The Western Cape's economy remains extremely healthy, although various negative factors are hampering accelerated growth. 8 Apr 2008
We've spent a lot of time laughing in our office this past week. Why? "Builder's tea", "a cup of Joe": these are just two of the terms our mix of Americans and Brits have been translating and teaching one another. 3 Apr 2008
A recent report indicates America's teens have their stuff together and, amongst other things, rate having a sound education as being more important and a better goal than making it on to a talent show. In short, the responses ‘have surprised many in the marketing community and have caused them to rethink how they need to appeal to this demographic'. 2 Apr 2008
More targeted news coverage … shorter attention span …the shift from news being a product to a service … trends in the US in news media seem to indicate that not all is well. 1 Apr 2008
Companies that derive revenue from multiple channels often have two analyst teams: the "database marketing team" and the "web analysis team." These groups tend not to communicate. 31 Mar 2008
USA - According to The Luxury Institute's latest WealthSurvey, the participation of wealthy online consumers in social networks dramatically increased to 60% in 2008, from 27% in 2007. Participation levels of online wealthy consumers in leading social networks are 16% for MySpace, 13% for LinkedIn, and 11% for Facebook. 27 Mar 2008
According to a recent newsletter from Dynamic Logic, analysis from their MarketNorm database shows that consumer product advertisements on gaming sites tend to perform much better among women ages 45+ compared with younger females. And this is not a small audience, says the report... 25 Mar 2008
A recent BurstMedia survey of more than 13,000 web users 18 years and older found that online content providers are not meeting the needs of all age segments. A majority of Internet users 45 years and older believe online content is focused on younger age segments. 20 Mar 2008
The retail sector is in trouble, with consumer confidence at its lowest in years and consumers facing higher living costs on almost every front. 19 Mar 2008
The economically active commuter market living in Etwatwa/Daveyton, situated on Johannesburg's East Rand, sometimes travel as far as Sandton or Cresta to spend their disposable income at their favourite shopping centre, even though many of these residents have to travel by taxi to get there. 19 Mar 2008
In 2006, the Chief Marketing Officer Council found over 26% of executives pointed to a lack of data and systems integration that prevented their organisation from achieving the optimal level of customer insight and intimacy. The current CMO Council's 2008 Marketing Outlook study still finds that only two of the top five solution investments for the year are CRM tools and customer analytics. 19 Mar 2008
While New Zealanders top global rankings as the nation most prepared to give up all packaging aspects for the sake of the environment, less than half of Asian consumers would be willing to give up these types of convenience packaging. 18 Mar 2008
This survey, which covers 61 markets across five regions around the world, accounting for more than 85% of the world's GDP and over 70% of the world's population, focuses on categories that contain products used around the home to keep it clean and running smoothly. Examples include dish, laundry and hand detergents; brooms, brushes and mops; bleaches and disinfectants; batteries; and plastic and aluminium wraps and bags. 17 Mar 2008
EcoUnit, the rewards program connecting consumers with environmentally-responsible products and services, has announced the results of its inaugural "Voice of the Green Consumer" survey. Based on responses from its database* of thousands of eco-aware consumers, it's clear that consumer buying power will increasingly be the catalyst for corporations to green themselves and their products. 14 Mar 2008
By determining the behavioral preferences of the customers coming to their store, e-marketers can align language and behavior of the Web site to provide those customers with the best shopping experience, one that feels tailored for them. Similarly, outbound marketing and traffic generation activities can be aligned. 13 Mar 2008
Bill McCloskey writes of the US experience of email drives around special days in the calendar and reckons the trick is to co-ordinate the drive with when interest peaks. 12 Mar 2008
From its humble beginnings in the 1950s, fair-trade has developed into a global movement. A new report by independent market analyst Datamonitor, ‘The Next Step in The Ethical Consumer Revolution', reveals fair-trade sales across Europe, the US, Australia & New Zealand and Japan have experienced double digit growth since 2002. 12 Mar 2008
The most recent BIGresearch Simultaneous Media Survey shows that, while traditional media still rank on top in the influence of purchases, many are declining in influence and some are showing double-digit losses over the previous year. 11 Mar 2008
Americans would rather give up their televisions or the Internet rather than do without their mobile phones, according to a report released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project on Wednesday, 5 March 2008. 10 Mar 2008
Distell is priming its palate for increased business with a world-class sensory laboratory that benchmarks new and established products against competitor offerings on local and international markets. 7 Mar 2008
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