Branded content integration, consumer attitudes and purchase intent in South Africa

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Strategic Marketing 2016The purpose of this research was to identify the effectiveness of branded content integration as a marketing and communication strategy. The main objective was to find out whether the branded content integration in soap operas had an effect on consumer attitudes and purchase intent. A quantitative experiment was designed for the study using customers that watch TV soap operas and those who do not watch soap operas. A total of 150 respondents were used for the experiment. The data was analysed using a Chi Squared test to accept or reject the hypothesis. The findings of the study revealed that branded content integration has a positive influence when characters of a soap opera use a brand familiar to the viewers. The implications of the results of the study are that marketers are able to use branded content to create a positive change in consumer attitudes and to drive purchase intent. Using branded content integration as a marketing communication tool in soap operas can have a positive impact on how messaging is displayed.GR201