The Role of Advertising in Shaping Buying Decision of Samsung Mobile Phones

Beyond the Hype: How Advertising Shapes, But Doesn’t Guarantee. Your Next Phone Purchase

I recently immersed myself in a fascinating piece of marketing research: “The Role of Advertising in Shaping Buying Decision of Samsung Mobile Phones: An Application of the DAGMAR Model”. This study dives deep into the mechanism by which advertising impacts consumer decisions, using the venerable DAGMAR framework (Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results).

For marketers and product managers alike, this paper offers a crucial, data-driven insight: advertising is a potent architect of preference and knowledge, but it often needs reinforcements to close the sale.

Understanding the DAGMAR Framework (The ACCA Model)

The study hinged on the DAGMAR model, which posits that effective advertising moves a potential buyer through four sequential stages, often summarized as the ACCA formula: Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction, and Action.

Think of this process as a pipeline:

1. Awareness: The consumer first becomes aware of the brand or product through advertisements. (In the study, respondents showed high awareness and recognition of the Samsung brand, with a mean score of 3.988).
2. Comprehension: This is where the consumer develops a solid understanding of the product’s features, benefits, and overall value proposition.
3. Conviction: The consumer forms a favourable attitude toward the brand, develops trust, and forms a preference over competing options.
4. Action: The final, desired stage, where the consumer is motivated to make the purchase, visit a website, or request more information.

The researchers analyzed this process in Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City, utilizing a large sample size of 390 Samsung mobile users, applying descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression to understand the cause-and-effect relationships between these variables and the ultimate user buying decision.

Key Takeaway: The Conversion Cliff

The most critical finding for any business relying on advertising is this: Awareness, Comprehension, and Conviction all demonstrated a statistically significant positive influence on the user buying decision. This confirms that Samsung’s advertising successfully enhances consumer knowledge and builds brand trust. Consumers are aware of the brand, understand its value proposition, and feel persuaded to purchase (Conviction mean was 4.0299, the highest stage mean).

However, the study revealed a significant conversion cliff. The final stage, Action, did not have a statistically significant effect on purchase decisions when analyzed through multiple regression (p-value 0.075).

This suggests that while advertising successfully builds interest and brand preference, the actual movement from intention to purchase—the “Action”—is heavily mediated by factors outside the advertising message itself. External factors like price sensitivity, competitive alternatives (e.g., Xiaomi, iPhone), and existing brand loyalty play a crucial role in that final moment of truth.

Interestingly, correlation analysis highlighted that Comprehension was the strongest influencing factor relating to the buying decision (0.887 correlation). This underscores that clear, informative messaging that highlights unique selling points is perhaps the single most potent advertising tool. The models combined (Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction, Action) explain a robust 85.7% of the variation in the User buying decision, indicating the profound overall role of the communication process.

Application in the Industry

For companies like Samsung, which holds 22.92% of the market share in Nepal, just behind Xiaomi (25.36%), understanding this conversion gap is essential.

If your advertising budget is successfully creating an informed, favourable audience (Conviction), but not leading directly to sales (Action), you are likely losing conversions to friction points like price or competitor offers.

The implication for marketing strategy is clear: Advertising builds the foundation (knowledge and trust), but additional marketing efforts are required to drive conversion. Businesses must continuously refine their advertising to ensure it is engaging, informative, and effectively addresses consumer needs. This means going beyond mere brand visibility and focusing on persuasive messaging and emotional appeal to strengthen consumer conviction.

Key Takeaways for Product Marketing Managers (PMMs)

For PMMs specifically, the findings of this study offer a blueprint for optimizing the product launch and retention mix:

1. Prioritize Deep Comprehension: PMMs must ensure product launch materials and advertising copy clearly communicate unique product features, specifications, and benefits. Since Comprehension has the strongest impact on the buying decision (Beta=0.341), messaging should simplify complex topics and use demonstrative content like video reviews and product comparisons to differentiate the offering effectively.
2. Bolster Conviction with Credibility: Trust is paramount. PMMs should actively incorporate trust-building elements into campaigns, such as customer testimonials, expert reviews, and real-life use cases. The marketing efforts should directly address common consumer concerns, such as pricing, durability, and after-sales service, to cement confidence in the brand.
3. Incentivize Immediate Action: Since the study found advertising alone fails to complete the ‘Action’ stage, PMMs must deploy non-advertising conversion drivers. This means integrating tactics like limited-time discounts, appealing trade-in programs, or bundled offers to motivate immediate purchasing.
4. Leverage Analytics for Personalization: PMMs must utilize customer insights and analytics (e.g., purchase behaviour and preferences) to segment the audience and tailor advertising efforts. Personalized messaging and promotions are key to enhancing conversion likelihood. Regularly assessing campaign effectiveness through customer feedback and sales performance ensures strategies remain optimized.

The paper serves as a potent reminder that marketing is a multi-layered effort. Advertising is the engine that generates desire and trust, but the final conversion requires the right pricing, positioning, and promotional push. If advertising is the ramp leading to a purchase, PMMs must ensure there is a powerful incentive at the top of the ramp to push the customer over the finish line.