BUS3041F Consumer Behaviour Group Assignment Brief 2025

BUS3041F Context

Sub-cultures represent distinct pockets of identity and meaning within a broader societal culture. These groups are often defined by shared values, norms, aesthetic tastes, and consumption behaviours that differentiate them from other groups. Fashion is a particularly powerful vehicle through which sub-cultures express identity, resist conformity, and communicate belonging. 

BUS3041F Your Task

In this two-part group assignment, you will identify one South African sub-culture and conduct an in-depth exploration of their unique characteristics, consumer motives, and fashion preferences. You will then create an imaginary fashion brand tailored to this group, complete with a visual campaign and short group presentation.

Part 1: Written Report (80 marks)

1. Sub-Culture Description (30 marks) Provide a detailed description of the sub-culture, highlighting what differentiates it from others. Consider aspects such as values, dialect/slang, fashion, media habits, music, art, or other relevant features. You are encouraged to use your own images/graphics or those sourced online (with proper citation).
2. Fashion Consumption Motives (10 marks) Identify and explain three rational and three emotional motives influencing the sub-culture’s fashion consumption. Justify why these motives are particularly relevant to this group. 
3. Brand Creation (20 marks) Develop an original fashion brand (e.g., clothing, shoes, accessories) that would appeal to your chosen sub-culture. 
   o Name your brand o Create a logo (manually or using AI tools) 
   o Describe your product offering and explain how it meets the needs/preferences of this group.
4. Marke ting Communi cation Piece (20 marks) Design a piece of marketing communication (hereafter referred to as ‘comms’) that appeals to one rational and one emotional motive discussed above. This can take the form of a billboard, print ad, Instagram post, TikTok reel (max 30 seconds), etc. 
   If a visual: include it as an appendix at the end of your document 
   o If a video: insert a working hyperlink 

*No explanation of how the comms appeals to the rational and emotional motives is needed in the report; this will form part of your oral presentation.

Technical Instructions for Written Report

• Maximum 5 pages (excluding references, cover page and appendices) 
• Use the cover page template provided in Amathuba as your title page and populate with your details 
• Use the UCT-Harvard referencing style (in-text and full reference list) 
• You can use any clear & legible font, but all text must be justified  • Original wording (no AI copy-pasting)  
• Labeled appendices

Part 2: Oral Presentation (15 marks) 

Prepare a short, TWO-SLIDE group presentation. This excludes your mandatory title slide, which must include your group number and full names and student numbers of all group members. (So, overall you will have 3 slides.) 

Your slides must include: 

1. Brief sub-culture description (5 marks) 
2. Overview of your fashion brand and display of your comms (5 marks) 
3. Explanation of how the comms appeals to one rational and one emotional motive (5 marks)

Each group will present in class. Each group’s presentation must be only 3 minutes long, so you will have to work on being succinct. Every group member must contribute to the presentation. You can divide this as you see fit. All group members will obtain the same mark, so be sure to divide the work fairly.