INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Advertising is a powerful marketing communication tool used by companies to fulfill the promotional task. It is the act of communicating with the consumers, to inform the public about the existence of a manufactured product for sale.
Advertising attracts the attention of the consuming public. Most often, firms in various industries try to stimulate sales through the manipulations of consumers, psychological, emotional and economic rate of mind through the means of advertising.
This often happens when there is an intense competition in the business line, manufacturers or producers find a pressing need for promotional or advertising activities.
Advertising in other words called communication mix is used in promoting a product both new and old, that is communicating the consumers in the use and purpose of the new product, including the need for it. Since the purpose of advertising is to change customers attitude or patterns or behaviour towards a product or service in a direction fovaourable to he advertise as well as increasing the sales volume. It is pertinent therefore, for firms to embark on descriptive informative advertisement attracts attention to the existence of a new product and motivating the public to buy a trial supply or perhaps accept a free sample may be rendering a desirable service.
Although it contains no word about the product composition or performance of the products existence.
Advertising as an exercise in information persuasion and communication is related because to inform is to persuade and a person who is persuaded is also informed, and persuasion and information become effective through some form of communication, therefore advertising/promotion is the design and management of a marketing subsystem for the purpose of informing and persuading present and potential customers.
Moreover, when a new product is introduced in the market, an initial risk is to make buyers aware of its value and existence. The role of information in promotion, however, is to restricted to new product because buyers differ in stage of their relationship with a product. Even products that have been is the market for years still need information support. It’s also needed during periods of shortages. Promotion in this period could take the form of structural information, emphasizing on product conservation or an instructional programme to help consumers with the products. It can also be very useful to stimulate sales when the company is having very low sales.
Obliviously, the basic objective underlying all advertising on the part of the production in an increase in sales volume brought about the advertisement. This aim may be further subdivided in terms of dimension and by devising strategies aimed at achieving either short or long term gains however, both aims will be achieved, but the immediate objective until condition the strategy and the promotional tools employed.
By and large, we can infer that the motive of advertising is not to write great literature but to present the prettiest picture or to entertain the audience through some or all of these elements are often present in advertising. Advertising is first and for most a sales tool and we must never lose sight of that fact.
Again, advertising is also a major stimulant to vigorous economic growth and stability. Advertising promotes a more efficient use of the natural resources, it is a key linking the marketing process, the aim of which is to produce what the market needs and can absorb.
Having dealt extensively with the concept of advertising, we can now look into the impact of advertising. So once it has been determined that a key problem or opportunity for the brand/product involves its communication with consumers, thus, an integral part of the advertising planning and decision making process is an assessment of the role that advertising is meant to play. As in the part of communication mix, once this perspective has been gained the brand manager must design a marketing and communication plan with the different elements complement and each other increasing the sales of the brand.
Advertising as a communication tool and in most cases, is advantageous to set objectives and measures the result in terms of intervening variables like brand awareness, brand image, or altitude. However, these communication tasks are ultimately expected to create a behavioural response to the market place.
Also, advertising as a sales tool has acquire a wide range of acceptance as a functional form of promoting sales. Firms, therefore, should adopt it so as to enable them properly set an objective selection of tools, effective implementation and channeling of resources as well as profit maximization through increased sales.
According to Adirika, Ebue and Nnolim (1996:106-112) advertising is a powerful marketing communication tool used by companies to fulfill the promotional tool.
It is an impersonal form of communication or presentation of goods, ideas, or services conducted through paid media under open or identified sponsorship. Every thing about advertising is a sponsor sending a message, called advertisement, through one mass media (radio, television, newspapers, magazines) to reach large numbers of potential uses or buyers of product. By itself, advertising is a vital marketing tool that helps to sell goods, services, images and ideas through information and persuasion.
Many companies consider advertising a superior promotion tool to personal selling, sales promotion or publicity. This is because advertising provides multiple presentation to masses of people with one message, compared with personal selling that involves individual contact with each prospect. Sales promotion frequently require individual contact also, publicity may provide multiple simultaneous presentation like advertising, but the firm has limited control on the message content and placement. While advertising is given such a credit, it is crucial to our understanding, therefore, that we appreciate from the start the real place of advertising in marketing, the best advertisement cannot sell a product that is not available nor will it convince people to buy products that they feel are of poor quality, too expensive or below expectations. As a matter of fact. The best way to kill a bud product is to advertise it. Advertising on its own rarely sell promotion mix variables, and the other marketing concerns including product development and research.
Most advertisement are designed to make both personal selling and sales promotion easier by informing, persuading, reminding, reassembling, reinforcing and establishing positive attitudes and images towards product and a company. Simply bat.
Advertising enhances the potential customer’s response to the company’s activities. As a tool of marketing advertising therefore can be defined as.
“Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods ad services by an identified sponsor (American marketing association0.
It is consider and classify the meaning of key terms in definition.
“Paid form” the advertise purchase the media time of space for telling a story about the product or services. This is unlike publicity which is delivered without charge as part of news or entertainment for the guidance.
“Non-personal” Advertising is not personal face to face presentation. It may compliment or supplement the job of personal selling bat must pass through the media. Advertising is “personal selling in paint”
“Ideas goods or service” Advertising promotion both tangible and intangible goods. It is for bath profit, non-profit and service organization, banks, insurance companies, dry cleaners, airlines, transport companies, social groups government parastatals such as national electric power authority (NEPA) and political parties and their candidates, advertise as much manufacturers of tangible goods.
“As identified sponsors” The source of every advertising message is known. This differentiates advertising from propanda. Many firms allocate the largest share of their promotional budget to advertising as an indication of its vital role in the sale of a product. It may be useful at this point to examine some of the important reasons are seen in line with the communication objective of the sponsor and they are:
To introduce of real product
To sustain an established product
Create floor traffic for retail store
To demarket a service
To promote public cause

TO INTRODUCE A NEW PRODUCT:
Advertising helps to introduce a new product by creating awareness and building consumer interest and a more desirable image in the new product advertising also enhances product improvement and modifications.

TO SUSTAIN AN ESTABLISHED PRODUCT:
Helps an established product to retain its position by constantly reminding actual and potential customers of the availability of the product, and the company, how they compare with competitive products and firms. In performing this function, advertising will consistently monitor the market place for any need of modification in advertising m3essages.

TO CREATE FLOOR TRAFFIC FOR RETIAL STORE:
Advertising increases the retail store demand by informing the public of special sales and promotions efforts for over stocks, discontinued or damaged merchandise etc. The success of any promotional device depends on consumer awareness of its existence. Therefore advertising is used to make some of special offer that build retails traffic.

TO SECURE SALES LEAD:
Advertising presales a product or service by providing information concerning a product, its attribute and availability. Advertising creates a favourable climate or induces a state of mental readiness for the sales persons call. The sales person may start off the sales presentation with a reference to the advertisement.

TO DEMARKET A SERVICE:
When the demand for a product or service begins to exceed the level of which the market feels able or motivate to supply it, a marketing approach called “demaketing” is introduce. This state of overfull demand that is caused by either temporary shortage or chronic over popularity of the product or service may be corrected with advertising that is aimed at tailoring demands to suit the available supply.

TO PROMOTE PUBLIC CAUSE:
Many non-profit, charitable organizations and government departments are using advertising to a great extent in promoting public cause. For example, the Nigerian Council of Women Society (NCWS) launched an advertising public cause campaign on the adolescent girl with the them. “This is not the best way to start adolescence, do not neglect your girl child, do no sent her to an early marriage, sent her to school”. Fundamentally, many companies have their own individual objectives for advertising, but nevertheless the general goal is to generate a sale immediately or some time in the future.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE STUDY
Most business establishments generally cherish competition
especially when it is healthy and worthwhile. Competition also thrives well in a mixed economy as a Nigeria where the tents of capitalism provides for free enterprise activities.
In a pure Nigerian competitive market situation like the one that exists here in the southern market with Enugu as a case study, a marketing manager often faced with the problem of how to determine the demand for his product in a particular market segment and also the issue of finding out and separating those factors that are inconsistent in the demand pattern of his product.
Looking at the growth trend of the detergent, market, facts portray that competition will continually grow. Therefore, —————— makers of Omo blue detergent needs to have an edge over its competitors. This can be achieved through research by designing suitable balanced strategies to outwit its competitors and also to determine the strength of the promotional mix for purposes of stimulating demand of its own product brand.
These efforts if well articulated and implemented will go a long way in increasing the profit level of the firm.
The study therefore seeks to find out whether advertising really:
a. creates demand by stimulating sales
b. whether firms maximize profit through advertising
c. examine the impact of advertising on the volume of sales

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The object of this study is to establish the reasons behind a
firms use of advertising as a sales tool. It will equally examine the various advertising strategies and also to determine whether advertising effects, affect consumer performance positively or negatively towards the product of the firm. The work will also explore relatively cheap bat effective method of advertising.
It is also the object of the project to highlight the advantages and possible disadvantages of advertising.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
To achieve the objectives of this study, the following research questions will be asked and answered.
1. What role does advertising play during the introductory stage of detergent?
2. More specifically, what communication tool considered more effective by manufactures of detergents during introductory stage of the detergents?
3. Do consumers perceive advertising as vital to the success of detergents?
4. To what extent to consumers believe in the claims of new detergents during the introductory stage?

1.5 STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESES
In an effort to determine the effective and efficient ways to
marketing Blue Omo Detergent in Enugu Metropolis in the competitive economy.
The following hypothesis were formulated.
1Ho: the high price of Blue Omo is not a militating factor to its usage rate by consumers in Enugu metropolis.

2Hi: The Blue Omo distribution system in Enugu metropolis is not efficient and effective.

3Ho: The advertising media used by producers of Blue Omo does not help to improve the sale turnover.
Hi: The advertising media used by producers of Blue Omo help to improve the sales turnover.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCEOF THE STUDY
Adial Stevenson, one time US secretary of state once sand
that the American standard of using is the imaginative genius of advertising which not only create and shape demand but also by its impact on the competitive process stimulate the ever increasing quest for improvement in the quality of the product. The above contention equally applies to Nigeria. This is evident from the rising standard of living in the country.
This research will help the matter of Omo Blue detergent identify the most influential variable that makes consumers accept this product.
This study aims at fashioning a suitable marketing strategy for easy penetration into the market and better definition of the target of typical customers. The study will also help the management to position the product toward the needs and wants of the target consumers.
Finally, it will also help to properly allocate the advertising budget based on the outcome of the past advertising campaign

1.7 DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY
This study was intended to cover the whole eastern zone of
the country where the Omo Blue detergent has been introduced. But the researcher was compelled to incline so much on respondent within Enugu metropolis.
The researcher relied so much on advertising because of time constraint.

1.8 LIMITATIONS OF STUDY
In a study of this nature, a lot of problems are bound to
appears. It was then a task for the researcher to strive to achieve the best she could in spite of these problem.
This study however was limited by lack of relevant material. Past studies in this area of study are very scanty and difficult to come by. Secondly, there wasn’t much original work on advertising impact on consumer preference. As a result of this, the researcher relied heavily on primary sources of data.
Finance: the researcher was constrained by lack of finance to limit her studies to Enugu metropolis. A lot of expenses were also incurred in questionnaire typing ad interview schedule.
This constraint also posed a problem. The researcher being a graduating student had to allocate the available time between lecture hours and appointment schedule with these, respondents a patty was a factor to contend with. Even some of the educated people were very reluctant filling their questionnaire. In addition, getting the relevant information from the focus organization was an uphill task.