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 | Ailsa Wingfield Success in Africa depends on many factors, including agility and localisation of strategy... read |
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 | Patrick Bracher & Dale Cridlan From cyber risk to corporate responsibility, job creation and skills training - so important to national stability; the responsibility of the board of directors is increasing, as latest trends and new regulations reveal... read |
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 | Lucy Worsley We eat, breathe and live life experiences every day... read |
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 | Bryan Little In our current image-saturated existence, with thumbs flicking through the world on Instagram and other social media with a relentless thirst, humans are consuming imagery on a scale never experienced before... read |
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 | Grant Fraser The search for the next consumer gap, the holy grail of advertising, the key consumer touch points, the next Apps etc, is a continuous voracious process that is never ending... read |
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 | Marc Spriestersbach Africa Rising' is no longer relevant - we have long passed that milestone and the transformation that the continent is undergoing is dramatic, certainly in terms of communication and connectivity across all sectors of the market... read |
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 | Gaurav Singh Top industry trends for the year across the continent will include marketing automation, online media investment and the continued rise of local content - all part of the new digital Africa... read |
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 | Murray Legg When YouTube started out of beta phase a mere 11 years ago and made its first video available for public viewing, there were 7 billion possible sets of eyeballs available to watch one video... read |
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 | TBWA Africa While TBWA is focused on disruption to grow our client business in Africa, the following trends are bound to be top of mind in the year ahead... read |
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 | Antoinette Pombo Youth Dynamix (YDx), the specialist youth and family research agency in Johannesburg, has revealed a new awakening in the youth market that will change the landscape for brands Africa into and beyond 2016... read |
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 | Leigh Andrews Get set for a rollercoaster ride of keeping up with technology while also catering to consumers' renewed sense of purpose and power if you want to succeed in the year ahead... read |
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 | Issued by Continental Outdoor Programmatic media buying, placement and optimisation for DOOH (Digital Out of Home) is still in its infancy in South Africa and Africa, however it is cited as the next trigger to impact on Out of Home's growth... read |
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 | Sona Sales What we are going to be experiencing more of in 2016 is simplicity and honesty in our craft... read |
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 | Haydn Townsend My prediction for the coming year is that we'll start to see the growth of a trend that has already taken root overseas: open-sourced collaboration. read |
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 | Dean Oelschig On 21 October 2015 we finally arrived at the future date we watched in the famous movie Back to the Future, back in 1989. The hover boards, self-lacing sneakers or flying cars hadn't transpired as were promised. But that's OK. read |
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 | Gareth Lessing We're likely to see a few trends shaping the industry in 2016, from the shift in agency models - which is one of our main reasons for being - to the challenge of finding the best medium to engage consumers in a world of multiple mixed platforms. read |
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 | Johanna McDowell Stronger collaboration among agencies on behalf of the client brand is on the cards... read |
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 | Ann Nurock Agencies need to start delivering on what clients want and need, in order to survive the current crisis that they are experiencing. read |
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 | Sizakele Marutlulle Creativity is critical to business, as are ideas that generate substance and marketing campaigns that don't play on stereotyping... read |
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 | Ben Evans Marketers and agency people operate in an industry rightly obsessed by its future... read |
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 | Emma Odendaal Remember when social media was the domain of the team renegade or, better yet, the intern? Social strategies are a critical part of overall marketing strategies, often leading the charge in having a direct effect on the bottom line. read |
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 | Issued by Content Central The scope and overall value of content marketing has been growing exponentially year upon year, and 2015 was no exception... read |
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 | Warren Harding Podcasts are not new and there has been much talk about them over the last 10 years. The turning point for podcasts came in 2006, when iTunes added podcasts to its menu... read |
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 | Stijn Smolders The gamechanger trend for the next year is programmatic video: adding quality and high-impact awareness ads to the programmatic mix will change the perception of this channel... read |
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 | Shireen Jaftha Just when clients and agencies alike thought they had digital nailed, things changed - and quickly. This is what it means to operate in the contemporary media environment; change is the new constant... read |
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 | Jessica Knight The Internet of Things can provide real solutions to operational challenges such as inventory accuracy, insight into customers' physical shopping behaviours and speed of fulfilment in meeting customer needs... read |
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 | James Cloete I'd like to see a resurgence of client spend during 2016 - but I'm not anticipating it. Instead, I think that the economy will continue to be under pressure, and this will shape the way that brands and marketers behave... read |
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 | Issued by Yellowwood Future Architects Are punchy trend predictions a useful guard against potential industry blind spots, or are they just beautifully worded nonsense..? read |
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 | Michael Baretta There is no denying that there is a massive trend towards being more socially conscious; consumers are increasingly defining themselves through the brands that they buy... read |
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 | Melissa Attree I'll take a bet that most people are sick of seeing the words 'Content Marketing'. It's a term that reached its peak during 2015 and its growth on the communication scene is set to increase this year... read |
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 | Robyn de Villiers Finding the balance between the opportunities and the risks is the right way to do business in Africa. These are the key trends driving investment in Africa... read |
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 | Lebo Motshegoa In 2016, a whole new swathe of trends is presenting itself in the mass market, and marketers need to watch out for them or be in danger of missing the boat. read |
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 | Gareth Pearson One of the biggest drivers in 2016 will be consumers' continually shrinking wallet... read |
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 | Gillian Rightford There will be an increased focus on integration from a marketer's point of view which means collaboration from an agency's point of view... read |
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 | Sue Disler The art of predicting how content marketing will change, or which new technologies or channels we will need to adapt to and/or adopt in this day and age does not get any easier... read |
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 | Dave Nemeth The top five trends for marketers to note for this year include VR, AR, the maker movement, device culture, and content in context... read |
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 | Brendan Seery, Issued by Independent Media In the late 1990s, Bill Gates wrote a book predicting where technology would take humankind in the following decade. Just under 20 years later, few of his predictions have come true... read |
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 | Samantha Page In the 21st century, the biggest business opportunities are no longer in the brand alone, but in everything around the brand. The narratives we craft must sell the brand experience... read |
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 | Markus Davies There is a major shift underway in how content is being disseminated to viewers. As a 'small box content creator', my audience is changing their behaviour... read |
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 | Lebo Madiba Audiences are now getting their news from social media platforms rather than from traditional or even online platforms, and it is important for clients to understand that the audience is at the centre of the conversation... read |
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 | Jacques du Preez Digitisation, new collaborative research and consolidation in the industry, puts OOH media in a very exciting place in South Africa and in Africa... read |
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 | Graham Deneys First of all - 2016 aside - I'm already seeing quite a different approach to the definition and the role of a media agency in the actual agency mix when it comes to overall business outcomes for clients... read |
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 | Ariane Längsfeld, Issued by Millward Brown Mobile presents a massive opportunity for marketers to reach consumers in exciting new ways, but receptivity and creative challenges lie ahead... read |
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 | Jacques du Bruyn We're definitely going to be taking mobile very seriously. Especially with communication and consumption trends. read |
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 | Walter Pike The advertising and marketing problem is one of spreading ideas. The fundamental nature of idea-spreading changes in the social era because the structure of media changes... read |
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 | Brian Mitchell and Evan Mitchell You watch, say, Blade Runner again (and make sure you do, before the remake). Or the early, seminal Star Wars. Cherished movies. Still, it's difficult not to be struck by how quaint, and at times down-right wrong, their implicit predictions about the future are... read |
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 | Issued by Student Brands Marketing to young people can be a remarkable challenge. With rapidly changing fads, concepts, and trends, finding the right balance between valuable, actionable information and youth-oriented content can be very difficult... read |
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| Agriculture, Horticulture & Forestry | | |
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 | Frans Weilbach Global megatrends are changing the way business and society operate, including the agribusiness sector. African agribusiness CEOs see demographic shifts... read |
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 | Cari Van Wyk With a difficult year ahead there are certain trends that will, more than others, influence the day to day of every farmer and agribusiness and how they put food on our plates... read |
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 | Thabi Nkosi The implementation of a national minimum wage has been an important point of discussion in recent times. Few can argue against the need for decent wages... read |
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 | Johan Pienaar Land reform is a constitutional imperative but whether policy responses in support of this are currently serving equally important goals is debatable... read |
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 | Erik Holm, Tommie van Zyl and Johan Koorts ZZ2 has been a major family-owned farming enterprise in South Africa since the mid-20th. Since the turn of the century, the company had to adapt to major changes in the agricultural landscape... read |
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 | Pieter Spies Any country's health is founded on its agriculture sector - as has been the way for millennia. However, if agriculture is to have a sustainable future, we cannot keep on doing things the way they have always been done... read |
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 | Lisa Mallett The motor industry is in a challenging time of flux. The industry will change more in the next 10-15 years than it has in the last 50 years... read |
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 | Mike Whitfield Despite a challenging year for the automotive industry, car manufacturers remain upbeat and eager to embrace the trends set to dominate... read |
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 | Nicci Botha There is no doubt that the automotive sector is going through one of its most disruptive phases since Henry Ford introduced the Model T. However, most of the vehicle trends in 2016 are tweaks of continuing developments... read |
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 | Jeff Nemeth The automotive industry is undergoing a fundamental change which is being driven by cost factors, political and economic conditions, population and traffic congestion, and environmental concerns... read |
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 | Nicci Botha Sustainability and technology will continue to be trend growth points in SA's building and construction industry... read |
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 | Alta Schoultz Much of our modern life is rooted in the way we have designed our cities... read |
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 | Frans Pienaar According to a recent report by PwC, infrastructure spending in Africa is estimated to grow from $70bn in 2014 to $180bn per annum by 2025... read |
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 | William Johnston The construction and engineering sectors are currently facing slower growth that is expected to continue into the first quarter of 2016. There is however room for optimism... read |
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 | Sindy Peters In 2015 the UN adopted the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda along with 17 Global Goals. These goals provide guidance for a slow but steady march towards a more sustainable future... read |
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 | Hiten Parmar Global statistics reveal that world populations have grown exponentially, but have the supporting services and infrastructure grown in proportion to cater for this? The answer is no... read |
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 | Justin Smith Conscious consumerism and innovation are on the rise in the retail space and customers are demanding that increased attention is paid to sustainability... read |
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 | Melissa Baird Five years ago, the Harvard Business Review announced "The Age of Transparency"... read |
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 | Werner van Antwerpen Buildings are moving from bricks and mortar into what previous generations considered science fiction... read |
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 | Sandy George Technology, learning in reverse and following methods best suited to the student are just a few of the developments to be found in education for 2016... read |
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 | Nicci Botha There is no doubt that there was an 'education spring' in South Africa with #feesmustfall dominating the headlines and social media in 2015, while - in response - the government and universities scrambled to open up access to tertiary education... read |
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 | Professor Jan du Plessis The current state of the mining industry can only be described as an industry in distress. The continuous spiral of lowering commodity prices with the combined steep mining inflation has put many mining operations at the risk of closing down... read |
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| Sindy Peters Prices are going up, the nuclear deal's going down, natural gas wants in, renewables are certainly not out, and lithium-ion batteries are here to stay. These are some of the trends in the energy sector for 2016... read |
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 | Webb Meko South Africa and Africa's largely untapped natural gas supply could lead to radical transformation of the continent... read |
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 | Nicci Botha From collaboration with fintech startups to more personalised client services, digital technology dominates trends in the finance sector this year... read |
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 | Karl Bishop Infrastructure development is booming across Africa, due in no small part to significant economic growth and foreign direct investment. Mega-infrastructure projects have massive price tags... read |
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| Human Resources & Recruitment | | |
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 | Yolanda Gibbon, Issued by Cardilogix CEOs globally and locally are admitting their talent strategy is out of sync and retaining top talent is becoming their no. 1 challenge in business. In 2016, it's all about reinvention! Nothing is like it was nor will it ever be. read |
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 | Nicci Botha Whereas in the past, the human resources department of any big corporate were the people who made sure salaries were paid on time, with the cost of recruitment and the legislative web surrounding labour law, HR is a whole other ballgame today... read |
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 | Phillipa Geard The way we work and the places we work are evolving rapidly; 2015 revealed even more companies and people adapting to a future work culture, which embraces flexibility, openness and the harnessing of technology to improve efficiency... read |
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 | Hilda Lunderstedt The biggest trends for business for the next five years will be change and disruption. Nothing will stay the same and the speed of change from 2015 - 2020 will be the same as the previous 20 years... read |
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 | Warren Olivier I believe securing data and controlling access will join the likes of the Internet of Things and information management as one of the most influential trends... read |
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 | Shane Chorley By now, the vast majority of South Africans, be they consumers or business owners, have heard about the fibre revolution that is taking hold of the country... read |
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 | Paulo Ferreira The mobile device has evolved into a commodity, a solution that is capable of providing the user with similarities of a laptop... read |
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 | Kim Andersen Technology has driven a revolution in the way people work, play, interact and even how they think. Evolving technology has opened up new business models... read |
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 | Ian Jansen van Rensburg It's an exciting time to be involved in the IT field and, technologically speaking, 2016 is going to be a cracker of a year.... read |
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 | Edward Lawrence Edward Lawrence, ICT entrepreneur and co-founder of Workonline Communications, shares his top trends and outlooks for 2016 with us... read |
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 | Bob Min Yu After the fierce mobile price war globally in 2014, smartphones have undoubtedly shifted to a new stage of competition in 2015 will continue throughout 2016... read |
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 | Brian Timperley The likes of cloud computing, accessible high-speed connectivity and hosted solutions have become game-changers... read |
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 | Paul Conradie 2016 will be an exciting and fast-paced year for IT. Technologies that gained a foothold in 2015 are reaching critical mass and gaining the momentum needed... read |
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 | Gareth Mellon Expect ICT providers to start positioning themselves as complete, end-to-end partners with the ability to transform their clients into digital pioneers... read |
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 | Deidré Jonker, Issued by BitCo Finally. After years of ploughing - a familiar sight to our South African driveways and pavements - kilometres of Dark Fibre will light up and bear fruit... read |
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 | Cari Van Wyk Technology is rapidly changing almost every facet of the world and how we interact with it - on a business and personal level... read |
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 | Lucinda Verster 2016 is set to be an important year in competition law, both in South Africa and on the rest of the continent... read |
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 | Betsie Strydom and Karuna Naidoo The volatility of the currency due to events that began on 9 December 2015, has placed an increased focus on government finances... read |
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 | John Bellew Private equity deals are growing in east and west Africa, with certain sectors seeing most action than others. Experienced African fund managers are in demand and it looks like it is going to be an exciting year for Private Equity in Africa. Here are some of the key trends we can expect to see in the in 2016... read |
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| Lifestyle & Entertainment | | |
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 | Jackie Burger Neo-Trans, wearables and curated self-expression seem to be the stylish buzzwords of 2016. Jackie Burger, style icon and editor-at-large, gives her thoughts on this year's ever-shifting fashion landscape. read |
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 | Abigail Donnelly It's an exciting time in food: unique eateries are popping up everywhere, offering the best in burgers, Mexican, tapas and street food. SA dining really is of world-class quality and I'm honoured and humbled to have experienced such excellence last year. read |
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 | Ruth Cooper What with series sharing, piracy and Netflix the good old fashioned cinema is having to get more and more creative when it comes to enticing bums on seats. read |
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 | Cari Van Wyk With economic relief unlikely anytime soon, South African fleet managers are set to continue in belt-tightening mode through the coming year... read |
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 | Cari Van Wyk Lelanie Prinsloo is the CEO of Logistics Directory, a free online platform that ensure that all your cargo needs are taken care of... read |
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 | Ntando Kubheka Inter-modality is what makes any world-class transport system work. An efficient, integrated transport system is a critical pillar of the economic performance of any city... read |
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 | Stephen Segal It's never easy to predict what is going to happen in the world of freight, and predicting for 2016 is even more difficult than before... read |
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 | Charles Brewer You come at Africa with a 'how can I make this work' as opposed to quoting the excuses written by many and witnessed by few... read |
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 | Nicci Botha By embracing technology, supply chains will be able to deliver on time and within budget this year, despite slow economic growth... read |
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 | Ana Engelbrecht Skincare trends for 2016 involve safer, more effective combination treatments with less down-time: mesotherapy, peelings and the cosmoceuticals are likely to be big this year... read |
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| Nicci Botha Property experts agree that there won't be much change in the residential market dynamics in 2016 with trading conditions remaining relatively strong, despite the current economic and political environment... read |
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 | Simon Black 2015 saw many interesting trends and developments - particularly that of commercial property developers looking at ways to "go green". It also saw a boom in development of Africa's richest mile, Sandton, where commercial property space is more in demand than ever because of its prime location... read |
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 | Ndibu Motaung The South African commercial property market has broadly performed relatively well in the past few years despite the disappointing economic climate and somewhat mixed market fundamentals... read |
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 | Adrian Goslett During 2015 the South African residential property market continued to see improvement... read |
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 | Issued by Private Property Increased demand for eco-friendly buildings, retirement property and mixed used developments are some of the trends to look out for this year... read |
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 | Dr Andrew Golding The existing relatively strong trading conditions in the residential property market are expected to continue in 2016... read |
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 | Jon Copestake Although most retail markets will expand steadily in 2016, consumers and retailers alike could be vulnerable to crises of confidence... read |
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 | Jenna McArthur The PR landscape is constantly evolving and finding new ways and means of reaching communities. Jenna McArthur, owner of fashion PR agency Jenna McArthur PR, maps out what's next in 2016... read |
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 | Eran Feinstein Rapidly advancing technology is not just changing the topography and demographics of East Africa - it is transforming the entire face of business, retail and financial development. What was once viewed as an untappable region is now being revisited with fresh eyes as an evolving market that is robust, viable and competitive - and should be globally recognised... read |
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 | Lindy Barbour Despite the economic outlook, political uncertainty, international strife, drought, and the weakening of the rand, there remains an industry oasis. It is the franchise industry, encompassing a wide array of business sectors and it continues to hold its own year on year. At Franchize Directions, we believe 2016 is going to be no exception... read |
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| Tourism, Travel & Hospitality | | |
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 | Mariette du Toit-Helmbold Travel continues to outperform other sectors despite uncertain global economic growth, rising geopolitical unrest, volatile oil prices and rising interest rates... read |
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 | Candice Winterboer Tailor-made messaging, a strong online presence and the power of word-of-mouth marketing are sure to characterise the coming year... read |
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 | Nicci Botha As is the case with so many industries, digital technology will be a major influencer in the tourism sector. These are some of the continuing and emerging trends in 2016... read |
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