Consumers’ Perception of MTN Advertising Slogan Changes: Study of Plateau State University Students, Bokkos.
Abstract
Slogans are embodiments of brand essences. They are thought to have potential to induce emotional responses that may steer consumers toward certain products. The aim of this study was to ascertain consumers‟ perceptions of the frequent changes in slogans of heavily advertised brand like MTN GSM Network.  The objectives of the study are, (i) to find out students‟ frequency of exposure to MTN slogans;(ii) to ascertain students‟ reaction towards the frequent changes in MTN slogan; (iii) to find out students‟ preference of MTN slogans;(iv) to ascertain the recall rate of MTN slogans among students; and (v) to determine students‟ perception of MTN advertising slogans. The study employed survey design with structured questionnaire as the instrument. The populations of this study are undergraduate students of Plateau State University, Bokkos. The study sampled 323 respondents using multi-stage and stratified random sampling techniques. The data gathered was analyzed using cross-tabulation, correlation and percentages to analyze the frequency. The findings indicate that, frequent changes in MTN advertising slogans seem to affect students recall ability negatively. It was observed that, the changes have no influence on their purchasing decisions but rather, the quality and reliability of the network. Therefore, the study concludes that consumers perceive the frequent changes in slogans as a primary obstacle to recall. The study therefore recommends that MTN and other service providers may consider using one slogan over medium to long term because this will make their product visible and unique. Also, the longer the life span of the slogan, the easier for consumers to recollect and remain loyal to the brand.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
With the liberalization of telecommunication industry in 2001, mobile telephony has rapidly become the most popular method of voice communication in Nigeria. Growth has been rapid that Nigeria   was   described   as   one   of   the   fastest   growing   worldwide   market   for   Mobile telecommunication. Through the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) the regulatory body, the Nigerian Government modernized and expanded the mobile telecommunications network and services by granting global system for mobile telecommunication (GSM) license to three service providers in January 2001. These providers included Mobile Telecommunication Network (MTN) Nigeria, Econet Wireless (now Airtel), and the first national carrier, NITEL (Mtel). In 2002, the second national carrier, Globacom, was additionally granted license to commence operation. Since then the Global  system  for mobile telecommunication (GSM) services  and several  other  fixed wireless telecommunication services deliver telephone services to Nigerians and the world. These telecommunication companies introduced great innovations and continued to provide aggressive and varied marketing strategies in order to establishing meaningful and differentiated presence through their names brands. They did this to increase company identification, attract and retain customers and improved market place efficiency and effectiveness (Peter, 2014).
In addition, advertising is one great activity in Communication that has being with man right from time. It is often experienced either consciously or unconsciously by everybody, every day, if not every hour or minute. It has no doubt assumed great prominence and pervasiveness in all facets of human endeavours. (OKoro, 2005, p.93). In almost every place around us, one hardly goes by without  seeing  bill  boards  and  spectaculars.  Neither  can  one  relax  without  radio  sounds  and television images, magazine and newspaper pictures, all emanating from one point or the other and
demanding persuasive attention. This perhaps evokes advertising and as such, it is everywhere (Akpan, 2006, p. 169; Baran, 2004, p.377). Primarily, advertising tells and persuades consumers to patronize products, services and idea. This perhaps underscores its basic functions of marketing and communication. Thus every form of advertising is either aimed at achieving great sale of products, so to maximize profit or to provide social services to the public in its fulfillment of persuasive information and communication goal.
From the beginning and from its persuasive nature, advertising is known to have grown and achieved  a  tremendous  feet  in  marketing  communications.  In  Ogbodo‟s  view,  (1999,  p.49) “advertising has not only become an integral part of our social and economic system, but has grown over  the  years  to  assume  tremendous  proportions  both  as  a  business  activity  and  as  a  social phenomenon”.  Thus,  the  development  of  advertising  has  no  doubt  doted  great  impact  in  the economic and social transformation of the world today. Arens (2006, p.58), likens the economic impact of advertising to the world as:
A break shot in billiards or pool… he moment a company begins to advertise, it sets of a chain reaction of economic events which is like a force of the shot and the economic environment in which it occurred.
In spite of the great changes and development that have occurred in advertising, its practice and goals remains the same. What is different in advertising today is the level of sophistication it has attained and the increasing scholarly attention it is attracting (Nwankpa, 2007, p.1).
The growth in sophistication of advertising practice is predicated on the changing nature of the world (Nwankpa, 2007, p.5). As the world changes, so do advertising. The changes in the media of advertising which has ushered in the computer network, is a major contribution to the level of sophistication of advertising. More so, the growing complexities in the market place of our times and the  increased  production  of  goods  demanding  for  more  attention,  has  made  advertising  to  be sophisticated. It is in this era that advertising rates are highly charged by the media, due to their strengths and changes in technology.
To this end, Marsh, Guth and Short (2005, p.101), states that:
Advertising  faces  severe  challenges  in  the  21st   century…  And  you expect your messages to be noticed in that avalanche of persuasion? A successful  and  must  cut  through  that  cluster.  To  win  consumer‟s attention, you must conduct extensive research on the client, product, competition and target audience. And you must be creative
Intrinsic in the above assertion of Marsh, et al is that, advertising has assumed a great challenge in this present day situation. It therefore needs more knowledge, skills, and facts in creating a message that would be successful in the market place. This therefore calls for creativity.
Furthermore, advertising is the heart of consumer patronage in any society. This is due to its pivotal role in reaching the consumer through advertising by informing them of the existence of a product. In doing this, advertising embraces the use of other media such as radio, television, print and social media, aimed at reaching the audience. For this reason, slogans are used to capture the minds of the audience, such that their quest to patronize the advertised products is increased, while they also employ other means of awareness about the product. In advertising, slogans are standard statements and a means of communication for sales people and company employees. They stand as a „‟battle cry‟‟ for the company. Slogans help set a product apart from its competitors. It is usually short, easy to understand, memorable and easy to repeat.
The perception of various products gives the first impression for consumers, particularly when they have limited time and bandwidth to do a thorough research on a new product. This perception of attributes also has a relation with consumer judgment of whether the product will satisfy their needs (Solomon, 2002). According to Sitter (2008), perception is how humans recognize and interpret stimuli. In other words perception is the first impression that individuals develop and on  the  basis  of  it  select  and  interpret  information  to  form  a  meaningful  picture  of  the  world (Munnukka, 2008). That is why it is believed that perception influences the consumer‟s level of satisfaction and thereby their buying and usage decisions.
* MSC MASS COMM.