Testing a Newly Developed Typology of Positioning Strategies in South Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper tests the application of a newly developed typology of positioning strategies in South Africa. Following content analyses of firms' (domestic and foreign) advertisements (e.g., Daihatsu, MARMIC Used Spares, First National Bank, South African Airways, LAPTOP Technologies (PTY) LTD., First Bowring Insurance Brokers, Lucent Technologies, Grinaker Telecom, Sanlam Properties, Mitsubishi, e-TV, M-Net), the study reveals that firms operating in South Africa tend to focus mainly on branding activities (i.e., “the brand name”) and only secondarily on positioning strategies aimed at portraying “attractiveness,” “friendly service,” and “affordability.” Furthermore, firms place little emphasis on positioning strategies and activities depicting discrimination/selectivity in segmentation, that is, “the social class system” and other issues about nationalistic emotions. This study offers support as to the stability of the adopted typology of positioning strategies in the South African market setting. The paper concludes that culture is not a significant factor in explaining positioning activities. Conclusions managerial implications, limitations, and indications for future research are discussed.