The Influence of TV Advertisements on the Buying Behavior of Adult Consumers in the State of Haryana

Introduction

Advertisements are cost-effective ways to disseminate messages with a view to build a brand preference or to educate people (Kotler & Keller, 2006). The majority of the marketers use mass media for their marketing communications. The choice of media is dependent upon the nature of the message and the intended target audience (Etzel et al, 2008). Television is generally acknowledged as the most powerful advertising medium. The wide reach translates to low cost per exposure (Kotler & Keller, 2006). Over a longer period of time, the TV set has become a permanent fixture in all upper and middle class households, and it is not uncommon even in the poorer society of urban areas and rural households (Shah & D’Souza, 2008).

India is a developing country and majority of the people are living in rural areas (Census, 2001). Rural consumers are fundamentally different from their urban counterparts socially, psychologically, physiologically and literally (Selvaraj, 2007). Hence, the buying behaviour of rural consumers has become a hot-topic for discussion because rural India, in recent days, is enthusiastically consuming everything from shampoo to motor cycles (Nagaraja, 2004).The impact of sex differences on consumer skills is also a matter of concern (Moschis & Churchill, 1979).

Thus, this paper is an attempt to study the influence of TV advertisements on the buying behaviour of adult consumers of different residential backgrounds i.e. rural and urban and gender groups i.e., male and female in the state of Haryana.

Review of Literature

Advertising is a billion dollar industry today in India, and at a growth rate of 40-50% per annum, one of the fastest growing industries in the country (Unnikrishnan & Bajpai, 1996). The Nati...

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