same on evaluating brands. The aforementioned reviews
(Edell & Staelin; Yi, 1990) discussed the issues related to the impact of infor-
mation in print advertisements. Hence, there is a gap identified with regard
to creating awareness and enhancing knowledge by print advertisements.
The study intended to bridge the identified gaps.
Impact of Outdoor Advertisements in Creating Awareness, Providing

Woodside (1990) conducted a study to identify the impact of outdoor adver-
tising on consumers’ footfalls and purchase rates through an experimental
design. Bhargava and Donthu (1999) conducted a study to identify the in-
fluence of outdoor advertising in creating awareness campaigns. The study
observed that outdoor advertising was effective with more space and mul-
timedia aspects. Lichtenthal, Yadav, and Donthu (2006) conducted a study
to understand the effectiveness of outdoor advertising in the context of
business-to-business marketing. The reviews (Bhargava & Donthu) discussed
the influence of advertising in creating awareness campaigns; however, the
review did not focus on creating awareness of products/services among tar-
get consumers. The other reviews also indicated no attempt was made to
determine providing information and enhancing knowledge of consumers

through outdoor advertising. Therefore, this study aims to bridge such iden-
tified gaps.
Impact of Store Advertisements in Creating Awareness, Providing

Areni, Duhan, and Kiecker (1999) observed the influence of the point of
purchase display/in store advertising in enabling the likelihood of purchase
for specific brands through a laboratory experiment. Gijsbrechts, Campo, and
Goossens (2003) observed the impact of store flyers on influencing consumer
foot falls and sales. East et al. (2003) observed through a laboratory experi-
ment that sales of a new brand increased through an increase in the number
of point of purchase/in store display/advertising. The reviews (Areni et al.)
indicated the impact of point of purchase displayed in enabling likelihood
purchase could be considered as creating awareness. However, the study
did not reveal the use of information content and enhancing the knowl-
edge of consumers led to such a purchase. Gijsbrechts et al. investigated
the impact of store flyers as information content in influencing consumers
foot falls and sales that did not attempt to create awareness and enhance
knowledge. Hence, this study is aimed to provide a comprehensive view of
store advertising in creating awareness, providing information, and enhanc-
ing knowledge.
Impact of Internet Advertisements in Creating Awareness, Providing

Cartellieri, Parsons, Rao, and Zeisser (1997) wrote a paper assessing the
real impact of internet advertising equivalent of radio or television adver-
tising. Keeney (1999) conducted a study to identify the uses of internet in
298 S. A. Manickam
promoting products/services and suggested the different ways of using the

internet in order to create value for customers. Rodgers and Thorson (2000)
observed the interactive nature of internet advertisements from the percep-
tual and processing perspective of online users. Li, Daugherty, and Biocca
(2002) investigated the role of 3-D advertising in creating virtual product ex-
perience in creating product knowledge through interactive advertising, that
is, internet advertisements. Dreze and Hussherr (2003) conducted a study to
identify the effectiveness of banner advertisements, one of the vital modes
of internet advertising on online users. Keng and Lin (2006) examined the
possibilities of creating a dimension of interactivity and vividness in order
to propose three telepresence levels to check the effectiveness of internet
advertising. Brunelle (2009) attempted a study to find the impact of online
stores on online customer intentions to make purchase. Kozinets, de Valck,
Wojnicki, and Wilner (2010) observed the influence of word-of-mouth influ-

ence on online purchases, which might referr to the influence of peer and
reference groups. Sakkthivel (2012a) conducted a study to identify the impact
of different advertising tools on consumer purchase intentions toward mo-
bile communications services and determined a positive impact from internet
advertisements on consumer behavior. The reviews (Li et al.) discussed the
role of internet advertising in enhancing product knowledge, whereas Dreze
and Hussherr (2003) discussed the effectiveness of banner advertisements.
The other studies did not reveal the role of internet advertising in creating
awareness and providing information. Therefore, the gaps identified would
be bridged through the outcomes of this study.
Advertising and Female Consumers

Jaffe (1991) indicated the relationship between the positioning and advertis-
ing responses of women. The study also explored the positioning and sex-
role identity among the female consumers and found a significant influence.
Stern (1993), in earlier research, determined the role of female consumers in
advertising. The study also explored the view of female consumers toward
advertising. Mackay and Covell (1997) conducted a study to identify the
women’s attitude toward watching sex image advertisements and its effect
on feminist attitude. The study observed that the continuous presentation
of such advertisements to female consumers reduces the feminist attitude.
Stern (1999) explored the possibilities of finding a relationship between gen-
der and multicultural issues in one of the earlier studies conducted on the
influence of advertising on women. Sciulli and Bebko (2005) examined the
impact of social versus profit oriented advertisements on consumers and
found social oriented advertisements evoked negative feelings such as fear,
disgust, surprise, shock, among others, and profit oriented advertisements
evoked positive feelings such as happiness and pleasant feelings. Mostafa
(2011) examined the attitudes of consumers toward ethical issues in advertis-

ing in Egypt and found the same negative responses. The study also revealed
significant attitudinal differences between male and female, Muslims versus
non-Muslims, and locals versus foreigners. The study established that the
advertisements created in one country could not be used in another, which
may be due to cultural differences. Sakkthivel (2011a) examined the im-
pact of advertising tools on consumer behavior toward different technology
products. Sakkthivel (2011b) explored the impact of advertising variables of
consumer behavior toward consumer durables in a matured marketing en-
vironment. Sakkthivel (2012b) identified the impact of promotion variables
(advertising, sales promotion, etc.) on consumer behavior toward buying
mobile communication services. Thus:
H1: There is a positive impact of advertising Tools (TV advertisements,

print advertisements, outdoor advertisements, store advertisements, and
internet advertisements in creating awareness.
H2: There is a positive impact of advertising tools (TV advertisements,

print advertisements, outdoor advertisements, store advertisements, and
internet advertisements) in providing information and enhancing knowl-
edge.
The hypothesis dealing with providing information and to enhancing

knowledge was developed to establish the connectivity between informa-
tion and knowledge, such as the usefulness of information in enhancing
knowledge of the target consumers to make a purchase. The hypothesis was
developed considering the knowledge of the target respondents in under-
standing the information that enhances their knowledge to make a purchase.
It was identified during a prestudy among the target respondents.
The aforesaid literature provided a much needed cue to the problem
definition. However, none of the studies attempted to identify the impact of
the aforesaid variables selected in creating awareness, providing information,
and enhancing knowledge. Hence, it adds novelty and uniqueness to the
problem selected. There were several variables selected for the study such
as TV advertisements, store advertisements, internet advertisements, among
others that have not been well researched with respect to creating awareness,
providing information, and enhancing knowledge. Hence, the study would
attempt to identify the impact of the aforesaid variables on the aforesaid
aspects. Therefore, the study would attempt to evidence such identified gaps
and provide a holistic view of the variables that would create awareness,
provide information, and enhance knowledge. It is pertinent to state that the
study would provide a much needed direction to academia and practicing
managers and provide a significant contribution to existing literature.
300 S. A. Manickam
H1 Create awareness
Impact of different
advertising tools
(TV, print, outdoor,
store, internet) H2 Provide information and
to enhance knowledge
FIGURE 1 Conceptual motivation of the proposed model.
CONCEPTUAL MOTIVATION
Figure 1 shows the research model or conceptual motivation proposed to be

identified through the problem defined for the study.
The aforesaid conceptual model has been proposed to identify the im-
pact of the selected variables to create awareness, provide information, and
enhance knowledge among female consumers. The author defined the con-
structs with suitable variables for each construct, such as identifying the
influence of different advertising tools, namely, TV, print, outdoor, store,
internet in creating awareness, and providing and enhancing knowledge of
the target respondents. The aforesaid variables constitute the constructs se-
lected for the study. Detailed explanation of construct development is given
in Table 1 and Table 2.
OPERATIONALIZATION OF CONSTRUCTS
The study intends to identify the impact of selected advertising tools (TV
advertisements, print advertisements, outdoor advertisements, store adver-
tisements, internet advertisements, etc.) in creating awareness, providing
information, and enhancing knowledge of the target respondents (female
consumers). The validity of the constructs such as creating awareness, pro-
viding information, and enhancing knowledge had been tested through a set
of statements completed by the respondents. The selected advertising tools
had been tested to find the impact of the same on the chosen constructs (i.e.,
creating awareness, providing information, and enhancing knowledge).
CONSTRUCT DEVELOPMENT
The researcher intends to identify the impact of selected constructs such as

different advertising tools, namely, TV advertisements, print advertisements,
outdoor advertisements, store advertisements, internet advertisements to cre-
ate awareness, provide information, and enhance knowledge of female con-
sumers. The Cronbach’s Alpha reliability analysis was performed to validate
the constructs (Sakkthivel, 2012a) (Table 3). Table 1 denotes the variables
used to develop the constructs selected for the study.
Table 2 denotes the reliability statistics (Cronbach’s) of the constructs
selected for the study. The aforesaid results clearly indicate the conformity
of the variables selected for the study.
Table 3 denotes the reliability statistics (Cronbach’s) of the individual
advertising tools pertinent to constructs selected for the study. The aforesaid
results clearly indicate the conformity of the variables selected for the study.
METHODOLOGY
The study used the descriptive approach as it explored and identified the
impact of advertising tools (TV advertisement, print advertisement, outdoor

advertisement, store advertisement, and internet advertisement) in creating
awareness, providing information, and enhancing knowledge of female con-
sumers. The study was conducted among female consumers residing in se-
lected cities of Oman (Muscat, Sur, Nizwa, Salalah, Sohar, etc.) which rep-
resent the target population selected for the study. Rationale behind the
selection of the target respondents has been discussed in detail in the Intro-
duction section. The study conducted among the target respondents repre-
sent different demographic profiles (viz., age, marital status, literacy, occupa-
tion, employment status, income, family size, place of residence). The quota
sampling technique was employed to collect primary data from the target
respondents based on occupation, age, marital status, literacy, employment
status, income, family size, and place of residence (Table 4). The primary
data was collected from 172 respondents and 150 (N = 150) respondents
were selected for the analysis. Twenty-two respondents were eliminated
from the final analysis due to submission of incomplete data pertinent to the
constructs developed for the study. A structured questionnaire was used to
collect the responses from the target respondents. The questionnaire con-
sisted of two major categories to test the impact of selected constructs on
female consumer behavior (viz., creating awareness and providing informa-
tion and enhancing knowledge). Each category consisted of 25 statements
related to the constructs (creating awareness, providing information, and
enhancing knowledge) and life style products were used as indicators. A
5-point Likert scale (strongly agree to strongly disagree) was constructed in
order to identify the impact of the selected constructs on female consumer
behavior. The collection tool was translated to the local language (Arabic)
in order to ensure the respondents understood and responded appropriately
to the questions, which ensured the face validity of the study. Simple and
multiple linear regression models were employed to identify the impact of
the selected constructs. The model was also used to check the consistency
and model fit of the selected constructs.
302 S. A. Manickam
Construct analysis modeling (Sakkthivel, 2011b; Sakkthivel, 2012a) was

employed to identify the high and low impact variables that influence fe-
male online buying behavior. Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Analysis was
conducted to test the validity of the overall collection instrument which
produced .941 and an attitude scale secured .941, which proved high
reliability.
ANALYSES AND DISCUSSIONS

Multiple Linear Regression Analysis: Creating Awareness
Multiple linear regression analysis was used to test the impact of the each
independent variable (i.e., advertising tools (TV, print, store, outdoor and
internet) in creating awareness among female consumer buying and decision

making behaviors.
In order to estimate the impact of the selected variables in cre-
ating awareness among female consumers, the following model was
developed:
Yi = f(X1 ) (1)
where Yi is creating awareness among female consumer buying decision with

respect to independent variables; X1 is the impact value of TV advertisements
in creating awareness among female consumer buying and decision making
behaviors; X2 is the impact value of print advertisements in creating aware-
ness among female consumer buying and decision making behaviors; X3 is
the impact value of outdoor advertisements in creating awareness among
female consumer buying and decision making behaviors; X4 is the impact
value of store advertisements in creating awareness among female consumer
buying and decision making behaviors; and X5 is the impact value of internet
advertisements in creating awareness among female consumer buying and
decision making behaviors.
Yi = 0.939 + 0.182 X1 + 0.155 X2 + 0.213 X3 + 0.046 X4 + 0.140 X5 (2)
The aforementioned analysis shows that all the variables are consistent
at 67.2% (R2 = 0.672, p < 0.001). This shows that the regression equation
is highly linear with respect to selected independent variables except the
store advertisements which elicited low linearity with respect to the selected
independent variables (Table 5).
It is evident from the aforesaid results, the independent variables se-
lected for the study have a highly significant impact on the dependent vari-
able (i.e., selected advertising tools in creating awareness among female
consumers purchase intentions except the store advertisements). Outdoor
advertisements contribute significantly in creating awareness among female
consumer buying decisions followed by TV advertisements, print advertise-

ments, and internet advertisements. Store advertisements did not contribute
in creating awareness. It is imperative to understand that female consumers in
Middle Eastern Countries prefer outdoor advertisements to obtain knowledge
regarding products/services, followed by television advertisements, print ad-
vertisements, and internet advertisements. Store advertisements did not cre-
ate awareness among female consumers as it may be considered an internal
advertising mode.
Multiple Linear Regression Analysis: Providing Information

and Enhancing Knowledge
Multiple linear regression analysis was used to test the impact of the each
independent variable i.e. advertising tools (TV, print, store, outdoor and
internet) in providing information and enhancing knowledge among female
consumer buying decisions.
In order to estimate the impact of the selected variables in providing
information and enhancing knowledge among female consumers, the fol-
lowing model was developed:
Yi = f(X1 )
where Yi is providing information and enhancing knowledge among Female

consumer buying decisions with respect to independent variables; X1 is the
impact value of TV advertisements in providing information and enhancing
knowledge among female consumer buying decisions; X2 is the impact value
of print advertisements in providing information and enhancing knowledge
among female consumer buying decisions; X3 is the impact value of outdoor
advertisements in providing information and enhancing knowledge among
female consumer buying decisions; X4 is the impact value of store advertise-
ments in providing information and enhancing knowledge among female
consumer buying decisions; and X5 is the impact value of internet advertise-
ments in providing information and enhancing knowledge among female
consumer buying decisions.
Yi = 0.931 + 0.148 X1 + 0.122 X2 + 0.151 X3 + 0.202 X4 + 0.099 X5 (3)
The aforementioned analysis shows that all the variables are consistent
at 70.3% (R2 = 0.703, p < 0.001). This shows that the regression equation is
highly linear with respect to the selected independent variables (Table 6).
It is evident from the aforesaid results that the independent variables
selected for the study have a highly significant impact on the dependent vari-
able (i.e., selected advertising tools in providing information and enhancing
knowledge among female consumer buying decisions). Store advertisements
304 S. A. Manickam
H1=0.672 Create awareness

Impact of different
advertising tools
(TV, print, outdoor,
store, internet) Provide information
H2 = 0.703 and to enhance
knowledge
FIGURE 2 Modeling of the impact of advertising tools in creating awareness, providing

information, and enhancing knowledge.
contribute significantly in providing information and enhancing knowledge

among female consumer buying decision, followed by outdoor advertise-

ments and TV advertisements. Internet advertisements contribute relatively
less significantly in providing information and enhancing knowledge among
female consumer buying decisions. It is imperative to understand that fe-
male consumers in Middle Eastern Countries prefer store advertisements to
obtain information and knowledge regarding products/services, followed by
outdoor advertisements, television advertisements, print advertisements, and
internet advertisements. It was identified that the internet advertisements
elicit very low effect in providing information and enhancing knowledge of
female consumers in such countries.
It is evident from the aforesaid results that the independent variables
selected for the study have a highly significant impact on the dependent
variable (i.e., influence of advertising tools in creating awareness, providing
information, and enhancing knowledge in female consumers; see Figure 2).
The results revealed that the outdoor advertisements elicit the highest
impact over female consumers in creating awareness and secured the 1st po-
sition, followed by TV advertisements, which secured the 2nd position; print
advertisements secured the 3rd position; internet advertisements secured the
4th position; and store advertisements elicited the lowest impact. It is un-
derstood that the female consumers in Middle Eastern Countries primarily
come to know about products/services through outdoor advertisements and
TV advertisements. With regard to providing information and enhancing
knowledge among female consumers, store advertisements elicited the high-
est position, followed by outdoor advertisements, which secured the 2nd
position; TV advertisements secured the 3rd position; print advertisements
secured the 4th position; and internet advertisement elicited the lowest im-
pact. It is vital to identify that female consumers in Middle Eastern Countries
resort to store advertisements to obtain information and acquire knowledge
about products/services. It may be the most effective mode of providing
information and enhancing knowledge (Figure 3).
• (1) Outdoor adversements

(0.213)
Creang
• (2) TV adversements (0.182) Awareness
• (3) Print adversements (0.155)
• (4) Internet adversements

0.140)
• (1) Store adversements

(0.202) Providing Informaon
and Enhancing
• (2) Outdoor adver sements Knowledge
(0.151)
• (3) TV adversements (0.148)
• (4) Print adversements
FIGURE 3 Modeling of high to low impact variables that create awareness, providing infor-
mation, and to enhancing knowledge.
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY
The study had attempted to unveil the impact of advertising tools in creat-
ing awareness, providing information, and to enhancing knowledge among
female consumer buying behaviors from Middle Eastern countries. The
study selected the major constructs, namely, different advertising tools (TV
advertisements, print advertisements, outdoor advertisements, store adver-
tisements, and internet advertisements) and test the impact of the same
in creating awareness, providing information, and enhancing knowledge
among the target respondents selected for the study (female consumers).
The study revealed that the selected variables have significant impact over
creating awareness, providing information, and to enhancing knowledge of
female consumer buying decisions in Middle Eastern Countries and further
attempted to identify high to low impact variables in creating awareness,
providing information, and enhancing knowledge. Outdoor advertisements
elicited the highest impact in creating awareness, followed by TV adver-
tisements, print advertisements, and internet advertisements. The results are
consistent with previous studies (Bhargava & Donthu, 1999) and inconsistent
with other previous studies (Areni et al., 1999).
It is imperative to understand that female consumers from Middle East-
ern Countries prefer outdoor advertisements to obtain awareness of prod-
ucts/services. It may be inferred that the female consumers notice such ad-
vertisements during their ventures into the outdoors. TV advertisements and
print advertisements also create awareness, whereas internet advertisements
secured the least position in creating awareness. It may be inferred that the
female consumers from Middle Eastern Countries might not be relying much
on the internet to obtain knowledge regarding products/services. Another
interesting outcome is that the store advertisements fail to elicit influence
306 S. A. Manickam
over female consumers with regard to creating awareness. It may be in-

ferred that the female consumers do not rely on the store advertisements to
have awareness as it might be an internal mode of advertising. Therefore,
it is vital for practicing managers to understand high impact advertisements
(i.e., outdoor advertisements in creating awareness among the female con-
sumers in Middle Eastern Countries). With regard to providing information
and enhancing knowledge among female consumers, store advertisements
were found to enjoy more influence, followed by outdoor advertisements,
TV advertisements, and print advertisements. The results are consistent with
previous studies (Edell & Staelin, 1983; Yi, 1990; Gijsbrechts et al., 2003; Li
et al., 2002; Dreze and Hussherr, 2003). It is imperative to understand that the
female consumers from Middle Eastern Countries prefer store advertisements
to obtain information and acquire knowledge regarding products/services.
It may be inferred that female consumers notice such advertisements dur-

ing their visits to stores and shopping malls. Outdoor advertisements, TV
advertisements, and print advertisements also play a vital role in provid-
ing information and enhancing knowledge, whereas internet advertisements
elicit a low influence. It could be the case that the female consumers from the
Middle Eastern countries might not provide credence to internet advertise-
ments, thus placing it in the least position in creating awareness. It may be
inferred that the female consumers from Middle Eastern Countries might not
be relying much on the internet to obtain information and gain knowledge.
A specific study may be carried out to find the reasons behind neglecting
internet advertisements. Therefore, the practicing managers should focus on
the aforementioned advertisements in order to target and reach the female
consumers.
With regard to the role played by different advertising tools, the study
also revealed that store advertisements play an important role in provid-
ing information and enhancing knowledge of female consumers. It may be
interpreted the female consumers prefer tangible information in order to
make buying decisions. The store advertisements could act as touch points
to attract attention, provide information, and enhance knowledge. TV adver-
tisements have also played a role in providing information and enhancing
knowledge of target consumers in this study. It is imperative to understand
that the female consumers do not rely on interactive media (internet ad-
vertisements); however, a reliance on traditional media (outdoor advertise-
ments) to obtain awareness and tangible media (store advertisements) to
obtain requisite information, thus enhances knowledge to make buying de-
cisions. It is imperative to understand the female consumers from the Middle
Eastern countries place their trust in traditional and tangible media (outdoor
and store advertisements) go get awareness, requisite information and gain
knowledge about products/services. It is a vital outcome which would help
the practicing managers to use such media to reach the target consumers
in those countries. The outcomes of the study would provide a significant
contribution and bridge the huge gap in the literature pertinent to impact of
advertising tools on female consumers in Middle Eastern countries. The out-
comes would also throw a light and reveal the reality to the outside world
with regard to exposure of female consumers in the aforesaid countries.
Therefore, the practicing managers would benefit from the aforesaid results
with regard to designing effective marketing strategies, for achieving higher
revenues, profits and customer life time value. The outcomes of the study
provide much needed cues to industry and academia and make a significant
contribution to the existing literature. Given the results, practicing managers
may work an effective strategic plan to suit the target consumers, in order
to reach and influence them to buy different products that are acceptable to
culture, society, and family.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The study underwent several challenges during the research process, such
as the identification of the target respondents, and who could understand,
emulate, and contribute to the problem definition, collection of data within
the stipulated period, and so forth. However, the researchers could identify
the target respondents, who could understand and contribute to the prob-
lem definition, and successfully completed the study which was proven by
reliability analysis. The research is unique as it intends to study the behavior
of female consumers from one of the most restricted societies in the world.
The research encountered a challenge in approach and ensured the par-
ticipation of target respondents who were exposed to different advertising
tools. Nevertheless, appropriate target respondents were identified and used
for the study. The researcher included internet and store advertisements due
to the outcomes of a pilot study on construct selection for the study. The
researcher did not include different modes of different advertising variables
due to nonexposure of the same among the target respondents. Also, the
study did not include celebrities due to the restrictions and heterogeneous
nature of the same among the target respondents.
SCOPE OF FURTHER RESEARCH
The researcher attempted to use the major constructs, namely, advertising

tools such as TV, print, outdoor, store, and internet advertisements as prob-
lem definition and tested their validity through testing of hypotheses. Fu-
ture researchers may focus on selecting one of the variables to perform an
in-depth study on the impact of such variables over consumers. Also, re-
searchers may choose to test the influence of such variables regarding the
selection of a particular category of products/services.
308 S. A. Manickam
FUNDING
I acknowledge the moral and monetary support provided by the Chair-

man, Dean, and Management of Sur University College, Sur, Sultanate of
Oman.
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Do Advertising Tools Create Awareness,

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To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2014.908798

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Do Advertising Tools Create Awareness,

The paper intends to construct an array of advertising tools and

KEYWORDS advertising tools, creating awareness, providing in-

The role of advertising is prominent in today’s competitive business world,

Address correspondence to Sakkthivel A. Manickam, Department of Business Adminis-

as communicating to target consumers on products, services, experiences,

TABLE 1 Development of Constructs Chosen for the Study

Advertising tools (Creating awareness) Advertising Tools (Providing information

TV advertisements, print advertisements, TV advertisements, print advertisements,

However, it is not clear which of the aforesaid sources influenced the

consumers. In order to bridge such a gap, it is imperative to conduct a

Advertising tools (Providing information

VS1 (5) VS2 (5)

TABLE 3 Description of Reliability Statistics (Cronbach’s) of the Individual Advertising Tools

Advertising tools (Providing information

VS1 (5) VS2 (5)

of the selected variables on three major aspects of promotion such as creating

TABLE 4 Demographic Profile of the Respondents

Demographic Variables Profile

Age Below 20: 22%; 21–30: 54%; 31–40: 16%;

TABLE 5 Multiple Linear Regression Analysis: Creating Awareness

Regression equation Regression coefficient t-value p-value

IMPACT OF ADVERTISING TOOLS IN CREATING AWARENESS,

The following literature review attempts to provide an overview of the studies

TABLE 6 Multiple Linear Regression Analysis: Providing Information and Enhancing

Regression equation Regression coefficient t-value p-value

Impact of TV Advertisements in Creating Awareness, Providing

Impact of Print Advertisements in Creating Awareness, Providing

Impact of Outdoor Advertisements in Creating Awareness, Providing

determine providing information and enhancing knowledge of consumers

Impact of Store Advertisements in Creating Awareness, Providing

Impact of Internet Advertisements in Creating Awareness, Providing

promoting products/services and suggested the different ways of using the

Wojnicki, and Wilner (2010) observed the influence of word-of-mouth influ-

Advertising and Female Consumers

(2011) examined the attitudes of consumers toward ethical issues in advertis-

H1: There is a positive impact of advertising Tools (TV advertisements,

H2: There is a positive impact of advertising tools (TV advertisements,

The hypothesis dealing with providing information and to enhancing

FIGURE 1 Conceptual motivation of the proposed model.

Figure 1 shows the research model or conceptual motivation proposed to be

The researcher intends to identify the impact of selected constructs such as

impact of advertising tools (TV advertisement, print advertisement, outdoor

Construct analysis modeling (Sakkthivel, 2011b; Sakkthivel, 2012a) was

ANALYSES AND DISCUSSIONS

internet) in creating awareness among female consumer buying and decision

where Yi is creating awareness among female consumer buying decision with

Yi = 0.939 + 0.182 X1 + 0.155 X2 + 0.213 X3 + 0.046 X4 + 0.140 X5 (2)

consumer buying decisions followed by TV advertisements, print advertise-

Multiple Linear Regression Analysis: Providing Information

where Yi is providing information and enhancing knowledge among Female

Yi = 0.931 + 0.148 X1 + 0.122 X2 + 0.151 X3 + 0.202 X4 + 0.099 X5 (3)

H1=0.672 Create awareness

FIGURE 2 Modeling of the impact of advertising tools in creating awareness, providing

contribute significantly in providing information and enhancing knowledge

among female consumer buying decision, followed by outdoor advertise-