Exploring the role of nostalgic brand communication in the Afrikaner market

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Kaylie Abrahams wrote this article as part of her BA Honours degree in Brand Leadership at Vega, School of Brand Leadership. She passed with the highest distinction and shares her research with LitNet.

RESEARCH REPORT DRAFT

Background and introduction
Nostalgia is an emotion that has been around since the earliest of times. It was first described by Johannes Hofer in 1688 as the longing to return home (Havlena and Holak, 1991). Nostalgia is an emotion that possesses enjoyable as well as disagreeable qualities – a bittersweet effect. This can be seen as the most distinctive quality of nostalgia and consequently why this emotion is seen to be so attractive in the field of brand communication. Williams (2009) says that some brands have emotive and practical ideals in position that have been left unchanged for 40 to 50 years and that nostalgic brand communication serves as a means of reviving suppressed sincere sentiments that exist in people and thus confirm their devotion to a brand. 

Being nostalgic is a commonality most people on earth share. This nostalgia can be related to a number of subjects ranging from the longing for a common identity to reminiscing about a time much different from today and the experience of cultural anxiety (Pascal, Sprott and Muehling 2002). According to Wasserman (2009) the demise of apartheid brought on an alarm among Afrikaans folk. The post-1994 classification of Afrikaans as one of 11 official languages, with English rapidly morphing into the power role, signalled the decline of authority for White Afrikaners, particularly in a manner that forced their social identity into calamity.

Rationale
By researching the use of nostalgia in brand communication, as well as the topic of Afrikaner identity, it arose that a commonality shared between these two concepts is the existence of cultural identity. This research paper aims to explore the link that cultural anxiety provides between nostalgia in brand communication and the Afrikaner. It seems important to explore this topic as it is believed to hold opportunities for further research. It also presents opportunities for all stakeholder groups to use this interesting generation of Afrikaners and the possibility that nostalgia in brand communication may assist in alleviating the cultural anxiety that Afrikaners experience.

Statement of purpose
The purpose of this proposed study is to explore the role of nostalgic brand communication within the Afrikaner market. 

Concept clarification

Nostalgia

Wildschut, Sedikides and Routledge (2008) mention that the word nostalgia originated from the Greek words nostos and algos. Nostos is described as “to return” and algos as “pain”. The precise definition would then be “suffering induced by a longing to return to one’s location of derivation”. For the purpose of this study the term nostalgia will be used to refer more broadly to “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past”, as described by the Oxford English Dictionary (2013).

Brand Communication
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (2013), brand communication refers to “the combination of activities that influence customers' opinions of a company and its products: A brand image is created through brand communication.” Brand communication occurs when the consumer encounters the brand. Communication is a co-operating interchange between the brand and its customers. It happens during the pre-trade, trade, utilisation and post-utilisation stages (Onditi 2012). 

Afrikaner
According to Mayer (2011), the Afrikaners are a white population established in South Africa in the 17th century. The Afrikaners have developed their own linguistic, ethnic and cultural heritage. The Oxford English Dictionary (2013) defines an Afrikaner as “an Afrikaans-speaking white person in South Africa, especially one descended from the Dutch and Huguenot settlers of the 17th century”.

Research questions

Primary research question

The study will be guided by the following primary research question: What is the role of nostalgic brand communication in the Afrikaner market?

Secondary research questions

• What is nostalgia?
• What is nostalgic brand communication?
• What is an Afrikaner?
• What is the Afrikaner identity?
• What are the Afrikaners’ current attitudes toward South Africa?
• Does nostalgic brand communication hold value to the Afrikaner? 

Literature review

The nature of nostalgia

Etymologically viewed, nostalgia derives from a fusion of Greek words meaning to return home (nostos) and agony or grief (algos). The origin of the word can be traced back to 1688, when Johannes Hofer laid claim to the word in his doctoral thesis (Olivier 2011). The most precise definition of nostalgia is “suffering induced by a longing to return to one’s location of derivation” (Wildschut, Sedikides and Routledge 2008). Nostalgia has been referenced in literature for decades with most powerful affiliation to longing and melancholy – from Bible verses to the works of Caesar, Homer and Hippocrates (Martin 1954).

Up to the start of the 20th century, nostalgia was classified as a medical disorder – an illness of the mind (Olivier 2011). Nostalgia has been connected to a wide variety of physiological and psychological symptoms and according to Hofer (1688, cited in Olivier 2011), victims "wander about sad", suffer from insomnia, fever, dehydration, starvation, weakened senses, demise of vigour, loss of appetite, queasiness, lethargy, fainting and various other symptoms. Hofer argued that nostalgia stemmed from reminiscing about home, which was attributed to animal spirits lurking in the deepest areas of the brain. These spirits triggered blood-thickening and consequently the heartbeat would slow. If the victim was not transferred back to their place of origin, death could ensue. 

During the course of history nostalgia has been notorious for unsettling troops, from Caesar's centurions of Helvetian Gaul to militaries in the modern world wars (Martin 1954). As Fodor (1950) believed, nostalgia is not necessarily a mental illness, but it may develop into a frantic and unstable psychological condition if left untreated. It arises from an intense desire to return to the place one originated from and is intensified by feelings of “homesickness”.

Beardsley Ruml (1946, cited in Martin 1954) claims that every single human being is susceptible to feelings of nostalgia, and specialists have even noticed that animals are also susceptible to symptoms related to nostalgia (Martin 1954). Only a limited number of official studies have been done on nostalgia and, according to Nawas and Platt (1965), it seems strange that a phenomenon as complex and complicated as nostalgia has received so little attention from industry professionals. 

Recently, the interpretation of nostalgia has changed from a medical base to more of a sociological marvel. The quick-moving progress in modern-day society has caused individuals to become less emotionally attached to the past (Havlena and Holak 1991). Nostalgia presents individuals with the opportunity to remain true to their individuality when confronting inevitable life changes (eg transition from infancy to adolescence, from youth to adulthood, etc). 

According to Olivier (2011) nostalgia is so distinctive because of its contradictory nature – a bittersweet longing for certain periods, places and individuals. More specifically, nostalgia commands a farewell, but is also enveloped with the assurance of a return. Joachim du Bellay was a poet during the French Renaissance and he encapsulates this concept in Les Regrets (1967) when he writes, “Happy is he who, like Ulysses, travels and then returns to his homeland full of newly acquired wisdom.” Hofer (1688, cited in Olivier 2011) concludes that straying from one’s biological condition causes nostalgia and that the only treatment is to return. 

As stated by Benoist de La Grandière (1873), many specialists settled the impasse by emphasising the difference between love of “pays” (native soil) and love of “patrie” (sense of patriotism). The origin of nostalgia was attributed to the love of pays.

Numerous 19th-century doctors promoted a modern way of life that is driven by constant transformation and change, resolved by history instead of individual recollection. True nostalgia is substituted by healing nostalgia that eases the separation caused by the systems that displace families and communities. Consequently, consumerism and corporatism have been replaced by individualism. In doing so, a sense of patrie exists – “a love of product that replaces love of soil” (Olivier 2011). 

Nostalgia and brand communication
According to Stern (1992) it is crucial to take note that nostalgia is a consumer reaction and incentives must be investigated. The purpose of this is to examine the notion of nostalgia by outlining its lineage. By inspecting what it is, a better valuation can be made of what it does. Nostalgia not only unites us with our past, it assists us in distinguishing ourselves in the present. For many, a gathering of objects associated with their past presents them with particular sense of standing. 

Nostalgic brand communication permits consumers to enjoy significant objects because of their connotation with an aesthetically appreciated period. Nostalgia is known for generating a variation of powerful emotional reactions. “The use of nostalgic themes in advertising holds great promise as a means of eliciting positive responses in consumers” (Pascal, Sprott and Muehling 2002). 

According to Reisenwitz, Iyer and Cutler (2004) brand communication’s major role is to ensure that a product or service generates maximum interest among prospective consumers. However, with such a fast-expanding economy and extremely high levels of competitiveness in product and service categories, strategists and designers are challenged to create advertising appeals that stand out more effectively than those of their competitors. Brand communication clutter is a 21st-century problem that corporations globally are facing and will probably continue confronting in decades to come. 

One striking method that is being used by strategists and designers in order to break the clutter is the use of nostalgia in communication appeals – social analysts and marketing researchers have commented on the growing prominence of nostalgia themes in the media (Stern 1992). In 2009, Heinz and Guinness released
campaigns that included clips of previous ads – Guinness celebrated its 250th anniversary by running some of its classic ads (Williams 2009).

According to Reisenwitz, Iyer and Cutler (2004) probably one of the most popular nostalgic campaigns was the 1998 relaunch of the Volkswagen Beetle. Campaigns communicated messages such as “Less flower, more power” and “If you sold your soul in the 80s, here’s your chance to buy it back.”

The utilisation of nostalgia has converted “the past” into an innovative trend in the consumer and communication trades (Holbrook 1990). Winters (1990) expresses that the application of nostalgic themes can be seen as a way to profit from the “gift” of brand equity retained by recycled advertising. In a study done by Reisenwitz, Iyer and Cutler (2004) about the likelihood of purchase after nostalgia has been used as an advertising appeal, it is proven that advertisements provoking nostalgic responses are able to produce more positive opinions of an ad and brand, and of providing larger purchase probability. “People are studying nostalgia today the way they studied sex in advertising years ago” (Holbrook 1990). 

For years it has been known that nostalgia sells and that products that were trendy in one’s youth will have an impact on one’s spending habits for a lifetime (Robb 2010). Another example would be the award-winning 1997 campaign for the launch of the Apple Computer Incorporated – Olivier (2011) claims that Apple came prepared with an arsenal of images that blasts 20th-century nostalgia at the viewer, deviously linked to its product: 

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels … the ones who see things differently. [Historical black and white clips of Muhammad Ali, Bob Dylan, Martha Graham, Thomas Edison, Jerry Seinfeld, Alfred Hitchcock, Jim Henson and other 20th century idols appear on the television screen.] You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward … And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. [The clips fade out and the Macintosh “Apple” logo appears with the slogan “Think different.”]

The “Think Different” campaign was aired only once during the season finale of Seinfeld, and signifies nostalgia of the “postmodern post-1960s post-yuppie variety” (Olivier 2011). According to Time Digital (1998, cited in Olivier 2011) the ad touches on a longing for innovative systems carefully intertwined with free enterprise. The flower power arrangement of the candy-coloured computers only emphasised the relationship between 20th-century cultural anxiety and absent 1960 romanticism. “So you say want a revolution? Apple will sell you one in a box” (Olivier 2011). 

On analysing a certain number of television commercials in the US, it was found that approximately 10% of all ads referred to the “olden days” by means of nostalgic elements such as music from an older era (Unger, McConocha and Faier 1991).

Property24.com, South Africa’s leading online property network, has travelled back in time and made use of some ‘80s nostalgia for its brand new “Leave the Eighties Behind” campaign. The campaign highlights some of the ways in which house-hunting has been simplified in the digital era. The message is executed by taking a nostalgic and humorous look at iconic ‘80s trends. “Our aim in creating this campaign was to emphasise the incredible convenience afforded to house hunters in the modern era as a result of online portals like Property24,” explains JP Farinha, Property24.com’s GM. “At the same time, we’ve retained the fun, slightly edgy tone that resonated so strongly with audiences over the course of our previous TV campaigns, and hope to enjoy similar elevated levels of brand awareness through nostalgia as a result” (Property24.com 2013).

Nostalgia and cultural anxiety
To put it quite plainly, nostalgia makes us feel good. According to Wildschut, Sedikides and Routledge (2008) nostalgia is a way for us to tap into significant past experiences – to remind us that we lead meaningful lives, that we are cherished and that life has a purpose and meaning. Nurko (2003) says that the trend is propelled predominantly by an individual’s need to voice his or her independence and uniqueness.

The most prevalent explanation for the sudden interest growth in nostalgia is that strategists had an opportunity at capitalising on cultural angst (Pascal, Sprott and Muehling 2002). Robb (2010) further explains that confronting a present defined by recession, the danger of international terrorism and cautions of environmental disaster, young adults are obsessed with positive associations from a more hopeful past – in avoiding the future out of uncertainty and fear, young people are turning back to the past. Davis (1979) explains that in times of radical change and social upheaval there is a public tendency to refer to the past as “the good old days” and that nostalgia plays a big role in people’s abilities to cope. 

The Afrikaner
The Oxford English Dictionary (2013) defines Afrikaner as “an Afrikaans-speaking white person in South Africa, especially one descended from the Dutch and Huguenot settlers of the 17th century”. The term Afrikaners can be translated into Dutch as Africans (Giliomee and Mbenga 2007:22). According to SouthAfrica.info (2012) the 2011 census showed that out of 51,77 million South Africans, 6,85 million, or 13.5%, identify themselves as Afrikaners. 

In April 1652 the first Dutch settlers, led by Jan van Riebeeck, settled in South Africa near the Cape of Good Hope, which Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias named in 1487. Dias and his expedition showed little territorial interest in the area and attempts to trade with the Khoikhoi (indigenous tribe of Southern Africa) often resulted in violence (Richmond, Murphy, Wildman and Burke 2002:18). Van Riebeeck and a small VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) expedition settled in Table Bay in order to establish a station where ships travelling to the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) could rest and resupply (Giliomee and Mbenga 2007:19). 

Because of intentionally avoiding contact with the Khoikhoi, Van Riebeeck made two decisions, both with immense consequences. The first was the importing of slaves from Mozambique, Madagascar and Indonesia and the second was allowing a handful of burghers (middle-class people) to establish independent farms. The burghers developed gradually and by 1688 they were confronted by a company of about 150 French Huguenots who enlarged their population by roughly 15% (Uys 2007:238). The Afrikaner people stemmed from influences from a mixture of French Huguenots, German armed forces and other Europeans who joined the Dutch in South Africa. This group belonged to the Calvinist Reformed Church of the Netherlands. The Afrikaners are a devout people and their variety of Christian fundamentalism based on 17th-century Calvinism is still a dominant influence (Richmond, Murphy, Wildman and Burke 2002:20). 

The white population did not reach 1 000 until 1745 (Uys 2007:24). A few burghers started to break away from the tight hold of the VOC, over the Olifantsrivier and further into Africa. These were the first of the Trekboers (nomadic farmers) – sovereign of sanctioned control, tremendously independent and totally sequestered (Giliomee and Mbenga, 2007:108). According to (Richmond, Murphy, Wildman and Burke 2002:19), besides its herds, a family may have owned a wagon, a tent, a Bible and a few guns. Out of this remote existence grew audacious individuals whose only foundation of knowledge was the Bible. The Trekboers soon became known as the Boers. 

For 150 years the Dutch were the principal foreign power in South Africa. However, in 1795 Dutch commercial supremacy started declining and Britain secured its rule of South Africa. Many British bureaucrats and natives established themselves in South Africa. The British infuriated the Afrikaners by freeing approximately 25 000 of their slaves.

From the 1800s the governmental history of South Africa was marked by continuous changes in the link that existed between Afrikaner nationalism and the state (Kriel 2010). In 1820, 5 000 bourgeois British colonisers landed. It was expected that these British colonisers would act as a barrier between the cattle-farming Boers and the Xhosa tribe, who were combating ceaselessly over a coastline known as the Zuurveld (Uys 2007:281). 

Due to the abolition of slavery, frontier warfare with inhabitants and the necessity of bountiful pastures in the 1820s, many Afrikaners set off to journey northwards and eastwards into inland South Africa. This expedition is known today as the Great Trek and the Afrikaners participating became known as the Voortrekkers (foretrekkers) (Giliomee and Mbenga, 2007:108). The Afrikaners established the self-governing republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State. However, many native inhabitants felt aggrieved by the imposition of the Afrikaners. After numerous conflicts, the Afrikaners seized several parts of the countryside and farmed peacefully, up until gold was dug up in their states in the late 19th century (Richmond, Murphy, Wildman and Burke 2002:23).

It rapidly came to light that the Afrikaner Republics were filled with valuable natural resources and the British were quick to act. Tension arose between the British and the Afrikaner over the possession of land, and the first Boer War broke out in 1880 and lasted for a year (Giliomee and Mbenga 2007:199). This conflict was recognised as the first Anglo-Boer War or the War of Independence and the Boers conquered the British at the Battle of Majuba Hill. The republic reclaimed independence as the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (Richmond, Murphy, Wildman and Burke 2002:23). The Second Boer War, otherwise recognised as the Guerrilla War, broke out in 1895 after a gold rush exploded in Johannesburg. Tension arose when a raiding party launched by British Captain Leander Jameson caused chaos. In 1899 the British ordered that voting rights be given to 60 000 foreign immigrants residing in Johannesburg. After the British refused to withdraw troops from the border, Paul Kruger declared war. Unfortunately, the ZAR’s army of 80 000 Boers was no match for Britain’s 800 000, and by 1900, Pretoria, the last of the main towns to be annexed, conceded defeat (Richmond, Murphy, Wildman and Burke 2002:24). 

Due to Boer retaliation, the war entered a gruesome second phase of violent reprisals. By 1902, 26 000 Afrikaners, most of whom were children, died due to combat, hunger, disease and neglect in the concentration camps set up by the British. These horror stories urged the Boers to end the war speedily (Giliomee and Mbenga 2007:215) and on 31 May 1902 the Peace of Vereeniging was signed and the Boer republics became British colonies (Richmond, Murphy, Wildman and Burke 2002:24). 

The Afrikanerbond (League of Afrikaners) was founded in 1880 by a man widely known as “the first Afrikaans nationalist”, Stephanus Jacobus du Toit (Nienaber 1975:190, cited in Kriel 2010). The Afrikanerbond grew to be a very prominent influence in the establishment and running of both the National Party (NP) and other organisations designed to promote the Afrikaner volk (Richmond, Murphy, Wildman and Burke 2002:24).The NP, in alliance with the Afrikaner Party, led by DF Malan, can be held accountable for inaugurating apartheid. While the Afrikaners were considered the lesser cultural faction at the time, the NP still secured domination of the government in 1948 and exercised power right up until the first democratic election in 1994 (Giliomee and Mbenga 2007:396). 

Different races were separated. Whites held the right to benefit from higher standards of living, schooling, work, transport and medical attention. The whites could vote and had full control and power. Several laws were implemented by DF Malan, which included the Group Areas Act implementing the corporal partition of residential areas, the Separate Amenities Act, which implemented the use of separate beaches, buses, hospitals, schools and even park benches (Richmond, Murphy, Wildman and Burke 2002:26). After several decades of discrimination, apartheid began to be internationally condemned and loathed. After much violence, many uprisings, and chaos, apartheid was ultimately terminated in 1994 when all races were given the freedom to vote in the presidential election. Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first black president (Giliomee and Mbenga 2007:411).

Afrikaner identity and cultural anxiety
Steyn (2004) claims that currently there exists a crisis in Afrikaner identity in South Africa. This can be linked to historical events such as the displacement of the Afrikaner that led from Afrikaner identity into Afrikaner nationalism. Today the view of Afrikaners has changed drastically, and the Afrikaners are perceived to be in need of “rehabilitation”. 

Afrikaner nationalism is a force to be reckoned with and plays an integral role in the formation of Afrikaner identity. Steyn (2004) says that it is important that one should note that throughout history the Afrikaner competed against the powerful British Empire in a battle of white against white. The Afrikaner retaliation and resistance against British domination, as well as the response to the defeat of the Boer forces in the Anglo-Boer War, are the very places where Afrikaner nationalism was born (Dubow 1992, cited in Steyn 2004). The quest for real Afrikaner identity has been key to Afrikaner culture (Norval 1996, cited in Steyn 2004).

Davies (2009) says that the end of the apartheid era and the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994 heralded the transformation of South Africa to majority rule. The effects of this transition was the transformation of Afrikaner identity in the new South Africa where, for the first time since the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910, the Afrikaner minority became divorced from the halls of power.

According to Doron (2011) this permanent shift in the country’s power structure has forced the Afrikaner community not only to re-evaluate its relationship to the rest of the country in the new political system, but also to adapt its own group identity that is now divorced from the racial power structure that placed the Dutch descendants at the top of the socio-political pyramid. Doron (2011) further explains that it is precisely this power shift that has forced the Afrikaners to redefine themselves in relation to this new world and divorce the idea of Afrikaans-speaking people from the racial connotations that are the legacy of apartheid. 

With the end of the Afrikaners’ access to power, the Afrikaans speakers had to reconfigure their sense of self in the new South Africa. This sense of identity was, and continues to be, contested among the Afrikaans-speaking people. From the idea of a racially pure Afrikaner Volkstaat and its manifestations in the towns of Kleinfontein and Orania to the incorporation of coloured Afrikaans speakers and the attempt to “preserve” this new racially heterogeneous concept of Afrikaner culture, the idea of who can be considered an Afrikaner has been hotly contested within the Afrikaans-speaking community (Mayer 2011).

According to Rossouw (2003) the loss of an ethical dream goes hand in hand with the loss of a South African place-identity. The Afrikaners strived, and are still striving, to find a place that they can call their own. It seems that post 1994, many Afrikaners do not see South Africa as their “land” anymore. Van Zyl (2008) claims that this is the reason for Afrikaners yearning back to the platteland (rural/non-urban areas) and that poet CF Visser’s words (1979, cited in van Zyl 2008) “O, Boereplaas, geboortegrond! Jou het ek lief bo alles” (Oh, Farmland, cradle of my birth! You I love above all), are still relevant in modern-day society. 

Furthermore, the younger generation growing up in a post-apartheid world has had to negotiate a new identity that out of necessity must be divorced politically, culturally and racially from the Afrikaner Ancien Règime. Davies (2009) asserts that “incoherence remains perhaps the defining feature of the character of identifications among contemporary Afrikaners”. This incoherence is political, cultural, racial and generational, and all stem from the new “globalised” economic realities.

For Davies (2004) globalisation is the global political economic system that the Afrikaans speakers are reacting to, while in reality, globalisation can be, and usually is,
defined as a much more nebulous concept that criticises the global homogenisation of culture. Afrikaans speakers are reacting not only to their position in the new world economy, but also against the new cultural forces that are part and parcel of the country’s integration into the global system. Globalisation in itself implies not only the set of rules that govern the new realities of local interaction, but also South Africa’s place in the new Africa. 

Contrasting English-speaking South Africans who have an international cultural commonality which allows them to feel stable, Afrikaners are struggling with an intense cultural predicament because they are the main and most prominent group of Afrikaners in the world, representing a minority globally (Steyn 2004). Afrikaners are desperately seeking answers to questions such as "Who are we?" and “Where do we belong?”. 

Attempting to answer these and similar questions was the main reason for correspondence between Rapport editor Johan de Wet and Steyn in 2001, and generated a great deal of discussions in a public forum set-up regarding the letters between De Wet and Steyn. The answers would have to attempt to comfort Afrikaners and their fearful notions of “Will we – our language, our religion, our identity – disappear?”. Steyn (2004) noted that “it seems that many are searching for an image, a new narrative, a metaphor that would encapsulate in some symbolic form the answer to the community's angst”.

Readers responded. 

Tim du Plessis one day said that Afrikaners have all emigrated, and that is to the New South Africa. He is right. But in the uncertainty of the post-modem world there is no place to form a laager or scratch a nest … To survive in a developing world and in our own unsteady and uncertain society is to be like the swallow let loose from Noah's ark, to have no rest for the soles of your feet. In a certain sense we are like the nomads of old … One thing that is becoming clearer to all of us is that to bundle us all together, like in a Big Brother house, is not going to work. We are too different. That is why we will need different boats travelling in a fleet towards the same destination. The boats represent the organizing principle for the society's future – the diversity of identities of this country's people. A person needs shelter from the wind and weather …

This safety is provided by the familiarity and togetherness of a native language, culture, and religious community … (Marthie Richter, Pretoria, 21 October) 

Other readers reacted with subjects such as “New names abuse country’s history”, “In South Africa with its barbarian death penalty is justified”, “Conference on crime has become a necessity in South Africa”, “These laws, quotas will lead to rebellion”. It is clear to see that Afrikaners are angered and that most of this anger is directed toward the government (Steyn, 2004). 

As Carel Boshoff IV, the grandson of the founder of Orania, explains about the current state of the Afrikaner: “What was once a resolute community that demanded respect has now developed into a loose bundle of individuals that totter between nostalgia and opportunism” (Mayer 2011).

The Afrikaans market
According to Kuper (2013), disagreeing with the common judgement made by most segments of South Africa, and frequently also the opinion expressed in media, it is incorrect to label the Afrikaner as cynical and disheartened. Just like most other South Africans, Afrikaners view themselves as South Africans rather than other options like Africans or categorising themselves through religion, language, race or class. 

The data shown below was compiled by futurefact (2012), who have been conducting surveys about South Africans since 1998. The results shown in the following graphs are from 2012 and research was conducted on a sample of 2 946 South African adults, currently residing in over 500 different communities representing 21,6 million South African adults. 

Figure 1.1 depicts the attitudes to confidence and patriotism and is based on Afrikaners. 

Figure 1.1: Attitudes to confidence and patriotism
Source: Kuper (2013:16)

The results clarify the notion that a large number of Afrikaners are proud to be categorised as South African – commitment to South Africa scored 7,7 out of 10, in comparison with the population as a whole, who scored 8,3 out of 10. 

Kuper (2013) explains that uncertainty among Afrikaners seems to be targeted at the government and consequently creates apprehension about the future of South Africa. It was found that, generally, Afrikaners would prefer it if the government was more responsible. In a previous study done by futureafact (2012), it was shown that Afrikaners specifically were apprehensive about the chances of corruption being brought under control, but in a recent study it was evident that the general population now feels the same. Afrikaners continue to doubt that crime can be brought under control. Approximately 15% of Afrikaners can say that they or a family member have fallen victim to crime or scams. This percentage is parallel with the results of the general population.

Figure 1.2 depicts the levels of positive attitudes towards South Africa as experienced by South Africans. 

Figure 1.2: A positive attitude
Source: Kuper (2013:16)

The Afrikaners generally possess a positive mentality and the opinion that more attention must be paid to solutions and less to problems. Afrikaners also feel that the media need to create a balance in content published – not to focus only on negativity, but to include an equal amount of positive news.

According to Kuper (2013) it is wrong to categorise Afrikaners as a secluded and separate entity, since Afrikaners view themselves as part of whole.

Figure 1.3 depicts Afrikaners’ attitudes toward active citizenship. 

Figure 1.3: Active citizenship
Source: Kuper (2013:16)

From the above table it evident that Afrikaners are generally optimistic and willing to apply action in order to create and maintain a better South Africa and instil a sense of patriotism. 

The Afrikaner and nostalgic brand communication
As seen by the evidence provided above, two important issues came to light. Firstly, it is evident that during times of cultural anxiety the use of nostalgia in brand communication proves ever successful. Secondly, it has come to light that although keeping a positive attitude, the Afrikaner does seem to experience cultural anxiety. This brings one to the obvious conclusion that Afrikaners are currently a viable target audience for the use of nostalgic brand communication. 

Methodology

Research design
The proposed study will follow a qualitative method design. A qualitative information study is a technique for organising and sorting the intricacies of ordinary social marvels (Krauss 2005). The everyday occurrence of Afrikaner nostalgia and how it can be linked to consumer culture will be researched. By means of one-on-one, face-to-face semi-structured interviews, these intricacies will be further explored and collective themes and underlying similarities will be organised and arranged. 

The proposed study will follow an epistemological interpretive paradigm. According to Browaeys (2004) “epistemology makes the critical study of the principles, hypotheses and results of the sciences to determine their value”. Information will be researched independently in two phases.

Phase one will consist of a literature review. The researcher will be familiarised with concepts and definitions and gain a complete understanding of the history and background of all aspects of the study. A literature review is simultaneously a précis and clarification of the existing condition of information on a subject as located in academic books and journal articles (The Writing Centre, 2005). The literary review will serve as secondary research. 

Phase two will consist of interviews with a relevant group of people. The researcher will follow an interpretivist paradigm permitting a narrow and colloquial interaction – a distinctive technique in qualitative research where conversations offer the researcher pragmatic, sociological data (Holstein and Gubrium 2003). The researcher will connect with participants personally in order to gain maximum information. This information will then be investigated and divided into separate themes. In-depth, one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with 3–5 respondents will serve as primary research. 

Research sample
In order for the researcher to find 3–5 suitable respondents for primary research, the following criteria must be adhered to:
• Respondents must possess knowledge and understanding of business practice and brand building.
• Respondents must be Afrikaans-speaking South Africans.
• Respondents must practise business in the consumption industry – entertainment, marketing, media, brand building or communication.
• Respondents must be recognised and influential in their respective fields.

Data analysis
The proposed data analysis strategy will be inductive in nature. According to David R Thomas (2003) the main resolution of the inductive method is to present research findings and the opportunity to develop from the recurrent, leading or important subject characteristics. This strategy supports in-depth interviews and discussions and permits the opportunities for themes to build on one another and follow a natural line of evolution.

Key themes
By studying the available literature regarding the topics of nostalgia, nostalgic brand communication and Afrikaner identity and cultural anxiety, several key themes arose. These key themes led into the primary research phase and interview questions should be based on these findings: 

• There is confusion as to whether the majority of Afrikaners seem to have a negative or positive attitude.
• It seems that some Afrikaners are seeking for a place to call their own.
• The use of nostalgic brand communication is most prevalent during times of cultural anxiety.
• The Afrikaners, although remaining positive, are currently experiencing cultural anxiety and confusion of identity.
• The Afrikaner market is thus currently susceptible to the use of nostalgic brand communication.

Conclusion
Following this report of secondary research, primary research will be conducted using the key themes as a guideline. These themes will be further explored and unpacked with my research questions in mind. 

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