Is there a viable black middle class in South Africa?

A debate rages about whether the research is truly representative and therefore accurate. I have no way of knowing whether the findings of this research are correct and I can boldly say that no one out there has a clue!

But does it really matter whether TNS and the Unilever Institute have the correct figures to the last Rand or the last black South African? Whether or not the figures are skewed is an academic argument.

As a responsible marketer in practice, here is the only inquiry I am prepared explore,” Is there a new consumer market that could add to the bottom line of my client's kitty!” And if the answer to this question is in the affirmative, then my job is to do what I get paid to do - namely to increase client's market share!

This is the issue I indulge the naysayers of the black Rand: Is there a viable black middle class?

Context

Within the context of the increasing number of black people attending historically white universities, historically black universities have been graduating students since they were established and these numbers have increased significantly - and consistently - since 1994. Simultaneously, South Africa's post 1994 legislation has supported the emergence of a robust middle class with employment equity establishing an enabling environment for historically disadvantaged people (including all women, black South Africans and disabled persons).

Black economic empowerment is a corrective measure that seeks to address the economic imbalances of the past with the result that, and according to the third Black Diamonds research results, pegs the number at approximately 12 000 families per month moving from townships to suburbs. In fact, the black migration to the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town is so prolific that there's a tongue in cheek suggestion doing the rounds that the City of Cape Town should consider renaming the Southern Suburbs to ‘Gugulethu South' and the Parklands Suburb to ‘Parklitsha'. Furthermore, the 2006/7 fiscal is the first year in recorded history where more cars were purchased by black drivers than any other racial group.

Looking back at the economic boom of 2005 when property prices were going through the roof and car sales rocketed, everyone asked the question, “Who is driving the economy?” with the most common answer based on the assumption that foreign investment was behind the unprecedented boom. It was within this context that TNS Research and Unilever unveiled their research, establishing an undisputed reality: that the new black middle class is a key driver of the SA economy.

Power of black Rand

I fail to see why there is so much resistance about the power of the black rand as if these economic dynamics are unique to South Africa. Having studied the history of Africa with keen interest, I see similarities between South Africa's current economic climate and that of other post colonial African countries. Black economic empowerment is similar (in objectives) to the laws enacted in other post colonial African countries. In the sixties and seventies, the majority of the post colonial African countries that needed to extend more opportunities to their previously disadvantaged African constituents passed legislation for the “Africanisation of the Economy”. These laws were similar (in objectives) to South Africa's employment equity and black economic empowerment legislation.

I commend TNS Research Surveys and the Unilever Institute for embarking on this landmark project. We need to confront the reality that South Africa's population is majority non-white and that it represents an untapped purchasing powerhouse. There is no longer any debate about the fact that the black ‘emerged and emerging' market is the source of this country's biggest economic growth potential.

Similarly, it is important to grasp that while the fundamental measurements of this burgeoning group remain limited to the Livings Standards benchmarks adopted by our marketing fraternity; this is a dangerous over simplification. It is imperative that marketers start to see their consumer constituents as individuals and work within the context of relationship rather than on the principle of one-message-per-LSM sector.

Please resist the temptation of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole because what has worked in the past will certainly fail in the future. I am not so obtuse that I am unaware of the irony and the dangers that lurk in extending this class into a label of its own, but there is a unifying truth that will win out: whatever your cultural orientation, people are drawn to brands that put the relationship at the forefront of their marketing strategy. It's a matter of common sense that successful and astute marketers are those who will find ways of resonating on a personal and individual level with potential consumers that assumes a degree of insight and understanding.

By whichever name you wish to label it - the ‘Black Rand, the Black Diamond, the Afropolitan, BEE Currency' - it's out there. The real challenge to marketers is not to get so lost in the detail that we fail to remember and respect the rules of engagement.