Book Promotion Efforts in Select Nigerian Newspapers

This study on the book promotion efforts in select Nigerian newspapers was guided by the functionalist theory which emphasizes that the media help to co-ordinate various parts of the society by gathering and disseminating valuable information. It examined how book publishers used the newspaper medium to promote their books by content analyzing 164 entries on book promotion in three national newspapers. This was for a four-year period between 2010 and 2013 and the newspapers are The Guardian, The Punch and The Nation. Observable patterns in the promotional efforts of the publishers indicate a high propensity towards the use of photographs and illustrations with a percentage rate of 37% and 27% respectively. Of the three newspapers, The Nation had a leading position of 45%, while The Guardian and The Punch followed with 33% and 22% respectively. Further findings in the study revealed that product adverts (5%) and corporate adverts (4%) that can position a book and the publishers in the marketplace were the least explored areas. On the basis of this, the study recommends that publishers should see the need to vigorously use the newspaper to embark on both product and corporate adverts. This has the potential of motivating people to buy and read books especially if they are effectively and consistently placed in the newspapers. Keywords: Book promotion; Book publishing; Product promotion; Returns-on-investmen

Audience Perception of Foreign Music within Indigenous Radio Programmes among Listeners in Lagos, Nigeria

Music is the life blood of every radio station. Ordinarily, the listeners should be the focus of every radio programme and their perception should influence radio station programming. However, the continuous use of foreign music in indigenous programming points to a contrary indication. This situation is today a source of concern to culture activists and debates among academics. This study therefore examined how audience perceive the use of foreign music within local radio programmes. To do this, the study adopted the quantitative research method with survey design. A sample of 200 respondents was taken from Lagos metropolis and a specially designed questionnaire was administered on 20 radio presenters purposively selected. Specifically, the study attempted to answer four research questions and the findings revealed that many radio listeners prefer local music, and viewed the act of playing foreign music as unpatriotic and a way of killing local culture. The paper concludes that a continuous airplay of foreign music within local programmes will debase indigenous culture and existence of a nation. Keywords: foreign music, perception, cultural imperialism, Indigenous programme

AUDIENCE PERCEPTION OF THE ROLE OF ADVERTISING ON PRODUCT POSITIONING AND BRAND LOYALTY IN THE NIGERIAN GSM MARKET

ABSTRACT Every company wants to adopt the right marketing communications technique intended to present its product to the different members of the public that constitute its target market. The company chooses a message to disseminate through the right channel that can lead to a created need in the target market. This is the scenario in the Nigerian telecommunication market. To ascertain the role advertising plays in product positioning and consumer choice of brand, the study focused on the two leading GSM providers -MTN and Globacom. The study adopted the survey method with questionnaire as the instrument of gathering data from 143 respondents in Lagos. The data revealed that advertising can affect the way consumers rank a brand's attributes, such as color, taste, smell, and texture and that it can make consumers to be more informed about the brand and more generally favorable disposed to it. On the basis of this, the study concluded that since advertising and quality of product are two major influences on consumer preferences, GSM network service providers must ensure that product quality and effective service delivery are fused with effective promotions in order to influence the target market. However to achieve these the study recommended that advertisers must try to understand the different behavioural levels that customers pass through. It is only when they do that they can create a message that will meet all requirements

ADAPTING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR FORMAL LEARNING IN NIGERIA: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

ABSTRACT Educationist and communication experts have in the past advocated for a flexible learning aimed at meeting individual needs, while at the same time providing both the learner and the instructor the opportunity to interactively relate outside the structured environment. Thus when social media started out as a fun way to connect with friends and families, experts saw it as a powerful tool for education beyond their uses as avenue to socialize. Today, many students and educationists are using sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, MySpace, Flicker, Netlog, Slideshare and tools such as Skype, Ovoo, and Yahoo messenger to connect students to learning opportunities in new and exciting ways. As part of the growing influence for enhancing education, the Osun state government recently gave out smart phone dubbed "opon imo" (tablet of knowledge) to all secondary pupils in the state loaded with several learning materials. Using the exploratory method, the authors explore ways in which social media can be used to enhance formal learning by identifying opportunities and challenges inherent thereof. The authors concluded that social media provide better opportunities to help student take their learning experience outside the classroom to wherever they are but noted that cost of acquisition and sustenance could pose as challenge for those in the lower income bracket of the society

SMARTSPHONES AND COMMUNICATION PATTERN AMONG STUDENTS IN HIGHER INSTITUTIONS

Abstract Communication is at the heart of human existence and technology has always determined the nature of and nurture how man communicates. The introduction of mobile telephone and most importantly smartphones has altered the way youths communicate, yet there is little or no empirical research on the influence of this technology on the communication pattern of youth especially students in higher institutions. The survey research design was adopted with questionnaire as the instrument of gathering data from 500 respondents chosen from the Redeemer's University, Osun State and the University of Lagos, Lagos State. Study revealed that smartphone usage among students in higher institutions has positive influence on their communication pattern. The study further showed that majority of the respondents used their smartphone for social activities and related functions. On the strength of these findings, the researchers recommended that more researches should be conducted to know more about this growing technology. Also, it was recommended that marketing communication professionals should be interested in the opportunities provided by this technology to reach out to their target audience