Research report on advertising behaviour, trust in traditional, new media
The Bureau of Market Research (BMR) at Unisa has released a research report entitled The Role Of Traditional and New Media Advertising in Consumers' Time Constrained Lives. It concludes that the post-modern perception of time and the increasing influence of technology on media usage have impacted on advertising media preferences and engagement, as well as the attitude towards and usage of various advertising media.
It also found that advertising behaviour and trust in traditional and new media differ between affluent, middle and mass market consumers.
Television, radio, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, billboards, demonstrations and word-of-mouth were classified in the research study as 'traditional advertising media', whereas the Internet and Internet-enabled cellphones were categorised under 'new advertising media'.
According to Prof Pierre Joubert, research director of the BMR's Behavioural and Communication Division, the perception in all three consumer markets prevails that the pace of life and related technological innovations have accelerated during the past few years. However, the degree of acceleration differs between consumer segments. with the affluent market expressing the strongest feelings in this regard.
Jacolize Poalses, junior researcher from the Behavioural and Communication Research Division states further that an acceleration of the speed of life, coupled with the ever evolving role of technology, affects people's experience of time. Therefore, consumers' lived experience of time amongst the various socioeconomic segments plays a profound role in their emotional reaction and ultimately their approach towards advertising media.
Less trusting of advertising
According to Poalses, the trend that consumers are becoming more sophisticated and less trusting of traditional advertising emerged as a predominant theme during the study. The current economic climate also appears to have resulted in an increasing reliance on word-of-mouth advertising and testimonials from family, friends and role models, although the manner in which word-of-mouth information is gathered differs amongst the various consumer segments.
Research themes
Six group discussions amongst 52 South African adult consumers from different social backgrounds were included in the BMR research. The themes addressed during focus group discussions included:
- current advertising behaviour
- changing perceptions of advertising media
- perceived challenges facing the advertising media industry
- trust in traditional and new media.
Participants were invited to share their perceptions of the role that advertising media fulfil, taking into account its societal and economic role. Particular mindsets and personal value sets were discovered through themes relating to conspicuous consumption, the influence of role models, preference for different advertising media, symbolism versus literal interpretations and understanding of proverbs, sayings, metaphors and quotes used in conveying information in advertisements. Collectivism and individualism, as societal values, were furthermore discussed as consumer decision-making drivers.
In addition, the report reflects secondary analysis of consumers' attitude towards advertising, consumers' lived experience of time, the relationship between consumer and media advertising and advertising value versus advertising attitude in relation to advertising media.
Outcomes
Joubert and Poalses conceptualise the outcome of the research findings on the role of traditional and new media advertising in consumers' time constrained lives in the figure below. The focal themes explored in the qualitative research involve the perceptions of the affluent (purple oval), middle (green oval) and mass markets (orange oval) pertaining to current advertising behaviour, evolution of changing media advertising, trust in traditional and new media as well as the perceived challenges facing the advertising media industry.
The concentric circles denote the intensity level of each of the four focal themes. Pale blue indicates Distrust / prefers traditional media advertising / limited usage of media advertising / unaware of challenges facing the advertising media industry. Royal blue indicates Limited trust / combines traditional and new media advertising / broader usage of media advertising / broad awareness of challenges facing the advertising media industry. Dark blue indicates Trust / prefers new media advertising / broad usage of media advertising / broader understanding of challenges facing the advertising media industry
This 50-page report is available from the Bureau of Market Research - email az.ca.asinu@mzteog.
