THE ROLE OF ADVERTISING IN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN IMO STATE

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

Advertising is one word that has been given different definitions by authors and these definitions in various ways portray what advertising is all about. According to Tother (1988) advertising refers to any non-personal or one way form of communication conducted through paid medium under dear sponsorship. Stanton W,J (1983) says that advertising consists of all the activity involved in presenting to a group, a non- personal, oral or usual, openly sponsored message regarding a product, service or idea.

According to American marketing association (1960) “Advertising can be defined as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods and services by an identified sponsor”.

In (2002) Rotler defined, advertising as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or service by an identified sponsor. From the above definitions, it is obvious that advertising is a paid communication undertaken by an identified sponsor and governing all business activities. These activities may include placement of announcement and messages of products and services on the television, radio, magazines, newspapers, outdoor leaflets etc. with the aim of creating awareness

Advertising is important at the introductory stage because when a company introduces a new product or services, it has to inform its potential customers of the existence of such product or services. The need for it, where it can be found, how it can be used and in some cases the price at which it can be obtained. It is also very important in sustaining already existing product or services in the market. This is because one cannot take up an airplane and cut often the engine. Advertising is the force that elevate the products or service high and if it is suddenly cut off there will be a downward phase of the product and services.

Moreover, advertising has proved to be more efficient and less costly source of information than any other sources (Wright et al 1983). Another important aspect of advertising is that it creates or stimulates demand for a product or service through persuasion. Advertising creates demand for a product or services where such a demand did not previously exist and even where there is such demand for such products or services.

Thus, government, social organization have all used advertising and even religious organizations use advertising, so advertising is not for only business firms but also for other organizations. Advertisement are cost effective way to disseminate messages, where to build brand preference for a product and service or to educate people to avoid hard drugs.

Organizations handle their advertising in different ways. In small companies, advertising is handled by someone in the sales or marketing department, who works with an advertising agency. A large company will often set up its own advertising department, whose manager reports to the vice president of marketing. The advertising departments job is to propose a budge and handle direct mail advertising, dealer displays and other forms of advertising, most companies use an outside agency to help create advertising compaign and to select and purchase media. Advertising has a conjurer affect that lasts beyond the current period.

Although advertising is treated as a current expense, part of it is really an investment that builds up an intangible asset called brand equity. When N5M is spent on capital equipment, the equipment may be treated as a five year depreciable asset and only one fifth of the cost is written off in the first year. When N5m is spent on advertising to launch a new product, the entire cost must be written off in the first year.

Thus treatment of advertising reduces the company's reported profit and therefore limits the number of new products launches a company can undertake in any one year. This study however is not aimed at all aspects of advertising, in tourism development in Imo State. And the study is to bring into time light how advertising has played a major role in the states tourism board, owerri has been selected as the case organization. Decree 54 of 1976 established a body known as Nigeria tourism board. The same decree 54 gave rise to tourism committee at the state level and at the local government level, within of the sort was in existence – but on the 31st of Dec. 1997 The decree was charged by decree 81, which changed the name of the body from Nigeria tourism board to Nigeria tourism development cooperation which has its head office at Abuja.

The same decree 81 created 36 state tourism boards. And at the local government level 774 tourism committee were created by decree 81 of 1992. Imo state tourism board is the charge of all tourism attractions in the stage like business tourism, educations tourism etc. And due to the hospitability of the people of the state and peaceful atmosphere, the state tourism board advertises to the general public the tourism attractions in the state by the publication tourism today and through electronic media.

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1.2 Statement of the Problem

Imo state has for sometime been experiencing immense improvement in tourism. The state is one of the few states in the country that is being patronized in terms of tourism and Imo State tourism board owerri is the body behind the development of tourism in the state. And the state tourism board has many tourism attractions like arts etc. in tourism, Imo State is not the only state that has tourism board but its services is always being sought by tourists in the country and foreign tourists.

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1.3 Significance of Study

This study is very timely because many company executives are still not sure of how much attention and money that will be accrued to advertising. Marketing managers stand to benefit tremendously by this study because the study will make clearer the role of advertising in business, which cannot be replaced by any other promotion. Marketing will be complete without advertising because it stands out in the crowed. This study will help to correct the impression in some marketing managers that advertising is meant to generate as must sales as possible not minding the means. They will lean through this study that advertising must not over step social and legal norms.

This study will be of immense benefit to all state governments in Nigeria, also to the organized private sector. The study will make known the important role of advertising in both tangible products and services. And the study will enable the federal state and local governments to stop wasting huge sum of money which are not being channeled well. And the study will make the country's aspiration of high economic growth and development in this democratic dispensation attainable. The marketing students are not least out of the benefits. The study is educational and exposition in the sense that students will be exposed more to the exiciting part of advertising. The role advertising plays in business may have obscured to the student but through this study the researcher intends to shed more light on it.

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1.4 Objectives of the Study

To find out the role advertising plays in the development of tourism the researcher intends looking at these objectives in the cause of the study;

1. To find out how advertising stimulate demand in tourism.
2. To find out the role advertising plays in the development of tourism.
3. To appraise whether advertising has really contributed favourably to tourism development in Imo State.
4. Determine the extent advertising have gone in increase of tourism development in Imo State.
5. To find out how advertising contribute to the dissemination of product or service to target markets.
6. To appraise the contribution of advertising to profitability in tourism development.
7. To make recommendations as to how to make advertising more effective and efficient in tourism development.

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1.5 Research Questions

In study the researcher intends to find out:

• Why Imo state tourism board is a success in tourism?
• Is the success as a result of the role advertising play?
• Why do people prefer the state tourism centers to other state tourism centers?
• Is advertising here asking the demand for tourism in the state?

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1.6 Statement of Hypothesis

The following hypothetical statement are designed to help the researcher in his analysis. They are represented both in null and alternative hypothesis. Ho is used for null hypothesis while H1 for alternative hypothesis.

Hypothesis 1

• H0: Advertising does not favour tourism development.
• H1: Advertising affect tourism development favorably

Hypothesis II

• H0: Advertising has not enhanced operational efficiency and effectiveness in Imo state tourism board owned.
• H1: Advertising has enhanced operational efficiency and effectiveness in Imo state tourism board owned.

Hypothesis III

• H0: The use of advertising has not been of help to Imo state tourism board, owerri.
• H1: The use of advertising has been of help to Imo state tourism board, owerri.

Hypothesis IV

• H0: Advertising does not effectively inform the consumers of the services rendered by Imo state tourism board Owerri.
• H1: Advertising inform the consumers effectively of the services rendered by Imo state tourism board render.

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1.7 Scope of the Study

The study will be on the role of advertising in tourism development. And the study will be carried out in owerri metropolis. It is a case study of Imo state tourism board, owerri.