ABSTRACT

This study was meant to realise and uncover the effectiveness of rebranding on consumer purchasing decisions, with Grain Marketing Board as the case study. The objectives set aimed to assess the impact of the new package and logo of the products, to assess the perceptions of consumers towards new packages as well as to establish the factors that may hinder the success of rebranding. Relevant literature regarding the topic under study was researched and reviewed. This included scholarly articles, books and company records. Participants were drawn from the Grain Marketing Board top management, employees from the marketing, production and finance departments, as well as industrial customers and end users of the products. The total population size was 4 000 and from that population, a sample of 102 respondents was drawn. Simple random sampling and non-probability purposive sampling were used as the sampling techniques. Descriptive research and exploratory research designs were used to undertake the research. Questionnaires, observations and interviews were research instruments used for the research. As far as the research was concerned, it was found out that consumers did not feel the impact the rebranding exercise was supposed to have upon their purchasing decisions. It was then concluded that the rebranding exercise for the Grain Marketing Board had a negative impact on the purchasing decisions because no profit was realised from either the organisation or retail customers. This meant that no positive perception was attained. It is therefore suggested that the organisation adopts strategies like initiating research by involving customers in their decisions as well as to involve employees as they are regarded as the main stakeholders in the organisation.