To evaluate how brands use social media in building brand equity.

Abstract

This study investigates how brands use social media to build brand equity, by applying the SAB #Don’tBeStupid #Don’tDrinkAndDrive Instagram campaign to David Aaker’s (1991) Brand Equity Model. The researcher believes that social media can positively influence brand equity. Driving under the influence of alcohol remains a pertinent issue in South Africa. According to the World Health Organisation’s 2018 Global Safety Report on Road Safety, 58% of all road traffic deaths in South Africa were caused by alcohol (World Health Organisation, 2018). The drinking and driving issue is very prominent in the Gauteng Province. The researcher wanted to evaluate whether the SAB #Don’tBeStupid #Don’tDrinkAndDrive campaign would shift millennials perceptions regarding drinking and driving. Data was gleaned using a focus group to gain in-depth views regarding the campaign and its influence on brand equity, as well as its influence on South African millennial perceptions regarding drinking and driving. The research findings included that the general efficacy of the SAB #Don’tBeDumb #Don’tDrinkAndDrive campaign was largely negative. Out of the twenty three responses regarding the general effectiveness of the campaign, twenty one mentioned negative features of the campaign. Participants responses also revealed that it would not create brand awareness or brand associations – two determinants of brand equity according to David Aaker (1991).