Problem Specification

Advertising as one of the activities of external marketing “whether it is on an international, national, local or direct basis, is important, as it can influence audiences by informing or reminding them of the existence of the brand, or alternatively by persuading them or helping to differentiate a product or organization from others in the market”. (Fill, 2005, p.508) Advertising, especially TV advertising, plays a very important role in organizations‟ communication with its customers. 

From consumers‟ perspective, Fill (2005, p.511) says that advertising is viewed together with customers‟ experience and also recollection of the brand. It means that the role of feeling that customers get from advertising is essential for building brand awareness and brand strength. The good (in its emotional and informative context) advertising will not leave viewers indifferent. It will stir up feelings and inspire purchases, and will be beneficial for both producers and consumers.

In order to create the effective advertisement, it is important to understand target audience’s behavior during the whole decision-making process (Kotler & Keller, 2006, pp. 191-199), which can be summarized in the following sequence:

Figure 1: Consumer Decision Making Process (inspired by Kotler & Keller, 2006, p.191)

While rational (functional) customer behavior is not complicated for understanding as it is driven by logic and purpose, the emotional component is sometimes not so easy to explain and evaluate (Stout & Rust, 1993). Recognition of the motives that drive customers‟ decisions is important for the company that seeks the ideas for the new commercials. Evans et al. (2006, p.7) distinguish between external and internal motivation. The internal motivation comes from the customer and is related to his/her needs, demands, and emotions, and is often accompanied with the “physiological base” (hunger, thirst, etc.). 

The external motivation comes from the surroundings and is based on an attractiveness of products/services; it often develops into internal motivation in form of preference for certain products/services, situations. Advertising can be seen as an external motivator that through its attractiveness and stimulation forces is able to influence the customers‟ attitudes toward the product/service, and encourages the consumer-producer relationships: purchase and post-purchase interactions.

Consequently, advertising is said to have an impact on the consumers‟ behavior and personal attitudes towards the product/service. The interest stimulated by the commercials will determine the level of customers‟ involvement in purchasing process: high or low. (Evans et al., 2006, p.98)

The advertisement content and appeal can be stimuli for the watchers to pay attention to the message, process the information, compare it with what the other companies in the same marketing niche are saying, and finally make a decision concerning the product/service. The advertisement involves customers in the learning process and the depth of the involvement will depend on both, watchers‟ personal needs as well as the effectiveness of the advertisement. (Evans et al., 2006, p.99)

Given all the nuances associated with the advertising influential power on the consumer behavior, it was interesting to analyse the particular company, Tele2 AB advertising campaign (see Appendix A), and to see the telecommunication company understanding of the advertising process and its impact on consumers.

Research Question

Main Question: „

What are the differences and similarities between public attitudes and responses towards the series of Tele2 commercials and actual Tele2‟s expectations of customers‟ attitudes towards their commercials?‟

Sub-Questions:

„How did customers‟ perceive TV commercials and responded to them?‟ „What were company’s expectations of customer perception of the campaign?‟