CANADIAN SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCE

PRINCIPLES OF BUSINESS

SCHOOL-BASED ASSESSMENT

Topic: Marketing

Sub-Topic: An Investigation into the Advertising Practice of China Trading Incorporation

Candidate Name: Sumintra Dindial

Candidate Number:

School: Canadian School

Subject Teacher: Sir. Barrington

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 MARK SCHEME FOR SCHOOL-BASED ASSESSMENT

Project Area P
ROFILE
DISTRIBUTION
Knowledge Application Interpretation Total
And and Analysis
Comprehension
. Table of contents
accurately links pages to
content-1mark (KC)
Topic/Issue/problem

. Topic/issue/problem is
clearly stated- 1 mark
(KC)

. Topic/issue/problem
accurately describes the
project-1 mark (KC)
Objectives
. objectives are clearly
stated and linked to the
topic/issue/problem-
1mark(A)-objectives are
realistic-1mark(A)
Background/Overview

. Includes a description of
the
topic/issue/problem
-Description includes the
history
-1mark(kc)
- Description include the
Development-1mark (KC)

. Establishes the need for

research why/how is the
topic/issue/problem

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Important to student-1 mark(A)
-Impact of topic/issue/problem
on society-1mark(A)

Methodology

-Data collection instrument

clearly described-1-2 marks
(KC)

. Data collection instrument

appropriate for type of data-1
mark (A)
. Method of data collection clearly
described -1-2 marks(A)

-Method of data collection

adequately justified-1-2
marks(A)

. Limitations of data collection

method clearly stated-1-2marks
(A)

Presentation and Analysis of

data
. Data is presented appropriately
from using tables, charts, graphs
-1-2marks (KC)
Bibliography
Bibliography contains names of
authors, name of publisher(s).
names and dates of publication,
and are written in alphabetical
order-1mark (KC)

Overall presentation
. Consistently uses correct
spelling and grammar-1 mark
(A)

3
Expression of ideas logical and
unambiguous – 1 mark (A)

TOTAL 10 20 10 40

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 Table of Contents

No. Content Page Pg.

1 Statement of Problem 6
2 Objectives 7
3 Background Information 8-9
4 Methodology 10-12
5 Letter of Correspondence 13
6 Questionnaire 14-15
7 Interview Questions 16
8 Presentation and Analysis of Data 17-23
9 Findings 24
10 Conclusion 25
11 Recommendations 26-27
12 Bibliography 28

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 Statement of Problem

China Trading Incorporation uses different advertising methods to promote its business.

However, whether these strategies are reaching the intended target audience and making an

influence in customer purchasing decisions in a competitive market remains a challenge. This

investigation seeks to assess the impact of their current advertising practices.

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 Objectives

1. To identify the primary advertising methods used by China Trading Incorporation to promote

its goods/services.

2. To determine if the advertisements are working effectively in attracting customers.

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 Background Information

China Trading Incorporation is a wholesale and retail business located in Georgetown, Guyana.

The company was established in 2005 and has grown over the years. It sells household items,

hardware and tools, building materials, stationery, and gift items. The company imports products

mainly from China and offers them at reasonable prices. When the company first started,

traditional advertising, such as word-of-mouth, flyers, newspapers, and in-store displays, was

mainly used. At the time, these methods were effective because many customers depended on

printed media and personal recommendations.

However, as technology developed in Guyana and people were in possession of smartphones and

gained access to the internet, customers spent most of their time on social media. Seeing this

change, the company revamped its advertising strategies and began to use social media to reach

potential customers, especially younger customers. This resulted in social media advertising

being added to its existing traditional methods. As of today, the company uses a mixture of social

media promotions, flyers, radio advertisements, posters, and storefront displays. Although the

company uses various advertisements, the challenge of China Trading Incorporation, like many

businesses, is to make sure that its advertising strategies not only reach the intended audience but

also effectively influence purchasing decisions in a competitive market. This investigation aims

to assess the effectiveness of the company’s advertising strategies.

As a student of Principles of Business, this topic is important to me because advertising is a

crucial element for marketing. It helps businesses inform customers about products, attract

buyers, and prevent losses to competitors. This investigation is not only important to me, but also

to society. When advertising is effective, it benefits the business by increasing sales, which can

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lead to business expansion, which contributes to more job creation. As businesses grow, they

contribute to the entire economy through job creations activities in commercial increase.

Therefore, effective advertising not only benefits the company alone, but it also benefits the

economic growth in Guyana.

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 Methodology

To collect the appropriate data for this investigation, two instruments were used: a questionnaire

and an interview. By using two instruments, the data’s reliability increases because information

was gathered from customers and also from a member of management at China Trading

Incorporation.

Questionnaire

A questionnaire was prepared to conduct a distribution among customers of China Trading

Incorporation. A total of 30 customers were selected randomly at the store’s entrance while they

were shopping. The technique of selecting customers at random helped to reduce bias and ensure

that different types of customers were included. The questionnaire contained both closed-ended

and open-ended questions. The closed-ended questions helped identify patterns in responses and

allowed for easy calculation of percentages. The open-ended questions allowed customers to

write their expressed opinions in their own words.

The questions were designed to:

 Find out how customers heard about the company

 Determine if their decision to shop was because of the influence of advertisements

 Find out if customers have seen or heard the company’s advertisements.

The questionnaire was an appropriate choice because it collected primary data from customers

who are affected by the company’s advertising in a short period of time and at a low cost. The

closed-ended questions made the calculations easy to present percentages and the data using

graphs and charts. The complete questionnaires were collected immediately after customers

finished answering to ensure accuracy and prevent loss of data.

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Interview

An interview was conducted with the Marketing Manager of China Trading Incorporation. The

interview was done face-to-face and lasted approximately 15 minutes. Notes were taken during

the interview to record responses accurately.

The purpose of the interview was to:

 Identify the main advertising methods used by the company

 Develop an understanding of why certain advertising media were chosen

 Identify challenges faced in advertising

The interview was appropriate because it provided qualitative data from a knowledgeable staff

member who is involved in advertising decisions. The interview allowed the researcher to

elaborate on questions and help clarify responses, as it gave a deeper insight into the company’s

strategies.

Statistical Analysis

The data collected from the questionnaire were identified as categorical because respondents

selected from options that were provided. Because of this, measures such as the mean and

median were not suitable. Since the responses were not given in numerical values but in grouped

categories, measures such as the mean and median were not appropriate. The mode was the most

appropriate statistical measure because it identified the most frequently occurring response

among customers. This statistical measure helped to determine which advertising method was

most common and effective.

Calculations of percentages to convert the raw data into comparable figures. This made

presenting information in tables and bar graphs clearly, and to also compare the different

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advertising methods. The mode and the percentages were appropriate because they allowed for

accurate analysis of categorical data and helped to determine whether advertisements were

effective in attracting customers.

Limitations

 Some customers did not fully understand certain questions.

 Some responses were incomplete because respondents were in a hurry.

 The interview was kept short due to the Marketing Manager’s limited time.

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 Letter of Correspondence

1688 Section B

Great Diamond

East Bank Demerara

February 26, 2025

China Trading Incorporation

Robb Street

Georgetown

Guyana

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Sumintra Dindial, a student of the Canadian School of Arts and Science. I am

currently in grade eleven, studying for the 2026 CSEC examination. For my School-Based

Assessment, I am required to conduct a research project titled “An Investigation into the

Advertising Practice of China Trading Incorporation.”

I am seeking your permission to conduct this research at your organization. The research will

involve the distribution of questionnaires to selected employees. The data collected will be used

for academic purposes and will be handled with utmost discretion and confidentiality.

I would be grateful if you would consider granting permission to conduct this research at your

organization. Thank you for your time and cooperation. I look forward to your favorable

response.

Yours faithfully,

Sumintra Dindial

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 Questionnaire

1. What is your gender?

☐ Male

☐ Female

2. What is your age range?

☐ Under 18

☐ 18–25

☐ 26–35

☐ 36–45

☐ 46 and over

3. How did you first become aware of China Trading Incorporation?

☐ Social Media

☐ Newspaper

☐ Radio

☐ Billboard

4. What advertising method influences your decision to shop the most?

☐ Social Media

☐ Newspaper

☐ Radio

☐ Billboard

5. Have any of the advertisements encouraged you to visit, or to make a purchase from the

store?

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 ☐ Yes

☐ No

6. How often do you see advertisements from China Trading Incorporations?

☐ Very often

☐ Sometimes

☐ Rarely

☐ Never

7. Do you think the company’s advertisements are attractive and attention-grabbing?

☐Yes

☐No

☐Sometimes

8. What improvements would you like to see in the company’s advertisements?

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Interview Questions

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1. Can you describe the main advertising methods used by China Trading Incorporation to

promote its products?

2. Which advertising method do you think is the most effective in attracting customers, and

why?

3. How do you decide which advertising medium to use for different products or

promotions?

4. Do you review or update the company’s advertisements strategies? If so, how often?

5. Are there challenges faced in promoting products through advertising? If yes, what were

they, and how do you overcome them?

6. How do you measure whether an advertisement is successful or not?

7. In the near future, are there any advertising methods you would like to try?

8. What do you do to ensure that advertisements reach the target audience effectively (e.g.,

different age groups or locations)?

Presentation and Analysis of Data

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Figure 1

According to Figure 1, it is indicated that social media is the most effective advertising method,

as 43% of customers learned about China Trading Incorporation. This implies that the company

benefits greatly from advertising digitally. Newspaper advertisements made up 33% of customer

awareness, this shows that they are still appealing, especially towards older customers. Billboard

and radio advertisements, as shown above, had lower percentages at 17% and 7%. This

demonstrates that these methods are less effective at generating a large number of customers.

Out of the 30 respondents, 13 indicated that they first became aware of China Trading

Incorporation through Social Media. Ten respondents selected Newspaper, five selected

Billboard, and two selected Radio. The mode of the data is Social Media, as it was the most

frequent response among participants. The use of the mode is appropriate because the data

collected is categorical in nature. The data also suggests that digital advertising surpasses

traditional media, with greater reach, faster communication abilities, and enhanced engagement.

It is more cost-effective and enables direct interaction between the company and customers.

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Figure 2

Shown above is a bar graph illustrating the effectiveness of advertising methods used by China

Trading Incorporation. The graph highlights that Social Media is the most effective advertising

method, surpassing Newspapers, Billboard, and Radio. Social media advertising was the mode of

data collection, as it resulted in the largest number of customer responses. This indicates that

Social Media is the most common and effective advertising method used by China Trading

Incorporation.

Figure 3

Q.3 How did you first become aware of China Trading Incorporation?

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Figure 4

Q4. Which advertising method influences your decision to shop the most?

Figure 5

Q5. Have any of the advertisements encouraged you to visit, or to make a purchase

from the store?

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Figure 6

Q6. How often do you see advertisements from China Trading Incorporations?

Figure 7

Q7. Are the company’s advertisements clear and informative?

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Figure 8

Q8. Do you think the company’s advertisements are attractive and attention-grabbing?

Figure 9

Q9. What improvements would you like to see in the company’s advertisements?

The responses that were collected from the 30 customers at China Trading Incorporation, were

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group into 30 common categories.

12 (40%) had suggested for more Social Media promotions.

8 (27%) had suggested more special offers and discounts.

5 (17%) had suggested for more colorful and attractive advertisements.

2 (6%) said no improvements were needed.

The mode was calculated for more social media promotions as it was the most frequent response.

Analysis

The results indicated that most of the customers would like the company to increase its social

media advertising. On the previous findings, this supports and shows proof that social media is

the most effective advertising method. Many customers have also made their opinions on

advertisements to include more special offers, which suggests that discounts influence

purchasing decisions.

Analysis of Interview Data

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The interview that was conducted with the Marketing Manager revealed that the company uses a

combination of Social Media, Newspapers, Radio, Billboards, and In-store promotions to

advertise its products. The manager states that social media was considered the most effective

method because a wider audience can be reached quickly and at a lower cost. The manager also

explained that newspapers are mainly aimed at targeting customers who are older and may not

actively use social media. Challenges were also identified; one challenge was the high cost of

traditional advertising, and the difficulty in measuring the effectiveness of radio and billboard

advertisements. To measure the success of advertisements, businesses can observe the increase in

sales, customer inquiries, and customer engagement on social media platforms. The company

reviews its advertising strategies to determine which methods are performing best.

Findings

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1. It was found that Social Media is the most effective advertising method used by China

Trading Incorporation, as it had a high percentage of customer responses.

2. Newspaper advertisements are effective among customers, particularly the ones who are

older; these were based on responses.

3. Radio and billboards attracted fewer customers compared to social media and newspapers.

4. The data indicates that a majority of respondents say that advertising influenced their

decision to shop, which shows that advertising plays a key role in attracting customers.

Conclusion

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This investigation explored the advertising practices of China Trading Incorporation to

determine if the primary methods employed by the company were effective in attracting

customers. The findings revealed that the company uses a mixture of social media, newspapers,

radio, and billboard advertising. It was also identified that social media was the most effective

advertising method because of its highest level of customer awareness and influence on

purchasing decisions. Newspaper advertisements were also noticed to be effective among

customers who were older in specific age groups, while radio and billboards had a lower impact.

The results also demonstrated that advertisements do play a significant role in influencing

customers’ decisions to visit and make purchases from the store. It is therefore concluded that the

company’s advertising strategies are effective generally, but greater emphasis should be placed

on digital advertising to maximize results.

Recommendations

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Based on the findings of the study, Social Media advertising is effective in every way, while

traditional media reaches a small but specific number of audiences, the following

recommendations are proposed:

Since Social Media is the company’s main method for customers to learn about the business,

China Trading Incorporation should invest more time and money in Social Media advertising.

The business should make use of other Social Media platforms as it can increase brand

recognition, drive sales, and customer engagement. They should post regularly about

promotions, new products, details, and sales. They should also share short product videos and

details and reply to customer comments and messages to keep customers interested.

To help ads reach the right audience, the company should use online ad applications that allow to

choose the audience by age, interests, and location. This approach will boost advertising

efficiency and reduce the amount of money spent on advertisements that don’t perform well.

Newspaper advertising should continue but should be focused on major promotions and seasonal

sales, as they resonate better with older customers, according to the findings. This will ensure

that the business will retain that customer segment while controlling how much it spends on

advertising.

Radio advertisements can be enhanced and maximized to capture customers’ attention. In order

for a bigger impact to be achieved, they should be played at times where more people listen to

the radio. They should also use interesting facts or a catchy phrase to start it off, messages should

be short and clear.

Billboard advertisements should be reviewed and redesigned before using them again. They

should be placed in areas where they are visible, allowing people to see them. Anything

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illustrated on it, such as messages, should be short, clear, and attention-grabbing. To improve

visibility and value, Billboards should be placed limited to high traffic areas.

Bibliography

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Carter, K. & Wright, A. (2017) Principles of Business for CSEC®. Nelson Thornes Ltd

• China Trading Incorporation (2025) Advertising and promotional information Georgetown,

Guyana

• Investopedia (2024). Advertising. [Link]

• Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2018). Principles of Marketing (17th ed.). Pearson Education

Limited

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