Influence of Advertising on Consumer Buying Behaviour: A Study of Middle Income Group in Gauteng

This qualitative study explores the impact of advertising on consumer buying behaviour among the middle income group in Gauteng. It covers the concept of advertising, consumer behaviour, and challenges faced. The study also provides solutions proposed by previous researchers. The research concludes that advertising has an impact on consumer behaviour and factors like the need for a known face to endorse the product, the content of the advertisement, and the message of the advertisement play a crucial role.

Qualitative study: An exploration of the influence of advertising on consumer
buying behaviour: A study of the middle income group in Gauteng.
[BOLD - INSERT YOUR TITLE HERE]
by
SHAMANTHA RAJARAM [BOLD - INSERT YOUR NAME HERE]
submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF COMMERCE [BOLD - INSERT YOUR DEGREE HERE]
in the subject
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT [ BOLD - INSERT THE SUBJECT HERE]
at the
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA [NOT BOLD- INSERT YOUR INSTITUTE HERE]
APRIL 2018 [NOT BOLD]

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................3
1.2 CONCEPT OF ADVERTISING.......................................................................................3
1.3 CONCEPT OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR..................................................................4
1.4 ADVERTISING AS AN INSTRUMENT OF MARKETING FUNCTION....................4
1.5 BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF THE MIDDLE INCOME GROUP PEOPLE...................5
1.6 PREVIOUS RESEARCH CONDUCTED ON THE TOPIC.........................................5
1.7 CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED....................................................................................6
1.8 SOLUTIONS PROPOSED BY PREVIOUS RESEARCHERS..................................7
1.9 SUMMARY.........................................................................................................................7
1.10 REFERENCE..................................................................................................................8

1.1 INTRODUCTION
According to Moriarty et al. (2014), promotion mix of the marketing strategies
that the company undertakes plays an important role in determining the success or
failure of a product or service. Advertising on the other hand is one of the most
effective tools of promotion. Percy and Elliott (2016), state that Advertising is a form
of mass communication that allows a company to communicate with the target
market. However, so and so state that advertising is a paid form of communication
which enables the company to send a message to the customers (Buil et al. 2014).
1.2 CONCEPT OF ADVERTISING
There are a number of modes in which a message can be advertised: print,
television, radio, audio, digital, OOH (OUT-OF-HOME) etc are (Lee and Johnson
2013). Print advertising dose not only include newspaper and magazine, pamphlets,
brochures, advertorial piece in newspapers etc (Pilelienė and Grigaliūnaitė 2014).
Television has also a number of ways for advertising there are banners are now a
popular means of advertising in television apart from commercials. Radio and other
audio modes use similar means of advertising however, with technology OOH has
changed; digital billboards along with traditional hoardings etc are used in OOH
(Jewell and Saenger 2014). The lasted mode of advertising is digital media, as social
media acceptance among the customers are rising more and more companies are
choosing to advertise on social media, both audio visual advertisements can be used
in this medium and with considerable less expense (Tiago and Veríssimo 2014).
Muratovic et al. (2014), there are advertising agencies that help other organizations
with their advertising content. In order to maximize the reach of the message it is
important to choose the right medium of advertising the medium which is most
effective for the target market. In this case there are also media planning agencies
which help companies to plan their budget according to the effectiveness (Maehle
and Supphellen 2015).
1.3 CONCEPT OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
The ways in which consumers are influenced to buy a certain product or
service is known as consumer behaviour. According to Solomon et al. (2014), the
study of consumer behaviour helps the company to not only develop products and

services that will serve the requirement of the customers but also, develop other
marketing strategies to reach out to the target market. Sparks et al. (2013), says that
there are a number of factors that are influences the consumer behavior: purchasing
power, marketing strategies by the company, social influence, Psychological factors
etc. Consumer behavior leads to buying decisions based on the motives associated
with buying (Mullen and Johnson 2013).
1.4 ADVERTISING AS AN INSTRUMENT OF MARKETING FUNCTION
Carey (2014), states that, advertising is one of the most effective marketing
tools. However, advertising is dependent on other marketing mix elements like
market research and segmentation, product development, pricing, positioning
strategy etc. The effectiveness of the process depends on a number of factors,
which furthermore helps in establishing the perception for the company on the minds
of the people (Lee and Johnson 2013). This can be achieved by for example, with
the help of developing a brand image. According to Parente and Strausbaugh-
Hutchinson (2014), the message that the company wants to send the customers
should be clear and to the point. On the other hand, so and so, mentions that the
choice of medium of advertising is important as it ensures the reach of the message
to the right people (Maehle and Supphellen 2015). For example: if a product is aimed
for the kids then the choice of television channel where the product should be
advertised are kid’s channels. Persuasion is an objective of advertising and the
degree to which advertising is persuasive is also important in ensuring efficiency.
This is the factor that leads the customers to buy or not to buy a product.
There are a number of functions apart from communication that is performed
by advertising as a tool of marketing (Lee and Johnson 2013). It helps in the
establishment of a brand; a company wants to establish itself as a brand because it
leads to a recall value in the minds of the people. It helps the customers in
understanding how the company is different from the others in the market. Hence it
can be said that advertise has a role in establishing the competitive advantage of the
company (Lee and Johnson 2013).

1.5 BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF THE MIDDLE INCOME GROUP PEOPLE
According to Lantos (2015), the people who are in the middle income group
spend their hard earned money in products or services that would provide them
utility and value. Thus the quality of the product and the price of the product are
important for this group of people. The people in this group are looking to save their
money wherever possible. Television, radio, digital, print as well as OOH are the
entire medium that this group is exposed to (Hugstad and Durr 2015). Guarin and
Knurling (2014), state that the luxury industry is a segment that is an aspiration for
people in this industry. The purchasing power of people are limited to a lower degree
and thus the choices that these people make are mostly based on something that
they trust would be worth the money. Hence they have the tendency to use the same
products over and over again. With advertising the companies have to establish that
trust and confidence among the customers which will lead them to eventually buy
that product (Hugstad and Durr 2015). The companies whose target markets are
middle income group people they have to ensure that the claims for the quality of the
product or service are appropriate. Because in case the product does not work out
for a customer they will not return to it (Ranganath and Adarsha 2013)..
1.6 PREVIOUS RESEARCH CONDUCTED ON THE TOPIC
The purpose of advertising is to convince people regarding the product or
service, weather it the objective is to introduce a product or to establish some added
benefits to the product or to make people aware of some other promotional message
like discounts etc. One of the major aspects that advertising uses to influence
consumer behaviour is establishing the brand, awareness regarding the brand helps
the consumer to identify a product or service and associate all the values which are
aligned with the brand. Rai (2013), states that advertisement influences the
customers to materialize the purchase of products. The author also states that the
influence is also evident when the message focuses on the quality and the prices of
the products. People are looking out for products that can give value for the money
and that are what is important to establish in an advertisement (Buil et al. 2014).
According to Rai (2013), the factors that influence the consumer behaviour should be
the main focus of the advertisement in order to gather the attention of the customers.

Any advertisement that communicate to the customers that they will get the value for
their money and more with the usage of the product or service leads in to an action
of purchase or even consideration of purchasing (Rai 2013). Advertising help the
customers to choose from the wide range of products that are available in the
market. Since there is intense competition among the most of the products and
services in the market it is important for the content of the Advertisement to be
engaging and attractive to the customers in order for them to end up buying it
(Ranganath and Adarsha 2013). Factors like a celebrity endorsement, the focus on
the needs of the customer in the content of the advertisement have an impact
positive or negative on the consumer behaviour.
From the above discussion the gap in the literature that has been found is the
elements of advertising that impact the consumer behaviour. As every customer
thinks and behaves in a different way there are a number of variables that impact the
customer to make their buying decision. There are also hardly any information
regarding South African consumers in the literature(Rai 2013).
1.7 CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED
In the process of researching the authors faced issues with collecting
information from the people who have been contacted, a number of replies could not
be used as they were mostly speaking on general terms. It is also not easy for the
researchers to get the time for the marketing mangers of some of the organisations
to get information (Lee and Johnson 2013).
The topic of impact of advertising has been researched by a number of
researchers however, there are limited research based on South African population,
this is an important challenge that will be followed by the researcher (Rai 2013).
1.8 SOLUTIONS PROPOSED BY PREVIOUS RESEARCHERS
The research topic should be narrow and should cater to a population that is
easily accessible. While taking any kind of sample size the researcher should ensure
that the source is credible, this is not only for the case of primary research but also
for secondary research (Rai 2013). Researchers also indicate not to waste time or
resource on the source that does not have credibility. Most of the research is

narrowed down to the advertisements of organisation or a group of people (Lee and
Johnson 2013).
1.9 SUMMARY
From the above discussion it can be conclude that the there are a number of
researches on the topic. However the researcher has narrowed it to the middle
income group of people living in a particular area of South Africa. It is also found that
Advertising is a paid form of communication that has a number of medium to reach
out to the people. However, the effectiveness lies on choosing the right medium
along with several other aspects. According to some of the literature advertising
have an impact on the consumer behaviour, some of the factors are the need for a
known face to endorse the product, the content of the advertisement, the message of
the advertisement.

1.10 REFERENCE
Buil, I., De Chernatony, L. and Martinez, E., 2013. Examining the role of advertising
and sales promotions in brand equity creation. Journal of Business Research, 66(1),
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Carey, J.W., 2014. Advertising: An institutional approach. In Readings in Advertising,
Society, and Consumer Culture (pp. 39-49). Routledge.
Guarin, A. and Knorringa, P., 2014. New middle-class consumers in rising powers:
Responsible consumption and private standards. Oxford development studies, 42(2),
pp.151-171.
Hugstad, P.S. and Durr, M., 2015. A study of country of manufacturer impact on
consumer perceptions. In Proceedings of the 1986 Academy of Marketing Science
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Jewell, R.D. and Saenger, C., 2014. Associative and dissociative comparative
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Lantos, G.P., 2015. Consumer behavior in action: Real-life applications for marketing
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Lee, M. and Johnson, C., 2013. Principles of advertising: a global perspective.
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Mullen, B. and Johnson, C., 2013. The psychology of consumer behavior.
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