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Public hearings into Eskom's 34% tariff hike application will be heard by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa today, 8 June 2009. Read more >>[Sasha Planting] For a number of years retail group Foschini has languished in the shadow of its bolder and possibly more successful contemporaries on the JSE, such as Truworths and Mr Price. This may change as better merchandising, staff and logistics systems deliver a turnaround. Read more >> [Sure Kamhunga] Poultry producer Country Bird has set its sights on acquiring Sovereign Foods after announcing late on Monday, 1 June 2009, it now had a stake of over 22%, up from 13.4% previously. Read more >> [Vivian Warby and Bathandwa Mbola] Despite the cold and wet start to the opening of Parliament, colourful dresses and vibrant fashion have once again lined the red carpet. Read more >>  The sad news of new vehicle sales continues with May sales down another whopping 34.7% compared to the corresponding month last year. Read more >>Banking & Finance
The downward trend in interest rates, which are at 2006 levels, is expected to have a muted effect on the property market as a result of economic challenges. Read more >>Brand news
Hot malt from OvaltineOvaltine has launched the Malted Milk version of its drinking product in South Africa. Represented exclusively by Stafford Bros & Draeger, the new variety is available in the same 400g plastic containers everybody associates with the brand and is packed for the trade in 12 unit cases. It is available from all leading retail outlets for approximately R49.00 (incl VAT) per unit. Ovaltine Malted Milk will be supported with various in-store promotions, product tastings and consumer media activities.  Hansa Marzen Gold has been awarded the three star Superior Taste Award at the 2009 International Taste Quality Awards, held by the International Taste and Quality Institute (iTQi). The three star award is highest rating available to any given brand in this competition, and is indicative of 'Exceptional products with 90% and more of the total marks'. Hansa Marzen Gold is the only South African product to have won a Superior Taste Award at this year's iTQi's. Read more >> Eikendal has produced a full-bodied Chardonnay with a 'superb sense of balance', using the grapes of two individual and diverse vineyard sites for this newly released 2008 vintage. Read more >> PARIS: In 1909 French chemist Eugene Schueller concocted a safe dye for hair, calling it l'Aureale after a popular hair style of the moment in a city which was already a byword for style and fashion. Read more >> Luxury travel accessory brand, Tumi, is launching a new range of luggage called Tumi Light. Using a combination of ultra durable materials, lightweight construction and advanced technology, these wheeled travel bags are geared for easy lifting and manoeuvrability. Read more >> Fleur du Cap has clinched the trophy for South Africa's Best Wooded White Blend at this year's Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show with its Unfiltered Viognier Chardonnay Sémillon Sauvignon Blanc Limited Release 2007. The awards announcement took place in Cape Town on Monday, 1 June 2009. Read more >>Reckitt Benckiser renews TLC contract for Clearasil campaignBrand giant Reckitt Benckiser has for the seventh consecutive year renewed its partnership with indoor advertising specialist The Letter Corporation (TLC). The new agreement commissions TLC to run a targeted three-month washroom campaign promoting Clearasil Stayclear's “Win a trip to the USA Teen Choice Awards” competition. The campaign directly targets teenagers. The competition element provides an opportunity to win a five-day trip to the acclaimed USA Teen Choice Awards, which can be won by simply purchasing one of the listed packs.  Jordan Shoes has taken the 20-year old Renegade brand and rejuvenated it. Associated with quality workwear, the shoes are described as durable and functional with simple design. Jordan has taken these elements, given them an edge and introduced the new range - targeting today's younger man. Read more >>e-Commerce
 Modern first editions by Raymond Chandler, Wilbur Smith and JM Coetzee are among the nearly 300 books offered by the AuctionExplorer on-line book auction that started yesterday, 4 June 2009. Read more >>80% of South Africa's internet users shop online with the majority buying items like CDs and DVDs, according to the results of a survey released on Wednesday, 3 June 2009. Read more >>Exhibitions
[Patience Bambalele] Two established and creative South African designers, David Tlale and Charles Storr, are to stage a collaborative exhibition at Momo Gallery in Johannesburg. Read more >>  Africa Fashion Week, with its 50 designers from 20 countries on the continent, begins on Friday, 12 June 2009, at the Sandton Convention Centre, north of Johannesburg. Read more >>Health & Safety
HONG KONG: Hong Kong officials have found traces of cocaine in cans of Red Bull, a few days after Taiwanese authorities confiscated close to 18,000 cases of the popular energy drink. Read more >>Hospitality
The hotel industry saw its combined occupancy rates slump 20% year on year in April to an average 54.7%, with the numerous public holidays and the general elections taking their toll. Read more >> Protea Hotels is the coolest hotel group as voted for by South African 8 to 22-year-olds. In a first for the Sunday Times Generation Next 2009 annual youth survey, South Africa's largest hotel group has been awarded the Coolest Hotel Group in this year's new hotel category. Read more >>Informal retailing
 [Benjamin Bradlow] Informal sellers of produce, cigarettes, matches, and other assorted goods in Alexandra each have their own regular customers. Read more >>Logistics
 [Artwell Dlamini] Transnet Freight Rail says it's feeling the financial effects of “unprecedented” cable theft that had disrupted the freighting of coal to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal. Read more >>[Artwell Dlamini] Imperial Holdings, the transport and logistics group, said Tuesday, 2 June 2009, it was looking for potential acquisitions as it prepared to beef up its car rental and tourism business. Read more >> Manufacturing
[Linda Ensor] Significant progress has been made in talks to salvage distressed textile manufacturer Frame, said Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies Thursday, 4 June 2009. Read more >>  South Africa is thriving with development and growth brought on by the opportunities presented by the upcoming 2010 Soccer World Cup, the Gautrain and BRT initiatives amongst others. However, the decline in market prices and the pull-out of major investors has left the future of South Africa's black tea producing estates in disarray. Read more >>Although its parent company is in the process of rebuilding itself under a court supervised process, General Motors (GM) South Africa will not be affected by the move, says its president and managing director Steve Koch. Read more >>Packaging
A packaging factory in Chloorkop, near Kempton Park, burnt down in the early hours of Friday morning, 5 June 2009, Ekhurhuleni Emergency Services said. Read more >> USA: Just in time for Earth Day, PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division is rolling out compostable packaging bit by bit this year, with a fully compostable bag due out on Earth Day in 2010. Read more >> Packaging group Nampak announced on Monday, 1 June 2009, that its chief financial officer, Tim Jacobs, has resigned to take up a position with financial services company Transaction Capital. Read more >>Regulatory
WASHINGTON: Movie directors, composers, authors, legal experts, policy-makers and others are meeting here this week to discuss the "threats and opportunities" the Internet poses to copyright in the digital age. Read more >>Research
[Shannon Sherry] Whatever the state of the global economy, SA expects a spending boost from thousands of World Cup football visitors next year. Read more >> The total income generated by the South African food and beverages industry for the first quarter of 2009 increased by 1.8% compared with the first quarter of 2008, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday, 4 June 2009. Read more >>[Tshepiso Seopa] The 2009 Sunday Times Generation Next cool brands have been decided by a jury of 5 000 urbanites aged 8 to 22 years. Loved, for its Brrrr effect, Coke is the overall coolest brand; while Nokia claimed the second coolest brand spot and Nike is the third coolest brand. Read more >> Retail marketing
 [Carole Kimutai] Unilever Kenya has launched a multi-million marketing campaign for Fair & Lovely, a face cream under its brand portfolio. The KSh30 million (R3 million) marketing campaign dubbed “Your Face is Proof” was unveiled at an event that also featured the premiere screening of "He's Just Not that Into You". Read more >> [Monique Leech] The easy answer would perhaps be yes: when consumers watch, read or listen to a commercial, they want the communication to be in their home language. The answer is not all that simple, however, and there is no magic formula... Read more >>PORT ELIZABETH: While The Boardwalk's “Festival Retail” mix has proved more resilient than that in some of the more traditional shopping centres, the complex's management team is working closely with its tenants to help them trade through the current downturn. Read more >> BANGALORE: Asian-based mobile advertising network mKhoj now has the ability to publish mobile advertising suited to local languages in seventeen different countries, including Afrikaans, Arabic, Bahasa, Hindi, Tamil, Turkic, and Zulu. The announcement was made yesterday, Tuesday, 2 June 2009. Read more >>[Stephan Dietrich] With consumers' inboxes perpetually filled with clutter, marketers are challenged to find new ways to break through with valuable, targeted messages that their customers actually want to open. The secret could lie in a largely untapped vehicle: transactional emails. Read more >> Retail services
The BPO sector in South Africa relies heavily on its ability to offer cost effective call centre solutions to potential investors. This however could all change if Eskom is given the 'all clear' for its proposed 34% increase in electricity prices. Read more >>Retailers
BERLIN: German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said on Monday, 8 June 2009, that the retail group Arcandor, which owns the Kardstadt chain and a majority share of Thomas Cook, could go bust, and its shares plunged a short time later. Read more >>[Kgomotso Mathe] Department store Stuttafords yesterday said it would reduce the number of its stores from 18 to 13 but make them bigger to ensure more customer space. Read more >> WASHINGTON: Top US retailer Wal-Mart plans to create 22,000 jobs in its US stores in 2009, the company said in a statement on Thursday, 4 June 2009. Read more >> The first More Home-Ware and House-Ware Store has been opened in Soweto, by Michael More, an informal trader for the last 10 years, it was announced on Monday, 1 June 2009. Read more >>PARIS: French fashion house Christian Lacroix was placed under administration on Tuesday, 2 June 2009, after filing for bankruptcy protection last week because of the global financial crisis, the company's lawyer said. Read more >>Security
 A straightforward little device designed to ensure all your mobile phone conversations are protected from phone tapping has been launched by Secusmart, a spin-off company of Nokia, the company announced last week. The device will also, it is claimed, prevent unintentional eavesdropping resulting from crossed lines. Read more >> The Gauteng Film Commission (GFC) has received notice of a possible scam which might be operational in the industry and has issued the following statement, today 4 June 2009. Read more >>An ATM card protection device has been developed to protect consumers from card skimming, Nedbank said on Tuesday, 2 June 2009. Read more >> Consumers must take care with their bank cards to prevent card scams and fraud, Absa said on Monday, 1 June 2009. Read more >>Technology
 [Lesley Stones] Altech is continuing its gradual growth through acquisitions, with its latest move being the R53,5m purchase of a controlling stake in a payments processing company. Read more >>LOS ANGELES: Videogames are getting their groove on with a collection of new music titles, as bands including the legendary Beatles are won over to a new platform for selling their songs. Read more >>LOS ANGELES: Sony on Tuesday, 2 June 2009, unveiled a sleek next-generation PSP Go handheld videogame, movie and music gadget in a direct challenge to Nintendo's freshly launched DSi devices. Read more >> WASHINGTON: Sony Music Entertainment and eMusic announced on Monday that songs from Sony's back catalog would be available later this year through the online music store. Read more >>[Mike Pearson] WASHINGTON: Google plans to begin selling electronic versions of new books online this year, posing a potential challenge to market leader Amazon. Read more >> Training
[Tebogo Monama] Thirty matriculants competed head-to-head on Saturday, 30 May 2009, in a hospitality competition at the International Hotel School in Sandton, Johannesburg. Read more >> Brand news
 Following hot on the heels of the successful launch of the new Cadbury Dairy Milk advertising campaign, featuring the hugely-popular drumming gorilla, Cadbury South Africa has launched its annual Winter on-pack promotion. Read more >>
A - Z of Branding Vega the Brand Communications School - Bordeaux, Johannesburg, 10 June
"A solid strategy wins accounts while a brilliant ad strokes the ego of that particular brand." - Xoli"The business that considers itself immune to the necessity for advertising sooner or later finds itself immune to business." - Derby Brown"Never underestimate the power of even the smallest marketing promotion. As long as it's smart and on target, the smallest marketing promotion can make a huge impact." - April Guy"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus"Negotiating techniques do not work all that well with kids, because in the middle of a negotiation, they will say something completely unrelated such as, 'You know what? I have a belly button!' and completely throw you off guard." - Bo Bennett
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