INFLUENCE OF TELEVISION ADVERTISEMENTS ON TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANIES CONSUMERS’ PSYCHOLOGICAL BUYING BEHAVIOR IN KENYA

Mercy Kangai Micheni

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

Dr. Agnes W. Njeru

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

Beatrice Wanjiru

Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology (RVIST), Kenya

ABSTRACT

Television advertising is a very effective tool of communicating message to its target audience as it has the ability to combine visual & audio communication and thus this makes advertisements an important medium to make people aware of any products. This study set out to investigate the influence of television advertisements on telecommunication company’s consumers’ psychological buying behavior in Kenya. This study establishes the effects of celebrity endorsement on consumers buying behavior. The study assesses the influence of visual presentations of television advertisements on consumer psychological buying behavior. Using Kress and Van Leeuwen’s Multimodal Discourse Analysis theory, the study examines the manipulation of modes of signification on the Kenyan television advertisements so as to project the desired images. This study was based on attitude toward the ad theoretical model, which was used to examine the relationship between variables.  Descriptive survey research design was carried out amongst consumers of telecommunication products in Kenya. The target population was over 10,000 consumers comprising of the four telecommunications companies in Nairobi, Kenya. Purposive sampling was used to select the consumers amongst the four telecommunication companies. The sample size was made up of 324 respondents who were representatives of the target population. Data collection was done using a combination of open ended and closed ended questionnaires and interview schedule to establish the. Piloting was conducted to establish the validity and reliability of the instruments. Descriptive statistics involving frequencies and percentages were used to analyze quantitative and qualitative data. 57.4% of the respondents indicated that celebrity endorsements in the advertisements influence the consumers’ psychological buying behavior while 69.1% indicated that visual presentation influences the consumers’ psychological buying behavior. The current study revealed that several visual presentations used on television advertisements that is; lighting, color, music, animation and slogans have a great impact on consumers’ psychological buying behavior. 32.5% rated Animations as the most influential visual presentation used in the television advertisements to influence consumers’ buying behavior.

Full Text PDF Format