Start spreading the (bad) news

As more and more consumers take to complaining about products and services online and in social network forums, ignoring this phenomenon is simply no longer an option for any business.
Yes, you’ve got a website and a call centre, maybe even a well-staffed PR department and all these, you believe, will take care of customer complaints.
And [...]

How worldwide trends make their way to SA… and leave their mark

The world has become a fishbowl. Satellites peer into our lives, cellphone calls are tapped, banking accounts are verified by credit providers and, wherever you go, in the first world anyway, the same brands are always apparent, especially a handful of soft drinks, apparel and fast food. People are like sheep, they like to follow [...]

Point-of-Sale: POP art or science?

It’s work in progress for now, but a revolution is on the way. What medium draws the biggest audience – TV, print, radio, digital or AN Other? Check the numbers and you may still be no wiser because retail stores are not (yet) classified as media.
This could change as US marketers focus increasing attention on [...]

Marketing beyond 2010

One would hope that the sheer sense of occasion surrounding the 2010 Football World Cup will prompt the country’s marketers into a new sense of purpose for the years ahead.
That the once in a lifetime opportunity to witness first hand the greatest sporting show on earth, along with all the modern broadcast technology, [...]

Branding the Boys

Yes, I know how you feel. Benni McCarthy misses another sitter; Bafana Bafana record yet another draw against the footballing equivalent of Outer Mongolia, and we all trudge away to bemoan our national side’s poor finishing and their dreadful record. But, what about the other repercussions, the intangibles, the things to which we can’t apply [...]

Branding

Branding the Boys

Yes, I know how you feel. Benni McCarthy misses another sitter; Bafana Bafana record yet another draw against the footballing equivalent of Outer Mongolia, and we all trudge away to bemoan our national side’s poor finishing and their dreadful record. But, what about the other repercussions, the intangibles, the things to which we can’t apply [...]

How to Re-brand and live to Tell the Tale

The disappearance of one of its best-known brands was a major reason diversified multinational industrial services and retail group, Imperial Holdings developed a new look that was unveiled in late September.
lmperial Car Rental, which was the group’s most visible presence even though it contributed only 13% to profits, had evolved into Europcar just four months [...]

Brand Survival: be bold

It’s tough out there, and brands, even the strong ones, are struggling to
survive. The ‘R’ word being bandied about is not helping matters either.
Recession is defined as general slowdown in economic activity in a country
over a sustained period of time, or a business cycle contraction. So what
can marketers do to turn recession into revenue?
brand survival [...]

Is Brand SA in trouble?

On the other hand, politicians and tourism
bodies seem to agree that most foreign
investors just worry about return on
investment and don’t care too much
about morality and dirty politics. They
also feel that tourists are more interested in the weak
rand and cheap holidays than corruption and whether
or not the Dalai Lama is allowed to visit.
Interestingly – or would [...]