Prospects And Analysis Of Advertisement And Branding

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Introduction

Background

Advertising
has been around for thousand of years. Once way of looking at the cave
paintings of Lascaux, which are about 16,000 years old, is advertising […]”

(Sangeeta Sharma, 2006, page no. 18)

“Advertising can be
traced back to the very beginnings of recorded history. Archaeologists working
in the countries around the Mediterranean Sea dug up signs announcing various
events and offers. The Romans painted walls to announce gladiator fights […]
during the Golden Age in Greece, town criers announced the sale of cattle,
crafted items and even cosmetics […]”
(Kotler
et al. 2002, p. 661).

Today, advertising is a
multi-billion industry, employing hundreds of thousands of people and affecting
billions of people’s lives worldwide. Yet, seeing as advertising clutter has
increased tremendously and is more intense than ever, it is vital that
companies differentiate themselves from competitors by creating even more
powerful, entertaining and innovative advertisement messages, as well as
sponsoring different events.

International advertisement
spending exceeded $800 billion (http://techcrunch.com)
in 2010, it is believed that spending will maintain a 7 per cent growth rate
for the next couple of years, increasing to an estimated $820 billion this year
and to $852 billion next year. However, as a consequence of long-term changes,
such as the increase of a larger and more diverse range of media, as well as
the arrival of new technologies, particularly the Internet, consumers have
become better informed than ever, and as a result, some of the traditional
advertising methods are no longer as effective as they used to be (www.economist.com). Instead, firms have
increasingly employed other marketing tools, such as corporate sponsorship of
sports, arts and cultural events to name a few (Ruth et al. 2003).

Yet, as a result of
globalization, the use of advertisement across cultural borders has grown
immensely, and while one expert claims that the average person is daily exposed
to 1,600 advertisements, another expert estimates the total number to be as
much as 5,000 a
day (Armstrong et al. 2005), “from billboards to bumper stickers to
logos on caps and T-shirts”

Mobile
phone has become an indispensable part of Bangladesh’s everyday-life and has
made a “safe haven” in one of our pockets much like our wallet that
we never want to leave at home while we head for our work! Thanks to the
telecom-revolution and its relentless evolution that together have made it
possible even in developing countries like Bangladesh. This is the dominant
device that we now express ourselves through, get our work done and share our
pains and pleasures with. However, more stress has
been laid upon explaining to the public clearly and simply the services which
operators have to offer, and perhaps to trace the constructive work performed
by companies in establishing the industries of the country.

Under
this circumstance a better understanding of the advertising and its practice by
telecom companies may provide the telecom companies authority to develop a
strong brand. However advertising is a key strategy consideration for most
marketers to build strong brand. The goals of advertising activities are noble
and a telecom companies is expected to perform its role as best as it can while
seeking the pleasure. The research introduces advertisements’ effect to build a
strong brand.

Branding Strategy:
Building Strong Brands

Brand
Equity

Brand equity is, according
to Kotler (2004, p. 292) “a positive differential effect that knowing the
brand name has on customer response to the product or service, a measure of
brand equity is the extent to which customers are willing to pay more for the
brand”

The value of a brand as
derived from consumer attitudes, behaviors, awareness, and perceptions.

There is no question that a
strong brand is an important corporate asset. Brand equity cannot be
measured in dollars and cents but rather it is a direct result of how consumers
value a brand based on their experiences and perceptions (Spaeth, 1993). It is
these experiences and perceptions that permit the brand to earn greater volume
or margins than it could without the brand name.

Brand Loyalty

Brand loyalty is a “form of repeat purchasing behavior
reflecting a conscious decision to continue buying the same brand” (Solomon
et al. 2001, p. 259). Moreover,
in order for brand loyalty to
take place, customers must have a positive attitude towards a brand, as well as being involved in repeated buying.
If, in actual fact, a brand has been greatly advertised and been around for some time, it can
generate an emotional attachment by either being integrated into the consumer’s self-image or
linked to past experiences (Ibid).

Brand
Awareness

Brand awareness entails
that recognition is communicated onto a brand, which allows consumers to
identify with the brand product, and thus providing companies with constant
competitive advantage (Aaker, 2005). For low involvement products, products “bought
frequently and with a minimum of thought and effort” (buseco.monash,edu.au),
awareness can affect a consumer’s buying decision through a sense of
familiarity, whereas for high involvement products, brand awareness provides
consumers with a sense of presence and assurance (Aaker, 2005).

Perceived
Quality

Perceived quality can be
defined as “the customer’s perception
of the overall quality or superiority of a product or service with respect to
its intended purpose, relative to alternatives” (Aaker, 1991 p. 85).
Perceived quality is initially a consumer’s perception about a product, and thus is a tangible
overall opinion about a brand. Nevertheless, this feeling is usually based upon fundamental
dimensions, such as product features and performance. Furthermore, perceived quality is often differentiated from the
actual quality, and can derive from
past experiences involving former products or services (Ibid).

Brand
Association

Brand association can
either be linked directly or indirectly with a customer’s thought about a
brand. Those associations that have the clearest significance are built upon
product attributes, such as physical product characteristics and non-material
product characteristics (Armstrong et al. 2005), and customer benefits –
“the desirable consequences consumers seek when buying and using
products and brands”
(Peter et al. 1994, p. 87), which provide
customers with a motive to buy the product, consequently resulting in brand
loyalty (Aaker, 1991).

There are many steps
involved with building a brand’s equity including; brand awareness
(unaided/aided), brand attributes, message association, brand favorability,
brand preference, and ultimately brand loyalty. Each has an important role in
moving a consumer towards a purchase and should be understood in terms of their
specific function

Branding Metric

Question it answers

Stage of brand building

Brand awareness

(unaided)

Is the brand “top of
mind” for the

consumer?

Early

Brand awareness

(aided)

Is the brand something
that the consumer

recognizes when presented
with the

name?

Early

Brand attributes

Is the brand cool? Hip? Intelligent?

Good value? Stable?
Innovative? etc.

Middle

Message association

Does the brand offer a
specific value

proposition to the
consumer?

Middle

Brand favorability

Is the brand
well-respected and

appreciated beyond being
known and

Even used?

Late

Brand preference

Where does the brand
stand when

consumers are asked to
choose among a

Competitive set?

Late

Brand loyalty

Is the brand strong
enough to keep

Consumers coming back for
more?

After conversion

So how do you measure ad
effects on brand equity components such as brand awareness, brand familiarity,
brand favorability, brand image, and brand loyalty? By definition, these
metrics are cognitive in nature and cannot be inferred from consumer behavior.
As a result, marketing researchers must derive the branding value of
advertising through interviewing consumers.

Brand
positioning

Positioning refers to “consumers’
perception of a brand as compared with that of competitors’ brands, that is,
the mental image that a brand, or the company as a whole, evokes”
(Czinkota
et al. 2001, p. 313). Moreover, researchers claim that positioning can
provide benefits to the consumer through a set of different product
attributes (Albaum et al. 2002). Thus, companies must position their
brands/products clearly in the minds of the target consumers. This can
be done through the positioning on product attributes, however, companies
must bear in mind that these attributes are easily copied by competitors. More
specifically, consumers are often not interested in attributes as such, but
are rather concerned with what the attributes will actually do for them
(Armstrong et al. 2005). Another way in which marketers can
position brands is by associating a brand with a name that encompasses pleasing
and desired benefits (Peter et al. 1994). However, strong brands go
beyond attribute or benefit positioning, and instead are positioned on
strong beliefs and values. (Armstrong et al. 2005).

Developing Brand Positioning

Brand positioning sets the
direction of marketing activities and programs – what the brand should and
should not do with its marketing. Brand positioning involves establishing key
brand associations in the minds of customers and other important constituents
to differentiate the brand and establish (to the extent possible) competitive
superiority (Keller et al. 2002). Besides the obvious issue of selecting
tangible product attribute levels (e.g., horsepower in a car), two particularly
relevant areas to positioning are the role of brand intangibles and the role of
corporate images and reputation.

Brand
Intangibles

An important and relatively
unique aspect of branding research is the focus on brand intangibles – aspects
of the brand image that do not involve physical, tangible, or concrete
attributes or benefits (see Levy 1999). Brand intangibles are a common means by
which marketers differentiate their brands with consumers (Park, Jaworski, and
MacInnis 1986) and transcend physical products (Kotler and Keller 2005).
Intangibles cover a wide range of different types of brand associations, such
as actual or aspiration user imagery; purchase and consumption imagery; and
history, heritage, and experiences (Keller 2001). A number of basic research
questions exist concerning how brand tangibles and intangibles have their
effects.

Nine Branding Principles

Branding
Principle #
1: Keep It Simple: one big idea is best.

One of the most common
mistakes that marketing and advertising people make is they say too much. I
understand why this happens. The idea should be simple to understand, as it is
difficult to place a brand in strong position over the competitor. However, the
reality is that if you say too much, no one will listen.

Branding
Principle #
2: Mass-produced word of mouth (PR) builds brands.

It’s
Very Difficult to Build a Brand through Advertising Alone. One of the many lessons to be learned, that a pile of
money cannot buy name recognition and brand awareness.

Al and Laura Ries make the
following statements:

“The birth of a brand is
achieved with publicity, not advertising.” And continuing on that thought,
“Once born, a brand needs advertising to stay healthy.”

Though not always true,
these bold statements deserve consideration. Most of the dotcoms that attempted
to build brands through advertising failed. They spent their advertising budget
and then we forgot about them (I doubt that many made it into our minds in the
first place). The few that remain built their brands through the media.

Branding Principle #3: Focused
brands are more powerful than diffused brands.

One of the goals of a
powerful branding program is to create a memorable concept. And to stay in
people’s minds, you must first get inside. This requires focused, sharp and
to-the-point branding. How do you do this?

Define
Your Brand

Branding Principle #4: Somehow,
some way, you have to be different.

Don’t go for competing on
same things; try to make your company different from the others. Never try to
copy or follow the things that other companies are practicing.

Branding Principle # 5: The
first brand in a category has a huge advantage.

What makes a company or
product a market leader? Surprisingly, it’s not the quality of the product or
the size of the marketing budget. Most often, it’s about being the first one on
the scene. Not simply first on the market, but first in our minds.

Branding Principle #6: Avoid
sub-brands at all cost.

The easiest way to
destroy a brand is to put its name on everything.”

One of the most common
mistakes made by marketing professionals is relying too much on sub-brands as a
means for introducing new products or services. Often referred to as line
extensions, this marketing strategy not only usually fails to create a market
for the new product or service, but the parent brand also suffers as a result.

“We don’t need marketing!
This product is pure quality and will sell itself!” How many times have you
heard this? How many times have you believed it? Every day, buyers like you and
I make judgments about quality. But how much of our assessment is due to the
actual quality of the item?

Branding Principle #8: Be
consistent and patient. Building a strong brand takes time.

A strong brand can not
build over night, it takes time. Because people don’t rely on your company
quickly. So be steady and patient.

Branding
Principle #
9: Put your brand definition in writing, otherwise
you’ll get off course.

Despite changes in
marketing directors, personnel or ad agencies, your brand must stay constant.
Every modification will weaken your position in the consumer’s mind.

So the question is:
throughout the many upheavals of a company’s lifecycle, how do you keep your
brand on target? The answer is simple: write it down and use it.

Advertisement

Advertising informs
consumers about the existence and benefits of products and services, and tries
to persuade consumers to buy them (MacKenzie, 2004). Moreover, Kotler et al.
(2005), claim that advertising aims at attaining target consumers to either
think or react to the product or brand. As a method of achieving advertisement
goals, advertisements as well as their content play a vital role in the process
of commercial communication. More specifically, it is the advertised product
and brand as well as the content of the advertisement that determine greater or
lesser memory retention among the consumers (Royo-Vela, 2005).

The objectives of
advertising campaigns are summarised in the figure below:

To inform

Telling the market about a
new product.
Describing available services.

Suggesting new uses for a
product.

Correcting false impressions.

Informing the market of a
price change.

Reducing buyers’ fears.

Explaining how the products
work.

Building a company image.

To persuade

Building brand
preference.

Persuading buyers to purchase now.

Encouraging switching to
your brand.  

Persuading buyers to receive a sales
call.

Changing buyer perceptions
of product attributes.

To remind

Reminding buyers that the
product may be needed in the near future.

Keeping the product in buyers’
minds during off seasons.

Reminding buyers where to
buy the products.

Maintaining top-of-mind
product awareness.

As can be seen in Figure
2.4, there are different types of advertising objectives, and they are
classified by the purpose, that is, to inform, persuade or remind. When
introducing a new product category, informative advertising is heavily used
where the objective is to build a primary demand, but as competition increases,
persuasive advertising becomes more important. Here, the company’s objective is
to build selective demand for a brand by persuading consumers that it offers
the best quality for their money. Reminder advertising, on the other hand, is employed
for mature products as it keeps customers thinking about the product (Kotler et
al.
2002).

Advertisement and Encouragement of Good
Deeds

Advertising
should propagate good deeds among the consumers behaviors and decent exposures
of the characters in the advertising message. Advertising should shows love for
the family and respect of the elderly. Advertisements that deter society from
taking drugs and bribes or careless driving are also encouraged (Kalthom,
2008). Advertising can be used to make concuss the people about the harmful of
drugs, child labor, early marriage etc. and benefit of education of women,
equality of men and women etc. 

Advertisement and Morality

Prophet
Mohammad (pbuh) said: “I have been sent only for the purpose of perfecting good
morals” when asked “Which Muslim has the perfect faith?” The prophet (pbuh)
answered: “He who has the best moral character” (Al-Ghazzali, 1983).
Advertising messages should portray women in a decent manner and clothing and
recognize their positive contributions to the family and society as a whole
(Rice and Al-Mossawi, 2002). Sexual appeals in advertising using women as
objects of sexual desire should not be used. “And say to the believing women
that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty”. (An-Nur-24:31); “O
prophet! Tell thy wives and daughter and the believing women that they should
cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most
convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is
oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful”.(Al-Ahzab- 33:59)

Truthfulness and
advertising

Allah
has commanded that we should build our life on the foundation of truth, to make
truth and straight dealings a practice of their life. Islam strongly condemns
all forms of activities that contain elements of fraud and deception of any
kind to protect the contracting parties from mutual injustice and the resulting
disputes (Kalthom, 2008). Allah has said: “What
would be grater dishonesty that it’s, this
that when you are talking with
your brother he may be thinking that you are telling the truth whereas you are
deceiving him by telling lies.” “Truly, God guides not him who is a liar”
(Az-Zumar 39:3). “And o my people! Give just measure and weight, nor withhold
from the people the things that are their due: commit not evil in the land with
intent to do moschef.” (H?d-11:85). “Serving produces a ready sale for a
commodity but bolts out the blessing” (Muslim). Advertiser should seek for
excellence in the development and execution of communication messages (Rice and
Al-Mossawi, 2002). Our beloved prophet emphasized the need to be committed to
complete a work well, “God likes that when someone does something, it must be
perfectly well”. (Salam and Hanafy, 1988)

 

Standardization
vs. Adaptation

Marketers and advertisers
can approach the market in different ways when advertising a product or service
in the marketplace. They can either take a standardized approach, an adapted
approach or a mixture of the two approaches. While an international standardized
advertising campaign is used for all markets, an adapted campaign considers the
use of different advertisements that are adapted for different markets because
of local conditions. However, many different opinions exist about the best way
to achieve success in advertising campaigns, and even though research has shown
that advertisements of certain products can be standardized worldwide, both of
the approaches provide their own unique benefits and weaknesses (Barnes et
al.
2004).

A primary motivation for a
company to standardize its advertising is the desire to create a more
homogenous image of the firm and its brand in multiple markets, as a uniformed
brand image across markets can lead to enhanced brand equity. Other advantages
of standardization include, economic benefits related to cost savings, the
abilities to implement a coordinated strategy and to appeal to cross-markets
segments (Taylor, 2006). Moreover, if a brand is well known, it is more likely
to be successful with a standardized approach, as advertisements of these
brands are made more to remind and strengthen than to communicate product
benefits (Pae et al. 2002).

However, both strategies
are rejected by various researchers whom emphasize the difficulty in applying
them in practice (Vrontis, 2005). Instead, a mixed approach, also known as a
contingency approach, can be used as it offers the potential for variance,
depending on the situation (Barnes et al. 2004).

The
language used in advertising campaigns

In
the advertisement of mobile operators language would be in such way that will
not conflict with our cultural ideology.
Especially in the context as the most of the people are not educated so the
advertisement should be in Bengali and simple to understand. 

When advertising across
borders, advertisers have to decide upon whether or not to use the native
language in the campaign. There are several reasons that drive companies to use
foreign languages in advertisements, such as financial- and image-related
reasons. Advertising costs are reduced when using existing foreign language
television commercials rather than producing new commercials into the native
language. Furthermore, in some situations, a product’s image benefits from
using a foreign language as it is more effective (Wang et al. 2006).

Methodology

The
following chapter discusses and validates the choice of methodology used in the
thesis, which has guided us in how we should approach the subject, as well as
how we should collect and process the required information. It includes choice
of subject, research approach, data collection, value of study, and revision of
the chosen methodology

Choice of Subject

Today, people are daily
overwhelmed by numerous of advertising campaigns on television, radio, and
magazines to name a few. The increase of ads is especially evident during large
events, such as sports events. Mobile phone operators are the one of the
institutions from where people take services regularly. As the telecom
companies are one of the larger parts of the service sector of Bangladesh. This
led to the next question of why people choose one brand over another. We
decided to explore the extent in which advertising campaigns affect in building
strong brand image.

Research Approach

When conducting a research,
the researcher can choose between two approaches; qualitative and quantitative
method. The qualitative method involves the gathering of a lot of information
from few examination units through interviews and observations, while the
quantitative method entails that the researcher collects little information
from many investigation units through, for instance questionnaires (Halvorsen,
1992). Seeing as the overall purpose of this paper was to gain a deeper
understanding of different advertising factors affecting on branding, the
quantitative method was applied, and thus a questionnaire (quantitative data
was collected) was conducted in accordance to our purpose (Appendix 1).

Data Collection

The questionnaire (see
Appendix 1) allowed us to gather specific information on different consumer’s
perception about how advertisement effect on branding. According to Ruane
(2005, p. 123), a questionnaire is a “self-contained, self-administered
instrument for asking questions”
.

According to the Naresh K.
Malthotra, (2001, P.293) a questionnaire is a structured technique for data
collection consisting of a series of questions written or verbal, to which a
respondent replies.

The questionnaire was
divided into structured and unstructured questions accordingly. A structured
question may either entail multiple choices, dichotomous questions, or a scale,
whereas an unstructured question is an open-ended question, which implies that
the respondents answer in their own words (Malhotra, 2001). The structured
questions that were asked were either dichotomous or scales. In dichotomous
questions, the respondents could only choose between two response alternatives,
such as Yes or No, making it easy to code and analyze. A ratio scale was also
used which allowed the respondents to classify or rank order the objects, i.e.
1 – 5, where 5 represents “very good” and 1 indicates “very bad”. Finally, in
combination with the structured questions, unstructured questions were asked,
where the respondents were able to clarify and express in detail their
responses and opinions (Neuman, 2003).

The objective of a
questionnaire includes: first it must translate the information needed into a
set of specific questions that the respondents can and will answer.  Second objectives of a questionnaire are to “uplift,
motivate, and encourage the
respondent to become involved in the
interview, to cooperate, and to complete the interview”
(Malhotra 2001, p.
293).

Types of Data Collection

Data is one out of two
types, either primary which is collected by the researcher’s or secondary data
which is gathered by other researches (Andersen, 1998).

We decided to use a
questionnaire as our main source of data collection (primary data), as our aim
was to measure the effect of advertisement on branding.

Sample
Selection

The population we chose to
investigate in order to reach our purpose was the chosen local market; within
Bangladesh, and thus we decided upon a combination of quota sampling and
convenience sampling from this population. Quota sampling implies that a
researcher can choose to have a specified proportion of the investigated
elements in the study. This partition into different stratums can include
different categories, such as gender, age, lifestyle, and ethnicity (Nardi,
2003). When the researcher has decided upon which categories to use in the
partition, as well as the number of respondents to investigate, convenience
sampling is used to collect them (Neuman, 2003). When convenience sampling is
utilized, there is a lack of a clear sampling strategy and the researcher
decides which elements to study depending on the ease of access (Ritchie et
al.
2003). The quotas that were chosen for this thesis were divided into
three different age groups in accordance to. (2010): 18-40, and ≥ 41.
The chosen groups represented a diverse set of people, who are at different
stages in their lives, and thus we believed their perception on the effect of
advertisement on branding.

20 respondents were chosen
from each age group:

These respondents were
chosen as a result of easy access. Although we did not have a personal
relationship with the majorities of customers.

Operational
Measures of Theoretical Framework

The questions in the
questionnaire were based upon our theoretical framework, and thus the questions
can be divided into the following groups: brand, advertisement, and finally
others.

Brand

Questions 2 and 3 were
specifically about the brand’s logos and slogans, overall, the questions
supplied us with information about the way in which the respondents perceive
the effect of advertisement on branding.

Advertisement

Questions 04 to 10 are
linked to the advertisement theory, and provided us with knowledge about
respondents’ attitudes towards advertisement in general. Moreover, the
questions provided us with insight into how familiar and open the respondents
were of companies advertising campaigns.

Value of Study

Validity

Validity is the ability to
measure what one intended to measure, and construct validity involves the
operational measures for the studied subjects. More precisely, it includes the
way in which the researcher translates theory information into operational and
measurable questions, and variables (Yin, 2003). Our operational measures can
be found in the previous section, 3.3.3. In order to gain as high validity as
possible, multiple sources of evidence were used in collecting the information,
consisting of academic articles and textbooks.

Internal validity suggests
that the study examines what it is suppose to examine, whereas external
validity is the possibility to generalize the study results in other
populations (Hollensen, 2001). We sought to conduct the questions in the
questionnaire in such a way that we were provided with the most relevant
information so as to answer our research question. The design of the questions
was that of a simple structure with a clear and easy language in order to make
them as understandable as possible and thus decreasing any misunderstandings.
Furthermore, the questionnaire was standardized, which implies that the same
questionnaire was presented to all chosen respondents for the study.

Reliability

In order for reliability to
be achieved, the same study should have similar results if it is conducted at a
different point in time (Andersen, 1998). In order to attain reliability in a
study, different precautions can be taken, such as making sure that the
questions are interpreted in the way in which the researcher/s planned (Patel et
al.
1994). In order to achieve reliability in our master’s thesis and
making sure that the questions were interpreted as we wanted them to be, we
conducted the questionnaire on a test group consisting of five respondents.
This test group was asked to inform us how they interpreted the questions and any
adjustments necessary where made before it was tested on yet another group of
people. After the modified version was tested, the questionnaire felt complete
and all possible misunderstandings had been eliminated, it was carried out on
our sample subjects. Furthermore, we were present at all times during the
answering of the questionnaires and accordingly, any uncertainties were solved
on the spot. Finally, in order to ensure reliability, scientific literature was
used for our theoretical framework.

Grameenphone
Limited

Grameenphone, widely known as GP, is the leading
telecommunications service provider in Bangladesh. With more than 27 million
subscribers (as of October 2010), Grameenphone is the largest cellular operator
in the country. It is a joint venture enterprise between Telenor and Grameen
Telecom Corporation, a non-profit sister concern of the internationally
acclaimed microfinance organization and community development bank Grameen
Bank. Telenor, the largest telecommunications company in Norway, owns 55.8%
shares of Grameenphone; Grameen Telecom owns 34.2% and the remaining 10% is
publicly held.

Grameenphone was the first company to introduce GSM
technology in Bangladesh.[4] It also established the first 24-hour Call Center
to support its subscribers. With the slogan Stay Close, stated goal of
Grameenphone is to provide affordable telephony to the entire population of
Bangladesh.

Mission

Leading the industry and exceed customer
expectations by providing the best wireless services, making life and business
easier

Vision

We exist to help our customers get the full benefit
of communications services in their daily lives. We want to make it easy for
customers to get what they want, when they want it. We’re here to help.

Values

  • Make It Easy
  • Keep Promises
  • Be Inspiring
  • Be Respectful

Orascom Telecom Bangladesh Limited
(Banglalink)

Banglalink
is the second largest cellular service provider in Bangladesh after
Grameenphone. As of November, 2009, Banglalink has a subscriber base of 12.99
million. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Orascom Telecom.

Banglalink
had 1.03 million connections until December, 2005. The number of Banglalink
users increased by 257%  and stood at
3.64 million at the end of 2006, making it the fastest growing operator in the
world of that year. In August, 2006, Banglalink became the first company to
provide free incoming calls from BTTB for both postpaid and prepaid
connections. On August 20, 2008, Banglalink got past the landmark of 10 million
subscriber base, and establishing a strong brand that emotionally connected
customers with Banglalink.

Mission

Banglalink
understands customer needs best and will create and deliver appropriate
communication services to improve people’s lives and make them easier.

Vision

Our
customers’ needs matter most to us- making their life simple and improving it
is all we want.

Values

Banglalink
demonstrate the following values in their day-to-day activities to ensure
“making a difference” in every area of operations.

Teletalk Bangladesh Limited

Teletalk
Bangladesh Ltd is a GSM based state-owned mobile phone company in Bangladesh.
Teletalk started operating on 29 December 2004. It is a Public Limited Company
of Bangladesh Government, the state-owned telephone operator. TeleTalk provide
GPRS and EDGE internet connectivity and now waiting for the license from
Government to start the 3G which is the latest cellular information service.
Teletalk is the first operator in the country that gave BTTB (now BTCL)
incoming facility to its subscribers.

TeleTalk
is the 6th largest mobile phone operator in Bangladesh with 1.147 million
subscribers as up to July, 2010

Mission

To
innovate and constantly find new ways to enhance our services to our customer’s
current needs and desires for the future.

Vision

Our
vision is to know our customers and meet their needs better than any one else.

Values

  • To provide mobile
    telephone service to the people from the public sector
  • To ensure fair
    competition between public and private sectors and thereby to safeguard public
    interest
  • To meet a portion of
    unmitigated high demand of mobile telephone
  • To create a new source
    of revenue for the government

Analysis of Empirical Data

In
this chapter, we will analyze the empirical data in accordance to the chosen
theory. The structure is in accordance to the analysis model.

2. Logos of telecom companies are impressive.

3. Color and symbols of logos matches with our
culture & norms.


According
to our empirical findings 30% respondents extremely agree, 60% respondents
strongly agree, 10% respondents agree that logos of telecom companies are
impressive.

25%
respondents extremely agree, 55% respondents strongly agree, 17% respondents
agree that color and symbols of logos matches with our culture and norms and 3%
respondents are neutral.

Advertisement has a strong effect on Branding.


From the finding we see
that 77% respondents extremely agree, 23% respondents strongly agree that the
advertisement has a strong effect on banding. There is no argument against
this.

37%
respondents strongly agree, 32% respondents agree that telecom companies
celebrate in their advertisement campaign is true. 22% are neutral about this
question and 8% respondents are disagree that mobile phone operators celebrate
in their advertising campaigns is not true.


Advertisement
media is familiar & available.


Advertising
time and media selection is not suitable.


In the collected data 5% respondent extremely agree,
20% respondent strongly agree, 45% 
respondent agree that advertisement media is familiar and available. 25%
respondents are neutral and while merely 5% respondent support against.

5%
respondents strongly agree, 10% respondents agree that advertising time and media selection is not suitable. 17% are
neutral and 50% are disagree, 15% are strongly disagree and 3% extremely
disagree about this question.

8. Advertisement language is not simple and
easy.


According
to our empirical findings 27% respondents strongly agree, 45% respondents agree
that customers understanding level of
Advertisement is high. 20% respondents are neutral, while merely 8
percent respondents disagree with the question.

According
to our empirical findings 12% respondents strongly agree, 40% respondents
agree, 10% respondents disagree, 3% respondents strongly disagree, 3%
respondents extremely disagree that advertisement
language is not simple and easy. And 32% are neutral about this
question.

(not applicable for Print Advertisement).


According
to our empirical findings 5% respondents extremely agree, 13% respondents
strongly agree, 49% respondents agree that advertisement sound is loud. And 20% are neutral about this
question while 13% respondents disagree with the question.

According
to our empirical findings 7% respondents strongly agree, 20% respondents agree,
35% respondents neutral that advertisement
models (actors) are indecent. 30% are disagree, 3% strongly
disagree, 3% extremely disagree about this question.

In
this chapter, we will analyze the empirical data in accordance to the chosen
theory. The structure is in accordance to the analysis model.

Table-01

Questions

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

1

77%

23%

0

0

0

0

0

2

30%

60%

10%

0

0

0

0

3

25%

55%

17%

3%

0

0

0

4

5%

13%

49%

20%

13%

0

0

5

5%

20%

45%

25%

5%

0

0

6

0

5%

10%

17%

50%

15%

3%

7

0

27%

45%

20%

8%

0

0

8

0

12%

40%

32%

10%

3%

3%

9

0

7%

20%

35%

30%

3%

5%

10

0

37%

32%

22%

9%

0

0

From
Table 1, The Total respondents were 40 from them male are 92% and female are
8%.

The data have collect from
40 respondents, where as the respondent whose age are in 23-40, highly agree
that advertisement has strong effect on branding and  the respondent whose age is more than 40 are
not as highly agree as the less than 41 agars.

Recommendations & Conclusions

In
the following chapter, we summarize our results and draw conclusions about our
study. Furthermore, we suggest future research.

From
the collected data and analysis it became clear that advertisement has a strong
effect on branding. The logos, slogan and symbols don’t conflict with our
culture and norms. As well as the fact that mobile
phone operators celebrate their AD
campaign is true. Customers understand the advertising language and advertising
language is simple and easy.

But
mobile operators have limitation in advertising, they are not advertising
enough in Bangladesh Television. They are advertising in satellite channels and
newspapers. Satellite channels are not seen all over the country. So operators
should advertise more in Bangladesh Television for create a strong brand.
Mobile phone operators should participate in social welfare activities, relate
with local cultural activates, give sponsorship in local games and sports,
arrange youth basic program like education fairs, IT fairs etc. for creating a
strong brand image.

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