Sharp to demystify the six myths of retailing

Professor Byron Sharp leads the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, which conducts serious research and development into how marketing works based on over 80 years of data from top global companies. Join him at South Africa's first ever Retail Advertising Conference, where he will demolish six myths of retailing.

The six major myths of how consumers choose stores and how store chains compete will be highlighted, followed by facts on:

Who buys from my chain?
What is special about these people, and what is their reason for choosing our stores?
Who are the heavy buyers?
Can I, should I, target them?
Who are the switchers?
What are their buying patterns?
Which other stores do my customers shop from?
How do I tell if my marketing metrics are normal, and how should I choose my market?

Professor Sharp will bring scientific laws together, in a new model of retail marketing. Other top notch speakers at the conference include Betsy Treinen, Director of Strategy and Client Services, Catalyst Studios; Bob Thacker, OfficeMax's Senior Vice President of Marketing/Advertising; Mike Gatti, Executive Director of the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA), and Ruby Anik, Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing, J.C. Penney Company, Inc.

Online bookings for the event at Emperor's Palace on 12 August and Lord Charles, Somerset West, on 14 August 2008 are open. For more information, visit www.raclite.co.za.