Global Journal of Medical Research, E: Gynecology and Obstetrics, Volume 23 Issue 3

Advertising and Sales Performance of Selected Companies in Mogadishu- Somalia Global Journal of Management and Business Research ( E ) XXIII Issue III Version I Year 2023 30 © 2023 Global Journals Historically , the practice of advertising is as old as man. According to Keller (2005), the need to advertise seems to be a part of human history seen since ancient times. One of the oldest means of advertising was the use of signs. Early craftsmen used signs to advertise their wares and some traders like the Phoenicians planted commercial messages on prominent rocks. These are considered to have been among the forerunners of today’s advertising. However, excavations at Pompey reveal that each little shop had an inscription on the wall next to the entrance to tell the passersby whether the shop was the place to buy bread, drinks or other goods. A very impor- tant occurrence in the emergence of advertising was the discovery of a system of casting moveable type by the German, Johannes Guterberg in 1938, which revolutionized communication methods for the whole world (Keller, 2005). William Catton, an early printer made advertising history in 1478 when he printed a handbill, regarded as the first printed English advert. In the handbill there was the advertisement of his book called “SALISBURY PYE”, handbook of ruler for the guideline of the clergy at Easter (McHugh, 2000, 451). Advertising is a major components of integrated marketing communication and its one of the most visible and expensive marketing activities. It is also considered to be among the great “traditional” promotional mix strategies which have been established by many companies nowadays. Advertising is defined as any paid form of non-personal communication about an organization, product, or idea by an identified sponsor (George and Michael, 2007; p. 17). Advertising plays an important role in marketing communication and it is seen as an effective way of promotion, may it be in the services or products because consumers are bombarded with arrays types of media such as news papers, magazines, radios, internet, direct mail and other mass media, in their daily. Thus, firms believe that advertising is advantage in the form of building awareness. A successful advertisement is able to increase the company’s performance in many aspects; increased market share, increased sales performance which in turn generates higher profit, building reputable brand image and so on. Advertising represent an importance mean by which organization communicate with their customer, both current and potential. Thus, having clear objective for advertising will aid operational decision making for advertising programs in effectively convey the intended message to the audience (Clow and Baack, 2006). Advertising is any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). There are various forms of advertising like informative advertising, persuasive advertising, comparison advertising, and reminder advertising. Informative advertising is used to inform consumers about a new product, service or future or build primary demand. It describes available products and services, corrects false impressions and builds the image of the company, (Kotler, 2010). Advertising can be done through print media which includes news papers, magazines, brochures, Audio media for example Radio, and visual media which includes billboards, and television (Kotler and Armstrong 2010). Sales performance describes the trend of collections in terms of revenue when comparing different periods (MC Cathy, 1994). The sales may be in form of offering products or services to consumers. A service is any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in ownership of anything (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). Sales volume is the core interest of every organization and is based on sales and profit. When volume goes up profits rises and management in organizations is made easier. c) Problem Statement Advertising is any paid form of non-personal communication about an organization or its product to a target audience through a mass/broadcast medium by an identified sponsor. It should be observed that for any promotional activity to be called advertisement it must be paid for. In the real sense, it is the method used by companies for creating awareness of their products, as well as making new products known to the new and potential consumers. Advertisement in such a media as print (newspaper, magazines, billboards, flyers) or broadcast (radio, television) typically consist of pictures, headlines, information about the product and occasionally a response coupon. Broadcast advertise- ment on the other hand consists of an audio or video narrative that can range from 15seconds spots to longer segments known as infomercials, which generally last 30 to 60 minutes. (Busari 2002). Advertising has become an essential marketing activity in the modern era of large scale production and serve competition in the market. It helps the introduction of new products in the market. A business enterprise can introduce itself and its product to the public through advertising. A new enterprise can't make an impact on the prospective customers without the help of advertising. Advertising enables quick publicity in the market. Marketing problems often have far reaching effects on any company and if neglected can cause a great threat to the continued existence of the company, especially in the area of advertising as an aspect of corporate communication. (Giles 1997). In Somalia most companies are spending money in advertising their company product or services’ brand and expect that consumers or those who read the advertisement will react positively towards their products