IMPACT OF ADVERTISING ON THE SALES AND CONSUMPTION OF COCA COLA

Abstract
The media has been a machinery for influencing consumers’ choice of product in a competitive market by informing, enlightening and persuading the target audience. An advertisement is also one of the strategies used in marketing to sell products and services via mass media which can later translate such promotion into building brand loyalty among consumers. However, this research was concerned to find out the impact of advertising on the sales and consumption of Coca-Cola among Laittos University students in Delta. The research is anchored on cultivation analysis, persuasion theory and Strong and Weak Theory respectively. The study adopted survey research method with 120 respondents drawn from students of the institution using purposive sampling method (non-probability method). The main data collection instrument employed to elicit responses from the selected respondents is the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics with the use of frequency and percentage method was adopted to analyse the collected. Finding shows that majority of the respondents were exposed to Coca-Cola advert messages on mass media particularly on the television and billboard. They were influenced to buy and consume coca cola to some extent. It is recommended that advertising should be real and interesting so as to call and retain prospective buyers for the advertised product.