MarketingMix

M E A S U R A B L E M A R K E T I N G I N S I G H T S I Vol 26 Issue No. 3/4 I 2008 I R25.00 incl. vat

 MarketingMix CONTENTS

I 0 2 I Book Review I 2 1 I Research 10

Marketing Mix reviews the Green Marketing Mix investigates the local
Marketing Manifesto, by John Grant, research industry, and explores major

and learns how to fit the green
revolution into marketing and sales
strategies
24
I 0 3 I Ed’s note
I 0 4 I Direct Marketing
Marketing Mix reports back from the
marketing direct best practices
issues, current trends and future
options
I 4 0 I Airport
Marketing
Do you know how to make the most
of airport marketing in spite of
airport upgrades? Marketing Mix
takes a closer look at some of the
challenges that marketers and media

workshop owners are facing

07
I 4 4 I Expert Opinion:
I 0 6 I Expert Opinion: 32
Helen McIntee
Richard Duncan
Helen shares her list of top 20 things
Richard gets hot and bothered about
she has learned as a customer and a
agency remuneration marketer

I 0 7 I 7 Day [B]itch I 4 6 I Expert Opinion:

Sharon Piehl, tells us how she deals Nicci Columbine
16 38
with traffic jams Nicci explains how technology can
be used to channel a marketing
message through contact centres
I 0 8 I Expert Opinion:
Michele Venter-Davies
I 5 0 I Expert Opinion:
Horrible consumer experiences leave Lisa Basson
Michele wanting more
Lisa explains why it’s important to
be innovative
40
I 1 0 I Top Media
Performers I 5 2 I Expert Opinion:
Marketing Mix lists the best in print,
22 Nici Stathacopoulos
based on the latest ABC figures Nici checks up on brands that are
taking on the virtual world

I 1 6 I Experiential
marketing I 5 3 I The Green
Shopper Workshop
There’s a reason why experiential
56 report back
marketing is being allocated a larger
Marketing Mix delivers the highlights
portion of the marketing budget
of the Green Shopper workshop.
every year
26
I 5 6 I Expert Opinion:
I 2 0 I Expert Opinion: Nana Nkosi
Yoav Tchelet Nana believes internships are the
Yoav makes web usability easy way forward

Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008 I MarketingMix 1

by michelle sturman BOOK REVIEW
The green marketing
manifesto
If there’s one book to read this year, this is it.
The ‘Green’ movement is gaining momentum
and if marketers want to keep up, they have to
play ball. But not just any ball. A green ball.
And play with the green ball properly – none of
this ‘greenwashing’ stuff please. You’ll be busted
and the fall out won’t be pretty.
And before you start moaning saying
that green doesn’t fit with marketing and
consumerism, actually, yes it does. You just have
to be clever about it. Grant doesn’t provide all
the solutions in this book (incidentally, made
from sustainable paper, etc, with a warning on
the front cover not to put it in a plastic bag).
Instead, he gives brilliant case studies on how
other true green companies have made a huge
success of their brands, and profits to boot.
Grant also points out the differences in being
true green and greenwashing as well as how to
incorporate green into your everyday marketing
activities.
Here’s a simple breakdown of how this green
thing works:
A. Green
1. Public
company & Set an example
markets
2. Social
brand & Credible partners
belonging
3. Personal Market a benefit
products &
habits
Set new standards/
communicate
The green marketing grid
Grant does fully explain this table but just
looking at it, it is fairly uncomplicated. What
Grant does understand is that the concept of
green marketing is a little more complicated and
therefore a brand can run the risk of getting this
horribly wrong, especially if it’s thinking of
jumping on the bandwagon purely for profits.
‘The first step towards sustainable green
marketing is to grasp that green issues are
pointing to the need for step change, not
2 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
cosmetic and marginal improvements.’
Grant sees a huge opportunity to use green
innovations to leave competitors behind. He
uses Marks & Spencer’s extensively as a case
study throughout the book, for its Plan A (ie
there is no Plan B here). What it boils down to
for marketing objectives is that our current
lifestyles ‘need to change beyond recognition’,
which impacts on all marketing, from everywhere.
The role of a marketer now should be to
change consumer behaviour. Grant says this can
be achieved in a number of ways:
Education; get being green out of being
niche; extend green culture outside of the middle
class; and make damaging practices unattractive.
To achieve the greenest marketing, three
things need to happen: commercial outcomes,
environmental outcomes and cultural outcomes. and easy to grasp
To get to this point, a new approach to market- Integrative – combining commerce, technology,
ing is required, but as Grant points out, in the social effects and ecology
past 10 years or so marketing has (or should Innovative – creating new products and new
have been) going this way with a move to more lifestyles
personalised and community marketing. This Inviting – a positive choice, not a hair shirt
Informed – lack of knowledge is what most
B. Greener C. Greenest distorts people’s behaviour.
And you mustn’t be confused by the
difference between green marketing and cause-
Develop the market New business concepts
related marketing. The latter is a link with a
good cause that makes your brand feel good by
virtue of association. Green marketing is ‘a deep
Tribal brands Trojan horse ideas
set of reforms’. But you can do both.
The above information is a tiny snippet of
what’s available inside The Green Marketing
Change usage Challenge consuming Manifesto. It’s chockfull with case studies and
examples of brands getting green marketing
Share responsibility/ Support innovation/ spot on, and those that failed. It’s also filled
collaborate culture reshaped
with useful hints and tips on how to get green
marketing right, and useful websites to visit for
more information on what being the ‘greenest’
makes the transition much easier. ‘We need really means as well as tons of references.
marketing that does good, rather than marketing There’s no excuse for not knowing how to truly
that just looks good.’ And there’s a difference go green when this book is on your reading list.
between green marketing as opposed to It’s a roadmap to change. 
marketing green, which is for NGOs, charities,
etc. Marketers need to follow the former.
The Green Marketing Manifesto
Marketers need to make green normal as
opposed to making normal green. By John Grant
Green marketing follows five I’s: John Wiley & Sons
Intuitive – making better alternatives accessible R344 (approximately)

PROPRIETOR AND PUBLISHER:
Systems Publishers (Pty) Ltd.
Tel: (011) 234 7008
North Block, Bradenham Hall,
Mellis Road, Rivonia,
Johannesburg
PUBLISHER: Terry Murphy
MANAGING EDITOR:
Michelle Sturman
e-mail: michelles@systems.co.za
EDITOR: Fulvia Becatti
e-mail: fulviab@systems.co.za
SUB-EDITOR: Jenny Bastomsky
e-mail: jennybee@telkomsa.net
ADVERTISING MANAGER:
Robyn Richen
e-mail: robynr@systems.co.za
PRODUCTION:
Spencer van Graan
spencerg@systems.co.za
SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES:
Daisy Mulenga
e-mail: daisym@systems.co.za
Copyright of all material in this
publication and supplements are
reserved by the proprietors, except
where expressly stated. The opinions
in this publication do not necessarily
represent the views of the publisher.
Database:
List Perfect
3 938 Jul-Dec 2007
ED’S NOTE
Picking a
bone
I have a T-Rex sized bone to pick. I am frequently
approached by PR persons, publicists, PAs and
organisations wishing to see their latest exploits in print.
I am offered the ‘exclusive’ story or interview, and I happily
accept, only to see that same story published in another
title two weeks later! Clearly, there is no understanding of
what ‘exclusive’ means nor is there any concept of
editorial integrity.
Here it is then, for those of you who still don’t get it: the Oxford Dictionary defines the term
‘exclusive’ as: ‘reserved for or limited to the person or group concerned’.
As I have had more than a handful of frustrating debacles over this issue, I have decided to
take drastic measures. I am no longer going to accept offers of an ‘exclusive’, unless you can
guarantee me that the content you are offering will not be seen anywhere else (and if it is, then
it won’t be for at least six months after I have printed it). Because I build this magazine’s
reputation on the content within it, especially in an age that finds my readers simply ignoring
anything they have seen somewhere else, If you are not going to respect my mission to make
this magazine content-rich and unique, I am not going to like you or your ‘exclusivity’.
These days, it seems that every Joe who has something to say about marketing wants to say it
at once across every marketing-related medium, with no consideration of the fact that media are
not their personal mouthpieces. If Joe wants to broadcast himself, he should get a blog.
Magazines, especially niche B2B mags, are sophisticated media environments, with sophisticated
readers who have high expectations and demands of their media. And while I do understand
that I have a responsibility to report on industry-relevant events, opinions and expertise, I also
have a responsibility to provide readers and advertisers with value. I will be ruthless in obtaining
this balance, so don’t waste your time trying to woo me with an ‘exclusive angle’ on a story that
everyone else will be getting!
Right, now that I’ve had my rant, let me tell you a bit about the exciting stuff we have for you.
This issue boasts Research 10, a special guide to research in SA (I won’t spoil it for you – check it
out yourself!).
And finally, don’t forget to check out our website www.marketingmix.co.za, which has taken
shape beautifully (congrats to managing editor, Michelle, for pulling it off).
Marketing Mix Events Programme
• Footprint Awards Workshop: 23 April 2008
• Young Adult Marketing: 14 May 2008
• Marketing at-Retail: 20 May 2008
Sponsorship and delegate enquiries: Robyn: robynr@systems.co.za (011) 234 7008
Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008 I MarketingMix 3
 DIRECT
Marketing direct
workshop reportback
The marketing direct best practices workshop used Assegai winners as a background to direct marketing campaigns that
really work.
Speakers at the conference were:
Andrew Ambrogioni, managing director, Action Ambro’s
Michelle Perrow, MD of Lesoba Difference
Rick Joubert, executive head for Vodacom
Kathryn Price McKay, creative director, Primaplus
Christiane Duval, a director of the DMA
There are many ways to get creative with
direct marketing and that includes being
creative with standard direct mail – but it all
boils down to what you do with the data you
possess. “When you look at data, look at
people; not the names and addresses that have
made up that data,” says Andrew Ambrogioni,
managing director, Action Ambro’s. He says
that marketers need to go back to the simplicity
of data and also let the creatives work on it to
see what they can do. Ambrogioni suggests
that even the plain old envelope can be redone.
“No more labels on envelopes please – there are
ways of personalising it,” he says. He suggests
using the data in the simplest of ways, for
example, determining whether the recipient is
male or female and speaking to them differently.
“There are still huge organisations who do not
know who their customers are. As direct
marketers, we need to find new ways of finding
data. One easy way of doing this is to check
out the new appointments sections in
magazines and papers – here you’ll find a pic,
job title, company and name and should be
able to figure out close to what salary people
are earning.”
One of the most important aspects of a
direct marketing campaign is integration.
Michelle Perrow, managing director of Lesoba
Difference, uses the Dictionary of Marketing
Communications by Norman A. P. Govoni’s
description of Integrated Marketing
Communications (IMC): ‘a cohesive combination
of marketing communication activities,
techniques and media designed to deliver a
4 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
coordinated message to a target market with a
powerful and synergistic effect, while achieving
a common objective or set of objectives.’
As Perrow puts it: “It’s not just the
psychological relationship to the brand; you
need to have depth, connective tissue – seeing
the same message from the same medium is
just boring.” Perrow suggests getting the sales
team involved in an IMC campaign. “You must
have everyone involved, IMC is a business
imperative. At the end of the day, if you’re
going to be multidisciplinary, the teams must sit
in one meeting as one, as a brand team.”
According to Perrow, there are three core
areas – promotional mix of tools, the channels
and data tools that are absolutely critical
to success.
Keys to IMC success include a synergistic
strategy, tactical consistency and interactivity.
But, one mustn’t forget the power of creativity
whether or not it’s IMC, especially if it’s a
direct mail campaign. As Kathryn Price McKay,
creative director for PrimaPlus, points out, using
a little bit more creativity would help. “DM must
DO more. DM must BE more – it can’t just be
about reward anymore. Consumers are weary of
it and it needs to stop being formulaic,” says
Price McKay.
Price McKay’s own hidden camera research
shoes that the envelopes that are opened are those
that are more attractive and intriguing. “We need
to treat envelopes as packaging. And then we need
to treat the customer for opening the envelope.”
The bottom line for direct mail is that if it looks like
junk mail to you, it will to the customer.
At the other end of the spectrum, from the
traditional to the new, is mobile advertising.
According to Rick Joubert, executive head,
Vodacom, mobile is twice as big as online in
terms of marketing advertising and South Africa
has over 90 per cent mobile penetration.
And while cellphones are becoming increas-
ingly sophisticated, for now, the mass market
can be reached by simple voice, text and USSD.
And you can be highly creative with mobile,
according to Joubert.
For the direct marketer, a service such as
AdMe enables one to:
 Select an audience that matches the target
market profile
 Maximise the advertising budget
 Guarantee that the marketing communications
are seen and heard by the audience
 Integrate mobile and direct response
mechanisms into the ATL and BTL advertising
campaigns, instantly measurable for per-
formance reporting.
Still, there are many questions surrounding
legislation as many new bills become law.
According to Christiane Duval, a director of the
Direct Marketing Association of South Africa,
the marketing industry as a whole has adapted
to legislation well, and it has also caused it to
become more innovative. Technology, especially
the use of Bluetooth in shopping malls and viral
marketing, has a huge future. “E-mails, SMS
and telemarketing can become centres of
innovation as they are economically worthwhile
but they will be affected by new legislation,”
says Duval. 
by richard duncan EXPERT OPINION
The remuneration trap
There are fewer more contentious and hotly
debated subjects in our industry than agency
remuneration.
Agencies’ source of revenue is constantly sub-
ject to client budget cuts as well as increasing
pressure from procurement departments to
show annual savings despite increased workload
and resource needs. The pressure on agency
margins has therefore never been greater and
this has led to the creation of inventive charging
techniques that are designed to extract further
income streams.
Some agencies are paid monthly retainers
while others have a basic monthly fee that is
supplemented with a project price list. In both
cases, this fee has no doubt been determined
based on a projected headcount calculation.
Some clients have avoided the murky waters of
the monthly fee and have rather relied on the
traditional, if not outdated, media commission
formula from the days when there was still a
line between below- and above-the-line. Few
pay the type of rates that were commonplace in
the past though, which has placed agencies
under considerable financial stress.
This situation is further exacerbated by
internationally aligned accounts where the
remuneration deal has been agreed in London,
New York or Paris. In these cases, the percentage
commission is usually woefully inadequate for
the local agency office. For example, five per
cent on a multi-million dollar account may work
well in New York but the revenue that this deal
generates in a satellite office in South Africa,
where its total media billings might be half-a-
million rands or less, barely pays for the agency
to get out of bed in the morning let alone the
types of resources the international brand
automatically expects from its local agency office.
Let’s face it, what would you expect from
your agency if it was only earning R25 000 for
the whole year? Would you expect it to spend
hundreds of thousands of rands on your
account because of its prestigious profile? This
scenario may seem fictional, but sadly, it’s
absolutely real, not that I would want to name
and shame the brand concerned (the story may
be absolutely out of context as perhaps its
remuneration deal with its agency is fairer now.
If not, then this is another example of the
absolute remuneration crisis that some agencies
face with their clients).
6 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
allow their agency to meet its own profit targets.
Some have even ventured into the spirit of
partnership by exploring payment by incentive
(PBI) and offering rewards to their agencies when
they meet certain pre-agreed sales, market share
or profit targets. This is not an easy area to
agree on as the means of measurement are
sometimes difficult to set and monitor. Market
share or sales could be one such measurement
tool but as it is subject to many other influences
beyond advertising, just how to isolate the
impact of an ad campaign is a tough one to
determine. Often, agencies and clients alike turn
to a more subjective performance appraisal system
and cross-tabulate the results with general
business performance figures. The one area that
can offer a more accurate measurement platform
is the direct response category of direct mail
and online communications. Here at least, the
impact of a particular mail pack or electronic
direct mail (EDM) can be finitely measured and
the ROI calculated.
What further underpins the remuneration
challenge and makes the issue all the more
important to resolve is that marketers expect a
top-quality service and creative product. This in
turn requires the agency to have top talent and
“
this comes at a price, which is tough for agency
management to find and keep unless it has the
Marketers have their necessary funds. So every time a corner is cut on
an agency fee, the coffer shrinks that little bit
own pressures of needing
more, making it harder for the agency’s
to meet increased sales management to deliver the world-class quality
offering that its clients demand.
targets and market Marketers have their own pressures of
penetration levels with less needing to meet increased sales targets and
”
market penetration levels with less budget than
budget than before. before. Unless things change, the big agencies
will be forced to change the way they work and
this could lead to a growth in start-ups and
smaller players whose overheads enable them to
offer a quality product at the price the marketer
is willing to pay. At least then, marketers will get
the expertise and talent they want. What will
this mean for the bigger agencies out there?
Time will tell. 
Richard Duncan
founding partner, The Partnership
It’s not all doom and gloom. Not by a long Sydney, Australia
shot. Many marketers have developed well +61 41 154 9791
structured and fair remuneration deals that richardd@thepartnership.com.au

Sharon Piehl, client services director,
Inzalo Communications
28/01/08
Woke up at 3am with Bell, my seven-and-a-half kilogram cat, sitting on my
bed with a present for her mom – a mouse. After taking care of the mouse
and praising Bell for her hunting abilities, it was nearly time to get up.
Every Monday starts with a team status meeting which involves
updates on client progress, discussing new opportunities and flagging any
items or issues that might crop up. Received final approval on a press
release involving four parties, which is always a challenge and very
rewarding when all the pieces fall into place (especially on a deal which
has been three months in the making).
Made it home in time for my reinstated ‘doctors’ appointment’ with
Grey’s Anatomy – not my night to cook so I relaxed on the couch to
watch McDreamy.
29/01/08
Woken by husband preparing to do Ironman training; he brought me
coffee in bed so I could languish a little longer.
Early meeting with a client who has only ever experienced negative
publicity and has now approached our company to change the public’s
perception of it, as well as build and maintain positive publicity. This has
involved educating the client about the many-faceted arena that is
publicity. Then a status meeting with long-standing client who has a good
sense of humour – a nice way to end off the afternoon.
Dinner with friends – so once again off the hook with cooking dinner.
30/01/08
Got up at normal time, 5.15am, and fed our two rather large Rottweilers.
Enjoyed treating the cat to a back massage while she ate. Packed cooler
box for the day and proceeded to office for early meeting; hoped to have
time to do admin prior to the meeting but as I looked out of my driveway
saw traffic stretching in both directions. Decided to take a different route
to work, and ended up sitting in traffic till 7.30am, but not going any-
where. Turned around and took option C, which was now merely to get
to the office in time for the meeting. Option C only helped me drive for
1km before once again hitting a traffic backlog. At 8.05am, I realised I
was only a few kilometres from my front gate so I turned around to work
from home till traffic subsided.
Eventually headed for a meeting and that set the mood for the day
with back-to-back meetings.
31/01/08
Excited – I’m meeting a business leader who I find very inspiring. He has
worked his way up through the ranks and truly understands the company;
he is passionate and it’s not just about rands and cents. We’re putting
together a 25-year commemorative book for his company and I’ve
enjoyed doing interviews with the staff.
7 DAY [B]ITCH
Made it back to the office in time to do a ‘song-and-dance’ routine for
a colleague’s birthday.
Decided to cook for my husband, and got creative with a creamy
tomato lamb casserole. My husband cleaned as fast as I was cooking, so
by the time I had finished cooking the kitchen was clean. Decided to end
the evening reading The Monk who Sold his Ferrari, one of five books on
my bedside table, which I aim to read.
01/02/08
Got up in the spirit of joining my husband in his training frenzy. Ran round
the block, decided it wasn’t for me and kicked it back under the bed.
Started monthly management meeting on time. A day in the office to
catch up on e-mails and admin. Fridays are lunch days with the girls at
the office; we catch up on how our week has been and what we’re up to
on the weekend.
Briefed our creative team on a March launch event for one of our
clients; she needs to revert with exciting concepts for next week.
Got home while the sun was still shining and took the dogs for a
run by the river. Enjoyed a relaxing standard Friday night – movies and
takeout on the sofa with my husband.
02/02/08
Husband did a three-hour training cycle in the morning, which gave me
time to fit in a hair appointment. Treated husband to a massage at the
local health spa, as he has had a hectic start to the year, and then we
enjoyed a leisurely lunch at the Design Quarter. In the evening, went to a
pink-and-white bling party – husband looked the part in white cut-off
linen pants with candy-pink shirt. His bling accessory was a wand, which
he used to great effect all evening, granting wishes.
03/02/08
As this is usually our day to sleep late, we only got up at 7.30am, to
hungry dogs howling for their breakfast. Caught up with the family over
breakfast at Lifestyle Nursery. Did dreaded grocery shopping and spent the
afternoon preparing for a busy week. Browsed through the Sunday
papers to see if any clients were mentioned and had an early night. 
Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008 I MarketingMix 7
by michele venter-davies EXPERT OPINION
Experiential experiences
There are some exceptional experiential
marketers out there – affording consumers
brand experiences that are both unique and
unforgettable. Brand interactions so creative
that industrial theatre needs to up its game.
A Saturday visit to a large wholesale outlet
bestowed a theatrical indulgence second to
none. For nearly 15 minutes we waited uncom-
plainingly in a lengthening queue at the
Information Desk – courtesy of the Eskom expe-
rience we needed to add our names to the
’generator list‘. Like good South Africans deter-
mined not to become negative, we turned this
into an opportunity to indulge in the ambient
sounds of till operators discussing customers’
every purchase; inhaling the fragrance of spilt
pickled onions waiting whiffily to be whisked
away – tomorrow maybe; and savour the build
up of clamminess in the absence of air condi-
tioning (‘let’s admire them for saving energy,’
we said).
And then... just as we reached the front of
the row, the Customer Service officer terminated
her personal cell call and announced ... ’I’m on
lunch!’ No warning, no understudy in sight and
no chorus line to take over. The leading lady
simply hauled out her lunch and entertained us
to a culinary rendering of ’Pampoen‘ as she
shovelled it into her mouth... slowly... and
glared. Then to top it off, in full view of the
patrons now standing three deep, she delved
into her bag, whipped out a product ‘with
wings’ and flaunted it in front of us in all its
glory as she disappeared. I will never forget the
faces of the audience; the collective gasp ... and
the mad dash for the exit before Act II began.
A stopover for a stiff midday drink was now
in order. Time to take solace in the arms of a
hospitality brand claiming to be welcoming. As
we waited (and waited) for a waiter (treated to
the sounds of the bar fridge firing up for take-
off, sniffing the stale aroma of the bachelor’s
party from the previous night and caressing the
sticky table top), we observed a group of ‘movers
and shakers’ enduring a brand experience they
will, no doubt, share with many others.
A drink laced with a fetid lemon slice was
politely returned... only to be replaced by another
bearing half a hairdo floating merrily on its
surface. Management objected to the audacity
of the customers to expect better service ...
produced the bill... and asked the ‘fussy’
patrons to leave. A decision worth its weight in
8 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
chicken is fresh and prepared on the spot.
During the 40 minutes it took to find the
clucking cutie, rid it of its feathers and doodas,
and convert it into a Mediterranean delight, we
had nothing better to do than observe the staff
arguing over the horse racing card, scratch
hardened thingies off the tatty tablecloth and
view a flyer advertising specials that expired a
week previously. What an experience. But... the
brand is thriving!
We know about ‘moments of truth’.
Customer/brand interactions on a daily,
mundane level are the real brand experiences
and South Africa boasts some of the best expe-
riential marketing companies in the world. What
a shame that the brand managers who are
commissioning these marvels don’t focus as
much time and energy on the daily, often trivial
experiences of customers. It is convenient to
brand customers as ‘unreasonable’ or as having
‘unrealistic’ expectations, but customer relationship
management is about engineering all contact
points. Every connection should yield a positive
“
experience. This is boring old text book stuff
and basic common sense, but it seems that
Every employee should marketers are often too occupied with exciting
be mentored to assume promotions and initiatives to take a sensory tour
of the realities surrounding their brands.
ownership of the brand Every employee should be mentored to
experience required to assume ownership of the brand experience
required to satisfy consumer needs for products
satisfy consumer needs and services that provide sensory pleasure,
variety and cognitive inspiration. Brand
for products and services
interaction should simulate social interaction
that provide sensory and consumers need to be able to relate to
brands on an appropriate level of intimacy and
pleasure, variety and
”
mutual satisfaction.
cognitive inspiration. There is nothing gained from brand
environments that provide no stimulation or
deliver doses of hostility and irreverence. The
old clichés abound... ‘treat the consumer as
you would a guest in your own home’ ... so just
excuse me while I eat alone in front of my
dinner guests while indulging my intimate
personal hygiene requirements before kicking
the company out for daring to gag on the
floaters in their drinks. 
Michele Venter-Davies
faculty head: Marketing and
‘word of mouth’ marketing, one imagines. Advertising, AAA School
Next we soldiered to the ‘fast food’ outlet. (011) 781 2772
Now, we do appreciate the promise that the michelev@aaaschool.co.za
TOP PRINT PERFORMERS

Top print performers 2007

Looking through the ABC figures for 2007 has demonstrated what
an interesting time print is going through. Most interesting, is that
newspapers have increased circulation while the consumer magazine
section has decreased circulation for the Oct-Dec 2007 period. One of the
main reasons for the decrease in consumer magazines is that a number
of magazines have been pulled from the ABC and out of circulation, but
also the Media24 debacle has left many of its (successful) titles missing
from the past six months’ figures.
While a key focus is the Oct-Dec 2007 ABC figures, Marketing Mix also
took into account a publication’s performance over the whole of 2007 from
quarter to quarter as well as each quarter’s corresponding previous period.
Circulation key
Red: Subscriptions and single copy sales
Blue:Total paid
Green: Total circulation
Please note that all the figures in brackets refer to the
corresponding previous period.
For those who need a reminder, the following magazines were
suspended, terminated, resigned, ceased publication or didn’t submit
figures within the consumer magazine category for Oct-Dec 2007:

Job Mail: terminated Monthly Golfer: no submission Village Life: terminated

Tribute: no submission Sports Illustrated: suspended Truth Magazine: terminated
SA Health Matters: no submission Fairlady: suspended Ride Magazine: terminated
Shape: suspended InStyle SA: suspended (now ceased Gymnast SA: no submission
Men’s Health: suspended publication) The Wisden Cricketer: resigned (now
Autolocator – Gauteng edition: resigned Leef: suspended ceased publication)
Caperush Magazine: no submission Sarie: suspended Art South Africa: resigned
Drive 2.0: resigned True Love: suspended New Homes: no submission
Maxpower SA: ceased publication True Love Babe: suspended (now ceased Baby Gro: no submission
Xtreme Machines: resigned publication) Beautiful Brides: no submission
Kick Off: suspended Inwater Boating & Fishing: terminated SA Builder: resigned

Daily newspapers the tabloid is doing well because it’s tapped into the community in a way
As a category, daily newspapers have increased by 70 331 to 1 957 415. that tells it the newspaper cares for it. On top of this, last year saw a
Out of this, 1 528 436 are copy sales and subscriptions. There are 14 complete overhaul of layout in terms of look and feel. “Our news stories
digital editions. are tops – besides reporting on issues that directly affect – and often
The top five daily newspapers are: afflict – our community, we regularly come up with hard-hitting, breaking
Daily Sun news. We also have some of the best sports reportage in the country,” he says.
The Star Distribution has also been increased, as has on-street awareness. The
Sowetan newspaper’s street selling points have grown from 80 vendors to 350 and
Beeld PoS within shops and an increase in franchises have also helped. “We also
Isolezwe believe in aggressive – and from time to time controversial – postering,”
says Capraro.
The top performers for 2007 are:
Isolezwe 98 565 98 565 98 565 (96 485) Weekly newspapers
Daily Sun: 513 291 513 291 513 291 (494 875) As a category, weekly newspapers have increased by 37 197 to 729 760.
Son (Daily) 97 135 97 135 97 135 (72 049) Out of this, 729 756 are copy sales and subscriptions.
The top five weekly newspapers are:
The mighty Daily Sun may finally be slowing down but it’s still gaining Soccer Laduma
significant numbers. However, according to publisher, Deon du Plessis, Ilanga
there is still huge room for growth. “In 2007 we had a good year…but Son (weekly)
we outran our distribution infrastructure. Hopefully, we’ve fixed that now. Mail & Guardian
I think Daily Sun’s growth is far from over…it’s now not a question of The Post
whether we can grow but whether we want to. And when is enough
enough? My answer: Enough is not yet enough. We’re still on the growth The top performing weekly newspapers for 2007 are:
trail…if, of course, we can print enough copies and continue to distribute Ilanga 105 673 105 673 105 673 (100 906)
them on time.” Mail & Guardian 51 842 51 842 51 842 (48 292)
Interestingly, the other daily that showed significant growth was also a Soccer-Laduma 321 986 321 986 321 986 (303 461)
tabloid, the Afrikaans Son. Ingo Capraro, national editor of Son says that

10 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008


Ilanga is an institution that is over 100 years old, and continues to grow
despite the introduction of other Zulu titles. According to the Ilanga
team, the launch of the hugely successful Thursday tabloid supplement,
Ilange Le Theku, has set new benchmarks for the upwardly mobile new
generation of readers. Its Monday supplement, Lase Khaya has intro-
duced a whole new set of readers to the newspapers, and grown the
female readership.
The Mail & Guardian has finally broken the elusive 50 000 barrier, so
more power to it. A series of breaking news stories has definitely
helped its circulation figures (SABC internal audit report, for example),
and its powerful website has also more than likely contributed to
increased circulation for the physical newspaper.
As for Soccer-Laduma, this giant just keeps on growing by massive
amounts. While the soccer newspaper doesn’t ‘do’ anything to
increase its circulation except reader events and creative competitions,
it’s the editorial that keeps its fan base constantly growing. “You have
to talk to people in a language they enjoy. You can talk to them in a
language they understand but they may not enjoy or engage with
you,” says Peter du Toit, editor and publisher, Soccer-Laduma. Content
is king and readers rule, is the editorial team’s mantra, and a focus on
topical and interactive features has increased loyalty with the paper’s
readers.
Weekend newspapers
As a category, weekly newspapers have increased by 92 155 to 2 666
955. Out of this, 2 616 549 are copy sales and subscriptions. There are
13 digital editions.
The top five weekend newspapers are:
Sunday Times
Rapport
Sunday Sun
Sunday World
City Press
The top performing weekend newspapers are:
Citizen 53 598
City Press 180 321
Ilanga LangeSonto 84 061
Sunday World 199 344
The Weekender 12 058
The weekend newspapers on the whole have done exceptionally well
over the past year, increasing figures by almost 100 000. So while
figures for The Weekender may not seem that impressive in the grand
scheme of things, it is worth remembering that a) it’s a weekend
newspaper and b) it’s a very niche newspaper and c) it has a very
desirable readership. The Sunday World has increased figures
substantially over the past year, indicating a market that is showing its
desire to read.
City Press, managing editor Mathatha Tsedu, says it boils down to
really good editorial, including a new supplement for the Gauteng audi-
ence – a weekly eight-page tabloid. “A big point for editorial is a focus
on politics, which is certainly interesting the readers and we’ve now got
a really good investigative team that has found big scoops. We also have
TOP PRINT PERFORMERS
a generally better coordinated leadership team, which means more eyes
over copy and more clever copy. All of this adds to the appeal of the
paper,” says Tsedu. A distribution drive through Media24’s Media
Circulation Services24 (MCS24) has also helped – subscription drives and
new initiatives such as getting through gated communities.
Ilanga LangeSonto, although a relative newcomer to the weekend
editions, is going great guns. Credited with being the first isiZulu lan-
guage Sunday newspaper to be published in South Africa, within two
years it has almost reached 100 000 copies. “The growth of our titles is
ongoing; we have captured the new young upwardly mobile market as
well as kept our traditional Ilanga readers. It continues to grow weekly
and there is something in it for everyone; this is what makes it the
Sunday paper it is. We have the right recipe,” says the Ilanga team.
Consumer magazines
As a category, consumer magazines have decreased by 58 417 to 4
507 839. Out of this, 4 229 313 are copy sales and subscriptions. The
biggest selling category (even with numerous suspensions and closures)
is the Women’s General with 1 073 961 subscriptions and copy sales.
The top five consumer magazines are:
huisgenoot
you
Move!
Cosmopolitan
Idea/Idees
A lot of the magazines that performed exceptionally well over the past
year are very niche titles such as Noseweek, Wine, LIG and Africa
Geographic. The women’s category and general entertainment suf-
fered severe knocks, as did the sports and men’s category (although
with the closure of Zoo Weekly/Weekliks, it may bounce back this
year).
Condé Nast House & Garden grew by 7.45 per cent (using the total
53 611 (incl. digital editions) 55 140 (52 217)
180 321 195 150 (183 101)
84 061 84 061 (70 291)
199 344 199 499 (184 772)
12 058 12 404 (9 368)
circulation data only) from the 2006 Oct-Dec period with steady
growth of subscriptions of more than 25 per cent year on year, accord-
ing to the team. “Condé Nast House & Garden has positioned itself as
South Africa’s premier luxury lifestyle magazine. South Africans’ wealth
and buying patterns are ever more diverse, and Condé Nast House &
Garden mirrors and, in fact, leads that trend, as recently increased cir-
culation figures show,” says editor Liz Morris.
Also attributing its success to its editorial is noseweek. According to
Adrienne de Jongh, advertising and marketing manager, noseweek’s
retail sales increased by around 14 per cent on the previous year and
are directly connected to the nature of the editorial, and the resultant
publicity and media attention. “The big stories were the First
Rand/Ansbacher fiasco and the resultant court case which noseweek
Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008 I MarketingMix 11
TOP PRINT PERFORMERS

The top performers in 2007 are:

Drum 100 695 100 728 100 728 (79 895)
Move! 130 917 130 917 130 917 (104 507
Longevity 23 369 26 955 29 687 (23 279)
Wine 11 049 12 524 14 645 (11 936)
LIG 28 329 28 329 29 261 (26 181)
Golf Digest 35 302 35 452 35 452 (30 545)
Condé Nast House & Garden 44 160 49 079 50 060 (46 589)
Noseweek 19 777 19 777 19 777 (16 640)
Africa Geographic 26 417 26 543 28 826 (25 158)
Popular Mechanics 40 099 40 212 43 978 (40 619)
Cosmopolitan 123 134 123 604 125 454 (113 255)
Real Magazine 56 126 56 126 57 211 (56 033)
National Geographic Kids 39 812 39 812 40 405 (33 108)

won. In addition, our articles on Judge Hlope and National Police
Commissioner Selebi created huge media interest,” she says.
Retail sales were also an important factor in the increasing circulation
figures of Africa Geographic. As a largely subscription-based magazine, a
focus on retail sales has paid dividends. “We are particularly thrilled with
the ABC results for a number of reasons. Firstly, because they reflect our
conscious and strategic investment in retail sales and, secondly, because
the results help to underscore the increasingly mainstream consumer inter-
est in matters of conservation and environmental concern,” says Tanya
Caldwell, publisher, Africa Geographic. The strategic push to grow reach
involved an increased print run to put more copies into stores as well
more distribution outlets (in particular, Woolworths) and point-of-sales
displays, window displays etc within main CNA stores. A change in
distributor also helped according to Caldwell.
Using the public’s awareness of environmental issues has helped to push
copies. “Editorially, the push was assisted by the themed August 2007 issue
on Climate Change which captured a far broader audience’s attention and
resulted in a 70 per cent sell through. This issue subsequently sold out
within a few weeks of going on sale in stores. Discerning marketers and
advertisers take note!” says Caldwell.
Public awareness and innovative reader interaction helped another
magazine last year, this time in a completely different category. Popular
Mechanics has made good use of increased interest in technology and
driven this further with advertising and innovative PR campaigns (the most
recent that made headlines was the man in a nappy walking through a busy
shopping mall). “Part of our success is due to ongoing contact with readers
and advertisers through eye-catching print ads, edgy television commercials,
trade shows, reader events, letters and online forums.
“We also interact with readers via provocative point-of-sale posters,
newsstand promotions and other strategies,” says Alan Duggan, editor
and publisher of Popular Mechanics.
“After five-plus years on the market, advertisers and media planners are
finally acknowledging that Popular Mechanics is a perfect fit for this tech-
nology-driven world. More importantly, our magazine is making its pres-
ence felt among people who identify with our pay-off line, ‘Be the first to
know’,” he adds.
Cosmopolitan, on the other hand, has increased circulation by virtue of
being such a forceful brand and providing readers with exactly what they
want and expect. The ABC circulation figure for the period Oct-Dec 2007
is 125 454 (paid circulation figure: 123 604). This amounts to a circula-
tion increase of around 11 per cent over the previous corresponding peri-
od. Its supplements always go down well and its October issue, for exam-
ple, offered a sex booklet in a foil bag, which sold over 135 000 copies
and its December issue was its biggest ever at 392 pages.
Real Magazine is another title that has relied on its editorial to drive
sales. With no specials, supplements or any advertising, its circulation has
crept up mainly through word of mouth and well-targeted editorial as
well as an increase in the distribution footprint. “This has been our best
marketing tool and has driven circulation and growth has been a function
of meeting the editorial needs of an underserved reading market,” >p14

12 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008

TOP PRINT PERFORMERS

>>p12 says Jonathan Harris, publisher, Real Magazine. Being a niche magazine has certainly helped Habitat to increase its
National Geographic Kids has shown phenomenal growth for a hard- circulation, especially in light of the difficulties the print sector is facing.
to-reach market and has shown 21.7 per cent year-on-year growth in total Fine-tuning the magazine in terms of updating its logo, fonts and layout
paid circulation. “This strong sales figure excludes distribution of 250 000 has contributed but, more importantly, so has extended distribution. “Our
copies via a special Engen marketing initiative over the December 2007 association with Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty saw 5 000 sold
holiday period. This title continues to impress readers with fun and inter- copies added to our ABC figure and this has undoubtedly helped.
active components – its phenomenal subscriber base is testimony to this,” “We are hoping to institute a similar arrangement with a leading hotel
says editor Fiona Thomson. The inclusion of the Afrikaans magazine was chain and a financial institution during 2008,” says Colin Ainsworth Sharp,
also a contributing factor as it increased footprint and boosted sales, publisher/managing editor, Habitat. According to Ainsworth Sharp,
including subscriptions, according to associate publisher, Dene Strain. Habitat should remain secure in the face of economic difficulties as its
A number of covermounts throughout the year and ad campaigns target market is the high LSM group. “We are very niched and the LSM
(winners of numerous awards) helped to increase awareness and conse- sector we are targeting is largely unaffected by the current slowdown, but
quently push sales. Other initiatives included an Engen deal in December whether this will continue is a good question. However, I believe the
with an extra 250 00 copies, which were used for forecourt promotions high-echelon lifestyle advertising sector we target should remain secure.”
and while this number is obviously not claimed in the ABC figures, it Being niche has also helped Your Child, which is aimed at parents of
helped to boost awareness of the magazine countrywide. Other examples kids aged 4-12 years old. “There are no other magazines in this market, so
include providing a magalogue in Weg with a compelling subscription it’s not as if we were broadening the offerings in the niche, or trying to
offer and competition as well as an awareness drive at the Klein Karoo claim readers from other titles – we really had to create the niche as we
Nasionale Kunstefees in Oudtshoorn during April for the Afrikaans edition. went along. That takes time, but it seems that in the second half of 2007
we did make good inroads in terms of brand recognition and trial, and in
Consumer magazines July-Dec attracting and retaining readers,” says Kate Sidley, editor, Your Child.
As a category, consumer magazines has decreased by 32 613 to 708 500. For Your Child, word of mouth is especially important, as is the editorial.
Out of this, 535 518 are copy sales and subscriptions. The biggest selling “Our marketing efforts are quite editorially driven, too, and we make sure
is Youth with 87 553 subscriptions and copy sales. that we keep them relevant to our readers and to our content. We also
The top five consumer magazines are: launched a Readers’ Panel, which has proved popular and has enabled us
Hip2B2 to include more ‘real- life’ stories and comments from readers,” says Sidley.
Taalgenoot Fit Pregnancy, on the other hand, simply put more magazines in more
seventeen places and changed the frequency of the magazine. “We increased the
Your Pregnancy number of outlets from 1 100 at launch to 2 300 and also frequency
Soccerlife 442 from four to six issues; our double issues performed well, and sometimes
better, than our quarterly issues,” says Gillian Chapman, circulation
The top performers in 2007 are: manager, Fit Pregnancy. 
Fit Pregnancy 17 735 18 333 18 333 (15 869)
SoccerLife 442 33 477 33 477 33 865 (31 314)
Habitat 20 941 20 941 21 093 (15 890) Custom magazines (only total circulation and
Your Child 17 864 17 864 18 414 (16 023) corresponding previous period)
Dish & Skottel 1 656489 (1 431 245)
Dish Africa 236 613 (169 907)
Edgars Club Magazine 899 681 (876 985)
Foschini Retail Group Club Magazine 869 991 (834 198)
Super Club for Kids 86 303 (65 675)

Custom magazines July-Dec (only total

circulation and corresponding previous period)
Jet Club 1 143 607 (1 124 912)
Off-Limits 70 000 (22 882)

Custom Magazines Jan-Dec (only total circula-

tion and corresponding previous period)
Mercedes 84 007 (46 436)
Mercedes Benz Transport 14 547 (9 020)
Pezula 13 043 (11 472)

14 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008

EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

Experiencing brands better

Experiential marketing is a brand’s
commitment to going the extra mile to offer the
consumer something far richer than advertising
can ever deliver. VWV’s Group CEO, Abey
Mokgwatsane, defines it as a multi-sensory
intervention, which generally takes place in an
environment where the consumer is happy to
be engaged. And it’s growing. Experts point to
research worldwide, which finds that an increasing
number of marketing activities are, in fact,
experiential. “If you consider trends around the
world, a recent study by MICE Group PLC
showed that 13 out of the 19 marketing
activities conducted by companies are experiential,”
says David Boon, group director of marketing
and strategy, EXP. Experiential marketing is
increasingly defined as something that needs to
be combined with other marketing functions.
“In the current volatile economic environment,
I would suggest that experiential marketing should
make up at least 60 per cent of the marketing
effort,” says Melvin Chagonda, CEO, Primedia@Home.
He adds that to ensure an above normal return on
Experiential Marketing Forum’s 2007 Research:
key findings (www.emf.com)
 The experiential marketing label has many definitions and companies are confused
about what they will get from it
 One third of respondents consider it to be the lifeblood and core of their organisations,
around which company philosophy is built. Half of respondents consider it a tool for
building relationships, engaging prospects, stimulating trial and creating buzz. The
remainder consider it to be a frontier (an approach they might explore depending on
their courage or their clients’ needs).
 Many respondents think engagement is the strong suit of experiential marketing
followed by giving a positive experience, increasing sales, and getting prospect’s
attention. However, the respondent’s concept of the role of experiential marketing is
dependent on how they use it in their work (ie either implementing or evaluating it).
 Campaign objectives accomplished by experiential marketing can include: making
prospects more receptive to other marketing, fostering believability and trust,
motivating consumers with the urge to respond, stimulating voluntary brand
engagement, converting prospects to customers and transferring ownership of the
brand to the consumer.
 Experiential marketing is most widely associated with the terms ‘sensory experience’,
‘interaction’, and ‘relationship’. Also, with ‘memories’.
 The biggest risks associated with using experiential marketing were: lack of control
and limitations of the impact of event-based tactics; the difficulties of training and
implementation as well as bad experiences, which will erode the brand.

investment, one needs to spend more on engaging
differentiating marketing.
As you cannot catch the consumer through
traditional mass media the way you used to, it is
obvious why experiential marketing (and indeed,
BTL media) is growing. “Too much emphasis is
still being placed on passive communications
from both a brand and corporate perspective,”
says Mokgwatsane. For this reason, he says,
marketers are looking for new ways to reach the
consumer. “On the other side, consumers and
audiences are demanding more meaningful
relationships with the brands they choose, and
look to experience the brands rather than merely
receive information about them.”
Experiential marketing is made more manage-
able, thanks to a better understanding of con-
sumer lifestyles, their purchasing behaviour and
so on. “This has moved experiential off and
beyond the stage to engagement strategies
where the brand is required to communicate,”
says Ricardo Gressel, business development
director, VWV Group. But are marketers and
agencies getting it right?
The experts seem to think that only a handful
of experienced players are doing this platform
justice. “Clients seem to look at experiential as a
short-term quick fix solution to a particular sales
problem, and expect the experiential agency to
offer them a tool kit of services that they can
buy,” says Boon. Furthermore, traditional
agencies are now offering experiential services,
but still give priority to traditional media (with
true experiential being the afterthought, or
something that is outsourced at the last minute).
A poor understanding of what true experiential
marketing is, and how to pull it off properly, is
also a major issue. “We battle to sell it to clients
via agencies; I think this is because it’s hard
work, with intense logistics. It requires specific
training and takes place in a very different
environment. It’s far easier to deal with TV and
radio,” says Jacques du Preez, managing
director, Provantage Media. The average
campaign brief does not address this >p18

16 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008

EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

>>p16 platform either. This is why specialist implementation, must be acceptable. “My essential, but can be successfully implemented
agencies have developed strategies and advice is, if you’re able to sell your proposal to (by tying the campaign into a trade channel,
methodologies that are more specific to this marketers, as a mimimum, ‘implement it for example, or to a model that generates sales
platform. Indeed, Du Preez is finding that more properly’,” says Chagonda. There should be leads). Chagonda maintains that ROI is an
clients are choosing to go directly to specialist sufficient planning and preparation made essential measurement, as is a strong call
experiential agencies, instead of going through upfront. to action.
media planners and regular agencies. “In the Running an experiential campaign in conjunction “The feedback cycle is quick. Customers will
South African context, we have a very strong with above-the-line advertising lends it credibility. tell you immediately what they think of your
agency culture that generally leads to strategic “It creates pre-purchase dissonance, allowing brand in the context of an experiential cam-
thought of a brand’s communication strategy. consumers to knock off their concerns even paign,” says Du Preez. And these campaigns
In so doing, priority is given to traditional media before they purchase,” says Du Preez. But allow for adaptations and tweaks to be made to
and the balance is allocated to experiential, not research indicates that, as with most media, them quickly and easily (or at least, they should
affording it a real place and chance in the integrated campaigns are the most effective. An be flexible enough to allow for this).
budget to be part of and have a meaningful integrated approach widens the reach and What are consumers looking for? During an
impact,” says Boon. appeal of the campaign. “You tend to find that experiential event, says Du Preez, you are
The brief for an experiential campaign is TV, radio, outdoor, door drops and newspapers swapping consumer time and attention for a
unique, and, as Chagonda points out, it should are great for publicising the campaign,” says few critical things: the latest news, an emotional
be open-ended enough to create room for Chagonda. He has found that supporting connection and entertainment.
creativity. “Unlike a normal brief, the wider the experiential with these media results in a greater Experiential marketing is not limited to
opportunity for creativity, the higher the chance uptake. FMCG goods, as well as service innova- external brand activities. Internal employee
of a cutting edge proposal,” he says. The initial tions (especially in the banking and telecommu- experience is becoming increasingly important.
brief proposal should be simple, detailing the nications industries), and bit ticket products, will Likewise, the realisation that experiential
target market and the implmentable aspects. benefit from aopting an experiential approach. marketing is an essential part of CRM. Some of
The second level of the proposal, detailing Measurement of campaigns is not only the more popular trends in experiential market-
ing, says Gressel, include role play for research,
industrial theatre, team building and personal
The Jack Morton 2006 Experiential Marketing Study: recreational development through activities such
key findings (www.jackmorton.com) as mountain climbing and basketball inside and
 Consumers don’t prefer experiential marketing to other media (it ranks third after pop-up retail.
TV and the Internet), but they do report that it is more influential, with 82 per cent Looking ahead, agencies will need to invest in
of respondents agreeing that participating in a live event is more engaging than the right training and tools to enable them to
other forms of communication. develop effective strategies for clients, because it
 80 per cent of respondents agreed that participating in experiential marketing is clear a growing number of brands are recog-
would give them more information than other media. nising the importance of experiential. There is
 80 per cent of respondents agreed that they would be more likely to purchase after evidence of increased spending in this sector,
attending a live marketing event. and bigger budgets.
 85 per cent of respondents agreed that participating in a brand experience is Experiential will need to occupy a more
something they would tell others about. prominent place in ongoing and integrated
 Integration with the Internet was found to be the ideal way to relay information marketing campaigns, rather than be a short-
about a brand or product, while integration between experiential and word of term solution or brand-booster quick fix. Clients
mouth best allows brands and products to relate to consumers’ interests and and brands will need to be more proactive
concerns. Direct engagement with the consumer (via experiential marketing) leads about getting their experiential partners
to spur of the moment purchases. onboard from the start to achieve this.
 18-23 year olds are lifestyle driven and want brands to communicate to them And while events (live concerts, parties,
through their interests. The 24-37 year olds demonstrate a strong affinity for branded functions etc) have generally been the
experiential marketing in the workplace (particularly live events). The 38-49 year olds first thing marketers think of when experiential
want brands to communicate their value. And 50-65 year olds, who have leisure marketing is mentioned, it is not the only
time and money, want experiential events to teach them. option. Marketers will need to be more creative
 Preference for experiential marketing by product category finds shoes in first place, in using alternative and traditional media to
followed by food and beverages, clothing, personal/beauty products, cars and create experiences around their brands.
household products. Measurement and evidence of ROI is
 Women are significantly more influenced by experiential marketing than men (which something that experiential agencies and
is crucial, because women own or influence such a high proportion of purchase marketers will need to be able to deliver to
decisions). their clients, as research indicates that this
 Only 33 per cent of employees are satisfied with the quantity and quality of communication is a key obstacle in the uptake of experiential
from employers, although they want to be engaged, especially through events. marketing. 

18 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008

by yoav tchelet EXPERT OPINION
Web usability for dummies
While reading through the latest web
traffic statistics from the major South African
publishers, one big question came to mind:
How do they measure the usability aspect of
their websites?
I raise this question quite often with my col-
leagues in Europe and the US. Web usability is
somewhat of a forgotten science when it comes
to online media.
What is web usability? Well, in short it’s the
process of ensuring the best possible user expe-
rience on a website.
In 2004 a company called Yahoo! established
an interesting division, with the sole purpose of
enhancing user experiences across Yahoo!’s web-
sites. Aptly called the ‘Exceptional Performance’
group, this small team set about taking Yahoo!
to another level of end-user experience. It
measured a multitude of elements on its web
pages such as the use of images, JavaScript,
cascading style sheets, browser versions, etc.
During the re-engineering and testing, the team
at Yahoo! managed to achieve a minimum
speed performance improvement of 25 per cent
on its sites. This is just one example of what can
be achieved when you focus on improving the
end-user experience on your website.
Web usability can get quite involved, but the
golden rule is to focus on making sure your
users have the best experience when visiting
your site. This can be a matter of a performance
increase to make the site load faster or it
can involve a multitude of elements such as
improving the navigation, speed, readability,
layout and more.
Many companies that have websites make
the mistake of assuming that users will
interpret the layout, and look and feel of their
website the way they do. It is crucial to get the
basics right and to keep an objective overview at
all times.
The advent of website analytic systems has
helped to improve the accurate monitoring of
user behaviour on a website. But alas, this is
not always enough, especially when dealing
with e-commerce sites and those that generate
business online.
Advanced page capturing technology, which
shows user movement on the screen and
across your website is already making inroads
into the analytics market and when used
correctly can provide a wealth of information.
The combination of real-time analytics (which
20 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
“
Web usability, just like
search engine optimisation
is a never-ending process
and the sooner you
employ it as part of your
overall web strategy the
better your bottom line
”
will be.
give you information while it’s happening, as
opposed to waiting 24 hours for data from
current analytic systems), with other
technologies such as live support and other
tracking systems give marketers a whole new
way of tracking and understanding user
behaviour online.
It’s not enough to look at the web stats
provided by your hosting company to reflect
accurately what people are doing on your site or
how they perceive the experience of browsing
your site.
Web usability is about bottom-line results.
By employing not only cutting-edge analytics
technologies, but also some old-fashioned
sampling methodologies, your perception of
your website will be turned upside down,
believe me!
Recently I met with a large e-commerce com-
pany that was quite happy with its online sales
and growth. Year-on-year growth of around 40
per cent is great and keeps investors happy. But
when delving a little deeper into the user experi-
ence, I found that its growth could easily be 10
to 20 per cent more. A big problem it had, but
wasn’t even aware of, was that users spent 60
per cent of their time trying to find products.
That’s okay, don’t you think – it’s an
e-commerce site after all?
Not really, because 24 per cent of those users
left the site before concluding their purchases,
because they were not prepared to waste more
time searching. This was confirmed when the
search system was upgraded and within seven
days, the average sales on the site increased by
18 per cent a day.
Not bad, but I went even further, and
through an analysis of user behaviour, and the
time it was taking them to make purchases
after they had found what they were looking
for, I discovered that this also needed slight
improvement. A new checkout system was
implemented which cut the amount of time it
takes to checkout in half – this resulted in
another six per cent rise in sales after 10 days.
It’s changes like these, and the analysis of
every piece of information, layout navigation,
images, look and feel, and much more, that
contribute to the ultimate success and growth
of your website and business online.
Web usability, if done correctly, can be a
time-consuming and involved process, but it will
always generate results, whether you have a
blog or a large e-commerce site. I always
suggest building a web usability strategy in
small steps and to slowly tweak each piece of
the puzzle, so to speak.
Web usability, just like search engine
optimisation is a never-ending process and the
sooner you employ it as part of your overall web
strategy the better your bottom line will be. 
Yoav Tchelet
director
iLogic
(011) 832 2800
yoav@ilogic.co.za
RESEARCH 10
A note from the editor:
W R
here would marketers be without research? And what would
marketing look like without research? For a start, would
anyone know that black diamonds existed, for example, or the fact
that kids actually like Mo the Meerkat? Probably not. Guesswork
and (maybe) sales figures would be all we’d have to go on. And
some might argue that this is enough for any brand to get by. After
all, isn’t the whole idea behind marketing to sell products, regard-
less of how much jargon and marketing gumpf we can come up
with in the middle of the night?.
Essentially, brands would not be able to operate without some
idea of what the target market looks like (how they walk, talk, eat,
shop, play and sleep). Today, not knowing exactly where your tar-
get market is, and exactly how, when and where you can make
yourself available to it means that you are as useful as a milk
bucket under a bull.
Mass marketing doesn’t work as well as it used to, at least not
without a little help from below-the-line and alternative media.
And figuring out how to manage all of that without making a mess
of it requires a decent amount of research and insight.
Plus, the board wants affirmation that the huge amounts of
money it gives you each year is actually doing something tangible
(sales, brand share and so on); and you can’t prove that without
research.
That’s not to say that research is always right or easy to carry
out. It’s not. It is often a major investment (if it’s not, it might not
be taken seriously) and it will sometimes tell you things you don’t
want to hear. The only rule is to do it right.
Research in SA is on par with global standards, if not better. After
all, where else in the world is there so much diversity, across so
many layers? Our researchers are developing methodologies and
models that are unique and fascinating, and could pave the way
for research around the world. It seems the major issues are
around access to research and an understanding of how it works,
what it means and how to use it. This is something that researchers
and the marketing industry will have to address collectively.
Moving forward, I hope to see more creative thinking around
research and its application.
I hope that Research 10 sheds light on the industry as a whole
and addresses some of the questions and issues around research
in SA. Please visit our website for extra content and information
(with so much to say, we ran out of space in the magazine!).
Enjoy!
22 RESEARCH 10 I MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
A note from the consulting editor:
esearch 10 came about after a discussion between publisher Terry
Murphy and some industry stakeholders who felt that it was time for a
review of the research industry in the light of the fast-changing world that
we live in.
In South Africa in particular, we have seen enormous socioeconomic
and political changes over the past 10 years and the good news is that
there are more to come. In addition, the technology revolution is far from
over and will affect the lives of every single person on this planet.
At SAARF, a large part of our activities is to look at the future and try to
anticipate the changes that we can expect. Due to the size, complexity
and investment that our surveys require we normally work with five- or six-
year contracts. To think that we can accurately determine what the situa-
tion will be five or more years from now is, unfortunately, not possible.
However, too many people think that future planning is a waste of time
and that is why many countries and organisations find themselves unpre-
pared for events that could have been anticipated.
I hope that the glimpse that Research 10 gives you into the current state
of play as well as the near future will be enlightening and will assist you to
be better prepared for the inevitable change that is round the corner.
Unfortunately, we also face other issues that will to a large extent
determine our actions in the future.
The dearth of skills and the flight of experienced people from our indus-
try are both frightening and tragic. The fact that the South African schools
system produces people that cannot add two figures together without the
aid of a calculator (and sometimes even with the help of a calculator)
means that most school-leavers are unable to become successful
researchers.
Numeracy, or rather the lack thereof, is probably the biggest failure of
the new democratic South Africa and will haunt us for many years to
come. Add to this the fact that many companies have closed their
research departments and in the process lost the knowledge and skills
accumulated over many years, which further exacerbates the situation.
So, for all of us in research, the message is clear. It is not going to be
smooth sailing. We’ll have to dig deep and adapt to the challenges to a
much greater extent than previously contemplated.
However, we still have a strong base from which we can operate and
if, as an industry, we work together to overcome these shortcomings, we
will be able to dodge the curve balls that will be coming at us from
all angles.
As the Chinese saying goes, may you live in interesting times!
Paul Haupt
CEO, SAARF
 RESEARCH 10
Research in South Africa:
the big issues
T
he research industry in SA is top class, with researchers in the know assuring
us that our methodologies and standards are up there with global standards
and best practices. Increasingly, global research institutions are acquiring local
research houses – we’ve seen TNS joining forces with Research Surveys, and
Ipsos linking up with Markinor. This is good news: not only are local research
houses benefiting from global support structures and resources, but they are in
turn impacting on global research with local perspectives, and unique models
and methodologies (after all, our society is unique and highly complex, so our
research models are proving dynamic and relevant).
Looking at the research industry a little closer, it becomes clear that there are
some issues in and around research. Research 10 explore some of the big issues.
The high price of insights
Research can be very costly, and many brands have to plan and set aside a
substantial portion of their budget for research (which must be justified
post-campaign).
As Donald Liphoko, associate media director, The MediaShop, says, insightful
consumer research that is actionable, adds value to the media decision-making
process and influences the brand decision-making process is uncommon due to
the costs involved. “This is a huge drawback,” says Anina Maree, client services
director, African Response. “Agencies end up using what information is available
to them, and assumptions are made to fill in the gaps.” But, as Tiaan Ras, man-
ager: Marketing and Media Intelligence, Ads24 points out, classic research is
expensive; it needs to be deliberately viewed as a positive investment. “Too
often, research is a grudge purchase that is made because the marketer has
money for it, and if they don’t use it, they lose it,” says Heidi Brauer, director:
Marketing and Client Relations, Ipsos Markinor. “Ad agencies are the worst
offenders in this case.”
Researchers admit that expensive, large-scale budgets are not always neces-
sary or effective. As Andrew Fulton, owner, Eighty20 points out, secondary data
is inexpensive. “The trick is to look for databases that have large enough sam-
ples, are accurate and relevant to the problems they try to solve.” Synergised
studies have emerged as a viable option, where two or more brands or compa-
nies will conduct a study together to determine major trends and insights.
Omnibus studies might be very effective in testing something basic, in a short
time, without excessive cost. And perhaps online or mobile methodologies will
emerge as cost-effective solutions, though at present, these are not being used
to any great extent.
“Companies spend millions on research when there may actually be simpler,
cheaper and more effective ways to get insights,” says Fulton.
Lack of understanding and skills shortage
There is the complaint that some marketers and media planners are not delving
beyond the basics of research data; that they are quick to use LSMs or the Black
Diamond study, for example, as the be-all-and-end-all, and might base a cam-
paign on this without doing further research to get a more detailed picture of
their market. The result is a campaign that doesn’t hit the bull’s eye and, too
often, marketers and media planners are quick to blame the research.
24 RESEARCH 10 I MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
Sarel Du Plessis, CEO, Ads24 believes that while marketers might have a
good understanding of their target audience, they tend to think of the targeted
group in broad strokes. “In reality, people, although they may be in the same
LSM group, are not the same throughout the country. Marketers should investi-
gate their target audiences at more regional and local levels, and understand
the differences,” he says.
Liphoko says that existing studies (such as the AMPS, LSMs and Black
Diamond) are frameworks for understanding macro trends and not a substitute
for brand-level research (which can have markedly different results compared to
the overall category data). “I think the criticism has to be put into its proper
context. Most planners criticise the misuse of segmentation studies in marketing
decision-making,” he says.
And then there’s the fact that good research takes time. “Everyone wants a
quick solution, so they buy research and shoe-horn it into their own research,”
says Brauer. Research should be factored into the whole branding programme
from the start. Simply looking to one resource for answers is risky – any errors in
the database will skew your view on the market.
“The paradox is that marketers are battling to be heard in the boardroom.
There’s an attitude that if they can prove their ROI through surveys and
research, then they will get more credibility in the boardroom,” says Shirley
Benney, CEO, Ipsos Markinor.
Perhaps there is not sufficient understanding of research and segmentation
models among marketers and media planners. Take the LSMs or AMPS, or even
the Black Diamond segments – each has been criticised for falling short of its
purpose to define specific market(s). But as Maree says, everybody’s using these
as common currencies. She goes on to say that these studies have their place,
and when they are used in the manner intended, they are effective. “People
have a limited understanding of how they work,” she says.
The Ipsos Markinor researchers maintain that any research or segmentation
study will present the facts or trends at a particular point in time and within a
particular context, and must always be seen as such. “With any research, you
should be asking ‘why’ three times, and if you can answer all of these, then
you’ve got a solid case,” says Brauer.
This might be something that tertiary institutions should address more vigor-
ously. Perhaps research houses and marketing agencies need to be more proac-
tive in educating one another and developing the right skills between these
industries. “The research itself is not the problem,” says Ailsa Birch, marketing
director, ACNielsen SA. “It’s that there are no skills to take it further.” She has
found that some clients will poke holes in the research when it doesn’t yield the
answers they were looking for, or when it doesn’t reflect what they think they
already know. It all boils down to their understanding of the role of research.
But it goes beyond this – a lack of skills and training (on both sides of the
fence) as well as high employee churn is contributing to the problem.
For Gordon Patterson, MD, Starcom Media, there are three issues at the centre
of the talent shortage. The first is tertiary education – Patterson believes that
these bodies need to measure their success by the quality of their graduates,
not by the number of graduates they produce. The second issue is that the
profession of media planning and marketing is not marketed effectively

to the youth. “We need to have a peer group that inspires,” says Patterson.
Thirdly, the profession should be more discriminating and selective of people
who have the right skills.
John Bowles, joint MD, Newspaper Advertising Bureau (NAB) believes that
the advertising industry has changed, and business models do not have the
margins to attract the skills, invest in staff and reward them appropriately. “In
the past, agencies used to do regular research, had research managers and
automatically offered that to their clients. As that industry has carved itself into
specialist services, research has taken a back seat,” he says. And the media
owners who do conduct research find their credibility is questioned.
New planners and marketers are coming into an industry that has no culture
of research, and no understanding of the quality of research. “Their depend-
ence on or desire for good research is non-existent and their ability to use it to
make decisions is not a priority,” he adds.
The modern researcher needs to be able to do so much more than crunch
numbers and spot trends. “It’s not only numeracy skills that are crucial, but
also critical verbal thinking. What good is it if you understand the numbers, but
can’t put the trends into words or make sense of them,” says Ras. The ideal
researcher would have a healthy mix of the two skill sets, he adds. However,
marketers and media planners should be involved in training that gives them a
more comprehensive understanding of research.
Employee training and mentorships are suggested as means to address the
skills crisis and uplift standards. But, as Birch points out, training does not give
employees experience.
“Training does not give researchers the right experience or the opportunity
to get to know the client and build a relationship with them,” says Birch.
Interestingly, the number of research houses that offer employee training has
dropped in recent years, as has the number of brands with dedicated in-house
researchers. “On-site research and consultation are costly, and many clients do
not see the value in it,” says Elmari Campher, Customised Research director,
ACNielsen. She points to the dismal success rates of new product launches
as proof that brands are missing out on the benefits of quality research and
in-house research teams.
Is media planning all it’s cracked up to be?
Media planners are a bigger problem in the issues of research, says
Neil Higgs, director: Innovation and Development, TNS Research Surveys –
they are too focused on numbers. “It’s not only about reach. The thinking of mass
marketing days is over. In today’s fragmented media markets, and in the age of
niche tribes, this thinking is no longer valid,” he says. After all, niche titles may not
have the biggest circulations, but their readers consume every page of their favourite
mag (including advertising) and are therefore a more valuable media buy.
Planning programs and software packages make it easier to access existing
research, and create media plans and campaigns based on this. But these are
often used without a good understanding of how the research behind the
figures works. “In this case, the researcher or marketer is taking the research
too literally. It must be contextualised and given a background. The underlying
trends must be understood and the full story behind the numbers should be
explored,” says Maree.
For media planners to be familiar with every magazine, newspaper, radio
show and TV programme is virtually impossible. But Du Plessis says that more
and more marketers and planners are seeing the value of including ‘softer”
issues (readers’ headspace or a magazine’s editorial positioning) into the
factors they consider. Perhaps this is the way forward.
Bowles believes that media planners (and marketers) have inherited
traditional techniques and definitions that they have to use, and for them to
change that behaviour would be very difficult. “I think they are frustrated but
willing to take on new research that can help them plan better and become
more informed to make calculated decisions.”
RESEARCH 10
Briefs fall short
Briefs are also not up to scratch, say researchers, and again, this is the result of
a poor understanding of research and its role in marketing.
Campher says that the briefs they receive from clients are often not up to
standard, and it would seem that these clients don’t know enough about
research to really put together a brief that can be actioned by the research
house. She goes on to say that the research houses have upped their game,
and are providing a myriad of research solutions. “But are they being used?
There is always doubt as to whether there is someone responsible for this.
There’s a definite gap.”
Campaigns are often not briefed in the right way (often verbally, says
Patterson). “In terms of comprehension, I’d say that most clients/agency
personnel have a working understanding of research, but if it’s a real problem,
then perhaps the research companies should prepare a template which could
form the foundation of a checklist,” he says. But the media is also to blame,
for misunderstanding and misusing research; journalists who don’t understand
the research data and objectives, for example, will sensationalise certain stud-
ies (but are not always reflecting on the research in the right way).
Working together
The relationship between the agency and the researcher is also under the spot-
light, with researchers saying that clients are sometimes not willing to be open
or to share their business models and brands with them. Mari Harris, Ipsos
Markinor director, insists that jargon be left at the door (or at the very least, be
discussed, so that all parties have the same understanding of the jargon and
therefore the same expectations). Likewise, researchers across the board admit
that briefs should not be communicated via e-mail or telephone, but in person,
where discussion will clear up misconceptions and help to drive the research
forward with greater focus.
Clients are urged to be more open about what the research did for them.
“There is no 360-degree approach: very seldom do we actually get feedback
from clients,” says Birch. Leaving our researchers in the dark about what
worked and what didn’t impact negatively on the industry. Some researchers
believe that local marketers and planners need to up their attendance at
research presentations and seminars.
But perhaps researchers need to change the way they are viewed. “We are
not good at positioning ourselves as equal professionals, so we are simply
seen as a supplier. And our credibility is compromised,” says Brauer. Research
needs to be positioned as a creative field, based on strong scientific founda-
tions. She adds that researchers don’t ask their clients enough questions to
understand their needs and businesses better, and to find out what decisions
are being made based on their research. “We ask our clients what it is that
keeps them up at night. What a client needs is not always what a client wants,”
says Brauer.
A complex market
Of course, the complexity and dynamism of the South African population
is both a treasure and a problem. “Coping with all the information out
there is quite a task,” says Ras. And as the markets evolve, the questions we
ask of them also need to evolve. The boxes that we try to put people into
to be able to count and measure them are changing constantly. “The question
is, are we assuming the right things about them. Yesterday’s facts are today’s
fiction,” he says. Perhaps sampling needs to be better understood and con-
trolled to create a better understanding of the complex South African markets,
adds Birch.
“There is interesting stuff going on outside of classic research surveys. For
example, the intercept research that takes place at the taxi ranks or filmed
interviews, such as those collected by c.i.a’s NOW project,’ says Ras. “We
need to start thinking out of the box,” he concludes. 
Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008 I MarketingMix I RESEARCH 10 25
RESEARCH 10

AMPs
T
he SAARF All Media and Products Survey (AMPS) is an in-home face to face
personal interview (conducted using CAPI, that is, Computer Assisted
Personal Interviewing). Respondents are asked questions relating to mass media
consumption, ownership of motor vehicles, durables and household items, as
well as personal items; they are also asked about their financial services, their
personal activities (holidays, shopping patterns and Internet usage), as well as
their product and brand usage or purchase.

The results of this valuable new addition to AMPS not

only give us interesting information about people’s

attitudes towards important issues, but, because it forms

part of the AMPS survey, the data can be cross-tabbed

with any AMPS product, brand or with the mass of media
consumption information that AMPS contains.
The AMPS sample is currently just over 21 000 adults per annum, and fieldwork
runs from mid-January till end of June and then from July to December. The AMPS
sample is a multi-stage area stratified probability sample, pre-stratified by province
(9 strata), community size (4 strata), gender (2 categories) and age (4 categories)
adding up to 288 cells. In urban areas, the sample is collected by using a random
starting point and selecting systematically with a fixed interval every 9th address
number. A cluster of four addresses are selected at each primary sampling point to
save travelling costs. In rural areas, sampling points are selected using maps of the
surveyor general’s office. Again, a starting point is selected at random and every
Nth dwelling is used. Clusters of two are used.
One respondent is selected at every address, using gender and age to ensure
a proportionate sample. Inhabitations at mines and hostels, as well as domestic
workers, are sampled differently, in accordance with their gender composition.
“AMPS is the official currency for printed media and is still doing a great job in
determining reader incidence and the sustainability of the match between target
market and reader audiences,” says Sarel du Plessis, CEO, Ads24 and current
chair of SAARF. “Although AMPS is sometimes criticised, compared to similar
surveys throughout the world, it is still of the highest quality”. In June 2007, the
AMPS study was audited by Erhard Meier, an independent international consultant.
The audit found that the AMPS study is a well designed and well executed survey,
comparing well with international standards.
In March this year, SAARF released the results of a new battery of attitudinal
statements which are now included in the AMPS survey. The statements test peo-
ples attitudes about subjects such as advertising; cultural traditions; patriotism,
and so on. “The results of this valuable new addition to AMPS not only give us
interesting information about people’s attitudes towards important issues, but,
because it forms part of the AMPS survey, the data can be cross-tabbed with
any AMPS product, brand or with the mass of media consumption information
that AMPS contains,” says Paul Haupt, CEO, SAARF. 

Back to basics: LSMs

D
uring the 1980s, marketers used to segment markets by separating them
into either rural or urban markets. However, it was evident that the
differences between the rural and urban markets were disappearing fast.
“SAARF then started looking for a segmentation tool that would be better than
every single demographic,” says Paul Haupt, CEO, SAARF. Around this time,
SAARF was approached by Eddie Schultze, of Unilever, with a new take on
research. Schultze believed that SAARF was not looking in the right place, and
he pointed out that ownership of TV, radio and motor vehicles, for example,
would allow for interesting segmentations. When looking at ownership in different
combinations it became possible to plot the population and segment it.
SAARF decided to adopt this approach to segmentation, using mostly existing
AMPS variables and the power of multivariate statistics. These variables were
statistically ranked according to their discriminatory strength and the strongest
discriminators selected. From 70 odd variables that were analysed, 13 were selected,
and these were used to segment the population into eight simple groups.
“We published this for the first time in 1990, and it was very well received. It
really worked from day one,” says Haupt. “Over the years we have >p28

26 RESEARCH 10 I MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008

RESEARCH 10
>>p26 updated and changed the LSMs, continually improving them.
Today the SAARF Universal LSM is an excellent segmentation tool, and is the
most widely used segmentation method in South Africa. It has also been
adopted in more than a dozen other countries and a Pan African LSM has
also been developed.”
The strength of the LSM tool lies in the fact that it is the result of the
combined efforts, money and research impetus of three key industries –
advertising, marketing, and media. This combined force means that SAARF
has the budgets to do research on a substantial sample. “It also means that
we are able to do standardised research that compares apples to apples. In
addition, and this is the most important point, it also allows for the research
to be shared instead of each individual industry keeping its findings to itself.
This is the basis of a common currency when all users have access to the
same research” says Haupt. As Lucas Raganya, technical support executive,
SAARF, points out, because the LSMs, RAMS, TAMS, etc all use the same
respondent base, there is minimal wastage of resources; plus, the research is
transparent and credible. The SAARF surveys have been audited by inde-
pendent international experts on more than one occasion, and have been
given the thumbs up.
However, SAARF argues that the LSMs are indeed
powerful segmentation tools when correctly used
and especially when used in combination with
other such tools (demographics, lifestyles, shopping
behaviour etc).
Another plus is that the LSMs are independent. “They belong to the
industry and therefore there are no vested interests,” says Claire Milne,
technical support executive of SAARF. A further benefit is that the LSMs have
become a common currency, and there is virtually no important survey in our
industry that does not contain the SAARF LSM’s, thus enabling our stakeholders
to use the same measure in different research. To keep the LSM current, it is
updated every single year by reanalysing the variables that make up the index.
The LSMs have been criticised by some marketers and media planners
who say that they are insufficient measures. However, SAARF argues that the
LSMs are indeed powerful segmentation tools when correctly used and
especially when used in combination with other such tools (demographics,
lifestyles, shopping behaviour etc). “It’s not the tool that is deficient, it’s the
way that it is used,” says Michelle Boehme, technical manager, SAARF. “LSMs
are not the only tool out there, and shouldn’t be used as such. Very often
they need to be used in combination with other tools to paint a better picture
of the market.”
Eighty20 ran a competition on their website, challenging users to guess
what their LSM is. And only a third of users actually got it right, proving to
Andrew Fulton, owner, Eighty20 that working knowledge of LSMs is low.
John Bowles, joint MD, Newspaper Advertising Bureau (NAB) says “all of us
have gotten quite carried away with defining target markets according to LSMs.
They have just become an easy target market definer, but in reality, most
marketers use them as if they were income segments.” He goes on to say that
the industry is no longer looking at target markets according to category.
Another pitfall is over-targeting, says SAARF. The problem here is that
marketers and media planners often over-target to the extent that they end up
with too few respondents in their sample and then they criticise the research.
Ultimately, the interpretation and logical use of the LSM tools is the
responsibility of the user. It is also their responsibility to ask for the necessary
training, which SAARF and other bodies regularly provide in the form of LSM
workshops and training courses. 
28 RESEARCH 10 I MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
Is race still
a viable
differentiator?
I
s race a viable differentiator, especially in a democracy
that is trying to heal the wounds inflicted by racism? Is
this a suitable differentiator today?
In the 1990s, SAARF was accused of racism in a case
that was taken before Parliament. The premise of the
accusation was that SAARF founded its research on the
distinction between the white, coloured and Indian (WCI)
and black populations. SAARF responded by offering to
remove race from its questionnaires and surveys. However,
the industry realised that race was still an important and
relevant differentiator, so SAARF was asked to keep it.
“Race is still an important classification
variable in SA… but, like wealth,
we should be seeing it as just one
way of looking at people’s different
worldviews – that is where the true
richness for marketing, advertising and
research lies.”
Neil Higgs, director: Innovation and Development, TNS
Research Surveys, says that race and wealth are the most
ubiquitous differentiators in research and marketing in SA.
“Because of the way people were discriminated against by
race in the past, so much of their thought and behaviour
patterns are dominated by the race group to which they
perceive they belong. So, to the horror of those who are
politically correct on issues to do with politics, poverty alle-
viation, service delivery and related social issues, not to
analyse by race is to miss the main context of the data,”
he says. At the same time, BBBEE continues to entrench
the social divide, he adds.
However, moving forward, this will evolve. “How we
process information and make decisions follows patterns
that are the same regardless of race, culture or other
groupings – it is to do with how our brain works, and
transcends race and all the rest,” says Higgs. He suggests
that worldview and culture may become more significant
differentiators.
“Race is still an important classification variable in
SA… but, like wealth, we should be seeing it as just one
way of looking at people’s different worldviews – that is
where the true richness for marketing, advertising and
research lies,” concludes Higgs. 

TAMS
T
he SAARF Television Audience Measurement Survey (TAMS) data is gath-
ered electronically through devices called people meters that are installed
in more than 1 500 respondent homes across the country and that measure the
viewing behaviour of approximately 5 000 individuals. Each household is
equipped with a remote control device; each member of the household has
their own ‘button’ on this control device, and they push this button to log in and
log out whenever they start or stop viewing. Households are continuously moni-
tored to ensure full cooperation by all respondents, and if necessary they are
counselled, either by phone or in person. SAARF TAMS counsellors will coach
any panellists who are not logging in and out correctly and panellists who con-
tinue to do so after counselling are removed from the panel. In addition, coin-
cidental telephone interviews are conducted from time to time to ensure that
household compliance is at a high level
The TAMS people meters were initially dependent on landline telephones to
communicate with the central computer system in Johannesburg. In areas
where many houses did not have telephones, radio links (limited to a specific
radius) were used to connect such houses to the nearest house with a landline
telephone to transmit readings.
During the early years of TAMS, a large part of the black population did not
have electricity or landline telephones, so measurement in black areas was lim-
ited. By the early 2000s, Eskom had succeeded in supplying almost 80 percent
of the country with electricity, so there was the potential to report deep into rural
areas. In addition the advent of GSM cellular phone technology also provided
SAARF with a new way of communicating with households.
Today, transmission of reporting signals takes place via GSM cellphones,
landlines and Fastnet, making it possible to communicate with households
everywhere. “The improvements in communications technology have made the
rural panel possible,” says Paul Haupt, CEO, SAARF. In 2007,
SAARF began releasing results from rural households, in line
with its aims to provide a national
picture for television viewing. “This national picture has
proved great for stations like SABC 1 and e.tv,”
says Haupt.
The switch to overnight ratings in July 2006 has
also been a major plus for the TV industry in that it
provides stations with a much more up to date picture of their
audiences and therefore greater accountability.
Nobody is quite certain about the future of TV audiences and trends. There
will be great challenges for SAARF starting with the measurement of the new
pay television channels as well as the switch to digital terrestrial television (DTT),
which will go ahead later in the year. Haupt and the SAARF team expect that
the SABC, e.tv and even M-Net will apply for acquisition of channels. “And then
in 2010, we will be faced with the 2010 FIFA World Cup which will need
innovative ways of measuring out of home viewing and at the same time,
high-definition TV is also fast becoming a reality. All of this is going to put a
strain on our measurement capacity. As there will be more audience fragmentation,
so we will need to increase the TAMS sample size amongst other things,” says
Haupt. SAARF is investigating all their options, and is working towards a viable
solution which will in all probability consist of a hybrid solution and not just be
a question of expanding the existing TAMS panel.
Personal measurement devices are on SAARF’s radar, especially since 2010
soccer viewing will see people watching the matches in pubs and clubs. “The
future is a bit uncertain, but it’s exciting,” says Haupt.
In the meantime, they are expanding the current TAMS panels to include
children as young as four years of age (the remote device is easy enough for
RESEARCH 10
them to use, says Haupt); channels with educational programming targeted at
children will benefit from the expanded panel. Currently, SAARF is conducting
trials with the new panellists, but it is hoped that over the next few weeks, the
new panel will be formalised.
DStv-i
DStv announced the DStv-i audience measurement tool late 2007. This is a
return-path measurement system (ie the decoder is used to capture viewing
behaviour rather than a people meter).
According to Peter Mackenzie, managing director, Oracle Airtime Sales
(OATS) DStv recognised some years ago that with the proliferation of media,
channels and devices, and the explosion of digital platforms (a problem that is
not unique to SA), the TAMS panels would simply not be able to measure multi-
channel audiences adequately. Very small sample sizes were one major short-
coming of the panels; Mackenzie says that for 60 per cent of the DStv chan-
nels, the sample size was probably smaller than five people.
“There was no industry strategy for dealing with TV and measurement rat-
ings,” says Mackenzie. In 2006, DStv started looking at overseas models and
identified return-path panels as a viable option. Click stream data is recorded
and stored in the memory of the set top box, and retrieved daily, where after it
is downloaded to TNS in the UK for analysis and compilation. “It is a huge
technical challenge and an enormous investment. But it means that we will
have robust ratings for TV advertising,” says Mackenzie.
The TAMS panel currently measures a sample of between 1 500 and 1 600
households (about 350 of which have DStv). By comparison the DStv-i panel
will measure 4 000 households. “These panels are passive – panellists
don’t have to do anything to be measured, so it’s got to be more
accurate than measurement tools that require the panellists to log in and
out each time,” says Mackenzie. Plus, the system has safeguards built
into it, so power cuts and faulty Internet connections will not have a
negative impact. Industry expert, Brenda Wortley has been appointed
project director, while an independent audit process is being finalised (the
audits will be made available to SAARF).
Mackenzie goes on to say that major channels overseas are developing
similar models. “This means that we are in a leadership position and it
underscores the fact that this is where the industry is going.” Planning tools
will be updated to include the DStv-i data.
Haupt points out that although return-path panels will play a role in future,
the DStv-i panel only measures viewing at a household level and not at an
individual level as is done by the TAMS panel.
It also involves complicated and extensive modelling of data and will not
produce information that is comparable to that produced by the TAMS panel.
“What must be pointed out is that a television media owner will now put a
media owner controlled currency on the market instead of one that is jointly
controlled by marketers, advertising agencies and media owners,” says Haupt.
“The provision of industry controlled common currencies for the buying and
selling of media space and time was one of the main reasons for the
creation of SAARF and it served all media and the industry well over the years.
The fact that there could be different currencies controlled by individual
media owners that are not comparable may not be to the advantage of the TV
industry.” To address this, media owners with such panels will need to work
closely with SAARF in ensuring that comparable ratings for television channels
are evolved.
DStv-i will begin recruiting panellists during the course of the year with a view
to reporting data by early 2009. 
Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008 I MarketingMix I RESEARCH 10 29
 RESEARCH 10
RAMS
S
AARF’s Radio Audience Measurement Survey (RAMS) is a survey, which meas-
ures radio audiences and time spent listening to radio stations. The figures
represent total audience sizes as well as stations’ reach into the adult population.
More specifically, the following information is gathered:
 Radio stations listened to during a seven-day period
 Times listened to each station (for each day of the week, for each quarter
hour of the day in a 24-hour period)
 Radio stations listened to in the past four weeks
 Favourite radio stations.
A set of respondents taken from the AMPS study are used for RAMS. These
respondents, as well as all the adult members of their household, complete a
SAARF RAMS Diary in which they record the above information. The RAMS fig-
ures have become the radio currency in SA, with results being published every
two months. However, marketers and media planners are urged to look at these
results in detail, especially because the stations spend a lot of time and money
communicating the nuances of their core audiences to the industry, says Norman
Gibson, Radmark marketing manager.
The RAMS diaries do however measure all radio
listening independently of the mode of listening.
In 2004, flooding was introduced, which saw all adult members of each respon-
dent household keeping a Diary. This procedure more than doubled the sample.
“Flooding was a good decision and definitely a step in the right direction. Although
it resulted in a more robust sample, the big question is whether it’s enough. It still
seems insufficient for an adult population in excess of 30 million. I would be inter-
ested to know how we compare with markets like Europe and the US,” says
Gibson. He goes on to say that he believes electronic measurement would take
RAMS figures to the next level (the Diary methodology is outdated). “I know that
there have been talks about this, but the question is, when will it happen?”
Paul Haupt, CEO, SAARF, says that we compare very well, and it is not true
that radio diaries are outdated. “It is still one of the most widely used methodolo-
gies in the world and in developing countries, it not only works very well, it is also
extremely cost effective,” says Haupt.
SAARF has been monitoring the development of electronic measurement of
radio closely and like countries such as Australia, and have decided that it is too
early and too expensive to venture into electronic measurement at this stage.
“There is no doubt that it will come, but currently available systems are still in the
early stages of commercialisation and will cost much more than the tried and
tested methodologies now in use,” says Haupt.
The RAMS data no longer includes ‘place of listening’, so there is no indica-
tion of whether listeners listen at home or in their cars; likewise, ‘mode of listen-
ing’ is not included, so there is no indication of whether listening is taking place
via radio or the Internet. “With the explosion of the digital age, it is important that
research houses start looking at those kinds of modes of listening,” says Gibson.
The RAMS diaries do however measure all radio listening independently of the
mode of listening.
Gibson also believes that some media planners do not have time to sift
through the RAMS figures as frequently as every two months. “This may be ideal
for our stations from a programming perspective. But from a media planning
perspective, it is simply too frequent,” he says. 
30 RESEARCH 10 I MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
OHMS: measuring
outdoor media
P
rior to the launch of SAARF’s electronic Out of Home Media Survey
(OHMS) data, outdoor had been measured by AMPS, and relied on
respondents’ recall. As Paul Haupt, CEO SAARF, says, this data was not suffi-
cient for the industry, since it did not allow for campaign planning. “It was not
on par with other media. We needed to find electronic devices that would
measure outdoor and put it on a par with other media,” says Haupt. The
Npod has been eight years in development, since Nielsen and SAARF joined
forces in 2000 to develop the measurement device and get the pilot study up
and running.
Today, the devices have been refined, and now track not only outdoor
media passed, but also the speed at which the respondent is travelling, and
the route people travel too. “During the development of the device we stip-
ulated that we needed a pocket-sized device, which would allow us to
measure pedestrian traffic and taxi commuters,” says Haupt. In Canada,
for example, outdoor measurement is a vehicle measurement, but here,
personal measurement will be necessary, given the number of pedestrian
and taxi commuters. “The actual fieldwork started in 2006 and we will
soon have a national picture of outdoor,” says Haupt. “This will make it
possible for media planners to consider outdoor on a par with other media
formats, and allow for campaign planning.”
About the study:
The SAARF OHMS sample is drawn from adults with mains electricity (a
sample base of 10 536 000 adults) and it forms a subsample of AMPS.
The NPod has been eight years in development, since
Nielsen and SAARF joined forces in 2000 to develop
the measurement device and get the pilot study up
and running.
Fourteen site clusters have been developed with the help of Out of
Home Media South Africa (OHMSA) members. In areas that were not
included in the sample, modelling was used to generate results.
Respondents’ data was only considered if it complied with certain stipu-
lations (it had to be accurate, two days’ worth of data per respondent). The
device measures ‘opportunity to see’, which is the defined visibility zone of
a particular site. This is impacted by the time of day, the size of the site, its
location and whether or not it is illuminated (and can be seen at night).
Pedestrian sites are also measured, but building wraps are not part of the
study as yet. “We are currently out on tender for the OHMS research for
2009 to 2013, and are awaiting a decision. If we get the go-ahead, then
we will look at including the wraps,” says Haupt.
In January 2008, SAARF released the first set of results, for Gauteng
and KZN. The results indicated that there has been growth year on year of
between 20 and 30 percent, over the past five years (indicating strong
growth of the medium). The results will be published for the Eastern and
Western Cape later this year, and users can get a national view of outdoor
by the end of 2008. 
 RESEARCH 10

Life stages and Media Groups Measure (MGM):

T
he SAARF Life Stages segmentation tool was developed in 2000, and
grouped the adult population into one of seven segments. This segmentation
acknowledges that each of these groupings has different needs and behaviours.
These can also be run relative to interests and activities, to paint a more holistic
picture of the market.
The Life Stages study was followed by the Media Groups Measure (MGM),
which was initially developed to assist people by helping them to identify the
best media mix to reach large groups of people, eg such as the government
that would for instance like to reach as many people as possible before a
national election. “It is different from LSMs, but enables you to reach the whole
population by using a mix of different media types,” says Paul Haupt, CEO,
SAARF. Essentially, MGMs identify the best combinations of media to reach spe-
cific large pockets of the population (it is therefore not really intended for tar-
geting smaller, niche groups). It comprises eight groups, the higher of which
will focus on multiple media (these groups reach the upper LSMS, which have
access to media such as cinema, TV and the Internet). “This sort of segmenta-
tion has proven very useful in mass markets. The MGM takes the impact of the
different media into account,” says Haupt.
Description of SAARF MGMs
MGM 1: extensive exposure to radio (especially public service broadcasting),
and some exposure to TV. Outdoor advertising at stores and on billboards and,
to a lesser extent, on taxis and minibuses.
MGM2: high exposure to radio, but at a lower level compared with MGM 1,
since other media come into play. TV has increased coverage. Outdoor follows
a similar pattern.
MGM 3: limited Average Issue Readership (AIR) of the AMPS newspapers
and magazines. Radio is at a high level, and TV has a greater reach.
All forms of outdoor are apparent, though there is limited exposure to
bus shelters and trains.
MGM 4: radio and TV have similar high coverage. All forms of outdoor are
represented, though there is still limited exposure to bus shelters and trains.
Improvement in the readership of AMPS newspapers and magazines.
MGM 5: coverage for both TV and radio show a further increase. Readership
shows a considerable increase (weekly and monthly magazines as well as daily
and weekly newspapers). Outdoor extends its coverage.
MGM 6: TV and radio have very high reach. Enhanced reading of weekly and
monthly magazines (there is a growing interest in print). The increasing levels of
urbanisation see the inclusion of moving media (buses, trailers and trucks).
MGM 7: there is evidence of some cinema and Internet consumption over the
past seven days. Print readership rises further. Reach for radio and TV remain
high. Continued growth in all outdoor types.
MGM 8: all media show an increase. TV is at its highest, and radio at its
second highest (after MGM 1). More exposure to outdoor as a result of greater
mobility. Higher income and discretionary spending sees access to the full
range of media options. Cinema and Internet are at a peak. 

Researching in Townships
By Wendy Cochrane, director, Consumer Insight Agency (c.i.a)

I
n our dynamic and shifting landscape, this manically morphing place that is
SA, townships have become a source of fascination to marketers. In the fallout
of the ‘Black-Diamond’ frenzy – they have become a key focus for almost
every brief.
A worrying aspect of many of these briefs is the reduction of the multi-
dimensional people that inhabit these colourful spaces into one homogeneous
‘Emerging’ or ‘Township’ catch-all. To start, the needs, drivers and dreams
differ as much in a cross-section of Soweto as they do in the entire country.
What’s more concerning about this revealing choice of descriptors is
that our industry appears to have collectively concluded that the entire
‘township’ (read ‘black’) market is either ‘emerged’, ‘emerging’ or at
least pretending to be. Strategic responses to that thinking are to inundate
the ‘target’ with aspirational messages and high-gloss goods and
premium-isation strategies to ‘trade them up’ – ready or not. Few have
awakened to the greater opportunities and more socially sensitive ideas that lie in
simply innovating and even researching what people’s real needs are – at all lev-
els of the ‘township’ spectrum – catering to the basic needs of mushrooming
‘have-nots’ survival.
Last year we began an epic study that sought to address that. ‘The NOW
project’ reveals deep insight into the diverse jigsaw of people that make up
SA, and importantly explores the connections between them.
We were asked to give hot tips for studying townships, and I guess in
conclusion the most important would be to enter with sensitivity – with your eyes
and ears open to the realities of the many different people who live there – to
leave pre-conceived ideas from the last PowerPoint presentation on your desk,
and to really listen to what people need. 

32 RESEARCH 10 I MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008


Research in Africa
A
frica holds huge potential for local brands – consider, for example, that
Nigeria has the highest number of Internet users, at around eight million
(www.internetworldstats.com). Or that urbanisation and local economies are
booming throughout the continent. As a result, the need for research in Africa
is growing.
“We are seeing less and less research being carried out by big multinationals
in SA; there is a definite trend towards research in Africa,” says Bridget Fitschen,
marketing director: Africa, Research International. She adds that mobile telecom-
munication companies as well as financial institutions are the biggest drivers of
this research as well as the large multinational brands (Procter & Gamble,
Unilever and Coca-Cola). Countries in East Africa prove easier to research.
Research International was involved in the development of the Pan African
LSMs, which were launched in mid-2004. According to Joe Boniaszczuk,
marketing science director, Research International, these LSMs make it possible
to compare 15 African countries in Africa, and get a detailed picture of living
standards in sub Saharan Africa. “Where AMPS-like data was available for
these countries, we used that. For those countries that did not have this data,
we conducted customised ad-hoc surveys. We now have the same data as is
available in the South African LSMs, which measures between 50 and 80
variables. We also use the same methods and statistics to score them,” he says.
Since mid-2006, the Pan African LSMs have been in the public domain, and
are therefore easily accessed by marketers. “They were developed by a consortium
of companies, many of which were banking groups, and insurers, who wanted
to see a finer discrimination of the richer end of the African markets,” says
Boniaszczuk. The markets are segmented into 18 different groups, the first
RESEARCH 10
Coca-Cola’s Africa technical centre
The Africa Technical Centre was launched in Midrand in March,
with a focus on support for the brand in Africa, including research.
“The Midrand laboratory is one of five locations selected by the
Coca-Cola Company as part of its global framework for analytical
support to its operations worldwide,” says Racquel White, group
communications director, Coca-Cola Africa. “Africa is a rapidly
developing market with a wide range of needs and preferences.
Matching our diverse portfolio with these needs and responding
swiftly to them is both a challenge and an opportunity.”
seven of which are fairly large. “The 15 countries we include adequately
represent Sub-Saharan Africa, and allow the marketer to compare like with like
across political borders,” adds Boniaszczuk.
Challenges for research in Africa:
The most obvious challenge is that each African country is different to its
neighbours, and the environment and markets are unique. “The quality of
fieldwork is a major issue, as it is not always up to scratch,” says Fitschen. “In
most parts of Africa, the only way to do research is with pen and paper –
technology in Africa is generally not very advanced.” Other challenges include
the lack of adequate infrastructures; language, cultural and geographic barriers;
the high cost of research due to the long distances that must be travelled, or
the translators that researchers may need to work with. “There is a serious skill
shortage among researchers in Africa,” adds Fitschen.
“We have found that research in East Africa is straightforward and possibly
easier to carry out than elsewhere,” says Fitschen, pointing to countries such as
Kenya, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia.
Nielsen carries out research in the African markets
Nielsen highlights some important considerations when doing research in Africa:
 Retail channels and trade structures are different – adopt new methodologies
to capture the unique trading environment rather than a one-size-
fits-all approach.
 Consumer segmentations are different (an income bracket in one country
does not equate to similar buying power in another).
 Understand the geographic and natural barriers to accessibility,
climatic conditions hindering data collection during certain seasons and
topography.
 Understand language differences for wording sensitivity and structure.
 Understand cultural and religious barriers for potential restrictions (ie
restrictions on women and children in certain areas). These could impact
on the questions and scale interpretation, and gratuitous respondents.
 Understand political barriers as well as social structures.
 Communication technologies differ and can impact on an agency’s ability
to make spontaneous changes to questionnaires and methodologies.
 Distances can be vast, and this will impact on turnaround time, so plan
ahead.
 Clarify expectations upfront.
 A single research supplier is advantageous, ensures standardisation and
comparability of results
 Research agencies with offices, expertise and experience in the specific
country are your best bet. 
Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008 I MarketingMix I RESEARCH 10 33
RESEARCH 10
Researching the youth markets:
A
dults and youths are like chalk and cheese when it comes to research.
Not only are their mindsets vastly different, but they respond to research
methodologies in very different ways. “This population is very diverse in terms of
age, cognitive capabilities, culture, socio-economic status of family, etc,” says
Jason Levin, MD, HDI Youth Marketeers. However, there is a definite trend
towards researching this market, because companies are realising that the
youth is a valuable long-term market. “They are current and future consumers,
and heavy influencers of household purchase decisions,” says Quentin Weldon,
youth research consultant, Youth Dynamix.
There are a few things researchers should keep in mind when working with kids:
 Kids respond to emotional triggers and multi-sensory experiences. Asking
them to chat about the functional aspects of your brand would be redundant.
 Kids are tech-savvy, and have no hesitation in researching brands, so cannot
be thought of as naïve. “They are not mini adults,” says Weldon.
 Kids have a short attention span, especially since they have been exposed to
new media and intense multi-tasking. “Research surveys and focus groups
should be brief. Research techniques and the level of question difficulty
should be adapted,” says Hlengiwe Hlela, HDI Youth Marketeers researcher.
 Age appropriate techniques and materials are essential. Take into account
the developmental level of the respondents and segment them according to
this. ”The easiest way to achieve this is to group them according to school
grade,” says Weldon.
 Do not mix genders in group research. Particularly among younger groups,
researchers have found that boys dominate the conversations or try to
impress the girls with their antics. It’s ok to mix race when the children are
from the same school. Says Weldon, a black child whose home environment
is LSM 6, but whose school environment is mixed-raced LSM 8, will relate to
the LSM 8 experience in the same way as his white peers. He will not relate
to a black child who attends a township school.
 Kids do not have a rich vocabulary, so may need to be helped along without
having words put into their mouths. Visual material is helpful.
 Kids can be shy and easily intimidated; they may hide behind peers in group
scenarios or follow the crowd. “Face-to-face or pair research is a viable
means to avoid this,” says Weldon.
 It’s essential to have a moderator with a strong rapport: “a good relationship
is key with young people,” says the HDI Youth Marketeers team. Weldon has
found that younger mediators seem to have an easier time connecting with
kids. Likewise, female mediators often get the best response.
Reaching them via mobile
Research conducted via cellphone could be the next step forward for
researchers who are trying to reach this market. The cellphone is
becoming a personal companion that youths cannot live without.
“Technology is very important in their lives. So if you can engage
them where they are, and show them that you care enough to go
where they are, you will get results,” says Weldon. Brands should
increasingly be looking at ways to send their message to the youth via
this medium. Likewise, researchers should be using this medium to
get through to kids.
However, cellphone and online surveys are not ideal for open-ended
questions.
34 RESEARCH 10 I MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
 Do not ask questions as if they were at school.
 Give them a thorough explanation of what is about to take place.
 Use humour intermittently.
Integrating youth research
“As a rule of thumb, if there is a youth component to your target market, you
will have to be prepared to have a separate communication strategy aimed at
it, and possibly different product intrinsics,” says Weldon. This means a separate
youth research budget.
HDI Youth Marketeers encourages organisations to establish a trend-watch-
ing group, tasked with facilitating and conducting ongoing research. Consulting
and creating research societies is another option, especially useful in research-
ing youths’ ‘headspace’.
“This can be achieved by monitoring, observing and participating in relevant
youth-orientated activities both in the street and online (such as blogging and
social-networking) along with engaging with papers, websites, magazines,
blogs, books, news, newsletters, TV, movies, radio, seminars, fairs, trade shows,
customers, clients, colleagues, friends and even family members, to list but a
few,” says Levin.
Hlela adds that a high level of inquisitiveness goes a long way. “Research
with young South Africans needs to be personalised and localised so that
campaigns are relevant to them here.
“A youth-orientated consumable product should be evaluated sensorially by
the youth within the target age group, as the taste that appeals to a child may
be rejected by an adult,” says Weldon.
Youth research
There is a great deal of youth research available – which one to use?
 The Sunday Times Generation Next study, compiled by HDI Youth
Marketeers, targets 8-22 year olds; it will list their favourite brands and
will also discuss the impact of global trends; the role of the youth as
influencers on brands and future markets; the level of youth influence versus
parental control, and their brand preferences. This year, the Generation Next
event will be held on 21 May, with the Generation Next supplement due for
publication in the Sunday Times on 25 May. For more information, visit
www.hdiyouth.co.za.
 HDI Youth Marketeers hosts the annual Khuza Awards, which are youth
communications awards. The judging panel consists of youth between 8 and
23 years of age, and they vote for their favourite advertising and communica-
tion messages. Visit www.khuza-awards.co.za for more information.
 Youth Dynamix offers its syndicated Trax studies, which include Tyk Trax (0-6
years), Brat Trax (7-15 years) and Youth Trax (16-24 years). These studies
cover everything from family interactions and media/brand consumption
behaviour, to financial behaviour, role models and attitudes as well as brand
literacy and lifestyle, technology and communications, etc.
 Youth Dynamix offers the Youthscapes report, released three times a year,
which covers current and future youth marketing trends and fads. It discusses
licences (toys and merchandise), FMCG and consumer trends, fashion,
technology, new media, music and toys.
 The UCT Unilever Trend Youth study, published in 2002, discusses
local trends in the 7-24 year old youth market. It makes a comparison
between local and global trends, and also suggests ways for marketers to reach
this market. 

The future of research
T
here’s no doubt about the fact that research will remain a solid institution,
and a bastion in the realm of marketing insights and campaign planning.
Media fragmentation, globalisation and the rise of consumer control has
placed the consumer outside the reach of mass marketing research. However,
ad rates and the demand for unique advertising opportunities are rising.
Primarily, it seems that interview techniques and research methods will need
to be adapted. Yet Michelle Boehme, technical manager, SAARF, believes that
while there will be some changes to the measurement instruments and research
methodologies, it remains important to keep research stable and comparable
across the years.
Ipsos Markinor’s director of Marketing and Client Relations, Heidi Brauer, agrees:
“There are two layers to this. You need solid science to underpin any research, and
then you can adapt the method or the tools to make it more relevant.”
Research 10 takes a look at how research will evolve to cope with modern
challenges.
No more phones
Landline penetration is falling (from a low level of penetration). As far as
researchers are concerned, telephonic interviews are dead. Marketers will need
to develop interviewing techniques and methods that don’t rely on the telephone.
“The industry needs to embrace a culture of using research,
specifically qualitative research, conducted by real
professionals so that there is an accepted standard and rules.”
Hard to reach
Especially among the upper crust, researchers will struggle to get answers.
“The upper-income and affluent consumer is difficult to get hold of, yet they
have massive economic means and are crucial to understand. They lack the
time and the patience to be lured into a 55-minute interview, so you have to
think quite differently with them, but you also have to make sure that your
approach is consistent with the interviewing techniques you employ elsewhere,”
says John Bowles, joint MD, NAB.
Another factor to consider is that people are too busy to take part in research.
Also, crime has impacted on the extent to which people will open up to researchers,
says Bowles; research will need to take this into account. Perhaps research
methodologies that require respondents to disclose personal details, such as
income or home address, need to have security measures worked into them.
Focus on personal networks and relationships
With consumers out of reach through mass media, marketers and researchers
will need to find interesting ways of reaching their target consumers. Targeting
the individual’s network is one way of getting to them without having the
power of mass reach. Neil Higgs, director: Innovation and Development,
TNS Research Surveys, is convinced that this is where marketers and
researchers will be focusing their attention. He points to TNS Research
RESEARCH 10
Surveys’ Igniters study, which identified influencers with large networks and a
positive mindset.
“If I was a marketer, I would rather have the opinion of the Igniters. Locally,
marketers are not using this enough,” he says. To bring this dimension into
research would not require a massive change, simply a paradigm shift. “It’s a
worldview, that sees human beings as holistic and also in the context of others,
with baggage that determines how they drive their lives,” says Higgs.
“Marketers and media planners want more information,
and they want another dimension on the markets.
Demographics are not a good enough differentiator, so
attitudinal research is another viable tool.”
Going online
This is one trend that has been picked up as a potential giant, and researchers
expect that it will be more widely used, especially when cellphones enable an
increasing number of South Africans to access the Internet.
There are ways to get around the challenges of Internet access. Nielsen, for
example, is providing fieldworkers with 3G cards, which enable them to take
online research to rural areas that might never have the chance to participate
in the research.
Marketers are urged to keep in mind that while the Internet is sexy, it will not
work in every market. “You must marry what’s possible with what’s right,” says
Mari Harris, director, Ipsos Markinor.
Going mobile
Mobile research, such as SMSes and bulletin boards is also set to grow, espe-
cially because local cellphone penetration is high.
The changing role of the researcher
Look out for a move away from simple data, towards insights and information,
says Anina Maree, client services director, African Response. This in turn, will
see researchers becoming information suppliers and knowledge consultants.
One of the trends that has been identified is away from long-term brand
building, and therefore, long-term research projects. “I expect we’ll see quicker,
funkier research projects,” says Tiaan Ras, manager: Marketing and Media
Intelligence, Ads24.
Linked to this, expect quality control and research accreditation to get more
emphasis (double-screen CAPIs are one to watch – they promise to take quality
control of the CAPI interviewer to the next level). “The industry needs to
embrace a culture of using research, specifically qualitative research,
conducted by real professionals so that there is an accepted standard and
rules,” says Bowles.
Look out for the increased globalisation of research agencies and brands.
This will lead to global standardisations in research practice, particularly in
terms of qualitative research methods. >p36
Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008 I MarketingMix I RESEARCH 10 35
RESEARCH 10
>>p35 New segmentations
Eighty20 has raised the issue of segmentation in
South Africa, and raises the point that certain seg-
mentations may be outdated.
Other segmentation tools that may prove
worthwhile:
 Household or dwelling (for which the definition
has changed)
 Rural versus urban (rural areas are being
erroneously disregarded, according to the
belief that they do not have roads and infra-
structures)
 Flow of money as a result of migration and
urbanisation
 Home language
 Age and life stage (single mums versus work-
ing mums)
 Levels of literacy and education
 Psychographics
 Income and its sources
 Expenditure.
Measuring TV ad viewing
The number of homes in SA with a PVR remains
low, but adoption figures are promising. This raises
questions about TV ad viability – are audiences
going to watch TV ads?
Nielsen Media Research in the USA set about
measuring TV ad audiences in an experiment that
set the US TV industry abuzz. Cable networks
argued that certain elements of their advertising
(for example, crawlers – the channel logo that
slides in and out of the screen) make their ads diffi-
cult to measure, so the measurement would place
them at a disadvantage. Another argument against
the measurement was that live TV cannot be meas-
ured alone – PVR viewers might actually watch ads.
But ad agencies and TV networks had called
for such data and metrics to be made available.
Big research trends to look out for:
 Employee workplace satisfaction
 Green trends and the green revolution
 Africa
 Shopper research and triggers for purchasing
decisions
 Attitudes: SAARF’s team of research
specialists believes that attitudinal indicators
will be included to a greater extent. They are
set to develop this in their segmentations.
“Marketers and media planners want more
information, and they want another dimen-
sion on the markets. Demographics are not
a good enough differentiator, so attitudinal
research is another viable tool,” says Paul
Haupt, CEO, SAARF.
Quantitative methods will evolve: for example,
shopper observation. 
36 RESEARCH 10 I MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
Mobile research methodologies:
The future of research?
M
obile penetration worldwide is growing tremendously, and so is the use of mobile
media. As marketers increasingly turn to mobile solutions to drive sales and build
brands and brand loyalty, it is logical that the cellphone is viewed as a potential research
tool. After all, it’s always on and carried close to the individual. It is a highly personal
device, with capabilities, for example, WAP and Bluetooth that make it a powerful medium.
But more importantly, these devices could one day replace traditional research in the hunt
for consumer data. The type of data that could be collected from cellphones and cellphone
networks is far richer than simple demographics, and can include usage patterns (frequency
with which users call certain numbers or surf the Net via their phones, which websites they
visit and when, etc).
But is SMS or WAP research the right way to go? We look at the pros and cons of
cellphone-enabled research
The pros of mobile research:
 A cellphone is always on, so you’ll get a quick response
 The cellphone offers mobility, allowing the researcher to reach the participant anytime,
anywhere (within the bounds of cellphone reception, of course)
 Wide reach across demographics (everyone from the LSM 2 mine worker to the LSM
10 businessman has a cellphone)
 You can include everyone who has a cellphone
 Immediacy – the consumer can be reached at the right moment for feedback or an
opinion, and results can be measured almost immediately
 Additional information, such as GPS location and cellphone use patterns, can be
collected to create a clearer picture of the consumer
 Great for reaching otherwise hard to reach customers
 SMS can boost response rates to mobile questionnaires or surveys, especially among
the 18-25 year olds.
For these reasons, mobile is great for customer feedback or customer satisfaction
surveys, opinion polls, ad recall surveys and diary applications.
The cons of mobile research:
 There’s no guarantee that consumers will reply to survey questions or will report all the
information they need to report
 It is easy for the user to tune you out
 If the consumer has not opted in, it’s spam
 If it’s not timed right, it won’t get the (right) response
 There are no standard procedures in place for conducting mobile surveys, and no
recommended methodologies
 If the consumer has to pay to take part, they might choose not to take part at all
 SAARF researchers contend that random sampling will not always be possible; mobile
databases do not indicate physical address, for example, and this is a problem.
Will cellphones become smarter?
Research was carried out by MIT’s Media Lab over the 2004-2005 academic year to
try to evolve mobile devices that are not only aware of one another, but are able to see
and hear what the user sees and hears. The MIT Reality Mining Project is putting various
new technological applications to the test in this experiment, which will eventually enable
the mobile device to make inferences regarding who the user likes and knows, and what
they may do next. Basically, this is a system of sensors which will learn patterns from the
user’s behaviour, and while these sensors are somewhat advanced, it won’t be too long
before tmobile devices will be equipped with them. (Visit http://reality.media.mit.edu for
more information)
What does this mean for researchers? Imagine being able to predict the movements and
behaviours of your target market as well as having access to their communication patterns
and preferences. 

Internet Research
T
here is still wide debate about Internet/broadband penetration in SA.
Website Internetworldstats.com reports that in December 2007 South
African Internet users numbered 5.1 million.
The Internet is ideal for reaching both mass markets as well as small niche groups
of people who have formed a community around a particular interest or issue.
Why do Internet research?
According to the experts, it’s cost-effective (no interviewers, mediators or field-
workers to pay) and saves time. Research results can be delivered quickly and
easily, in a variety of formats. There are no geographical limitations and difficult
to recruit targets are more easily tracked. The dynamic between respondents is
objective and everyone has an equal opportunity to participate. It is dynamic,
so errors can be addressed on the fly. Sensitive issues can be dealt with in an
environment that facilitates confidentiality and privacy, which means you’re
more likely to get candid answers and insights. And the multimedia capabilities
of the Internet make it viable for test material to be shared easily. Plus, you can
handle a large number of respondents with ease. Incentives (such as cash
vouchers or online shopping vouchers) are also easily integrated to motivate
people to take part
However, the global scale of the Internet means that there are unique chal-
lenges for research (someone from the USA might be volunteering to answer
questions about South African products and services, for example).
The Internet also allows for a variety of approaches to be used (be it surveys,
panels, web forms, chat discussion groups, etc) and tailored to meet research
needs. However, experts stress that the technology needs to be understood to
be used effectively; likewise, simply creating a web form with no understanding
of research is risky. The methodology should suit the research goals, the context
and the desired outcomes.
Issues with online research:
 Sampling can be a problem, considering that respondents need to have
access to the web as well as sufficient literacy and comfort with the research
tools in question. Measures must be in place to ensure that the respondent is,
in fact, a valid research subject, that there is not a bias as a result of faulty
recruitment, and that there are not multiple responses from the same respon-
dent, for example.
 There is no control over the respondents’ environment at the time of the
research.
 Responses need to be managed and monitored. Non-responses or incom-
plete responses are a problem, and there must be mechanisms in place to
counter this, for example, e-mail reminders, pop-ups that guide the user
through the questionnaire, etc. For many qualitative researchers, the
absence of body language and non-verbal cues are problems.
 It requires adequate computer skills.
 Anything that needs to be touched, tasted or smelled, for example, must be
shared before the study.
 For Internet research to be ethical, prior informed consent must be
obtained, and the right indemnities secured. Incentives must be ethical too.
Privacy and confidentiality must be guaranteed and made clear, especially
where respondents disclose personal details and opinions.
 The design of the research is also important. Drop-down menus and open-
ended questions should be avoided; long questionnaires or surveys should
RESEARCH 10
The anonymity of discussions promotes more
personal, honest responses as well as more thoughtful
and in-depth answers than might be generated in
interviews. The methodology is cost-effective and also
time-effective. Instant transcripts are an added benefit
and time saver.
be broken into sections to avoid the user having to scroll, and progress
bars should be used. Avoid pop-up surveys.
 Technical barriers include a lack of knowledge of computers, the Internet,
statistical software or databases, for example. Moderation can be difficult
(some respondents may post responses in the middle of the night).
Likewise, it may be difficult to follow a discussion if it is not tracked
chronologically.
 Mobile devices, such as cellphones, are increasingly becoming Internet
enabled. This will have implications for Internet research.
Evaluating online qualitative methodologies
Andrea Chemaly and Corette Haf presented a paper at the 2007 SAMRA
conference, entitled Deeper more candid insights faster? It’s possible with
online qualitative research. In this paper, they evaluated online qualitative
methodologies, and found that the most commonly used tools include:
 real-time focus groups (synchronous live chat)
 bulletin board focus groups or discussion boards (asynchronous, evolved
from message boards)
 multimedia online focus group (using webcams and phones or VoIP); and
 a ‘bricolage’ of them all.
The researchers argue that bulletin boards have the most potential locally,
given the low incidence of Internet access in SA. This platform allows the user to
log in and take part in the discussion at any time they wish, for as long as they
wish. The discussion usually lasts for three or more days and involves between
15 and 20 respondents. These respondents will visit the board at least once a
day for the duration of the discussion.
The anonymity of discussions promotes more personal, honest responses as
well as more thoughtful and in-depth answers than might be generated in
interviews. The methodology is cost-effective and also time-effective. Instant
transcripts are an added benefit and time saver.
The researchers found that online research works best for markets that are
familiar with and comfortable using the Internet, and regard it as a part of
regular communications.
The researchers say that there is software available to ensure the security and
integrity of an online session. This software also makes it easier to review and
observe the responses (it highlights new responses, for example, or prevents
participants from seeing responses before they have been posted). Passwords
facilitate access and also protect the virtual discussion room. The moderator is
therefore able to interact and manage the discussion. 
Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008 I MarketingMix I RESEARCH 10 37
 RESEARCH 10

Shoppers – where’s the money?

By Keith Stevens and Stephen Mawbyt, who head Added Value SA and Glendinning Management Consultants Africa respectively. They have just introduced an
internationally proven consumer:shopper joint research and activation offer.

Truth One: Shopper’s only buy to meet the needs of consumers.

Truth Two: If only 6 per cent of shoppers even write shopping lists and 70 per
cent of purchasing decisions are made at point of purchase, then the consumer
is where the need is, and the shopper is where the money is.
The shopper decides whether to buy your brand or one equally acceptable in
their repertoire.
The shopper decides whether to buy the pack size that drives your margin mix
or the one that has been commoditised by constant deep cut-price promotions.
For all of us in SA, if we are not driving brand and pack mix we are not max-
imising the value of our brands. Globally, this thinking is driving brands and
retailers to turn their focus to the shopper and the shopping environment, and
adjusting their marketing and sales spend to drive better return on investment.
Most marketers know that if they don’t fight the modern battle for market
share in-store and on-shelf, competitors will steal share fast.
SA, while a little behind in taking action on this trend, is catching up fast.
The South African market is still very much in a transition phase. Both brand
owners and retailers are trying hard to adapt to major changes in shopper
location, behaviour, attitudes and spending.
A burgeoning middle class is changing the consumer landscape and buying
behaviour. Shopper locations are changing too as many consumers migrate
from the townships and, at the same time, retailers expand into the township
environment.
The importance of integrated research and activation planning becomes
apparent when one considers the role of the brand in the shopping mission.
Make decisions about marketing and sales spend (eg Research shows that consumers are not typically brand focused in their shopper
headspace. Rather, they shop according to location based on convenience,
the mix of above or below the line to best drive brand
and then occasion and then category, often deciding in-store which brand or
product to buy.
performance to deliver the objectives you have set in the

business) and how you want to track ROI.
If marketers could understand specific shopper missions, shopper repertoires
and behaviour within the larger context of consumer insight, they would have a
far more powerful and strategic set of data from which to plan.
Traditionally, though, marketing and sales/channel teams approach consumers
and shoppers separately, mostly commissioning separate sets of research to under-
stand them. One set is commissioned to understand and segment consumers in
the wider market, typically to drive marketing strategy, while another is commis-
sioned to understand shopper behaviour, typically to drive sales activation.
However, both don’t necessarily integrate, which leaves businesses with
marketing and sales activities that are potentially out of sync, and certainly not
working in tandem. This means return on investment is compromised and for
major brands this is a significant brake on performance and profitability.
The issue becomes even more complicated when you consider that the
‘shopper’ is often different to the ‘consumer’ and people behave differently
when ‘shopping’ as opposed to ‘consuming’. Classic examples are mother and
child categories, people buying for social occasions, gift buying, pet care and
alcoholic drinks. So, the trick is to understand the shopper’s needs, behaviours
and motivators, and how these link to the consumer’s needs, behaviours and
motivators.
Integrated consumer and shopper insight allows
businesses to:
 Segment and understand both consumers and shoppers in one study.
 Identify where potential margin and profit pools that can accelerate brand
and market growth are.
 Create one, integrated marketing and sales activation and investment
agenda.
 Make decisions about marketing and sales spend (eg the mix of above or
below the line to best drive brand performance to deliver the objectives you
have set in the business) and how you want to track ROI.
 Form more mutually beneficial relationships with retailers through a deeper
understanding of their shoppers’ behaviours.
On this last point, knowing how each retailer’s shoppers buy a specific
product or category means brand owners can invest in more effective trade
partnerships across a consumer’s repertoire of shopping occasions. It also
means brand owners can identify where to raise or cut investment across
retailers to drive a better ROI for their brands.
What this means is that the in-store arena is practically uncharted territory in
terms of making sure consumer marketing plans are going to be effectively
activated for the shopper. For those brand owners who get active in this space,
share growth and ROI are the big prizes versus competitors who cannot or will
not evolve to win the new consumer: shopper reality. 

38 RESEARCH 10 I MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008

AIRPORT MEDIA

Airport marketing:
huge impact amidst the challenges
Airports continue to attract big brands, ACSA airport stats and figures www.acsa.co.za
especially those that are looking for exposure to Total passenger traffic February 2008
a market that has the cash to travel. This
includes our growing middle class, thanks to
low-cost airlines. Tourism into and within SA is
enjoying a steady rise: SA Tourism reports that
in the third quarter of 2007, total foreign
arrivals in SA numbered more than two million,
having grown nine per cent on the correspon-
ding previous period. The number of Asian and
Australian visitors is growing the most, followed
by those from the Americas, Africa and the
Middle East respectively.
And with the 2010 FIFA World Cup just
around the corner, it looks like these figures are
set to grow. Certainly, advertising in airports is
seeing growth. According to Julie Mansour,

when it will be back (or if it will be back in that

“
same spot, for that matter). The challenge is to
At the end of the day, if a brand advertises in a visible find locations that are suitable for relocating
existing and new clients from now until 2010,”
and relevant space at the airport, they will get the desired

”
exposure. Ryan Cohen, Wideopen Platform
general manager, Alliance Media SA, there has
been a definite growth in overseas clients and
brands signing up or extending their contracts.
“Clients know that this is the right time to
advertise in airports,” she says.
Ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, seven
out of ACSA’s nine airports countrywide are
undergoing full-scale renovations (usually, only
one airport undergoes this sort of makeover at a
time). This is having a major impact on the
marketing and advertising in the airports, says
Suzanne Roberts, joint MD, Airport Media.
Logistical changes
With the renovations underway, the buildings,
facilities, environments and services are chang-
ing on a daily basis. “In the international arrivals
hall, there is very little in terms of adspend. The
light box or banner that was there just yesterday
is gone today, and nobody can say for sure
says Roberts. It looks like, across the board,
media owners are looking for temporary
opportunities, or alternative sites. The large for-
mat media positions at the airports that are sold
to brands providing blanket coverage across an
environment have been interfered with very little
by the ongoing construction, says Ryan Cohen,
sales director, Wideopen Platform. Construction
site type platforms (scaffolding wraps, for
example) present a great opportunity for brands
that require exposure and provide landlord’s
(ACSA) with an additional source of revenue
during a time where media income has gone
down due to continued building resulting in the
interruption of a number of media site locations.
But Ryan Roux, DMM development manager,
Wideopen Platform, has found that clients are
somewhat nervous about committing to these
projects, even on a short- to medium-term
basis. “The positions are large. And while the
media costs are not prohibitive, given the size of
the ownership that the client gets in return, the
production costs are steep. Plus, I think clients
are nervous about what is happening in this
environment,” he says. Cohen goes on to say
that while the construction site wrapping is also

40 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008

AIRPORT MEDIA

Total airport passenger traffic: financial year-on-year trends www.acsa.co.za

a cash stream for the contractors and developers

they are under tremendous pressure to get their
job done as a top priority, which is first and
foremost completion of their building project on
time. Often penalties for late delivery are far
greater than their share of the revenue earned
for the branding of the construction site.
As Roberts points out, the problem is that the
renovations are not exclusive to one part of the
airport. Take OR Tambo International Airport, for
example; the changes happening there are not
just within the airport building – the entire road
system in and around the airport has to be
adapted to make provision for the Gautrain.
Roux says that in this case, with more than
17 different project teams working on various
projects around this airport, it is a huge
challenge trying to stay on top of everything.
“The logistics and the large number of contractors
make it very difficult to work there,” he says. He brands that are still signing up to advertise environment, while it still one that has the
adds that Cape Town International Airport has in the airports, albeit cautiously, are indication largest viewer ship and the greatest concentra-
proved much easier to deal with from this enough for Cohen that this is still a thriving tion of higher LSM by far. “It’s also a case of
perspective. ACSA does provide media owners environment. ‘what’s going to happen after 2010’. There is
and concessionaires with a heads up on some scepticism. Part of this is the result of
changes to infrastructures, and will give them The acquisition model has also existing owners trying to secure alternatives,
first option of suitable alternatives. Cohen changed while new media owners are trying to secure
says that, as a result, his campaigns have Shamendran Naidu, site acquisition and devel- sites. “ACSA is trying to accommodate existing
not been impacted detrimentally by the opment manager, Wideopen Platform, says, owners first, but this is holding back the new
changes in and around the airport logistical challenges aside, the site acquisi- owners,” says Mansour.
environments. A recent FNB 2010 tion model has changed dramatically And then also the fact that globally – not
countdown clock installation too. ACSA have now invested in the only in South Africa – we are experiencing a
across the country’s airports ran capital outlay for media positions economic downturn and the first budget that is
smoothly. “In general, the level and are leasing these sites out to cut when times are tough is advertising spend,”
of efficiency was fine, concessionaires. Because these he says. On the flipside, the new model has
whether we were dealing are long term contract, says created opportunity for new players (including
with an airport in Naidu, many concessionaires small to medium BEE companies). Naidu also
Upington or OR are cautious to sign up, mentioned that while these opportunities
Tambo,” he says. The given the uncertainty of seemed lucrative and bringing promise of great
healthy variety of the airport marketing financial rewards, there is definitely the risk of
 AIRPORT MEDIA

Total international passengers: financial year-on-year trends www.acsa.co.za

constantly delivering on media positions

managed by concessionaires.
The cost demands being made by the airports
is one issue that has been highlighted by media
agencies. Generally, says Naidu, the airports get
50 per cent of the ad revenue generated by a
site. But he says that for some of the new sites
under tender, the airports are asking for R300
000, which means that the agencies have to try
to sell the site for double that fee if they hope
to make any profits. (ACSA was not available for
comment at the time of writing).
But do marketers and media buyers know
what it takes to stay on top of the changes?
The airport environment demands that market-
ing does not impede, for example, passengers
stampeding through the arrivals or departures
lounges should not have to try to get around a
pop-up banner or a promoter handing out
samples. “The question is, do marketers know
exactly what the dynamic is during rush hour?”
says Roberts. She points to Lanseria Airport, and
the growth in domestic travel, which has been
boosted 15 per cent, thanks to low-cost airline
travel. Small businessmen are taking advantage
of this, so early morning and evening flights
are jam packed. “This has certainly benefited
Lanseria Airport,” says Roberts. “Since Kulula
increased its routes to include Lanseria, the
figures have increased from 170 000 passen-
gers per annum to 600 000 in the past year.”
And yes, the increased air travel and the
promise of newer, more modern, world-class
facilities is good news. Traditional sites are being all developments. What we do know for now is with the flow,” says Roberts. Mansour adds that
replaced with top-of-the-range light boxes, LCD that the new airport facilities and environs will media owners and agencies should be as
screens, etc, putting our airports up there be of First World standard, with a focus on proactive as possible, and must communicate
among the world’s classiest. “Increasingly, local aesthetics and luxury. “The new international with ACSA regularly. “We must also communicate
airports are attracting high networth individuals arrivals terminal at OR Tambo will be the longest with clients and pre-empt their needs,” she says.
in their private jets as well as scheduled passengers walk in the world from aircraft door to public Media planners who work from their desks
– the diversity is attractive to marketers,” says hall once it’s completed, and it will be modern will lose out – they are not familiar with the
Debbie Lea, joint MD, Airport Media. and up to date. It will be a beautiful facility,” airport environment as it is. Moving forward, it
But for now, things are somewhat in limbo. says Lea. All current media owners will have any will become crucial for planners and marketers
The airport advertising concessionaires have little sites lost due to upgrades of the terminal to do their homework and get into the airports
knowledge at present of what platforms and buildings relocated on a like-for-like basis, with to see what’s happening first hand. “The
opportunities will be available once the revamps the rest going out on tender. proof’s in the pudding, airports work as a
have been completed. It’s really a matter of Marketers and media planners are urged to media location,” says Cohen. “At the end of the
‘we’ll have to wait and see‘. Cohen says that he be patient and flexible – media owners are day, if a brand advertises in a visible and
has viewed a simulated video impression of the doing what they can to accommodate them. relevant space at the airport, they will get the
new facilities and will be keeping a close eye on “Part of the day-to-day challenge is just going desired exposure.” 

Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008 I MarketingMix 43

by helen mcintee EXPERT OPINION
Helen’s top 20 hits
I have a list of the top 20 ‘things’ that I have
learnt during my career as both a marketer and
a consumer (marketers should change hats
sometimes).
Please note that my tongue is firmly in my
cheek as I write this.
1. Check your brand name in all languages for
any controversial meaning (apparently
Pajero means ‘wanker’ in Spanish!)
2. Give clear and correct instructions on the
package. (If you really mean ‘chew along
the dotted line’, then say so!)
3. Don’t confuse your positioning. (Fast food is
fast food – it’s not ‘healthy’, as Wimpy
would have us believe!)
4. If you go the route of testimonials, have a
recovery strategy in the bag, in case your
spokesperson falls from grace in a big
way…. Amy Winehouse, Kate Moss and
OJ Simpson!
5. Be very careful with the use of humour in
your advertising. (Nando’s, blind people
have feelings too!)
6. Be extremely careful when using nudity or
big-breasted women in your advertising
(please Teazers, not in front of the
children!)
7. Be extra careful when using both bare-
breasted women and attempting humour
in your advertising (Landrover?)
8. Think about ‘infomercials’ – for some
extremely unfathomable reason they seem
to work.
9. Please give your background music
a bit more thought. While holding
on or waiting for a response, half an hour
of listening to Julio Iglesias, Richard
Clayderman or waves washing on the shore
(SAA) does not improve my already slightly
blue mood!
44 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
10. If you have embarked on an expensive
relationship campaign, spell your
customer’s name correctly (McIntee is not
that difficult!).
11. Red and yellow are not good colours
for websites. It has been said that staring
at these colours can raise a person’s
blood pressure.
12. Educate your customer when you discover a
new benefit. What the heck is ‘Low GI’?
(And I have a degree or two!)
13. Choose your words carefully when
promoting competitions; ‘Enter and win!’
to me means ‘I’ve entered, now what
have I won?’
14. Think of ‘speed’ as the next source of com-
petitive advantage – after hearing ‘your call
is important to us’ for 20 minutes really
means to me that a) there are not enough
people answering the phone or b) we know
who you are and we are answering more
important calls first.
15. Listen to your voice mail messages. A local
country club regularly informs me that
‘Charmaine is attending to a member (?) at
the moment, so please leave your name
and number….’ (Name changed to protect
the innocent).
16. If you create a dependency on the compo-
nents of your product (the customer cannot
use the product without a special branded
part), please relook your distribution strategy
– we cannot get refills for Cross pens in
Hoedspruit and nowhere in Nelspruit can
you find a stockist of Jeep batteries.
17. In fact, marketers, with regard to distribution,
kindly remember that not all your
customers live in Johannesburg, Durban
and Cape Town – ‘available nationally’
should mean just that.
18. While I am fully behind chain stores keeping
stock for the community at large, surely not
everyone buying lingerie in Boksburg is a
38DD (Woolworths).
19. Loyalty does not equal satisfaction! I think
you will find huge numbers of disgruntled
customers forced to put up with lousy serv-
ice because ‘the company or individual
wants to accumulate air miles’. It kind of
defeats the objective, doesn’t it? (All airlines
can take a bow here.)
20. Finally, don’t sell products that don’t work
…now there’s a real gem of wisdom.
Should I dare mention names? Maybe
next time. 
Helen McIntee
academic director
IMM graduate School of Marketing
(011) 628 2038
helen@imm.co.za
by nicci columbine EXPERT OPINION
Effectively using technology
in contact centres
Innovative marketing to different segments
of the market is needed for companies to secure
competitive advantage. Companies should
harness every opportunity to expose their brand,
products and services to existing and potential
customers. The customer service contact centre,
whether captive, as part of the organisation’s
operational structure or outsourced to an
independent provider, presents many untapped
channels that companies can use effectively to
communicate and market to different target
audiences.
To manage customer demand on all levels, call
and contact centres use creative voice, e-mail
and text message communication platforms to
reach their customers. Increasingly, integrated
systems and innovative technology solutions are
being employed to provide automated and self-
service options. Additionally, as convergence
generates more possibilities for integration of
media channels, customers are being introduced
to a broader range of options to meet their
service needs. This presents marketers with a
spectrum of dynamic opportunities to drive
exposure of a company’s brand to a new level.
Voice still remains the primary medium for
customers to interact with call centres the world
over. While call waiting is used to good effect
for informational messaging, integrated voice
response (IVR) solutions have become the alter-
native to lengthy call queuing, predominantly at
first resolution levels. This also assists to reduce
customer call termination and redundancy, a
benefit to maintaining customer satisfaction.
IVR platforms offer the potential for
marketers to capitalise on the informational
component with brand messaging and promo-
tional elements.
Specific promotional ‘banner’ messaging
around a theme, such as a public awareness
campaign or a welcome address to a city can be
used. Specific language, voice intonations and
sound can also be used to target different niche
audiences, for example, youth markets would
respond to different tone and language from
top-end corporate clients. Voice characterisation
with the IVR is well used by cellular operators to
maintain brand profile. Foreign languages can
46 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
also be introduced into the IVR that enable call
centres to communicate with an international
audience.
Internationally, contact centres are migrating
to self-service selection options. These offer a
wider range of functional options but also
expose users to informational and promotional
channels. Whether voice or Internet based,
these channels must be carefully managed to
avoid too many selection options and possible
spam messaging.
While touch-tone selection activation is still
very prevalent and is transversally used, voice
activation selection is growing. Voice recogni-
tion is an integral part of this technology and
does provide an element of sensory interaction
for the user. However, accent, pronunciation
and voice clarity do pose challenges in this
process and therefore these technologies are
not always effective alternatives to agent inter-
action. Yet, with sufficient technical and voice
compatibility this is proving an extremely effi-
cient service.
E-mail is a necessary customer contact chan-
nel for call centres. It alleviates the dependency
on voice and also allows for efficient time man-
agement by both the customer and the contact
centre. However, turnaround times and accurate
query response provision is critical to ensure this
channel remains a reliable and effective option
for customers. Part of this provision must also
include the functional efficiency of web-based
forms that customers can complete and submit
as queries.
E-mail provides marketers with the scope to
push direct marketing to customers, on an
information and visual level. Information about
customer service and support options, as well as
links to new products and services offered by a
company can be added in themed marketing
banners on each e-mail. This assists to inform
and educate customers but again constantly
expose markets to the brand. Marketers can
also include prompts for users to consider other
services offered by the contact centre, such as
customer self-service that incentivises a change
in their behaviour.
SMS and MMS communication is used by call
and contact centres, although not as consistently
as voice. SMS has had its most successful take
up as a result of interactive media campaigns,
where users respond via SMS to polls and com-
petitions. SMS receipt confirmation and
response again present marketers with creative
options to add short but clever brand messages
at the end of a standard SMS response.
MMS and other multimedia technologies offer
enhanced possibilities but have a way to go
before being leveraged by call centres. Certainly,
marketers should be considering these technolo-
gies to reach and influence new niche markets.
Contact centres, technology and content
providers should collaborate with sales,
marketing and media specialists to drive both
messages and brands to emerging consumer
markets now. Youth, who are quick adopters of
technology, will purchase products and services
according to their experience of brands. In this
sense, service is a critical enabler. 
Nicci Columbine
managing director
Columbine Communications
(011) 880 8137
info@columbine.co.za
PRINT MANAGEMENT
Print management:
design and print marketing
Print management is a marketing process
that marketers abroad are fast getting to grips
with because it has the power to make print
marketing more targeted and cost-effective.
“Research shows that print remains the anchor
medium in the communication mix. Mixed
media options that use print to underpin the
other media outlets outperform single media
campaigns when it comes to return on marketing
investment,” says Graeme Futter, marketing
manager: brand communications, Sappi Fine
Paper SA.
Locally, print management is still a somewhat
new concept, says Alban Atkinson, managing
director, Ince. “Internationally, corporates with
large budgets are increasingly outsourcing their
print management.”
What is it, exactly? In a nutshell, it is the
process (and the software and technology)
that allows a brand design and its printed
application to be created and managed from
concept through to execution on packaging,
advertising and corporate communications.
Digital asset management
This is usually a software system which allows a
brand to load and store its corporate identity
(logos, images and typefaces). The software
might be bought by the brand or company
48 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
directly, or by a print management specialist
(the company or brand then has access to the
software through its print management specialist).
In the former case, the brand doesn’t need to
engage with the designer/ad agency every
time a design logo is needed – it is already
stored in the system and can be adjusted as and
when needed.
Vested parties (designers, graphic artists, etc)
have access to the system, which allows the
corporate identity to be organised into different
formats (be it a packaging design, or a print
advert design), ready for print on demand. The
collateral is quickly and easily updated.
Ince, for example, uses a digital asset man-
agement software package called Dress Code;
its clients can create almost any print product
simply by logging into the system, selecting a
template and changing certain fields to tailor
the communication to their brand or business.
Their logo or other important design elements,
such as a specific colour, shape or image, simply
need to be ‘dropped into place’.
The system generates e-mails that request
authorisation on the design and the budget
before generating the print order, explains
Atkinson. Once the right approvals have been
given, the system will generate the print job,
quickly and efficiently.
Tempo Silk benefits
Sappi Fine Paper Europe has developed a
high quality coated silk paper that prints
and finishes like a gloss. Called Tempo Silk,
it is a coated wood-free paper. This is
good news for printers, because the paper
provides a smooth surface, fast ink setting
and drying, and scuff resistance (which
means increased productivity). Plus, it
enables printers to reduce their use of anti
set-off powder by between 50 and 75 per
cent (health and environmental benefits).
The benefit for consumers is the silky,
smooth touch.
The benefit of this system for the marketer is
that the brand’s design and identity is stored in
one place and is easily accessible. Designers
aren’t harassed to deliver design elements,
which means no additional costs or time spent
trying to source the design.
Also, the brand‘s identity will remain
consistent across any design application.
Colour management
Colour-management software is another
important tool in the print-management
process, which is essential to maintaining
consistency in design. A can of Coca-Cola
should have the same red as the label on a
bottle of Coca-Cola, anywhere in the world.
Colour-management software takes into
account a variety of different materials, printing
processes and printers that are involved in the
packaging and design for a brand.
Personalisation
Printers now have access to technology which
allows them to personalise print jobs, tailoring
the content or design to appeal directly to the
consumer or target. The applications for this
technology are endless – personalising a direct
mail communication so that it addresses each of
your consumers by first name; or printing a
custom magazine with advertising messages
that are personalised to each of its readers.
Local universities may soon be implementing

this, says Atkinson. Prospective students
complete detailed profiles relating to their
personal interests in terms of courses. The
system generates a personalised brochure for
each student with specific information on the
courses they expressed an interest in as well as
relevant financial solutions.
“With this technology, you can take direct
marketing much further. It’s all about the
database though. It has to be correct and
clean,” says Atkinson.
This technology will create new opportunities
for direct marketing. “Look out for trans-promo-
tional communication. That is, transactional
communications that carry promotional
elements,” says Atkinson. It won’t be long
before your bank statements carry advertising
messages from your favourite clothing retailer
(after all, your bank has information about your
shopping habits and even which clothing stores
you spend money at – it is in the perfect
position to offer those stores a prime spot on
your bank statement).
Eco-friendly print management
Another hot topic is sustainability and
eco-friendliness. “Paper choice should not be
The Power of Personalisation
study: The CMO Council’s
key findings
(marketingcharts.com)
 Half of CMOs surveyed report having
only fair to poor knowledge of their
customers (ie they have inadequate
customer data)
 38 per cent said they didn’t know
whether personalised communications
had outperformed traditional mass
marketing tactics (ie inadequate meas-
urement and evaluation)
 55 per cent plan to allocate 10 per
cent of their budget or more towards
personalisation in 2008
 Levels of adoption of personalisation
remain low
 Lack of consumer data and insight as
well as concerns over the cost and
complexity of personalisation were
cited as major challenges
 The top benefits of personalisation
include making offers more relevant
and meaningful to prospects, building
closer relationships with them and
increasing the company’s overall
marketing effectiveness.
PRINT MANAGEMENT
What you should look for when outsourcing your print
management: some tips from the pros
Richard Evans, chief executive, Affinity Connected in the UK, has the following tips for
marketers (www.affinityprintmanagement.co.uk).
Look for a company that:
 Doesn’t own its own presses, but rather finds printers with the right presses and
machines for the individual job. This means that they are able to cater to your every
need, and are also able to find you the best deals.
 Has a solid understanding of how to reduce waste and costs without compromising
on quality.
 Has the ability to audit your print campaigns and identify not only ROI on previous
campaigns, but also the opportunities and options for changes and adaptations which
will deliver greater ROI and impact.
 Will become your company’s or brand’s advocate in the print space, and will invest
time and energy in developing your strategy.
The most important questions to ask print management specialists:
 Do you own your own presses?
 Does size really matter?
 How much time do you have to spend on print?
excluded from making informed decisions,” costs associated with obtaining the right audits
says Futter “When used properly by a marketer and stamps of approval, for example, Forest
or a retailer, the paper used to print all those Stewardship Council). “Having said that, Sappi’s
inserts that fall out of our daily newspapers can Triple Green range of paper uses an alternative
relay a very positive corporate or brand message primary fibre source derived from sugar cane, a
to consumers. post agricultural waste product. The additional
Marketers should become more informed virgin fibre carries a sustainable certification and
about the sustainability of the print medium as this option of sustainably produced, locally
well as the various sustainable paper options manufactured coated paper is market
out there. “They should not allow ‘poor competitive,” he says.
environmental perceptions’ to make decisions
for them,” says Futter. Marketers will need to Choosing the right paper
convince their markets that the use of paper is The choice of paper is crucial to any print job.
environmentally sensitive (especially when the Not only is the quality of a print job an important
paper is environmentally sound), to gain trust consideration, but the different applications that
from the consumer. It is becoming increasingly each paper type allows for should also be
important for marketers to know the manufac- carefully considered. A few tips from the pros:
turing source of papers and print materials as  Gloss-coated papers are ideal for jobs with
well as the origin of the fibres used in the less /text and lots of colour images
paper. “The issue of access to information on  Silk-coated papers are ideal for jobs that
paper-related topics is generally left to either the combine text and images
printer or the design/ad agency. Unfortunately,  Matt coating is ideal for jobs that are text heavy
the final decision is normally made solely on  High white coating works well for jobs
price with little or no regard to how the paper requiring exact colour accuracy
decision impacts on the environment,” says  High bulk coated papers offer sustainability
Futter. The perception of paper usage as  Look for high bulk but low weight papers
environmentally negative is not always accurate. for jobs that will be posted
It’s about viewing marketing spend in a  Paper with good folding characteristics are
different light based on environmental solution ideal for jobs requiring construction
offerings, says Futter.  Coated wood-free paper is great for jobs that
Futter goes on to explain that eco-friendly require long-lasting whiteness and quality
paper can cost more in some cases. Recycled  Brightness is an important consideration
papers are more expensive to manufacture (though this may push costs up) as well as
(thanks to additional processes such as waste the holdout of the paper (ie its ability to
collection, sorting and de-inking as well as the hold ink consistently). 
Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008 I MarketingMix 49
by lisa basson EXPERT OPINION
Innovation – an allie you
can’t afford to be without
The advertising industry in South Africa is
still failing to recognise the impact of technology
and to what degree it can be leveraged. If used
in the right context, it can stimulate the impact
being made on consumers and thereby help in
growing brand/consumer relationships and
appreciation as well as ROI.
Furthermore, the gap that exists between
marketing managers and their agencies must be
bridged. The fact is that a couple of print ads
and/or a misplaced and misguided television ad
are not going make an impact on any consumer,
let alone reach the desired target market.
Education and open-mindedness now
become hypercritical.
Just take a drive through the streets of
Johannesburg and this becomes truly evident.
Adverts located on every second building and
every available billboard, regardless of location
and relevance, not forgetting the random flyers
that creep in through the car window. The
problem boils down to not making any
significant impact or creating any sort of
consumer resonance, which tends to be due to
the absence of two critical factors: i) strategy –
based on extensive knowledge of the current
consumer landscape, trends and understanding
of how various facets of media are developing
and ii) innovative application to media ventures
based on this knowledge.
Poor placements indicate that although the
funds are available and marketing managers
and agencies both have thousands of tools at
their disposal, their eyes are just not open wide
enough to see the potential of innovative
marketing tools, even those of traditional origin.
Industry players need to start to identify the
new contexts and social dynamics within our
environment whilst marketing, media and
technology must still remain critical points of
overlapping focus in the quest to establish
innovative value added solutions.
Strategy, as having been identified as one of
the critical components, must be considered all
the way from media through to creative
innovation and the achievement of a company’s
desired bottom line. However, from a holistic
input perspective, other industry experts cannot
50 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
be ignored when creating executions and strategies
that will truly resonate with the consumer.
Brilliant examples of innovative strategic
action carried out under the auspices of
technology indicate that some companies are
starting to appreciate the importance of innovation,
technology and strategy all morphed together.
Telkom Media’s Telkom Television application
is an example of an excellent broad based
innovative technological strategy that has also
incorporated a perspective on long-term
sustainability. Just think web TV, video on
demand, satellite TV and radio, and a host of
other quality interactive services, all of which
provide new dimensions and avenues to com-
municate with consumers.
Having said that, within the pay-TV sector
there is nothing spectacular about the holistic
Telkom television offer. BUT what impresses
about Telkom’s move and makes it worth
mentioning is that it has the foresight to create
a strategic bridge from the mother brand that is
both innovative and diverse in orientation.
This bridge, even if relatively indirect in terms
of direct company association, may prove to
add value to the total brand image of Telkom,
which is under an immense amount of pressure.
An innovative, strategic safety buffer, if you like.
From a more concentrated point of departure,
look at the reactive state in which the South
African economy has been placed due to the
Eskom power crisis and the resultant innovative
technological proposal for the implementation
of solar-powered traffic lights (a strategy
cultivated to alleviate havoc on our roads).
Perhaps we can look forward to seeing
advertising placements being fitted into the
solar panels; we may see innovative thieves
making off with these panels, but at least the
advertising will go with them and aid in creating
increased brand awareness and visibility.
Another exciting example of strategic innovation
is the music industry’s answer to its current
revenue-generation crisis, and the dawning of a
whole new era of music sales and marketing.
Take Qtrax – ‘An advertiser supported, legal
peer-to-peer music jukebox that enables the
user to have free music downloads’. This is a
most innovative application of technology and
provides many new strategic marketing and
media placement opportunities.
Finally, the Nintendo Wii must get a mention.
The Wii provides gamers with a new experience
and enables an interactive environment, which
some clever marketing and media people should
most certainly have the capability to exploit.
Attention to what’s going on locally and
globally, creativity and metrics will result in
complementing the creation of an innovative
strategy that is market relevant and accessible.
Without an innovative strategy, a brand
and/or client may just be lost in the clutter
and left behind.
* I have been advised recently that Telkom
Media is in the process of revising its entire
business plan, as was originally presented
to ICASA 
Lisa Basson
strategic saburai
Tom-mo-e
083 317 5082
lisa@cortex1.co.za
by nici stathacopoulos EXPERT OPINION
In which world do we live?
You must know that your brand lives in the
‘happy marriages’ quadrant when consumers
become fans of the brand on Facebook (my
most favourite social community network, am
active without fail daily, even if just via my
mobile!)
So I did a quick look around my friends’ pro-
files to see who is a fan of what (it’s an applica-
tion you can load on your profile). Being in
advertising the first trend I noticed is that my
friends in the industry have listed themselves as
fans of many of the brands they are managing.
I wonder, if the relationship was terminated,
whether they would feel the same way?
Some well-known brands have these follow-
ings on Facebook:
 Marmite – 49 000 fans
 H&M – 42 000 fans
 Jeep – 22 000 fans
 Starbucks – 15 000 fans
 Zara – 12 000 fans
 Ferrari – 9 000 fans
 Toblerone – 6 000 fans
It appears that the most popular products
include cars, clothing and alcohol! Surprisingly,
the all popular Manchester United FC has only
3 000 fans, and brands like McDonalds, KFC
and Nike less than 3 500 fans, yet they are con-
sidered the most popular brands in the world.
Coca-Cola has all of 88 fans while Ticketmaster
has over 150 000 fans! Clearly, the latter did
something right in the virtual space.
So, moving on from Facebook, let’s look at
some brands that occupy ‘real’ space on Second
Life. These are paid for content providers which
make living in the virtual world more realistic.
 Mazda
 Coca-Cola
 Dell
 Adidas
 IBM
 Reuters
 Nissan
 Reebok
With the dawn of the new ‘immediate now’
age, the web has become a living community
that has ’extended beyond the virtual world to
become the organising epicentre of its advo-
cates’ lives’. And as such, we consumers
become more vocal about the brands we inter-
act with in a far more public and open manner
52 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
than ever before. If brands are to survive they
need to adapt (with some keen sense of
urgency). As consumers evolve and adapt their
online behaviour, brands can start to use this to
their advantage and build even stronger
relationships. And finally, this can be done
overnight, or in less than a minute!
Some facts from an international survey by
Proximity Worldwide (documented clearly in a
publication called Sex, Lies and Reality, an inter-
esting survey and read, produced by Proximity WW).
 68 per cent of companies expect Web 2.0
methods and tools to have the greatest
impact on the way that their company
interacts with customers.
 Nearly 60 per cent of companies say they
are inviting customers to contribute content
that explains, supports or enhances their
products, or that they plan to do so within
the coming two years.
 47 per cent of companies are, or are plan-
ning to treat customers as co-developers of
products that constantly improve in a con-
tinual beta-testing phase.
 Microsoft has some 650 bloggers; Jonathan
Schwartz, COO of Sun Microsystems, blogs;
the VP of General Motors blogs.
We now live in an ‘in-between’ world that we
inhabit almost in transit. We move through shop-
ping malls, taxi ranks and coffee shops, without
staying. Our online behaviour is similar: people
can form unconditional relationships, choose only
those visual clues they wish to display and have
far more control over what they say.
If I want the consumer to buy a particular
brand, then where better to find exact clones of
people who are already purchasing the brand?
‘For brands this means embracing the virtual
world in the same way as the users and allow-
ing the boundaries to blur when thinking about
communications strategies. A key implication for
brands is that observing behaviour online is
increasingly giving us more accurate insights
into what people really think than traditional
marketing categorisations’. (Excerpt from Sex,
Lies and Reality).
Proximity WW did a survey in the summer of
2007 into brands that people trust the most.
The best performer was Google, which has built
itself by starting with the vision that making the
world’s knowledge easily accessible to all would
be a very useful thing. eBay, Amazon and Apple
also fit into this category.
The web has created the following mindset
migration, from
 Content to co-creation
 Control to collaboration
 Channels to conversation
 Consumers to communities.
At the end of the day, real or virtual, it’s all
about respect. When you have a conversation
you’re talking to an individual, not broadcasting
to a crowd. And that’s why CRM (one to one
marketing) has re-emerged at the frontline of
communication tools. You also need to remember
that being able to engage effectively with that
individual doesn’t mean you should try to be
their friend – they’ve got plenty of real friends,
that’s not what they want from brands.
Brands need to listen, learn and participate.
In this manner, they will form good friendships
and happy marriages, in the real world! 
Nici Stathacopoulos
managing partner proximity#ttp
(011) 447 7093
 MARKETING AT RETAIL

The green shopper

workshop report back

“
On 28 February 2008, industry experts
met to discuss the green shopper, and how
Brand owners and retailers should be more
brands and companies should be talking to proactive about reducing their packaging, and
them. Speakers were: Mike Freedman, founder,
investigating sustainable or renewable packaging

”
Freedthinkers; Tamra Veley, MD, Corporate
Image; Tessa Chamberlain, general manager: materials.
Sustainable Development, Pick n Pay; Barbara
Cooke, founding partner, TGI South Africa;
Vanessa von Holdt, an independent packaging
consultant; and Karin Kruger, Paper Sciences
manager, Sappi.

Key learnings
Consumer choice is a major factor, since more
consumers are choosing to understand and
reduce their carbon impact, and expect
brands to do the same. Veley says that
35 million Americans are regularly buying
eco-friendly products.
Moving forward, marketers will need to
segment consumers based on an understanding
of their relationship to Green. Consumers will
expect brands to be in it for the long haul
(commitment to ongoing projects will be valued
over short-term marketing ploys). We can expect
to see a major influx of brands claiming
themselves green, eco-friendly, and/or fair-trade,
says Freedman; “we’re seeing a colonisation of
green brands”. But Greenwashing – befuddling
the consumer with green jargon and nonsense
– is not going to be tolerated (consumers are
savvy and will boycott the fakers).
Green is full of contradictions and muddles:
green activists are more likely to have a higher
carbon footprint than the average consumer,
because they own cars and travel abroad by
plane. As yet, there are no legislative frameworks
in place, nor any definitions for green jargon.
“Advocacy groups have huge opportunities
now,” says Cooke; organisations should be
grabbing the Green bull by the horns and
establishing their own green policies and best
practices. Von Holdt says that household
post-consumer waste is a major issue moving
forward, as is general waste management.
Brand owners and retailers should be more
proactive about reducing their packaging, and
Packaging facts and figures from the Packaging Council
of South Africa (PACSA):
 Packaging industry is worth some R35 billion per annum (2007: BMI) and employs
50 000 people
 Recycling sector employs 55 000 additional people
 Packaging is estimated to be around 12 per cent of the household waste stream in
SA (PIKITUP Survey 2004)
 Beverage cans have a 67 per cent recycling rate; recycling industry employs 37 000
people; has collected 750 000 tons since it started
 Fifty-seven per cent of recoverable paper is recycled; 16 per cent of paper used is
not suitable for recovery
 In 2006, paper recyclers collected 965 000 tons of paper
 R230 million is invested directly into paper recycling, where 12 600 people are
employed
 Demand for recycled paper will grow to 1 155 million tons by 2009
 Glass has a 25 per cent recycling rate; the Glass Recycling Company aims to raise
this to 50 per cent in five years
 R50 million has been invested in glass cullet colour-sorting equipment
 Plastic has a 33 per cent recycling rate, including factory waste
 160 recyclers, recycling 172 000 tons
 Plastic (in recovered waste fuel state) has a calorific value up to 40 times better
than coal and is being used extensively in Europe.

Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008 I MarketingMix 53

MARKETING AT RETAIL
investigating sustainable or renewable packaging
materials.
Cooke presented interesting trends and findings
from local and international research that the
group has carried out. TGI defines the eco-
adopters as the market with an environmentally
conscientious mindset. Throughout the rest of the
world, this group makes up about two per cent of
the population, while in South Africa, the figure is
around five per cent. “They are a small group but
they could become advocates and opinion leaders
for the green movement,” says Cooke.
Eco-adopters are:
 More likely to be more educated and finan-
cially secure (more likely to be classified into
LSM 7-10)
 More discerning when it comes to the
brands they purchase (there is a focus on
organic, free-range and non-GM foods as
well as on a company’s ethics), and they
are willing to pay a premium for these.
Convenience and pleasure also play a role
 Brand loyal and Green loyal
 Adopters of word of mouth and advocacy
marketing
 Media savvy; want brands to educate and
engage them.
TGI finds that print, outdoor, Internet and cine-
ma are more effective in reaching this market than
TV and radio. The local newspapers that are most
read by green supporters include: The Independent
on Saturday, Beeld and the Mail & Guardian.
Locally, the supermarkets that eco adopters
frequent for bulk grocery shopping are
Woolworths, Friendly Supermarket, Spar, Makro,
Diskom, Checkers and Pick n Pay (stores that ranked
negatively include Score, spaza shops, neighbour-
hood markets and township supermarkets).
Legislation and guidelines
Von Holdt says that the Polokwane Declaration
(2001) enables structures for the implementation
of a waste management system which con-
tributes to sustainable development. It aims to
develop a common effort towards a goal for a
reduction of waste generated and disposed of by
50 per cent by 2012, and will develop a plan for
a zero-waste society by 2020. She adds that the
Declaration will mean closer scrutiny of all pack-
aging materials and processes; producers will
have a greater responsibility to reduce, reuse,
recycle and recover packaging. It is expected that
this bill will become law in mid-2008.
The Air Quality Bill and Water Bill will also
have an impact. Government is working on
these currently. 
54 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
Pick n Pay
Pick n Pay has been involved in
sustainable initiatives since the
1980s, when the stores launched
a range of green products, and
also began educating the con-
sumer about the ecosystem. But
according to Chamberlain, the
green products line was prema-
ture: the market was not ready for
this development, and over the
years, the product range
dwindled. Today, the company’s
sustainable development strategy
has shifted; it recognises that
stores need to become eco-
effective, rather than simply
stocking green products.
Sustainability needs to become an
internal process. And the customer
-focused approach needs to adapt
to a broader concept of partnership
that views employees, contractors
and suppliers as priority stakeholders.
The stores’ sustainable develop-
ment commitments:
 Promoting broad-based black
economic empowerment
through partnerships with the
Bethlehem Farmers Trust or the
Winterveldt Farming
Community, for example.
 Reducing their carbon foot-
print through monitoring and
reporting, including reporting
to the Carbon Disclosure
Project – a global independent
non-profit organisation, to
which companies report their corporate greenhouse gas emissions. The stores are
actively identifying opportunities for reducing their carbon footprint, including pur-
chasing green electricity or improving energy efficiency in operations and fleets. “We
have already made energy savings of 23 per cent in our head office, by using energy-
saving light bulbs and changing basic operations. We changed employee behaviour
and created awareness,” says Chamberlain.
 Reducing waste and energy usage, which includes a waste-oil-to-biodiesel initiative,
which is set to be rolled out in the coming months.
 Promoting innovation, especially around green products and eco-effective stores as
well as through research which aims to reduce the environmental footprint of
packaging.
 Developing sustainability partnerships, which will facilitate sustainable sourcing, fairer
trading practices and greater awareness of sustainability issues. Pick n Pay was the first
major South African retailer to engage with the World Wide Fund for Nature’s
Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI), for example;
 Implementing a sustainability communications strategy, which involves employee
training and awareness programmes as well as consumer awareness initiatives. “It’s
about educating the consumer to make important decisions, so that they can pick the
right brands and products,” says Chamberlain.
nana nkosi EXPERT OPINION
New approach to skills crisis
The shortage of skills is affecting every
single industry in this country. Productivity,
competitiveness and sustained economic
growth are compromised. We need to face the
skills crisis head-on and aggressively put actions
in place, but there is no quick-fix solution.
In 2003, the Department of Labour published
a document on the ‘State of skills in South
Africa’ and noted that the skills shortage in this
country has long been a challenge driven
primarily by the effect of the apartheid
government’s policies, but also by more
structural shifts in the economy.
Reviewing where we are today, it seems that
very little has been done and this is witnessed in
very specialised industries like branding and
others. It’s time to stop talking about the
problems and do something.
To translate talk into action, massive input
and commitment is required from the education
authorities, schools, industry bodies and
companies. A total re-look at our education
system is the starting point.
Exposing school learners to a diversity of
work environments is critical. How many of us
studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree because it
was a ‘safe’ choice? How many of us made
education choices based on the influence of our
parents or our friends? The vast majority of
youngsters have absolutely no idea about the
working world and what career choices are
open to them. We need to expose learners to
the world of work and help them align their
interests to that.
There are some schools that encourage
learners to ‘job shadow’ during one of their
holidays, but all too often this involves a two-
day sojourn in a parent’s friend’s company,
perfecting their tea-making and photocopying
skills! The students should be there to observe,
do and learn.
Work experience should be compulsory for
every Grade 11 and 12 learner – and it should
be pre-empted by a thorough career guidance
programme within the schools themselves.
Learners would then be able to make more
informed course choices for their tertiary
education.
Of course, there are some companies –
mainly multinationals – that have programmes
in place to educate students on various career
options, but this country needs the full cooperation
from every organisation – both large and small
56 MarketingMix I Vol 26 No. 3/4 I 2008
Nana Nkosi
“
We need to clarify
exactly what the branding
industry is and create
understanding and
awareness. Most people
don’t understand what
”
branding is.
– if we are to effect meaningful and long-term
change.
Organisations need to work far more closely
with schools and universities to provide relevant
career guidance and counseling. Experts could
be invited to schools on a regular basis to create
awareness of various industries and career
choices. Companies should hold regular open
days to expose students to their business and
their business processes.
But most importantly, internships need to
become an integral part of every company in
South Africa.
Companies employ people on the basis of
their ability and their experience. But experience
can’t be learnt at school or university, nor can it
be bought. It is gained. It’s a catch 22 situation
– people don’t have experience, so they can’t
get a job. But they can’t get experience without
employment. Internships can change this.
Taking in interns does require considerable
input from an organisation. Interviews should
be held with potential candidates to ensure
suitability, after which each intern should be
assigned to a senior person in the business who
acts as a coach. The coach coordinates the
intern’s work, supervises and guides their
efforts, ensures the productive use of time and
provides feedback.
At the end of their tenure, interns should get
a complete evaluation report from the coach
and should be allowed an opportunity to
present their own experiences. Valuable lessons
can be learnt from both parties.
There’s no doubt there are companies out
there questioning why they should invest time
and effort only to see their interns snapped up
by a competitor. And it happens. But if every
company invested in boosting the country’s
skills base, everyone would benefit.
From a creative perspective, there is vast raw
talent out there. We need to identify that talent,
expose the students to career options and
provide opportunities for work experience.
From a branding perspective, we need to
clarify exactly what the branding industry is and
create understanding and awareness. Most
people don’t understand what branding is. It’s
often confused with advertising and even
marketing professionals often can’t define or
describe what branding actually involves. As a
start, I would suggest that:
 Branding should be a subject choice at
schools and tertiary education institutions
 Branding agencies should sponsor an annual
creative award for students and learners
 Specialist branding agencies should align
themselves with schools and universities
and transfer their knowledge
 Branding agencies should provide holiday jobs,
professional career guidance and internships.
There is no industry in South Africa that isn’t
facing a skills crisis – but we need to pull
together and work collectively and aggressively
to have any hope of making headway. 
Nana Nkosi
Client service director, HKLM
(011) 461 6836
nnkosi@hklm.co.za