Social Media, Advertising Messages and the Youth: Any Influence?

Social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, twitter, and many others are popular  internet sites where people especially youth interact freely, sharing and discussing information about each other and their lives, products or services, using multimedia mix of personal words, pictures, videos and audio. Advertisers have always been fascinated by media and the youth because of their primacy to business. Social media are the latest platform that advertisers are spending huge part of their advertising budget on, yet there is little or no research on the influence these media have on the youth. The population of study is students of university of Lagos and Caleb University. The survey design was adopted with the use of questionnaire as data collection instrument. A sample of 300 respondents was randomly selected and test instrument administered on them. The findings showed that 93.5% of the respondents said they were exposed to advertisements on social media. 47% said social media advertisements had positive influence on them, 45.2% said they ignore advertisements on social media, while only 20% purchase products advertised on social media. The researchers concluded that social media may contribute to brand awareness, create interest in the prospect and may in conjunctions with other factors move prospect to take desired decision. However, social media should not be seen as the ultimate media to reach the elusive youth market. Keywords: Social media, Advertising Messages, Youth, Influenc

The Youth, Reality TV Show Sponsorship and Brand Patronage: Any Nexus?

With increasing apathy to advertising by audience, especially the youth, and the need for orgnisations to look for way of positioning their products and services to attract new and retain old customers, organisations are turning to reality TV shows sponsorship. Reality TV shows have become one of the most popular shows on television this days. Reality TV programmes is define as programme that film real people as they live out events in their lives, contrived or otherwise, as they occur. With students of Redeemer’s university as its study population, the study adopts survey design, using questionnaire as data collection instrument. A sample of 240 respondents was randomly selected from the population and test instrument administered on them, only 235 pieces of questionnaire were returned and analysed, putting the response rate at 97.9%. The findings showed that brand sponsorship of reality shows does not have any influence on brand patronage. 56.5% of respondents indicated that the effect of brand sponsorship of reality shows on their patronage of the product is neither positive nor negative; rather, it is neutral or inconsequential. This finding showed that the sponsorship of reality TV shows is not solely responsible for the increased patronage of the sponsored brand. However, brand sponsorship of reality TV programmes contributes positively to image of the brand, which might ultimately lead to increase patronage. The researcher concludes that sponsorship of reality shows by major brands and organizations might influence people’s perception of the brand positively, but does not necessarily make them patronize the brand. In view of the research findings, it was recommended that organizations should not use sponsorship of reality shows as a strategy for  the purpose of increasing patronage, but use it if their aim is to boost their  brand image image. Key words: Reality TV, Sponsorship, Patronage, Brand, Positionin

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

Perceived public alarm and comprehension of risk communication messages about Lassa fever in Nigeria: a gauge of the risk communication model

Introduction: Lassa fever constitutes a threat to the public health system in Nigeria with the reoccurring annual epidemics and its attendant risk communication intervention challenges. Objective: This study examined the influence of public alarm (if any) on respondents' comprehension of risk communication messages about the most common host of the Lassa virus, modes of transmission, risk factors, and protective measures for Lassa fever. The risk communication model (mental noise hypothesis) served as the benchmark for measuring respondents' perceptions in the most endemic states in Nigeria. Method: The study adopted a quantitative approach, using the survey method. Data for this study were collected from 653 respondents through a structured questionnaire. Respondents were selected through a multi-stage sampling technique. Frequency tables were used to profile the respondents' characteristics and key variables while regression coefficients were used to draw inferences. Results: The study found a high level of perceived public alarm among the respondents but maximum attention was paid to risk communication messages amid the high level of anxiety. Knowledge of the common Lassa virus-host, modes of transmission, risk factors, and risk reduction measures was adequate irrespective of the high level of perceived public alarm. Public alarm significantly influenced audience comprehension of the risk information about Lassa fever in Ebonyi and Ondo at r2 = 0.040 and 0.076, at p 0.05. Conclusion: The authors conclude that devoting adequate attention to outbreak communication messages amid a high level of anxiety could lead to improved knowledge of infectious disease

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

Expanding the boundaries of vaccine discourse: impact of visual illustrations communication intervention on intention towards COVID-19 vaccination among victims of insecurity in Nigeria

Research on how to promote vaccination among victims of conflict is scarce. In this study, we conducted an experiment to determine how an artistic illustration communication intervention delivered alongside counseling will influence the behavior intention toward COVID-19 vaccination. The study involved 470 respondents (n = 235 control) and (n = 235 treatment). Variables from social cognitive theory and theory of planned behavior were used to develop the study hypotheses. The result of the study showed that victims of conflict who are exposed to visual messages on COVID-19 vaccination reported greater self-efficacy than those who are not. Also, victims of conflict who are exposed to visual messages on COVID-19 vaccination reported greater task efficacy than those who are not. Furthermore, victims of conflict who are exposed to visual arts on COVID-19 vaccination reported more positive outcome expectancy from the vaccine than those who are not. Finally, the result showed that victims of conflict who are exposed to visual messages on COVID-19 vaccination reported intention to make themselves available for vaccination than those who are not. We discussed these findings and highlighted the nexus between insecurity and health promotion

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

Public perception of radio campaign messages in managing COVID-19 pandemic in selected states, Nigeria

The study examined public perception of Nigeria Center of Disease Control’s (NCDC) radio campaign messages in managing the Covid-19 pandemic in three selected states in the south-western part of the country. A survey research design was adopted with a questionnaire as a data collection instrument. A sample size of 400 respondents was chosen through the multistage approach. The study revealed that the residents in selected states in South-Western Nigeria reported exposure to radio campaign messages on COVID-19 preventive measures and perceived that the messages influenced the awareness and adoption of COVID-19 preventive measures. It was recommended that behavioral change communication experts and public health officers at all levels should leverage the reliability and spread of radio among the populace to disseminate public health issues