Branding so Good: from Jeppestown to Maboneng Precinct

Letlape, Bonolo Helen and Gumbo, Trynos (2019) Branding so Good: from Jeppestown to Maboneng Precinct. IS THIS THE REAL WORLD? Perfect Smart Cities vs. Real Emotional Cities. Proceedings of REAL CORP 2019, 24th International Conference on Urban Development, Regional Planning and Information Society. pp. 135-142. ISSN 2521-3938

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Abstract

Cities globally, have long felt the necessity to distinguish themselves from each other, to proclaim their eccentricity in a quest for various economic, political or socio-psychological objectives. Johannesburg was often referred to as “the city of gold” and the “financial and economic hub of Sub-Saharan Africa.” Since the 21st century, slogans such as “world class african city” and “world class city” have been commonly used by investors, students, skilled workers and tourists to sell the City of Johannesburg. Various businesses, spaces, places and organisations in Johannesburg have in the past be branded using African names as well as slogans in order to enrich their images and to greatly catch the attention of the rising middle-class which is known for their high consumption level. There are no explicit studies that inform the use of African names for branding the Maboneng Precinct. Since there is lack of scholarly literature on the use of African names as a means of branding this paper evaluates the ways in which African names have been used as branding for the Maboneng Precinct.This paper aims to evaluate the transformation of Jeppestown to Maboneng precinct and looks at how branding through the use of African names has influenced this transformation of traditionversus branding. The case study design has been adopted and a qualitative approach will be used to collect data. Data will be collected through structured interviews with personnel involved in afro-branding inMaboneng, as well as through desktop study from various sources such as books, journals and reports; and through observations and photographic surveys of the Maboneng precinct area. The research design also uses both cross-sectional and longitudinal is used for this study, whereby in cross-sectional study the researcher records information about the subject without manipulating the study environment. The longitudinal study on the other hand is also observational and the researcher will be able to detect any changes in the characteristics of Maboneng. Research findings reveal that not only is the name Maboneng an african name branding but, various other places and businesses have been branded using African names in the Jeppestown to Maboneng transition. The results reveal that there are various places and businesses within the Maboneng precinct area that have used Afro-branding and alos lighlight how this has helped in boosting the precincts economy. This paper concludes by recommending that more effort needs to exerted in encouraging the use of Afro-branding within and around the Maboneng precinct and that this type of branding should be use toattract people of all income levels and groups.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Branding, Transformation, Jeppestown, Maboneng, Central Business District
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Depositing User:	REAL CORP Administrator
Date Deposited:	28 Jan 2021 20:12
Last Modified:	28 Jan 2021 20:12
URI:	http://repository.corp.at/id/eprint/562

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