MarketingMix

M E A S U R A B L E M A R K E T I N G I N S I G H T S I Vol 26 Issue No. 9/10 I 2008 I R25.00 incl. vat

 MarketingMix CONTENTS

I 02 I Book Review I 25 I Expert Opinion:

Marketing Mix reviews Value Through Nici Stathacopoulos
Values, by Jerry Schuitema, and discovers
how working from the heart can take Nici explains why the consumer should be
marketing to the next level. the centre of your business universe.

I 04 I Direct Marketing I 26 I Content Champions

News 2008
Marketing Mix reports back from the CRM
Marketing Mix’s media expert contributors
Masterclass. 16 round up the content champions.

I 06 I Expert Opinion:
Keith Wiser I 32 I Expert Opinion:
Keith tries to unpick the definition of direct Jonathan Gluckman
marketing. Jonathan talks about online retailing.

I 07 I Expert Opinion: I 35 I Township Marketing

Richard Duncan Key learnings and tips from the Marketing
Richard shares his thoughts on the impact 06 Mix Township Marketing event.
of brain drain.
21
I 37 I The Chartered
I 08 I 7 Day [B]itch
Ronen Aires takes us through his busy
Marketer and the
week, and an aural cleansing. Services SETA
The Services SETA has revived the
I 10 I Brand Anatomy Chartered Marketer Designation.
All Gold celebrates 100 years.
I 40 I Expert Opinion:
I 12 I Youth Insights 08 23 Gary Nelson
Find out more about the elusive youth Gary explains how retailing in the
markets, and how you should be marketing townships should work.
to them.

I 16 I New Research I 41 I Expert Opinion:

Methodologies Janine Lloyds
Marketing Mix finds out what new and Janine stresses the importance of a good
exciting methodologies and themes are reputation.
shaking up the research industry.
32 I 42 I Experiential
I 21 I Expert Opinion: Marketing
Gaby De Abreu Highlights from the EXP African
Gaby explains how to advertise to teens. 10 Experiential Summit.

I 22 I Expert Opinion: I 44 I Expert Opinion:

Benon Czornij
In the first of a series of columns from
Hello Computer, Benon explains why
conceptualisation should be the first step in
building a brand online.
I 23 I Expert Opinion:
Jonty Fisher
Jonty shares some tips that help brands
connect with the ‘prosumer’.
I 24 I Expert Opinion:
Walter Pike
Walter ponders the power of social media.
Nicci Columbine
Nicci shares her views on contact centre
based campaigns.
43 I 46 I Marketing At-Retail
ZaPOP’s MD, Riaan Labuschagne, shares
his learnings on the lower LSM retail
marketing scene.
12
I 48 I Law Mix: Darren
Willians and Eric Levenstein
Darren and Eric explore intellectual property
rights and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 1

by chris kyparissis BOOK REVIEW
Value through values
Last month I attended drupa, the world’s
largest printing exhibition in Dusseldorf, Germany.
During an interview with a trade publication I
was asked which trend had made the greatest
impact on me. It is the way in which all major
stakeholders in the industry have begun to take
environmental issues to heart, from sustainable
forests by the paper producers to alcohol-free
and carbon-emission-reduced printing machines.
With this in mind, the title of Jerry Schuitema’s
new book conjured images of carbon footprints
and melting glaciers much like Al Gore’s An
Inconvenient Truth or Matt Groening’s spoof in
the recent Simpsons movie, An Irritating Truth.
It turns out we really shouldn’t judge a book by
its cover or even by its title.
In this case, the book should be judged by its
subtitle The power of giving in creating wealth.
Using his vast experience in the front line of eco-
nomic communications and business consulting as
well as the University of Life, Schuitema attempts to
awaken the giver that is within all of us.
The central theme of giving more than taking
2 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
is evident throughout all the chapters and discus-
sions from taxes to wealth distribution.
It contains many interesting economic facts
and figures that anybody involved in business,
from the student to the seen-it-all executive, will
find useful.
The best description of the book, however,
is given by none other than the author when
he says,
‘Again, let me remind you that this entire book
is from the heart and an appeal to your heart.
What is truly in your heart is what will make the
best mission statement for your company and
your personal life.
The keys to success that apply to individuals
and to countries also apply to companies. The
overriding principle is that if people are taking
more than they are giving they will create deficits
and poverty. If they are giving more than they are
taking they will create surpluses and prosperity.
Having an external focus and developing people
is as important to a company as it is to a country.
Indeed it could not happen at a country level if it
didn’t happen at the level of a company which is,
after all, a cell of national economic activity.’
So who should read this book? Everybody!
Unless, of course, you truly believe that you or
the company you work for or the country you live
in is filled to the brim with high-value individuals
who have truly embraced the power of giving...
And why should marketers in particular read
this book? Because we are expected to do every-
thing for everybody from learning to speak in
terms such as ‘ROI’ when negotiating next year’s
marketing budget with the CFO to writing the
‘damage control’ press release when a product
line lets us down.
We are expected to know all and do all in our
companies so why not get some help in choosing
the high road when new low roads are appearing
on a daily basis.
If this book provides a fellow marketer with a
few more ideas, paths or destiny-embracing
epiphanies then it was well worth the read. 
Value Through Values
By Jerry Schuitema
Griffel Media
R157 (approximately)

PROPRIETOR AND PUBLISHER:
Systems Publishers (Pty) Ltd.
Tel: (011) 234 7008
North Block, Bradenham Hall,
Mellis Road, Rivonia,
Johannesburg
PUBLISHER: Terry Murphy
MANAGING EDITOR:
Michelle Sturman
e-mail: michelles@systems.co.za
EDITOR: Fulvia Becatti
e-mail: fulviab@systems.co.za
ADVERTISING MANAGER:
Lethabo Tloubatla
e-mail: lethabo@systems.co.za
PRODUCTION:
Spencer van Graan
e-mail:
spencerg@systems.co.za
EVENT ENQUIRIES:
Daisy Mulenga
e-mail: daisym@systems.co.za
SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES:
Busisiwe Nama
e-mail:
busisiwe@systems.co.za
www.marketingmix.co.za
Copyright of all material in this
publication and supplements are
reserved by the proprietors, except
where expressly stated. The opinions
in this publication do not necessarily
represent the views of the publisher.
Database:
List Perfect
3 461 Jan-June 2008
ED’S NOTE
I the C P B
I recently received an e-mail from a colleague on the topic of customer
service. Basically, the e-mail told the tale of Wally, the New York cab driver
who decided to stop complaining about his situation (highly competitive
working environment, stressful conditions, etc) and start differentiating his
business. Wally greets each fare professionally and hands over his mission statement presented on a laminated
card which reads: ‘To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in
a friendly environment’. Wally’s car is spotlessly clean and he offers his fares coffee or soft drinks as well as a
choice of reading material. He also offers a choice of radio station listening, and adjusts the air conditioning to
the comfort of the passenger. He advises the best route to the destination and will also chat about the sights
that will be passed on the journey. Wally’s approach to service has doubled his income and regular customers
have started calling Wally directly when they need a cab.
I wish we could see more of this sort of emphasis on quality service locally (though I don’t expect this to come
from our taxi drivers). But as long as companies pretend that service is something they only need to provide when
customers are happy with them, we won’t get anywhere near the level of excellence that Wally has achieved.
After a reckless truck driver had bashed in the rear left lights of my friend’s car, he called his car dealership
to find out which panel beater it recommended and endorsed to do the best repair job. He checked his car in
with this company, expecting good results but the repair work carried out on his vehicle was dreadful. The
colour-matching on the paint may just as well have been done by a colour-blind five-year-old. And the texture
of the new paint was so grainy the car looked like it had acne. The repairs to the light fixtures on the car were
shoddy too. Sub-standard, at best.
The car was checked in a second time (though the panel beater never apologised for the terrible work carried
out the first time around). This time, my friend arranged to leave the car with the panel beater for three weeks, while
he was away on business – plenty of time to do a good repair job, surely? He also took the service consultant on
a step-by-step tour of the repairs that would need to be carried out to get the car back to its former glory.
But alas, he returned to find that they had simply painted over the first blunder and had neglected to repair the
lights, as he had asked them to. My friend is now forced to fork out the thousands required to repair the ‘repair’
(insurance doesn’t cover the stupidity of panel beaters, apparently). He will also suffer the severely impacted
resale value of the car (as confirmed by an assessor). All because he decided to follow the advice of the dealer.
I shall point out here that once the Consumer Protection Bill becomes law, cases such as these might be
taken to court (because advice may well be deemed a service) and the consumer will be favoured, I have been
told. In this case, my friend would have been able to prove that he suffered financial loss as a result of follow-
ing dealer’s advice and then trying to fix the ‘recommended’ partner’s mess.
For now, all the consumer can do is write e-mails and letters, and yell at someone on the phone. My friend
has written a letter of complaint to the powers that be. But do you think they have done anything about it? No.
The dealership has not even deigned to respond to his e-mails and phone calls, and this ostrich approach
(head in the sand) has lost it a very loyal and valuable customer (he’s a young, up-and-coming hot shot with a
very powerful equally hot shot-esque network of friends). Not much ‘voorsprung’ in that, is there? But then, can
their customers expect any more from them when they endorse companies and partners whose service is so
utterly deplorable, and then pretend that thy had nothing to do with it…
Marketing Mix Events Programme
• Mobile Solutions Showcase: 7 November 2008
• Luxury Marketing Summit: 12 & 13 November 2008
• Interactive Marketing Summit: 4 March 2009
Sponsorship and delegate enquiries: Lethabo: lethabo@systems.co.za (011) 234 7008
Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 3
 CRM
Marketing Mix
CRM Masterclass
The Marketing Mix CRM Masterclass,
brought together the industry’s direct marketing
and CRM experts.
Audrey Price-Dix, senior manager: Direct
Marketing at Cell C, says that marketers should
be careful when using Web 2.0 media, which is
now the source of junk mail and marketing clutter.
She suggests that direct marketers apply some of
the traditional principles of DM to new media
and Web 2.0 to get the best results.
CRM is not limited to external stakeholders and
customers, says Grace Harding, MD, Actuate.
Internal marketing and media strategies are key for
communicating effectively with the people in your
organisation who convert prospects into sales.
Internal communications are very measurable
(they impact on attitudinal changes as well as
behavioural changes and these impact bottom
line), and it actually doesn’t matter which medium
you use, as long as the message is packaged
right and is relevant to your staff.
Actuate’s research found that most employees’
preferred method of communication is face-to-
face interaction with the big boss.
Communicating what’s going wrong with the
service strategy or why customers are complaining,
will do little beyond raising awareness. But
asking them to define what kind of behaviours
they think would prevent customers from
making these complaints gets them on board and
develops an understanding of how to become a
proactive employee.
Issy Zimmerman, Redgewoods director, doesn’t
believe that CRM and loyalty building plans are
the way forward for brands seeking loyalty in
retail, since they don’t boost sales. Loyalty to a
store is based on location, whether or not it is the
only stockist of a particular product or brand and
whether the shopping experience delivers some-
thing unique and exciting. When it comes to retail
for the youth markets, Zimmerman stresses the
importance of the nag factor, and the emotional
link to the desired product (especially prevalent
among kids). He also mentioned the ‘age-
compression’ factor, which sees kids getting older
much younger (10-year-olds don’t want to play
with Tonka Trucks or Barbie Dolls – they want
4 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
PlayStations and laptops) and retailers are having
to adapt.
Kim Aardweg, managing partner, BrandEQ,
says that women are the major purchase
decision-makers across categories, with huge
purchasing power. “Not only does a woman have
more money to spend today, but she also spends
her husband’s money,” says Aardweg. Yet few
brands take women’s needs into consideration,
and need to respond with advertising and com-
munications that take into account the following:
Women communicate to build, and they want
brands and sales people to listen to their needs
and problems and help them to decide what to
buy. Women don’t buy brands, they join them,
says Aardweg. And they have major word-of-
mouth power.
Nici Stathacopoulos, managing partner,
proximity#ttp, says that in seeking out greater
value in return for spend, marketers need to focus
less on technology and more on its application.
We’re almost bypassing the Internet and going
straight to mobile, in South Africa, adds
Stathacopoulos.
Women, children, teens and students need
greater attention from marketers; these are
market sectors that are not being appreciated for
their full worth.
Some of the key strategies that marketers will
need to adopt to become more relevant in the
Web 2.0 world include social networks and
virtual games. She points to brands that are
making use of websites, Facebook groups and
the virtual game Second Life to get more marketing
bang for their buck. She emphasises that
consumers in this space want to collaborate and
co-create with brands, and see themselves as
being part of communities. These consumers are
online to a greater extent than marketers are
prepared to admit (even in developing states, the
penetration of these platforms is high!). There
are, however, a few rules of engagement…
1. Be useful: develop widgets and other cool and
useful applications that will make users want to
engage
2. Become a citizen and not a ruler; contribute to
the environment in a useful way
3. Be interesting, because this is what people are
looking for when they sign up to Facebook or
Second Life.
4. Individualism is about values over intimacy –
respect and celebrate the individuality of users.
And be an individual yourself.
5. Let users and consumers participate and col-
laborate, let them design your products and
customise their own interfaces, for example.
6. Be prepared to change
7. Wear your logo with care – if you brand every-
thing, it becomes background wallpaper.
Stephen Green, director, i5 Group, says that
CRM strategies and initiatives need to have the
support and engagement of all employees for
them to work. When developing the technological
solutions that deliver better CRM for companies,
marketing managers should address the needs
and priorities of sales, marketing, IT, and service
departments, and find ways to make the technology
more user-friendly to each of these departments.
But having the technology alone won’t cut it,
says Green; a keen understanding of the end-
user’s needs and behaviours is vital, as is having
buy-in from senior execs. Business drivers and
goals must be quantified upfront and all
departments need to understand how the inter-
face will help them to do their jobs better (the
interface, meanwhile, must take into account the
specific needs of each department). Green
emphasises that the usability of any system is more
important than its functionality, so training is a must.
Thamir Hassan, CEO, TransUnion Analytic and
Decision Services, says that having LSM and
demographic customer data is not enough.
Credit data offers marketers information that
describes behaviour, especially in terms of spend-
ing, credit potential and credit risk as well as
ownership of property, cars, and so on. And
where demographics are static and slow evolving
data sets, credit data changes every month so
trends become clear. This info can be used to
understand and segment customers, and to
develop models to predict their behaviour.
Hassan stresses that marketers must familiarise
themselves with the NCA, and must ensure that at all
times their marketing is in line with its regulations. 
by keith wiser EXPERT OPINION
The start of the journey
When debating with myself where to start
with this series of articles, I asked myself how I
could best be of interest (and for interest also
read ‘service’) to both mainstream, ATL-focused
marketers, as well as any direct marketers who
may have inadvertently strayed into the den.
My starting point therefore goes something like
this. Few MMs (mainstream marketers) have an
understanding of direct marketing. But it is also
my contention that few DMs (direct marketers)
have an understanding of direct marketing.
Before I go on to justify that statement I need to
back up a bit. A radio spot is a radio spot. A
billboard is a billboard. The same holds true for a
television spot, a print ad or a cinema commercial.
These types of adverts are, in fact, quite simply
and clearly defined by the channel through which
they are delivered.
Now compare the above with a definition of
direct marketing I came across a while ago:
‘Direct marketing is a cybernetic relational
marketing process which uses direct response
advertising in prospecting, conversion and
maintenance.’
Over the years I have made several attempts to
understand what might be meant by a ‘cybernetic
relational marketing process’, but have never
even got close. I have got a bucket load of other
definitions. Little surprise then, that we have created
so much confusion.
When confronting this issue for a book that I
am writing, I contacted some of my colleagues
around the world. Michael Killeen, the MD
of an agency called Dialogue in Ireland, took the
fairly straightforward approach when he said:
“Direct marketing is communication to a tightly
targeted audience that requests the audience to
respond in some form. If it’s to a mass audience,
it’s not DM.”
Martin Krassnig from our affiliate in Austria
took a totally different view. He said “We do not
talk about direct marketing, but about integrated
marketing. We find ‘direct marketing’ outdated
and prefer to talk about dialogue marketing.”
George van Nevel from DVN in Belgium probably
sits somewhere in the middle. He described his
agency as “an interactive agency that specialises
in interactive communication.”
I guess part of the problem is that direct
marketing takes on many guises these days, for
example, simple direct marketing (SDM), data-
6 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
“
Our inability to simply,
succinctly and successfully
communicate who we are
and what we do is just one
of the issues we need to
confront. There are many
”
others.
base marketing (DM), relationship marketing
(RM), customer relationship marketing (CRM),
customer value management (CVM) and entity
relationship marketing (ERM). You will notice that
most of the above can be described by a TLA
which stands for Three Letter Abbreviation which
is the ultimate TLA.
Here’s another TLA: OGS, which is not yet
actually recognised as a TLA but if I push it hard
enough it could be. OGS stands for Other
Good Stuff, which is being stoked by the digital
revolution that now enables us to do the most
amazing good stuff. Under this heading we have
tools like search engine optimisation and dynamic
content engines which have turned us into direct
marketing wizards. Little wonder that those of us
at the rock face are having more problems reaching
agreement than the judge at a Jacob Zuma trial.
Before I create the wrong impression, I should
leap to the defence of my DM colleagues. I am
not suggesting for one moment that as direct
marketers we don’t know what we are doing.
Instinctively and with much planning and attention
to detail, we do it every day of our lives to deliver
value to our clients or as direct marketers in our
own businesses. But for as long as this lack of
clarity remains around who we are, what we do and
what our clear remit is in terms of operational
areas in marketing, I would suggest that we will
never take our rightful place at the top table.
It still remains a mystery as to why we are not
given more work and a larger slice of the
communications budget. We know that we are
the marketing snipers. Our aim is true. While
others are spraying bullets all over the battlefield
we deliver cost-effective solutions. I have come to
the conclusion that this is the case because we,
as direct marketers, are our own worst enemies.
Our inability to simply, succinctly and successfully
communicate who we are and what we do is just
one of the issues we need to confront. There are
many others.
Over the next few issues I hope to demonstrate
that we as MMs and DMs have far more in
common than our equal inability to define direct
marketing. 
Keith Wiser
MD, 5th Dimension
(011) 781 6396
keithw@5thdimension.co.za

The great brain drain
SA is losing millions of rands worth of professional expertise every month. Fact or fiction?
Along with many African nations, SA has
been suffering from a brain drain for the past
20 years, but the degree of human capital flight
(the technical term for brain drain) from the
country has been particularly pronounced in the
last decade. This combined with a reduction of
immigrations and a more stringent immigration
policy has meant a net loss of skills.
Some sources, notably in government, have
claimed that the brain drain is over stated and
that an encouraging number of South Africans
are returning to the country. Is this a reality,
blind hope or a misguided misconception?
While there have been efforts to persuade
South Africans to return to the country, at times
it must seem like pushing water uphill for those
in government charged with the responsibility
of reversing the statistics. It’s hard to argue with
the immigration trend, the facts of which are:
 SA has lost 25 per cent of its graduates to
the US alone.
 South Africans account for 9.7 per cent of
all international medical graduates practicing
in Canada. This is to say nothing of their
peers in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
 Out of all the medical graduates from Wits
University in the past 35 years, 45 per cent
(2 000 physicians!) have left the country.
 Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK
account for 75 per cent of all emigrations.
According to SA’s own Bureau of Statistics, it
estimates that between 1-1.6m people in
skilled, professional or managerial occupations
have emigrated since 1994. For any country, bar
the US perhaps, this is a substantial pool of
qualified experts to lose. While the brain drain
may only represent three per cent of the total
population of 47 million people, invariably the
emigrations are coming from the more educated
and skilled sector of the population. This is further
compounded by the official calculation that for
every one of these skilled emigrants, 10
unskilled people lose their jobs. That’s anywhere
between10 and 16 million people’s livelihoods
affected directly by the brain drain.
The reasons cited for leaving one of the
world’s most beautiful countries? Not surpris-
ingly, safety and security, general dissatisfaction
with the cost of living, the level of taxation, and
the poor standard of public and commercial
EXPERT OPINION by richard duncan
“
I In a survey conducted
in SA, two thirds of the
sample said they had given
the idea of emigration
some thought, whereas
38 per cent claimed to
have given it a ‘great deal
”
of thought.
services. Affirmative action and career
stability/prospects have also been major
drivers whose importance is growing and
directly affects any remaining confidence in
the protection of what to date has been a
privileged lifestyle.
It has also been said that the impact of affir-
mative action has seen a shift in skilled labour
into early retirement, alternative careers and
industries, and a growth in self-employment and
consultancy businesses as the displaced work-
force seeks alternative career prospects. For some,
this has led to the decision to leave the country.
Whatever the statements made by the South
African government regarding the actual emi-
gration numbers, one only has to turn to the
governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand
and the UK to learn the actual number of immi-
Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix
grants from SA. Here are the facts (sourced
from each government’s Department of
Immigration and/or census data):
 At the time of the 2006 Australian census there
were 104 120 people in Australia who were
born in SA. More than half of them had arrived
since President Mandela became President in
1994. ‘Packing for Perth’ has become slang for
South Africans leaving their country.
 The number of South Africans living in
Canada between 1996 and 2006 increased
by 30 per cent.
 Between 1991 and 1997 SA didn’t feature
on the UK’s top 10 emigration list. In 1998
and 2000 the country came 8th, 5th in
2001, 2002 and 2004, 4th in 2002 and 3rd
in 2003 and 2005.
 In numbers terms between 1991 and 1997
the average number of arrivals from SA in
the UK was anywhere between 900 and 1 300.
This doubled in 1998-9 (2 260-2 955),
doubled again in 2000-1 (4 300-4 755) and
doubled yet again in 2003-5 (7 850-9 635).
 Since 2002 the number of citizen applications
in the UK by South Africans has steadily
grown past previous records and continues
to increase each year with 7 735 citizenships
granted to South Africans in 2006, an all-
time high.
 In New Zealand, South Africans account for just
under nine per cent of the total immigration
pool.
In a survey conducted in SA, two thirds of
the sample said they had given the idea of
emigration some thought, whereas 38 per
cent claimed to have given it a ‘great deal
of thought’.
I wonder how many others are now giving
the thought of emigrating serious consideration
and just how worried the South African government
is that the brain drain is far from over and in
danger of becoming more pronounced in the
next few years and immediately following the
FIFA World Cup in 2010. 
Richard Duncan
founding partner, The Partnership
Sydney, Australia
+61 41 1549 791
richardd@thepartnership.com.au
7
 7 DAY [B]ITCH
Ronen Aires,
CEO, Student Village
01/09/08
My alarm goes off at 6am. My first thought is why do alarm clocks have to
be so damn punctual!?! I kick into fully awake mode while working through
my first cup of coffee and chatting to our points man in Dubai, where we’re
taking a good look at some truly exciting possibilities.
I load the kids into the car and get into traffic on the way to school. By
9am I’m at the office in our weekly sales meeting, enjoying contributing to
the energy among the team as we brainstorm new concepts for clients
wanting to reach the youth market.
The rest of the day is spent catching up with key people in the business,
my inbox and a potential new client and – in between all of that –
thinking of ways we can continue to make positive changes in the lives of
SA’s students.
I head off to gym around 5.30pm while frantically returning calls from
earlier, and then spend a few hours at a friend’s birthday dinner at Bottega
in Parkhurst. I’m home around 11pm to prep for our Tuesday morning
staff-meeting, where I’m reviewing insights from leadership guru Benjamin
Zander’s book – The Art of Possibility – with the Villagers.
I still have so much to do before I fly out to Dubai tomorrow...
02/09/08
I’m at the office at 7.45am to take a quick peek at my inbox before the
door closes for our staff meeting at 8am – zero tolerance for latecomers!
This is one of the most important meetings of the week – a chance for the
entire team to update each other on where they’re at and where they’re
going. The door opens again at 9am and my mental ‘to-do’ list is growing
exponentially. I focus on contacting my key clients, checking the monthly
management accounts and making sure current projects are running
smoothly, and of course, charging my Blackberry. I shoot off to spend some
time with the kids, before heading for the airport.
As I get through passport control, I’m cursing the decision to take my
laptop with me – why are we treated like terrorists these days? I’ve got just
enough time to buy some fragrance and have a quick meal (I don’t do
airline food!)
03/09/08
The plane touches down in Dubai at 5.30am and already it’s nearly 40
degrees! I go to meetings throughout the day, marvelling at the energy and
pace of this city. I find time to chill out and recharge – courtesy of a quick
snow-ski and shopping session at the Emirates Mall – before meeting an old
client, recently relocated to Dubai, at Nando’s. It’s so refreshing to meet a
South African who is not on ‘happy gas’ about Dubai and is looking
forward to returning to SA in the future. I’m back at the airport at midnight.
8 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
04/09/08
I arrive back in Jozi. The crisp air, blue skies, crazy taxi-drivers, smiling faces
and Seattle Coffee is always such an amazing welcome. I head straight back
to the office to prepare for an important client pitch. The team is on point
and after a kick-ass presentation we go out for a catch-up drink.
By 6pm I have a headache that only Myprodol knows how to handle. My
phone rings – I have forgotten about a client’s product launch. I sneak in
and out by 7pm and then head home to sleep.
05/09/08
At 6am I enter into serious negotiations with my alarm clock and manage to
secure a 45-minute extension. After dropping the kids at school, I head off
to the gym. I’m in a management meeting at 9.30am and then start a series
of back-to-back meetings until 4pm. Exhausting – sometimes. Exhilarating –
always.
At 4pm I’m with my personal mentor, Merle Friedman, going through
some work-related and personal growth strategies. At 5pm I head off to
Tony at Salon Roma (one of Jozi’s best-kept secrets) for a shave and a shave
(beard and head).
06/09/08
I sleep in until 10am, head off to the gym and then on to see Patricia, the
Soul Doctor, to have an energy-healing session. With my chakras intact and
energy renewed, I spend the rest of the day with the kids. Thomas the Tank
Engine proves to be a great sedative – for me.
07/09/08
I take the kids out for breakfast and then off to the zoo, and spend the rest
of the day with family. By early evening I’m prepping for Monday morning,
followed by a meeting with a community organisation about an upcoming
event. Then it’s off to see Jerusalema. It’s always better on the big screen –
and who can go wrong with a quality local production like this? 
 by ALL GOLD BRAND ANATOMY
100 All Gold years
Any South African will tell you that there
is just one tomato sauce brand worth dipping
their chips into. All Gold Tomato Sauce.
Celebrating 100 years as a top selling South
African icon, All Gold Tomato Sauce is well set to
continue its message of crammed full goodness,
for the next 100 years.
It was from humble beginnings in 1908, that
All Gold Tomato Sauce was first introduced and
has since grown to include a number of products
renowned for their quality and taste. From crammed
full tomato sauce to great tasting jams, All Gold
continues to make ordinary food, extra-ordinary.
Marketing a century:
To celebrate its 100th birthday, All Gold has
launched a monthly competition cash prizes to
the value of R100 000 with runner-up prizes of
R1 000. Until November 2008, consumers
have the chance to SMS the barcode of their
favourite All Gold product to the competition
line. This campaign is being supported by a
mix of TTL advertising including activations and
strategic PRO.
To talk to All Gold’s illustrious career, Vatiswa
Sineke, marketing manager of Condiments and
10 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
Ingredients, dug out of the archives the popular
‘giant bottle’ TV commercial (featuring children
cramming 36 tomatoes into one bottle of All
Gold Tomato Sauce), endorsed by the All Gold
100 years stamp of approval. Exciting new radio
spots, with the revised classic All Gold jingle was
created to bring a true the sense of fun the brand
is well known for.
Category driven print ads further increased the
awareness of the All Gold range, strengthening the
brands core message of crammed full goodness.
Advertorials and branded recipe pages appeared
in relevant consumer magazines, to give mums
(key shopper) the freedom to turn her ordinary
meals into an everyday delicious experience.
The All Gold website (www.allgold.co.za) was
modernised to be more interactive and educate
the great uses behind the wide range of products.
It features the history of the brand, more simple
to use recipes, product information, brand news,
and a consumer contact form to further assist the
consumer with more tit bits and great in-kitchen
ideas. Sineke said that the online recipe databank
was a popular destination followed by the con-
sumer care line which was often flooded with
recipe requests.

Making a good brand great!!
Part of the All Gold brand success was the result
of relevant brand activations that spoke to the
hearts and minds of the All Gold consumer, who
often expressed the fact that they saw the brand
as their partner in the kitchen.
“In line with the value set of the brand”,
explains Sineke, All Gold’s partnership with Spar
in the Unite Against Hunger campaign and
participation in the All Gold Shoprite Boerewors
competition spoke to the brands commitment to
events South Africans hold dear, but highlighted
the fact that the brand is loved both inside and
outside of the kitchen.
Other innovative alternative media uses
incorporated community activations. This is where
All Gold took the opportunity to educate consumers
about food, cooking, catering and business skills
to show the clear benefits behind quality
products. “In essence, if quality products are
used, quality clients are retained” says Sineke.
Health kicks
In terms of global trends towards healthier eating,
All Gold Tomato Sauce can stand proud – the
high levels of Lycopene found in the natural
tomatoes acts as an antioxidant, which contribute
to the fight against cancer and heart disease.
“Consumers are far more savvy and are
exposed daily to information about healthy foods
and their important role in a balanced diet. We
have always been proud with the fact that All
Gold can comfortably comply with these trends
and will continue to hold the principle of quality
at the core of our brand proposition”, says
Sineke. The All Gold website carries ingredient
information for every All Gold product, allowing
the consumer to be more aware of what goes
into every All Gold product and ultimately into
every meal. With the introduction of Gold Tomato
Sauce Light, a clear consideration for the health-
conscious tomato sauce lover has been catered
for; artificially sweetened, it carries less sugar
than regular Tomato Sauce and can form part of
a Weighless programme.
“All Gold Tomato Sauce carries no preservatives,
no colourants nor thickeners. We respect the
consumer’s health, and will always opt for the
healthier option when we source ingredients,” says
Sineke. In fact, she adds, the All Gold brand
recognises that it has become more important than
ever for brands to start educating consumers about
healthier lifestyles and future advertorials featuring
healthy All Gold recipes will promote this.
Pricing right
At a time when most shoppers are tightening the
purse strings, All Gold products are holding
BRAND ANATOMY
strong. Sineke says that since most consumers
consider the Tomato Sauce an every day product,
they are reporting satisfaction with the current
pricing. In fact, the larger 750ml size is the
brand’s number one seller. “Actually, I haven’t
seen a trend towards smaller packs, in fact the
trend is towards brands that deliver on true
functional benefits, as the risk of spending on a
cheaper alternative that fails to deliver are more
costly” she says.
Looking ahead, we can expect All Gold to
continue to deliver great quality crammed fill
products, great taste that turns your ordinary
meal into an extra-ordinary one.
The All Gold timeline:
1908: launch of All Gold Tomato Sauce
1959: mass production of All Gold Tomato
Sauce in Paarl and Langlaagte
1990: launch of TVC featuring giant bottle
1992: All Gold wins Gold at the Monde Quality
Awards, in Brussels (affirmed the quality of All
Gold products from a dietary perspective)
1993: launch of new All Gold Hot and Spicy
Tomato Sauce variant
2000: All Gold Pasta Pronta was launched (first
ready to eat pasta sauces on the market)
2003: launch of new cream based Pasta Pronta
variants
2004: All Gold launched its upside down
squeeze tomato sauce, in new packaging. TGI
Finance Week voted All Gold the No. 1 icon
food brand in South Africa
2005: the brand was again voted the No. 1 icon
food brand in SA.
2007: All Gold was voted one of the Top 10
brands in South Africa. All Gold Upside Down
Squeeze range is also launched, introducing five
new flavours to the range. 
Article issued by All Gold
Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 11
YOUTH MARKETING
Youth Insights
The youth of today are tomorrow’s up-and-
coming shoppers and business hotshots, and they
represent a hefty proportion of the total South
African population. There are the challenges of
understanding this market and speaking to it
successfully on the one hand, and navigating new
marketing laws and guidelines on the other.
According to Youth Dynamix, the under 24
market numbers 25.6 million, 53 per cent of the
total South African population. “Not only does
the youth market represent more than 50 per cent
of SA’s population, statistics generated by the
Sunday Times Generation Next 2008 survey
suggest that the youth market makes tens of
billions of rands of purchases annually and
influences considerably more,” says Jason Levin,
MD, HDI Youth Marketeers.
Andrea Kraushaar, youth strategy and research
director, Youth Dynamix says that: “From a potential
point of view, the youth market should be
considered as three markets in one.” As a primary
market, that has its own money to spend on its
12 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
own needs and wants; as an influence market
(influencing the parents’ and family’s spending)
and as a future market. “Teen girls particularly
are as key to marketers as women consumers,”
says Khwezi Magwaza, editor, seventeen
magazine. “What’s cool to teen girls will often
filter to all other consumer groups as the
measurement of what’s in.”
Marketing to the youth
Marketers are not speaking to the same type of
teenager they spoke to a few years ago, and this is
in great part thanks to technological developments.
Internet and mobile use has climbed steeply.
Youth Dynamix has found that Internet usage has
doubled from nine per cent in 2005/6 to 18 per
cent in 2007/8, among 10-12 year olds, while
for the 12-15 year olds, Internet usage is up 12
per cent to 32 per cent. Lower LSMs (LSM 5-7)
report a lower usage of Internet compared with
the LSM 8-10 youth. “Fifty three per cent of
16-24 year olds are online,” reports Kraushaar.
Pictures courtesy: Campus Media
2
Helena Gavera, Hip2B publisher, points out
that higher LSM youth may have Internet access
at home, while lower LSMs access it at school.
Seventeen per cent of 7-9 year olds have their
own cellphone, while 56 per cent of 7-15 year
olds have access to a cellphone when they need
it. Ownership for LSM 5-7 is at 81 per cent, while
among LSM 8-10 it’s at 95 per cent. For 19-24
year olds, ownership is at 86 per cent. And MXit
is gaining in popularity, according to the
research, with one in three 13-15 year olds listing
MXit as one of their primary uses of a cellphone.
Youth Dynamix’s research has also found a
marked increase in the number of youth accessing
the Internet through their mobile phones. “This is
going to play an important role in providing
access to the Internet across the LSM brackets
thus creating more convergence,” she says.
Meanwhile, HDI Youth Marketeers’ research
has found that tweens, teens and young adults as
a whole, visit websites and social sites more than
twice a day. The results also show that there is a

correlation between age and Internet usage (the
older they are, the more often they are online –
although young adults are online slightly less than
teens, probably because of time constraints).
More than 40 per cent of youth surveyed report
that they use their cellphones to access the
Internet regularly.
The constant access to media and technology
has taught youth to become serious media
multitaskers and as a result today’s youth are
defined as having continuous partial attention. In
other words, they are watching TV, but they are
also sending text messages and chatting to
friends on MXit at the same time, and are
probably also listening to music via an iPod.
Their attention is never exclusively dedicated
to one medium.
This has created a new imperative for brands –
not only do they need to be available in the new
media space, but they need to be available
2
across a variety of media at one time. Hip2B , for
example, is available across various platforms
outside of the print title – website, electronic
newsletters, mobisite, brand ambassador
programme, TV show, roadshows and so on.
“Although print offers a unique experience, youth
have never been the biggest readers of maga-
zines in any market,” says Gavera.
The good news is that technology is enabling
brands to reach a wider youth market. “With such
huge disparities in wealth and living conditions
there are still many differences between socio-
economic groups in SA. Nevertheless, technology
is increasingly drawing them together,” says Fiona
Thompson, editor, National Geographic Kids.
Brands are warned that the new age of media
has created new expectations. The youth expect
any communication to be a two-way exchange.
Brands are also reminded that the youth are very
sceptical of traditional marketing and advertising,
filtering out what they don’t want. “Marketers
can’t dictate how or when their product is
engaged with, rather the teen decides how it fits
into their lifestyle, which could be very different to
what the marketer had intended. Brands will have
to share values with their consumer rather than
broadcast their own,” says Gavera.
Brand Speak
The youth market is exceptionally brand con-
scious, but not brand loyal, says Richard Perry,
operations manager, Student Radio Networks.
And they demand quality and service. He goes
on to say that brands need to be in their direct
means of consumption, and should offer them
further information and total honesty. It’s about
perceived value, after all.
YOUTH MARKETING
Stimulii’s top tips for
youth marketing
1. Don’t speak down to them
2. Allow them to co-create the product
3. Engage with them on the platforms
they naturally turn to
4. Never assumer that you know more
about them than they know about
themselves
5. Be novel in your message
6. Don’t try and trick them (once you
do, you’ll lose their trust)
7. Account for how sophisticated they
are
8. Youth are fickle
9. They are socially aware and environ-
mentally conscious
10. Youth are more well rounded than
the previous generation and they
expect to be heard. For example, a
large amount of Obama volunteers
are below the voting age
11. They trust their opinions and value
themselves, and believe their
opinions are valid and deserve to
be heard
12. They live in both the real and virtual
space and cultivate their virtual
personalities
13. Be careful not to impose advertising
on them.
Furthermore, youth today will not be defined
by the brands they choose to buy or wear. “But
there are brands that they love and these have
become so much a part of their worlds that they
cannot picture life without them,” says Levin.
There exists a dichotomy between the youth’s
reliance on brands and their cries to be freed
from the tyranny of brand conformity. “This is one
of the key tensions in the youth marketing space.
To coin a term, ‘ContrAddiction’ doesn’t speak to
a new-age rebellion so much as it does to a new
attitude in youth consumer behaviour,” says Levin.
Youths aren’t even conscious of their addiction to
contradiction, because this dichotomy of choice
has become so much a way of life, he says. After
all, with so many brands available to them, the
youth can choose to align themselves to a cluster
of brands rather than just one or two brands.
One way to get the youth more involved with a
brand is to encourage them to co-create the
bran, and help them to customise the brand and
the brand experience. “Even if young people are
Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 13
YOUTH MARKETING
interested in the same thing the world over, they
also strive to customise any experience so it’s
uniquely theirs,” says Magwaza.
And there remains, as always, the appeal of
celebs and characters that entice the youth.
“There is a new zeitgeist with the popularity of
characters such as Hannah Montana and those
in High School Musical,” says Gavera. Though
she says that there has been a move away from
celeb endorsements to role models and brand
2
ambassadors (Hip2B has a brand ambassador
programme, and the brand ambassadors play a
role in influencing readers and students).
Spending patterns
What are the youth spending their allowances
and incomes on? “It varies depending on what
they need to cover with their disposable income
– clothes, toiletries and entertainment. Of
course, a new addition to their budget is their
cellphone and airtime,” says Gavera. But, she
adds, their spending habits, attitudes and brand
choices are not determined by demographics
alone.
Youth Dynamix reports that the top five items
that the 16-24 year olds are spending on are
cellphones/airtime, clothing, fast food, snacks
and cool drinks. “As they get older, the 13-15
year olds’ spending patterns start reflecting
that of their older young adult counterparts,”
says Kraushaar.
As Perry explains, yesterday, students spent on
needs, today they spend on wants.” If value is
perceived in a product or service they will
make a plan to get it by whatever means
necessary. From working for it or using
manipulation to get it. They spend the money
they make virtually immediately to get something
they want,” he says.
While initially, this market was thought to be
recession proof, research shows it is not.
Consider that they are also impacted by rising
food and fuel prices, and because their parents
are feeling the pinch, they are having to make
more of their fashion and accessory purchases
themselves. “Since this market relies on dispos-
able income from their parents, we do see a drop
in sales when the economy is in a decline,” says
Dene Strain, publisher, seventeen.
Marketing opportunities
With the youth growing up fast, there are gaps in
the market for new products and services that
meet their needs. “Existing financial products are
all about loans, while investment is completely
ignored. I believe that if a student starts an invest-
ment portfolio at 18, by the time they are ready
for retirement the investment would have grown
14 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
The Campus Media Media and Promotion Survey 2007
Key findings:
 SMS and e-mail are the most preferred form of competition entry
 Response to promotional pamphlets is still positive (but this has declined slightly).
 Students respond to SMS promotional messages only if the information is relevant to them.
They all check the small print and the cost of sending a reply to competition promotions
via SMS. They will not enter if the cost of entry per SMS is more than R3.50.
 Promotional staff attract students, but they prefer to approach a promotional stands versus
being approached by a promoter.
 The prizes and incentives that students most like to receive include cash, CD vouchers,
T-shirts, CDs, cellphone airtime, cellphones and clothing.
Members of the HDI Junior Board of Directors
exponentially and made both the company with Legal
the product and the individual very wealthy,” says The South African Advertising Standards Authority
Perry. Levin agrees: “Even though the youth spend (ASA) recently published the Food and Beverage
over R80 billion per annum, only 40 per cent of Code, which seeks to regulate the advertising
urban youth have bank accounts. This indicates of food and beverage products to children
that the banks are not appealing to the youth (particularly under the age of 12 years). This is in
sufficiently for whatever reasons.” response to trends abroad, which sees govern-
Cellphone networks have not capitalised on ments stepping in to regulate advertising to kids,
the youth market’s intense dependence on after research found that TV advertising does
mobile communications. But for them to do so, have an impact (albeit small) on children’s food
they would need to make their services far more preferences. Of course, there is also parental
affordable (as MXit has done). influence, family eating habits, school policies
In developing youth marketing strategies, and the habits of friends and peers, etc which
says Levin, marketers need to stand by their play a role in the child’s food preferences.
brands and also find out (not by asking them- “Today’s children are increasingly marketing and
selves) whether their brands can play in the cool branding savvy – they are even learning about
space. “If they can, youthdom becomes their advertising in primary school,” says Kraushaar.
oyster, a la Guess. If, realistically, they are never The ASA Code is going to impact not only on
going to be cool, then they should focus on marketers and advertising, but will also on TV
brand and product intrinsics and make those advertising sales. “In terms of the new legislation,
interesting to young people,” he says. It is also no official regulations have been passed by the
key to have a strategy that understands the government, meaning that we are operating in a
growing up process of young consumers; strategy self-regulatory environment,” says Kraushaar. The
should adapt to their physical and psychological ASA’s guidelines are relevant and assist marketers
developmental stage. in communicating with children in a way that is

ethical and balanced, but also recognising them as
consumers in their own right. “It is recommended
that ethics become a sustainable part of marketing
and communications to the youth,” says Kraushaar.
Media choice
A few years back, the experts were predicting
doom and gloom for the media, especially where
youth markets were concerned. Yet research
shows that the youth do engage with traditional
media (TV, in particular has not seen major
declines in youth audiences). However, these
traditional media need to play by the new media
rules (especially newspapers, who are no longer
the trusted news source, and whose content is not
appealing to youth, as the World Association of
Newspapers discovered in its 2007 research).
Radio stations are still pulling in youth audiences.
5FM was voted the ‘coolest’ radio station in the
2008 Sunday Times Generation Next survey, and
while CDs (álbéit not necessarily bought ones)
are still the most used source of music, radio
comes in as the second most used source of
music. The survey also found that the youth listen
to radio daily, with more than half of respondents
listening via their cellphones, and 30 per cent
listening via Internet streaming.
Student radio is growing and is coming of age,
says Perry. The student radio stations have
become more professional and competitive, and
are attracting large (and loyal) audiences. And,
contrary to popular belief, students do not
necessarily migrate away from these stations as
they get older. “Eventually, the market that used
to listen to these stations will migrate to some-
thing that suits them, but this does not happen as
quickly as one may think. That’s why you will find
this loyal audience in student broadcasting and
radio in general,” says Perry. He says that there
are three groups that listen to the student stations.
The younger group includes scholars that aspire
to university student lifestyles. The second group is
the 18 to 24 student life stage market, the majority
of the audience. They have more expendable
cash than ever before.
“In the past this market was one that simply
had enough money for alcohol, petrol and
banned substances, while driving bashed-up
‘70s cars. Today, when you go to campuses
around the country they are wearing designer
clothing, driving expensive cars, using top of the
range technological gadgets and simply seem to
know what they want then go out and get it,”
says Perry.
The third market makes up those from early
working class to nearing retirement. 
YOUTH MARKETING
The Campus Media 2007 Student Lifestyle Survey
The Campus Media Student Lifestyle Survey was completed by students aged 18-24. These
are some of the key findings from the report:
 41 per cent live in a student residence.
 Compared to results from previous surveys, respondents indicated that they intended to go
overseas for either very short periods (6-12 months) or for very long periods. Says Adrian
Goosen, national sales manager, Campus Media, in previous years, students had been
going overseas for one or two years to gain work experience, while now it seems they are
opting to do shorter job or travel stints so they can return home and start working.
 Their largest concerns are around finding a job and funding their studies.
 The majority of respondents get income from bursaries, some from part-time employment,
and some from an allowance. Indian and white students are more likely to get income
from an allowance and from jobs.
 79 per cent watch TV regularly. Most-watched TV programmes include the Bold and the
Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, Isidingo, E! on DStv, Top Billing, the History Channel, Cartoon
Network, National Geographic channel, Liga Soccer and Boots & All.
 The magazines that the majority of students purchased monthly include SL, Car, Femina,
Sports Illustrated, Fair Lady, Top Car, Men’s Health and FHM.
 Beer is the favourite alcoholic beverage (followed by readytodrinks and spirits).
 Coca-Cola, energy drinks and water are the most consumed non-alcoholic beverages.
Goosen says there is a growing awareness of healthy eating and lifestyles, so there has
been a growth in the consumption of wateras opposed to fruit juices and sugared soft
drinks.
 Favourite radio stations are: 99.2 YFM (Gauteng), 94.95 East Coast Radio (KZN), and
KFM 94.5 (Western Cape).
Claimed magazine readership:
 White: You magazine, People, Financial Mail, Huisgenoot, Vroue Keur and Time.
 Black: Drum, Time, heat and people.
 Indian: heat (low magazine readership reported).
 Coloured: Vroue Keur, huisgenoot and heat.
 Jeans are the favourite item of clothing.
 Favourite clothing brands: Diesel, Billabong, River Trader and Levis
 Favourite footwear brands: adidas, Puma, Nike and Reebok
 Make clothing purchases at Edgars, Truworths and Markhams primarily (most have
accounts at these stores).
 97 per cent of students own a cellphone and 85 per cent of students use prepaid pack-
ages. Vodacom, followed by MTN, Cell C and Virgin Mobile are the networks that most of
the students use. 68 per cent pay their own cellphone bills (though Goosen makes it clear
that they may be paying this with their allowance money).
 45 per cent of students have a car.
 89 per cent of students have access to the Internet (primarily via residence Internet access
or Internet cafes on campus).
Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 15
RESEARCH
Online research:
Not
there
yet
The research landscape in SA is very
dynamic, and keeps up with global trends for the
most part. As marketing moves from a model of
talking to consumers with a one-size-fits-all
approach towards a model of consumer control,
so marketers need to find ways to engage more
fully with consumers in a dialogue. “Research
needs to adapt to this new reality and assist
marketers in this ongoing process,” explains
Neil Higgs, director: Innovation and
Development, TNS Research Surveys.
Online research: viable?
Moves towards Internet and mobile data
collection are two of the foremost methodological
changes that are driving research forward,
according to Hendrik van Vuuren, marketing
sciences director, Millward Brown.
In the US and the UK, among others, online
research is not only viable, it is a growing trend. In
fact, many of the new research methodologies
being developed abroad are Web2.0 based, says
Higgs. Online research is considered cost-effective
and has been shown to yield rich responses in
qualitative surveys. “Online qualitative techniques
are growing because they are less intrusive for
respondents and can be more honest and run
over several days or weeks. People respond in
their own time and a great richness arises. The use
of multimedia is growing in qualitative research as
we realise that people engage all their senses, not
just their cognition in processing ads and packs,”
says Higgs. Blogs, bulletin boards, web diaries
and online competitions can all be used by
researchers to collaborate with consumers, and
create conversations and experiences that yield
juicy insights. “Consumers around the world are
sharing more and more of their lives online. For
insight, this is a huge opportunity,” says Dr Inka
16 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
Crosswaite, semiotics specialist,
Added Value.
In fact, both qualitative and quantita-
tive research stand to benefit from online
methodologies. Michele Sohn, director
HKLM Confluence, believes that when
done right, online research can
be very powerful. She points to
brand-sponsored bulletin
boards or social networks,
which encourage con-
sumer interaction with
researchers who observe conversations or stimulate
debate to generate new ideas, for example.
However, Sohn stresses that there are ethical
concerns around this; there have been cases of
researchers using the bulletin posts and chat site
discussions of consumers as research data,
without disclosing to the participants that she was
doing research or getting their permission to use
their responses as research input. “There’s a
difference between lurking and listening in, and
creating a conversation,” she says.
Online research might still be thought of as
quite radical, since one has no idea who is
really on the other side (they could be a
competitor), says Sohn, and this may be another
reason why we have seen limited uptake of online
research locally.
Some of the challenges of conducting online
research are similar to the challenges for other
research methods. The first obvious challenge is
limited Internet penetration, but some argue that for
targeting the upper LSMs and the youth (who have
Internet access at school, university or their cell-
phones), online is viable. “While it is growing rapid-
ly in SA, from a practical research point of view,
online research is only really viable within the higher
LSM segments of the market,” says Van Vuuren.
He goes on to say that since low-cost solu-
tions are available abroad, he doesn’t believe
that cost is a barrier to online research. “In fact,
the Internet has become the most widely used
data collection method employed by Millward
Brown in the US market,” he says.
“Pure research still needs to be sampled
throughly and in the abscense of a cellphone
database/listing, it’s pretty impossible to sample
at all,”says Heidi Brauer, deputy chief executive
officer, Ipsos Markinor.
The issue is how to convince people to
participate, says Sohn. “The average response
rate for online research– except for online panels
– is about one per cent. This is comparable to
telephonic research,” says Sohn. Gifts and
incentives remain an issue. Sohn has found that
in general, research participants are less likely to
be attracted to competitions with prizes with a
value greater than R5 000 (there is the perception
that the more valuable the prize, the smaller the
chance that they will win).
The level of participation in online research
correlates directly with two major factors, she
says. The first is the level of passion that the par-
ticipant has for the brand or company that the
research is about. Harley Davidson >p18
RESEARCH
>>p16 owners, for example, are very likely to
respond to surveys about their favourite brand
than non-owners.
The second major factor is the level of connec-
tivity that the participant has with the brand; this
refers to a physical and a conceptual connectivity.
Think about the gym that you visit everyday for a
workout versus the greengrocer whose store you
visit once a month: you are more likely to
respond to surveys about the former. “For business
to business or staff research, you cannot do better
than web-based research,” says Sohn. “For
business-to-consumer research, it depends on the
audience, and interestingly, it has nothing to do with
LSM, and everything to do with the level of
interest in the brand and its connection to it,”
she says.
“
We see the cellphone as a key means of contact
for research. But it will also become the key means
by which people link to the web as technological
convergence grows. This means it will be a key
”
heavyweight medium in the future.
Social networks seem to be something of a
super-trend, and some researchers argue that it
does have potential as a research tool. “We are
beginning to tap into this, but it needs care and
someone highly familiar with the particular net-
work speak,” says Higgs. “There is a concern that
sometimes people will take on a persona that is
quite false. Tread carefully for now.”
Look out for the use of virtual worlds as
research environments and tools.
Mobile research
Research via mobile will grow hugely, say the
experts. “We see the cellphone as a key means of
contact for research. But it will also become the
key means by which people link to the web as
technological convergence grows. This means it
will be a key heavyweight medium in the future,”
says Higgs.
Dr Crosswaite also believes that we will see an
increase in the number of mobile research studies.
“As the lines between the PC/Internet and
mobile phones blur, we’re anticipating that these
technologies will be used more and more to
connect with and understand consumers,” she says.
However, as Brauer points out, mobile questionaires
are limited in terms of length as well as by virtue of
the fact that the respondent must pay to reply.
Control of the sample is also an issue.
18 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
Shopper research
Understanding how consumers shop and how
they decide which brand or product to buy and
why has become significant. “This is a growing
area of research all over the world. In particular,
the emphasis is placed on watching how people
behave, rather than asking about their behaviour,”
says Higgs. He reports that TNS is using
ethnographic and observational techniques as
well as regular questionnaire surveys to determine
what happens in the shopping environment.
Meanwhile, POPAI conducts Marketing At Retails
Initiative (MARI) research abroad, which equips
the average shopper with glasses that are fitted
with tiny cameras. These cameras capture not
only where in the store the shopper travels, but
also how they interact with each product or brand
and all the marketing material in the store. This
therefore measures engagement with marketing
and brands.
Currently, POPAI SA is looking for sponsorship
and the support of retailers and POP marketers to
establish the study locally.
Researchers are also turning to research into
market barriers (factors that prevent a shopper
from buying the brand they want to buy, so they
are forced to buy a competitor brand). This type
of research is helping merchandisers and
marketers to refine their channel management
and identify how competitors are gaining share in
areas where their own brands are vulnerable.
Shopping diary methodologies are allowing
researchers to collect information about the
catchment areas and average basket spend of
consumers across various regions of SA (and
therefore, across various socio-economic
groupings too). Through this research, they gain
insights into where they shop, when, for which
items as well as why they purchased what they
did, where they did.
Re-segmenting consumers
Another trend in research is that of re-segmenting
consumers according to need states, which
understands that the individual is one consumer
in one situation, but a whole other consumer in
another. “This has led to the situation where new
research techniques that can show how brands
can leverage occasions rather than people will
have a greater ROI than current conventional
methodologies,” says Higgs.
The non-linear consumer
Previously, it was believed that consumers were
passive and that their decision-making is rational
and linear. But Van Vuuren says that there is now
RESEARCH
>>p16 a stronger push towards understanding
the role of neuroscience in a research context
and how the human brain responds to external
brand and advertising stimuli.
“The realisation that humans are non-linear
will have a huge impact on research in the next
few years,” says Higgs. He believes that in SA,
there is still much work to be done to change
marketer understanding of how the mind really
works with regard to marketing messages.
“Many marketers, advertisers and researchers
cling to outdated models. The key issue is not to
measure marketing interventions directly, but to
focus on their direct effect on the brand. This can
only be done by recognising that people make
very quick decisions using their instincts – they
use shortcuts termed ‘fast and frugal heuristics’,
and this is completely changing the face of
research and how we ask questions,” he says.
Questionnaires that assume that the respondent
thinks rationally are not valid according to the
new thinking.
Researchers are tapping into the needs of
consumers and their non-rational thinking by
using games and sensory tools. “Currently, insight
tools are also asking less about the ‘why’ of
behaviour and using more sophisticated methods
to help people articulate their emotions,
experiences and expectations of categories and
brands,” says Dr Crosswaite.
The consumer as a whole
person
The focus on wellness as a holistic concept is
based on the thinking that to be well, a person
must be in good physical health as well as
emotionally and mentally healthy and balanced.
“There is a growing realisation that people’s well-
being drives the way they interface with the world.
This has become a new focus of staff commitment
studies, particularly,” says Higgs. Marketers find
that the emotional state of the consumer has a
fair impact on their behaviour and purchasing
decisions. So understanding where a brand fits
into their emotional mindset may unlock clues
about how that brand can create a simulated
emotional response and therefore drive the
desired behaviours.
A further focus on cultural insights seems to be
on the hot list. According to Dr Crosswaite,
understanding how culture influences people can
unlock enormous insights for brands. “Typically,
consumers can tell you about how they feel now
and what they might like to tweak in their world.
However, most people battle to articulate unmet
needs and usually can’t predict what will happen
in the future,” she says. Semiotics, ethnography
20 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
and observational insights are used to understand
and decode culture. This understanding can be
further used by brands to adapt positioning
messages to suit local markets and encode their
communications with cultural cues that reinforce
and deliver the brand’s messages.
Internal marketing and
employee satisfaction
Employee satisfaction is an interesting topic, and
one that is attracting more attention perhaps
because of the Generation Y trends (this
generation is renowned for job hopping and
dissatisfaction with certain elements of the
traditional workplace). Being able to measure
employee satisfaction means understanding what
keeps good staff for longer and how to exploit
and engage their passion in the workplace. Sohn
believes that there is no difference between staff
and the consumer (they are both consumers, after
all). She points to the growing trend towards
research that tries to align staff behaviour with
customer expectations, and tries to predict which
personalities will create the best staff group when
put together.
Internal research is often not given priority
status, says Sohn. “Internal research surveys often
don’t respect staff’s time,” she says. Too often,
companies create negative behaviours by making
internal surveys compulsory and/or boring, time
consuming and repetitive. Sohn believes that
short format surveys with a mix of quantitative
and qualitative questions, designed in a delightful
and entertaining way, would get a far better
response from employees.
Measuring TV
The DStv-i return path audience measurement,
which is set to be launched locally in early 2009,
will offer audience measurement for the
fragmented audiences of the many digital
channels now on offer. According to Brenda
Wortley, director of Oracle Airtime Sales Strategy
and Research Division, December will see OATS
recruiting 4 000 DStv homes. “At last, we are
getting to viable electronic capture in a field
where there is instant transfer of data to head
office. Until now, the risks of in-field electronic
data capture have been high due to poor battery
life, the possible loss of data if a unit is stolen or
lost, damaged or becomes faulty, plus high
capital and insurance costs,” says Higgs.
Ipsos Markinor’s new advertising research unit,
ASI, will offer clients TV advertising research,
amongst other copy testing solutions. Its Next*TV
offering allows for final-stage testing, which takes
place in consumers’ natural viewing environment,
where the tested ad is placed in the middle of a
programme and mixed in with other typical ad
clutter. Viewers punch their vote directly into a
wireless device and the quantitative data is used
to make recommendations.
Still to come
Looking ahead, we may expect to see research
taking on new areas of market interest, such as
the green revolution and impact of CSI. “I still
think rural market research is neglected,” says
Higgs. A focus on brand experiences will also
come to the fore. “People seem to be moving
away from the pure accumulation or
consumption of things and towards a desire to
gain experiences. Communications, promotions
and experiences that really engage and connect
with consumers are a focus,” says Dr Crosswaite.
Research will also become more about
observing consumers and engaging with them in
their world instead of asking them questions.
“Technology will also allow us to let the consumer
direct the research; social and networking groups
online, mobile cameras and voice- or video
recordings that can be uploaded in live time, all
observed and analysed by a professional will
provide an interesting and potentially a more
detailed window on consumers’ lives,” says
Dr Crosswaite.
The focus on determining ROI and
accountability looks like it’s here to stay.
“Measurability is a major challenge for mar-
keters,” says Keith Stevens, MD, Added Value.
“However, the challenge is often that the ele-
ments that contribute to brand growth are often
run and tracked by different departments in a
business. The key challenge is to move from
functional/silo tracking and measurement
(vertical) to joined, horizontal tracking and
measuring from the point of manufacture to the
point of purchase.”
He believes that smart brands will move away
from long-term tracking, to consistent tracking
of just one or two critical key performance
indicators. “Especially given the current economic
climate, there is a strong focus on the return on
media and marketing investment. More and
more CEOs are demanding that marketers justify
the marketing investment they are making and as
a result we are seeing the emergence of a range
of short- as well as longer-term modelling
techniques,” says Van Vuuren.
Look out for new methodologies that
layer consumer and market research with
elements, such as financial data, to deliver
ROI analyses, brand portfolio optimisations
and so on. 

Tapping
into teens...
Teenagers: a breed all of their own with
heavyweight spending power to tap into… if you
can speak their language. This unique group of
consumers can be one of the most fickle or most
loyal – depending on how you relate to it…
The teenage market is particularly complex.
While being aspirational, it is driven largely by
key individuals within the group who dictate what
is ‘in’ and what is ‘out’. It is also one with
numerous sub-divisions; depending on
anything from age to music. Creating brands
teenagers can relate to means you need to know
exactly who you are speaking to – and can
correspondingly tap into their paradoxical moods,
reaching them in non-conventional ways to which
they can relate.
The starting point for any teenage marketing
or branding activity is to know your brand: its
personality, message and values. Understanding
these will give you a much better idea as to which
group of teenagers you will be able to tap into. It
will also help you identify opportunities to adapt
your message slightly for others in these segments.
You will soon see if it works for both the sporty and
the cool groups, for example, and how it can be
tweaked or adjusted without losing its core identity.
Nike is an example of a brand that has managed
to do this; creating clothes and accessories that
can be worn for sport and are equally as trendy
when worn in malls or when ‘hanging out’.
Environment is therefore vital when it comes to
teenagers – looking specifically at how to create
a relationship with them in their environment;
knowing exactly where the teenagers you want to
talk to spends most of their time – in movies or
music shops, for example. Profiling is critical. You
need to know about trends in this market and
aspirations, and tap into these. This means you
have to look at how they communicate with each
other in their environments and ensure that your
brand will work in these situations. MXit, the
Internet and anything mobile are critical media
EXPERT OPINION by gaby de abreu
that must complement your identity. Your brand
must be as comfortable and relevant in these as
they would be in the more traditional spaces of
TV and billboards – and far more selective in the
media it chooses to promote itself.
The occasions when teenagers will interact
with your brand are similarly critical. You have to
maximise interaction with your brand in specific
spaces, looking at how the occasion can
enhance your brand messaging. If your brand of
clothes or trainers appeals to 14-year-old boys
who spend most of their time hanging out together
in townhouse complexes with their cellphones
and bikes then it’s important that your brand can
supply them with cellphone games, wallpapers
and ringtones that they will interact with when
they’re by themselves and when they’re with their
friends. You also have to tap into their fast-paced,
highly stimulating world and Generation ‘Y’
characteristics – in other words, keep them
entertained; highly stimulated; and wondering
“
what you’re going to dish up next.
The teenage market will always remain a
By knowing your paradox as it is simultaneously desperate to fit in
and belong to something. The trick when it
teenage market intimately comes to branding then is for your brand to
– who they believe they create the ‘something’ they want to belong to:
aspirational yet exclusionary at the same time. In
are and, more importantly, short, teenagers are looking for brands that
the environments in which essentially mirror themselves and their
complexities; something they can relate to. By
they place themselves, knowing your teenage market intimately – who
they believe they are and, more importantly, the
you can successfully tap environments in which they place themselves,
into this high-powered you can successfully tap into this high-powered
consumer segment and potentially make them
consumer segment and customers for life. 
potentially make them
”
Gaby De Abreu
customers for life. Creative director, The Switch Group
(011) 706 9370
gaby@switchdesign.co.za
Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 21
by benon czornij EXPERT OPINION
The first step to building your
brand online: conceptualisation
With the Internet providing access to an
even deeper pool of knowledge and resources
as well as businesses providing competitive serv-
ices worldwide, it has become more vital than
ever for a company to differentiate itself and its
brand online.
Recent advances, such as Web 2.0 have
allowed for innovative and exciting ways for
companies to engage their customers and attract
new ones. But before any of this can happen, the
company is required to create an innovative
website concept.
In July 2008, there were over 175 million
websites, and with users becoming ever more
Internet savvy, website conceptualisation is a vital
part of the online branding process.
What distinguishes a powerful piece of
communication from the ubiquitous online
clutter is a deep understanding of the digital
environment, coupled with experience in the
marketing field. This allows a brand to be
effectively conceptualised and an effective digital
campaign implemented.
The idea behind a website often defines the
user’s experience with the brand and, more
importantly, sets it apart from the competition.
The choice of concept will distinguish your
brand from the competition. You need to be able
to engage your target audience in a meaningful
and rewarding manner, while simultaneously
delivering your defined objectives.
A question a marketer needs to ask in order
to develop a successful website concept is: how
best can a website serve my business objectives?
For a marketer to find the best digital agency for
a company’s needs, a thorough understanding of
business objectives is vital. Only then will you be
in a position to seek the right partner to facilitate
your vision.
Most companies are looking to either generate
revenue from their website or to use it as a tool to
drive a powerful brand experience to assist in
their positioning. Web developers often specialise
in key areas of technology. It is therefore vital to
understand the company’s web strategy before
approaching the various agencies to develop a
successful conceptualisation of it.
A digital agency that understands these objec-
tives will help you to create a successful brand
22 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
company’s target audience, it is important to
encourage this audience to engage with the site.
We call this human activity on a site ‘sign-
posting’. It is the act of guiding your users to
demonstrate certain behavior in order to achieve
your objectives.
Most companies understand that the
content of the site needs to reflect the company
or its objectives. However, to sustain human activ-
ity on the site, it needs to appear to be intuitive to
browse.
Creating an ‘ease-of-browsing’ impression
relies on a thorough understanding of your
market through key insights so you’re aware
of what they are looking for. Should a user
deviate from the defined path to attain other
information, it should be a very simple
procedure. This is called ‘usability’ and is one of
the critical success factors of a website.
For conceptualisation to work, the concept
needs to be relevant, unexpected and tap into a
universal emotion. A good example of this is the
“
website of film services production company,
Moonlighting (www.moonlighting.co.za).
Creating an ‘ease-of- The creative and conceptual nature of this site
browsing’ impression appeals to its target audience of international ad
agencies seeking to shoot their adverts in
relies on a thorough low-cost locations. The company feels its key
distinction from its competitors is how it stages its
understanding of your
productions, hence the visually captivating and
market through key engaging website. The concept was to venture
‘inside the mind’ of Moonlighting to explore its
insights so you’re aware service offerings.
of what they are looking If a marketer has a website but wants to add to
”
it, conceptualisation will not really be a part of
for. this process. However, if a pre-Web 2.0 site
needs to be updated to incorporate new innova-
tions in light of rapidly developing technological
innovations, a redesign of the website may be
required. This will allow the site to accommodate
additional functionality, perhaps a video player,
and engaging the user in a more dynamic and
interesting manner. 
without embellishing it with unnecessary fluff. Benon Czornij
Steer clear of agencies that try to sell you con- Founder and technical director
cepts that aren’t really necessary or applicable to Hello Computer
your brand’s fundamental conceptualisation. (021) 488 1380
Other than being intimately aware of the benon@hellocomputer.net

Power to the people:
The new era of blogs and social network marketing
In modern marketing, word of mouth is
crucial to the success of your product or service.
It’s accepted that 10 per cent of us influence the
purchasing behaviour of the other 90 per cent –
a scary thought when you consider the potential
power that this 10 per cent wields for your brand.
Enter the era of the ‘prosumer’. Blogs, social
media and citizen journalism are all real-life
examples of prosumers in action as consumers
now take a dual role – producing and consuming
information for themselves and countless other
decision-makers. Bloggers and avid social
networking users now hold the key to marketing
success, providing their own, sometimes
misguided, opinions on the way you are selling,
marketing and advertising your brand. And it’s
just the beginning…
Blogs
Since the launch of Blogger in 1999, blogs have
revolutionised the way we communicate. Blogs
have reshaped the web, impacted politics, shaken
up journalism and enabled millions of people to
have a voice and connect with others.
And while many marketers still discount the rel-
evance of blogs, remember that the globe’s
largest blog (from China) gets 50 million page
views per month – that’s on par with our own
Media24, which gets as many views across its
whole network.
But, in this foreboding world of citizen
journalists, how do tech-savvy brands maximise
their potential with these prosumers? How do
companies go about protecting their reputation
while ensuring their products are garnering
positive praise from the world’s most influential
bloggers?
1) Find the opinion leader
The best way to find prosumers or prominent
bloggers is through blog aggregators such as
Technorati (http://technorati.com) or Afrigator
(www.afrigator.com). Search the brand category,
then the blog directory and, if possible,
frequently used tags.
2) Connect with the blogger
It’s now time to make contact. Don’t pretend to
have followed the blog for months but rather
state your intentions upfront – you feel that your
brand is perfectly represented by the
blog and would like to pursue some possible
marketing options.
3) Sponsor the entrepreneur
Rather than purchasing banner advertising on the
site, why not interact with the blogger and pro-
vide them with some real assistance? Potentially
offer to pay for a radical overhaul of the site or
an upgrade of the existing technologies – this way
you are able to forge a relationship with the
blogger, while allowing for the natural integration
of your brand into the blog.
4) Support a section
If a site overhaul is out of your financial range,
why not consider sponsoring a popular section or
suggesting a new one? Your brand or product
could provide the up-to-date World Cup results
on a soccer site or you could provide prizes for
the most regular commentators or best responses
to a specific posting.
Social networks
The world of social networks is a daunting one
for marketers. At last count, MySpace.com had
over 300 million users, Facebook boasted over
62 million active accounts and business networks
such as Plaxo and LinkedIn featured over 15
million profiles each.
Social networks hold huge opportunities for
brands. The personal, interactive nature of
social networks means that brands have the
chance to present themselves to users in
their own, personal space – allowing for a
EXPERT OPINION by jonty fisher
more memorable and individual interaction.
Added to this, brands can leverage the
natural endorsements given through groups
and personal associations with brands, almost
functioning as free market research into their
specific consumer set.
But, how do you successfully leverage your
brand within a social network?
1) Create a brand profile
Register your own brand group as the ‘official’
offering on the relevant network. You can
then make access to related groups and
communities, inviting them to join this sanctioned
brand group.
2) Continuous communication
To ensure your community is constantly up to
date and involved, make sure that relevant
content is always available and a host of topics
offered to allow users to interact personally with
the brand.
3) Encourage collaboration
Run a contest to devise a new campaign slogan
or solicit entries for the next advertising spot – it
will enable users to interact on a new level, while
providing cost-effective creative straight from your
target consumers!
4) Register your own network
A very big idea but one that is sure to win you
prosumer praise. Represent the interests of your
consumers by starting a social network, for
example, a fantasy league network for a sporting
goods retailer.
The people formerly known as the audience
have transformed. Blogs and social networks
have become vital tools in the arsenal of
marketers worldwide and any brand looking to
promote and protect itself should seriously
consider the influence these resources have on
consumers’ purchasing behaviour.
The new era of prosumers is here and
they’re brand savvy, marketing aware and
prime for the taking. Ensure your brand
harnesses the potential of these new ‘super
consumers’ before you are left behind choking
on the dust… 
Jonty Fisher
Head of strategy, Traffic
(011) 425 7111
jonty@trafficonline.co.za
Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 23
by walter pike EXPERT OPINION
Why social media should be
impacting your thinking
South Africans are connected to social media.
If you are connected to the Internet you are
very likely to be participating in social media.
Even right now if you have a cellphone in your
pocket you’re connected to the Internet and
social media.
SA has one of the highest penetrations and
usage of cellphones in the world. International
ad servers rank it in the top three countries inter-
nationally as consumers of mobile advertising,
just as once we were one of the top five most
connected countries. If you are a marketer and
you are ignoring social media you may already
be a dinosaur. Perhaps not quite a dinosaur yet,
but certainly perched precariously on the edge
of the tar pit!
Technology has created the ability for people
to connect, any and all people and on a
massive global scale. It has also allowed
information to be accessed, accumulated,
stored and shared in a manner we could never
have dreamed would have been possible.
What is more, we don’t even need to look for
information – it finds us through sexy RSS feeds.
The control of information has always been an
important source of power. In the commercial
world information about products and services
has been carefully managed by the business itself.
Brands have been built and positioned through
advertising and carefully controlled PR spin for so
long that we think that’s the way things are, that
business owns its brand.
The social web has effectively shifted the power
in the transaction. The customer is now irrevocably
in control; information, opinions and thoughts
are now all in the public domain, people are
sharing their opinions with not only their immediate
circle but with the world. The most important
market conversation now is not between the
business and the customer, it is the conversation
between your current customer and your prospective
customer. The power in the transaction is being
transferred to the market, which is talking among
itself. The power of controlling what the market
reads is gone, and will never be back.
A.G. Lafley the chief executive of Proctor and
Gamble recently commented on the necessity of
marketers to realise that the power has moved
out of the hands of brand management and is
24 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
way we must think about markets and how we
think about marketing and branding, and how
we engage in the market conversation instead of
trying to manipulate or instruct it.
Even the way we think about media must
shift; the focus on getting eyeballs, viewers or
readers is changing to seeking effective
engagement. Opportunities to see is becoming
a redundant concept as consumers actively opt
out of advertising they don’t wish to view.
Social media enables us to identify our target
markets to the unit of one, the individual. This
implies that the widespread use of mass media
will continue to reduce in effectiveness not only
because of the lack of trust consumers have in
the process of brand manipulation, but also
because products and services can be
customised, personalised and delivered
economically and profitably to market segments
that were previously just too small to identify.
Social media also changes the way we
coordinate, motivate and manage our staff, whom
“
we can see as urls in an organisational cloud
rather than a block on an organogram. Check it
Social media also out; your business probably has staff pages on
Facebook, where your employees are hanging out.
changes the way we There are many who feel that social media is
coordinate, motivate and just another buzzword, a fad soon to fade away
like many others have. Web 2.0 and Web 3.0
manage our staff, whom are not just technology, they are a response to a
fundamental change in the way society connects,
we can see as urls in an
how information is understood and how percep-
organisational cloud rather tions are being formed. Adapting and changing
to them means a complete rethink in the way we
than a block on an
”
understand data, information and customers. It
organogram. also means adjusting the way we coordinate and
build businesses. It even forces a change in the
way we measure organisational performance.
For the real marketer this represents a
huge opportunity to deliver value, because
nothing else is going to cut it in the new
marketing landscape. 
Walter Pike
now with the consumer. “Consumers are begin- faculty head: Marketing and
ning in a very real sense to own our brands and Advertising, AAA School of
participate in their creation, we need to begin to Advertising
learn to let go.” walterp@aaaschooljhb.co.za
What this does is fundamentally change the (011) 781 2772

Engaging the customer
and seeing the results
Patrick Collister (the founder and publisher
of The Big Won and editor of Directory – worth
subscribing to) recently said ‘if you lack or proof
that direct is the ugly sister of advertising, come
to Cannes’.
We are leading up to Christmas and are
living in tumultuous times; global economic
meltdowns, political instability and a fluctuating
exchange rate make it harder to engage the
consumer. After all, when there is little money
left over for necessities – let alone luxuries–
marketers need to become more focused on
their consumer in innovative and engaging
ways; seeking out those who will buy and those
who will refer and, most importantly, those who
will come back.
A friend of mine recently bought her daughter
a brand-new Mazda2. When I asked her why,
she said they shopped around for a while, on
and off line, but the reality was the service at the
dealership was what engaged them; she and
her daughter were treated like serious buyers,
who might come back. My friend has never
owned a Mazda before; but her daughter has the
potential of buying at least five Mazdas in her life
time to suit her changing lifestyle.
I am selling my house. I have been for four
months and signed a sole mandate: I was
absorbed by the sales speak of the agent and its
marketing promises. It lived up to its marketing
promise but not to its service promises. In these
trying times, one would think it would engage me
and update me and keep me close so that it
could sell my house and I would refer it to
friends. To the MD’s credit (which is why I am not
naming the company), when I e-mailed my agent
and copied the MD out of immense frustration,
he called me within minutes to apologise – no
excuses. When she called me all she had was
more excuses – how can you excuse bad service?
The mandate has expired and the other agents in
the area have swooped – three have accepted to
sell my home with no mandate and with my
commission structure request. It’s not about the
sale, but about the service. Let’s see if one of
them can show me estate agents are about service!
No matter how good your marketing campaign
EXPERT OPINION by nici stathacopoulos
days to be taken in by the creative speak alone.
They do research and look carefully into what
else is on offer and then they spend their money.
So no matter what you think, make sure your
offering is the best and make sure your
campaign engages. And to quote Bob Thacker
from Office Max in the USA, ‘if you don’t have
big bucks, you had better have big ideas!’
I was recently scanning through some
marketing books for information, and came
across a number of case studies which detailed
Lehmann Brothers and Merrill Lynch – it does
worry me when I read how enormously successful
their efforts were, to see their downturn now. It
highlights the fact that marketers need to ensure
their efforts are sustainable (and yes, I under-
stand the global effects that have caused the
downturn of these companies, but if marketers
want to continue justifying their existence to the
bottom line and to their boards, they need to
“
ensure their efforts are long term!)
Finally, a note on retailers. Having recently
Traditional campaigns attended the RAC retail conference, I was
will drive shoppers into enthused to see how companies such as Office
Max and J C Penney still use catalogues and
stores, but they have less segmented mail campaigns to retain their most
money than they had last valuable and most growable customers.
Christmas is around the corner – where will our
year; rising interest rates retailers concentrate their marketing budgets?
Traditional campaigns will drive shoppers into
and inflation mean their stores, but they have less money than they had
disposable income is lower last year; rising interest rates and inflation mean
”
their disposable income is lower than ever. Yet in
than ever. spite of this, there are still many consumers who
won’t leave a store because a product is slightly
more expensive than that of the one down the
is, your back-end needs to work. A client of ours road; if the service is excellent and the range suitable,
recently put a major campaign on hold as the IT they will shop with you as they have done in the
infrastructure is not ready. Frustrated as we all past few years. They need to buy gifts and if they
are, we know this is the right decision; going to have been loyal to you over the years, your Christmas
market knowing your prospect will be inconve- catalogue will entice them. Now it’s up to you to
nienced the moment they call to take up the offer keep them there, and keep them coming back. 
will damage the brand, and in the highly compet-
itive arena it plays in, the one thing it has is its Nici Stathacopoulos
brand’s reputation. managing partner, proximity#ttp
A great one-to-one campaign cannot sell an (011) 447 7093
inferior product. Consumers are too savvy these nici@proximityttp.co.za
Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 25
CONTENT CHAMPIONS

Content champions
2008
Marketing Mix asked a few media experts to give us their pick of SA’s best Nazeer: Olympics coverage on SuperSport.
media based on their content mix. The experts in question are Trish Guilford,
Associate Media Director, The MediaShop JHB; Nazeer Suliman, MD, Ryan: SuperSport. Broadest range of sporting events and the only full
Universal McCann; and Ryan Williams, group MD, NotaBene. coverage of international sports. The rights win for certain local soccer
Marketing Mix also made its selections. properties is a coup.

The criteria: the contributors were asked to state which media in each Marketing Mix: SuperSport. Self-explanatory.
category has the best content mix relative to its target audience or reader.
Audience ratings and circulation figures were therefore not considered. Magazines
Best sports magazine
While this is not a scientific benchmark, the results of this survey indicate Trish: SA Sports Illustrated. This
which media have been successful in creating content that meets the needs magazine covers all sports and with
and interests of its audience. These are the media that are top of mind for its Afrikaans edition, offers a cross
media planners. over for male and female sports
fanatics. It also has the opportunity
The opinions expressed herein are not the opinions of Marketing Mix to carry a front cover which is
magazine. Any regional skewing of results is due to the fact that contributors pertinent to that specific month’s
are Johannesburg based, and this was purely coincidental. sporting highlight which is always a
big draw card for ensuring sales.
TV Within the Touchline publishing
Best reality content group, this magazine has the
Trish: SA’s Biggest Loser. Appearing on e.tv and an inspiration to a number opportunity of getting international
of South Africans – a good choice and a local production to boot. material but has a good balance of
local content which is vital to ensuring
Nazeer: Zola 7. A local and tremendously successful reality show with a the status quo.
recipe that empowers and uplifts!
Nazeer: SA Sports Illustrated. Still
Ryan: American Idol. This is easily the most successful reality property the only unrivalled general interest
globally in terms of viewership, content spinoffs and multiple media platform sport magazine in SA. Great depth
tie-ins. and coverage of mainstream sport.

Marketing Mix: SA’s Biggest Loser. Locally produced and focused on a Ryan: SA Sports Illustrated. Broadest
major issue: obesity. This programme gets people thinking about healthier coverage of sports in SA. Although
lifestyles, while entertaining them. some other sports magazines have higher circulations, my view is that SA
Sports Illustrated deserves the award because of the breadth of sporting
Best sports content content it delivers, at a consistent level of quality.
Trish: SuperSport. For any sports
fanatic, SuperSport offers so much Marketing Mix: SA Sports Illustrated. For covering not only the favourite
that even avid sports watchers are local sports, but also a mix of specialist sport interests. This magazine is a
torn between stations. Covering both local and international sports, and with cover-to-cover read for the sports enthusiast since it offers investigative
the new DStv Compact offering, it does cater for all. features as well as news snippets and entertaining reads.

26 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008

CONTENT CHAMPIONS
Best women/family interest magazine
Trish: Women & Home and Real
Simple. Two wonderful magazines
that cover women’s interests as well
as home topics – so two magazine
categories rolled into one.
Nazeer: Real Simple. A clean read
with pragmatic advice. An ‘organic’
option to the countless other
‘artificially fertilised’ magazines with
extra additives.
Ryan: Shape. Consistently good
coverage of female lifestyle, while
encouraging a healthier and more
balanced approach to living
(especially as it pertains to content
around a broader look at a healthier
woman and does not promote
artificial values for what normal
women can aspire to and also
places value on other aspects
beyond relationships, fashion and
‘size-zero’ physiques).
Marketing Mix: Move! Because it
really has hit the target market and
has found itself a niche serving a
market that has otherwise been
ignored. Real Simple has also
found its own niche; excellent
format, with short articles and bite-
sized chunks of valuable informa-
tion. We love the green issues.
Best men’s magazine
Trish: Best Life. A magazine that
has broadened the men’s maga-
zine category without cannabalis-
ing any specific title too much.
Nazeer: FHM. For pushing the skirt
up higher. A true guy’s magazine
Ryan: FHM. Although the con-
tent is decidedly ‘laddish’, FHM
consistently delivers content that
appeals to its sector of male
audiences, which is evidenced by
its strong circulation performance
since its launch. Unlike some
major competitors, the content
retains a degree of freshness in
every issue, despite being based
on common (and static) editorial
pillars over time.
28 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
Marketing Mix: Men’s Health. Perfectly aligned to the guys who subscribe to
or purchase it.
While women are not officially the target market, it attracts a fair number of
female readers who use it for health tips.
Best general interest magazine
Trish: You/Huisgenoot/Drum. One
has to take all three into considera-
tion as together they undoubtedly
offer the best reach into the local
market. The content may not be
everybody’s cup of tea, and if you
ask around most people say they
don’t read the magazines – but we
all know if you want a response to
a competition these three maga-
zines come out tops every time!
Nazeer: Drum. An improved
formula and mix with substantial
content
Ryan: Popular Mechanics. Although
circulation is small and has been
reasonably flat over time, the con-
tent is unique for locally published
titles, and of a high quality com-
pared to similar international titles.
This content is also important
because of the broader issues in SA
with regard to science and technol-
ogy development – titles like Popular Mechanics serve a crucial role in stimu-
lating interest in tomorrow’s scientists.
Marketing Mix: Drum. An iconic magazine that has clawed back its iconic
status. And You, a great general read, addressing real issues. It doesn’t need
cover mounts to sell, cuts across all LSMs and offers a wide mix of content
from recipes to affordable fashion trends as well as celeb news, advice, kid’s
content, and motoring reviews. Even intellectuals sneak a peek at this one!
Best Afrikaans magazine
Trish: De Kat. An outstanding upmarket Afrikaans magazine with fabulous
editorial and layout. It doesn’t offer a huge reach, however, it is a very glam-
orous magazine of very high standards that many products should be asso-
ciating themselves with.
Nazeer: Visi. Still tops – amazing editorial and design.
Ryan: Tuis. In a competitive home
décor sector (over the past five
years), Tuis has carved out a strong
niche in this market by delivering content that reframes the standard
approach in this sector, that is more ‘everyman’ solutions to home décor
and investment.
Marketing Mix: Visi. Such a beautiful magazine! People pick it up for its
aesthetic value and very valuable niched content.
 CONTENT CHAMPIONS

Best youth magazine

Trish: National Geographic Kids. A Ryan: Business Day. Remains a
fabulous magazine that does a definitive daily business content
great job from an educational resource and is generally the default
perspective while making it fun and resource for South African businesses.
interesting without kids realising that
they are learning something. Also a Marketing Mix: Daily Sun, for obvious
great magazine for projects. reasons. And The Times, targets the
younger reader with a quick roundup
Nazeer: None. Not SL, not Y, not of all the daily news one needs to
Hype. We wait expectantly. know. Plus, the newspaper refers
these readers to its website which
Ryan: No clear preference as so boasts rich multimedia that appeals to
many titles in this market have the title’s readers. It’s just perfect for
closed down. today’s generation.

Marketing Mix: seventeen. Aside Best weekend

from content that is perfectly tar- newspaper:
geted to the needs and interests of Trish: Sunday Independent. The
the average 17 year old girl, it also environment is not as cluttered as
boasts a website that offers all kinds some of the other weekend papers,
of fun and relevant content and the editorial makes for interesting
applications, as well as major inter- reading and whilst the print order and
activity with the seventeen brand. Plus, the seventeen Urban Scouts are the readership is not nearly that of the well
ideal link between the real world of the 17 year old and this magazine, used weekend newspapers, it offers
allowing seventeen to stay on top of its game. an interesting market in the three main
metrolpolitan areas: Gauteng, Western
Newspapers Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal.
Best weekly newspaper
Trish: Sunday Times. A good all-rounder catering for the different reading Ryan: Sunday Times.
and information requirements of the South African population.
Nazeer: The Weekender. Great
Nazeer: The Mail & Guardian. No sacred cows and no holy cows. A truly paper stock (and hence, repro
independent weekly with foresight, rather than hindsight – the M&G quality) and great editorial as well
uncovers next week’s stories rather than reporting on the week that was. as an amazing travel section to see
you through those lazy weekend
Ryan: Sunday Times. Continues to deliver content that captivates the nation. moments.
Its success could be measured by the scale of references made to Sunday
Times articles in other media and media stables. Although the content has Marketing Mix: The Weekender. For the businessman who doesn’t want to
not significantly changed over time it is still a winning formula. do business on the weekend but wants to keep in touch with all the things
that are relevant to him and his high-flying life.
Marketing Mix: Mail & Guardian. Intellectual reading, with a mix of politics
and scandal, business news, and so on. Plus, a great website, which offers Best newspaper supplement
up-to-date reporting. Trish: Sunday Times Lifestyle. For a wide variety of editorial which, as with
the main body, caters for different reading and info requirements.
Best daily newspaper
Trish: Daily Sun. The success story of Nazeer: Wanted Magazine. For proving that opulence need not be garish.
the decade. It continues to grow its Brilliant fashion photography, editorial and a great quality read. Definitely a
readership in what most said was a wanted read.
very hard market to reach. Its articles
are topical and the reporting is Ryan: No preference in this sector. supplement content across titles tend to
unbiased. be of similar quality. Although Business Report is carried by other titles it
shouldn’t be viewed as a supplement.
Nazeer: The Times. Provides
fresh news essentials in quick, digestible Marketing Mix: Business Day’s Wanted and Sunday Times Lifestyle. Both of
bites. A great mix of hard news, opinion, these titles address their target readers and address their needs and interests
sport, jobs and infotainment. with content that is stimulating.

Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 29

CONTENT CHAMPIONS

Radio Online
Best national station Best website
Trish: 5FM. The station understands Trish: www.24.com. This site has everything you need and is easy to navigate.
its broad target market and its pro- It also has great maps and directions for those without GPRS devices!
gramme line-up caters for it. Over
the years the station has morphed Nazeer: Google as a landing
and adjusted accordingly, some- page period. For providing a map
times it has gone on a tangent in and journey to anywhere.
the wrong direction; however, it has
managed to correct this and has Ryan: News24. One of the largest
continued to offer a good mix of websites for local traffic, but more
DJs and content. importantly starting to steal a
significant share of younger
Nazeer: Metro FM, for being a great alternative to 5FM. audience who are drifting away
from newsprint as an access point to news content. Syndication of this
Ryan: SAFM. Continues to deliver very high-quality content. Business and content across platforms is evidence of the quality (although some content is
industry commentary is the strongest across all national radio broadcasters. derived from the Reuters network).

Marketing Mix: 5FM. This station is very popular with its target audiences,
precisely because it offers the radio content that appeals to them. DJs have
a very loyal following, and the station also aligns itself to key events (such as
the Virgin Fest, taking place later this year). Its website is also ideally targeted
to listeners and offers great interactivity.
Best regional station
Trish: YFM. A fabulous youth station that caters for those young at heart
too! It’s a station that has become a culture and a lifestyle, and it’s one
station that has successfully broadened its offerings with a magazine, a great
website and now the Y-academy to scout for new talent.
Marketing Mix: www.thetimes.co.za. For multimedia content that really
speaks to younger readers. Plus, the website works in tandem with the
newspaper (the latter refers readers to the former seamlessly).
Best media newcomer
Trish: Blaque Magazine. An upmarket glossy magazine targeting the black
urban male in the top LSM groups. This magazine is welcomed by readers
as well as advertisers, who now have an opportunity to reach this market
with a good quality publication. A nice competitor to Best Life and Men’s
Health too (competition is always good!). I just hope it gets the advertising
support it deserves.

Nazeer: Kaya FM. For interesting radio formats, cleverly themed music Nazeer: Destiny Magazine. A complete and intelligent business, home,
genre months, brave reality concepts and good music. décor and fashion digest for the successful and motivated woman.

Ryan: Highveld Stereo. Although heavily dependant on a core group of Ryan: No preference for the past 12 months.
presenters, with no clear succession plans, this station delivers loyalty in a
highly competitive Gauteng market. Its social initiatives combined with Marketing Mix: www.thechewmagazine.com (online magazine). Launched in
innovative approach to radio content means that this is still the strongest August 2008, it promotes local and international fashion, design and
content contender in the regional radio market. Special mention should be styling. For the trend setters of Generations X and Y, this is the ideal virtual
made of 702 for a recent magazine; downloaded for free, it is an uber cool read.
resurgence in popularity – this
could be reflective of a shift in A few comments from the editor:
audience preference among early In general, the sports media appear to be doing a very good job with their
adopters/opinion formers in the content offerings (and perhaps, given the passion that fans have for their
Gauteng market. sport of choice, this is inevitable). It is interesting to see that in spite of new
niche sport interest magazine titles being launched (which supposedly offer a
Marketing Mix: East Coast Radio smaller, though far more engaged audience, and very niched content), the
for managing to cover the diverse judges did not select any of these. This begs the question: have the titles
populations of KZN and doing it marketed themselves strongly enough to create familiarity with the media
so well. And Highveld Stereo for planners? Or, is it a matter of the clients chasing bigger audience numbers
offering Gauteng listeners instead of a more engaged, smaller readership?
something unique and relevant. In the youth magazine category, it seems that the closure of some
The loyalty of its listeners is a of the youth titles has eroded the confidence in the media in this sector. It
significant indicator of this. Both will be interesting to see what the youth titles, such as seventeen,
2
these stations have managed to Hip2B and National Geographic Kids, do to reinvigorate their
share content across their web- audience figures, their content offering and advertiser/media planner
sites and draw listeners with podcasts, competitions, blogs and more. confidence in them. 

30 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008

 The 1st Luxury Marketing Summit
12 & 13 November 08
Sandton Sun Hotel, Johannesburg
Understanding how to reach and influence premium consumers could help you take your brand into a premium realm. Keynote speaker: Greg Furman,
Chairman of the Luxury Marketing Council of the USA (www.luxurycouncil.com).

Today’s luxury market: The luxury ‘best customer’, the luxury marketer: trends, issues and best
marketing practices
Greg Furman (chairman of Luxury Marketing Council) explains how the luxury market’s changing, and how to win greater share of wallet with the premium customer.

Luxury stats
Neil Higgs, director: Innovation and Development, TNS Research Surveys will overview all the primary sources of income and trend information concerning the
rich and the aspirational rich.

Luxury and the SA Market: The role of premiumisation and premium brands
Erna George, from the Added Value group, discusses global trends driving luxury and premium, as well as the difference between the elitism of luxury and
the wider accessibility of premium.

The Luxury mindset

Grant Anderson, from Investment Cars (and Armormax) will explore the ‘luxury mindset’, and how to developed effective communication strategies for this market.

Luxury media – an expert appraisal

Millward Brown experts share insights gained through their research and tracking of top brands.

Marketing to luxury brands – defining the who, how and why

Kim Aardweg, manager partner, Brand EQ, defines the luxury market and discusses how to market to them.

The Planet Fitness Platinum case study

Jonathan Winstral, Planet Fitness, talks us through the challenges of setting up a premium health gym concept.

The power of influence and PR

Utilising sophisticated PR techniques to create a premium ambience and to influence opinion leaders. Speaker to be confirmed.

The luxury marketing mix

Greg Furman discusses innovative collaborations among luxury brands.

Luxury communication and branding

Anina Malherbe, founder of Vivid Luxury Marketing, discusses the best ways to achieve luxury brand positioning and communications.

One to one marketing – getting personal with premium consumers

Mark Angus, CEO, Innoviate, explains how to utilise smart digital tools to enhance direct marketing techniques and influence the top earners.

Communicating with young affluents

Andrea Kraushaar and Ane Bothma-Landman share insights from the Youth Dynamix research.

Determining the right formula for luxury goods: maximising desirability, while restricting accessibility
Gaby De Abreu, The Switch Group

Living the good lifestyle

Former Miss South Africa, Claudia Henkel, managing editor of Morafic Wealth, a recently launched premium lifestyle title, will talk about selecting content
for premium readers.

Pricing:
A two day workshop
R6 750 plus VAT per delegate.
R6 250 plus VAT per delegate for three or more delegates.

Enquiries: Daisy Mulenga, daisym@systems.co.za (011) 234 7008

Sponsorships available: Robyn Richen, robynr@systems.co.za (011) 234 7008
by jonathan gluckman EXPERT OPINION
Online retailing:
lessons to learn
The retail industry in SA faced a gloomy
start to 2008, with Stats SA’s figures showing a
retail growth rate of only 1.5 per cent year on
year leading up to the traditional holiday boom
that turned out to be more of a damp cracker.
Our online retailers, however, had a joyous time
up to the end of the last year. According to tech
researchers World Wide Worx, more than 20 per
cent of 2007’s online shopping was done over
the holiday period, and they predict it will likely
grow. This is an urgent heads-up to the local
retail industry that it needs to understand more
than the most basic idea of Web retail as an
‘online shop-front’.
It’s also great news for the increasingly
complicated network of online businesses
operating as service providers to online retailers –
an entire industry that most traditional retailers
have very little knowledge of.
This world of ‘search engines’, ‘price comparison
sites’, ‘retail aggregators’, ‘search affiliates’ and
other arcane organisations is staggeringly massive.
Globally, says JPMorgan, revenues for the world-
wide search industry will hit US$30.5 billion this
year, up from US$26.2 billion last year, with
expectations of an annual growth rate of 28 per
cent over the next four years, hitting $60 billion
by 2011.
Many of SA’s better online retailers understand
the mutualism between them and the ‘online
search’ crowd – go to Jump.co.za or
PriceCheck.co.za and see how they allow you to
search for items at the best prices across several
leading online retailers. At the same time, most of
our traditional retailers are still trying to work out
their own online shopping plans, never mind how
they can plug into the crazy new ecosystem of the
online space.
It is critical that retailers start to build an under-
standing of the parallel online services industry.
To succeed online requires new partnerships with
web marketing specialists, especially those in the
search space.
In the US, a whole industry has grown up
around ‘Black Friday’ – the first shopping day
after the Thanksgiving weekend in the run-up to
the Christmas/Hanukah/what-have-you present
and entertainment frenzy, characterised by
gridlocked traffic, chock-a-block shopping malls
32 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
“
Luckily, we don’t have
to learn from scratch – we
can pick up the lessons
that US and European
retailers have learned so
painfully over the past few
”
years.
and slathers of special offers. Compared to
2006, last year saw traffic to sites advertising
Black Friday specials increasing earlier than ever
before, and peaking 52 per cent higher than
previously (according to research company Hitwise).
Searches on the term ‘black friday ads’ are up
91 per cent from the previous year, and have
increased a jaw-dropping 954 per cent since
2005. Compare this explosive growth in search
traffic on independent ‘aggregator’ sites to the
big retailers’ own websites, which only increased
by a moderate 13 per cent over 2006 (Hitwise
US Retail 100 Index). Whether retailers like it or
not, more and more people are hitting the
aggregator sites rather than the ‘official’ sites.
The big US retailers have mixed feelings about
the ‘Black Friday’ advertising sites, which allow
shoppers to cherry pick the best specials, and
also often leak specials that the retailer was
hoping to announce when it suited it. But in
general they understand that it’s better to capitalise
off third-party search systems than attempt the
impossibility of muzzling them.
There are now three major ways for online
retail customers to find what they want – go to a
retailer’s site directly, go to an aggregator/price
comparison site, or simply use a search engine
such as Google.
It’s a tricky business, and online retailers are
still coming to grips with how to maximise each
online customer acquisition method – it’s
complicated, subtle and changes constantly.
Retailers in SA are facing a massive learning
curve – it’s not enough to spend millions on an
online shop front, but ignore how consumers are
increasingly using the web. Whether retailers like
it or not, web-savvy consumers are very aware of
the power of online search, and how it allows
them to find what they want at the best price.
Retail giants need to leverage off the sometimes
considerable expertise, energy and effort of third-
party sites and affiliates, but without compromising
their brands and marketing strategies.
Retailers in this country are taking a drubbing,
with spiralling food prices and interest rate hikes
dampening consumer spending. Online retailers
in SA are in the pound seats of growth – even if
total retail spend is not increasing rapidly, online
spend is becoming an ever bigger slice of the
pie. And this is despite the fact that most retailers
are barely off the first page when it comes to
building an online sales channel.
Luckily, we don’t have to learn from scratch –
we can pick up the lessons that US and European
retailers have learned so painfully over the past
few years. 
Jonathan Gluckman
Head, Business Development
Clicks2customers
(021) 442 5044
jonathan.g@clicks2customers.com
 TOWNSHIP MARKETING
Effective marketing in
the townships workshop
Townships are dynamic, and no two
townships are the same. As Alistair Duff, director
of Strategic Development, McCann Worldgroup
South Africa, explains, townships cannot all be
marketed to as a homogeneous market. Duff’s
research into the townships of Soweto, Alexandra
and Orange Farm has illustrated that there is a
distinct mindset that differentiates consumers
across these townships. He urges marketers to
realise the fortune that is at the bottom of the
pyramid. “The Black Diamond is much smaller
than we think,” he says, encouraging marketers
and brands to look beyond these definitions.
Mutually beneficial marketing is key.
Beatrice Khubeka, MD, African Response,
says there is a growing trend of black people with
increased spending power, and here, image is
important. However, as much as there is spending
power, inflation and credit crunches have hit the
township market hard. Shopping decisions are
being made more carefully, with trends now
towards buying in bulk or switching to lower price
alternatives (maize meal instead of rice or
cordials instead of ready-to-drink fruit juices).
Brad Aigner, MD, Freshly Ground Insights, has
found that the bulk buying in township malls is
impacting (albeit marginally) on vendors and
spaza shops. He stresses the need for brands
entering this market to make long-term commit-
ments to community involvement and upliftment.
Township malls are perceived to be cheaper.
Marketers need to be aware of differentiation of
prices between the urban and township malls,
and make sure that they don’t create perceptions
of disparity between what they offer suburban
consumers and what they offer rural and
township consumers.
Frans Van Der Colff, Pick n Pay, explains how
the group got involved in local township
communities with great success. At store openings,
green shopping bags are distributed to shoppers,
while engagement in activities that help children
and pensioners creates positive word of mouth.
Locals are hired to manage and run the stores
in the townships. The stores interact with local
hawkers and supply them with hawker packs.
They sell bread outside their stores in kiosks run
by local vendors at a reduced price.
This allows the Pick n Pay stores to be perceived
34 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
as helping the community instead of hampering
the efforts of the local vendors. Outlets are
always strategically situated near or at the taxi
ranks, and in the suburbs to make it easy for
people to shop there. Then, it’s about stocking
quality products and specific product categories
that are consumed by the local market (tripe,
for example).
“
Government has set a budget of R7.7 billion for the
taxi re-cap programme, which seeks to improve safety
”
and formalise the taxi industry.
Geraldine Mitchley from the Knowledge
Factory, believes that internal data (shopper
spending habits, for example) are a rich source of
information, which can be augmented with
external sources of marketing intelligence to
better understand customer needs. Geographical
analysis is valuable and allows for linking together
of insights to get a more comprehensive picture
(tracking property prices, where people shop, and
so on). Combined with demographic data, this
sort of analysis allows one to identify nuances
that tie sub-clusters together and differentiate
them from one another.
Gill Mkhasibe of the Alternative Consultancy,
says that over the past few years, the growth of
malls and shopping centres in the townships has
brought top-end brands into the townships.
However, she is concerned that the malls may not
be the investment they are made out to be, since
poverty and unemployment leave many township
dwellers without the disposable income needed to
shop at the malls.
Mkhasibe says that there is growth in immigrant
traders (Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian and Somali)
who tend to settle in pockets. A number of them
are taking over the old general dealer stores, and
Mkhasibe says they are very entrepreneurial.
The township traders offer distribution in every
street in every township, and could therefore help
dominant brands fight against the ‘new guys’ that
are now in the major supermarkets. However, the
tough working conditions and low literacy levels
of these traders is a challenge for marketers. Your

products need to be differentiated and need to
market themselves, says Mkhasibe. Understand
that perceived value is more important than price.
It’s not about how much money people have, it’s
about the perceived value in the offer.
Jacques du Preez, MD, Provantage, estimates
that about 55 per cent of our population (25 mil-
lion people) resides in a township. The townships
are being upgraded and there is formalisation of
trade. There is more disposable income than ever
before, and there is also increased mobility. More
than 20 million South Africans commute through
about 60-plus hubs across SA. Across the
provinces taxis dominate as the major mode of
transport, (with more than 15 million people
depending on them). Taxi, bus and train
commuters spend more than R30 billion, so
there is tremendous spending power.
Government has set a budget of R7.7 billion
for the taxi re-cap programme, which seeks to
improve safety and formalise the taxi industry.
Commuter environments are being developed
and upgraded, but marketers cannot just carry
out campaigns here.
Traditional media categories are becoming
more cluttered and more and more brands are
turning to out-of-home and outdoor media,
globally. This is because these media cannot be
zoned or tuned out. And given that the average
commuter spends between 30 and 60 minutes a
day in a taxi, bus or train, this is a no brainer. But
Du Preez points out that only 5.5 per cent of
marketing spend is allocated to transit media.
He believes this is because there is a lack of
understanding of these media platforms and the
transit/commuter markets.
Linette Imrie, Pepper Portfolio manager at
Primedia Lifestyle, says that in planning a
township marketing communication, language
and culture should be a priority. This will impact
not only how you communicate, but also what
appeals to the market. For example, in urban
activations, giving away a car in a competition is
viable. But in some of the rural townships, a cow
or a goat is a far more valuable prize.
Make use of local suppliers, educate and
invest in them, and exploit their creativity. Turn taxi
drivers into tour operators and informal traders
into retailers (especially since the shopping malls
have encroached on their markets). Politics are
important: the local councillor is not always
respected by the community, so keep your ear on
the ground.
Due to a combination of low literacy rates
and an increased ‘take me back to my roots’
phenomenon, it’s incredibly important to
advertise in a combination of languages. Service
TOWNSHIP MARKETING
is an issue that retailers must address, as is the
product offering – some retailers only stock
products meant for the Western market.
Mannequins and shop fronts are predominantly
white, so customers do not relate to them.
Tumisang Moatshe, Youth Strategy Consultant,
Youth Dynamix, has found that the youth in the
townships are largely LSM 5-7, with a low dispos-
able income. They tend to spend more on instant
consumables, including snacks, entertainment,
connectivity (cellphone), and fashion and brands
that are linked to image and peer groups.
Average spend on weekends is around
R250-R300. They are not saving at all (they spend
conspicuously), so there is room for banking
groups to give financial advice. These are early
adopters of electronics, and will give their parents
advice on electronic goods and tech gadgets.
These youth are uber-indulged and uber-
stimulated; they want a concentrated life. So
marketers need to offer them something out of
the ordinary (experiences that cannot be bought).
And while they are highly aware of their
consumer rights, they are not prepared to assume
the committed responsibilities.
“
Service is an issue that retailers must address, as is
the product offering – some retailers only stock
”
products meant for the Western market.
Aloice Lombard, project manager for
Maponya Mall, shared her learnings of the
township markets through her experience in
launching and marketing the mall
Consumer categorisation was complicated.
Each consumer sub-group has a specific state of
mind, and this was a more relevant segmentation
tool than any other. Lombard identified three
main groups of consumers:
The traditional Soweto consumer, who is cash
strapped (LSM 2-5); trading hours need to take
into account that they leave the township during
the day to work, so stores need to stay open later
to accommodate this.
Younger, more demanding Soweto consumers:
they know what they want, where to get it, and will
abandon you if you don’t measure up and deliver.
It’s important to get their attention from the start.
Afropolitans: These are trendsetters; they are
African but also cosmopolitan. They are future
focused and have money to spend.
Show your commitment to this market, and
don’t let it down. Keep your business models
flexible and don’t wait for them to fit into your
model, says Lombard. 
Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 35
 SERVICES SETA
Professionalising
marketing
On 11 June 2008, the South African
Qualifications Authority (SAQA) formally
registered two professional designations for
marketers: the Chartered Marketer (SA) national
certificate (which until this year was without formal
backing after the demise of the Marketing
Federation of South Africa, the MFSA), and the
Marketing Practitioner (SA). These designations
are recognised by the 17 countries in Europe
which form part of the EMC (the European
Marketing Confederation), and will soon be
recognised in Australia too.
In reviving the CM(SA) designation, and
offering the MP(SA) designation, the Services
36 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
SETA hopes to bring much needed credibility
to the marketing profession. “Chartered
Marketers should be confident to hold
senior marketing positions in organisations, or
lead small businesses, being thoroughly tuned
into satisfying client needs and delighting
customers. I anticipate that the value of the
currency will grow, with a widening remuneration
gap developing between non-designated
marketers and chartered marketers. They
are already instantly recognised by fellow
professionals as having achieved a high degree
of mastery,” says Colin Hudson, current
Chartered Marketer (SA).
The Chartered Marketer (SA)
Since January this year, the Services SETA has
been working to update the current list of
registered CMs, and is now also signing up new
incumbents. “There are about 250 South African
Chartered Marketers who have retained their
designations, and another 60 are going through
the process that will ultimately lead to a board
exam and an evaluation by peers, as is common
to most senior professional designations. There
will be a natural limit – probably about 500, but
the potential for marketers at middle manage-
ment level to achieve MPSA must be enormous –
probably up to 10 000,” says Hudson.
 SERVICES SETA

Governance, Small Business or Entrepreneur or

Consultant, or Academic). This will impact on the
number of points that must be obtained in each
category of CPD.
New CMs must submit a CPD report for
evaluation, and if they have accumulated sufficient
points, they are called for interviews and board
exams. If these are passed successfully, they are
awarded the designation of Chartered Marketer.
Existing CMs, on the other hand, are not expected
to pass exams or interviews – if their CPD portfolio
proves that they have accumulated sufficient
points, they retain their status.
The chartered marketer is one who has a
minimum of 10 years’ line– and management-
level marketing experience, and a proven track
record of practical marketing mastery at strategic
level. Typical positions include: chief marketing
officer; marketing director/manager; CEO; sales
director/manager, business owner/entrepreneur.

The Marketing Practitioner (SA)

The marketing practitioner is someone who has a
minimum of three years’ experience in marketing,
preferably at middle management level with
supervisory experience. They have a proven track
record of practical marketing competence at
tactical/operational level. Typical positions
include: brand manager; product manager; field
manager; account executive; sales representative;
marketing assistant; business owner/entrepreneur.
They are required to follow the same protocols
and fulfil the same criteria as the CM(SA)
candidates (although they are not required to
write a Board Exam).
“The Marketing Practitioner designation
should be viewed as a stepping stone in a
Colin Hudson, current Chartered Marketer (SA)
marketer’s career development. Typically, a
marketer with an undergraduate qualification and
Chartered Marketers that initially qualified activities, both unstructured, and registered. They a minimum of three years experience in market-
through the Institute of Marketing Management are then required to complete and submit the ing management would be eligible to embark on
or the Marketing Federation of South Africa are CPD record card by 31 October 2008, for the MPSA programme. Chartered Marketers
required to re-register by signing the code of evaluation. They are expected to have accumulated recognise Marketing Practitioners as people
conduct and submitting it to the Services SETA. 50 CPD points over the 12 months leading up to taking their professional marketing career
Also, they must participate in compulsory this deadline, and should also have selected the development seriously. In comparison, one would
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) context in which they will operate (ie Corporate or expect a Chartered Marketer to have had at least
10 years of marketing experience at a senior
level,” says Hudson.
The National Qualifications Framework (NQF): To qualify to enter the CM(SA) or MP(SA)
This Framework is designed to create a single, integrated, national education and programme:
training framework for the whole nation. It hopes to make it easier for learners to  Competence needs to be demonstrated by
enter the education and training system, as well as to progress within the system. the qualifying individual at different stages of
Through these processes, the Framework also improves the quality of education and their personal and professional development.
training in South Africa. This is essentially a quality assurance system, given that it sets The individual needs to:
out the standards and qualifications that are required to uplift education and training  Be deemed competent against the standards
in South Africa. described in the integrated NQF 7 or NQF 5
qualification;

Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 37

 SERVICES SETA

 Demonstrate vocational competence against

the criteria defined by the Services SETA; The benefits of qualifying as a Chartered Marketer (CM):
 Maintain the currency of their professional Thebe Ikalafeng, from the Brand Leadership Group, says that the CM designation is
competence through participating in a the highest endorsement of aptitude, skill and experience for the marketing profes-
programme of continuous professional sional. “It signals that you are the best in your field, and that you have all the right
development (CPD), as determined by the qualifications and experience,” he says. Chartered marketers will gain the following
profession; key benefits as a result of the CM qualification:
 Subscribe to a code of conduct that is monitored  Membership of the professional body, which means contributing to the growth of the mar-
and co-ordinated by the profession or keting profession as a whole
professional body serving that profession;  Improved performance in one’s current role, since the continuous re-training ensures high
 Retain membership of the professional body quality skills and contributions, as well as contributions in the form of social responsibility
responsible for the enforcement of the code Professional development process sharpens awareness of the need for additional knowl-
of conduct; edge and skills too
 Gain practical working experience through  Enhanced career prospects that arise as a result of greater expertise. In addition, CPD can
working experience or participation in an help you identify gaps in your present knowledge or skills which may not be immediately
internship. Competence can be measured by relevant in your present role, but which limit the range of opportunities, which you could
describing the types of activities such an consider in future.
individual will need to have participated in  Increased learning capacity, as a result of reflection on learning, and knowledge applica-
whilst on-the-job; and tion
 Act in a way that places the interests of the  Greater confidence and self-esteem
public s/he serves above his/her own  Organisational benefits, since one’s company also benefits from the added value of an
interests. increasingly effective contribution on its board
Furthermore, in order to qualify for the  Social benefits, because CPD contributes to the professional development of learners.
CM(SA) or MP(SA) programme you must also
demonstrate that you are currently able to:
 Coach other marketers in key aspects of
marketing
 Conduct research and apply relevant research
outcomes
 Develop and implement marketing plans,
strategies and campaigns
 Develop and optimize marketing budgets
 Integrate other business unit objectives to the
marketing objectives
 Communicate with stakeholders
 Aspire to the principles of marketing
 Integrate all other disciplines across the
different fields of marketing.

Achieving CM(SA) or MP(SA)

status
The individual is required to register with the
Services SETA (by signing a code of conduct) and
complete the initial workshop. During the work-
shop the required competences will be unpacked
in order to guide you in providing the required
evidence. At the end of the first workshop your
portfolio will be submitted for assessment.
All candidates must undertake CPD activities
over the next few weeks, and they must keep a
Portfolio of Evidence (PoE) of the documents and
materials to support these activities. An interim
workshop will serve to guide the portfolio work, Ivor Blumenthal, CEO of the Services SETA
and gives the candidate an opportunity to discuss
problems and issues with peers and supervisors. thereafter for assessment by accredited assessors. for the designation. MPs are then assessed, for
Approximately four weeks are then allocated Based on the PoE, the candidate is then required accreditation (successful candidates attend
for the completion of the PoE, which is submitted to make a presentation, motivating their eligibility graduation). CM candidates are required to

38 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008

 SERVICES SETA

be of an active or output-type nature (requiring

A Chartered Marketer has demonstrated that he or she is the individual candidate to design, develop of
able to: deliver programmes and workshops, or write
 Apply a range of financial and / or statistical formulas to plan and measure the papers that will deliver information to an
results of strategic marketing efforts audience). The CPD points are calculated
 Plan, prepare and present high level proposals to role players and stakeholders as follows: one hour of participation equates
 Integrate all aspects of marketing in meeting the broad objectives of the to one point. So, 50 points equates to 50 hours
organisation and ensure that marketing strategies and activities are integrated of CPD activities.
and co-ordinated with those of other key parts of the organisation The activities that qualify for CPD include:
 Demonstrate that strategic marketing efforts contribute directly towards the bottom  Reading, writing and the submission of
line of the organisation marketing articles
 Demonstrate professional conduct to ensure sound strategic marketing practices.  Attending and presenting marketing related
 Conduct research into global and / or national marketing practices and use lectures
findings to add value to the organisation  Coaching, mentoring or supervising individuals
 In order to maintain your status as Chartered Marketer you are required to prove in the marketing field, or being coached,
that you are currently competent against these criteria, through engaging in mentored or supervised
specific CPD activities.  Attending, facilitating and developing
marketing related courses and seminars
 Reading, developing, presenting and
write a board examination at this stage, and practical experience in attracting and retaining publishing marketing related papers
then overall results are verified by the Services customers, and consistently generating income,”  Being a member of or serving and actively
SETA. Successful candidates graduate from says Hudson. participating in a marketing related
the programme. professional body or bodies
To maintain their status, MPs and CMs are Continuous professional  Serving and actively participating in a
required to accumulate a certain number of CPD development community organisation; and
points each year, and must abide by the Code of The continuous professional development that is  Developing an individual development plan
Conduct. The CPD PoEs must submitted for undertaken by marketers in the Services SETA or implementing elements of an individual
evaluation, every two years for assessment. One CM(SA) and MP(SA) programmes is key, because development plan.
needs to understand that an individual does not it emphasises lifelong learning and the maintenance
automatically retain the CM or MP status for life. of a high standard of professional conduct. Looking ahead
Instead, they must continually develop their Essentially, this means that the Services SETA “The results of related professional associations
competencies, and prove themselves multi-skilled, assesses and values proof of mastery, which is collaborating with the CMSA will quietly unfold
multi-dimensional individual. It’s also about gained experientially in the workplace. Failure to over the next few months,” says Hudson. “For
accountability and good governance; a chartered remain professionally competent should prevent example, once members of the DMA have
marketer who does not meet the standards set such individuals from being able to work within a achieved a certain number of points from their
out by the Services SETA will lose his/her status. specific sector. “The essence of CPD is to earn process, they become eligible to start the CMSA
“A further benefit of the CMSA programme is sufficient points to retain your position on a programme. Whilst their evidence will obviously
the international recognition afforded by the register. This means having access to the best. be mostly direct marketing related, as long as
European Marketing Federation (EMC) which Through a consultant, Dr Michele Serfontein, an they can demonstrate mastery in it, and show
recognises the South African designation as being outstanding programme of activities is underway, sufficient proficiency in other aspects of marketing,
the equivalent of their ‘Senior Marketing involving top local and international facilitators. they will find a pathway into the CMSA
Professional’. This should facilitate international These exciting sessions have been well attended. programme. The same will apply to market
appointments, and assignments. As an example, CMs can also earn points through making researchers and senior level conference and
the leader of a local marketing services agency presentations, mentoring entry-level learners, or event organisers,” he says. The Public Relations
promotes his EMC certificate to European clients through contributing to reputable marketing and Institute of South Africa (PRISA) is also sharing
who want someone in South Africa whose level of business publications,” says Hudson. knowledge of their sophisticated internationally
expertise they can count on, and who also knows It is precisely this high standard of professional adopted professional designations and CPD
and understands the African market – that’s conduct and real world experience that will uplift process, says Hudson, so that one will eventually
clever use of the reciprocity,” says Hudson. the marketing profession. be able to gain convertible credits from different
“Achieving the CMSA professional but related streams. 
designation indicates a high level of mastery The CPD requirements:
in marketing. In time this will be recognised Candidates must accumulate a total of 50 points
in industry, as Chartered Marketers show their over a 12 month period, by participating in For more information, visit
mettle as marketing directors, brand managers relevant activities. Thirty per cent of the activities http://www.serviceseta.org.za, or contact
of top brands, and leaders of customer must be of a passive of input-type nature (attending Dharmisha Govind, tel (011) 276 9600
centric organisations. It indicates a educational programmes and workshops, for e-mail dharmig@serviceseta.org.za
combination of knowledge, skill and example), while 70 per cent of the activities must

Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 39

by gary nelson EXPERT OPINION
Targeting townships
There has been much speculation in the
industry and the media as to the effect shopping
mall development in townships will have on local
retail businesses, with most predictions being
quite negative. In fact, a recent study done by the
Bureau of Market Research stated that convenient
access linked to price competitiveness and the
extended shopping experience at large chain
stores in these new malls suggest harmful
consequences on the turnover and employment
of small township retailers.
However, the same study also states that while
75 per cent of businesses located less than 1km
or a 15-minute walk from a mall reported a
decline in their profits, this dropped to 36 per
cent when located 4km away, with the percent-
age decreasing even further the greater the dis-
tance from the mall. And herein lies the rub:
while there is a definite negative impact on local
businesses in the immediate vicinity and therefore
product penetration around the malls, there is a
very positive spin off … the further away we move
from the mall or economic hot spot, the more
opportunity there is for expanding the client’s
catchment area.
This is demonstrated clearly in a recent survey
we ran for a battery manufacturer. While the
introduction of a mall in the Atteridgeville area
showed that people around the mall indicated
they would purchase from the mall, only a
few kilometres away in Saulsville, 85 per cent
indicated they would still buy batteries from the
local general dealer.
Traditionally, the focus on distribution into the
townships has been on products to a large retail
store. This store would then run off or ‘feed’ to a
number of smaller stores. While the mall may
have interfered with this process, what can
happen now – with a few small changes in
strategy – is even deeper market penetration into
more outlying areas by servicing or distributing
brands into even more retail stores outside the
formal business hub.
This deeper market penetration can also be
secured by alignment with multipurpose or highly
influential points in the community. It is important
to ensure that the most influential stores are
called on in all areas of operation. To ensure this,
ailing stores are constantly replaced by those that
are able to offer products right across the FMCG
continuum. These stores not only provide goods
40 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
“
It is my belief that if
sophisticated solutions,
that is planning and
technology, are implemented
for what is essentially an
unsophisticated market,
an untapped source of
consumers can be accessed
”
for clients.
and services but also become convergence points
for leisure activities such as playing pool and
soccer tables. Many stores are also used as pay
out points for social grants and pensions, and
these should be included in the most current
route lists. The more influential the store, the
greater the potential to become a convergence
point for various community members.
Furthermore, by implementing changes in the
routes of vehicles stocking township stores and
vehicle tracking to ensure compliance with the
new routes and through the implementation of
technology, the negative can fast become
positive. It is my belief that if sophisticated
solutions, that is planning and technology,
are implemented for what is essentially an
unsophisticated market, an untapped source of
consumers can be accessed for clients.
Considering the thousands of stores in the town-
ships the untapped potential is mind boggling.
In terms of what we are doing to ensure
effective reach for our clients’ brands, all vehicles
are scientifically deployed using current data such
as black disposable income, population census
data and so on that helps us to identify economic
hot spots and catchment areas. In addition, we
have installed a geo-mapping system as well as a
sophisticated data-capturing system that will
dramatically improve quality and turnaround
times for client report backs.
In terms of data collected during store rounds,
the following information is imperative: product
penetration versus competitor penetration, trader
insights, consumer comments and to a large
degree what the opposition is doing that gives it
the edge and pricing trends as well as other
factors and in-store opportunities that could
be used to improve visibility and top-of-mind
awareness for our clients’ brands.
This combination of deeper penetration, use
of technology and data collection ensures
continued viability and, in fact, huge potential
in township retail for the local and general
dealer-type stores – despite the advent of malls in
the townships. 
Gary Nelson
CEO, Primedia Face2Face
(011) 475 1419
gnelson@f2f.co.za

What’s in a good name?
Socrates once said: “Regard your good
name as the richest jewel you can possibly be pos-
sessed of – for credit is like fire; when once you
have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you
once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to
rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation
is to endeavour to be what you desire to appear.”
The corporate identity or brand of a company
along with its reputation is its greatest asset. The
legitimacy an organisation receives because of its
reputation should be carefully guarded. The
power of being trusted and believed is enormous.
The proliferation of information and media,
intense public scrutiny and constant corporate
change has created confusion, distrust and cynicism
that continue to erode the reputations of
businesses with their employees and the public.
Why care... unless reputation contributes to a
company’s business or stock performance. The
bottom line is that it does.
Business experience and research has demon-
strated time and again that a good reputation
helps a company to sell its products, recruit the
best and the brightest, and attract the most
desirable business partners. Industry research*
has revealed that individuals who are familiar
with a company are more likely to evaluate it
more favourably and it is more likely to lead to
behaviours that support the corporation’s strategic
goals – recommending products and services,
and the corporation as an investment.
Corporate reputation plays a large part in your
target audience’s forming an opinion of your
products and services, therefore public relations
(PR), as a strategic management function, has as
its key mandate to help organisations build
reputations and establish market credibility.
As a term public relations has often been
mistaken for publicity; however, it is about helping
an organisation and its public adapt mutually to
each other by building goodwill. PR encompasses
publicity, advertising, media relations, investor
relations, employee relations, promotions, issues
management, public affairs, and industry and
community relations. All with one common aim:
to gain public understanding and acceptance.
At the heart of PR lies communication. As a
PR professional I am not just a fan because it is
my business, but because my business reflects
who I am. As a communicator I am adept at
the art of communicating yet I have also learnt
that communicating without strategic intent or
planning is akin to putting on a play without a
script or rehearsals.
Strategy and planning
Considering PR is a strategic management asset
with the corporate reputation as its charge,
developing a PR or communications process
that will enhance and protect your reputation
is paramount.
Below is a step by step process to guide you.
Step 1: Define what is required
Conduct a ‘situation analysis’ – what is your
current reputation or standing with your public?
Conduct research or look at existing market
research, conduct a strategic counsel with
relevant parties.
 Segment the target audience – know who all
your publics are
 Align to business strategy – ensure you under-
stand the business strategy and key goals
 Develop an overall PR objective for each target
audience group
 Ensure you have clear, realistic and measura-
ble goals.
Step 2: Develop a plan – think
strategy before moving to tactics
 Develop the PR process – audience, message,
content, channel
 Ensure accurate messages that fit the audience
 Define activities, set goals and timelines
 Create feedback and measurement mechanisms
 Determine accountability and resource requirements.
Step 3: Implement and measure
 Roll-out PR activities
EXPERT OPINION by janine lloyd
 Monitor individual communications and refine
as necessary
 Review communication plan and adjust
accordingly.
Be what you desire to appear
Remember that reputation is not just what others
think or say about you, it is also about being ‘what
you desire to appear’. The public wants to buy
from companies that deliver on their promises.
Should you break these promises you are eroding
the very essence of your company’s reputation.
When considering your overall PR strategy and
communications messages it is critical to consider
your company or brand promise. A good PR
campaign builds up the reputation of your company
to deliver on its promises and brand values.
What would MTN’s Everywhere you go pay-off
line mean if you couldn’t get your cellphone to
connect nearly everywhere you go. MTN’s core
brand positioning is shown through its latest
adverts which highlight ‘Go’ people – the igniters
of fantastic ideas and those individuals who are
prepared to mobilise their potential, to go and
invent, create, challenge and change things in
their life experience. This is the essence of the
MTN brand promise to which the company lives
up to as a progressive, innovative, leader with
people who have a ‘can-do’ attitude.
Do not make promises that you cannot keep;
even though you may have developed a good
reputation, remember you could just as quickly
destroy it. Don’t insist your PR department,
advertising and marketing people communicate
messages to the market which undermine your
reputation because they are simply not true.
Just as PR can build your reputation so too can
reality quickly turn your reputation into a bad
one. In the words of Abraham Lincoln: ‘You can
fool some of the people all of the time, and all of
the people some of the time, but you cannot fool
all of the people all of the time.’
*Understanding is the beginning of approving:
Vapid Platitude or Cornerstone of Public
Relations? By John Gilfeather, VP Roper Public
Affairs, NOP World and Tina Carroll, Ph.D.
Candidate, University of Miami, March 2005.
www.instituteforpr.com 
Janine Lloyd
PR coach and CEO
Livewired Communications
0861 548 394
janine@livewired.co.za
Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 41
EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING
Experiential
marketing
summit
The 2nd African Experiential Summit
took place on 3 September and offered a mind-
boggling wealth of useful information on experiential
marketing, branding and sponsorship.
Experiential marketing is becoming an increasingly
important element of the marketing mix as
consumers begin to tune out the more traditional
advertising noise in favour of a more person-
alised approach. According to Ryan Fitzsimons,
CEO of Gigunda Group, experiential fits perfectly
with the new consumer because it is ‘the discipline
of creating engaging, experience-based
programmes that drive a brand message to the
one-on-one conversation level.’
As Dr Jannie Hofmeyr, head of Innovation at
Synovate, pointed out in his presentation
Connections, you create strong brand commitment
by connecting the brand to things that people
really care about. But, he says, it takes time to
build that connection. However, once the
connection is made, you own the image and
the buying behaviour follows. This is where
experiential marketing can speed up the brand-
connection process.
Andy Rice, chairman of Yellowwood Brand
Architects agrees and his presentation dealt with
media clutter. “This isn’t just about clutter; it’s
about media proliferation beyond all reasonableness.
The way to break through is to stop acting as
media and advertising. Our brains are hotwired
to be attracted to those things that interest us. So,
entertainment first, brand message later; this is
the trick to breaking through the media clutter. Is
it any wonder that consumers choose their own
media carefully, and that they often ignore
‘traditional’ media in the process?” he asks.
The change that marketers cannot ignore is
that marketing and advertising are about the
consumer. “Experiential marketing is truly about
customers. Most traditional marketing is – despite
what marketers say – usually product focused.
Look at the concepts and methodologies of
42 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
traditional marketing: choice
models, conjoint analysis, and
feature and benefits segmenta-
tions. They are all about the
product, not the customer,”
says Bernd Schmitt, PhD –
Robert D Calkins Professor of
International Business and exec-
utive director of the Center on
Global Brand Leadership at
Columbia Business School.
Schmitt, the keynote speaker
at the Summit, used Apple,
Mini and Starbucks as prime
examples of companies that
focused on the experience.
“How does a brand fit into a
consumer’s lifestyle – what do
the customers want and how can
a brand help them to enrich their
lives? This is how brands must think now,”
says Schmitt. (QTOs) – how can we introduce someone to the
According to Schmitt, as experience of a brand brand or reintroduce them to a brand that breaks
increases, so do the positive impressions and the mould. This is when we need innovation. Our
purchasing intentions – provided, of course, that definition is the following: innovative QTOs only
the product is up to the match. To ensure that happen when brands discover and maximise
experiential marketing works, it must focus on those crucial points of highest untapped potential,”
purchase and consumption with research on says Fitzsimons.
consumer insight looking at customers as rational But, he adds, although leading with innovation
and emotional. “It also means a move from a product creates buzz, it is not up to the marketers to finish
focus to a consumption situation while looking at this buzz, but to keep providing new, exciting and
the socio-cultural environment,” says Schmitt. fresh ideas for the target market.
According to Schmitt, there are five strategic One way to keep the buzz going is finding the
modules: sense, think, act, relate and feel, and right influencers. Carol Abade, CEO of EXP gave
marketers need to look at product environments, her presentation on Influencing the Influencers in
events and sponsorships, people, visual/verbal Africa, demonstrating the unique appeal of
identity and website. experiential marketing and finding influencers
Experiential marketing is not as easy as it across the continent. Over the past five to 10
seems. The ultimate aim for any brand is to get a years, the markets in Africa have changed and,
customer to fall in love with it – destination therefore, so must the marketing approach.
devotion. “If we’re seeking destination devotion, it “Influencing the influencers is one way of dealing
means we’re looking for quality trial opportunities with the changes as they are key in linking

communities together but you have to actually go
out and find these people. Influencers don’t wait
for you to ask; they tell you and give you the
details. Effective segmentations allow us to be
able to talk to the right audience, at the right time
in the right way. This is where influencers come
into play,” says Abade.
She also says that finding the right influencers
can provide invaluable consumer insights into the
different target markets, which are insights that
would not be found any other way.
Some rules:
 There is a group of extraordinary people
capable of including change
 Profiling measures must be driven by lifestyle
and not brand
 The content of the message: you must have a
story to tell
 Identify your touch points
 Identify the influencer’s environment
 Advocacy, not traditional amplification, is key.
But marketing in Africa cannot ignore traditional
media either, in fact, anyone that is involved in
experiential marketing will say that you cannot
use it alone; it must be integrated into an entire
marketing campaign. Unfortunately, there is little
research conducted in Africa, but Telmar’s
Sharon Penhallrick certainly agrees that a
360-degree holistic approach, along with
innovation and effectiveness, plus quantitative
and qualitative research are the only ways to
conduct a media campaign in African markets.
Penhallrick presented her paper Evolution and
Revolution of the Communication Landscape across
Africa, and stressed the need for marketers to know
and understand the continent much better if there is
any hope of conducting effective campaigns. She
also stressed that markets are changing rapidly,
driven by the introduction and adoption of
technology and marketers mustn’t be fooled into
thinking that each media has the same impact.
Penhallrick gave figures for the whole of Africa:
print makes up 46 per cent, radio 23 per cent,
TV 16 per cent, outdoor 14 per cent and cinema
one per cent. Across the continent, conventional
media is 55 per cent and non-conventional 45
per cent. “You need to know about the culture of
those you wish to target, for example: the conflict
between traditional African culture and westerni-
sation is a constant struggle, ethnic languages
are slowly been replaced by new youth-led
language and religion is very important. Football
is the most popular sport,” says Penhallrick.
Talking of football, Carl Monteiro, head of
marketing for FIFA, spoke about the fan parks –
named Fan Fest – that were hosted in Germany
EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING
and the creation of the parks for the 2010 FIFA
World Cup, which are perfect examples of
consumers experiencing brand FIFA and the host
country. Plus, it creates an experiential marketing
platform for sponsors.
However, according to Kim Skildum-Reid,
founder of Power Sponsorships and one of the
world’s renowned sponsorship gurus, most spon-
sorship money is completely wasted. But, she
says, when talking about experiential marketing,
sponsorship is as good as it gets – if it’s done
right. “You can use sponsorship as an incredible
authentic experiential building experience, but the
two swear words of sponsorships are awareness
and exposure.”
Skildum-Reid explains that with a sponsorship,
a brand is sponsoring something that people
already care about, so you’re building advocacy
straight into it. But, the two main objectives of a
sponsorship should be changing target market
perceptions and behaviours – and should not be
just about awareness.
She says that we are now – or should be – in
the last generation sponsorship era.
This means that the target market must gain
from the sponsorship:
 Put target market needs, wants and interests
first
 Ensure there are multiple, meaningful benefits
for your target markets – treat them like peo-
ple, not purchasers.
“The result: Last Generation Sponsorship.
Finally, sponsorship is focusing on the right thing
– the target market. And what we need to do is
embrace it and learn how to use it,” she says.
Recommendations:
 Throw out the rulebook and get strategic:
sponsorship is about results, not history
 Get away from the sponsorship package
mentality: best practice does not rely on logos,
tickets, hospitality and endorsement
 Stop ‘supporting’ sponsorship: use sponsor-
ship as a catalyst to make existing spends work
harder
 Take a magic wand approach to leverage:
if you could do anything to achieve your
objectives and get that third win, what would
you do?
 Measure what matters.
The full speeches from the presenters are
available online at www.marketingmix.co.za.
The 2nd African Experiential Marketing Summit
was hosted by Exp. Partners were Marketing Mix,
Absa, Toyota, Show-co, Purple Apricot and
Ukubona. 
Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 43
by nicci columbine EXPERT OPINION
Getting mileage from contact
centre-based campaigns
Given the proliferation of brands in the
global market environment, marketers are being
constantly challenged to attract customers in new
and innovative ways. Companies are being prompted
to explore alternatives to ‘traditional’ channels to
claim a space in the minds and purchasing
decisions of existing and potential customers.
As mobile and Internet-based media and
communication has enabled global market
presence for brands to reach consumers anytime,
anywhere, 24/7, consumers are exposed to such
a vast amount of information on competitive
products and services, they are in the position to
determine what best suits their purposes and
budgets. This has only made marketers’ jobs
more complex, necessitating more research and
direct interaction to gain an intimate understanding
of specific consumers’ needs and interests.
Market segmentation has resulted in the need
to differentiate communication with customers
according to their profile and individual prefer-
ences. Moreover, for brands to gain presence
among the clutter of images and messages that
constantly bombard consumers, marketers need
to ‘play’ in a space and context that consumers
relate to, creating opportunities to communicate
with them according to their lifestyle preferences.
As comments Yaron Assabi, CEO of Digital
Solutions Group. “In future the most powerful
brands will be customer centric. In order to com-
pete, successful companies need to get to know
their customers and become their advocate”,
emphasising the need for marketers to engage
with customers the PC, mobile phone and Internet
become the primary interface for communication,
access to information and commerce, so increas-
ingly companies are shifting their advertising and
promotional activities to these channels. Says
Assabi: “Companies that can provide comprehen-
sive web-based applications that are accessible to
the consumer via the PC (Internet/intranet or
extranet), mobile handset, PDA, voice via voice
XML, supported by a call-centre service, have the
advantage. It is definitely a space that marketers
should be focusing more on.”
However, to capitalise on social and viral
media, such as Facebook and MXit, where inter-
active communication enables users to interface
with digital advertising and promotions, direct
marketing takes on a different profile.
44 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
Multi-channel digital direct marketing creates
touch-point opportunities for companies to ‘talk’
to customers.
However, according to independent research
by the Gartner Group, only some 33 per cent of
all global companies interact with customers via
multiple channels. In SA companies still tend to
use above-the-line media ‘push’ campaigns to
create awareness of new products or services,
spending inordinate budgets on high-impact
advertising for relatively little return on investment.
Continues Assabi: “The web is the most
interactive and cost-effective marketing and sales
channel, enabling customer self-service to reduce
service maintenance costs. Personalisation and
customisation is easy, making it possible for
marketers to communicate with various groups
of customers differently. Web-centric applications
can update all of the service channels
simultaneously thus ensuring consistent service
across all channels. “
Call centres play a vital role in supporting
multi-channel campaigns, both in outbound sales
and inbound response to a call to action. As part
of the multi-channel solution, agents’ responses
can make or break a campaign, if they are inad-
equately briefed on the details and objective of a
promotion or do not understand the essence of
the brand. As discussed, a close relationship
between marketing and brand managers as well
as contact centres ensures that agents understand
the objective of a campaign yet also convey the
‘spirit’ of a brand.
Call centres are, of course, critical to deter-
mine the statistical success of a campaign in
terms of call volumes and responses, but in con-
junction with business intelligence, can provide
reporting to determine and advise a client a par-
ticular channel may not be effective.
Adds Assabi: “The web is by far the best
reporting tool as access to information is avail-
able anywhere, anytime and can be differentiated
based on security and authentication.”
Further, contact centres also have a part in
post-campaign and after-sales service to gauge
customer satisfaction and inform clients by provid-
ing valuable feedback for marketers to improve
future direct marketing initiatives.
It is clear that in today’s integrated marketing
environment, not only have contact centres
become an extension of a company’s overall
integrated interaction with the customer, but have
also become a sophisticated tool to inform com-
panies of customer preferences.
Today, retaining customer loyalty is key to
ensuring financial sustainability. Knowing how
customers think, behave and live are all important
for marketers to tap into what customer want
from brands. Concludes Assabi: “Marketers need
to think about how to improve the experience
from the customer’s point of view. Using technology
that improves service versus creating a barrier will
enhance this experience. If done well, digital
channel marketing can make customers feel
tremendously valued.” 
Nicci Columbine
managing director
Columbine Communications
(011) 880 8137
info@columbine.co.za
by riaan labuschagne MARKETING AT-RETAIL
MAR for lower LSMs
On 12 September 1962 a young John F
Kennedy tried to convince a nation in the midst of
an economic slump and a devastating war to
stand behind the impossible: the task of putting a
man on the moon.
His words were as inspiring then as they are
today. In particular, his reason for putting a man
on the moon strikes me as relevant: ‘We choose
to go to the moon in this decade and do the
other things, not because they are easy, but
because they are hard.’
Without a doubt we are in hard times, brought
on by a global financial speed bump, high
interest rates and escalating prices, to mention
but a few. These are times where the cream is left
off the cake and the basics have become the
focus once again. Our observations on what
consumers are doing in these hard times make
for interesting reading.
I work with a multitude of suppliers ranging
from baby powder to glue, small to multination-
als, importers and locals. One thing all of these
suppliers have in common is that they want to
speak to the consumer when he or she is walking
past or close to their product. The interesting part
of our viewpoint is not only do we see different
strategies being executed by a multitude of com-
panies into this market, but we also see what
works. As times are really hard I would like to
take a look at what we have seen in the lower
LSMs, and more specifically the retailer with the
undisputed low-price perception, Shoprite.
During the past few months the effect of high
interest rates, the corresponding high inflation
and the National Credit Act has put a squeeze on
most credit retailers. Although this effect has been
felt by Shoprite consumers, the level of trust in
what Shoprite promises has helped the company
to record revenues and an all time share price
high. It is this belief that Shoprite will sell at the
lowest price that is not only having the higher
LSMs move from Woolies and Pick n Pay into
Shoprite but is also bringing their usual shoppers
back for more. We have seen Pick n Pay and
even Woolies* push pricing to the core in their
advertising and promotion strategies, and it is in
this metamorphosis from value to price that we
see the greatest danger.
When our clients are competing for the
consumer’s purse, the best results both sales and
revenue wise (good revenue is normally based on
good sales without discounting, where good sales
46 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008
“
One thing all of these
suppliers have in common
is that they want to speak
to the consumer when he
or she is walking past or
”
close to their product.
and poor revenue is normally due to strong
discounting) have come from the suppliers selling
their core values to the consumer and leaving the
price perception to Shoprite. As one of SA’s
biggest advertisers the ‘Lower prices you can trust,
Always’ message will most likely be in our faces,
on our doorstep and in our mail before
we get to the store. We like to look at it as a
partnership, one where Shoprite is creating the
low-price perception in the mind of the consumer
to the benefit of not only the consumer but also
the supplier.
Nowadays, the larger format stores such as the
hypers carry as many as 60 000 lines. If we are
really tuned into the market we may most likely
only remember the price of 100 of these lines.
Once we are in the store, the rest are sold on our
perception of value and not price, as we have no
reference to compare the label price.
As a supplier the catch is to be in the store with
the low-price perception with enough forward
share so that Mr. Consumer will see you, will like
what he sees and then pick you. If your value
proposition suits the needs of the consumer
holding your product then you have a sale. If you
are in the store but don’t have the forward share,
point of purchase (POP) media accentuates and
artificially creates this exposure. It is this ability to
create exposure, coupled with the fact that POP
activities can correlate directly to unit sales, that
has necessitated the move of more budget into
the stores.
Having said all of this, we have obviously
looked at which parts are crucial in a successful
in-store campaign and without fail we have found
that price alone is not the pixie dust. Almost
without exclusion the most effective in-store
campaigns we have managed had the following
in common:
The benefits to the consumer were made clear
in a format that was easily consumed. This format
was a combination of colour, language and size.
The product was differentiated. Although the
size of the medium had an effect the most crucial
factor was that the other lines in the same
category lacked similar promotional material on
or in front of it. 
Riaan Labuschagne
MD, ZaPOP
(021) 948 3188
riaan@zapop.com
 CASE STUDY

Pepsi branding and sales

awareness campaign 2008
Client: Ceres, Pepsi
Campaign: Pepsi campaign 2008
Agency: ZaPOP

Pepsi needed to increase awareness of its products across the country.

In-store marketing was needed to drive sales.

Solution: ZaPOP was recruited to deliver the in-store marketing and

branding solutions for Pepsi.
As a starting point, ZaPOP collected information about the brand, the
target consumers and also the shopping preferences of these consumers.
The 2006 Trade Search Omnibus study conducted by ACNielsen
revealed that 65 per cent of South Africans prefer to do their shopping at

Shoprite stores. Further research by Target Group Index (TGI) found that
30.7 per cent of shoppers who consume Pepsi products shop at Shoprite
stores while 30.5 per cent shop at Checkers stores and 14 per cent shop at
Checkers Hyper stores.
Based on this research, ZaPOP decided to execute the Pepsi campaign
across Shoprite Group stores nationally. The campaign was carried out
between 26 May 2008 and 20 July 2008 in 192 stores across South Africa.
Based on research conducted by TGI, ZaPOP knew that people who
shop at Shoprite Group stores best respond to advertising on the shelf,
where the brand is displayed.This guided its decision to recommend the use
of category banners in the aisles as well as freezer catchers.
Further TGI research also shows that the life-stage groups that are the
biggest purchasers of Pepsi products are dependant singles, play school
parents, and single parents, teen parents, nest builders and pre-teen
parents are also fairly heavy consumers of Pepsi products.
The majority of Pepsi consumers are LSM 6-9, English speakers, aged
16-44. Fifty one per cent of Pepsi consumers are male.
All these findings were considered during the creative design process.
The category banners and freezer catchers were designed to be aesthetically
intriguing with the messaging: Pepsi has a new look. Express yourself more.
These created consumer awareness, while a competition element with
attractive prizes prompted trial and purchase of the brand, which drove sales.

Results
Results from the 2008 campaign period (scanning data sales) were
compared with total scanning data sales from 2007.
It was found that year on year, sales increased by more than 160 per cent.
Campaign sales research found that the Pepsi Max 2litre bottle and the
Pepsi 330ml can were the best sellers for this period.
Due to stock issues, the campaign did not have the impact it could have
had. ZaPOP advised its client to monitor stock availability in stores, in future,
as well as to increase the number of stores selected for the campaign.
It has also recommended to the client the use of till posters and Radio
Retail in future to further drive product and campaign awareness. 

Vol 26 No. 9/10 I 2008 I MarketingMix 47

by eric levenstein / darren willans LAW MIX
Intellectual property rights and
the 2010 FIFA World Cup
The rapidly approaching 2010 FIFA World Cup
presents a host of opportunities for the wouldbe
counterfeiter and infringer of various intellectual
property rights. There are steps that the organisers
and sponsors can take to protect their rights.
Two major threats that will emerge leading
up to and during the 2010 FIFA World Cup
are the distribution of counterfeit goods and
ambush marketing.
South Africa has become a hunting ground for
a proliferation of Chinese copies of various
products. Over the years we have seen an
increase in counterfeit and pirated CDs sold on
the streets, together with ‘knockoffs’ of various
clothing brands. More recently, direct infringe-
ment of rights relating to engineered products
(by imitation, copying or simulation) has
occurred. Given the magnitude of the 2010 FIFA
World Cup, it is inevitable that opportunists will
try to exploit the event to
ply their illicit wares.
The same principle holds true for ambush
marketers. Major events such as the 2010 FIFA
World Cup have become important vehicles for
promoting and advertising products, and organisers
of such events generally require a monetary
payment for participation, typically through
sponsorships. Ambush marketing occurs when a
trader seeks to use the publicity value of an event
to gain a benefit from it despite not having any
involvement or connection with it and, more
particularly, having made no financial contribution.
An example of ambush marketing pertinent to
the 2010 FIFA World Cup would be where a
company gives away a ticket as a prize, without
the organisers’ authority. Due to the stringent
processes organisers follow, tickets that are resold
or given away as prizes without their authority
may well be cancelled and/or be regarded as
invalid. In these circumstances, an innocent
person who obtains a ticket in such a manner
may be unable to gain access to the event.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup organisers have
made it clear that they intend aggressively
pursuing wouldbe ambush marketers and all
potentialinfringers of the intellectual property
rights associated with the event.
A solid starting point is that the Minister of
Trade and Industry has designated the 2010 FIFA
World Cup as a protected event under the
Merchandise Marks Act. This designation makes
48 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007
Eric Levenstein
Darren Willans
it unlawful to abuse trademark rights in the
context of a sponsored event. It is also aimed at
preventing ambush marketers and trade mark
infringers from attempting to capitalise on the
huge publicity surrounding the 2010 FIFA World
Cup. Anyone who contravenes these provisions
commits a criminal offence.
Furthermore, the organisers have registered the
various FIFA trade marks (such as the mark
‘World Cup’ and the FIFA trophy) and, where
appropriate, registered the designs. Thus, apart
from the protection provided by the Merchandise
Marks Act, they will have recourse through laws
such as those set out in the Counterfeit Goods
Act, the Trade Marks Act and the Copyright Act.
The Counterfeit Goods Act provides powerful
civil and criminal remedies as well as mechanisms
for the search, seizure and detention of suspected
counterfeit goods. To use these remedies, a
complainant can either bring a court application
for a search-and-seizure warrant or lay a
complaint with the relevant ‘inspector’.
These proceedings usually take some time
to resolve but, in the mean time, the seized
products remain in detention and out of
circulation. Thus, the remedies of the Counterfeit
Goods Act are a forceful, practical mechanism
against counterfeit goods.
The Trade Marks Act can be used where an
event organiser has a registered trade mark, such
as the World Cup symbol, which is used to
identify the event. Where an unauthorised person
uses that trade mark to market goods, the
organiser can institute civil court proceedings for
trade mark infringement.
Similarly, the Copyright Act provides for severe
penalties in the event of copyright infringement of
insignia or materials that constitute ‘artistic works’
or ‘literary works’. Unauthorised copying – either
identically or in substance – can give rise to a
claim of copyright infringement.
It remains to be seen how the South African
authorities and the High Court will police the
various mechanisms in place to combat the
infringement of intellectual property rights around
the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Will such legislation
effectively stop ambush marketing and trademark
infringers? Certainly, the legislature is moving in
the right direction and the designation of the
2010 FIFA World Cup as a protected event will
assist companies and event organisers in the
period before and during the sporting spectacle.
Come 2010 and beyond, claims might well
proliferate in our courts, where plaintiff
companies seek to recover damages from
counterfeiters and others unlawfully attempting to
exploit the marks and brands of legitimate owners
during the event. 
Eric Levenstein
Director, Werksmans Attorneys
(011) 535 8237
elevenstein@werksmans.com
Darren Willans
Senior associate, Werksmans Attorneys
(011) 535 8324
dwillans@werksmans.com