BCSA Brand Barometer out for industry participation

30 Nov 2012

The Brand Council of South Africa (BCSA) has launched its first BCSA Brand Barometer, sending surveys to opinion leaders across the spectrum of business, government, education, media, branding and communications. Results are expected in early 2013.

A disadvantaged student will benefit from the research project, as respondents are encouraged to donate their R100 incentive for completing the questionnaire towards a bursary fund for a formal branding qualification for a chosen recipient.

BCSA board member, Yellowwood's David Blyth is driving the initiative, which he says will give vital impetus to the association's ambitions of improving industry standards, promoting a national psyche of good citizenship, creating employment opportunities and accelerating economic growth.

"The Brand Barometer was a key element of the action plan outlined by the BCSA at its launch in March 2012. Our mandate is to influence change through brands, for the greater good of the country and it is pointless trying to do that without a definitive point of reference. This research will give us a critical mass of information to enable us to identify the priority challenges and opportunities and it will ensure we have a collective perspective on current issues facing brands and branding in South Africa.

Welcoming accountability

"The information will also inform and guide our activities and it will give us something concrete against which to measure our progress. We welcome accountability and we need to make sure that we are doing the right things towards achieving our objectives."

The research will measure branding sentiment, test perceptions, identify challenges and opportunities and create a framework for industry debate. The study has also been structured to provide regular insights and continuous measures for the council to use to evaluate performance against objectives on a regular basis.

Blyth said the research will be 'an invaluable national resource' and, once specific discussion topics have been extracted from the findings, the BCSA would convene a thought leadership panel, which would get together to debate the issues and identify further action. This panel will comprise stakeholder representatives including business, government, BCSA members, industry, regulators, media and academia.