Cell Phone Carriers, TV-Commercials & Branding : A study of cell phone carriers TV- commercials, branding and its affect on young people

Abstract: Problem: As almost everyone has a cell phone today, keeping your customers is very important. An important group for cell phone carriers is young people. This is a group that uses cell phones more and more. However, attracting these people could be hard. One of the most common strategies to attract customers today is promotion through TV-commercials. Another strategy that has gained popularity is branding. We therefore asked ourselves how these strategies could affect each other and eventually young peoples’ choice of cell phone carrier. Purpose: Our purpose is to investigate how branding and communication strategies are best used in cell phone carriers TV- commercials, and how they affect young peoples’ consumer behavioral processes. Method: To solve the purpose of this thesis we have used an inductive approach. We have gathered both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data have been collected from a questionnaire filled out by students from Jönköpings University and qualitative data from a focus group we have held. The results were analyzed with help from theories about communication strategies and branding. Conclusion: Branding has a strong influence on young peoples’ view on cell phone carriers TV- commercials. However cell phone carriers TV- commercials have no direct effect on young peoples’ choice of cell phone carrier. It just has an indirect effect since; TV- commercial can be considered a source of information or a way of forming attitudes.