Do advertisements need to change over period of time?

A case study of Vodafone Advertisements and its influence

on the audiences

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of

Masters of Communication studies

Guide: Researcher:

Dr. Niti Chopra Vidhi Trivedi

Faculty of Journalism and Communication,

Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,

Vadodara, Gujarat (India)

February 2010

Declaration

I declare that this dissertation entitled “Do advertisements need to change over
period of time? A case study of Vodafone advertisements and its influence on the
audiences” represents the results of my own independent research. Throughout the
work, either in the text or bibliography, I have clearly shown the various sources
from which I have drawn information. In addition to this, I also declare that the
work contained in this dissertation for the degree of Master of Communication
Studies (MCS) has not been submitted either wholly or in part for any other degree
and also is not being presented for any other degree.

Candidate’s Signature Research Guide’s signature

Examiner’s signature Date:

Index:
Topics: Leaf no:
Title page 1

Declaration 2

Précis 5

Acknowledgement 6
Contents:
Chapter 1:
Introduction

1.1 You and Advertising 7

1.2 History of Advertising 8

1.3 What is advertising? 9

1.4 Advertisements then and today 10-11

1.5 Rationale of the study 12

1.6 Objectives of the study 13

1.7 Advertising and Consumer behavior 14-15

References 16

Chapter 2:
Review of Literature

2.1 Sources of Literature 17

2.2 Academic research 18 - 20

2.3 Vodafone Group Plc. 21-26

2.4 Oglivy and Mather on Vodafone 27

2.5 Effects of Advertising on individuals 28

2.6 Ad reactions over time: 28

Capturing changes in the real world

References 29-30

Chapter 3:
Methodology

3.1 Tools for research study 31-32

3.2 Method Matrix 33

3.3 Limitations of the study 34

Chapter 4
Data Analysis

4.1 Content Description 35-39

4.2 Findings of the survey 40-52

Chapter 5
Conclusion and Recommendations 53-54

Bibliography 55

Webliography 56

Addendum 57-74

Précis
Advertising is a paradox. It is with us constantly, sometimes sought out, but
generally unloved. It may be tolerated, but it is rarely championed. It displays more
about our more selfish, grasping natures than we find comforting to address as
often as it relentlessly assures we must. We may realize that we couldn’t write an
acceptable news story, prescribe a medicine, examine an optical system, design a
house or a bridge or prepare a legal brief, but we are pretty certain we could come
up with one of those catchy slogans, clever headlines or arresting jingles.
Advertising may be unloved, but it would seem to be at least fascinating.

On a somewhat less lofty plane, t-shirts and everyday discourse attest to

advertising spawned influences in our popular culture and the much publicized
Yuppie life style would seem to embrace advertising’s siren call with self centered
abandon.

Advertising in contemporary society is still a crossroad where many interests meet

and not infrequently, collide. Advertising Age reported that in 1986 the United
States spent more money on advertising than 66 other nations combined, including
Japan, the U.K, West Germany, Canada and France. Advertising in the
contemporary society can be understood with greater clarity if we realize that, as
Carey expressed it, “institutions are the embodiment of ideas.” And we need to
understand what these ideas are. Certainly they differ from culture to culture and
even, within a culture.

The present study is an exploration in the area of advertising as change in ads

influencing the consumer’s behavior. The research aims to study the influence of
Vodafone ads on the audiences and evaluate whether changes in advertisements do
affect the purchase or not. The study is conducted in the age group of 16 – 55 years
(divided in three groups) keeping it as the vital factor. Students, Youth, Working
Professionals, Businessmen and Home makers were approached for their
responses. The study basically depends on the Television advertisements of
Vodafone and its influence on audiences’ purchase.

Acknowledgements
I am of course indebted to many for making my study success and help me avoid
ad hoc avenue of the study. Walking down the street one day, thinking about
deciding on topic of my research, I happened to overhear a conversation, “do you
think ads should change? The same ads are so boring and repetitive. Vodafone ka
naya ad dekha. Arey sab ko takkar maar de. It is so creative.” These were two
neighborhood girls talking, as one of them had just bought a new Vodafone sim. I
thank them sincerely for activating my brains to think over again and decide on the
topic.

I thank all my respondents who took time and helped me with my surveys, gave
me feedbacks and above all endured me when I approached them for my study.
I am sincerely grateful to Prof S.K Tewari, Dean of the Faculty and Dr. Niti
Chopra, for their insights, guidance and support.

A word of appreciation to my batch mates, neighbors and friends, who provided

me with insights through their conversation, general probing and suggestions.

The word processor has replaced the type writer and so I owe a great deal to the
technology for making it easy to pen down the pages so easy and quick. Internet
and Google also have been of immense help to which I thank the creators.

Lastly, a huge thank to my parents, who supported me throughout my studies.

They observed the Vodafone ads and kept giving me an idea of people’s perception
about them. I thank them for sponsoring me the strength to complete my study.

Vidhi Trivedi

Chapter 1
Introduction

1.1 You and Advertising:

What do you do a hundred times a day? You breathe; blink your eyes, your heart
beats. Most of these functions are automatic. There is something else you do more
than three hundred times a day that is not automatic: you see, read or hear
advertisements.1
Experts believe that an average American sees or hears at least three hundred
advertisements every day. Some think the number may be as high as fifteen
hundred. Recent studies have estimated that Americans are exposed to almost
unbelievable five thousand ads in a day!

Advertising has a big impact on your daily life. It is something you see and hear
every day, something that you are already aware of, familiar with but there is still
much more to learn about it. Advertising is with you much of your life. We have
grown up with advertising and find it interesting because the companies that pay
for advertisements are using them to make you interested.

“Without advertising even the best ideas take ages to catch on.”2 Every now and
then a new product becomes popular by word of mouth alone, but that process
takes months and sometimes years. Advertising is the surest way to get the idea
reach the audiences. Good ideas become popular right way and bad ideas…well,
who needs a square wheel anyway?

1.2 History of advertising:

Advertising is a natural process. If you are walking in a campus and realize you
have lost your wallet, what would you do? You would either put up a notice to
reward for bringing your wallet back to you or you would report to lost & found
department. People of long ago weren’t different than this. Archeologists have
found the forerunners of lost & found notices in ruins of ancient Egypt: papyrus
posters offering rewards for return of runaway slaves. They have found political
advertisements painted on walls along the streets of ancient Roman city- Pompeii.3
Printing brought changes to advertising:

Early printers often found blank pages in their books. They started using theses
blank pages to list the other books they have published, an early form of printed
advertising. Later came other announcements on these blank pages, not for books,
but for coffee – described as a rare new beverage from Arabia.

With development of newspapers came much more advertising. Merchants began

to place ads for new shipments of goods but told little about the product or price.
This happened because merchandise was short in supply and if ads brought more
people to stores, they may not get the product or services.

Some advertising was dishonest. During latter half of the 1800s and early 1900s
much advertising was less than honest.4 Advertisers often made exaggerated claims
and promises, practices were not standardized. Advertisers and newspapers misled
hundreds of customers. As example, coffee was advertised to be having medical
powers that could cure ailments.

1.3 What is advertising?

Advertising sells by “turning minds” of the prospective consumers toward

consideration of the brand.5 Advertising is the truth well told, to both competitors
and consumers within bounds of generally accepted standards of public decency.
Advertising is not about a special display or sign board outside the grocery store
but if a local insurance agent sends you a calendar for the New Year with his
company’s name identified on it, it is called advertising.
The American Marketing Association has defined advertising as, “any paid form of
non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an
identified sponsor.”6 Advertising is paid presentation that promotes specific ideas
through the mass media channels of communication like newspapers, television,
radio, bill boards, hoardings and others.

A sales booth at a local automobile show is not advertising because it is not a mass
medium and information is presented in person. But if a banner at a stadium is put
up telling about nearby pizza parlor that is advertising as it reaches the crowd
coming for the game and it is paid for.

FairFax Cone, a famous advertiser has said that, “advertising is something you do
when you can’t go see somebody.”7

Guidelines for good Advertising practices have been laid down by ASCI, the
Advertising Standards Council of India. ASCI encourage public to complain
against advertisements with which they may be unhappy for any reason and ensure
that each complaint receives a prompt and objective consideration.

1.4 Advertisements then and today

In the early days of print advertising, the claims made by advertisers were often
exaggerated and untrue. These early advertisements look quite different from the
kinds we are accustomed to seeing today. In ancient times, the villages of Europe
had town criers who went around calling out the latest news and reassuring
residents that their community was safe. Then a tavern owner would offer the crier
something to eat or drink only if latter would include a word or two about his fine
hospitality and establishment in town.

Today ads take a slice from life. “Ads are choosing to tell stories to engage viewers
and break through the clutter on television today, says, Anuradha Varma.”8

As she waits for the train, a woman reminisces about her “arranged marriage.” She
prepares to board the train, looking around for her husband, feeling a little lost. As
she spots him in the crowd, she smiles in relief…and you know that moment the
couple falls in love. A movie? A slice from real life? No, you have guessed it
wrong. It is a commercial for Platinum Jewellery propagating concept of Platinum
Love. “Telling a joke through an ad is relatively easy to do. Telling a story that
actually connects with the audience is tough,” says, Narayan Kumar, Metal
Communications.9

Story telling is part of bigger plot. Viewers can tire of the same plot pretty fast.
The writing on the story boards’ clear. Entertainment has just got bigger and more
real.

Today, Surf Excel Ads – daag ache hai campaign, Bharti Airtel Ads – dil titli
series, Idea Cellular – walk when you talk campaign, Nestle India’s maggi noodles
real stories ads, Vodafone ads – zoo zoo, pug and the girl campaign have become
the limelight of ad world. These advertisements have changed the concept of
advertising completely from only sending message across to audiences to
connecting with audiences by telling a story.
Earlier such variety was seen only during cricket matches, when viewers were
glued to the channels for long hours. Today ads have stepped further engaging with
reality and got consumers to tell heir own stories, even printed on product packets.
The television ads too talk of true life experiences like a welcome bowl of maggi
noodles after braving tsunami or a storm, by Nestle India’s maggi ad campaign.

Good advertising needs to understand the relationship between product and the
consumer and translate that into something that the consumer connects with. It is
not only the soaps you watch are telling you a story. As your soap breaks for a
commercial, tighten your seatbelts, for another interesting true story on your
screen.

1.5 Rationale of the study:

Everyday we are subjected to hundreds of advertisements through various

mediums. Each ad has a different impact on our mind and our buying behavior.
Some brands prefer to continue the same advertisement for longer time while some
brands frequently change their ads.

Hutch, now Vodafone changes its advertisement with the season. The company
launches a series of advertisement with any major event happening around.
Telecom major Vodafone group PLC wants its employees to see RED and love it.
Vodafone last launched ads featuring a character called ‘zoo zoo’ during IPL
matches. Not using a celebrity, Vodafone, India’s second largest GSM mobile
service provider takes a huge risk making concept based ads.

The pug became synonymous with the Hutch ads while the company always has
tried to connect with its consumers in simple, honest and real manner. Vodafone on
the other side is younger and more fun. One can see shift reflecting a more vibrant
brand.

We see Vodafone ads at regular intervals which are interesting, vibrant and
colorful. Hence when we hear of the brand, we think of the synonymous pug and
expect innovative ideas from the rest.

The researcher’s aim is to study the advertisements of Vodafone from the

beginning and find out if advertisements need to be changed from time to time to
hold audiences’ interest or influence buyer’s behavior.

1.6 Objectives of the Study:

Researcher aims to accomplish following objectives:

 i. To compare effects of Vodafone ads to that of the other product
advertisements on the audiences.

ii. To study influence of change in advertisements on consumer’s buying

behavior.

iii. To find out how frequently does a product advertisement need to be changed

iv. To find out change in Vodafone advertisements is liked or not by the

consumers.

1.7 Advertising and Consumer behavior:

Consumer behavior has been the subject of research for more than fifty years.
Consumer behavior draws its origin from a cross section of disciplines but
particular those from behavioral sciences. Two factors determine people’s
behavior, one is people’s psychological set and the second is the context or
situation in which the behavior occurs.

Hoyer and MacInnis adapted Jacoby’s (1976) definition, namely, “consumer

behavior reflects the totality of consumers’ decisions with respect to the
acquisition, consumption and disposition of goods, services time and ideas by
human decision making units over time.”10

Advertising could be understood on basis of six ‘Cs’ – consumers, communication,

constraints, creativity, channels and campaigns. As advertisers, we must know who
our consumers are likely to be, develop effective communication with those
consumers, be aware of the constraints that affect our communication, use
creativity to prepare the message we want to communicate, send it through the
proper channels and finally combine all six steps into an advertising campaign.

Many people who work in marketing field feel that advertising is too narrow a
term for many aspects of communication. Advertising comes under general
heading of marketing communication and the first two Cs fit together very well
because advertising must communicate with consumers.

Having defined the areas of consumer behavior and marcoms, it is now important
to introduce relationship between them. Understanding the consumer behavior
helps communicators to create strategy and messages to better reach their target
audiences.

Consumers base many decisions about the products upon their attitudes towards
individual brands and these attitudes can be influenced by marketing
communications.11
By understanding consumers, marketing communicators are able to make a more
informed decision as to which strategy to employ. Therefore, knowledge of
consumer behavior should be incorporated into virtually every facet of successful
marketing communications (advertising).

References
1. White, Jugen heimer; Basic Advertising; courtesy Michall Belk &
Co.; Chapter 1, You and Advertising; Pg.3

2. White, Jugen heimer; Basic Advertising; courtesy Michall Belk &

Co.; Chapter 1, You and Advertising; Pg. 2

3. White, Jugen heimer; Basic Advertising; courtesy Michall Belk &

Co.; Chapter 2, Brief History of Advertising; para.4, Pg .4

4. White, Jugen heimer; Basic Advertising; courtesy Michall Belk &

Co.; Some Advertising is dishonest; Chapter 1, You and Advertising;
Pg.5

5. Faculty of Business and Law, MPK 712; Advertising & Consumer

Behavior, Study guide and readings; Deakin University, Melbourne,
Australia; Published in 2008, Revised in 2009; Pg.6

6. Ibid, Consumer communication & Constraints; section 1, Chapter 1;

Pg.8

7. White, Jugen heimer; Basic Advertising; courtesy Michall Belk &

Co.; What is advertising, Chapter 1, You and Advertising; para 1,
Pg.5

8. Sunday times, Times of India; article on “Ads take slice from life”,
Anuradha Varma; 25th October 2009; Ahmedabad Edition, Pg.3

9. Ibid, para 9, Pg.3

10. Dr. Nichola Robertson; An Introduction to Interplay between

Consumer Behavior & Marketing Communication; What is Consumer
Behavior; Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia for Unit team;
para 12, Pg.2

11.Ibid, Pg.5
Chapter 2
Review of Literature

The Review of literature chapter consists of some matter that is integrally

connected with the past research. Any research problem that has its logical position
in the conceptual map comprises of two categories: Research Literature and
Conceptual Literature.

Research Literature: It consists of the published reports of research studies which

present data.

Conceptual Literature: It contains other published material not associated with

research data.

Researcher who conducts study under guidelines of scientific research never

begins a research study without consulting available literature to learn about what
has been done, how it was done and what results were generated.1

2.1 Sources of Literature

It can be primary and secondary. The primary source encompasses the direct
description of the study by the researcher, who has actually observed or witnessed
the events. Secondary sources involve publications written by the authors, not
directly observing or participating in the events.

It is important to know what advertising is and how it works. To know more about
the subject, the researcher went through the material related to subject and tried to
understand the topic better.
2.2 Academic research

Barbara Stern, Rutgers University sees Advertising as a form of structured, literary

text, rather different from the spontaneous, word of mouth communication of oral
speech; she proposes a more sophisticated communication model. The Stern model
recognizes that in advertising, the source, the message and the receiver, all have
multiple dimensions.2

Advertising as a discrete form is generally agreed to have begun with Newspapers,

in the seventeenth century, which included line or classified advertising. Simple
descriptions plus prices of products served their purpose until the late nineteenth
century, when technological advances meant that illustrations could be added to
advertising and color was also an option.3

Advertising is:

a. A paid form.
b. A way of promoting products, services or information.
c. A form of communication between manufacturer and consumer.
d. A physical commodity.
e. An integral part of pop culture.
f. An important economic force.
g. A part of our urban landscape.

However, it was not until the emergence of advertising agencies in the latter part of
the nineteenth century that advertising became a fully fledged institution, with its
own ways of working and with its own creative values. These agencies were a
response to an increasingly crowded market place, where manufacturers were
realizing that promotion of their products was vital if they were to survive.
Advertising quickly took advantage of the new mass media of the first part of the
twentieth century, using cinema, and to a much greater extent, radio, to transmit
commercial messages.
Unhappy with ethical compromise of the single sponsor show, NBC executive
Sylvester Weaver came up with idea of selling not whole shows to advertisers, but
separate, small blocks of broadcast time. Several different advertisers could buy
time within one show and therefore the content of the show would move out of the
control of a single advertiser- rather like a print magazine. This became known as
the magazine concept or participation advertising, as it allowed a whole variety of
advertisers to access the audience of a single T.V show. Thus the “commercial
break” as we know was born.4

The 1950s not only brought postwar affluence to the average citizen but the whole
new glut of material goods for which need had to be created. In America,
television quickly became the hottest consumer property – no home could be
without one. And where the sets went, the advertisers followed spilling fantasies
about better living. The U.K and Europe, with government controlled broadcasting,
were a decade or so behind America in allowing commercial T.V stations to take to
the air and still have tighter controls on the sponsorship and the amount of editorial
control advertisers can have in a program.

i. Advertisements create false wants and encourage the production and

consumption of things that are incompatible with the fulfillment of genuine
and urgent human needs.
ii. Advertising is economically necessary and has brought many benefits to
society.
iii. Advertising is an irrational system which appeals to our emotions and anti-
social feelings which have nothing to do with the goods on offer.
iv. Advertisements usually suggest that material gain is the only route to social
success and happiness.
v. Advertising increases the sales of mass produced goods and therefore
stimulates the economy.
vi. Advertising creates jobs and prosperity.

The analysis of advertising is an integral part of mass media studies. Advertising

manifests itself in all known media forms and is constantly seeking new media,
new channels of communication. Through looking at advertising we can learn not
only how the simplest narratives are constructed but how ideas can be
communicated at great speed through the use of single images and words.

In advertising, who is really the source of the communication? The sponsor named
in the advertisement? Certainly in the real world sponsor is legally responsible for
the communication and has a message to communicate to actual consumers.5

The sponsor does not usually produce the message; it is typical role of the
sponsor’s ad agency or other specialists. So the author of the communication is
actually a copywriter, an art director or most often a creative group, at the
sponsor’s ad agency. At the same time, within the text of the ad resides some real
or imaginary spokesperson who lends some voice or tone to the ad or commercial.
This persona, who represents the sponsor, is the source within the text message for
the consumer. But the persona’s discourse is composed and crafted by the ad’s
authors solely for the purpose of the text; it is not a part of real life. It exists only in
the virtual world of the advertisements.

Advertising messages typically use one or a blend of three literary forms:

Autobiography, Narrative and Drama6. In Autobiographical messages, ‘I tell a
story about myself to you,’ the imaginary audience listens on my private personal
experience. Other advertisements use Narrative message in which third persona
tells a story about others to an imagined audience. Finally, in the Drama message,
the characters act out events directly in front of an imagined audience.

The next step to follow is the people to whom the advertisement addresses. First,
within the text, every ad or commercial presumes some audience is there. These
implied consumers who are addressed by the ad’s persona, are not real. In fact, the
first audience is a group of decision makers at the sponsor’s company or
organization. These are the gatekeepers who decide if the advertisements will run
or not. The actual consumers’ equivalents to the receiver in oral communications
are the people in the real world who comprise the ad’s target audience. They are
the people to whom the message is ultimately directed with sponsor’s approval.

2.3 Vodafone Group Plc.

Vodafone group Plc is the world’s leading mobile telecommunications company,

with a significant presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the
United States, through the company’s subsidiary undertakings, joint ventures,
associated undertaking and investments. Vodafone group is a public limited
company incorporated in England under registered number 1833679. Its registered
office is Vodafone house, the Connection, Newbury, Berkshire, RG142FN,
England.7

The group’s mobile subsidiaries operate under the brand name “Vodafone.” In the
United States its associated undertaking operates as “Verizon Wireless.” During
the last two financial years, the group has also entered into arrangements with
network operators in countries where it does not hold an equity stake.

On 31st March 2009, based on the registered customers of mobile

telecommunications ventures in which it had ownership interests at that date, the
group had 303 million customers, excluding paging customers, calculated on a
proportionate basis in accordance with the company’s percentage interest in these
ventures. The company had a total market capitalization of approximately £66.9
billion on 18th May 2009.

“We will be the communications leaders in an increasingly connected world!”

says, Vodafone Group.
The saga of Vodafone

Vodafone was formed in 1984 as a subsidiary of Racal Electronics Plc. Then

known as Racal Telecom Limited, approximately 20% of the company was offered
to the public in October 1988. It was fully demerged from Racal Electronics Plc
and became an independent company in September 1991, at which time it changed
its name to Vodafone Group Plc.8

Following its merger with Air Touch Communications, Inc. (Air Touch), the
company changed its name to “Vodafone Air Touch Plc” on 29th June 1999 and
following approval by the shareholders in General Meeting, reverted to its former
name Vodafone Group Plc on 28th July 2000.

Key milestones in development of the company can be found in following sections,

organized by year: 9

2009:

June:

Completion of merger between Vodafone Australia Limited and Hutchison 3G

Australia pvt limited.

March:

Telefonica and Vodafone announced milestone Pan European collaboration to

share network infrastructure in Germany, Spain, Ireland and the U.K.

February:
Hutchison and Vodafone agreed to merge Australian telecom operations to form a
50:50 joint venture.

January:

Vodafone tried out HSPA+ mobile broadband at speed of up to 16 Mbps.

2008:

December:

Vodafone completed acquisition of additional 4.8% stake in Polkomtel.

November:

Vodafone acquired an additional 15% stake in Vodacom group which increased its
share holding from 50% to 65%. Vodacom group will be listed on the
Johannesburg Stock exchange and remaining 35% of Vodacom group will be
demerged by Telkom to its share holders.

October:

Vodafone launched the new exclusive Blackberry Storm Smart phone from
Research in Motion.

August:

It completed its acquisition of a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom.

July:

Vittorio Colao succeeded Arun Sarin as Group Chief Executive. Vodafone

acquires a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom for $900 million.

June:
Vodafone and Apple® announced that iPhone 3G will be available in Australia,
Italy, New Zealand and Portugal on July 11th and in Czech Republic, Egypt,
Greece, India and South Africa later this year.

Vodafone announced that Verizon Wireless, its affiliate in the U.S, has agreed to
acquire Alltel corp. for a total enterprise value of US $28.1 billion in cash and
assumed debt.

May:

Vodafone announced that it had agreed to acquire the 26.4% interest in Arcor that
it does not already own from Deutsche Bahn AG and Deutsche Bank AG for a cash
consideration of € 474 million.

February:

Vodafone carried out technical trials of 3G femtocells to assess how effectively the
technology is able to deliver wireless high speed data and voice services inside
homes and business locations.

Safaricom and Vodafone announced that M-Pesa, the innovative mobile money
transfer service launched in March 2007, now had 1.6 million customers.
Vodafone Advertisements:

With the change in the name from, Orange to Hutch to Vodafone, the company
also changed its logo, color and advertisements. We can see the innovative
transition in the ads made over time. Vodafone comes out with a series of ads
every season. Some examples of the advertisements are:
Vodafone and Corporate responsibility:

Vodafone does not treat corporate responsibility (CR) as a gesture or add-on. It is

part of the core business that helps the company accomplish sustainable business
success. The approach to CR is to engage with the stake holders to understand their
expectations on the issues most important to them and to respond with programs
and targets and to communicate regularly and transparently on our progress.

Vodafone UK was awarded Sunday Times Award for “Giving something back” on
9th March 2009. 10

In the UK, the Vodafone Foundation and Vodafone’s corporate responsibility

commitments were awarded best large UK company for ‘Giving something back.’
The annual awards surveyed more than 200,000 employees for this year’s best
company’s project.

Winner of the special award for giving something back, Vodafone UK was
recognized for matching funds raised by employees for their favorite causes and
encouraging paid volunteering time. It noted the success of the World of
Difference campaign which enables people to spend a year working for their
chosen charity and get paid.

The Sunday Times also awarded Vodafone UK the prestigious award for its CR
activity, where it is on track to reduce its energy consumption and aims to reduce
its global CO2 emissions by 50% by 2020. Employees were noted as contributing
in their own way and using green travel incentives such as interest free loans for
bikes and scooters.

2.4 Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) on Vodafone

David Ogilvy did not believe that advertising should be totally guesswork. His
firm, Ogilvy and Mather, conducted extensive research on what really works, and
then shared their findings with the world. He was a college dropout, former chef
and former door-to-door salesman who became a copywriter and founded the
largest advertising agency in the world.

"The consumer is not a moron. She is your wife." David Ogilvy wrote this book
with a charming, self-effacing style and a warm British sense of humor. Ogilvy
will be sorely missed in the advertising profession. He passed away at age of 88,
on July 21, 1999, leaving a rich legacy of books, including Ogilvy on Advertising,
and advertisements for us.

Hutch faced the challenge of building brand preference, having to rely on a generic
promise of a good network, in a highly competitive mobile telephony market.
Using the metaphor of a boy and his dog's unconditional support to highlight the
omnipresent nature of the Hutch network, the agency team was able to create 3600
communications that not only succeeded in creating brand preference far in excess
of its nearest competitors and increasing the subscriber base by 20%, but also
generated incredible buzz that gave the campaign an iconic status in Indian
advertising.11

2.5 Effects of advertising on the Individual

Advertising is a major revenue source for mass media. Television networks,

newspapers, radio stations and even Internet sites sell space to advertisers so they
may promote their product / service to us, the public. Advertisers use their skills to
manipulate the minds of their younger audience. The advertising industry has no
specific code of ethics or Code of Professional Conduct. This is mainly due to the
fact that advertising is an act of communication and communication is protected by
the First Amendment. So when other occupations can implement a Code that is
enforced by Law, any effort to enforce an ethical code for advertising would be
huge ordeal with freedom of speech guarantees.

2.6 Ad reactions over time:

Capturing changes in the real world

Research in both the lab and the field supports the phenomenon of television
commercial wear out – i.e. the fact that, over time, an advertisement’s
effectiveness usually increases, levels off, and eventually decreases. Lab studies
have shown this pattern for recall, attention and brand awareness measures and
have also considered affective reactions such as brand attitude and attitude towards
the ad. In the field, however, this pattern has been documented only for recall,
attention and brand awareness measures. Because TV Ads are seen again and
again, usually many more times than it takes to “learn” the ad, it seems very
important to measure affective reactions as well as learning based reactions to the
ad over time.

Two recent studies provide evidence that the repetition of an ad has an adverse
effect on the consumers’ reactions. The reactions of special interest were an
increase in topic irrelevant thoughts associated with increase in exposure to a
persuasive message found by Cacioppo and Petty (1979) and an increase in
negative repetition related thoughts associated with increased exposure to a TV
commercial reported by Belch (1982). These reactions were not related to message
acceptance or brand attitude, respectively, but may influence evaluations of the ad
itself and eventually, the attitude towards the brand.12

References

1. Wimmer D. Roger & Dominick R. Joseph (1997); The Mass Media

Research – An Introduction, United States of America; Wadsworth
Publication Co., Pg. 25

2. Satish Venugopal, A Study of Amul Butter Advertisements and People’s

Perception; A Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the degree of Masters in Communication; February 2007,
Chapter 2 Review of Literature; cit. Pg. 11

3. www.faqs.com

4. Faculty of Business and Law, MPK 712; Advertising & Consumer Behavior,
Study guide and readings; Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia;
Published in 2008, Revised in 2009; Pg.15

5. Satish Venugopal, A Study of Amul Butter Advertisements and People’s

Perception; A Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the degree of Masters in Communication; February 2007,
Chapter 2 Review of Literature; cit. Pg. 11
6. Satish Venugopal, A Study of Amul Butter Advertisements and People’s
Perception; A Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the degree of Masters in Communication; February 2007,
Chapter 2 Review of Literature; cit. Pg. 12

7. www.vodafone.in

8. www.vodafone.in

9. www.vodafone.in

10. www.vodafone.in

11. Michael C. Gray; A book Review; Ogilvy on Advertising; by David Ogilvy;

Aug 30, 1999.

12. Marian C. Burke, Julie A. Edell; Ad reactions over time – Capturing

changes in real world; Journal of Consumer Research; Vol. 13, 1986, Pg.
114.
Chapter 3
Methodology

3.1 Tools for Research study

For the data collection of the research study it is important to decide on the tools,
with help of which the procedure would be conducted. I have chosen three
methods for my research study on: “Do advertisements need to change over period
of time? A study of Vodafone advertisements and its influence on audiences.” The
methods are:

Content analysis

To study all the television advertisements of now called Vodafone from November
1, 2009 to January 1, 2010. To gather early advertisements when it was called INR
56, Orange and Hutch from the internet and study current Vodafone ads on
television and its influence on audiences.

The basic idea is to study:

1. The time slot when Vodafone advertisements are broadcast.

2. The channels on which Vodafone ads are broadcast maximum.
3. The programs during which they are telecast.
4. Duration of the advertisement.
5. Content of advertisement.
6. Appeal of the advertisement.
7. Frequency of the advertisement.
Survey method

The second method chosen is the survey method. A questionnaire containing open
ended as well as closed ended questions seeking people’s reviews about their
impression of Vodafone advertisements, its effects on their buying behavior and
whether there is need to change ads frequently was formatted. The survey was
divided in three parts, respondent’s profile information, and core questions
pertaining to the subject of study and respondent’s comments or suggestions. The
final questionnaire was prepared after a conducting a pilot study on a small scale.

Pilot Study:

A survey on small scale approaching 10 respondents was performed. Through this

study, changes required were rectified and the final questionnaire was changed
accordingly.

Sample Size:

The final sample size was 100 respondents ranging from 16 years to 55 years of
age across Vadodara, Mumbai & Ahmedabad. Age was the focus on which the
data was further analyzed.
3.2 Method Matrix:

Objective Method Tool Nature of Data

1. To compare
effects of Qualitative & Content analysis in Qualitative &
Vodafone Quantitative terms of time slots, Quantitative
ads to that of analysis of channels,
the other television programs, appeal,
product advertisements of duration, type of
advertiseme Vodafone. ad and content of
nts on the the ad
audiences.

2. To study
influence of A survey with a Questionnaire Qualitative &
change in purposive sample Quantitative
advertiseme (100) of those who
nts on watch television
consumer’s regularly and
buying observe
behavior. advertisements

3. To find out
how A survey with a Questionnaire Qualitative &
frequently purposive sample Quantitative
does a (100) of those who
product watch television
advertiseme regularly and
nt need to be observe
changed? advertisements

4. To find out
change in A survey with a Questionnaire Qualitative &
Vodafone purposive sample Quantitative
advertiseme (100) of those who
nts is liked watch television
or not by the regularly and
 consumers. observe
advertisements
3.3 Limitations of the study:

 Since the respondents were selected from three different cities, Ahmedabad,
Vadodara and Mumbai, the honest perspective of those who sincerely watch
advertisements could not be gained.
 It being across three cities with different cultures, the responses varied
depending on their life styles and suitable influence of change in
advertisements could not be gauged.
 All the respondents did not watch advertisements in the commercial breaks
or between the programs on television because of which their responses
could not be satisfactorily related to content analysis of the Vodafone
advertisements on television.
 As Vodafone advertises only when it is associated to some event or show,
the time period of two months and selective channels where the ads were
seen and observed did not permit enough data gathering for content analysis
in fine detail.
Chapter 4
Data Analysis

4.1 Content Description:

Television advertisements on Colors TV and M TV were observed during the
month of November 2009 and December 2009 respectively. These advertisements
have been analyzed based on their physical & content parameters. The analysis is
done on parameters like: time slot, channels of broadcast, programs during which
ad was seen, duration of the ad, content, appeals of the ad and its frequency.

Table 4.1.1

Colors TV (November 1st 2009 – November 31st 2009)

Time slot Programs Duration Content Appeal Frequency
(avg) (avg)
9pm Big Boss 3 30 – 40 secs Service Emotional 4-5 ads
-10pm related ads appeal
11pm - Big Boss 3 25 secs Service Emotional 4 ads
12am (repeat) related ads appeal
12am -1am Big Boss 25 secs Mix of zoo Emotional 4-5 ads
(late nights) zoo ads and appeal
service
related ads

Description:

Vodafone advertisements appear on television when it is associated with some

event or program. There were no ads till November 1st 2009 on any channels.
Vodafone was main sponsor for Big Boss, season 3, reality show on Colors TV.
On November 1st 2009 the house mates were given a task called ‘Happy to help’
and so Vodafone promos were played, its tune was played as morning alarm and
the Vodafone song was played in the house till the task lasted. During this one
hour that is 9pm to 10 pm, in the commercial breaks there used to be 4-5 Vodafone
ads. In the first week the small girl and the Pug ad were broadcasted. These were
set of different ads under same concept like,

 When the girl goes for a bath and her soap slips, the dog pushes it in again
and then guards the bathroom.
 The girl is reading comics in her hostel room while the dog keeps a watch on
any passer by.
 When the girl is trying to bake a cake, the dog stands on the page of the
book so that it does not turn over with wind.

The second week onwards new set of ads were released which were service based.
Vodafone came out with new offers like 1p/sec on local Vodafone to Vodafone
calls while 1.2p/sec to other network or landline. For this they came out with brief
ads like,

 A boy proposing a girl and waiting for her reply and the girl replies yes. The
punch line was changed to, “it takes only one second to express.”

There were other ads in same set of concept which were released during Big Boss
show. Here the slogan, “Happy to Help” was changed to “Power to you.”

The advertisements for their new offers and services were designed very creatively
and had emotional appeal; no celebrities were the main lead, instead regular
looking models were casted and the ads were subtle.

During the repeat telecast of the program Big Boss 3, the ads used to be only offers
or service related but the duration of the ad used to be less than the ads during the
regular show broadcast. Here the ads were cut to 25 sec approximately.
The late nights of Big Boss 3 also had Vodafone ads during the commercial breaks
but here the old Zoo Zoo ads were broadcasted.

Towards the end of the month, Vodafone ads were seen before Big Boss program
and they gradually changed to concept of Christmas and new zoo ads promoting E-
mail service with Vodafone, Full talk time offers, Caller tunes and Free Night
minutes and Messaging service.

Ad influence:

With Vodafone ads again in the market, on television and hoardings mostly, it was
observed that people bought new Vodafone sim cards, being attracted to the offer
of 1p/sec calling. Also with ads being seen again the brand was revived in the
minds of people and existing customers upgraded their plans while opted for new
offers and services. Vodafone again became the buzz word amongst youth and
working professionals. Comments like, “yaar Vodafone kitna cheap calling le ke
aaya hai.” “Vodafone mai night minutes free hai. Good for us. We can talk
aaramse,” were heard and observed amongst Vodafone users.

Overall it was observed that the audience kind of waited for different ads than the
other products’ regular, boring ads. Vodafone ads were accepted and appreciated
much. General observation and conversation with common people showed that the
new ads were very cute and creative.
Table 4.1.2

M TV (November 1st 2009 – November 31st 2009)

Time slot Programs Duration Content Appeal Frequency
(avg) (avg)
7-8:30 Splits villa 20 sec Zoo Zoo Rational 5-6 ads
ads appeal
11-12:30 Splits villa 20 sec Zoo Zoo Rational 5 ads
ads appeal

Description:

M TV is a youth channel targeting a large section of the society. All its shows are
trendy and youth based. A program called splits villa is a famous season program
on the channel. Vodafone is the main sponsor of the program and hence its promos
and advertisements are played respectively.

The actual air time of the program is 7pm – 8:30pm on Saturdays. On this day
particularly along with the promos of Splits villa, Vodafone promos were observed
more in number. During the commercial breaks of the program Vodafone zoo zoo
ads were broadcast. These set of ads were the series where the company promoted
its services and offers like e-mail, caller tunes, drop in STD/Local call rates,
voicemail service and so on…

With this ad series, Vodafone also launched zoo zoo products like zoo zoo t-shirts,
water bottles, stickers, pens etc. The company patented its products and targeted
youth which gave it huge sales for both, the services and the zoo zoo products.
Ad influence:

Youth are easier to influence through ads and promotion. Vodafone targets youth
very effectively turning the prospective buyers into actual customers by attracting
them with such low rates on calls and additional offers. M TV is the best channel
to target youngsters specifically. It was observed that zoo zoo t-shirts became
favorites among girls and Vodafone services or offers were sought after. Also
among the youths, the free night minutes offer became much preferred.
4.2 Findings of the Survey
The questionnaire was designed to find out effects of Vodafone ads on people and
study if changes in advertisements are essential or not. It was either circulated
amongst the respondents physically or through e-mail. Age was kept as the
decisive factor in sampling and survey was carried across three cities, Vadodara,
Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The sample size was kept 100 as it was divided in three
age groups and needed to be diverse.

4.2.1 General Information:

B. Age:

Age No. of
respondents
16 – 25 yrs 40
26 – 35 yrs 40
36 – 55 yrs 20
Total 100

C. Educational Background:

Education No. of Respondents

Undergraduate 20
Graduate 45
Post Graduate 35
Total 100

D. Area of Residence:

Area No. of Respondents

Vadodara 30
Ahmedaba 45
d
Mumbai 25
Total 100
E. Gender:

Gender No. of Respondents

Male 40
Female 60
Total 100

F. Occupation:

Occupation No. of Respondents

Business 20
Service 20
Home makers 18
Student 32
Other 10
Total 100

From the above tables of background information of respondents, the researcher

found that there were 40 respondents each in age group of 16 – 25 yrs and 26-35
yrs while only 20 respondents belonged to third age group of 36 – 55 yrs.

The maximum of respondents, 45 of 100, were graduates while 20 of 100

approached were undergraduates and 35 were post graduates.

Of three cities where the survey was conducted, Ahmedabad had maximum of
respondents, 45, followed by Vadodara, 30, and lastly Mumbai having 25
respondents.

Female fraternity summed up to 60 while the male respondents were only 40 of the
total 100 respondents.

Lastly, the researcher found that there were 32 students of total respondents, who
are more honest watchers of television advertisements and also influenced by the
ads. The data found that 20 each of businessmen and service people watched the
television ads and were somewhat influenced by the ads. While almost near to that
came homemakers which was 18 in number.

4.2.2 Core Questions:

Q.1 How many forms of media are you aware of? (Like print, television, radio,
hoarding & billboards and others)

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
No. of Forms
of Media
1–3 5 11 10 26
3–5 8 13 3 24
More than 5 27 16 7 50
Total 40 40 20 100

The researcher found that of total of 40 respondents of the age 16 – 25, 27

respondents were aware of more than 5 forms of media. They mentioned Internet
also along with the above mentioned forms of media.

Q.2 How many advertisements randomly do you think you are exposed to in a day?

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
No. of Ads
10 – 15 13 12 14 39
15 – 30 14 12 3 29
30 – 50 9 14 3 26
More than 50 4 2 0 6
Total 40 40 20 100
Through this question, researcher was able to find out how many ads do people
recall that they are exposed to in a day. Of 100 respondents, 39 people could recall
being exposed to approximately 10 – 15 ads in a day.

Q.3 Do you watch all advertisements during a commercial break between the
programs on television?

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Response
Yes 8 9 12 29
Sometimes 22 16 7 45
Mostly 2 0 1 3
Often 5 7 0 12
No 3 8 0 11
Total 40 40 20 100

Of 100 respondents, the researcher found that 45 of total watched all the
advertisements sometimes while 29 respondents said they watch all ads always.
This shows how much ad holds interest of the viewer.

Q.4 What appeals you in an advertisement on television? (Respondent may choose

more than one option)

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Celebrity 4 0 3 7
Jingle 2 10 1 13
Visuals 5 5 1 11
Content 7 1 1 9
Innovative 17 15 4 36
ideas
Concept 10 8 4 22
Mascots 1 0 1 2

For this question the respondents could choose more than one option and it was
found that 36 respondents of total chose Innovative ideas which show that the
audience is always looking for something different, something novel than the
regular balm or toothpaste advertisements. Also 22 respondents said that they look
forward for the concept. Celebrities no longer draw much of audience.

Q.5 Do you make purchase of a product influenced by its advertisements?

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 - 55 Total
Response
Yes 4 1 5 10
Sometimes 17 15 9 41
Mostly 1 0 3 4
Often 3 5 0 8
No 15 19 3 37
Total 40 40 20 100

In this question researcher tried to find out how much do ads influence buyer’s
purchase cycle. Here, mostly means how regularly while often means how
repeatedly viewers make purchase after seeing the advertisement of a product.
Q.6 Would you want to see a different ad for same product over a time period?

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Yes 28 35 14 77
May be 11 5 6 22
No 1 0 0 1
Total 40 40 20 100

This question seems quite obvious that people will want to see different ad for a
product over a time period but still when 77 respondents said yes, on other hand
there 22 respondents who were somewhere not sure or can be said they were ok
with same ad for a product as brand would have its strong recall with no much aid
of its advertisements.

Q.7 How strong impact does an ad make on your mind about a product?

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Very strong 1 0 0 1
Strong 1 10 15 26
Somewhat 20 14 3 37
Not much 16 14 2 32
Negligible 2 2 0 4
Total 40 40 20 100
It is because of the advertisements mostly that a brand or product is retained.
However an ad is not always successful to leave an impression about the product
or service on consumer’s mind. Here, the researcher found that 37 respondents
could recall a product due to a bit of impact of its ads while 32 respondents could
recall a brand or product but that was with a small amount of impact created by its
ads.

Q.8 Of these product advertisements, which one do you like the most? (Please tick
one)

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Vodafone 28 25 10 63
Airtel 7 12 6 25
Idea 0 3 2 5
Reliance 1 0 0 1
BSNL 0 0 0 0
Tata Indicom 3 0 2 5
Aircel 1 0 0 1
Total 40 40 20 100

The tough competition in market regarding services is between Airtel & Vodafone.
In the advertising field as well they fight close. Amongst the youth, Vodafone ads
are much liked than the Airtel ads. With the age group of 26 – 35 yrs, Vodafone is
liked by almost double the people who like Airtel ads. Total of 63 respondents
enjoy Vodafone advertisements which is much high compared to other brands.

Q.9 Do you watch Vodafone Advertisements on television?

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Yes 25 26 18 69
No 0 0 1 1
Sometimes 15 14 1 30
Total 40 40 20 100

The researcher found that consumers are not only aware of the brand Vodafone, its
service or its advertisement but they keenly watch Vodafone ads too on television.

Q.10 Do Vodafone advertisements hold your interest?

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Yes 26 26 13 65
Sometimes 8 12 5 25
Mostly 3 1 1 5
Often 1 1 0 2
No 2 0 1 3
Total 40 40 20 100

The respondents said that Vodafone ads are different & something new from the
rest of the product ads. 65 respondents accepted that Vodafone ads do catch their
attention.

Q.11 Do you think Vodafone advertisements are creative / innovative?

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Yes 33 39 9 81
No 0 0 5 5
Can’t say 7 1 6 14
Total 40 40 20 100
Though respondents liked ads of other products, a majority found Vodafone ads to
be creative. 81 of the total 100 agreed that Vodafone came out with fresh ideas that
captivated their attention.

Q.12 Vodafone brings out a series of advertisements with the season. Have you
marked the changes in ads?

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Yes 36 37 18 91
No 0 0 0 0
Don’t know 4 3 2 9
Total 40 40 20 100

Vodafone has set of advertisements with every season or events. 91 respondents

were aware of the ads changing over a time period, while 9 respondents didn’t
have exact idea about it.

Q.13 Does Vodafone have strong brand recall to you because of its concept based
advertisements?

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Yes 19 23 10 52
No 4 6 5 15
Can’t say 17 11 5 33
Total 40 40 20 100
The researcher found that Vodafone ads being distinctive, it did have brand recall
because of its ads but it wasn’t much strong if seen individually in each age group.
Overall of the 100 respondents, 52 responses matched the option yes which shows
that because of the ads, the brand recall was high.

Q.14 Vodafone advertisements change over time and the advertisements are based
on concepts, not using a celebrity, which is related to the new services or offers.
Do you think the risk taken is appropriate?

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Yes 26 28 16 70
No 2 0 0 2
May be 7 12 4 23
Can’t say 5 0 0 5
Total 40 40 20 100

Respondents think that over the years celebrity use in advertisements have kind of
become over dose. The audience very well understands that a celeb shown using a
product is just a made up for creating brand preference in market and they do not
actually use these products. So when Vodafone ads touch on emotional appeal
using a small kid and a dog they are more loved by the audience. Hence 70
respondents of the total think the risk is much appropriate.

Q.15 Do you think there is a need to change advertisement of a product or service

over a period of time?
 Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Yes 25 39 18 82
No 5 0 1 6
Can’t say 10 1 1 12
Total 40 40 20 100

Responses were a clear yes as respondents said that the ads keep them informed
about the brand and new offers or discounts on the products.

Q.16 If Vodafone advertisements do not change for years, would you still buy the
product?

Why? _____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Age
16 - 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Yes 23 39 18 80
No 17 1 2 20
Total 40 40 20 100

Advertisements play important role in establishing the brand in minds of the

audiences but does not change the buying behavior completely. A product is more
preferred if the services are worthy and reliable. 80 respondents said that they
would still buy Vodafone if its ad didn’t change for years as the brand itself is
established in the market and needs no aid.

Q.17 Would your buying change if Vodafone didn’t advertise at all?

 Age
16 - 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Yes 4 3 4 11
No 12 14 7 33
Can’t say 24 23 9 56
Total 40 40 20 100

If Vodafone ad didn’t change for years, consumer’s buying behavior would not be
much affected but when asked if it didn’t advertise at all, respondents were not
sure if they would buy the brand as they need some awareness of the product.

Q.18 Does Vodafone advertisements attach to you emotionally?

Age
16 – 25 26 – 35 36 – 55 Total
Yes 12 10 8 30
No 10 4 4 18
Somewhat 12 14 6 32
Can’t say 6 12 2 20
Total 40 40 20 100

Due to its concept based ads, Vodafone holds a unique place in minds of the
audiences. Introducing a pug (puppy) and a kid as their main leads in ads, the
company took a huge risk but on the other hand that same pug became a sweetheart
of many. Vodafone ads somewhere touched audiences emotionally.

Open ended question:

Q.19 What do you recall when you hear the brand name “Vodafone”?
Of the 100 respondents almost 80 % said that they recall the sweet little pup
following the kid. The pug was recognized as the “Hutch Dog” more than its
original breed name. People connect to the brand Vodafone just because of the
puppy.

A few said that the punch line, “wherever you go, our network follows,” is what
they recall when they hear the brand name Vodafone. This line was a hit and won
the market for proving in reality that Vodafone network was actually more
powerful than any other networks.

The third thing that people recalled was the jingle of the product advertisement.
The music or say the sound for that matter is very subtle yet catchy.

Respondents could also connect to the new character ZOO ZOO seen in the new
set of advertisements of Vodafone. This was especially because of the IPL cricket
matches.

Q.20 Please specify effects of Vodafone (Hutch, Orange, Vodafone)

advertisements on you. Does it drive your purchase?

The answer to this question can be summed up as, the respondents clearly said
there isn’t much effect of the advertisements on their buying but yes the ad are
very creative, original and arty. Thinking of introducing a pup, when we all know
dog is a loyal animal, that too with the punch line, “wherever you go our network
follows,” is huge but commendable risk while other companies use celebrities to
endorse their brands.
Chapter 5
Conclusion & Recommendation

Conclusion:

Advertising people in successful marketing organizations know why they are

advertising and have expectations of the results they will achieve. They know to
whom they are advertising, who their advertising prospects are, where they are
located, their lifestyles, and their media usage and so on. Successful advertisers use
their advertising investment as a planned, business building technique designed to
build the brand or the company over time. They don’t use it as a one-shot,
scattergun approach to try and solve a short term volume or distribution problem.
Successful advertisers carefully integrate their advertising into overall promotional
plan for the product or service. They develop marketing communications plan in
which advertising meshes with any form of persuasive communication which
might influence the consumer in favor of the product or service. Without this
planning, advertising is like any other business activity that cannot provide the
organization with necessary return on investment, so vitally important in today’s
equity driven marketplace.
Vodafone very strategically planned its advertisement campaigns and released
them at the right point of time when the consumers seek to see novelty on screen.
David Ogilvy defined some interesting points in television advertising mentioning
about introducing a character that sells your product for years and gradually
becomes the living symbol of the brand. Vodafone adopted the same strategy and
introduced a puppy which became a celebrity and much loved by the audiences. It
completely altered the image of the company and boosted its sales making it one of
the best service providers in cell phone industry. It gained a great deal of trust with
its punch line, “wherever you go, our network follows.” The researcher found out
that the Hutch song, “You and I, in this beautiful world” was one of its kinds, still
remembered and cherished by the audiences. Also the researcher found that
amongst youth Vodafone is most enjoyed brand because of its advertisements and
it does influence their buying behavior. All the way through the research, it was
found that advertisements need to change not to only influence buying pattern or
increase sales but because people hunt for new things to see, original ideas, fresh
visuals and more information about the product or the brand. They need change in
the ads to sustain the brand recall for longer time. Vodafone very much proved its
presence in the market by catching the nerves of the audiences. It gave set of
advertisements every time with new concepts and innovation. Compared to other
product ads, Vodafone enjoys a high position in the market.

Overall, the set objectives of the study were found to be correct. Advertisements
need to change after certain period of time to maintain its presence in the minds of
the audiences and also in some way influence the buying behavior of the target
audience.

Recommendations:

Vodafone is an established brand and much preferred by the audience. People love
the Pug, the Zoo Zoo, its song and the television advertisements. It needs no
suggestion on these, but it would be more favored if it did release its ads regularly.
At the moment Vodafone releases its adverts only when it is associated with some
event like IPL matches or sponsors programs on television. This breaks the
continuity of the ad recall. Though audiences eagerly wait for Vodafone adverts
and appreciate them when ever they are released but meanwhile other product ads
make a move and become more opted brands. So Vodafone should keep releasing
ads time to time and always come up with creative adverts to hold its audiences.

Bibliography

1. Ogilvy on advertising – David Ogilvy; Vantage books; ISBN 0-394-72903-x

2. Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy; Southbank Publishing

2004 edition. ISBN 1-904915-01-9

3. Effective advertising by Gerard J Tellis, 1st edition 2004, Sage Publications,

ISBN 81-7829-370-6

4. Marketing Management by Philip Kotler, 11th Edition. Pearson Education

Publications (India) Ltd., ISBN 81-7808-654-9

5. The Advertising Handbook by Sean Brierley; 2nd Edition; Routledge

Publications; ISBN 0-415-24392-0
6. Advertising in Contemporary Society by Kim B. Rotzoll & James E.
Haefner; Sandage, 2nd Edition; South-Western Publishing Co. Dallas, Texas,
U.S.A.

7. Strategic Advertising Campaigns by Don E. Schultz; North Western

University; 3rd Edition; NTC Publishing group, Illinois U.S.A.

8. Basic Advertising by Jugenheimer White; courtesy Michall Belk & Co.

9. An Introduction to interplay between Consumer behavior & Marketing
Communication; prepared by Dr. Nichola Robertson for unit team; Deakin
University, Melbourne; Australia; Published in 2008.

10.Advertising & Consumer Behavior, Study guide and readings; Faculty of

Business & Law, MPK 712; Deakin University, Australia; Published in 2008
& Revised in 2009.

11.Times Ascent, Sunday Times; The Times of India; Benett Coleman & Co.

12.Journal of Consumer Research; by Marian C. Burke & Julie A. Edell; Vol

13, June 1986.

Web references:

1. www.google.com

2. www.faqs.com

3. www.scribd.com

4. www.superbrandsindia.com

5. www.agencyfaqs.com

6. www.vodafone.in
Addendum:
Part 1:

Survey Questionnaire
Hi, I am Vidhi Trivedi, a student of second year in Masters of Journalism &
Communication Studies at Maharaja Sayaji Rao University, Vadodara. This
survey is being conducted as part of research work to be submitted at the
end of course. The data will purely be used for academic purpose and all the
information will be kept with the researcher herself.

Seeking your co-operation.

Research topic: Do advertisements need to change from time to time? A

study on Vodafone advertisements and its influence on audiences.

General Information:

A. Name: _________________________________
 B. Age: 16-25 26-35 36-55

C. Educational background: ____________________________

D. Area of residence: _________________________________

E. Gender: M F

F. Occupation: Business Service Home maker

Student Other

Core questions:

1. How many forms of media are you aware of? (like print, television,
radio, hoarding & billboards and others)

1-3 3-5 more than 5

2. How many advertisements randomly do you think you are exposed to

in a day?

10-15 15-30 30-50 more than 50

3. Do you watch all advertisements during a commercial break between

the programs on television?

Yes Sometimes Mostly Often No

4. What appeals you in an advertisement on television?

 Celebrity Jingle Visuals Content
Innovative ideas Concept Mascots

5. Do you make purchase of a product influenced by its advertisements?

Yes Sometimes Mostly Often No

6. Would you want to see a different ad for same product over a time
period?

Yes May be No

7. How strong impact does an ad make on your mind about a product?

Very Strong Strong Somewhat Not much

Negligible

8. Of these product advertisements, which one do you like the most?

(please tick any one)
Vodafone Airtel Idea Reliance
BSNL Tata Indicom Aircel

9. Do you watch Vodafone advertisements on television?

Yes No Sometimes

10. Do Vodafone advertisements hold your interest?

Yes Sometimes Mostly

Often No
11. Do you think Vodafone advertisements are creative / innovative?

Yes No Can’t say

12. Vodafone brings out a series of advertisements with the season. Have
you marked the changes in ads?

Yes No Don’t Know

13. Does Vodafone have strong brand recall to you because of its concept
based advertisements?

Yes No Can’t say

14. Vodafone advertisements change over time and the advertisements

are based on concepts, not using celebrity, which is related to the new
services or offers. Do you think the risk taken is appropriate?

Yes No May be Can’t say

15. Do you think there is a need to change advertisements of a product or

service over a period of time?

Yes No Can’t say

16. If Vodafone advertisements do not change for years, would you still
buy the product?

Yes No
 Why? __________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

17. Would your buying change if Vodafone didn’t advertise at all?

Yes No Can’t say

18. Does Vodafone advertisements attach to you emotionally?

Yes No Somewhat Can’t say

19. What do you recall when you hear the word “Vodafone”?

______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

20. Please specify effects of Vodafone (Hutch, Orange, Vodafone)

advertisements on you. Does it drive your purchase?

_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

Any other comments / suggestions:

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________
Thank you.

Vidhi Trivedi.

Part 2:
Shift in Vodafone Advertisements: