What is the South African 'Hipster' tribe really?

Abstract

The purpose of this research paper is to create a greater understanding of South African hipsters as a tribe and the relationship South African hipster brands have with the hipster tribe. This study is important because it has identified a gap in literature, as there are various insights to understanding how the 21st hipster came into being and has formed their own tribe but such literature does not exist in a South African context. Furthermore, South African hipster brands have not been identified because the South African hipster tribe has not been fully clarified or understood. For this reason, this study is also important because it aims to fill this gap by not only creating a greater understanding of South African hipsters as a tribe but by also identifying South African hipster brands. Due to the fact that contemporary hipsters are identified by their relationship with consumerism, yet, they are also known of rejecting consumerism (Greif, 2010), this study aims to investigate how brands that are consumed by such a contradictory tribe market themselves to this tribe or don’t. The study follows a qualitative approach within an interpretivist paradigm. A case study research design was chosen, with 3 focus groups serving as the data collection tool. Purposive sampling was used to identify research participants, who consisted of individuals who identified with the hipster tribe and are living in Gauteng, South Africa. Godin’s (2008) tribe theory was used to investigate participants’ perceptions and attitudes towards the South African hipster tribe whereas the brands that participants identified as South African hipster brands were evaluated in terms of their brand health and originality by using Cook, Erwin, Carmody and Enslin’s (2011) seven indicators of brand health and Girard’s (in Raven Foundation, 2011) mimetic theory. It can be expected that a greater understanding of the South African hipster tribe was created and South African hipster brands were identified and evaluated.