University of Cumbria Dissertation: MTN Brand Awareness and Loyalty

This dissertation investigates the impact of brand awareness on customer loyalty, using MTN Group Limited as a case study. The study begins with an introduction to branding, its benefits for companies and consumers, and the importance of brand awareness in consumer purchasing decisions. A comprehensive literature review explores branding theories, consumer behavior, and the relationship between brand awareness and loyalty. The research methodology includes a detailed description of the research philosophy, approach, design, data collection and analysis methods, sampling, and ethical considerations. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed to determine the relationship between brand awareness and customer loyalty. The findings include demographic data analysis, quantitative analysis of brand awareness and customer loyalty, regression analysis, and qualitative data analysis. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the findings, recommendations, and conclusions regarding the impact of brand awareness on customer loyalty within MTN. The study also provides insights into the competitive landscape of the telecommunications industry, particularly in South Africa, and the importance of customer retention in a market with increasing competition.

Running head: DISSERTATION
Dissertation
Student ID: 1550758
University of Cumbria in association with
Robert Kennedy College
An analysis of the impact of brand awareness on customer loyalty,
A case study of MTN Group Limited

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................4
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Background to the study............................................................................................................4
1.2 Research aim and Objective......................................................................................................6
1.3 Research questions.....................................................................................................................7
1.5 Summary....................................................................................................................................7
Chapter 2: Literature review............................................................................................................9
2.1 Literature review introduction...................................................................................................9
2.2 Branding..................................................................................................................................10
1.4 Research Hypothesis................................................................................................................10
2.2.1 Branding Benefits for Companies........................................................................................10
2.2.2 Branding Benefits for Customers.........................................................................................11
2.3 Theory of Lovemarks..............................................................................................................11
2.3.1 Different Brand Image Dimensions......................................................................................13
2.3.1.1 Sensuality...........................................................................................................................14
2.3.1.2 Mystery..............................................................................................................................14
2.3.1.3 Intimacy.............................................................................................................................15
2.4 Brand Awareness.....................................................................................................................15
2.5 Consumer perceptions of quality.............................................................................................17

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2.6 Purchase Intention...................................................................................................................18
2.7 Consumer Behaviour...............................................................................................................19
2.8 Consumer buying behaviour....................................................................................................21
2.9 Consumer Loyalty...................................................................................................................22
2.10 Relationship between brand awareness and consumer loyalty..............................................23
2.11 Brand equity in the service industry......................................................................................24
2.12 Literature gap.........................................................................................................................24
Chapter 3: Research Methodology................................................................................................25
3.0 Research Methodology............................................................................................................25
3.1 Research philosophy................................................................................................................26
3.2 Research Approach..................................................................................................................28
3.3 Research Design......................................................................................................................29
3.4 Data collection and analysis....................................................................................................30
3.5 Sampling..................................................................................................................................31
3.6 Reliability and Validity............................................................................................................32
3.7 Ethical Considerations.............................................................................................................33
Chapter 4: Findings and Analysis..................................................................................................34
4.1 Quantitative analysis................................................................................................................34
4.1.1 Demographic questions........................................................................................................34
4.1.2 Quantitative Questions on Brand awareness........................................................................41

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4.1.3 Quantitative Questions on Consumer loyalty.......................................................................52
4.2 Regression Analysis.................................................................................................................65
4.3 Qualitative data analysis..........................................................................................................67
4.4 Discussion................................................................................................................................72
Chapter 5: Findings........................................................................................................................73
5.1 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................73
5.1 Recommendations....................................................................................................................77
References......................................................................................................................................80
Appendix........................................................................................................................................87
Qualitative questionnaire...............................................................................................................90

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.0 Introduction
This paper aimed to determine if there is a measurable impact of brand awareness on
customer loyalty in a company named MTN Group limited. Business has changed drastically,
and companies have become more oriented towards focusing on the emotional aspects of
customers for marketing activities Aronczyk and Brady (2015), than towards the physical aspects
of products Davis (2017). Marketing is one of the basic needs of the organizations to manage
their sustainability and gain competitive advantage. The lowest level of recalling the brand is
brand awareness, and brand recognition starts from brand awareness Sasmita and Mohd Suki
(2015). Brand awareness is the number one factor when it comes to making purchasing decisions
for consumers. The primary marketing approach of any organization should be the retention of
existing consumers and acquiring new consumers, giving prominence to relationship marketing,
in the form of sales promotion, direct relationship marketing, integrated marketing and
developing and managing a productive relationship with consumers (Schivinski and Dabrowski,
2015).
1.1 Background to the study
As stated by Sasmita and Mohd Suki (2015), brand awareness is consumers’ knowledge
of consumer products offered by the organization. Brand strength suggests the presence of the
brand in the minds of the consumers and how quickly that knowledge is retrievable from
memory. Consumers can easily recognize the availability and existence of a product depending
on the awareness it has been able to generate. Schivinski and Dabrowski (2015) stated
consumer loyalty is the means of retaining the existing consumers so that they can make a

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repurchase of the brand consistently. Affection and commitment lead to emotional attachment,
and this results in consumers’ loyalty to a brand or product. The variety of manufacturers
providing similar products and services to the consumers are abundant, so the ability of the
companies to retain their existing consumers stabilizes their revenue generation streams and
creates positive word of mouth which increases the existing consumer base. There has been a
significant increase in consumer awareness due to the amount of exposure they have been
enjoying since the advent of Web 2.0 or social media. Consumers may be familiar with a brand,
but knowledge of the brand is the deciding factor for choosing one brand over the other.
According to Cho, Rha, and Burt (2015), products having better brand awareness will have a
higher quality evaluation and market share – in the sense that brand awareness and the perceived
quality drives the consumer purchasing decision. Pappu and Quester (2016) state that it is far
more cost effective to retain existing customers than acquiring new ones by up to five times. The
previous point means that maintaining a high level of loyalty among the consumers is essential
for long-term sustainability of the organization. There has been a significant shift in the global
telecommunication market in the past few years, and South Africa has also been affected due to
this change. The demand for affordable data at high speed is at its highest level, and the mobile
services revenues have taken over fixed landline services (Van der Merwe, 2015). Most of the
consumers are using mobile phone networks instead of fixed-line networks traditionally
dominated by the state-owned Telkom in South Africa. The telecom industry in South Africa is
one of the most advanced sectors in Africa with regards to developed infrastructure post the
liberalization struggle. The entry of new suppliers has extended low priced services for the
consumers in the market. The monopoly Telkom had over other competitors significantly
diminished due to the availability of submarine fiber optic cables made available to ISPs’ and

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new entrants at very competitive pricing. The government has been supportive in increasing
competition in this sector and has provided a backbone through network capacity (Gust.com
2018). A large number of new companies have emerged into the market which has developed
cut-throat competition for cheaper and faster connectivity launching new products and offering
new services on a monthly basis to gain a competitive advantage which is quite difficult for
companies to sustain (Africantelecomsnews.com 2018). The intense competition is the reason
that there has been many mergers and acquisitions in the industry as it is tough to maintain a lead
in such a market. MTN Group Limited is one of the South African companies in the
telecommunication industry that caters to the markets in the Middle East and Africa (Mtn.com
2018). The company has its headquarters in Johannesburg, and even though the organization
operates in more than 24 countries all over the world, Nigeria is responsible for one-third of the
revenue of the organization as it has more than 30% share in the market (Mtn.com 2018). As
part of an extensive marketing campaigns, MTN has always been linked with soccer and other
sporting events as they were the primary sponsors on many occasions. MTN had agreed to the
sponsorship in the English premier league with the club Manchester United. The organization
partnered with Nokia to launch the consumer service platform in the year 2018. However, the
organization's services are focussed mainly on the African continent, and the organization is one
of the well-known and esteemed brands in Africa.
1.2 Research aim and Objective
The research has aimed at identifying different elements of brand awareness and
consumer loyalty. The dissertation examines the impact of each of the aspects of brand
awareness on the various points of consumer loyalty. A hypothesis that will investigate the
nature and degree of association between the two variables was developed.

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The aim of the research was:
• To examine the factors affecting the brand awareness of MTN
• To identify elements of customer loyalty
• To evaluate the impact of brand awareness on customer loyalty of MTN
1.3 Research questions
• What are the factors related to brand awareness of MTN?
• What are the elements of customer loyalty?
• What is the relationship of brand value on customer loyalty in MTN?
1.5 Summary
The previous chapters of this paper have introduced the topic of the study along with the
background and the research problem. The background section to the study stated that brand
awareness is one of the significant factors for gaining competitive advantage in the industry as
most of the companies have become marketing oriented. Brand awareness is the basis for
developing recognition among consumers and knowledge about a brand is one of the significant
drivers of business growth. The main aim of modern organizations must be the development of
loyalty among the consumers, as repeat purchasing is essential for the sustainability of the
organization. In the introduction, mention was made about the fact that it is less expensive to
retain existing consumers than to acquire new consumers in a tightly contested market. This
chapter will reveal the current scenario in the market and the changes in the market

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competitiveness. The research paper has also described the aim, objectives, and questions which
aimed to explain the reasoning behind conducting the research. The goals and research questions
indicate that different aspects of brand awareness will be evaluated to identify its impact on the
various elements of consumer loyalty. Therefore, this study will aim to establish the relationship
between consumer loyalty and brand awareness.

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Chapter 2: Literature review
2.1 Literature review introduction
This paper critically analyses the different elements of branding and consumer loyalty to
develop a theoretical framework based on the objective of the study. The first section of the
literature review will describe the branding history and the different theories of branding. The
second section discusses consumer loyalty and consumer buying behaviour. The last part
evaluates the logical linkage between consumer loyalty and brand awareness. The different
dimensions of branding and consumer loyalty have been critically assessed in the literature
review section. As stated by Ahmad et al. (2016), the companies before the 19th century had
their trade limited to the local market, and international trade emerged through industrial
revolution by making significant improvements in transportation, production process, and
communication. Bilgihan (2016) states the purpose of branding in the 19th century was to
reemphasize the perceived product value by making associations that were positive.
However, there were still many companies that were focussing on branding based on the
physical attributes, product performance, culture, and originality (Davis 2017), which indicates
that most of the marketing and branding was concentrated on the tangible attributes of products
in the 19th century. The companies changed their positioning and became market-oriented in the
20th century which is reflected in the evolution from strong associations to a typical, intangible
and symbolic feature of lifestyle and personality. Traditional marketing has always focused on
highlighting the physical aspect of the brand and the product on offer. As opined by Aronczyk
and Brady (2015), modern marketing is more focused on tapping into the emotional and sensory
experience of a brand which depicts the intangible aspect.

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2.2 Branding
As stated by Holt (2016), the most crucial aspect for any organization is to develop a
successful brand and promote the desired perception in the minds of the consumers. Posner,
Williams, and Posner (2015) define branding as the element that develops a distinct image of the
company in the minds of the consumers where the company and its products could easily be
distinguished from the products offered by other competitors in the market. Choo and James
(2016) argue that branding is the method of using design, symbols, experience, and name to
create a distinct image in the minds of the consumers. According to Ottman (2017), a positive
association, favourable attitudes and consistent model are the essentials for developing a strong
brand image. Branding has a positive effect on both the consumers and the organization.
1.4 Research Hypothesis
H1: Brand awareness is related to customer loyalty in MTN
2.2.1 Branding Benefits for Companies
According to Arifin (2018), the differentiation of the marketers’ products from their
competitors could be easily achieved by effective branding, which in turn, facilitates
improvements to brand awareness in addition to reducing the cost of marketing activities. La and
Hsu (2015) state that companies having high brand awareness among the consumers will have to
spend less effort and money on marketing and promotions. An organization can become a
market leader in a product segment or industry, by effective use of brand awareness. As stated by
Chiambaretto, Gurău and Le Roy (2016), a higher level of brand awareness lead to a higher
tendency of the consumers to purchase products of the organization after the need has been
generated. Therefore, brand awareness not only improves the profit margin of the organization

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but facilities in expanding their product line into the same consumer segment or even a new or
different segment. On the other hand, Tuominen et al. (2016) state that branding can be used by
the companies to safeguard the unique features of their products and protect them from
counterfeiting and provides legal protection. Thus, branding is not only used for improving the
profit margin and market share of an organization but also helps in protecting the organization
from counterfeiting activities.
2.2.2 Branding Benefits for Customers
Aichner, Forza and Trentin (2017) state the three significant benefits of branding for
consumers are self-expression, risk reduction, and information efficiency. Marcoz et al. (2016)
argue that the branding of a product would motivate the consumers to procure products that will
meet their expectations. Branding decreases the risk of choosing the wrong product and provides
the consumers with assurance of obtaining the product with the best perceived quality. Iglesias et
al. (2017) opined that branding also includes knowledge exposure to the different offerings made
by the company in a product category or segment. The web consists of vast amounts of
information in the modern era and consumers can easily search for and discover the products that
are suitable to their specific needs. Moreover, consumers can very quickly develop knowledge
regarding the available products from various competitors in the market and purchase products
that are best suited to their personality, social status, lifestyle, and character.
2.3 Theory of Lovemarks
As stated by Di Mattia, Rodríguez and Pérez-Acosta (2018), the scientific theory and its nature
is a group of statements that are systematically linked together and consists of generalizations
that can be tested using different forms of analysis techniques. Shuv-Ami, Vrontis, and Thrassou