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The Influence of Advertising on Consumerbehaviour and Preferences Of Health drink.

*B.JAYAPRAKASH **MD.S.RAHAMAN

Abstract
The market communication of assorted brands of food drinks in the country has led to cut-throat competition for increased market share being witnessed among the operators in the food drink industry. When competition is keen and the consumers are faced with brand choice in the market, it becomes imperative for the manufacturer to understand the major factors that can attract the attention of buyers to his own brand. These then form the basis for marketing planning and action. This study, which was based on a survey of randomly selected consumers of food drinks in Vijayawada city in Andhra Pradesh, examined the role played by advertising in influencing consumers preference for the leading food drink brands in the Food and Beverage industry .Results revealed that both male and female and different age groups were influenced by advertising in their preference for the various brands of the food drink studied. The major reasons advanced for the preference are its captivating advertising and quality. The need for high preference to advertising is therefore highlighted for companies that want to not only retain their market but take positive steps to increase their market share. The study reported here some steps towards understanding various factors influence the behavior and preferences of consumer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B.Jaya Prakash is presently working as an Associate Professor in the Department of Business Administration, PG Centre P.B. Siddhartha College of Arts & Science, Vijayawada

Email;jp_bolimpalli@yahoo.co.in

.** Md.S. Rahman is presently working as an Assist.Professor in the Department of Business Administration, PG Centre P.B. Siddhartha College of Arts & Science, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh

Cell 9866965767,email .mdsrahaman2007@yahoo.com

Introduction
The proliferation of assorted brands of food drinks in the Vijayawada city has led to cutthroat competition for increased market share being witnessed among the operators in the food drink industry. When competition is keen and the consumers are faced with brand choice in the market, it becomes imperative for the manufacturers to understand the major factors that can attract the attention of buyers to his own brand. These then form the basis for marketing planning and action. This study, which was based on a survey of 146 randomly selected consumers of food drinks Vijayawada city examined the role played by advertising in influencing consumers preference for various brands, in the Food and Beverage industry in Vijayawada. Results revealed that both male and female and different age groups were equally influenced by advertising in their preference for the brand. 31.50% of the consumers showed preference for Boost out of the various brands of the food drink studied. The major reasons advanced for the preference are its captivating advertising (49.31%) and rich quality (48.63%). TV advertising was most preferred by 52%of the respondents of all the media used in advertising Boost. The need for high preference to advertising is therefore highlighted for companies that want to not only retain their market but take positive steps to increase their market share

The essence of being in business by any business outfits is to produce for sales and profits. Order to remain in business an organization must generate enough sales from its products to cover operating costs and post reasonable profits. Many organizations, sales estimate is the starting point in budgeting or profit planning. Connection between customers and sales, it is expedient for organizations to engage in programmes that can influence consumers decision to purchase its products. This is where advertising and brand management are relevant. Advertising subset of promotion mix which is one of the elements in the marketing mix. As a promotional strategy, advertising serve as a major tool in creating product awareness and condition the mind of a potential consumer to take eventual purchase decision.

Advertising and Consumer Behavior


Advertisers primary mission is to reach prospective customers and influence their awareness, attitudes and buying behavior. They spend a lot of money to keep individuals

(markets) interested in their products. To succeed, they need to understand what makes potential customers behave the way they do. The advertisers goals is to get enough relevant market data to develop accurate profiles of buyers-to-find the common group (and symbols) for communications this involves the study of consumers behavior: the mental and emotional processes and the physical activities of people who purchase and use goods and services to satisfy particular needs and wants It tries to determine the

factors that influence consumer behaviour,specially the economic, social and psychological aspects which can indicate the most favored marketing mix that management should select. Consumer behavior analysis helps to determine the direction that consumer behavior is likely to make and to give preferred trends in product development, attributes of the alternative communication method etc. consumer behaviors analysis views the consumer as another variable in the marketing sequence, a variable that cannot be controlled and that will interpret the product or service not only in terms of the physical characteristics, but in the context of this image according to the social and psychological make up of that individual consumer (or group of consumers). Objectives To find out the brand preference for health drinks in Vijayawada city. To study the factors influencing brand preference for health drink

To identify the source of awareness for health drink. To examine the influence of advertising on consumer buying behavior
To determine the influence of age on advertising
Research Methodology

Primary data has been collected for the research study in Vijayawada city of Andhra Pradesh, India. The major data for the work were collected by means of structured questionnaire .one hundred and forty copies of questionnaire were administered on the members of the public through trained personnel. The research design involves descriptive style. Consumers of various age groups have been conducted with the research survey. The sample size was 146 and the sampling technique used is convenience sampling. The research instrument used was questionnaire and it comprises both open and close-ended questions. Personal interview has been conducted among the target respondents.

Limitations Chances of respondents' bias are involved in the research. As the research is restricted with Vijayawada city of Andhrapradesh, India the results are not applicable to other parts of the State or country. Limited number of respondents has been chosen due to time constraint and this could affect the accuracy of result to certain extent. Analysis and Interpretation Vital socioeconomic parameters of interest were investigated to bring salient characteristics of the respondents Table;1 Destitution of Consumer by Age and Gender Age 10-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 Total Male 22 28 11 9 4 74 Female 19 32 12 6 3 72 Total 41 60 23 15 7 146

Source: Analysis of Field Survey (2011)

Table1, above revealed that consumers of the products are almost evenly distributed among both sexes, with the number of males marginally higher than that of female. This may suggest gender neutrality in the consumption of the product as presented above. Table;2 Consumers Brand Preference {Male} Brand Bourn vita Horlikcs Milo Boost Complan Protenix Others Total 10-20 1 6 0 9 7 0 0 23 21-30 4 5 1 10 6 1 0 27 31-40 2 6 0 2 2 0 0 12 41-50 2 2 0 1 0 1 0 6 51-60 1 0 0 4 0 1 0 6 Total 10 19 1 26 15 3 0 74

Source: Analysis of Field Survey (2011)

Table; 3 Consumers Brand Preference {Female} Brand Bourn vita Horlicks Milo Boost Complan Protenix Others Total 10-20 5 7 0 9 4 1 0 23 21-30 3 6 0 9 3 1 0 27 31-40 3 5 0 2 2 0 0 12 41-50 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 6 51-60 1 4 0 0 0 0 1 6 Total 15 24 0 20 9 3 1 72

Source: Analysis of Field Survey (2011)

Table 3 &4 shows that the three brands (Boost, Horlicks, Bourn vita,) made up more than 75% of the brand preference of consumers. The large number of brands highlights the high competitiveness of the industry and the need for concerted efforts by the various companies not only to maintain their market but to increase their market share.

Table;4 Consumers Brand Preference( Both male, female) Brand Boost Horlicks Bourn vita Complan Protenix Milo Others Total Respondents 46 43 25 24 6 1 1 146
Source: Analysis of Field Survey (2011)

% Respondents 31.50 29.45 17.12 16.43 4.83 0.68 0.68

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 6

From the above table it can be inferred that nearly 31.5 percent of the respondents prefer Boost when comparing with any other brand. Top of the mind awareness is also same .It can also be inferred that 2945 percent of the respondents prefer Horlicks and are aware of them. Table; 5 The reasons for brand preference by the consumers Reason Respondents % Respondents Advertising Quality Availability Price Packaging 72 71 1 1 1 49.31 48.63 0.68 0.68 0.68

Source Field Survey (2011)

The reasons for brand preference by the consumers depicted by the Table 5 above range from Advertising (49.31) to Packaging (0.68). The important role of advertising in retaining and increasing the companys market is obvious from the result and instructive to the management of the company. Advertising and Quality difference made up about 99% of the reason for the observed brand preference. Table 4 shows Boost topped the preference. Table:6 : Advertising influence on age group Respondents Yes % Respondents Yes NO 105 41 72 28

Source Field Survey (2011

The implication of this is that whether male or female, the advertising impact affects the respondents alike. The purpose of advertising in creating awareness and influencing purchasing decision in consumers can be achieved through effective campaign aimed at well-selected target market irrespective of the age group in the chosen market segment.

CONCLUSION A number of important conclusions can drawn from the findings of this study which have policy implications for the health drink industry. Brand preference does exist in the health drink industry. Many consumers do not buy whatever available or affordable if a product is good value its price, it will command brand loyalty. However, advertising helps in projecting product quality and value before the consumers. This is what is applicable to Boost, Horlicks and Bourn vita. Presently Advertising has a major influence on consumers preference for Boost and it has, no small measure, contributed to its success. The same thing goes for its quality. Having been known for more than between 10 and 30 years by majority of the respondents and still remain their favorite food drink. The brand has definitely enjoyed a prolonged life cycle apparently being regenerated by advertising. The stage a product in its life cycle is very important to a marketer It help in determining the type of marketing strategies to be embarked upon in respect of the said product. From this study, Boost is apparently a mature product among the youth and the companys management must ensure that it does not slip to decline stage as this may mark the beginning of demise. Towards this end, the management is advised to carry out the following: researches continuously into quality improvement that will make consumers enjoy good value for money paid to purchase the brand. Develop more effective advertising campaign that attracts consumers attention and capture their interest. At this stage the companys advertising messages should both be persuasive and reminder-oriented. The messages must be strong and appealing enough to persuade and build brand preferences, encourage switching to the companys brand by changing the perception of the consumers of rival brands the product. Comparative advertising, a variant of persuasive advertising, could be useful in this regard as it seeks to establish the superiority of one brand through specific comparison with one or more other brands in their product class. With regards to the advertising media, this study revealed that Television is currently the most potent of all media used in advertising a product. In view of this, more consideration should be given to television as a medium of advertising. This may be because Television combines motion, sound, and special visual effects. The product can be demonstrated and described on T.V. it also offers wide geographic coverage and flexibility as to when the message can be presented.

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