Consumer

Bachelor's thesis
Degree Programme in International Business
General Management
2014
Marja Honkaniemi
CONSUMER´S PRODUCT
PERCEPTIONS AND THE
IMPACT OF ADVERTISING ON
PRODUCT IMAGES
CASE: MIELEINEN HONEY
PRODUCT
BACHELOR'S THESIS | ABSTRACT
TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
Degree Programme in International Business | General Management
2014 | 80 pages+app.22.
Alberto Gonzalez
Marja Honkaniemi
CONSUMER´S PRODUCT PERCEPTIONS AND

THE IMPACT OF ADVERTISING ON PRODUCT
IMAGES
CASE: MIELEINEN HONEY PRODUCT
This thesis focuses on consumer´s product perceptions and the impact of advertising on
product images. This research was carried out for Hunajayhtymä, in order for them to find out
the consumer perception of their honey product “Mieleinen”, the communication effect of their
advertisement campaign and if they reached the objectives of their advertising campaign. The
purpose of the research was also to come up with development ideas for their future
advertisement campaigns.
The focus of this thesis is mostly on communication effectiveness of advertising, since sales
information is already known by the company. The situation at a targeted market was also
investigated, in order to know the factors that affect honey product perceptions of
Hunajayhtymä´s potential consumers. This information could help Hunajayhtymä reach potential
consumers more effectively through advertising. The theoretical context of the thesis mainly
discusses advertising and factors which affect consumer´s product perceptions and product
images. The research in the thesis was based on quantitative approach including some
qualitative elements. The data was collected by carrying out a structured interview
questionnaire, which included a few open-ended questions.
The study revealed that consumer´s own internal factors such as values, experiences, beliefs,
moods, attitude, needs and expectations have an impact on product perceptions. Most of the
respondents thought that the domestic origin is more important than the price, when buying
honey products. According to the results and the literature review also a structure of honey,
packaging, health promoting factors, brand and naturally taste and price-quality ratio matter,
when buying honey products and therefore they affect the perception of honey products as well.
The respondents had a neutral or a quite positive perception of the product, whether they had
heard the advertisement or not. However the perceptions of the product received better average
in all categories within the respondent group, who had heard the advertisement. All in all the
results indicated that the advertisement succeeded to support earlier formed images and
perceptions about the company´s products. On the other hand according the results, there are
also room for improvement; communication effectiveness of Hunajayhtymä´s advertising and
some product images that the consumers formed of the product could be improved.
KEYWORDS:
(Advertising, perception process, product perception and product image)
TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Marja Honkaniemi

OPINNÄYTETYÖ (AMK) | TIIVISTELMÄ
TURUN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU
Kansainvälisen liiketoiminnan koulutusohjelma | Yleinen hallinto
2014 | 80 sivua+liitteet.22.
Alberto Gonzalez
Marja Honkaniemi
KULUTTAJAN TUOTEKÄSITYKSIÄ JA
MAINONNAN VAIKUTUS TUOTEMIELIKUVIIN
CASE: MIELEINEN HUNAJATUOTE
Tämä opinnäytetyö keskittyy kuluttajan tuotekäsityksiin ja mainonnan vaikutukseen suhteessa

tuotemielikuviin. Tämä tutkimus suoritettiin Hunajayhtymälle, jotta he saisivat selville kuluttajan
käsityksen hunajatuote ”Mieleisestä” ja heidän mainontakampanjansa viestinnän tehokkuuden
sekä kampanjan tavoitteiden saavuttamisen. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli myös luoda
kehitysideoita tulevia mainoskampanjoita varten.
Tässä opinnäytetyössä keskitytään pääosin mainonnan viestinnän tehokkuuteen, sillä yritys saa
tietoa myynnistään tarvittaessa. Myös tilannetta kohdemarkkinoilla tutkittiin, jotta tiedettäisiin,
mitkä tekijät vaikuttavat Hunajayhtymän potentiaalisten kuluttajien hunajatuotekäsityksiin. Tämä
tieto voi auttaa Hunajayhtymää tavoittamaan potentiaaliset kuluttajat entistä tehokkaammin
mainonnan kautta. Opinnäytetyön teoreettinen viitekehys käsittelee mainontaa ja tekijöitä, jotka
vaikuttavat kuluttajan tuotekäsityksiin ja tuotemielikuviin. Tutkimus perustui kvantitatiiviseen
lähestymistapaan sisältäen myös laadullisia piirteitä. Aineisto kerättiin suorittamalla strukturoitu
haastattelu kyselylomakkeella, joka sisälsi muutamia avoimia kysymyksiä.
Tutkimuksesta ilmeni, että kuluttajan omat sisäiset tekijät kuten arvot, kokemukset, uskomukset,
mielialat, asenne, tarpeet ja odotukset vaikuttavat heidän tuotekäsityksiinsä. Suurin osa
vastaajista oli sitä mieltä, hunajatuotteita ostettaessa kotimaisuus on tärkeämpää kuin hinta.
Tulosten sekä kirjallisuuskatsauksen mukaan myös hunajan rakenteella, pakkauksella, terveyttä
edistävillä ominaisuuksilla, brändillä ja luonnollisesti maulla ja hinta-laatusuhteella on merkitystä
hunajatuotteita ostaessa ja siksi ne vaikuttavat käsityksiin hunajatuotteista. Vastaajilla oli
neutraali tai melko myönteinen käsitys tuotteesta huolimatta siitä olivatko he kuulleet mainoksen
vai eivät. Kuitenkin tuotekäsitykset olivat parempia kaikissa vastaajakategorioissa, jotka olivat
kuulleet mainoksen. Kaiken kaikkiaan tulokset osoittivat, että mainos onnistui tukemaan
aikaisemmin muodostuneita mielikuvia ja käsityksiä yrityksen tuotteista. Toisaalta tulosten
mukaisesti löytyi myös parantamisen varaa. Hunajayhtymän mainonnan viestintätehokkuutta ja
joitakin tuotemielikuvia, jotka kuluttajat muodostivat, voitaisiin tulevaisuudessa kehittää.
ASIASANAT:
Mainonta, käsitysprosessi, tuotekäsitys ja tuotemielikuva

CONTENT
1.INTRODUCTION TO THE THESIS 6
2. ADVERTISING 8
2.1. Communication process of advertising 9
2.2. Objectives of advertising 12
2.3. Response hierarchy models of advertising 13
2.3.1. The Hierarchy of Effects Model by Robert Lavidge and Gary Steiner 14
2.3.2. DAGMAR-model 16
2.3.3. AIDA-model 17
2.4. Radio advertising 20
2.5. Measuring effectiveness of advertising 21
3. PERCEPTIONS AND PRODUCT IMAGE 23

3.1. Perception process 23
3.2. Product perception 24
3.3. Beliefs and attitudes 25
3.4. Brand 26
3.5. Image 28
3.6. Formation of consumer´s product image 29
3.7. The buying behavior from the perspective of honey products 33
4. HUNAJAYHTYMÄ OY 35
4.1. Mieleinen honey product 36
4.2. Hunajayhtymä´s honey product Mieleinen radio advertising campaign 37
5. METHODOLOGY 39
5.1. Research methods 39
5.2. Data collection 40
5.3. The sampling methods 40
5.4. Survey and Questionnaire 42
5.5. Credibility of the research 43
6. ANALYSIS 45
6.1. Conducting the survey 45
6.2. Results of the research 47

6.3. Development ideas based on the results of the research 63
6.4. Credibility of the research findings 65
7. CONCLUSIONS 66
7.1. Main findings 66
7.2. Suggestions for further research 71
8. REFERENCES 72
FIGURES
Figure 1. Communication process. 10

Figure 2. The hierarchy-of-effects model 15
Figure 3. A pyramid model. 16
Figure 4. DAGMAR model 17
Figure 5. AIDA model and the stages. 18
Figure 6. Traditional response hierarchy models. 19
Figure 7. Sphere of influence of product image. 29
Figure 8. The connection of image formation theory and AIDA-model. 30
Figure 9. The responses divided between age groups. 47
Figure 10. Factors affecting consumer´s lifestyle, consumption and perceptions. 48
Figure 11. How often respondents use honey. 50
Figure 12. Factors that affect honey buying of consumers. 51
Figure 13 How often respondents listen to the radio. 54
Figure 14. Radio channels that respondents listen to. 54
Figure 15. How well the advertisement reached consumers. 55
Figure 16. Reasons why the advertisement caught respondents´ attention. 56
Figure 17. How attractively the advertisement introduced the product. 57
Figure 18. Product images and perceptions. 58
Figure 19. Perceptions of a product and possible product knowledge. 61
TABLES
Table 1. Comparing different age groups. 53

6
1. INTRODUCTION TO THE THESIS
Nowadays it is very difficult for companies to compete only on the basis of its
core functional properties of a product. This makes it necessary to attach an
image to the product. The image is an impression that a consumer perceives of
the brand. Companies try to influence to perceptions and a formation of con-
sumer´s product image with the help of external communication. Several im-
pressions are perceived as a direct or indirect result of signals or messages,
which the advertising being one. (Rope 2005, 210-211) (Bernstein 1984, 12-13)
Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of

goods, services and ideas through mass media such as newspapers, television
or radio by an identified sponsor. Advertising is intended to support sales ef-
forts. A well planned advertising can strengthen positive product and company
images, create product related associations and perceptions, as well as evoke a
desire to purchase. (Kotler, et al. 2009, 691) (Lahtinen & Isoviita 1999, 214-216)
I got familiar with Hunajayhtymä Oy, when I started to plan and think about the
topic of my thesis. Ever since I have studied in a Degree Programme in Interna-
tional Business I have been interested in marketing and the impact of advertis-
ing. Hunajayhtymä was going to launch a radio advertising campaign about
their honey product Mieleinen. They wanted to find out; which factors affect
consumer perception of a honey product, how well their advertisement reached
consumers, increased product knowledge and whether the message was ac-
cepted and a positive product image and perceptions formed from the product.
This information could help the company improve their future advertisements. I
had good luck with the timing of my thesis project and I was privileged to carry
out this research for Hunajayhtymä.
The aim of my thesis is to find out how Hunajayhtymä´s advertisement influ-

ences a consumer´s product images about Mieleinen honey product and what a
consumer perception of the product is. In this thesis the focus is mostly on
communication effectiveness of advertising, since Hunajayhtymä can get data

7
from their sales. I will investigate what the situation is at a targeted market, what
kind of perceptions and images a target group has regarding the honey product
Mieleinen; in order to know what generally speaking a consumer perception of
the product is and how Hunajayhtymä reaches the objectives of their advertising
campaign. I would also like to get information of the target group´s development
ideas for the future advertisements about honey product Mieleinen. My aim is to
get new ideas for Hunajayhtymä to utilize.
I am going to carry this research out by collecting data from 20 to 50 year old
female consumers, who are a target group of this research. This research will
be conducted mainly as a quantitative research including some qualitative ele-
ments, because the data will be collected by carrying out a structured interview
questionnaire, which includes a few open questions.
My research problem is the following: How does advertising influence a con-

sumer´s product images and what a consumer perception of a product is?
My researches questions are the following:
 Which factors affect consumer perception of a honey product?

 How well the advertisement did reach consumers?
 How do consumers see the product after hearing the advertisement?
In my thesis I will create a theoretical framework out of two different parts. First-
ly I will tell about advertising; communication process, objectives, response hi-
erarchy models of advertising, radio advertising and measuring effectiveness of
advertising. Secondly I am going to focus on perception process, product per-
ception, images and formation of consumer´s product images. A chapter four of
my thesis will tell more about Hunajayhtymä Oy. The last three chapters of the
thesis are about the methodology, analysis and conclusions.

8
2. ADVERTISING
Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of

goods, services and ideas through mass media such as newspapers, maga-
zines, television or radio by an identified sponsor. It is usually aimed at a large
crowd, and it has to come through from a message, who is a sender. (Kotler, et
al. 2009, 691)
Advertising is the most visible from marketing means. Its aim is to inform cus-
tomers quickly and efficiently about goods and services with what they can sat-
isfy their needs. In a case of a new product or service, a purpose of advertising
is to create an underlying demand. Advertising should also help companies to
distinguish themselves from competitors and their equivalent products and ser-
vices. A goal is to increase users of a product or a service. (Iltanen 2000,165-
168)
Advertising is intended to support sales efforts. The means used are: infor-
mation on specific product features, advantages and benefits, as well as price,
availability and services. Among other objectives an aim is to create a good
product and corporate impression and image; customer relations and evoke a
desire to purchase. (Lahtinen & Isoviita 1999, 214-216)
Advertising consists of three components: advertising media, where an adver-

tisement is displayed; a message it contains; timing or a method, what time the
message is transmitted. In order to stand out from the crowd, the advertising
must be constantly more arresting and stimulating for imagination. (Korkeamäki,
et al. 2002, 95) (Fill 2005, 508)
There are usually two elements in a good advertisement: The first part is an
informative communication that provides information about products, prices,
payment terms and conditions and availability. An aim is to reduce the uncer-
tainty of potential customers. The second part is a suggestive communication,
which influences attitudes with emotional appeals. These are among other
things music, lights, images and humor. Advertising aims to get people to buy

9
something, what they would not buy without a detection of the advertising.
(Varey 2002, 275-276)
Advertising channels can be divided into a mass communication channel as

well as to a channel, when a message transmits directly to a recipient. Mass
communication channels are among other things television, radio, internet and
magazines. Directly to a recipient channels are an e-mail and a text-message.
(Vuokko 2003, 195)
Target groups of advertising can be either consumers or other companies. We

talk about consumer advertising or industrial advertising also known as busi-
ness to business advertising. Consumer advertising is advertising directed and
intended for domestic markets such as individuals and families. A goal of a con-
sumer advertising is to draw an attention of individuals. In business to business
advertising a target is an organization and its needs. Despite this it is very im-
portant to know and understand a situation at a targeted market in order to
know, how to reach potential customers through advertising as effectively as
possible. (Guille, 2014) (Minett 2002, 1) (Walker, 2006) In this thesis the focus
is on consumer advertising.
2.1. Communication process of advertising
Quite often a situation to an advertiser is such that a consumer is not seeking

for a message. In these situations an advertisement must stand out from the
crowd. This requires courage from the advertiser to do extraordinary advertis-
ing, which draws an attention of a receiver. Since only about 1% of advertising
messages is detected on a conscious level, it creates a real challenge for the
creation of effective advertising. (Rope & Pyykkö 2003, 256-257)
Two elements represent the major participants in the communication process,

the sender and the receiver. Another three are message, channel and the major
communication tools. Four other are the major communication functions and
processes: encoding, decoding, response and feedback. The last element noise
is referring to any additional and irrelevant factors in the system that can inter-

10
fere within the communication process and work against effective communica-
tion. (Belch & Belch 2001, 139) Figure 1 illustrates a model of communication
process. It shows how an advertisement communicates with a receiver.
Figure 1. Communication process. (Belch & Belch 2001, 139)
A sender or a source of a communication is a person or an organization that

has information to share with another person or a group of people. Receiver´s
point of views of the source influence how the communication is received; there-
fore marketers must carefully select a communicator. It is important that the re-
ceiver believes that the communicator is trustworthy or with whom the receiver
can feel to relate at least in some manner. (Belch & Belch 2001, 141)
The communication process begins when the source selects symbols, words
and pictures to represent a message that is delivered to the receiver. This pro-
cess is known as encoding. It involves turning thoughts, information or ideas
into symbolic form. A goal is that sender´s message is understood by the re-
ceiver. (Foulger, 2004)
The encoding process leads to a development of a message that includes the

meaning or information. The message can be verbal or nonverbal, written, oral
or symbolic. Messages have to be put into transmittable form that fits to a chan-
nel of a communication, which is used. In advertising this may be for example
words read as a radio advertisement or producing an expensive television
commercial. For several products and services it is not the actual words of the
message that defines its communication effectiveness. It is rather an impression

11
or an image that an advertisement creates. (Belch & Belch 2001, 142) (Foulger,
2004)
A channel is a method by which the communication travels from the source to

the receiver. There are two types of channels of communications; personal and
nonpersonal. Personal channels of communication are direct (face-to-face) con-
tact with target groups or individuals. Sales people serve as personal channels
of communication. Social channels of communication such as friends, family,
neighbors and co-workers are personal channels as well. (Belch & Belch 2001,
143) (Schultz & Barnes 1999, 141)
Nonpersonal communication channels of communication carry a message with-

out interpersonal contact between a sender and a receiver. These channels are
generally referred to as the mass media. The message is sent to several indi-
viduals at once, for example a television commercial. Nonpersonal channels of
communication consist of two major types, broadcast and print. Broadcast me-
dia include radio and television and print media include magazines, newspa-
pers, direct mail and billboards. (Belch & Belch 2001, 144) (Foulger, 2004)
A receiver is a person with whom the sender shares information or thoughts.

Generally the receivers are consumers in the target market, who see or read
marketer´s message and decode it. Decoding is a process, when the receiver
transforms the sender´s message back into thoughts. This process is influenced
by the receiver´s field of experience. In this context it means the receiver´s ex-
perience, point of view, values and attitudes, which she or he brings to the
communication situation. (Belch & Belch 2001, 144) (Tanner & Raymond 2013)
In order that the communication would be effective; the message decoding pro-
cess of the receiver must match the encoding of the sender. This means that
the receiver understands and interprets the message correctly. As Figure 1
showed the sender and the receiver each have a field of experience around
them that they bring to the communication situation. The effective communica-
tion is more likely to happen, when there is a common ground between two par-

12
ties. This is represented by the overlapping of the two circles in the figure 1.
(Belch & Belch 2001, 144)
During the entire communication process the message is subject to external

factors that can disturb and interfere with its reception. This interference is
known as noise. Interference includes any distractions receivers and senders
face during the transmission of a message. Problems that occur in the encoding
of the message are among other things distortion of television or radio signal
and other advertisements that distract an attention another way. Noise may also
occur because the fields of experience of the sender and the receiver do not
overlap. This may result an improper encoding of the message. It means that
the message is interpreted in a wrong way. (Tanner & Raymond 2013)
The receiver´s reactions after seeing, hearing or reading the message is known
as response. Responses can vary from no observable actions to immediate ac-
tion such as a purchase. Marketers are very interested in feedback. This is a
part of receiver’s response that is communicated back to the sender. The feed-
back helps marketers to determine how their messages have been received. It
also helps to find reasons for success or failures in the communication process
and make adjustments. (Belch & Belch 2001, 146)
2.2. Objectives of advertising
An objective of advertising is a targeted communication at a preselected audi-

ence at a specific time. This goal can be for example to increase a visibility of a
product or a service. A goal could also be an aim to improve consumers´ atti-
tudes toward a product or a brand. Advertising strategy explains how these ob-
jectives are aimed to reach, what a content of advertisements is and which
channels of communications are used. (White 1993, 66)
Advertising objectives can be divided into cognitive, affective and behavioral

objectives. Cognitive goals are for example creating a new business or product
awareness or informing about new company or product functions or location.
Affective goals are for example trying to create and strengthen positive product

13
and company impressions and images, creating product related associations,

as well as evoking a desire to purchase. Examples of achieved behavioral goals
are a contact of a customer, purchase decision and repurchase behavior. How-
ever all advertising objectives has the same aspiration; desired impression, im-
age or behavior among a target group. (Vuokko 2003, 196-198)
“Advertising objectives can be classified according to whether the aim is to in-

form, persuade, remind or reinforce.” (Kotler, et al. 2009, 722) The goals need
to correspond to different stages in the hierarchy–of-effects. This will be ex-
plained more in the next section of the thesis.
 Informative advertising aims to create brand awareness and knowledge

of new products and services or update the situation of market offerings.
 Persuasive advertising aims to create liking, preference, conviction and
purchase of a market offering.
 Reminder advertising aims to remind people to repeat purchase of mar-
ket offerings.
 Reinforcement advertising aims to assure purchasers that they made a
right choice.
(Kotler, et al. 2009, 722-723)
2.3. Response hierarchy models of advertising
A Response hierarchy model is a hierarchical representation of how advertising

influences a consumer's decision to purchase or not purchase a product or ser-
vice over time. The hierarchy of effects model is used to measure advertising
effectiveness. Among advertising theories the model is one of the most well-
known. It defines stages of how advertising works and determines communica-
tional goals. (Inveterate 2011)
At each stage there exits different communicational goals. They might be in-
formative aiming to create brand awareness, rewarding loyalty, or communi-

14
cating brand associations, depending on the stage the target customer has
reached.
Traditional response hierarchy model frameworks claim that audiences of ad-

vertising and other marketing communications respond to those messages in a
very ordered way: “cognitively first ('thinking'), affectively second ('feeling'), and
conatively third ('doing').” (Barry & Howard, 1990) Consumers become aware
and change their minds about a product, then they change their attitude, and
then they act. In other words, the process begins with cognition,which translates
to affect, which then translates to behaviour. (Belch & Belch 2001, 147-164)
(Wijaya 2011)
2.3.1. The Hierarchy of Effects Model by Robert Lavidge and Gary Steiner
A very often cited hierarchy-of-effects model was created by Lavidge and Stei-
ner (1961). “These writers believed that advertising was an investment in a
long-term process that moved consumers over time through a variety of stair-
step stages, beginning with product 'unawareness' and moving ultimately to ac-
tual purchase.” (Barry & Howard 1990, 99)
Their point of view of the stages of the advertising hierarchy can be said to be
implicitly a causal one. However, by detecting that the advertising is intrinsically
a long term process, they claimed that a causal influence occurs between the
stages only in a long run, even though it might not be found in a short-run.
(Thorson & Preston 1983, 27-33) There is an argument that a favourable
response at one stage is necessary, but not sufficient condition for a favourable
response at the next step. “Advertising communication may not lead to
immediate behavioral response or purchase; rather, a series of effects must
occur, with each step fullfilled before the consumer can move to the next stage
in the hierarchy.” (Belch & Belch 2009, 156)
According to the Lavidge and Steiner Model, a customer who is totally unaware
of the product goes through the following six steps before making a purchase:
In the first stage (Awareness) a customer becomes aware of the existence of a

15
product or a service. In the second stage (Knowledge) the customer comes to

know about the features and uses of the product or the service. In the (Liking)
stage the customer develops a favourable attitude towards the product or the
service. The fourth stage called (Preference) stage the customer develops
preference for the brand over other competetitive products or subtitutes.
(Conviction) is a step, which involves a desire to buy the product or the service.
The customer is convinced of a good purchase. In the (Purchase) stage the
customer makes the actual purchase. (Barry 1987, 263)
Figure 2. The hierarchy-of-effects model by Lavidge and Steiner, 1961.

Modified from http://superbrand.net/BrandBabble_Quotes.html [online, referred
24.6.2014]
The hierarchy-of-effects model of Lavidge and Steiner can be explained with a

help of a pyramid model. In order to get to the next level, the lower level objec-
tives such as awareness and knowledge need to be accomplished. Later on the
objectives may focus on moving to the higher levels in the pyramid and try to
evoke desired behavioral responses such as associating feelings with a brand
and regular use. (Inveterate 2011) (Vuokko 2003, 196-198)
Naturally it is easier to accomplish the lower level objectives than to approach

the higher level ones. Advertising objectives can also be set according to the

16
level of the pyramid. For example if the target group is already aware and
knowledgeable about a product or a service, advertising goals can be affective
such as; trying to create and strengthen positive product and company impres-
sions and images, creating product related associations, as well as evoking a
desire to purchase. (Inveterate 2011) (Vuokko 2003,196-198)
Figure 3. A pyramid model.
Figure 3 illustrates the hierarchy-of-effects model (Lavidge and Steiner 1961).

The stages are shown in forms of levels in a pyramid. Modified from
http://gimmecca.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/hierarchy-of-effects-model/ [Online,
referred 28.1.2014]
2.3.2. DAGMAR-model
DAGMAR model (Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising) was

developed by Russell Colley in 1961. It was based on the five-step learning
model. According to Colley an ultimate goal of a sale is to bring people through
the five levels of understanding. (Chisnall 1997, 255) (Lannon & Baskin 2007,
53)

17
The first level is (unawareness), which is directed to a product prior to recogni-

tion of an advertisement. The next step is (awareness), when a buyer discovers
a product. The third stage is (comprehension), when the buyer discovers a
product from an advertisement. The fourth stage consists of (conviction), when
the buyer is convinced about the product and the advertisement. The last step
is an (action). Then the buyer purchases the product. (Chisnall 1997, 255)
(Lannon & Baskin 2007, 53) (Wijaya 2011)
Figure 4. DAGMAR model by Russell.

Modified from
http://pics3.imagezone.org/key/explain%20aida%20and%20dagmar%20model
%20of%20advertising [Online, referred 24.6.2014]
After going through the stages the buyer is left with a positive image of the
product. According to Colley a role of advertising was to help a potential buyer
to move forward in stages towards actual purchase decision faster than with
any other previous model. (Chisnall 1997, 255) (Lannon & Baskin 2007, 53)
2.3.3. AIDA-model
The AIDA model was developed to represent the stages a salesperson must
take a customer through in the personal selling process. (Belch & Belch 2001,
149) The AIDA-model stands for (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action). It was at-

18
tributed in the advertising and marketing literature by (E.K. Strong 1925). This
model originated with E. St Elmo Lewis in the late l800s and early 1900s. “Lewis
theorized that sales people, in order to be successful, had to attract attention
(cognition), maintain interest and create desire (affect), and then 'get action'
(conation).” (Barry & Howard 1990, 99) (Egan 2007)
(Attention): get an attention of your customers and create an awareness of your

product or service. (Interest): raise customer interest by focusing and demon-
strating on advantages and benefits of your product or service. (Desire): con-
vince customers that they want and desire the product or service and that it will
satisfy their needs. (Action): lead customers towards taking action and/or pur-
chasing. (Barry & Howard 1990, 121-135) (Barry 1987) (Wijaya 2011)
Figure 5. AIDA model and the stages.

Modified from
Nowadays a model is modified into AIDASS model. By adding (Satisfaction)

after an operation and (Service), this means extra service in this context. These
two S-letters ensure customer satisfaction and maximize his or her interest in
additional purchases. (Fitzgerald & Arnott 2000, 100)

19
Figure 6. Traditional response hierarchy models.

Modified from
Figure 6 shows the traditional and best-known hierarchy-of-effect models and

their effects on different stages. “All models assume a similar ordering of these
three stages. Cognitive development precedes affective reactions, which pre-
cede behavior.” (Belch & Belch 2001, 151) The first objective is to get a buyer to
obtain information about products and services and influence the buyer's mind.
After this, the objective is to influence buyer´s emotional stage, so that he or
she would choose the product or service in question. The final purchase deci-
sion happens in every model, after the buyer has gone through the cognitive
and affective stages. (Barry & Howard 1990)
The models are criticized because of their monotony, since in order to have an
access to a higher stage it requires to go through lower stages of hierarchy lev-
els. These response hierarchy models raise weaknesses. First of all if you buy a
product or a service step by step, are you forced to return back to the first stage
after a purchase and start the whole process all over again? It is also wondered,
if it is possible to continue straight from the purchase stage directly to a new
purchase, and it is possible to move two steps at a time. However the main

20
problem of the models is that the idea is based precisely on that advertising
works rationally. In this case it is not taken into account that a purchase can be
done because of emotion. (Lannon & Baskin 2007, 53) (Bergström & Leppänen
2004, 275) (Barry & Howard 1990) (Weilbacher 2001, 19-26)
2.4. Radio advertising
For centuries radio has been a significant media for advertisers. The first local
radio stations were founded in 1985 in Finland. This more than doubled the time
spent listening to radio, and the advertisers got the use of a whole new media.
Finnish people listen to radio on daily basis, an average of two to four hours a
day. Usually radio is listened at home or in a car, but nowadays an important
part of radio listening is also FM-radio of mobile phones, which has made easier
to listen to radio outdoors. (Radiomedia 2014)
A benefit of radio advertising is the possibility of a sufficient reach within the

target group. Also the frequency is high, in other words how many times the
message is heart by the target group. According to measurements of the na-
tional radio research between September and November 2013, 3, 7 million
Finns listened to the radio everyday (76% of 9 year olds and older Finnish peo-
ple). During the week, the radio reached an average of 94% of Finnish. The av-
erage listening time was 2 hours 59 minutes per day. (Finnpanel 2013)
(Marmori 2009, 10-11)
There are approximately 20 different channels available for Finnish consumers.

The listeners in Finland are quite often loyal to their radio stations. They do not
change the channels easily while advertisements are on. Finns have learned
that it is a necessary part of the commercial radio channels. Using the radio as
an advertising medium is usually cost-efficient for advertisers and it gives a
freedom of imagination. The best scenario is that radio advertisement informs
and educates a consumer about a product or service, creates a positive image
and activates the consumer to make a purchase. (Marmori 2009, 5-6)
(Applegate 2005, 119-120)

21
Disadvantages of advertising are a speed of advertisement, background listen-

ing, changing a channel, forming a wrong image of a product or service and
advertising clutter. “Advertising clutter is a term used to refer to the very high
volume of advertising that people are exposed to on a daily basis.” (Conjecture
Corporation n.d.) It can be difficult for advertisers to cut through the clutter to
reach potential consumers. Therefore radio advertisements need to be planned
carefully before taking an action. (Applegate 2005, 119-120) (Isohookana 2007,
151-153)
2.5. Measuring effectiveness of advertising
“Advertising effectiveness can be divided into sales effectiveness and commu-

nication effectiveness. Sales volume is used to measure sales effectiveness as
a gauge, and the level that a message is noticed, understood, accepted and is
changing attitude and behavior for measuring communication effectiveness.”
(Ranjbarian, et al. 2011)
In this thesis the focus is mostly on communication effectiveness. Hu-

najayhtymä can get data from their sales but they want to find out, if and how
the radio advertisement caught consumer´s attention, increased product
knowledge, raised awareness towards the Mieleinen honey product and wheth-
er the message was accepted and a positive product image formed from the
product. This information will help the company improve their future advertise-
ments.
The communication effect can be evaluated by advertisement attitude, “persua-

sion”, recall and recognition. Some tests will provide a "recall score" for the
commercial. This measures how many viewers or listeners were able to spon-
taneously recall the advertisement when questioned later. Recognition
measures are similar to recall, except they show people the commercial later
and ask if they remember having seen or heard it earlier. (Olson 2001)
(Ranjbarian, et al. 2011) (Tsai & Tsai 2006, 222-226)

22
Attitude of an advertisement audience is formed after hearing or watching tar-

geted advertisements. The audience will form "like" or "dislike" feelings towards
the advertisement. By understanding consumers’ attitudes towards advertising,
designers and marketers can better strategize their advertising designs. (Wang
, et al. 2002, 1143–1148) (Ranjbarian, et al. 2011) “Persuasion” is also one way
to measure effectiveness of advertising. Advertising agencies argue that a real
purpose of an ad is not to be remembered, but to motivate purchase. (Olson
2001)
It is very important to set objectives, when planning advertisements and adver-

tising campaigns. The objectives of advertising campaign may be for example:
creating awareness, informing consumers of the benefits of the product, brand
or service, creating desired perceptions and images, creating a preference and
persuading customers to purchase the product, brand or service. (Ranjbarian,
et al. 2011)
When a company has set objectives for an advertising campaign, it is also easi-
er to evaluate effectiveness of the campaign later on. For example Hu-
najayhtymä´s advertising campaign effectiveness is evaluated by “recall score”,
attitudes towards the advertisement and “persuasion” effectiveness.
(Ranjbarian, et al. 2011) (Olson 2001)

23
3. PERCEPTIONS AND PRODUCT IMAGE
3.1. Perception process
Knowledge of how consumers obtain and use information from external sources
is important to marketers in formulating communication strategies. Marketers
are especially interested in: how consumers sense external information, how
they select and attend to various sources of information and how this infor-
mation is interpreted and given a meaning. (Belch & Belch 2001, 114) (de
Chernatony, et al. 2011, 91-101)
These processes are all part of perception, which is a process, in which an indi-
vidual receives, organizes, selects and interprets information to create a mean-
ingful picture of the world. Perception can also be defined as the process by
which organisms interpret and organize sensation to produce a meaningful ex-
perience of the world. (Belch & Belch 2001, 114) (Lindsay & Norman 1977)
Perception is an individual process; it depends on internal factors such as per-

son´s experiences, beliefs, moods, attitude, needs and expectations. The per-
ceptual process is also influenced by the characteristics of a stimulus. The key
point is that it depends not only on physical stimuli, but also stimuli´s relation-
ship to the surrounding field and on conditions with each of us. “One person
might perceive a fast-talking salesperson as aggressive and insincere; another,
as intelligent and helpful.” (Kotler, et al. 2009, 239) The same idea can be ap-
plied to advertising and advertisements. (Belch & Belch 2001, 114) (Lindsay &
Norman 1977) (Pickens 2005, 52-59)
Perception consists of three clear stages; sensation, information selection and

interpretation of information. Sensation is the immediate response of the senses
(taste, smell, sight, hearing and touch) to a stimulus such as an advertisement
or a brand name. Perception uses these senses to create a representation of
stimulus. (de Chernatony, et al. 2011, 91-101)

24
Consumer´s personality, motives, attitude, needs, experiences and expecta-

tions have an effect on how information is selected and interpreted. These psy-
chological inputs explain why people focus attention on some things and ignore
others. Two people can perceive the same stimuli in a very different way be-
cause they select, attend and comprehend differently. Usually individual´s per-
ceptual processes focus on elements of the environment that are relevant to his
or her need and turn out irrelevant stimuli. (Belch & Belch 2001, 114)
After a consumer selects and attends to a stimulus, the process is focused on

categorizing, organizing and interpreting the incoming information. This stage of
the perceptual process is very individualized and influenced by internal psycho-
logical factors. A meaning and interpretation that an individual forms from in-
coming stimulus also depends on the nature of the stimulus. (de Chernatony, et
al. 2011, 91-101) “For example, many ads are objective, and their message is
clear and straightforward. Other ads are more ambiguous, and their meaning is
strongly influenced by the consumer´s individual interpretations.” (Belch & Belch
2001, 115) Throughout the entire consumer´s perceptual process occurs selec-
tivity, which makes even more challenging to capture consumer´s attention.
3.2. Product perception
“Product perception is a term that is used to identify the way that consumers
think and ultimately respond to different types of goods and services, particular-
ly certain brands of those products.” (Conjecture Corporation n.d.) Several
companies spend a lot of time and effort in order to ensure that existing and
potential customers would have positive perceptions of their goods. It is very
important that consumers have good perceptions of company´s products, since
it will have a direct impact on consumers´ actual purchase decision. (Fennell
1978, 38-47)
Factors that have an effect on consumers´ product perceptions are product re-
lated factors such as; a price, quality, brand name and country of origin. A per-
son´s own internal factors such as experiences, beliefs, moods, attitude, needs

25
and expectations have also an impact on product perceptions. The effective-

ness of marketing and advertising also affect product perceptions of consumers.
(Fennell 1978, 38-47) (Tse 1999, 911-925)
It is complex to perceive quality in products and it is usually controlled by multi-

dimensional constructs and it is challenging to measure it. ( Khuong & Tram
2014, 525) There are different ways to define perceived quality. According to
Steenkamp perceived quality is indirect between objective product features and
consumer orientation. This means that consumer check product’s quality
through some clues; due to this perceive quality can be different from each one.
(Steenkamp 1990, 309-333)
One of the effective ways to shape product perceptions is to use efficiently dif-
ferent advertising and marketing strategies. These strategies should build a de-
sired perception in the minds of potential consumers. The advertising should
emphasize on benefits and properties of a product that are likely to be appeal-
ing to consumers at a targeted market. This kind of strategy may make con-
sumers aware of the product and affect positively to the product perception.
(Conjecture Corporation n.d.) (Fennell 1978, 38-47)
3.3. Beliefs and attitudes
People acquire beliefs and attitudes through learning and experiencing. A belief
is a more detailed and descriptive thought that a person has about something.
An attitude is a person´s enduring favourable or unfavourable evaluations, emo-
tional feelings and action tendencies towards some object or idea. (Kotler, et al.
2009, 249)
A person might hold both positive as well as negative beliefs toward an object.
In addition to this it is possible that some beliefs are neutral. This may differ de-
pending on a situation or a person. “For example coffee is hot and stimulates--
good on a cold morning, but not good on a hot summer evening when one
wants to sleep.” (Perner n.d. ) This principle can be applied to other matters as

26
well. It is important to realize that beliefs are not always accurate and beliefs
and knowledge can be in fact very distinct. (Thomas 2012)
A company should decide a belief and pick particular audiences for whom these
beliefs are most appealing, relevant and most motivating. It is not enough clear-
ly define beliefs and a target audience. The way how beliefs are packaged for
communication is a vital element of creating the brand. It is also very important
that communication channels are appropriate for transferring the planned be-
liefs for the audience. (Saxton 2008) (Batra & Homer 2004, 318-330) For exam-
ple Hunajayhtymä decided to use the radio advertising campaign in order to
transfer the planned beliefs for the target audience and create the desired prod-
uct image and perceptions of the honey product Mieleinen.
Usually attitudes are considered relatively stable and enduring tendencies to

behave. Therefore they should work as useful predictors of consumer´s behav-
iour toward a product or service. (Mitchell & Olson 1981) Consumers´ attitudes
are both an advantage and an obstacle to a marketer. It is important that atti-
tudes of consumers are never ignored by the marketer. Understanding con-
sumer attitudes, it is possible to develop powerful marketing strategies, create
successful advertisements and campaigns and even influence consumer´s pur-
chase decisions. (Schafer & Tait 1986)
Before selecting a strategy for influencing attitudes, it needs to be determined

exactly what is to be changed. It is useful to set goals which are specific as well
as achievable. After this it is easier to select a suitable strategy and a communi-
cation channel in order to influence attitudes, change or even create them. A
message may gain more likely acceptance, if a company can impress the audi-
ence that they have skills, knowledge, judgement or desired features and char-
acteristics to the issue. (Schafer & Tait 1986)
3.4. Brand
“A brand is a name that is given to a particular product or service or range of

product or services. It basically exists to distinguish a particular product or ser-

27
vice from its competitors.” (Kotler, et al. 2009, 425). A successful brand can be
said to be an identified product, service, place or person that a buyer perceives
unique sustained added value that matches their needs in a best way. (de
Chernatony, et al. 2011, 91-101)
According to American Marketing Association (AMA) a brand can be defined as

a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies on seller’s
good or service as distinct from those of other sellers. (American Marketing
Association n.d.) However there are opinions of managers stating that the
AMA’s definition of a brand has limitations. Those managers think that the
AMA’s definition covers only the exterior forms of expression and a brand shall
mean more than that. They think that a brand should also include internal as-
pects such as; certain amount of awareness, reputation, image and so on.
(Keller 2008, 2)
David Ogilvy believes that brand is a very complicated symbol, and it is the in-
tangible combination of brand attribution, brand name, packaging, price, history,
goodwill, and advertising. The brand receives different images and perceptions
from customers because of the different impacts and various experiences of
customers. (Calderon, et al. 1997, 293-302) “Brand awareness is the degree to
which consumers in the marketplace are familiar with particular brands.” (
Hearst Newspapers LLC n.d.) Brand awareness has several distinct effects on
consumers' perception of different brands, therefore it is essential for business-
es to build brand awareness.
A brand is a promise and it is a whole perception. It is whatever can be seen,

heard, read, known, felt, and thought. It is all about a product, service or busi-
ness. A successful brand cannot be built over a night and only by using adver-
tising but it can support the brand building. Advertising helps to create a desired
image and leads towards a consumer´s purchase decision. (Davis 2013)

28
3.5. Image
An Image is an important part of a brand. It is powerful and it helps to determine

how a person will behave towards a company and how that company is per-
ceived. By its actions the company seeks to give a solid and positive self-image,
by which it seeks to achieve a certain brand identity. However the identity is
often different from the images that stakeholders form from the company or
brand image. However the images of stakeholders are always personal and
their formation depends on factors such as experiences, values, feelings, atti-
tudes and perceptions. (Bernstein 1984, 11) (Rope 2005, 178)
The image can never be more important than the brand but the brand may be
nothing without its image. Therefore they are inseparable. The image is not a
single entity and it is difficult to make tangible. The image is an impression that
a consumer perceives of the brand. Several impressions are perceived as a
direct or indirect result of signals or messages, which the advertising is one. An
advertisement can be said to be a part of the product. (Bernstein 1984, 12)
According to Bernstein it can be decided at the outset what impressions we

wish our particular audience to perceive of our products, what characteristics it
has and how to differentiate it from competitors. Image signals can be sent
through packaging, point-of-sale, display and advertising. Of course the image
must be related with a reality of the product but it is manipulable. (Bernstein
1984, 13)
Originally a reason that the images are gaining more and more ground is simply
due to the fact that an actual core of a product and to this connected additional
added values; benefits and services; only with them it is very difficult to create
constantly a competitive product in the growing market. Nowadays in addition to
the functional characteristics of the product, it is necessary to attach a product
image. This makes possible to stand out from a competition and therefore it is
profitable for business. In practice a product image consists of image elements,
which are attached to the product. These include a name of the product, color
and other visual world. (Rope 2005, 210-211) (Rope 2005, 641)

29
Figure 7. Sphere of influence of product image. (to paraphrase Rope 2005, 209)
3.6. Formation of consumer´s product image
Companies try to influence the formation of consumer´s product image with the
help of external communication such as emails, brochures, newsletters, post-
ers, advertisements and other forms of marketing. Before a person is actually
even familiar with a company, she or he is exposed to its communication. This
is when a gradual building of images starts from unawareness to recognition.
AIDA model is one way to look at, how a stakeholder forms an image of a com-
pany, service or a product. As mentioned in Section 2, AIDA model was devel-
oped to represent the stages a salesperson must take a customer through in
the personal selling process. (Belch & Belch 2001, 149) It was attributed in the
advertising and marketing literature by (E.K. Strong 1925). The AIDA-model
stands for (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action). Companies should also take and
advantage of the AIDA model, when planning company´s visual designing. This
helps to create more effective communication, which allows reaching a target
group more efficiently. However this is just a sale and advertising based tactic
to look at how the image formation is possible, and how advertising or selling
has an effect on the process. (Nieminen 2004, 87)
Timo Rope and Jari Mether presented an image formation theory. According to
Rope and Mether the image deepens step by step, when a consumer gets to
know a company and its products or services better. The following shows AIDA-
model and Rope and Mether´s theory about the image formation. These two
theories support each other and show clearly a connection, why it is worthwhile

30
to sell or advertise to consumers. At the same time Rope and Mether´s ap-
proach explains, how images become deeper. In figure 8 can be seen the con-
nection of theories. (Rope & Mether 2001, 112-115) (Belch & Belch 2001, 148-
149) (Kotler, et al. 2009, 695)
Figure 8. The connection of image formation theory and AIDA-model.
According to Rope and Mether the first step in a formation process of an image
is awareness. Then usually a company or a product is known only by its name.
When the company chooses a name for themselves or their products or ser-
vices, in this point it is already possible to create the first emotional elements of
the image. The awareness step is already in progress before starting the actual
AIDA selling or advertising process. (Rope & Mether 2001, 112-113)
Considering of AIDA-model the first stage of planning company´s goal-oriented

communication and advertising is to draw attention of your target group. If this
stage leads to intended results, based on Rope and Mether a potential con-
sumer should move to recognition phase of the image formation process.

31
In the recognition phase recognition is achieved according to its name. This is

when a consumer gets to know a company or product or service in more detail,
for example through advertising. This leads to a deeper understanding of what
the company actually does or what kind of it’s a product or a service offered. In
this phase all factors that form a visible part of the image such as communica-
tion, its presentation, style and pricing can affect to the image formation. How-
ever the image formed, is a pure image without an emotional charge. (Rope &
Mether 2001, 112-113)
The second stage of AIDA-model is to raise customer´s interest. At this point, it

is important that the words support a first impression. The interest can be at-
tracted by focusing and demonstrating on advantages, benefits, functions or
features of a product or service. The interest stage can also improve consum-
er´s product knowledge, which helps a consumer to identify, if a product or ser-
vice meets his or her needs. (Barry 1987) (Wijaya 2011)
According to Rope and Mether the image formation process is in this point at
the attitude phase. This is when a person forms an actual feeling towards the
company and its products or services. In this phase it is particularly important
that the company´s message transfers into positive attitudes and there are no
negative associations, since attitudes are very difficult to change afterwards.
For the success of a business, positive attitudes should be able to develop from
factors that company´s target groups appreciate. At this point the image be-
comes quite permanent. (Rope & Mether 2001, 113)
In order to increase a (desire) of a product or service, a consumer also needs

rational reasons for an actual purchase. Consumer´s must be convinced that
they want and desire the product or service and it will satisfy their needs. In the
third stage of AIDA-model (Desire) a consumer considers benefits and ad-
vantages offered by the product or service. Factors that affect willingness to
purchase are for example price, quality; in a case of honey a domestic origin,
taste and a structure of the honey, packaging and of course actual demand-
related factors. (Barry 1987) (Wijaya 2011) (Svahn & Roswall 2003)

32
If the process progress according to AIDA-model and Rope and Mether´s theo-
ry, the image formation process reaches the preference phase. The image of
the company, product or service has been able to stand out from its competi-
tors. At this point the perceived image is better than images of its competitors.
This is the basis, when company´s target groups make purchase decisions. The
decision is often based on functionality, such as; price, selection, quality. The
purchase decision can also be based on a positive image that a consumer has
formed from the product or service. (Rope & Mether 2001, 113-114)
The activation step is the last stage of the AIDA-model, which enables a cus-
tomer to try out the product or service. At this point would be very useful to get a
customer close to the actual product or service. This can be done for example
with the help of product samples and experiments. These kinds of activities
make the actual purchase decision easier. (Barry 1987) (Wijaya 2011)
(Fitzgerald & Arnott 2000, 100)
After activation stage of the AIDA-model, the last stage of Rope and Mether´s
image formation process is an experience phase. Then it is defined, if a per-
son´s experiences correspond with her or his expectations of the product or
service. If the activation of AIDA-model has been successful and connected
with aspects of a person, the formed image should strengthen the positive im-
age about the product or service and of course about the company. This in turn
affect the next purchase decision times. (Rope & Mether 2001, 113-115)
(Wijaya 2011)
In case of the activation fail, the image declines dramatically. Anyway regard-
less of the outcome, the image becomes through experiences a person´s inner
truth, which is very difficult to change afterwards. However if the company man-
ages to create with the help of external communication the positive and goal-
oriented image, which also corresponds with the actual product or service, a
person is left with a very positive image. As a result, it is likely that a customer
relationship deepens. (Rope & Mether 2001, 115)

33
3.7. The buying behavior from the perspective of honey products
Buying Behavior is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying
and using products. Consumer buying behavior refers to the buying behavior of
the ultimate consumer on the market; what to buy, from where to buy, how often
and when to buy and how much money is spent on shopping. Consumer buying
behavior is based on individual characteristics, habits and preferences, which
are also affected by external factors such as advertising and economic situa-
tion. Therefore consumer buying is very much influenced by cultural, social,
personal, and psychological factors. (Bowen, et al. 2006, 199-217)
Culture is the most fundamental determinant of a person’s wants and behavior;

consisting of the basic values, perception, wants, and behaviors that a person
constantly comprehends in the society surrounding him. Therefore it influences
people´s decisions that they make every day, even though they might not notice
it. (Pandey & Dixit 2011)
A consumer’s buying behavior is also influenced by social factors; consumer’s

reference groups (face-to-face), aspirational groups (admired groups an individ-
ual would like to be part of) membership groups such as family, friends, co-
workers and social roles and statuses. For example an influence of a family in
honey consumption is high. Several consumers have inherited the use and dif-
ferent preferences of honey from their parents or grandparents. They have al-
ready been introduced its intended use as a child. This also reflects to their buy-
ing behavior later on in their life. (Kotler, et al. 2008, 244-245) (Pohjalainen
1994) (Svahn & Roswall 2003)
A consumer's decision is also influenced by personal factors such as age and

life-cycle stage, occupation, economic situation, lifestyle, and personality and
self-concept. For example with time goods and services that people consume
change. Taste changes and how people perceive things, for instance, food in
early life may be replaced by another perception, with age comes the change in
people’s preferences. This applies also honey products; taste, a structure of

34
honey, an origin of honey, packaging and etc. (Bowen, et al. 2006, 199-217)
(Pohjalainen 1994) (Svahn & Roswall 2003)
A consumer´s purchases are influenced by four major psychological factors:

Motivation, perception, learning ability, as well as beliefs and attitudes. When
honey and its usage are considered, often consumers’ attitudes are very posi-
tive due to its health effects. Despite the fact consumers do not always act in
accordance with their attitudes. (Pohjalainen 1994)
Consumers feel the honey as an adjunct to their diet and they do not classify it
as a compulsory part of their daily diet. Therefore there might not exist strong
motivation to purchase the honey, even though consumers are aware of its
good qualities. This makes it even more important to create a need and moti-
vate a consumer to purchase honey products. (Pohjalainen 1994) (Svahn &
Roswall 2003)

35
4. HUNAJAYHTYMÄ OY
A number of beekeepers set up a limited liability company Hunajayhtymä Oy in

1969. The company was established to respond to two demands; enhance
sales efficiency and sell diverse beekeeping equipment. At first a business was
placed in Toijala but in 1973 the company moved to its current location to
Loimaa´s Kojonkulma. Hunajayhtymä has eight permanent employees.
(Hunajayhtymä Oy 2014)
Southwestern Finland is the densest area of beekeeping in the country. At the

present location Hunajayhtymä is close to the maximum possible number of
beekeepers. Customers who live far away from Hunajayhtymä are served by
mail as well as pick up and distribution transportation of honey and sugar. Hu-
najayhtymä is the largest domestic honey packer and from its selection the
most diverse seller of beekeeping equipment. (Hunajayhtymä Oy 2014)
Honey is purchased from contract producers, packed and sold to central busi-
nesses. The beekeeping equipment is sold at a warehouse store as well as by
mail. In addition, winter feeding sugar is sold in July and August, which is dis-
tributed by a tank truck directly to customers all over Finland. Honey products of
Hunajayhtymä are also sold in the following grocery stores; Prisma, S-market,
K-Citymarket, K-Supermarket and Stockmann. (Hunajayhtymä Oy 2014)
Especially equipment and sugar sales are crucially promoted and developed the
Finnish beekeeping and ensured a high-quality domestic honey production. In
order to ensure the continuity of honey production, the company organizes an-
nually beekeeping contract producer courses for new entrepreneurs, who are
interested in the field. (Hunajayhtymä Oy 2014)
Foreign partners of Hunajayhtymä are suppliers, inter alia from Estonia, Ger-
many, Italy and Denmark. Hunajayhtymä has also organized educational study
trips to beekeepers for example to Hungary and Italy. (Hunajayhtymä Oy 2014)

36
4.1. Mieleinen honey product
Mieleinen is a honey product that combines sweetness and fibers. There is a

good taste of Finnish honey and health-promoting properties in the Mieleinen
honey product. The product came to the market in the fall of 2007.
(Hunajayhtymä Oy 2014) Mieleinen has 34% fiber, which promotes a function of
a stomach and 48% less carbohydrates than a regular honey. Due to a mild
sweetness of Mieleinen, it is suitable for those, who think that the ordinary hon-
ey is too sweet. Mieleinen has a unique feature: It will always remain flowable!
(Hunajayhtymä Oy 2014) “Flowability” means “the capacity to move by flow that
characterizes fluids and loose particulate solids” (Merriam-Webster,
Incorporated n.d.) or “to move or run smoothly with unbroken continuity, as in
the manner characteristic of a fluid.” (TheFreeDictionary n.d.)
Mieleinen is a honey product but it cannot be sold as honey, because according

to regulations, honey may not be added or removed anything. There is a dietary
fiber, polydextrose in Mieleinen. Polydextrose reduces the amount of energy as
well as adds to its fiber content. 4-12 grams dose of polydextrose per a day has
been found to keep in a good condition a bacterial balance of a stomach and
intestinal function. (Hunajayhtymä Oy 2014a) (Hunajayhtymä Oy 2014b)
Mieleinen is 25% lighter than the ordinary honey. The product is also gluten-
free; therefore it is also idealistic for a celiac diet. Mieleinen is perfect for cook-
ing as well as direct consumption as such. The honey product Mieleinen is sold
in the following grocery stores in Finland; Prisma, S-market, K-Citymarket, K-
Supermarket and Stockmann. (Hunajayhtymä Oy 2014)
The name Mieleinen comes from a word honey, which is in French and Spanish
(miel) and in Italian (miele). The name Mieleinen also means in Finnish (pleas-
ing, favorite or your preferred). As presented in a previous chapter of the thesis
the first step in the formation process of the image is awareness. Then usually a
company or a product is known only by its name. When the company chooses a
name for themselves or their products or services, in this point it is already pos-
sible to create the first emotional elements of the image. The awareness step is

37
already in progress before starting the actual AIDA selling or advertising pro-
cess. (Rope & Mether 2001, 112-113) The name of the product by itself can
affect positively to the product perception. (Fennell 1978, 38-47)
4.2. Hunajayhtymä´s honey product Mieleinen radio advertising campaign
A radio advertising campaign about the honey product Mieleinen was carried
out in the radio channel The Voice. The Campaign started on 14th of February
and it ended on 28th of February 2014. The advertisement was played 6-7 times
per a day.
The Voice is a Finnish radio station owned by SBS Discovery Media. The Voice
is targeted at adult population. It is a fresh pop channel, which content of a pro-
gram emphasizes on topicality, phenomena of the time and things that a target
audience finds interesting. (RadioMedia 2014)
A target group of The Voice is 18-44 years old active citizens. The Voice has a
comprehensive coverage area from Helsinki to Rovaniemi. There are living
more than 80% of Finnish people on this coverage area, therefore an advertiser
can effectively reach all age groups. (Radiomedia 2014)
The listener amount per week is about 562 000 and an average listening time
for the reached audience is 85 minutes. The listener profile of The Voice radio
channel is the following; 9-24 year olds 40,4%, 25-44 year olds 33,1% and 45
and older 26,1%. (Radiomedia 2014)
The objectives of Hunajayhtymä´s radio advertising campaign were the follow-

ing:
 Catch consumers´ attention, raise awareness and inform consumers

about the benefits and properties of the honey product Mieleinen and in-
crease the product knowledge.
 Create desired perceptions and images about the product and positive
attitude towards the product.

38
 Create a preference and persuade and activate consumers to purchase

the product.
 Hunajayhtymä wanted to improve their sales as well.
(Savo 2014a)
Hunajayhtymä´s advertising campaign effectiveness is evaluated by “recall

score”, attitudes towards the advertisement and “persuasion” effectiveness.
(Ranjbarian, et al. 2011) (Olson 2001) This was presented in detail in the sec-
ond chapter (Advertising) of the thesis.
Hunajayhtymä´s radio advertisement was 56 seconds long. (Hunajayhtymä oy

2014) The roles in the advertisement were played by Rinna Paatso and Vesa
Vierikko. There was another advertisement supporting the main advertisement.
The other advertisement invited to participate in a competition. By participating
in the competition, it was possible to win a weekend in Paris. A target group of
the advertisement was 20-50 year old women. Therefore it was designed to ap-
peal especially to this consumer group. (Savo 2014a) The advertisement can be
found: http://www.hunaja.fi/yleinen/mieleinen-kampanja-alkaa-tanaan/
The radio advertisement about the honey product Mieleinen informed a con-
sumer about positive benefits of the product. The advertisement emphasized on
how the product is perfect for cooking and it has fiber, which promotes a func-
tion of a stomach. The advertisement also attempted to bring out that a packag-
ing of the product is practical, and despite the fact that the product has health
promoting properties it has a taste of honey. The name of the product (Mie-
leinen) was repeatedly mentioned in the advertisement, so that consumers
would remember it later. (Hunajayhtymä Oy 2014)
The advertisement also informed that the honey product Mieleinen remains al-
ways flowable. In the end of the advertisement it was also said: “Finnish honey
and fiber”, thereby the advertisement wanted to remind consumers about a do-
mestic origin and the health effects of the product. The company´s name Hu-
najayhtymä was also mentioned in the end of the advertisement.
(Hunajayhtymä Oy 2014)

39
5. METHODOLOGY
This chapter will explain research methods, data collection methods and re-
search strategy. This part of the thesis will give information about mainly quanti-
tative research, which was carried out for a target group as a survey. The main
aim was to conduct a research for Hunajayhtymä, in order to find out a con-
sumer perception of their honey product Mieleinen, the communication effect of
their advertisement campaign and if they reached the objectives of their adver-
tising campaign. The purpose of the research was also to come up with devel-
opment ideas for their future advertisement campaigns.
5.1. Research methods
There are two different research methods categories; quantitative and qualita-
tive that a researcher can use in order to find solutions to problems and an-
swers to questions. A data for a quantitative analysis is usually gathered using
more structured research instruments. An analysis for a quantitative data can
be created for example with charts and graphs techniques. (University of
Southern California 2014) (Saunders, et al. 2009, 414)
The Definition for quantitative research methods is the use of sampling tech-
niques whose findings might be described numerically, and are yielding to nu-
merical manipulation provide the researcher to measure future events or quanti-
ties. (Business Dictionary 26.3.2014)
A quantitative research method was originally developed in the natural sciences

to study natural phenomena. However, examples of quantitative methods are
now well accepted in the social sciences and education including surveys, la-
boratory experiments, formal methods such as econometrics, and numerical
methods such as mathematical modelling. (Berry 2006)
Quantitative researchers provide either directly or indirectly numeric values.

These numeric values can be used in statistical calculations and for testing hy-

40
potheses. In the end the quantitative research involves comparing numbers in

some ways. (Zikmund , et al. 2010, 134-135)
A qualitative data can be gathered for example by interviewing and using open-
ended questions. The data for qualitative research is non-numeric and unstruc-
tured, therefore it might be difficult to analyse and make sense of. The qualita-
tive research intends to gain a deep understanding of a specific organization or
event, rather than a surface description of a large sample of a population. The
most common analysis of qualitative data is observer impression. This also
means that the researcher might influence the data by making own interpreta-
tions and impressions. (Saunders, et al. 2009, 482-484) ( PPA 696 Research
Methods 2009)
This research was conducted mainly as a quantitative research including some

qualitative elements, because the data was collected by carrying out a struc-
tured interview questionnaire, which included a few open-ended questions.
5.2. Data collection
Various sources were used for collecting qualitative secondary data for chapter
two and three of the thesis. Hunajayhtymä´s CEO also gave valuable infor-
mation, which was used in this thesis. Conducting a survey was a suitable way
to collect data from the research group. The data was collected by using paper
questionnaire forms; interviewing face to face female consumers from 20 to 50
years of age.
5.3. The sampling methods
According to Saunders et al (2009) sampling is one of the most decisive com-

ponents of studies that involve the collection of primary data from the popula-
tion. The choice of a sampling technique identifies a principle by which mem-
bers of population are selected to be included in the sampling group. “The sam-
pling technique(s) you select largely depends on whether or not you wish to in-

41
fer that your findings apply to the wider population. However, you may not wish
to generalize, but aim to provide a ‘snapshot’ of one particular case, e.g. asking
business customers what they think of one particular delivery process to one
particular supplier, rather than to all suppliers”. (Wilson 2010, 189)
The female consumers from 20 to 50 years of age were chosen as a sample

group to this research. “In statistics, a sample group can be defined as a subset
of a population. The population, or target population, is the total population
about which information is required.” (Explorable 2009a) This was due to the
fact that the aim was to get more accurate data. The target group of the radio
channel The Voice is 18-44 years old active citizens. (RadioMedia 2014) Since
the research concerned a consumer perception of the product and the impact of
the advertising on consumer´s product images, it was also important that a per-
son had heard the advertisement. This sample group was supposed to maxim-
ize the proportion, who had heard the advertisement.
Sampling methods are divided into two categories: probability and non-
probability. “Non-probability sampling is a sampling technique where the sam-
ples are gathered in a process that does not give all the individuals in the popu-
lation equal chances of being selected.” (Explorable 2009b). Since in this study
the sample group consisted of the female consumers from 20 to 50 years of
age, the researcher used as a sampling method non-probability sampling.
There are several types of non-probability sampling techniques. In this re-

search, the researcher used a judgmental also called purposive sampling tech-
nique. Judgemental or purposive sampling technique is one being selected
based on the knowledge of a population and the purpose of the study. The sub-
jects are selected because of some characteristic. The process involves pur-
posely hand picking individuals from the population. (Explorable 2009c)
(Trochim 2006a)
Purposive sampling can be very useful for situations where a researcher needs
to reach a targeted sample group quickly and where sampling for proportionality
is not the primary concern. With the purposive sampling, the researcher is likely

42
to get the opinions of the target population. However there is a risk of bias,
since no randomization is used in obtaining the sample. It is also important to
understand that the members of the population do not have equal chances of
being selected. As a consequence, this can lead to a distortion of results and
this will then limit generalizations of the results of the study. (Explorable 2009c)
(Trochim 2006b)
5.4. Survey and Questionnaire
The aim of a survey is to gather primary data, gathered and assembled specifi-
cally for the project at hand. Often research asks respondents to entail answers
or spoken questions. The data can be gathered through the mail, on the tele-
phone, online, or face to face with these interviews or questionnaires. (Zikmund
, et al. 2010, 186-187)
A term “survey” is normally used in several ways, but generally refers to the se-
lection of a relatively large sample of people from a pre-determined population
(the “population of interest”; this is the wider group of people in whom the re-
searcher is interested in a particular study). This is followed by the collection of
a relatively small amount of data from those individuals. The researcher uses
information from a sample group to make some inference about the wider popu-
lation. (Kelley, et al. 2014)
Surveys are relatively low cost and efficient means of estimating information
about a population. In the best case they can produce a large amount of data in
a short time. Surveys show a figure at a given point, at a specific time. When
surveys are carried out properly, they offer several advantages. (Zikmund , et
al. 2010, 186-187)
A questionnaire is a list of written questions that can be completed in one of two

basic ways; respondents complete them by themselves in their own time (a
postal questionnaire) or respondents could be asked to complete the question-
naire by verbally responding to questions in the presence of the researcher (a
structured interview). (Bryant n.d.)

43
Researcher defines when a respondent is able to answer freely (open-ended

questions), which produces mainly qualitative data, and when an answer is
conducted by following structured forms (closed-ended questions), which pro-
duces mainly quantitative data. The close-ended questions can be for example
yes or no, multiple choice and scaled/ Likert scale questions. (Bryant n.d.) “Lik-
ert scale is a scale which measures a perceived opinion of an object by a partic-
ipant by using statements which reflect either a strong positive or negative opin-
ion of an object.” (Psychology Dictionary 2012)
Questionnaires are describing, and partly explaining. The explaining question-

naire aims to give answers to cause-and-effect relationships. The describing
questionnaire answers to questions such as what, who, what kind of or where.
(Heikkilä 2008, 13-14) A Questionnaire is also a good research method to in-
vestigate respondents, when the researcher wants to know respondents´ opin-
ions and experiences of different matters. The collected data of the question-
naires is primary data. This is due to the fact that the data is received immedi-
ately and therefore it includes immediate information. (Hirsjärvi, et al. 2001)
A common restrictive problem with quantitative research methods is that results

give rarely the underlying cause of the matter. Normally the results only tell the
current situation of the matter. It must also be taken into account that respond-
ents do not always answer truthfully to the questions in the surveys. (Heikkilä
2008, 16-20)
5.5. Credibility of the research
When conducting a research, the issue of credibility should always be consid-

ered. It might be challenging to create an accurate research with consistent and
reliable results. Bias can never be eliminated completely, even though planning
and performing research properly can reduce the possibility of false information.
There is never certainty that interpretation is done correctly. (Saunders, et al.
2009, 156)

44
There are generally applied three criteria for good measurement, which are reli-
ability, validity and sensitivity. (Zikmund, et al. 2010, 305) Reliability is the con-
sistency or repeatability of the measures. Validity refers to the degree to which
a research accurately assesses or reflects the specific concept that the re-
searcher is attempting to measure. Sensitivity refers to an instrument´s ability to
accurately measure variability in a concept. (Colorado State University n.d.)
(Zikmund, et al. 2010, 309)
Sensitivity is an important measurement concept. It is particularly meaningful,

when a researcher investigates changes in attitudes or other hypothetical con-
structs. There were scaled questions/ Likert scale questions in the survey; this
was intended to increase sensitivity of the study. (Zikmund, et al. 2010, 309)
The scaled questions/ Likert scale questions were questions (5, 9, 16, 19 and
20) in the survey (Appendix 1).

45
6. ANALYSIS
6.1. Conducting the survey
The research was carried out by using Webropol as a tool and by creating sur-
vey regarding Hunajayhtymä´s Mieleinen honey product advertising campaign
and product perceptions. As a result I got information on perspectives of the
target group regarding the communication effect, the advertisement, product
image and perceptions about Mieleinen honey product. I believe that this was
an effective way to get ideas and information of the target group´s perceptions,
opinions and point of views of the matters.
The survey was done in Finnish, because all the respondents were Finns. I
used as a help information from the previous studies done about the honey,
when I created the questions related to honey consumption in the survey (ques-
tions 6-9 in the Appendix 1). (Svahn & Roswall 2003) (Pohjalainen 1994) I pre-
tested the survey with three people (one from each age group). It worked but I
made a few more changes before the final version (See Appendix 1). The sur-
vey was also accepted by Aapo Savo (CEO of Hunajayhtymä). After the crea-
tion process started a data collection.
The data was collected by using paper questionnaire forms; interviewing face to
face female consumers from 20 to 50 years of age. I explained to every re-
spondent the objectives of the survey before the actual interview. The inter-
views took 5 to 15 minutes. The length of the interviews was also affected by
whether they had heard the advertisement, how long the respondents consid-
ered their responses and how carefully they answered to open-ended ques-
tions.
There were questions in the survey to figure out demographic data of the re-
spondents. There were also questions related to lifestyle, possible perceptions
and honey consumption of the respondents. The purpose of this was to find out,
which factors affect consumer perception of a honey product. The rest of the

46
questionnaire contained questions related to the communication effectiveness,

the advertisement and possible product images. Some of the results were
measured by using Likert scale. This was meant to increase sensitivity of the
study.
The interviews were done at Turku region mostly in the very centre of the city.
The original plan was to gather the data during the days from Friday 14 th to Sat-
urday 15th of March 2014. However I found out that collecting the answers of
the respondents took more time and effort than expected. Therefore the data
was gathered from 14th to 21st of March 2014.
The main challenge in the data collection was to find consumers, who had
heard Hunajayhtymä´s radio advertisement about the honey product Mieleinen.
Every now and then I also had difficulties to recognize the age groups or get a
respondent hit the target group. Of course everyone did not want to give their
time and answer to the questions. There were also challenges created by
weather conditions.
My goal was to get 100 respondents, at least 30 consumers from each age
group. In total there were 85 respondents. The best response rate was from the
age group 20-29 years old (39 responses). I got (19 responses) from the age
group 30-39 and (27 responses) from 40-50 year olds.
Unfortunately there were only eleven consumers, who had heard the actual ad-
vertisement. These consumers also answered to the questions (13-18) in the
survey (Appendix 1). These questions considered the actual advertisement and
possible product images. Other 74 respondents did not answer to these ques-
tions, since they did not hear or recall hearing the advertisement. They were
asked to answer to the question 19 directly after the question 12 in the survey
(Appendix 1).
Afterwards the data was transferred to the Webropol, which was used as an
analysing tool. Webropol provided me with a basic report, but I needed more
accurate data. I used Statistical package for social sciences (herein after SPSS)
in order to make the analysis.

47
6.2. Results of the research
This section covers the results I have gathered for this research. The first four
questions of the survey (Appendix 1) were to find out the demographic data of
the respondents.
All in all there were 85 female respondents. 46% of them were 20-29 year olds,
22% 30-39 year olds and 32% of them 40-50 year olds.
20-29
32%
46% 30-39
40-50
22%
Figure 9. The responses divided between age groups.
More than 50% from the age group 20-29 were students. This probably also
affected their income level. Therefore most of the respondents in the age group
20-29 year old had taxable income in year 2013 less than 15 000€. The table
can be found in the Appendix 2.
In the age groups 30-39 and 40-50 the most common profession was employee
or worker 47% and 41% of the respondents. The most common income level
category within the both age groups was 35 001-45 000€. The age group 40-50
year olds had the highest income level compared to the other groups. (Appen-
dix 2)
The majority of the respondent in the age group 20-29 had the family type;
childless couple 38% or living alone 28%. “Other what” section was 15%. The
respondents who chose this option were able to describe freely their family

48
type. All the 20-29 year olds who chose this option said that they live with a
roommate or with roommates.
The most of the 30-39 year olds had the family type two-parent family with chil-
dren 47%. The rest of the family types within this age group were divided fairly
evenly. One third of the age group 40-50 had the family type two-parent family
with children. Another one-third of the 40-50 year olds had the family type child-
less couple. “Other what” section within this category was 11%. These re-
spondents described that their children had already grown up and moved away
from home. (Appendix 2)
The question 5 considered the factors, which have an effect on consumer´s life-
style, consumption and perceptions. This was important due to the fact that a
marketer needs to know the situation on the target market and opinions of their
target group in order to carry out as effective marketing as possible. This princi-
ple can also be applied to advertising. This was presented in the literature re-
view.
The respondents had to evaluate the significance of the following factors; eth-
ics, ecology, domestic origin, healthy lifestyle, economical factors, media, plan-
ning and emotions to their consumption. The respondents used the scale from 1
to 5. In the scale the 1 meant very minor importance and 5 very major im-
portance. The figure 6 shows the average, how the responses were divided in
the scale between the respondents.
0 1 2 3 4 5
Ethics 3,86
Ecology 3,49
Domestic origin 3,75
Healthy lifestyle 3,31
Economical factors 4,2
Media 2,19
Planning 3,36
Emotions 2,99
Figure 10. Factors affecting consumer´s lifestyle, consumption and perceptions.

49
From figure 10 can be seen what the respondents thought about the factors and
their importance. Ethics, domestic origin and economic factors received the
highest score compared to other categories. The cross tables are in the Appen-
dix 2.
The factor healthy life style gathered responses from 2 to 5 in the scale. The
healthy lifestyle in consumption was the least important to 20-29 year olds. The
respondents within this age group (33%) thought that it has only a little im-
portance. The healthy lifestyle in consumption was the most important to 40-50
year olds. Even 33% of them thought that healthy lifestyle has a quite a lot im-
portance in their consumption and 41% that it has some importance to their
consumption (Appendix 2).
Economic factors were important to all age groups. The responses were divided
between some importance and very major importance (in the scale 3-5, Appen-
dix 2). Economic factors were the most important to 20-29 year olds. Even 44%
of them thought that it has very major importance in their consumption. On the
other hand about 30% of 40-50 year olds thought that is has only some im-
portance in their consumption (Appendix 2). This is probably in relation with re-
spondents’ income. 20-29 year olds had the lowest taxable income and 40-50
year olds the highest in year 2013. (Appendix 2)
Media, planning and emotions divided the responses from 1 to 5 in the scale.
Some of respondents thought that those factors have quite a lot importance to
their consumption. On the other hand there were also consumers, who thought
that those factors have only very minor meaning to their consumption. (Appen-
dix 2) However it needs to be taken into account, especially when analysing the
results regarding media that not too many people will accept or know that media
has a quite strong influence on their lifestyle, consumption and perceptions.
“The force of media is shaping the way we live”. (Kel 2009) (Field 2000)

50
Questions 6, 7 and 8 in the survey were to find out; how often respondents use
honey, what their main reason for the use of honey is and how they usually use
honey. Most of the respondents use honey monthly (40% of them). Approxi-
mately 25% of respondents use honey a few times a year and about 19% week-
ly. Only about 7% of respondents use honey daily and 9% not at all. More de-
tailed table can be found in Appendix 2.
How often respondents use honey
9,4% 7,1%
Daily
18,8% Weekly
24,7%
Monthly
A few times a year
40,0% Not at all
Figure 11. How often respondents use honey.
The respondents who answered that they do not use honey at all, were able to
describe freely why they don´t use honey. The most common reason was that
they do not drink warm drinks. The second common reason was that honey is
too sweet for their taste. There was also one respondent, who said that in addi-
tion to not drinking tea she doesn´t bake and therefore she doesn´t need honey.
The answers may indicate that all intended uses of honey are not known among
the respondents.
Most of the respondents said that their main reason for the use of honey is as
sweetener / as a substitute for sugar (about 69%) of all respondents. The next
main reason for the use of honey was; it gives taste (about 17%) of the re-
spondents. 5% of respondents chose “other reason, what?” from options in the
survey (Appendix 1). They were able to describe freely their answer. All the re-

51
spondents, who chose “other reason, what?” option answered; cooking or hon-
ey is very suitable for some foods. (Appendix 2)
From the question 8 of the survey, respondents were able to choose a maxi-
mum of three alternatives. The question concerned how they usually use honey.
82% from all respondents chose as a sweetener in tea, coffee or in other drinks.
39% of the respondents had also chosen in baking and cooking and 22% “to
your health, for example as a treatment of the common cold/flu”. There were
not significant differences between age groups. However it stood out a little
from the other age groups that 48% of 40-50 year olds had chosen that they
usually use honey in baking and cooking. In the Appendix 2 can be seen cross
tables and how answers are divided between the options.
Question 9 considered the factors and how important they are, when the re-
spondents buy honey. The respondents used the scale from 1 to 5. In the scale
1 meant very minor importance and 5 very major importance. Figure 12 de-
scribes the average (in the scale from 1 to 5) of what the respondents consid-
ered about the factors that affect their honey buying. The Cross tables can be
found in Appendix 2.
0 1 2 3 4 5
Price 3,57
Taste 4,77
Flowability of honey 2,56
Brand 2,75
Domestic origin 3,96
Packaging material 2,62
Price – quality ratio 4,81
Health promoting factors 2,89
Organic, honey with a flavour 2,49
Figure 12. Factors that affect honey buying of consumers.
The Figure 12 shows that for most of the respondents; price, taste, domestic
origin and price-quality ratio are quite important factors, when they buy honey.
The domestic origin was the most important to 40-50 year olds. Even 60% of

52
them thought that it has very major importance. The price of the honey was the
most important within age groups to 20-29 year olds. This is probably related
with income level of respondents. (Appendix 2)
“Flowability” of honey, brand and packaging material divided the responses

from 1 to 5 in the scale. 32% of 40-50 year olds thought that “flowability” of hon-
ey has some importance (3 in the scale). This is probably due to the fact that
48% within this age group had also chosen that they use honey usually for
cooking or baking. The brand when buying honey was the most important to 30-
39 year olds. The respondents within this age group thought (about 29% in both
categories) that it has some or quite lot significance, when buying honey. (Ap-
pendix 2) Packaging material of the honey was the most important to 30-39
year olds as well. 41% of them thought that it has quite a lot meaning when buy-
ing honey. 36% of 40-50 year olds thought that it has some significance. How-
ever 50% of 20-29 year olds thought that it has only a little importance. This
may indicate that 30-50 year olds consider more the practicality of the package
when buying honey.
The health promoting factors were more or less important to all age groups.
29% of 30-39 year olds thought that it has quite a lot importance. 36% of 40-50
year olds thought that it has some importance and 16% that it has even very
major importance when buying honey. 23% of 20-29 year olds thought that it
has quite a lot importance but on the other hand there were 40% within this age
group, who considered that it has only little meaning, when buying honey. (Ap-
pendix 2)
The responses considering organic or honey with a flavour were divided in the
scale from 1 to 5 between respondents quite evenly (the average 2, 49). Unfor-
tunately during the interview process the author found out that this part of the
question 9 was unclear. The respondents were confused about “organic or hon-
ey with a flavour”. An error occurred at this point of the questionnaire. There
should have been asked only one thing at a time, therefore the results in that
respect cannot be said to be reliable.

53
In summary, a table 1 identifies the different age groups and their most im-
portant factors when buying honey. There are compared especially the honey
product Mieleinen specific features (except the price) that the advertisement
emphasized. A scale is from 1 to 5 in the table. In the scale 1 means very minor
importance and 5 very major importance. The more detailed cross tables can be
found in (Appendix 2).
Table 1. Comparing different age groups.
The advertisement; communication effectiveness, product images and

development ideas:
The question 10 of the survey (Appendix 1) inquired how often respondents lis-
ten to the radio. This was to find out whether the radio is a potential communi-
cation channel, which could reach consumers. 40% of respondents listen to the
radio less than an hour a day. Approximately 35% of the respondents more than
an hour a day and about 21% more than three hours a day. Only a few re-
spondents said that they do not listen to the radio at all. There were no signifi-
cant differences between the age groups. (Appendix 2)

54
3,5 % How often respondents listen to the radioHoHHh
More than an hour a day

35,3 %
More than 3 hours a day
40,0 %
Less than an hour a day
Not at all
21,2 %
Figure 13 How often respondents listen to the radio.
The question 11 was to investigate what radio channel or radio channels re-
spondents usually listen to. Figure 14 shows what radio channels respondents,
who listen to radio mentioned intercepts of.
60,00%
50,00%
40,00%
30,00%
20,00% 20-29
10,00%
30-39
0,00%
40-50
Figure 14. Radio channels that respondents listen to.
Majority of the respondents mentioned that they listen to the following radio
channels; The voice, Nova, Yle-X and Suomipop. Almost 49% of 20-29 year
olds, who listen to the radio (18 consumers from 37), mentioned that they listen
to The Voice radio channel. From the age group 30-39 year olds about 33%
listened The Voice (6 consumers from 18) and almost 30% from 40-50 year
olds (8 consumers from 27).
Almost 52% of 40-50 year olds mentioned to listen to the radio channel Nova.
The corresponding figures in other age groups were (about 39%) of 30-39 year

55
olds and (about 32%) of 20-29 year olds. The radio channel Suomipop was
quite popular within all age groups: 43% of 20-29 year olds, 39% of 30-39 year
olds and 33% of 40-50 year olds. Yle-X got quite many responses within the
age group 20-29 (almost 46%), From the age group 30-39 one third mentioned
to listen to Yle-X but from 40-50 year old only about 15%.
Because the question 11 was open-ended question, there were also respond-
ents who added to their answer in addition to radio channels that they listen to;
a radio channel that is on at work or at gym. There were also two respondents,
who mentioned several radio channels and told that they change the channel
according their mood. Generally speaking most of the respondents mentioned
several radio channels to the question 11. (Appendix 1)
The question 12 in the survey investigated whether the respondent had heard
Hunajayhtymä´s radio advertisement. This question was to find out how well the
advertisement reached consumers. There were only 11 respondents from 85,
who had heard or recalled hearing the advertisement. This was disappointing
but at least there were respondents within every age group, who had heard the
actual advertisement. From the age group 20-29; (6 respondents from 39) had
heard the advertisement. From 30-39 year olds (2 from 19 respondents) and
from 40-50 year olds (3 from 27 respondents) had heard the advertisement.
(Appendix 2).
0,00% 20,00% 40,00% 60,00% 80,00%100,00%
94,87%
I listen to the radio 94,74%
100%
48,60% 20-29
The Voice 33,30%
29,60%
30-39
15,38% 40-50
Yes, I have heard the advertisement 10,53%
11,11%
84,62%
No, I haven´t heard the advertisement 89,47%
92,59%
Figure 15. How well the advertisement reached consumers.

56
Figure 15 illustrates; how many respondents listen to the radio, and from this
consumer group how many listens to The Voice radio station. The figure also
shows the percentage of how many consumers from 85 respondents heard or
did not hear the advertisement.
The following questions 13-18 were only answered by the respondents,

who had heard the advertisement.
The question 13 investigated why the advertisement caught respondents´ atten-

tion. The interviewees (11 respondents) were able to choose two of the six op-
tions (Appendix 1). Figure 16 shows how the responses were divided between
the alternatives.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
It was funny
It stood out from other… 20-29
There were properties in the… 30-39

40-50
It was annoying
Total
I listen to the radio station The…
I don´t know
Figure 16. Reasons why the advertisement caught respondents´ attention.
Six from eleven respondents thought that the advertisement was funny and it
stood out from other advertisements. Three from eleven respondents thought
that there were properties in the advertised product that interest them and they
appreciate. The option “I listen to the radio station The Voice constantly, so I
heard the advertisement several times” got the same amount of responses.
There were also two interviewees, who had chosen the option it was annoying.
None of the respondents selected the option I don´t know.
The question 14 was about how attractively the advertisement introduced the
product in respondents´ opinion. The respondents used the scale from 1 to 5. In
the scale the 1 meant not attractive at all and 5 very attractive. Six from eleven

57
had chosen 3 in the scale, which meant “attractive to some extent”. Four of
eleven respondents chose 4 in the scale, which meant “quite attractive” There
was also one person, who chose 2 in the scale, “little attractive”. This indicates
that most of respondents had a neutral or positive reaction to the advertisement.
Figure 17. How attractively the advertisement introduced the product.
Question 15 was about what kind of feelings the advertisement evoked in re-
spondents. The respondents were asked to name three feelings. The question
was an open-ended question; therefore the respondents were able to describe
freely their answers. The most common responses were surprised and amused.
There were also a few respondents, who said thoughtful. In addition to these
there was one person who said irritated. One of the respondents also said
“hungry for sweet” (in Finnish makeanhimoinen). One respondent answered to
the question; I don´t know. All of the respondents did not come up with three
adjectives to describe their feelings about the advertisement.
Question 16 in the survey (Appendix 1) was about possible product images and
perceptions that a respondent may have formed about the Mieleinen honey
product after hearing the advertisement and how Hunajayhtymä reached the
affective objectives of their advertising. The respondents (11 consumers) used
the scale from 1 to 5. In the scale the 1 meant describes the product poorly and
5 meant describes the product very well. Figure 18 shows the average (from 1

58
to 5) of what the respondents, who had heard the advertisement answered

about the statements. Cross tables can be found in Appendix 2.
0 1 2 3 4 5
The product is pleasant 3,55

The product is reliable 3,36
The product is high quality 3,73
The product is domestic 4,82
The package is easy to use and practical 4,09
The product is modern 2,73
The product has health effects 4,09
The product is interesting 3,64
The product is a pioneer 2,45
Figure 18. Product images and perceptions.
The average of the statements “the product is domestic, the package is easy to
use and practical and the product has health effects” was more than 4. This in-
dicates that the advertisement has transferred message into a very positive im-
age about the honey product Mieleinen within these categories.
The statements; “the product is pleasant, reliable and interesting” divided the
responses in the scale from 2 to 5. However the average was more than 3. This
indicates that most of respondents thought that the statements describe the
product to some extent or quite well. Most of the respondents had neutral or
positive approach towards the statements.
The average of the statement; “the product is high quality” was (3, 73). The re-
sponses were divided in the scale from 3 to 5. The average of this statement
indicates that the advertisement had succeeded to build a positive image and
perception and the message transferred into positive attitudes towards the
product.
The statements; “the product is modern and the product is a pioneer” divided
the responses in the scale from 2 to 4. These categories got more negative or
neutral approach from respondents compared to other categories in the ques-

59
tion 16. Five of eleven respondents thought that the statement “product is mod-
ern” and even six respondents thought that the statement “the product is a pio-
neer” describes the product quite poorly (2 in the scale). This indicates that the
advertisement did not form an image and a perception among the respondents
that the product is modern and pioneer. However it needs to be taken into ac-
count that consumers have different kinds of perceptions and it is difficult to tell,
how they consider that something is modern or pioneer in the first place. (Belch
& Belch 2001, 114) (de Chernatony, et al. 2011, 91-101)
Naturally it must be taken into account that to some respondents, Hu-

najayhtymä and their products may have been familiar beforehand. It needs to
be remembered that most of respondents appreciated domestic origin when
buying honey products. Hunajayhtymä has a long history and its products are
known at least to some extent in Finland. Therefore respondents might have
used the information, when answering to the statements that they have about
the company and its products, so the results do not necessarily tell the whole
truth. However this would indicate that Hunajayhtymä has a good reputation
and the advertisement succeeded to support earlier formed images and percep-
tions about the company´s products.
Question 17 was about the radio advertisement and, if respondents could think
of buying the honey product Mieleinen on the basis of the advertisement. The
respondents were able to choose from four options (Appendix 1). Six from
eleven respondents answered “Yes” to the question. Four of eleven answered
perhaps and one respondent “Yes, I have already bought the product”. There
were no “No” answers among respondents. This indicates that respondents had
basically a positive or neutral image and attitude towards the product after hear-
ing the advertisement. Therefore it can be considered that the company´s mes-
sage (the advertisement) formed a quite positive overall image.
Question 18 was to find out how the advertisement could be developed in re-
spondents´ opinion. The question was open-ended questions and the respond-
ents were able to tell freely their development ideas. Most of eleven respond-
ents had something to say but there were also a few respondents, who didn´t

60
have any ideas at the time. The following are the development ideas that the
respondents came up with.
 The advertisement could have emphasized more what it is about already

at the beginning of the advertisement.
 Perhaps the advertisement could have focused more on the product it-
self. It could have placed greater emphasis on honey.
 The product was covered a little too much with a bickering of a man and
a woman. Arguing made a little difficult to assess the product.
 In a certain way the advertisement was too stereotypical. A traditional al-
location of gender roles was irritating.
 Good properties of the product could have been emphasized even more.
It would have been interesting to know, how much the product costs.
 First it was a little hard to understand that the advertisement was about
the honey product. Sometimes simplicity is the best solution.
 Might be a good idea to make a catchy song about the product.
 The advertisement could have been a little shorter
Perceptions and knowledge of the product
Question 19 was about consumer perceptions of the product and possible

product knowledge. This question in the survey was to measure what a general
consumer perception of a product is and how Hunajayhtymä reached the cogni-
tive objectives of their advertising. This question was answered by all the re-
spondents (85 female consumers). The respondents used the scale from 1 to 5.
In the scale the 1 meant the argument is not true at all and 5 meant the argu-
ment is totally true. Figure 19 shows the average (from 1 to 5) of what the inter-
viewees answered about the arguments.

61
0 1 2 3 4 5
Mieleinen is Finnish honey 4,91
3,81
product
4,36 Yes, I have heard
The product has dietary fiber 2,46
the advertisement
The product has less 2,64
2,04
carbohydrate
The honey product 4,64
3,03
Mieleinen will always…
No, I haven´t heard
The product is very suitable 4,27
3,65 the advertisement
for cooking
A packaging of the honey 4,27
3,19
product Mieleinen is…
Figure 19. Perceptions of a product and possible product knowledge.
The figure 19 shows consumer perceptions of the product. The blue colour rep-
resents the respondents, who have heard the advertisement (11 consumers).
The red colour indicates respondents, who have not heard the advertisement
(74 consumers).
From the figure can be seen the difference in consumers´ perceptions especial-
ly with the arguments the product has dietary fiber and the honey product Mie-
leinen will always remain flowable. The statement “a packaging of the honey
product Mieleinen is practical” also received a good average within the re-
spondents, who had heard the advertisement. Most of the respondents thought
that the product is very suitable for cooking as well. This may indicate that the
product knowledge of the respondents, who had heard the advertisement in-
creased and this changed their perception of the product as well. A message
decoding process of a receiver matched an encoding of a sender. (Belch &
Belch 2001, 144) This means that the receiver understands and interprets the
message correctly.
On the other hand it should be noted that the argument “The product has less
carbohydrates” got only an average (2,64) within the respondents, who had
heard the advertisement (all other categories has the average more than 4 from
5). This indicates that this benefit of the honey product was not revealed or

62
communicated clearly to the target group and this affected to their perception of
the product.
Nevertheless it seems that consumers, even though they would not have heard
the advertisement have a neutral or quite positive perception of the product. In
most of the arguments the average was more than 3 within these consumers.
The arguments that received worse average within the respondents that had not
heard the advertisement were “the product has dietary fiber and the product has
less carbohydrate”. This is probably due to the fact that these properties of the
product are not known among these respondents, since they are not regular
features of honey products. Therefore the respondents couldn´t use as a help
clues, stereotypes, general knowledge, their beliefs and experiences about
honey. (Steenkamp 1990, 309-333)
The results within the consumers, who had not heard the advertisement, may
indicate that the respondents have positive experiences, beliefs and attitude
towards Hunajayhtymä and its products. This might mean that the respondents
have brand awareness at least to some extent. It also needs to be remembered
that it is easy to use stereotypes and general knowledge about honey, when
answering to the arguments, so the results do not necessarily tell the whole
truth. However a positive or at least neutral perception of a product is very im-
portant, since it will have a direct impact on consumers´ actual purchase deci-
sion, whether a consumer had heard the advertisement or not. (Fennell 1978.
38-47) The table can be found in Appendix 2.
Question 20 & 21 were about user experiences, if the product met the expecta-
tions and development ideas for the honey product Mieleinen. When the author
started the thesis, one of the aims was to find out; if consumer´s perceptions of
a product created by advertising and the product image correspond with the
consumer´s experiences. Unfortunately there was only one respondent, who
had bought the actual product. Therefore it cannot be talked about the results
but rather a person´s opinion. That is why the author left this part out of the re-
search.

63
The person who had bought the product was 20-29 years old. She used the
scale from 1 to 5. In the scale the 1 meant that the product did not correspond
at all with expectations and 5 that it completely met expectations. (Appendix 1)
This person evaluated that the categories taste and “flowability” of the honey
completely met the expectations (5 in the scale). In her opinion the packaging
and price-quality ratio pretty much lined up with expectations (4 in the scale). As
an idea for the product development, she told that she really likes the product
but it could be a little cheaper.
6.3. Development ideas based on the results of the research
Hunajayhtymä wanted to get ideas, how they could develop their future adver-
tisements and advertisement campaigns about the honey product Mieleinen.
The results and the theoretical framework of this research suggest that the de-
velopment ideas are the following:
 Since the product seems to have properties that are more appealing to
30-50 year olds, might be a good idea to try to use as a communication
channel in the next radio advertisement campaign Suomipop or Radio
Nova. This action could reach even more potential buyers for the prod-
uct. These channels also gained quite many responses within the age
group 20-29; therefore these communication channel choices would not
exclude younger age group. This could improve communication effec-
tiveness as well.
 Next advertisement about the product could emphasize even more what
it is about already at the beginning of the advertisement. The advertise-
ment could also focus more on the product itself. It could place even
greater emphasis on honey. The radio advertisement could also be a lit-
tle shorter. This is due to the fact that the most impactful aspect of an
advertisement should be expressed early on, since the challenge of
grabbing attention and maintaining it is huge. (Rope & Pyykkö 2003, 256-
257) (Applegate 2005, 119-120) (Isohookana 2007, 151-153)

64
 Due to the fact that the images about the statements “the product is
modern” and “the product is a pioneer”, did not receive as positive ap-
proach from the respondents than other categories (Appendix 1, question
16), the next advertisement could have more modern and less traditional
and stereotypical approach. For example the next advertisement about
the product could leave out a clear and traditional allocation of gender
roles.
 Next advertisement could emphasize even more good properties of the
product. The benefit of the honey product Mieleinen “the product has less
carbohydrates” did not emerged clearly from the advertisement. The re-
sults also indicate that all intended uses of honey are not known among
the respondents; therefore Hunajayhtymä could introduce new and use-
ful ways to use honey and the honey product Mieleinen. This should be
done by taking into account the factors that the target group found im-
portant in consumption and when buying honey.
 There was also a potential idea to make a catchy song about the product
and try to catch a consumer´s attention by that way. There has been re-
searches done that a good fit between a message and music has a
strong impact on a positive emotional response. (Alpert & Alpert 1990)
(Maclnnis & Park 1991). Therefore a well-made song about the product
could catch consumer´s attention more effectively and have a positive
impact on consumer´s product images and purchase intention. This is
something that Hunajayhtymä could consider next radio advertisement
and campaign in mind.
However, when some of these ideas are considered it needs to bear in mind
that consumers are not marketing professionals and their suggestions might not
be the best choice.

65
6.4. Credibility of the research findings
Considering the reliability from the angle of respondents, time and atmosphere
might have an effect on the respondents´ answers. Respondent bias may also
occur; when they are concerned how their answers may be interpreted.
(Saunders, et al. 2009, 156) In this research respondents bias was tried to elim-
inate by telling to respondents that there is no right or wrong answers. The re-
searcher was interested their perceptions, opinions and point of views of the
matters.
Of course there was a risk of bias, because some of the questions in the ques-
tionnaire were personal (for example income level and life style related ques-
tions) and the data was collected face to face by interviewing consumers. It
must be taken into account that respondents do not always answer truthfully to
the questions in the surveys. This is a relevant concern when analysing the reli-
ability of this study. (Heikkilä 2008, 16-20)
The sample group was small comparing how many women from 20 to 50 years
of age there are living at Turku region. The survey was done in Finnish, be-
cause the respondents were all Finns. By acting this way the researcher wanted
to minimize the risk of misunderstanding the questions in the survey. The origin
of the responders might have had an influence to the survey, because most of
the responders were most likely from Southern Finland. The interviews were
done in the very centre of the city and this can also mean that the researcher
interviewed only certain types of female consumers.
The purposive sampling technique was used in this study. Therefore there was
not used randomization in obtaining sample. The members of the population did
not have equal chances of being selected. This can create a risk of bias and
affect credibility of the research. Therefore the research results may not be
generalized, since the findings cannot be applied to the wider population. How-
ever the results at least provide “snapshot” of the case.

66
7. CONCLUSIONS
This thesis sought to find out how advertising influences a consumer´s product
images and which factors affect consumer perception of a honey product. The
objectives were set to understand; what is the situation at the targeted market,
the communication effectiveness of Hunajayhtymä´s advertising and how Hu-
najayhtymä reached the objectives of their advertising campaign. Combining
and comparing the results gained from the survey to the theoretical framework
and to the chapter four revealed the answers to the thesis questions. The thesis
research questions were:
 Which factors affect consumer perception of a honey product?

 How well the advertisement did reach consumers?
 How do consumers see the product after hearing the advertisement?
7.1. Main findings
Which factors affect consumer perception of a honey product?
As it was mentioned in the chapter three “product perception is a term that is

used to identify the way that consumers think and ultimately respond to different
types of goods and services, particularly certain brands of those products.”
(Conjecture Corporation n.d.) It is very important that consumers have good
perceptions of company´s products, since it will have a direct impact on con-
sumers´ actual purchase decision. (Fennell 1978, 38-47)
It would be very beneficial, if Hunajayhtymä were able to reach potential con-

sumers and inform them about the benefits of the product, since according to
the results the honey product Mieleinen has potential among the targeted
group. Regarding the results especially 30-50 year old respondents appreciate
properties that the product has. This is important due to the fact that most likely
this affected the perceptions of the product, whether a consumer had heard the
advertisement or not, since a person´s own internal factors such as values, ex-

67
periences, beliefs, moods, attitude, needs and expectations have an impact on

product perceptions. (Fennell 1978, 38-47) (Tse 1999, 911-925)
Most of the respondents thought that the domestic origin is more important than
the price, when buying honey products. This indicates that the respondents
value the domestic origin more despite the price. According to the results and
the literature review also a structure of honey (“flowability”), packaging, health
promoting factors, brand and naturally taste and price-quality ratio matter, when
buying honey products and therefore they affect the perception of honey
products as well.
According to survey, perceptions of the product received better average in all

categories within the respondent group, who had heard the advertisement (11
consumers from 85). This can be seen especially with the arguments the prod-
uct has dietary fiber and the honey product Mieleinen will always remain “flowa-
ble”. Based on the results it seems that the respondents´ product knowledge
had improved and they had understood the message as Hunajayhtymä wanted.
This formed a desired perception of the product within the respondents. There-
fore it can be said that advertising affected product perceptions of consumers.
Nevertheless it seemed that consumers, even though they would not have
heard the advertisement have a neutral or quite positive perception of the honey
product Mieleinen. In most of the arguments the average was more than 3 out
of 5. The results of the arguments within the consumers, who had not heard the
advertisement (74 consumers); probably also indicate brand awareness at least
to some extent. The respondents could have positive experiences, beliefs and
attitude towards Hunajayhtymä and its products. They might have bought the
company´s products or tried them before. This affects to their perceptions of the
honey product Mieleinen.
It must also take into account, how the name of the product may have an effect
on the results. The name Mieleinen means in Finnish (pleasing, favourite or
your preferred) and therefore it can itself create positive associations about the
product. The brand name alone can have an impact on product perceptions.

68
However if this is the case here, Hunajayhtymä has chosen an excellent name
for their product. (Fennell 1978, 38-47) (Tse 1999, 911-925)
Of course it also needs to be noticed that when honey and its usage are con-
sidered, often consumers’ attitudes are positive or neural due to its health ef-
fects and this probably had an effect on the product perceptions. (Pohjalainen
1994) This kind of situation itself is a very beneficial one to the company, since
it will be linked with an overall demand of the product. Thinking about the re-
sults, it can be concluded that most likely consumers have a quite positive or
neutral perception of Hunajayhtymä´s products and the company itself.
How well the advertisement did reach consumers?
Hunajayhtymä also wanted to find out how well their advertisement reached
consumers. They wanted to know how the advertisement succeeded to attract
attention of consumers and create an awareness of the product. A normal situa-
tion to an advertiser is that a consumer is not seeking for a message; therefore
the advertisement must stand out from the crowd. (Rope & Pyykkö 2003, 256-
257) There were only 11 consumers from 85, who had heard the actual adver-
tisement. This was disappointing but at least there were respondents within
every age group. However it needs to be considered that the sample group was
small and the advertisement was played only in one radio station and 6-7 times
per a day.
Regarding the results, almost all the interviewees listen to the radio to some
extent. The Voice radio channel, where the advertisement was played gained
favour to some extent among respondents, especially within the age group 20-
29 year olds. The results indicated that The Voice was a moderate choice as a
communication channel for the advertisement. However the advertisement
reached only eleven respondents from 85, therefore Hunajayhtymä could try
other radio stations in the next radio advertisement campaign for example radio
Nova or Suomipop.
According to Aapo Savo (CEO of Hunajayhtymä), sales of the honey product

Mieleinen increased by 20% in February-March 2014. (Savo 2014b) The radio

69
advertising campaign about the honey product Mieleinen was carried out from
14th to 28th of February 2014. Based on the results, theoretical framework of the
thesis and Savo´s information and expert opinion; more impacts of their adver-
tising campaign will be seen later. In accordance with the sales figures, the ad-
vertisement had an effect on customer behaviour. The figures indicate that the
advertisement has reached consumers to some extent, even though there were
only 11 respondents from 85, who had heard the advertisement in this study.
Naturally, when the results are analysed it has to be remembered that since
only about 1% of advertising messages is detected on a conscious level, it
might be that there were more respondents who had heard the advertisement
but they couldn´t spontaneously recall the advertisement when questioned lat-
er. (Rope & Pyykkö 2003, 256-257) (Ranjbarian, et al. 2011) (Tsai & Tsai 2006,
222-226) Despite this Hunajayhtymä should consider how to catch consumers´
attention better and improve communication effectiveness with the future adver-
tisement campaigns.
How do consumers see the product after hearing the advertisement?
The image is an impression that a consumer perceives of the brand. Several

impressions are perceived as a direct or indirect result of signals or messages,
which the advertising is one. (Bernstein 1984, 12) One of Hunajayhtymä´s af-
fective objectives of advertising was to create desired images about the product
and positive attitude towards the product. Of course Hunajayhtymä also wanted
to create a preference and persuade and activate consumers to purchase the
product.
According to this thesis survey’s results, most of the respondents, who had
heard the advertisement, had the image that the product is domestic origin after
hearing the advertisement. The domestic origin was more important to the most
respondents, when buying honey than the price. Despite the fact that the inter-
viewees had thought that economic factors have quite a lot importance in their
consumption. This by itself adds value to the honey product Mieleinen. Hu-

70
najayhtymä had succeeded well to transfer the planned perception to the target
audience.
Most of the respondents had also a positive image about the packaging of the
honey product Mieleinen and they also thought that the product has health ef-
fects. They also considered that the product is quite reliable and high quality,
therefore it can be considered that the company´s message formed quite posi-
tive image within the respondents that it reached. However the images about
the statements “the product is modern” and “the product is a pioneer”, did not
receive as positive approach from the respondents. This can be related to the
fact that a few respondents thought that the advertisement was too stereotypical
and there were a traditional allocation of gender roles in the advertisement.
Most of the respondents use honey only monthly (40%) or a few times a year
(25%), so they do not buy honey daily or even weekly. However when they
again need honey they may remember the honey product Mieleinen or subcon-
sciously be directed toward the product, when choosing, what kind of honey to
buy. Advertising communication may not lead to immediate behavioral response
or purchase but it can motivate and create a need. (Barry & Howard 1990)
None of the respondents thought that they could not buy the product on the ba-
sis of the advertisement; therefore it can be considered that the company´s
message (the advertisement) formed a quite positive or neutral overall image of
the product. All in all the results indicate that respondents had basically a posi-
tive or neutral image, perception and attitude towards the product after hearing
the advertisement.
It must also be taken into account that some respondents might have heard
about Hunajayhtymä and their products beforehand and they may have bought
them as well. This might have an effect on the results, when the impact of ad-
vertising is considered. However the sales figures in February-March 2014 indi-
cate that Hunajayhtymä´s advertising had a positive impact on consumer´s
product images and purchase intention about the honey product Mieleinen,

71
since sales increased 20%. In this sense the research findings can be consid-
ered to be credible.
7.2. Suggestions for further research
The research in this thesis focused on female consumers living at Turku region.
The sample group of the research was quite small; therefore it would be intri-
guing to conduct this type of research about Hunajayhtymä´s future advertising
campaign in a larger scale.
A fascinating research perspective could also be studying with the help of semi-
structured interviews by using the focus group, what consumers would wish to
see or hear in honey advertisements. “A semi-structured interview is a qualita-
tive method of inquiry that combines a pre-determined set of questions with the
opportunity for the interviewer to explore particular themes or responses fur-
ther.” (Evaluation toolbox n.d.) “The focus group is a research technique used to
collect data through group interaction on a topic determined by the researcher”
Focus groups are a research method which delivers qualitative data that is rich
in depth and not numerical in nature. (Morgan 2013) This would allow respond-
ents to discuss and raise issues that may not have been considered before.

72
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81
KYSELYLOMAKE: APPENDIX 1 - Questionnaire
Tämän kyselyn tarkoituksena on kartoittaa kuluttajan tuotekäsityksiä ja mainonnan vaikutusta ja

viestinnän tehokkuutta Hunajayhtymän hunajatuote Mieleisen mahdolliseen tuotetietouteen,
tuotemielikuvaan ja ostoaikomukseen. Vastaukset käsitellään luottamuksellisesti.
1. Ikä:
 20–29
 30–39
 40–50
2. Ammatti:
 Johtava asema
 Alempi toimihenkilö
 Työntekijä
 Yrittäjä/maanviljelijä
 Opiskelija
 Muu, mikä?____________________________________________
3. Tulotaso:
Arvioikaa, mitkä olivat vuotuiset verotettavat tulonne vuonna 2013?
 Alle 15 000€
 15 001€- 25 000€
 25 001€ - 35 000€
 35 001€ - 45 000€
 45 001€ - 55 000€
 55 001€ - 65 000€
 Yli 65 000€
4. Perhemuoto:
 Kahden huoltajan lapsiperhe
 Yhden huoltajan lapsiperhe
 Lapseton pariskunta
 Yksinasuva
 Muu, mikä?_______________________________________________
5. Kuinka suuri merkitys seuraavilla tekijöillä on kulutukseesi?

Arvioikaa seuraavia kriteereitä liukuvalla asteikolla 1 - 5, jossa 1 tarkoittaa " erittäin vähäinen
merkitys" ja 5 "erittäin suuri merkitys".
Eettisyys 1 2 3 4 5
Ekologisuus 1 2 3 4 5
Kotimaisuus 1 2 3 4 5
Terveelliset elämäntavat 1 2 3 4 5

82
Taloudelliset tekijät 1 2 3 4 5
Media 1 2 3 4 5
Suunnitelmallisuus 1 2 3 4 5
Tunteet 1 2 3 4 5
6. Kuinka usein käytätte hunajaa?

 Päivittäin
 Viikoittain
 Kuukausittain
 Muutaman kerran vuodessa
 En lainkaan
Jos vastasitte ”en lainkaan”, miksi ette käytä hunajaa?

___________________________________________________________________
 Siirry kysymykseen numero 10, jos vastasitte ”en lainkaan” edelliseen kysymyk-
seen.
7. Mikä on tärkein syysi hunajan käyttöön? (valitse yksi vaihtoehto)

 Makeuttajana/ sokerin korvaajana
 Se antaa makua
 Se on terveellistä/ lisää vastustuskykyä
 Muu syy, mikä?______________________________________________________
8. Miten yleensä käytätte hunajaa? (Valitse enintään kolme vaihtoehtoa)

 Teen, kahvin tai muun juoman makeuttajana
 Leivonnassa, ruuan valmistuksessa
 Leivän päällä
 Syön sellaisenaan
 Terveydeksi, esim. flunssan hoitoon
 Ihon hoitoon
 Muu tapa, mikä?_____________________________________________________
9. Kuinka suuri merkitys seuraavilla tekijöillä on ostaessasi hunajaa?

Arvioikaa ostokriteereitä liukuvalla asteikolla 1 - 5, jossa 1 tarkoittaa " erittäin vähäinen merkitys"
ja 5 "erittäin suuri merkitys".
Hinta 1 2 3 4 5
Maku 1 2 3 4 5
Juoksevuus 1 2 3 4 5
Tuotemerkki 1 2 3 4 5
Kotimaisuus 1 2 3 4 5
Pakkausmateriaali 1 2 3 4 5
Hinta – laatusuhde 1 2 3 4 5
Terveyttä edistävät

83
ominaisuudet 1 2 3 4 5
Luomu, makuhunaja 1 2 3 4 5
MAINOS JA TUOTEMIELIKUVAT
10. Kuinka usein yleensä kuuntelet radiota?

 Yli tunnin päivässä
 Yli 3 tuntia päivässä
 Alle tunnin päivässä
 En lainkaan (Siirry kysymykseen numero 19.)
11. Mitä radiokanavaa/radiokanavia yleensä kuuntelet?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
12. Oletko kuullut radiokanava The Voicella esitetyn Hunajayhtymän hunajatuote

Mieleinen radiomainoksen?
 Kyllä olen
 En ole (Siirry kysymykseen numero 19.)
13. Miksi mainos kiinnitti huomionne? (Valitse enintään kaksi vaihtoehtoa)

 Se oli hauska
 Se erottui joukosta
 Mainostetussa tuotteessa oli ominaisuuksia, jotka kiinnostavat ja joita arvostan
 Se oli ärsyttävä
 Kuuntelen jatkuvasti The Voice radiokanavaa, joten kuulin mainoksen useaan kertaan
 En oikein tiedä
14. Kuinka houkuttelevasti mainos mielestänne esitteli tuotteen? Arvioikaa liukuvalla

asteikolla 1-5, jossa 1 tarkoittaa ”ei ollenkaan houkutteleva” ja 5 ”erittäin houkutteleva”.
1 2 3 4 5
15. Millaisia tunteita mainos teissä herätti? Nimetkää kolme

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
16. Arvioikaa liukuvalla asteikolla 1-5 seuraavia väittämiä mahdollisista mielikuvista,

jotka teille muodostuivat tuotteesta mainoksen kuulemisen jälkeen, jossa 1 tar-
koittaa ”Kuvaa tuotetta erittäin huonosti ” ja 5 ”kuvaa tuotetta erittäin hyvin”.
Tuote on miellyttävä 1 2 3 4 5
Tuote on luotettava 1 2 3 4 5
Tuote on laadukas 1 2 3 4 5

84
Tuote on kotimainen 1 2 3 4 5
Pakkaus on helppokäyttöinen
ja käytännöllinen 1 2 3 4 5
Tuote on nykyaikainen 1 2 3 4 5
Tuotteella on terveysvaikutuksia
1 2 3 4 5
Tuote on kiinnostava 1 2 3 4 5
Tuote on edelläkävijä 1 2 3 4 5
17. Kuulemasi radiomainoksen perusteella voisitko ajatella ostavasi tuotteen?

 Kyllä
 En
 Ehkä
 Olen jo ostanut tuotteen
18. Miten mainosta voisi mielestäsi kehittää?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
TUOTEKÄSITYKSET JA TUOTETIETOUS
19. Arvioikaa seuraavia väittämiä Hunajayhtymän hunajatuote Mieleisestä omien kä-

sityksienne mukaisesti liukuvalla asteikolla 1-5, jossa 1 tarkoittaa ”ei pidä ollen-
kaan paikkaansa ja 5 ”pitää varmasti paikkansa”.
Mieleinen on suomalainen hunajatuote
1 2 3 4 5
Tuotteessa on ravintokuitua
1 2 3 4 5
Tuotteessa on vähemmän hiilihydraatteja
1 2 3 4 5

85
Hunajatuote Mieleinen pysyy aina juoksevana
1 2 3 4 5
Tuote soveltuu hyvin ruuanlaittoon
1 2 3 4 5
Hunajatuote Mieleisen pakkaus on käytännöllinen
1 2 3 4 5
Jos olet ostanut Mieleinen hunajatuotteen, olkaa hyvä ja vastatkaa vielä seuraavan osion
kysymyksiin.
KÄYTTÖKOKEMUKSET TUOTTEESTA
20. Vastasiko tuote odotuksiasi? Arvioikaa seuraavia kriteereitä liukuvalla asteikolla

1-5 Mieleinen hunajatuotteesta, jossa 1 tarkoittaa ”ei vastannut ollenkaan odo-
tuksia” ja 5 ”vastasi täysin odotuksia”
Maku 1 2 3 4 5
Juoksevuus 1 2 3 4 5
Pakkaus 1 2 3 4 5
Hinta – laatusuhde 1 2 3 4 5
21. Miten tuotetta voisi mielestäsi kehittää?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
KIITOS AJASTASI!

86
APPENDIX 2 – Cross tables
Age
Questions 1, 2, 3 & 4 20-29= 39/85 = 30-39= 19/85= 40-50=27/85 Total
of the survey (Appendix 1)
46% 22% =32%
N % N % N % N %
Leading Position / 0 0% 1 5% 6 22% 7 8%
Higher official
Lower official 4 10% 5 26% 7 26% 16 19%
Worker / Employee 14 36% 9 47% 11 41% 34 40%
Profession
Entrepreneur / 0 0% 2 11% 2 7% 4 5%
Farmer
Student 21 54% 2 11% 1 4% 24 28%
Less than 15 000€ 21 54% 0 0% 0 0% 21 25%

15 001€ - 25 001€ 12 31% 2 11% 2 7% 16 19%
25 001€ - 35 000€ 5 13% 6 32% 6 22% 17 20%
Income 35 001€ - 45 000€ 0 0% 9 47% 11 41% 20 24%
level 45 001€ - 55 000€ 1 3% 2 11% 4 15% 7 8%
55 001€ - 65 000€ 0 0% 0 0% 2 7% 2 2%
More than 65 000€ 0 0% 0 0% 2 7% 2 2%
Two-parent family 6 15% 9 47% 9 33% 24 28%

with children
One-parent family 1 3% 3 16% 2 7% 6 7%
with children
Family
Childless couple 15 38% 4 21% 9 33% 28 33%
type
Living alone 11 28% 3 16% 4 15% 18 21%
Other, what? 6 15% 0 0% 3 11% 9 11%

87
Questions 5
Ethics Total
Little importan- Some importan- Quite a lot im- Very major im-
ce ce portance portance
Count 1 13 20 5 39
20-29
% within Age 2,6% 33,3% 51,3% 12,8% 100,0%
Count 0 5 8 6 19
Age 30-39
% within Age 0,0% 26,3% 42,1% 31,6% 100,0%
Count 1 7 13 6 27
40-50
% within Age 3,7% 25,9% 48,1% 22,2% 100,0%
Count 2 25 41 17 85
Total
% within Age 2,4% 29,4% 48,2% 20,0% 100,0%
Ecology Total
Little importan- Some importan- Quite a lot im- Very major im-
ce ce portance portance
Count 2 20 14 3 39
20-29
% within Age 5,1% 51,3% 35,9% 7,7% 100,0%
Count 1 8 6 4 19
Age 30-39
% within Age 5,3% 42,1% 31,6% 21,1% 100,0%
Count 3 13 8 3 27
40-50
% within Age 11,1% 48,1% 29,6% 11,1% 100,0%
Count 6 41 28 10 85
Total
% within Age 7,1% 48,2% 32,9% 11,8% 100,0%

88
Domestic origin Total
Little importance Some importan- Quite a lot im- Very major im-
ce portance portance
Count 4 11 13 10 38
20-29
% within Age 10,5% 28,9% 34,2% 26,3% 100,0%
Count 1 8 4 6 19
Age 30-39
% within Age 5,3% 42,1% 21,1% 31,6% 100,0%
Count 5 5 10 7 27
40-50
% within Age 18,5% 18,5% 37,0% 25,9% 100,0%
Count 10 24 27 23 84
Total
% within Age 11,9% 28,6% 32,1% 27,4% 100,0%
Healthy lifestyle Total
Little importance Some importan- Quite a lot im- Very major im-
ce portance portance
Count 13 11 9 6 39
20-29
% within Age 33,3% 28,2% 23,1% 15,4% 100,0%
Count 4 7 5 3 19
Age 30-39
% within Age 21,1% 36,8% 26,3% 15,8% 100,0%
Count 4 11 9 3 27
40-50
% within Age 14,8% 40,7% 33,3% 11,1% 100,0%
Count 21 29 23 12 85
Total
% within Age 24,7% 34,1% 27,1% 14,1% 100,0%

89
Economical factors Total
Some impor- Quite a lot im- Very major im-

tance portance portance
Count 5 17 17 39
20-29
% within Age 12,8% 43,6% 43,6% 100,0%
Count 3 9 7 19
Age 30-39
% within Age 15,8% 47,4% 36,8% 100,0%
Count 8 10 9 27
40-50
% within Age 29,6% 37,0% 33,3% 100,0%
Count 16 36 33 85
Total
% within Age 18,8% 42,4% 38,8% 100,0%
Media Total
Very minor im- Little importance Some importan- Quite a lot im-
portance ce portance
Count 7 16 9 7 39
20-29
% within Age 17,9% 41,0% 23,1% 17,9% 100,0%
Count 7 7 5 0 19
Age 30-39
% within Age 36,8% 36,8% 26,3% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 5 15 7 0 27
40-50
% within Age 18,5% 55,6% 25,9% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 19 38 21 7 85
Total
% within Age 22,4% 44,7% 24,7% 8,2% 100,0%
Planning Total
Very minor Little impor- Some impor- Quite a lot Very major
importance tance tance importance importance
Count 1 5 20 11 2 39
20-29
% within Age 2,6% 12,8% 51,3% 28,2% 5,1% 100,0%
Count 0 4 5 7 3 19
Age 30-39
% within Age 0,0% 21,1% 26,3% 36,8% 15,8% 100,0%
Count 0 3 9 13 2 27
40-50
% within Age 0,0% 11,1% 33,3% 48,1% 7,4% 100,0%
Count 1 12 34 31 7 85
Total
% within Age 1,2% 14,1% 40,0% 36,5% 8,2% 100,0%

90
Emotions Total
Count 1 6 17 13 2 39
20-29
% within Age 2,6% 15,4% 43,6% 33,3% 5,1% 100,0%
Count 0 9 5 5 0 19
Age 30-39
% within Age 0,0% 47,4% 26,3% 26,3% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 1 7 16 3 0 27
40-50
% within Age 3,7% 25,9% 59,3% 11,1% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 2 22 38 21 2 85
Total
% within Age 2,4% 25,9% 44,7% 24,7% 2,4% 100,0%
Question 6
How often do you use honey? Total
Daily Weekly Monthly A few times a Not at all

year
Count 3 7 14 11 4 39
20-29 % within Age 7,7% 17,9% 35,9% 28,2% 10,3% 100,0%
Count 1 4 8 4 2 19
Age
30-39 % within Age 5,3% 21,1% 42,1% 21,1% 10,5% 100,0%
Count 2 5 12 6 2 27
40-50
% within Age 7,4% 18,5% 44,4% 22,2% 7,4% 100,0%
Count 6 16 34 21 8 85
Total
% within Age 7,1% 18,8% 40,0% 24,7% 9,4% 100,0%

91
Question 7
What is your main reason for the use of honey? Total

Count % within
age Sweetener / as It gives taste It is healthy / Other reason,
a substitute for Increases im- what?
sugar munity
24 6 4 1 35
20-29
68,6% 17,1% 11,4% 2,9% 100,0%
13 2 1 1 17
Age 30-39
76,5% 11,8% 5,9% 5,9% 100,0%
16 5 2 2 25
40-50
64,0% 20,0% 8,0% 8,0% 100,0%
53 13 7 4 77
Total
68,8% 16,9% 9,1% 5,2% 100,0%
Question 8
Age
How do you usually use honey?
20-29 30-39 40-50 Total
N % N % N % N %
0 8 21% 2 11% 5 19% 15 18%
As a sweetener in 31 79% 17 89% 22 81% 70 82%

tea, coffee or in
other drinks
0 26 67% 12 63% 14 52% 52 61%

In baking and in 13 33% 7 37% 13 48% 33 39%
cooking
0 39 100% 19 100% 26 96% 84 99%

On top of the bread 0 0% 0 0% 1 4% 1 1%
0 32 82% 16 84% 25 93% 73 86%

Eating it as it is 7 18% 3 16% 2 7% 12 14%
0 31 79% 14 74% 21 78% 66 78%

To your health, for 8 21% 5 26% 6 22% 19 22%
example as a
treatment of the
common cold/flu
0 35 90% 18 95% 26 96% 79 93%

Skin care 4 10% 1 5% 1 4% 6 7%

0 39 100% 19 100% 27 100% 85 100%
Other way, what? 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%

92
Question 9
Price Total
Little importan- Some impor- Quite a lot im- Very major

ce tance portance importance
Count 1 13 8 13 35
20-29
% within Age 2,9% 37,1% 22,9% 37,1% 100,0%
Count 4 3 2 8 17
Age 30-39
% within Age 23,5% 17,6% 11,8% 47,1% 100,0%
Count 8 6 4 7 25
40-50
% within Age 32,0% 24,0% 16,0% 28,0% 100,0%
Count 13 22 14 28 77
Total
% within Age 16,9% 28,6% 18,2% 36,4% 100,0%
Taste Total
Little importance Quite a lot impor- Very major im-

tance portance
Count 1 7 27 35
20-29
% within Age 2,9% 20,0% 77,1% 100,0%
Count 0 3 14 17
Age 30-39
% within Age 0,0% 17,6% 82,4% 100,0%
Count 0 5 20 25
40-50
% within Age 0,0% 20,0% 80,0% 100,0%
Count 1 15 61 77
Total
% within Age 1,3% 19,5% 79,2% 100,0%

93
Flowability of honey Total
Very minor Little impor- Some im- Quite a lot Very major
importance tance portance importance importance
Count 10 11 5 6 3 35
20-29 % within 28,6% 31,4% 14,3% 17,1% 8,6% 100,0%
Age
Count 4 3 5 4 1 17
Age 30-39 % within 23,5% 17,6% 29,4% 23,5% 5,9% 100,0%
Age
Count 4 8 8 4 1 25
40-50 % within 16,0% 32,0% 32,0% 16,0% 4,0% 100,0%
Age
Count 18 22 18 14 5 77
Total % within 23,4% 28,6% 23,4% 18,2% 6,5% 100,0%
Age
Brand Total
Count 9 5 8 11 2 35
20-29 % within 25,7% 14,3% 22,9% 31,4% 5,7% 100,0%

Age
Count 3 3 5 5 1 17
Age 30-39 % within 17,6% 17,6% 29,4% 29,4% 5,9% 100,0%
Age
Count 7 4 7 5 2 25
40-50 % within 28,0% 16,0% 28,0% 20,0% 8,0% 100,0%
Age
Count 19 12 20 21 5 77
Total % within 24,7% 15,6% 26,0% 27,3% 6,5% 100,0%

Age

94
Domestic origin Total
Very minor Little importan- Some impor- Quite a lot Very major
importance ce tance importance importance
Count 2 3 7 9 14 35
20-29
% within Age 5,7% 8,6% 20,0% 25,7% 40,0% 100,0%
Count 0 1 5 5 6 17
Age 30-39
% within Age 0,0% 5,9% 29,4% 29,4% 35,3% 100,0%
Count 2 2 2 4 15 25
40-50
% within Age 8,0% 8,0% 8,0% 16,0% 60,0% 100,0%
Count 4 6 14 18 35 77
Total
% within Age 5,2% 7,8% 18,2% 23,4% 45,5% 100,0%
Packaging material Total
Very minor Little importan- Some impor- Quite a lot im- Very major
importance ce tance portance importance
Count 3 17 8 5 1 34
20-29
% within Age 8,8% 50,0% 23,5% 14,7% 2,9% 100,0%
Count 1 4 5 7 0 17
Age 30-39
% within Age 5,9% 23,5% 29,4% 41,2% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 4 8 9 3 1 25
40-50
% within Age 16,0% 32,0% 36,0% 12,0% 4,0% 100,0%
Count 8 29 22 15 2 76
Total
% within Age 10,5% 38,2% 28,9% 19,7% 2,6% 100,0%
Price – quality ratio Total
Some impor- Quite a lot im- Very major im-

tance portance portance
Count 0 6 29 35
20-29
% within Age 0,0% 17,1% 82,9% 100,0%
Count 0 2 15 17
Age 30-39
% within Age 0,0% 11,8% 88,2% 100,0%
Count 1 5 19 25
40-50
% within Age 4,0% 20,0% 76,0% 100,0%
Count 1 13 63 77
Total
% within Age 1,3% 16,9% 81,8% 100,0%

95
Health promoting factors Total
Count 3 14 8 8 2 35
20-29 % within 8,6% 40,0% 22,9% 22,9% 5,7% 100,0%

Age
Count 0 6 6 5 0 17
Age 30-39 % within 0,0% 35,3% 35,3% 29,4% 0,0% 100,0%
Age
Count 3 5 9 4 4 25
40-50 % within 12,0% 20,0% 36,0% 16,0% 16,0% 100,0%
Age
Count 6 25 23 17 6 77
Total % within 7,8% 32,5% 29,9% 22,1% 7,8% 100,0%

Age
Organic, honey with a flavour Total
7 15 7 5 1 35
Count
20-29
% within 20,0% 42,9% 20,0% 14,3% 2,9% 100,0%
Age
Count 5 6 3 2 1 17
Age
30-39 % within 29,4% 35,3% 17,6% 11,8% 5,9% 100,0%
Age
Count 3 8 8 3 3 25
40-50 % within 12,0% 32,0% 32,0% 12,0% 12,0% 100,0%
Age
15 29 18 10 5 77
Count
Total
% within 19,5% 37,7% 23,4% 13,0% 6,5% 100,0%
Age

96
Question 10
Question 12
Have you heard Hunajayhtymä´s radio ad- Total

vertisement about the Mieleinen honey
product, which was played at the radio
station The Voice?
Yes No
Count 6 33 39
20-29
% within Age 15,4% 84,6% 100,0%
Count 2 17 19
Age 30-39
% within Age 10,5% 89,5% 100,0%
Count 3 24 27
40-50
% within Age 11,1% 88,9% 100,0%
Count 11 74 85
Total
% within Age 12,9% 87,1% 100,0%
Question 16

97
The product is pleasant Total
Describes the Describes the Describes the Describes the

product quite product to product quite product very
poorly some extent well well
Count 1 2 3 0 6
20-29
% within Age 16,7% 33,3% 50,0% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 0 1 1 0 2
Age 30-39
% within Age 0,0% 50,0% 50,0% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 0 1 1 1 3
40-50
% within Age 0,0% 33,3% 33,3% 33,3% 100,0%
Count 1 4 5 1 11
Total
% within Age 9,1% 36,4% 45,5% 9,1% 100,0%
The product is reliable Total

product quite product to product quite product very
poorly some extent well well
Count 0 4 1 1 6
20-29
% within Age 0,0% 66,7% 16,7% 16,7% 100,0%
Count 0 1 1 0 2
Age 30-39
% within Age 0,0% 50,0% 50,0% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 1 1 1 0 3
40-50
% within Age 33,3% 33,3% 33,3% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 1 6 3 1 11
Total
% within Age 9,1% 54,5% 27,3% 9,1% 100,0%
The product is high quality Total
Describes the Describes the Describes the

product to some product quite product very
extent well well
Count 2 3 1 6
20-29
% within Age 33,3% 50,0% 16,7% 100,0%
Count 0 2 0 2
Age 30-39
% within Age 0,0% 100,0% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 2 1 0 3
40-50
% within Age 66,7% 33,3% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 4 6 1 11
Total
% within Age 36,4% 54,5% 9,1% 100,0%

98
The product is domestic Total
Describes the Describes the

product quite well product very well
Count 1 5 6
20-29
% within Age 16,7% 83,3% 100,0%
Count 0 2 2
Age 30-39
% within Age 0,0% 100,0% 100,0%
Count 1 2 3
40-50
% within Age 33,3% 66,7% 100,0%
Count 2 9 11
Total
% within Age 18,2% 81,8% 100,0%
The package is easy to use and practical Total

extent well well
Count 2 2 2 6
20-29
% within Age 33,3% 33,3% 33,3% 100,0%
Count 0 1 1 2
Age 30-39
% within Age 0,0% 50,0% 50,0% 100,0%
Count 0 3 0 3
40-50
% within Age 0,0% 100,0% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 2 6 3 11
Total
% within Age 18,2% 54,5% 27,3% 100,0%
The product is modern Total

product quite product to some product quite
poorly extent well
Count 3 2 1 6
20-29
% within Age 50,0% 33,3% 16,7% 100,0%
Count 1 0 1 2
Age 30-39
% within Age 50% 0,0% 50,0% 100,0%
Count 1 2 0 3
40-50
% within Age 33,3% 66,7% 0% 100,0%
Count 5 4 2 11
Total
% within Age 45,4% 36,4% 18,2% 100,0%

99
The product has health effects Total

extent well well
Count 1 3 2 6
20-29
% within Age 16,7% 50,0% 33,3% 100,0%
Count 0 2 0 2
Age 30-39
% within Age 0,0% 100,0% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 1 1 1 3
40-50
% within Age 33,3% 33,3% 33,3% 100,0%
Count 2 6 3 11
Total
% within Age 18,2% 54,5% 27,3% 100,0%
The product is interesting Total

product quite product to some product quite product very
poorly extent well well
Count 0 3 1 2 6
20-29
% within Age 0,0% 50,0% 16,7% 33,3% 100,0%
Count 0 1 1 0 2
Age 30-39
% within Age 0,0% 50,0% 50,0% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 1 1 0 1 3
40-50
% within Age 33,3% 33,3% 0,0% 33,3% 100,0%
Count 1 5 2 3 11
Total
% within Age 9,1% 45,5% 18,2% 27,3% 100,0%
The product is a pioneer Total
Describes the Describes the

product quite poorly product to some
extent
Count 3 3 6
20-29
% within Age 50,0% 50,0% 100,0%
Count 1 1 2
Age 30-39
% within Age 50,0% 50,0% 100,0%
Count 2 1 3
40-50
% within Age 66,7% 33,3% 100,0%
Count 6 5 11
Total
% within Age 54,5% 45,5% 100,0%

100
Question 14
How attractively the advertisement did introduce Total

the product in your opinion?
Little attractive Attractive to Quite attractive

some extent
Count 1 2 3 6
20-29
% within Age 16,7% 33,3% 50,0% 100,0%
Count 0 1 1 2
Age 30-39
% within Age 0,0% 50,0% 50,0% 100,0%
Count 0 3 0 3
40-50
% within Age 0,0% 100,0% 0,0% 100,0%
Count 1 6 4 11
Total
% within Age 9,1% 54,5% 36,4% 100,0%

101
Question 19
Have you heard Hunajayhtymä´s radio

advertisement about the Mieleinen honey
product, which was played at the radio
station The Voice?
Yes No Total
The argument is not true at N 0 0 0

all % 0% 0% 0%
The argument has a little N 0 3 3

truth % 0% 4% 4%
Mieleinen is Finnish honey The argument is true to N 0 28 28

product some extent % 0% 38% 33%
The argument is pretty N 1 23 24

much true % 9% 31% 28%
The argument is totally N 10 20 30

true % 91% 27% 35%
all % 0% 14% 12%
truth % 9% 41% 36%
The product has dietary The argument is true to N 1 25 26
fiber some extent % 9% 34% 31%
much true % 18% 11% 12%
true % 64% 1% 9%
all % 0% 27% 24%
truth % 55% 46% 47%
The product has less The argument is true to N 4 17 21
carbohydrate some extent % 36% 23% 25%
much true % 0% 4% 4%
The argument is totally 1 0 1
N
true

102
Yes No Total
all % 0% 1% 1%
The honey product
truth % 0% 22% 19%
Mieleinen will always
The argument is true to N 1 42 43
remain flowable
some extent % 9% 57% 51%
much true % 18% 14% 14%
true % 73% 7% 15%
all % 0% 0% 0%
truth % 0% 1% 1%
The product is very The argument is true to N 0 33 33
suitable for cooking some extent % 0% 45% 39%
much true % 73% 42% 46%
true % 27% 12% 14%
all % 0% 0% 0%

truth % 0% 4% 4%
A packaging of the honey
The argument is true to N 1 56 57
product Mieleinen is
some extent % 9% 76% 67%
practical
much true % 55% 18% 22%

true % 36% 3% 7%

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Bachelor's thesis

Degree Programme in International Business

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

Degree Programme in International Business | General Management

CONSUMER´S PRODUCT PERCEPTIONS AND

(Advertising, perception process, product perception and product image)

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Marja Honkaniemi

Kansainvälisen liiketoiminnan koulutusohjelma | Yleinen hallinto

Tämä opinnäytetyö keskittyy kuluttajan tuotekäsityksiin ja mainonnan vaikutukseen suhteessa

Mainonta, käsitysprosessi, tuotekäsitys ja tuotemielikuva

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Marja Honkaniemi

1.INTRODUCTION TO THE THESIS 6

3. PERCEPTIONS AND PRODUCT IMAGE 23

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Marja Honkaniemi

Figure 1. Communication process. 10

Table 1. Comparing different age groups. 53

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Marja Honkaniemi

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE THESIS

Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of

The aim of my thesis is to find out how Hunajayhtymä´s advertisement influ-

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Marja Honkaniemi

My research problem is the following: How does advertising influence a con-

My researches questions are the following:

 Which factors affect consumer perception of a honey product?

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Marja Honkaniemi

Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of

Advertising consists of three components: advertising media, where an adver-

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Marja Honkaniemi

Advertising channels can be divided into a mass communication channel as

Target groups of advertising can be either consumers or other companies. We

2.1. Communication process of advertising

Quite often a situation to an advertiser is such that a consumer is not seeking

Two elements represent the major participants in the communication process,

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Marja Honkaniemi

Figure 1. Communication process. (Belch & Belch 2001, 139)

A sender or a source of a communication is a person or an organization that

The encoding process leads to a development of a message that includes the

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Marja Honkaniemi

A channel is a method by which the communication travels from the source to

Nonpersonal communication channels of communication carry a message with-

A receiver is a person with whom the sender shares information or thoughts.

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Marja Honkaniemi

During the entire communication process the message is subject to external

2.2. Objectives of advertising

An objective of advertising is a targeted communication at a preselected audi-

Advertising objectives can be divided into cognitive, affective and behavioral

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Marja Honkaniemi

and company impressions and images, creating product related associations,

“Advertising objectives can be classified according to whether the aim is to in-

 Informative advertising aims to create brand awareness and knowledge

(Kotler, et al. 2009, 722-723)

2.3. Response hierarchy models of advertising

A Response hierarchy model is a hierarchical representation of how advertising

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Marja Honkaniemi

Traditional response hierarchy model frameworks claim that audiences of ad-

TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES THESIS | Marja Honkaniemi

product or a service. In the second stage (Knowledge) the customer comes to

Figure 2. The hierarchy-of-effects model by Lavidge and Steiner, 1961.

The hierarchy-of-effects model of Lavidge and Steiner can be explained with a