A

FINAL REPORT
ON

“IMPACT OF EMOTIONAL AND FEARFUL

ADVERTISEMENTS
ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR”

SUBMITTED TO
PUNJAB TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

MRS. HARLEEN KAUR SAMARDEEP SINGH
MBA-IV
ROLLNO.1173392

(SESSION 2011-13)

GUJARANWALA GURU NANAK INSTITUTE OF

MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY

1
 STUDENT DECLARATION

This is to certify that I, Samardeep Singh student of MBA-4, Roll No. 2103 have prepared the
report titled “Impact of emotional and fearful advertisements on consumer behavior”

All the theory contained in report is from the list of web links given in end in bibliography. I have
not copied from any report submitted earlier this or any other university. This is purely original
and authentic work.

Samardeep Singh

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 PREFACE

Practical training is a most important part of study curriculum in management education field. I
am a student of M.B.A. (Marketing) of GGNIMT, Ludhiana and had made the project regarding
“Impact of emotional and fearful advertisements on consumer behavior”.

Advertisements are used to create image and symbolic appeal for a company’s product or service
brand. Different appeals help to enhance effectiveness of advertisements that evokes some
emotional reaction in viewer’s mind. Emotional advertisements have a substantial impact on
consumer attitudes, as well as upon purchase intentions. Advertisers often believe that emotional
message directly stimulates the customer toward the use of the brand. It is often discussed that up
to what extent this emotional message are stimulating the customers to buy a brand. Even though
it works, its impact is always questioned on the basis of nature of customer and the type of
advertisement for which it has been used.

In the first phase introduction to advertising and its features, types and appeals are given. After
that a survey is performed with a sample size of 100people. The study was limited to Disst.
Ludhiana, here in my survey, I have contacted the respondents through personal interviews.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Acknowledgement is not mere formality but a genuine opportunity to thank all those without
whose active support and guidance in this project would not have been complete.

There are special mentors whom we must acknowledge due to their importance in our work. This
project could not have been completed without the best guidance of Mrs. Harleen Kaur (Prof. in
GGNIMT) my project guide who not only served as my supervisor but also encouraged me
throughout my project work.

She and other faculty members guided me throughout the project, never accepted less than my
best efforts. There is special acknowledgement due to my friends because they have helped me in
report writing that it left to me alone, would never have been done. Of course, like any other
author, I am indebted always to those people that do their best to improve on my best.

I would also like to thank all the respondents who have spared their time to fill my questionnaire
to provide the information and amenities which helped in development of this report, without
such help this report would not have been possible.

SAMARDEEP SINGH

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page Number
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE ADVERTISING 1-21
1.1 Introduction to Advertising 1
1.2 Definition of Advertising 3
1.3 Features of Advertising 4
1.4 Active Participants in Advertising 6
1.5 Types of Advertising 9
1.6 Advertising Appeals 13
1.7 Factors affecting Advertising 16
1.8 Impact of Advertising 17

CHAPTER 2: INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT 22-23

2.1 Scope of the Project 22
2.2 Objectives of the Study 23

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 24-27

3.1 Research Methodology 24
3.2 Limitations 27
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 28-36

CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

5.1 Findings of the Survey 37
CHAPTER 6: SUGGESTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 38-39
6.1 Suggestions and Recommendations 38
6.2 Conclusion 39

BIBLIOGRAPHY 40

ANNEXURE 41-42

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 LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO. TABLES TITLE PAGE NO.

4.1 Awareness regarding emotional and fearful advertisements 28

4.2 Watching emotional and fearful advertisements 29

4.3 Best media for emotional and fearful advertisements 30

4.4 Media realize the Importance of messages of advertisements 31

4.5 Opinion regarding effectiveness of emotional and fearful 32

advertisements
4.6 Rely on buying products through fearful advertisements 33

4.7 Not the emotional and fearful advantage would still buy the 34
product
4.8 Products have been purchased 35

4.9 Recommend the products to others 36

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 LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

4.1 Awareness regarding emotional and fearful 28

advertisements

4.2 Watching emotional and fearful advertisements 29

4.3 Best media for emotional and fearful advertisements 30

4.4 Media realize the Importance of messages of 31

advertisements

4.5 Opinion regarding effectiveness of emotional and 32

fearful advertisements

4.6 Rely on buying products through fearful advertisements 33

4.7 Not the emotional and fearful advantage would still buy 34
the product

4.8 Products have been purchased 35

4.9 Recommend the products to others 36

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8
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO ADVERTISING

Advertising plays a very important role in the present highly competitive and consumer-
oriented marketing system. It is an essential supplement of modern large scale production and
marketing. Advertising is necessary for giving information to consumers about the products, their
features, uses and advantages. It is also useful for encouraging consumers to purchase specific
products and also for sales promotion. Advertising is essential in the case of internal as well as
global marketing. Similarly, it is necessary in the case of all types of products- old, well
established and new. Many companies spend crores of rupees on advertising and publicity of their
products. Advertising media such as newspapers, magazines, radio and T.V. earn substantial
portion of their revenue through the advertisements. In the present business world, simply
manufacturing superior quality goods at lower costs is not adequate. The goods produced need to
be presented to potential buyers in an attractive manner so as to induce them to purchase by
visiting retail shops. Advertising as a tool of communication is getting popularity in recent
years. New techniques are being introduced to present the products in an agreeable manner to
consumers. Advertising touches the lives of the people belonging to different age groups- from
youngest to the oldest. Companies spent huge amounts to influence the preferences and behavior
patterns of consumers. Advertising as a subject under commerce discipline has a long history.

However its form has changed considerably along with the expansion of business
activities and the technological developments in the media of advertising. However, the basic
objectives of advertising i.e. to provide information, to attract attention, to create awareness and
to influence buying behaviors of consumers have remained stable over the long historical period.
Advertising is a must not only in the business world but also in all other aspects of life.

In today’s world advertising plays a very important and a vital role in selling and
marketing of any type of goods or product it maybe durable or non-durable, perishable or non-
perishable every product needs this effective power that is advertising for making their a
successful one and for gaining a edge over the other competitive products in the markets. Not
only products but today even services are sold by taking the help of the advertisements like banks,
insurance companies etc. all need advertising to promote their services. Advertising acts as an

9
important marketing tool for presentation and promotion of ideas, goods and services. As the
competition is getting more and tougher in the market the products and services with similar
target groups are spending more and more on advertising to gain more profit share as compared to
other products and services in the market, hence the need of advertising is increasing day by day.

In brief, advertising is an effective method of communication. It gives information to

consumers about products and services and induces them to purchase. Buyers are persuaded to
continue to buy the product. This leads to sales promotion with profit to the seller and satisfaction
and welfare to consumers.

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1.2 DEFINITION OF ADVERTISING:

The term advertising originates from the Latin word adventure which means “to turn the mind
towards”. The dictionary meaning of the term advertising is “to give public notices or to
announce publicity”. This suggests that advertising acts as a marketing vehicle and is useful for
drawing the attention of people towards a specific product/ service/ manufacturer. Advertising is
an activity or a process while advertisement is a specific piece of communication appearing in
press, radio or TV.

According to the American Marketing Association advertising is defined as

“Any paid form of non –personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an
identified sponsor”.

According to David Potter

“The only institution we have for instilling new needs, for training to act as consumer for altering
men’s values and thus for hastening their adjustment to potential abundance is advertising.
This definition suggests that advertising is an institution which makes people aware of their needs
and makes them vigilant consumers. Advertising also provides better understanding of life and
brings their adjustment with potential abundance of goods and services.

According to Dunn and Barbon

“Advertising is paid, non-personal communication through various media by business firms, non-
profit organizations and individuals who are in some way identified in the advertising message
and who hope to inform or persuade members of a particular audience.”
This definition suggests that the advertiser identifies himself in the advertisement and the purpose
of advertising is to inform and to persuade people of a specific type.

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1.3 FEATURES OF ADVERTISING:

1. Advertising provides information:

The basic purpose of advertising is to provide information about products, goods,
services or ideas to perspective buyers. The details of products such as features,
uses, prices, benefits, other instructions to be followed while using the product are
given in the advertisements.

2. Advertising is a paid form of communication:

Advertising may be in any convenient form such as sign, symbol, slogan,
Illustration or message.

3. Advertising is a non-personal presentation:

Advertising is non-personal in character as against salesmanship which is personal
(face to face communication) in character. In Advertising, the message is given to
all and not to one specific individual.
e.g. T.V, radio, etc.

4. Advertising is an art, science and profession:

It is an art as it needs creativity for raising its effectiveness. It is treated as science
as it has its principles, rules, etc. Advertising is now treated as profession with its
professional bodies and code of conduct for members.

5. Creativity-the essence of Advertising:

Advertising is a method of presenting a product in an artistic, attractive and
agreeable manner. This is possible through the element of creativity which is the
essence of Advertising of the present period.

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6. Advertising is for persuasion:
Advertising is not only for giving information but also for appealing people to buy
a specific product. It aims at persuasion of potential customers.

7. Advertising is target oriented:

It is possible to make intensive Advertising by selecting a specific market or
specific segment of consumers for the purpose of Advertising. This selection of
specific market is called target market.

8. Advertising is an important element in marketing mix:

Advertising supports the sales promotion efforts of the manufacturer. It can make
positive contribution in sales promotion provided other elements in the marketing
mix are reasonably favorable.

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1.4 ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN ADVERTISING:

Advertising is a type of collective activity which needs the support and participation of
certain individuals or organizations. They are called active participants in advertising. Such
participants are called:
1) Advertisers
2) Advertising agency
3) Audience
4) Advertising media and finally
5) The government authorities

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1) Advertisers:

Advertisers are the individuals/firms/organizations which desire to advertise their products

or services. They support the whole advertising process as they provide finance by paying
the advertising charges. They initiate entire advertising process. It is the advertiser who
takes broad decisions about advertising. He decides the advertising budget; select the
audience, media and agency for the purpose of advertising. He is the key participant in the
entire advertising activity.

2) Advertising agencies:

An advertiser can implement his advertising plan directly through his own sales or
advertising department or may transfer the entire responsibility of advertising to a
specialized professional agency called advertising agency. These agencies provide
expert services to their clients that are advertisers. They prepare advertising plan
and execute them the same on behalf of their client. An advertiser can transfer his
botheration about advertising to such advertising agency. Such agencies charge
commission of 15% from media owners on the media bills. Such agencies offer
benefit of their skills and experience to their clients. HTA, Lintas mudra, Everest,
O and M are some leading advertising agencies operating in India.

3) Audience:

Advertising is for giving message about goods or services to readers, viewers or

listeners. They constitute the audience. It is for their information and guidance that
advertisements are given. An advertiser desires to cover his target audience/market
for promoting sales. Efforts are also made to make advertisements attractive and
agreeable to the audience. Moreover, waste in advertising is possible when the
advertising message is not received or accepted by audience.

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4) Advertising Media :

Advertising media act as a connecting link between the advertiser and the
audience. The media act as a channel of communication for giving message to two
or more media for advertising purpose. Newspaper, magazine, radio and T.V. are
some popular advertising media and are used extensively by advertisers. In India
T.V. advertising is popular but is equally costly. The advertising agency guides
their clients in the selection of convenient advertising media that is media
planning.

5) Government Authorities:

Government authorities act as a one important participant in the advertising field.

Government acts as a supervisory authority in the field of advertising. It makes
rules and regulations as regards that use of media for advertising purpose. Some
advertising media such as radio and T.V. operate directly under the control of
central government.

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1.5 TYPES OF ADVERTISING:

It is conceptually more interesting and analytically more important to classify advertising. The
basis of classification, however, can be diverse, as will be evident from below:
1). GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD: On the basis of geographical spread, advertising can be
classified as

 NATIONAL ADVERTISING
Some manufacturers may think that their target is the entire country. They select media with
a countrywide base. Generally large, established firms belong to this category. Among them are
Hindustan Lever, Brooke Bond, Larsen & Toubro, Escorts, Associated Cement Companies and
the like.

 LOCAL ADVERTISING:
Small firms may like to restrict their business to State or regional. Some firms first localize
their marketing efforts and once success has been achieved, they spread out to wider horizons. A
classic example is Nirma washing powder, which initially was sold only in Gujarat and
subsequently entered the other markets. Retail stores also undertake local advertising. The area to
be covered would generally by a city or a town and media would be selected which principally
relates to that area. In recent years, several magazines have appeared which focus on a particular
city and are of direct relevance to its inhabitant like the Bombay and Island.

 GLOBAL ADVERTISING:
Multinational firms treat the world as their market. Firms such as National, IBM or Sony or
Ford advertise globally. e.g. in periodicals like Times, Reader's Digest.

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2). TARGET GROUP: On the basis 0 the target groups aimed at, advertising can be classified
as:
 CONSUMER ADVERTISING
A very substantial portion of total advertising is directed to buyers of consumer products
who purchase them either for their own use or for their households. The fact that buyers of
consumer items are generally very large and are widely distributed over a large
geographical area enhances the importance of advertising as a marketing tool. The preponderance
of such advertising can be seen by looking into at random any general print media, such as
newspapers and magazines etc. These advertisements are intended to
Promote sale of advertised products by appealing directly to the buyers/consumers. Such
advertising is called consumer advertising.

 INDUSTRIAL ADVERTISING
Industrial advertising on the other hand refers to those advertisements, which are issued by
the manufacturer/distributors to the buyers of industrial products. This category
would include machinery and equipment, industrial intermediates, parts and components, etc.
Because of the unique characteristics of industrial buying decision process, the importance of
industrial advertising is comparatively lower than that of consumer advertising.

 TRADE ADVERTISING
Advertisements, which are directed by the manufacturers to the distribution channel
members, such as wholesalers or retailers, are called trade advertising. The objective of such
advertising is to promote sales by motivating the distribution channel members to stock more or
to attract new retail outlets.

 PROFESSIONAL ADVERTISING
There are certain products for which the consumers themselves are not responsible for the
buying choice. The classic examples are Pharmaceuticals where doctors make decisions while the
consumers are the patients. Almost similar situations exit in the field of construction where
architects, civil engineers and contractors are the decision makers, who are professional people.
Such advertising is called professional advertising.

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3). OTHER TYPES

 PRODUCT ADVERTISING:
It has been said that advertising is an important component of the marketing mix. Marketing
executives decide about the marketing mix elements to be used, and the proportion in which they
are to be blended into their marketing programme. The right choices determine executive's
success, and make for the marketer's reputation. Almost all consumer goods manufacturers and
many industrial product marketers include advertising in their marketing mix. Advertising's
specific role is of reselling to present and potential customers. Together with other elements of the
promotion mix, such as personal selling and sales promotion activities, the point-of-purchase,
displays, coupons, premium offers, demonstrations and trade shows advertising ensures, that these
important
functions lead to a successful marketing programme of selling mass produced, mass marketed
consumer goods in the marketing of industrial products, too, advertising plays a
Useful role; it informs unknown prospects and enables the sales man in the field to obtain a
hearing from the buyers. Not only these marketing techniques can be well applied to non-
commercial social ventures and advertising promotes such non-commercials ventures such as
family, adult literacy, etc, even in political candidates use banners, outdoor signs and other forms
of advertising to get selected.

 SERVICE ADVERTISING:
Services are activities, benefits or satisfaction offered for sale and thus they can be
advertised on congenial environment, quickness and promptness of service, economy,
exclusiveness, status significant, security etc.

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 INSTITUTIONAL ADVERTISING:
As the name suggests, this form of advertising is done by the institutions to promote their
own name to build up an image of itself in the public mind. Institutions advertising
aims at building a appositive image for the firm in the eyes of internal and external public. It does
not attempt to sell anything directly.

 PUBLIC RELATIONS ADVERTISING:

It is a part of institutional advertising. The most widely accepted definition of public relations
is the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding
between an organization and its public.

 PUBLIC SERVICE ADVERTISING:

This type of advertising promotes important social issues. It is done as a part social
responsibility by the advertising agencies or business organization or government or
social institutions.
Public service advertising is also known by various other names 1. Public awareness advertising
2. Social service advertising
3. Social awareness advertising

 FINANACIAL ADVERTISISNG:
Here, the advertising is done mainly in the print media, especially the press and to some
extent magazines. The financial institutions advertise to attract investors. The mega
issues are promoted even on TV and satellite channels.

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1.6 ADVERTISING APPEALS:

The most basic human needs are the need for food, clothing and shelter. Special need for these
necessities cannot be created with advertising. However there are certain other products that provide
comfort in life and advertising aims to generate demand for these products. Advertising uses appeals as a
way of persuading people to buy certain products. Advertising appeals are designed in a way so as to
create a positive image of the individuals who use certain products. Advertising agencies and companies
use different types of advertising appeals to influence the purchasing decision of people.

 EMOTIONAL APPEAL

An emotional appeal is related to an individual’s psychological and social needs for purchasing
certain products and services. Many consumers are emotionally motivated or driven to make certain
purchases. Advertisers aim to cash in on the emotional appeal and this works particularly well where
there is not much difference between multiple product brands and its offerings. Emotional appeal
includes personal and social aspects.

PERSONAL APPEAL
Some personal emotions that can drive individuals to purchase products include safety, fear, love,
humor, joy, happiness, sentiment, stimulation, pride, self esteem, pleasure, comfort, ambition,
nostalgia etc.

SOCIAL APPEAL
Social factors cause people to make purchases and include such aspects as recognition, respect,
involvement, affiliation, rejection, acceptance, status and approval.

 FEAR APPEAL

Fear is also an important factor that can have incredible influence on individuals. Fear is often used
to good effect in advertising and marketing campaigns of beauty and health products including
insurance. Advertising experts indicate that using moderate levels of fear in advertising can prove to
be effective.

 HUMOR APPEAL

Humor is an element that is used in around 30% of the advertisements. Humor can be an excellent
tool to catch the viewer’s attention and help in achieving instant recall which can work well for the
sale of the product. Humor can be used effectively when it is related to some benefit that the
customer can derive without which the joke might overpower the message.

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 SEX APPEAL

Sex and nudity have always sold well. Sexuality, sexual suggestiveness, over sexuality or
sensuality raises curiosity of the audience and can result in strong feelings about the
advertisement. It can also result in the product appearing interesting. However use of sex in
types of advertising appeals can have a boomerang effect if it is not used carefully. It can
interfere with the actual message of the advertisement and purpose of the product and can
also cause low brand recall. If this is used then it should be an integral part of the product and
should not seem vulgar. The shift should be towards sensuality.

 MUSIC APPEAL

Music can be used as types of advertising appeals as it has a certain intrinsic value and can
help in increasing the persuasiveness of the advertisement. It can also help capture attention
and increase customer recall.

 SCARCITY APPEAL

Scarcity appeals are based on limited supplies or limited time period for purchase of products and are
often used while employing promotional tools including sweepstakes, contests etc.

 RATIONAL APPEAL

Rational appeals as the name suggests aims to focus on the individual’s functional, utilitarian or
practical needs for particular products and services. Such appeals emphasize the characteristics and
features of the product and the service and how it would be beneficial to own or use the particular
brand. Print media is particularly well suited for rational appeals and is often used with good success.
It is also suited for business to business advertisers and for products that are complex and that need
high degree of attention and involvement.

 MASCULINE FEMININE APPEAL

Used in cosmetic or beauty products and also clothing. This type of appeal aims at creating the
impression of the perfect person. The message is that the product will infuse the perfection or the
stated qualities in you.

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 ADVENTURE APPEAL

This appeal is directed towards giving the impression that purchasing a product will change
the individual’s life radically and fill it with fun, adventure and action.

 LESS THAN PERFECT APPEAL

Advertisements often try to influence people to make certain purchases by pointing out their
inadequacies or making them feel less perfect and more dissatisfied with their present
condition. These types of advertising appeals are used in cosmetic and health industries.

 ROMANCE APPEAL

These advertisements display the attraction between the sexes. The appeal is used to signify
that buying certain products will have a positive impact on the opposite sex and improve
your romantic or love life. Fragrances, automobiles and other products use these types of
advertising appeals.

 YOUTH APPEAL

Advertisements that reflect youth giving aspects or ingredients of products use these types of
appeals. Cosmetic products in particular make use of these appeals.

 ENDORSEMENT

Celebrities and well known personalities often endorse certain products and their pitching
can help drive the sales.

 PLAY ON WORDS

Advertisements also make effective use of catch phrases to convey the message. Such
appeals help in brand recognition and recall and can be quite popular with the youth in
particular.

 STATISTICS

Advertisements also use statistics and figures to display aspects of the product and its
popularity in particular.

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 PLAIN APPEAL

These advertisements use every day aspects of life and appeal to ordinary people regarding
the use of a product or service.

 BANDWAGON APPEAL

This type of advertising appeal is meant to signify that since everybody is doing something
you should be a part of the crowd as well. It appeals towards the popularity aspect or
coolness aspect of a person using a particular product or service.

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1.7 FACTORS EFFECTING ADVERTISING

The final external factor in the planning framework concerns environmental factor social,
legal, and global. Law forbids deceptive advertising. One solution is to create brand advertising
that is vague and contains little specific information. However, such an approach can result not
only in ineffective advertising; by it can lessen the social value of advertising by reducing the
amount for useful information that it provides to society. Thus, and advertiser who attempts to
provide specific, relevant information must be well aware of advertising regulation.
Even more difficult consideration for people involved in the advertising effort is broad
social and economic issues. Another concern is that advertising, especially when it is more
irritating than entertaining, is an intrusion into an already excessively polluted environment. A
whole set of rules is emerging to cover advertising directed at children, and advertising for
products such as alcohol and cigarettes, and the use of environmental and health claims in
advertising.
Thus advertising has a tremendous impact on international marketing and the two
concepts therefore go hand in hand and are dependent on each other.

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1.8 IMPACT OF ADVERTISING:

Advertising has an important effect on a country’s economy, society, culture, and

political system. This is especially true in the United States where the advertising industry
plays such a prominent role.

1. Economic Impact

Most economists believe that advertising has a positive impact on the economy
because it stimulates demand for products and services, strengthening the economy by
promoting the sale of goods and services. Manufacturers know that advertising can help
sell a new product quickly, enabling them to recoup the costs of developing new products.
By stimulating the development of new products, advertising helps increase competition.
Many economists believe that increased competition leads to lower prices, thereby
benefiting consumers and the economy as a whole. These economists also argue that by
interesting consumers in purchasing goods, advertising enables manufacturers and others
to sell their products in larger quantities. The increased volume of sales enables companies
to produce individual units at lower costs and therefore, sell them at a lower price.
Advertising thus benefits consumers by helping lower prices.

Other economists, however, believe that advertising is wasteful. They argue that
the cost of advertising adds to the cost of goods and that most advertising simply
encourages consumers to buy one brand rather than another. According to this view,
advertising simply moves sales from one company to another, rather than increasing sales
overall and thereby benefiting the economy as a whole.

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2. Social Impact

Advertising can have wide-ranging repercussions on a society. Some critics

suggest that advertising promotes a materialistic way of life by leading people to believe
that happiness is achieved by purchasing products. They argue that advertising creates a
consumer culture in which buying exciting new products becomes the foundation of the
society's values, pleasures, and goals.

Other critics express concern over the way advertising has affected women and
racial minority groups. Ads in the 1950s depicted women primarily as decoration or sex
objects. Although millions of women worked outside the home in the 1960s, ads
continued to focus on their role as homemakers. Whether owing to the feminist movement
or to women's increasing economic power, after the 1960s it became more common to see
women depicted in professional roles. However, many ads today still emphasize a
woman’s sexuality.

The way advertising has depicted racial minorities has also been harmful. Prior to
1960, African Americans were usually shown in a subordinate position. Due to the
influence of the civil rights movement, however, advertisers by the 1980s had begun to
depict African Americans as students, professionals, or business people. However, many
African American organizations and community activists continue to object to the way
that alcohol and tobacco companies have seemingly targeted low-income minority
communities with a heavy preponderance of outdoor advertising for their products.

As ads have begun to more fully reflect the lives of women and African Americans
in the United States, increasing attention has been paid to the way in which advertising
shows other ethnic groups, including Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, and Eastern
Europeans. There is still considerable debate over how advertising influences public
perception of gender and of particular ethnic groups.

Advertising has a major social impact by helping sustain mass communications

media and making them relatively inexpensive, if not free, to the public. Newspapers,
magazines, radio, and broadcast television all receive their primary income from

27
advertising. Without advertising, many of these forms of mass communication might not
exist to the extent that they do today, or they might be considerably more expensive, offer
less variety, or even be subject to government control through subsidies. In-depth news
programs, a diversity of magazines, and free entertainment might no longer be widely
available.

At the same time, however, some critics warn that because advertising plays such a
major economic role, it may exercise undue influence on the news media and thereby
curtail the free flow of information in a free society. Reporters and editors, for example,
may be hesitant to develop a news story that criticizes a major advertiser. As a result,
society might not be alerted to harmful or potentially harmful conduct by the advertiser.
Most members of the news media deny that pressure from an advertiser prevents them
from pursuing news stories involving that advertiser, but some members of the media
acknowledge that they might not be inclined to investigate an issue aggressively if it
threatened to offend a major advertiser.

Advertisers may affect media programming in other ways, too, critics charge. For
example, companies that sponsor TV programs prefer relatively wholesome,
noncontroversial programming to avoid offending a mass audience. This preference
causes TV networks to emphasize this type of programming. The result is that society may
be denied the benefits of being able to view challenging or highly original entertainment
programs or news programs on controversial issues. Because advertisers are especially
interested in attracting the 18 to 34 year olds who account for most consumers spending,
television shows are often developed with this audience in mind. If the ratings show that a
program is not attracting large audiences, particularly among 18 to 34 year olds,
advertisers often withdraw support, which causes a program to be canceled. As a result,
shows that are more likely to interest and to be of value to older audiences are not
produced.

The impact of television on young children has received much attention. Research
suggests that children see television advertising as just another form of programming and
react uncritically to its messages, which makes them especially vulnerable to advertising.

28
 There is also concern about the way in which adolescent girls respond to advertising that
features beautiful, thin models. Research indicates that many adolescent girls are unduly
influenced by this standard of beauty, become dissatisfied with their own bodies, and may
develop eating disorders in pursuit of a thin figure. New research suggests that adolescent
boys are also being influenced by advertising images of bulked-up, buffed bodies. As a
result, many become dissatisfied with their own body image, devote large amounts of time
to weightlifting, and may even take drugs that have harmful side effects in order to
develop more muscle. Those over the age of 60 are thought to be less influenced by
advertising, but some elderly people no longer process messages as easily as younger
people, making them more susceptible to questionable advertising claims.

3. Political Impact

Advertising is now a major component of political campaigns and therefore has a

big influence on the democratic process itself. In 1998 more than $467 million was spent
on election campaigns in the United States. That amount of spending placed political
advertising in the ranks of the country’s 30 leading advertisers that year. Political
advertising is a relatively new development in U.S. history. Advertising professionals did
not become involved in electoral campaigns until the 1950s. But since then, political
advertising has grown in sophistication and complexity.

Political advertising enables candidates to convey their positions on important

issues and to acquaint voters with their accomplishments and personalities. Television
advertising is especially effective for candidates running for national or statewide office
because it can reach so many people at once. Candidates can also use advertising to
respond effectively to the charges of their opponents.

Various campaign finance reform proposals, however, have tried to address the
impact of television advertising on political campaigning. Because of the high cost of
television ads, the costs of political campaigns have skyrocketed, making it necessary for
candidates to raise money continually, even after they have been elected to office. Critics
say this factor jeopardizes the democratic process by making elected officials beholden to

29
 wealthy contributors and by making it more likely that only the wealthy will run for
office. Some reform proposals have called for free airtime, but television and radio
networks have resisted this idea.

Critics of political advertising also charge that the 30-second television spot has
become more important to a political campaign than a thorough discussion of the issues.
As a result, voters are bombarded with image advertising rather than being acquainted
with the candidate’s positions. They contend that this practice is harmful to good
government. Issues are simplified, and candidates are “packaged and sold” much like a
consumer product, thereby distorting the political process.

4. Cultural Impact

Advertising can affect cultural values. Some advertising messages, for example,
encourage aggressive individualism, which may clash with the traditional cultural values
of a country where the collective or group is emphasized over the individual or humility or
modesty is preferred to aggressiveness. With the globalization of the world economy,
multinational corporations often use the same advertising to sell to consumers around the
world. Some critics argue that advertising messages are thus helping to break down
distinct cultural differences and traditional values, causing the world to become
increasingly homogeneous.

Many advertising campaigns, however, have universal appeal, overriding cultural

differences, or they contribute to culture in a positive way. Humor in advertising has made
many ad campaigns widely popular, in some cases achieving the status of folklore or
taking on new life in another arena. For example, a popular ad campaign for a fast-food
chain with the slogan “Where’s the beef?” became part of the 1980 Democratic
presidential primary campaign between Gary Hart and Walter Mondale. The ad ridiculed a
competitor by depicting a small hamburger patty dwarfed by a huge bun. During a primary
debate one of the candidates used the ad slogan to suggest that his opponent’s campaign
lacked substance.

30
31
2.1 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

The project covers the impact of emotional and fearful advertisements on consumer behavior

with in Ludhiana. It covers all the factors that are responsible for the impact of emotional and

fearful advertisements on consumer. Questionnaires were filled from the 100 respondents for

this purpose.

32
2.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To gain insight regarding the level of awareness of the respondents to the emotional
and fearful advertisements.

2. To study the extent of exposure of respondents to selected advertisements.

3. To analyze the attitude of people towards fearful advertisements.

4. To examine the factors which the respondents preferably like regarding the emotional
and fearful advertisement.

5. To study the factors which according to the respondents should be highlighted the most.

33
34
3.1 RESEARCH METHODLOGY

Research means search for knowledge or gain some new knowledge and methodology can
properly refer to the theoretical analysis of methods appropriate to the field of study or to the
body of methods and principles to the particular branch of knowledge.
A research methodology has specified framework for collecting the data in a effective manner.
Research methodology means a “defining a problem, defining the research objectives, developing
the research plan, collecting the information, analyzing the information and presentation of
findings.
Such framework is called research design. The research process that was followed by me
consisting following steps:

A. Defining the problem and research objectives

B. Developing the research plan
C. Collecting the information
D. Analyzing the information
E. Presentation of findings

A. Defining the problem and research objectives

The definition of problem includes the study of Impact of emotional and Fearful
advertisements that influence the consumer behavior.

B. Developing the research plan

The development of research plan has following steps:
1. Data source
2. Research approach
3. Research instrument
4. Sampling plan
5. Universe
6. Sample unit
7. Sample size
8. Sample technique

35
1. Data source: The researcher can get two types of data:
a) Primary data
b) Secondary data
a) Primary data
Primary data is a data which did not exist earlier and is being collected by the researcher first
time for its specific objectives. In other words, direct collection of data from the source of
information, technology including personal interview, telephonic interviews, observation,
questionnaire and thorough schedules.

b) Secondary data
Any data which have been collected earlier for some purposes are the secondary data. Indirect
collection of data from sources containing past or recent information like bank’s brochures,
annual publication, books etc. secondary sources used are:
 Text books
 Internet sites
 Brochures

2. Research approach:
Survey is best suited for descriptive and analytical research. Survey are undertaken to learn about
people’s knowledge, beliefs, preferences, satisfaction and so on and to measure these magnitudes
in the general public. Therefore, I have done this survey for descriptive and analytical research
process.
Descriptive research includes surveys and fact finding enquiries of different kinds. The main
purpose is description of the state of affairs is noted down and analytical research used to analyze
the material and facts.

36
3. Research instrument:
The research instrument is the instrument through which data is collected. A well defined
questionnaire is framed to elicit information from respondents.
Questionnaire is also known as self administrative survey, is a type of statistical survey handed
out in paper form usually to specific demographic to gather information in order to provide
better services or goods. A document that contains a set of questions that has been specifically
formulated as a means of collecting information and surveying opinions, etc on a specific
subject or theme, etc.
4. Sampling plan: sample is a group of few items which represents the population or universe
from where it has been taken.
a) Universe: all persons know about emotional and fearful advertisements.
b) Sample unit: the target population must be defined that has to be sampled. It is necessary as
to develop a sample frame so that everyone in the target population has an equal chance of
being sampled. I have completed my survey in Ludhiana.
c) Sample size: generally, large sample size gives more reliable results than small samples.
The sample consisted of 100 respondents. The sample was drawn from the people having
different educational qualifications, age groups, occupation and income. The selection of the
respondents was done on the basis of simple random sampling.
d) Sampling technique: simple random sampling is the technique in which every item in the
universe and population has an equal chance of being selected in the sample.

5. Tools of Data Analysis:

Tools of presentation:
It means what all tools are used to present the data in a meaningful way so that it becomes
easily understandable. This includes the various tables and figures used in the study.

37
3.2 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY:

Every effort was made for detailed and comprehensive study but it is a common saying
that ‘to error is human’ which makes me feel that there must be few bottlenecks. Inspire of
all the efforts to make my study perfect, few limitations still persists which are mentioned
as below:-

1. The findings of the study were based on opinion of the respondents which may be
biased and prejudiced.
2. Due to limited time period, sample size of 100 respondents was included in the study,
which can lead to the possibility of sampling error.
3. Better comparison of results would have been possible if survey could have been
focused in other cities also.
4. Constraint of time also prevented an in-depth research of the subject.

Despite these limitations, still the results entirely depend upon the nature of
information supplied by the respondents.

38
39
1. Do you read/ watch advertisement carefully?
Objective: This question was asked to know the how many respondents watch and
read advertisement.
Table 4.1
Response No. of Respondent %age of Respondents

Yes 100 100%

No 0 0%

Interpretation: In the above table it is clear that 100% respondents read and watch
advertisement carefully.

Figure 4.1

120

100
100

80

60

40

20

0
0
Yes No

40
2. Awareness about emotional and fearful advertisements
Objective: This question was asked to know the awareness regarding emotional/ fearful
advertisement.

Table 4.2

Response No. of Respondent %age of Respondents

Yes 92 92%

No 08 8%

Interpretation: In the above table, it is clear that 92% respondents know emotional and
fearful advertisements and 8 %respondents do not know.

Figure 4.2:

100%
92%
90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%
8%
10%

0%
Yes No

41
3. Watching emotional and fearful advertisements

Objective: To know whether the viewers watch emotional and fearful advertisements or
not.

Table 4.3

Response No. of respondents %age of Respondents

Yes 88 88%

No 12 12%

Interpretation: The above table shows that 88% respondents watch emotional and fearful
advertisements and 12% respondents do not watch these advertisements.

Figure 4.3

100%
88%
90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%
12%
10%

0%
Yes No

42
4. Which Media according to you is best for emotional and fearful
advertisements?
Objective: To know which media is best suited to emotional and fearful advertisements.

Table 4.4

Response No. of respondents %age of Respondents

Television 84 84%

Internet 02 2%

Newspaper 10 10%

Magazines 04 4%

Interpretation: In the given table, 84% respondents say television, 10% respondents say
newspaper, 4% respondents say magazines and 2% respondents say internet is the best
media for emotional and fearful advertisements.

Figure 4.4

90% 84%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
10% 4%
2%
0%
Television Internet Newspaper Magazines

43
5. Do you feel the emotional and fearful advertisements on various media have
made you realize by importance of these messages?

Objectives: Importance of emotional and fearful appeal

Response No. of respondents %age of Respondents

Yes 75 75%

No 20 20%

Can’t say 5 5%

Interpretation: The above table shows that 75% respondents realize the importance
of emotional and fearful appeal in the advertisement whereas 20% don’t realize the
same.

Fig 5
80 75

70

60

50

40

30
20
20

10 5

0
Yes No Can’t say

44
6. Kindly express your opinion regarding the effectiveness of emotional and
fearful advertisements with respect to the following parameters.

Objectives: This question was asked to measure the effect of emotional and fearful
advertisement.

Table 4.6

Response No. of respondents %age of Respondents

Most effective 30 30%

Effective 55 55%

Least effective 15 15%

Interpretation: The above table shows that 55% respondents think that these
advertisements are effective and 30% strongly believe that fearful advertisement are
most effective.
Fig.4.6

60
55

50

40

30
30

20
15

10

0
Most effective Effective Least effective

45
7. How often you rely on buying products through fearful advertisements
Objective: To know how often buyers rely on buying products through fearful
advertisements.

Table 4.7

Response No. of respondents %age of Respondents

Very Often 34 34%

Less Often 66 66%

Interpretation: In the above table, it shows that 66% respondents say less often
they rely on buying products through fearful advertisements and 34% respondents
say very often.

Figure 4.7

70
65

60

50

40
35

30

20

10

0
Very often Less often

46
8. Had it been not the emotional/ fearful advantage would you still buy the
product?
Objective: To know that, the person will still buy product because of emotional or fearful
advantage in the advertisements.

Table 4.7

Response No. of respondents %age of Respondents

Yes 64 64%

No 34 36%

Interpretation: The above table shows that, 64 respondents say yes because they still
purchase product and 34respondent say no.

Figure 4.7

70
64

60

50

40
34

30

20

10

0
Yes No

47
9. Types of Products that have been purchased
Objective: To know the products those have been purchased by the consumer.

Table 4.8:

Response No. of respondents %age of Respondents

Insurance products 18 18%

Oils and eatables 38 38%

Baby Products 12 12%

Health Supplement 32 32%

Interpretation: In the given table 18 respondents have been purchased insurance

products, 38 respondents oils on eatables, 12 respondents baby products, 32 respondents
health supplements.

Figure 4.8: Products have been purchased

40 38

35 32
30

25

20 18

15 12
10

0
Insurance products Oils and eatables Baby Products Health Supplement

48
10. Are you satisfied with the result/ performance of such products?
Objectives: To know the satisfaction level of consumers.

Table 4.10

Response No. of respondents %age of Respondents

Yes 80 80%

No 20 20%

Interpretation: The above table shows that 80% of the respondents are satisfied with
their purchase

Fig.4.10

90
80
80

70

60

50

40

30
20
20

10

0
Yes No

49
11. Will you recommend the products purchased by you to other people?
Objective: To know about whether product is recommended by the respondent to other or
not.

Table 4.9

Response No. of respondents %age of Respondents

Yes 82 82%

No 18 18%

Interpretation: In this table, 82 respondents say they recommend the products to others
and 18 respondents say they do not recommend the products to others used by them.

Figure 4.9

90
82
80

70

60

50

40

30
18
20

10

0
Yes No

50
12. Emotional and fear appeal are more strong motivators to buy a product?

Objective: To know the degree of emotion and fear as a motivator to buy a product.

Table 4.12

Response No. of respondents %age of Respondents

Strongly agree 5 5%

Agree 45 45%

Neutral 20 20%

Disagree 25 25%

Strongly disagree 5 5%

Interpretation: It shows that, out of 100 respondents 80% realize the importance of these
messages on various media and 20% respondents do not realize.

Figure 4.12

45
45
40
35
30 25
25 20
20
15
10 5 5
5
0
Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
agree disagree

51
52
5.1 FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY
The main objectives of the study were to find the extent of exposure and level of awareness of
respondents to these emotional and fearful advertisements, to analyze the attitude of the people
towards these advertisements in terms of change of attitude and behavior. To achieve these
objectives, a survey was conducted in Ludhiana city. The findings as per study were as follow:-

 All the respondents were aware of emotional and fearful advertisements.

 All the respondents watched emotional and fearful advertisements.
 Majority of the respondents preferred TV to be the best media for emotional
advertisements followed by Newspaper, magazines and internet.
 Respondents’ opinion regarding the convincing power of the emotional advertisement is
effective.
 Maximum number of respondents said that the media has made the importance of
emotional and fearful advertisements.
 Respondents less often believed to purchase products through fearful advertisements.
 Most of the respondents said that it is the emotional and fearful reason they would
purchase the product.
 Most of the respondents purchased oils on eatables followed by health supplements,
insurance and baby products by seeing emotional and fearful advertisements.
 Maximum numbers of respondents recommend other people about the products to use
purchased by them.

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54
6.1 SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

 Advertisement should be made with keeping the determinants of effectiveness in mind.

 Advertisement should be according to the product and its suitability with different age
groups.

 To make advertisement more effective all the determinants of effectiveness should be

taken care of.

 Investment in advertisement should be made with great care of media of advertisement

and type of advertisement.

 Advertisers should develop new and more effective ways of advertisement.

 Advertisement appeal must be original, unique and not just copy of competitors.

 Advertising appeals should be strong enough to affect change in attitude and action of
audience.

 Advertising appeal should be simple so that it can be understood by the target audience.

55
6.2 CONCLUSION

In today’s competitive and a globalised economy the need and importance of advertising
is increasing day by day, as the development in all fields is taking place rapidly. Advertising is
really a very interesting and a very important topic related to marketing as marketing depends a
lot on advertising. Advertising helps the advertiser to communicate the message to the consumer
in a proper manner.

Everyone needs advertising for promoting its products or services in this competitive
market. Advertising acts a tool for the companies to inform the consumers about the latest product
in the market and also to give reminder to the consumers for already existing products in the
market. Advertising is useful for both the advertiser and the consumer, as the companies boost
their sales through it and development and in future we may see more different type of advertising
as compare to today’s and consumer get the knowledge of the product or service in the market.
Advertising has really changed from past to present, today advertising is done in a totally
different and in an extra ordinary manner from the previous years, its appeal and impact is more
as compare to past, this is because of globalization advertising.

Emotional advertisements have a substantial impact on consumer attitudes, as well as upon

purchase intentions. As per the result of the study, most of the respondents were aware of the
concept of emotional and fearful advertisements. The TV media has been cited as the chief and
most successful medium for the messages, followed by newspaper, magazines and internet. All
the respondents understood the message of all advertisements. All the respondents identified
themselves with the character portrayal in the advertising and found the message relevant to their
lives. All the respondents felt that the flood of the communication had a significant change in the
lives of people. The findings of this study revealed that TV media has a very high communication
potential. People tend to turn to the TV media during portion of their leisure time. These media
made the importance of advertising messages. Because of emotional advertisements people have
been purchasing lots of products like insurance, health supplements, baby products.

56
57
Electronic sites used:
www.scribd.com

www.Buzzle.com

www.suite101.com

www.articleswave.com

Books:

1. Trehan Ranju, Mukesh, “Advertising and sales management” V.K. publications.

2. Schiffman G. Leon., “Consumer Behaviour” ninth edition Pearson publications.

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59
 QUESTIONAIRE

Dear respondents, I am Samardeep Singh student of M.B.A – IV semester of GGNIMT Ludhiana, is

conducting a survey for the project report entitled “IMPACT OF EMOTIONAL AND FEARFUL
ADVERTISEMENT ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR”. So, I want your co-operation in this work. I will
be obliged if you fill below mentioned questionnaire:

Ques. 1 Do you read/ watch advertisement carefully?

Yes No

Ques. 2 Are you aware of emotional and fearful advertisements?

Yes No

Ques. 3 Do you watch emotional and fearful advertisements?

Yes No

Ques.4 Which media according to you is best for emotional and fearful advertisements?

Television Internet

News paper Magazines

Ques.5 Do you feel the emotional and fearful advertisements on various media have made you
realize the importance of these messages?

Yes No

Ques.6 Kindly express your opinion regarding the effectiveness of emotional and fearful
advertisements with respect to the following parameters.

Most effective Effective

Least effective

Ques.7 How often you rely on buying products through fearful advertisements?

Very often Less often

60
Ques.8 Had it been not the emotional/ fearful advantage would you still buy the product?

Yes No

Ques.9 Which Products have been purchased?

Insurance Oils and Eatables

Baby Products Health Supplements

Ques.10 Are you satisfied with the result/ performance of such products?

Yes No

Ques.11 Will you recommend the products purchased by you to other people?

Yes No

Qes.12 Emotional and fear appeal are more strong motivators to buy a product?

Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Personal profile:

Name: _____________________

Sex: Male [ ] Female [ ]

Qualification: Post Graduate [ ] Graduate [ ]

Matric or below [ ]

Profession: Student [ ] Business class [ ]

Service class [ ] Housewife [ ]

Age: __________________________
Contact no. : ___________________
Location: ______________________

61