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English-language advertising effectiveness with illiterate or non-English-speaking consumers in the Western and Eastern Cape townships of South Africa

Consumers globally demand more diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, including in the media content they consume. Language is one of the most important diversity, equity and inclusion factors, cutting across race, gender, sexual orientation and disability. In the South African context,...

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Main Author: Masito, David Mzamo
Other Authors: Lappeman, James
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: School of Management Studies 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author Masito, David Mzamo
author2 Lappeman, James
author_browse Lappeman, James
Masito, David Mzamo
author_facet Lappeman, James
Masito, David Mzamo
author_sort Masito, David Mzamo
collection Thesis
description Consumers globally demand more diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, including in the media content they consume. Language is one of the most important diversity, equity and inclusion factors, cutting across race, gender, sexual orientation and disability. In the South African context, research has ignored the role of language in behavioural intention. Language has been a point of tension and conflict in South Africa for the country's entire colonial history. The apartheid system was particularly involved in shaping where people live (spatial planning), and the modern language ecosystem in South Africa because it was a system of separate development on the grounds of race. In South Africa, language, race and location highly correlate and intersect. Post 1994, everyone has had the right to use the language and participate in the cultural life of their choice and no one who exercises these rights may do so in a manner inconsistent with any provision of the Bill of Rights. These rights extend to capitalism, the buying and selling of goods, and the creation and consumption of advertising content. Within multiple business industries and brands, there is now a major focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, hiring, career progression, retention and producing, and telling diverse and inclusive creative stories. For the content of stories (advertisements) to be diverse and inclusive, the creators (client and agencies) need to become more deliberate, intentional and proactive about unstereotyping users or consumers. They are expected to do this by making sure the content reflects the general population, increasing screen time for all: who they cast, gender representation, director diversity, vernacular, voice, skin tones, race, sexual orientations, people with disabilities, location shoot diversity, and age groups, to mention a few. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of English-language advertising to non-English speakers in Western and Eastern Cape townships. The study focuses on television advertising, a form of marketing communication. The television medium in South Africa and the rest of Africa still has the greatest reach and media budget compared to marketing via digital platforms, radio, print, out-of-home, and emailing media. The study identified a number of theoretical frameworks and combined them to develop an integrated theoretical framework. The framework helped the researcher understand the complex nature of television advertising. The study proposed that the language used in an advertisement serves as an attribute and medium of experiences to influence customers' affective responses or intentions to act. A pragmatic philosophical stance was adopted, allowing the collection, analysis and interpretation of qualitative and quantitative data in a single study in three parts. The first sub-study collected and analysed quantitative data, the second involved four focus-group interviews, and the last study involved semi-structured interviews with experts. The development of an integrated theoretical framework is a major contribution of the study. As the first application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour to understand the effects of English-language television advertising on customers living in Western and Eastern Cape townships, the study contributes value to the marketing discipline. It also contributes significantly by combining quantitative advertising testing with traditional qualitative communication-testing methods. Practical implications of the study include a review of the use of the English language as a medium of communication to non-English-speaking consumers or those who speak English as a second or third language.
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license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2023
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/37853 English-language advertising effectiveness with illiterate or non-English-speaking consumers in the Western and Eastern Cape townships of South Africa Masito, David Mzamo Lappeman, James advertising English-Language television non-English speakers Consumers globally demand more diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, including in the media content they consume. Language is one of the most important diversity, equity and inclusion factors, cutting across race, gender, sexual orientation and disability. In the South African context, research has ignored the role of language in behavioural intention. Language has been a point of tension and conflict in South Africa for the country's entire colonial history. The apartheid system was particularly involved in shaping where people live (spatial planning), and the modern language ecosystem in South Africa because it was a system of separate development on the grounds of race. In South Africa, language, race and location highly correlate and intersect. Post 1994, everyone has had the right to use the language and participate in the cultural life of their choice and no one who exercises these rights may do so in a manner inconsistent with any provision of the Bill of Rights. These rights extend to capitalism, the buying and selling of goods, and the creation and consumption of advertising content. Within multiple business industries and brands, there is now a major focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, hiring, career progression, retention and producing, and telling diverse and inclusive creative stories. For the content of stories (advertisements) to be diverse and inclusive, the creators (client and agencies) need to become more deliberate, intentional and proactive about unstereotyping users or consumers. They are expected to do this by making sure the content reflects the general population, increasing screen time for all: who they cast, gender representation, director diversity, vernacular, voice, skin tones, race, sexual orientations, people with disabilities, location shoot diversity, and age groups, to mention a few. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of English-language advertising to non-English speakers in Western and Eastern Cape townships. The study focuses on television advertising, a form of marketing communication. The television medium in South Africa and the rest of Africa still has the greatest reach and media budget compared to marketing via digital platforms, radio, print, out-of-home, and emailing media. The study identified a number of theoretical frameworks and combined them to develop an integrated theoretical framework. The framework helped the researcher understand the complex nature of television advertising. The study proposed that the language used in an advertisement serves as an attribute and medium of experiences to influence customers' affective responses or intentions to act. A pragmatic philosophical stance was adopted, allowing the collection, analysis and interpretation of qualitative and quantitative data in a single study in three parts. The first sub-study collected and analysed quantitative data, the second involved four focus-group interviews, and the last study involved semi-structured interviews with experts. The development of an integrated theoretical framework is a major contribution of the study. As the first application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour to understand the effects of English-language television advertising on customers living in Western and Eastern Cape townships, the study contributes value to the marketing discipline. It also contributes significantly by combining quantitative advertising testing with traditional qualitative communication-testing methods. Practical implications of the study include a review of the use of the English language as a medium of communication to non-English-speaking consumers or those who speak English as a second or third language. 2023-04-28T13:35:41Z 2023-04-28T13:35:41Z 2022 2023-04-28T13:35:19Z Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37853 eng application/pdf School of Management Studies Faculty of Commerce
spellingShingle advertising
English-Language
television
non-English speakers
Masito, David Mzamo
English-language advertising effectiveness with illiterate or non-English-speaking consumers in the Western and Eastern Cape townships of South Africa
thesis_degree_str Doctoral
title English-language advertising effectiveness with illiterate or non-English-speaking consumers in the Western and Eastern Cape townships of South Africa
title_full English-language advertising effectiveness with illiterate or non-English-speaking consumers in the Western and Eastern Cape townships of South Africa
title_fullStr English-language advertising effectiveness with illiterate or non-English-speaking consumers in the Western and Eastern Cape townships of South Africa
title_full_unstemmed English-language advertising effectiveness with illiterate or non-English-speaking consumers in the Western and Eastern Cape townships of South Africa
title_short English-language advertising effectiveness with illiterate or non-English-speaking consumers in the Western and Eastern Cape townships of South Africa
title_sort english language advertising effectiveness with illiterate or non english speaking consumers in the western and eastern cape townships of south africa
topic advertising
English-Language
television
non-English speakers
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37853
work_keys_str_mv AT masitodavidmzamo englishlanguageadvertisingeffectivenesswithilliterateornonenglishspeakingconsumersinthewesternandeasterncapetownshipsofsouthafrica