Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: After the deregulation of the South African deciduous fruit industry in 1997 an unregulated grape marketing environment replaced the single channel marketing system. Many new South African grape exporters were now involved in an uncoordinated and uncooperative marketing environment. Each marketing organisation implemented their own marketing plans resulting in an increase in competition among South African suppliers. The South African grape supplies originate from various production areas, each with their unique characteristics and qualities, making it a very competitive environment. South African grapes also share the various markets with other competing Southern Hemisphere grape suppliers. This level of competition makes it very important for the South African grape industry to have a uniform marketing strategy. To achieve a uniform industry marketing strategy the industry has to develop a common vision - to be the preferred table grape supplier in our target markets - that forms the basis of developing a generic South African table grape marketing strategy. A single vision gives the competitive export companies a common marketing objective. This study includes recommendations to industry stakeholders that will enable them to formulate their own marketing strategy, all within the guidelines of the common vision that is adjusted to the specific needs of their respective target markets. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Na die deregulering van die Suid-Afrikaanse sagtevrugtebedryf in 1997 het 'n ongereguleerde bemarkingsomgewing die enkelkanaalbemarking vervang. Verskeie nuwe Suid-Afrikaanse tafeldruifuitvoerders was nou betrokke by 'n ongekoërdineerde bemarkingsomgewing waar daar geen samewerking tussen uitvoerders was nie. Elke bemarkingsagent het sy eie bemarkingsplan gevolg wat gelei het tot 'n toename in kompetisie tussen Suid-Afrikaanse produsente. Die Suid-Afrikaanse tafeldruiwe word in verskillende produksieareas geoes, elk met hul unieke eienskappe en kwaliteite. Dit maak dit 'n baie kompeterende omgewing. Die Suid-Afrikaanse druiwe kompeteer ook in die mark met ander Suidelike Halfrond druiwe produsente. Met so 'n hoë vlak van kompetisie, is dit belangrik dat die Suid- Afrikaanse industrie 'n eenvormige bemarkingstrategie het. Om 'n eenvormige bemarkingstrategie vir die industrie te formuleer, moet die industrie visie - om die voorkeurverskaffer van tafeldruiwe in ons teikenmarkte te wees - die basis vorm vir die formulering van 'n generiese bemarkingstrategie vir Suid-Afrikaanse tafeldruiwe. 'n Eenvormige visie bied vir die kompeterende bemarkingsagente 'n gemene doelwit. Hierdie werkstuk sluit aanbevelings in wat vir rolspelers leiding sal gee om hul eie bemarkingstrategie te formuleer wat die doelwitte van 'n eenvormige visie onderskryf, maar nog steeds die behoeftes van die onderskeie teikenmarkte aanspreek.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Red Bull brand has been in the international market since 1992 and entered the South African market in 1997. The company has seen phenomenal growth in the South African market, selling in excess of 39 million cans in South Africa during 2010. The brand created the energy drink category for the Western world. Red Bull grew the energy drink category in South Africa (SA) and with growth in profits and turnover, competitors entered the energy drink category. According to the brand strategy, the positioning of the Red Bull brand has always been premium. However, the economy and the fierce competitive environment in the energy drink category have become challenging for the brand both in terms of market share and value share. This begs the question: Is the Red Bull brand in South Africa sustainable? The brand remained premium in difficult economic times and during a time when many new brands entered the energy drink category. Hence, Red Bull’s loss of value and volume share in the energy drink category is the motivation for this study. The approach to the research includes conducting focus-group interviews with consumers and administering questionnaires. The research consists of three parts, namely Project Toro, Project Rojo and Project Matador, and was conducted by TNS Research SA for Red Bull. The research indicated that the brand is challenged in the area of pricing. Price remains the barrier of entry for new consumers purchasing Red Bull. Consumers agree that the brand must remain a premium brand. However, at some stage premium can become too premium. The price of Red Bull products will have to decrease to help ensure sustainability of the brand in South Africa. However, consumers did note that the brand must not decrease its prices too much because it will take away the status of the brand. The Red Bull brand is also challenged by the value proposition component. Competitor brands have larger cans which offer consumers value for money while Red Bull is known as the “small can” brand. As based on Red Bull’s international strategy, the efficacy and re-energising functional value of the brand are the main reasons why people still consume Red Bull. The focus that Red Bull once had on the entry-level consumer market that ensures sustainability of the brand has also been challenged by new brands in the category. Competitors have seen the opportunity created by investing in the entry-level consumer market. Red Bull SA has not been keeping up with international energy trends, which created an opportunity for competitors to launch bigger pack sizes and to be first-to-market. This has taken away value and volume share from the most valuable energy drink brand in South Africa. Renewed focus on the main findings of the research can give Red Bull the opportunity to once again be the leading brand in terms of value and volume.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / The South African table grape industry has a very fruitful history. The landscape of the South African table grape industry has changed at a rapid rate since deregulation in 1997. The sustainability of these changes was questioned and created the opportunity for this research. The orientation of this research report outlines the structure to this research. It indicates that the South African table grape industry is experiencing a strong trend of consolidation of the production and exporter base. Economically sustainable growers and marketing companies produce or attract more volumes of table grapes to export to global destinations. The environment provides the background to the South African table grape industry, since deregulation. Five major trends in this industry are important to mention and give perspective to the research question, namely: - The number of producers has declined at a rapid rate (about 52%) since deregulation. - Traditional production regions like the Berg and Hex River have become less important due to the timing of product supplied to the market. New geographic production regions have grown in importance, like the Orange River and Northern Province. - Production volumes of table grapes have slowed down over the last ten years and in certain regions have become stagnant. - The cultivar spectrum of table grapes has changed from seeded grape that is marginal to the market to a seedless product that earns premiums in the market. - There has been a shift in marketing of table grapes from Western countries like the UK and EU to Eastern countries. There are also certain factors that have a profound impact on the South African table grape industry, namely economic, environmental, political, social and global factors, which required further investigation. The evaluation of trends in the industry and the factors that affect the industry revealed the problem statement for this research and set the foundation for the research question. The research question of this study is: What are the distinguishable marketing models currently used by South African exporters and how sustainable is each model? The research methodology demonstrates that the South African table grapes industry is split into two dominant marketing models, which are the marketing agent and the grower-exporter model. A marketing model metrics was designed, based on literature and consultations with industry experts via a questionnaire, to evaluate the economic, social and environmental sustainability of these two marketing models. The method of data analysis was a qualitative investigation into the sustainability of marketing models that exist in the South African table grape industry. The structure of the holistic marketing dimension model which was used has the following four dimensions (Kotler & Keller, 2009:61): - Relationship marketing - Performance marketing - Integrated marketing - Internal marketing. Semi-structured interviews were held with six different marketing entities in the South African table grape industry, which represented 40 percent of the total population. The interviews were held by utilising a discussion guide that comprised of standard questions to all the interviewees. The information gathered from the interviews was used to design a conceptual marketing model, with the main objective of being sustainable on an economic, social and environmental level. This relevance and practicality of this conceptual marketing model was tested against a grower-exporter model in the South African table grape industry, called Angon Fruit. The findings of this research report focused on the triple bottom-line approach of building economic, social and environmental capital. The economic sustainability revealed the following factors to consider: - Grower-exporter model is a more sustainable marketing model, due to low cost operations. - Marketing agent model should have a definite competitive advantage, to justify relevance in the cost-chain. - Sustainable market share in volume of table grapes to export by a marketing company is five percent. - Prices paid to growers by a marketing company should keep track of inflation on inputs and a ten percent premium earned on top of the production cost is regarded as sustainable. - A sustainable commission percentage charged by marketing companies should not exceed five percent of free on board (FOB) value at Cape Town port. - Growers need to replace marginal seeded cultivars with premium seedless cultivars that are high in demand in global markets. - Marketing companies should supply table grapes at a split of 50 percent to Western countries and 50 percent to Eastern countries. - The sustainability of the Berg and Hex River production regions is at risk, due to global competitions from South American countries. The South African table grape industry revealed the following social sustainability findings: - A marketing company should have a social policy, which governs social responsibility projects (CSI). - The marketing company should be involved one major project instead of a few smaller projects. - Corporate social investment (CSI) projects should aim to provide the opportunity to improve education and training, improve health status and to develop sport among the youth. - The marketing company should not invest in CSI projects if the economic sustainability is at risk. The objective is to invest five percent of net profit in CSI projects, annually. Environmental sustainability revealed the following factors to consider: - A marketing company should have an environmental policy. - The company should measure its carbon and water footprint at least every two years, with the objective to reduce or optimise the level of use. - The company should embrace and implement green technology that utilises renewable energy to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels and coal-generated electricity. - The use of water should be optimised, through implementation of advanced technology. - The marketing company should adopt the practice of recycling. The conclusion to this research report is that the table grape industry is still economically sustainable, however more work can be done on the social and environmental sustainability. Finally, ten recommendations are made to the South African table grape industry to consider from a sustainability perspective. Companies can consider implementing these best practices into their marketing of table grapes.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The internet has introduced a new channel of sales to the retail industry. Traditionally, the bricks and mortar retail space has predominated the retail giants’ attention; however, the e-commerce space has introduced a new dynamic they cannot ignore. South Africa, as a developing country, has faced challenges with the availability of internet access across all its regions due to the geographical location and spread. Location and logistics are but a few of the challenges facing the e-commerce organisation and consumer. A review of the public literature has identified a gap in research into the critical success factors and challenges facing the clothing e-commerce industry in South Africa. The intention of this study was to identify key themes of critical success criteria and challenges facing the clothing e-commerce industry by interviewing e-commerce professionals. The open questions and challenges identified through these interviews were combined with open questions from the literature review to form a primary questionnaire that could be launched to a primary consumer market segment. This retail consumer market was approached through a mall intercept survey and an online survey to obtain a reasonable representation of internet users and non-internet users in the target sample. Key findings from the e-commerce professional and manager interviews ratified the key themes of the critical success factors and challenges identified in the public literature review. The interviews did, however, place stronger emphasis on product range, price and customer service as being key contribution areas for critical success factors. The research identified a good product range, experienced and skilled senior management, good customer service, a robust and quality logistics model, strong security and clearly defined efficient internal processes. The research also identified high delivery costs and delays, product promised is not the product delivered, inefficient return policies and low quality e-commerce websites as key challenges facing the clothing e-commerce industry. The researcher suggests that further research can be conducted on the consumer adoption rates of clothing e-commerce and the impact of the declining Rand on the profitability of clothing e-commerce in South Africa.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for Master‟s Degree of Technology: Marketing, Durban University of Technology, 2007. Thesis (M.Tech.: Marketing)-Dept. of Marketing, Durban University of Technology, 2007. xv, 205 leaves / Cause related marketing (CRM) is becoming a popular marketing strategy used by brand managers, retailers and service companies. It can be described as a marketing strategy that links charities or ‘causes’ with the sales of a product, brand or service. The charity is mentioned in promotional campaigns and a certain percentage is donated to the cause in accordance with unit sales or turnover. A study was conducted in the eThekweni region of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa to gather information on this issue. The study was a quantitative survey and data was collected by means of an interview process. The overall objective of this study was to gain an understanding of consumer behaviour towards companies using CRM in the greater eThekweni region. This objective was made up of three sub-objectives. The first subobjective was to identify whether eThwekeni consumers would switch brands to a company involved with CRM, if price and quality were equal. This was followed by subobjective two, which was to establish whether particular socio-demographic characteristics of consumers would be related to their evaluation of a CRM offer. Finally, sub-objective three was to establish whether those same socio-demographic characteristics would be related to the selection of specific causes. / M

M.Com. (Economics) / The South-African motor-cycle industry has experienced a constant decline in sales since 1981, that is, a drop from 84 000 units sold during 1981 to an expected sales figure of 24 000 units for 1985. This decline in sales poses a threat to the profitability and 'survival of the motor-cycle industry in South-Africa. Up to this point in time the marketing efforts of the motor-cycle industry were mainly directed towards the White consumer market. In order to bring about an upturn in motor-cycle sales, this study looked into the feasibility of a marketing effort, by the motor-cycle industry, aimed at the Black consumer market. The execution of such a feasibility study necessitated the gathering of information relating to the views and preferences of Blacks with regard to motor-cycles. Information was collected by distributing questionnaires to a random sample of Blacks in region nineteen according to the Standard code list for statistical main regions and regions, magisterial districts, cities, towns and non-urban areas. The potential of the Black market has been disregarded by the motor-cycle industry because of the belief that Blacks are apposed to motor-cycles as a result of their cultural traditions.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Strategic Marketing 2016 / The purpose of this research was to identify the effectiveness of branded content integration as a marketing and communication strategy. The main objective was to find out whether the branded content integration in soap operas had an effect on consumer attitudes and purchase intent. A quantitative experiment was designed for the study using customers that watch TV soap operas and those who do not watch soap operas. A total of 150 respondents were used for the experiment. The data was analysed using a Chi Squared test to accept or reject the hypothesis. The findings of the study revealed that branded content integration has a positive influence when characters of a soap opera use a brand familiar to the viewers. The implications of the results of the study are that marketers are able to use branded content to create a positive change in consumer attitudes and to drive purchase intent. Using branded content integration as a marketing communication tool in soap operas can have a positive impact on how messaging is displayed. / GR2018

A Research Report Submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Witwatersrand University School of Economics and Business Sciences, In partial fulfilment of the requirements of a Master Degree in Marketing, May 2017 / The consumer market of Smart wearable technology has shown a massive growth, therefore convincing that Smart wearable technology will be the next great thing, with market analysts forecasting its market to be worth over $30 billion by 2020. However this belief is mainly driven by major new technology manufacturers to produce Smart wearable devices that commoditise cellphones, tablets, and portable computers to influence consumer purchase intention. Consumers purchase intention is crucial for every business survival, therefore cannot be overemphasised. With the increasing number of Smart wearable technology brands on the electronics market, South African consumers have to make a choice on which brands to purchase. This study examines the factors influencing the purchase intention of Smart wearable technology in South Africa, with a special focus on product quality, design, price, and consumer attitude. From the academic side, the study makes a significant contribution by exploring the impact of product price and consumer attitude on consumer purchase intention. As a result, manufacturers in the wearable technology industry may apply this study information to develop proper strategies that will help influence more people to purchase wearable devices and ensure Smart wearable technology market growth. The study data were collected through the aid of a self-administered hardcopy questionnaire, which was circulated by the researcher in the University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg. The research findings show that both consumer attitude and product price have a significant positive effect on the intention to purchase Smart wearable devices. Nevertheless, to be more precise, the effect of consumer’s attitude on purchase intention goes through the positive effect of a product design on consumer’s attitude. Both product quality and price are found to extend the effect of positivity of consumer’s attitude toward the product or brand, and the price tag of the product. These scenarios are fully supported in hypotheses one, two, and three. Although both quality and design positively influence product price, Product design is found to have an enlarging effect on product price. Generally, it can be stated that the design of a product successfully influence the price set for product. / XL2018

A thesis Submitted in full fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Marketing) at the University of the Witwatersrand, 2016 / With an increase in competition, the retail industry is experiencing a paradigm shift as marketers revert to innovative retail experiences to influence consumer buying behaviour. Therefore, it is of interest to examine how consumers experience store environments in order for retailers to design atmospherics that are conducive to influencing purchase decision-making. Although several studies have explored store environment and consumer buying behaviour, few studies have explored atmospheric cues as a holistic construct to investigate the effect of these on brand loyalty and purchase intention. More specifically, few studies have explored this topic in a fashion retail context among the black middle class woman in South Africa. This paper aims to determine whether store environment influences consumers’ purchase intention and brand loyalty of fashion products. By means of a proposed conceptual model, store environment is the predictor variable, with brand experience, brand trust, brand satisfaction and brand attitude as the mediating variables, and purchase intention and brand loyalty as the outcome variables. The present study undertakes a quantitative approach in which 501 online surveys are distributed among black middle class woman to explore the influence of store environment on purchase intention of fashion brands. The findings support all nine proposed hypotheses. Therefore indicating that store environment influences consumers’ brand experience, brand trust, brand satisfaction and brand attitude. Likewise, the latter branding variables have a significant influence on brand loyalty, and ultimately purchase intention. The contribution of this paper is threefold. Firstly, by exploring the importance of store environment on consumer behaviour, this study adds to contextual knowledge on experiential retailing, fashion consumption and the buying behaviour of the emerging black middle class. Secondly, it adds to existing literature in retail management and fashion marketing. Theoretically, it is positioned in experiential marketing and contributes to empirical literature that focuses on consumer behaviour, branding, and retail. Lastly, by investigating store environment and it’s influence on consumers’ purchase intentions, the findings provide marketing practitioners with a better understanding of strategies that can be employed to influence consumers buying behaviour through the design of a conducive store environment. / MT2017

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Strategic Marketing, Johannesburg 2016 / Purpose – This paper investigates the brand knowledge and perceptions of South Africans living abroad. It also establishes whether South Africans living abroad are brand advocates for South Africa. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on key literature relating to knowledge transfer, brand advocacy and nation branding. Data were collected through a self-administered online survey to South Africans living abroad through the Brand South Africa database. Correlation, partial correlation and linear regression were used to identify linkages between knowledge transfer, brand advocacy and nation branding. Findings – The conceptual model in conjunction with the hypotheses presented is a start in the direction of establishing a framework to understanding the value of nation branding in the South African knowledge economy. Findings showed significant relation between knowledge transfer, brand advocacy and nation branding. Research limitations/implications – cross-sectional data were used and further research should examine data for multiple years in order to conduct longitudinal studies. Practical implications – The study has demonstrated that nation branding is an important concept to consider in relation to the diaspora. A strong nation brand help to increase exports, attract tourism, investment and immigration. Nation branding has become an essential part of a country’s sustainable development. Originality/value – The study analysed the relationship between knowledge transfer, brand advocacy and nation branding must be seen as a development strategy for home nations to tap the knowledge and skills of their expatriate professionals in developing economies such as South Africa. / GR2018