Creativity in advertisements supplements the viewers in winning their attitude towards the brand. From the consumers perspective, Retention and Execution, portrays the impact of an advertisement in the market. In addition, the pre-decision stage of consumers’ purchasing behaviour establishes a strong association with the impulse buying behaviour of the consumers (Ahmad 2011).

Moreover, Interactive communication channels have an edge over traditional methods in building brand awareness and product differentiation, mostly in cases of FMCG brands. Due to the rapid development in technology, there is a shift in the consumer cognitive behaviour and thus to match with the changed behaviour of the consumers, 3Dvirtual worlds are being adopted and focused by the companies in order to advertise their products (Dad 2012). While adopting various innovative advertising strategies, the advertisers are constantly putting efforts for new, artistic, entertaining and informative campaigns for successfully launching a fresh initiative in the era of FMCG market. It is because, the FMCG products are Fast Moving Consumer Goods, but the advertisements for such products are not fast moving in creating responses among its consumers. FMCG advertisements while introducing new products/brands are ineffective in creating responses among the consumers. More effort in terms of the message content, strategies to seize the consumers’ attention and high level of creativity is needed to make the FMCG advertisements more effective in creating responsiveness among its consumers (Pongiannan and Chinnasamy 2014). The FMCG products are sold in large quantities and its market is much more competitive as compared to other durable products in the market. As these products once consumed cannot be renewed or reused, it prompts the consumers to purchase more units of similar items in its next purchase. As a result, need arises to study the impact of advertisements of the FMCG brands in relation to the marketing communication context on the buying decisions of the consumers.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK BASED ON REVIEWS:

The study conducted by Cheng and Kim (2010) addressed the various trends namely; research output, authorship, and countries/territories studied in the articles, trends in the media and methods used in the articles and also the research topics and theories applied in the articles on advertising in Asia published in various journals over a period of 20 years. The authors observed that single country/territory studies, which involved only one Asian country/territory (mainly the Chinese mainland, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan) was the most, frequent type of studies. From advertising researchers’ perspective, more attention should be given to emerging markets such as India and Vietnam, which are ‘understudied’ over the past 20 years as documented from the findings of this study.

Therefore there arises the necessity for undergoing more studies relating to advertising, consumer behaviour, consumer learning and persuasion and the like, in this part of the globe. This would create an opportunity for the advertisers’ to work upon the plethora of advertising and marketing strategies from time to time in order to keep hold of a convincing customer base and thus retain its own status in the competitive world, transforming the scenario of advertising on a broader perspective.

While undergoing review of the previous literatures like; (Rehman and Ibrahim 2011), (Adzharuddin 2012), (Dad 2012), (Saeed et al. 2013), (Brunello 2013) and (Rawal 2013), it has been observed that these studies had barely covered the aspect of marketing communication barrier. As the existence of communication barrier do influence the viewers’ comprehension of the communication content through the advertisements in the viewers’ implicit behaviour, there always exists a possibility that an inappropriate execution of an advertisement and deficient communication strategies might hold back wide acceptance of the advertised brand among the viewers’.

It has also been observed that the researchers of the previous studies like: (Khadir 2007), (Bashir and Malik 2009), (Jain et al. 2010), (Colaco, Melo and Tiwari 2011), (Rahman 2012), (Singh 2012) and (Dash and Sabat 2012), either focused on the customers’ end or on the advertisers’ end. Studies focusing on both the customers’ and advertisers’ end was discernible. Alongside, very few studies like: (Bishnoi and Sharma 2009), (Velayudhan 2013), (Anilkumar and Joseph 2015) and (Singh 2011), covered the buying behaviour of both the urban and rural viewers’ in conjunction. As there are discernible studies where both the entities (the advertisers’ and the viewers’) were considered on a comprehensive note and the buying behaviour of both the urban and rural viewers’ were considered in conjunction; it creates a scope to undergo research on the bidirectional perspective of the viewers’ end as well as to jointly study the behaviour of both the urban and rural audience.

Furthermore, the market of Fast Moving Consumer Goods demands an aggressive and cutthroat competition which creates the need to incorporate more creativity and originality in the advertisers’ approaches towards the FMCG advertisements. As a result, this research acted as a comprehensive study where the first dimension was to understand the advertisers’ marketing communication messages that they aim to deliver through their advertisements, the second dimension was to study the impact of advertisements on the television viewers of a selected location, and the third dimension was to study the buying behaviour of the urban-rural matrix.

Based on the above framework, three objectives have been identified as: -

1. Comprehension of the advertisers’ marketing communication messages that they aim to deliver through their advertisements of the selected FMCG brands to the viewers.

2. Impact of marketing communication through media advertisements on the viewers.

3. Relating the contribution of the communication content through media advertisements of the selected FMCG brands on the buying behaviour of the urban-rural matrix.

METHODOLOY ADOPTED:

Sampling Design:

In order to fulfill the first objective; based on Judgmental sampling, seven (7) national advertising agencies have been considered for the study. Only those agencies were considered who were involved in designing FMCG advertisements in Televisions, more in numbers than the others.

The advertising campaigns of three brands from each seven agencies were considered. Thus the advertisements of all the twenty one (21) brands formed the base for collecting primary data from the second set of respondents, i.e., Television viewers of Sivasagar district, of Assam.

Sivasagar district of Assam has been considered because within the proximity of the researcher’s venturing into the topic it has been revealed that the study of the customer’s cognitive behaviour influencing their purchasing decisions in real-life situations of Sivasagar district has not yet been explored. With a strong historical background and amazing natural beauty, Sivasagar acts as an upcoming tourist destination. But it has been observed that the commercial area of this place has not been developed as desired. In addition, as there exists a great potential for the Fast Moving Consumer Goods market due to its perishable nature, the researchers opted to observe the buying behaviour of FMCG brands in this study area.

Additionally, the total population of Sivasagar district has been considered as the Universe for the study and out of the total population, the sample size has been estimated through the Cochran’s sample size formula. The formula has been mentioned as:

Here,

n_o= sample size

N = population size

With reference to District Census Handbook Sivasagar, as the total population of Sivasagar District as per 2011 is 1,151,050, the representative sample size comes out to be 384. Thus, for the study and as per the time constraint, the researcher has restricted the sample size to two hundred (200) Television viewers, i.e., 40 respondents each from three (3) urban and two (2) rural plots. The selection of the sample size has been based on Judgmental sampling because only those respondents were considered who were frequent television viewers and mostly importantly; television advertisement viewers.

For the study, in order to comprehend the advertisers’ marketing communication messages that they aim to deliver through their advertisements of the selected FMCG brands to the viewers, at first, qualitative analysis has been done.

Furthermore, in order to understand the advertisers’ intentions and their prioritized factors while designing various promotional campaigns and also to understand the impact of marketing communication through media advertisements on the viewers in terms of brand awareness leading to persuasion and brand loyalty towards the selected FMCG brands, the already adapted methodology of using Customer satisfaction Impact Index has been considered. The CSI methodology was used by various other researchers like George, 2012; Bharadwaj, 2013 and Islam, 2015. The scale of Impact Index that was taken into consideration has been shown in the following lines.

RANGE (%)	Impact with Respect to The Statement
0-25	No Impact
25-50	Some Impact
50-75	Moderate Impact
75-100	High Impact

As the level of understanding among the respondents seems to be unorganized during a pilot survey, so the ranges of Impact Index have been considered with a 25 interval level. However, in an organized condition, the interval level may be reduced in order to have a more precise observation.

Additionally, in order to relate the contribution of the communication content through media advertisements of FMCG brands on the buying behaviour of the urban-rural matrix, a hypothesis has been formulated and Kruskal-Wallis H Test has been conducted; as it has been revealed that the data were not normal through the application of Reliability Q-Q Test.

As the overall data doesn’t fall under normal distribution, non-parametric test has been considered. This has been done to relate the contribution of the communication content through the selected advertisements on the buying behaviour of the urban-rural matrix. Thus, Kruskal-Wallis H Test has been conducted in order to relate the behavioural aspects of the people of the study area. The three conditions which were a mandate for conducting the statistical test were; ‘Advertising and its impact’, ‘Marketing Communication’ and ‘Buying behaviour’. Furthermore, as this test is suitable when the conditions are being carried out by different or independent groups of people; for the study, the independent variable comprised of the urban and rural plots and the dependent variable comprised of the buying behaviour of FMCG brands by the viewers. Thus, the hypothesis formulated has been mentioned as;

H1:

There is a significant difference in the contribution of the communication content through media advertisements of the selected FMCG brands on the buying behaviour of the urban-rural matrix.

PROCEDURE FOR COLLECTING DATA:

At first, the information regarding the advertisers’ intentions, objectives, aim and plans behind designing the media advertisements for each FMCG brands has been collected through secondary sources. Second, an online questionnaire has been served to the seven (7) advertising agencies and based on their responses, the structured questionnaire cum schedule for the viewers have been designed.

Additionally, one structured questionnaire cum schedule was given to each respondent (Television viewer) of Sivasagar district, out of the two hundred (200) sample size. The advertisements were first displayed to the viewers’ in a laptop, and then they were asked to fill their responses in the questionnaire cum schedule based on each advertisement of the selected brands.

RESULTS:

1. Advertisers’ marketing communication messages that they aim to deliver through their advertisements of the selected FMCG brands to the viewers:

With the help of the secondary sources, the intentions and the objectives of the selected seven (7) advertising agencies’ in relation to the twenty one (21) brands have been revealed as mentioned one by one.

1. Appy Fizz (Apple juice drink):

With the introduction of a movie star in the advertisement, the advertisers’ attempted to make the brand an aspiring one in the market where the viewers’ could relate themselves with the message behind the campaign.

2. Godrej Expert (Hair colour brand):

Hair colouring always acts as an under-the-cover process and a sense of shyness persists among the users of hair colour products. Thus, with the campaign, the advertising agency tried to uncover the issues related to the usage of hair colour products by communicating the safety and simplicity characteristic of the brand on a lighter note.

3. Mango Frooti (Mango flavoured drink):

The communication strategy behind this campaign was to make the brand noticeable among the audience by retaining the authenticity of the brand and its features.

4. Sunfeast Dark Fantasy (Dark chocolate biscuits):

The idea behind this ad was to creatively indulge the viewers to flow into a world of fantasy after having the Sunfeast Dark Fantasy biscuits.

5. Amul (Dairy products):

This campaign was engrossed in showcasing the moments of urban and rural India by linking the brand Amul in a very innovative and emotional way. Along with a touching concept, the advertising agency has made use of attractive advertising appeals like; a popular old folk song, in order to draw the attention of the viewers’ towards the campaign.

6. Servo (Engine oil brand):

The main purpose of the campaign was to relate the brand with the daily chores of the viewers’ with the image of a popular sport in order to create a strong attachment with the viewers’.

7. Pepsi (Carbonated Soft drink):

With this campaign, the advertising agency aimed to inspire and invite the young population with the idea of getting hold of each moment of life with a sense of enthusiasm and pleasure.

8. Kitkat (Chocolate covered wafer biscuit):

Good things occurs when people take a break, make themselves happy with simple pleasures of life and the campaign displayed that this can be achieved with the magic of having Kitkat in an appealing manner.

9. Kurkure (Brand of corn puffs):

The main idea behind the campaign was to display the love and affection among the Indian families and their connection with each other has been related with the brand “Kurkure”.

10. Thums Up (Carbonated Soft drink):

Thums Up advertisements are adventurous and this campaign exemplifies these bold values by endorsing the brand with the introduction of a strong celebrity “Salman Khan”.

11. Maaza (Fruit drink brand):

The advertising message of relishing different varieties of mangoes throughout the year with the brand name “Maaza” has been aimed through the advertisement.

12. McCain Foods (Ready to make frozen snacks):

The motto of this advertisement was to impulse the sense of the contemporary women to balance work, children, home and guests with elegance. The advertising agency focused more on the product information and attempted to display a normal lifestyle of ‘lady of the house’ in an interesting way.

13. Britannia Tiger (Biscuits):

This campaign attempted to reposition the brand image from energy to growth of kids and their nutrition with the message of affordability for the parents.

14. Dabur Hajmola (Digestive tablet):

The prime intention of this campaign was to put together the idea of sharing with chatpata and salivation in an enjoyable manner. The jingle based communication along with the endorsement of a familiar celebrity expected an optimistic response from the viewers’.

15. Surf Excel (Detergent powder):

The new concept of righteousness was the main focus of the ad agency in this campaign. The advertiser has given enough effort to showcase the notion that it is easier to accept the wrong route but righteousness can enlighten an individual to handle a situation without getting aggressive.

16. Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk (Dairy chocolate):

The advertising agency, Ogilvy India commented on the campaign that, it is created to cater to the fast evolving consumer tastes and trends and their compulsive need to indulge and pamper themselves. The characters in the campaign aptly depicts that the new Cadbury Silk is softer, silkier and smoother.

17. Fevicol (Adhesive):

The focal point behind this ad was to underline the strength and brand assurance of Fevicol in a pleasant and hilarious manner. Through this campaign; the ad agency highlighted the strength and brand promise in an entertaining and humorous manner.

18. Gems Surprise packs (Chocolate balls brand):

The advertising agency introduced the idea of free collectibles in the form of various pandas with Gems Surprise and the concept of exchanging the collectibles as normally can be seen among children. Since Gems’ claim is that there is no age to be childlike, the ad agency decided to depict the concept of exchange among two adults.

19. Sona Chandi Chyawanprash (Herbal formulation with health benefits):

Through this campaign, the advertising agency aimed to reach out to the mothers with the core product benefits. The agency displayed the concept that, while the gold improves immunity, the silver in Sona Chandi Chyawanprash sharpens the mind, thereby helping the mother to protect her family’s health and realize their true potential.

20. Rupa Frontline (Brand of vests):

In this campaign the main focus was to appreciate the persona of the people wearing Rupa inner wears with the inclusion of a new issue, i.e., voting. According to the creatives’, the concept of voting would throw light to a new aspect towards the Indian population.

21. Anchor (Brand of home automation products):

One of the key objectives of the campaign was to communicate the entire portfolio range of Anchor. Another objective was to emphasize the premium imagery of the brand and also connect to a more youthful audience. The advertising agency focused on creating consciousness among every category of spectators regarding the wide-ranging portfolio of products under this brand.

With the help of the primary data as mentioned in Table I, it has been observed that the advertising agencies’ rationale behind designing media advertisement is to create an environment for communicating the firm’s marketing message. While communicating the message to the audience, advertising appeals like; emotions, humor and music induces a positive feeling among the viewers, which makes them more receptive to the ad messages making an imprint of the brand in their long term memory. Humor appeal catches the interest and embraces young as well as old, educated as well as less educated and upscale as well as downscale, viewers’ attention and enhances effectiveness by making the consumers positive about the advertisement. This in turn makes the audience more optimistic towards the product, service or the brand that is being advertised. The ad agencies were also in favor of the fact that new campaigns with higher level of frequency, along with simple advertisements are an excellent medium to impress the audience and make them more receptive towards the brand. In order to capture the audiences ‘attention, a good understanding of the target audience is a mandate for effective communication. Advertisements are twisted and shaped considering the consumers requirements / preference / demand and through the advertising medium, the customers become aware of the features / usage and benefits of an existing product or a new product in the market. In addition, an advertising message is acknowledged by the flow and the content of the message and not by any kind of arguments. Regarding the production of original approaches every time in the advertisements by the agencies, the advertisers don’t always produce original approaches, every time in their advertisements. Additionally, the advertising agencies make use of celebrity endorsement as this has been considered as one of the major promotional strategy for positioning a brand in the market.

TABLE I

Primary Response From The Advertising Agencies And Its Impact Scores
1	The primary function of most media is to provide information or entertainment to the subscribers / viewers or readers	80
2	The purpose of media advertisement is to provide an environment for the firm’s marketing communication message	83
3	Emotional ads are designed to evoke feelings among the customers	83
4	Humorous messages in advertisements put consumers in a good mood and evoke positive feelings that may become associated with the brand being advertised	91
5	Music in advertisements adds emotions that make consumers more receptive to the messages	86
6	Humor may sometimes harm recalling and comprehension in general	74
7	The simpler the message, the less frequency of ads required	60
8	Audiences that are younger, better educated, and upscale and professionals are best suited to humor	49
9	New campaigns require higher levels of frequency in Televisions, to register the message in the minds of the consumers	80
10	A simpler ad resides in the minds of the consumers for longer duration	83
11	Older, less educated and downscale groups of consumers are least suited to humor appeal	40
12	A good understanding of the target audience is a mandate for effective communication	100
13	A media plan is the one and only tool for effectively communicating the message to the target audience	54
14	Ad agencies present ideas and execution not requested but felt to be good opportunities by the customers	60

TABLE II-Impact of marketing communication through media advertisements on the viewers

Collective Impact Scores Of Urban And Rural Respondents’ (11 Brands Of Advertisements)

Framework

Appy Fizz

Godrej Expert

Mango Frooti

Sunfeast Dark Fantasy

Amul

Servo

Advertising and its Impact

64.75MI

64.33 MI

66.83 MI

67.33 MI

72.17 MI

72.69 MI

61.50 MI

63.58 MI

75.50 HI

77.92 HI

63.33 MI

64.75 MI

Marketing Communication

68.14 MI

69.43 MI

73.29 MI

71.71 MI

72.18 MI

66.86 MI

68.57 MI

73.86 MI

75.21 HI

66.57 MI

70.00 MI

Buying Behaviour

66.00 MI

66.33 MI

67.00 MI

68.67 MI

71.33 MI

71.58 MI

66.33 MI

66.67 MI

72.00 MI

74.08 MI

59.67 MI

64.00 MI

TABLE II -Continue…….

	Collective Impact Scores Of Urban And Rural Respondents’ (11 Brands Of Advertisements)
Framework	Pepsi		Kitkat		Kurkure		Thums Up		Maaza
	UL	RL	UL	RL	UL	RL	UL	RL	UL	RL
	II	II	II	II	II	II	II	II	II	II
Advertising and its Impact	69.83 MI	71.83 MI	70.08 MI	67.58 MI	67.50 MI	64.04 MI	70.83 MI	66.75 MI	72.58 MI	71.88 MI
Marketing Communication	71.14 MI	73.14 MI	70.29 MI	67.43 MI	67.71 MI	67.64 MI	71.00 MI	69.36 MI	72.00 MI	73.00 MI
Buying Behaviour	70.33 MI	73.00 MI	70.00 MI	70.58 MI	68.67 MI	68.08 MI	70.67 MI	67.67 MI	72.00 MI	71.67 MI

(Source: Data collection through survey)

Here, UL = Urban Location, RL = Rural Location, II = Impact Index (%), LI = Low Impact, MI = Medium Impact, HI = High Impact

TABLE III Collective Impact Scores Of Urban And Rural Respondents’ (10 Brands Of Advertisements)

Framework	McCain		Britannia Tiger		Dabur Hajmola		Surf Excel		Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk
	UL	RL	UL	RL	UL	RL	UL	RL	UL	RL
	II	II	II	II	II	II	II	II	II	II
Advertising and its Impact	65.25 MI	64.50 MI	72.33 MI	73.67 MI	68.50 MI	67.17 MI	74.08 MI	74.48 MI	69.83 MI	70.27 MI
Marketing Communication	67.57 MI	70.43 MI	71.43 MI	75.14 HI	68.29 MI	68.71 MI	73.00 MI	73.36 MI	70.86 MI	72.43 MI
Buying Behaviour	66.00 MI	66.00 MI	70.67 MI	72.33 MI	69.33 MI	70.33 MI	76.00 HI	74.58 MI	71.00 MI	72.42 MI

TABLE III Continue…….

Framework	Fevicol		Gems		Sona Chandi Chyawanprash		Rupa Frontline		Anchor
	UL	RL	UL	RL	UL	RL	UL	RL	UL	RL
	II	II	II	II	II	II	II	II	II	II
Advertising and its Impact	70.25 MI	73.92 MI	62.42 MI	63.50 MI	67.08 MI	69.50 MI	63.58 MI	62.58 MI	66.08 MI	64.75 MI
Marketing Communication	69.43 MI	71.43 MI	64.43 MI	65.57 MI	68.00 MI	71.71 MI	67.29 MI	65.57 MI	67.71 MI	67.57 MI
Buying Behaviour	69.00 MI	70.00 MI	67.00 MI	66.00 MI	69.00 MI	69.00 MI	65.00 MI	63.67 MI	65.00 MI	63.33 MI

(Source: Data collection through survey)

Here, UL = Urban Location, RL = Rural Location, II = Impact Index (%), LI = Low Impact, MI = Medium Impact, HI = High Impact

As per the Collective Impact Scores of urban and rural respondents as mentioned in Table II and III, the Impact of the advertisements on the viewers has been discussed one by one.

1. Appy Fizz (Apple juice drink):

According to the viewers, this advertisement fairly conveyed the product information, uses and its benefits as well as the marketing and communication content. Advertising appeals reasonably flowed with the content of the ad message and thus moderately persuaded the audience. Only the image of the celebrity endorser acted as a catalyst in recalling the advertised brand in the viewers’ memory.

2. Godrej Expert (Hair colour brand):

This advertisement was entertaining and understandable; as the content, ad message, flow, appeals, etc. complemented with the popular brand being advertised. Thus, this advertisement equally persuaded the urban and rural viewers making them moderately loyal towards the advertised brand.

3. Mango Frooti (Mango flavoured drink):

This advertisement was blended with an acceptable level of entertaining quotient, product information and emotions and was most liked by both the category of urban-rural matrix. The humour appeal directly related with the ad message and the celebrity as well as the punch line made the ad more interesting and understandable by the audience.

4. Sunfeast Dark Fantasy biscuits (Dark chocolate biscuits):

The communication content and the ad message of this campaign were not fully understood by the audience which impacted in recalling and comprehension of the brand. Due to restrained awareness of the brand as well as hesitant approach of the audience towards the campaign, brand loyalty from both the urban and rural plots was minimum.

5. Amul (Dairy products brand):

The urban and rural viewers’ were in favour of this successful and entertaining campaign as it provided pertinent information on its product range and thus the marketing message was finely executed. In addition, the music associated with the ad was very soothing. The advertisement was finally understood by the viewers of every age group, gender, occupation and literacy level; thus giving a boost in its purchase by the target audience.

6. Servo (Engine oil brand):

The depiction was not exceedingly applauded by the urban and rural viewers of Sivasagar district. The viewers understanding towards the marketing message, product information, appeal, idea, frequency and the demographic details behind the advertisement were confined, which has resulted in moderate restrictions towards the purchasing habits of the customers.

7. Pepsi (Carbonated Soft drink):

On one hand, both urban and rural viewers agreed that it was a successful campaign and on the other hand, only the rural consumers’ were tempted to buy the brand more than the urban counterparts. In addition, usage of the right celebrity, object and the punch line has made the advertisement more transparent which helped in understanding and recalling the communication content behind the promotional drive.

8. Kitkat (Chocolate covered wafer biscuit):

Only the music associated with the ad was most liked by the urban audience and thus moderately influenced them to buy the product. As the understanding level towards the communication content through the campaign was limited, high level of audience persuasion towards the brand could not be achieved.

9. Kurkure (Brand of corn puffs):

According to rural viewers, the comprehension of the campaign was due to frequent visits of this promotional drive in various advertising media. And as per the urban viewers, celebrity endorsement and an attractive punch line were the fair reason for their persuasive approach towards the brand. But the acceptance of this advertisement could not reach to a remarkable level.

10. Thums Up (Carbonated Soft drink):

The urban customers were in favour of the usage of the right celebrity and the right punch line which had finally made the ad a successful one. But when their purchasing habit was considered, it could be seen that the audience moderately understood the concept behind this advertisement.

11. Maaza (Fruit drink brand):

The advertising message was well displayed in the advertisement. The viewers could understand the concept and appreciated the same by purchasing the product. The punchline was so striking that it created a center of attention towards the audience, making the marketing message more transparent and product information more apparent. On contrary, the appeals such as emotions, music, humour, simplicity and accuracy of facts and strategies were moderately accepted by the viewers.

12. McCain Foods (Ready to make frozen snacks):

Although the viewers felt that this campaign was extremely successful in communicating the marketing message to the target audience, it lacks the spice and zing to tickle the senses of the viewers for purchasing the product. According to the viewers, whether it is the advertising appeal, product information, frequency, simplicity, creation of fresh ideas or application of demographic factors, the representation was not fascinating for which the viewers moderately accepted the brand.

13. Britannia Tiger (Biscuits):

The flow of the advertising campaign depicted a clear ad message on the benefits of consuming this product. However, the advertisement was unable to cater the audience’s attention. It was only the rural viewers who accepted the ad optimistically on certain grounds like; music, frequency and humour. The introduction of the celebrity was the main attraction of the advertisement.

14. Dabur Hajmola (Digestive tablet):

The urban viewers felt the ad to be a successful campaign but when it came to purchasing the brand, they were moderately motivated to buy the same. On the other hand, the rural viewers strongly believed the ad was understandable to the viewers of all age group and both the genders but when it came to executing their understanding into action, they stay behind.

15. Surf Excel (Detergent powder):

The execution of the idea of righteousness was so strong that the viewers could easily relate their emotions with the advertisement and understand the message as well as recall it. The campaign was humorous yet, precise and simple with fresh and interesting concept, thus, making the same a comprehensive one.

16. Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk (Dairy chocolate):

It has been observed that for factors like; music, marketing message, frequency and understandability, it was the rural viewers who were highly in favour of the advertisement. In certain circumstances like: emotions, humour, simplicity, accuracy of facts, celebrity endorsements and the demographic variables, along with the rural viewers, the urban viewers were also of modest view that these factors flows parallel to each other in this advertisement.

17. Fevicol Marine (Adhesive):

The ad message was more understood by the rural mass as compared to the urban crowd. Among all the appeals, the humour element drew the attention of the ad to the fullest. Even if the viewers moderately felt that the ad was meaningful, communicative, informative and understandable in relation to the demographic factors, the advertisement was unable to create a zing in the viewer’s mind.

18. Gems Surprise packs (Chocolate balls brand):

The idea of communicating the ad message of Gems Surprise packs advertisement with an adult situation was explicit. The viewers could hardly understand the advertisement and it has been observed that in case of either appeals or the marketing message; there existed a gap in the arena of communication in this advertisement.

19. Sona Chandi Chyawanprash (Herbal formulation with health benefits):

In most of the aspects like; product information, entertainment, marketing message and on level of clarity, this ad has excelled in the eyes of the rural viewers. In spite of moderate purchase behaviour, it can be inferred that the initiative of informing the viewers with the well designed benefits of Chyawanprash with a tinge of emotions was successful to the rural audience.

20. Rupa Frontline (Brand of vests):

The communication was not effective, product benefits was not focused, advertising appeal was not executed in accordance with the concept, and this has finally resulted to moderate acceptance of the brand by the viewers.

21. Anchor (Brand of home automation products):

The main objective of this advertisement was to create awareness regarding the varied portfolio of products under the brand name “Anchor”, with the introduction of a trusted celebrity in the campaign. But the actual scenario depicts that the elements like; entertainment, lucidity, advertising tactics, plainness, etc. couldn’t meet up to the expectations of the creative agencies and thus restricts the people to positively ripple their purchasing habits towards this brand.

2. Relating the contribution of the communication content through media advertisements of the selected FMCG brands on the buying behaviour of the urban-rural matrix

TABLE IV-Overall Ranks for Kruskal Wallis H Test

Groups		N	Mean Rank
Buyer Behaviour	Urban Location	63	60.93
	Rural Location	63	66.07
	Total	126

(Source: Statistical Test through SPSS software package)

TABLE V-Test Statistics(a,b) for Kruskal Wallis H Test

	Buyer Behaviour
Chi-Square	.625
df	1
Asymp. Sig.	.429

a Kruskal Wallis Test

b Grouping Variable: Groups

(Source: Statistical Test through SPSS software package)

From the results of hypothesis testing as mentioned in Table IV and V, it has been observed that the asymptotic significance value is 0.429. Thus we accept the null hypothesis and reject the alternate hypothesis. It is because the tabulated significance level is more than the assumed significance level which is equal to 0.05.

Therefore, there doesn’t exists a significant difference in the contribution of the communication content through media advertisements of the selected FMCG brands on the buying behaviour of the urban-rural matrix. This indicated that the communication content of the media advertisements showed similar influence in the buying behaviour of the urban customers as well as the buying behaviour of the rural customers of the study area. The urban as well as rural end users purchase the brands based on their similar need, requirements and conditions. The communication through the media advertisements had alike impact on both the viewers’ towards the selected brands for the study.

DISCUSSION:

While designing an advertisement, the advertising agencies maintain enough space for communicating the message to the viewers making the ad more acceptable to the audience. The primary analysis of the viewpoints expressed by the advertisers’, clearly signifies that advertising appeals draws the attention of the viewers making them more acceptable towards the marketing message which can be positively associated with the viewers’ long term memory. Celebrity endorsement is one of the major promotional strategies for positioning a brand in the market. Advertisers’ do take care by putting effort to maintain a strong association as well as a balance between the brand, product features, its benefits, ad message, appeals and the celebrity used in an advertisement. Additionally, the advertisers were of the opinion that the advertising medium acts as the source for communicating the features / usage and benefits of an existing product or a new product and a successful advertisement is one which follows a strong execution strategy.

The study revealed that the advertising agencies responsible for designing the selected campaigns were moderately successful in delivering the marketing communication associated with the advertised brands to the audience. For few of the brands like; Mango Frooti, Amul, Kitkat, Maaza, Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk, Fevicol and Surf Excel, these appeals have managed to cater the attention of the viewers, making the brand more acceptable towards the audience. Inadequate balance may lead to audiences’ unenthusiastic attitude towards the brand and at times this is evident in the advertisements like; Godrej Expert, Kurkure, Britannia Tiger, Dabur Hajmola and Anchor. It can also be said that simple the ad message, less the frequency required and more the acceptance of the advertisement by the viewers with ease. The acceptance of the brands Kitkat and Surf Excel by the viewers, justifies the concept of simplicity in an advertisement.

The study outlines that for few brands like; McCain Foods, Surf Excel, Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk, Fevicol and Sona Chandi Chawanprash, the main motto of communicating product information backed by a steady flow of ad message by the advertisers was well executed among the viewers. Even if the purchase of the brand like McCain Foods was not highly remarkable, the audience showed a positive response towards the understanding of the ad message in the advertisement. In comparison, for few brands like; Appy Fizz, Godrej Expert, Sunfeast Dark Fantasy, Servo, Thums Up, Dabur Hajmola, Gems Surprise packs, Rupa Frontline and Anchor, as per the viewers’ response, the ad agencies lacked in demonstrating the product benefits, its usage and a steady flow of the message, making the advertisements’ execution an improper one.

For the brands like; Appy Fizz, Godrej Expert, Mango Frooti, Sunfeast Dark Fantasy, Servo, Pepsi, Kitkat, Kurkure, Thums Up, Maaza, McCain, Dabur Hajmola, Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk, Fevicol, Gems, Sona Chandi Chyawanprash, Rupa Frontline and Anchor, the moderate buying behaviour of the viewers’ towards these selected brands acted as an indication towards brand loyalty. Depiction of the advertising appeals and the transparency in communicating the marketing message of these advertisements was fairly in accordance to the expectations of the viewers.

In case of the brand Amul, viewers’ were convinced by the communication content and they were inclined in purchasing the brand. The high acceptance of the advertisement has been due to the excellent depiction of the communication content through the campaign. The advertising appeal has been immensely blended and the depiction of both the urban and rural lifestyle in the advertisement made the same, an appeasing one to watch. While considering the brand Britannia Tiger, it has been observed that the people from both the urban and rural plots were aware with the brand as well as the advertisement, by showing a moderate purchasing behaviour. The communication content persuaded both the audience, but impact of the same was on a higher scale when people from the rural plots have been considered. It has been due to the availability of the brand in the rural markets, which made the brand name more noticeable among the rural audience. However, as far as the acceptance towards the advertisement has been considered, the viewers were optimist towards the appeals, celebrity and the rational benefits of the brand that has been highlighted through the campaign. The advertisement of Surf Excel possessed a moderate impact on both the urban and rural viewers and the marketing communication was also fairly successful in inclining the audience towards the advertised brand. There exists a modest amount of awareness of the brand among the audience of the selected location, thus leading to persuasion and brand loyalty by the respective viewers. The execution of the advertisement with adequate amount of various appeals made the campaign fairly popular among the people of the selected location.

As a result, it can be comprehended that for all the twenty one (21) brands, significant gap in delivery of the communication content from the advertisers’ end to the audience door has not been apparent. The audience didn’t misinterpret the message, and thus existence of communication barrier from the sender (advertisers’ end) to the receiver (audiences’ end) has not been evident from the study. However, the ample amount of moderate responses for all the brands creates an opportunity for the advertisers to rethink and redesign the campaigns from time to time in order to keep hold of the audiences’ attention. This would as a result, highly influence the viewers’ attitude towards the brands.

In addition from the result of the statistical test, it can be inferred that in current scenario, along with the urban people, the attitude of the rural population is also changing towards urbanization and its culture. They are constantly on the verge of changing their priorities, habits, mind-set and approach towards varieties, in order to match with their urban counterparts. If worked upon, along with the urban market, this would act as an opportunity for the advertising agencies to target the rural people of India and bring a remarkable change in the market of fast moving consumer goods.

Finally, it can be interpreted that out of 21 brands, the advertisements of only 3 brands namely; Amul, Britannia Tiger and Surf Excel, earned the top level as far as the viewers’ acceptance towards the campaigns was considered. Remaining brands could only climb till the moderate level in the viewers’ mind. Deficient balance of the factors like appeals, simplicity, clarity of the message, and inadequate execution of the advertisements were few of the reasons, for the moderate acceptance of the advertisements by the viewers. This implies that in the present world of fair communication between the advertisers and the audiences; a proper mix of balance between the appeals, communication content and the advertising message needs to be taken care off from the advertisers’ end. Furthermore, effective frequency of the campaigns in selective adverting media should also not be ignored from the advertisers’ side. A proper consideration of these factors, results in a more attractive, entertaining, understandable and informative advertisement. When the viewers’ comprehend the message behind the advertisements, there exists like possibility of recalling the brand which influences them in their purchasing behaviour. As a result, purchase of a brand boosts up brand loyalty among the people which in return, enhances the performance of the organization in the competitive world.

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Received on 01.06.2017 Modified on 17.06.2017

Asian J. Management; 2017; 8(4):1092-1102.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5763.2017.00167.6