The term persuasion encompasses a suite of commercial and corporate brand communication activities notably marketing, advertising,

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The term ‘persuasion’ encompasses a suite of commercial and corporate brand communication activities – notably marketing, advertising, branding, and public relations (together with public affairs) – whose object is to influence the ideas, opinions, beliefs, and or behavior of a target audience. Collectively, the various agencies, practitioners, consultancies, and company departments that are responsible for delivering these activities make up the ‘persuasion industries’ (McKevitt, 2018).

At a fundamental level, the persuasion industries’ role is to present diverse choice architectures to the consumers within an economic landscape. Choice architecture entails the design of the different ways in which choices are presented to consumers and the impact of that presentation on consumer decision-making. Ultimately, there are a number of tools available to the persuasion industries as choice architects to nudge people to make better choices without stripping them of their sovereignty as consumers (Thaler and Sunstein, 2008). Choice architecture nudges people towards certain choices by pulling at the strings of their hearts and minds without forcing certain outcomes upon anyone, a philosophy called libertarian paternalism (Thaler, Sunstein, and Balz, 2010). In this regard, the persuasion industries focus on changing human behavior and directly contributing to the emergence of a consumer society and a wider culture of promotion in South Africa.

The development of South Africa’s persuasion industries follows closely the example of the persuasion industries in the UK. The various forms of brand communications in South Africa all have their roots in the early twentieth century. Advertising and public relations agencies started to adopt modern approaches after the second world war in response to rapid industrialisation and the proliferation of commercial mass media of the post-war years, which continued to expand until the end of the century.

Marketing was initially a minor internal business function carried out by the sales team and as such standalone marketing departments began to emerge only during the 1970s, initially in response to changes in high street trading and the proliferation of supermarkets. However, within a space of two decades, the department’s importance, influence, and the range of activities it incorporated had vastly increased to the extent that marketing had become the driving force within many enterprises.

By the late 1990s, a large number of television channels, radio stations, newspapers, and magazines were vying for audience attention twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This expansion drove demand for a range of brand communication services both quantitatively and qualitatively by reducing the costs of engaging in persuasion for smaller companies with limited means, but also allowing larger concerns to reach discrete audiences and run more nuanced, better-targeted campaigns.

Whereas anecdotal evidence varies in terms of whether the influence of the South African persuasion industries has been for good or for ill, across the spectrum the important role that persuasion industries have played in shaping South African society and culture has been consistently identified. Yet, despite brand communication’s undeniable impact, there has been little sustained research interest in the persuasions industries’ methods and practices. The focus of research to date has converged upon the business activities of a small number of high-profile practitioners and their most memorable advertising campaigns.

The South African persuasion industries on the Continent of Africa

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement aims to create a single market of 1.27 billion consumers with an aggregate GDP between UD $2.1 and $3.4 trillion. It is a fast-growing market with consumer numbers expected to increase to 1.7 billion by 2030. The AfCFTA market has a growing middle class as well, currently standing at 350 million and expected to rise to 600 million by 2030. African e-commerce is also on the rise (European Centre for Development Policy Management, 2020). McKinsey & Company forecasts that African online retail business growth will reach the US $75 billion by 2025. Currently, private and business-to-business consumption is estimated at the US $4.0 trillion. By 2030, business-to-business consumption alone is expected to grow to the US $4.2 trillion, with private consumption reaching US $2.5 trillion (McKinsey & Company, 2013). The economic boost the AfCFTA can provide to the South African economy has become even more critical given the devastating socio-economic impact of COVID-19. By promoting economic growth and diversification, the AfCFTA could make African economies more resilient to such shocks in the future.

Motivation for the proposed study

South Africa’s persuasion industries have received limited attention in the South African business and management literature. The advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) coupled with the emergence of the AfCFTA market calls for a scholarly investigation into the role of South Africa’s persuasion industries within the broader South African economy. In this regard, as a business researcher with a keen interest in the South African persuasion industries, you are considering a study aimed at investigating the role of South African persuasion industries in the promotion of South African companies operating across the AfCFTA market. You are convinced that since the proposed study is about gaining an in-depth understanding of the South African persuasion industries, a survey would not capture the nuances and subtleties of the experiences of South African companies operating across the AfCFTA market. Furthermore, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the subjective experiences of the representatives of South African persuasion industries with an insider’s view of various economies across the African continent, you believe that an anti-foundationalist, subjectivist ontology, and an interpretive epistemology is the ideal philosophical stance for the study which will attempt to answer the following research questions:

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the South African persuasion industries?
How can the South African persuasion industries tackle the opportunities and threats within the AfCFTA market?
How do South African companies operating across the AfCFTA market intend to leverage the South African persuasion industries for competitive advantage in the AfCFTA market?
What practical recommendations can be made to South African companies operating across the AfCFTA market on leveraging the South African persuasion industries for competitive advantage across the AfCFTA market?

Please outline how you would go about conducting the proposed study with reference to the following:

1.1 Suggest a suitable title for your proposed study. (2 marks)

1.2 State the FOUR (4) research objectives that your study will attempt to achieve.

1.3 Rationalise the choice of an “anti-foundationalist, subjectivist ontology and an interpretive epistemology” as the philosophical orientation of the proposed study.

1.4 Briefly discuss the concept of research design and propose a research design for your study, and rationalize the choice of the design proposed

1.5 Based on the design you have chosen, discuss the methodology you would follow with regard to:

1.5.1 Sampling Methodology:

1.5.1.1 Provides any TWO (2) reasons for sampling in your study.

1.5.1.2 Identify the target population of the proposed study.

1.5.1.3 Is your sample probability or non-probability? Why?

1.5.1.4 State your method of sampling and discuss why the method you have chosen is appropriate for the study.

1.5.2 Method of Data Collection:

1.5.2.1 What data collection instrument and or method would you use to collect your data? Provide a rationale for, and justify the appropriateness of, the proposed data collection method.

1.5.2.2 What would inform your approach to data collection and the content of your proposed data collection instrument?

1.5.3 Method of Data Analysis:

1.5.3.1 Briefly discuss what method(s) of data analysis would be used in your study (note: you are required to specify and explain, where necessary, the methods of analysis you would employ for each one of the analyzable research questions stated above)