DISSERTATION PROJECT ON A Study of the Influence of car advertisements on TV on Children and How That Affects the Decision Making

Related To Car Purchase

By

SWAPNA GHOSH (Reg. No 03VWCM6108)

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the MBA program of Bangalore University Under the guidance of Prof. J Chakrabarti, Faculty Alliance Business Academy

Alliance Business Academy 19th cross, 7th main, N.S.Palya, BTM 2nd Stage, Bangalore 560076 2003 2005

DECLARATION
I, Swapna Ghosh of MBA 4th, studying at Alliance Business Academy, Bangalore, hereby declare that this project title A Study of the Influence of Car Advertisements on TV on Children and How That Affects the Decision Making Related To Car Purchase has been prepared by me in the partial fulfillment of the award of Master Of Business Administration under Bangalore University during session 2003-05. I further declare that this project has not been submitted earlier in any other university or institution for the award of any degree or diploma.

Place: Bangalore Date: 11.06.2005

Name: Swapna Ghosh Reg no.: 03VWCM6108

GUIDE CERTIFICATE
I, Prof. J. Chakrabarti hereby certify that this dissertation report titled A Study of the Influence of Car Advertisements on TV on Children and How That Affects the Decision Making Related To Car Purchase has been successfully carried out by Swapna Ghosh with Registration number 03VwCM6108 under my supervision and guidance during the months of April June 2005.

Prof. J.Chakrabarti Faculty Alliance Business Academy Bangalore DATE 11.06.2005

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people who have helped me in making this project a success. First, I would like to thank my project guide Prof. J Chakrabarti for helping me in selecting the research topic and providing me with a base to start with my dissertation work. I am also thankful to all the respondents children and their parents alike, for their participation during the course of this work. I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude and thanks to Prof. Narsimhan, Program manager MBA 4th semester, for his valuable support and guidance for the successful completion of this project. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to Dr. Mihir Das for his guidance, monitoring and encouragement during the course of this project work. I sincerely thank Mr. Sudhir.G.Angur, President and Mr. B.V.Krishnamurthy, Director and Vice President of Alliance Business Academy for giving me the opportunity to carry out this dissertation report. Last but not least, I am grateful to my parents for their constant encouragement and support. I also thank my friends who gave me valuable support and helped me a lot during the tough times of my project.

Swapna Ghosh

Table of Contents
Chapter number 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 7 8 Title Introduction and theoretical background to the study Design of the study Industrial profile Data analysis and interpretation Summary of findings Suggestions Conclusion Bibliography Annexure Page number 1 20 25 31 60 63 64

List of tables and graphs

Sl No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Table No. 1.1 1.2 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 Graph No. 3.1 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 Title Purchase Decision Framework Cognitive Development Process Domestic Sales Trend Export Trend Market Share 2003-2004 Number Of Cars Owned Attributes sought in a car Various Influencers Reasons Given To Buy The Car Liked Purchase Of Car As Suggested By Child Childs reaction to not purchasing the liked car Reasons for accepting the suggestion of the child Various programs watched Reaction to Advertising Liking car advertisements Advertisements elements liked by children Asking parents to buy the favorite car Consideration of suggestion Purchase of car as suggested by children Sources of information about new cars Page No. 15 17 27 27 27 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

List of cross tables and chi-square tables

Sl. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Cross Table no 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 Chi-Square Title table no I Correlation between liking the car commercial and elements of the commercial - music II Looks of the car III Celebrity endorsement IV The car itself V Features of the car VI Correlation between liking the car commercial and asking parents to buy the car liked VII Correlation between considering the suggestion and buying the suggested car VIII Correlation between the age of the children and the influence they have IX Correlation between the age of the children and the decision of parents to buy the suggested car X Correlation between the age of the children and the reasons they give to like a car commercial - looks XI Celebrity endorsement XII Friends have it XIII Features Page no 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58

Executive Summary
In the past few decades, a change has been noticed in the way marketers are communicating to this world. They have shifted their focus and are now concentrating on children. Children have emerged as very powerful players in the game of decisionmaking. Be it the purchase of chewing gum or the purchase of car, children have started playing an important role in influencing parents in their purchases or getting the parents to buy what they want. This study is carried out to find the influence of car commercials on children aged between 7-14 years and how they influence the decision making related to car purchase. Both exploratory and descriptive researches have been carried out to gather data. Internet too has been used extensively. The collected data has been analyzed with the help of SPSS, graphs and correlation tables. To talk a little about the passenger car industry, it has been booming in the past 5-6 years. After the Indian government deregulated the Indian economy, many multi national companies came to India in the form of joint ventures and strategic alliances. In a year or two, top-notch companies like BMW, Volkswagen, and Audi will launch cars in India. Indian customers have never had so many alternatives to choose from. Owning a car has never been this easy when the financial assistance available from bank has become so cheap. From the data, it becomes apparent that children between the age group of 1012 years and 13-14 years are the major influencers on parents. They like watching car commercials for many reasons, music, celebrity endorsing, and looks of the car being the major ones. They ask their parents to buy the car that they like. But as it is a heavy involvement product, suggestions are considered only if they are focusing on the features of the car, the suggestions being rational. Purchasing a car only on the basis of its looks or the celebrity endorsing it does not make sense. Moreover the criteria for selecting a car are totally different for parents. They look for engine performance, comfort, mileage and cars looks. Therefore, the decision is based more on rational elements than on emotional elements. And the suggestions of only older children are taken into account, as they are capable of thinking logically.