Marketing Mix Magazine Jan Feb 08

MarketingMix S T R A T E G I C

M A R K E T I N G

I N S I G H T

I Vol 25 Issue No. 11/12 I 2007 I R25.00 incl. vat

MarketingMix

CONTENTS

I 0 2 I Book Review

I 3 0 I Packaging

Marketing Mix reviews Never mind the sizzle... where’s the sausage: branding based on substance not spin, written by David J. Taylor, and finds out about branding

Find out how the latest consumer trends are influencing packaging

I 3 3 I Expert Opinion: Jean-Claude Latter

I 0 3 I Ed’s note 24

I 0 4 I Direct marketing news

Jean-Claude explains why it’s important to keep track of your incentive programme strategy

Marketing Mix checks in with the direct marketing industry

I 3 4 I Expert Opinion: Nicci Columbine

I 0 6 I News

Nicci explores the link between good branding and a good call centre

All the latest gossip in the wonderful world of the marketing mix

I 1 1 I Expert Opinion: Richard Duncan

I 3 6 I Mobile marketing 04 30

Richard wonders whether the pitching process shouldn’t be more like speed dating

I 4 1 I Expert Opinion: Marc Spriestersbach

I 1 2 I Brand Anatomy

Marc ponders new age bell ringing

Levi Strauss tells us why it’s the denim du jour

I 1 4 I Expert Opinion: Helen McIntee

I 4 2 I Community media 10

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Helen has had enough with the gratuitous use of vulgarity in today’s advertising and media

Elan explores marketing online

Nicholas Haralambous gives us a glimpse into the life of a blogging business strategist

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I 1 6 I Gay Marketing Marketing Mix finds out why speaking to the gay market should be on your list of priorities

Nici gives us the alternative ABCs

Marketing Mix delivers a report back on the 2007 Word of Mouth Marketing workshop

The Eastern Cape is thriving, and it holds great potential for brands. Marketing Mix finds out why

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I 2 8 I Expert Opinion: Michelle Venter-Davies

Don tells us why 3D HD is the way of the future

I 5 0 I Expert Opinion: Nici Stathacopoulos

I 5 2 I Word of Mouth marketing report back

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I 2 4 I Eastern Cape Intelligence

I 2 9 I Expert Opinion: Don Searll

Marketing Mix reports on the major trends and issues impacting on the community media industry

I 4 8 I Expert Opinion: Elan Lohmann

I 1 5 I 7 Day [B]itch

Michele Venter-Davies explains why marketers need to start marketing Marketing

Marketing Mix talks about the next marketing wave, and explains how brands can make a success of it

I 5 4 I Marketing at retail Graeme Taylor explains the importance of understanding the shopper’s mission

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I 5 6 I Law Mix: Kathleen Rice Kathleen explores the issues around undersea cable investment in South Africa

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by fulvia becatti BOOK REVIEW

Never mind the sizzle... where’s the sausage? Has David J Taylor lost the plot? Is this a teen novel, or is it a branding story? A bit of both, actually. Taylor introduces us to Bob Jones, a former sales employee, and now a member of the brand management team at Simpton’s Sausages. This is Bob’s journal, which he keeps while he tries to make sense of branding and marketing. On his first day, Bob realises that he is out of his league; the other members of the branding team are equipped with all manner of branding and marketing jargon, and they have a mission: to rebrand Simpton’s and to ‘leverage’ the brand by launching a new range of sausage pizzas. But Bob senses that something is amiss: his experience in the sales department has taught him that this brand is on the rocks, and he wonders if such a radical approach is really necessary. The book follows Bob over the next 12 months, as he battles ‘brand immersion workshops’, marketing agencies and company politics, all the while trying to get branding right. Over the course of the year, he develops a mission, and values and vision for the Simpton’s brand that truly take the sausages back to their original recipe (and therefore, back to a solid core set of values and brand promises). With a tight budget and a small team of colleagues, Bob has to take on consumer testing, manufacture control, quality assessment, market research and financial planning as well as the pitch to a management team that is hell bent on the sausage pizzas and a marketing strategy that is aiming at the wrong market, in the wrong way. All the while, Bob must also juggle his family and personal relationships. What’s most compelling about this book is that the protagonist could be me or you, or the guy sitting next to you; it is the story of the average modern marketer, trying to make sense of this ‘branding’ thing. The issues and challenges that Bob encounters are the same as those that face marketers everywhere. And the solutions he finds could be the solution you’ve been looking for. This is easy reading (I managed to get through the book in just two poolside hours over the holidays). What’s more, it really challenges the existing world of branding. Are

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lateral brand extensions (brand stretching) really going to uplift a struggling brand, or would it do better going back to basics and improving the core product? And then, is the core product worthy of consumer attention and loyalty? Is the packaging right? Is traditional consumer research misguided and ineffective? Are product innovations really innovative, or are they simply going to add to the clutter and noise that consumers are ignoring? Each chapter in this book ends with a few valuable lessons or tips, summed up nicely by Bob. The book is written in an

intriguing way – readers of Taylor’s blog, wheresthesausage.com, contributed to the writing process, adding their experiences to the mix. Taylor has also made sure to include plenty of juicy case studies (also available on the blog), so this is more than just a cute story – it is a valuable source book. 

Never mind the sizzle... where’s the sausage? By David J. Taylor Capstone Publishing Ltd R153

ED’S NOTE

Organic for real?

PROPRIETOR AND PUBLISHER: Systems Publishers (Pty) Ltd. Tel: (011) 234 7008 North Block, Bradenham Hall, Mellis Road, Rivonia PUBLISHER: Terry Murphy MANAGING EDITOR: Michelle Sturman e-mail: [email protected] EDITOR: Fulvia Becatti e-mail: [email protected] SUB-EDITOR: Jenny Bastomsky e-mail: [email protected] ADVERTISING MANAGER: Robyn Andrews e-mail: [email protected] PRODUCTION: Spencer van Graan [email protected] SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES: Daisy Mulenga

Dear Marketing Mix reader, it is with excitement that I take over as editor of your favourite magazine. I hope we will become firm friends in our search for marketing insights. It is with gusto that I present you with the first issue of the year – enjoy! What does 2008 hold in store for us? Marketing Mix has a great line-up of industry-relevant events and workshops planned as well as special editions that focus on topics close to your hearts (research, magazines and newspapers, and direct marketing). We will also have the pleasure of announcing the launch of the Marketing Mix website, www.marketingmix.co.za, soon (we are in testing phase as I write this). The site will feature a comprehensive archive covering all issues of the mag published in the past 20 years or so, as well as news and plenty of expert input. We are toying with the idea of putting up a ‘Guess who’ page, with old pics we found of industry personalities (there are some truly Dallas ‘80s hairstyles). Meanwhile, how many of you have gone organic? You will have noticed that stores are punting their organic produce and brands, and you can certainly expect more of this. And I suppose it is a good thing. The question is, what makes a product organic. I mean, organic potatoes, I get (they come out of the ground, and have never been sprayed or fertilised with anything that is not natural or biodegradable). But organic dairy cheese… or organic water, I don’t get. Yes, I have seen organic water being advertised locally; when I asked how this water came to be organic, I was told that it is because the water has not been changed in any way; they have not removed anything from the water, or added any minerals or chemicals. So is that it then – don’t put anything in (or take anything out) of your natural produce, and it’s organic? I fear that consumers will be taken for quite a ride by brands that simply slap the word ‘organic’ onto their labelling and justify it with airy-fairy mumbo-jumbo. There should really be a national standard, a clear and well-defined set of criteria, so consumers know exactly where they stand. Certification seems to be something that only a handful of brands are taking seriously and, as yet, there does not seem to be a local governing body with the sole purpose of cracking down on charlatans (and I suspect that quite a number of brands are taking advantage of this). I wonder if the pending food labelling legislation will address this. Certainly, in the packaging industry, there is a very strong trend toward labelling that is more responsible and accurate (see the packaging feature on page 30 for more info). And, while I am not saying that consumers have no responsibility in this regard (because they should be researching this before they climb onto the fad-wagon), I do believe that brands have an enormous obligation to do right first. Especially because young consumers are activists – any sign of foul play, and they will burn your brand to a crisp. One thing’s for sure, I am not going to buy another ‘organic’ soybean until I have researched the truth out of it.

e-mail: [email protected] 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

3 938 Jul-Dec 2007

Oops! In Vol 25, issue 11/12, we referred to Lucille Van Niekerk as the editor of Beeld, when she was in fact the general manager (she is now the CEO of RCP Media – congrats).

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News

Join the DMA…

Direct marketing news The DMA has launched multiplatform functionality for its Opt Out Register: SMS, Internet and call centre. Consumers can SMS the word DMA, followed by their ID number to 34385, or they can call 0861 DMA DMA (362 362), or register online at www.dmasa.org. Thus far, 35 000 consumers have registered – the register is updated monthly.

The ninth founder member to join the ranks of the DMA is Nedbank. According to Vaughan Petersen, Senior Business Manager, Nedbank Personal Loans Division, it is the efficiency of the DMA in representing all stakeholders which motivated the banking group to sign up. “Our interest in the DMA is to support the fantastic work it is doing in developing the industry as a whole, especially in an environment in which compliance is constantly changing the landscape,” he says.

Channel: M-Net Stars Launch Date: 1 November 2007 Platform: DStv, channel 154 Ownership: M-Net Programme Highlights: Films range from classics, such as Pretty Woman and Splash, to kids’ films (101 Dalmatians, Lassie), as well as such greats as Father of the Bride, Good Morning Vietnam, and Pearl Harbor. Target market: According to Tracey Hawkridge-Visser, manager: general entertainment & specialist channels, this channel is aimed at any and every DStv viewer who loves movies. Advertising rates: R2 500 to R50 000. Details: This channel is perfect for movie lovers, with a premiere a day. The channel is focused on family entertainment, and so boasts a line-up of feel-good movies. “Both audiences and revenues on the channel are looking good and it’s an exciting new addition to our channel portfolio,” says sales director, Chris Hitchings.

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To join, visit www.facilities.coza/dma DMA fees are paid annually on the anniversary date of joining the organisation and are based on the size of your company. Payment can be made via cheque or EFT. An invoice will be e-mailed as soon as you have completed the online membership. Before you go to the link above in order to register to become a member, you will need to have the following information available:  Your company details  Your company coordinator’s details ie the person who will be responsible for keeping your company details up to date on a quarterly basis  Your company decision maker’s details ie the person who will authorise your membership of the DMA and the essential payment of membership fees  The details of staff members who you believe should receive information updates from the DMA on an ongoing basis. If you do not have all the details with you, your company coordinator can go back into the system at any time to update these details Contact details: (011) 577 2780 [email protected] www.dmasa.org

Channel: The Style Network Launch Date: 5 November 2007 Platform: DStv, channel 183 Ownership: Comcast International Media Network (USA) Programme highlights: Style Star, Fashion Police, Fashion Trance and How do I look? Target market: females, 18-49 Ad rates: This channel is not yet commercially viable for local advertisers, but according to OATS, audience performance will be evaluated in the coming months. Details: This channel is the fashion slave’s ultimate fix. The focus is on beauty, leisure, home decor, weddings, and the world of fashion (and celebs, of course). This channel holds great appeal for the young female audience.

Channel: ONE GOSPEL Launch Date: 4 November 2007 Platform: DStv, channel 331 Ownership: Urban Brew studios Programme highlights: Shows In Concert With and Tonight are flagship programmes, and are drawing in the largest audiences. Target market: The Christian family. Programming caters to adults, as well as youth. Ad rates: According to Abey Sibiya, head of the channel, Urban Brew is still working on a rate card; however, the channel is working towards a programme sponsorship model. Sibiya believes that the rates will be very competitive. Details: Gospel music fans and fundis will get a kick out of this 24-hour channel, which features not only gospel worship sessions and shows, but artist interviews, music videos and game shows as well as famous up-and-coming gospel artists. According to Sibiya, the channel’s fan base is growing fast, with interest from countries such as Nigeria and Kenya. The channel is currently building relations with Zambia and Sudan to further grow its audiences (and its resources).

NEWS

Google Zeitgeist Every year Google provides the ‘zeitgeist’ of the most searched for topics, people and words through its search engine. It provides a great insight into what’s hot and what’s not. Fastest rising (global) 1. iPhone 2. Badoo (online community) 3. Facebook 4. Dailymotion (online entertainment video site) 5. Webkinz (stuffed animals that also exist in a virtual world) 6. youtube 7. ebuddy (instant messaging) 8. Second Life 9. hi5 (online community site) 10. Club Penguin (virtual playground for kids) Fastest falling (global) 1. World Cup* (obviously fell as the 2006 World Cup ended) 2. Mozart 3. FIFA 4. Rebelde* (Mexican soap opera) 5. Kazaa (peer-to-peer downloading site) 6. Xanga (online community) 7. Webdetente (online magazine for guys) 8. Sudoku 9. Shakira 10. mp3 *featured in the 2006 fastest-rising list Google news most popular searches (global) 1. American Idol 2. youtube 3. Britney Spears 4. 2007 cricket world cup 5. Chris Benoit (former wrestler who killed his family and then himself) 6. iPhone 7. Anna Nicole Smith 8. Paris Hilton 9. Iran 10. Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical star) TV Shows 1. Heroes

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2. Lost 3. House 4. 24 5. Bones 6. Jericho 7. Reba 8. Scrubs 9. Greek 10. Caveman

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

© 2007 DreamWorks Pictures (Paramount)

Movies 1. Transformers 2. 300 3. The Simpsons Movie 4. Epic Movie 5. Bee Movie 6. Harry Potter 7. Hairspray 8. Cars 9. Iron man 10. Amazing Grace Ringtones 1. mosquito ringtone 2. 24 ringtone 3. the office ringtone 4. silent ringtone 5. crazy frog ringtone 6. high pitch ringtone 7. final fantasy ringtone 8. ultrasonic ringtone 9. transformers ringtone 10. spider pig ringtone Diets 1. Weight Watchers 2. Jenny Craig 3. Volumetrics 4. Slim fast 5. Atkins diet 6. Beck diet 7. Ornish diet 8. Zone diet 9. Best life diet 10. Mediterranean diet Who is... 1. who is god 2. who is who

who is lookup who is jesus who is it who is buckethead who is calling who is keppler who is this who is satan

What is... 1. what is love 2. what is autism 3. what is rss 4. what is lupus 5. what is sap 6. what is bluetooth 7. what is emo 8. what is java 9. what is hpv 10. what is gout South Africa Top Gaining Queries: December 2007 1. Satanism 2. Fly fishing

3. Thank you cards 4. Juliette Lewis 5. Eid (Muslim holiday to mark the end of Ramadan) 6. Mouse 7. Ronnie Coleman (Pro bodybuilder) 8. Mount Amanzi (holiday resort) 9. Silverstar casino 10. Wedding invites 11. Landscapes 12. Sportsmans Warehouse (sport shops) 13. Formula 1 hotel 14. Shockwave (free online game site) 15. Costume hire

NEWS

The ACA and the Apex Awards

Urbandictionary.com

Marketing Mix caught up with Odette Roper, the new CEO of the ACA, to find out more about her plans for the ACA and the Apex Awards. Marketing Mix: What are your plans for the ACA? Odette Roper: As the new CEO of the ACA, I am going to try to build a bridge between the advertiser and the marketer, using the Apex Awards as a tool. These awards will change perceptions of the advertising industry, and will tell people that there is real value in it, and it does generate sales and impact bottom line. It is our mission to get marketers to sit in on workshops and learn about advertising performance excellence. Historically, the workshops were conducted to help the agencies understand how to compile their Apex entries. In future we are going to extend the invitation to both marketers and advertisers in order to showcase the effectiveness of advertising. It will present an opportunity for the agencies to work with their clients to prepare their Apex entries. The Apex Awards recognise campaigns that deliver results, are measurable and attributable. We’re telling marketers that ads do work. But overall, I believe that the ACA needs to be more relevant. Not only to members, but also to its clients; they must get more value out of the ACA. We want to help members to find ways to contribute to their companies. To this end, we will be building a web portal, where members will have access to information and documents that will help them with: for example, employment contracts or guidelines for best practice. I think this will really help the new, small businesses. The website will also allow us to communicate with our members and the industry. Aside from this, we will also be focusing on engendering the right skills in AAA students, because the industry needs leaders. Usually, it is at the graduation ceremony that students are told what the industry needs from them, and this is too late. We need to do this from the beginning of their studies. The ACA intends working more closely with the school and to achieve this, we set up an Ops Committee portfolio to deal with issues pertaining to education in our industry. The portfolio is chaired by one of the ACA board directors; various other members of the ACA board. Industry players are also roped in to assist the portfolio chair. With involvement by various industry representatives, opportunities for guest lecturing, for example, are increased. By inviting guest lecturers from the industry – captains of industry – to address the students and share on-the-job issues with them, the students will gain real exposure from day one. Furthermore, we will build a closer relationship between the school and the industry and in turn, create access to the industry for graduate students. MM: How will you be furthering the Apex Awards and what’s the value for marketers? OR: Our focus is on educating the advertising industry on the Apex Awards. Case studies need to be presented in such a way that results and data are clear. Other awards recognise creativity in advertising or individuals who excel in marketing. The Apex Awards recognise performance excellence, so the agency that has an Apex Award on its mantelpiece can be proud of itself. This year, we are accepting digital entries, which are sometimes easier to put together. We understand that putting the entry together is hard work, and so we ran workshops for advertising clients and agencies to create a better understanding not only the value of the Apex Awards, but also of what the entry process requires of them and their agencies. Furthermore, we will be working hard to compile the Apex book as it serves as a valuable reference, for students, marketers and clients. The Apex Case Study Book will be published 12 to 18 months after the gala event, and will be available for purchase directly from the ACA. The Apex gala event will be held on 10 April 2008. Contact the ACA on (011) 781 2772 or visit www.acasa.co.za for more info.

California car pool: when each member of a group uses their own car to go to the same destination. Typically, describing the case where the group is together at the start or close enough to share rides. Cuddlingus: the act of cuddling, spooning or snuggling. When two or more people lay down in an intertwined position. Spendy: expensive. Reality distortion field: (noun) the expression used to describe the persuasive ability of managers like Steve Jobs (the term originated at Apple Computers in the 1980s, to describe his particular charisma). Those close to these managers become passionately committed to possibly insane projects without regard for the practicality of their implementation or competitive forces in the market place. Blacking out: to turn off any device that people can reach you with (cellphone, two-way, computer, home phone, Morse code, etc) in order to avoid a certain person. Nekkid: nekkid is not simply being without clothing – it means you are getting nekkid for mischievous purposes. Naked is natural; nekkid is naughty. Disneyfication: the act of taming the world to make it all safe, clean and completely similar to a theme park. To remove the sharp edges and darkness that are life.

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NEWS

New TV shows M-Net has a host of new shows for 2008 some of which are destined to become huge hits. Marketing Mix gives its views on which shows will be hits based on US and UK ratings as well as critics’ reviews and gut instinct. For the local shows, Marketing Mix expects them to be winners. Already showing Damages Glenn Close heads this legal thriller alongside Ted Danson. The first few episodes have aired and it’s explosive. The Coconuts Local comedy based on a white family that are trapped in black bodies after angering ancestors. The maid becomes a black woman trapped in a white woman’s body. Feast of the Uninvited Local drama set during the Anglo-Boer war focusing on how it affected everyday people, fundamentally changing them in ways they could never imagine. Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader Based on the US version of the hugely popular game show, South Africans now have the chance to win a million. Definitely worth watching for a) to test your own knowledge or lack thereof and b) to watch the contestants display their lack of knowledge in front of the nation. Private Practice A spin off from Grey’s Anatomy, this show, featuring Dr Montgomery, should prove hugely popular. Pushing Daisies An off-beat comedy about a guy who can briefly raise the dead simply by touching them. Highly recommended. Samantha Who? Doing well in the US, this half-hour comedy features Christina Applegate as the unlikable Samantha Newly. An accident leaves her in an eight-day coma where upon waking she tries to redeem herself. Bionic Woman The usual comic comic-book hero stuff will probably make this a hit. Jamie Sommers has a car accident that leaves her almost dead, until a top secret technology not only saves her life, but gives her special powers.

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Back to You Frasier fans will be pleased that Kelsey Grammer is back on screen, this time as a TV news presenter. Coming up Ella Blue Local drama set in the ‘60s about a woman’s journey through the process of race classification in terms of the Group Areas Act. Dirty Sexy Money From the guys who brought us Lost, Six Feet Under and Brother & Sisters, Dirty Sexy Money features a star-studded cast, including Donald Sutherland, Alec Baldwin and Peter Krause. This show can’t fail to draw in the crowds and is being touted as the 21st century satirical version of Dallas and Dynasty. Unhitched The Farrelly brothers turn their cameras to TV with this comedy about a group of newly single friends in their thirties. The Big Bang Theory In the top 20 for CBS Primetime, this comedy follows the lives of two brilliant but nerdy friends whose lives get turned upside down when a beautiful girl moves in next door to them. The Sarah Connor Chronicles This one-hour drama follows on from Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Sarah Connor and her son John are still fighting for their lives and the human race. Lauded by fans and critics alike, this should be a sure-fire hit locally. Journeyman Meet Dan Vasser, a man whose life is perfect until he inexplicably starts to journey back in time, causing all kinds of trouble in the present. Some will love it, others will hate it. Women’s Murder Club In the top 10 of ABC Primetime’s viewing, Women’s Murder Club is based on James Patterson’s bestselling novels about four successful

women who decide to set up a murder investigation team. Reaper This comedy drama aired to rave reviews from the US critics and should be a hit here with teens and twenty somethings. The basic premise is about a guy (Brett) who, on his 21st birthday, discovers his parents sold his soul to the devil. Brett is tasked by Satan to hunt down, and return evildoers let loose on earth. Chuck This is one for the teens. Chuck is a mid-twentysomething who downloads government secrets into his brain. Clever plots and humour make this one a winner. Life Another cop show, this time featuring a cop that returns to work after he has just been released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Army Wives Popular in the US, this one-hour drama is Desperate Housewives on an army base. Gossip Girl Aimed at a young audience, Gossip Girl revolves around a blog that imparts all the latest scandal about a group of spoilt Manhattan teens. Tell Me You Love Me Based on three couples and their shared sex therapist, this drama offers an unconventional and frank look at modern relationships. Mad Men Set in the swinging ‘60s, Mad Men takes a look at the advertising sector in a world that is rapidly changing. Surprise sleeper hit of this year perhaps. Californication Starring David Duchovny, Californication is an adult drama about a guy who struggles to raise his teenage daughter whilst trying to revive his career and struggling with various addictions.

NEWS

Will consumer confidence affect you? The results of the latest MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence have been released and, (not surprisingl), South Africans are not as positive as they were a year ago. The study also found that 66 per cent of banked adults expressed an interest in travelling abroad (up from 30 per cent in 2005). The number one reason for travelling abroad? Shopping for anything from apparel to luxury items and electronics. Visiting family and friends followed as well as sightseeing and business. The study was conducted in October 2007, and asked consumers to make predictions about the next six months. This study was carried out prior to Eskom’s debacle, and the announcements about interest and prime lending rates that are shooting up. So while the results do not take these issues directly into account, they do indicate future trends and predictions, and reveal consumer sentiment. According to Eddie Grobler, general manager, Africa, MasterCard WorldWide, US consumer spend is at its lowest in 15 months; world GDP growth rates are in a decline, and are only expected to recover around 2010. “Interestingly, developed countries are seeing a slowdown, while developing countries are still going strong,” he says. SA’s overall index score has dropped from 86.5 per cent this time last year, to 83.7 per cent. The indexes show that consumer confidence has declined in regard to employment (job availability and job security), regular income and the economy in general. As interest rates and inflation climb, consumers feel the pinch. Second or moonlighting jobs are lost as employers cut costs. Marketers can expect a drop in household spending too. And while the Quality of Life Index remained stable at 80 per cent, though there is no doubt that power cuts, potholes and interest rates have impacted negatively on this since the October study was carried out. “The NCA has not had much impact – perhaps the consumer feels more protected. Or perhaps it is still filtering through,” says Mike Schussler, Chief Economist at T-Sec. Confidence in the stock market remained stable, but it will be interesting to see how this is affected in the next few months.

Simplify to succeed The Constitution started it, and the National Credit Act has taken it a step further – plain language, and the emphasis on communicating in a way that the ordinary citizen can understand. The Consumer Protection Bill, due to be enacted in 2009, will take it even further, ensuring that consumers aren’t duped or misled by contracts and marketing messages that are filled with jargon, small print and hidden clauses. There are three core areas that are affected by new legislation. The first is content. What goes into contracts, advertising and marketing communications must be comprehensive, fair and honest. For example, fees and insurance terms must be accurately explained upfront. Bait advertising is no longer permitted. Secondly, wording must be accurate. Certain phrases are not permitted according to new legislation, so marketers should brush up before they sign off their communications (the National Credit Regulator’s website, www.ncr.org, has info about this). For example, ‘blacklisted consumers welcome’ is now illegal. Likewise, ‘no credit checks’. Thirdly, the format of an ad or a contract must adhere to specifications for font size, or equal prominence of terms and conditions, for example. Small print is no longer permitted. Cooling-off periods must be explained in writing as well as explained verbally to the consumer. Requirements and conditions must be made obvious, and must be written for the average consumer, with minimum experience. “Treat all customers as if they are first time borrowers, or first-time buyers of your services and products,” says Candice Burt, a plain language lawyer and partner in Simplified. Even DVD rental stores will have to ensure that their contracts speak to a consumer who has never loaned a DVD before. “Many of the agencies we have approached are struggling with this, because their business is built on creative concepts. But we believe that this is simply a challenge to them to create creative advertising that is also fair,” says Frances Gordon, partner, Simplified. She adds that agencies might do well to revise their creative processes to include legal review of all copy and design before the concept has been developed (instead of afterwards, as so many agencies are doing now). Look out for the Protection of Personal Information bill, which will further enforce these regulations, in the next few months. Gordon and Burt warn that while regulations usually can’t act backwards, there is talk that the Consumer Protection Bill may be able to. So any brands that are trying to sneak one last rogue campaign in before this becomes law could find themselves dealing with a nasty law suit in a few months’ time. For more information visit www.simplified.co.za.

NEWS

Just add music Which music is currently enjoying its 15 minutes of fame or would make a brilliant soundbed for an ad? The list below includes a wide range of local and international music styles and, most importantly, it highlights which songs are hip and happening within different target markets right now. The following list is courtesy of Roy Harman, who manages South African artists and works on various music entertainment productions and events. For more information on how to match your brand with an appropriate song e-mail [email protected] or call 083 407 4928

Act and song

Why it’s hot

Genre and emotion evoked

Joe Cocker With a Little Help from my Friends

A classic crooner with striking vocals. He will be touring in March

Rock, blues – powerful and ambitious

Good Charlotte Broken Hearts Parade

It’s fun and young. The well-known band tours SA in March

Punk rock – upbeat, elation and energetic

Johnny Clegg Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World

The local legend is touring again and receiving favourable media attention

World – honour, positive and patriotic

Loyiso Dali Wami

Beautiful, melodic and romantic ballad; perfect for Valentine’s season

R&B – romantic, warm and loving

Gang Of Instrumentals Cry For Me

A crossover hit that is very popular

Afro pop – uplifting and happy

Cassandra Wilson Sunshine

Powerful chorus that is captivating

Jazz – lustful, yearning and vulnerable

DJ Nu-Mark Imagine

Funky instrumental take of the John Lennon classic that will be instantly recognised

Hip-hop – kindness and peaceful

Shawn Lee Bollywood

Quirky and funny instrumental with Indian charm

Chill – fun and spirited

Easy Star All-Stars Money

Well-known and groovy Pink Floyd cover done reggae style

Reggae – relaxed and comfortable

Puff Johnson Forever More

Huge hit in urban market with strong romantic and loving associations

R&B – smooth, sensual and slow

10 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008

EXPERT OPINION by richard duncan

The pitching game Millions of rands are wasted each year in the pitching process. New accounts are critical to fuel an agency’s growth, replace clients that have left and budgets that have been lost, and fertile ground for them to flex their strategic and creative muscles. Certainly, pitching for accounts is a necessary part of the advertising game and not that dissimilar to the tender process in other sectors, but agencies seem to occupy an unenviable position that they struggle to retreat from. They certainly haven’t helped their cause by allowing themselves to get caught up in the excitement and frenzy of pitches. They have also had to contend with increasing corporate governance bureaucracy that may have the clients’ best interests at heart, but certainly fails to take into account the uniqueness of the advertising creation process. From my own experience as both a marketer selecting agencies and an agency executive trying to be selected by prospective clients, I have seen first hand the disruptive influence of Procurement Departments who increasingly wield enormous power within corporates across the globe. Sadly, it usually manifests in a destructive manner in the pursuit of saving a few pennies. As you have probably surmised, I am not convinced that marketers have got the pitching process right, nor do I feel that a pitch is the best way to go each and every time. I certainly am not impressed when I hear of pitch lists of six, eight or even a dozen contenders. I think three is more than sufficient. Any more suggests that the client doesn’t know what they are looking for. Either that or they’re lazy. On top of that, I personally think twice before agreeing to pitch on an account if the client is not prepared to offer some sort of pitch fee, however small, to help towards costs. Having witnessed some pitches turn out to be no more than fishing expeditions for ideas or aimed at pressurising the incumbent to drop their prices, pitches without pitch fees seem like commercial Russian roulette. For me, one of the key measures of selecting an agency is the chemistry between them and the client, both in terms of company culture and shared values as well as on an individual level. The pitching process doesn’t always allow for the true chemistry to reveal itself as everyone is ‘acting’ on their best behaviour and trying to

anticipate and meet the client’s expectations. While a pitch will test an agency it is perhaps not the most realistic setting in which to put an agency to the test. More often than not, the agency doesn’t have full access to the facts and will rarely be able to engage the client in the same way as if they were already awarded the business. This leaves the agency open to misunderstandings and misinterpretations and can allow one agency to win on the basis of one clever idea. Rather than the straight pitch, I am a firm believer that a series of chemistry sessions and meetings combined with a thorough review of agencies’ credentials and consultation with their existing or past clients can reveal far more than the false setting of a pitch. Besides the obvious resource wastage that pitches entail both in terms of hard costs and people, pitches can prove disruptive to an agency’s normal operating practices and are not the most responsible way of procuring business. Ask yourself this: Who ultimately pays for the costs incurred in agencies’ new business pitches? I think pitches in their current form are outdated. Certainly pitches serve to galvanise and motivate staff, but at the same time they put huge pressure on staff and rarely generate work that sees the light of day. In short, pitches have become an accepted way of doing business because agencies have failed to stand their ground and instead have chased the money, often at enormous costs. For clients, I suspect that pitches have become a crutch of sorts for them to lean on. They may be a way of levelling the playing field and enabling apples to be compared with apples, but I personally think that they are a cop out as there are better ways to draw comparisons. Any marketer worth their salt should be able to identify the key characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of an agency without having to resort to a full-scale pitch. Sadly, many executives rely on the protection of the decision by a committee and try to rationalise the selection process of what is often an emotional purchase decision, like buying a house. Perhaps there is something to be learnt by comparing pitches with dating. Which route would work best I wonder; the five-minute speed date, the long drawn out engagement, the pre-arranged marriage or the good old-fashioned dinner date? 

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Any marketer worth their salt should be able to identify the key characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of an agency without having to resort to a full-scale pitch.

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Richard Duncan Sydney, Australia

+61 41 154 9791 [email protected]

Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008 I MarketingMix 11

BRAND ANATOMY

The denim standard Levi’s jeans were born at the time of the 1873 California Gold Rush – an apt origin for what is arguably the world’s ‘gold standard’ denim brand. The Levi’s jeans brand arrived in South Africa formally in the mid-1990s, when the country’s social and political environments were more in line with the company’s values and ethics (this was a company that had opened racially integrated factories in the American South before it was mandated by government). But as Debbie Gebhardt, marketing director of Levi Strauss South Africa says: “The Levi’s brand was far from unknown in South Africa when the company made the decision to enter this market. In fact, the brand was highly sought after, with people bringing Levi’s jeans home for friends and family whenever they travelled abroad. This ‘limited availability’ added to the inspirational appeal and desirability of the brand, and together with its renowned high quality, ensured that its entry was met with enthusiasm.” Levi’s jeans have been worn by everyone from rock rebels and music icons to screen stars and even presidents. Today, the brand competes with designer denim labels, in an ever more crowded apparel market. “Consumers are faced with so many choices and for those that can afford it, niche brands offer the opportunity to buy into an elitist lifestyle which caters to a need to stand out from the crowd. To say, however, that this is a movement by the mass market is not the case in the South African context. The Levi’s brand is by far the market leader in the jeans category and designer brands remain for those that can afford their super premium prices,” says Gebhardt. Levi’s has its own super premium range – the Levi’s Blue and Levi’s Copper ranges. Also, a limited edition collectors’ range of T-shirts (the ‘1 of 100’ range), created in collaboration with up-and-coming young designers, was recently launched. The appeal of a pair of Levi’s is not limited to its fashionability. The Levi’s brand is marked by

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Target market “Levi’s’ target market is free-thinking 16 to 24-yearolds, split 60/40 male/female. They are confident, highly social individuals who value originality and look for quality and authenticity in products. They love brands and buy into those that allow them to express their own sense of style while delivering comfort and credibility,” says Debbie Gebhardt, marketing director of Levi Strauss South Africa. “The Levi’s brand has always had strong associations with timelessly youth-relevant platforms, such as music. By staying in touch with what’s happening at grass roots level with the youth in SA through consumer dialogue, trend watching & occasional focus groups, the Levi’s brand manages to maintain its relevance in an increasingly competitive environment. What’s important is that the brand stays true to itself in everything it does, and builds on proven areas of success while constantly innovating to stay fresh,” she says. According to Gebhardt, the 501 jeans range is still the top selling locally. The women’s Eva jeans (developed locally for the specific proportion of the African figure (smaller waist to hip ratio) has also been successful.

BRAND ANATOMY

its focus on ethical codes of business and product manufacture as well as its ongoing commitment to the community and the environment. “How products are made, by whom and with what – all these factors are becoming more important to consider, and this is borne out by consumer studies globally,” says Gebhardt. The company’s business policies include, among others, addressing social biases; as early as the 1920s, the company was advertising in Spanish and Chinese, to specifically target and serve these often neglected markets. During the 1960s, it would not open new plants in those US towns that imposed racial segregation. And in 1991, it was the first multinational company to develop a code of conduct that made provision for the individuals who manufacture their products; the company set guidelines for the safety and health of its employees as well as for their treatment in the workplace. The company’s guidelines also take the environment into consideration, with Sourcing and Operating Guidelines, Global Effluent Guidelines and a Restricted Substances List, all of which seek to control the impact that Levi’s manufacturing has on the environment. “As a brand, we have always prided ourselves on a ‘profits through principles’ approach; and this is reflected through our Terms of Engagement contract that we employ with our suppliers, which devotes a chapter to environmental sustainability,” says Gebhardt. Globally, Levi’s was the first major brand to launch a fully sustainable pair of jeans (Levi’s Eco Jeans) in mid-2006, while locally there are a few projects in the pipeline. “We are currently conducting a project with the National Cleaner Production Institute (NCPI) to further ‘green’ our facility. We have also recently introduced videoconferencing to cut down our employees’ travel and are launching a small 100 per cent organic cotton line that aims to educate the consumer on the lack of ‘green’ manufacturing options in South Africa,” says Gebhardt. “This is an important issue to which everyone needs to contribute but ultimately consumers have the opportunity to drive that change.” Community involvement and support, as well as a dedication to social issues, such as the Aids pandemic, have also given the Levi’s brand a certain leverage. Locally, Levi’s has four Community Involvement Teams (CITs), which identify and organise several community projects each year. “The programme is driven and managed by the staff as opposed to management. Locally, we have focused particularly on helping those in need, from the elderly to street children,”

Red for Life The Red for Life programme uses a variety of media platforms to reach its target market (particularly the youth) with its messages. “While traditional ATL mediums like TV and radio are still effective in driving awareness, I would argue that their ability to influence or inspire action out of the receiver – particularly on weighty issues such as HIV/Aids – is questionable. We have found success through a more interactive, non-traditional approach because, for this communication, it’s important that it engages the receiver in totality. It should add value to their lives, challenge their thinking and cater for their needs, fears and preconceived ideas. And what makes this possible is that non-traditional media allows one to be specific when targeting the end consumer,” says Gebhardt. TV and radio are also expensive, while non-traditional media approaches (mobile testing centres, condoms, etc) make a difference and drive real value for the brand. And by all accounts, it’s working. “Over 51 000 people have been tested, including many top local musicians and celebrities, the offices of the President, two United States Congresswomen, the COO of the SABC and DJ Fresh and his team, live on air,” says Gebhardt. The campaign was helped along by the SMS service established in collaboration with Karabo; people could SMS their location to the service, and it would reply with the details of the testing station nearest to them. The service received over 2 000 SMSes in a little over six weeks. says Gebhardt. These initiatives include Levi’s Original Music (which supports local original music) and the Levi’s Red for Life programme, which addresses the HIV/Aids pandemic. Gebhardt says that the denim brand has built itself and leveraged its initiatives through its commitment to a local association with a property literally embedded in its genes – music. South African musicians lend their voices and their fan appeal to Levi’s causes, making the brand message irresistible to the youth that are the target. Another brand dimension which holds huge market appeal is the sassy advertising

campaigns that have, over the decades, made this brand a firm favourite. You may remember the ad featuring the ‘blind’ voyeur in the petrol station bathrooms or the sexy blonde who uses train tracks to cut her jeans? Levi’s is making good use of this ‘street cred’. “I believe that as a sexy brand, we are demonstrating to people, specifically the youth, that you can be sexy AND responsible. And, encouragingly, we have seen this approach resonate more and more particularly with the younger generation – we see it reflected by the youth,” says Gebhardt. The Levi’s brand appeals to just about everybody, regardless of age or race. According to Gebhardt, the brand achieved this through its use of relevant, local properties in its Original Music and Red for Life campaigns. “Levi’s is one of the most widely recognised brands in the history of the apparel industry. It has evolved for over 135 years by remaining firmly in touch with the youth market. Going forward, the brand will remain true to its pioneering heritage, seeking to uncover consumer insights, probing global trends and innovating to meet consumers’ ever-changing needs,” says Gebhardt. 

Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008 I MarketingMix 13

by helen mcintee EXPERT OPINION

Vulgarity – I don’t buy it What has become of creative writing, clever journalistic reporting and the smart, skillful use of the English language? Where have the verbal artists and language craftsmen gone? I write this not as a prude – I use slang and enjoy a risqué joke at the best of times, but since when did it become acceptable for the printed and spoken word of companies and broadcasters to include swear words, vulgar common language, sexual innuendos and even blatant in-depth descriptions of sexual organs and activities? And yet a bigger question is: When did it become necessary to stoop this low to sell goods and services? Currently, we have casinos depicting phone sex. We have voices (well, noises!) on the radio simulating orgasms. Guavas and oysters appear on huge public billboards advertising strip clubs and, my favourite, simply because it is so obtuse and reminds me of a calendar to be found in a panel-beater’s workshop, a naked women holding a piece of cake apparently advertising a Cape Town restaurant. Furthermore, there has now arisen an apparent obsession with bodily functions. A toilet roll manufacturer says that we should be quite keen to overindulge in vindaloo as, with its product, we will look forward to sitting on the loo longer (yeah right!) It seems too that marathon runners suffer from diarrhoea while running. (Gee, thank you for telling me that). Motor car companies refer to ‘cardinal knowledge’ (sic), I discovered the word ‘decadent’ being used to sell mayonnaise and a financial services company using phrases like ‘bullshit’. None of this is clever writing – it’s boring and unintelligent. Where is the originality, the beautifully scripted words that invoke in the consumer thoughts of the real benefits of the product, the real positive sense of what they are buying? Granted, there may be many people out there who enjoy this type of humour and perhaps they like to visualise themselves stuck on the bog all morning, feeling endlessly grateful for their double/triple/quadruple ply toilet tissue. But I think you may find just as many people who would rather use their imagination than be thrown figuratively into a small room that smells rather badly. Perhaps in the early days of ‘independence’,

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To me the English language in South Africa today is a vision of its former self – please can we all do something about it before we degenerate into adopting a series of grunts with finger movements?

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when we were revelling in our freedom, certain members of the community may have misinterpreted the Constitution as a wonderful piece of work that says ‘we can do, say, and behave’ in whatever way takes our fancy. In fact, to that end, I was blown away when

reading that apparently the word ‘fokol’ can, in certain circumstances, be used on radio as it is regarded as a colloquialism and is, by and large, acceptable to speakers of indigenous languages (BCCSA ruling). However, this does not extend to the English version of ‘F*ck all’! Now I give up… surely they mean the same thing! Recently, I gave my daughter the weekend newspaper magazine as it contained an article on her latest teen heartthrob. However, I noticed while flicking through it that, while there is a lovely pic of Zak Efron… just a couple of pages before it is an advert that screams ‘weak erection, early ejaculation’. Two pages later there is a beautiful pull-out educational supplement for children…. followed directly by the good old ‘date club’ (we are not prostitutes or escorts) classifieds. Do we not do market segmentation anymore? Do marketers not identify specific target markets? Are audiences all the same? Are we all just moving towards one-size-fits-all? I have finally reached the conclusion that copywriters, journalists and even scriptwriters have lost the plot (pun intended). I used to enjoy watching Isidingo with my daughter but even that has become unbearable – rape, gangsters, drugs, murders, election fraud, affairs, mercenaries, corruption and so on. Where is the good stuff, does it have to be bad or rude to entertain? And after reading a recent newspaper report, I cannot believe that a journalist reporting on the horror of an attempted rape resorted to using words such as ‘vagina’ and ‘penis’. I would assume that in a crime of this nature those body parts are generally the ones used – how tasteless and offensive to the victim to be quite so blunt! To me the English language in South Africa today is a vision of its former self – please can we all do something about it before we degenerate into adopting a series of grunts with finger movements? 

Helen McIntee academic director IMM graduate School of Marketing (011) 628 2038

[email protected]

7 DAY [B]ITCH

Nic Haralambous – editor/blogger/business strategist

21/01/08 I don’t wake up at 5am. I won’t claim to. My alarm goes of at 6.30am, sometimes… Today is one of those. The alarm goes off, I scramble to shut it down. Fifteen more minutes’ sleep. Then I’m up, showered and shaved. Clothing is important to me so I make a point of taking time to pick out what I wear. It’s not always worth it though. Then breakfast, tea, check e-mails, blogs, blog aggregators and feeds. Pack everything up and I’m on the road. The trip to work isn’t too bad: twenty minutes to half an hour and the day begins in earnest. Login to PC at work, check e-mail, blogs and feeds. Then coffee. Smoking is a part of my day that I cannot refuse (10am, 1pm, 3pm and home time are smoke breaks). I get through meetings, blog posts, e-mails and more, and then I head home. Twenty minutes to an hour and a half, depending on how much shedding of its load Eskom is doing.

22/01/08 Got a meeting in Pretoria at 11.30am. Honestly considered not going in to work. Loads are being shed. But meeting has to happen. Get to work, the usual again: login, e-mail, feeds, blogs, blogging and twitter (chat). Leave for Pretoria to meet with the chairperson of GoldenKey. It’s a long drive. Check e-mail on the road and respond. Get to the University of Pretoria, check e-mail again, blog a bit. The meeting is extremely positive. Back in the car and back to work. The whole round-trip takes close to four and a half hours. Joy. Work finishes. I visit my girlfriend (after all, tomorrow night is boys’ night). Head home.

23/01/08 It’s ‘8 Thirsty Wednesday’. This means drinks with the lads. Rush through the day. Straight from meeting to meeting to work and then to McGinty’s. I call ahead to book a table. Done. Send out the weekly ‘8 Thirsty’ e-mail to the lads. Response follows and the meeting is set. Talk sh*t for the entire night, end up discussing drug testing in golf and whether it’s worthwhile. No conclusion.

24/01/08 Thursday is a very in-between day. This week even more so. Eskom has gotten me down. I am depressed about SA and it’s hard to be depressed when you run www.sarocks.co.za. I am that guy. The one who holds the positive flag for everyone. It’s not happening.

Go to work; smoke. A bad start to the day. 10am, smoke. It’s getting worse, now with a headache. No training. Gym? Ha! As if I have time. I must make time though. Leave work after dealing with IT department, student societies, chairpeople, writers, editing, marketing, sales and subscription departments, all in one day. Lovely. Definitely heading to gym. Get to gym, and it’s dark. No lights, no generator. That’s twice in one week. Awesome. No gym. No dinner, no nothing. Ah, the problems of the privileged.

25/01/08 Friday is a tough day. It’s hard to wake up because I know it’s party night. That means a full day of about 20 to 22 hours of wake-time. Mission through the day but at least it’s THE WEEKEND BABY! (Thanks Gareth Cliff for that one.) I Facebook people to see what plans are lined up for the weekend. I also twitter, blog, e-mail, blog and check RSS feeds. Leave work at a fantastic 6pm. Go straight to a dinner, then to Manhattans. Stay till 4am, by which time I have been awake for about 22 hours or so... Finished.

26/01/08 No rest for the wicked, they say. Wake up reasonably late. Make breakfast for my girlfriend and we eat outside under the cloud cover. Get straight to work on blogging and connecting with people who’ve been waiting for me all week. Send out e-mails and start compiling blog posts for the week on both my blogs. Also planning the launch of a new blog, so I have lots of work to do there. End off the day with drinks at Bulldogs. Why Bulldogs? I work right there everyday, then get taken back to that area for drinks? Please man.

27/01/08 Sundays, bloody Sundays. I love Sundays and this one is no exception. Wake up and make breakfast. Get the Sunday Times. Spend a few hours reading David Bullard’s column, blogging, playing Xbox 360 and checking e-mail. Then I veg out. Sundays are ‘takeaways and a DVD’ days. The 8pm movie usually stinks. We get Steers and a DVD and watch ‘till I fall asleep. My girlfriend wakes me on her way home. The week officially ends with me reading the book of the moment: Gonzo. 

Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008 I MarketingMix 15

GAY MARKETING

Courtesy Queer City Productions

Think pink What do Hugo Boss, Mumm Champagne, Flexbender, Exclusive Books, Bacardi and 5FM have in common? In a nutshell, they have successfully marketed to the gay community (or LGBT – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender – community). These are brands that have realised the potential that the LGBT market has, and have also taken the right steps to communicate with it effectively. And you can bet your fabulous Pink Rand that they have more support and loyalty from this community than those of their

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competitors who have been slow to acknowledge this market. It is estimated that about 10 per cent of the population of developed countries is lesbian or gay. Locally based Hot Salsa Media has been conducting research since 2001, it has found that 10.8 per cent of the adult market is gay or lesbian. “In perspective, in these groups there are more gay and lesbian people in SA than there are white people,” says Viv Quann, senior group strategist, Hot Salsa Media.

However, research is difficult to carry out. “The respondents are difficult to identify as the only element they have in common – their sexual orientation – is invisible or intangible,” says Quann. According to Morne Ebersohn, publisher of local gay magazine Wrapped, there is the problem of where to sample from. “We have no database to draw on for a study of this market.” Nonetheless, the profile of the gay community has been raised, thanks to the entertainment media (think Will & Grace, Queer Eye for the

GAY MARKETING

Gay media in South Africa: Wrapped magazine Mambaonline.com Mambagirl.com Gay Pages Exit Gaypeers.com The Pink Tongue Bravo Brava, Radio 2000.

Courtesy Queer City Productions

power of the gay and lesbian market in the USA at US$641 billion. Mark da Mata, marketing executive at Pink Advertising, says: “while it is true that a fair proportion of the sector is in the upper LSM bracket, there are a few things that should be taken into account.” For example, gays and lesbians have been found to be far more entrepreneurial than other populations. Hot Salsa Media found lesbians earn as much as heterosexual men, with 25 per cent earning more. Compare this with studies that put heterosexual men and women side by side, and you find that 34 per cent of these women earn less than men. “That’s because one in three lesbians is a successful entrepreneur and one in four gay men is an entrepreneur; for their heterosexual counterparts it is one in six,” says Quann. This is usually because gays and lesbians don’t have the family responsibilities that heterosexuals have, although Hot Salsa Media reports that locally, 24 per cent of lesbians and five per cent of gay men have children living in their homes. Further food for thought, is the fact that a fair proportion of gays and lesbians are

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In perspective, in these groups there are more gay and lesbian people in SA than there are white people, Viv Quann, Hot Salsa Media.

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students, falling into the 18 to 22 age group. “They are students without disposable incomes. Yet this is the right place to create loyalty and build a brand,” says Rossouw. One thing’s for sure: brands are starting to show greater interest in this market. The 2006 Gay Press Report found that advertising in the gay and lesbian press was up 205 per cent since 1996, reaching $223.3 million. Over 183 Fortune 500® brands were active in the gay market as of 2006 (compared with 150 brands in 2004). The report found that the most popular product categories are travel, financial services, automotive, fashion and entertainment. Locally, this market is still wanting for services and products that take their needs to heart. Ebersohn explains: “The gay market is not under-served, but it can certainly be better served.” says Ebersohn.

Courtesy Queer City Productions

Straight Guy or The L Word, all of which screen on DStv), and new legislation (specifically, the Civil Union Act, which now recognises same sex marriage). This has opened up huge opportunities for the hospitality industries here. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Resorts has seen a jump of over 300 per cent in bookings and a 100 per cent increase in the number of LGBT weddings at its resorts, reports Quann; all this simply because it marketed itself correctly and has trained its staff in dealing with gays and lesbians. Mainstream media coverage of gay events has boosted the gay community and gay events industries. “All the media coverage has helped us to start doing bigger things, because brands and companies trust us to do bigger things,” explains Pieter Rossouw, MD, Queer City Productions. Stereotypes, generalisations and assumptions have blurred the marketer’s understanding of this sector. “The gay market is one of many sub-cultures, and these must all be understood, which will take time,” says Ebersohn. The 2006 Gay Press Report placed the buying

Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008 I MarketingMix 17

GAY MARKETING

Events Cape Town Pride festival: www.capetownpride.co.za Johannesburg Pride Festival: www.joburgpride.org The Pink Loeries: www.pinkloerie.com Mother City Queer Project: www.mcqp.co.za Out In Africa film festival: www.oia.co.za

Courtesy Queer City Productions

He points to the financial services industry, which may have realised that gays have disposable income, but have not developed financial packages or products tailored specifically for them. “Retirement packages, banking and other financial instruments should take these consumers very seriously,” says Joe LaMuraglia, founder and managing partner of US-based Targeted Diversity Marketing and publisher of gaywheels.com. Consider Subaru, which started marketing just one model of its vehicles to the LGBT market two years ago; “We surveyed the market first to ascertain percentage of ownership of this brand on the outset. It was 0.5 per cent. At the end of the second year, this had jumped to 3.5 per cent, which is over R2 million in revenue,” says Quann. In the US, LGBTs have specific websites geared to them, such as gay financial network www.gfn.com; there does not seem to be a local equivalent. But locally, gay couples who

Courtesy Queer City Productions

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are living together but are not married, do not have the option of a joint bank account, while airport lounges do not keep gay magazines. Ebersohn emphasises how the first bank, airline or hotel, to take that step will lead the market. Snuggling up to the LGBT market is not always easy. In the US, conservative, right-wing groups (such as the American Family Association) launch boycotts against companies that advertise in the gay media, making it even more daunting for brands looking to follow in their footsteps. But it’s about time that brands got excited about talking directly to this market. “The advertising interests and receptiveness of the gay market is not being addressed by the traditional and most of the existing gay media. We think that in the gay community there is enormous advertising potential that is laying bare,” says Ella Lay, content manager, gaypeers.com. Specialist agencies, such as Pink Advertising and Hot Salsa Media locally, may offer brands the best understanding of this market, and will know where, how and when to break through the clutter of traditional marketing messages. Advertising to this market must be subtle and must show an understanding of the gay lifestyle. “The gay market is tough and unforgiving. You can’t lead them by their noses,” says Rossouw. Da Mata adds that understanding gay relationships is also key. “But more important is the understanding that being gay is not a sexual thing. It’s about lifestyle and mindset,” he says. Segmenting by age group or lifestyle interests is more positive. LaMuraglia suggests that religion and politics be kept out of ads. One-size-fits-all ads, catering to the masses, won’t endear you to this market (keeping in mind that gays and lesbians will have different needs and shopping habits, for example, and also that the LGBT market has various sub-cultures, each of which wants to be addressed directly). “Use a gay-targeted message to relate to the target market… if you are going to show people, don’t show a straight couple. Take time to think about your market,” says La Muraglia. Marketers who are concerned that targeting the LGBT market will alienate their straight customers should tweak their campaign material accordingly, so that the messages and creative they place in gay media is suited to the audience and is sensitive to it. Nando’s has done just this – consider its ‘chicken to come out for’ campaigns, as seen in gay print titles. The good news is that specialised targeting of the gay market increases the perceived quality of the brand, and gays will pay more for these,

GAY MARKETING

according to da Mata. Brands are reminded that they should be seen to be in it for the long term. “Many companies have mistakenly believed that they can come into the LGBT arena, throw a few bucks at the market for a month or two and the market will be so grateful it will run and buy their products or services immediately,” says Quann A company’s service also needs to address this market correctly. “Your staff members need to learn to speak without bias or assumption. They shouldn’t assume that every person they speak to is straight, married and has kids. If they are married and have kids, staff shouldn’t assume that they are married to someone of the opposite gender,” says Quann. Non-gender specific language is especially important. Traditional media formats targeting the local LGBT community are seeing major growth. Wrapped magazine, for example, has watched its sales figures growing from just 32 per cent in April last year to around 70 per cent in December. The Pink Tongue, a recently launched community newspaper, published by Independent Newspapers Cape, is taking gay news and lifestyle features to the gay communities around Cape Town and Gauteng. Distribution of the title’s 15 000 free copies is through various gay-owned and gay-friendly establishments. “Before the paper was launched, various NGOs (such as the Triangle Project) were approached and they all gave the thumbs up to the concept,” says editor, Gary de Klerk. The newspaper is tasked with challenging homophobia, and it achieves this by featuring and following up on current news, including articles dealing with homophobia. The publication embraces homosexuality and publishes a mainstream monthly publication that shows gay life and lifestyles. The newspaper is the ideal environment for cars, cosmetics, banks and investment companies, travel operators, alcohol, speciality brands, shops and clothing stores. “Brands and products need to be aware of the fact that the gay market is picky; it is aware of

Gay car of the year: www.wheels24.co.za recently held the second annual Alternative Car of the Year Awards, in which car fanatics cast their votes in categories, including Corrupt Politician’s Car, Straight Car and Gay Car. Nominees in the Gay Car category included the BMW 3 Series Cabriolet, Mini Cooper, Alfa Romeo Spider and Audi TT Roadster. But the winner, with a whopping 8 700 votes, was the Peugeot 207 Coupe Cabriolet. According to Wheels24 editor, Wilmer Muller, the key characteristics highlighted by online voters, which set the Peugeot apart included stylishness, fashion ability and uniqueness.

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the fact that it is often ‘targeted’ by brands and is therefore in a position to choose who it wants to support,” says De Klerk. The good news for marketers is that when targeting the LGBT market, they are freer to experiment with events, activations and online tools. “As long as it’s the right product and it is presented in the right way,” says Rossouw, who has watched some brands try to enter this market and fail miserably. Events are one affordable option for brands seeking exposure to this market. Rossouw has also found an increasing number of brands want to get involved, especially as the quality of event production improves. “It’s not that there is hesitation on the part of advertisers or sponsors. It’s just that until recently, there was a lack of structure in the planning of events – proposals and documentation, for example, and the exposure for these events,” he says. Events must be of a high quality – the market demands it, and because it is becoming increasingly acceptable to be openly gay or lesbian, events really need to deliver something extraordinary.” Da Mata further emphasises donations to gay causes and the development of corporate policies should be looked at. Global Rental (a locally based company offering local and international car rental services) is allocating five per cent of its profits to two LGBT non-profit organisations. The campaign relies on LGBT websites to forward an e-mail advertising the services of Global Rental and the LGBT initiative that it has committed to, so that it eventually

GAY MARKETING

Who is the gay market? Mambonline has done some research, and has found that:  Over 65 per cent of this market falls between LSM 8-10  Over 80 per cent aged over 25 own their own homes  Over 15 per cent own a second home  Over 70 per cent take more than five power breaks in upmarket settings a year  Over 25 per cent are self-employed entrepreneurs  Over 30 per cent have tertiary education becomes viral. “This is measurable, to the cent, actually, as it is online bookings done through a single URL created only for this campaign,” explains Quann. The brand is successfully building its profile among a market of which a large portion are successful, upper LSM individuals, who have more opportunities to travel and therefore more opportunities to use the rental services provided by Global Rental. Online tools are great options. “The gay market talks and interacts online a lot more than straight markets do, with chat rooms, social networks and dating sites allowing more social interaction. These platforms also allow them to meet other gays without possibly offending others,” says da Mata. Gaypeers.com, a local social networking website, was launched in October 2007, and now has over 1 500 members. Lay says that the majority of the members are LGBT (between 80 and 85 per cent are male). “There is a small percentage of straight individuals joining the website as well. However, it must be stipulated that the content on the website and the marketing activities are solely directed towards the LGBT group.” She says that online marketing is highly popular and efficient for advertisers who want to market their products within the gay community, especially because the Internet is the only medium that covers the gay community thoroughly and extensively. “Even in underdeveloped, suppressed and highly homophobic societies such as Uganda, the gay community groups or gathers together and stays in touch via the Internet,” she says. Website mambaonline claims to reach 43 000 people a month through its lifestyle website. The site reaches urban gay men and women aged 18 to 45. Site content includes weekly lifestyle features, daily news, entertainment and a popular online dating service (Meet Market), which boasts in excess of 18 000 members. According to a survey of visitors to the site, 76 per cent own PCs; 60 per cent are regular cinema-goers and restaurant diners. Fifty-two per cent travel internationally every two years. Eighty one per cent are

22 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008

frequent magazine readers, and 21 per cent have a personal income above R15 000 a month. Look out for the growth of targeted ad networks, says LaMuraglia, as these will help marketers speak to LGBT consumers in their own voice and on their own turf. “The proliferation of blogs and social media networks has increased the raw number of gay consumers online, but from a marketer’s perspective, it is difficult to manage multiple campaigns to an increasingly fragmented market,” he says. Get the marketing, communications and service right, and your brand is in for a long and rewarding love affair with the LGBT market, because this is a brand loyal market. Hot Salsa Media found respondents prefer to purchase from gay-friendly companies, even if their prices are higher. They feel it is important not to buy from companies who are hostile toward them. Eighty per cent of respondents reported that they would change their attitudes towards purchasing brands that support them, with 73 per cent saying that they would purchase. Fifty-seven per cent of respondents reported that they have changed the brand they purchase based on a company’s positive stance toward the gay and lesbian community. Of that number, 76 per cent stayed with the brand for a year or more. “The best thing about this market is that they become brand ambassadors when they are served in the right way,” says Rossouw. LaMuraglia too points to gaywheels.com surveys, which saw 86 per cent of GLBT respondents considering a company’s policies towards them before purchasing a product. “Statistically, we are loyal to brands that are gay friendly and that support our media,” he says. And once the gay market has adopted a brand and endorsed it, the straight market will quite likely follow suit. “Gays are perceived as chic and to have style,” says Rossouw, pointing to the metrosexual trend as one example of a gay-pioneered trend. It would seem that the LGBT market is untapped, and in need of brands bold enough to snuggle up with it. But not all brands will benefit from a foray into gay marketing. The fashion, cosmetics, fragrance and car markets will find it relatively easy to get a foot in the closet door. Baby products, on the other hand, should avoid trying to woo gays. “While there are a lot more gays adopting children now, this is still a small niche,” says Ebersohn. 

EASTERN CAPE INTELLIGENCE

Eastern Cape rules The Eastern Cape is home to some of South Africa’s treasures: the Karoo, Addo Elephant Park, the Tsitiskamma forest as well as pristine beaches. This is also the home of the Iron Man competition. The region is well supplied with airports, railways and ports. With investments numbering in the millions, and development

speak Xhosa as a home language. English and Afrikaans are home languages for 4.8 per cent and 11.5 per cent of the population respectively. Eighty five per cent of the province’s population is black, with almost eight per cent coloured and seven per cent white. AMPS also found that there has been an increase in truck advertising

Africa’s population with Port Elizabeth and East London being the sixth and seventh largest cities respectively, with populations well over one million. These consumers, having not been targeted by marketers, are not yet necessarily brand loyal,” says Simon Wall, sales director, Tractor Outdoor. “With the massive infrastructure expenditure in the Eastern Cape and with disposable incomes growing, leading marketers are provided with an opportunity to entrench their brands in the Eastern Cape,” he says.

Industrial developments

©

initiatives promising to further grow this region, it is a market area that cannot be ignored. Marketing Mix takes a closer look at this province, and all that it offers the marketer.

Overview AMPS 2006 figures found that 14.8 per cent of the total population lives in the Eastern Cape; almost 53 per cent are females. Thirty-two per cent of the province’s population is aged 16 to 24; 24 per cent is aged 25to 34. Twenty eight per cent of the Eastern Cape population has a household income of between R600 and R1 000 a month; 5.4 per cent earn between R8 000 and R14 000. Total provincial personal disposable income is estimated at an annual R50 billion. Almost 80 per cent of the province’s residents

24 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008

Graeme Bridger

in the province, and it is the biggest consumer of Amstel Lager. The Eastern Cape’s economy saw growth of 4.8 per cent in 2005 (up from 4.2 per cent in the preceding year). Annual GDP growth is also on the up. The main contributors to this growth are finance, real estate and business services, followed by government services and manufacturing. The automotive industry is a major source of investment and GDP for the province. General Motors invested R700 million in a plant, when it launched the H3 in South Africa. Volkswagen is awaiting completion of its R750 million paint shop. And Daimler Chrysler is upgrading its facilities in East London. Farming and horticulture generate around R2 billion for the province, according to Stats SA. “The Eastern Cape has 15 per cent of South

Several industrial development zones (IDZs) are attracting local and foreign investment. According to information published on www.coega.co.za, the 11 000-hectare phased Coega development zone will create industry clusters dedicated to export manufacturing companies in the region. This IDZ is set to attract foreign and local investment in the manufacturing industries; the sites are serviced, and there are flexible lease and utility prices. Key priority investment sectors include metals, textiles, automotive, services, chemicals and energy. News reports indicate that a deepwater port is being built in this zone, and this has attracted investment from Alcan aluminium smelter as well as a Seark shrimp farming project (both of these investments amount to millions). The East London Industrial Development Zone has grown since its inception in 2002, to number more than 100 fully serviced sites and is home to DaimlerChrysler South Africa as well as renowned component manufacturers. It also offers opportunities to businesses in the automotive, marine aquaculture, agro-processing and pharmaceutical industries. This IDZ is also focused on attracting local and foreign investors. Some of these projects may be affected by the power crisis, but it seems they will continue to run smoothly for now. “The Eastern Cape has not been affected by load shedding to the degree that Johannesburg has – we are managing it,” says Neil Hart, MD, Boom Town Advertising. It is involved in the Govan Mbeki renewal project, which is modelled on such urban regeneration projects as we have seen in Newtown, Johannesburg. “With regard to the Govan Mbeki renewal project, it is a longer term project where a number of things have to be addressed first in

EASTERN CAPE INTELLIGENCE

Summer Lovin’ Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism and the Eastern Cape Tourism Board’s Summer 2006/7 Research Survey reported the following findings: • 84 per cent of respondents were domestic tourists and 16 per cent were foreign tourists; this shows a decrease of 4 per cent in domestic respondents compared with the 2005/6 period, and an increase in foreign respondents from 11 per cent. • Of the foreign visitors, 25 per cent were from Africa. • The majority of domestic visitors were from Gauteng, followed by the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KZN. • Most of the respondents from abroad were from the UK, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, the US, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland and Italy. • Compared with previous years, there has been a marked increase in visitors from Ireland, Botswana and the UK. • There was a fairly even spread of respondents from each age category, with 31-40 year olds accounting for 20 per cent of respondents. They are followed by age groups 16-20, 41-50, 26-30 and 51-60. • In terms of occupational status, the strongest market is professionals, which account for 35 per cent of respondents. They are followed by students, self-employed, state employed, pensioners, other and unemployed. • The majority of respondents stayed in Nelson Mandela Bay for 11 days or more. Twenty-five per cent stayed 3-5 days, 18 per cent between 6-8 days and 14 per cent between 9-11 days. The statistics reflect that, compared with previous years, there is an increase in people staying for 11 days or longer, as well as an increase in short stays.

order to progress to a stage where investors can be approached,” says Hart. This development is worth about R50 million, says Hart, while that of Coega is worth around R30 billion. He says that the major golf estates in the region as well as game reserves should be watched; they will continue to draw foreigners. He points to the Shamwari Game Reserve, which has been voted the Best Game Reserve in the World for the fifth year running. “Coega is also one to look out for as it is expanding rapidly, as well as the Kouga Development Agency,” he says. As Wall explains, these developments will continue to attract Indian and Chinese companies, especially since South Africa is seen as a launching pad into Africa.

• The majority of respondents indicated that they have visited Nelson Mandela Bay more than three times. Most of the first-time visitors were foreign visitors. • There has been an increase in the use of self-catering accommodation, second homes, guest houses, camping/ caravanning accommodation and backpackers’ lodges. • The majority of respondents spent more than R500 or more per day per person. • Most respondents made use of a telephone to book accommodation, followed by Internet/e-mail, travel agent and tour operators, walk in, family and friends, timeshare, booking agency and other. However, for international visitors, booking via Internet/email was more prevalent. • Most respondents were motivated by friends and relatives to visit Nelson Mandela Bay. Twenty per cent were motivated by their previous visits, followed by Internet recommendations, magazine exposure, brochures and business. • While shopping and entertainment is less of an attraction this year, the beach is increasingly an attraction to visitors. The wildlife and adventure pursuits have also seen increased interest. • The majority of respondents said they perceive Nelson Mandela Bay as a safe destination. Only two per cent of respondents said that it is unsafe. • The wind, the beach and the weather are the least enjoyed aspects of the area. • Only 30 per cent of respondents were aware of the Summer Season Programme this year compared with previous years (this may be because the campaign started late due to financial constraints). However, overall ratings for the Summer Season programmes were all high.

Tourism Tourism in the Eastern Cape is faring well, with figures showing growth in the number of visitors (particularly foreigners) to the province.

Media mix Radio Algoa FM reaches 786 000 listeners every week (RAMS 2007), 57 per cent of which are male. The majority of listeners are between the ages of 16 and 49 years (with the core market falling into the 25-49 year category). Almost half of listeners are black; and 35 per cent are coloured. About 334 000 listeners are in LSM 7-10, and this group has recorded 24 per cent growth, according to United Stations. The station’s format is adult contemporary;

Radio listening (RAMS Feb 2008 and AMPS 2007) Station

Past 7 days

Ave day

Ave HH income

Average

Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008 I MarketingMix 25

EASTERN CAPE INTELLIGENCE

programming includes the usual news, sport and weather as well as community and local information. “Our local advertisers get to feel more of an ownership and involvement being close to the station and its personnel, but both national and local advertisers benefit from our focused approach,” says Algoa FM sales manager, Dennis Karantges. CKI FM Stereo also operates in the region as a national SABC station. There are also a handful of local community radio stations which serve the smaller communities.

Eastern Cape newspapers Title

Circulation

Readers

(ABC Jul-Sep 2007)

Newspapers The newspaper sector is well developed, with a range of daily, weekly, weekend and free community titles distributed in the province. According to AMPS 2007 figures, newspaper penetration in the province has risen to 26.5 per cent, from 25.2 per cent the previous year. And while this is still the lowest penetration across the country, this is a sector that looks set to grow, especially in developing regions (the townships and new development zones). “Our province has also seen a recent boom, so there are many more businesses springing up, which means there are more advertisers,” says Mauneen Charter, Chief Sales Officer, Avusa Community Newspapers. Two new malls opened in Port Elizabeth, with a third opening in April 2008. “Once these developments attract talent and empower people economically, newspapers in the area might see an increase in circulation and readership,” says Reinard du Plessis, advertising manager, Die Burger Oos Kaap.

Events Calendar 2008 Nelson Mandela Bay Splash Festival, 21-24 March 2008; www.nmbt.co.za Ironman South Africa, 13 April 2008; www.ironmansouthafrica.com Grahamstown National Arts Festival, 26 June- 5 July 2008; www.nafest.co.za Kirkwood Wildlife Festival, 28 -29 June 2008; www.widlsfees.co.za 2008 Biltong Festival, 11 - 13 July 2008; www.somerseteast.co.za/biltongfees Rhodes Trail Run, 12 July 2008; www.rhodesrun.za.net Citrus Carnival, 16 August 2008. Hogsback Arts Festival, 21-30 September 2008; www.hogsbackinfo.co.za/spring Addo Rose and Garden Show, 25-27 October 2008; www.addorose.co.za Uitenhage Street Carnival, 30 November1 December 2008.

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Eastern Cape community newspapers Title

Distribution

Circulation (ABC Jul-Sep 2007)

Estimated readership

Readers

EASTERN CAPE INTELLIGENCE

Community newspapers appear healthy and stable. Many of the papers are looking at launching online, following market trends, while others have already done so. The many developments in the province are driving newspaper growth, though Charter says that this is still in the early stages, and adspend has been mainly in the dailies. “There is no need for new newspapers at this stage as there are sufficient to cover all areas,” she says. Economic pressures will see newspapers in the region feeling the pinch. “We can expect less growth and consumer spend – money is tight and people are scared to spend. But if they have something to market or sell, they still need to advertise, so we have not been adversely affected as yet,” says Charter. She believes that economic pressures will shake the industry up. Du Plessis finds that Die Burger Oos Kaap’s circulation has remained somewhat stable. “Due to economic constraints, consumers are more aware of their habitual/impulsive purchases and cut down on non-essentials,” he says.

Community magazines MyWeek has magazines in two zones in the province, specifically East London (25 000 copies) and Port Elizabeth (30 000 copies); both of these were launched in late 2007. “Both publications have been well received by both the readers and the advertisers,” says Amanda Brinkmann, operations manager, Media24. These magazines deliver readers with a high income, and Brinkmann suggests that this income stretches further than that of someone living in Johannesburg, because comparatively, housing costs are lower in East London and Port Elizabeth. “I do not believe that the middle-class market is more so or less so present in any specific area – there is growth and forward movement everywhere in SA,” says Brinkmann.

Eastern Cape conference venues Bushman Sands Hotel and Game Reserve: facilities include a Gary Player-designed golf course, big game viewing and a spa. Conferences for between 12 and 90 delegates; all venues are air-conditioned. Team-building events are also catered for. www.bushmansands.co.za Cape St Francis Resort: conference capabilities allow for hosting of up to 130 delegates. Accommodation both self-catering and B&B. Various activities offered, including hiking, tennis and golf. www.capestfrancis.co.za Fancourt Hotel and Country Club Estate: hosts up to 250 people for conferences (and includes a conference hall, boardrooms, breakaway rooms and a ‘hidden’ timber bungalow. Facilities also include a golf course (hosted the 2003 Presidents Cup golf competition), spa and hotel. www.fancourt.co.za. Feather Market Conference Centre: Main auditorium can seat 1 187 guests; six venues as well as breakaway rooms. www.feathermarket.co.za. Kariega Game Reserve: conference facilities include two rooms able to host between 18 and 80 people. Accommodation available in a number of venues. Activities include game drives, river cruises, mountain biking and fishing, among others. www.kariega.co.za. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) Conference Centre: auditorium capable of hosting 120 delegates, with two smaller venues available for 40 and 12 delegates respectively; foyers ideal for cocktail parties and exhibitions for 250 people; the restaurant caters for 130 diners. Venues also available on campus. www.nmmu.ac.za. Victoria & Alfred Guest House: three conference venues can host from five to 100 people. www.victoriaandalfred.co.za. Wavecrest Resort: Intimate conference centre seats 44 delegates. Various teambuilding activities also offered. www.hoquality.co.za/wavecrest.

Community radio listening (RAMS Feb 2008) Station

Past 7 days

Ave day

Outdoor advertising The outdoor advertising industry in the Eastern Cape is growing steadily. “With the previously limited outdoor media channels available to local as well as national businesses in the Eastern Cape, the growth in the outdoor media industry in this area is providing a welcomed solution for advertisers,” says Wall. He adds that outdoor advertising in the region is subsequently new, fresh and affordable compared to TV, radio and print. Wall believes that the Eastern Cape traditionally has not had good stock of outdoor opportunities due to the conservative outlook of the municipality and outdoor advertising budgets being split between

Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. “This has changed due to advertisers now seeking to gain a foothold in the area and with the municipality changing its view on outdoor advertising,” he says. Clients can expect a larger ROI than they might see in Johannesburg or Cape Town, thanks to the affordability of sites and the comparatively uncluttered environment. “Prime sites are those situated in the heart of the cities of Port Elizabeth and East London,

which attract consumers across all LSM groups. Positive factors include good transportation routes, diversified mix of retailers and service providers, along with the rejuvenation of the CBDs attracting consumers to the heart of cities,” says Wall. With economic pressures forcing consumers to spend less on luxury items such as magazines, Wall predicts that there will be an increase in the use of outdoor. 

Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008 I MarketingMix 27

by michele venter-davies EXPERT OPINION

The marketing of

marketing After a recent call-in radio show, I was forced to wonder, once again, how we attract the right people to the marketing profession. The programme topic was The Importance of Career Guidance and it was frightening to realise just how many scholars flounder when making subject choices in Grade 9, and again when deciding which career path to follow. Having spoken to many parents, diverse views were forthcoming. There are those who believe that career choice is determined parentally – based on family background and cultural input (yes, there are still those who believe that girls ‘waste tertiary education’). Many parents suffer from ‘I Should’ve Syndrome’. That is: ‘When I look back I realise I should have been a lawyer, plumber or salesman and so that is what I am encouraging Johnny to do’. And some who couldn’t give a continental and leave their kids to find their own way or blame the school if Sophie brazenly wanders into the world of vice marketing (very profitable, I believe). The most thought-provoking view, for me, was offered by a gentleman who regards career guidance in any form as a load of *&%$#@ because, after all, a “job is merely a means to an end’ and kids should realise they need to make a living and any old means will do. That concerns me. I am sure there are relatively few people making money out of what they are truly passionate about. But many saying ‘if only I had…’ or ‘I wish I could…’. Perhaps we could institute a ‘job-swap’ programme – I am sure that for every plumber wishing to be a hairstylist, there is a stylist itching to be a mechanic or a mechanic born to pursue medicine. A swap around would probably result in every square peg fitting neatly into its little square hole. (Let me rethink that mechanic/stylist fit!) Bottom line, I come into contact with many people who express an interest in marketing, but aren’t sure exactly what it is. There is the age-old confusion between marketing and sales; marketing and advertising; marketing and public relations. No one outside the profession really knows exactly what we do.

28 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008

“

PR is NOT downing shooters with clients at wet T-shirt competitions and event management goes beyond organising a dinner for three top Party officials and their connections, lawyers and hitmen.

”

The OBE schooling system, despite its critics, is geared to produce learners who are far more sussed when it comes to real-world functioning. They have, for example, been studying the basics of advertising and film production since Grade 7. They know what an income statement and balance sheet are by Grade 9. The schools are pushed to their limits financially and, sadly, one of the areas considered a ‘luxury’ that many cannot afford is career guidance. What are we as a profession doing to go out there and spend

an hour or so supplementing textbook learning? Giving a few insights which fascinate so many – once they know what we actually do! Good qualitative researchers make a living out of the ideas and input of the target market. They have so much to say – and so much to learn. On a small scale, I have had the opportunity to interact with schoolchildren, introducing them to case studies and getting their input on the future of brands they relate to. To see them mesmerised by the basic facts about Wonderbra or M&Ms is rewarding. Their views on how vehicles and cellphones should be marketed responsibly are awesome. And yet these young minds are lost to other professions because no one is really marketing Marketing. Many have stumbled into marketing or advertising by default. Several chose to study advertising because they genuinely believed that they were going to star in ads as a first step to becoming the new Halle Berry. Thousands opt for positions as sales reps as ‘a place to start’ without realising the importance and potential of this crucial role in business. The proliferation of ’PR poppies‘ and ’event managers‘ bears testimony to the fact that hundreds are clueless as to the real value of these disciplines – PR is NOT downing shooters with clients at wet T-shirt competitions and event management goes beyond organising a dinner for three top Party officials and their connections, lawyers and hitmen. Perhaps marketing professionals could make one resolution for 2008. Could each one contact one school, business economics teacher, matric class, guidance teacher or one teen TV show and go out there and market our profession – passionately – so as to educate, entertain and pass that passion on to the young, vibrant minds out there. They are the foundations of our brand architecture for the future. Dare you! 

Michele Venter-Davies faculty head: Marketing and Advertising, AAA School (011) 781 2772 [email protected]

EXPERT OPINION by don searll

3D HD busts out We are born with stereopsis – the brain’s amazing ability to instantaneously combine two slightly different views into a single three dimensional (3D) perception of the world around us. Yet, up until now, most of our media has been 2D. Finally, 3D technology is coming to the fore and changing the way we see the world around us. After years of false starts, 3D imaging systems are ready to go mainstream with the advent of 3D autostereoscopic screens that require no glasses. From cellphones to laptops and monitors, the 3D boom is about to hit your eyeballs. 3D is moving across all media – cellphones, laptops, point-of-sale systems, corporate presentations, cinema, Internet and IMAX. The new 3D HD imaging technologies will help bring a new dynamic to the world of business, advertising, art, science and education, and has already sparked intense debate. 3D will also transform the public’s view of galleries and museums, with virtual tours taking one right into the buildings in which works are housed and enabling one to walk around the corridors and to be inside the painting, visualising impossible scenarios. This creates a completely different view, one that is not available in the real world. A digital revolution on convergence has been the enabling technology for 3D re-emergence. Although technically very complex, a huge consortium of technological companies and producers are working together to bring this powerful technology to the fore. 3D displays have recently become both increasingly popular and practical in the computer graphics community. This interest can be attributed to many factors. In our daily lives we are surrounded by synthetic computer graphic images in print and on television and can now even generate similar images on personal computers in our homes. We also have holograms on our credit cards and lenticular displays on our cereal boxes. And has it really been so many years since we first saw Princess Leia projected into thin air in the Star Wars motion picture? With each new technology or movie, the excitement seems to grow. The developments in the computer graphics industry have also done their part to make spatial images more practical and accessible.

3D power products

“

We saw the 2006 FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour (and tournament) filmed in 3D; this was a world first that opened up huge possibilities for 3D HD, live action and animation.

”

In the business of computer graphics, the computational power now exists for desktop workstations to generate stereoscopic image pairs for interactive display. At the high end of the computational power spectrum, the same advances that permit intricate object databases to be interactively manipulated and animated also permit large amounts of image data to be rendered for high-quality 3D displays.

Window on world (WOW) 3D display products are unrivalled in their ability to show powerful advertising messages on flat-panel plasma and LCD screens. Images can be originally produced in 3D or converted from existing 2D for our state-of-the-art digital signage. Global brands have seen significant revenue growth generated through 3D screens, creating a more real experience and message, thus enticing the customer Today there is a range of autostereoscopic displays that can be used in applications ranging from advertising to scientific visualisation. As the demand for such displays increases, the 3D HD and computer graphics fields face the challenge of demystifying 3D technology and simplifying the image generation process by creating uniquely effective 3D images. Volumetric displays illuminate points in a spatial volume. Parallax displays are the most common autostereoscopic displays and are compatible with computer graphics. 3D digital cinema immerses viewers in a virtual world filled with images so vivid, they can’t help but respond. Scientific studies have proven conclusively that viewing in 3D results in deeper impressions, better retention of information and a more memorable experience. Science aside, anyone who has ever watched an audience in a 3D theatre will see kids grabbing at thin air, while adults smile and appear mesmerised. There is huge growth potential in the digital content and 3D markets. As of May 2008, 1 200 digital 3D cinemas will be open in North America and by the end of 2008 over 3 000 digital cinemas will have 3D capability worldwide. Cinemas across the Western world are converting to 3D, which will change the face of advertising and the cinema experience. We saw the 2006 FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour (and tournament) filmed in 3D; this was a world first that opened up huge possibilities for 3D HD, live action and animation. 

Don Searll director Haptics (011) 804 2468

[email protected]

Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008 I MarketingMix 29

PACKAGING

Pack it in Packaging is no longer just the pretty paper that covers your favourite cheese and differentiates it from its neighbouring competitor brand. It has the power to extend the life of its contents, and maybe even call out to your customers from the shelves, with jingles. Packaging can change colour when its contents are stale (or too hot to drink). And today, it can also help to save the planet. Marketing Mix takes a closer look at the impact that consumer trends are having on packaging as well as how new technologies are taking packaging to places it has never before been.

Going green Birds do it, bees do it. And now Wal-Mart is doing it. With the global focus on the environment, and ways of preserving our natural resources, the manufacturing and packaging industries have come under fire. ‘Cradle-to-grave’ packaging (ie packaging that ends up in rubbish dumps and landfills instead of the recycling plant) is being booed by consumers. Organisations are under pressure to make products and packaging in a ‘cradleto-cradle’ system, where the maximum value is extracted from existing materials, which in turn are recycled, re-used or biodegraded in an environment-friendly manner. The Sustainable Packaging Coalition in the USA estimates that worldwide, the packaging industry is valued at around US$420 billion, and employs more than five million people. The Coalition acknowledges

that sustainable packaging is a necessity, and is helping packaging/manufacturing companies as well as retailers to develop products and packaging that are acceptable. Already, consumers in the UK and US are taking a stand against brands, products and retailers that have not made a move to cut excess packaging from their products. Wal-Mart, for example, has developed a Sustainable Packaging Scorecard. The retailer’s 60 000 suppliers must provide substantial info about their packaging, and in so doing, are ranked against other such suppliers. It may not be long before local retailers initiate something similar. According to John Gordon, director, Design Partnership Brandertising, the global food packaging industry is now worth US$100 billion a year and growing at a rate of 10 to 15 per cent each year. “Anything between 10 and 50 per cent of the price of food today is for its packaging,” he says. He also refers to recent research conducted in Europe, which found that UK households produce the equivalent weight of around 245 jumbo jets per week in packaging waste. More than three million tonnes of the 26 million tonnes of household waste produced annually comes from packaging. Meanwhile, 150 million tonnes of packaging waste comes from industry and commerce each year. “These figures are startling and the race is on to diminish packaging to its utmost simplistic functional form. Yes, we most definitely will be following global trends in this regard,” says Gordon. Locally, the green wave has not yet hit us as it

has the Europeans. “The green trend may not have major consequence locally for some time. From a manufacturer’s point of view, it requires a lot of energy to make it happen,” says Maciek Michalski, head of design, Joe Public. “Brands are aware of it, but consumers aren’t pushing for it yet. They are more concerned with their health and the ready-to-eat foods.” Look out for biodegradable materials, and soy or water-based inks that will not damage the environment. Petro-based chemicals will be shunned in favour of corn and potato starch components. “Brands and stores will be jumping on the bandwagon, but they aren’t explaining what biodegradable or recyclable means,” says Michalski. Some products may promote their recycling processes, but there are no recycling plants, so where does all the recyclable packaging go? Brands will need to address this holistically. “All segments of the packaging industry, especially food packaging, face environmental issues. Yet packaging is integral to today’s lifestyle. Nowhere would the loss of modern packaging be more quickly felt than in the food processing and distribution system. In under-developed countries where packaging is minimal or nonexistent, food losses of 30 to 50 per cent are not uncommon,” says Gordon.

Health kicks With diabetes, hypertension and obesity threatening developed populations, there is an

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PACKAGING

increasing focus on healthy living. “South Africans are definitely health conscious, more so after all the scares we have had around tainted foods,” says Michalski. Healthy school lunches are another trend to watch out for. “But there is a major duality here,” says Michalski. “You have to communicate the health benefits to moms, but at the same time you have to market to kids.” Local draft regulations on food labelling and advertising will change the way foodstuffs and beverages market themselves. News reports are indicating that foods that have been claiming nutritional value and essential health benefits will have to change their packaging and advertising to show that they are, in fact, not essential to a healthy diet. If these regulations, proposed by the Department of Health, are passed, fruit juices, iced teas, sweet biscuits, cakes, desserts, fast foods, savoury snacks and soft drinks will be affected. This is great news for the consumer. But will these foodstuffs survive once they have been labelled the ‘baddies’? Marketing Mix will provide updates on the regulations as they become available. Choices International Foundation recently promoted the ‘Choices’ front-of-pack labelling system, which sets a scientific benchmark locally. “In South Africa, there is no one set of labelling criteria across different companies. There is also no standard nutrient profiling. The Choices system is the first to set nutrient benchmarks that brands must comply to,” says Ruksha Maharaj, Choices SA programme coordinator. It will help consumers to make healthier choices, especially because they make purchasing decisions within a few seconds and need this info fast. Research has also shown that consumers often find current labelling systems confusing, and this system will address this. The Choices system will be supported by a strong marketing and educational campaign, which

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Choices logo, consumers will be able to identify their favourite compliant brands,” says Maharaj. Whilst the local branch of this international Foundation is still in the process of registering as a Section 21 company, local brands in the Unilever and Knorr stables have expressed interest. And the good news is that there is a local board of doctors and scientists who will be managing the foundation’s local branch; they will report to an independent international board, which sees a local doctor representing South Africa. “This Foundation, and the Choices logo and labelling, are credible on their own,” says Maharaj. “From a marketing point of view, with health and wellness the fastest growing

sector globally, brands who sign up will naturally have a better reputation amongst consumers. And they will innovate in line with the criteria.”

It’s about what’s inside Marketers could be using packaging in a more holistic way, says Gordon. “To touch on as many

Story telling is important, because humans relate to this. The brand story should be on the front of the label and it should encourage the consumer to slow down and engage with the product.

will see everyone from marketing executives at major brands, to dieticians and even the man on the street learning more about Choices, and what it means for health and wellness. “And because product brands are integrated with the

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of the senses as possible to get the brand well represented on the shelf, good packaging is an all-round experience,” he says. The Design Partnership was recently involved in the development of a new brand in the

Wine in a box Distell has launched a new range of boxed wines – Wine on the Move – with the aim of making its wines more accessible (consumers find wine bottles difficult to carry, open and preserve). The good news is that the Tetra Prisma packaging is 100 per cent recyclable. “Twenty-five Tetra Prisma packs, flattened after consumption, take up the same amount of room as one empty glass wine bottle. Hence a quarter less truck transporting waste, which means less carbon emissions into the environment,” says Shelley Ellse, brand development, Distell.

Middle East called CHUE (Choose How U Eat). “We literally turned things inside out with the packaging and had a lot of fun with it. Usually, most brands would cover their packaging on the outside with creative visuals or slogans indicating what is inside. Usually what is inside is a burger in a grease-stained interior – a burger coffin.” They decided to play down the exterior of the packaging and deliver the final brand punch on the interior. Hence, the burger clam, once opened, literally became a ‘visual feast’. Michalski believes we will start to see more of this locally, especially because we have a large ‘ready-to-eat’ market. Look out for fast-food packaging that is more appealing and functional. “Food tastes better when it’s eaten from welldesigned packaging. Sophisticated consumers will pay more if they get better packaging,” says Michalski. He adds that South Africa has the potential to be a leader in the design of packaging that addresses the needs of the ready-to-eat market, especially amid the global focus on

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simple packaging that allows for greater portability of food and personal items. “The packaging experience should be clean, protected, attractive, promise good flavour, usefulness, convenience and no worries about contamination. These attributes will win consumers’ hearts,” says Gordon.

Long life Parallel to the concerns about the environment and our health, is the focus on food and product waste. “New research projects are underway in the UK to extend the storage life of fresh produce by including natural additives in the

standard film mix, allowing produce to manage the atmosphere within the packaging,” says Gordon. “This will greatly improve the quality

and lifespan of fresh produce, decreasing product loss in both the home and supermarket.” Tiny fractures in the packaging allow the produce to manage its own atmosphere, and to hibernate effectively. It is hoped that this new packaging will reduce food waste. “A bioactive paper has recently been developed overseas which is attached to the food packaging on either the inside or the outside to indicate the substance’s lifespan or any other problems. This strip of bioactive paper could be creatively incorporated into the packaging as a visual food lifespan monitor,” says Gordon.

Packaging that talks…

Unwrapping South Africa’s ethical consumers Added Value has taken a closer look at South African consumers and ethical packaging, and has identified four major mindsets that are influencing the way consumers make choices (see Marketing Mix, vol 25, issue 9/10 for a broader explanation; Ethical consumers under the microscope). These are not mutually exclusive (consumers may show different degrees of each), but there is usually a dominant mindset. This will usually determine whether their mindset is driven internally or externally. We examined how these mindsets inform consumers’ choices when it comes to packaging. Empathising: The main driver is the show of solidarity (making small differences in the worlds of others). This is a strong mindset locally. These consumers want to feel proud, empowered and engaged; they respond to fair trade produce and donating to charity, so these should be made clear on packaging, without dominating branding. Also, educational messages should be included to help the shopper make the ‘right’ decision. Campaigns that involve the consumer work well (eg, the brand donates a portion of spend to charity). Healthy Awakening: Choosing healthy for the good it does the individual, society in general and the environment. This is a relatively strong mindset locally (especially because concerns over diseases like HIV are driving consumers to accept responsibility for their own health). These consumers want to feel pure, healthy and holistic, and respond to safe, healthy alternatives, including organic or super foods. They will read labels and look for information about ingredients, key health benefits and customer care line details. Opt for clear packaging that shows off the ingredients. For mums, safety is a key concern as well as something that’s interesting and exciting for their children. Artificial colours or over-styled photography should be avoided. Do not over-claim or use pharmaceutical language. Ethical Way of Living (EWOL): Choosing ethical as a way of life, so it informs everyday decisions and lifestyle. This is an emerging, very niche trend. These consumers want to feel disciplined, involved and proactive. They will pay a premium for ethical products. Recyclable packaging is key (especially if it educates the consumer and makes recycling easier for them, through, say, partnering with recycling centres). The full packaging chain must be considered. Sincerity in talking about less packaging is key, and don’t ‘greenwash’. Concentrated formulations and refills are great options. Charge a premium and be aware of the power of this mindset in terms of word of mouth. Ethical badging: Choosing ethical because of the image it projects of being trendy and noble. This mindset is strong locally, especially among those who have succeeded and want to be seen to be ‘in with the leading-edge tribes’. This consumer wants to feel savvy and stylish and like they are keeping up with trends. Opt for high quality, premium packaging that reflects how the customer wants to be seen. Celebrity endorsements are ideal; secondary wrapping (the shopping bag) is also key in showing others that they have shopped ‘premium ethical’. Display appeal is also relevant (it must look good in their homes), as is innovative packaging. On-pack promos are seen as tacky. Brands must be widely acknowledged to stand for something, as this consumer gives publicly, not privately.

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New technologies could see packaging talking to the consumer. Gordon points to overseas company MedivoxR, which has developed Rex the (disposable) Talking Bottle. This bottle plays back medication dosage information to visually impaired patients; the message is either pre-recorded by the pharmacists as they type in label info or by patients themselves, by means of the Rex Starter Kit (includes a special recorder). The microelectronic technology in the bottle allows only the user to record or change the prescription info. A button on the side of the bottle replays the message. “Wouldn’t it be cool if Smarties, for example, came in a container that started telling jokes when you opened it, and warned you when you only had a few Smarties left?” says Gordon.

Watch this space Other trends to watch out for include clever packaging (innovative designs or the use of non-traditional packaging materials). Although it may be the smaller brands who lead in this trend, as they are more likely to experiment. Sarita, a new alcoholic beverage, has taken its consumers’ needs to heart. Ring-pulls make these bottles easier to open, and are therefore ideal for women. Michalski predicts that we will see more use of locally made packaging materials for import items, as this reduces the cost to the environment. Single servings could also find firm footing in developing markets; look out for brands experimenting with this, says Michalski. And then, look out for design that brings nostalgia back into the mix. “Story telling is important, because humans relate to this. The brand story should be on the front of the label and it should encourage the consumer to slow down and engage with the product,” says Michalski. Customised designs (for example, Christmas designs) are another great option. 

EXPERT OPINION by jean-claude latter

Keeping track of your incentive programme strategy You’ve decided your company needs to run an incentive programme. You’ve expended considerable time, energy and resources analysing your current situation; defining how it can be improved; and designing a programme to ensure that improvement happens. Now what? Once an incentive programme is operational, it’s tempting to sit back and watch the results roll in. In fact, many organisations do just that ... only to find that the figures don’t live up to their expectations. Why? Because unless a company analyses the results its programme generates and finds out whether it’s delivering on its promises, its well-planned initiative quickly heads down a fast track to nowhere. Sadly, the only results this approach generates are wasted time and money, and a firm commitment from management that ’we’re never doing that again‘. According to Fortune, nine out of 10 companies never fully follow through on their strategies. So how do you keep your incentive programme on track? Start with these four practices and you’re off on the correct footing: 1. Practise organisational alignment All operations, behaviours and activities, no matter who’s doing them or when, should be aligned to support your vision, mission and values. That way you know that everything that happens in your organisation helps drive your programme strategy. 2. Define your performance measures Your programme should be measuring your employee and company performance against set objectives that tie in with your overall performance objectives. Once your programme is operational, you’ll need to measure it regularly to track improvements and changes. 3. Conduct surveys and dialogue Establish an ongoing dialogue with your employees, channels of distribution and customers to find out how you’re doing, how your programme is doing, and what they feel about your company and brand as a result.

4. Analyse and apply the data Collate and analyse the data you’ve gathered so they can be translated as quickly as possible into tactics and strategies for improvement and change to your programme design. Points one and two are typically built into the initial programme structure, while points three and four are concerned with what needs to happen once your programme is up and running. It’s also at these points that many companies start to understand the implications of managing an incentive when they’re faced with the task of gathering information and sifting through it to find what’s relevant.

Going electronic with your data analytics

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An increasingly useful tool for collecting and collating diagnostic information is a centralised, online strategic diagnostic system that monitors and reports on performance, satisfaction, behaviour, systems and trends across your employees, channel partners and customers.

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An increasingly useful tool for collecting and collating diagnostic information is a centralised, online strategic diagnostic system that monitors and reports on performance, satisfaction, behaviour, systems and trends across your employees, channel partners and customers. There are several applications on the market – but you’ll need to choose one carefully to make sure that it does what it says. Rule of thumb: look for an application that offers the following capabilities:  Needs and impact analysis, and assessment tools  Flexibility to monitor and measure diverse criteria  The ability to customise surveys that fit with your organisation  Demographic filtering  Benchmark/target scores for comparison and ongoing performance management  Real-time reporting  Controlled login to ensure all information is kept confidential  Full integration with your existing systems. As you can see, developing a strategy for your incentive programme is one thing. Keeping

Jean-Claude Latter sales director Achievement Awards Group (021) 700 2400

[email protected]

Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008 I MarketingMix 33

by nicci columbine EXPERT OPINION

Effectively managing a brand through a call centre In South Africa’s growing economy, where there is still a high dependence on voice communication, call centres are vital to consumers to obtain information and support with service queries, make bookings and also to facilitate financial transactions and manage credit. Yet, according to local dipstick surveys, it is perceived that call centres (whether in or outbound) do not render a satisfactory experience. What is more important to acknowledge is that customers associate a negative service experience with a company’s brand rather than with the call or contact centre. Research confirms that poor customer satisfaction is the most instantly determining factor influencing brand reputation today. In a globally competitive market, where price and availability of goods has somewhat blurred corporate differentiation, customer service remains one of the few areas where a company can establish a competitive advantage and achieve differentiation for its product or service in the mind of the customer. Given the role that call centres play in the customer service supply chain, it is no longer adequate to ensure that service is readily accessible, consistent and fulfils a basic level of response to queries from customers. Companies must take the necessary measures to ensure that their call centres are used as a vehicle to positively and consistently meet customers’ needs, while also delivering their desired brand proposition to achieve differentiation in the market, time and time again. A call centre can have a significant impact on customer loyalty, based purely on service quality. Reading a regular survey conducted by Ask Africa published on www.finweek.co.za, which rates companies according to the customer service provided by their call centres, the customer’s experience, impacts on their satisfaction with a brand. Time taken to answer a call, ability to understand and answer a query, knowledge of the product or service, resolution of the query and courtesy of agent are rated as the most important factors that influence callers’ satisfaction. Likewise, hellopeter.com is a service monitor website that publishes customers’ ratings and comments on companies and their poor or

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Likewise, hellopeter.com is a service monitor website that publishes customers’ ratings and comments on companies and their poor or good service, including that of call centres.

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good service, including that of call centres. This direct feedback certainly puts companies in the picture about how customers regard their service. Marketers should play an integral role by working together with the call centre to determine how a company’s brand is communicated to the customer, and also what feedback the customer is providing about the company’s products and services that can assist marketing to respond to the market more appropriately. Irrespective of whether a call centre is captive or outsourced, it should be regarded as an essential barometer that provides marketers with early warning signals about service complaints, which can be tackled directly with customers before they become issues and impact negatively on a company’s reputation.

Marketers can in turn assist agents to understand the profile and demographics of customers, what their interests and needs are and, if data provides it, what drives their response to the company’s brands. Marketers should work with agents to more creatively tap into the opportunities that call centres present to communicate a stronger positioning about and company to the customer during the engagement over the telephone. Call centres are also an essential vehicle to launch a product to market and run promotions for clients, thereby providing a conduit to revenue streams for companies. In this regard, it is vital for marketing and, indeed, sales, to work cohesively with the call centre to monitor both statistics and customer feedback. Marketers are sometimes guilty of not fully briefing call centre managers about a new campaign and providing such information at short notice, impeding call centre managers’ ability to adequately brief their teams on new campaigns and how these relate to the overall market position of the company’s brand. This can be challenging for both marketers and call centres alike, creating challenges for agents to deliver effectively which may affect campaign results. Unfortunately, all too often customer service does not meet customer needs, and therefore the brand that a company may have spent a large amount of marketing budget and time on to establish a certain market position, will fall short of expectations and the company’s credibility can so easily be eroded as a result. As shared in the previous column, a higher level of collaboration between marketing departments and the call centre would build a stronger foundation to add value to customers and help companies become better informed about customer needs and expectations and thereby market their brand more intuitively. 

Nicci Columbine managing director Columbine Communications (011) 880 8137

[email protected]

Marketing at-Retail Workshop 20 May 08 Sandton Sun Hotel, Johannesburg

The workshop will focus on best practices across the full spectrum of marketing options and activities relating to the retail environment Building your Brand in a Retail World Sue Evered, Strategy Planner for Saatchi & Saatchi, will focus on the marketing discipline developed by Saatchi & Saatchi to deliver sustainable results; she will draw from their international experiences and relate this to the SA environment.

How to Select Alternative Media Geoff Whyte, Marketing Director of Cadbury’s, has developed a methodology to select and weight alternative media and to integrate into the brand communication strategy. Geoff will show you examples of some really clever communications.

Enhancing Customer Response through Digital Retail Media Roelf Venter, Marketing Director of Spar, will discuss his experiences with the first comprehensive retail digital network installed in SA. Roelf will report on the results and the lessons learnt to date. His digital partner Mike Bosman, CEO of One Digital Media, will demonstrate some innovative content applications to stimulate shopper response.

Best Practices in Digital Signage Technology

Lucien D’Avice, MD of Barrows, will explain how to transform the store into a measured medium, and based on the latest MARI result, will explain how to use insights for category plans, and how to develop flexible and effective platform strategies to achieve maximum retail results. He will also provide specific examples of successful POS promotions.

The technology underlying digital signage is crucial to the success of an investment into a retail digital network. In an environment populated by a multitude of technology vendors, what are the key evaluation criteria that retail network builders should keep topmost in their mind when selecting a technology? What are the best practices of a sound technology driving a digital retail network? How do retail digital signage business models intertwine with technology models? Chander Nijhon, Head of the Enterprise Division at Apple IMC, Southern Africa will take us through this.

Creating a Buzz

Pick n Pay’s Media One Stop Shop

Xolisa Dyeshana, the Creative Director of Joe Public, and a recent judge at the John Caples Awards in New York, will demonstrate some leading edge promotions which create real buzz and suggest exciting applications in SA.

Craig Lodge, National Trade Marketing Manager, will explain Pick n Pay’s plans to create a one stop media shop, which will facilitate brands in accessing the wide range of in-store media available in Pick n Pay. He will discuss the role of digital media within this context.

The Best of In-store Marketing

Competitions, Prizes and Couponing Nnaniki Malesa, Primedia InStore, will guide you through: • How to gain response from competitions: the prizes and incentives that work, the media that works, how to track • The case for couponing – what works, the ROI justifications • Vouchers, marrying print and mobile.

Mobile Marketing at Retail It’s the next big thing in marketing and Chris Rolfe, CEO of Mobilitrix, will review a range of innovative solutions utilising mobile technology and integrating it with the total POS marketing landscape. Chris will review mobile e-voucher solutions, direct marketing techniques and the value of the mobile channel in the emerging market.

Retail Advertising Best Practices Gill Randall and John Bowles of the Newspaper Advertising Bureau (NAB) will report back from the annual Retail Convention in Chicago about the best uses of retail advertising; they will draw from trends and research in the US market, and will also discuss what works and what doesn’t for retail advertising in the USA and elsewhere.

Pricing A full day workshop R2 650 per delegate (plus VAT) Three or more delegates, R2 250 per delegate (plus VAT).

Enquiries: Daisy Mulenga, [email protected] (011) 234 7008 Sponsorships available: Robyn Richen, [email protected] (011) 234 7008

MOBILE MARKETING

& w e N ive s u l Exc ou! for y

Mobile marketing The cellphone is perhaps the most personal, private gadget around (aside from say, a pacemaker), and it rarely leaves your pocket or your handbag. And yet, it is equipped with a myriad of media and communication technologies, making it a very powerful media device. “The cellphone was one of the first electronic fashion

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Locally, brands must get involved in this now and try it. It’s simple now, but it will become more and more complex. Antonio Petra, Action Ambro’s.

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items, which is what drives the majority of consumers to have the latest and greatest handsets,” says Antonio Petra, digital director, Action Ambro’s. Relative to other countries, local cellphone penetration is high, with experts placing it at around 90 per cent. Eighty20’s Fact a Day reports have indicated that in 2003, 60 per cent of households did not have a cellphone. In

2007 the proportion was 24 per cent (AMPS 2003, 2007). This makes the cellphone the most powerful personal digital medium around, with marketing potential that is astounding. “Cellphone marketing is the next big wave. I think it will be bigger than Internet marketing and that it will have a similar percentage of use as other digital media have in other countries (about five per cent),” says Tim Legg, CEO, Opera Interactive; marketing director Edward Wicks, says that while hit rates on mobile ads remain fairly low, it is high when compared with the online environment, Locally, estimates place the worth of cellphone marketing at anywhere between R1 billion and R2 billion. On a global scale, advertising spend in this sector is set to increase from the current US$1 billion a year to $8 billion in 2011 (emarketer.com, November 2007). “We believe that by 2011, the mobile media market will be at four per cent of ad spend. At this rate, it won’t cannibalise traditional media, but it will still be in the billions,” says Rick Joubert, executive head, Vodacom Mobile. Russell Atkins, managing director, Thumbtribe

MOBILE MARKETING

Mobile Solutions, says that South Africa has just over 40 million subscribers, with an active installed handset base of just over 30 million. According to Chris Rolfe, CEO, and Andrew Cardoza, CTO, Mobilitrix, the number of cellphone users is set to grow by 15 per cent over the next few years. Cellphone marketing offers marketers great reach. “It overcomes many of the hurdles that we are presented with in South Africa, such as lack of fixed address and low Internet penetration,” says Petra. He goes on to say that the cellphone is the ideal tool for reaching the growing middle class, and equipping them with digital connections. And, of course, it delivers access to a youth market that is not lured by traditional media. Why are marketers still hesitant about this medium? Petra has found that many clients still don’t really understand the medium and the plethora of tools and options that it delivers. “I think the greatest hurdle for advertising agencies is that of perception. When I present mobile advertising products and opportunities, I often find that the clients look at them from their own context and judge them as having little or no value. The primary fault with this perception is that they are not the primary users of these products,” he says. There is no blueprint for how cellphone marketing works, says Legg. “As usual, people are scared to move to a platform that is not very well understood and/or ‘tangible’. When you are advertising through a mobile platform, you can’t drive down the highway and see your billboards on the side of the road, so your initial feeling is that the marketing has been ‘lost’. Only when the hits start arriving, is it very visible just how effective it is,” says Philip Belamant, managing director, PBel Mobile Gaming. So what exactly is on offer to marketers? The means of communicating to cellphone has not changed much (SMS, MMS and Bluetooth technology is not new). But cellphones have evolved and are now capable of carrying hyperlinks that take the user directly to a website or portal; or links that allow them to click-to-call or click-to-reply. “As a portable medium the cellphone is an ideal bridge between digital and physical worlds – allowing consumers to receive a brand’s message and then act on impulse at a point of purchase and in a very localised manner,” says Atkins. And then there is the delivery of bar codes and vouchers, which will change retail marketing forever. “Stores still need to update their point-of-sale systems to accept mobile vouchers,

but the technology is there,” says Legg. So a consumer can view an ad, and use their cellphone to access a mobile site or Internet-like WAP portal instantly, where they will find more info about the product or service and even experience branded content; they can then respond to a call to action, by booking a test drive via SMS, for example, or clicking to redeem a discount voucher. Consumers can also register (and give you their details in the process) and opt in to receive additional info or content. “Brands can give value back to consumers through ringtones, wallpapers and more products and services. Fifty per cent of cellphones in the market are enabled for this media. That equates to 15 million phones,” says Legg. Cellphone technology allows for locationbased segmentation, efficient targeting and filtering. “Mobile media has the potential to be highly targeted, not just in terms of demographics, but also in terms of time and location,” says Atkins. After all, as Joubert points out, each cellphone number is unique and allows for individual tracking. Increasingly, the networks and ad services are using this as a

Location-based segmentation Antonio Petra, digital director, Action Ambro’s, argues that location-based segmentation is still under exploited; while there are some products and services which make use of the technology, there are still glitches which need to be ironed out. He points to the Socialite platform in the US, which used location-based segmentation to send its members information about happenings in their surrounds, but did not allow members to select what type of content they received, so they received messages that were irrelevant. Locally, Vodacom has launched The Grid, a location-based blogging service which is free (ad funded). Users upload content to The Grid (video, pics or text), where it is geo-tagged and then shared with a private network of users who are interested in events and info relating to that particular location. “We have launched it to the universities and will be rolling it out nationally,” says Rick Joubert, executive head, Vodacom Mobile.

means to profile their entire subscriber base in order to deliver ever better targeting and segmentation and to track call patterns, for example. “It’s really clever. Other media can’t do this,” says Joubert. He points to other options such as storyboarding (where a series of ads are displayed in a sequence), handset targeting and even context-relevant targeting. Further benefit to marketers is that cellphone marketing allows for time targeting and frequency cutting, which limits the number of times that each subscriber will view an ad

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message. Ensuring that your messages don’t wake your target consumer at 3am is becoming increasingly important, not only from a branding point of view, but also because consumer protection legislation is calling for more responsible communications. “Don’t abuse the ‘always on’ opportunity. Make sure you reach people at the right time and in a way that is relevant to them,” says Atkins.

Please Call Me The local Please Call Me services are powerful tools for reaching a large base of customers. “I don’t think many clients realise how many people the Please Call Messages reach every day. There are 18-20 million messages sent daily across all the networks,” says Antonio Petra, digital director, Action Ambro’s. Recently, an insurance company used this platform, at a cost of R11 000; the campaign raised R139 million worth of leads (all of them valuable because the company had charged a premium reply SMS fee of R2.50, which acted as a filter). Vodacom’s targeting may soon enable marketers to tailor the Please Call Me messages according to demographics.

Instant feedback and measurability mean that marketers will know straight away if their campaign is not hitting the mark. “The cellphone is a real-time response mechanism,” says Joubert. When creating a mobile campaign, entertainment is key – the modern cellphone is designed for this, after all. Consider Vodafone Live! and its huge successes, especially in targeting consumers aged 18 to 34. “In terms of value for money, this site has the best real estate around at the moment,” says Petra. Other entertainment media worth exploring include music, downloadable content, gaming and social networking or messaging. “Several brands have taken advantage of the potential of sponsored music – Coke and Pepsi as two examples, and others have distributed advertising within mobile games,” says Atkins. Marketers should keep in mind that, while the cellphone is a very personal device, it is a social device. “Brands need to find ways to enter this conversation in a relevant and compelling way,” says Atkins. Some brands are sponsoring mobile chat environments or events, for example. “This is tricky, so brands need to be careful to involve themselves in a relevant way – negative word of mouth spreads more quickly than positive,” says Atkins. Consider MXit, which has set a phenomenal standard, simply because it has leveraged the need for a cheap messaging service. The platform boasts around six million registered users, sending about 200 million messages a day. Experts are predicting that other such offerings will enter the market and

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create new communities around new niches. In fact, Facebook announced recently that it has launched Facebook for Mobile Operators, which is designed to make the site’s social networking applications work better on cellphones. Operators are given the set of technical specifications which resolve usage glitches on cellphones. Facebook Mobile (which until now was the platform’s unsupported mobile site) has 6 million users; it is expected that Facebook for Mobile Operators will grow this mobile user base. As yet, there is no advertising on this site, though operators will generate revenues when subscribers access Facebook. Mobile gaming is a lesser exploited option which could fast gain ground. PBel Mobile Gaming launched recently in South Africa. “We have been running for one week, and already have 300 users. We are getting between 700 and 800 transactions each day,” says Belamant. Users register and download an application which allows them to download games, upload their scores and interact with the gaming website where they post messages for fellow gamers. Gaming takes place off line, with prizes for top-scorers. So what’s in it for marketers? “Every time a player connects to our server, it’s an opportunity for us to stream an ad to their phone,” explains Belamant. These can be text ads or full-screen splash ads (which remain on-screen until the game has loaded – the gamer can’t ignore them the way they might ignore an online banner ad). Custom development is also available where marketers can create a form within the application, which allows the gamer to enter their details and, say, click to book a test drive; their enquiry is immediately forwarded directly to the advertiser. Every time the gamer clicks through to a new screen or page, the ad changes. According to Belamant, the trick is to have a short and sweet ad message that won’t be ignored. The system allows for segmentation and targeting, so marketers can be selective about who sees their ads. Reporting is also available, so campaigns can be tracked and measured. Belamant estimates that currently, half of the gamers are females; general gaming trends usually indicate a 70 per cent male bias. “Our core target audience is between the ages of 15 and 23 years,” he says. Brands such as cellphones, electronics and other downloadable content services would do well to get involved in this medium; giveaways tend to incentivise higher click-through rates. Mobile television and video are seeing major growth in the US; eight million mobile users

MOBILE MARKETING

watched video on their cellphones in August 2007, according to a report by M:Metrics; nearly seven million watched viral videos. In Europe, research firm Datamonitor has estimated that in 2012, there will be almost 43 million mobile broadcast subscribers. If we are to follow these trends, we could soon see an explosion of content designed for mobile, especially as carriers and handsets improve, and the quality of viewing attracts greater audiences. Locally, DVB-H trials are still being carried out. According to Astrid Ascar, general manager: Product, DStv Mobile, the local trials have seen a general trend of viewing from around lunchtime, through the afternoon and peaking at night, with a surprisingly large number of mobile TV viewers watching in-home. The bouquet of channels is rotated on an ongoing basis, so there are no trends relating to viewer preferences as yet, but preferences depend on the user’s profile. “Understanding that one has a segmented market is key to designing a content offering,” says Ascar. Some content will perform better if broadcast like traditional TV content (think live sport); while other programming performs better in 30-second format (think sports highlights). Petra believes consumers will go for short, easy to access content, especially news and sport. “For marketers, it’s about finding content that is relevant for the user and associating one’s brand with that content in a way that appears personalised and relevant to a user,” says Ascar. Broadcasters and marketers will need to work together to fit this platform into campaign plans, and then get accurate, valuable reporting metrics; once the value of the platform becomes self-explanatory, marketers can offer clients targeted campaigns that aren’t generated off a rate card, says Ascar. With the current cost of access, analysts believe that uptake of this platform will be slow until access and technology become mainstream and more affordable. What’s also raising concerns is the fact that the cellphone has evolved to deliver TV far faster than legislation anticipated; it remains to be seen what ICASA will do around the issue of whether DVB-H-enabled phones will require TV licences of their own, for example. User-generated content is another tool in the cellphone marketer’s box, and one which we

can expect to see more of in the next few years. “Savvy marketers have moved beyond interruptive communication and now offer consumers more ways to interact with and contribute to the brand experience – allowing consumers to submit their own brand experiences, or even produce advertising on behalf of brands,” says Atkins. Real time push messaging services are another hot tool. iMob has built its business model on this principle. Users register, download the free JAVA application to their cellphones and set up their own profiles, selecting what sort of information they want to receive. Currently, the content selection is around real time events and directory services. Once activated on the user’s phone, the application polls the server every few minutes and pushes the correct profile-matched news to their phone, explains Nick Herbert, business development consultant, Opera Interactive. “The service is also being reviewed for stock quotes, flight schedules and most other time sensitive businesses,” he says. Targeted splash ads appear in between menu info requests, and are interactive. This service is currently in the beta-testing phase, but the iMob team is working to build the user community, and according to Herbert, the 30 000 user mark is expected to be the tipping point for serious advertisers (it currently has around 600 users). “Our aim is to build a loyal mobile community

Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008 I MarketingMix 39

MOBILE MARKETING

Spam and Scam Spam and scams continue to be an issue, with a handful of unscrupulous players out to make a quick buck. According to Tim Legg, CEO, Opera Interactive, legislation such as the Consumer Affairs Act are making it more difficult for marketers to charge people for entry into competitions. “Some people will use SMS to enter competitions to make money, sometimes with no prizes at all. My advice to any client who wants to use this mechanism is to use it intelligently. It must be totally transparent,” says Antonio Petra, digital director, Action Ambro’s. Advertisers who try to trick consumers into divulging their personal info or grab these details from return communications will be rejected, says Andrew Cardoza, CTO, Mobilitrix. And while the Electronic Communications Act and the WASPA guidelines are in place, these are not exhaustive; the industry must self-police, says Petra. Quite simply, this technology is developing so rapidly that legislation just cannot keep up.

and then target users according to their age, location, gender and content interest levels, with useful advertising messages. Adverts will focus around coupons, loyalty and special discount options,” he says. The platform will also benefit from the viral aspect (users can refer friends or pass on the alerts via email forwarding. Ad metrics are easily tracked and it is hoped that the service will add Google AdSense for Mobile Text Ads locally soon (the search engine giant announced in September 2007 that it had made AdSense for Mobile available, created specifically for mobile browsers). “We suspect that sport will be the biggest driver for downloads in 2008,” says Herbert. It is expected that advertisers will pay between R5 000 and R50 000 for advertising on the platform, depending on the size of the user base, plus other channel sponsorship options.

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Savvy marketers have moved beyond interruptive communication and now offer consumers more ways to interact with and contribute to the brand experience – allowing consumers to submit their own brand experiences, or even produce advertising on behalf of brands. Russell Atkins, Thumbtribe Mobile Solutions

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40 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008

“It will be a CPM model until the community grows to 30 000 USERS and then we can offer click-model pricing,” says Herbert. Cellphone marketing is highly effective as part of an integrated campaign, where it can really take ATL and BTL further. “If your SMS campaign is a stand alone campaign, it must be brilliant. Via cellphone, you have a very short time in which to engage the consumer with your marketing message,” says Petra. Also, remember that this environment is all about impulse behaviour and instant gratification, says Atkins. Cellphone marketing is set to grow exponentially this year, not only in South Africa, but across the African continent (where it is estimated mobile networks will be extended, thanks to investments of around US$50 billion). “Some brands are already on board and are doing amazing things,” says Joubert. “All are coming back after doing a first, experimental campaign with bigger and bigger budgets, so we know it’s working.” Much of Vodacom’s inventory is sold out, which is a good sign that cellphone marketing is taking off. The future of cellphone marketing will see greater use of the various platforms and products, as brands seek to snuggle up with the consumer on their terms. Petra looks ahead to the third phase of mobile marketing, in which free content and services will be delivered to consumers in exchange for ad views. Blyk, an ad funded mobile operator in Europe, is one much publicised example of this model, which offers users free airtime minutes each month, on condition that the user views a certain number of advertising messages. Petra believes this model will find firm support locally, where some markets don’t have the money to buy airtime. He also believes that, moving forward, we can expect increased focus on topics that include restricting marketing to children via cellphones (asking for an ID number, for example, in the registration process) as well as more refined permission-based campaigns, especially as consumers become more aware of their right to privacy and protection. “Response rates for untargeted push campaigns are dismal, and they are potentially damaging from a brand reputation perspective,” says Atkins. Marketers can no longer afford to shuffle their feet on this one – the time to learn and to implement cellphone campaigns is now. “Locally, brands must get involved in this now and try it. It’s simple now, but it will become more and more complex,” says Petra. 

EXPERT OPINION by marc spriestersbach

A new era for

bell ringing? There was a time when shop owners would stand outside their stores and ring a bell to announce that they had special wares on offer. If you go downtown to where real trading still occurs, you will find similar scenes even now. Except that the bell ringers have been replaced by loud ghetto blasters and ’town criers‘ soliciting potential customers to visit their store. Crude perhaps, but no doubt effective. Similarly, in the early days of marketing it was accepted that the more you rang the bell at the right times, the more you could command desire and buying behaviour through the brand alone – and it was through this ’advertising‘ that you could build brand success. This gave you control over your audience. That, however, was in an era when traditional media choices seemed to have reached a plateau. For some time there were few real alternatives to the Big Four: print, outdoor, radio and television. Sure, the localisation of media (the local paper, regional radio and so on) allowed us to target consumers more precisely. But this seemed to be the limit in reaching the consumer closer to home, while for those who could afford it (the mass market) a national brand campaign was still the weapon of choice for mass exposure. In short, it was a lot easier to reach consumers who reacted to this heavyweight communications approach by buying the most heavily advertised products and services. Simple, really. So we were ill prepared, to say the least, in anticipating the full effect of the explosion of new media options on consumers and their need for information. We responded by delivering even more messages across ever more media to even more audiences, creating a deafening cacophony of marketing hype. Was this the beginning of the end of mass marketing? In part, yes. This emerging media is shattering behaviourist marketing tenets and proving that businesses are not in control of the strings

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Interactivity has changed the nature of marketing and marketers must now reach beyond their traditional roles of raising awareness.

”

anymore – they cannot command desire or response. Customers now have access to an unprecedented amount of information and can communicate from any place, any time they choose. As media fragments, so does the ’mass‘ in mass marketing. Having said that, there is a caution that this may be a First World phenomenon which we will have to keep an eye on as it is rushing ahead at an astounding pace. I say this as currently there are around four million Internet users (so I’m told) and the growth seems relatively slow, but it is quite remarkable when you consider the growth in mobile telephony! So we may continue to need some mass market bell ringing for some time, as it is still the most accessible form of communication to most of our market. The window that emerging media has opened for us communicators (talking to those who have access to new media), reveals a personal experience economy in which customers are in control and where brands are accepted on the basis of a personal experience. So no matter what we tell them through bell ringing we have to make the brand experience a more rewarding and meaningful one to gain loyalty – in essence more experiential and even tactile. Interactivity has changed the nature of marketing and marketers must now reach beyond their traditional roles of raising awareness. They must drive traffic into an extended world of intimate interaction in sales and customer relations. This means that the advent of ’permission‘ marketing will become as important in some dialogues as general bell ringing in others. 

Marc Spriestersbach managing director Publicis Johannesburg (011) 519 1800

[email protected]

Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008 I MarketingMix 41

COMMUNITY MEDIA

Community media still tops Community media has been experiencing explosive growth, with more and more advertisers clambering to get on board. The question is, will this growth continue? And how will these media cope with the challenges imposed by the economic downturn?

Newspapers: John Bowles, joint MD, Newspaper Advertising Bureau (NAB) believes that we will see more community newspapers launched this year. “The role local media plays in the community, its acceptance and anticipation will maintain and grow at reader level, and advertisers should continue to support and grow their revenues,” he says. But he adds that the aggressive growth of titles will slow. Chantel Erfort, acting editor, Cape Community Newspapers, agrees: “Although figures show that newspaper readership in developing nations – South Africa included – is increasing, I suspect the growth in community

newspapers will level out this year as media houses seek to consolidate the ground they’ve gained, rather than launch new titles.” Yet the quest for consolidation is not the only factor that is impacting on these media. Thanks to the economic pressures imposed by the new credit act, steep interest rates and inflation, publishers expect 2008 to be a tough year for advertising. “Currently, the economic scene is not wonderful. Stats SA reports a slowdown in retail sales, the reserve bank continues to increase interest rates, there are inflationary pressures that are out of the hands of South African businesses and consumers, and a credit act that protects consumers but also limits the number of potential customers,” says Bowles. While the picture might be grey for regional or national media, community media seems to have what it takes to rise above these issues. “Local newspapers are in a tremendous position because the fundamentals are right,” says Bowles.

Community newspaper readership top 10 (ABC Jul-Sept 2007) Newspaper

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Net distribution

COMMUNITY MEDIA

He points out that community papers and magazines allow large and small advertisers to put their hooks out into the areas where people have access to their stores, products or services. “For small businesses, the local newspaper is ideal. It has no advertising wastage as it is delivered to their immediate catchment area and, of course, it’s affordable because they don’t have to use a national or regional media type that extends way beyond the borders of their operations,” says Bowles. Meanwhile, Erfort says that the knock and-drop model used by community media is in line with consumer needs. “New research shows that readers are increasingly reluctant to ‘go and get news’. They want their news to come to them.” Moving forward, she warns, the community titles will need to be on their guard: “With so many media competing for audience attention, the successful community titles will be those that remember they cannot be everything to everyone.” She believes that the increased competition among this media will see the newspapers constantly seeking ways to improve their look and feel as well as their content mix. Likewise, she says, we should expect a focus on growing youth readership (a trend reflected globally). Where community newspapers will see growth and development is in niche communities, such as the gay market (Independent Newspapers launched lifestyle and entertainment newspaper the Pink Tongue, last year in Cape Town) – and among the burgeoning township and rural areas (where Bowles says the NAB titles are seeing great growth). Look out for the expansion of these media online and on mobile; while it may be early days, publishers are already making plans in these spaces. “To not have an online or mobile presence, is to not be part of the 21st century,” says Erfort. “At the same time, we have to be aware of the rapidly changing technological trends, and be sure to choose our online/mobile vehicle very carefully to ensure sustainability and effective integration with the product that brings in the real revenue – the printed newspaper.” After all, community titles will be under great pressure to provide content free of charge.

Magazines The golden children of community media, magazines such as getit and MyWeek will continue to grow, with publishers emphasising the power of these glossy titles. “In many cases, when a local personality is put on the cover they

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Community magazine readership (ABC Jul-Sept 2007) getit zone

MyWeek zone

Net distribution

Net distribution

COMMUNITY MEDIA

become overnight celebrities,” says Bowles. He adds that because the mags include locally relevant content, readership is growing and attracting advertising. “I think we would be naïve to think that the current state of our macroeconomic environment is not going to impact us. It remains to be seen how this will balance out and how many brands will be left standing at the end of all this,” says Amanda Brinkmann, operations manager, MyWeek. She believes that local retailers will continue to be a cornerstone of their revenue stream. “This category will grow slowly but steadily over the next three to five years. I don’t believe that we’ll see a proliferation of titles in the short term, but rather an increase in the size of zones and resultant readership base,” says Brinkmann. She also points to online social communities as a natural extension of the mags; these will provide new revenue streams and readership growth. While readership figures and demographics are yet to be researched, feedback is positive, especially for those brands that are trying to target women: “From our feedback at getit, there tends to be a skew toward females, but only slightly,” says Bowles. MyWeek is represented in 26 zones across the country and has a print order of 650 000; these are delivered to LSM 8-10 households twice a month. Two new zones will be added by end March, in Rustenburg and Nelspruit/White River; viability studies will determine which two to four zones will be added in the next fiscal year. Brinkmann says that ad support is showing steady growth month on month. “Bloemfontein is our most successful zone in terms of volume of advertising growth and resultant growth in the size of the magazine. Bloemfontein runs 48 pages on average and often grows to 64 pages,” says Brinkmann. Specific quantitative and qualitative research results will be ready for release in April 2008. www.myweek.co.za is due to undergo a bit of a makeover in the next few months, and according to Brinkmann, certain areas of the website will be monetised, and will provide added value for advertisers. CSI programmes will also be initiated via the site.

TV Soweto TV launched last year under ICASA licence and has not looked back. “Viewer response has been positive,” says the station’s advertising sales manager, Deon Botha. “Viewers from as far afield as KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo Province and the Eastern Cape have been calling in.” DStv viewers can catch Soweto

Community radio listening top 10 (SAARF RAMS, Feb 2007 and 2008) Station

Average day Feb 07 (‘000)

Feb 08 (‘000)

Community radio listening top 10 (SAARF RAMS, Feb 2007 and 2008) Station

TV on channel 360, while Soweto residents are able to tune in via UHF on a normal terrestrial signal. “So far the economic situation has not affected advertising on Soweto TV; in fact the rates are so value packed we may in fact see advertisers spend more money on an innovative channel like Soweto TV,” says Botha. Audience and viewership research will be carried out by Target Group Index and will be available from July 2008, says Botha. Meanwhile, advertisers can expect to pay R4 660 for a 30-second spot until the rate cards are reviewed and new ones published. “The content evolves on a daily basis and is presently undergoing a facelift,” says Botha. He adds that the programmes that have proved most popular will be extended, while newer, shorter programmes will be added. Soweto TV is working on improving its online offering (www.sowetotv.org) and will soon offer more detailed station and programming info. “The online component of Soweto TV is under development and will offer viewers who have online access a more informative view into the world of Soweto TV,” says Botha.

Past 7 days

Feb 07 (‘000)

Feb 07 (‘000)

Radio According to Franklin Huizies, chief executive officer, National Community Radio Forum (NCRF), there are about 120 licensed community stations locally. “Over the past decade, the community radio sector has proven itself able to maintain and grow its audiences. The reason for this is that they cater for the information needs of local communities through various means of interactive and creative programming ideas,” he says. As for the impact of economic pressures, Huizies added that the stations are seeing the impact of growing operational expenditures. There are 6.2 million community radio listeners, which means that one in five people listens to community radio; this is 20 per cent of the total radio audience. “The profile of these listeners is predominantly in the middle and upper LSM ranges,” says Huizies. He adds that the NCRF aims to build the image of the sector through capacitybuilding projects and engagements with strategic partners. 

Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008 I MarketingMix 45

by elan lohmann EXPERT OPINION

The new net: make online advertising work for you Against positive growth in South Africa’s online universe – having grown from 1.8 million in 2005 to 4.6 million unique users in 2007only 1.2 per cent of total media spend remains devoted to online, according to Nielsen Adex; a long way from the nine per cent in the US. It’s time for savvy South African marketers to recognise that the Internet has grown up and there are a number of opportunities for them in this space.

powerful tool. This area will become more interesting to advertisers because the word-of-mouth value of people sharing a marketing message can be exponential. Bear in mind though that this tactic is reserved for a small niche of ads or offers that have real utility or value to the target market.

Now that your interest in online is piqued, here are some quick tips:

Cut through the noise Admittedly, the Internet does not (yet) have the reach and frequency of TV or radio, but there are numerous opportunities to win market share. Fortunately, the basics of marketing still apply when approaching online, starting with asking the right questions and being able to measure success. For example:  Can you find the audience profile you are looking for?  Can you target it easily?  Can you convey your message effectively? (And will they respond?)  Can you easily explain the success or failure and whether you achieved your objectives? Fundamentally, online should not be an afterthought or add-on to a campaign. It should be integrated from the outset to deliver results. Here are some of the basics to get you started.

Building blocks of online advertising Display advertising (aka banner ads) This grouping has evolved dramatically. In years past, banners were too small and an odd shape to offer compelling ad creative. Today, South African sites are starting to adopt bigger and bolder placements to the extent that online space is now something akin to a dynamic billboard. In today’s Internet environment, banner ads are no longer static boxes of online real estate. They can be overlaid on a page and even fly around a user’s screen. Beyond this, they can also include rich media like video. In fact, as a result of responses and yields higher than television, online video in the US now commands big spend. (This year it is expected to double from $775 million in 2007 to $1.3

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billion, according to PWC.) Although we have a ways to go before offering a critical mass of video ad inventory in South Africa, some small video sharing sites like Myvideo.co.za, Zoopy.com and http://play.24.com are useful.

Search advertising Search advertising can be very effective because it is contextual. This basically involves variations on the concept of Google ads which dominate globally. The positive aspects are that it is cost-effective because you only pay for the clicks you receive, thereby increasing ROI. I would recommend outsourcing this capability because optimisation plays a big role and just buying some keywords through a self-service campaign is a waste of time.

Online demands as much good creative and planning as any medium. It needs to be scripted, tested and scrutinised in the same way as any other ad. Forget about clicks. Yes, the click ratio is interesting to look at but it is a one-dimensional way to evaluate campaigns. Many research studies in the US and UK clearly show that online is very strong in complementing real-world campaigns in areas such as brand awareness, message association, brand favourability and purchase decisions. Don’t spread bet. Many planners take budget and spread it among a bunch of publishers as a method of planning. Nielsen’s Market Intelligence offers a planning tool that allows you to profile demographically in real-time and conduct de-duplication reports to understand where your target lies. Contact the Online Publishers Association (OPA) to find out about access to this data – www.opa.org.za

How to be GREAT in 2008:  



Innovative advertising This is a broad category, examples include social networking, blogs, RSS feeds, Wikis and podcasts. I would not suggest venturing here until you have a solid track record in the previous two pillars which are more established and easier to evaluate. What is most interesting about this genre is the interactivity and the potential to build and reinforce relationships. Pioneered by MySpace, the notion of befriending a brand online is a



Spend more on display and search advertising. Include online as much as possible in ALL campaigns that are relevant to LSM 7-10 where online is strong. Educate yourself. Read everything you can about online, but always bring data and trends back to a local context. Take ownership and develop your internal online marketing IP as part of a long-term strategy. 

Elan Lohmann general manager: social networking and media 24.com (021) 468 8247

[email protected]

2nd Interactive Marketing Summit 18 March 08 Sandton Sun Hotel, Johannesburg

Digital marketing is hot, innovation is constant and to optimise response it is very important to appreciate current marketing best practices. The speakers understand the South African market; they are at the leading edge, working with major corporates frequently, and are response focused.

Digital Media Perspective Andrea Mitchell, MD of DigiVOX, a specialist digital marketing company will discuss how marketers should evaluate and select the appropriate components of the digital media mix. She will also discuss how digital media will evolve in 2008 and give an appraisal of the research data available and most importantly, the metrics that really matter.

How BMW Compiled and Executed their Digital Marketing Plan Scott Gray, Interactive Marketing Manager, BMW, will explain the objectives of the BMW digitial marketing plan, the reasons for selecting and weighting the mix, as well as the creative approach and the results achieved.

Online Media Elan Lohmann, head of Social Networking/Media Services at 24.Com, will guide you through optimising online marketing spend best practices, covering:  Marketing 2.0  Online media selection  Smart ways to boost online response/ Going viral in the digital space  Social networking/social media/Facebook widgets etc  How to initiate conversations with your market, build relationships and create trust.

Mobile as a Medium Rick Joubert, Executive Head for Vodacom (also responsible for the recently launched Vodacom Mobile Advertising service) will discuss:  Why Mobile is not merely sub-set of “digital” media and could be the ultimate interactive medium.  Mobile as a medium has arrived and is no longer just a great idea.

The Case for Integrated Digital Marketing Roelof Van Wyk and his company, TRIGGER (winner of numerous awards) are on the global edge of Integrated Digital Marketing. He will state the case for integrating digital media with the traditional response methods, but more importantly to stimulate response, justify the ROI, and add some zing to the traditional media landscape.

Web 2.0 Clever Tricks The words Web 2.0, social networking, Facebook, Wiki’s and blogospheres are all on everyone’s lips. What are all these things good for? What are they not good for? What can company’s do with Facebook? How can the power of Web 2.0 be translated into real business benefits? How do marketers use these things and how is it changing the marketing realm. Jonathan Hall, CEO of The Virtual Works, will discuss these issues.

Pricing A morning workshop R1 950 per delegate Three or more R1 750 per delegate (plus VAT) Enquiries: Daisy Mulenga, [email protected] (011) 234 7008 Sponsorship opportunities available, contact Robyn [email protected] (011) 234 7008

by nici stathacopoulos EXPERT OPINION

To shed the load This article is not about the lack of power, we know all of that. It’s a real business look at the service provision around alternatives and the way we can capitalise on relationship building.

Of course the hot topic is load shedding and the lack of power. And by the time this article is published, trust me it will still be the conversation topic of the day! The amazing thing about South Africans is just how adaptable we are. (Pieter Dirk Uys in 19-something Adapt or Die!) We are done with raging and now we are getting on with living. Power outages, whether planned or unexpected, are here to stay. So let’s get practical and see who can offer true relationship marketing over the next few years, so they can build a loyal customer base. I am dining out on all the e-mails, texts, cartoons, mpegs, jpegs etc that are circulating; even our international friends are on the bandwagon and sending us their laughs.

Generating the ‘genny’ and powering the sun People are rushing out to buy generators. The cost is exorbitant, not to mention the cost of fuel, and the noise is just awful, impacting on our environment. Other colleagues, friends and neighbours are looking into solar heating, which is, of course, a far better long-term solution for us all. Many of us are waiting patiently for rechargeable lamps and have installed back-up batteries on our alarms and gates. Phone around for suppliers and you are likely to be kept on hold for at least 20 minutes; call backs don’t happen; responses are ‘e-mail me and I will get back to you in five days’ time – if you are lucky!’ So if you can’t start one of these relationships with your customers on a good footing, then you will create the prisoner relationship (and put the airline miles programmes to shame). Here’s the ABC to CRM for all those involved in these businesses.

50 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008

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Z. Zealous, but not overzealous; treat your customers warmly; pursue their needs earnestly and arduously!

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A. Acknowledge all calls, e-mails and messages within 24 hours B. Behave honestly with your delivery and service terms  Over promise and you will lose out in the long term  Surprise and delight your potential and existing customers at all times C. Connecting with your new customers  Consolidate the data you have on them; start the moment they call you  Use as many channels as possible  Call centres (employ an extra person to operate the phones)  E-mail  Mobile messaging  Mail  Fax D. Data – gathering as much on your new customers as possible  You don’t need a large amount of technology to start your database, Excel and Access will do very nicely  Information is the foundation of successful and lasting customer relationships. It drives superior insight, which becomes the platform for building competitive advantage and results.  Basic demographic information, including mobile number and email address  Size of household or business  Limited but useful lifestyle information E. Electronic communication is so easy  Set up basic e-mail templates and send out monthly updates, handy hints (maintenance of the generator, how to maximise the use of your solar panels etc) F. Following up after the sale  Ensure your new customers are satisfied  When the hype dies down, your existing

EXPERT OPINION

customers will prove to be far more profitable than advertising for new customers G. Generators are here to stay so work with your customers so they understand how they operate, what the fuel issues could be and how to maintain the generator H. Happy customers; happy businesses; happy providers all make for very happy South Africans! I. Insist on signed quotations with full details to ensure you don’t get caught with a large debt of installation and sales  As a business you are entitled to be paid timeously and to earn a profit J. Jacklights are a quick solution for interim light; if you are a retailer selling them, don’t promise to call customers back when they are in stock if you don’t intend doing so K. Keep up to date with technology and what you can provide to your customers at all times  If you fall behind, the newcomer in your market will simply overtake you and you will start losing customers L. Lighting is a way of life without which many people start to suffer psychologically; potential customers may appear angry with you for little reason; they are probably suffering from fear of darkness and fear of crime, and if they feel they don’t get instant gratification from you, may turn their anger towards you; be patient and kind, and your potential customers will turn into your best activist M. Money is to be made off consumers who are making a grudge purchase – security companies in South Africa are typical of this; you are entitled to make a profit, but don’t rip people off. N. New ways of life is always hard to adapt to, but South Africans do adapt O. Offer options to potential customers  Assess their real needs, their household or business size  Don’t up sell just for the sake of it and likewise, don’t give them something that will be redundant in a few months P. Privacy laws regarding your customers’ data is imperative  Ensure they agree to you communicating with them and that they opt in to as many options as possible  Mail  E-mail  Mobile  Telephone Q. Quella è vita – that’s Italian for ‘that’s life’. The shortage of Eskom power is here to stay, so accept it and do your best for your customers at all times

R. Remember the customer is king at all times S. Service. Service. Service  If you can’t service all your customers properly than get out of the business now! T. Take advantage of the benefits of building a loyal relationship  Customers have emotional equity in your brand  Your brand is first choice  They look to you to meet their needs and solve their problems  They ask you for guidance  They discuss your offering not your price  They positively suggest how you can improve  They want you to succeed  The emotional equity translates into positive buying behaviour

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Power outages, whether planned or unexpected, are here to stay. So let’s get practical and see who can offer true relationship marketing over the next few years, so they can build a loyal customer base.

U. Understanding your customers’ needs by taking a few extra minutes to listen to them will save you all time and money in the long run! V. Viral marketing is your best friend  Use your existing customers to tell their friends about you; ask them for introductions in the neighbourhood, their office building etc W. Word of mouth can also be your worst enemy  One happy customer tells 10 people, one unhappy customer tells 100 people and more X. X-ray; you can’t do this without power; so ensure medical practitioners receive your immediate attention; (by the way, nor can you Xerox). Y. Yellow Pages, and all other places you can list your services  Make sure potential customers can find you with ease; if you don’t, your competitors will be first in the market Z. Zealous, but not overzealous; treat your customers warmly; pursue their needs earnestly and arduously! 

”

Nici Stathacopoulos managing partner proximity#ttp (011) 447 7093 [email protected]

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WORD OF MOUTH

Word of mouth marketing report back The Word of Mouth Marketing workshop held in November2007, brought together local and international gurus to help marketers get a grip on word of mouth marketing. Speakers included Steve Barton, one of the founding members of the Word of Mouth Institute in the UK; Hendrik van Vuuren, director of Millward Brown SA; Jason Stewart, brand manager, Instant Seed Division, Instant Grass; Mike Stopforth, CEO, Cerebra; Neil Higgs, director, TNS Research Surveys; and Alan Kent, head of technology at Saatchi & Saatchi. Media fragmentation and mistrust of traditional marketing messages sees consumers turning to friends and peers for information about brands. Barton refers to various research figures which show that consumers today trust advertising and company marketing less, and their friends more, when it comes to seeking out advice on new product purchases. The most successful brands in the future will be those that create powerful, positive word of mouth messages today, and then work to manage this in the right way. Kent points to campaigns such as the Lynx Jet (Axe Jet locally), the MTV Game Killers and the Diesel Heidies campaigns as examples of brand activities that really win with consumers.

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The Diesel Heidies campaign, for the launch of the new underwear range, exploited reality online. Two women filmed, photographed and blogged for five days about their adventures and exploits in a hotel room, where they were hiding out after having stolen the new range of Diesel underwear. The website received millions of hits, with fans sending in their own videos, pics and messages. This brand now has major buzz and talkability, and Diesel has achieved even more cult status as a result. The youth is a particularly word of mouth savvy market. Stewart advises marketers to understand the youth mindset as highly suspicious of marketing messages. “They don’t care about you or your brand. You need to add value directly to them,” he says. The youth tribe is a source of opinion, influence and identity for youth. To influence the youth, you need to influence the tribe leaders. “Traditional ads create awareness, but word of mouth marketing adds credibility,” he says. He outlines the principles of word-of-mouth marketing:  It’s fluid and it’s happening everywhere  People love the unofficial story  The story needs to be sticky; it needs to have conversational currency, if it is to have value

Everybody is an influencer, but you need to find those of greatest influence (ie whoever is relevant and credible to your market)  You have to have a good product because this is where it starts and ends. You also have to treat every person who engages with your brand like a VIP. Provide people with your product and let them experience it  Trust is integral (traditional advertising carries a sense of manipulation).  The right snowflakes become avalanches; you need to have the right people, in the right places, with the right messages. People are always after social knowledge. They want to know about a new product or trend before their peers – leverage this. Word of mouth marketing is perhaps most prolific online, where blogs, vlogs and user reviews have allowed the average consumer to share their opinions and experiences with the world. Stopforth explains that brands that ignore the conversations that people are having about them are going to lose out. It is becoming imperative for brands to take note of these conversations and add their voice to them. “The biggest companies still believe that they cannot interface with customers as partners,” says Stopforth. And yet blogs are allowing this to 

WORD OF MOUTH

happen, with sometimes incredible results for the brands that do it right. He usually suggests to companies who have never ventured into the blogosphere to initiate and manage online reputation management programmes instead of using blogs, because these can become difficult to manage. Reputation management allows a company or brand to respond timeously and appropriately to any mention by consumers, thereby creating a more honest and open conversation. And if consumers are criticising your brand, perhaps it’s time to listen and make the changes they are asking for. He outlines a few important guidelines:  Be authentic  Have content with a core and augment what you are doing ATL with your website, blogs etc  You need to win consumers’ trust  Understand the network  When you are mentioned online, respond And listen to what users are saying  Give your users power (Dell computers, for example, has created Ideastorms, which see consumers making new product innovation suggestions Kent says consumers tell the most powerful stories about brands. “Increasingly, a product’s quality and what a brand stands for are determined by Google,” he says. Run a search on your favourite brands, and you’re likely to find blogs and customer reviews too, and these will influence how you think about these brands. The zone of mediocrity, where consumers talk neither good nor bad about your brand, is a bad place to be. “It’s important to produce something that pulls people together and gives them something to do,” says Kent. He points to the Nike+ products, which sell running as a fun, digitally enhanced sport. “Consumers are beginning to own brands and participate in their creation. Brands need to learn to let go, and let this happen,” he says. Van Vuuren says word of mouth is determined by three factors: the relevance and appropriateness to the recipient; how the onward communication reflects on the sender (because, as Barton puts it, you will only recommend a product if you’re prepared to put your reputation on the line for it); and the trust placed in it (it should be predictable, fair, reliable and connected). Word of mouth can take place online and offline (offline, it can take place in social situations, and Van Vuuren points to the stokvel as one such situation). “You must exceed expectations, if you expect people to talk about

you,” says Van Vuuren. Brands that are talked about and that change trends have buzz. Nappies have the highest spontaneous talkability, for example, simply because mothers will share all kinds of conversations around them without being prompted to do so. “A true advocate has no affiliation to the brand, but endorses it out of its own right,” says Van Vuuren. Positive word of mouth is critical to brand success. It can be influenced by the marketer. But the most powerful tool is consistently exceeding customer expectations.

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Brands should work with other media to create a trend. Also, ethical codes are important because consumers want brands to have an honest relationship with them. Steve Barton, Word of Mouth Institute, UK

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Barton emphasises that brands must follow up on their word-of-mouth campaigns, delivering reporting, feedback, appreciation and support. They must observe the conversations taking place around them, and identify those that most often lead to a discussion about the product category. They must observe the content that is most often discussed and traded, and has the greatest influence. “One-on-one interviews and small group discussions will allow for this, but be careful. Cynical, advice-based stories win the advocate social points, so be sure to create the right context for these discussions,” says Barton. He urges brands to make it easier for consumers to find them and to use platforms, such as online, to distribute information that will be used in conversations. “Keep in mind that where they receive this info impacts how they will use it. Distribute as much info as possible online and make it easy to pass on,” he says. Brands should work with other media to create a trend. Also, ethical codes are important because consumers want brands to have an honest relationship with them. How to create successful word of mouth marketing? Barton says that brands should identify and target the right people; the right moment or slipstream to take advantage of; deliver the right nuggets and provide the interactive tools. “It’s about being relevant, and working with your audience as opposed to dumping on it. Isn’t this exciting?” 

Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008 I MarketingMix 53

by graeme taylor MARKETING AT RETAIL

Understanding the shopper:

mission critical Shopping behaviour has long been studied as a way to increase off take at point of sale – or at least to clinch the sale to the consumer, providing the final link in the value chain. Without that sale the whole effort of manufacture, advertising, selling, warehousing, listing, distribution, merchandising, display and pricing is worth absolutely zero. If Mrs Jones chooses not to buy your brand, all the effort has been wasted. So how do you maximise the impact and rate of sale of your brand at point of sale? We have done the obvious stuff of distribution, display, depth of stock, promotions, price-offs – and so have all the competitors. We are seeing a lot more great displays (not just good ones) so the investment in design is paying off. But what else can we do differently at the point of sale to make the ultimate ‘moment of truth’ count? In a word – understand your shopper. Become ‘shopper-centric’.

Shopper-centric Putting the shopper at the centre point means understanding their needs, language and point of view. Shoppers are now making lots of small trips instead of fewer, bigger trips with some people making more than 40 shopping trips in a month. This does not mean that shoppers have suddenly fallen in love with shopping – on the contrary, they begrudge the time it takes but they are trying to be more efficient. Shoppers are balancing their time against how efficiently they can acquire the brands and products they need. To do this they shop more stores, and make more visits than ever before. They understand the value of their time – which is sometimes worth more than saving a few rands on a commodity and then needing a forklift to get their trolley to their car. They want convenience and efficiency from the stores they visit.

How can I save time? They are looking for a new dimension: ‘How can I save time?’ They want solutions. They want to get in and out quickly, and not spend their time looking around, bumping into people, merchandisers and boxes. They want to go to it, find it, get it and get out.

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Retailing has not changed as rapidly as shopping habits have changed in the new millennium. But, we are not so much behind the trend as simply not capitalising on the opportunities that are being presented to optimise our business.

Shopping mission Each time shoppers are prompted to go on a shopping trip, a different consumption occasion or different need motivates the trip. So their whole approach to the shopping trip changes; their whole behaviour and the way they shop. The strategic role of a category may be destination, routine, convenience or seasonal, but all of that can change for a particular shopping trip. A destination category could become routine or convenience. What we need to know is how the strategic category role changes and when. This is where shopping mission plays a role. The shopping mission is Mission Critical.

Types of shopping missions What are the types of shopping missions, and how does the shopper change their behaviour?

Through extensive qualitative and quantitative research we have idendified 12 basic types of shopping mission divided into planned and unplanned, with the percentage of trips shown on the left. You cannot expect to sell your brand every time a shopper comes into the store. Sometimes they just ‘drop in’ for an emergency item that they need, at other times they come in and out quite quickly to buy specific daily fresh produce or meal requirements. Other times they will bring both of their credit cards and fill two trolleys. Some people treat shopping like the plague and will tell you that shopping is their worst.

Store repertoires Store density has added to the repertoire of stores shoppers visit. There are supermarkets and hypermarkets just about everywhere, with a national network of Spar and KwikSpar, Woolworths Food, and hundreds of petrol station convenience stores staying open till late or 24/7. Shoppers are now spoiled for choice. In my area, looking within a 3km radius, I have a hypermarket, Spar, Engen (with a

MARKETING AT RETAIL

Woolworths section), Shell Select, Caltex, two Woolworths Food stores, five takeaways, three bottle stores and a cafe. So to compete and create an efficient consumer response we need to understand which missions are made to which stores.

Five action points

Category mission is critical



If mission for the store is critical then mission for the category and brand is even more critical. People divide their shopping into different missions, by breaking up the task into a lot of smaller missions and making it easier. Pick up the monthly items at the hyper where you get a good price, then buy the bulk items from Spar or a supermarket with close parking. Drinks and snacks are bought at any time on any number of missions. To get into the basket, an understanding of the Shopper Mission is critical. The obvious solution is to expose your category in as many contact points in the store as possible. This is only partly true. Too much clutter begins to degrade the shopping experience with more of a ’bazaar effect‘. If all categories were merchandised everywhere, the store organisation and layout would become unclear and confusing to the shopper. The trend is starting to move in the opposite direction, to assist and facilitate decision-making at the point of exposure. The more logical (as defined by the shopper, not the store owner) the layout is, the easier shoppers can find things – associated things – and then buy them.

Here are five things that you can do to ensure that you make the most of the shopping mission:  

Merchandise and promote according to the time of day, week and month that missions for your category and brand are likely to occur. Think about which other missions your brand or category could become a part

shopper feels. Help them spend less time at the shelf. Make it easy for them to buy your brand and feel good at the same time. How can you make the experience of shopping your category more of a pleasure? Like providing category solutions – quick meals, all related ingredients in one place; easy to find and easy to combine into a meal solution.

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Getting into the basket will in future depend more on understanding the shopper than just having a well-organised category display. It will be shopper centric by focusing on what the shopper feels and needs for each mission – it will be mission critical.





of and find its way into the basket. This is about helping shoppers to find a total solution. How would your category most logically be laid out? Not just in terms of a planogram – but in terms of the decision hierarchy of the shopper. What would be most helpful to the shopper? What would save decision time? How can you make the category look better and work better? Great displays. Make it experiential, which is about how the

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Getting into the basket will in future depend more on understanding the shopper than just having a well-organised category display. It will be shopper centric by focusing on what the shopper feels and needs for each mission– it will be mission critical. 

Graeme Taylor managing director GlobalEdge Marketing Consultants (011) 564 8168 [email protected]

Vol 26 No. 1/2 I 2008 I MarketingMix 55

by kathleen rice LAW MIX

Undersea

Cable Access Undersea cable investment in South Africa appears to be on ice, with no early thaw in sight. Foreign investors continue to wait anxiously for the Minister of Communications to clarify local ownership requirements in respect of undersea cables. This is because, in order to land a cable on South African shores, an individual electronic communications licence will be required. Such a licence is only granted pursuant to an invitation to apply, which must in turn follow a policy directive from the Minister. What concerns investors is confusion over the policy stance being taken on undersea cable ownership, and hence eligibility for individual electronic communications licences. The Minister has made a number of statements in the media to the effect that any new cable must be majority South African and/or African owned. Unfortunately, she has omitted to say whether local ownership would be limited to the South African portion of a cable system, or extend across the entire network. The promised guidelines on ownership have not been forthcoming although they were to have been made available in November last year. This lack of clarity can only be having a chilling effect on potential local and international investment in proposed new undersea cables such as EASSy and Seacom. Given high international bandwidth prices and the shortage of bandwidth out of Africa, including South Africa, it is evident that such cable projects will go a long way towards alleviating supply-demand anomalies and provide much-needed international bandwidth competition. The Minister, who previously supported South African landing rights for the EASSy cable, has now withdrawn this support, apparently because the cable is too commercially orientated. Instead, she is reportedly trying to convince EASSy investors to support the Baharico cable, a project of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Adding to the confusion is that President Thabo Mbeki has formally signed into law the controversial amendment to the Electronic Communications Act. The effect is that the

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Minister may determine the licensing framework for ‘public entities’ listed in the schedules to the Public Finance Management Act. Critics are of the view that this amendment undermines the independence of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). More specifically, critics fear that the amendment to the Act allows Infraco to sidestep ICASA’s licensing processes. Infraco is South Africa’s newest public entity, having recently been formed in terms of the Broadband and Infraco Act to take transfer of the fibre optic assets of Eskom and Transnet. It is conceivable the Minister may make use of her ‘new licensing framework powers’ to grant Infraco the right to roll-out its own undersea cable without the necessity of complying with the usual licensing procedures. This seemingly flies in the face of government’s much-vaunted commitment to liberalising the communications sector. It could, however, fast track the granting of landing rights, offering some hope to potential investors. It is even possible that third parties may be permitted to invest in Infraco. Meanwhile, there are hints of progress in regard to the cost of international bandwidth. Telkom still dominates access to international bandwidth and sets the prices for access. On

Christmas Eve of 2007, in a move to open up access, ICASA promulgated draft regulations on essential facilities for comment. Undersea cables, including landing stations, backhaul circuits and international gateways, are regarded as essential facilities. The draft regulations provide that all licence holders should have fair and non-discriminatory access to essential facilities. In particular, access charges must be based on the ‘forward-looking, long-run average incremental costs of an efficient operator providing access’, unless agreed otherwise. In the absence of licensed competing undersea cables, the draft essential facilities regulations, if passed, should drive down international bandwidth charges. Although the charges for access to international bandwidth seem set to decrease, this does not resolve the continuing uncertainty surrounding ownership and licensing of undersea cables. Foreign investors may well lose interest in investing in new cable projects or, if they stay the course, find themselves hopelessly behind their deadlines. The delay in issuing landing right guidelines and licences is hampering the introduction of competition and diversity promoted by the Electronic Communications Act. For the time being, progress with licensing additional undersea cables seems frozen by confusion and uncertainty. It may be cold comfort but the draft essential facilities regulations offer at least some prospect of relief for electronic communications service providers and consumers alike.  Note from the editor: At the time of print, the Minister of Communications had just issued new guidelines stipulating the long awaited local ownership and licensing requirements. Werksmans Attorneys will deliver a follow-up on this in the next issue of Marketing Mix.

Kathleen Rice director Werksmans Attorneys (011) 535 8316 [email protected]