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published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

Thesis (MTech (Marketing Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 198-203). Also available online.

Thesis (MTech (Marketing Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2008 / The research study provides an overview of the deployment of marketing by architectural practices in the Western Cape. It furthermore illustrates how the Internet is being utilised and establishes the motivations behind Web presence or its lack thereof. In recent years, an increasingly competitive landscape in the service industry, transformation in consumer buying behaviour, as well as deregulations in the professional service environment, such as the relaxation of advertising bans, make marketing an increasingly important competitive tool for architectural service providers in South Africa. However, due to the notable status and previous restrictions associated with the profession, many architectural practices are still reluctant to engage in marketing activities to promote their firms, remaining largely reactive and preserving a myopic view of marketing. In particular the use of the Internet is deemed to be a less required facet in the application of the marketing mix in this industry, which can mainly be attributed to the service provider’s lack of time and skill in this area of expertise. However, the literature suggests that the Internet can increase the opportunity for differentiation within the professional service environment, and from the marketer’s perspective, there is a considerable potential in the future profitability of marketing and Internet developments for this industry sector. Moreover, the trend that more consumers are adopting the Internet as a primary source for information emphasises the importance for architectural practices to adopt a holistic marketing approach that includes the Internet. The study revealed that there is generally a positive sentiment towards marketing, and the adoption of a Website in particular. Overall, however, most respondents seem to lack the understanding that a Website’s relative contribution to the service product and marketing success is determined by its role in the overall strategic direction of their business. A more focused marketing approach could result in a greater competitive advantage in an industry that is characterised by very low levels of differentiation. Due to the fact that professional service providers still tend to be reluctant to engage in marketing activities, it is recommended that marketing and Internet professionals start developing industry related offerings, taking into account above mentioned considerations, to proactively approach architectural practices. Furthermore, industry specific education on the benefits of marketing and the Internet to the architectural service industry, facilitated by governing bodies, marketing and IT professionals, could assist in shifting negative perceptions and bringing the marketing and architectural industry closer together, thereby encouraging mutually beneficial business relationships

The profession of architecture is passing through challenging times. Technological progress and a rapidly changing society have brought confusion into the profession regarding the self-image of architects and the image of architects from the viewpoint of clients and the public. This has a concomitant echo within the images communicated by the built environment; buildings do not always perform the importance of human benefits among the economical, technological or expressionistic advantages.Throughout history, the image of architects reflected the position of the profession in a particular time and place. Architects carried with them the tags of genius, God creators, heroes, etc. The more recent history of architecture has brought changes in the practice and services that architecture offers. Differentiation of the building and design aspects of practice was the result of the growing complexity of the building market. The new aspects of the practice have been followed by a corresponding confusion regarding the images of the profession.Architects in North America today are experiencing the declining power of the profession; the public cannot clearly recognize the role of architecture and its extensible possibilities within society; and clients are less blindly trustful of the genius of the architect and are more specific in defining their goals. In addition, the marketable image cf a building has grown in demand, further prompted by signature architecture popularity on the one side and the profit oriented building market on the other. This diminishes human benefits - such as contextual, environmental and functional demands, to a name few - that architecture, as a social practice, should provide.The hypothesis proposed by this paper is that the declining power and shaken authority of the architectural profession produce the possibility of a manipulation by those who perceive buildings as a market product which in turn significantly threatens human values and the quality of life.In order to better understand the problems that are facing the profession the author conducted a one-year, full-time internship employment in a New York City based architecture & interior design firm, observing in particular the architect-client relationship and the design process itself. This paper analyzes present conditions in architectural practice concerning issues such as the images which society and the profession itself hold of architecture, how these images influence the physical environment that architects are creating, especially the relationships that are making possible the misinterpretations of these images.The most important issues that this research reveals relate to perceptions about the role of the architects in the building process and in the society. perceptions which consequently frame the possibilities of architectural practice. The everyday professional practice of architecture is influenced by a variety of factors and participants, which together tend t,-; limit architects to a singular and specific position, thus rendering them vulnerable to control the building process and the final product. / Department of Architecture