84 This article strives to identify the Cluj- Napoca citizens’ attitude towards advertising. The analysis concludes, based on an empirical study, that the citizens of the third millennium from Cluj-Napoca have a positive attitude with regard to advertising. THE BEHAVIOR OF THE CITIZENS FROM CLUJ-NAPOCA REGARDING ADVERTISING Ioan LAZĂR Professor, Department of Management, Faculty of Economics, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences, 16 E/2006, pp. 84-89 The ad represents “the action meant to attract the consumer’s attention upon a product for a certain purpose”. So the problem is to surprise the individual’s attitude towards it and depending on each one, the attitude of the collectivity. It is a way to check the efficiency of the ad in general and to see whether at the time of the research the action of promoting through ad means is suitable. Regarding the ads, we can refer to the following problems: – Their contribution to lowering the costs of the products; – The quality of the ads; – The influence of the ads upon the buyer’s choice; – The importance of the ads for economic development; – The veracity of the ads. Based on these considerations we built the questionnaire for this chapter, by formulating direct questions, which suppose direct answers, and which enable the use of a scale with only two alternatives (“I agree” and “I don’t agree”). There are also control questions (such as a and c, e and h) that enable the determination of the sincerity degree and the consistency in thinking of the person who answers. The attitude towards ads a. They contribute to lowering the expenses of the products b. Generally it is more suitable than unsuitable c. Without ads the products would be cheaper 85 d. Ads are fun e. The ad helps me make a choice f. They contribute to economic development g. Generally one can trust them h. Due to the ads I sometimes buy products that otherwise I wouldn’t buy I agree I disagree Examining the answers to the questions from the questionnaire, we can draw some important conclusions that show the mature thinking of the consumer from Cluj-Napoca (table 1). Regarding the answer to the first question, if ads contribute to the lowering of products prices, 66,13% of those interrogated didn’t agree with it. We are prone to be on their side because, as they are not specialized in the field, they don’t perceive the mechanism through which the ad can lead to the reduction of costs, through increasing sales. However, what is the most interesting to notice at the consumer from Cluj-Napoca is the fact that, until 1989 he hadn’t trusted ads because these were only for products that sold hard, after passing to the market economy, the amount of quality products from stores has increased. There was established a certain direct link between the products quality and the policy of promoting them through ads. This makes that 84,25% of those interrogated should consider that advertising products would be cheaper, whereas the majority don’t share this conception. It is important for the future policy of the firms from cost – retailing field that 67,38% declare that advertising helps them make a choice. This means that by supporting customers in choosing products the volume of sales increases. This thing is an instrument for the management of firms in applying the marketing policies as an integrating part of the enterprise management. Table 1 Question THE AMOUNT OF ANSWERS IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT I AGREE I DON’T AGREE A2 B2 C2 D2 E2 F2 G2 H2 33.87 84.35 35.36 73.28 76.38 80.43 53.17 75.17 66.13 15.65 64.64 26.72 36.62 19.57 46.29 24.83 In the same context it is noticed that 80,43% of those used for the study consider that the ads contribute to economic development. The answers to this question are logically connected to those given to the previous question, because by increasing sales one can get under profitability circumstances, to the increase of accumulations and implicitly to economic development. The close values of the two values of the amounts at the specific questions only emphasize the high level of reflection of the questioned regarding the importance of ads and way of adapting to the constructive advertising system through mass media. As corollary to the answers to questions E2 and G2 is the fact that answers to the question H2, respectively the trust in advertising, are more than half favorable (53,17) and that due to the ad people buy products that wouldn’t be bought otherwise (75,17%). 86 Taking up again the examination of the answers to the second chapter and taking into account the group ages into which the population was segmented, we can conclude the following (Table 1’): Table 1’ 87 88 – Referring to question A2, the age groups that believe most that ads contribute to lowering prices are those between 39 and 49 years old, and those that believe least in this thing are the groups over 75. The explanation of the results resides in the fact that those from the first category are confronted with the realities of the transition to the market economy, they understand more easily the market mechanism, whereas those over 75, used for 50 years to the absence of advertising, cannot realize its implications upon economic-productive activity. – Regarding question B2, if advertising is more a good thing than a bad one, excepting those over 85, who don’t agree with it in proportion of 50%, the rest, almost entirely (over 80%) believe that the effect of ads is positive. – To the question C2, if products would be cheaper without advertising, only the age groups over 80 agree with it, the rest of the sample and especially those between 25 and 65, disagree with this assertion. – To the question E2, if the ad helps people choose the products, the greatest amount of favorable answers belongs to the group 7-19 and 65-74 and 80-84 respectively. Those who don’t agree with the importance of ads in the process of choosing a product for buying are from the group 75-79 (41,67%), 50-54 (34,09%) and 30-34 (28,87%). If for the first group, 7-19 years old, it is easy to understand the importance of the ad in the process of choosing, because of the lack of experience, it is difficult to explain the great amount of negative answers for the age groups 50-54 and 30-34. 89 – To the question F2, regarding the importance of ads for economic development, the only age group that considers this thing only in proportion of 50% is that over 85 years. For the rest, all people are aware of the importance of advertising for economic development. – Referring to the question G2, if one can trust ads, the population segment that was very favorable to it is comprised between 25 and 49 years, and those with the least trust in the purpose of ads are those from the groups 65-69, 75-79, 50-54 and those over 85, who do not trust ads at all. – Finally, the majority of answers to the question H2 are positive, respectively due to advertising we buy products that wouldn’t be bought otherwise. As an interesting and exception is the group 30-34 that, in proportion of 37,11% doesn’t agree with the importance of advertising in the buying process. Conclusions After the undertaken analysis, we noticed that the population is favorable to advertising and this constitutes a very important means of promoting the product in order to be introduced on the market of Cluj-Napoca city. Starting from reality, it is absolutely necessary that the firm’s management should allocate more time for organizing and consolidating strong marketing compartments, which can contribute to the increase of sales volume, to the reduction of the financial blockage, through knowing the necessities of the population in order to plan and organize production according to the demands of the market and not to the producer’s wish. Of course that the question from the questionnaire didn’t have an exhaustive comprehensive area, but they succeeded in general in surprising the spiritual state of the population from Cluj concerning the promotional and advertising policies for products.