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Local Cebuano Companies Advertising Tactics and Trends

Nina Annjelik Januaree C. Collamat

Joelle Antoinette C. Pilande
Kirk RJ T. Roncesvalles

Department of Communications, Linguistics, & Literature

University of San Carlos

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
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Abstract

This study aimed to determine the advertising tactics grounded on Nyilasy,

Kreshel, and Reid’s (2012) Pseudo-Professionalization Theory used by grassroot
companies. It utilized a qualitative approach wherein grassroot companies’
advertisements and surveys answered by students and employees were collated
and analyzed. It revealed that Rhetorical Tactics is the dominant tactic used and
preferred by market segments while social media is the preferred medium of the
market audience when discovering innovations. It is concluded that a company’s
products, goods or services, the target market and their advertising tactic
preference should be deliberated for an advertisement to be effective. Also, social
media should be utilized as it is the most influential medium in terms of diffusing
an innovation.

Keywords

advertising tactics, Cebuano companies, integrated marketing communication,

Cebu, Philippines, Southeast Asia
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Introduction

Advertising cannot be escaped by individuals; advertising can be found on flyers,

billboards, posters. It can instigate consumers to read about an innovation or recall a favorite
brand persuading a specific market segment to react a certain way. It is conventionally defined
as a tool of marketing communication which is a general term referring to various
communication tactics which marketers utilize in order to connect with their target audience and
to convey their messages (Moriarty, Mitchell & Wells, 2009).
Knowledge of advertising is deliberated to be of great importance for society seeing as it
serves as “a mass-marketing tool” (Moriarty, Mitchells, & Wells, 2012) or one of the pillars of a
country’s economy. In a previous research done by Moriarty, Mitchells & Wells (2012), they
have agreed correspondingly that advertising desires to make known a certain product in hopes
of increasing sales which results to a more affordable product price. Economists believe that
advertising with its wide reach of potential consumers, helps cost efficiency which in turn lowers
prices for the public (Moriarty, Mitchells & Wells, 2009, p.2).
Duncan (2015) further emphasized that in advertising there is a need to consider several
factors such as selecting the target market, constructing a creative advertising strategy, and
producing a media strategy after various studies regarding advertising have surfaced.
Meanwhile, several companies ranging from established corporations to start-up businesses have
been the focus of the aforementioned studies.
Due to this, there is seemingly a deficient number of studies that touch on advertising in
the local scene. While businesses continue to grow, the Cebu commercial scene is not foreign to
the word “advertising.” Based on the said observations, local advertisers presume that since they
are already local establishments, they no longer have to tap into the local audience suppose that
they exercise a sense of partisanship when it comes to grassroot company products. With the
business scene growing more competitive each day, local advertisers need to find that renewed
spark to capture the local audience ─ and keep them that way. The advertising tactics in this
study are patterned from Nyilasy, Kreshel & Reid’s Pseudo-professionalization theory (2012)
which is comprised of three major advertising tactics, namely: Rhetorical Tactics, Relationship
Management Tactics, and Knowledge Creation Tactics.
Nyilasy, Kreshel and Reid’s (2012) Pseudo-professionalization theory established three
major advertising tactics which offer clients a veneer of assurance while simultaneously
categorizing advertising practices by both network and independent advertisers. This supports
Nyilasy, Kreshel and Reid’s claim that clients demand that it is essential to be shown proof of
advertising knowledge that is equally methodically analytical as well as ‘esoteric’ to validate the
need to hire an advertising expert when advertising their product, good or service.
Focusing on the social use of advertisements, this theory delves on the agency
practitioners’ theories regarding advertising in the social aspect. This theory identifies three main
tactics, Rhetorical Tactics, Relationship Management Tactics, and Knowledge Creation Tactics,
which are used as knowledge-based social action tools that strive to satisfy consumers’ need for
certainty concerning advertising through creative and unconventional ways, instead of depending
on the theoretical knowledge of professionals.
Rhetorical Tactics. Rhetorical Tactics mainly focuses on the art of efficient language
used. In this tactic, the advertiser can precisely captivate consumers using words written in spiels
and scripts. There are three subtypes namely: “Selling creative with strategy”; “Presenting
creative as if it were logical” and “Suggesting this worked for others.”
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Selling creative with strategy requires advertisers to be both ingenious as well as

brilliant. Kilgour (2008) believe that the creativity process can be imparted as a skill. In the
emerging digital global village, YouTube and Facebook are among other social media advances
that have boosted audiences to participate in the creative process, making them co-creators of
advertising content (Sasser & Koslow, 2008).
An example that uses creatives to drive brand success is Di Falco’s (2009) research that
discovered certain market trends which play a part in the successful play product strategy by a
start-up company. The focus of Di Falco’s study was on Ella’s Kitchen, a new brand founded by
Paul Lindley, which produces a range of organic fruit and vegetable goods. A qualitative
analysis was completed in order to investigate the launching strategy of Ella’s Kitchen, which
includes the creative approach and the media strategy used. The market segment of Ella’s
Kitchen were children who acted as the ambassadors of the product to their parents.
As determined by the findings, the creative strategy was well received by the target
market was through in store promotions, partnerships with film distributors, and TV advertising
done using the Nickelodeon network, a well-loved kids’ channel. The creative approach used by
Ella’s Kitchen was advertisements that were in sync with the design template of Nickelodeon.
These TV spots, emphasized on the fun, playful, and energetic attributes, catered to the target
market. Moreover, one of the underlying themes of the study elaborated on innovation. This
facet is one of the essential reasons of the successful product launch, seeing that all aspects of
the innovation was consistent all throughout the campaign ─ “the initial product idea…the
differentiated targeting of kids, and the congruent approach to creative and media placement”
(Di Falco, 2009).
Presenting creative as if it were logical tactic models the creative process as a logical
surge from a thorough strategy to a creative outcome. Creative ideas are said to have been a
brainchild of both logical concepts and market research feedback combined to fit in a successive
manner, even if the actual process can be quite chaotic and disorderly (Nyilasy & Reid, in press).
Advertising using this tactic sells the product creatively while giving you a logical sense of why
you should buy the product, instead of just selling in it in a creative manner in contrast to the
previous tactic.
Suggesting this worked for others tactic is congruent to comparable cases where the suggested
creative resolution is the same to some previous success. Advertisements as seen on television as
well as heard on the radio, such as Koi Herbal Capsule, are precise examples as these are where
testimonials are frequently in play.
The Relationship Management Tactic makes use of the viewers and the advertisers
relationship and how they feel towards the person advertising the product. In the tactic,
advertisers “position practitioners as partners and not vendors” which is evident in
advertisements such as Colgate, where expert dentists are portrayed as people who are looking
out for the audience instead of being too rigid and trying to convince them to buy the product.
They convince the viewers that the product will take care of them, influencing the audience of
the idea that they need it more than they want it. This eases the professional pressure by building
up trust between both the advertiser and the client (Rodgers & Thorson, 2012).
Another tactic that comes into play is called Knowledge Creation Tactics which seeks
to create information they want to make known to the public. Though subjective practitioner
claims cannot be utilized in the professional advertising field, advertisers construct what we call
“second knowledge” base (Nyilasy et. al, 2012). This is called “second knowledge” base as the
information that roots from this endeavor to fall under classic theoretical knowledge yet remains
independent from that of the advertising agency. There are three subtypes namely: “Articulating
agency philosophies”; “Referencing practical authority sources” and “Working in a second
knowledge culture.”
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The “Articulating agency philosophies” tactic challenges a production of “branded” style of

professional knowledge by giving out ideas on the inner outputs of advertising that are both
“esoteric” as well as theoretical (Rodgers & Thorson, 2012). Advertisers use this when they
want to position their companies as a partner not just for the consumer but for the community,
elaborating on their agency’s philosophies in the advertisement.
Meanwhile, Referencing practical authority sources tries to achieve a similar result by bringing
up ideas of advertising experts and other practical authorities. In the advertisers’ perspective, not
only does this strengthen their brand image, this likewise gives their products’ advertisement a
sense of brand professionalism and credibility (Rodgers & Thorson, 2012).

Working in a second knowledge culture

Finally, the last advertising tactic encompasses production and influence of daily
routines, peer conversations and advertising awards and media appearances (Nyilasy, Kreshel &
Reid, in press). “Second knowledge,” simply points to the civilization of which advertisers,
clients and viewers are incased in— daily routines, peer interaction, informal conversations, and
even grapevine communication. Advertisers, clients and viewers unconsciously accept
information obtained in this culture, relying on knowledge based on others, unknown of the
obscured advertising community of which they are a part of. (Nyilasy et. al, 2012)

Selecting one of these seven common tactics is only one step in an advertising strategy. Schultz,
Tannenbaum & Lauterborn (1993) emphasized the importance of communication foundation in
an Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) plan. IMC focuses mainly on interactive
communication, which is from source to receiver and vice versa. It is important for an
advertising message to resonate with its audience, therefore communication tactic becomes
entirely different when the aim is to engross customers in a dialogue instead of targeting them
with a persuasive message. The paradigm shift now sees the customer as a participant instead of
a target in a vigorous ongoing communication exchange (Moriarty & Schultz, 1993, 1994). As
the marketing communication model moves from a one-way street type of communication to a
multi-way road, the new era also replicates the idea that clients are not just targets of advertising
tactics, but they too may steer the communication process through customer-initiated messages
(Duncan, 1995 in Rodgers & Thorson, 2012).
Targeted Market. About being able to create customer-initiated messages and a brand
identity for products and the company, it is also important for the message to be centralized and
consistent. Integration of key messages in different platforms targeted to specific audiences helps
the message become comprehensible to the audience.
DeLozier (1976) discovered that it is vital for all marketing elements to be regarded as
communication variables and insinuated that each element must be carefully considered as these
are all correlated to one another. He further explained that these are the building blocks of a
carefully thought through integrated program. Contact points, as termed by Schultz et al. (1993)
& Duncan (1995) are ways of which the different facets of the marketing complex say about the
brand as well as every happenstance a consumer gets with anything that relates to the brand
through any communication channel, hence contact points.
Channel. It is important therefore for an advertising message to be tailored carefully to
the selected marketing segment it deems to persuade. Strategies should be crafted carefully to
make sure multi-channel communication that reached every market segment had one, cohesive,
synchronized message (Moriarty & Schultz, 1993, 1994).
As explored in a study by Saraf and Thyagarajan (2009), identifying and understanding
the target segment and the media they use is crucial when it comes to advertising. The focus of
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this study was on Elephant Atta and the brand’s decision to promote their new product, Elephant
Chakki Gold on broadcast media. This qualitative investigation delves on the in-depth
understanding of the target audience and the effective approach to media that should be applied
in order to reach out to the company’s selected market segment. The target audience of Elephant
Chakki Gold are the second and third generation housewives in Punjabi, Pakistani, and Gujarati
houses. The company understood that the South Asian population are most receptive when it
comes to the television being used as a medium, rather than print, radio, or outdoor seeing as the
community are fervent watchers of soaps, competitions, shows, and movies. Noting this
observation, Elephant Atta decided to broadcast their advertisements through TV commercials in
key ethnic channels. In addition, sponsorships were also taken from well-known programs in
prime time programs. This media strategy enabled the brand to address the three target audience
in unison.
As a result, the campaign was a success garnering a 206 percent growth rate in a span of
one year. The campaign was also reported to have a 17 percent upsurge in advertising awareness
in the targeted Indian Gujarati population, 20 percent increase in unprompted awareness among
the Punjabi houses, and a 23 per cent rise in the Gujarati subgroups. The successful Elephant
Chakki Gold Atta advertising campaign proves that the anticipated response and surge in
awareness and response levels can be achieved through the combined efforts of targeted media
and effective creative positioning, therefore putting the Perceptual Integration theory in check.
Advertisements are made by the advertiser to cater to the needs of the audience, thus the
audience and their preferences are vital in the success of an advertisement. Seeing preferences
play a vital role in the selection of advertising platforms, the preference of the selected Cebuano
target market in terms of discovering innovations or new products is another field of interest in
this present study. According to Rogers (1983), diffusion of innovation can be defined as “the
process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the
members of a social system.”

Diffusion of Innovation Theory

Roger further states that innovation encapsulates “an idea, practice, or object that is
perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption.” He states that there are numerous
varieties of innovation: a new product or service, an important modification of a present product
or service, or a change in market position, price or quality, among others. Additionally, there are
two elements to consider when it comes to innovations as elaborated by Rogers.
The first element is the channel, a necessary component which affects the relaying of
messages between a sender and a receiver. In the theory, the most often utilized channels are
mass media and interpersonal communication. Mass media involves platforms such as radio,
television and social media in contrast to interpersonal communication which encompasses a
two-way communication street. Both communication channels are more prevailing when
creating or changing an individual’s perception. (Rogers, 2003) However, as relayed by Cutlip,
Center, and Broom (2000), the audience’s decisions on whether to take on an innovation are
affected more by interpersonal communication whereas the mass media is a more effective
means to produce or proliferate an innovation’s awareness.
The second element is the social system, which is defined as “a set of interrelated units
that are engaged in joint problem in solving to accomplish a common goal” (Rogers, 1983). A
social system, which may comprise of organizations, informal groups, individuals, or
subsystems, is the locale wherein an innovation is diffused. When placed under scrutiny, social
systems take account of the effects of the innovation on social structures, how the social
structure standards affect the diffusion process, the roles opinion leaders play in the process, the
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judgements created regarding the innovation, and the innovation’s consequences (Diffusion of
Innovation, 2003).
Pigot and Flakelar’s case study (2006) explored the marketing strategy of a new product
as launched by Coca Cola, identified as the top beverage manufacturer in the world. With the
constant change of lifestyles, preferences, and tastes of its customers, the established company
realized the need to expand their products. A qualitative research focused on the marketing
background, consumer insight, target market, communication objectives, and media strategy of
Coca Cola’s newest product, Fruitopia. The target market included individuals aged 18-29 years
old. A limited qualitative research was done on Fruitopia’s two TV commercials along with a
sampling activity that piloted across five metro markets to catch the target audience in their
working environment at 9 o’clock on Monday mornings which is noted to be the least energetic
part of the week.
As seen in the study, television was used as the primary vehicle in the launch of the new
product. Television promotions about this product resulted in a 35.3 percent increase in
Fruitopia’s volume. The consumers reacted positively to an innovation that ventured to have fun
in advertising their new product. The study provides an in-depth assessment on how a target
market prefers to discover a new product released by an already established company which
proves to be useful in the investigation of this study seeing as this present research tries to clarify
how certain target markets prefer to learn about an innovation.
In a broader perspective, the present study not only aims to analyze the advertising tactics
done by the aforementioned chosen grassroot Cebuano companies including Island Souvenirs
and Pages Holdings Incorporated, but also intends to contribute to the commercial scene in the
local context by determining an Integrated Marketing Communication guideline grounded on
Moriarty, Mitchells, & Wells (2012) to be utilized by existing and future Cebuano grassroot
companies. Specifically, it aims to answer the following questions:
1. What advertising tactics proposed by Nyilasy, Kreshel, & Reid (2012) are dominant in
grassroot companies?
2. What are the preferred advertising tactics of the selected Cebuano market segmentation as
defined by Berkowitz et al., 2000 (as cited in Belch & Belch, 2001)?
3. Using Rogers’ (1983) Diffusion of Innovation Theory, where do each of these selected
Cebuano target market prefer to discover new products in terms of channel and social system?
4. What Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) guidelines grounded on Moriarty, Mitchell
and Wells’ (2009) may be proposed to be used by local Cebuano companies?

Methodology

This study applied a qualitative research method. Specifically, it dealt with content
analysis that sought to analyze the advertising tactic evident in the advertisements which was
supported by questionnaires that was disseminated and answered by the selected marketing
segments.
The sources of data included the collated advertisements from January 2017 – June 2017
from the selected Cebuano grassroot companies. In the case of Pages Holdings, only the top two
companies who have the most likes on its Facebook page was subject to research, Lantaw Native
Restaurant and Thirsty Fresh Fruit Juices and Shakes. For the second company, researchers
collected the print and social media advertisements of Island Souvenirs.
The study’s respondents were college students aged 18-21, young professionals aged 22-
25, and Cebuano citizens aged 30 and above, each representing the different marketing classes.
Since different marketing classes have different advertising preferences, the varied three market
segments were the focus of the present research paper. The universities were selected according
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to the cost of tuition fees, seeing as these schools represent the higher and lower tuition fees
among the private and public universities in Cebu. Office places were randomly selected for
those with employees aged 22-25 years old and local barangays with tricycle drivers, jeepney
drivers and sari-sari store vendors.
Questionnaires were answered by the selected research participants representing the
different marketing segments. The questionnaires included inquiries which aided the researchers
in determining what advertising tactics and medium do each of the selected marketing segment
prefer to be used by the selected Cebuano local companies when releasing advertisements. The
questionnaires also made use of Likert’s scale to be able to determine the specific preference of
each marketing segment. In addition, coding sheets patterned to the aforementioned frameworks
were utilized in the present research in dealing with the categorization and organization of the
accumulated responses from each marketing segment.
These were the steps taken in gathering the data. Using the framework of Nyilasy,
Kreshel, & Reid (2012) advertising tactics, the researchers categorized the collated
advertisements from each of the local Cebuano companies under each tactic depending on the
dominant tactic found in advertisement starting from January 1, 2017 – June 31, 2017 and
surveyed the selected marketing audience through the handed-out questionnaires using Likert’s
Scale’s Level of Agreement (strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree nor disagree, agree,
strongly agree) to analyze the preferences of each segment. The survey included questions of
preferences, which served as the base of the respondents’ level of agreement. After which, the
researchers then came up with a proposed advertising strategic guideline that will serve as future
use for any local Cebuano company.

Results and Discussions

This portion presents the data gathered from the collated advertisements and the surveys
and its respective findings.

Table 1 presents the numerical count of the three advertising tactics proposed by Nyilasy,
Kreshel, and Reid (2012) used by the selected grassroot companies in their print and social
media advertisements from January 2017-June 2017.

Table 1.
Most Dominant Advertising Tactic
N = 127

Grassroot Relationship Management

Knowledge Creation Tactics
Companies Rhetorical Tactics Tactics

Lantaw
SRP 2 6 1

Pages Lantaw
Holdings 1 8 0
Cordova
Inc.
Lantaw
1 8 0
Busay

Thirsty 27 3 14
Island Souvenirs 33 19 4
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TOTAL 64 44 19

The most dominant advertising tactic discovered is the Rhetorical Tactics, specifically,
selling creatives with strategy. Meanwhile, the least utilized tactic falls under the Knowledge
Creation Tactics. It was also found out in the study that each industry employs the different
tactics based on the product, good or service that it offers.
In the case of the Lantaw Group of restaurants, they used Relationship Management
Tactics seeing as their chain of restaurants typically cater to families. The hotel and food
industry are no foreigner to building relationships not just for their customers, but for themselves
towards their customers. It is no surprise that Relationship Management Tactic is the most
dominant tactic for Lantaw Group of Restaurants, as opposed to both Thirsty and Island
Souvenirs which leaned more onto the Rhetorical Tactics, seeing as their target market
comprised of the youth.
This tactic is used the most by Thirsty ads seeing as the target market are mostly students
keeping in mind that the individuals who like the company’s Instagram and Facebook page and
posts are high school and college students. Since the advertisements are targeted to the younger
generation, creative advertisements capture their attention the best by employing the use of
colors, witty phrases, and interesting images.
According to Wharton’s (2017) article entitled “The need for youth in creativity”, the
younger generation is more equipped to discover what he calls a “creative breadth” compared to
that of older and more specialized individuals. The youth is very fond of taking risks and
experimenting on new ideas, which explains why they are easily swayed best by creative
strategies.

Table 2 presents the numerical count of the advertising tactics that is most liked by the
selected markets based on the survey that were given to them.

Table 2.
Numerical Count of Advertising Tactics Preference of Market Segments
Relationship
Rhetorical Tactics Management Knowledge Creation Tactics
Tactics

Selling Suggesting Working in a

Presenting Positioning Articulating Referencing
Market Segment creative “this “second
creative as if practitioners agency practical
with worked for knowledge”
it were logic as partners philosophies authorities
strategy others” culture

USC 7 3 1 1 0 1 0
College USJR 10 1 0 2 5 2 4
students
CNU 8 5 4 2 1 0 1
CTU 6 2 4 2 2 4 6

Blue collar 10 1 2 4 4 4 3

Working
professionals
White
17 10 7 6 8 14 10
collar
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16
TOTAL 22 25
58 18 20 24

PERCENTAGE 8.74%
53.55% 37.70%

In general, the most preferred advertising tactic by the selected market segments is the
Rhetorical Tactics, wherein “selling creatives with strategy” appealed the most to the audience.
Also under the Rhetorical Tactics, “suggesting this worked for others” resonated the least with
the selected audience. 

Table 3 shows which medium is most preferred by the selected target market when it
comes to an advertisement’s dissemination.

Table 3.
Numerical Count of Preferred Medium of Respondents

Channel Social Systems

Market Segment

Social organizations, informal

Print Broadcast
Media groups, individuals or
subsystems

USC 1 0 10 5

USJR 1 2 9 3
College students
5
CNU 6 0 9

7
CTU 3 1 9

Blue collar 7 9 9 3
Working
professionals 6
White collar 6 10 25

TOTAL 24 22 71 29

Social media remains to be the most influential medium to discover innovations in the
advertising field. In contrast, students do not favor advertisements that are released in the radio
or television. For the working professionals, they do not opt for advertisements that are
disseminated by grapevine communication. 

Proposed Integrated Marketing Communication Guideline

As an outcome for analyzing the data gathered the present research, the researchers have formed
an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) guideline grounded on Moriarty, Mitchell and Wells’
(2009) to be used by local Cebuano companies.
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Advertising Tactic Use

RHETORICAL
HELPFUL HARMFUL
TACTICS

STRENGTHS
● Good for Tertiary Industries
(Services Industry)
● Services Industry neither produce WEAKNESSES
a raw material nor make a ● Type of goods, product or service sold
product. They provide services to should be considered (not good for
other people and industries. primary industries)
INTERNAL ● Preferred by students and working ● Restaurant and hotel industries should
professionals aged 18-25 stray away from this tactic and lean more
supported by Wharton’s (2017) onto the Relationship Management Tactic
“creative breadth” common seeing as based on the results, they deem
among the millennial generation fit and would most likely benefit the most
that fall under this age category from the aforementioned tactic
● Creative advertisements capture
the audience’s (aged 18-25)
attention easily
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
● Attracts attention and desire
● Many companies use creative advertising
because of its creative touch
to capture the younger audience’s
EXTERNAL through keeping up with the
attention thus it is important for a
current trends and hype of the
company to think of unique creative
youth
approaches deemed fit to the company’s
● Social media utilization
product, good or service

RELATIONSHIP HELPFUL HARMFUL

MANAGEMENT
TACTICS

INTERNAL STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

● Good for Tertiary Industries ● Type of goods, product or service sold
(Services industry) should be considered thus products such
● Services Industry neither as clothing lines, shoe lines and other
produce a raw material nor make materialistic products will least likely
a product. They provide services benefit from this tactic
to other people and industries. ● Not preferred by students aged 18-21
● Good for families and friends based on survey results as they are
market segment because it attracted more to creative advertising
focuses on building and (Wharton, 2017)
sustaining customer-customer
and business-customer
relationships
● Can utilize celebratory themes

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
● Many events are celebrated in ● As Cebu is a growing commercial plaza
the country where building in process, there are a bountiful number
EXTERNAL relationships is rampant such as of companies competing in the services
provincial festivals, Christmas industry may it be start-up businesses or
season, birthdays, graduations, expanding old establishments like
weddings. restaurants, hotels or tourist
accommodations
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KNOWLEDGE
CREATION HELPFUL HARMFUL
TACTICS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
● Good for Primary Industries ● Type of goods, product or
● This industry extracts raw or natural service sold should be
materials from the land or sea such as oil, considered
iron ore, timber, fish. Examples this industry ● Information disseminated by
are mining, quarrying, fishing, forestry, and grapevine communication not
farming. preferred by working
● Good for Quaternary Industries professionals aged 22-25
INTERNAL ● This industry involves the use of high tech
industries wherein the people who are
employed in these companies are usually
highly qualified within their field of work.
Examples of this industry are research and
development companies or businesses.
● Referencing practical authorities preferred
by working professionals
● Grapevine communication preferred by
students

OPPORTUNITIES
EXTERNAL THREATS
● Getting endorsers in ads
● Endorsers used must be fit to
the selected target market

Medium Use: Social Media

SOCIAL
HELPFUL HARMFUL
MEDIA

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
● Preferred by students and ● Being a third world country, some places in the
working professionals aged province may not have Internet access or may have
INTERNAL
18-25 slow internet speed due to limited resources
● Good for white collar and
blue collar employees and
students

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
● Different venues and social ● Though more companies start to realize the cost
media platforms to advertise efficiency of advertising in social media, this puts a
in, especially since Filipinos’ lot of companies into the spotlight confusing the
EXTERNAL social media use is quite consumer as to which advertisement they should focus
wide their attention to while simultaneously burying other
● Filipinos are the top social advertisements that do not particularly “stand out”.
media users This makes it difficult for a certain company’s
product, good, or service to catch the attention of their
target market segment

Medium Use: Broadcast

BROADCAST HELPFUL HARMFUL

INTERNAL
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
● Second most preferred by working ● Not preferred by students aged 18-21 as
professionals aged 22-25 seeing as they are more comfortable and familiar
they still prefer traditional media in with social media use through cell phones
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comparison to the new digital era and digital tablets compared to traditional
● Good for white collar and blue collar media
employees

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
EXTERNAL ● Children watch television more than ● Costs more to advertise in the radio and
the youth does television
● Good for stay at home parents

Medium Use: Print

PRINT HELPFUL HARMFUL

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
● Billboards can be seen by all target markets ● Billboard ads must abide by the
INTERNAL
● Newspapers and magazines can be found in coffee Ad Standards Council
shops and lobbies of establishments
● Good for white collar and blue collar employees

THREATS
EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES
● Newspapers are going digital
● Bisaya and English newspapers available in Cebu
already

Medium Use: Social Systems

SOCIAL
HELPFUL HARMFUL
SYSTEMS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
● Second most preferred by students ● Not preferred by working professionals
INTERNAL
aged 18-21 aged 22-25
● Good for target markets composed
of college students

EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

● Fast dissemination of information ● Information can get distorted/inaccurate

Conclusions

Based on the findings, from the collated data from the surveys and advertisements from
the respondents, the following can be insinuated:
Rhetorical Tactics is the most used advertising tactic among Cebu grassroot companies.
This is attributed to the fact that majority of the targeted market of the selected companies are
the younger generation hence, the creative approach is vital to improve their market standing.
Rhetorical Tactics is the most preferred advertising tactic of both college students and
working professionals since both the younger and older generation are seen to be captivated
more by strategic creative advertising. Furthermore, more reasons are given to advertisers to opt
for a creative advertising approach since the creative strategy captures more attention than that
of a technical strategy.
The most preferred medium of discovering new products by the market audience is social
media. This is taking into account the current situation as individuals are now living in a digital
era.
Based on the findings and conclusions of the present study, the following are recommended:
1. Advertisers should take into consideration the type of good, product or service
that they are offering, as well as their chosen market segment before choosing
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what advertising tactic as patterned to the Pseudo-Professionalization Theory by

Nyilasy, Kreshel, and Reid (2012) they should employ in their advertisements. 
2. Companies should be thoroughly familiar with their target market first before
making an Integrated Marketing Communication plan so as to better produce
advertising content that will create engagement and achieve maximum effectivity
to the targeted audience.
3. Based on the guidelines proposed by the researchers, advertisers and companies
should align their medium use to their targeted market so as to penetrate
consumers’ cognitive decision making.
4. Future researchers may want to delve on a similar study, directing their angle as
to why a particular market segment prefers a specific advertising tactic. There
should also be a wider range of companies and advertisements to be analyzed by
the future researchers in order to expand the scope of this present study.

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