Students Name i Name: Instructor: Subject: Date: Abstract Advertising is a marketing concept that aims at promoting the awareness

of the available goods and services to the consumers with the intention of influencing their purchasing decisions. This paper investigates the impact of advertising on the purchasing/buying decisions of consumers. To achieve this end exhaustively, the paper proposes the use of close ended questionnaires to interview 200 consumers of different products in the market. The different advertising models that will be addressed in the questionnaire include; online advertising, newspaper and magazine advertising, radio advertising, television advertising, and billboard/banner advertising. After a quantitative analysis, the expected results indicate that effective advertising influences the consumers towards purchasing the products being advertised. To this end, the paper concludes that from an organizational perspective, advertising positively impacts on the purchasing decisions of consumers. Keywords: Advertising, impact, influence, and consumer purchasing behavior.

Students Name ii

Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... i 1 Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 2 3 Introduction ..................................................................................................................1 Background Information ...............................................................................................2 Research Aim and Objectives........................................................................................3 Research Justification....................................................................................................3

Chapter 2: Literature Review ...............................................................................................4 Chapter 3: Methodology.......................................................................................................6 3.1 3.2 3.3 Introduction ..................................................................................................................6 Research Design ...........................................................................................................6 Research Strategy..........................................................................................................6 Research population and sampling. ........................................................................7

3.3.1 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7

Data Collection .............................................................................................................7 Ethical Considerations ..................................................................................................8 Research Results and Discussions .................................................................................8 Time Frame for the Study (Gantt chart) ....................................................................... 10

References ................................................................................................................................ 11

Students Name 1 1 1.1 Introduction In the business context, advertising is a marketing tool that is aimed at convincing consumers to purchase goods and services offered by the advertiser. In this vein, advertisement has been recognized as a marketing tool with a broader exposure and a long lasting effect in the viewers mind (Abideen & Saleem, 55). Abideen and Saleem (55) further point out that the concept of advertising is based on promotion as one of the 4Ps in the marketing mix. It promotes product awareness in the minds of all the potential and target consumers and as such playing a huge role in influencing the consumer purchasing decision. Due to the existing need to market the available goods and services, Osman et al. (140) point out that advertising has cemented it place in every business organization. As a strategy, it promotes the competitive advantage of an organization in the market. In the ancient times, marketers used different symbols and signs to create awareness of their products to the consumers; such tools were hand made and produced at relatively limited scales for marketing purposes only. With modernization forces and technological advancement, the concept of advertisement was developed further and intensively used in business to promote product awareness. Today, advertisement is widely recognized in the business world as the major form of communication between manufacturers and the consumers of their products. The modern business organizations enjoy the utilization of a wide range of advertising medium including; the internet, newspapers, magazines, billboards, television, and so forth (Abideen & Saleem, 55). According to Dens and Pelsmacker (52), television is the strongest medium of advertisement due to its wide viewership and high appeal in both visual and audio communication. It has a huge Chapter 1: Introduction

Students Name 2 influence on consumer behavior, lifestyle, exposure and so forth; all of which highly influence the consumer purchasing behavior. 1.2 Background Information Guo (181) observes that organizations implement different strategies (R&D, use of technology, regular training of employees, reduced prices of products and so forth) in an attempt to achieve success in the market. Nonetheless, the use of different marketing concepts has been identified as an effective strategy of creating the awareness of goods and services among the consumer population. In particular, Abideen and Saleem (55) assert that the utility of advertising in organizations is an interestingly growing concept that significantly influences the purchasing decisions of consumers. On this note, promotional advertising activities enable an organization to establish its operations and advance to be a highly recognized brand in the market. This highlights the role of advertising in outreaching all the potential customers, informing them on the available products, and influencing their attitudes towards purchasing goods and services in the market (Abideen & Saleem, 56). Abideen and Saleem (56) further note that advertising should be done frequently to strengthen the consumers positive memory on the organizational products available in the market. According to Dens and Pelsmacker (60), the analysis of consumer purchasing behavior aims at providing adequate information on why consumers act in a given manner under different purchasing circumstances. In line with advertisement as addressed in this paper, the analysis of consumer purchasing behavior evaluates the factors that are related to advertising and which influence the buying behavior of consumers in the market.

Students Name 3 1.3 Research Aim and Objectives Eriksson and Kovalainen (21) affirm that research aim and objectives are fundamental in any research study; they form the basis from which all the research procedures originate. The main aim of this research proposal is to establish the impact of advertising on consumer purchasing/buying behavior. The achievement of this end will be guided by the following research objectives: Establish how advertising influences the purchasing decisions of consumers in the market; Understand the relationship between advertising and consumer purchasing behavior; Unearth the existing methods of advertising and confirm their effectiveness in influencing the consumer purchasing behavior; Establish approaches to advertising that marketers can employ to improve the efficiency of their advertising strategies. 1.4 Research Justification The concept of advertising is highly significant in the business world as it enables organizations to promote the awareness of their products in the market. There are different advertising concepts that have been addressed in different studies by researchers; nonetheless, the effectiveness of these concepts in influencing the purchasing decisions of consumers remains an un-researched area. In the same vein, there is still minimal evidence that through advertising organizations can boost their overall performance in the market. To this end, the insignificant interest paid by the past researchers on the importance of advertising in business organizations remains the major reason for conducting this study. Its broad approach (in terms of different advertising methods including; radio advertising, internet advertising, television, banners,

Students Name 4 billboards, newspapers, magazines and so forth) will ensure that different advertising models are explored exhaustively to establish the role played by each model in influencing the consumer purchasing decision. 2 Chapter 2: Literature Review

According to Goldsmith and Lafferty (322), marketers aim at reaching all the potential customers, influencing their awareness of goods and services, altering their attitudes towards the products being advertised, and thus influencing their purchasing behaviors. As such, marketers invest heavily in advertising to ensure that the customers in the market are constantly in demand of their products. In this vein, Abideen and Saleem (57) point out that there is a great need for marketers to clearly understand why consumers in the market behave in a particular manner. In this process, the marketers are required to gather relevant data from the market to aid them in developing accurate consumer and market profiles to guide the advertising process. Understanding consumer profiles leads to knowledge of the consumer behavior in terms of emotional and mental processes that take place when the consumers are making their purchasing decisions. In the same vein, it enables the marketers to understand the physical activities of the consumers and why they purchase different products in the market to satisfy their personal needs (Goldsmith & Lafferty, 323). The analysis of consumer behavior, as observed by Moore (163), enables the marketers of products to understand why consumers behave differently in different circumstances; other than advertising, analysis of consumer behavior unearths other different factors that make consumers to behave in a given way while purchasing products in the market. According to Hussainy et al. (32), marketers are more interested in consumer behavior with the aim of establishing the direction of consumer behavior when their most preferred products are

Students Name 5 introduced in the market. Equally, they are interested in establishing the role of effective communication, through advertising, in shaping the behavior of consumers in the market especially at the point of purchase. On this note, Goldsmith and Lafferty (325) note that consumer behavior analysts regard consumers as a variable in the market that determines the effectiveness of an organization in the market if effectively convinced to purchase the products of that particular organization. Hussainy et al. (33) observe that advertising motivates consumers emotionally towards purchasing the goods and services being marketed. In the same vein, advertising is also closely related to entertainment as a way of attracting the attention of the consumers before advertising the available goods and services. Moore (164) identifies the main aim of advertising as to create brand awareness and influence the consumers preferences towards selecting the goods and services being marketed. As such, the most influencing concept in the advertising process is the attitudes of the consumers towards the advertisements for goods and services. In this vein, the attitudes of the consumers towards the advertisement help in influencing the consumers towards the brand until they make purchases. As noted by Wood (316), the consumer buying behavior is determined by the concept that the consumer is already decided to make purchases of the products being advertised on the spot. As such, effective advertising promotes a positive consumer attitude towards the products through emotional motivation thus leading to increased purchases of the products being advertised. On this note, Tirmizi et al. (530) point out that the traditional attitude theory has it that consumer behavior is predictable from the consumers attitude after they purchase the products that they like most in the market. As such, consumer attitude may be understood as acquired behavioral disposition. Nonetheless, Latif and Abideen (42) note that consumer attitude

Students Name 6 shapes consumer behavior through a kind of an emotional response that is triggered by pleasure, dominance and arousal; all of which are triggered by effective advertising. 3 3.1 Introduction This chapter presents the activities and procedures that will be followed in the process of establishing the impact of advertising on consumer purchasing/buying behavior. According to the views of Saunders et al. (27), the methodology adopted is based on the research aim and objectives to ensure that the results effectively answer the prevailing research question. 3.2 Research Design In the process of establishing the impacts of advertising on consumer purchasing decision, the proposed study will employ a quantitative research design. The use of the quantitative concepts will provide this study with numerical manipulations and presentations of the research observations with the aim of describing how advertising influences consumers towards purchasing the goods and services being advertised. Through the quantitative design, this study will also employ the use of empirical methods and statements with numerals and evaluations to test the research hypothesis thus providing valid and reliable answers to the research questions. 3.3 Research Strategy In the process of establishing the impact of advertising on consumer purchasing behavior, the proposed study will employ a case study strategy of 200 consumers whose ages will range from 15-55 years old. The age gap will be highly significant as it will enable the study to establish the advertising methods that appeal to the young consumers of ages 15-25, middle aged consumers from ages 26-40, and elderly consumers of ages 41-55. In line with the argument of Chapter 3: Methodology

Students Name 7 Meriwether (8), the case study is a highly effective and reliable research strategy as it enables researchers to collect research data within the immediate context of the research phenomenon. In the proposed study, the use of 200 consumers will thus create the ideal research context thus increasing the validity and reliability of the research data. As a way of appreciating the consumers for taking part in the study, each consumer will be provided with a $15 gift voucher to shop at different retail outlets as per their choice. 3.3.1 Research population and sampling. According to Bryman (15), research population is considered as the group of individuals from which the researcher intends to sample out the research participants. In the process of establishing the impact of advertising on consumer purchasing behavior, the proposed study entails to use consumers as the research population. Nonetheless, not all consumers will participate in the study; as such, the proposed study will employ a simple stratified random sampling technique to sample out a group of 200 consumers who will participate in the study. A research sample is defined by Bryman (12) as a representative portion of the entire research population. In this study, the use of simple stratified random sampling technique will ensure that all consumers in the consumer population have an equal chance of participating in the research study. 3.4 Data Collection Data collection is the ultimate research activity as it provides the basis for answering the research questions. The proposed study will employ primary data collection where the data will be collected from the consumers using close ended questionnaires. The close ended questionnaires will standardize the consumer responses thus eliminating the challenge of lack of response uniformity in the data analysis process. The proposed study will have a designated

Students Name 8 research center where the 200 research respondents will gather. They will be guided through the questionnaire to ensure that they can comprehend all the questionnaire questions; this will save time in the process of answering the questionnaires. Each respondent will then be provided with a questionnaire and will be expected to fill in according to the given instructions. Upon completion of the questionnaire, the respondents will be thanked and offered $15 gift voucher as a sign of appreciation. 3.5 Ethical Considerations Ethical considerations will ensure that the proposed study is in line with the rules and regulations of research. To begin with, the research participants will be briefed on the aim of the study before being requested to participate in the study. They will also be notified that their participation in the study is optional and as such can withdraw their participation at any point if they feel the need to do so. The consumer responses obtained will be highly confidential and will be used for the sole purposes of establishing the impact of advertising on consumer purchasing behavior. Equally, the personal details of the consumers (names and contacts) will be held as highly confidential, they will only be used to send the final research results to the consumers after the data has been collected, analyzed and conclusions as well as recommendations made. 3.6 Research Results and Discussions The proposed study will employ Chi-square goodness of fit and Chi-square tests. The Chi-square goodness of fit will be used to test whether the results attained from the study will have any differences with the hypothesized proportions in line with the research hypothesis. The Chi-square test on the other hand, will test the relationship between consumer purchasing behaviors after advertisement and consumer behaviors before advertising. The proposed results indicate that effective advertising influences the consumers towards purchasing the products

Students Name 9 being advertised. This leads to the conclusion that from an organizational perspective, advertising positively impacts on the purchasing decisions of consumers. The results will be highly significant to marketers by enabling them to implement effective marketing strategies of promoting increased sales of the products being advertised.

Students Name 10 3.7 Time Frame for the Study (Gantt chart)

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Consolidate literature, write research proposal Review proposal after defenses Develop sampling frame, identify subjects Train assistants, pre-test instrument Develop dummy tables using pre-testing data Collect data in the field Data analysis and interpretation Write draft research report, submit

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Students Name 11 References Abideen, Zain., and Saleem, Salman. Effective Advertising and its Influence on Consumer Buying Behavior. European Journal of Business Management 3.3 (n.d.): 55-65. Bryman, A. Social research methods. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print. Dens, Nathalie., and Pelsmacker D. Patrick. Consumer Response to Different Advertising Appeals for New Products: The Moderating Influence of Branding Strategy and Product Category Involvement. Journal of Brand Management 18 (2010): 50-65. Eriksson, P., and Kovalainen, A. Qualitative methods in business research. 1st Ed. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2008. Print. Goldsmith, R. E., and Lafferty, B.A. Consumer response to websites & their influence on advertising effectiveness. Journal of Electronic Networking Application and Policy 12.4 (2002): 318-328. Guo, Li. A Research on Influencing Factors of Consumer Purchasing Behaviors in Cyberspace. International Journal of Marketing Studies 3.3 (2011): 182-188. Hussainy, S. K., Riaz, K., Kazi, A. K., and Herani, G. M. Advertising Styles Impact on Attention in Pakistan. KASBIT Business Journal 1.1 (2008): 28-38. Latif, Abdul., and Abideen, Zain. Effects of Television Advertising on Children: A Pakistani Perspective. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences 30 (2011): 38-49. Meriwether, N. 12 easy steps to successful research papers. 2nd Ed. Lincolnwood IL: National Textbook Co, 2001. Print. Moore, S. E. Children and Changing World of Advertisements. Journal of Business Ethics 52 (2004): 161-167.

Students Name 12 Osman, Syuhaily., Yin-Fah C. Benjamin., and Hooi-Choo, Bei. Undergraduates and Online Purchasing Behavior. Asian Social Science 6.10 (2010): 133-146. Saunders, M., Lewis, P., and Thornhill, A. Research Methods for Business Studies. 4th Ed. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2007. Print. Tirmizi, M. A., Rehman, K. U., & Saif M. I. An Empirical Study of Consumer Impulse Buying Behavior in Local Markets. European Journal of Scientific Research 28.4 (2009): 522532. Wood, M. Socio-Economic Status, Delay of Gratification, and Impulse Buying. Journal of Economic Psychology 19.3 (1998): 295320.