MTN TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE AND ITS USERS IN BENIN CITY
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Advertising is gotten from the Latin word ‘’Advert ere’’ which means to turn the attention. It’s a promotional tool companies use to draw attention of buyers and public to any of its products in order to inform them about the availability of the product, its existence and induce sales. The basic aim of advertising activity is popularization of the product of the advertiser. Advertising is an economic activity with a major purpose of inducing sales, it creates the ‘magic’’ in the market place. It can lead people into certain perception about a particular product which in turn influences their choice of purchase (Brand preference).
Advertising is the most effective way of reaching a mass audience creating awareness and building brand preferences. Understanding the path through which advertising influence consumer choice is vital for researchers and practitioners’. Advertising, sales promotion and public relations are promotional tools available to marketers. Today, definitions of advertising abound, we might define it as communication process, a marketing process, an economic and social process, a public relations process or information and persuasion process (Arens, 1996). Advertising can be viewed from its functional perspectives (Dunn 1978), hence he defined it as a paid, non-personal communication through various media by business firms, non-profit organization, and individuals who are in some way identified in the advertising message and who hope to inform or persuade members of a particular audience.
Consumers are individuals who purchase goods or service at an agreed price for the purpose of consumption. The consumer is a variable in the marketing sequence, a variable that cannot be controlled and that will interpret the product or service not only in terms of the physical characteristics, but in the context of this image according to the social and psychological makeup of that individual consumer (or group of consumers).
Sutton’s (1991) assumed that advertising enhances consumers’ willingness to pay by changing their quality perception. The very goal of all adverts by the marketer is to influence consumers' attitudes and buying behavior. Brand refers to a name, symbol, logo, or other item used to distinguish a product or service or it provider. Preference this is the option to select one thing over the other. Consumer brand preference is the consumer’s disposition towards a particular brand that varies depending on the salient beliefs that are activated at a given time, consumer biasness towards a certain brand reflects its disposition to that brand. This disposition may result into final purchase which also may be complex and may happen over a period of time, or it may be quick and simple if advertising is carried out in the most efficient and effective manner. Consumer brand preference is also the mental and emotional processes and the physical activities of people who purchase and use goods and services to satisfy particular needs and wants (Arens, 1996). Proctor  (1982) noted that the principal aim of consumer brand preference analysis is to explain why consumers act in particular ways under certain circumstances. It tries to determine the factors that influence consumer choice, especially the economic, social and psychological aspects which can indicate the most favorable marketing mix that management should select. There are two steps in understanding the relationship between consumers brand preference and advertising, first, it is important to realize the complexity of human behavior and how extensive a variety of influences affect influences by clustering consumers who tend to behave in the same way.   Flowing from above, this study seeks to examine Advertising on consumer brand preference with respect to telecommunication service (MTN).
1.2 Statement of Problem  
        Advertising plays an important role in the society.  It transcends mere entertainment to bringing information about products to various consumers.  This explains why it has been used by various industries to create want orientation.  Thus, it aids marketing.  For instance, Mobile telephone network(MTN), in its bids to increase sales, places many advertisements in various mass media – print, broadcast, internet, bill boards within an identified market. It is through the numerous advertisements, placements or insertions that consumers gain exposure of the brands advertised. There are MTN advertisements on state television stations, Billboards, kiosk paintings, roads and on the Internet.  
However, it is not clear how many consumers encounter these advertisements. Though consumers have varying levels of exposure, the problem is that very little effort has been expended to realistically ascertain how much patterns of brand advertisements have affected consumers’ disposition in terms of preferences of purchase of advertised brands.  Therefore, this study is aimed at finding out whether the patterns of brand advertising, especially of MTN service, affect consumer attitude towards the brand. It further sought to find out whether there is a correlation between regular exposures and the extent of message conviction. Also, it sought to find out if socio-economic factors such income, culture, value etc play a major role in influencing consumer preference for a particular brand. This study also seeks to know the relationship between preferences and factors such as colours, quality offered, prestige involved in using MTN or combination of all these factors contribute to consumer preference for that brand.
1.3 Research Questions
1. Are consumers exposed to MTN advertisements?
2. Do MTN advertisements affect the buying habit of this service by the populace?  
3. Do messages in the advertisements affect consumers’ preference for the advertised brand?  
 4. Does socio-economic status of consumers affect their response to MTN advertisements?
5. Do factors such as colours, quality, prestige or combination of colours, quality and prestige influence consumer preferences for MTN service?  
1.4 Objectives of Study
1. To ascertain the extent of consumer exposure to MTN advertisements.  
2. To determine the effect of the advertisements of this service on the buying habits of the public.
3. To find out the extent to which the message of MTN advertisements influence their preference for the advertised brand.  
4. To establish the extent to which socio-economic status of consumers affects their response to MTN advertisements.  
5. To determine whether factors such as colours, prestige, quality, and Combination of all influence consumer preference.  
1.5 Significance of the Study
         This study will be of immense advantage to advertising practitioners old and new, tutors, students, marketers and integrated marketing communicators as well as to explorative readers from every field. This study, will also serve as a guide to the manufacturers and advertisers in scheduling their media plan as it would evaluate patterns of brand preference, advertising, and possibly ascertain the degree of exposure enough to create disposition for purchase behaviour.
1.6 Scope of the study
    The scope of this study is limited to MTN telecommunication service and its users in Benin City, Nigeria. Precisely, it will focus on MTN users in the University of Benin.
1.7 Limitation of the study
       The major limitation of this study is the inability to use a simple random sampling. Another limitation is the restriction of the study to University of Benin.