AN APPRAISAL OF ADVERTISING AS A TOOL FOR PROMOTING SALES OF SOFT DRINKS (A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED SOFT DRINKS COMPANY IN KADUNA)

ABSTRACT The history of advertising is as old as man himself. The story date back to the prehistoric period when man was using town criers, drummers, flute blowing to pass across important information to present day time where, television radio and other print media is now in use. In advertising, its difficult to trace the result of any given advert or an entire campaign to a products or the entire sales volume. It’s as result of this, that the research work was necessitated. 
The objectives of the study was to determine what pattern the advertising message took and its effectiveness; to highlight the various types of media and factors to consider before choosing a media type; to evaluate the effectiveness of advertising through sales and communication research. In line with these objectives, three research questions and two hypotheses were formulated for the study. The design of the study was the descriptive survey. The study was conducted in Kaduna metropolis. The population of the study was 480 comprising 180 staff of 7up bottling company and 300 staff of coca-cola bottling company. Out of this population, sample sizes of 80 respondents were randomly drawn, comprising 40 each for 7up and coca-cola bottling company Kaduna. 
Mean, standard deviation and t-test was used for analysis. The major findings of the study revealed among others that musical messages are now the vogue. Among the most important factors considered in determining a media type to use is cost. In pre-testing activities, most adverts are seen by expert before beaming it to the final consumers. While in post-testing the sales volume level is accepted as the most important post-testing criteria. There was no significant difference in the mean responses of staff of 7up bottling company and coca-cola bottling company on the two hypotheses tested. Recommendations were made, based on the research questions. Among these are that advertiser should look more into other message patterns other than musical. Advertiser should also look more beyond cost as a major determinant in selecting media type.   TABLE OF CONTENT Title page  Approval page  Certification  Dedication Acknowledgement Abstract Table of Content 
CHAPTER ONE Background of the study  Statement of the problem Purpose of the study  Significance of the study Assumption of the study Research question Development of hypotheses Scope of the study Definitions of terms
CHAPTER TWO Review of related literatures Definitions of advertising  Types of advertising Objectives of advertising  Deciding on the advertising budget Deciding of the advertising media selection    Deciding on the advertising message Evaluating advertising effectiveness 
CHAPTER THREE  Research design Area of the study Population of the study Sample and sampling technique Instrument for data collection Validation of the instrument for data collection Reliability of the instrument for data collection Administration of instrument  Method of data analysis   CHAPTER FOUR Presentation and analysis of data  Proof of hypotheses 
CHAPTER FIVE  Summary  Conclusion Recommendations Questionnaire  Reference