BILLBOARD ADVERTISING AND CONSUMER PATRONAGE: AN OVERVIEW.

 

Billboard advertising and consumer patronage: an overview.

When one starts a business or is running a business, one needs to make people aware. Promotion is important for any type of business to let others know about the business. Any type of business, whether it is run online or offline requires customers so that it can experience a good business turnaround (Trand, 2014). However, the only means of reaching customers is advertising. This is why advertising is important for a business. Once a business advertises about its products and services, it is able to run in a competitive environment (Trand, 2014).

Advertising is unique to your brand. For some companies, they may have the marketing budget to support broad campaigns through every outlet (Ibid). For most companies though, particularly the many local and regional businesses we work with, it is a careful balance to and the right place for your advertising dollars (Ibid). You want to minimize wasted money while maximizing efficiency (Trand, 2014). Billboards are significantly cheaper than television and traditional media advertising (Simons, 2016). Although there are many different forms of advertising, out of home advertising billboards remain one of the tried and true methods of grabbing customers’ attention and reaching a targeted geographic audience (Simons, 2016).

Advertising is important for every aspect of a business. It plays an imperative role for both manufacturers and consumers (Kahn, 2016). Advertising is important for the business on the whole as it lets the business gain more customers, thereby increasing business turnaround. Advertising can be achieved using various media like television, newspapers, radio, banners, pamphlets, and websites (Kahn, 2016). Each advertising media has its own pros and cons and one must evaluate all of them before selecting a particular media. The main thing that needs to be considered is that the advertising medium selected must be able to reach a large number of customers (Kahn, 2016). Generally, businesses hire the services of an advertising agency to promote their products and services. The advertising agency selected by the business owner can handle the entire advertisement campaign and all aspects of the company’s marketing. This way the businessmen can focus on other aspects of the business and need not worry about how to attract more customers (Kahn, 2016). The advertising agency handles the entire process of promoting a product or service by breaking it down into stages and then working on each stage. These stages are described below: 

Market analysis- The advertising agency first studies the market to know the target audience and the needs of the target audience. The Small Business Marketing Consultant at the advertising agency also studies the competition present in the market to know how the advertising campaign will do in the market. This is done to know whether the product or service will be able to stand in the competition or not.

Selecting the advertising media- Once the advertising agency has decided to go ahead with the advertising campaign, it starts to select the advertising media. The small business marketing consultant at the agency studies the benefits and drawbacks of all the available media like television, radio, newspaper, and internet. On the basis of their comparison, the consultants select the media which they feel will do justice to the advertising campaign.

Cost-benefit analysis- The small business marketing consultant at the advertising agency then performs a cost benefit analysis. This analysis is performed for two reasons. The first is to decide whether the advertising campaign will benefit the business in the sense will advertising help to earn good business turnaround. If yes, then advertising agency starts with an advertising campaign. The other reason why a cost benefit analysis is done is to check whether the cost of promoting a product or service using a particular advertising media justifies the benefits it reaps. This is done to make sure that advertising using a particular media benefits the business by helping it get more customers and thus high business turnaround.

Deciding the mode of advertisement- The market consultant at the advertising agency then decides about how the message will be conveyed to the target audience. The advertising agency may use simple pamphlets or banners to let the customers know about the product or service. On the other hand, the advertising agency may film an attractive video to make sure that the target audience is conveyed the message.

Creating the actual advertisement- Once all aspects are looked into, the Small Business Marketing Consultant at the advertising agency proceeds with the creation of the advertisement. For this, the consultant may take the help of experts at the advertising agency or he may seek the help of professionals from outside. In either case, the end result is the creation of an attractive and appealing advertisement by the advertising agency. The advertising agency charges for the completion of the advertising campaign. So, it must be ensured that a business man goes in for an advertising agency that completes the work in the specified budget. Also the advertising agency must make sure that it does not exceed the budget because if it does so, the cost will out-shadow the benefits of the advertising campaign. This will not help the business in any manner. The advertising agency must also be clear about the goals and objectives which the business wants to achieve using the advertisement. When promoting the products and services, the advertising agency must also make sure that the right message gets across to the right people at the right time. If the advertising agency fails to provide the advertisement at the right time, the consumers may shift to another product or service.

Promotional initiatives taken in the consumer durable industry need to be really thought over and contribute in convincing the consumers as these kinds of products need information and conviction in decision making. An advertisement is one of the oldest, yet the most widely used strategy for brand promotion. It has the objective to gain attention of majority of the target population. This is particularly true for billboard or outdoor advertising because the objective is to not just create association with consumers but also create brand retention for the purpose of recall of the product in the mind of the consumer.

Billboard advertising gets its name from the term billing board. It attributes to a large outdoor advertising space that is specifically designed to capture the attention of the pedestrians as well as the motorists (Kahn, 2016). Billboards are deliberately and typically placed around areas of high traffic on foot as well as automotive traffic and are kept striking and creative along with being simple at the same time (Kahn, 2016). Relative to other advertising strategies, billboard advertising can be cheaper and varies according to the size and the location. Advertisers have great thrust on billboard advertising as a technique, though it comes with its own set of height and width restrictions and also lot of distraction rules but still they have the liberty and the freedom to create ads that are not just newsworthy but a great source to push sales (Kahn, 2016). This is because advertising by and large is a push mechanism for increasing sales. The world has witnessed some highly innovative outdoor advertisements in the past with creative inputs such as simulated car crashes, smoke emission or even live persons living inside them have been witnessed. Majority of the investment goes in the space rental, getting innovative with billboard advertising is relatively cheaper. Advertisers are and should be aware that creativity of this type is worth exploring as it gives a much higher ROI and offers better credit to media to get more witnesses to the message (Kahn, 2016). In the present times, the variety in billboards have increased with classic, vinyl, painted, mobile, three dimensional, scented as being some of the few options. 

Ever since Jared Bell presented and explained a huge poster in the public in the mid1800, the advertising of billboards remains as one of the top medium for promoting a brand (Thomas and Alexa, 2015). As per Outdoor Advertising Association of America, Inc in Bulletins (2015), billboards are the largest with strong and impactful form of advertisement. If looking at the progress of adverting, roadside advertising has remained very relevant till the existence of land transportation.  Billboards are a form of outdoor media but in many cases different scholars also distinguishes it from outdoor media and see them as a form of advertisement. (Anna, 2006) According to (Meurs & Aristoff, 2009), this form of advertisements presents an appeal for the brands and products which could be used to gain more market share. Moreover, it develops clear branding through large text sizes, pictures of celebrities and brands/products, clearly explained features and benefits and other such information such as prices. 

Hoardings and Billboards are one of the main competitive edges in medium of advertising. Technological changes also impacts this industry as well as the traditional mode of billboards have shifted to electronic boards. Cut-out billboards are considered to be the new trend in the industry. The industry spends much each year to influence the central and local billboards control, hence, it is taken widely accessible, cheaper, convenient and more attractive. (Hussain & Nizamani, 2011).

PROBLEM

Billboards have remained an important tool to share the information with the target market (Kahn, 2016). On the other hand, many have argued that, the stationary nature of Billboards require consumers to rely on their recall ability where with online ads they can revisit as many times as possible (Chron, 2019). Also, billboard advertising provide an extremely brief, if not momentary, exposure time to assimilate the information as it is considered as a short term advertising tool unless there is a commitment to often change the message (Chron, 2019). Due to the above and many other concerns, the relevance of billboard advertising has witnessed a significant decline as businesses most prefer to promote their brands via broadcast mediums such as TV, radio and the internet so as to achieve value for their money for their advertising efforts (Kahn, 2016). This study seeks to provide an overview of billboard advertising & consumer patronage of goods and services with focus on the CocaCola brand.

BILLBOARD ADVERTISING

An organization cannot dream to become a known brand until it invests in promotional campaigns for which consumer markets have been controlling through advertisements. (Hussainy et al., 2008). In the dynamic world of today, it becomes almost impossible for companies to share their information with the consumers without using any form of advertising. Certainly, this is because of accessibility of thousands of viewers of hundreds of channels of this era. Billboards are one form of advertising your product/brands and communicate your message effectively and with cheaper rates (Hussain & Nizamani, 2011).  (Till & Busler, 2000) explored that there was a strong effect of attractiveness of the endorser on the attitude of respondents towards the product/brand and the intention of their purchase. Research conducted by (Kahle & Homor, 1985) has also shown that the recall rates of a brand are higher when endorser is attractive as compare to unattractive one. The celebrity endorser is a person who enjoys recognition of public and uses that recognition on behalf of a customer good by appearing in a particular advertising.  Several studies by (Bhargava & Donthu, 1999); (Donthu et al. 1993); (Meurs & Aristoff, 2009) have shown the effectiveness of outdoor media marketing in terms of advertising message and awareness. (Donthu et al. 1993) have selected ten outdoor billboards in American settings to check the attention of the passengers/customers pass nearby. Two of them were posted on smaller streets while 8 are posted on main highway road where traffic was comparatively on higher side. In American settings diver is on right hand side was found higher attentive to the billboards and people on left hand side and billboards on small streets were less recalled.  To help companies who advertise through this medium it is important to know which segment of the audience is more attentive to this medium. There is very less literature available which dig into the effect of this form of advertising on sub groups among audiences. Contrary to this, there are studies related to the demographics with the perception of outdoor advertising. (Prendergast & Yuen, 2005) have investigated that respondents from youth perceived handbills as more entertaining and informative than older and those who are mode educated reported that this form is easy to understand. Maximum chunk of companies adopt outdoor advertising that have an impact on geographic locations and effective sales response (Schlossberg, 1990). 

ATTRIBUTES OF BILLBOARD ADVERTISING 

Findings of (Hussain & Nizamani, 2011) have revealed that size of boards, colors used in the board, locations and the images selected in the boards does matters for gaining the attentions of the audience/customers. The research concluded that advertising is now moving towards modern trends with rapid growth, therefore the variables such as size, locations, images used in the board and color schemes of the billboards that have a positive impact on attention should be used adequately. Thus the research provides the evidence that as cheaper, convenient and accessible medium billboard advertising comes out to be one of the most attractive ways to the target market.

For advertising to be successful, it is not enough to send out a message and then hope for a result. Customers are today exposed to more advertisements each day and this can be annoying to them. On the market today, customers tend to have a more negative attitude towards advertising and this makes it harder for organisations to reach their audience. Because of all this advertising strategy is getting of higher importance and it essential for organisations to have a clear strategy to follow (Zanot, 1981). Many may believe that creating advertising is all about creating the ultimate message and choose the perfect media channel, but there is so much more behind all of that. The right strategies have to be created and an advertising plan has to be set in action. There are several theories and models on how organisations can create a good advertising campaign today (Jobber, 2004).

According to Kamran Khan Syed Karamatullah Hussainy, Abdullah Khan and Habibullah Khan, (2016), there are important features that should be considered while creating billboard advertisement to attract the customer. This study highlights the elements that are necessary to create effective billboards so that customer attention can be sought. The study brings out various aspects linked to billboard advertisement, such as, colour, size, celebrity endorsement, logo, texture and the message on the board. The key findings of the study are that the response of the customer towards billboard advertising is dependent on many aspects, lower colour, size and celebrity image are the most crucial amongst all. With the involvement of technology in promotion at a very strong level, it is recommended that the future research brings out the implications of technology on the impact of response towards billboard advertisement.

Mitchell (1986) argued that the advertisements of 2 products having same attributes can have a different impression. The combination of the exact picture, color and the text in an advertisement makes an ad different among others. The visual is associated with the emotions and these emotions come from social needs generated by culture and from biology of the individuals. The visual part of an ad has two main duties, one is to draw the attention and make feeling good. It is believed that individuals translate visual elements of ad design into verbal information of the product (Messaris, 1996).  It is important to understand that design is a combination of colors, shapes lines on a piece of paper and adding up these elements makes a visual information. Thing which is important is how well the design captures the eyes (Messaris, 1996). There are many elements in designing an ad which can construct an ad effective or not;

·         Picture: this includes a model which endorses product or a picture of product/brand itself. Model itself has some characteristics like age, gender, fame, style and nationality.

·         Appeal: this includes themes like fantasy, sex, slice of life, humor or rational etc.

·         Text: this includes attributes color, font and size

·         Color: this includes colors & groups of colors like cold and warm and black & white. 

BILLBOARD ADVERTISING EFFECTS ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOURS.

E.K. Bonney (2014) did a research on the impact of advertising on consumer purchase decision. The researcher highlighted that besides advertising, other factors such as product packaging, quality, endorsement influence the action of the consumer towards the purchase decision. The main objective of the study was to identify the factors that motivate the companies to take up the advertising efforts. They identified six principles on which the advertising campaigns run the identified principles are: To score Attention, to arouse interest, to create desire, to incite action, to develop and sustain interest and to create good will. The key findings of their research were that advertising, whether in any form may just serve as a platform to remind the prospective buyer about the existence of the product and it is not the absolute measure that leads to the ultimate purchase decision. It is equally important for the customer to be satisfied as well as attracted to the other factors such as the quality, packaging, features and other things that lead towards the purchase decision. Companies should focus that their advertisements give adequate information to the customers, other than just attracting them towards the product.

In a study by Nwinyinya and Nneoma (2014) on the topic, the impact of Billboard Advertising on Product Promotion‖ identified that the problem of this research work majorly dealt with the ways in which billboard advertising can contribute towards the development of print media. It primarily tries to explain the way in which print advertising is explained or defined by billboard advertising. By the use of chi square the researcher concluded that billboard advertising is one of the most important tools for product promotion. It concluded that billboard advertising does create the platform for print advertising, especially for newly introduced product.

Thales S. Teixeira (2014) researched on a very interesting topic, which is the rising cost of Consumer Attention and the ways in which this cost can be handled. According to the researchers, there are two dimensions of attention: Intensity and Duration. Intensity can be defined as a measure the quality of attention during a break while the durations dimension means its quantity. Duration is far easier to measure as compared to intensity. The qualitative aspects of consumer attention have diminished significantly over the years. This has so happened because the consumers no longer depend upon the Advertisement for information. It is available at their disposal and in abundance on the internet. More over the price for high quality research have escalated significantly over the years. The current and future profits have been significantly diminished because of this. The alternative is to find cheaper attention sources, or increase the sales conversion. 

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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY EFFECT ON CORPORATE IMAGE.

 

Corporate Social responsibility effect on corporate image.

Businesses have been incorporating a lot of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in their operations. Corporate Social responsibility has advanced into a strategic instrument for a firm’s sustainability as well as its brand image (Beckman, Colwell & Cunningham, 2009; Chen & Hung-Baesecke, 2014; Chung & Yang, 2016; Austin & Gaither, 2017). Firms all over the world have made attempts to align CSR with their strategic plans in response to the responsibilities placed on them by the society and are investing heavily in strategic CSR (Brammer, Millington & Rayton, 2007). The responsibilities of the organizations to the society in terms of CSR can be classified into four main groups that form the layers of CSR Pyramid – economic, legal (statutory), ethical and charitable (philanthropic) couched by Carroll (1991). According to the European Competiveness Report, published in 2008, the significance of CSR cannot be overstressed, particularly in times of financial crisis. The Vice-President of the European Commission, Günther Verheugen (Trapp 2009), added, that socially responsible firms will have a better position in the future than those that have not yet adopted a CSR policy, because they will enjoy more profits, including loyalty of employees, which they can rely on.

The banking sector responded relatively late to the challenges of CSR, it first considered environmental, then social issues (Viganò ‒ Nicolai, 2009). In developed market economies, financial institutions, searching for a way out, started to focus more on corporate social responsibility. Even their financial statements now pay attention to the social, economic and environmental impacts of their operations. Bank’s stable financial position, increasing economic performance, ethical and transparent activities as well as responsible financial services ensures its predictable and reliable operation. This also makes banks acknowledge and serve the interests of society to a larger degree.

Pomering and Johnson (2011) describe corporate image as the totality of perceptions of the stakeholders about the way in which the organization operates.  On the other hand, Treadwell and Harrison (1994) define the corporate image as a set of cognitions which consists of occurrences beliefs, mindsets the organizational behavior that persons have on the organization. Corporate image can also be defined as the aggregate of conceptions that stakeholders (such as customers, suppliers, employees and the society) have about the organization.  Corporate image as lauded by many leads to a competitive advantage since it builds the image of the brand in the minds of the consumers, which is formed over a period. Applauding corporate image can increase the sales and the customer loyalty as well as attract new investors and employees. The Economic responsibility is said to be a primary condition or requirement for existence of a business according to Carroll’s CSR Pyramid. The Focus of this research will base on Carroll’s (1991) four (4) dimensions. The purpose of this research therefore is to explore the effects that Corporate Social Responsibility has on the Corporate Image of some selected banks in Ghana.

 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN GHANA  

In Ghana, the communist direction of her first president Dr. Kwame Nkrumah gave the impression maybe appropriately or wrongly that State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) had the option to take care of cultural issues (Amponsah-Tawiah, 2012). This, in a way constrained corporate organisations‟ social commitments to the installment of expenses. In any case, as of late there has been a clarion approach associations to attempt social projects, as government alone can't deal with cultural issues. This has influenced the execution of the idea in the nation. CSR exercises in Ghana are led by huge scale global organizations (Amponsah-Tawiah, 2012). The multi-faceted issues of the nation low per capita salary, powerless money, capital flight, low profitability and low investment funds make it practically unthinkable for indigenous organizations, the vast majority of which are occupied with the retail and in the creation of essential wares, to embrace social activities (Amponsah-Tawiah, 2012). Enormous scale assembling, media transmission and mining organizations, for example, MTN, Valco, Goldfields, and AngloGold have been instrumental in the social improvement of the nation (Amponsah-Tawiah, 2012). Be that as it may, similarly as it is universally, extractive ventures whose tasks have direct sway on nature and nearby networks are consistently in the news for evident reasons-they are either rupturing a portion of the precepts of the CSR motivation or satisfying them decisively (Ibid).

Until the year 2006 when the Ghana Business Code (GHBC) was propelled through the joint effort of the relationship of Ghana Industries (AGI), Ghana Employers Association (GEA) and the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) to present and develop the act of CSR in business tasks, there was no set standards to manage the direct of business and adequate norms with respect to the earth and anticorruption in business (Amponsah-Tawiah, 2012). The GHBC, which is demonstrated along the lines of the United Nations (UN) Global Minimized, centers around the triple main concern (benefit, planet and individuals) as execution proportions of organizations working in the nation (Amponsah-Tawiah, 2012). The GHBC has ten noteworthy standards all of which underscore the substance of CSR and are designed subsequent to existing laws in Ghana. Curiously, associations are not obliged by law to join to the GHBC. It is a deliberate measure, which enables the activities of associations to be inspected along four expansive classifications human rights, work norms, condition and hostile to defilement (Amponsah-Tawiah, 2012). Part associations are granted testament of good practice when their activities are observed to be in accordance with the remedies in the GHBC. Due to its willful nature, relatively few associations have joined to it (Amponsah-Tawiah, 2012). Of the numerous Small and Medium Size Ventures (SMEs) and huge scale producing businesses that have a place with the GNCCI and the AGI, under 60 had joined to the GHBC as at 01-04-2011. This is maybe because of the dread of examination that goes with the accreditation process and mirrors the degree of adequacy and valuation for the idea in Ghana (Ibid).

PROBLEM 

Corporate Social Responsibility is becoming an increasingly important activity for organizations in emerging markets because the expectations and the requirements of consumers are also increasing (Maruf, 2013). Researchers and advertising professionals reiterate the relevance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in consumers’ decision making process (Maruf, 2013). Due to the fact that social responsibility is becoming more pronounced on global scale, Corporate Social Responsibility is seen as vital in constructing attractive corporate image (CI), providing competitive advantage and differentiation, leading to business success accentuating the actuality of the chosen topic. 

Ailawadi et al. (2011), Green, Peloza (2011), Lindgreen, Swaen (2010), Banyte, Brazioniene, Gadeikiene (2010), Yeo, Youssef (2010), Lizarraga (2010), Spitzeck (2009), Malmelin, Hakala (2009), Herstein, Mitki, Jaffe (2008), Chattananon et al. (2007), Visser (2006), Sciulli, Bebko (2005), Flavian, Guinaliu, Torres (2005), van der Heyden, van der Rijt (2004), Abratt, Mofokeng (2001), Moir (2001), Teng Fatt et al. (2000), Van Heerden, Puth (1995), LeBlanc, Nguyen (1995) and others agree that corporate social responsibility is a significant indicator constituting corporate image. There are various dimensions to corporate social responsibility and that of Carroll (1991) is the most dominant. Though dominant, very few researchers have examined Carroll’s dimensions.

In the Ghanaian context, studies due on corporate social responsibility and corporate image are very few focusing on the banking sector. It is crucial to emphasize that a lack of theoretical and empirical researches on causality between corporate social responsibility and corporate image provide the scientific problem examined in this article (Maruf, 2013).  This research paper seeks to examine which of the dimensions of CSR by Carroll (1991) aids in the enhancement of corporate image on selected banks in Ghana which includes Ghana Commercial Bank, Fidelity Bank and Barclays Bank. The research seeks to also examine the perceptions that customers have about the corporate image of the selected banks in relation to CSR activities.

CSR AND CORPORATE IMAGE.

Most workers would concur that an organization that is known for its corporate social duty would have a superior picture than the one that isn't (Dowling, 2001). A case of the significance of CSR to the workers can be found in the exploration led by Rodrigo and Arenas (2008). One of the respondents depicted the reasons he went after the position in the organization is a direct result of the organization's notoriety in the market. In the wake of joining the organization, he understood that the explanation for such notoriety is expected to CSR duty of the association. The organization see genuineness, quality and obligation to society and condition as the organization trademarks that turned into the manner in which they work together. Representatives' impression of the association is created through their own understanding, relational correspondence or broad communications correspondence with the association. The association's CSR practices will pass on its authoritative qualities, (for example, genuineness, respectability, obligation and assorted variety) to its workers. These practices will impact the representatives' recognition about their association. This impression of their association turned into the psychological picture of the representatives known as corporate picture. How representatives see their corporate picture is significant in light of the fact that the workers work in the association and their association's corporate picture speak to them as they are a piece of the association. In the event that they see their association picture as great, this will imply that they are in the same class as the association. On the off chance that they see their association's corporate picture as poor, the representatives may disassociate themselves.

Economic responsibility & corporate image

When examining themes like morals and corporate picture it is critical to remember that these are two extremely complex issues. For instance, the meaning of morals can fluctuate from company to organization as well as from individual to individual. The Oxford Dictionary characterizes morals as "good rules that administer an individual's conduct or the directing of an action", yet this simply prompts another predicament.  The ethical standards of people can change radically crosswise over for instance societies, mainlands, and religions. The exceptionally same difficulty applies to the idea of business morals; an organization situated in Finland may have an altogether different thought of profound quality and morals than, for instance, a business situated in China. These issues, combined with the way that our thoughts of what moral conduct is will in general change after some time, now and then quickly, make morals and profound quality a provoking subject to think about. In any case, regardless of how complex an issue may appear, by survey it from a few applicable edges and considering the way that in the case of something is moral may frequently be more a matter of feeling instead of actuality, no theme is too hard to even think about tackling.

When embarking to inquire about a subject that incorporates the nearby considering of business morals, one first needs to choose which meaning of morals to pick. As referenced before, the Oxford Dictionary characterizes morals as "good rules that oversee an individual's conduct or the directing of a movement" a clear clarification of the idea, no doubt. After looking into it further, however, we rapidly keep running into another situation; how would we characterize profound quality and standards? Regardless of whether we characterize profound quality as the capacity to recognize good and bad or great and awful, despite everything we don't have an authoritative answer as these things frequently mean various things to various individuals. Accordingly, when leading exploration on a specific subject, we need to pick the definition that we need to utilize.

Kozlowski (2008) features in his book that "morals is about the great and human ideals while financial aspects concern the plan of human establishments dependent on self-interest and monetary objectivity". Following this rationale, consolidating the ideas of morals and financial aspects is right around a conflicting demonstration in itself; all things considered, ethicality regularly manages benevolence and doing great, while then again it could be contended that, at its center, the goal of any business is to create however much incentive to its partners as could reasonably be expected. With the two ideas apparently conflicting with one another in a serious intense way, how is it that in the 21st century numerous organizations are finding that joining the two is an extraordinary method to discover accomplishment in the business field and addition the trust of shoppers. The idea of morals is looked distinctively in changed pieces of the world as well as in various examinations also. For instance, Velentzas and Broni (2010) decide business morals as "an arrangement of good standards applied in the business world". They likewise recommend that one reason why it's an especially intriguing point is that it joins different regions of study, for instance, theory and law now and again an organization probably won't concur with the profound quality of nearby law, however they are compelled to maintain it. 

Then again, by and large, laws have a major influence in keeping certain organizations running in an increasingly moral way. Velentzas and Broni (2010) contend that business morals in its most fundamental structure were made simultaneously with exchange itself; tradesmen and clients needed to concur on a typical arrangement of standards that everybody would pursue from setting costs to the nature of the item. In a substantially more current sense, business morals as a piece of working together that organizations need to truly focus on has been around for around 100 years. Thus, not exclusively does the meaning of morals in business change from region to zone however it has additionally changed starting with one timespan then onto the next. Velentzas and Broni (2010) additionally contend that it's not as of not long ago that organizations have needed to truly concentrate on maintaining a moral business; the enormous crowd didn't turn out to be especially keen on (and mindful of) regardless of whether an organization is being run morally until the 70s. What's more, it's not until as of late, for the most part with the presentation of the web, that the regular shopper has had the option to acquire data about organizations successfully and precisely.

Philanthropic responsibility & corporate image

At the most noteworthy purpose of the pyramid, devouring the tiniest space is generosity. Organizations have for quite a while been rebuked for their carbon impression, their part in defilement, using trademark resources and that is just a glimpse of something larger (Carroll, 1991). To adjust these negatives, they should "offer back" to the system they take from. They are guided by business' yearning to check out social activities that are not requested, not legitimately fundamental, and not all things considered expected of business in an ethical sense (Carroll, 1991). Having said that, a couple of associations do give to some extent out of an ethical motivation. That is, they have to settle on the savvies choice for society (Carroll, 1991). Riordan, et al. (1997) portrayed corporate image as a person's discernments about the activities, exercises and achievement of an association. It along these lines turns into the partner's general view of the association, at any rate incompletely dependent on its capacity to meet or accommodate his/her specific needs and interests. All the above creators have a typical concurrence on corporate picture, that is, corporate picture is about the complete partner impression of the association got from their coming into contact with the association. Also, their picture of the association will hence shape the representatives' demeanors and practices (Dutton and Dukerich, 1991; Peterson, 2004) that are vital to this examination. 

Economic responsibility & corporate image

The most decreased level of the pyramid addresses a business' first obligation, which is to be helpful. That is the reason it was made in any case; not out of voracity, yet a couple of associations have been accused for having unquenchability at their inside. Nevertheless, associations are made to be the work of their owners (Carroll, 1991). It's the manner in which the owners take care of their own one of a kind tabs. That goes for its theorists, also. Regardless of the way that the business may not be the sole occupation of the monetary pros, they contributed with the longing for benefitting (Carroll, 1991). Everything considered, their advantages are tied up around here, so getting salary from it is the reward for contributing. Associations in like manner ought to be productive to have the alternative to pay their agents, shippers and impermanent specialists (Carroll, 1991). If it isn't beneficial, these people will be impacted, shippers won't offer to them, laborers will stop and the business will miss the mark (Carroll, 1991). Riordan, et al. (1997) portrayed corporate image as a person's discernments about the activities, exercises and achievement of an association. It along these lines turns into the partner's general view of the association, at any rate incompletely dependent on its capacity to meet or accommodate his/her specific needs and interests. All the above creators have a typical concurrence on corporate picture, that is, corporate picture is about the complete partner impression of the association got from their coming into contact with the association. Also, their picture of the association will hence shape the representatives' demeanors and practices (Dutton and Dukerich, 1991; Peterson, 2004) that are vital to this examination.

Riordan, et al. (1997) portray picture acknowledgments as essential to both the accomplices what's more, the association since they in effect promote trades, for instance, clients' impression of significant worth level for items or organizations, work searchers decisions to apply for work, decisions to place assets into the firm and agent outlooks/rehearses toward their affiliation. A poor legitimate picture may inconveniently influence an agents' self-thought and accordingly, may achieve lower various leveled duty (Peterson, 2004). Corporate picture has the going with impacts to a definitive value (Treadwell and Harrison, 1994): Images are accepted to be related to people and non-part loaded with inclination and lead responses to the affiliation. Pictures give information about the character of affiliations and are thusly inclined to be critical in summoning and keeping up the unwaveringness of people, potential people and the people who are to some extent included. Similar picture or the sharing of a picture by legitimate people can be fundamental to definitive upkeep and working. What it means is that these common pictures empower the social affair to encourage or act with bound together purposes. Thusly, managing this image perception is critical. Further composition review concurs with this dispute. Youngsters (2007) found that laborers who have positive points of view on their affiliation will by and large similarly have positive view in the affiliation's uprightness, heading, forcefulness in the business focus and are happy of their affiliation. Koh and Boo (2004) found that, laborer who sees their relationship to be good are moreover at risk to consider their to be as being sensible for them. Carmeli and Weisberg (2006) found that laborers who interpret the eminence that the contenders and customers attribute to their relationship as incredible, itemized loaded with inclination obligation that mirrors a sentiment of rapture rising up out of the relationship as a social class (work). This finding infers the essentialness of regulating corporate picture to ensure positive legitimate duty is cultivated. This assessment endeavor is to discover corporate social obligation impacts on corporate image.

Legal responsibility & corporate image

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has turned into an outstanding idea in the course of the most recent decade and a half. Workers, government delegates, scholastic researchers, NGOs and global associations have been pondering which job they need to play in respect of CSR. Laws have been drafted that advance socially capable conduct by companies.3 International associations have advanced standards. Organizations have embraced CSR statements of purpose and programs, and are sharing their endeavors through manageability reports. NGOs have reached organizations and called attention to how they can work in an increasingly dependable manner, and scholastics have examined all. CSR is a subject that has joins with numerous territories of law, including worldwide law and European law, corporate law and corporate administration, tort law and contract law, procedural law, work and environmental law, and criminal law. These regions contribute significantly to the advancement of CSR, and at last to react to the genuine difficulties that this world countenances. This exceptional issue of the Journal of International and European Law covers a few of these zones and offers intriguing bits of knowledge with regards to the developing course of the lawful parts of CSR. When comprising CI, the most significant objective is to frame uplifting disposition towards the organization among present and potential customers. CI is contained making a constructive corporate character, showcasing correspondences and channels just as steady criticism from the intended interest group. Worcester (2009), Pina et al. (2006), Meehan et al. (2006), Flavian, Guinaliu, Torres (2005), Abratt, Mofokeng (2001), Teng Fatt et al. (2000), Stuart (1997) and others stress the significance of making and overseeing CI. These creators concur that CSR has positive effect on CI. Lizarraga (2010), Pina et al. (2006), van Heerden, Puth (1995) express that positive CI furnishes organization with individual highlights that lead to mark acknowledgment, improve purchaser and worker dependability just as corporate notoriety.

Christensen, Askegaard (2001), Flavian, Guinaliu, Torres (2005), Chattananon, Lawley (2007) express that CI is the comprehension about the organization by any partner. CI is dictated by the components given by controllable and wild wellsprings of data. Worcester (2009) noticed that CI comprises of item picture, brand picture and brand customer picture. Yeo, Youssef (2010) express that CI is a wellspring of upper hand: because of the way that CI must be framed over quite a while, it ends up hard to copy. Other than CI makes purchaser trust and hinders contenders from entering the market. Pina et al. (2006) accentuate that positive CI can raise deals, client steadfastness, pull in new financial specialists and representatives.

LeBlanc, Nguyen (1995) note that CI is dynamic and it can change on account of specific occasions, moves in consumer’s condition or his character. Rindell, Edvardsson, Strandvik (2010) express that CI can be partitioned into picture being used and picture legacy. Picture legacy depends on purchaser past experience and made by buyer himself. Picture being used is the consequence of company’s picture framing exercises. CI must be checked on continually and refreshed by popular conclusion, convictions and qualities (Herstein, Mitki, Jaffe, 2008). Wei (2002) states that organization which can change, is viewed as creative, open and winds up extraordinary in its business sectors. Rindell, Edvardsson, Strandvik (2010), Flavian, Guinaliu, Torres (2005), LeBlanc, Nguyen (1995) express that the more extended the collaboration among organization and buyer, the more grounded consumer‟s CI. Leblanc, Nguyen (1995) characterize 5 components which Constitute CI: corporate personality, singularity, physical condition, administration offering and contact faculty.

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GHANAIAN PERCEPTION ABOUT NEW ONLINE BIOMETRIC PASSPORT.

Ghanaian perception about new online biometric passport.

For the purpose of identification and international travel, passport is a must have for each and every citizen of any country globally (Paintsil, 2018). Despite the relevance of this piece of document, it is sudden to come to the realization that Ghanaians have to employ unthinkable means to acquire passports in the country (Paintsil, 2018). The thought has always been that, people just wanted to channel their emotions and frustrations to the government when they complain about the difficulties they go through to get their passports, until one personally joins over a 100-person long queue between the hours of 3:00 am and 5:00 am at the Passport Office in Accra (Paintsil, 2018).

Having to reflect on an advice by a colleague who had his passport four years ago where he narrated all the problems he had to endure including the dawn-time queuing to finally get the Ghanaian Passport (Ibid). I did not really bother upon embarking on a journey to the passport office and mentioned to him that, this was 2015 and things must be different there by now. To utter surprise, five years down the line, things were even worse with passport acquisition in Ghana (Paintsil, 2018).

On the 21^st of December, 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration launched the online passport application service for Ghanaians to ease the mode of application while ensuring maximum security for applicants (Gov’t of Ghana, 2016). This described as the e-Government strategy is targeted at ensuring the use of information technology to provide citizens with efficient passport services through a secure, fast and convenient means (Gov’t of Ghana, 2016).The introduction of the online version [PDF] forms part of measures to make passport forms readily accessible to all Ghanaians and that from November 1, 2018, more focus is on the online version (Gov’t of Ghana, 2016). The online application service is anticipated to help reduce the involvement of middle men in the passport acquisition process; reduce typographical errors and shorten the data capturing procedures currently carried out at the passport application centres as well as speed up the work flow for the passport processing and enhance passport service delivery. According to the Ministry (2016), helping to eliminate middlemen popularly known as ‘Goro boy’s whose illegal activities have perpetuated bribery and corrupt activities within the passport acquisition processes, is one of the focus of the online system (Gov;t of Ghana, 2016).

It is also aimed at injecting efficiency and reliability in passport service delivery and eliminate the existing difficulties that have bedevilled passport acquisition in Ghana (Ibid). Biometric passports, also known under names like e- Passport or ePassport, represent a combination between paper and electronic passport which is using biometrics to authenticate the identity of travellers. A biometric passport uses contactless smart card2 technology, being composed from a microprocessor chip (computer chip) and antenna which are embedded in the front or back cover, or on the middle of the page (Ibid).

PROBLEM

The challenges (Long wait in queues), that had surrounded the application for passport over the years necessitated the adoption of the online passport service by the ministry of Foreign Affairs (Gov’t of Ghana, 2016). An applicant would have to visit passport.mfa.gov.gh or passports.mfa.gov.gh after which he or she would be required to create an account with valid and active mobile number as well as email address (optional) as a new user or log in as an existing user (Gov’t of Ghana, 2016). The applicant would then be required to complete the passport form after which he or she would be required to select a preferred passport application center (PAC) from the available list (Gov’t of Ghana, 2016). The final stage of the application is the visitation of the selected PAC on the date of appointment with the appointment slip and relevant original documents to complete the process (Ibid).

Despite all these efforts by the government of Ghana, the new online system is not appreciated by a section of the population (Asamoah, 2017). Persons still lament about how complicated the process is stating unequivocally that, as 33% of the Ghanaian population not able to read nor write and with the lack of understanding of Information Technology processes, the new biometric system will fully not serve its purpose as many might not patronise it (Asamoah, 2017). Therefore, it is imperative to examine public perception about the new online biometric passports application system.

THE NEW BIOMETRIC PASSPORT

The biometric passport service is inherent in the e-Government strategy according to Hannah Tetteh (2016). She further added that, “The e-Government strategy is targeted at ensuring the use of information technology to provide citizens with efficient passport services through a secure, fast and convenient means.” (H. Tetteh, 2016).  H. Tetteh (2016) said the challenges that had surrounded the application for passport over the years necessitated the adoption of the online passport service by the ministry adding that “it is aimed at addressing the existing difficulties that bedevilled passport acquisition in Ghana”. In her concluding remarks, H.Tetteh (2016) mentioned that, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would make every effort to deliver the highest levels of customer service and maintain the integrity and international standing of the Ghana passport. In addition to the online application, a decision had been reached by the Government of Ghana to establish application centres’ in some six regions in the country to offer requisite services to Ghanaians in need of travel documents (Foreign Affairs Ministry, 2016).

A biometric passport has other popular names like a digital passport or an e-passport. The microprocessor chip in this traditional passport has biometric which can easily identify the owner. The biometric passport use a unique technology referred to as countless smart card. The interesting bit about this biometric passport is that no one can forge it that easily, you either need to spend a lot of cedis to forge it or give up. This is because chip stores all the critical information and it has a public key infrastructure that can only authenticate that data. Biometric Passport in Ghana. A biometric passport have to have iris, fingerprints, and facial recognition. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Doc 9303 is where the chip characteristic of the biometric passport get documented. The documents characteristics are also documented there. New Biometric Passports. Government of Ghana decided after a keen thought that there was a need to issuance new biometric services and biometric diplomatic passports. This came up as a way of reducing fake travel documents, and applications in the country. They wanted to unify the country and suggestion needed a prompt action from 18th September 2009. The old passports were not be used once Ghana Biometric Passport Deadline reached and that was on 31st April 2010. Biometric passport Ghana requirements for a first time and when renewal is different. Here are the requirements for a first time Ghanaian applicant:

• You need a birth certificate to prove that you are a citizen of Ghana.
• You need an evidence to support you are fully a Ghanaian by maybe using your national ID card or you can use your Driver’s License.
• Either you are a student or employed, you need a proof to truly tell your profession. A student ID, a work ID, or business registration certificate for the self- employed Ghanaians.

If you need a renewal for your biometric Passport if stolen or damaged there is a procedure and requirements that you need. If it was damaged, you will require showing that damaged passport and affidavit. And in the case your biometric passport was stolen or maybe you misplaced it, you need the following:

• Your birth certificate
• An abstract report from the police
• Proof that you are a Ghanaian Affidavit

And if you need to change your passport names, here is a list of all you will require:

• A gazette
• Your marriage or divorce certificate
• Affidavit

What are the Requirements for a Ghanaian of below the Age of 18? If you are a parent or a guardian and you need a biometric passport for you are under age child, you will require:

• Your Identity Card (ID)
• The child’s birth certificate

In applying for the biometric passport, a candidate would first of all have to visit passport.mfa.gov.gh or passports.mfa.gov.gh after which he or she would be mandated to create an account with a genuine and active phone number as well as email address (optional) as a new user or log in as an existing user. The financial institutions for transaction are GCB Bank, Zenith Bank and EcoBank through a payment channel of choice specifically VISA, MasterCard, MTN Mobile Money, and AirtelTigo Money.

The candidate would then be expected to fill and complete the passport form after which they would be expected to select a preferred passport application center (PAC) from the available list. The final stage of the application is to visit the selected PAC on the appointment date with the appointment slip and necessary original documents to finish the process.

In all, the new online biometric passport application system has been a success in the Madina Municipality as the people have a good perception about it. Out of 7143 persons within the municipality per the municipality database, 5000 representing 70% are said to have understood and have accepted it. Again, out of 7143 people, 3214.35 constituting 45% of persons are said to have successfully conducted the passport application process.

 

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EMPLOYER BRANDING AND EMPLOYEE ATTRACTION AND RETENTION.

Employer branding and employee attraction and retention.

A brand is a distinguishing name and/or symbol (such as a logo, trademark, or package design) intended to identify the goods or services of either one seller or a group of sellers, and to differentiate those goods from those of competitors (Aaker, 1991). A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers (AMA, 1960). A brand that wants to be attracted by its own employees must not leave its branding to chance or competitors.  Simply, a brand attains positioning when its customers show unflinching loyalty. The purpose of this research is to establish a distinctive place for the brand in the minds of the employees (Trout & Ries, 2001).

Employers are using branding as a strategic means in recent business atmosphere with increasing consistency. Brands and branding are not new philosophies, companies are applying them to more varied settings where the role of branding is becoming progressively significant (Wentz & Suchard, 1993). Branding is “the process of developing an intended brand identity” (Kotler & Lee, 2008:215). Branding is often used to distinguish products and companies in order to build commercial value for both the customer and the corporation. It’s concerned with the attraction, commitment and retention ingenuities targeted at enhancing a company’s trademark.

Company branding is a fairly new methodology toward recruiting and retaining the best possible human talent within an employing environment that is appealing increasingly competitive. It is often used to describe how establishments market their presents to potential and existing employees, connect with them and maintain their loyalty “promoting both within and outside the firm, a clear view of what makes a firm different and desirable as an employer” (Backaus & Tikoo, 2004:120). Employer branding is probable to be a valuable concept for both executives and intellectuals. Directors can use employer branding as a shade under which they can passage diverse employee recruitment and retention activities into a corresponding human resource policy.

Therefore, companies can control brand supremacy to engage their employees in emotional ways to achieve change, outstanding results or increase attraction and retention. According to Dell and Ainspan (2001), establishments have found that effective company branding leads to competitive advantage helps employees adopt company values and assists in employee retention.

Notwithstanding the growing acceptance of the employer branding practice, educational research on the concept is restricted to a few articles in the marketing literature. Priyadarshi (2011), observed that employer brand is gaining significant popularity in HR practitioner literature, empirical research is still comparatively inadequate (Cable & Turban, 2001; Backhaus & Tikoo, 2004 & Davies, 2007) echo the same sentiments and feel that the initiation of the company brand as a concept has been recent in academic arena and its conjectural foundation is increasingly being developed even though it is being careful applied by practitioners for some time now (Barber, 1998). One stream of existing research investigates organizational features and their effects on attraction to the business. Structural attributes such as decentralized resolution making and reward system (Bretz et al., 1989), are shown to influence sensitivities of appeal. The popularity of employer branding among HR experts and the lack of academic research on the topic raises interesting questions for management scholars. This study seeks to examine the role of employer branding in employee attraction and retention of the banking industry. 

PROBLEM

As the new battle for positioning of brands in the minds of employees intensify by the day, businesses continue to take advantage of branding by using it to structure and restructure employees’ memory schema towards their brand benefit. However, the poor branding may be a hindrance to the benefits of attraction and retention of employees.  It is in the light of the above that the researchers intend to delve into a study that aims at examining employer branding and its impact on attraction and retention of employees. 

KEY CONCEPTS

Employee Attraction

In recent times employer branding has gained popularity among companies. Many organisations have taken a keen interest in branding themselves to project their image, therefore anything that identifies with the organization, they would brand to make it “unique”.

In 1986, Young Yun Kim’s contextual theory of interethnic communication conceptualised cultural identity as both a sociological (or demographic) classification and an individual psychological attribute with a particular group. Employees are internal stakeholders who are significant to the organisation playing an important part in the sustainability and growth of the organisation (Malati & Sehgal, 2013).

An organisation’s growth is dependent on the kind of employees it recruits to drive the vision and mission of the organisation in order to beat the competition and stay on top. Employees of a company would want to be associated with the brand, everything about the company makes it ‘the company’ they want to be linked with. Organisations are making conscious efforts to attract prospective employees and ensure that current employees are engaged in the culture and the strategy of the organisation. 

The purpose of branding is essential to building the product’s image (Cleary, 1981). In the 1980’s The Economist also say image influences the perceived worth of the product and increases the value of a brand to the customer, leading to brand loyalty.  Therefore, creating a compelling employer branding strategy is not a one-off exercise but rather a continuous effort to build a brand and maintain the status quo. 

Employee Retention

Job satisfaction plays a very important role in creating customer satisfaction (Heskett, 1997) and its understanding of various attributes of employer brand image can help facilitate customer satisfaction. According to the Conference Board report in 2001, employer branding organisations that have effective employer branding lead to the competitive advantage which helps employees internalise the company’s values which eventually goes to assist in employee retention. For organisations to succeed in the fast-growing competitive market it has become a serious requirement, therefore, the onus lies on organisation’s to attract correct skills and retain them so they are not left behind in the industry where everyone is striving to be the leading preferable brand (Heskett, 1997). Competition by various brands in various institutions does not leave room for organisation’s to dwell on past glories but strive to maintain its lead (Ibid). 

IMPACT OF EMPLOYER BRANDING

Organisations have come to understand there is the need to focus on strengthening their employer brands in order for them to achieve their growth ambitions (Heskett, 1997). Over the last few years, the tactics to building a strong employer brand has changed which has impacted on how employers attract and retain their employees (Heskett, 1997). The rise of social media has made organisations more transparent to the global market. The impact of employer branding, therefore, cannot be underestimated as the image of an organisation lies in its branding (Ibid). Keller’s Journal of Marketing (2005) says the conceptual model of brand equity is from the perspective of the individual consumer. Customer-based brand equity is the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand. The company’s most important assets are intangible such as its name, brands, symbols, slogans, underlying associations, perceived quality, name awareness, customer base and proprietary resources like patents (Ibid). Keller journal of marketing (2005) explains that, employer branding impacts greatly on the organisation’s structure, incentives, planning, budgeting and controlling systems, recruitment, promotion criteria, institutionalised socialisation, education, training which elements that attract and retain employees (Ibid). Employer branding increases the customer base of an institution as people are attracted would stay with the institution because they want to be attributed to the brand (Ibid). Employer branding gives a sense of self-esteem as an organisation want to feel good about themselves with their operations and activities. The image of an organisation through employer branding makes an organization stand out from its competitors (Ibid).

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