Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

The use of indigenous language by organisations in providing customer relations to their publics has become a thing of necessity. It is therefore important to understand the effectiveness of the use of indigenous language in relating with people who reside in rural communities through radio advertisements. This study therefore attempts to investigate the effectiveness of indigenous language of MTN Radio advertisement in Olorunda community in Ibadan, Oyo state. The study makes use of MTN because it is a non-indigenous company and also the leading telecommunication network provider in Nigeria. The study aims to discover how a non-indigenous organisation interacts with local communities. The study is anchored on the medium theory. Also, four research questions are raised and answered. The survey design was used as the research method, questionnaire and interview guide were used as instruments for data collection. The population of the study were MTN subscribers that reside in Olorunda community which had a sample size of 300. An in-depth interview was conducted with the trade marketing consultant of MTN, Ibadan. Findings revealed that the use of indigenous language for radio advertisements is effective as 84.7% of the respondents remembered MTN radio indigenous advertisement. 80.7% of the respondents also stated that the advertisement aid their understanding of the messages communicated. This study therefore recommends that a timely research should be implemented in organisation’s operations to ensure that they are meeting their customers’ needs with the right messages and through the right medium.