Effect of Advertisements on Children with special reference to Confectionary products
ABSTRACT
I investigated children’s understanding of TV advertisements,
which is their ability to distinguish Between TV programs and commercials and
their comprehension of advertising intent, using Verbal and non-verbal measurements.
The sample consists of 150 children, their parents 150. Results using
non-verbal measures suggest that most children are able to distinguish
commercials from programs and that they have some insight into advertising
intent. Results using verbal measures, however, are not as conclusive; the percentage
of children who show understanding of TV advertisement is substantially lower. Effects
of age, gender, and parental influence are assessed using MURALS, a regression analysis
method for categorical and continuous variables, and CHAID, an analysis method
to detect homogeneous segments on the basis of the relation between categorical
dependent and explanatory variables. The age of a child turns out to have a
positive effect. The effects of gender and parent-child interaction are rather
small, both for verbal as for non-verbal measures of understanding of TV
advertisement. A high level of parental control of TV viewing may result in
lower understanding of TV advertisement.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Statement of the Problem
Through this report we want to find out
how children are influenced by the advertisements especially of confectionary
products. So the statement of this project would be ‘Effect of Advertisements on
Children with special reference to confectionary products’
The research process goes within the
following confectionary products:
Ø Biscuits
Ø Chocolates
Ø Wafers
Ø Noodles
Ø Sauces
Ø Health
Drinks
Objectives of the Study
The subject matter for this
Project is to study the effects of advertisement on
children. Following
are the main objectives of this report.
Ø To know the children's awareness about confectionary Products & their advertisements.
Ø To study the impact of advertisement of confectionary Products on children.
Research Design
Research design selected for this
project is Descriptive.
Scope
The research will be done at Metroville
S.I.T.E area Karachi city only.
SAMPLING PLAN
Target Population :
- Target population for this research would be children
with age of 8-15 and their parents.
Sample Unit :
- Sample unit for this research would be children
with age of 8-15 and their parents of a selected area.
Sampling Technique : -
Stratified Random Sampling
Sample
Size : - 300 (150 children and 150 parents)
Sampling Methods
There are mainly
two of sampling methods which are being used by the marketers:
- Probability Sampling (Random Sampling)
- Non – probability Sampling
Probability sampling is a method for
drawing a sample from a population such that all possible samples have a known
and specified probability of being drawn.
Non-probability sampling is a sampling
procedure in which the selection of population elements is based in part on the
judgment of the researcher or field interviewer.
The sampling method for this report
would be probability sampling because here each sample has equal chance of
being selected and again it would be stratified random sampling
Data Collection Method
There
are mainly two types of data collection methods which are as follows:
- Primary Data
Primary Data is the one that is being
collected by the researcher itself and is being collected for the first time.
Researcher has collected this data with a specific purpose of studying the
problem.
Primary Data in the research process would
be collected by filling up questionnaires from children and their parents.
- Secondary Data
Secondary Data is the data that already
exists and in ready to use format and gathered by somebody else. This data can
be in the form of articles in magazines, journals, government reports or any
other historical data. It might even be the different articles in newspaper and
on the internet blogs.
Secondary Data that would be used by
researcher in the research process as supportive documents are from the various
newspaper articles, magazines related to specific industry, books in the
specific field of advertising and various different internet sites.
Instrument
The instrument
selected for the primary data is structured questionnaire.
Expected contribution of the study
The
research or study will help to understand how children are influenced by the
advertisements of confectionary products.
Beneficiaries
Beneficiaries
of this research would be researchers, students & the company with
confectionary products.
INTRODUCTION
The
Pakistani and Indian advertising industry is talking business today. It has
evolved from being a small-scale business to a full-fledged industry. It has
emerged as one of the major industries and tertiary sectors and has broadened
its horizons be it the creative aspect, the capital employed or the number of
personnel involved. Pakistani and Indian advertising industry in very little
time has carved a niche for itself and placed itself on the global map.
Indian advertising industry with an estimated value of 13, 200-crore
has set eyeballs gazing with some astonishing pieces of work that it has given
in the recent past. The creative minds that the Pakistani and Indian advertising
industry incorporates have come up with some mind-boggling concepts and work
that can be termed as masterpieces in the field of advertising.
Indian economy is on a boom and the market is on a
continuous trail of expansion. With the market gaining grounds Pakistani and
Indian advertising has every reason to celebrate. Businesses are looking up to
advertising as a tool to cash in on lucrative business opportunities. Growth in
business has lead to a consecutive boom in the advertising industry as well.
The advertising today handles both
national and international projects. This is primarily because of the reason
that the industry offers a host of functions to its clients that include
everything from start to finish that include client servicing, media planning,
media buying, creative conceptualization, pre and post campaign analysis,
market research, marketing, branding, and public relation services.
Keeping in mind the current pace at which the Pakistani and
Indian advertising industry is moving the industry is expected to witness a
major boom in the times ahead. If the experts are to be believed then the
industry in the coming times will form a major contribution to the GDP. With all
this there is definitely no looking back for the Pakistani and Indian advertising
industry that is all set to win accolades from the world over.
With development in the technology, various avenues are
opening up in advertising industry. It is estimated that about 2.2 billion
dollars are generated in this industry every year. Be it is print, radio,
television or Internet, every medium plays a significant role in the growth of
this industry. Today, Advertising Industry in Pakistan and India is surging
with revenues. To meet all the demands in advertising sector, many agencies are
coming to the scene.
Pakistan and Indians a
hub of creativity and this is evident from the fact that more and more people
from Pakistani and Indian advertising industry are being accepted world over
and imposing a lot of respect in international advertising community.
Visibility is the mantra of success these days and
advertising makes sure that your product, service is visible; thus saleable.
Today Advertising Industry of Pakistan and India are booming with revenue. It
is a very successful industry, which generates lot of revenue. The Advertising
Industry in Pakistan and India getting recognized worldwide with its superior
quality work and innovation. It ensures tremendous growth and scope for the
employees.
LITERATURE REVIEW
In the 1940s and 1950s children were not
considered consumers in their own right but only extensions to their parent’s purchasing
power. With the advent of television and other mass media, children have come
into their own right as consumers and, consequently, they have become an
important target market for the business. Advertisers are the first to
recognize children’s value as consumers who are capable of making decisions about
spending.
The 1950s dates the modern era of
children's television programming, when a deal between struggling television
network ABC and Disney brought The Mickey Mouse Club and Disney land into
children's afternoon television programming. Advertising at that time appealed
generally to the personal gain of the consumer in the case they decided to
purchase the sponsored product. Over the next 15 to 20 years, children's
television became an industry by itself.
Throughout this history of
children's television advertising, researchers have criticized in different
ways the use of television commercials directed to children (Tseng, 2004). In
the late 1970s, a research team funded by National Science Foundation (NSF)
estimated that children viewed an average of about 20,000 commercials per year
(Adler in Singer, 2001). There was so little study on this topic during the
1950s, the majority of the studies on children's television advertising
environment goes from the 1970s onward (Alexander et al. 1998).
Four types of products advertised to
children during the 1970s were limited: toys, cereals, candies and snacks, and
fast foods. Male voice overs accounted for the great majority of ads coded, and
animated characters seldom appeared (Barcus in Tseng, Eliana Shiao; 2004).
While marketers and advertisers heightened their interest in the child market
during the 1980s, research on children's television advertising of that period
consisted mainly on replications and extensions of previous studies (Tseng,
2004).
Children’s television advertising is
rapidly becoming a major concern to government agencies, citizens. groups and
researchers in many areas of the social sciences ( Resnik, Stern and Alberty;
1979).Children who watch a lot of television, want more toys seen in advertisements
and eat more advertised food than children who do not watch as much television
(Strasburger, 2002). Children also urge their parents and friends to be sure to
watch certain commercials (Fox in Jarlbo, 2000).
According to (Resnik, Stern and
Alberty, 1979), television advertising and its effect on consumption patterns,
values, and social interaction have been hotly debated for many years. But only
recently has the controversy focused on its differential impact on special
interest groups- the elderly, minorities and children.
As many authors states, there are
many television advertisements based on children and it is faced that children
urge their parents to purchase what they want without needing. For a whole
generation of new age children, television is as influential as a parent or a
teacher (Panwar, 2006). According to Wiman (1986), children who talk with their
parents more frequently about TV advertising and commercials make more purchase
requests. Children considered television to be one of life’s necessities.
Studies commissioned by cable television networks in USA, found that an average
of 43 per cent of total purchases made by parents were influenced by children
(Cooper in Caruana, and Vassallo; 2003). Exposure to it was usually extensive –
before school, after school, during homework, at weekends, with or without
friends (Hanley, 2000). Marketers understand this fact very well. With the
growing influence of media on children, an increasingly large number of
advertisements are today directed to them (Panwar, Agnihotri, 2006).
Children, for example, who come from
disadvantaged backgrounds, or those who have less access to their parents may
not only spend more time with the media. But, may continue to rely more heavily
on TV advertising for the information that they seek in various areas (Brown,
Childers, Bauman and Koch in Evra; 1995). Parents create direct opportunities by
interacting with their children about purchase requests, giving them pocket
money and taking them to shopping excursions (Ward, Wackman, and Wartella;
1977). Children spend a large amount of time watching television. They pay more
attention to commercials broadcast during children’s programming. Commercials
broadcast during children’s programming are designed to capture the younger child’s
attention by the use of cartoon characters, music, subjective camera angles and
editing (Stern & Harmon, 1986).
According to The Guardian newspaper,
McDonalds, and Coca Cola spent respectively 34,6 million USD and 16,2 million
USD for television advertisement presented for children. In this situation,
firms do not hesitate to spend their money for the related advertisements. Therefore
nowadays the expenditure of these advertisements has been increased
dramatically such as McDonalds and Coca Cola as well as Disney. They are the
best known brand in the world. It can be drawn conclusion from here that the
role of children as consumer on the world’s economy has rapidly increased. The
common features of the above mentioned brands are easily to find and focus on
children and family in their advertisements.
According to McNeal (1992) American
children spent over USD 132 billion on 62 product categories of products were
influenced by children. The number of commercials per hour on American
television increased significantly towards the end of the decade. They provide
a strong indication that American children are today exposed to more than 25
000 commercials per year via television (Kunkel & Roberts 1991). In 1997,
$1,3 billion was spent on television advertisements directed at children.
Counting all media, advertising and marketing budgets aimed at children
approached $12 billion (McNeal, 1999). It is estimated that children may view
as many as 40,000 commercials each year (Strasburger, 2001). In one of the
research project about the influence of television advertising on children and
teenagers, Hanley (2000) found that the younger children (aged 9–11) were very vague
in their recall of current television advertising. The examples they came up
with were often unbranded, with the recall attached to the story or characters
instead, e.g. Honey Monster (Sugar Puffs), cartoon elephant (Charmin toilet
roll). Older children (aged 12–16) recalled advertising they enjoyed or
disliked. The appeal often related to the storyline, characters featured or the
product. For instance, they mentioned Rolo (elephant never forgets), as well as
Kit Kat, Argos (toys), and McDonalds. They identified three main ways in which television
advertising seemed to influence children: pester power; many parents felt that advertising
had the power to make a significant impression on their children. Those
featuring children cartoon characters, animals, catchy. tunes and phrases, color
, dynamic special effects, aspirational celebrity heroes, humor and children’s
products (e.g. confectionery, cereals and toys) were most likely to be referred
to: www.itc.org.uk Generally advertisers use interesting characters in their
advertisement to catch children’s attention. Sometimes these characters are not
real. For example Corn Flakes, Nesquick advertisements and etc (Hanley, 2000).
It was very common for the
advertiser to show ads in which the child would acquire superhuman strength by
eating a specific breakfast cereal, or would leave a group of friends in
choking clouds of dust by running with the sponsored sneakers. Toys ads of that
time were sponsored by unknown brands, which would generally end up becoming famous
after making deals with the television station (Alexander et al; 1998).
Children’s ages are also significant
to understand the advertisements. Children’s comprehension of television
advertisements and its persuasive intent increases with the age, because of
greater cognitive maturity and increased experience with the medium. Even a
majority of 5-8 years old have only a low awareness of what a commercial really
is; and although three quarters of 9-12 year old children may demonstrate a
medium level of awareness (eg. commercials tell you what to buy) (Ward &
Wackman in Evra; 1995). However it is possible to say that even though they are
very young to understand, the most important thing is the advertisements impact
on children.
De Bens and Vandenbruaene (1992 pg
27) conveys that children’s attention is affected depending on whether they are
watching TV alone, with their parents or with other children of the same age.
Children.s attention depends on whether they are playing, eating or occupied
with something else while watching TV. Generally it is assumed that these
factors contribute to reducing children’s attention to TV advertising (De Bens
and Vandenbruaene, 1992).
In less developed countries the
trend appears to follow the same pattern as in the developed world, although
the market size may be comparatively small. Increasingly, children have become
not passive observers, but active participants in the family purchase decisions.
Not only do children have their “own money” to spend on a variety of products and
services of their choice, they also have extensive influence on how their
parents buy products and services (Wimalasiri, 2004).
If children saw something new in a
television advertisement or in a magazine that they liked they were likely to
buy it. This is in line with Buijzen and Valkenburg.s (2003) findings that
advertising is positively and directly related to children’s purchase requests.
McGee in Beder (1998, pg 100) says “children under aged 12 spend more than $11 billion
of their own money and influence family spending decisions worth another $165 billion
on food, household items like furniture, electrical appliances and computers, vacations,
the family car and other spending”. For example, one study estimated that
children influenced $9 billion worth of car sales in 1994. One car dealer
explains: "Sometimes, the child literally is our customer. I have watched
the child pick out the car."(Stanley in Beder, 1998, pg 102)
Advertising offers consumer ideas
and information, which we process and evaluate in order to make rational
choices. Brown (2004) defends advertising to children on just such cognitive grounds:
“Children are young consumers, interested in making choices and needing information
about them”.
ANALYSIS OF PRIMARY DATA
Demographic
Analysis
AGE:
|
Age
|
Students
|
|
8 yrs.
|
7
|
|
9 yrs.
|
15
|
|
10yrs.
|
20
|
|
11 yrs.
|
20
|
|
12 yrs.
|
23
|
|
13 yrs.
|
43
|
|
14 yrs.
|
18
|
|
15 yrs.
|
4
|
Analysis:
The above chart shows that there is more
number of 13 years children and as far as 15 years children are concerned they
are very less.
Part
A: Children Q/A
Q1 How many hours a day do you watch TV?
Analysis:
The above pie chart
shows that as far as TV watching habit of children is concerned, there are 31%
of children who watch television for 1-2 hours a day.
There are
also 31% children who watch television for 2-3 hrs. And 19% children who watch
television for more than 3 hours a day
This shows that most of
the children like to watch television for 1-3 hours a day and this is because
they might be busy with their home work and project work of their school.
Q2. What do you like to watch on TV?
Analysis:
The above bar chat
shows that there are more number of children’s, who like to watch cartoons and
movies on Television than reality shows, serials, song based programmes and
other programmes like programmes which come on Discovery channel, National
Geography channel and so on.
In our survey we have
found that there are 97 children who like to watch cartoons on television
because they are more fascinated towards that.
Apart from that, there
are 78 children who like to watch movies on television which might be because
of his/her favorite actor or actress.
Q3. From the following
confectionary products which is your favorite product/s.
Analysis:
The above bar chart shows that as far as
confectionary products are concerned, children like to have more Biscuits,
Wafers and Chocolates than Sauces, Noodles and Health Drinks.
In our survey we have found that Biscuits,
Wafers and Chocolates are preferred by 86, 57 and 78 children respectively.
This shows that children are attracted
more towards Biscuits, Wafers and Chocolates than other confectionery products.
Q4. You are familiar with the advertisements of
which of the confectionary products?
Analysis:
The above bar chart shows that children
are more familiar with the advertisements of Biscuits, Wafers, Chocolates and
Health Drinks than the advertisements of Sauces and Noodles.
In our survey we have found that 79
children who are familiar with the advertisements of Biscuits. Children who are
familiar with advertisements of the Wafers and Chocolates are 59 and 61
respectively.
This is because, in majority of the
advertisements of Biscuits, Chocolates and Wafers celebrity is shown wherein
advertisements of other confectionary products generally me too model is shown,
and children get easily attracted by that celebrity to purchase those products.
Q5. After watching ad. Of any confectionary product,
have you ever tried to purchase that product?
Analysis:
The above pie chart shows that after
watching advertisement of confectionary products majority of the children have
tried to purchase that product which they have shown in the advertisement.
In our survey we have found that 61%
children have tried to purchase confectionary products after watching advertisements
of those products
This shows that how children are influenced
by the advertisements of confectionary products and this may affect to those
families in which source of income is not that much strong.
Q6. If yes, then which confectionary product you
have tried to purchase?
Analysis:
The above bar chart shows that after
watching advertisements of confectionary products, children have tried to
purchase more Biscuit, Chocolate and Health Drink than Wafer, Sauce and Noodle.
In our survey we have found that there
are 78 children who have tried to purchase Biscuit, 52 children who have tried
to purchase Chocolate and 46 children who have tried to purchase Health Drink
after watching advertisement of the same.
This shows that children are influenced
more by the advertisements of Biscuits, Chocolates and Health Drinks and there
are some specific advertisements of Biscuits, Chocolates and Health Drinks in
which children have mainly targeted.
Q7. Do you like to watch advertisements of
Confectionary product on which media?
Analysis:
The above pie chart shows that children
like to watch advertisements of confectionary products on TV rather than any
other medium of advertising.
In our survey we have found that 65%
children like to watch advertisements of confectionary products on TV than in
Magazine, Newspaper and on Hoardings.
This is because TV advertisement can be
shown more effectively with both audio and video effect than by the other
medium and only these factors play a vital role to influence the children.
Q8. You buy that confectionary products
because…………….
Analysis:
The above pie chart shows that children
like to buy confectionary products because free items like tattoo and other
things are attached with them.
In our survey we have found that 47%
children like to buy confectionary products just because they get free tattoo
and all that children accessories on the purchase of the confectionary
products. There are 27% children also who like to buy confectionary product
just because his/her favorite celebrity is associated with that product and
there are 16% children who buy confectionary products just because of their
friend’s influence. They just believe that my friend has that product so I
should also have that product.
So children like to buy confectionary
product not only because it gives free promotional products but also because
his/her friend’s influence and his/her favorite celebrity is associated with
it.
PART B: Parents Q/A
Q1. How often advertisements of confectionary
products influence purchase decision of your children?
Analysis:
The above pie chart shows that
advertisements of confectionary products some times affect purchase decision of
children.
In our survey we have found that there
are 28% parents who replied that advertisements of confectionary products
affect more often purchase decision of their children. While 44% & 20%
parents replied that advertisements affect purchase decision of their children
sometimes and rarely respectively.
This shows that purchase decision of
children is sometimes influenced after watching advertisements of confectionary
products.
Q2. How often does your child insist you to purchase
any confectionary products after watching advertisements of the same?
Analysis:
The above pie chart shows that there is
more number of children who insist their parents sometimes to purchase any
confectionary product after watching its advertisements.
In our survey we have found that there
are 27% parents who replied that more often their child insists them to
purchase any confectionary product after watching its advertisements. And there
are 37% parents who replied that sometimes their child insists them to purchase
any confectionary product after watching its advertisements. Children who not
at all insist their parents to purchase any confectionary product after watching
its advertisements are very less.
This shows that how advertisements of
confectionary products affect children.
Q3. How do you react to your child when he/she
insist you to buy any confectionary product after watching its advertisements?
Analysis:
The above pie chart shows that parents
become agree when their child insists them to purchase any confectionary
product after watching its advertisements.
In our survey we have found that there
are 38% parents who replied that generally they do agree when their child
insists them to purchase any confectionary product after watching its
advertisements. There are 26% parents who replied that they mostly agree when
their child insists them to purchase any confectionary product after watching
its advertisements.
This shows that majority of parents are
not conscious about effects of advertisements on their children especially in
case of confectionary products.
TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS
HI. Most children, aged 5 to 8 years, have some
understanding of TV advertising.
H2. In comparison with
verbal measurement methods, using non-verbal measurements methods will result
in a higher percentage of children understanding TV advertising.
H3. The age of a child has a positive effect on the
child’s understanding of TV Advertisements.
H4. The gender of a child does not have an effect on
the child’s understanding of TV Advertisements.
FINDINGS
Ø From
our survey we have found that more number of children watch television for 1-3
hours a day.
Ø As
far as watching any particular program on television is concerned, children
like to watch cartoon movies or cartoon serials on television. Children also
like to watch movies on television.
Ø Among
selected confectionary products from Biscuits, Wafers, Chocolates, Sauces,
Noodles and Health Drinks, children like to have Biscuits, Wafers and
Chocolates more than other confectionary products.
Ø Majority
of children are familiar with the advertisements of Biscuits, Wafers,
Chocolates and Health Drinks more than the Sauces, Noodles and.
Ø After
watching advertisements of any confectionary products majority of children have
tried to purchase that product.
Ø Those
children who have tried to purchase confectionary product after watching its
advertisements, in that they like to buy more Biscuits, Chocolates and Health
Drinks.
Ø Majority
of children like to watch advertisements of confectionary products on
television rather any other media.
Ø Majority
of children like to buy confectionary products because it gives free tattoo and
other promotional things. There are some children also who like to buy
confectionary products just because his/her favorite celebrity is associated
with the advertisement of that product.
Ø After watching advertisement of confectionary
products purchase decision of children sometimes gets affected.
Ø After
watching advertisement of confectionary products children sometimes insist
their parents to purchase that product for them.
Ø When
children insist their parents to purchase confectionary product after watching its
advertisement, parents generally do agree with them.
SUGGESTIONS
Ø To
some extent children have limited understanding so advertisers should not
directly persuade children to buy the product which is shown in the
advertisement.
Ø As
far as advertisements of confectionary products are concerned, advertisements
should be seen with their pros and cons. E.g. Chocolate
Ø Advertisers
must not misuse children’s relative inexperience.
Ø Children
can be easily attracted by the celebrity so, as far as confectionary products
are concerned celebrity should not directly or indirectly persuade children to
buy that product which he/she has shown using that product.
Ø It
is the duty of parents to see what their children are watching on television
and if they are highly influenced by the advertisements especially of confectionary
products then parents should try to explain them what are the pros and cons of
that product by using it.
CONCLUSION
Ø Today, particularly young children
play an important role as consumers. Especially confectionary products
(Biscuits, Chocolates, Wafers, Sauces, Noodles and Health Drinks) are concerned
they do not care price of which they want to buy. Also they do not care whether
these products are healthy for them or not.
Ø While they are shopping, the first
thing comes in their mind is to purchase the advertised products. In this
situation, the advertising has a stronger effect on younger children than the
older children.
Ø Nowadays it seems that children’s impact on
family decision in shopping has been steadily increased.
Ø After the research, it was found as
far as confectionary products are concerned children sometimes insist their
parents to purchase those products for them.
Ø As far as confectionary products are
concerned, children are influenced more by television advertisements than by
the other medium of advertising. Even though there are lots of tools to show
the goods or services, television was chosen as the best way that can enhance
the company's profits greatly by most of researchers.
Ø Also this research validated that
among many communication tools, television advertisements have more impact and
effect on children than the other medium of advertising.
Ø Children’s ages are important to
understand the television advertisements. Children's comprehension of
television commercials increases with age.
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