Polarised consumers do respond to advertising

The latest results from the Target Group Index (TGI) survey, for which Ask Afrika owns the South African rights, reveals the emergence of polarised and divided customers: divided in income, loyalty and patience. Nearly a third of households say they are having to contend with insufficient and inconsistent incomes. Constrained household incomes are resulting in customers moving away from the middle of the market to either scrimp (84%) or splurge. More than a third of consumers don’t like the idea of being in debt and say that they are careful with money and are saving for retirement.

While brand loyalty is decreasing overall, township consumers buck the trend and are becoming more brand loyal. Across categories, convenience and ease of purchase has never been as important.

Consumers are also divided when it comes to sustainability. While 60% of respondents are trying to cut down on their water usage at home and 57% are making to effort to cut down on the use of electricity, only 24% of consumers recycle items rather than throwing them away.

Amidst these divided priorities, advertising has emerged as the most important factor for 60% of consumers when it comes to making a purchase decision across categories. Not surprisingly, a quarter of consumers say the first place they look for information is the Internet, illustrating just how important online advertising has become.

Knowing your audience is particularly important when it comes to outdoor advertising: more than half of township consumers believe that brands that are advertised are better quality. A quarter of township consumers will take a photo of an outdoor ad after seeing township branding, 15% will post or share content on social media after seeing this branding. In Soweto, 31% of consumers will immediately look at a product online after seeing township branding. In Khayelitsha, however, nearly a quarter will talk to others about the product, service, or brand.

“What has become increasingly apparent is that brands need to use the correct media at the right time in order to connect with their target market,” says Maria Petousis, commercial executive: TGI & Benchmarks at Ask Afrika. She adds that TGI’s insights, coupled with a brand’s own internal data, allows brands to see the available opportunities and then sweat their existing assets.

The TGI survey is a large-scale single source probability survey. Globally, TGI has geographic coverage of more than 50 markets measuring products, brands, and media habits. In South Africa, the survey includes 67% of households in the country and covers 18 product sectors with more than 570 product categories across eight different media types, providing a rich view of brands, products, psychographic statements, segmentation, media behaviours and township insights.

“The data provided by TGI supports the true purpose of business: to drive growth through a deeper understanding and precise targeting to create long-term customer value,” says Petousis.

Ask Afrika’s TGI research is a game-changer for 75% of South Africa’s top 50 advertisers, media owners and advertising agencies, who use the insights to get into the minds of current and future customers and to help them develop strategies for brand growth.

To get a closer look on the latest Ask Afrika TGI data and how Ask Afrika can help you understand your specific customer shifts, contact Maria Petousis az.oc.akirfaksa@airaM or Bava Vikash@askafrika.co.za.