It was July 2008 and the Tour de France had just finished. Barloworld Ltd, an industrial brand management company, had sponsored one of the teams that took part – named Team Barloworld. It was a team that had proven extraordinarily successful in 2007, earning the Barloworld brand significant global brand awareness and publicity. However, one of the Team Barloworld cyclists in the 2008 Tour de France had tested positive for doping, potentially compromising two of the Barloworld brand values, namely honesty and integrity.

When Marisa Torrani took a brief moment to relax in one of the elegant armchairs in her book emporium, Skoobs Theatre of Books, she drank in the scene with satisfaction. It was 6pm on a Friday in June 2012, 18 months since Skoobs had opened in one of South Africa’s premier entertainment and gaming complexes, Montecasino, north of Johannesburg. The store was filling up with customers, many of them straight from work and looking for a place to unwind and, as she watched, she couldn’t help wondering what it was, exactly, that drew people to Skoobs.

By 2003, Quadrem, a global e-marketplace that facilitated electronic transactions between buyers and suppliers from the mining, metals and minerals industry, was in its third year of operation. While some of the regions such as North America, Australasia and South Africa managed to operate profitably on a regional level, Quadrem as a whole was not yet profitable mainly because of its high fixed centralised costs. The shareholders however, expected Quadrem to break even by the end of quarter two in 2004.

Since 2000, manufacturer of high-performance sports footwear and apparel, New Balance SA, had grown its market share substantially. Now, in 2006, the general manager of New Balance South Africa, Gary van Rooyen, considered the company’s future direction. In line with worldwide trends, opposition companies, such as Nike, had started to move into retail by establishing their own chain of stores.

Josi McKenzie, marketing director of fast food chain, Nando’s International, considered the development of Nando’s International since its inception as a South African fast food organisation 16 years previously. By the end of 2003, there were a total of 450 stores throughout the world, 186 of them being in South Africa. McKenzie felt good about this record, but she felt that there was enough potential in the company to perform even better on a global basis in 2004.

On 17 April 2005 African cellular telecommunications company MTN finally launched its new ‘everywhere you go’ pay-off line across all of its African operations. Three months later, with the rush over, MTN’s group executive director: marketing, Santie Botha, reflected on the company’s two-year journey towards adopting a global brand identity with locally relevant communication – the so-called ‘glocal’ approach.

As he made another payment to the previous owner of LEW Auto and Electrical & Aircon Repairs in June 2017, Peter Simelane, the new owner, was worried that his business was not growing as he had anticipated that it would. He had seen great potential for the business when he bought it in 2015, but by 2017 the business was still not living up to his expectations. He wanted to identify where the problem lay and what he needed to do to grow the business.

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It was January 2003, 17 months since kulula.com had taken to the skies for the first time. This low-cost airline had survived almost two years in an extremely tough industry and had been very successful since its inaugural flight on 1 August 2001.

Gidon Novick, kulula.com's executive manager of marketing, was involved in its unusual, but highly successful communication strategy from day one and maintained a close relationship with the advertising agency, morrisjones&co. But despite its success, Novick did not feel comfortable.

Kulula.com was South Africa's first true low-frills airline and had managed to be profitable from day one. Its somewhat unconventional, but very funky communication strategy contributed hugely towards its successful performance. Advertising agency, morrisjones&co firmly believed that although its advertising campaign was risky, it might have been more risky if people did not notice it at all. They maintained that "if it was bold and in your face, it would stand out".

Kulula.com was established in 2001 as a low cost airline following the lines of the international discount airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair in Europe and Southwest Airlines in the USA. The strategy was to keep costs as low as possible, using single type aircraft, no frills such as business class or free refreshments, and keeping reservation costs low by booking directly, typically online.