Abstract
Brand choice has historically played an important role in a wide range of industries, particularly in the private sector, where billions of Rands are invested to entice potential customers. Taking this into consideration, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of brand awareness and brand image on first-year student selection of a University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal. The objectives of the study were to establish and identify the brand preference and image attributes that entice first-year students’ selection of a University of Technology (UoT). The study also examined the biographic variables of those students. To accomplish these objectives, an exploratory study using a quantitative research approach was conducted, in which questionnaires were administered to 500 first-year students at the selected Universities of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal. The study revealed that topics such as investments in brand awareness and brand image, safety and security, the caliber of staff, delays in academic programmes, student-lecturer relationships, and service delivery were identified as factors that influenced the participants' selection and willingness to recommend their institutions to potential students. Thus, the study recommends that UoTs should pay more attention to branding strategies as an agendum to ensuring institutional profitability and viability, relationship management, and human resource. Finally, the findings of this study are limited to KwaZulu-Natal and should not be extrapolated outside this region.
Highlights
Many people believe that higher education is the major avenue for improving the lives of previously under-represented communities (Dennin, Schultz, Feig, Finkelstein, Greenhoot, Hildreth & Miller, 2017)
Results from the Durban University of Technology (DUT) respondents revealed that females (60.8%) outnumbered males (38.6%)
The report argues for DUT and Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) to make targeted investments in brand awareness efforts and brand image
Summary
Many people believe that higher education is the major avenue for improving the lives of previously under-represented communities (Dennin, Schultz, Feig, Finkelstein, Greenhoot, Hildreth & Miller, 2017). Rising university competition has been demonstrated to generate a more market-like environment, forcing these institutions to constantly reinvent themselves to remain relevant to the targeted students (Wiese, 2008) As competition for these students grows, institutions (both public and private) are creating and implementing new recruitment strategies, marketing, and branding strategies to enhance financial investment and enrollment, which will aid in the process of student retention (Becker, Cummins, Davis, Freeman, Hall & Ananthanarayanan, 2017). Universities, as well as public and private corporations and/or organizations, invest heavily in brand awareness and brand image to sustain and expand their operations (Radicchi, 2014) Such investments frequently return substantial profits for these institutions, whether in terms of financial development, notoriety, and/or service quality, as well as the capacity to appeal to a specific demographic, i.e. students.
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