Your mass market strategy may be wrong. Here’s why

Mathabatha Sexwale on SA's consumer majority

How well does the average marketing professional in South Africa understand the majority of the country?

Way back in 2015, when I transitioned into my second marketing role with about three years of experience, I was earning between R18,000 and R22,000 per month. I wasn’t close to being a senior decision-maker in the team; I was more someone who executed, and I was no longer earning within the mass market bracket.

By implication, the decision makers were even further removed from the majority.

The real deal

In the bubble of our brand strategy meetings and agency brainstorming sessions, we may think we understand the mass market and even believe we can relate to it. However, the data tells a different story.

According to the UCT Liberty Institute’s 2025 Majority Report, 51 million South Africans live in households with monthly incomes of less than R22,000. When you zoom in further, you find that 36.2 million people live in households earning under R8,000 a month.

This highlights the stark disconnect between the lives of marketing professionals and the reality of mass consumers, and the strategic risk for South African brands, as it can lead to misaligned marketing communications.

Mind the gap

Consider the ads shown during high-reach television moments – a popular local sporting fixture, for instance – this is likely to be an ad for a household product or a big-ticket purchase, such as a car.

The formula of these ads is to show a remarkable, idealised life, place the product in the hands of the successful, admirable people living that life, and imply that this is the product such people favour (and you, the viewer, should too). This is aspirational marketing, and in a country with our level of inequality, it could be harmful to your brand and to the consumer.

When the median household income is just R4,500 a month, an ad showcasing luxury cars and sprawling suburban homes doesn’t represent an achievable goal. It highlights a chasm between two different universes.

Social Comparison Theory explains why this can backfire.

Trigger warning

We are naturally wired to evaluate ourselves by comparing our lived reality to others. Aspirational ads are designed to trigger this comparison and go on to suggest their product is the bridge to a better self.

However, when the ideal presented is statistically impossible to achieve, the comparison fails to motivate; instead, it fosters feelings of frustration, inadequacy, and resentment. The brand, instead of creating desire, becomes a symbol of a world from which the consumer feels excluded.

Instead, marketers should strive to understand the lives of the majority of the population and align their efforts with what they are trying to achieve. When you take a closer look at balancing R4,500 across all necessities, you realise that they are achieving the mastery of stretching a tight budget within a precarious economic landscape.

Money talks

To connect, we must understand what the Liberty Institute researchers termed the ‘rhythm of money’. For most South Africans, financial life is not a predictable monthly salary deposited into a bank account. It’s a complex blend of multiple, irregular income streams: a formal wage from a cashier job, a government social grant, and unpredictable earnings from a small informal business run from home.

This explains why a third of bank account holders withdraw all their funds as soon as they arrive. This isn’t financial illiteracy; it’s a rational strategy to move money from a rigid formal system into a more flexible cash-based ecosystem. Spending is ‘lumpy' and event-driven, timed to a grant payment day or a piece job payout, not the 25th of the month.

I often joke that if we were all rational, we’d look at Uber drivers to choose the most reliable family car – a robust Japanese sedan over the luxury British SUV from a TV ad. The underlying message is: if we were indeed smart with our money, then what brands would we choose? The brands prioritised by someone stretching R3,000 to R8,000 to cover a household’s monthly expenses are the gold standard.

Let’s talk about trust.

So, how do we help the average marketer grasp this reality intuitively? To win the trust and loyalty of the majority, we need to shift our approach.

From aspiration to affirmation

Instead of showing consumers a fantasy life, the most powerful communication makes them feel seen, understood, and capable. It affirms their reality and celebrates their resourcefulness.

Take a look at OMO’s Father’s Day campaign. Recognising that over 60% of children grow up without their biological father, they didn’t portray an idealised nuclear family. Instead, they celebrated the uncles, grandmothers, and mothers who step up. That act of affirming a complex social reality builds brand respect.

Deliver tangible, unambiguous value

In a market where consumers are acutely price-conscious and an unexpected expense of just R1,000 could be a crisis, trust becomes the most valuable commodity. Abstract promises are meaningless; we have to provide actual value.

Shoprite has built its empire on this principle. Their R5 loaf of brown bread, a price they’ve held since 2016, is not a vague promise of ‘affordability’; it’s a tangible, reliable offer on a household staple.

Align with the financial rhythm

A responsive strategy must be embedded in your product and payment mechanics. This means innovating with flexible models that move beyond the monthly billing cycle.

Can you offer pay-as-you-go options? Can you package products into smaller, more affordable ‘sachet’ sizes that align with daily cash flow? Can you provide extra value timed to coincide with social grant payment dates?

A shared value philosophy

Brands that can perform these three actions will demonstrate a fundamental understanding of their customers’ world and, therefore, position themselves as essential partners in their daily lives.

It’s worth remembering that a brand is not just a logo or a slogan; it’s the gut reaction your audience feels towards your brand. If this instinctive response is ‘I resonate with and trust this brand’, then you are winning.

This is the core of Brave Group’s philosophy of shared value through creativity. We endeavour to share in the success and aspirations of the communities we connect with. The big idea is to foster memorable relationships built on mutual respect and understanding.