AUDIENCE PERCEPTION OF TELEVISION ADVERTISING ON CHILDREN BEHAVIOUR (A CASE STUDY OF ONITSHA URBAN)

ABSTRACT

The study was aimed at analysing audience perception of television advertising on children behaviour, a case study of Onitsha Urban Area. The survey research was used in this study to sample the opinion of respondents. This method involved random selection of respondent who were administered with questionnaires. The target population of the study comprised of children in Onitsha Urban Area, Anambra state. The questionnaire administered was one hundred and ten (110) copies and one hundred copies retrieved which constitute the sample size. The descriptive and analytical approach was adopted using Chi-square to test and analyze the hypotheses earlier stated. The findings revealed that television advertisement significantly influences children behaviour in Onitsha urban Area and that there is a significant relationship between television advertisement and children behavioural pattern in Onitsha urban Area.  It was therefore concluded from the findings that television advertisement exerts a positive as well as negative influence on children’s behavior in Onitsha Urban area. Television as a medium should restrain adverts promoting high-calorie, sugar-rich snacks, which would result in improved oral and general health of children. It was recommended that The Government and other relevant bodies should enforce effective guidelines intended to promote truthful and accurate advertising sensitive to the special nature of children.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Children behaviour is an important measurement of children’s mental health and has consequences for outcomes in later life (Carol Propper, 2007). Children attraction towards television increases with age. Children react to advertisement in different manners. It can be influenced by many factors, such as grownups, intervention of parents, media literacy and experiences. Such determinants play a key role in understanding television advertisement and process its content. In the cognitive development children are passing through the stages helping them to distinguish advertising from program content, recalling and awareness of advertising, recognizing and understanding persuasive intent of advertising, liking and scepticism or cognitive defence to advertising (Singh & Kaur, 2012).

Now-a-days marketing strategies that involve mass production, mass targeting, mass media and mass developments in the market place-specially by changing consumer needs and wants through variety of promotional mix tools like advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, direct selling, public relation & so on (Garland P Wood, 1958). Strengths of television advertisement are high reach, ability to demonstrate, high-impact medium & prestigious. Therefore, television advertisement attracts its viewers with images, graphics, accounts & stories of live. If we take in to the consideration the children, they are more interested in advertisements & their music and they identify the advertising when the music starts to play.

Advertisement is one of the main instruments used by businesses to communicative and persuasive effect. It is efficient when target audiences received processes and accepted the advertising message. Perception is this element for human beings that helps them exist in reality and has significant role of processing information received by sensory system. The process of perception has been associated with the process of the evaluation of the advertising messages. Television advertisement is the most influential media even there is no acting of purchase the product still remains in our consciousness (Ng, Chee Huat, 2013). Television advertisement impacts on attitude, values, customs, norms, ethnicity, culture, religion and some other behaviors. Sometimes advertisement may change our life style; especially child’s attitude. It can shape our way of life also (Belk and Pollay, 1985: Kumaran, 2017). Television advertising exposure is positively related to children’s purchase requests which leads to increased number of product denials from parents, then causes conflict between parents and child (Moniek Buijzen & Patti M. Valkenburg, 2013). Considerable research has examined advertising’s cumulative effect on children’s eating habits. Several studies have found strong associations between increases in advertising for innutritious food and rates of childhood obesity and also, exposure to television food advertising is parent- child conflicts that may arise regarding food choices. These conflicts can have a negative impact not only on children but also on relationships within the family (Buijzen and Valkenburg, 2013).

Television is emerging as the most important contributor to human social behaviour; it is unquestionably an important source of social influence. Extensive research carried out by many researchers and it has been indicated that television can and does influence human feelings, attitudes and behaviour. The recent growth and expansion of media industry there is a significant experience changes and it leads to think, act and feel, and to our broader belief about the world and social reality. There are number of theoretical model and approaches help to explain the complex links between media exposure and its effects. There is a strong relationship between television and human behaviour, television has influenced a several changes in the life of human beings, where there is a change in the life style of the people. Because of television humans are able to gain knowledge in a broader sense and also get or collect the information of the world in the fraction of second. Television can give ideas, it can inspire to do certain things and drive to initiate. Television controls the social attitudes and changing human behaviour, living style and moral thoughts and consequences.

Culturally, we found that television advertising is imposing an image of life that is completely alien to the vast majority of Nigerian children. Many children are beginning to believe that the Nigeria and the Nigerians they see in television advertisements are the only ones worth emulating and learning form. In other words all other Nigerian and Nigerians lifestyles are either retrograde or passé may be even both. Unfortunately few attempts are being made to draw children for that matter, into a critical debate on the values and lifestyles that television and the advertising on it advocate. As a result material aspiration is reaching unrealistic heights. The impact of television advertising on society is manifold. The immediate and intended impact by advertiser is that the advertised product is valued in a positive way and the viewers are convinced enough to buy the product. The review of research suggests that the unintended, broader and cumulative type of impact accrues from exposure to large number of advertisements and over a period of time. Such an impact is long term and deep seeded. These effects are advertising influencing the behaviour and mind set of children. Most of the stories they hear are not told by parents, the school, or neighbours. They are told by a handful of conglomerates that have something to sell. That has a powerful affect. There has been a lot of debate on the influence that television advertisements have upon children, but to assess the influence accurately it is mandatory to learn whether children are able to comprehend advertising, to what extent and by what age ate are able to achieve that. Advertisement creators are using child actors in their advertising strategy. Therefore, children reacted very positively. Child can easily identify the advertising character that appeared to be the similar in age & life style (Kinsey, 2017).This study is to explore how parents can solve problems and resolve conflicts caused by television advertisements.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

One of the main promotional tools is advertising. Especially television advertising effects, such as; advertised product desires are not only deer mind by cognitive responses to a message, but also by effective responses (Brown & Stayman, 1992; Narin & Fine, 2013). Through the children’s emotions like; fantasy fun & peer popularity that commercials aimed at young children & influencing their strategy for taking product purchasing decisions (Roberts & Pettigrew, 2007). According to the present business environment there is need to find out or explore the influences of television advertisement on children’s product requests and children’s attention level on television advertisements.

1.3OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objective of the study is to examine the audience perception of television advertising on children behaviour. Specific objectives of the study are:                                                    

1. To determine the influence of television advertisement on children socialization.
2. Toascertain the various appeals which attract children to television advertisements
3. To discover the link between children adverts and behavioural pattern of children in Onitsha urban Area.
4. To find out measures through which children advertisements may be regulated against abuse.

1.4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. How is the influence of television advertisement on children socialization?
2. What are the various appeals which attract children to television advertisements?
3. What is the link between children adverts and behavioural pattern of children in Onitsha urban Area?
4. What are the measures through which children advertisements may be regulated against abuse?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

Hypothesis 1

H0: Television advertisement does not influencechildren behaviour in Onitsha urban Area.

H1:Television advertisement significantly influenceschildren behaviour in Onitsha urban Area.

Hypothesis 2

H0: There is no significant relationship betweentelevision advertisement and children behavioural pattern in Onitsha urban Area.

H1:There is a significant relationship betweentelevision advertisement and children behavioural pattern in Onitsha urban Area.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

In one way, the significance of this study is to provide advertising practitioners with insight on how to direct television commercials to meet just the need of the target audience. In another way, it is to help the society to guide the fate or future of our children against the undesirable influences of television advertisements. It is also hoped that the study would significantly add to the already existing body of knowledge, particularly, on media effects and the on the pervasive influence of television advertisements on children.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study is set to ascertain the audience perception of television advertising on children behaviour. The study is limited to children living within Onitsha Urban of Anambra state and the effects of TV advertisement on them.

1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.9 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Children: Refers to male or female human beings between the ages of five and seventeen years.

Advertisement: Refers to non-personal communication aimed at inducing patronage of goods, services or ideas.

Television: Refers to an audio-visual medium that is capable of broadcasting events, plays, news, public announcement, advertisement and other messages to people at far and near places.