Phonological Analysis of Digital Advertising Campaigns in Nigerian Media Platforms and their Implications for Sustainable Consumer Education

Abstract

This paper does a phonological analysis of the spoken English employed in advertising 
campaigns by Nigerian digital marketers. By answering four research questions, it provides 
insights into the phonological resources and linguistic strategies used by Nigerian digital 
marketers, their impact on audience engagement, and alignment with sustainable education 
objectives. The study employs a mixed-methods research design, with a qualitative 
phonological content analysis of language use in advertising campaigns and a quantitative 
analysis of data gathered from 100 responses to a digital questionnaire on audience perceptions 
and responses to the identified phonological features and linguistic themes. The study fills the 
gap in knowledge regarding how language can be leveraged to achieve the goals of advertising 
campaigns and sustainable consumer education. The study found Code-mixing, Pronunciation 
Variations, Alliteration, and Wordplay were among the strategies that gained the most 
customer engagement across platforms and resulted in behaviour change. It also found that 
messages about sustainable education goals were not very prominent in the campaigns. Based 
on the findings, the paper makes recommendations on how various phonological strategies can 
be employed to enhance the effectiveness of advertising campaigns and promote sustainable 
education. The study is hinged on Howard Giles' (1973) Accommodation Theory; Petty and 
Cacioppo’s (1986) Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), and Mezirow's (1991) 
Transformative Learning Theory. The findings contribute to existing knowledge in the field 
of Nigerian English phonology, effective digital marketing strategies, and language resources 
that promote sustainable consumer education.