Vol. 8(2), pp.

12-19, April 2016

DOI: 10.5897/AJMM2015.0459
Article Number: 97E6E0658720
ISSN 2141-2421 African Journal of Marketing Management
Copyright © 2016
Author(s) retain the copyright of this article
http://www.academicjournals.org/ AJMM

Full Length Research Paper

Evaluating the use of internet as a medium for

marketing and advertising messages in Nigeria
Olanrewaju Olugbenga Akinola* and Deborah Olukemi Okunade
Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Received 19 April 2015;Accepted 26 April, 2015

Nigeria’s active internet subscriptions (GSM), as at February, 2015 stand at 83,209,380 (NCC, 2015). The
Internet is the modern marketers’ choice. Despite its great potentials, it is still largely under-utilized in
Nigeria. This study surveyed the popularity and acceptance of the Internet as a medium for
communicating marketing and advertising messages; the category of people who seek advertising and
marketing messages online, the extent of their internet usage and possible challenges associated with
the use of the Internet as a medium of marketing and advertising in Nigeria. Findings revealed that
young people between the ages of 18 to 45 years form the substantial majority of internet users in
Nigeria. Although, majority of the respondents claim to be aware of the availability of marketing and
advertising messages online, only 4%, majorly working class between the ages of 32 to 45 claim they
use the Internet basically to seek advertising and marketing messages. Others obviously use the
Internet more for social networking than seeking advertising and marketing messages.

Key words: Internet, Marketing, Advertising, Medium, Information and Communication Technology (ICT),
Promotions, Marketing Mix, Marketing Strategy, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION

The essence of any product or service is the patronage for marketing and promotions; organizations and
by the target market (customer/consumer). A product, individuals consciously strive to differentiate and position
service or idea is not good; if it does not meet the their products through branding to win the minds and
needs/wants of the people for which it was produced; if pockets of their target market. Among the most important
the product does not reach the target market as at when decisions advertisers have had to grapple with, is
needed; and if the target market is not willing or capable determining the most effective and efficient means of
of meeting the price tag. expressing their message (getting the right appeal) to
Advertising and other promotional tools are therefore their target customers and prospects, considering the fact
deployed to create awareness, provide information and that the emotions, attitudes and motives that drive
persuade the target market to purchase or/and use the individual customer in their target market differs. It is
product or service. Competition has increased the need important that advertisers must invest in locating and

*Corresponding author. E-mail: lanreupdate00@gmail.com.

Authors agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License 4.0 International License
 Akinola and Okunade 13

understanding their customer and prospect‟s needs, stakeholders like never before. Unlike other media, it is
wants and desires; create products to satisfy those actually a hybrid of media; allowing companies to create
desires; and finally communicate that information in a awareness, provide information, influence attitudes and
way that connects and resonates with them. such other communication objectives. Without mincing
To communicate the values and characteristics that words, the Internet is also a medium of commerce,
differentiate a product/service, and create a unique image allowing users to buy and sell products online without
for the brand, media selection is of critical essence. having to physically visit each other in a particular
Marketers and advertisers carefully select media that can geographical location. Yet, with its vast audience,
best deliver their message to existing and potential interactive nature, global convergence of other medium,
customers. In reaching a decision as to the medium or and other great potentials of the Internet as a medium of
combination of media to use, marketers and advertisers advertising and marketing, it appears that it is still largely
are mindful of the cost effectiveness of their choice. As under-utilized in Nigeria.
much as sellers (marketers and advertisers) have found it This study aims at ascertaining the popularity and
advantageous to send messages to target buyers in the acceptance of the Internet as a medium of communicating
most economical manner possible, customers also marketing and advertising messages; the category of the
search for information about products and services at the people who seek advertising and marketing messages
lowest possible cost to themselves. “When the amount online, the extent of their internet usage and possible
spent to attract a customer exceeds the amount that a challenges associated with the use of the Internet as a
customer contributes to revenue, the business will not be medium of marketing and advertising. This study was
around for long” (Arens, 2004). approached from the perspective of the customer (buyer)
Advertising has gone beyond print as suggested by and not the marketer or advertiser (seller). To achieve
Albert Lasker “advertising is salesmanship in print, driven these aims, the researcher raised the following questions:
by a reason why” (Arens, 2004). It has also gone beyond
“making known in order to sell” as advanced by Jefkins 1. Which category of the public visit the Internet most for
and Yadin (2000). The era when stallholders displayed marketing and advertising messages?
and shouted their products to passers-by, or when print, 2. Which is/ are the most visited marketing or advertising
radio and later television were the only media through sites?
which advertisers could communicate their messages to 3. What are the hindrances to the use of the Internet for
the target customer is gone. The nature of business has marketing and advertising message?
since changed (Akinola, 2010). If factory outputs are to 4. Which medium do the respondents prefer most for
be maintained profitably, mass production must be marketing and advertising messages?
complemented with mass-sales. Advertising must become
powerful and continuous; it must shift from monologue to
dialogue. Arens et al. (2008) define advertising as the METHODOLOGY
structured and composed non personal communication of
information, usually paid for and usually persuasive in The study set out to collect data on, and describe in a systematic
nature, about products (goods, services and ideas) by manner, the attitudes and behaviour of the chosen population in
relations to the use of Internet as a medium for marketing and
identified sponsors through various media. The Internet, advertising. Hence, the descriptive survey method was adopted.
a world-wide broadcasting and information dissemination Survey, not only provides useful information on population
tool has revolutionized communication and business distribution, it is best when investigating problems in its real setting
transactions. It has facilitated the collaboration and (Tejumaiye, 2003).
interaction between individuals and their computer without The population of the study were literate members of the public
residing or working in Ogun and Lagos states, who have access to
regards for geographical location (Baran, 2002). With the
and use the Internet. The study locations were strategically chosen:
Internet, there is more information than ever available to Lagos remains the commercial nerve center of Nigeria; hosting
the society. many corporate headquarters despite the relocation of the federal
The Internet beats all other media (radio, television capital to Abuja. Ogun states shares border with Lagos state and it
etc.) with its features of up-to-date information availability is also an elitist state hosting the highest number of tertiary
and the ability to deliver contents to the user on the go. institutions in the country.
Respondents were purposively selected from Ibara and
Practically, users of the Internet can view information and Onikolobo areas of Abeokuta, and Yaba and Ikeja areas of Lagos.
also access archives, read consumers‟ reviews at the Trained research assistants administered a 21 item questionnaire
click of the button. Even today, radio and television are divided into two sections; Section A (eliciting information related to
taking advantage of the Internet by creating websites for demographic data); Section B (seeking responses to answer the
live streaming and other possibilities where viewers and research questions). In all, 200 literate respondents (100 from Ogun
listeners can hook up via their mobile applications. By and 100 from Lagos State) provided data for this study. The
quantitative data collected from respondents were coded in line with
offering true interactivity, the Internet enables commercial the research objectives/questions; analyzed using Statistical
and non-commercial organizations to develop and Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) programme and result
nurture relationships with their customers and other presented using frequency distribution tables.
14 Afr. J. Mark. Manage.

LITERATURE REVIEW offered definitions and explanations that indicate the

diversity of perspectives of scholars about marketing. In
In today‟s competitive market, the old saying „Make a 2004, the AMA once again reviewed its definition of
better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your marketing. This time, defining Marketing is an
door‟ (Perreault and McCarthy, 2002) is no more organizational function and a set of processes for
relevant. A better mousetrap will not sell itself unless the creating, communicating, and delivering value to
manufacturer designs, packages, prices it appropriately customers and for managing customer relationships in
such that wiling buyers are capable of acquiring the ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.
product, make it available to buyers where and when it is This 2004 definition has generated considerable interest
needed; bring the existences and benefits of the mouse and reactions (both positive and negative) from scholars
trap to the attention of the target market and convince and practitioners. Apart from formal and informal
them that it is indeed a better mouse trap. There are a commentaries by practitioners, scholars have also
number of misconceptions about marketing; some see expressed their views at conferences and through
marketing as sales, some, advertising; and some as Journal publications. The 2007 Fall Issue of Journal of
retailing activities. For others, marketing suggests; market Public Policy and Marketing (JPP&M) dedicated a special
research, distribution, pricing, product planning and section to the issue. The nine journal papers submitted
development. While all these activities are part of and assessed, reflected, identified and raised concerns
marketing, it encompasses more than just these individual on the various perspectives and elements of the 2004
elements (Boone and Kurtz, 2012). definition (Gregory, 2007).
Hunt (2011) defines Marketing as the process by which
companies create customer interest in goods or services.
Marketing concept It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques,
business communication and business developments. It
The American Marketing Association defines marketing is an integrated process through which companies build
as the process of planning and executing the conception, strong customer relationships and create value for their
pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and customers and for themselves. For Armstrong (2012),
services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and Marketing is used to identify the customer, to satisfy the
organizational objectives (AMA, 1960). Effective marketing customer, and to keep the customer. Armstrong‟s
requires that managers recognize the interdependence of definition suggests and rightly too, that the customer is
such activities as sales and promotion and how they can the focus of all marketing activities. To attain organi-
be combined to develop a marketing programme. The zational business objectives, an organization must
American Marketing Association (AMA) definition anticipate the needs and wants of consumers and satisfy
recognizes that exchange is central to marketing. For the needs more effectively than competitors. Marketing
exchange to occur there must be two or more parties with precedes productions; it determines the direction of
something of value for one another, and a way to production and other business activities. Market research
communicate with each other. Marketing is therefore a findings such as; what the target market need and want,
process of exchanging utility for values between the how and when they will need and want it, where they will
provider and consumer of a product or service. want it and the price they are willing and capable of
Advertising plays an important role in the exchange paying determines to a large extent the marketing
process by informing consumers of an organization‟s strategy to be deployed in any market.
product or service and convincing them of its ability to
satisfy their needs or wants. However, not all marketing
transactions involve the exchange of money for a tangible Marketing strategies
product or service. Non-profit organizations such as
charities, religious groups, the arts, and colleges and Any organization that wishes to exchange its products or
universities receive millions of Naira in donations every services in the market place successfully should have a
year. Nonprofit organizations often use advertising to strategic marketing plan to guide the allocation of its
solicit contributions from the public. Donors generally do resources. A strategic marketing plan usually evolves
not receive any material benefits for their contributions; from an organization‟s overall corporate strategy and
they donate in exchange for intangible social and serves as a guide for specific marketing programs and
psychological satisfactions such as feelings of goodwill policies. Marketing strategy is based on a situation
and altruism (Malhotra and Birks, 2010). This study analysis - a detailed assessment of the current market.
however focused on the uses, benefits and challenges of From this situation analysis, a firm develops an under-
the Internet as marketing and advertising media in Nigeria, standing of the market and the various opportunities it
hence the restriction to basic marketing, advertising and offers, the competition, and the market segments or
the Internet in the review of literatures. target markets the company wishes to pursue (Eric,
There is no single universally accepted definition of 2012).
marketing. Business professionals and scholars have Marketing strategy process starts with a broad look at a
 Akinola and Okunade 15

market, paying special attention to customers‟ needs, the Marketers must be knowledgeable about the issues and
firm objectives and resources and competitors. This helps options involved in each element of the mix. They must
the firm to identify new and unique opportunities. A firm is also be aware of how these elements can be combined to
not likely to get a competitive advantage if all it strives for, provide an effective marketing program. The original 4
is meeting the needs of the customer the same way the P's of marketing along with the fifth P added to marketing
competitors do. To have a competitive market advantage, mix are elaborated further:
Perreault and McCarthy (2002) suggest that a firm must
analyze the market to determine existing market Product - The product is a combination of tangible and
conditions and look for opportunities that will differentiate intangible aspects of the products offered by the
the firm and its products from that of the competitor. manufacturer to the customers. Kotler and Armstrong
Today‟s market cannot and should not be viewed as one (2012), describe product as anything that can be offered
large homogeneous group of customers; rather, as many to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption
heterogeneous groups, or segments. Wise firms usually that might satisfy a want or need. The products can be
identify market opportunities through careful examination classified as durable and non-durable, consumers and
of the marketplace; noting demand trends and competition industrial goods, perishable and non-perishable, finished
in various market segments and tailoring their marketing and semi-finished etc.
strategy to meet the needs and demand trends of specific
market segment(s). Price – Price is the amount of money charged for
“something” of value (Perreault and McCarthy, 2002).
Kotler and Armstrong (2012) define price as the amount
Marketing mix of money customers pay to obtain the product. In arriving
at a price for a product or service, certain factors are put
Marketing mix are the controllable variables that a firm into consideration: the entire cost of production and
puts together to satisfy a target market (group). A typical marketing, purchasing power of target market, customer's
marketing mix includes some product, offered at a price, perceived value of the product, competitors price and of
with some promotion to tell potential customers about the course, profit margin to the company. The price should
product, and a way to reach the customer‟s place therefore be a fair estimation of the utility possessed by
(Perreault and McCarthy, 2002). the product.
For years, marketers accepted product, price, place
(distribution), and promotion as the 4 P's of marketing. As Place - Place represents the point or location where the
years go by, some scholars have proposed alternative product is made available for purchase. It is only when
framework; while those who accept the role of the 4Ps the product and the customer meet that sale can take
often proposed modifications, suggesting in some cases place. A product is not good if it is not available where
the addition of new elements to the classic 4Ps. Their and when it is needed by the target customer. Place
arguments according to Constantinides (2006) range includes warehouse and channels of distribution.
from the fact that: external and uncontrollable Osunbiyi (2009) identifies four possible channels of
environmental factors are very important elements of the distribution: M – C (manufacturer to consumer); M - R – C
marketing strategy programs (Kotler, 1984); the 4Ps (manufacturer to retailer to consumer); M – W – R – C
Marketing Mix is too much internally oriented (Robins, (manufacturer through a wholesaler to a retailer to
1991); the market places today are customer oriented. consumer); M – WI - W2 – R – C (manufacturer through
The 4Ps have less relevance today, they made sense the two levels of wholesalers to the retailer and then the final
time they were invented (Schultz, 2001). Marketing consumer).
experts and scholars have proposed, and continue to
propose the expansion of the marketing mix to include; People - The services are being provided with the help of
customers, competitors, environmental variables, employees and to the customers. There is direct contact
employees among others (Schult, 2001; Doyle, 1994; for delivery of the services to the customers. The type of
Ohmae, 1982; Kotler, 1984; Mercer, 2012). Whether we people providing the service matters a lot from business
subscribe to 4, 5 or 9Ps, the fact remains that the point of view. The people are to be selected, trained and
effective blending of the various controllable elements motivated to keep the customers very happy. So the
requires a clear understanding of the target market. people are very important for service marketing and they
Whatever is done at the level of product, price, place, must be managed effectively.
promotion and people are done in the interest of the
customer (the only uncontrollable element that controls Promotion - Boone and Kurtz (2012) describe promotion
other elements). as the function of informing, persuading and influencing
The basic task of marketing is combining these four the consumer‟s purchase decision. However, promotion
elements into a marketing program to facilitate the as an element of the marketing mix is the communication
potential for exchange with consumers in the marketplace. of information between sellers and potential buyers and
The proper marketing mix does not just happen. others to influence attitudes and behaviors. It goes
16 Afr. J. Mark. Manage.

beyond mere purchase. The wish and joy of any brand is flow of information whereby users can participate in and
to create and nurture brand loyalist and move them to the modify the form and content of the information they
level of fans. The promotional strategy of any firm will be receive in real time. Unlike traditional media of marketing
determined by the firm/brand objective(s). and advertising which are unidirectional, the new medium
The basic tools and strategies used to accomplish an allows users to perform a variety of functions such as
organization‟s communication objectives include among receive and alter information and images, make inquiries,
others; personal selling, direct marketing, public relations, respond to questions, and, of course, make purchases
sales promotion and advertising. (Stewart and Pavlou, 2011).
The interactive media that is having the greatest impact
Advertising on marketing and advertising today is the Internet,
especially through the component known as the World
The word Advertising was derived from the Latin word Wide Web (www). As the Internet is changing the ways
'advertere' which means turning attention to. Advertising companies design and implements their entire business
is any paid form of non-personal presentation and and marketing strategies, it is also affecting their
promotion of ideas, goods, or service by an identified marketing communication programmes. Thousands of
sponsor (Kotler et al., 2007). Arens (2004) defines companies, ranging from large multinational corporations
advertising as “the structured and composed non- to small local firms, have developed websites and blogs
personal communication of information, usually to promote their products and services, by providing
persuasive in nature, about products (goods, services current and potential customers with information, as well
and ideas) by sponsors through the media”. Daniyan as to entertain and interact with consumers (Coyle and
(2005) describes advertising as branding; identifying and Gould 2012).
differentiating products, she reasons that advertising Actually the Internet can be used to execute all the
,

provides information about a product and educates elements of the promotional mix. In addition to advertising
consumers on its usage; it creates awareness, induces on the Web, marketers offer sales promotion incentives
trial purchase and stimulates increase in a product‟s use such as coupons, contests, and sweepstakes online, they
and acceptance. Whatever may be the objective of an also use the Internet for market research, direct
advertising campaign, the advertiser‟s message is marketing, personal selling, and public relations activities
disseminated through the media. Advertising media can more effectively and efficiently. The interactive nature of
be broadly grouped into two (2); traditional and new the Internet encourages effective communication with
media. While the print and the broadcast medium have customers. Many companies recognize the advantages
been with us for decades, the Internet is relatively new. of communicating via the Internet and are developing
Arens et al. (2008) classified the Internet under the digital web strategies and hiring interactive agencies specifically
interactive media. The Internet as a medium is to develop their websites and make it part of their
distinguished from the conventional advertising media in integrated marketing communications programme
several aspects. Firstly, it can serve as not only a (Hoffman and Novak, 2011).
communication channel but also as a transaction and
distribution channel. Consumers can get information and
Attributes of internet as a medium of advertising
make payment and purchase all through the Internet.
Besides, it has the capacity for multimedia content. It can There are different types and forms of advertising on the
carry not only text and graphics but also audio and video Internet; from Banners, Sponsorships, Pop-ups, Pop-
content. According to Belch and Belch (2003), with the unders, Links, Interstitials and a host of others.
interactive nature of the Internet, users can initiate a (SeeHofacker, 2010; Manchanda et al., 2013). The
shopping process by visiting a website and then clicking Internet has a number of positive attributes, such as the
on hyper linked text for more information. It is also a two- wide variety of budgets that can access the medium as
way communication medium that promote dialogue rather well as the massive audience/readership base that is
than monologue. The multimedia nature of the Internet well-targeted; the Internet can target specific audiences
also makes it suitable for high impact advertising. and age groups (Tavor, 2011).
The strengths of the Internet also include; low cost,
Internet as a medium of marketing and advertising corporate legitimacy, creative flexibility, round-the-clock
accessibility and easy documentation of effectiveness
Since the beginning of this millennium, marketing and among others.
advertising, and indeed promotions generally have Marketing or advertising online is however not without
experienced dynamic and revolutionary changes. These its own challenges particularly in a developing nation like
changes are being driven by advances in information and Nigeria. Apart from the fear of fraudsters, there are
communication technology (ICT) which has grown infrastructural challenges such as slow download and
communication through the interactive media, particularly undependable power supply. A low-speed internet
the Internet. Interactive media allow for a back-and-forth connection is a barrier; dial-up connections or mobile
 Akinola and Okunade 17

devices users experience significant delays accessing Table 1. Internet as a medium of advertising will soon push
companies or brands with large or over-complicated the traditional media (radio & television) to the back seat.
websites. Research has found that users trust less than
two percent of banner adverts seen online (Richard, Parameter Frequency Percentage
2012). Another fundamental flaw of the Internet as a Strongly agree 37 18.5
medium of advertising is the cluttered and intrusive Agree 81 40.5
nature of its appearance. Some online adverts can be Neutral - -
messy and difficult to read; presenting too much Disagree 29 14.5
information at a time and interrupting user‟s online Strongly disagree 53 26.5
experience (Tavor, 2011). Total 200 100.0

Theoretical framework
the Internet through their mobile phones and mostly later
Generational marketing theory was created by William in the evening.
Strauss and Neil Howe in 1991. The theory holds that Majority of the respondents claim to be aware of the
consumers born of the same generation-defined as a 20- availability of marketing and advertising messages online,
year period have common attitudes and behaviours however only 4% who are majorly working class between
because of shared experiences that influenced their the ages of 32 to 45 claim they use the Internet basically
childhood and shaped their views of the world. The to seek advertising and marketing messages. The rest,
theory was developed to describe the history of United obviously those who fall into the category of millennials
States, including the 13 colonies and their Anglo use the Internet more for chatting and connecting with
antecedent. However, scholars have also examined friends and relatives than seek advertising and marketing
generational theory elsewhere in the world and identify messages (Table 6). This is consistent with the
similar cycles in several developed countries. generational theory which submits that Generation X
The relevance of generational theory to internet (those between the ages of 34 to 45) is more active than
marketing is primarily in the ways in which each the Millenials (those between the ages of 18 to 33) in
generation communicates and the online places where online activities such as researching financial information.
marketers can reach them. Although, 77% of the respondents claim to seek
For example, Pew Internet reported in a 2010 study information about products and services online (Table 5),
that millennials (those who are 18 to 33 years old) are the researcher noted that the number of respondents who
most likely to access the Internet wirelessly. Generation claim to seek information about product and services
X (those who are between the ages 34 to 45) are more online does not correspond with the number of
active than millennials in such activities as researching respondents who claim to visit Amazon.com and
financial information. Konga.com.
However, Pew's research emphasizes increasing From their responses, Facebook and Google were the
homogeneity across groups for such activities as most visited websites (41.5 and 35%, respectively) (Table
researching health information, shopping, making travel 7). It should be noted that Facebook, 2go and Twitter are
arrangements and downloading podcasts. Furthermore, social network sites, Google is an educational and
Pew notes, pre-baby boomers are shedding their "silent information website, BBC and Goal Soccer are news
generation" image. website, while Amazon and Konga are basically marketing
They are now the fastest-growing group of social sites. We are not ignorant of the fact that marketing and
network users, and they are just as likely as millennials to advertising messages are available on social network,
own smartphones. educational and news websites listed; the fact remains
The relevance of generational theory to this current that, while marketing is the primary concern and focus of
study is that the Internet is a generational technology; it is websites such as Amazon and Konga, marketing and
mostly used by people of Generation Y, who are between advertising are secondary to the other listed websites.
18 to 23 years of age. Internet marketing and advertise- Table 4 shows that respondents of this study consider
ment message is assume to captivate this generation due the fear of fraud, high cost of internet service, power
to their exposure to the social media networks. outage, privacy and security concerns and slow download,
in that order, as challenges limiting the Internet as a
medium of marketing and advertising in Nigeria.
FINDINGS It is interesting to note however, that while 68% of the
respondents agreed to the assertion that the Internet is a
Going by the information obtained from respondents, it better medium of advertisement (Table 2), 74.5% still
can be categorically stated that young people between prefer the television as a medium of advertisement to a
the ages of 18 to 45; mostly students of tertiary institutions paltry 15.5% who prefer the Internet (Table 3). Table 1,
use the Internet. A substantial majority of them access however presents a picture of hope that the tide may
18 Afr. J. Mark. Manage.

Table 2. Will you agree to the assertion that the Internet is a Table 6. What do you use the internet for?
better medium of marketing and advertisement?
Parameter Frequency Percentage
Parameter Frequency Percentage Connecting and chatting
73 36.5
Yes 136 68.0 friends
No 64 32.0 Research and education 51 25.5
Don‟t know - - Commerce / Business 8 4.0
Total 200 100.0 All of the above 68 34.0

Table 7. Which site do you visit frequently?

Table 3. Respondent‟s most prefer medium of
advertisement.
Parameter Frequency Percentage
Parameter Frequency Percentage Face book 83 41.5
Radio 15 7.5 2go 9 4.5
TV 149 74.5 Amazon 2 1
Internet 31 15.5 Google 70 35
Outdoor 5 2.5 Twitter 17 8.5
Total 200 100.0 BBC 3 1.5
Goal soccer 5 2.5
Konga 6 3
Others 5 2.5
Table 4. Hindrances to the use of internet for marketing and Total 200 100.0
advertising messsges.

Parameter Frequency Percentage

and for research and educational purposes; hence, their
High cost of internet service 61 30.5
preference for Facebook and Google websites. With this
Power outage 29 14.5
information, advertisers and marketers now know where
Slow download 18 9.0 and when to meet their target market/audience. Placing
Privacy and security concern 23 11.5 adverts and marketing messages on these websites must
Fraud 69 34.5 however be done strategically in order not to intrude and
Total 200 100.0 become a nuisance to the Internet user. Companies and
brands in designing their websites or blogs should ensure
that their websites and blogs are customer friendly and
secured, interactive and customer oriented. They should
Table 5. Do you seek information about products or services put in place audit traits, periodic compliance checks,
online?
policies and procedures to spot, prevent and report
Parameter Frequency Percentage
suspicious fraudulent activities in internet transactions.
With all these in place, it is envisaged that the Nigerian
Yes 154 77.0
public will soon yield to the power and potentials of the
No 46 23.0 Internet as a utility vehicle capable of carrying various
Total 200 100.0 messages and medium. Further studies are needed to
ascertain the attitude and perspectives of advertisers and
marketers towards Internet as medium for marketing and
advertising.
change in the near future as 59% of the respondents are
of the opinion that the Internet will soon push the
traditional medium of Radio and Television to the back Conflict of interests
seat.
The authors have not declared any conflict of interests.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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