[2012 trends] Strategically solving the conundrums of marketing complexity

[Darren Woolley] The world is sitting in a now familiar state of uncertainty, with debit crisis, stagnant established markets and emerging growth markets and continued pressure to deliver increasing returns. In the face of this uncertainty and continuing increase in fragmentation and complexity, marketers will need to strategically develop more flexibly responses to deal with a range of conundrums. 18 Jan 2012 14:47

[2012 trends] The cheese has moved for brands and youth

[Banele Rewo] From a marketer's perspective, we miss the mark from the moment we fail to understand the uniqueness of the South African youth market. The cheese keeps moving while we are wielding text books and strategies from 1996, 2010 or even September 2011, which may be off the mark and off the streets by June 2012. 18 Jan 2012 13:31

[2012 trends] Anthropological trends in the digital space

[Marcela Ospina] When putting these trends together, I focused on socio-cultural changes that will transform our interaction with digital technologies, using the concepts of nature and culture to explain the role that we, and technology itself, play in closing the gap between these concepts. Here are 12 trends that describe how our relationship with the environment, politics and one another will shape the future use of digital devices and technologies. 13 Jan 2012 14:07

[2012 trends] The Write Stuff for 2012

[Lindsay Grubb] In talking to a fellow writer recently, we got onto the topic of client trends that came out of 2011. One of the most noticeable for us was that clients are on the lookout for something different from their agency/writer/creative, as they need to stand out from the clutter and general advertising methods aren't cutting it anymore. 13 Jan 2012 12:59

[2012 trends] Degrees of separation, stupidity and success in social media

[William Smook] The Mayans prophesied long ago that 2012 will see social media playing a crucial role in business communication. Why is it then, that this exciting communications channel sees otherwise good, beloved brands making avoidable mistakes? Here are a few trends, suggestions and case studies that should help you work both hard and smart in the coming months. 12 Jan 2012 11:29

[2012 trends] Getting published in 2012

[Allison Cooper] While 2012 will bring another hard year for some brands and their consumers, there are others which will continue to perform really well. In 2012, marketers must seek out trends that not only enable a brand to engage with consumers, but also ensure that they are constantly breaking through the media's gatekeeping role to ensure newsworthy publicity opportunities. 10 Jan 2012 15:15

[2012 trends] Social media marketing and the youth

[Bradley Maseko] The following is a breakdown of 12 social media marketing trends for 2012 with regards to how businesses will target the youth market. The emphasis for businesses/brands in 2012 will be to avoid becoming subject to the "Social Media Burnout Effect". 10 Jan 2012 14:23

[2012 trends] With apologies to Cindy Lauper: boys and girls just wanna have fun

[Mike Abel] It's been a trying time aboard the good ship GFC (Global Financial Crisis). But like all sailors on the sea of life, if rough becomes the new normal, the seasickness begins to ebb and we can start moving away from being "bent-double" over the side of the boat and assume steadier footing through these turbulent waters. 10 Jan 2012 13:27

McDonalds apologises for guide dog incident

The managing director of McDonalds South Africa has apologised to a blind woman who was chased out of one of the hamburger restaurants on Christmas Day because she had brought her guide dog inside. 29 Dec 2011 08:43

Social media demands brands change their ways

[Steve Cragg] People - your customers and mine - are using the tools provided by social media to great effect in their purchase decision-making process. While consumers have always shared their opinions on products and services, digital amplifies their ability to communicate these to their peers, and not only friends and family, but also to friends of friends of friends. 9 Dec 2011 12:22

First brand shop for LG in Cape Town

Late last week, LG Electronics opened its first premium brand shop in Cape Town, part of its plan to capture the growing organised retail market through a chain of exclusive shops across the country. 5 Dec 2011 10:18

The unsexy secret of great service: containing the system

[Patrick Carmody] What do McDonalds, my favourite restaurant, Woothemes and Audible.com have in common? They all offer excellent service in their respective categories and 'customer expectation sets' and they all contain the offering, thereby limiting the chances of pain points in the customer experience. 1 Dec 2011 12:02

Difficult customer? Exceed expectation!

[Chris Moerdyk: @chrismoerdyk] There are a lot of cute little phrases in marketing - most of which make those of us who have been in the business for a while want to go outside and throw up in the gladioli. But there are some buzzwords that have a huge amount of merit. Like "exceeding expectation". 28 Nov 2011 14:42

How challenger-brand thinking can be used for entrepreneurship

[Abey Mokgwatsane] Recently I had the honour of speaking at Cape Town Entrepreneurship Week on how challenger-brand thinking can be used as a framework for entrepreneurship and some other thoughts. As per my usual style of presentation, it was made up of images that I spoke to, rather than words on slides. So since distributing my presentation won't help, I wrote this summary to share what I spoke about. 28 Nov 2011 14:22