How urban children process advertising message: Special reference to television advertising in Pakistan

This study broadens the knowledge of cognitive processing of advertising messages by urban children in Pakistan. Data was collected from 230 children of age bracket 7 to 12 years, drawn by using the cluster sampling approach from four cities of Pakistan. Structured questionnaire using three point rating scale was used for data collection. Data analysis revealed that childrenʹs capability to understand, decode and process advertising messages is directed not only by their own cognitive capabilities at different age levels, but also through societal and personal backgrounds. Some communal and social customs related to tolerability and aptness of human behavior also manipulate the processing of advertising messages by children of either sex. Some other factors, including the model liking, role-played, story, and jingle will not only influence liking or disliking of some specific advertisements and therefore, itʹs decoding. At this age group, it was not appropriate to use advanced psychometric techniques for study, so, a simple three point scale was used for data collection. Further research may explore other insights by using development in measuring tools and techniques. How advertising messages are decoded by children and which are important sources of persuading and influencing is a topic not explored much in Pakistan. Therefore, the study would add some insights for good understanding of the childrenʹs capabilities to process and ultimately, scheming of valuable communication approaches.