Exploratory study to investigate factors influencing online advertising and branding:

a case study of Mulungushi University

Abstract

Background: In today’s world there has been a global rise in online advertising. This trend has proved to be increasingly evident even in Zambia. Perceptions towards online advertising and brands remain an unexplored venture in the Zambian context. There are a number of factors that affect advertising in the global village; advertising can be morphed by the culture within which it is practiced, by the techniques used and even by the mode it is communicated in. Online advertising has an ensuing effect on Brands as suggested by Davidaviciene (2012), online advertising features force Consumers to make relationship with company’s brand which leads to increase brand Image in consumer’s mind.

Methods: The study employed a case study design. Both Primary and Secondary data were used in this research to collect data.

Results: The findings show that 50% of the respondents agreed that online adverting enables direct sales. Therefore we can conclude that online adverting enables direct sales online. This is supported by Kostinsky (2011) who stated that online adverting completely enables direct sales. Also,the findings also show that 70%of the respondents agreed that the Internet presents opportunities for organizations to efficiently build their brands online.