Abstract
M.Comm. (Business Management)
The South African golf industry has seen growth over the last few years and contributes to the South African economy. The contribution of the industry to the economy was estimated at R29.2 billion in 2008. Golfers in South Africa spent R1.7 billion on golf club brands in 2008. The competition in the industry has become fierce and golf club brand marketers need to focus on how to grow this spend and increase their market share and one way of doing this is to build a strong brand. This study focuses primarily on one of the building blocks of a brand, namely brand resonance. Brand resonance refers to the relationship between the brand and consumers, including the enthusiasm these consumers have to purchase and recommend the brand to others. The purpose for this study is to determine the brand resonance among golfers with respect to golf club brands. The study furthermore focuses on the four categories of brand resonance namely behavioural loyalty, attitudinal attachment, sense of community and active engagement.
Information regarding the brand resonance among golfers with respect to golf club brands was gathered from 200 golfers who play golf at two golf clubs, using a self-administered questionnaire. The sampling units (golf clubs) were selected based on the judgement of the researcher and the sampling elements (golf players) were selected based on convenience sampling. The research study was descriptive in nature and quantitative methods were used to execute the empirical part of the research.
The findings indicated that the majority of respondents play with TaylorMade golf clubs, and have been playing golf for five years or longer, have a handicap of between 11 and 15, and play golf on a weekly basis. Golfers do perceive a significant difference in the importance of the four categories of brand resonance with respect to golf club brands. Behavioural loyalty and attitudinal attachment realised the highest mean score, followed by active engagement and sense of community. Significant differences between golfers with regard to the four categories of brand resonance could not be uncovered.