Investigating the place marketing objectives and activities of Business Improvement Districts in South Africa

Abstract

Businesses in city centres are faced with the problem of attracting customers due to competition from suburban shopping centres, decayed environments, crime and grime. The Business Improvement District (BID) model is implemented for ceasing and reversing decline in the economic health and environmental quality of city centres, redirecting investment to those areas, and improving perceptions. Despite the efforts implemented by BIDs in South Africa, declining footfall and negative perceptions continue. The objective of this research was to investigate the place marketing objectives and activities of BIDs in South Africa and to make recommendations in order to improve the effectiveness of their place marketing strategies. Non-probability, judgement sampling was used to select research participants. Data was collected by conducting in-depth interviews with managers who were involved with the BIDs’ place marketing strategies. A sample size of nine research participants was realised. The results indicated that the primary place marketing objectives of BIDs included in the study are to attract desirable stakeholders, communicate the value of services offered and to improve negative perceptions. Furthermore, only 5% of their annual budget is allocated towards place marketing activities that primarily comprise of social media marketing. Journal