Consumers are irrational

[Louise Marsland] The marketing community has traditionally believed that consumers behave in a rational way in many product categories. But new thinking suggests that consumers often behave irrationally, making split-second decisions, using gut feel to determine whether or not they like something and whether or not to buy it.

HIV prevalence increasing amongst skilled employees
It appears from the results of joint AIDS research conducted by Markinor and the BMR, that HIV prevalence rates among the skilled, the employed and the affluent are higher than generally expected and are also increasing more rapidly than expected. However, current studies and models appear to be flawed and a reliable estimation model does need to be built to ensure more accurate HIV prevalence estimates for South Africa, the SAMRA conference heard last week.

Media planning is not just a numbers game
[Louise Marsland] Industry sage and media strategist, Gordon Muller, challenged media planning paradigms yesterday, 16 March, when he accused media planners of focusing too much on the mechanics of planning and playing a numbers game, rather than on the marketplace out there and qualitative campaigns which understood the "soul" of the medium being utilised.

The effectiveness of retail loyalty programmes
Retail loyalty programmes had an effect on a customer's relationship with the brand, but South Africa was way behind the rest of the world in loyalty programme membership, the annual SAMRA conference was told this week.

How much advertising actually works?
[Louise Marsland] If a surgeon gave you only a 41% chance of survival as you were wheeled into the operating theatre, would you go ahead with your operation? Well, apparently only 41% of advertising actually works, according to Professor John Philip Jones of Syracuse University, New York, however, continuity is a key to long term advertising effectiveness.



People matter in research
Marketers, advertisers and researchers commonly talk of "consumers", "respondents", "informants" and "customers". What is really meant is "people". So why do we use these terms? More to the point, what does the use of these terms imply? asked Neil Higgs, head of Research Surveys, at the SAMRA conference on Wednesday, 15 March 2006.

Finding the wisdom in research
[Louise Marsland] Research consultant and industry guru, Brian McMillan, warned researchers that reliance on computer software and ease of access to numbers by the general populace, was blinding the industry and clients to the "wisdom" contained in true scientific research. McMillan was the opening speaker at the Southern African Marketing Research Association (SAMRA) 27th annual convention, near Brits, today, 15 March 2006.

Telephone vs. Mail: Fishing where the fish are - Synovate
What works best for market research tracking surveys: telephone or mail questionnaires? Synovate tackled this sometimes contentious subject at the SAMRA conference this past week. 19 Mar 2006 13:30

HIV prevalence increasing amongst skilled employees

It appears from the results of joint AIDS research conducted by Markinor and the BMR, that HIV prevalence rates among the skilled, the employed and the affluent are higher than generally expected and are also increasing more rapidly than expected. However, current studies and models appear to be flawed and a reliable estimation model does need to be built to ensure more accurate HIV prevalence estimates for South Africa, the SAMRA conference heard last week. 19 Mar 2006 12:59

Synovate

Telephone vs. Mail: Fishing where the fish are

What works best for market research tracking surveys: telephone or mail questionnaires? Synovate tackled this sometimes contentious subject at the SAMRA conference this past week. 19 Mar 2006 09:24

Media planning is not just a numbers game

[Louise Marsland] Industry sage and media strategist, Gordon Muller, challenged media planning paradigms yesterday, 16 March, when he accused media planners of focusing too much on the mechanics of planning and playing a numbers game, rather than on the marketplace out there and qualitative campaigns which understood the "soul" of the medium being utilised. 16 Mar 2006 13:05

The effectiveness of retail loyalty programmes

Retail loyalty programmes had an effect on a customer's relationship with the brand, but South Africa was way behind the rest of the world in loyalty programme membership, the annual SAMRA conference was told this week. 16 Mar 2006 13:00

How much advertising actually works?

[Louise Marsland] If a surgeon gave you only a 41% chance of survival as you were wheeled into the operating theatre, would you go ahead with your operation? Well, apparently only 41% of advertising actually works, according to Professor John Philip Jones of Syracuse University, New York, however, continuity is a key to long term advertising effectiveness. 15 Mar 2006 12:23

People matter in research

Marketers, advertisers and researchers commonly talk of "consumers", "respondents", "informants" and "customers". What is really meant is "people". So why do we use these terms? More to the point, what does the use of these terms imply? asked Neil Higgs, head of Research Surveys, at the SAMRA conference on Wednesday, 15 March 2006. 15 Mar 2006 11:30

Finding the wisdom in research

[Louise Marsland] Research consultant and industry guru, Brian McMillan, warned researchers that reliance on computer software and ease of access to numbers by the general populace, was blinding the industry and clients to the "wisdom" contained in true scientific research. McMillan was the opening speaker at the Southern African Marketing Research Association (SAMRA) 27th annual convention, near Brits, today, 15 March 2006. 14 Mar 2006 13:56