The way forward according to the Ask Afrika Orange Index 5 Feb 2013

The Target Group Index (TGI) in partnership with Media 24's City Press and Rapport hosted over 130 brand owners at the 2012 Icon Brands awards event on the 18 July 2012, held at The Hilton in Sandton. It was an auspicious day to acknowledge three special celebrations: Nelson Mandela's 94th birthday, awarding iconic brands in South Africa and TGI's 10 year birthday. Icon Brands celebrate and benchmark those brands that have retained their unique identities over time and are relevant to South Africa's multicultural and diverse population. 25 Jul 2012

The annual Ask Afrika Trust Barometer has been providing a valuable report on the most trusted and admired companies and leaders in South Africa since 2004, and the 2011 results have just been released. The Trust Barometer is seen as a credible measurement tool that measures corporate trust and reputation, taking the South African business and societal challenges into account. 24 Nov 2011

Customer service has moved beyond buzzwords and is demanding attention, since the new connected age increases customer expectations. There are global drivers of change in the new "connectedness era" requiring a new phase of business transformation. A changing society and more demanding customers, with less time in a globally connected world, are the drivers behind changing service expectations. Today's sophisticated customer is immersed in a technologically connected world and demands being the centre of attention, where they expect better quality in real-time at a cheaper rate. 18 Nov 2011

South African's have voted with their wallets and hearts, to establish seventeen ICON brands. ICON brands are loved and used by our Rainbow Nation. These are brands that have established a durable and timeless relationship with South African consumers, irrespective of background or living standard. These truly South African brands have earned their status as ICONS through the usage and loyalty of South African people irrespective of class, colour or creed. These are brands that have created a common experience across the nation, often on a daily basis. 24 Aug 2010

Why so lucrative?
Afrikaans is a widely spoken language, with 18% of the SA population calling it their home language. It has been long known that the Afrikaans market presents profitable opportunities for companies, holding almost a quarter of the total South African populations' spending power. According to TGI SA (Target Group Index South Africa) Afrikaans consumers are twice as likely as the general population to fall into the highest earning brackets and when compared to other market segments they earn more year on year. From the TGI SA survey, Afrikaners have an average monthly personal income of R6 516 compared to an average of R4 648 for the total population. That means that on average, they have almost R2 000 more to spend a month than the rest of the South African market. 13 Jul 2010

South Africa is known for its diverse cultures, eleven official languages, breathtaking places and welcoming people. South Africa's youth - tomorrow's future - is the epitome of our country's uniqueness. Understanding South Africa's youth, their preferences and behaviours is any marketer's dream. TGI (Target Group Index), exclusively owned by Ask Afrika - a leading South African market research company, can assist marketers in understanding this dynamic group of people. 15 Jun 2010

TGI SA has announced in Johannesburg that they have released a brand awareness measure in their continuous single-source brand, product and media survey. Top-of-mind and spontaneous brand awareness levels in 23 product categories is available in the 2009B release. 8 Jun 2010

Finmark Trust has announced the appointment of Ask Afrika, one of South Africa's leading research houses, as their preferred and new research partner to conduct the annual Finscope study, which is a key FinMark Trust initiative, in 2010. Since its inception in 2003, the renowned Finscope South Africa project has been providing annual insights into how consumers source their income and manage their financial lives. 2 Jun 2010

55% support the President, supporters more confident in integrity of political institutions 19 May 2010

Whether or not you think the FIFA 2010 World Cup is a good thing for South Africa or not depends to a large extent on your attitude to the beautiful game generally. 12 May 2010

We are all familiar with the terms associated with mothers such as “caring”, “selfless” and “friend”. But do we ever realise that some mothers living in the 21st century want to be associated with “career women”, “independent” and “bold”. They have been through various struggles; fighting for woman rights, political freedom, and the biggest struggle of all, raising you! 7 May 2010

There is a growing concern for companies to “go green” and reduce their carbon footprint. It has become an obligation for most companies to reflect their respect for the environment. Going green is often also reflected in the brands themselves that consumers use. Brands need to have a position on the environment. If consumers believe in that position, the value of the brand - and the attraction to use or buy it - goes up, the reverse also applies as indicated by TGI™ SA. 26 Apr 2010

Ask Afrika has announced the completion of a large multi-national study spanning the USA, Canada, the UK and Germany. The study was conducted on behalf of a major credit card provider over a two-month period. 11 Dec 2009

Ask Afrika has obtained a Standard of Excellence distinction, in the Deloitte's Best Company to Work For survey for 2009. In order to obtain this distinction a company must score more than 3.7. Ask Afrika was placed first in the marketing category. This marks the eighth year that the survey has run, the survey now boasting 115 participating companies in total. 4 Dec 2009

After the announcement that South Africa will be the proud host of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, mixed emotions arose regarding our readiness as a country for this challenge. The implementation of construction plans and marketing strategies, together with taxis that are geared to cater for this challenge, assure our international guests of a soccer experience never to be forgotten. 20 Nov 2009

South Africans love their dogs. However, they do not love them equally. The difference lies in the perceived role that dogs play in their lives. 22 Oct 2009

The Ask Afrika Trust Barometer® is the preferred local corporate reputation and trust benchmark. It is currently in its fifth year running, and is based on an expert panel of 200 telephonic interviews with CEOs, EXCO and senior managers reporting directly to the EXCO of JSE-listed companies. Business leaders spontaneously mention three companies (except their own) that they believe are the most trusted in South Africa. They also rate these companies based on various trust and reputation drivers. Among others, respondents from a number of companies such as Standard Bank, Pick n Pay, Massmart Holdings, and BHP Billiton participated in this year's Trust Barometer®. 2 Sep 2009

The intense debate on using margarine or butter has been raging since the 19th century when margarine was developed as a cheap alternative for the armed forces. Yet it is still generating debate today despite the perception that butter has disappeared from most diets and food-preparation routines. 93% of urban South Africans eat margarine; 41% exclusively use margarine; 52% claim to use both margarine and butter; and 4% claim that they only use butter. It is clear that butter has still has an important role to play in food preparation, albeit it in tandem with margarine. 21 Aug 2009

The results of the 2009 Ask Afrika Trust Barometer® were announced at a conference in Rosebank on 18 August 2009. 20 Aug 2009

The Target Group Index SA (TGI SA) has announced in Johannesburg that they have included a number of life event questions that measure the major events experienced by a consumer within an identifiable period of time. At this stage, 16 major life events have been included, ranging from leaving/completing high school to retirement. Life events help to pinpoint events in two specific periods of time: whether such an event occurred in the last 12 months, or if such an event is expected to occur in the next 12 months. 27 Jul 2009

TGI SA has announced in Johannesburg that they have included a brand awareness measure in their continuous single-source brand, product and media survey. Top-of-mind and spontaneous brand awareness levels in 23 product categories will be measured from 1 July 2009 (2009B). 23 Jun 2009

Forward-thinking marketers know that the Green market is growing and can be lucrative as environmentally aware consumers tend to earn more and are willing to pay a premium for Green products such as organic food and hybrid cars. However, since at present only a small proportion of consumers make their buying decisions primarily based on the environmental qualities of a product, it may be difficult to sustain sufficient revenues within that niche alone. Until the tipping point is reached, a process which will be driven by economic factors, marketers will need to start building Green benefits into existing products while simultaneously creating purely Green products that are economically viable on a large scale. 8 Jun 2009

Word of Mouth (WoM) has always being a powerful marketing tool, whether used informally through everyday human communication or through more formal structured programs designed by marketers to propagate a particular message. With the advent of Web 2.0 and the subsequent proliferation of online media such as social networks and blogs it has become an even more important element to bring into the marketing mix. It is becoming a medium in its own right and brand owners and agencies are now considering it as a channel alongside traditional media. 26 May 2009

Ask Afrika is pleased to announce that it has acquired the remaining 30% of TGI SA, the suppliers of the largest source of strategic media, brand and product information in South Africa. This is a culmination of a year-long hand-over phase between Ask Afrika and the founders of The Brand Survey Company, Tim Bester and Barbara Cooke, who have now retired. 18 May 2009

Brand loyalty is highly sought after by marketers as there is a direct positive relationship between brand loyalty and repetitive buying behaviour which ultimately translates into a larger share of the market. The goal of the marketer is to attract and retain consumers. They want the consumer to choose their brand and then to “stick” to it. 6 Mar 2009

Ask Afrika, a South African marketing research firm, has announced that it has taken broad based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) to new levels. 3 Dec 2008

Domestic help is often said to be one of the reasons more South Africans do not emigrate. The truth is that a very small proportion of South Africans say they have domestic help at all at only 11%, with only 4.8% saying they have full-time help. 13 Nov 2008

TGI (Target Group Index) the premier global marketing and advertising database was introduced in South Africa six years ago by Barbara Cooke and Tim Bester. South Africa was the 50th country in the world and the first in Africa to offer this highly acclaimed research method to the local advertiser, advertising, media planning and media owner industries. Since that time the TGI client base has grown substantially and TGI has become an essential knowledge source for the industry it serves. 25 Aug 2008

The results of Ask Afrika's Trust Barometer® survey were released at an awards ceremony held at Melrose Arch on Friday, 8th of August 2008. It was attended by various CEOs and executives from major South African corporates. 12 Aug 2008

Standard Bank South Africa has been ranked first in this year's Ask Afrika Trust Barometer, narrowly beating last year's winner, SAB. Jacko Maree, Standard Bank CEO, was also elected best CEO overall. 8 Jul 2008

In August 2008, Ask Afrika's 2007 Trust Barometer results will be launched, capping off a fourth year of existence since 2004. Previously this ran as the Most Admired Company Survey. This year the questionnaire has been revised extensively to include a major trust section to supplement the Reputation Questions. 17 Jun 2008

South African marketing research company Ask Afrika has been awarded the TGI data collection contract for South Africa. TGI is an international survey conducted in 60 countries worldwide - a crucial survey for media planners, brand managers, marketers and marketing researchers. 19 May 2008

A recent survey, reported in Business Day (29 June, 2006), concluded that Cell C will sustain market share losses when mobile number portability (MNP) is introduced. This is refuted by Meta Analyst at Ask Afrika, Craig Kolb, who says these conclusions may have been drawn too quickly. 6 Jul 2006

According to Andrea Rademeyer MD of Ask Afrika, the telecommunications regulator ICASA's, inquiry into the possibility of scrapping handset subsidies is worrying. 25 Jun 2005