Crafting a South African Brew: a study of South African craft breweries and their marketing strategies

In recent years South Africa has seen the formation of a nascent craft beer industry, with scores of small, independently owned breweries appearing in all corners of the country. Given this growth this descriptive study aims to provide an account of the marketing strategies used within the industry. This study used method and data triangulation, involving both qualitative and quantitative research approaches . Consecutive sampling of all active South African craft breweries was us ed, in order to give a holistic and accurate account (where n=86) . Data was analysed through qualitative content analysis of surveys administered to 24 craft brewers. Furthermore, social media data from the Facebook and Twitter pages of the 86 breweries was analysed quantitatively and through inferential statistics. This aimed at determining whether there were relationships between social media activity and audience size and engagement. The results of this research suggest that craft breweries in South Africa rely heavily on below - the - line and direct marketing tactics. The social media analysis also showed significant positive correlations between brewery -driven activity and audience size as well as engagement.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Centre for Film and Media Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Green, Lauren Grace

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Glenn, Ian E

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13682

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13682