Brand image assessment: international visitors' perceptions of Cape Town

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to assess the brand image of Cape Town as a tourist destination using a progressive method of unstructured and structured techniques such as word association and free association. Design/methodology/approach - A mixed method study was designed incorporating two phases. Phase one involved in-depth interviews with a convenience sample of 85 international visitors to Cape Town. Phase two consisted of a survey, which resulted in 585 useable questionnaires that incorporated both open and closed-ended questions. Findings - The results indicate the strengths and weaknesses of each technique used. For example, word association is effective at eliciting positive images and holistic impressions but weak at identifying affective images. The free-choice technique offers a more balanced perception of positive, negative, cognitive and affective images of a brand. Research limitations/implications - It is possible through the use of unstructured and structured techniques together to identify commonality in image perceptions but also differences in such perceptions on the basis of visitors' demographic and travelling characteristics. Practical implications - The findings highlight the strengths and weaknesses of techniques such as word association and free association. The results indicate that some image attributes may not always adequately differentiate the brand from its competitors. Originality/value - The paper contributes to understand the relationship between three components of brand knowledge namely, image, differentiating attributes and choice factors in the context of an African city brand.