Today, the role of advertising in modern marketing is becoming more and more significant. The essence of the new advertising is that it has become an integral and active part of a comprehensive marketing system. A characteristic feature of modern advertising is the acquisition of its unique role due to the involvement of industrial and service firms in managing production and sales activities. The topic’s relevance is determined by the increasing role and significance of advertising in marketing. Every year the importance of advertising becomes stronger, primarily in terms of the impact on people.
In conditions of increasing competition, the communication style with consumers, partners, competitors, and other public groups that influence the manufacturer’s successful activity is becoming increasingly important. In addition, acting in a market environment, advertising through the control function creates the possibility of rapid response to dynamic changes in the market (Mafael et al., 2021). It is evident that any firm should be responsible for the fruits of its labor before the society in which it operates (Lin & Fu, 2018). It should work effectively for the benefit of shareholders and employees and make a tangible contribution to the country’s economy (Nanchahal et al., 2021). Thus, determining the effectiveness of advertising campaigns as an essential controlling element of brand effectiveness is an urgent problem.
Research Background and Questions
Background
To date, there are many works and studies devoted to advertising activities. For example, Feldman & Stacey (2020) surveyed consumers’ perception of social networks as advertising platforms and famous people in advertisements of favorite brands. A study conducted by Fay et al. (2019) establishes links between the word of mouth and advertising effectiveness. Hamelin et al. (2017) also studied various aspects affecting the effectiveness of advertising, in particular emotions in the human cognitive process. In turn, Jiang et al. (2020) devoted their research to the influence of cultural power on the effectiveness of targeted advertising through moderate emotional arousal in advertising. A scientific article authored by Kwon et al. (2019) tells in detail about the influence of media text on the effectiveness of advertising in the media space.
Problem Statement
Conducting advertising research is primarily due to the fact that decisions in the field of advertising are made under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Characterizing the content of marketing advertising activities, the following areas of advertising research can be distinguished:
- Research on the effectiveness and popularity of individual advertising tools for different target audiences. In particular, based on the study of the degree of popularity of personal radio and television programs in the media (Qin, 2019).
- The study of the effectiveness of the company’s advertising policy as a whole. The degree of awareness about the company and its products is studied based on the results of advertising activities for a certain period (Šomplák et al., 2019).
- The study of the effectiveness of individual advertising campaigns, including based on particular experiments (Todri & Singh, 2020).
- The study of the effectiveness of the impact of an advertising appeal on the audience, the degree of its influence on people’s behavior (To & Patrick, 2021).
- The study of the synergetic effect of the joint use of several media for advertising purposes (Yang et al., 2020).
Research on advertising activities’ effectiveness helps achieve advertising goals faster and at a lower cost. For example, Nescafe Company decided to show 30-second television commercials to show 15-second commercials (Singh, 2021). However, the study showed that 15-second commercials are often too short; people are not able to perceive the advertising message so quickly. The results of such analyses can be of considerable value when planning an advertising campaign (Van den Broeck et al., 2019). Thus, the study of advertising is of great relevance in our time since it affects a large number of spheres of human life and affects the economy.
Objectives of the Research
This study had a particular framework, which includes:
- Customers’ attitude to Nescafe advertising.
- The degree of customer confidence in various advertising sources.
- The opinion of buyers about Nescafe advertising.
- The frequency of viewing advertising sources before making a purchase.
- The emergence of a desire to purchase a Nescafe product after viewing an advertisement.
- The attitude of buyers to the acquisition of advertised brands.
The purpose of the paper is to explore the features of advertising as a phenomenon, its role in creating an effective brand, as well as its part in the life of a modern person. It focuses on Nescafe advertising as an essential marketing tool influencing consumer preferences. The research hypothesis is that there is a significant relationship between the advertising used and the effectiveness of Nescafe brand creation.
Research Questions
In the course of the research, the following questions were posed and answers were found to them:
- What is advertising, and what are its features?
- What functions and aspects does advertising have?
- How does advertising affect the needs of customers?
- What are the criteria and methods that determine the effectiveness of advertising?
The diversity of this advertising activity makes it difficult to consistently and exhaustively define advertising, not all aspects of which are sufficiently well studied. Therefore, further study of the importance of advertising in the effectiveness of the brand is relevant and appropriate.
Literature Review
Literature is critical in writing a research paper, so twenty scientific articles related to various aspects of advertising were analyzed. The article authored by Abdallah (2019) defines methods for achieving effective and successful advertising strategies. The author describes in detail how to recognize and study factors that directly affect consumer behavior. Thus, the study of these factors will allow marketers to develop effective advertising strategies that would take into account the urgent needs of customers. This article was written using a descriptive-analytical method and contains the following results. Firstly, technological progress is essential, creating new markets and opportunities for business organizations. Secondly, successful advertising requires a balance of all marketing mix components, including the product, promotion, and pricing. Finally, the essential aspect is an excellent and complete knowledge of the desires and capabilities of consumers, which contributes to high competitiveness and the creation of practical advertising tools.
The research conducted by Batra (2019) is interesting from the point of view of studying the cultural significance of brands and the influence they acquire in the process of their development. The article’s author argues that in the culture of consumption, brands offer much more than a specific product or service, as they endow the offer with meaning, a familiar life situation, and ready-made role models. The article contains information about the types of visual, sensory, and human signals that are the sources of specific brand values. In addition, the author concludes that the essence of the brand is an idea that gives it a unique cultural value and defines the target audience. The author of the article used a descriptive and analytical method and revealed a complex relationship between values and brands, which determines the importance of brands for consumers.
An article authored by Belanche et al. (2019) was explored, the purpose of which is to study the effectiveness of advertising on social media platforms, primarily on Facebook and Instagram. The author claims that analyzing the popularity of social media will help companies choose the right target audience to attract it. In this article, interviewing three hundred people on social networks of different ages and genders was used. The importance of this study lies in the relationship between social platforms and the effectiveness of advertising, and the attitude of users towards it. The results of this article suggest that Instagram Stories improve people’s perspectives even to intrusive advertising, unlike the more famous Facebook Wall. In addition, the author claims that Instagram Stories attracts a younger audience, and older people prefer to use Facebook Wall. Finally, the survey showed that the female audience uses Instagram Stories more often than men and does not consider advertising intrusive.
An article authored by Campbell & Pearson (2019) was also studied, which was devoted to the effectiveness and features of video advertising. The author analyzed advertisements taken from articles and the agency’s data set and interviewed advertising professionals. The importance of the information obtained in this study lies in the features of video advertising, which allows it to influence the audience effectively. The authors of the article believe that advertisers can use four strategies and related operational tactics to develop more successful video ads. In addition, the authors consider the most important feature of video advertising to be the use of a particular color, which affects people’s perception and causes them certain emotions. This study has been of great help in understanding and identifying the most significant aspects of video advertising that affect brand effectiveness.
A study conducted by Czinkota et al. (2021) shows advertising from the point of view of the advertising complex and part of the dialogue, implying an encoding and decoding model. The authors claim that advertising significantly affects the process of corporate promotion using the pulling technique. In addition, the authors conclude that to achieve the most remarkable effectiveness, advertising must contain a unique trade message that will interest consumers. One of the significant results of the article is the statement that an essential role in the dissemination and delivery of such a message is played by the leaders of public opinion, who primarily form the attitude to information. Thus, this article makes it clear that the involvement of well-known media personalities in advertising will significantly increase its effectiveness in creating or promoting a brand. The authors state that an essential step in creating advertising for the brand will be the choice of an appropriate advertising agency.
Methodology
Residents of the city of Accra were considered as the population for this research. To study the impact of Nescafe advertising on consumer preferences, a questionnaire was developed, filled out by a hundred people aged 18-25 years. There were sixty women and forty men among them, and they were all people of different professions, such as bankers, doctors, business people, homemakers, and students. Despite being very busy, all these people participated in the survey with great desire, answering the questions asked. The method of correspondence questionnaire was chosen for the study. The questionnaire includes an introductory part, which is aimed at encouraging the respondent to answer questions; it concerns the attitude towards advertising and its sources in general.
The questionnaire contains a preamble-instructional section, the importance of which should not be underestimated. In the conditions of correspondence communication with the respondent, the preamble is a necessary means of motivating the respondent to fill out the questionnaire, forming his attitude to the sincerity of the answers (Maurya, 2020). The central part presented various types of questions aimed at identifying the impact of advertising on consumer preferences. The data was collected through face-to-face meetings, telephone, and online conversations at people’s workplaces and universities. Pie charts were used to analyze the data, which show the percentage of different answers to questions. According to the research program, the questionnaire is offered to be filled out by the participants of the group that corresponds to the sample. Each group member filled out the questionnaire individually, personally entering data there.
Data Analysis
The first question of the questionnaire concerned the attitude of buyers to Nescafe advertising in general. Based on the data obtained, the following conclusions can be drawn: the majority of buyers treat Nescafe advertising rather positively (32%); 26% of buyers treat Nescafe advertising strictly positively; 17% treat Nescafe advertising indifferently; 15% treat Nescafe advertising rather negatively; and only 10% treat Nescafe advertising strictly negatively (Figure 1).
Such data suggest that advertising is an integral part of human life and society, as well as most employers, know how to present their product correctly and pleasantly. A tiny percentage of young people treat Nescafe advertising relatively negatively or strictly negatively since the advertising strategies used by Nescafe Company are correct and digestible for the general consumer. Then the buyers were asked to determine how much they trust advertising in different sources.
Based on the data presented in Figure 2, it can be noted that buyers trust advertising in newspapers and magazines to a greater extent (46%). Further, according to the degree of customer confidence, television can be distinguished since 24% prefer this source of advertising information. In third place is the radio, which is trusted by 22%, and in last place in terms of the trust is the Internet, which is authorized by only 8%. The results obtained clarify that most buyers prefer to trust more proven and classic advertising sources since the Internet has too extensive and often unreliable information. Even young people who spend a lot of time on social platforms prefer television and newspapers, as advertising on the Internet is often inconsistent and untrustworthy.
In the course of the study, buyers were offered several judgments that reflect their opinion about Nescafe advertising, and the results are presented in Figure 3. The majority of respondents (51%) noted that Nescafe advertising has become too much and that it is annoying; 28% believe that Nescafe advertising creates the need to purchase goods that are not necessary; 21% enjoy watching high-quality and beautiful Nescafe ads.
This survey demonstrates the oversaturation of the space surrounding people with Nescafe advertising. There is a considerable amount of all kinds of Nescafe advertising broadcast from everywhere, so it is not surprising that many people feel some fatigue from it. The primary purpose of advertising is to create the desire to buy a particular thing, and, as noted by 28% of buyers, Nescafe advertising copes with this task even too well, forming a cult of consumption. Nevertheless, advertising has become real art, which is appreciated by 21% of consumers so that it is possible to talk about the cultural and aesthetic value of Nescafe advertising.
The next question was aimed at identifying what characteristics advertising should have to attract the attention of consumers. Most buyers noted that they remember funny ads, with humor, as well as with famous people. At the same time, some indicated that those who inspire confidence should advertise the product. If it is an advertisement for medicine or toothpaste, then a doctor, a professional who advises their clients to use this product, will enjoy it with great confidence here. According to the respondents, advertising should also be bright, original, unobtrusive, and with a good, memorable slogan. It should be noted that the advertising of the company Nescafe, according to the respondents, has all the necessary properties to attract their attention.
To determine whether the respondents are interested in advertising, they were asked the following question: “Do you view advertising sources or online reviews before making a purchase”? 58% of respondents always look through advertising sources before making a purchase; 24% do it from time to time, and only 18% have never turned to advertise to decide on the choice of a product. The results obtained are demonstrated in Figure 4. Based on the data obtained, it can be stated that advertising is of great importance to a person’s desire to purchase something. The information contained in the advertisement is essential for the consumer, as it includes psychological techniques that encourage the purchase of a particular thing. Thus, it is impossible to deny the influence of advertising media on a person.
To assess the degree of influence of advertising on people’s consumer decisions, they were asked the following question: “Do you have a desire to buy any Nescafe product after seeing an advertisement?” Based on the results presented in Figure 5, the following conclusions can be drawn: most buyers (38%) do not desire to purchase Nescafe goods after viewing the advertisement. However, 26% noted that they had not had such cases, and 36% had such a desire.
The data obtained make it possible to verify the impact of advertising on the consciousness of consumers. It becomes clear that many people have a desire to go to the store and buy Nescafe products immediately after watching the commercial. It can be noted that the effectiveness of Nescafe advertising media creates such a high need for people to purchase. Also it ensures the development and expansion of not only world-famous brands but also ordinary goods.
Young people are the socio-demographic group that has not yet entirely determined their preferences, and their tastes often change so that various factors can influence consumer choice. In this regard, respondents were asked how they felt about acquiring advertised brands. Thus, most young customers (51%) buy well-known brands, as they signify high social status and position. 30% of respondents are indifferent to famous brands, and 19% are not ready to overpay for goods from well-known manufacturers (Figure 6).
Customers identified the following reasons for purchasing products of well-known brands: the desire to demonstrate their social status and conform to fashion and advertising trends. Thus, it becomes evident that proper advertising has a beneficial effect on the popularity and marketability of brands, as it causes people to want to be modern and buy the advertised product. More than fifty percent of the young people surveyed are willing to pay a lot of money, not so much for the quality, but the status created by effective and competent advertising.
Conclusion and Recommendations
This paper considered the effectiveness of advertising as a brand creation tool, its features, and functions. Advertising is a fascinating and versatile subject, interesting for careful exploring. The studied literary sources allow us to conclude that advertising has become a social institution with its approaches to modern society and can influence its lifestyle, behavior, and values. The peculiarities of the functioning of advertising in contemporary society allow us to call it one of the factors influencing the regulation of social behavior.
A survey was conducted concerning the attitude of Accra residents to some aspects of Nescafe advertising in their daily lives. The results show that most people trust advertising, watch it before buying an item, and desire it after viewing. However, they consider it annoying and form a cult of consumption. In addition, it was revealed that buyers are interested in buying brands because of the social status and popularity, not the reliability or quality of the item. It can be added that advertising forms such a desire to buy expensive and popular brands. It becomes clear that constant and ubiquitous advertising positively affects the Nescafe brand since people who choose between Nescafe products and another less well-known will prefer Nescafe.
The results of this work make it possible to understand that adequately organized and well-planned advertising activities can significantly increase turnover, and therefore profit. One of the problems of many manufacturers is saving money on advertising, which is a fundamentally wrong policy since advertising allows the brand to develop and expand. Methods of assessing the economic and psychological effectiveness of the company’s advertising activities and ways to improve them can be used in the practice of any company engaged in retail or wholesale trade.
Recommendations for creating and implementing effective advertising can be as follows: effective advertising implies a combination of practical creativity and optimal placement that provides coverage of the most significant part of the target audience. In addition, it means communicating information about the product to the end consumer in a form that contributes either to an increase in sales volumes or to an increase in the price of this product. Advertising is multifunctional, it can serve to solve various tasks, and its possibilities are almost limitless. Nevertheless, for the goals to be achieved, the correct formulation of the advertising campaign’s objectives is necessary first of all. The primary purposes of advertising are to inform potential consumers about the brand’s existence, inspire confidence in it, interest them, and convince them to purchase a product of this brand.
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