Description
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
Packaging constitutes all the activities of designing and producing the container or wrapper for a product for the purpose of :
1 Marketing
2 Display/Promotion
3 Sanitation
4 Convenience
5 Handling
6 Safety
7 Preservation of the product
The container or wrapper is called the package. From the above description the point that will be of use to this research is that of display.
Packaging goes all the way back into the dawn of history. Primitive societies had to carry wild berries and other foods from the forest to cavers and they used animal skins and grass baskets as containers. Earthenware was for instance, developed about 8,000 year ago in china and was shaped into a variety of containers for holding solid and liquid objects. Glass appeared in ancient Egypt and has become a major container for liquid among other things. Earthenware, leather, cloth, wood, stone and glass as well as paper and cardboard have all served as packages.
Since the 1870s when the folding carton was made the packaging industries has grown steadily with periods of rapid expansion occurring intermittently. The major revolution in packaging accompanied the modern merchandising era when mass production techniques sealed packages replaced bulk merchandise for centuries, the main role of packaging has been to hold, product and transportation of goods from the manufacturer to the consumer, where the goods are ultimately used.
It will appear that a general consensus has been reached on the definition of packaging. Its definition can be found in almost any standard marketing text book. Kotter, 2000, 418 has said this:
Packaging includes the activities of designing and producing the container or wrapper for a product. Promotion, on the other had, represents all those activities embarked upon by the company to communicate its products merits and to persuade target customers to buy them
Anyawu 1993 says that promotion is:
A broad term used to represent the entire field of marketing communication, advertising, personal selling, public relations, sales promotion, etc.
from the foregoing, the aim of this research is to find out Shanet match industrys reasons for choosing the package for her product, what it gives to its product, how the package affects its marketability and how the manufacturer has or can use the package to persuade its target customers to buy the product, in a nutshell, the aim of this research is to find out how and to what extent the Shanet match industry has used packaging as a promotional strategy and its achievements.
1.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUN OF THE STUDY
The Shanet match industry limited, callable, which situated at No5 port road along Eastern Highway, cross River state industrial layout was established in 1976 by the then civilian administration of late chief clement Isong. The initial paid up capital of the company was N1.4 million but this has increased over time to more than N1.8 million and contribution part of the shareholders fund of N1.9 million.
Consequently, this led to the state governments agreement to enter into partnership with a German Technical partner, Messrs Otte Czerway von Arland, the Federal Government, small private investors and Nigeria match limited, Kano. Construction started in September 1977 when the foundation stone was laid by late Chief Dr Clement Isong, the then Governor of the in larged Cross River state of which the present Akwa Ibom State was part of it. In September 1983, the first test run of the production process of the company was made.
1. 2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It was customary in the past for most product managers to be so much concerned with their products. Very few were aware then, that consumers do not just spend their money to buy any product but rather make their purchased based on the type of packaging associated with such product. This has led to many products, which would otherwise have been successful becoming failures because the first impression, which the intending customer had, of the product from the package was poor.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this study are to evaluate the impact of packaging on promotion of Shanet products, to verify the promotional strategy of Shanet match industry. Also the objective of this study is to find out ways of making product brands stay ahead of competition through anticipating market problems. From the foregoing, it is an evident that the purpose of the study is to investigate in empirical terms, the extent to which the concept of packaging as a means of promotional strategy could have been employed by some indigenous companies to improve their sales position.
It is also a way of helping producers to meet up with trends in the shopping patterns among Nigerian consumers, which is directed towards selfservices retail merchandising.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It has been proven that a products package, which is often referred to as the silentsalesman, enhances the marketability of the products.
This study is significant in the sense that, it will make manufacturers of products aware of the vital role packaging has to play in the marketing of their products. The study will also be of academic value since the content could be used as basis for studies in packaging, the findings of the study will also add to the body of existing knowledge in the area of packaging.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions were formulated to help the researcher in solving problems.
1 Is there any relationship between packaging and product identification
2 Is there a positive relationship between packaging and product perception
3 Does packaging increase the sales volume of a product
4 Does packaging of a product attract customers in any way
5 Do you think that packaging act as a silent sales person
6 Does goods packaging calls for repeat purchase
7 Does packaging motivate customers in any way
8 Does packaging help in differentiating between fake products and the original products
1.5 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
There are numerous problems which restricted the researcher not to go beyond Calabar. This is as a result of:
1. FINANCE: this is one of the factors that hindered the research to be conducted on a broader scope. The researcher lack helping hands that is people that will help or support her financially, that will enable her to carry out the research on broader scope more efficiently and effectively.
2. TIME FACTOR: time was a serious limiting factor, as the time available for the research work was very short coupled with other academic works. This point hinges on the fact that the researcher was undertaking studies simultaneously and attending regular lecture as well as collecting data for this project.
3. LACK OF PROPER RECORDS: the researcher lack proper records, the researcher could not get the proper records in other to carryout the research effectively. Some organizations even hide their records and they find it difficult to present their records to the researcher. This hindered them not to get proper information needed to make use of it during the research work.
4. UNCOOPERATIVE ATTITUDE: Uncooperative attitude of employees is also one of the limitations some employees when confronted by the researcher, they also find it difficult to give the researcher the correct information about their organization. The response of employees towards the researcher was not encouraging which made the researcher not to get the required information in order to make proper use of it.
1.6 DEFINATION OF TERMS
The under listed terms are defined in the context of this study.
Package:This is the container or wrapper, a case or other receptacle for packing goods on.
Packaging:This is defined as the activities of designing and producing the container or wrapper, case or other receptacle for a product.
Promotion: This is an act of advancement of a product or service from one level to another that is of a greater value than the previous level. For example, when a raffle draw is announced in order to increase sales or create more awareness.
Branding: This is the act of putting or making a mark on a product or goods in order to distinguish it from competing goods.
Reception: The combining of the sensations into recognition of an object.
Strategy: The act of conducting a campaign and maneuvering in marketing
Product: product is anything on earth tangible and intangible that the firm offer to the target market which has the ability of satisfying human wants and needs.
Price: this could be the amount of money customer pay to get the product. However, price could be seen more as anything that a buyer has to give out in order to acquire, obtain, and make use of a product or services.
Place: includes all the marketing activities that make the product available to the target market. Place is distribution. Making products available at the place and time customers want them. This involves selecting channels and motivating intermediaries establishing and maintaining inventory control products.
Customer: this is the ultimate user of a product or services. The person who derives the satisfaction or benefits attached to products.
Profit: this is the surplus derived after a defined trading period but must be regarded as the first essential changes upon a business, been reward for engaging resources in conditions of speculative risks for the satisfaction of customer demand.
Promotional tools;this is the combination of promotional elements that the company uses to pursue it market objectives in the target market.
Publicity: this is the communication regarding an organization products, services, or idea that is not directly paid for or run under identified sponsorship.
Frequency: this is a measure of how many times the average in target is exposed to the message.
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