1.1 Research Problem
The research problem with reference to the case study is the stereotyping and labelling that is prevalent in South Africa. Racism has always been a prevalent issue in South Africa, there are too many incidents that involve racism. For example, according to Jordaan (2018) the South African Human Rights Commission in 2018 had dealt with 505 complaints related to racism, this was an 82% increase from 2017. This shows how racism is still an issue in South Africa. SAB on the other hand aim to solve this problem and try to unite South Africans through their #SmashTheLabel campaign. According to the case study SAB encourages South Africans to share a Castle beer and get to know the person behind the label.
Since the research problem has been identified SAB would then need to translate the research problem into a hierarchy of questions Cant and van Heerden (2017) lists them as management, research, investigative and measurement. In the case of SAB their hierarchy of questions would be:
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- How can SAB try and unite South Africans and end stereotyping and labelling?
- What are the various methods that can be employed to try and promote unity in South Africa?
- Can launching an anti-prejudice campaign help unite South Africans?
- How successful was #SmashTheLabel advert in promoting social unity in South Africa?
1.1.1 Situational Analysis of Castle Lager
A situational analysis according to Cant and van Heerden (2017) is a process that entails collecting information in order to assess potential internal and external factors which may possibly impact the organisation's plan of action when solving the research problem. These factors according to the respective authors include secondary data, macro-environment, customer buying behaviour and marketing strategies.
According to de Villiers (2018) Castle Lager took the 25th spot of most valuable beer brands in the world. The beer brand beat US Based competing beer brand Miller to claim the spot. This gives it a competitive advantage in terms of being recognized internationally. In terms of suppliers, SAB according to Tessenforf (2018) own a hop farm particularly in George in the Western Cape. This would mean that they wouldn’t rely on external suppliers for the production of their beer brand including Castle Lager. According to Financial Mail (2017) SAB had just below the 90% of the beer market in South Africa by 2017. According to Nkanjeni (2019) Castle Lager released a new jersey for three of South Africa’s national teams. This would have a positive impact on their brand awareness as they show their support for the national teams. SAB has also experienced internal problems for instance, according to de Villiers (2018) the brewery had run out of beer bottles in some stores. This would decrease Castle Lager sales.
1.2 Research Design Types
The types of research design types that can be used in this study are descriptive and qualitative research designs.
Descriptive research refers to describing a certain situation by answering questions such as “When? Who? Where? Why? What?”. However, this design type does not answer why certain relationships occur but it does aim to get an accurate description of a certain situation. Descriptive research can be quite complex which leads to statistical methodology being used by the researcher. This includes conducting personal interviews, telephone interviews and questionnaires (Cant & van Heerden, 2017).
Descriptive research can be applied to the case study. The feedback on the campaign would have to be descriptive in nature. This would mean that respondents would have to describe how they felt about the campaign and point out positive and negative aspects from the campaign. These descriptive responses would then be analysed to determine the success of the campaign.
Qualitative research according to Cant and van Heerden (2017) entails obtaining open ended responses from respondents. This enables respondents to express their opinions freely on a given matter. This technique can be applied to the case study because in order to determine whether the campaign was a success or not feedback from respondents would need to be obtained through questionnaires. The questionnaires would have to contain open questions to allow for open ended responses.
1.3 Research Design
The first thing that SAB would have to do is determine their source of information. Information can either be primary or secondary. Primary data is collected is and used by the researcher to solve the research problem at hand. Secondary data is simply data that has been collected before. In the case of SAB, they would use primary data since they want feedback on their campaign to determine its success.
1.3.1 Data Collection Approach
SAB would then need to consider their collection approach. There are three approaches observation, survey and experimentation. Observation involves descriptive research where the actions of the respondents are observed without direct interaction. An example of this would be the surveillance cameras in stores to observe customers. Survey involves giving people questionnaires to fill in and giving their opinions on a subject matter. Experimentation involves conducting a controlled test in order to find out the unknown effect. The independent variable is usually controlled and manipulated to determine its relationship with the dependent variable. Due to its nature, experimentation is difficult to conduct in the market place as humans would be considered the subjects The best approach would be surveys as they would be able to generate feedback from the respondents. Surveys enable respondents to answer questions.
1.3.2 Data Collection Instruments
Once the data collection approach has been chosen, SAB would need to determine the data collection instrument they would use. The data collection instruments include questionnaires and mechanical or electronic equipment. Questionnaires are the most common instrument used for the collection of primary data. Questionnaires have structured questions which can either be closed or open. They must be formatted with consideration. Mechanical or electronic equipment for examples, may refer to galvanometer or eye cameras which may be used for measuring the reactions of respondents (Cant & van Heerden, 2017).
A mixed methods study would have to be done. Due to this, a questionnaire would be an appropriate instrument for this study. This is because questionnaires enable respondents to answer based on their opinions. In this regard, the sole aim is to get feedback from people on the success of the campaign. Respondents can give their feedback by answering questions from the questionnaire.
1.3.3 Data Collection Method
The next step is for SAB to choose a data collection method which can be personal interviews, telephone interviews or self-administered survey. Personal interviews according to Cant and van Heerden (2017) are done when the researcher meets with the respondents face to face and interviews them. They can be done at a public venue or at the respondents’ homes. Telephone interviews as stated by Cant and van Heerden (2017) are when interviews are conducted over the phone and self-administered surveys according to the authors, are done when the respondents are asked to fill in questionnaires in their own time. An example of this are postal questionnaires.
Personal interviews would be suitable for getting feedback on the campaign. This is because any questions that respondents may have can be answered by the interviewer. The respondents can also be chosen accurately to meet the requirements of the sample size which in this case is ten. Due to this, respondents can be evenly chosen to avoid biased results for example five males and five females.
1.3.4 Sampling Plan
The last step that SAB would take is to determine the sampling plan which includes probability or non-probability sampling. According to Cant and van Heerden (2017) probability sampling contains four methods which are simple, stratified, cluster and systematic random sampling. As defined by Cant and van Heerden (2017) simple random sampling is when respondents are selected randomly much like picking numbers from a hat. Stratified random sampling according to Cant and van Heerden (2017) is a method used to divide a population into strata or smaller group where each group shares similar characteristics. An example of this is dividing a sample into male and female and selecting 3 males and 3 females from each stratum.
According to Cant and van Heerden (2017) cluster random sampling groups the population into clusters and a few are selected for study. Each cluster is treated individually. Systematic random sampling as defined by Cant and van Heerden (2017) is a sampling method whereby units are selected by the process of skipping at regular intervals. An example would be selecting store number 4 then every 10th store is selected for the sample.
Non probability sampling includes convenience, judgement, quota and snowball sampling. Cant and van Heerden (2017) define convenience sampling as a statistical method where respondents volunteer to be part of the study or when they are chosen based on their availability. Judgement sampling according to Cant and van Heerden (2017) refers to researchers choosing the units based on their knowledge. Quota sampling involves collecting data from a group which requires the individuals to be selected from a sub segment. For example, 10 people who earn less than R7000 per month. Snowball sampling as defined by Cant and van Heerden (2017) is used to identify possible respondents in a study that involves a sensitive topic. Trying to find out how many respondents take drugs would be an example.
Due to the nature of SAB's research it would be suitable to use the non probability sampling plan using the convenience sampling method. This is because the respondents will be chosen based on their availability since the sample size is small.
1.4 Fieldwork
The fieldwork was conducted in a step by step approach. Firstly, questionnaires were drawn up and used to interview ten respondents. Each respondent was given roughly five minutes to answer the questions and they were permitted to ask for clarification on any question they did not understand. When conducting the fieldwork certain aspects need to be considered. Cant and van Heerden (2017) lists them as preventing bias, administrative procedures, quality and control measures, issues regarding fieldworkers and situational factors. Bias was prevented by dividing the sample size evenly as possible. For example, 6 females and 4 males were questioned instead of 8 females to 2 males. In terms of administrative procedures, each interview was conducted for roughly 5 minutes. For quality and control, the fieldwork was not costly. Questions were clarified to the respondents so that they would answer with accuracy. Most of the interviews were done outside in a public venue but at places where there were few people around
1.5 Analysis
The following is an analysis of the results drawn from the ten questions asked in the questionnaires.
1. What is your age?
Based on the bar graph it was found that 8 of the participants were in the 18-29 age group and 2 participants were over 40 years old.
2. What is your gender?
Based on the graph above it was found that 6 of the respondents were female and 4 of the respondents were female.
3. How would you describe your employment status?
Based on the graph above it was found that 5 of the respondents were students, 4 of the respondents were employed and 1 of the respondents was unemployed.
4. How would you describe your highest level of education?
Based on the graph above it was found that 8 of the respondents had matric and 2 had completed an undergraduate course.
5. How would you describe your belief system?
Based on the graph above it was found that 9 of the respondents were Christians and 1 believed in another religion.
6. Have you purchased a Castle Lager beer before?
Based on the graph above it was found that 7 of the respondents had purchased a Castle Lager beer before and 3 who had never purchased one.
7. Have you seen Castle Lager’s #SmashTheLabel advert? If so, what were your initial thoughts on it?
For this question it was found that 8 respondents have seen the advert and found generally liked the idea of it, 2 respondents have never seen it.
8. What are your thoughts on all types of South Africans coming together and sharing a Castle Lager beer?
For this question the respondents generally found that it would be a positive thing for all South Africans to share a Castle Lager beer together.
9. How has stereotyping affected you personally?
Generally, most of the respondents were affected by stereotyping.
10. How successful do you think was the Castle Lager’s #SmashTheLabel advert in promoting social unity in South Africa?
It can be deduced that more than half of the respondents found the advert to be successful in terms of promoting social unity in South Africa.
1.6 Report
The following report will demonstrate in terms of research findings on the success of the #SmashTheLabel campaign. The research findings will be analysed and a conclusion will be drawn from the findings.
1.6.1 Introduction
The purpose of this report is to indicate how successful the #SmashTheLabel campaign was and to which target audience it appealed to the most. The feedback of the respondents will be discussed and analysed. Recommendations on the results will be made and potential gaps in the.
1.6.2 Overview of Research
In order to find out the success of campaign and to which target audience it mostly appealed to, research had to be done. Due to the nature of the research problem, qualitative research was done. The main instrument that was used was a questionnaire. Questionnaires were each administered to 10 respondents.
1.6.3 Feedback
The results from the questionnaires revealed a few things. The sample generally was comprised of the younger population and mostly students. There were more females than males. Most of the respondents were Christians. It can be found that most of the respondents have purchased a Castle Lager beer. In terms of the views about the campaign, most respondents have seen the #SmashTheLabel advert and had something positive to say about it. Most respondents felt that it was good idea for South Africans to share a Castle Lager beer together as it promotes unity. In terms of the success of the campaign, most respondents thought that the advert was successful in promoting social unity in South Africa.
1.6.4 Conclusion
It can be deduced that the #SmashTheLabel campaign was a success as most of the respondents have seen the #SmashTheLabel advert and said something positive about it. It appealed more to the younger population since most of the respondents said something positive about the #SmashTheLabel campaign.
1.6.5 Recommendations
The research was a success as feedback was obtained. As stated earlier, the campaign was indeed successful however it was quite surprising to find that there are a few people who have not seen the advertisement or heard about the campaign. According to the research there three out of the ten respondents who have not seen the advertisement. SAB should try to advertise the campaign and ensure that every South African sees it. Instead of using the television they could focus more on social media.
1.6.6 Potential Gaps in the research
Although the research was carried out successfully there were a few gaps. The time that was allocated to conduct the research was quite short. This would mean that the research was conducted under pressure leading to inadequate results. The sample size was too small. Questioning ten people is not enough in determining how successful the campaign was. More people would need to be questioned to get more feedback. Students were mostly questioned. It would have been better to broaden the sample.
2. Comparative Review of Quantitative and Qualitative Research
- Characteristics
- Quantitative
- Qualitative
- Researcher Involvement
The researcher according to Deviant (2016) is quite involved since the researcher has to administer questionnaires and surveys to respondents. The researcher would then have to quantify the results.
Fink (2000) states that this research design is qualitative in nature and open ended responses are required from respondents. In order to obtain such responses, the researcher would need to be extensively involved by conducting personal interviews and administering questionnaires.
Research Purpose
DeFranzo (2011) explains that the aim of this research design is to quantify the problem by means of generating numerical data which is then transformed into usable statistics.
Morse and Field (1996) mention that the purpose of this research type is to make sense of reality and to try and explain the social world through the development of explanatory theories.
Sample size
According to Deviant (2016) samples sizes for this research design are usually large.
Deviant (2016) explains that sample size as a characteristic of this research design tend to be small and specific.
Characteristics
Quantitative
Qualitative
Focus of Research
Cant and van Heerden (2017) state that this research design is concerned with presenting its findings in figures, numbers and statistical parameters.
According to Cant and van Heerden (2017) the main focus is to get a better understanding of the attitudes of the respondents.
Data Type and Preparation
As mentioned by Cant and van Heerden (2017) this research design presents its findings in figures, numbers and statistical parameters. It can be said that the data type of this research design is numeric.
According to Deviant (2016) this research design uses non statistical methods and does not deal with numbers. It can therefore be concluded that the data type used for this research design is non numeric.
3. Market measurements used by South African Breweries
According to Cant and van Heerden (2017) market measurements such as product, consumer, geographic and time level are used by businesses to examine markets in terms of quantitative measures and are usually concerned with current size and characteristics of the market. South African Breweries (SAB) have used two market measurements namely product and time level. According Cant and van Heerden (2017) product level is concerned with total number of buyers for certain products. SAB have used product level because according to the research done, it was found that seven out of the ten respondents have purchased a Castle Lager beer before. Due to this research finding it can thus be deduced that SAB have used product level as a market measurement. They have also used time level. According to Cant and van Heerden (2019) time level refers to information about monthly sales and annual sales over a period of time. As provided by Financial Mail (2017) AB Inv a company acquired SAB, showed that there was a 10.8% increase in volume from April to June 2017.
4. Bibliography
- Cant, M. C. & van Heerden, C. H., 2017. Marketing Management A South African Perspective. 3rd ed. Cape Town: Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd. de Villiers, J., 2018. Castle has just been named one of the top 25 most valuable beer brands in the world. [Online]
- Available at: https://www.businessinsider.co.za/castle-lager-named-worlds-25th-most-valuable-beer-brand-brand-finance-2018-11 [Accessed 24 March 2019].
- de Villiers, J., 2018. No Castle Lager at some liquor stores - as SAB runs out of bottles. [Online] Available at: https://www.businessinsider.co.za/castle-lager-beer-shortage-south-africa-2018-12 [Accessed 24 March 2019].
- Deviant, S., 2016. Research Methods: Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research. [Online] Available at: https://www.statisticshowto.datasciencecentral.com/research-methods-qualitative-research-and-quantitative-research/ [Accessed 22 March 2019].
- Financial Mail, 2017. Heineken Grabs Market Share From Under SAB’s Nose. [Online] Available at: https://www.drinkstuff-sa.co.za/heineken-grabs-market-share-sabs-nose/ [Accessed 24 March 2019].
- Fink, A., 2000. The Role of the Researcher in the Qualitative Research Process. A Potential Barrier to Archiving Qualitative Data. [Online] Available at: http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1021/2201 [Accessed 22 March 2019].
- Jordaan, N., 2018. Racism complaints by blacks are on the rise, with Gauteng the worst. [Online] Available at: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-12-10-racism-complaints-by-blacks-are-on-the-rise-with-gauteng-the-worst/ [Accessed 25 March 2019].
- Nkanjeni, 2019. New jersey to rally support for Bafana, Springboks and Proteas. [Online] Available at: https://www.heraldlive.co.za/sport/2019-03-25-new-jersey-to-rally-support-for-bafana-springboks-and-proteas/ [Accessed 25 March 2019].
- Tessenforf, K., 2018. Welcome to beer school: How hops are grown and harvested in South Africa. [Online] Available at: https://www.food24.com/Drinks/Beer/welcome-to-beer-school-how-hops-are-grown-and-harvested-in-south-africa-20180319 [Accessed 24 March 2019].
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