Most preferred advertisement means in Moldova

As the quote from an old movie says “Рекламадвигательторговли” (Advertisement is the motor of trade), nowadays it seems that this advertising is becoming more and more different. Advertisement itself is a basic instrument of communication with consumers. Advertisement, as a rule, is part of a well-thought strategy which is developed to increase the number of clients, the value sales and the awareness of brand etc. However this article will not tackle these areas, but will address especially the preferences of Moldavians in regard to the various advertising channels. The data was collected based on the quarterly survey Magenta National Screening, on a sample of 1400 respondents from 24 towns, with a ±3% error margin.

We have often been involved in discussions where certain clients specified that the TV advertisement is the best one, declaring that without doing any type of research to establish the segmentation or to settle the purpose. A nice phrase recently heard says: “the best way to advertise something is to give it for free". We believe there is no good or bad advertisement channel, there only has to be a well-targeted channel and this comes, as it was previously stated, from the main strategy of the company. There is a significant difference when a company is willing to launch a short-term campaign, to inform the public about an event or to maintain the awareness of the advertisement. But let’s get back to the initial topic...

Figure 1 presents a rating of the advertisement channels determined by the local population. The question addressed in the questionnaire was a complex one, as it assessed not only the preference rating, but also the channels which are not liked or the ones towards which the consumers feel totally indifferent.

It can easily be seen that the first place is held by tastings (samplings), having as subtext BTL actions for food products and counting up to 54% of answers, followed by special events and gifts with 47% and exhibitions with 44%. All these four instruments can be united under a single group, where consumers generally participate consciously, or more often in an unconscious way, willing to receive something free of charge.

Another group is made of billboards (42%) and light boxes (38%), which, due to the fact that are numerous. easily attract consumers’ attention. Nevertheless, at psychological level, the consumer has the power to decide – I want to look, I will look or No, I don’t want to and I don’t look. Similar thing happens at the level of information perception and assimilation.

The following group includes the recommended advertising  channels: TV (34%), Internet (31%), Radio (28%), newspapers and magazines (26%). Here the consumer has the power to choose and show interest. In other words, on TV – the consumer has the possibility to switch the channel, especially considering that a large share of respondents do not appreciate such type of advertisements (as seen on figure 1). The same thing refers to the rest of the channels where the consumer has also the power to choose the web page, the radio channel or the newspaper/ magazine.

The rest of the advertisement channels are mixed already, and the consumer already might have or not  the possibility to choose. There also exists the forced advertisement, where the consumer has no power to choose and is forced to see it, reacting in a negative way.

Besides the appreciated media channels, we would like to draw the attention to  those who don’t appreciate a particular tool. Therefore, the theory about forcing someone to consume advertisement is based on real facts.

The most special position in the figure 1 is held by the respondents who are indifferent towards any kind of advertisement tools. We would like to draw the attention to the fact that the dimension of this segment can be seen as a positive thing, as these consumers are the ones that yet can be won. Nevertheless, it requires the mastery of an advertising agency who would implement the idea.

Figure 2 presents the advertisement characteristics most appreciated by the public. We can observe that the most important characteristics of an advertisement are the humor and the content which were nominated by almost half of population (48%).

Finally, with humor or not, we hope to see suitable advertisement at their place. Organizing a celebration or event, promoting a product does not mean that one has to choose the most popular instrument which assures the highest GRP. It is our, the consultants’, duty to explain the client what is the most adequate instrument depending on the product and a wise segmentation.