by Lynne Gordon (@lynne_gordon) For marketers, the new marketing landscape requires new skills; for organisations, it demands new ways of working. But for the neighbourhood salon owner, it’s business as usual — providing gritty lessons in the art of customer-experience management.
Category archives: Marketing
Brand Politics: Whose heritage is it, anyway?
by Alistair Mackay (@almackay) Where do events such as #RhodesMustFall leave heritage brands? Mass protests, a social media storm and the occupation of the administration building have pushed UCT’s transformation record into the national spotlight, throwing up some interesting questions for these kind of brands.
Masterclass Notes: Getting the best out of your agencies
by Johanna McDowell (@jomcdowell) From a client perspective, non-delivery by the agency is a critical factor and the main reason for the end of a relationship.
Tuned: The Millennial female
by Thabang Leshilo (@Thabang_Leshilo) Emma Watson, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Beyoncé have made me ponder the state of South Africa’s gender equality, what it means to be a female of my generation, and how marketers might think about connecting with us as consumers.
The Real McCoy: Provices and serducts
by Sean McCoy (@TheRealMcCoyTRM) No, this is not a dyslexic distortion of words but a deliberate play on the blurring of the boundaries between products and services and the increasing commoditisation of both.
The Word: The dark art of brand bullying
by Mongezi Mtati (@Mongezi) Brands often find themselves at the mercy of individuals who wield more influence, far greater popularity and trust in their social circles than some of the most celebrated brands.
Fair Exchange: Are reward programmes for loyal consumers or new signups?
by Erna George. Professor Byron Sharp, in his book “How brands grow”, asserts that loyalty is not a sustainable driver of brand volume growth, calling into question the longevity of loyalty programmes and stating that these may “work a little but have limited impact on overall loyalty”.
Dissident Spin Doctor: A strong reputation isn’t built through PR
by Emma King (@EmmainSA) Those brands that are loved and revered are not those which have sent out a million statements about how great they are or what they have achieved.
Brand Politics: The consumer is no moron
by Alistair Mackay (@almackay) Frustrated commentators love to imply that voters are stupid, that most South Africans continue to vote for the ANC because they can’t understand politics, don’t know what’s in their own interests or are “uneducated”. David Ogilvy famously had to correct that line of thinking in marketing as well: “The consumer is not a moron, she is your wife.”
Hella Jongerius calls for new industrial design values #designindaba
by Herman Manson (@marklives) Hella Jongerius is railing against shit design — design driven purely by profit, design without conscience, design without awareness. She is calling for these values to be integrated into industrial design once again because, she told delegates at Design Indaba 2015, the earth needs help; those exploited through low-paying, outsourced jobs need help; consumers need help; and, yes, producers need help.