Influence of sex appeal in advertising on motor Vehicle purchase intention: the case of university of Nairobi MBA parallel students

Abstract

Sinceno study has been done in Kenya to look at consumers' responses to sex appeal advertising, the study attempts to address this gap in advertising by examining the Kenyan consumers' responsesto advertisements which use sex appeal. The study sought to determine the extent to whichthe use of sex appeal in advertising influenced the purchase intention of saloon cars by MBA ModuleIT students at the University of Nairobi, and also to see if this influence differed between maleand female students.This was a across sectional survey which targeted all Module IT MBA students of the University of Nairobi. A total of 120 students were sampled for study using conveniencesampling design. Data was collected with the help of structured questionnaires, which werepersonally administered by the researcher. Groups of MBA students were identified and the questionnairesdistributed to them, giving them clear instructions on how to fill the questionnaires. Coloredimages as in the questionnaires were projected on the wall for all to see as they responded to questions. A response rate of 83% out the targeted 120 respondents was achieved. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics i.e. frequencies, percentages, mean scores and standard deviations. The findings indicated that sex appeal influenced purchase intention in advertisement to a large extent. To a large extent the respondents felt that they could remember the advertisements, the messages were convincing, they were attracted towards the advertised cars, felt like driving the cars,had a positive feeling towards the cars, felt drawn towards the advertisements, had a positive feeling towards advertisement and after seeing advertisements the respondents said they would consider purchasing the cars. The influence of sex appeal iD.J.Ilaleand female was found to differ acrossgenders in that more male respondents were attracted to the advertisement, the advertisement evoked more of their emotional responses, they felt the car would better fit their needs, their chances of buying the car was increased, their interest in processing the advertisement was increased at a higher degree and the advertisements left them with a more positive feeling as comparedto female respondents. The study implies that car marketers should consider the role sex appeal in influencing purchase intention. Religious and the traditional backgrounds of the respondents which may have significantly influenced their responses were not factored in the questionnaire, hence a limitation for the study. Further to this, future studies should target the other car categories, as well as other cadres of people.' The study was also limited to purchase intention and so there is room for further studies to determine influencers of actual purchase.