The Effectiveness of the Department of Trade Consumer and Industries’ Education Campaigns: Perceptions of National Federation of Women’s Clubs Members

Abstract

People need to make decisions everyday. As consumers, they face daily the varied, numerous and overwhelming choices offered by today’s market. The influx of advertisements through mass media makes it even more difficult for them to choose. As such, there is a need to equip the public with the practical knowledge of how to make wise buying decisions. The facilitation of intelligent decision-making among consumers is the foremost goal of consumer education. Consumer education aims to protect and empower the consumer by informing consumers of their rights and responsibilities, providing them with better product and service knowledge and finally, heightening their awareness regarding consumer related issues and concerns. Consumer education here in the Philippines is handled and carried out by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The issue of DTI’s effectiveness in performing its task of empowering the Filipino consumer through effective consumer education is dealt with in this research. This study also recognizes the need to establish definite communication criteria so as to determine whether the present implemented consumer” education campaigns of DTI are headed in the direction of realizing its set objectives. The main problem that this research attempts to answer is the extent of the effectiveness of DTI’s consumer education campaigns in influencing consumer behavior among the members of the National Federation of Women’s Clubs (NFWC). Specifically, this study aims to find out the nature of the two organizations involved, determine the consumer education campaigns of DTI for the Consumer Welfare Month of October 2001, and finally, gauge its communication effectiveness based on the perspective of the selected audience, the NF WC members. The researcher employed a combination of the descriptive and evaluative research designs for this study. Library and documentary research, two interviews, and a survey were used in gathering data for this research. The survey participants were comprised of a total of fifty seven (57) NFWC members, majority of which are parents and teachers. Moreover, key informants were interviewed from both DTI and NFWC. The gathered data were interpreted applying the quantitative and qualitative statistical analysis. The Department of Trade and Industry is the lead government agency tasked to promote consumer welfare and protection. To achieve their goal of informing and educating the public regarding consumer issues and concerns, they conceptualize and implement various consumer education campaigns. For the Consumer Welfare Month of October 2001, which carried the theme “Consumer Empowerment through Critical Education,” DTI launched various print, television, and radio campaigns, among others, and organized events and activities for the mutual benefit of both businesses and consumers. Findings indicate that majority of the Survey participants were well aware of DTI’s 2001 consumer education campaigns. In fact, they were even able to indicate its general content, forms and the media employed. Moreover, the whole sample respondents were one in the opinion that the campaigns indeed enabled them to become better and well-informed consumers. The respondents also evaluated the campaign’s various information materials as satisfactory in terms of its communication effectiveness. Finally, results reveal that the respondents generally exhibited the characteristics of an intelligent consumer. Based on these findings it can be inferred that DTI’s consumer education campaigns for the consumer welfare month of October 2001 were successful because it met its objective of effectively informing and educating the public to become vigilant and intelligent consumers as verified in the positive perceptions and consequent consumer behavior of the members of NFWC.