1.1 Introduction
Advertising is an age-long communication instrument employed by manufacturers of goods and providers of services to promote and market their products and services. Over time, different methods and tools have been applied with the overall objective of persuasively convincing potential consumers to patronize the advertised product (Aliede, 2006; Nwosu & Nkamnebe, 2006; Anyacho, 2007; Richards, Daugherty & Logan, 2009; Sindhya, 2013). In rural communities, crude methods like the use of hawking with words of mouth, bells, whistles, drums and the like by sellers along streets and in open markets to attract customers‟ attention to products and services are still in use.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Internet advertising has evolved dramatically since its inception in 1994 when the first banner adverts appeared on the Hotwired site (Adams, 1995 as cited by Li et al., 2002). The advent of the Internet brought with it a lot of issues, some positive while some are negative. Several vistas of human endeavor have also been impacted by the new media. Many professions, associations and institutions in recent times, have their own story to tell regarding new media and its associated technologies. The Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) as a body which has the duty of regulating the advertising profession in Nigeria seem to have a lot on their hands with over 93 million Nigerians said to be internet users (PM News, 2015).
In Nigeria, formal advertising started with the establishment of the West African Publicity Limited, by United Africa Company (UAC) to provide marketing support services to the company. This was to later transform to Lever International Advertising Services (LINTAS). The entrant of the mass media, especially the electronic/broadcast, transformed advertising as their massive outreach, linguistic barrier breakage, audio-visual quality, immediacy and use of animation, among others, not only strengthened advertising, but also took it to greater heights. The multi-faceted approach at the disposal of advertising, with the readiness of businesses/sponsors to take the advertising bills, propelled the massive boost witnessed by businesses which aided the industrial revolution in the United States of America (Aliede, 2005). Needs are tailored by the mass media to create public demand for utterly useless commodities, each carefully engineered to deteriorate after a predetermined period of time. The plundering of the human spirit by the marketplace is paralleled by the plundering of the earth by capitalism.” Lightcap & Peek (2012), Talafuse & Brizek (2012), Samar & Samreen (2015), Adigun & Akinbinu (2017) observe that the change it has brought to the advertising industry is unimaginable. Jain & Yadav (2017) sum it up by stating that technology has totally altered the perspective of marketing.
Therefore, in Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Internet Use, Abuse or Misuse By Advertising Practitioners in Nigeria.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation reveals the influence of advertising tends to be contentious, even with the advent of digital technologies that have brought more opportunities for increased output and impact. However, Akhagba (2014) maintains that the emergence of the new media in the field of advertising has set a standard for advertising practitioners and agencies to brace up for the highly competitive industry.
Television, radio, newspapers and magazines are no longer the exclusive platforms for relaying advertising messages. The new media have entered the scene and as it were, getting and gaining their fair share of the ‘advertising cake’ thus liberalizing the advertising landscape. One therefore wonders how the advertising regulatory body in Nigeria popularly called the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, APCON is coping with the advent of these new trends in advertising landscape. This paper therefore seeks to examine the position of APCON on the use of the Internet by advertising agencies, practitioners and individuals who engage in online advertising.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to scrutinize the Internet Use, Abuse or Misuse By Advertising Practitioners in Nigeria using Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To find out Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria’s position regarding Internet advertising
- To identify the extent to which the Internet poses a challenge to the practice of advertising in Nigeria
- To determine the effects of the Internet on advertising practice in Nigeria
- To determine the degree of compliance in Internet advertising to the basic principles of advertising
- To ascertain the impact of digital technologies on the practice of advertising in Nigeria.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- What is the current position of APCON on Internet advertising?
- What extent of challenge does the Internet pose to the practice of advertising in Nigeria?
- What is the degree of compliance to basic advertising principles in Internet advertising?
- What effects does Internet advertising have on advertising practice in Nigeria?
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