As he made another payment to the previous owner of LEW Auto and Electrical & Aircon Repairs in June 2017, Peter Simelane, the new owner, was worried that his business was not growing as he had anticipated that it would. He had seen great potential for the business when he bought it in 2015, but by 2017 the business was still not living up to his expectations. He wanted to identify where the problem lay and what he needed to do to grow the business.

No of pages: 6 pages

It was January 2003, 17 months since kulula.com had taken to the skies for the first time. This low-cost airline had survived almost two years in an extremely tough industry and had been very successful since its inaugural flight on 1 August 2001.

Gidon Novick, kulula.com's executive manager of marketing, was involved in its unusual, but highly successful communication strategy from day one and maintained a close relationship with the advertising agency, morrisjones&co. But despite its success, Novick did not feel comfortable.

Kulula.com was South Africa's first true low-frills airline and had managed to be profitable from day one. Its somewhat unconventional, but very funky communication strategy contributed hugely towards its successful performance. Advertising agency, morrisjones&co firmly believed that although its advertising campaign was risky, it might have been more risky if people did not notice it at all. They maintained that "if it was bold and in your face, it would stand out".

Kulula.com was established in 2001 as a low cost airline following the lines of the international discount airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair in Europe and Southwest Airlines in the USA. The strategy was to keep costs as low as possible, using single type aircraft, no frills such as business class or free refreshments, and keeping reservation costs low by booking directly, typically online.

In February 2010, online retail company kalahari.com, launched the Marketplace, a trading platform aimed at allowing third parties to use the kalahari.com site to sell their goods. By May 2012, the success of the venture was exceeding expectations still, Bill Paladino, chief executive officer of the MIH Group, the South African multimedia company that owned kalahari.com, knew that the competitive nature of the online retail industry meant that there was no room for complacency. He wondered how to ensure the continued success of the Marketplace.

No.of pages: 18

In September 2014, Calum McCracken, chief executive officer (CEO) of Next Generation Network Telecommunications (Pty) Ltd (NGN Telecoms), met with his partners to discuss the company’s Kenyan dilemma.

In September 2012, Khensani Nobanda took over as general manager of Hansa Pilsener, South African Breweries’ (SAB) second-biggest brand. Under her predecessor, Mosidi Seretlo, SAB had developed a highly successful advertising campaign for Hansa, featuring a character named Vuyo who epitomised the positioning of the brand. Conditions in the beer market had changed since the campaign was first launched, however, and Nobanda was now considering options for the way forward. Should she move Hansa’s communications campaign away from Vuyo, she wondered?

South African Breweries (SAB) launched its first light beer in South Africa, Hansa Pilsener, at the end of 1975. While sales of Hansa were initially brisk, the brand’s subsequent performance was disappointing, and despite repeated changes of emphasis in the market positioning of the brand, Hansa struggled to find its appropriate target market. In the mid 1980s the situation changed, however, and sales started to increase. By the end of 1990, Hansa Pilsener had gained a sizable market share, and subsequently grew to become the second largest brand within the SAB portfolio.

In July 2015, Stefanie Pietzsch, guest relations and marketing manager of The Fairway Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort, a Johannesburg-based luxury city resort owned by property developer Guvon Investments, considered introducing a loyalty programme to reward her loyal guests. In recent years, hotels in Johannesburg had experienced the effects of slow economic conditions with an overall drop in room occupancy, which had resulted in increased competition.

By June 2010, The Coca-Cola Company’s (Coca-Cola) micro distribution centre (MDC) network in Africa had proven to be incredibly successful. Coca-Cola had built up the network to distribute its products through small, independent local entrepreneurs to even smaller outlets, enabling the company to reach markets that traditionally had been very difficult to access. Now social marketers were approaching Coca-Cola for permission to distribute their own products using the MDC network.