Public Perceptions of Enviroserv; Shongweni Landfill Site Controversy

Abstract

Every organisation that offers products or services is a company of sorts. A company then gets given the status of becoming a brand when the company gives itself a visual identity, vision and mission; which is how the company resides in the minds of that company’s stakeholders. The brand is what gives a company an image and ‘personality’ (Linton, 2017). Brands therefore have the ability to create a negative or positive perception in the minds of their stakeholders. The brand should then aim to have a positive positioning in the minds of their stakeholders (Ehlers, 2015). The brands perception is in ownership of the consumers, not the brand itself. The selected perception perceived by the consumers is dependent on the actions a brand takes (Smith, 2015). The following research proposal will be based on the emissions released in the air around the Upper Highway Areas of Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal from the Shongweni Landfill Site owned and managed by Enviroserv (Ramkissoon-Pillay, 2016). Enviroserv is a waste management company which has many landfill sites around Africa (EnviroServ, 2017). The emissions are resulting in sickly symptoms in not only humans but the environment and animals included (Ramkissoon-Pillay, 2016). The emissions are resulting in harm to the Enviroserv brand name and brand equity. The aim of the study is to analyse the effects of the public perceptions on the brand for future profits and brand loyalty from their current and future consumers. Branding elements such as consumer perceptions, company stakeholders, brand image, brand equity, brand trust and public perceptions will be discussed in context to the study.