The Biz Trends Sales & Marketing Team

Table of contents [2013 trends] Meet the Biz Trends contributors!

Abey Mokgwatsane Bernard Matlhaga Bradley Maseko Eyes front and centre...... 6 Looking ahead at retail, Social media marketing shopper marketing in SA...... 8 and the youth...... 10

Chamendran Naidoo Craig Kolb Daniel Munslow Tracking and training...... 12 South Africa’s marketing Internal communication: research industry in 2013 high value, low cost...... 16 and beyond...... 14

Darren Woolley Dave Nemeth Doug Mayne Time of choices, decisions It is no longer Shopping malls set to for strategic marketing business as usual...... 20 ‘mobilise’ consumers management...... 18 like never before...... 22

Dr KF Lai Gail Schimmel Gareth Pearson Africa finding its own Media and advertising Predictions for the solutions using mobile tech 24 regulation in 2013...... 27 retail sector...... 29

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Gerry Costa Gillian Rightford Gisèle Wertheim Aymes At the heart of Cheaper, better, faster...... 33 Appscriptions, augmented, African marketing...... 31 apocalypses and other apt trends...... 35

Greg Schneider HDI Team HKLM Exco Team Year we stop living to work, SA’s youth trend-o-meter... 39 Out-of-the-box branding.... 41 start working to live...... 37

Janice Spark Johanna McDowell Josh Adler From data to honesty, Opportunities for growth Changes #trending, it’s getting personal...... 43 within marketing and opportunities knocking advertising arena...... 47 in education sector...... 49

Karen Ashwin Kevin Bassett Matona Sakupwanya Everything’s so serious – time Metamorphasising mobile Radio raises the volume….. 55 we loosened up a little!...... 51 marketing this year...... 53

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Mike Freedman Mike Silver Mongezi Mtati Growing power, vulnerability The year ahead for Seven youth-influencer of the corporate brand...…. 57 experiential marketing….... 59 outreach insights...... 61

Nandkishor Buty Nonye Mpho Omotola & Oresti Patricios Africa poised for a Victor Obaika The year of the snake...... 68 great future...... 31 Africa’s dynamic markets... 66

Peter Gilbert Petros Kondos Ryan Williams Reinventing the Mobile – more of the same? Insight into cinema sales function...... 70 Probably not...... 72 in 2013...... 74

Steve Cragg Sue Disler Terry Levin Game on for retailers Who said magazines It’s all Hype(r)...... 80 going mobile...... 76 are dead?...... 78

Table of contents [2013 trends contributors continued yet again]

Thomas Kolster Thomas Oosthuizen Tiffany Markman ‘Goodvertising’ – the key to It’s not trends that matter; The old ‘new’ rules brand leadership...... 83 it’s the traits that for language...... 87 marketers need!...... 85

Vanessa Clark Warren Moss Credits Mobile money to give SoLoMo Targeted direct marketing to Acknowledgements a kick in the pants?...... 89 come into its own...... 91 and contact details...... 93

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Abey Mokgwatsane [2013 trends] Eyes front and centre How does your brand break through the clutter? Consider the following: technological and mobile advancements, marketing ideas and advertising campaigns have made it possible for brands and business to have a meaningful relationship with their customers. The following trends are relevant to any individual or brand. If you’re in the business of understanding and catering to the evolution of consumer needs, desires and expectations, look front and centre. Here are my 2013 predictions: 1. Transparency About the author The proliferation of social networking has shifted the online space from a Abey Mokgwatsane is CEO of product-centric to a customer-centric model. In turn, this has affected brands, Ogilvy & Mather South Africa and has pushed them to form a new level of transparency and authenticity (www.ogilvy.co.za; @OgilvySA). now required, if not demanded, by customers. Apart from being one of South If your brand or business is entering the social media landscape, if not already Africa’s Mail & Guardian top 200 there, razor-sharp clarification of your digital strategy and sound know-how of young leaders in 2011, he was successful interaction in a social environment are required. If you’re not clear voted one of the country’s top 25 on these objectives, you are opening the door to criticism, especially if you “game-changers” in The Annual over-promise and under-deliver. Customers are looking for brands to be 2012. Mokgwatsane also genuine, honest and open. Give them a reason to stay loyal. founding of Young Business for South Africa, Think Tank Initiative Start seriously considering and observing brands, if not your own, in the mega- and Experiential Industry trend of transparency. Expect to see brands be proactively informative and Association of South Africa. authentic about their values and culture. This will include ongoing topics such Tel +27 (0)11 709 6600, email as sustainability, environmental impact, quality and ethics. [email protected] If these conversations are not already being seeded, long-term reputation and follow @Abeyphonogenic damage can occur when consumers jump on the social “complaint” on Twitter. bandwagon. Case in point: McDonald’s social media and PR faux pas with the #McDStories Twitter campaign that spiralled out of control when consumers began relaying their horror stories. While the campaign aimed to raise awareness of their successful supplier stories (a great example of transparency), this campaign did not go as planned and #meetthefarmers was used for the majority of the day instead. Let this be a reminder that bad reviews are not the problem, but not listening to your customers, dissatisfied or not, is often at the root of the challenge. In the majority of cases, there is an opportunity to settle an issue before it goes public, which business can solve in their structure when examining their customer journey. However, failing this, should you epically fail, be proactive, transparent and authentic about the failure first. Let your customers see you as part of the solution, not the problem. 2. Do good-ery The Information Age consumer has evolved to a point where customers actively participate and engage with their favourite brands. In fact, what they want to know is that their choices are worthy of that love. Typical CSR/CSI approaches, with a cheque handover housed in the HR or a financial department, have become archaic. Expect to see more brands evolve with sustainable conversations and legitimate “do good business”. I predict corporate CSR portfolios moving into marketing departments and away from financial directors. However, this is not as simple as finding a charity and a “PR this” approach. Being able to profit and leverage your brand off your “do-goodery” means your marketing team needs to have a sharp focus on an aspect of social engagement that suits your brand identity. You need a brand that your consumers are proud to love. Do good and mean it. 

Abey Mokgwatsane [2013 trends continued]

3. Africanese Historically, brands have seen Africa as the poor third cousin of the global economic family, often used as a backwater opportunity for companies to sell their second- rate merchandise. However, the reality is this: Africa’s consumer-facing industries are expected to grow by more than US$400 billion by 2020, according to a recent McKinsey report. The continent is about to explode with opportunities. While we have typically seen developed markets catering to emerging markets, we will begin to see a paradigm shift as local players begin developing and offering services and products catered to people for the people. From emerging markets for emerging markets. Our peers will begin to tap into the zeitgeist of what is current and relevant to them and innovate. Expect to see a huge creative offering from our African counterparts as both global and new local brands begin to adapt themselves. However, be prepared to get your hands dirty. This is not a continent for sissies. You cannot work in Africa from the boardroom as it often doesn’t translate on the ground. Companies are starting to see gaps in their knowledge as they enter into Africa because they have historically never needed to gain knowledge and data for their new consumer’s attitudes and behaviour. Watch this space. 4. Fragmentation of routes to market As the buying power of lower-income earning consumers increases, so too do the distribution channels that service them. This is evidenced by the explosion of thousands of Spaza shops, shebeens, car washes and street vendors servicing these consumers. The nett result for brands is they have to reengineer their own distribution mechanisms to ensure that their products remain ‘within an arm’s reach of desire’. This has resulted in a shift from just distributing to a small number of major distributors to having to go direct and service thousands more channels. Brands are also changing pack configurations to better suit this market, by creating smaller pack variants, for instance. This all means that marketers need to understand how to communicate effectively in this channel . The Pick n Pay aisle is much easier to merchandise than the 1x1m spaza window. 5. Data This vision can now be realised with data’s newfound power. Data’s potential to build individual relationships, which has been the case even before Aaron Montgomery Ward invented the mail order catalogue in 1872, is no secret. Businesses have always had a fair idea of who their customers are, what they bought and why. In modern times, whole industries have been spawned out of data use. Billions have been spent using data to develop effective one-to-one relationships; however, today’s technological advancements make this dream a reality. Technology has created two fundamental changes that alter the way we generate access and leverage data. First, by exponentially increasing the volume of data generated and, secondly, by making the analysis of this data stream more feasible and accessible to many more businesses. These two technologically-fueled data tsunamis have forever altered the way we are now marketing. Social media, mobile phones and other data tools mean that billions of people on the planet leave mile-wide data trails, making for much richer data sources than ever before. This data explosion is coupled with our ever- increasing ability to slice and dice this commodity. Computers are now better able to analyse the non-structured data surge, such as words, images, tweets, blogs and text messages. Whole industries are forming that help dissect this data into actionable and rich insights. However which way you look at it, 2013 is bound to be an interesting year.

Bernard Matlhaga [2013 trends] Looking ahead at retail, shopper marketing in South Africa The following are my thoughts on trends that will emerge in the retail and shopper marketing space in South Africa. 1. Retail growth via digital technology There is no doubt that technology has had a massive impact on retailers globally and South Africa is no exception, to the extent that it is actually shaping the future of retailing in SA. While e-commerce is still relatively limited in SA, compared to global standards, we are, however, starting to see a steady increase in online retail sales due to a growing number of tech-savvy consumers taking to the net. About the author According to Mastercard’s Worldwide Online Shopping Survey conducted in Appointed in 2012 as Ogilvy & 2012, there has been a steady increase in the number of South Africans Mather South Africa MD of Brand shopping online over the past two years – from 53% in 2010 to 58%. 2013 will Activation, Bernard Matlhaga is a be no exception! specialist in his field who brings 2. Shopping convenience 20 years of multinational marketing experience – spanning Contrary to many beliefs, we will not as yet witness the death knell of bricks- trade, channel, category, and-mortar stores in SA as a result of e-commerce. Instead, we will see some customer, consumer and integration of retailers’ online operations and bricks-and-mortar stores in an shopper – to further reinforce attempt to attract customers and increase sales. This integration will enable Ogilvy & Mather South Africa’s consumers to shop online but pick up their goods in a retail location [this competency in these areas. already started happening, with Mr Price and its Mr Price Online in 2012 – Biz For more, go to Trends Report editor]. brandactivation.tumblr.com This will also enable them to return any unwanted goods to the same and Facebook, and follow location thus eliminating shipping costs and offering greater convenience @BA_Joburg on Twitter. to consumers. Currently in the US, more than half of the sales from Walmart’s online store, Walmart.com, are now picked up at Walmart stores. Here in SA, about 3.9 million Edcon customers are able to purchase music, books, games and movies from www.cna.co.za [see my point above regarding Mr Price Online – Biz Trends Report editor]. Customers can return products to a store without incurring any shipping costs. I see a future trend emerging here for the likes of Woolworths and PnP to follow Edcon. 3. Mobile innovation and domination Now that smartphones are outselling PCs and even feature phones, South African shoppers will become more dependent than ever on their mobile devices, which means that these will continue to be an integral part of shopping experiences. Tablets will continue to make inroads and we can expect to see even more innovation in the form of apps aimed at providing consumers with greater shopping convenience. 4. ‘Show-rooming’ According to research conducted by World Wide Worx, online retail is becoming increasingly popular in SA, growing at a rate of 30% pa. So as consumers become more techno-savvy and their propensity to shop online increases, ‘show-rooming’ (when consumers view products in-store, then make purchases online) is another trend I believe will emerge in 2013. This implies that we need to find the right mix of mobile-to-life connectors that ensures the brand is extended into every aspect of the increasingly fractured path to purchase. And, for me, the trick lies in how we as advertisers ‘create purchase behavior’ to ensure we convert that propensity to shop. 

Bernard Matlhaga [2013 trends continued]

1. Smarter mobile shopping experiences Given that retailers may battle to retain consumer loyalty within their stores, another trend I suspect we may see in 2013 is retailers starting to focus on ways to enhance their mobile experiences with richer, more interactive user interfaces that are very channel- and device-specific. Experiences will emerge, such as “in-store mode” for mobile websites that detect when a shopper is in a retailer’s store (through geo-fencing and the device’s GPS) and offers up a store-specific experience that is different from when they are not in the store. Walmart’s In-Store Mode is a good example of the type of experience we can expect to see more of this year. 6. Sophisticated data sharing and usage As retailers and brands get smarter about collecting shopper data and using it to create a more personal experience, I suspect shoppers will become more demanding and expect something in return for sharing their personal information. Even in this age, shoppers are still protective of their privacy and are becoming more discerning about what they share on their social networks. In 2013, the trick will be seeing how retailers and brands use data to achieve greater shopper loyalty and compromise with shoppers on sharing data in exchange for reward. 7. Pervasive shopper marketing Globally, shopper marketing is the fastest growing advertising category and, while it’s still a relatively new concept in SA, it is likely to be one of the biggest growth areas in 2013 and beyond. There will be renewed interest in shopper marketing by retailers as a comparatively untapped means of achieving a competitive edge. 8. E-tailing The battle for market share is definitely on among SA retailers and is further exacerbated by increased competition from international retailers such as Walmart, Zara and Topshop, as well as international online portals. Significantly, these online services have started offering cash-on-delivery, as well as credit payment options, making the lure so much more enticing for consumers. This trend will continue in 2013 and the winner at the end of the day is the couch shopper [and the courier companies – Biz Trends Report editor].

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Bradley Maseko [2013 trends] Social media marketing and the youth The following is a breakdown of social media marketing trends for 2013.This year I take a look at both external (the youth market) and internal (business marketing efforts) trends that I predict will play a crucial role in further cementing the role of social media marketing in the overall marketing strategies for most brands and businesses seeking to effectively engage the youth market through social media platforms. External 1. Visual content About the author 2012 was a year of being unique and expressing oneself through social media, Bradley Maseko is the founder and this will spill over into 2013. Visual content social networking sites such as and youth market strategist at Instagram and Pinterest successfully captured the attention of the youth in Brandedyouth Insights 2012. According to analytics firm Nielson, Pinterest grew its audience from 2.5 (www.brandedyouth.co.za). He is million people to 25 million between July 2011 and February 2012, while The also the inspiration behind the Business Insider states that more than 5 million photos are uploaded on Youth Social Media Marketing Instagram every day. Conference 2013 (#YSMMC2013) Visual content will continue to appeal more to the youth in 2013; likewise, that will be held in Johannesburg more brands will go visual to cater to them. on 14 March 2013. Contact him on tel +27 (0)21 554 5024, 2. Social TV email him at The manner in which the youth consume TV has changed greatly due to the [email protected] impact of social media on the daily lives of most youth. Twitter, with over 2.4 and follow him on Twitter million users in SA and over 15 million tweets a month, has been playing a at @brandedyouthsa. crucial role; most youth mention their favourite shows and monitor what is trending or being discussed by their peers. Ultimately, this social media interaction is driving them to watch TV either out of interest or curiosity, while at the same time interacting with others on their social networking platforms about what they are watching. Social media is therefore creating that much-needed active audience for TV. 2013 will, without doubt, see youth sharing more about TV shows on social networks, thereby further strengthening the TV and social media relationship. 3. Social consciousness Most worthy causes are now trying to harness the power of social media outreach, as it now becomes increasingly difficult to separate the virtual world from the real world. Real-world interaction, in most instances, becomes boring to most youth as they feel limited to that which is in front of them. As a result, this is shaping a virtual lifestyle for youth who have always wanted to be involved in charity/community work. Through social media, there will be an increased involvement in worthy causes as the youth share information with their peers about causes they are passionate about. 4. Current affairs Social media is leading to an increased interest in current affairs, with legal, political and economic issues being constantly discussed. Due to the “fear of missing out” (FOMO), most youth are following trending stories and paying attention to updates from their peers. This is the on-the-go generation who has information at the tip of their fingers and a greater need to want to voice their opinions.  what’s a biz press office? find out here!

Bradley Maseko [2013 trends continued] Social media is, therefore, becoming a platform whereby youth are not only keeping up-to-date with current affairs but also having their say on important issues that affect them, as seen in June 2012 when the DA conducted a live chat on Mxit in which 38 000 young people registered for a chat session on the youth wage subsidy. Internal 1. Social media education Businesses will want to learn more about how to use the different social media platforms to achieve their objectives. With new unique social networking platforms emerging every year and appealing to different target markets in different ways, it has become evident that more needs to be taught to the people responsible for social media within the different organisations. 2013 will therefore see an increase in the number of businesses that will take their employees for social media workshops and courses to help them better understand how to engage their target markets and set effective social media strategies. 2. Social analytics As social media takes a more defined position in the overall marketing efforts for brands and business, there will be a greater call for increased investment/budget allocations. Subsequently, this will lead to an overall increased call for comprehensive tracking and measurement solutions to help maximise ROI for businesses. Now more than ever, businesses will see the need to gather social media data and analyse it to make business decisions. 3. Social commerce The 2012 annual social media landscape reported that over 5.4 million South Africans were using Facebook, 2.4 million Twitter and 9.3 million Mixt; brands will want to capitalise on these figures and use social media to drive traffic to business websites and ultimately create sales. A survey, conducted by Cisco in 2012, states that nearly 60% of South Africans are willing to share their email addresses with stores and online sites in order to receive notices about discounts and sales. Thus we can certainly expect to see businesses using this to their advantage and increasing the use of coupons and promotions and other selling efforts via social media in 2013. For example: in November 2012, Shoprite announced a world-first instant shopping discounts on cellphones, using Facebook as one of the available platforms. The effective use of social media to increase financial transactions by the youth will certainly be the ultimate idea for most brands.

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Chamendran Naidoo [2013 trends] Tracking and training So 21 December 2012 didn’t see us hiking to the nearest mountain in anticipation of the Mayan-foretold apocalypse. Well, not all of us at least. As we sighed a collective sigh, most of us sniggered at the Mayans for their inaccurate prophecies, silly headrests and lack of escalators. A few sobered individuals, however, withheld their smirks, realising the wisdom in the vision: the foretold destruction of 2012 was not of the material world, but rather something more important, yet subtle – the trends of 2012! As we gaily simulate horseriding while singing in Korean, the eyes of judgment fall upon us for clinging to the relics of yesteryear. Don’t allow yourself to get About the author caught doing last years’ exercises or wearing scrubs that are “Soooo 2012”, oh Chamendran Naidoo works as a my readers. General Practitioner in the SA This year, you’re going to be ahead of the curve and I’m going to help you do Navy. His interests include fine just that. So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, I present the health surgery as well as approaching trends of 2013: the patient as a whole in a Bio- Psycho-Social manner. He is 1. Preventative medicine passionate about the immersion Although preventative medicine has always been the tenet of good practice, of medicine into everyday life the burden of existing diseases have long left preventative care, like the which he actively manages via aesthetically-challenged girl at the club, standing on the wayside. Not social media fronts. Chamendran anymore! This year, our ugly duckling shall dance as a global movement is also a co-presenter on SABC3’s toward disease prevention gains momentum. This also sees people take arms Dr Mol Show. Email Chamendran like never before in the fight against obesity and physical inactivity through on [email protected] better diets, exercise regimes and quitting bad habits. and follow him on Twitter at @Chamendran. 2. Activity trackers This little tool tells you the distance you’ve walked, hours you’ve slept, stairs you’ve climbed (among other nifty tricks), all while assuming the humble appearance of a wristband or coin. When it comes to fitness in 2013, activity trackers definitely assist in beating the inactivity beast. Hot damn! I’ll take two! 3. Cross-training and functional fitness You don’t need a flannel-shirt-wearing, tortoiseshell-specs-adoring teenager to tell you that sport-specific training is “Soooo last year”. As we start to realise that the human body functions and responds best to varied stimuli, we’ve begun to train appropriately. This includes switching up the ‘traditional’ exercise in favour of more functional, off-balancing movements which make you stronger as a unit or, dare I say... at the ‘core’. 4. Organic foods Despite recent research stating organic foods to be nutritionally no different than regular, it’s 2013, and people are paying attention to what’s going into (and coming out of) their bodies. The insistence on organic produce stems from the harmful effects of pesticides, as well as an increased awareness of ‘good karmic’ foods – the benefits of which may even extend beyond this life, depending on which side of the fence you’re sitting! As a knock-on effect from ‘going organic’, people are employing mindfulness in choosing healthy meals and even including... 5. ‘Superfoods’ ‘Superfoods’ are those that have a high level of health benefits with an inversely low level of harmful effects or artificial properties. A lot of research is going into this department and most of the ‘superfoods’ are easily accessible. For those that aren’t, there’s usually a pill for that... 

Chamendran Naidoo [2013 trends continued]

6. Energy drinks are out (almost) Like that relationship that fizzled out toward the end and found itself alone in the dark, listening to James Blunt, so too shall be the insidious demise of the energy drink. People are starting to see the truth behind the energy drink – merely carbonated sugar and caffeine – and are forcing it on its way out. Let’s hope it gives back the ring... 7. Health applications Whether you’re trying to sleep better, work out harder or even check the dosage for a specific medication, mobile apps are here for you. Used by both medical professionals as well as patients, mobile technology is changing the face of medicine and will do more so in 2013 than ever before. The excitement comes in the accessibility of it all, where anyone and everyone can pool their ideas and see it through onto their phones. And there you have it, oh my readers, what to look out for in 2013. Go forth with this knowledge, get off of that invisible horse, hold your head up high and enjoy a cup of liquid cocoa – Mayan style!

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Craig Kolb [2013 trends] South Africa’s marketing research industry in 2013 and beyond Predicting the future is a hazardous business, ever more so as we move along Kurzweil’s exponential curve of technological advancement – and it seems we are at a point where technology advances so quickly, it is almost unsettling. Of course, it is a matter of perception but, for what it is worth, my subjective experience over the past five years has been one where a disturbingly high number of ‘impossibles’ have suddenly become ‘possible’. Just a sample – we went from the warp drives of science fiction being ‘impossible’ to plausible with Dr Harold White’s work in this area; junk DNA no longer being junk, the discovery of the Higgs Boson particle; suspended About the author animation in animals; induced pluripotent stem cells, growing new organs in Craig Kolb owns Acentric the laboratory; and the social media explosion. Marketing Research (www.acentric.co.za), which Perhaps, more importantly for market researchers, smartphones reached a conducts marketing research in price point and level of appeal that has caused them to achieve rapid the areas of new product penetration of the market. research, brand equity, customer 1. Online panels will continue to grow in importance satisfaction/loyalty, employee commitment, stakeholder As I mentioned last year, online surveys are set to supplant other survey satisfaction and public opinion. modes. The growth in smartphones and increasing undersea-cable capacity He is widely published, having have caused us to jump to an entirely different diffusion curve. According to written numerous articles and Gartner, smartphones will reach 80% penetration by 2014, a game-changing conference papers on marketing 1 statistic. By then, I would expect online surveys to have become the data- research for both local and collection mainstay. international conferences. 2. More DIY research Contact Craig on tel +27 (0)12 683 8832 or The appearance of low-cost, user-friendly research tools has meant that email [email protected]. clients, should they so wish, can conduct their own basic research. [Acentric’s For the survey panel, go online consumer panel has experienced increasing demand – yet much of this to www.surveycentric.co.za. is from international clients who are far more comfortable with this mode than local companies.] I believe this trend will continue in 2013, with more end-clients conducting their own research via online panels. 3. Growing importance of analytics When I started out in research, I recall being surprised to find that one of the largest market research firms of the day had only two statisticians on staff, since the bulk of client requirements involved simple tabulation. which was left to the client-facing staff. Today, this model is under threat as cloud-based solutions make it easy for laymen to execute surveys online and obtain simple descriptive ‘reports’. Marketing research firms can no longer rest on their ability to reach the consumer as the main value proposition and still get away with dumping descriptive tables in the client’s lap. While, at present, this trend applies mainly to lower cost ‘field-and-tab’ type projects, advances in software will no doubt gradually up the ante. Research firms will increasingly need to focus on advanced analytics, interpretation, explanation and presentation in order to stay ahead of advances in user-friendly software. 4. Reshaping the new product development (NPD) research market 3D printers will change the way in which a significant percentage of the population obtains material objects. I don’t believe it will entirely displace traditional techniques, nor will it be adopted by everyone; but within 

Craig Kolb [2013 trends continued] certain ‘high-involvement’ markets – such as jewellery – where individualism is valued, it is certain to rock the boat. While this means less research budget in these areas, it may mean increasing spend by 3D printer manufacturers and service providers (such as Shapeways). 5. Decline in demand for interviewers An unfortunate consequence of advances in technology is job losses. In particular, I expect interviewing and data capture/OMR centres to be hardest hit, especially between 2013 and 2015. Although interviewers will always be necessary for projects requiring a high degree of interaction, I would expect demand for interviewers to drop significantly over this period. 6. Chatbot-augmented online interviewing Back in 2006, I began experimenting with online survey software and realised that online surveys had one major weakness – an inability to probe responses to open-ended questions. It was at that time that I recalled Eliza, a ‘toy’ chatbot programme used to teach me programming as a child. I reasoned that modifying the behaviour of such a program might provide a way to substitute for the loss of the interviewer. I began a search for a chatbot software platform that was open to modification and to my delight found ‘Elizabeth’, a unique chatbot created by Prof Peter Millican of Oxford University. I was able to set up Elizabeth so that it successfully probed responses to questions – producing far richer responses than could have been hoped for if left to self-completion. Subsequently Prof Millican and I presented a paper at the MRS conference4 which examined feasibility, laid out success criteria for evaluating chatbot performance, and examined the trade-offs researchers would need to make. Prof Millican and I are now revisiting this concept with a view to producing an online version of Elizabeth capable of augmenting online surveys. We are hoping that chatbots will not only improve response quality to open ends, but may also contribute to respondent engagement – another key area of concern at present.2 7. Data visualisation and graphics quality As a society, we have come to a point where we take quality graphics for granted. From Hollywood to office software, graphics and artwork have become ever more polished. Unfortunately, this makes the market researcher’s job ever more difficult, since much of the research software available produces output that always seems to be a step behind the curve. It is one of the mysteries of marketing research – why on earth do so many software vendors seem to lose interest at the reporting module stage? Perhaps this is more wishful thinking than a trend, but there are hints of a revival of interest in ‘data visualisation’ (sometimes called infographics).3 Hopefully this will spur survey solution vendors to at least pay more attention to their reporting modules, even if they don’t implement everything the ‘data visualisation’ movement is punting. References: 1. Jones, N “Gartner Symposium on Innovation in the Cape Town International Convention Centre”. Reported by Daniel, J. (2010) “Smartphones to rule by 2014, predicts Gartner”, Memeburn. Accessed: 10 January 2013. 2. Gittelman, S (2012) “The war against unengaged online respondents”, Quirk’s Marketing Research Review. Accessed: 8 January 2012. 3. Tarran, B (2013) “Telling tales”, Research-Live. Accessed: 8 January 2013. 4. Craig Kolb and Peter Millican (2006), “Connecting with Elizabeth: Using artificial intelligence as a data collection aid”, Connections, MRS annual conference, 22-24 March 2006, Barbican London.

Daniel Munslow [2013 trends] Internal communication: high value, low cost 2012 was a challenging year for most businesses. Not just from a financial perspective, but from an employee engagement perspective. It makes sense that the two are linked – it is more difficult to create and sustain solid engagement when times are tough, and it is the role of internal communication to maintain that connection. Looking back at the internal communication landscape in South Africa over the past year, and the trends that we are implementing in dozens of companies across Africa, here are some of the highlights of what can be expected in this specialised discipline in 2013. About the author Daniel Munslow is chief 1. You cannot change the business if you’re a post office communications officer at The role of internal communication is changing annually in SA as it continues Talk2Us (www.talk2us.co.za, to mature and develop. Strategic internal communication is about fulfilling the @Talk2Us_za), a consultancy role of counsellor and business partner in the organisation you work: “I’ve got specialising in internal a communication problem; how can you help?”, and “I’ve got a business communication and employee problem; how can communication help?” engagement at a strategic level. He is an IABC regional board A large number of internal communication practitioners still find themselves member and sits on several other distributing information – the business’s post office looking after the email, industry committees and judging intranets, publications, videos, and even events; being the writers and panels. Email him photographers of the above; and channels’ managers – panning the booking [email protected], tel +27 for the channels. (0)11 706 8149 and skype: While each play a role, the financial return question is simple. If I spend 70% dmunslow. Connect with him working on low-value activities, when do we get to problem-solving? on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter at @munslowd. 2. Formal communication has a 10% impact on behaviour, compared to 45% for leadership It was back in the 1990s that Jim Shaffer pointed out where the real value of communication was. What he said was simple: formal communication has a 10% impact on behaviour, compared to 45% for leadership and 45% for the corporate infrastructure. Research by the Public Relations Institute of Australia clearly shows, as we have seen in every communication audit in SA, that distributing information and operational communication do not create the value. The value is achieved through face-to-face communication. Invest in the ability of your leadership, line managers and supervisors to communicate effectively. Rich communication shows the best returns. 3. Breaking down silos to increase collaboration Collaboration is central to innovation, and innovation is a mandate for companies hoping to remain competitive. Communication plays a key role by enhancing the quality of conversations and collaboration within business, thereby achieving cultural alignment and improved entropy. Communication-skills coaching to support managers’ ability to communicate will be central to this strategy. 4. What keeps CEOs up at night? The fact that you cannot control the conversation. Historically, information flowed in a linear format, and conversations to employees could be controlled by managing the flow of information. No more. Employees and customers alike are communicating 24/7 about companies – your services, products, what you start for, and even your goals and objectives. And there is little room to control the conversation. 

Daniel Munslow [2013 trends continued] Through employees, businesses need to manage the conversations by being clear on what you stand for, who you are and what you do. The conversations should be central to any decision-making process and should include solid upstream communication. 5. Digital internal communication – allow a conversation Strategies are no longer being dictated from the top-down. It is important to ensure that employees have space in the business to communicate among themselves and upstream. Digital internal communication channels are becoming increasingly prominent and important to SA companies, wanting to innovate and lead the way in the communication space. 6. Time to revisit employee intranets In many large companies, the corporate intranet is somewhat of a misnomer. It can provide incredibly value information to employees but seems to languish unused, with low hit rates and a sense from employees that it is irrelevant to them until it contains something they need. Moreover, it’s another example of substantial investment that does not generate the desired return. 7. Distributing information and tactical activities are not where value is created Employees are becoming increasingly bored by recitations of facts and corporate jargon. Today’s world is already information-cluttered, and many case studies exist to show that storytelling and face-to-face communication deliver the best result. Instead of getting caught up in the content, ask what you are trying to achieve and see whether there is alignment between the channel and the desired outcome. 8. Long-term trend from tell-and-sell to consult-and-involve Not new to 2013, employee engagement is becoming more and more about how an employee ‘experiences’ an organisation – from relationships with leaders, superiors and subordinates to technology. We’ve spoken about collaboration and leadership communication – all are important to shifting from a purely telling-and-instructing model of communication towards an engagement-and-motivating approach. 9. Re-energising company values In order to overcome the increasing gap between employee values and company values, many companies are reintroducing or reinventing their company values to secure buy-in. In fact, many are taking this one step further and involving employees in the development of a series of behaviours to attach to the values to ensure they come to life and are measurable. It’s an important element in making the work more meaningful. 10. Motivating employees Employees are not only a company’s most important asset – they are the face of your company. Be it a teller in a bank or the car salesman on the shop floor, these are the people who represent the brand. For this reason, they need to be communicated with strategically, efficiently, timeously, and in a manner that ensures behavioural change is achieved. The question you should be asking is: “Are your employees able to share their knowledge, particularly with customers, influencers, and even each other?” curious about biz press offices?

Darren Woolley [2013 trends] Time of choices, decisions for strategic marketing management Last year was certainly an economic roller-coaster ride. In 2013, marketers will need to look through the uncertainty and make some longer-term plans, as well as choices and decisions, on how they will steer their brands forward. So here are some of the decisions and choices to be made in 2013, in no particular order...This is what we can expect in 2013: 1. Convenience or specialist? 2012 saw a number of major global clients move from a roster of agencies to a single supplier, purpose-built as a single client agency within a holding company. This is a reaction to the increasing diversity of specialist suppliers. About the author Some major advertisers are choosing convenience over quality as a way of Darren Woolley is the founder of managing complexity but others are embracing complexity and selecting the Trinityp3 (@trinityp3), an best of category. The choice is up to the marketer and how effectively they Australian-based a marketing can manage their marketing requirements. management consulting company with an international 2. Media price or media value? network of more than 30 In tough economic times, media prices have come under pressure, making industry professionals that helps price benchmarking increasingly variable. No longer do the biggest spenders people to achieve commercial get the best prices. Now the smartest, fastest and most flexible are able to purpose through creative match or better the deals usually available to the big media spenders – which process. Email him at raises the question, “Should you be buying media on the price it costs or the [email protected], read his value it creates?” Just buying the cheapest media is not necessarily the best blog at www.trinityp3.com/blog/ value. So should you be buying your media on price or value? The choice is and follow him on Twitter at @darrenp3. yours. 3. Broadcast or content? The traditional advertising approach is to broadcast the message to the audience through media channels. But, with increasing consumer engagement in social media, content creation and content sharing, marketers are increasingly embracing content brand strategy – with mixed results. Only when the marketer decides to move beyond a trial to a fully implemented content strategy do they see the results build. 4. Global or local? Glocal or global brand strategy executed at a local level has been around for many years, in various mixes of global and local flexibility. But, with a content-based brand strategy, local becomes global as local content has the ability to extend beyond local borders to the wider global market. The barrier of ‘not invented here’ becomes less of a barrier as great content has the ability to transcend borders and engage various cultures. The choice is no longer how much or little control but what works and what does not. 5. Storytelling or experience? ‘Storytelling’, with the emphasis on the telling, has been the content of the broadcast advertising strategy. People, sharing stories, drive social media. Therefore, creative agencies are focusing on becoming the storytellers for the brand. But in the digital world, the opportunity is to go beyond storytelling and awareness to creating branded experiences that engage the audience. When marketers choose this approach, positive and rewarding experiences become the basis for the audience to tell their own stories about that experience, and build brand engagement and the brand.  find out more about biz press offices here!

Darren Woolley [2013 trends continued]

6. In-house or outsourced? Technology has not only created more communication channels and more opportunities for interactivity, it has also created the opportunities to be able to manage these interactions in-house. Search engine optimisation (SEO) and marketing, social media, content production, data and analytics are all increasingly functions that can be implemented successfully in-house, where they can be easily accessed across the organisation. The decision is what do you outsource and what is best in-house? That depends on your needs, volume, investment levels and existing capabilities. 7. CIO or CMO? For the past two years, people have been discussing the convergence of marketing and information technology, and the impact this will have on the CIO and the CMO. In 2013, the decision will need to be made as to the way these areas align and work together. While some have alluded to the CMO becoming the dominant IT decision- maker, the fact is that the CIO remit extends beyond communications and marketing alone into operations. That is why the decision is not either/or, but how. 8. Data or insights? While everyone is talking about data, the real value is in extracting and leveraging the insights to influence customer behaviour, increase engagement and drive sales and advocacy. While technology allows marketers to collect and manage huge amounts of customer and market data, the real challenge is finding, training and developing the key personnel who can extract meaningful insights from the data. 9. Automated or manual? Technology is also providing opportunities to automate many of the marketing and advertising processes. Demand-side platforms, trading desks, media trading and buying are all based on the efficiencies of an automated process to deliver a desired outcome. But it goes beyond media channels, to the creation and distribution of the content itself. Automated workflow processes and production templates mean that content can be developed, created and distributed in real time. The decision here is where automation can be implemented to achieve maximum value. 10. Behaviour or attitude? The link between consumer attitude and behaviour is increasingly questionable, with studies showing that awareness and positive attitudes do not readily convert to changes in consumer behaviour. Yet marketers have traditionally relied on attitudinal market research to track the effectiveness of their marketing communications strategies. However, technology now allows marketers to track and study consumer behaviour, with an emphasis on positively changing behaviour as a way to build improved attitude and engagement with brands. “It is only when you exercise your right to choose that you can also exercise your right to change.” – Dr Shad Helmstetter. So, this year is the year to make the changes you need by making the choices you need to make today!

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Dave Nemeth [2013 trends] It is no longer business as usual No matter how slow off the mark, we have all come to the realisation that, no matter what line of business we are in, drastic measures are needed in order for us to not only increase market share but also to survive. We had hoped that we were not as affected as our international counterparts were in this horrendous economic downturn (call it what you will) but, in many instances, businesses are only feeling the effects recently. We now see our country plagued by a host of other negative economic factors, with growth in economic investment under serious pressure since the About the author Marikana episode, and the rand falling to an uncomfortable level – putting Often referred to as one of even further pressure on the economy. South Africa’s leading trend experts, Dave Nemeth is a It is not, however, all doom and gloom and for those who are embracing qualified designer who has been innovation and prepared to experiment with new ideas, a lot of opportunity in a variety of industries over the awaits to reconnect with consumers and rise above the negative economic past 20 years. His company factors. The areas that I predict will be trending over the next year are: Trend Forward presents the 1. Modular retail IIDNemeth Trend Report annually in all major South With pop-up shops being a buzzword internationally for many years, we start African cities. Email Dave at to see this being embraced by South Africans on a larger scale across a [email protected], follow multitude of sectors. This includes creative and innovative food stalls, from @davenemeth on Twitter and upmarket coffee to gourmet sandwiches; these have the flexibility to be in connect on Facebook. one area today and another tomorrow. With increasing pressure on landlords having empty spaces and zero rentals for long periods of time, they will be forced into thinking differently and re-evaluating their business models to allow for either short-term leasing or profit-share options. This “modular” retail model will allow brands that were purely online to be able to offer a tactile offering to consumers. This could include brands such as Groupon or Zando having a “semi-permanent” presence in malls while physical stores are racing to have a virtual presence. 2. Creative corporates The race is on for creative and innovative thinking across all types of businesses, and corporations will begin to see the importance of including a qualified creative on their exco board, regardless of sector. There is a new realisation of the importance of design thinking in business at all levels and a graduate designer can offer as much of a value-add as an MBA graduate. This may take a little longer here in SA but I do believe we will see a creative director sitting next the financial director, even in an insurance company or financial institution, in the not too distant future. 3. Storytelling With such a huge choice of products and services available, the ones that tell the best story are the ones that will have greater sales and longevity. The entire value-add proposition now needs to include intrinsics such as: how it was made, where it was made and who made it. Consumers continue to buy with a conscience. Unfortunately, along with this – similar to greenwashing – we will see companies exaggerating these properties, and full transparency will be key. So-called ‘benefit brands’ are already making a big impression on American consumers. 

Dave Nemeth [2013 trends continued]

4. Trackable social initiatives It is no longer good enough for companies to simply state their social initiatives; consumers have been bombarded by these for many years and this will no longer lead to loyalty. Consumers want to be able to see and monitor on an ongoing basis where and how and even on whom these funds are being spent. Consumers will want to see updated information and visuals, via websites and social media, on the development of these causes. 5. ‘Usperiences’ Regardless of product or service, consumers remain in need of unique experiences, being it gaming applications to sell a product to multilinked value-add services which offer VIP functions , events and even parties for members. ‘Great value’ products and offerings unrelated to the specific service or product is another way in which to cleverly attract a greater awareness and following. Brick and mortar retail stores also have to provide so much more than in the past, with these spaces having to become theatrical wonderlands, instead of spaces filled with product. 6. Artisanship From craft beer to handcrafted, dovetailed furniture, the revolt against mass production and cheap Chinese imports continues, with more and more consumers wanting quality products made by real people, be it for uniqueness or longevity. The key is to achieve this without completely ‘out-pricing’ a product or service. 7. Humourism Whether it’s staff dressed in crazy outfits or oversized scatter cushions with funny phrases, consumers and manufacturers start taking themselves a little less seriously and we start to see humour as a new way to connect while bringing a little more light heartedness into our hectic techno, info overloaded lives. We see this trend affect everything from packaging and labelling, all the way through to the actual product design, and even in items such as sex toys. Lego has cleverly increased sales by expanding its range into functional items such as lamps, torches and even clothing, with some of these products aimed to appeal to adults. 8. Retro, retro, retro Regardless of age, we have this newfound appreciation for stuff from the past. even though we still embrace technology. We see this retro influence in everything – from designer furniture to the rebirth of digital watches. Internationally, there has been a revival and increase in sales of vinyl records (unfortunately, still only internationally as local stores seem to be too slow on this opportunity), with the majority of new releases being in this format and including a code for a free digital download for the iPod. Graphic labelling, print and packaging continue to take influence from the past. A great success story is that of the new Fiat 500, which has successfully put Fiat back on the map through offering a great product combining age-old styling with modern technology. There is currently also a huge music revival, what with the likes of David Bowie, Adam Ant, Depeche Mode, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and even Suede and Johnny Marr from the Smiths bringing out brand new albums. [And, as I called it last year: Star Wars will never, ever, ever die – Biz Trends Report editor] 9. Multiplatform advertising campaigns Regardless of the power of social media platforms, forward-thinking campaigns will use multiple formats, linking them through consumer interaction in a fun and game-like manner. This will include a single campaign using Instagram, TV and print and radio to interact with the consumer and, through digital platforms such as internet, have the consumer interact back with the brand.

Doug Mayne [2013 trends] Shopping malls set to ‘mobilise’ consumers like never before All early indicators seem to confirm that December 2012 was a relatively good year for the mall environment. Certainly not a ‘shoot the lights out’ result but stable, single digit growth nonetheless. The point now is what 2013 holds in store for us. Here are a few key trends which I think are relevant... 1. Malls are brands! In light of this, the time is rapidly approaching where the unique players in the mall environment need to work more collectively and effectively than ever before. Central to this is the relationship between landlord/property management and the retailers. I think this will be a key success factor in 2013 About the author and beyond, and those players that embrace mutually beneficial dialogue and Doug Mayne, MD of action plans will enjoy the best results. Primedia Lifestyle (www.primedialifestyle.co.za), 2. The rise of the virtual shopper founded his marketing and Online sales are on the increase in SA. Comments Loot.co.za CEO Gary advertising career at Ogilvy Hadfield, “We saw significant growth over the Christmas shopping period, Durban, where his leadership most notably in areas like toys and electronics, the latter of which showed qualities ensured his progression exponential growth of over 80%.” from account executive to group account director. Joining Devices such as tablets are particularly fast sellers – a fact which is Primedia Lifestyle in 2007 as interestingly mirrored by the fact that 10% of the company’s traffic over the KZN regional marketing manager, Christmas period came from mobile devices. Doug was appointed MD in Against this backdrop, retailers in the mall environment need to embrace e- July 2011. His particular area of commerce and m-commerce strategies while also meeting the challenge of interest is the digital and CRM improving the in-store experience. This includes the entire shopping space within retail, and the use experience, from the point when consumers enter a store to when they leave of mobile, social and loyalty – every touchpoint is an opportunity. tools to drive customer engagement and personalised Malls also need to play their part and can add significant value in terms of retail experiences. experiential and sensory-based campaigns and by embracing loyalty (rewarding customers with benefits and VIP experiences in mall). 3. Up close and personal Smartphone usage is on the increase in South Africa and shoppers are now more informed than ever before. Those who actively embrace this phenomenon will win. Near Field Communication (NFC) technology is not far away and this will also change the game with regard to mobile power and its ability to inform decision-making and make purchases using a cellphone. Some useful statistics and info from the US indicates that 2012 was a banner year for mobile commerce. eMarketer estimates that US mCommerce retail sales increased by 81% to nearly US$25 billion. Not surprisingly, a strong holiday shopping season for mobile devices made a huge contribution to this figure. It should be noted, however, that mCommerce sales include all purchases made via smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices, excluding sales of travel and event tickets. With regard to 2013, a further increase of 55.7% in sales is expected, and mobile sales will account for 15% of all retail eCommerce. This year, US consumers will spend US$24 billion shopping on their tablets, and that figure, eMarketer says, will nearly double by 2015.  what’s a biz press office? find out here!

Doug Mayne [2013 trends continued] Unique, cutting-edge ideas I know these terms are overused, but technology is moving so fast that all brands need this as a major driver. I see 2013 being a major year for breakthrough ideas. Check out this amazing concept from an Addidas store in Germany, for example. 4. The value equation This doesn’t mean cheap, but it is a customer-insight focused approach that separates brands from competitors. I believe that 2013 will be the year that many more brands discover the importance of delivering on value. Great examples for 2012 (based on financial results) are Woolworths and Mr Price. For me, value is the middle ground between company/brand objectives and context; and shopper objectives and context – those that get this right will win. 5. Wireless shopping I am sure we are not too many years off seeing entire countries being connected via free wireless connections. Check out this article from New York: Google Offers Free Public WiFi In NYC. Malls are set to become complete wireless zones, and the resulting benefits will be immense. Shoppers will be even more empowered and it will add to the experience at the mall. I see this happening in 2013.

Here’s to a great 2013, full of innovation and hopefully patches of brilliance that generate more than stable, single-digit growth figures.

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Dr KF Lai [2013 trends] Africa finding its own solutions using mobile tech There are several key trends that will present themselves in 2013. Increasingly, we will see more and more innovative solutions to issues facing emerging countries being developed in-country and, while cost of smartphones is still hindering wide-scale usage of these handsets, the tide is turning as cheaper units enter the market. Marketers, too, are seeing their roles and responsibilities expand. From m-payments to HIV/AIDS prevention, emerging markets are leading the way when it comes to innovative uses of mobile technology. Across Africa and

Asia, “mobile phones are used less for talking and more today as platforms to About the author support daily living,” writes Robin Renee Sanders, a former US Ambassador to Dr KF Lai is co-founder and CEO Nigeria, who argues that creative apps and mobile services are improving of BuzzCity (www.buzzcity.com), people’s quality of life. a mobile media company in the In South Africa, there is the M-ubuntu initiative. The pilot project was development and marketing of launched in mid-2012, and uses inexpensive, low-threshold mobile phone mobile services and technologies to empower teachers to address the country’s literacy crisis. entertainment globally. There is also an NGO called Refugees United which “offers a safe, secure and Email [email protected]. anonymous way to find family and friends”. As for m-commerce, without question, in parts of Africa, in South and Southeast Asia, mobile commerce is now mainstream. “In banking and finance, the big ideas in cashless transfers and mobile, flexible exchanges are not to be found in Geneva or London or New York,” Ken Banks writes for National Geographic. “A revolution in mobile money transfer has occurred, but not in these financial centres. Instead, it’s happened in Kenya.” In this East African nation of 43 million people, almost anyone you meet has used a phone to make a transaction. Over 90% of the population has a phone (up from just 3% in 1999) and 96% of mobile phone users has used a handset to make a mobile payment or for m-banking. Kenyans use their phones to pay electric bills, taxi fares, get cash or even buy produce and other essentials in rural markets. Kenya may be ahead of the curve, but it is far from alone. In the year ahead, we thoroughly expect more mobile innovations to originate in developing countries, which already account for the majority of the world’s mobile users. The rise of affordable smartphones A massive migration from feature phones to smartphones is currently underway. In some markets, nearly everyone is using a smartphone. Global adoption of the device has reportedly topped one billion handsets. And, in at least 30 countries, at least half of all mobile surfers are using smartphones. Based on BuzzCity’s most recent traffic statistics, here’s a look at the top 10 countries for smartphone use in December 2012. 

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Dr KF Lai [2013 trends continued]

Country % smartphone African country % smartphone

penetration penetration 1. Japan 82% 1. Egypt 37% 2. Switzerland 80% 2. South Africa 19% 3. Kuwait 80% 3. Tanzania 13% 4. Oman 79% 4. Kenya 12% 5. Denmark 76% 5. Nigeria 12% 6. Brunei 74% 6. Ghana 10% 7. Israel 73% 8. Iraq 70% 9. Palestine 69% 10. Qatar 68%

Consumer preference for smartphones is undeniable, thanks in part to lower prices. The fact that smartphones are gaining ground is not nearly as surprising as the explosive nature of the growth. Watch out for rapid shifts in Argentina, Indonesia, Mexico and the Philippines in the year ahead. Smartphones are also gaining ground in African markets though it might take a bit longer, say, into 2014, before we see wholesale smartphone penetration there. Overall, by the end of the year, 75-80% of the global handset market should be dominated by smartphones. And what does all this mean for marketers? Across our network we see savvy marketers targeting consumers on feature phones even before they migrate to smartphone use. This trend will continue as more mobile commerce becomes more prevalent. Marketers become data crunchers It used to be that when people in our industry talked about fragmentation, they were lamenting the huge variety of handset models and operating systems. Now, though, fragmentation increasingly refers to the variety of media channels. It’s no secret that the days of Mad Men, when you could simply design a great magazine ad or TVC are long gone. But today’s media world is also extremely different from that of just a few years ago as well. More than ever, consumer attention is divided across multiple screens – television, mobile, computer, tablet, radio and print – and a plethora of channels within each media. Building critical mass is difficult now and will only grow harder. In addition, I could be watching a TV programme on my tablet while surfing sites on my phone. Which media will influence my purchasing behaviour? And how will marketers deliver a message to me while my attention is divided? Start by analysing your own campaigns in detail. If you work with multiple ad networks, consolidate the data. Do the same for PC networks. Then factor in data from your QR and SMS campaigns. At every turn, brands and agencies will view ads as an exercise in integrated marketing: activate, analyse data, optimise, amend, analyse in a repeating cycle. The key for marketers going forward is definitely data analysis. Get used to crunching numbers.  want to be a biztrends2014 contributor? email [email protected] now!

Dr KF Lai [2013 trends continued again] Mobile first Increasingly, advertisers will develop strategies for mobile first, then work outwards to progressively enhance their campaigns for larger screens. This is pretty much the opposite of the current approach of many brands, which spend less on mobile and sometimes treat it as an afterthought. But there are some six billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, according to ITU. Plus, there are now more than one billion active smartphones, according to Strategic Analytics, which estimates that this threshold was crossed in the third quarter of 2012. (Strategic Analytics also says that Africa has the potential to add another one billion smartphones by 2015.) In a world where smartphones are mainstream and there are two times as many cellphones as televisions and computers combined, it makes sense to put mobile first.

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Gail Schimmel [2013 trends] Media and advertising regulation in 2013 So here we are in 2013 – the Mayan trend predictions for 2012 having spectacularly failed to materialise, leaving some of us with hangovers and debt that we had secretly hoped would be wiped clean in a Mayan-flavoured apocalypse. Ah, well, one can only dream. So now is the time for us to look into our crystal balls, and see if we can get our predictions for media and advertising regulation a bit more spot-on than the poor Mayans did. 1. Making a stand of freedom of speech About the author Last year’s movement around the controversial “Secrecy Bill“ saw an Gail Schimmel is a specialist in enormous rise in awareness about the importance of freedom of speech and advertising law. She runs a media freedom, which I believe sets the tone for the regulatory environment consultancy – Clear Copy going forward. (www.clearcopy.co.za) – that I think that all the relevant regulators – the Press Council of South Africa, the offers advice to marketers and Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) and my own advertisers in relation to the “favourite”, the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA), will Advertising Standards Authority have to make conscious decisions about where they stand in relation to these (ASA) and other aspects of issues, and therefore in relation to where they “draw the line”. advertising law. An admitted attorney (with BA, LLB, Hopefully the regulators will, in so-doing, send a message about exactly how Psychology Honours and LLM unwilling the South African media is to return to apartheid-style censoring. degrees), she was previously 2013 will therefore be a year of strong decisions around issues relating to head of legal and regulatory at freedom of expression. the ASA, and subsequently joined Now, turning to my area of advertising regulation... Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs as a director in 2008. 2. Litigation Email [email protected] and Last year was probably one of the most litigious and controversial in the follow @GailSchimmel. history of the ASA. The ASA is embroiled in litigation the likes of which it has not seen before. While, from the little I know of the matter, I believe that the merits are in the ASA’s favour, the ASA finds itself in a precarious position. It needs to strongly defend any litigation threats, but this carries both financial burden and risk, and it is no secret that the ASA is in financial trouble. One can only hope that its professional indemnity insurance is fully paid up. A loss on the merits could also open a flood gate of litigation. My prediction is that 2013 will see a rise in the litigation against the ASA, with medium-sized marketers getting overexcited about the example already set, and hungry lawyers pushing for class-action suits. The highest risk is in the complementary medicines industry, where marketers feel misunderstood and targeted. I will not be advising my clients to take this route. I consider litigation against an industry self-regulatory body counter-productive. In addition, the prospects of success are always going to be negligible unless the ASA commits an act of gross negligence. 3. Complementary Medicine Code Speaking of the complementary medicine industry, I hope that 2013 is also the year that the HPA finally manages to push through its Code of Marketing for Complementary Medicines. 

Gail Schimmel [2013 trends continued] However, the fact that the code has been rejected when other weakly drafted codes have been merrily inserted into the Code of Advertising Practice makes me think that the ASA is being influenced by certain strongly opinionated complainants. I challenge the ASA to prove its independence in this regard. 4. New president at ASA The potentially most important change at the ASA is the change from Mervyn King as president and appeal chair to Kate O’Regan. King regarded the role of president as non-executive and strived to maintain his independence from the hurly-burly of daily ASA problems. Legal experts speculate that this will not be the case with O’Regan, and that we might see the board and CEO of the ASA called to account for the financial crisis of the ASA, and the dissatisfaction around the management and communication of the ASA. We can also expect a subtle shift in the ASA Final Appeal rulings. While King took a very legalistic approach, with rulings often being made on technicalities, it is expected that O’Regan, with her Constitutional Court background, may be more given to rulings in the spirit, rather than the letter, of the code. For those of us whose livelihood depends on accurately assessing the probabilities of success before the ASA, this is an exciting but somewhat uncertain year. 5. New media Without a doubt (she says, in Mayan) we can expect an increase in complaints about new media – tweets and Facebook in particular still need to be tested by the South African ASA, and I predict that 2013 will see cases focusing on both these areas before the ASA. While I have no doubt that the definition of advertising in the code is wide enough to encompass practically any type of advertising that may arise, the enforcement of these rulings will always present a challenge. 6. A hope I am often called in by marketers and lawyers at the last minute, when, having tried to handle an ASA matter themselves, they realise that they are deep in the proverbial, and now need expert assistance. Often, it is too late to solve the problem. Advertising law is a narrow and specific field of expertise, and it is my hope that this year will see a rise in marketers requesting assistance at the beginning of the campaign or when they first get an ASA complaint, rather than when they are facing sanctions for breach of a ruling.

So that’s what my crystal ball reveals for 2013. But then, of course, I might be wrong.

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Gareth Pearson [2013 trends] Predictions for the retail sector A transformation is in motion amongst shoppers and retailers country-wide. Consumers are becoming more discerning and demanding, and retailers and manufacturers are under pressure to innovate, offer quality and savings – all in one eco- friendly package! Here are some interesting trends for the retail sector that I’ve identified for 2013. 1. Private labels – a tipping point for SA retailers Private labels will continue to grow – not just as in-the-background, budget- friendly brands aimed at cash-strapped consumers but rather as significant players in the retail space. At the moment, South Africa’s private label market About the author share is in line with that of the US and above the global average. Gareth Pearson, CEO and shareholder of BMi Research 2. Innovation: do-or-die time for brand owners (www.bmi.co.za), is a market Product innovation has become a must for brand owners, especially in the research specialist with particular light of private labels, and they are under pressure as they now compete with focus in the industrial and FMCG their own clients for customers. Brand owners will have to spend more on markets in various sectors, research and development, and constantly innovate, in order to remain ahead including the retail market. of the pack. He serves as a member of the South African Institute of Sustaining customer interest and loyalty is difficult and manufacturers can no Packaging’s Regional Committee longer do the same old thing, the same old way, when consumers are already and is involved with the South squeezed and looking for improved products that offer increased value. It’s African Packaging Council. clear: manufacturers need to think out the box if they’re going to grow their Gareth was responsible for market share going forward, and clever packaging, labelling, branding and the merger of BMi Foodpack improved ingredients will hold the key. and Adcheck Research during 3. The rise in the professional shopper 2008. Contact Gareth on tel +27 (0)11 615 7000. Professional shoppers will be seen more frequently in the aisles of large and Biz press office: BMi Research boutique retailers. Consumers won’t only make their purchase decisions based solely on price, but on value, too. ‘Value-conscious’ shopping is set to become the new buzz word and consumers will increasingly look for quality products at an affordable price. Expect more value combos to emerge as trip missions become more focal in clustering products together as value combos. 4. Consumers demand value Special offers will be a key factor in ensuring retailers remain competitive and meet the growing demand by consumers for value-added shopping. 5. Bigger is better Buying bulk is becoming an effective way for consumers to save and, in answer to this, some manufacturers have increased their pack sizes. Consumer demand for value increasingly creates a demand for bulk buying for at- home use, rather than purchasing premium priced on-the-go convenience packs. 6. Consumers grow a conscience Consumers are expected to become increasingly demanding of brand owners, and probably retailers too, in terms of being more responsible from a sustainability perspective. This should extend to being environmentally friendly in manufacture concerns, logistics, packaging choices and merchandising options. 

Gareth Pearson [2013 trends continued] Equally, shoppers will be seeking more opportunity to practice responsible recycling and will typically look to municipalities, schools and retailers to be role players in solving current problem of relatively few recycling opportunities. 7. Packaging is going greener PET packaging will continue to grow as it has over the past few years. The move from glass and metal to PET shows companies trying to reduce substrate and fibre content in their packaging. Packaging is also becoming smaller and more lightweight, making PET ideal, especially since it has evolved and huge improvements in its properties now exist. 8. Too many mouths to feed Shortage of grain and ensuing rising price will impact some food and possibly beverage inflation. Particularly the protein category will feel this, most notably given the relatively high dependency on maize for production costs. Growing fish-stock shortages are equally going to effect on shelf pricing and affordability. The significant hikes in tuna prices being paid globally resonate with this growing reality. 9. Print is here to stay Print advertising and inserts into print media are set to follow their growth trend into 2013, particularly in broadsheet linked to the professional shopper trend – contrary to beliefs that spend will decline due to the online option. Spend on food grew by almost 5% during 2012, with the food category accounting for over 32% of the total print advertising spend.

Gerry Costa [2013 trends] At the heart of African marketing As the world economy limps to recovery, Africa is increasingly becoming more important and on everyone’s agenda. Here, I take a look at what is required to formulate Afro-centric marketing strategies that can succeed. This is what we can expect in 2013: 1. Africa will become the new playing field in 2013 We are already witnessing an influx of small independent specialist agencies that are springing up all over the continent. This suggests that clients are now looking toward Africa for growth and are finally taking it seriously. Marketers will need to formulate strategies to succeed on the continent. About the author Gerry Costa is a Zimbabwean One thing is for sure: South African marketing templates will not cut it in other national who has worked in the African countries. Efforts to reach these markets need to be culturally specific advertising industry for over 20 and refined. years. His African experience is as vast as the continent itself, 2. We will see more and more multinationals move into Africa having lived and worked in There will be many benefits of the influx of large companies in Africa. Besides Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, the obvious job creation, this is going to improve industry standards and bring Nigeria and, now, South Africa. a level of modernisation to the markets. Gerry’s career includes On the flip side, there will also be a period of education whereby the market mainstream advertising and his adapts to these new multinationals. A great example of this is the speed of expertise extends to outdoor and branding. Today, Gerry which international supermarket chains have moved into Africa, and the local is employed by the people having to learn that that their bargaining habits can not extend to the McCann World Group supermarket. (www.mccann.co.za). Contact Competition will be rife across all sectors. him on tel +27 (0)11 235 4600. Biz press office: McCann 3. 2013 will be the year of many acquisitions, mergers and JVs The spread of Shoprite into Africa has already seen local supermarket chains partnering with external retail giants just to keep up, as witnessed by the Park N Shop/SPAR relationship in Nigeria, as well as the Tiger Brands / UAC joint venture. These initiatives can only help Africa as foreign and multinational companies bring with them the necessary experience, governance and industry standards. As much as there will be modernisation, there will also have to be a reciprocal understanding of local methods and operating procedures, ie it will be a two-way street between the market and the suppliers. The suppliers will need to learn the ways and culture of the local market and the market will adapt to the modernisation that the suppliers bring. 4. Many have talked the talk; now it’s time to walk the walk Both clients and consumers will demand more in this competitive market where bang for your buck is what it’s all about. Consumer satisfaction, customer care and service will become increasingly more important on the continent. Clients will no longer settle for the mediocre, or use Africa as an excuse for sub-standard delivery.  become the exclusive biztrends2014 sponsor now email [email protected]!

Gerry Costa [2013 trends continued]

5. Understanding Africa Managing Africa from a distance will be a thing of the past. Those who do not understand the dynamics of working in Africa will be exposed. Relevance and being Africa-specific will be key. This includes the understanding of our diverse continent, the social and cultural nuances, and the informal market. The current trend, employed by most multinationals, whereby expatriates are posted into Africa for a two-year period, only to be replaced by another expat just as they get an understanding of the market, will change. Clients will soon learn to let Africa be run by the people of Africa. 6. Africa travel There will be continued improvements to airports and passport control across many African countries. For those currently travelling into Africa who think it’s bad, believe me when I say that there have been major improvements from the ’80s, ’90s and into the millennium. While accommodation is still expensive, the rapid growth of the hotel industry is already yielding price reductions and improved standards. 7. “Africa Time” vs “Africa’s time” Despite the ridicule that the term “Africa Time” has come to endure, I truly believe that 2013 is Africa’s time! This is the time for Africa to come of age and take its rightful place as an important geography for the world economy.

Gillian Rightford [2013 trends] Cheaper, better, faster The biggest change in South Africa will be the continued growth of mobile and online, and how this affects everything we do – all of our buying habits, from deodorant to cars, and how, when and where we do it. We are still some way behind a number of areas internationally and these are the areas in which I see the potential for leapfrogged growth. However, we are behind because of challenges that we face in this country (delivery/distribution/market size/economics) and we have to address those before we lose out to any retailer, anywhere in the world. About the author Basic synopsis of 2013 in retail? Cheaper, better, faster? Sound familiar? To Gillian Rightford’s CV is a mix of break it down, and avoid awkward Standard Bank analogies: marketing, advertising, and 1. Cheaper management. A former group 2. Better MD of Lowe Bull, she started Adtherapy 3. Made for me (www.adtherapy.co.za), a 4. Faster consultancy that talks to 5. More buys for less agencies and marketers about all 6. Goodbye to the middle man things advertising. Contact Gillian 7. Blur between brick and digital on tel +27 (0)21 761 2812 or 8. Really build relationships and communities. email [email protected], read her blog at In more detail: adtherapy.blogspot.com, connect on Facebook and follow 1. Cheaper her on Twitter at @grightford. Growth in price-comparing apps on mobile will lead to being able to compare the prices as you shop, and literally walk across the mall passage to get a better deal. Buying online will mean that you only buy what you need and save money on the gondola end temptation. That’s the theory anyway. But see trend five. 2. Better Being constrained to the merchandise at the shop that you can drive to is oh-so-last-season. You as the customer can get anything you want, usually overnight, for a few dollars extra in shipping (the extra cost canceled out by the enormous import tariffs and markups that retailers place on specialised goods), delivered to your door. Sometimes you can get better AND cheaper. What’s not to love? 3. Made for me It’s not just off the shelf; it’s customised, as I want it. Blue stripe there, pink star there. Thank you. This will also play into the ‘made how I like it’ territory – without preservatives, hand-made, enriching a community. What I buy can do good and make me feel good. 4. Faster Here’s the real duzi for SA online retailers: the distribution side. It’s expensive and slow. I just ordered school labels, from Canada, printed with my kids’ names, delivered to my door in two days. The local competitor: delivery time 5-6 weeks?  find out more about biz press offices here!

Gillian Rightford [2013 trends continued] There are a few (Nespresso and Takelot.com) which are completely cracking this – Takealot.com the result of a genius marriage by agency M&C Saatchi Abel, which partnered the downtime of client Mr Delivery with the delivery challenge of the online shop client. Brilliant. This is an area of huge challenge and huge growth for SA online retailers. 5. More buys for less Collaborative buying: we all club together – schools in a suburb; houses in an area; apartments etc – and we negotiate better prices for our annual buy of anything – lettuce, Handy Andy, whatever. Cheaper, value added. 6. Goodbye to the middle man Well, if we’re going to Unilever and negotiating our suburb’s annual buy for household cleaning materials, what happens to the places we normally buy them from? Yip, you guessed it – read about the demise of travel agents as people buy direct, and join the dots for the impact on traditional retail. 7. Blur between bricks and digital The traditional retail space as we know it has to drive more of their customers online; and draw the online customers into the store. But the change will come in what happens in the real- world store – not business as normal. How do we celebrate that relationship face to face? A real-life customer, we can talk to? That’s the challenge. And the opportunity. 8. Really build relationships and communities Retailers, wherever they are – here, there, online, real world, a combination – really need to build relationships with their customers. Not just say they do. But really, really do. Because that way, they will be able to answer some of the above trends. People want what they want – whether it’s organic and sold in a market and they buy one, and they know the farmer; or whether it’s a bulk buy -a year’s supply of household cleaning products for 100 households. So this year, the customer will have even more power in their hands to shop around, which turns into power to get what they want, how and when and where they want it. The simple option of a retailer providing a “this is what we’ve got, take it or leave it” offering will result in a simple equation. They’ll leave it and get it elsewhere, even if it’s from the tundra in Canada.

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Gisèle Wertheim Aymes [2013 trends] Appscriptions, augmented, apocalypses and other apt trends The world is more interdependent and interconnected than ever before. Technology is ensuring the free flow of ideas, information and energy; creative co-operation and influence; and is bringing change across the globe that is happening at an unprecedented and accelerated rate. And, as Bill Clinton says: “Progress changes consciousness and when you change people’s consciousness then their awareness of what is possible changes as well – a virtuous cycle.” 1. Social uber alles About the author As we embrace the reality that social technologies have become a day-today Gisèle Wertheim Aymés has part of our lives, Generation Y staffers (or the ones they call the millennials) worked in the media industry in are increasingly reshaping companies, helping them to build broader, more South Africa for over two agile networks to create and deliver value to customers. decades. She is a director of a 2. Mobile apocalypse: the global power of the fourth screen as a channel of medical company, owner and distribution is now indisputable publishing editor of Longevity Media (www.longevitymag.co.za) Consumers will look to their mobile devices to maximise absolutely every and a shareholder in Stuff moment. A survey of US adult smartphone owners found that 63% of female Group SA, publishers of Stuff respondents and 73% of male respondents don’t go an hour without checking (www.stuff.co.za) – the world’s their phone (Source: Harris Interactive, June 2012). best-selling gadget magazine. In 2012 Google and Apple drove unprecedented adoption of mobile devices, Email Gisèle at Facebook declared itself a “mobile” company, and Amazon and Microsoft both [email protected] made significant investments into mobile computing. and follow her on Twitter at @giselewaymes. In Africa, 4% of households have Internet access, but more than 50% have cellphones. 3. It’s an APP world According to data released by Flurry Analytics, the combined downloads of apps for both Android and iOS devices for the last seven days of 2012 racked up an extremely impressive 1.76 billion downloads worldwide. Flurry said that “the last week of 2012 was the largest week for both new device activations and app downloads in iOS and Android history”, with some 17.4 million Apple and Android devices being activated on 25 December. Looking forward to 2013, Flurry expects the trend of one-billion-download weeks to become the norm, and that the industry will surpass the two billion download week during Q4. 4. Appscriptions How I would have loved to coin this phrase of how digital technologies are the new medicines; however, this specific reference belongs to the clever people at www.trendwatching.com. DIY health has been on the trend line for the last two years so, in 2013, expect consumers to turn to the medical profession and medical institutions to certify and curate health apps and technologies, or to “prescribe” them, much as they prescribe medicines as part of a course of treatment... 5. Leveraging relationships Successful, established traditional media will continue to deliver good profits; however, as circulations decline and media audiences fragment, media companies will increasingly find ways to leverage their brand relationships to generate new revenue streams. 

Gisèle Wertheim Aymes [2013 trends continued] Local media companies continue to seek new revenue sources derived from digital for growth and sustainability. Expect more e-tailing sites such as Zando and 36Boutiques using audiences derived from existing brand relationships. In our world of print, watch more publishers take their brand relationships to new and exciting places, but also expect more closures and layoffs from those who are not able to adapt quick enough. 6. It’s not just about the medium; it’s still all about the message Research shows different audiences require different delivery mechanisms at different times, and magazines remain highly relevant in the consumer’s repertoire of choice. According to MRI data in the US, adults under 35-years-old read more issues per month than adults who are over 35. Magazine audiences are growing at a rate second only to the Internet across all groups. Magazine readers want to experience content in print and digital versions; among current subscribers, more than half chose to renew with a digital product. Among non-subscribers, nearly 40% chose an offer including print. Eighty-seven percent of those interested in reading magazines on a digital device still want a printed copy. 7. Made with me Consumers increasingly desire ownership and personalisation, and participation in value creation. “Made with me” is a growing trend, driven particularly by younger generations who value experiences they share – and that also deliver benefits to society – over possessions. So expect more crowdsourcing such as Kaiser Chiefs (the band) allowing its fans to create a custom album (with a choice of new songs). Customised media will flourish and savvy media owners will create apps to customise content through digital platforms and allow their consumers to be content curators and creators. 8. Augmented reality goes mainstream Technology will change the way content is published – in publishing, posters and physical places. Tech experts predict in 2013 augmented reality (AR) will become even more important to the mobile world. AR companies have created great relationships with movie studios, game makers, publishers and more, and their technology is already showing up in many of their products. This will amplify the media experience and the way in which consumers interact with media platforms, including and especially print. 9. Rethinking consumption The heightened connectivity we now enjoy means that any event anywhere is reported at literally in seconds of it happening – mostly accurately, but sometimes not. Consumers are susceptible to all sorts of provocations at any given moment in time. We will live with growing levels of social unrest over rising inequality, austerity, unemployment, political ineptitude and institutional failure. And, as The Economist suggests, “Mobility and connectedness is at the heart of the future business environment: communications and marketing are moving from a focus on one-to-one relationships, to many-to-many. New technologies and rethinking consumption will be critical in future – with businesses rather than governments likely to lead the way.” “Every morning when we wake up, we have twenty-four band-new hours to live. What a precious gift” Thich Nhat Hanh

Greg Schneider [2013 trends] The year we stop living to work, start working to live Globally, it seems to be an expected fact that, on average, our generation will be the first to earn less than our parents did. Many attribute this to the repeated financial meltdowns and skyrocketing inflation, driven by the higher cost of energy. While these are all obvious contributing factors, it is my belief that a fundamental change in the way we view our careers has played a significant role in our decreased earning. Increasingly, people are valuing intangibles benefits of a job over the bottom- line salary. 2013 will be the year where recruitment and talent retention are governed by the environment and not simply the pay check. About the author 1. Working for a cause Greg Schneider is MD of Hiring Bounty (www.hiringbounty.com; Attracting the best talent in 2013 will not depend solely on the depth of your @hiringbounty). While heading wallet. An employee in 2013 will want to know there is an end game to what up new business in Cape Town they are doing, a sense of purpose. Even if the goal is never-ending, eg making for ORM company BrandsEye, the world a better place, synergy between a prospective employees’ internal he was exposed to the power of belief and your company’s bigger vision will be the swing vote in deciding social conversation. Identifying where to ultimately work. the value there, he launched People are more aware then ever of becoming a cog in a machine with no Hiring Bounty, a business that direction. Keeping everyone focused on a target and celebrating the small formalises social recruitment wins as you move ever closer builds a culture that will attract the best in by offering a platform to your industry. crowdsource the process. Email Greg at 2. Always learning, forever growing [email protected] Industries are continually changing. A failure to invest in one’s own knowledge m, follow @greg_dale on Twitter and skills is a failure to future-proof your career. With the economy on a and connect on LinkedIn. continual rollercoaster, individuals realise the importance of continually adding to their skill set and, in turn, their CV. Offering a structure to facilitate personal growth and learning will keep your best employees inspired while ensuring your business is able to command an innovative and thought-leading position in your industry. 3. YOLO The idea that “you only live once” has gained in popularity and 2013 will be the year where the concept of YOLO governs our employment decision. Factors such as flexible time, increased leave and better maternity benefits will appeal to a generation who doesn’t want to waste away their life working. In 2013, expect candidates to enquire about the work/life balance, long before they query expected salary. 4. Peer-to-peer recruitment The opinion of the crowd is the deciding vote in nearly all our major decision. Expect this mind-set to govern recruitment in 2013. As more factors are brought into play, the challenge to find the best employee-employer fit increases in complexity. 2013 will be the year of social recruitment. Build your network; as recruitment gets crowdsourced, those who have access to the strongest community will attract the best talent.  we <3 our biz trends contributors for adding value to our 26 industry communities!

Greg Schneider [2013 trends continued]

5. The culture continuum Expect to agonise over candidates who fit the culture perfectly, but don’t have the skills on paper. You may even reject one or two candidates who are perfect on paper but who you wouldn’t ever want to sit with at lunch. In 2013, every candidate will be measured on the culture continuum, where the decision on whether to employ them or not is one based upon a careful balancing act – which tries to find the optimal mix of skills and personality. Oh, and don’t be surprised when you follow your gut and hire the person, even though he or she still has a lot to learn. 6. The viral CV I’m ready to see my fair share of job applications going viral in 2013. While common practice overseas, the elaborate campaign to get hired at a specific company is yet to really be widespread in South Africa. As candidates begin to factor in all the above-mentioned considerations, they will identify a handful of companies that meet their criteria and will then work hard to land their dream job.

A more holistic view on where we work has been in constant development. I believe the movement to viewing our life in a more complete manner has meant, as a generation, we are willing to work for less, provided we feel more fulfilled by what we are doing. Financial turmoil aside, I believe this is a significant contributing factor to why we will earn less than our parents did. Previous generations were far more focused on the salary then the experience of working. A mentality of working to live, rather than living to work, will be the single biggest force in recruitment for 2013.

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HDI Youth Marketeers Team [2013 trends] SA’s youth trend-o-meter Young South Africa is savvier than ever before. If you are looking for a smart and discerning prosumer, this group of kids, teens and young adults will give you more kicks than you’ve ever bargained for. They know just what they are looking for from any brand, and this makes them that much more satisfying to please. Here are a few trends to look out for in 2013. 1. Social’cise Exercise has become fun and nobody is lapping it up quite like the youth. The aim is no longer solely to tone up and keep fit, but it’s also now a novel way of having fun with friends. Nike woke up to this phenomenon quite early, and is About the authors reaping the benefits of this with two Nike Run Jozis in Johannesburg already. Jason Levin is MD of, Jessica Oosthuizen is writer and analyst In 2013, we’ll see even more running apps popping up as more people join the at, and Mokebe Thulo is movement. Apps such as Nexercise and Fitocracy take it even a step further, communications and publicity offering discounts to customers based on their workout records. manager for HDI Youth 2. Say “i” Marketeers (www.hdiyouth.co.za). All three BlackBerry has seen some great times in the South African market [and let’s spend their time deepening their see what happens now that BlackBerry 10 has launched! – Biz Trends Report understanding of what makes editor]. Although still stable in terms of local sales, Apple products are now the young South Africans tick. most sought-after commodities among the youth. Contact Jason, Jess and Mokebe Though many are still far removed from any likelihood of owning any of these on tel +27 (0)11 706 6016. products, all echelons of tech savvy youth are extremely tuned in to their Email [email protected], capabilities and attractive product offering and, with each new release, desire [email protected] or grows – interestingly, for the badge value of the bitten fruit insignia, as much [email protected]. as anything it delivers. Many youths would trade their left arms for a bite of On Twitter, follow @HDIYouth that Apple. and @mokebe. Biz press office: HDI 3. Photomania It’s all about the snaps this year. The fascination with photography seems insatiable, with close to 30 billion photos being posted to Facebook in 2011 alone. And competing smartphone apps are helping fuel the hype. With Instagram making waves in the iPhone, and recently Android, markets, BlackBerry launched PicMix. In addition to that, for each of these popular apps, there are a number of other apps that can be downloaded to enhance their use. It’s all about the pouts, and treated modelesque photography. Suddenly, everyone is a professional photographer, and you no longer have to spend thousands on a good camera. Not to mention that an edit suite is also now in the palm of your hand. 4. (Accessible) fashion expressionists Although shopping is increasingly perceived as a hobby by youth, rather than a necessity, fashion and dress are becoming a high intensity art form for the youth, rather than just the tail end of a shopping adventure. On the one hand, this cross-gender, cross-race phenomenon plays into the hands of retailers such as Mr Price, which has managed to level the playing field: rich or poor, it provides fun, value clothing for all. On the other hand, the advent of clothing auctions, second-hand hanger events and clothes swops gives youth the opportunity to purchase items they would otherwise not be able to afford. With the upswing in vintage, it’s no longer about how much your item of clothing costs, but all about how fashionable it is, and how good it looks on you. After all, in the words of 16-year-old Kim from Johannesburg, “Money can’t buy you style.” 

HDI Youth Marketeers Team [2013 trends continued]

5. My music, our music Nigeria created a great example of an African country that shows “love” for its local artists. Findings, which came out of polling 1000 Nigerian youths, resulted in the Coolest Musician (male or female) category, with seven of the top 10 artists being Nigerian, and eight out of the top 10 African. In South Africa, a similar trend is finally growing in popularity, with local artists coming into their own. This phenomenon can be traced to local stars receiving international respect – looking at the success of Die Antwoord, Tumi of Tumi and the Volume, Thandiswa Mazwai, The Parlotones and Freshlyground, to name a few. User-generated music is also on the up, especially with male under-23s, who are using technology to share their own musical creations. 6. Eating iKasi Although the KFCs and Nando’s of Mzansi have a stronghold on the takeaway food market, we are going to see the increase of availability in so-called “Kasi” foods. The number of Chisa Nyamas is speedily on the rise, and even KFC has jumped onto the bandwagon (albeit slowly), with its offering of pap as an alternative to chips. 7. Real reality Reality TV was introduced to SA silver screens a number of years ago, with the debut of international reality shows on the paid TV front. Following soon after that came the dawn of SA reality shows, based entirely on their licensed American franchises. Last year, SA audiences enjoyed their eighth season of Idols South Africa, second season of Come Dine with Me, and the very first of Masterchef South Africa. A trend which was locally started by Nonhle Thema, local reality shows are now a reality for all SA viewers. Where previously, this form of entertainment was only available on paid for TV stations, e.tv and SABC have followed suit with providing shows for their audiences such as “Rolling with Kelly Khumalo” and a show rumoured to be coming up on one of the SABC channels – “Housewives of Soweto”. 8. Real-time marketing More than ever before, the expectation among youth is that brands will respond to their queries, complaints and interest within minutes. Waiting 24 hours for a brand to revert with feedback is slacking in the eyes of these millennials. If a brand insists on leveraging social media networks, they had better be able to back it up. Automated and delayed responses are unacceptable in the eyes of these prosumers. 9. e-Motional Facebook friends are not regarded as real friends and this year we’ll see a growing consciousness emerge among 20-somethings over the value of meaningful friendships vs online ones. We’ll also see a growth of internet dating in this market, too, as online dating sites are used more frequently to develop relationships. 10. Health cam’pains Young urbanites are inundated with campaigns instructing them to eat healthily, avoid peer pressure, practice safe sex, etc. Campaigns that leave a paper trail of posters become wallpaper. Brands that really want to reach beyond the 2D surface and aim to actually activate behavioural change are in a better position to have real impact... HDI’s 360-degree You Decide campaign, aimed at curbing underage drinking, is an example of the success of a multifaceted approach. find out more about biz press offices here!

HKLM Exco Team [2013 trends] Out-of-the-box branding No, the concepts of “tribalism”, “gamification” and “engagement” aren’t a promo for the latest computer game, but are in fact the trends that will characterise the way companies and consumers interact in 2013. The branding industry is constantly developing and. while the following trends are evolutions rather than dynamic, short-term changes, we believe the following 10 areas will define the brandscape over the next year. 1. Integrated branding for brand survival Integrated branding strategies, where all the elements are cohesive, About the authors complementary and consistent, will be crucial to brand survival – let alone Gary Harwood is a founder and success. All elements, from advertising campaigns and staff training to digital director of HKLM footprints and shareholder relations, have to be created and implemented as (www.hklm.co.za); Graham Leigh integral parts of a holistic branding strategy, otherwise there’s real danger of is a founding director; Jerry the brand promise being broken. Nyagah is MD of HKLM Nairobi; And a broken promise can be a death knell. Julia Bouie Leuner is a director; Andre Redelinghuys is head of 2. Forecourt retail – the new frontier strategy; Johan van Wyk is ECD; Garage forecourts will be the new branding battleground. Oil companies will and Dr Sean McCoy is HKLM’s make increased use of sophisticated modelling and research methodologies to CEO and Brand Council of South redesign their retail spaces and their shopper marketing strategies to capture Africa (BCSA) chairperson. and keep customers. Read the HKLM blog at livinglab.hklmgroup.com, follow 3. Retail tribalism @hklm_lab on Twitter, and Retail is theatre and, if the paying customers aren’t happy with the connect on Facebook. production, they’ll walk out. We’ll see a greater focus on retail tribalism, Biz press office: HKLM where brand owners and retailers build loyalty and strengthen bonds by offering customers value-added services in-store, at the point of purchase. 4. Product tribalism Loyalty is built when consumers experience consistent delivery on the brand promise. Larger businesses can absorb adverse consumer reaction to inconsistencies more easily than smaller ones, and brand managers across the board will be focusing their efforts on consistently fulfilling customers’ expectations and delivering on their brand promises. 5. Employee engagement Just as a choir can’t sing in unison if the members don’t know the words, neither can companies have a strong culture of service and loyalty if their employees don’t know what’s expected of them. Employee motivation campaigns will be much more focused and designed specifically to meet brand objectives, plus organisations will be more actively committed to training their staff to be brand champions and empowering them to take responsibility for integrating the brand values into their workplace policies, practices, attitudes and behaviours. 6. Gamification Innovative thinking is required when it comes to finding ways for organisations to communicate and connect with their culturally diverse workforces. More and more organisations will use workplace entertainment and gamification to spread their brand message, engage and motivate their employees, and build loyalty and commitment. 

HKLM Exco Team [2013 trends continued]

7. 3D design and corporate art Workplace design can be the differential between mediocrity and success – and we will see a strong focus in this area as more and more organisations realise its importance as a marketing tool. 3D design will become increasingly prevalent in all aspects, from interiors and signage to displays and exhibitions, as workplaces take shape as important brand communications platforms. 8. Transparency and integrated reporting Beneath the surface of corporate South Africa, many brands are in disarray. There’s often little correlation between a company’s business strategy and its brand strategy and ineffective structures – and a lack of focus on sustaining brand awareness is a serious barrier to growth. However, there has been a wake-up call and we will see a much greater commitment to integrating the various departments within the organisation and aligning them all seamlessly with both the brand and the business strategies. 9. Technology talks Technology will play an even greater role in brand-building, delivering fast, smart and effective communication with target audiences. Developments in mobile devices will break new ground in the retail space and the brands that are prepared to ‘techno-pioneer’ will prosper. A word of caution, however: with consumers being constantly bombarded with measurable layers of information, it will be the simple, compelling messages that will resonate. 10. Cometh the hour, cometh Africa Africa’s resurgence will continue – and so, too, will the continent’s branding success stories. Experience shows that success doesn’t come from imposing brands on a new market, but rather from adapting brand strategies to meet the needs and environments of this unique and complex continent. 11. Africa’s consumers flex their muscles A tsunami of Chinese, Indian, Arab, South African and genuinely global brands will continue to wash over the African market place in 2013. The African consumer is better informed than ever before and, as a result, far more discerning. The key issue remains quality and consistency – in product, in service and in experience. Surveys continue to show that African consumers will favour local brands over the tsunami on the condition that global quality standards are met, with the flip side of this being that they are far less willing to act as a dumping ground for sub-standard products from over the seas. 12. Rise of the corporate brands Corporate communication is poised to surge in scale and activity. Non-consumer-orientated businesses need to communicate better because the market now necessitates it; they want to communicate better because it’s clear that communication has become a source of competitive advantage in categories where it hasn’t been previously. Corporate brands have traditionally been hostages to their reputations, rather than masters of them. Businesses that can adapt to become responsive and make meaningful connections will benefit significantly. 13. Brands as media houses As content is the fuel of social media and other forms of digital engagement, brands that have traditionally stood at arms’ length from the content in their communication are now becoming content authors, curators and managers – even if this often outsourced. Watch the growth in content agencies.

Janice Spark [2013 trends] From data to honesty, it’s getting personal South Africa is a complicated place – each year outdoes the last in the ‘magnitude of change’ stakes. And we just know this year will deliver even more surprises. Nonetheless, important trends appeared across the brandscape during 2012. Here I explore the key brand moments of the year just passed, and take a peek at what might be ahead. 1. Honesty 2012’s strikes – from Marikana to De Doorns – have unearthed fault lines in the South African psyche. Aside from the political, economic and social perspectives, which have been discussed to death, the issue of brand honesty About the author has come to the fore, a trend which mirrors global movements. Janice Spark is a managing partner at advertising and PR Honesty is increasingly viewed (by strategists and pundits, at least) as an agency Idea Engineers essential brand requirement in the 21st century economy. With everyone (ideaengineers.co.za, Facebook; doing business in glass houses, the desire to present a perfect brand face to @ideaengineerssa). Spark, a the world has been rendered irrelevant. Honesty has been forced upon us all, founding member of Idea because presenting the perfect face is simply no longer possible. Engineers, has directed the Brands are being forced to move from the verbiage of transparency (talking marketing efforts of leading about values, in other words) to demonstrating values and ethos through global organisations for over transparent behaviour. Credentials must be proven, not spoken about. 20 years. Contact Janice via tel +27 (0)11 803 0030, email 2. Pop-ups [email protected] Pop-up stores reflect the compounding mobility of our economic lifestyles. and follow her on Twitter They also extend the shopping experience beyond a particular time and place, at @janicespark. and enhance the brand’s ability to boost stimulation of the consumer’s senses. Shopping is steadily becoming a more wide ranging, sensory and experiential affair. Magnum, for example, created the ‘Infinity Pleasure Pod‘ in London just before the summer Olympics. Shoppers within the pod were measured biochemically as they ate an Infinity Bar. Skin tension, facial expression, heart rate and other measured data were used to create an animated representation of the experience – which Magnum tagged the ‘pleasure portrait’, to shoppers’ delight. Similarly, Mattel/Walmart created a 3D Pop-Up Toy Shop during Canada’s 2012 holiday shopping season. The combination of 3D walls and QR codes allowed the brands to boast that it was changing the basic meaning of window shopping. Sears and Kmart have also used ‘shoppable’ walls in the recent past. SA’s 2012 pop-up prize goes to the Puma Social Club in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. ‘The meeting point for the after-hours athlete’ says the strapline. Many brands have tried and failed over the years to force their way into the middle of the Jozi urban youth market. Play energy drink, for example, spent a great deal of time and effort with its Griffin Sessions and Play Heroes in 2012, via a campaign which sought to identify and augment the core ethos of the young city scene. Despite all Play’s efforts, however, Puma has been the brand on all young city lips. Why? Puma kept it all disarmingly simple and created a cool, fun space for everyone. From Foosball sessions to quick impromptu six song sets from the likes of the Blk Jks, the Puma Social Club opened its doors, and people came. No secret venues, no over-elaborate positioning devices. Just a place for people to chill out. The lesson? Pop-ups are inherently fun. Stick to the fun basics and much can be achieved. 

Janice Spark [2013 trends continued]

3. Content, content, content Brands have the tools to create communities, reshape their own narratives and place themselves at the centre of trends, and content. Global heavy hitters such as Red Bull and Nike provide best practice examples on how to position a brand in the centre of a community that generates content via happy instinct. Red Bull achieves this through a wide range of activities, from DJ Battle events through to extreme sports (all supported by Red Bull TV, the Red Bull Magazine, etc), while Nike has been very successful combining events such as Run Jozi with a strong social media presence. Both brands literally own their content creation – to the envy of many others around the world. With authenticity being a watch word for the average consumer, and honesty the watchword for the average brand, a major content creation challenge looms. Brands looking to operate in this space will need to consistently improve their storytelling skills, to the point where the gap between who the brand thinks it is and who the consumer thinks it is, is authentically narrow. But creating authentic content streams is not child’s play, by any means (just ask Media24, which recently shut down its content marketing arm). The problem is the fragmented nature of digital communication, where the number of niche, specialised content segments seems to compound overnight. Developing a large-scale, one-size-fits-all approach to the content challenge simply doesn’t work, even if you have the backing of big corporate budgets. In 2013 (and beyond), look out for the proliferation of niche content agencies with the ability to deliver volume and quality, within tightly defined demographic segments. 4. ‘Freecommerce’ Where once e-commerce was a strategically and technically scary land, where only high powered geeks roamed, now anyone can sign up for a free e-shop at a site such as www.ecwid.com. And if you want full integration with your Facebook page, you just install the Facebook app. Fancy some new music? You can cruise Soundcloud.com for days listening to, and downloading, mixes and arrangements and original compositions from across the world. If you want to make your own beats, there are free music software packages online, and the same goes for Photoshop equivalents and pretty much everything else. Need a website? Just use Wix. Beyond the cloud and software, ‘freecommerce’ is taking root in other important areas. Zando.co.za has shaken the local e-commerce market with free delivery of its shoes and fashion merchandise. Free music is also a global trend that keeps on coming. In just one example, musician Amanda Palmer’s new album, “Theatre is Evil”, is available free, or at any price a fan wants to pay. The converse of the emergence of free music is contract-based streaming. The likes of Simfy are attempting to march us towards a world where we simply stream directly from the cloud to our cellphones and other devices. Freemium pricing structures are also on the rise. Here, the initial product – a game or an app, for example – is offered available free, but the upgrades and improvements are charged. The level of addiction to the product defines the success of the pricing model (and we all know how addictive some of those clickables can be!). 5. Big data gets personal At the simplest level, Big Data refers to our collective ability to process huge sets of data, mined on the digital frontier. Big Data can be crunched using complex algorithms and data-processing tools to produce new insights on all sorts of things – from medical research to shopping behaviour patterns to social media trends. 

Janice Spark [2013 trends continued again] In a world where consumers expect, without even really thinking about it, personalised, relevant communication, Big Data allows an organisation to use the power of mass communication while staying in touch with the individual’s wants and needs in a way that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. From the brand’s perspective, an engineered union between technology and marketing is an important point of focus, but in the consumer’s mind the line between technology and marketing is fading very fast. We expect personalised, targeted and relevant communication at all touch points. And we expect it now. Thus, brands able to create a highly personal experience within the framework of an automated system are well on the path to 21st century growth, and loyalty. 6. Mobile The view of the world from Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Firefox is still very relevant, but a whole new communication universe has opened up beyond the browser, in the form of apps. In the early years, apps were gaming-, media- and GPS-focused, but now we’re moving toward personalised apps that seek to understand the user’s behaviour, and support it accordingly. One notable example is the rise of DIY health, where diagnostic and treatment processes are managed by the patient, via an app. With over 13 000 health apps already in the Apple app store alone, the big bridge for the user to cross is credibility and reliability. As a result, we can expect doctors, clinics, insurance brands and other medical role players to begin making their presence felt with certifications and validations, as well as by developing apps themselves. Appscriptions can potentially reduce medical costs, improve compliance and allow for the kind of remote medical monitoring that improves broad societal health. At the moment, the field may appear like something for other people, but the underlying trend of a society moving decisively toward mobile service delivery is going to impact everyone, eventually. Other important mobile trends: Shoptimisation . Technology, apps and business practices are making shopping quicker, easier and more convenient. Not convinced? Visit Slice, Dashlane, GoodRx, ShopSavvy, Wish Want Wear, Key Ring, Rent the Runway or Macy’s in-store GPS Peer-to-peer communities are on the rise . MeFunding – personal crowdfunding brands such as GoFundMe, indiegogo and GiveForward allow individuals to raise money for everything from life-changing trips to paying for medical bills after an accident. . Hyperlocal commerce – The likes of Goodzer, Sears Local, Popularise, Fundrise and Shopify are driving hyper-localisation, where users instantly create e-commerce sites and apps that allow them to keep money in their community. . FriendSourced travel – airbnb, Vayable, trippy, Dine with the Dutch, and Tripbirds all allow your friends to inspire your travel plans via a suite of apps and new travel services. 

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Janice Spark [2013 trends continued yet again]

7. Visual social media Where once users would write many words on social media platforms about their experiences, advances in mobile technology (Instagram is a key player here) make it far easier now to take a picture and upload it. Brands such as Pinterest and Twitter have powered this dynamic, and users have adjusted their narrative techniques happily. A picture is as good as a thousand words, and a series of pictures also tells a wonderful story. Brands are also adjusting. The Facebook timeline is used to strong effect by all kinds of businesses to unfold an extended visual narrative about the company’s work, absorbed ‘on the scroll’ by users. A 2012 study by ROI Research found that, when users engage with friends on social media sites, it’s the pictures they took that are enjoyed the most. Forty-four percent of respondents are more likely to engage with brands if they post pictures than any other media. In addition, search engines now rank content according to social media sharing activity as well as website indexing information, so when pictures are shared across social media, the SEO gods take notice. Current examples of visual storytelling: Fashion designer Kahri-Anne Kerr uses visual social media sites such as Pinterest and Facebook to market her Kahri collection. “When I post pictures on Facebook, they get the most feedback of all my posts,” says Kahri. “Visual media is a great way to share more about what inspires the designs, as well as linking to your online store and straight product shots.” Designer brand Moleskine has created one of the world’s most active, prolific, and creative online communities, powered by user-generated content.

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Johanna McDowell [2013 trends] Growth opportunities within marketing and advertising arena There are a few trends to be aware of in 2013 which will help create opportunities within the advertising and marketing arena in South Africa. A number of these come from local and international intelligence. The IAS has access to international insights from its global partner – the AAR Group UK – and has adopted input from the 2012 AdForum Summit in New York and the 2012 Global Social Media Summit in London. This has helped us to identify the following trends as 2013 approaches: 1. Speed becoming crucial About the author The speed required to market, produce and get the work into the public Johanna McDowell counsels domain is becoming crucial. Research and pre-testing could slow this clients and agencies around process down. expectations in the advertising, Thus, it is advisable that agencies turn their attention towards refining the marketing process. She is CEO of research process right and implementing measures that would increase the Independent Agency Search efficiency. While these developments are underway, agencies must maintain and Selection Company (IAS), a their integrity in order to match the deliverables to their clients. division of black-owned marketing services group Mazole 2. Measurement of the efficacy of a campaign Holdings. Contact Johanna on Access to data technology assists agencies to measure the results and impact tel +27 (0)11 462 3750, email of a campaign effectively. This means that the analysis of data is becoming [email protected] more of a necessity and is frequently required by clients to measure the return and follow her on Twitter on their investment. at @jomcdowell. 3. A great creative advertisement is becoming more valuable than ordinary advertisements It is easy to get wrapped up in data, but a great creative advertisement is still a great advertisement, and the agency of the future will still be producing great television ads. “Television is not dead.” More people are watching television than ever before. Yes, they also watch advertisements on social media platforms, but television is the social glue for many communities in a way that other screens are not. 4. Client-agency relationship The relationship between a client and an agency is becoming more important during tough times. As an intermediary, I have noticed that clients have come to rely on their business partnerships and that their relationship with the agency is thus more important. Clients are more likely to create a long-lasting relationship with an agency, providing that they receive the deliverables that they outlined on the onset of the relationship. 5. Emergence of new agencies New agencies are beginning to emerge since the end of the recession. A lot of people might have moved on or broken away and created their own advertising agencies. These gives clients more choice, creates a bigger pool of creative perspectives, knowledge and expertise, and creates for an exciting and more competitive market place.  become the exclusive biztrends2014 sponsor now email [email protected]!

Johanna McDowell [2013 trends continued]

5. Social media The rush is now over; companies were rushing to be on social media platforms so they would not be left behind. Stakeholders are now being considered. Social media is heading toward a more strategic and intentional approach. Successful campaigns should last for 12 months and are measured according to how they are aligned to the business strategy and objectives. Also, social media platforms such as LinkedIn are underused and can be the determining factor within the professional networking landscape. At the talk at the 2012 Global Social Media Summit in London, it was highlighted that LinkedIn hosts 64 million professionals on its network. Its main aim is to link talent and opportunity on a massive scale; accessing this network is crucial for business. 6. Renaissance of the direct mailer The advent of newer and more effective online and digital technology is allowing for direct mailers to become more focused, measured, instant and cheaper. Agencies can communicate thought-leading information and their vision to manage their relationships with prospective and existing clients through this medium. They can be contacted via email and allow for analytics to become more pronounced in terms of the market place.

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Josh Adler [2013 trends] Changes #trending, opportunities knocking in education sector I’m quite new to education, but completely immersed and have much to say. I thought I’d focus my crystal ball on a broad range of education industry issues, and wanted to avoid at all costs penning another “Have you heard about Khan Academy?” piece, (But now that that’s done)... 1. Practice-based learning takes centre stage I’m now convinced, beyond any doubt, that experiential learning is the most powerful way to develop young people. You can sit through lectures, read, debate, even watch videos – but nothing is as immersive as allowing students to try their hand at something. For example, at African Leadership Academy About the author where I work, we create elaborate ,simulated environments in which students Josh Adler is director at the can create and run businesses and non-profits, design products and pitch Centre for Entrepreneurial save-the-world ideas. Leadership (www.anzisha.org) at African Leadership Academy I see more and more schools trying to bring experiential learning into (www.africanleadershipacademy. their toolbox. org; @ALAcademy) – identifying, 2. Blended learning goes experimental developing and connecting the next generation of African If you’ve not heard yet how blended learning is the future of the classroom, leaders. Before entering you must have been asleep. According to experts, students will be watching education, Josh worked for videos at home and doing homework in class (now known as the UNDP’s Africa Facility for flipped classroom). Inclusive Markets (AFIM) and I’m not convinced either way yet, but my prediction for 2013 is that blended prior to that was the CEO of web learning, through all sorts of trial-and-error approaches, will get experimented technology firm Prefix with in earnest. It will take years before we know what really works and in Technologies. Contact Josh on which contexts, but it’s going to be lots of fun to watch. tel +27 (0)11 699 3000, email JAdler@africanleadershipacadem 3. Business people enter education management y.org, tweet @joshadza and Perhaps this trend is to validate my own decisions but I think due to the connect on LinkedIn. excitement and investment going into education globally, people from business are going to enter the education space in droves. This isn’t new – people from business have been doing teaching gigs for ages – but that’s not what I’m talking about. I didn’t enter the space to teach. I came to help manage and grow an institution that seeks to change the future of our continent through its approach to developing the next generation. Expect to see former business execs entering education institutions at all levels in 2013. (If you’re thinking about it, and need a nudge, ping me.) 4. Education data and impact In my recent Tech4Africa talk, I explained why I feel tech and finance have innovated faster than any other sectors – particularly social development. It’s because the activity of money and bytes are very easily measured, enabling better decisions more frequently. Sectors such as education or social justice simply aren’t measured as easily. However, the world of data and analytics has exploded, and I see the beginnings of this starting to touch education. We’ll be measuring many more data points in 2013, not only about learners and learning, but school facilities, teachers, home environments and other stuff. The prospects of this get me completely geeked out as an Open Data pundit, and I’m excited to work with people across the education landscape on this in the years ahead. (again, ping me!) 

Josh Adler [2013 trends continued]

5. Access vs quality? Winner = access Access will continues to trump quality in terms of what most new innovations will deliver for a simple reason – it’s easier to solve. The massive open online course MOOC revolution solves the access problem in a new and innovative way, and I think the rationale is sound for now. My view is that MOOCs will provide access to many, creating a new world of learning at the tertiary level. But it won’t solve key issues around the supporting environments required from teachers and family for primary and secondary schools. Sadly, poor communities will become even poorer, without access to the tools and infrastructure to access the learning opportunities MOOCs may provide. 6. It’s about the teachers, dammit This is less a trend than a wish or request – but it could turn out to be both. Most of the innovation we’re seeing in the EdTech space is around delivery of learning directly to students through technology. The idea seems to be that the big schools have the best teachers (what nonsense), and why not get them to teach EVERYONE!? I think this is a stupid idea on principle. Imagine that, in 50 years, the only way anyone knows how to think about fractions is the way Salman Khan‘s 2011 video explains it. But I digress. My hope – and I plan to ensure we do it with any distance education we do at ALA – is to focus as hard on teachers as we do on learners. In fact, I hope the EdTech community in particular takes note. Please, start empowering teachers to empower learners. This is one area where “cutting out the middleman” is going to be an unmitigated disaster. 7. Curriculum mashups Never have I seen the potential for the mashup concept as I have within education materials. Teachers who have online access can pull together webpages, videos, readings and their own lesson plans into powerful new curriculum designs. These can be shared, reused and improved. Watch this space in 2013; it’s going to go stratospheric and viral this year as curriculum-sharing becomes as easy as SlideShare through tools such as Gooru, which is making the first steps around curated educational content. 8. Teacher unions get scared It’s no secret – teacher unions that protect poor performers are one of the biggest obstacles in the way of improving education. And that’s not only in South Africa with SADTU; this issue permeates the American education system, too. I believe that, in 2013, pressure from many sides is going to start to become a heavy burden, and changes are afoot. I will be watching the news with interest to see how governments and unions square off in 2013, and what progress is made. 9. Business steps in In SA, the education crises (textbooks, results, minimum norms and standards, etc) of 2012 is top of mind in boardroom discussions when considering where skills are going to come from in the future. In 2013, the penny will drop as industries realise that the only way to get the skills they need in the short term is to train young people themselves. I predict small training academies will begin to crop up to plug learning and functional gaps, heavily subsidised by industry. It’s a great opportunity for those willing to take the plunge.

Karen Ashwin [2013 trends] Everything’s so serious – time we loosened up a little! In reviewing the past few years from an events perspective, I’m tempted to ask: “Where did all the fun go?” As both the South African and the international events industries have grown, developed, matured and become increasingly competitive – all within the context of the global economic crisis – I might be forgiven for thinking that the game plan has changed. Business is business as never before. We’re all out to ensure value for our clients and our companies at every turn – and don’t you forget it! Corporate largesse and generosity has been replaced by incisive, focused marketing, where brand is king while strategy and ROI retain their status as About the author defining parameters. Instead of being treated to a fancy gift upon leaving an Karen Ashwin is the founder event, you’re more likely to find some brand information in your goodie bag as and MD of The Event a take-home gift (unless you’re a movie star, attending the Oscars, of course). Production Company (www.theeventcompany.co.za), Brand touch points are imaginatively handled with expert creativity and South Africa’s event pioneer. technical wizardry, while social marketing and social media vie for the Karen is considered one of the number-one spot in the stakes as the most powerful and influential industry’s leading personalities marketing tool. and has a track record of 20 However, no matter how unreservedly clever, creative, slick and cybersavvy years, with The Event Production the event industry is – or is likely to ever become – the edge it still enjoys is Company having conceptualised the fact that humans thrive on real contact with others! So, while events will and executed most of South never become obsolete or less popular, their scale in terms of size and budget Africa’s largest, most significant, is more in line with global economic trends... which, as we all know, are not high profile and innovative headed for explosive growth right now. events. Contact her on tel +27 (0)11 883 0470 or email 1. What – no Christmas Party? [email protected]. Although Christmas has traditionally been a time of goodwill, year-end Biz press office: The Event Co celebrations and ubiquitous office parties, many of us might be relieved to know that these are fast becoming a thing of the past! Perpetually tightening budgets and ever more-carefully considered expenditure have resulted in a happy turn of events, for long suffering individuals who now no longer have to boogie the afternoon away with their colleagues or share interminable dinners with difficult clients. Instead, organisations are spending quality time with their CSI projects of choice, and often inviting their clients and suppliers to do the same – which makes for an enlightening and enriching experience. To my way of thinking, spending the day painting a community centre or crèche is far more worthwhile than making small talk at a company Christmas lunch. 2. Events for the a-list From conceptualisation to execution and well beyond, events are more targeted. Prospective guests are carefully selected, analysed (in terms of their current or potential spend) and then tracked to determine if they actually attended the event or not. Every attempt is made to realise maximum marketing impact and ensure that there is no time wasted pursuing clientele who will not be beneficial to the business relationship. 

what’s a biz press office? find out here!

Karen Ashwin [2013 trends continued]

3. Staff training still a priority While company staff might be feeling the global economic squeeze by no longer being invited to enjoy corporate parties or celebrations, rest assured they stand to benefit from their company’s change of focus by an ongoing investment in skills development. The size of staff-training budgets attests to their importance, be they allocated to national conferences, video conferences, regional focus groups, broadcasts or internet streaming. 4. Pulling rabbits out of hats Here I’m not only referring to that wow factor that leaves clients and guests musing – gee, that’s clever, why didn’t I think of that? – rather to diminishing budgets, matched by even greater expectations for something relevant, memorable and just plain awesome! In this context, handling brand touchpoints means engaging creative ways of presenting the message to the target audience. The days of longwinded events with tons of entertainment is relegated to history. Today, face-to-face communication takes centre stage, supported by spectacular technology, designed to generate tweets and Facebook-interactions galore, celebrating the event – and of course, the brand experience.

Just as an acorn strives to grow into a mighty oak, every brand desires to be great and as event marketers our role is to assist our clients in achieving their goal.

Kevin Bassett [2013 trends] Metamorphasising mobile marketing this year “Content, context and customer proclivity” will be the mantra that drives this year’s marketing metamorphosis in the arena of mobile technology. I believe that we will see a year of repositioning – of un-automate, de-campaign and game-play – but also of tighten, regulate and measure. In short, 2013 will see the ‘mobile moth’ turn into a butterfly. Here’s how: 1. ‘Death by automation’ is very real Mr Email will become more sniper and less blunderbuss; the outbound About the author ‘sausage-machine’ email marketing won’t feed the sales funnel this year. The Kevin Bassett, a mobile opening rate on unsolicited emails is about 15% – and trending lower. So, start communications specialist, is the to allocate resources, with the instruction to create product interest and founder and CEO of Floodgate consumer conversations to generate inbound messaging traffic. Communications (2004). 2. The social/mobile intersect Floodgate (www.floodgate.co.za) specialises in mobile The combination of Facebook/SMS/Twitter/Pinterest creates a strange media communication strategies that animal that will have your customers doing your advertising; they will make deliver solutions for marketing ‘posts’ delivering your messages or images and your strategy needs to develop and advertising, corporate skills here. So, start thinking differently. Reward social posts with digital internal communications, call vouchers, for instance, and run competition entries aligned to brand images centres and customer queries. posted on the internet. Call Kevin on cell +27 (0)82 652 3. TV vs YouTube 0530, email him at [email protected], follow The 3rd largest provider of TV content in the UK is YouTube, and mobile video both @KevBassett and viewership is advancing at a rate slightly ahead of broadband development – @FloodgateComms on Twitter or with huge opportunity. So, develop short, punchy, 15-second video content for SMS kevin to 34007 (R2), and the small screen and run it in mobile banner ads and roll backs. he’ll call you right back. 4. The ‘de-campaign’ Biz press office: Floodgate Cut the boring long-term marketing and go for short-term, predictive, reactive infotainment, using topical advertising that demands the viewer’s attention. Mobile dominates real-time marketing because it is personal and specific: if you flight a hotdog ad during a game, someone may get up and buy one (campaign), but if you deliver a voucher to his phone (personal) 10 minutes after the game (specific), while he is walking past your store, he is all yours. 5. Social/local/mobile (SoLoMo) Social-Local Mobile is exploding. Use Social to get your message out; Mobile to attract people who are Local; and Mobile and Social to pull in Local friends. 6. Opt-in over opt-out ‘You’re in until you opt-out’ will cost you money in 2013. So, ask for opt-ins. Be specific about what people are opting into and then don’t overstep your permissions. (Latest in the US: US$1bn class action suit for spam SMS. Valuation? US$500 per SMS sent.)  we <3 our biz trends contributors for adding value to our 26 industry communities!

Kevin Bassett [2013 trends continued]

7. Real mobile ROI Mobile is less about page visits and exit points and more about real results. Clicking the ‘call now’ button on a mobisite logs the direct inbound messaging generated by the ad, while the hits on your mobisite’s store location map indicate the ‘walk-ins’ generated by the ad. Social media interaction initiated on a mobisite measures how many people are promoting your product. 8. Predictive personalisation In 2013, we’ll hear more about dynamic data analysis and data-adapted content as context becomes increasingly important in any inbound marketing strategy. Dynamic content enables marketers to predict behaviour and serve highly personalised messages to the right audience at the right time. So, content, context and customer’s proclivities (know thy customer) should generate inbound messaging. 9. Mobile vouchers, loyalty systems, NFC and QR codes “SA has never been into vouchers...”? Really? Make it relevant, make it easy and then hold onto your hat! Deliver personally-focused value to my handset and I’ll be in your store or on your mobisite if you deliver. Vouchers, loyalty points, NFC and QR codes are all tools in mobile marketing and you need to start using them. 10. Marketing gamification Brands will develop games with point rewards for achievement, as well as the ability to challenge other players for prizes. The brand awareness is huge and scores can be Facebooked and tweeted to attract non-gamers. Which brand are you going to support: the one that entertains and offers you a benefit or the other one – ‘whatsitsnameagain?’ 11. A picture worth R1000 Increasing broadband will allow for mobile visual marketing that creates shopper familiarity with a brand. Whether this is driven by the brand to your handset or by individuals on media such as Pinterest, expect to see a lot more brand visuals in 2013. Apps such as Snapchat allow a sender to determine the period for which an image is viewable: ‘Show [this voucher] to the cashier in the next 20 minutes to receive...’ creates real pressure not to miss out! 12. Showrooming on the rise Brick retailers need to combat online price comparisons in their stores by using the same tech to leverage their position. Some US retailers offer in-store scanning that allows shoppers to check out and bag their purchases. Others, such as Starbucks, facilitate mobile ordering and payment for their frequent customers and reward them for using it. So, retailers can start with mobile vouchers, special offers, shopping services, free delivery and loyalty points to combat the online discounters. But don’t turn the lights off – offer free Wi-Fi in your store and track who your real competitors are. 13. The mobile fingerprint Phones are on the verge of being wallets (Standard Bank has recently announced NFC credit cards) and soon they will be keys, health consultants and maybe even ID.

Embrace the challenge. Earn some stripes. Turn your mobile moth into a butterfly.

Matona Sakupwanya [2013 trends] Radio raises the volume Radio has always baffled media futurologists, effortlessly bouncing back from perceived ‘threats’ such as recession right through to technological revolution – something consistently touted by ‘radio assassins’ as the next to bring about the demise of the medium. Bucking the trend, year-on-year growth as an industry remains at a steady increase and this demonstrates the medium’s enduring relevance. One of the most outstanding radio campaigns we saw within the South African radio sector in 2012 was undoubtedly the popular FNB ‘Steve’ campaign – not just for the radio-centricity of the campaign but for the use of up to About the author one minute-long spots in selected formats. In a traditionally conservative Matona Sakupwanya is GM of business sector, it’s fair to say that the tangible results of this approach the Radio Advertising Bureau of demonstrate that the medium can be used very effectively as a primary South Africa (RABSA; medium for major campaigns. www.rab.co.za; @RABSouthAfrica). She is However, it was not just this campaign that saw vigorous reliance on radio to passionate about championing deliver returns. The motor trade and retail, too, were significant contributors. the medium of radio and helping Also risky, but highly effective were the campaigns to launch Frank.net and marketers, media and creative wonga.com, proving that the right station with the right message, at the right agencies to better understand frequency, will yield good returns. and harness the power of the With that, here’s a look at what made these campaigns work, and some of the medium for their brands. Contact trends that will shape radio advertising in the coming year... Matona on tel +27 (0)11 325 4935, email [email protected] 1. There are two distinct trends with regard to the duration of campaigns and connect on Facebook. On the one hand, we are seeing a shift in the understanding and appreciation of value for large-scale sponsorships and endorsements. This is predominantly in the national advertiser space, where brands realise the value of long-term associations with radio station(s) of choice via activations and/or celebrities who can assist in building their brand. In the same vein, advertisers are also looking for short-term opportunities that won’t lock them down to long- term holdings. This is why we’ll see more premium-sponsorship products and smaller features being booked for a week at a time and not for the traditional three-month minimum period, allowing advertisers to sample a whole range of radio products, before committing to any one property long-term. 2. The renaissance of the jingle A case in point was wonga.com’s use of the catchy ‘Mr Sandman’ tune. Kevin Hurwitz, CEO of wonga.com SA says, “The use of the ‘Mr Sandman’ jingle was entirely deliberate. Consumers are inundated with adverts these days, across all media, and we thought this song resonates with almost all people across a broad demographic. We have learnt a great deal from jingle-based campaigns – such as the fact that people really like to sing along to a feel-good, memorable tune (we suspected as much, but now we know for sure!). It has certainly increased the level of interaction and engagement we have enjoyed with our customers and this is something we find incredibly important.” At a recent Audio Branding Congress held in the UK, research presented from the ‘Implicit and Explicit Effects of Music on Brand Perception in TV Ads‘ study suggests that feel-good music leads consumers to like products more and be more persuaded by superficial elements of an ad, enabling radio in this context is able to operate at a much deeper emotional level. It’s these kinds of appealing messages and audio features that can transfer well – even onto TV campaigns – and enable radio to perform both the role of driving people into store while also building brand loyalty, well into 2013. 

Matona Sakupwanya [2013 trends continued]

3. Focus on the power of the message... ‘No one listens to radio for the ads‘ This is precisely why in 2013 well-written scripts, that demonstrate an insight into the consumer’s mind, will get results. Every good campaign needs reach and frequency on the radio station, but good, creative execution and innovation is what will help advertisers stand out this year. 4. Realism Another trend that is slowly taking root in South Africa, says award-winning voiceover artist Adam Behr (the voice behind campaigns such as Frank.net) is the ability to be ‘conversational’: “Also known as ‘realism’, what this really means is proper voice acting. Voice artists have to know how to act convincingly, using only their voice. After all, it is the context of these everyday conversations that are so important for an advertiser.” 5. Retailers are also taking advantage of the developments in digital radio Which means broadcasters will continue to offer closer links to retailer’s websites to drive traffic and sales. “A lot of brands are now seeing how booking cross-platform campaigns can play a role in brand-building, as opposed to just price-led advertising on air,” says RAB UK MD Simon Redican. Similarly, in the UK, supermarket media spend has come under the spotlight with the sector’s substantial decrease in press spend and a potential change in media strategy. One of the beneficiaries so far has been radio, with spend up 58% year-on-year during the last six months of 2011. One of the reasons that retailers are once again waking up to the full potential of the medium may be that, tactically, radio plays a vital role in targeting shoppers and catching them at the right time. 6. Listeners take their stand With the evolution of radio has also come the realisation that listeners are far more than groupings or numbers who can be bought using a series of runs and spreadsheets. They’re part of today’s popular and social networking cultures, and will subscribe to media that understand their needs and interests best, allowing them to express their views and opinions. Many South African radio stations are already making the most of this trend, ensuring they offer listeners a total, interactive experience. 7. Radio and digital – best of bedfellows Looking to 2013, radio’s greatest achievement will continue to be its ability to gel with mobile and digital interfaces. The medium is unmatched when it comes to integrating flawlessly with internet and mobile technology. Radio is not just about the audience who tune in to the station – it’s now about following that audience to a place where they further interact with the talent. Whether it’s social media or live events, radio plays a vital part of that consumer journey, ensuring that the pattern of increased investment and a revival in interest in radio is one that will continue throughout 2013. That said, we need to move away from number crunching and provide the industry with tangible, credible examples of how radio has worked for advertisers and brands, to build confidence even further. It used to be about reach and frequency, but now it’s about engagement and relevance. Advertisers need to see metrics and measurement techniques that are focused on ROI. This must be radio’s challenge for the next three years – how to make our measurement of campaigns and audiences even more robust. And we’ll only do this by getting the industry excited about what radio is ultimately best at – results! .

Mike Freedman [2013 trends] Growing power, vulnerability of the corporate brand How are P&G and Unilever differentiated? Does the Coca-Cola Company want to be known for obesity or health? Will supermarket brands be strengthened or weakened by their supply chains? The perfect storm of social media, continuing social unrest, concerns over the economy and environment will batter brands that are not resilient and adaptive, while shaking established ad agencies to their foundations. 1. Corporate power About the author When Unilever consolidated its sprawling empire under one corporate brand, Mike Freedman is founder it chose to do it with a logo that emphasised sustainability. It also pioneered of Freedthinkers initiatives such as the Marine Stewardship Council. The Unilever brand (www.freedthinkers.com), which essence has been captured in a single word: “Vitality”. has offices in Johannesburg and Vitality is at the heart of everything we do. It’s in our brands, our people and Cape Town. Freedthinkers works our values. with clients in the private and public sectors to understand Vitality means different things to different people. Some see it as energy, what is, discover what can be others view it more broadly as a healthy state of body and mind – of feeling and reach clarity on how to get alive. (www.unilever.com) there. He is also the author of Its corporate strategy has been to bring Unilever to the public consciousness monthly think-pieces on brands, through its leading brands such as Omo and Rama. You’ll now see the logo at culture and strategy, trustee of the end of TV ads. Once the consciousness has been established, Unilever will the Impact Trust, and a public become a platform to launch new brands. This long-term view may well be speaker. Contact Mike via email fast-tracked as P&G has entered the “brand behind the brand” battle with its at [email protected] own single word essence: “Moms”. and follow @Freedthinkers on Twitter. P&G was a sponsor of the 2012 Olympics, with a multimedia campaign featuring not the winning athletes but their mothers who spurred them on from the beginning. The emotive ads finish with: “The hardest job in the world is the best job in the world. P&G – proud sponsors of mums.” Where these corporates blaze a trail, expect many more to follow in the coming year, some with more success than others. Standard Bank defines its essence as “moving forward” and illustrates it with a video montage of the Wright Brothers to the Space shuttle with clips of Gandhi, Churchill, Chaplin, women’s emancipation and a few sporting moments, to the soundtrack of “life could be a dream”. The ad ends by asking it “Doesn’t it feel good to move forward?” It’s all surface and no soul. The commercial may rack up some “liking” points but the Standard brand is not enriched. With power comes accountability – expect the CEO to analyse the brand essence and how it applies to the organisation, inside and out. Does it flow from the corporate mission or purpose? 2. Corporate vulnerability The Coca-Cola Company regularly appears in top ten lists for corporate reputation, partly because of brand strength, partly because of business agility. The company identified its own ubiquity as an environmental threat and so has pioneered significant ways to save and reuse water in production. Leaders also realised their leading brand, along with a supersized Mac, would be painted as the villains in the epidemic of childhood obesity now sweeping across the world and consequently have released 800 low-calorie or calorie-free products in the last five years. It is introducing calorie counters on its vending machines and sponsors public fitness programmes. 

Mike Freedman [2013 trends continued] Patrick Dixon, chair of Global Change and corporate critic, recently told a room of leading Coca-Cola executives: “You are moving towards the health, life extension and child welfare business. More particularly, you are moving away from the obesity business.” Social media will accelerate profound corporate shifts as brand communications change from control to converse (interesting trivia time: converse comes from the Latin conversari, which means to keep company with). 3. More corporate snafus Woolworths had a couple of stumbles in 2012, beginning with its slow, half-hearted initial reactions to the charge it had plundered the IP of Frankie’s Olde Soft Drink Company, to accusations of racism in job ads that led it to suspend its Facebook page. Expect more corporate snafus this year, together with more activists appreciating that strong brands are the weak links in the value chain. For instance, as I write, we have a standoff between farmers and farmworkers in the Western Cape. But where are those table-grapes going to? Internationally, Tesco would not want to be associated with underpaid farmworkers, while the local chains could face boycotts and corporate loss of face. Making the brand responsible for the value chain is not new – Naomi Klein has a great example of a logger of old wood forced to change its practices after activists targeted a pizza chain using cardboard boxes made from the wood. In 2011, Greenpeace used YouTube and Twitter to stop Mattel using a supplier that was destroying the Sumatran rainforest (home to 400 tigers) to provide the world’s largest toy maker with cheap packaging. An ‘interview’ with Ken, where he is horrified to discover what Barbie is doing to the rainforest, was followed by a Twitter spat between the two. Activists rappelled down the face of the 15-story El Segundo headquarters of Mattel and hung a giant banner of a frowning Ken doll with the message: “Barbie, it’s over. I don’t date girls that are into deforestation.” Four months after the campaign began, with millions of YouTube views in 20 languages, Mattel yielded. This kind of activism will flourish here in 2013 as smartphones puts the Internet in millions more South African pockets and bandwidth becomes faster and cheaper. 4. Corporate response Corporate brands will search for a meaningful, distinguishable essence and plan to mitigate the risks of our new landscape. The CEO will be intimately involved and, when seeking external help, is unlikely to call on the ad agency. There will be a growing amalgam of management consultancies, social media houses, brand consultancies and idea mavericks who offer a holistic service that inspires trust by offering a seamless integration of business and brand strategy, based on market awareness and agility. 5. In-sourcing brand ideas There will also be a growing number of corporates in-sourcing their brand ideas, or putting together their own “Brands Trust” which will marry cutting-edge thinking with deep brand integrity In September 2011, Accenture opened its Global Social Media Innovation Centre in Silicon Valley; here in South Africa, One-Deloitte brings a business approach to the risks and rewards of digital media. These are first steps in a journey that will rearrange the communications landscape. Will ad agencies still be the home of ideas – or will the net spread wider? Ron Howard (director of Apollo 13 and Beautiful Mind) says he wants to try his storytelling skills on brands, bringing in an Academy award-winning screenwriter or two. In the near future, you can have a Harvard or Oxford MBA, an Oscar winner and Cannes Gold Lion on the team. Some ad agencies such as Ogilvy and BBDO have started strategic consultancies, but have not gained traction. My crystal ball is a little hazy, but I see the dim outlines of a new landscape that will make the traditional ad agency a junior partner in new alliances.

Mike Silver [2013 trends] The year ahead for experiential marketing First of all, mazeltov on surviving the Mayan apocalypse – it was touch-and-go for a second there. Now that we have staved off global obliteration and picked up a coastal tan (and a few kilos in the process), it’s that time of the year where agencies are asked to haul out the old crystal ball and provide pearls of thumb-sucking wisdom. Before we do so, it would be wise to see how history might repeat itself. Reflecting briefly, for experiential marketing, 2012 was quite a year locally and abroad. About the author Globally, consumers pushed buttons for drama (TNT Belgium campaign) and Mike Silver is the founder of stood underneath giant soda fountains to cool off (Sprite beach activations) Stretch Experiential Marketing Closer to home, Stimorol Infinity [disclaimer: a Stretch production] looked to (www.stretchexp.com), a Cape break the world record for mass spooning, and a certain beer brand allowed Town-based experiential agency all us to try our hand at managing a soccer team in real life. specialising in concept development and activations for How did we hear about this? Well, we tweeted, posted, uploaded, national campaigns. Contact downloaded and hipstergrammed the hell out of them. Mike via [email protected], Digital diesel tel +27 (0)21 802 1344 and facebook.com/stretchexp, and With the social movement set to gain further momentum among millenials, follow @stretchmike on Twitter. we can expect digital diesel to continue to power brands’ experiential engines. What we will see in 2013 is an ever-increasing interdependence between these two media. As Mike Sharman (@MikeSharman) from Retroviral suggests, “If an activation takes place in the woods and no one is around to witness it, did it aid your client’s marketing efforts? Of course not. It is imperative that marketers focus on strategy first that supports business objectives and then on tactics that amplify talkability.” Digital conversations rely largely on experiential content and vice versa. 1. Social media amplification Let’s just get the obvious out the way first. The rise of digital has, for the first time, provided experiential marketing with undisputed measurement tools that even four-eyed bean counters have to appreciate. Quality vs quantity is crucial! Keeping it relevant and beneficial to consumers’ lives will be crucial as the frequency of digital messaging continues rising. Ben & Jerry’s “Scoop Truck“ campaign gave Americans a reason to follow the brand, with creamy samples distributed from locations broadcast live via their Twitter handle. 2. Fungineering The opportunity to transform everyday spaces and objects into experiential playgrounds will continue in 2013. These unexpected chance encounters will play on the ‘FOMO’ (fear of missing out) concept, with the opportunity to be present at a future viral stunt deemed aspirational. Stretch’s “Lipton Ice Sea“ campaign did just this, with allegedly the world’s first floating vending machine rocking up unexpectedly on South Africa’s national beaches at the end of 2012 to help consumers ‘Never lose their cool’. 3. Machine interactions As consumers’ digital and real world lives converge, brands will continue to use familiar (and sometimes mundane technology) to deliver unexpected fun. Everyone from soft drinks to automobile brands will look to get in the mix. 

Mike Silver [2013 trends continued] ”Kenneth the Talking Vending Machine“ played on the everyday coffee-ordering ritual by reversing roles and bossing consumers about for a free cup. 4. SoLoMo What? Social Local Mobile, of course. Relying on mobile connectivity, consumers will engage with brands via social media in relation to a specific personal location. Aldo’s photo-sharing campaign in Israel saw welcome mats placed in strategic spots across the country. Consumers were then delivered shoes within two minutes to their location, as long as they uploaded on Instagram with the #aldo call to action. Genius! 5. Cause-related experiences Millenials are showing they actually give a damn about their community and environment, more so at least than the previous generation. The opportunity to ‘do good’ while leveraging off ‘shareworthy’ experiences will see more brands jump on the CSI bandwagon. The recent litter awareness campaign by social enterprise Trashback saw festival-goers receive free beer in exchange for a cup of used cigarette butts (stompies). 6. B2B and employee/internal communications We can expect experiential to make inroads into these spaces. The crusty sandwich and Comic Sans canteen poster simply won’t suffice any more. Employees and customers are consumers in their own right and, as such, will become more receptive to experiential communication. 7. Sponsorship activation evolution A recent European study by Havas Sports Media found that two thirds of festival- goers believe that ‘brands improve a festival experience’. In short, consumers care little for logos but rather for brands tapping into attendee experience insights and adding value in the process. At last year’s edition of the Plett Rage music festival, adidas Originals tasked Stretch with ensuring it gained access into the hearts and minds (and ears!) of over 10 000 students. With smartphone access non-existent due to strained networks, #OriginalsFM ensured students would stave off FOMO with the festival’s first-ever radio station keeping them in the loop. Content included gig guides, interviews with DJs and live beach broadcasts. Listenership was ensured through the distribution of 700 pre-tuned retro radios and vehicle door hangers with a ‘listen live’ call to action. In so doing, Originals tapped into the consumer need for access to festival info, irrespective of their location. 8. Blurring the line Lastly, on a macro level, we should see the so-called line between ATL/BTL continue to blur, with brand experiences leading through-the-line campaigns more frequently. Expect some inter-agency bloody noses in the process! So that’s it for experiential marketing predictions for the year. Here’s to an awesome 2013 experience!

Mongezi Mtati [2013 trends] Seven youth-influencer outreach insights In 2012, brands asked some pertinent and challenging questions pertaining to influencer outreach and seeding their products. Insights gained both as a delegate and a speaker at a number of enlightening conferences over the past year have led me to the following observations about what brands want and how Africa’s youth prefer to be communicated with – from a marketing and advertising perspective. 1. Context The era of using multiple platforms as fads and buzzwords that were mentioned at a conference is slowly phasing itself out. Africa is in search of its About the author own solutions and, with that, it has become evident that forward-thinking Mongezi Mtati (@Mongezi) is developers are working with brands to contextualise marketing and influencer the founding MD of WordStart outreach efforts. (www.wordstart.co.za). Apart from being a kite-boarding and Young customers have realised that just because things work in other parts of sandboarding adventurer, the world (think the West), it doesn’t mean they work in Africa. Your Mongezi connects companies customers need you to understand them better. and brands with measurable The more that brands succeed in implementing strategies that demonstrate word-of-mouth through young an understanding of their customer base, the more their competitors will lag African influencers at WordStart. behind. If anything, 2013 will be the year of context – which far surpasses For the latest trends in word-of- platforms. After all, chances are that your customer uses more than one mouth, follow @wordstarters platform and the last thing you want to do is to spam them. on Twitter. Mongezi’s blog is available at 2. In search of remarkable www.mongezimtati.co.za. In 2011, in the midst of music piracy and woes of people no longer buying CDs, Contact him via email at Zahara’s ‘Loliwe’ was one of the most-played songs on radio and television. [email protected]. She went on to become one of the most celebrated artists in South Africa, and arguably Africa. The youth is still in search of people and brands who are remarkable at what they do and how they engage with their customers. The idea of segmenting people by demographic, therefore by what they are most likely to want, is getting turned on its head because of the age of connectedness. If brands that were remarkable in their offering were talked about in 2012, 2013 will see those conversations quadruple. Brace yourself to analyse Big Data. 3. Collaborate Influential young people perceive themselves as brands, not just “another customer” in an endless of numbers defined by age, income and preferred platforms of engagement. There are some brands (including some of the larger, global brands) that customers see as unreachable. One of the things the youth market appreciates, in the brands they love, is the idea of collaboration between them and their favourite brands. In 2012, Vodacom and Cerebra hosted a small and intimate breakfast, with about 30 people in the room, where the CEO of Vodacom answered some questions about its offer and future plans. In the past, such sessions would have been open to traditional media. This gives us insights about where brands are headed and, in my mind, the significance of collaborating with more than just traditional media outlets. There are various tools to gather information about brands, and the people who influence the masses, through conversation in your product category. These include BrandsEye, SaidWot and many others. Smart brands will find ways to get information about their products directly from customers and to collaborate with their loyal fans in order to improve reach and to reward them. 

Mongezi Mtati [2013 trends continued]

4. Brand-evangelist rewards Most of the influencers we speak to realise that brands stand to benefit from their endorsement. As a result, they want to be rewarded for it. Some of the most- forward thinking and cutting-edge brands will use that and find ways to reward their brand evangelists. In 2012, we began seeing more bloggers and people who have positioned themselves as trusted sources of information asking what brands will do for them if they test their latest products. One of the simplest ways for brands was to create collaborative communities wherein a handful of early adopters get early access to products – more than before – which was seen as a reward. There was also an increase in customer rewards programmes for Africa, where Loyalty World was hosted as a dedicated conference. This year, more companies will get on that same bandwagon. Or they should at least make an attempt to. 5. Common-interest communities The more brands understand the need to collaborate with their customers and/or related products or brands, the more I foresee a growth in common-interest communities. One of the companies that stood out and built a large community in 2012 was Nike. Its Run Jozi campaign attracted people who became part of a community that meets and runs regularly. More communities will be established and brands will be looking for ways to plug into them in 2013. 6. Rise of the referral programme 2013 will see more brands jump onto the customer-referral programme. It generates qualified leads while rewarding people for participating, and the best ones enable brands to gather useful analytics. 7. Social engagement both online and offline In 2012, Puma extended the reach of its social movement to South Africa with some Puma Social events in Cape Town and Johannesburg. This year, more brands will be building both online and offline social movements, alongside plugging into common interest communities.

In conclusion, the overarching trends that seem to be on the rise are: collaboration between brands and the evangelists who rave about them, contextualising the usage of platforms for effective reach in Africa, and the rise of street teams that brands plug into.

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Nandkishor Buty [2013 trends] Africa poised for a great future As 2013 commences, afro-pessimism seems to cede to afro- optimism. There is a global consensus: Africa is poised for a great future. What will be the impact of Africa’s growth on our industry? What will be the major trends of the year? In the business world, predicting the future is a crucial exercise. Here are the key trends that will shape the industry and have the longest lasting impact over the next decade. 1. The rise of digital and social media Digital media has seen exponential growth in Africa at the expense of About the author traditional media. Consequently, the latter has been forced to rebrand itself Nandkishor Buty is CEO of Ogilvy and translate its business into digital form in order to stay relevant. & Mather Africa The internet provides umpteen avenues for the young population to connect: (www.ogilvyafrica.com). He has Nigeria doubles its Facebook population every three months and Kenya is been in advertising and among the top three tweeting nations. Digital media is a platform young marketing for the past two people understand and subscribe to. Brands have realised they can reach a decades, initially in India and targeted audience through this medium. then in Kenya, Tanzania and other markets in Africa. Follow Despite this shift to digital, many companies are still relying on traditional @nandubuty on Twitter and methods of advertising, as only 2% of the US$550 million spent across the connect with him on LinkedIn. three major countries in East Africa for advertising last year were spent on the digital media platform (Source: Capital FM Kenya News Report). However, this trend is about to change as more brands are embracing digital and social media to reach out to their consumers. Safaricom is leading the charge: the telecommunications company is ranked seventh among the top most socially devoted brands in the world, according to a recent study. 2. The convergence of the mobile and digital world 70% of Africans have experienced the internet for the first time on their handset: it’s the norm (Source: Global mobile statistics 2012). Activities such as blogging and social networking are fast gaining momentum as over half of those in Kenya (55%) and Tanzania (50%) have written their own blog or forum entry, compared to only 32% in the US (Source: Digital Life, a global research project into people’s online activities and behavior). In Kenya, mobile users spend on average 3.1 hours per week on social networking sites. Eighty four percent of consumers expect their use of social networking to increase in the next 12 months and are looking at their mobile to do so. Kenya has one of the most active and rapidly growing online population – not just in Africa but in the world. Today, about one in every three Kenyans is connected to the Internet through his mobile phone (Source: The East African). Africa leads the Mobile money transfer revolution and the m-commerce rise will continue in 2013. According to sources (Mobile Money Africa, The Citizen Tanzania, UNCTAD), at least US$1.05 billion (more than Sh1.7 trillion) is transferred monthly through mobile-money transfer in East Africa, which is more than what Western Union manages globally. In 2013, Africa will embrace the mobile digital world and brands will strive to create advertising campaigns tailored for this new form of media.  want to be a biztrends2014 contributor? email [email protected] now!

Nandkishor Buty [2013 trends continued]

3. Managing Africa in clusters Africa is an economically growing continent with a mammoth size. It is hugely diversified with its 54 countries, 2500 languages, over 3000 ethnic tribes and tremendously diverse cultures. Global brands such as Unilever, Coca-Cola, Airtel, and Barclays are coming closer to consumers and adopting the cluster model of efficiency. This model allows proximity to the consumer, but also maximises efficiency for their dollars. Equatorial Africa, ECABU (East and Central Africa Business Unit), and BNLS (Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland) are some of the clusters that brands operate from. 4. The growth of the B-brands In a number of sub-Saharan markets, there is an incremental growth of local brands successfully challenging the multinationals. During the past five years, the B-brands have approximately gained 15% share from the market leaders, mostly in the beer and the FMCG category. This trend will even grow stronger in 2013. The tech knowhow, better infrastructures and the economic boom will enable local brands to thrive against multinational competition. 5. Television – the medium of the future 2013 will see the advent of local programming in a big way. Content generation with locally produced, relevant programming will take the TV industry by storm. The two-hour slot post the evening news, which is currently ruled by international soaps dubbed into local languages, shall be replaced with local programming. 6. Survival of the fittest In 2013, corporates with deep pockets and sustaining power will rule. Particularly in the advertising industry, the trend has been for smaller agencies to crumble under financial pressure and ultimately sell out to the larger agencies. While the industry is gaining momentum, it still needs to battle with its day-to-day issues and those who have the staying power shall be the ones to play in the long run. Clients still don’t pay on time; multinational brands need governance and transparency; media inflation is high; compliancy is poor; quality resources are expensive and hard to get. These problems will persist in 2013. Agencies with good governance, strong financial muscle, scale, and a large footprint will survive. 7. Afrocentricity Consumers cannot be clustered in groups anymore, as each individual is different and needs to be catered to differently. Africa needs locally relevant communication more than ever. In 2013, brands and communication agencies will place more emphasis on Afrocentricity because they have realised that Africa’s one billion-strong population deserves individual attention. Advertising campaigns developed outside of the African continent will be a thing of the past. 8. Here comes the youth While the world is ageing, 40% of the population of Africa is under the age of 15. By 2040, Africa will be home to one in five of the planet’s young people. This is the trend which will cause the big change that will affect how brands view their marketing strategies. 2013 will see more brands adopt a youthful tonality in their communications. The tone will be edgier, vibrant and energetic. 

Nandkishor Buty [2013 trends continued again]

9. 720-degree communication Move over, 360! 2013 will see the merge of different ATL and BTL activities. The convergence will enable brands to anticipate what the consumer wants and deliver products and services that satisfy their needs. Advertising on traditional media now needs to be supplemented by digital, social, experiential, and shopper marketing for a complete delivery. With the expansion of mall culture, greater emphasis will be placed on the in-store experience and marketing activities aimed at the shoppers. 2013 will see a strong movement towards creation of a more enjoyable and interactive shopping experience and brands will compete on the shop floor as they compete through mainstream media today. 10. Value-based compensation 2013 will see the dominance of value-based compensation for agencies. All global brands are adopting this method of agency evaluation and remuneration. With value-based compensation taking over, agencies will strive to make money through retainers and every dollar of revenue they will make will be deservedly earned.

Nonye Mpho Omotola & Victor Obaika [2013 trends] Africa’s dynamic markets The year 2013 for most brands, especially the ones coping with saturated markets in developed countries, will be a decisive one. Incorporating Africa into their corporate brand strategy, if they haven’t done so, will be the better part of valour, so to speak. Countries such as China have already made a significant head start and only recently the US has expressed a clear and new focus of “doing business in Africa”; it’s presumed that other countries will be following suit in very short order. 1. Africa’s large consumer base About the authors African global communicator The large African consumer base is the honey pot that is currently attracting Nonye Mpho Omotola is the adept marketers; the consensus is that multiple opportunities abound. managing partner of Obaika When looking at Nigeria alone, with an estimated population of 160 million Consulting South Africa and also projected to be one of the top 20 populous countries by 2050, the (www.obaikaconsulting.com), aforementioned assertion could not be truer. Its large consumer base is focusing on increasing FDI for definitely an attraction for the FMCG market and other product categories businesses across Africa. such as electronics, cars, etc and, with 50 million or more estimated internet Victor Obaika is principal partner users, coupled with the largest base of telephony users within Africa, there of law firm Obaika & Company will definitely be opportunities for pushing retail growth through the use of and executive chairman of ad the social media and expanding physical outlets. agency The Firehouse Africa; TV and radio production company However, it is imperative to point out that Africa’s dynamic markets are Que Films Productions; and usually characterised by diverse challenges such as poor infrastructure, business advisory firm Obaika political instability, diverse cultures, differences and sometimes extreme Consulting. Email Nonye at religious beliefs – all of which are inescapable facts but which also provide the [email protected] or Victor at terrain for ample opportunities for various brand segments, which hitherto [email protected]. On Twitter, may not have been looked at by developed economies. Perhaps save China, follow @nonyej. which as a reward for its foresight, gained fast entry, despite some of the perceived quality issues for its products. 2. Luxury goods With Africa’s youthful, large and growing consumer base, there will be a number of luxury brands that will do good to set up shop in strategic cities within the African continent. We already see shops such as Zara and Topshop in Sandton. However, uber-luxury brands need to start making more headway. A majority of these markets have savvy diaspora and high-nett-worth individuals, so the various lifestyle luxury brands will do good to position themselves in high urban areas where consumers with disposable income will be able to indulge without limits. 3. Global brands partnering with local brands for JV This strategic move will be good for brands eager to enter Africa. Woolworths of South Africa is a case in sample; it has partnered with Chellerams, an established brand within the Nigerian market. More recently, we have seen brands partnering for growth, such as China and France Telecom‘s recent collaboration on web browsers for low-end smartphones in Africa. 

Nonye Mpho Omotola & Victor Obaika [2013 trends continued]

4. Call for quality on products and services Africa’s youthful market – with exposure to developed markets through social media, traditional media and increased physical access to developed markets – will insist on the best quality possible. Any old product will not just do. So, brands, beware! Upgrades on products such as phones will grow as users desire to fit in and ascribe more emotional satisfaction due to possessing the finer things in life. This trend will be key in defining this consumer segment’s preferred brands, trends and product options. 5. Changing and improving lifestyles The rise of the middle-class youth market and diaspora-comebacks or -returnees, plus high-income earners, certainly influences the changing and improved lifestyle of this segment. This is buttressed by exposure to global trends through digital and traditional media, which then in turn influence their product choice and, subsequently, the purchasing behaviour for things such as cars, electronics, phones and laptops. 6. Strengthening of business practice and corporate governance African businesses looking to do joint ventures on the continent, and which understand the value of their brand, will definitely look to instil best corporate best practices and proper employee conduct in order to enable them to attract the global partnership deals when they come knocking. 7. Increased travel within the continent A plethora of business opportunities will definitely ensure that there is an increase in travel activity within the continent, and new routes will then be adopted on futuristic and strategic airlines. A recent case in point is that Air Zim has just announced a new route to Nigeria. African countries in particular will need to facilitate formalities that will ease visa procurement at port of entry for fellow Africans to enable productive trade thrive. 8. Regional blocs relevant in determining trade For easier access into Africa, especially when expanding into more than one or two countries, regional blocs will be critical to the strategic entry of brands into Africa. These include ECOWAS and SADC, with member country governments expected to develop and nurture proper business environments with the attendant infrastructure in place, coupled with sound economic policies and good corporate governance practices in order to attract significant foreign investment. 9. Mobile banking The majority of the markets in this genre are still massively untapped but mobile telephony has certainly improved access to information. This in turn has affected purchase behaviour. With a large percentage of consumers under-banked in these markets, mobile telephony and rural marketing for bank products and services should be part of any financial services strategy to attract rural customers. If there are any doubters in this regard, then perhaps attention should be paid to personalities such as Dr James Mwangi, CEO and MD of Equity Bank in Kenya, who was named the “Forbes Africa Person of the Year 2012”.

Oresti Patricios [2013 trends] The year of the snake Context is king, but knowing what’s around the next corner takes a little more than 20/20 vision. To find out what trends, innovations or environmental changes could affect your brand’s future in 2013, here’s some foresight. 1. Your consumers are not who or what you think they are As digital and social networks continue to converge with traditional channels, consumer identity will become increasingly fraught. Old-school methods of categorising people into markets will becoming more flawed as ‘netizens’ and mobile users organise themselves into tribes and clusters online. This will require more fluid and flexible strategies for understanding people About the author and demographics. Oresti Patricios, CEO of the Ornico Group (www.ornico.co.za) 2. Society will become more divided has been in the media As the recession continues to bite and our government struggles to deal with information business for over 25 poverty, unemployment and income disparity, politics will become more years. He has an MBA from the polarised. This will make marketing national identity increasingly risky, but Gordon Institute of Business ultimately more rewarding. Those brands that understand culture will be able Science (GIBS) and a huge body to create stronger local identities, and people will gravitate to brands that give of brand knowledge and them a sense of identity during these uncertain times. experience, which he brings to the brand intelligence offered by 3. Clutter and information-overload drives the need for quality the company. Contact Oresti on and curation tel +27 (0)11 884 5041 or People will gravitate to well-crafted content, while people who are able to sort email [email protected] out the wheat from the chaff will become influential. For marketers, this will and follow @orestaki on Twitter. translate into the need to invest in good content generation in the form of Also see Ornico and TREND.Lives’ clever PR, smart web and blog management, and the creation of content 2013 TREND. Annual. for channels such as YouTube, SoundCloud, Facebook, Twitter and other Biz press office: Ornico social cities. 4. Coders become the kings of the game In the old days, marketers didn’t have to know about technology but, as branding, social networks, apps and technology collide, understanding what’s ‘under the hood’ will give marketers the edge. Those brand-builders who get technology will have a distinct advantage over the rest. 5. The marketing and sales departments get wed The rise and rise of social networks and direct marketing (through mobile, internet, tablets et al) means that marketing has become embedded in sales channels. This means that sales functions which rely on social and mobile networks will become wedded to the marketing function and vice versa. Watch for a marriage between these two functions, and for marketing that will become accountable for sales. 6. Design is everything From social apps to kitchen utilities, the world remains reliant on design and, in time-pressured environments, people will appreciate good design that enhances their experience of life, saves them time and/or saves them money. Design will continue to grow in importance in the value of branding, and in the everyday expression of people’s lives.  what’s a biz press office? find out here!

Oresti Patricios [2013 trends continued]

7. Television goes broadband Television will remain a medium for mass influence, but discerning markets and net- heads will look elsewhere for visual entertainment. Here the discernment will be everything and quality will be what distinguishes this market. This will realise a rise in bit-torrenting and the consumption of online visual channels, as well as the rise of niche cinema offerings and home theatre. 8. Trust is the new brand currency Social and mobile networks have made the opaque visible. Consumers can now peer right through distribution channels, and there is full exposure on a brand’s value chain. The rise of ethical consumerism will make trust the most valuable brand currency. 9. A picture will paint a thousand words The visualisation of social networks will see copy become more considered and a stronger emphasis will be brought to the visual. Complexities will be rendered simple through visualisations, and infographics will be used to make intricate purchase decision- making (such as mobile packages or medical aid offerings) become quick and easier to access or understand. 10. Crowdsourcing will become king 2013 will be the year of the crowd, and Facebook, Twitter and other social engines will be used to give those people with purchasing power a bigger say into how brands are produced, changed, merchandised or marketed, and to offer greater product choices and variance.

Peter Gilbert [2013 trends] Reinventing the sales function Prominent sales authority, professor and author Neil Rackham states: “Irresistible new forces are reshaping the world of selling. Sales functions everywhere are in the early stages of radical and profound changes comparable to those that began in manufacturing 40 years ago. But one change outweighs all the others. The meaning of selling itself is shifting. The very purpose of sales is being rapidly redefined.” Consequently, sales organisations face a huge challenge, because there is no longer any sustainable competitive advantage through product superiority. Author Jerry Stapleton points out that the second problem is that the sales About the author rep’s customers just do not need him or her any longer. At least, not the way A sales veteran with over 30 they used to. Traditionally salespeople brought value to their customers by years of experience, Peter Gilbert facilitating transactions and communicating information about their products is MD of HR Chally SA and services. Almost overnight, these two core functions of the salespeople (www.challysa.co.za), an have been lost. international sales consulting company specialising in talent Belatedly, sales – long the corporate stepchild – is emerging not only as a topic management and recruitment. worthy of academic and executive attention but also as the business function He is passionate about sales where substantive improvement is not only doable but also capable of as a profession and the delivering extremely attractive improvements in shareholder returns. identification of real sales talent Sensible investment, handsome returns who can really sell! Email him at [email protected]. In short, sensible investment in sales effectiveness produces handsome returns. Sales forces, rated as world-class by their customers, showed organic revenue growth of nearly 50% per annum over the last five years. All of this in recessionary markets. An increasing number of business-to-business (B2B) sales forces, facing the insidious effects of commoditisation and margin erosion, are focusing increasing attention on the very purpose of their sales forces. And many are concluding that sales is less about selling their wares, and more about making customers successful. If you accept this assertion, the implications are profound. It changes everything. What you sell. How you sell. What kind of salespeople you recruit. How sales managers manage. How you align sales and marketing. How you are rewarded for the value you deliver. And the kind of relationships you have with your customers. In the US, there are an estimated 19 million B2B field salespeople and, over the next decade, this number is likely to shrink to about 10 million. The middle-ranking “field sales rep” who sells products, features and benefits is becoming irrelevant and unaffordable, and will be replaced by competent and well-qualified internal telephone-based salespeople, who carry out account management and other roles. This will create a requirement for highly educated, financially literate, business-savvy, well-trained consultant-type salespeople who are highly paid. These salespeople are in short supply, and there will be an increasing demand for universities to fill this void. In the US, around 60 universities now offer degree courses in sales, and 94% of their students are recruited before they graduate. In South Africa, finding a sales organisation with a clearly defined and articulated sales strategy is all but impossible. This results in lack of focus, confusion and appalling inefficiency. 

Peter Gilbert [2013 trends continued]

Some business processes have achieved extraordinary levels of accuracy and precision. Commercial airlines have a defect level of 3,2ppm, and electronic chip manufacture 3,4ppm. Sales, in contrast, not only tolerates but accepts as normal extremely low standards. Lack of process, poor adherence to process, hiring failure rates of 50% and sometimes higher, inaccurate forecasting, forecasting slippage, untrained sales managers, and much more. Massive improvement is both necessary, and achievable. According to ASTD in its 2011 report ‘Developing Sales Teams that Win‘, more than US$15.5 billion is spent annually in the US on sales training. Yet, despite this level of investment, ‘conventional’ sales methods seem not to be delivering profit at the rates required by most B2B companies – and, as ASTD so elegantly put it – that’s “[a] large investment to attain more mediocre results”. Sales effectiveness Unfortunately, most discussions on sales effectiveness default to a discussion on sales training, which should actually be the last step in the sales enablement process. Sales effectiveness begins with an informed management decision to capitalise on the economic benefits to be derived from a highly effective sales organisation. The second step is to decide upon an appropriate go-to-market sales strategy for each business unit or line of business. Many companies, trying to shed the shackles of commoditisation, are electing to play in the solution space. This, however is very challenging, and most fail to get any return on their investment, often because they strive to deliver value to their customers, but have no clue how much value they actually deliver, and find themselves unable to get paid for it. Customers are increasingly demanding ROI when purchasing large complex solutions, but few suppliers have an effective and credible mechanism for building a robust and logically unassailable business case. Those that do are achieving remarkable growth, with much smaller sales forces. Two other areas handled very poorly are recruitment and onboarding. Research by CSO Insight reveals that in a survey of some 2000 B2B sales force, on average, 20% of salespeople delivered 62% of revenues. In industries such as real estate, 10-15% of salespeople deliver about 80% of revenues. This is totally unnecessary and, with readily available tools and systems, a hiring accuracy of 90+ percent is achievable. The financial impact is dramatic. In summary, a carefully considered, and well-planned investment in sales effectiveness will yield substantial financial returns, and a 50% improvement in sales productivity should be well within the reach of most organisations.

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Petros Kondos [2013 trends] Mobile – more of the same? Probably not A fistful of mobile companies have come and gone during 2012. The next generation of startups is ready to hit the mobile industry with a host of new services of which most will, at best, either slither into mediocrity or just plain fail due to a lack of funding and media agency support. Breaking new ground is not easy; breaking new media ground that translates into profit is even more difficult. A review on some of the 2012 points I raised, interspersed between some new thoughts: Chasing followers a zero-sum game About the author Petros Kondos is a CRM, mobile Everyone has eventually realised that chasing followers on Twitter is a zero- media and customer sum game. The secret is out: you can buy Twitter followers in bulk, with the communications specialist. He result that “followers” means even less now than it did last year. Say what it is has extensive experience making you want to say and, if it seems real, relevant and of interest, it will be read. cost-effective CRM work for a For the rest, it’s just arbitrary words into the twittersphere. That is, of course, range of industries specialising in if your tweet happens to still be on the screen when someone cares to look. retail and the financial services In 2013 we will see many more major Twitter mess-ups that will cost space. Recently published to people their careers and reputation. The politico and some major exceptional reviews, his book on corporate heads have delegated this duty to their staff, often very junior location-based marketing can be staff. Therein lies the problem. If you have to tweet, do it yourself or just downloaded from leave it alone. www.petroskondos.com. Email [email protected], Apps have bred and spawned into an uncontrollable, infinite, ugly mass. A follow @Petros99 on Twitter and few, very few, have actually made any real money. Mobile web is taking the connect on LinkedIn. lead and is potentially more profitable. The exception to this are apps that have been built into Facebook and are mobile-optimised. Everyone likes a winner (even if it flopped at its stock-exchange listing). The growth of social media retail apps will climb rapidly. If retailers cannot make money advertising on Facebook, then maybe the emerging product showcase applications, built into Facebook, may help. After all, it’s easier to justify spending on” Facebook” than on an unknown application vendor. That is, until Facebook shuts the door or changes the rules again. Apple Inc still refuses to provide stats on actual app usage. It freely gives downloads and purchase data but the silence on usage is deafening. Mobile TV a no-show Mobile television is still a no-show and will probably stay that way for the foreseeable future. TV is about big screen (basic psychology) but I guess the networks will keep on trying. They are kind of fighting themselves in this effort, pushing mobile TV as hard as they can, while ramping up mobile data cost, making it just too expensive to watch TV on a phone. Data storage and backups will continue to grow for mobile- and handheld-device storage. All good, until it gets hacked or just simply lost; then the pain will kick in. Yes, we need it, and yes, it’s the future but the risks are there. The cloud may just start biting back. Serious analytical predictive models in mobile media consumption are mostly beyond the skill set of media marketers. What we will see is the entry of some heavyweight statistical and predictive skillset types stepping into the media marketing space. 

Petros Kondos [2013 trends continued]

Location-based services will putter along, seemingly a good idea, but we all know that we don’t really want anyone to know where we are, have been, or are going. It’s all about privacy. Agencies have wasted another year not getting the “mobile” point. Most agencies should just be banned from ever using a QR code. Case in point: a full- length poster for product X with a tiny QR code in the bottom left hand corner, just perfect for most mobile users to drop to their knees and hunch over so that they can scan it. All about the software The last great hardware leap for mobile devices was the addition of cameras a few years ago. Since then, it has been all about the software. As we move into the twenty-teens, devices will specialise into clusters that provide a range of services, possibly linked to healthcare, finance, education, etc. For example, device blood-sugar-level and blood-pressure testing could become mainstream options. Choice will increase as customer preference narrows and becomes more selective. As we enter 2013, there are bound to be some more surprises and that’s what makes mobile so much fun.

Ryan Williams [2013 trends] Insight into cinema in 2013 I believe this year will be a positive one for cinema in South Africa, with a variety of influential trends taking hold of the industry. Digitalisation, 3D, blockbusters, increased attendance and on-the-mark cinema campaigns are all sure to contribute to a successful year. 1. Digital rollout and high frame rates will impact on the way we view movies and on-screen advertising Cinema technology evolves at giddying paces, bringing both filmmakers and audiences better pictures and better sound for hugely improved moviemaking and viewing experiences. About the author Executive head of sales at Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was a taste of what is to Cinemark (www.cinemark.co.za), come. The very first major Hollywood blockbuster to be shot at 48 frames per Ryan Williams has a Psychology second or High Frame Rate 3D (HFR 3D), a digital 3D motion picture format and English degree and was using a higher frame rate than the industry standard of 24 frames per second. previously the group MD at Nota What this means for cinema-goers is a smoother and more lifelike picture as Bene. He has served on the the eye sees twice the number of images each second. AMASA committee, has judged PICA, Roger Garlick and AdFocus 2. 3D audio/Atmos will enhance the way in which cinema is experienced awards, and has lectured at AAA, Dolby Atmos provides additional upper hemisphere surround sound where Vega, UJ and the Red and Yellow traditional speakers are located to the rear and side walls of the cinema. Each School. Outside of work, Ryan speaker may be independently operated, giving an immersive experience plays classical guitar and has a where sound can be placed with pinpoint precision anywhere across the weakness for Turkish Delight theatre. This cutting-edge technology allows sounds to move around the and whisky. Contact him on theatre like never before, reproducing a natural and lifelike audio experience tel +27 (0)11 445 7990. that perfectly matches the story on screen. By way of example, the image of something falling from above the onscreen character’s perspective will be accompanied by the sound coming from directly overhead in the cinema, as though you were hearing it in real life. The audience is drawn into the very heart of the action as it plays out on the big screen and, together with the HFR 3D visuals, presents a radical shift in the way movies will be viewed, heard and experienced going forward. 3. Blockbusters in 2013 add to the appeal of cinema this year With digital projection, blockbusters can be launched onto the local circuit closer to their international release date. South Africans will be able to enjoy films as they were made to be viewed – as a holistic in-theatre experience with comfortable chairs, massive 3D screens and surround sound that ensures a whole new level of life-like entertainment. The new movie releases in 2013 will have us on the edge of our seats. It’s going to be a big year with such highly anticipated titles such as Good Day to Die Hard, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Iron Man 3, The Great Gatsby, World War Z,Oz the Great and Powerful, Monsters University and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug all making their theatrical debuts. 4. Attendance growth due to an entertainment experience and benefit programmes mean a thriving industry A focus on innovation to further separate the cinema experience from other ways of viewing film content will continue to drive attendances. The last half of 2012 has shown incremental audience growth versus the previous year, and I anticipate this trend to continue. 

Ryan Williams [2013 trends continued] Marketing initiatives that highlight the cinema experience will continue and we can expect to see increasing benefits via club programmes to drive both frequency and greater sophistication in cinema database marketing. The momentum has started to shift as 2012 saw a new South African box office record for the opening weekend set by The Avengers in April. This record was broken in November, when the last of the Twilight franchise films opened to the largest-ever opening weekend audience in SA film history. At the current pace, Twilight will be the 20th strongest film in more than 100 years of SA cinema audiences, attracting audiences not seen in SA cinemas since the early 1990s. 5. Advertisers and cinema campaigns ensure that cinema is not just about entertainment; it’s a marketing platform There is a growing move towards cinema as an out-of-home experiential communications vehicle. In one venue, the existing congregations of people can be targeted through a range of different touchpoints, right from ticket purchase via digital infrastructure, all the way through to activations in the theatre itself. International marketers are increasingly using the full range of opportunities, including foyers, queues, catering dwell time, ticketing and the onscreen experience. By way of example, this trend has seen cinema become the fastest-growing advertising vehicle in several major markets around the world, including the Nordics, Australia and Russia (ahead of online and mobile advertising). The latest research from Millward Brown shows that ad noting increases by an average of 38% when using cinema in combination with television, making cinema an increasingly important vehicle to improve advertising ROI. The study also shows that cinema is particularly effective to reach male and youth audiences, so we should expect to see advertisers valuing the commercial impact of cinema as well as the visual impact. 6. Flexibility through digitisation of cinema projection Lastly, digitisation of cinema projection will allow advertisers far more flexibility in terms of targeting, guaranteed audience currencies and day part segmentation. This provides a keen opportunity for savvy marketers, given the cinema environment’s proximity to retail outlets.

Overall, 2013 promises to be a watershed year for SA cinema. The technical improvements create a vastly superior viewing experience, well marketed by exhibitors and supported by a stellar content lineup from distributors. With audiences coming back into the cinema space to experience great moments onscreen and in their lives, and the commercial impact of investing marketing monies in the cinema space, I believe this is a tipping point for both marketers and viewing customers.

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Steve Cragg [2013 trends] Game on for retailers going mobile As crisis-hit Europe continues to impact economic growth, and projections for the local economy are trimmed, the battle for a share of consumer spend is getting increasingly fierce. Retailers will rely on technology to drive innovative discount models and integrated loyalty programmes by optimising the one device every consumer has access to already – even in-store – the mobile phone. Discussions with our FMCG partners indicate that retailers are roaring to go ... mobile that is. Expect free in-store wireless, mobile coupons, easy access to mobile information and even mobile-driven sampling. 1. Let the discount retailer war begin About the author Steve Cragg is CEO of the In 2013, we’ll see just who and what wins over the minds and wallets of cash- Buchanan Group Africa, India & strapped South African shoppers. Will it be Pick n Pay with its Smart Shopper Middle East, Turkey and Brazil, loyalty program? Will it be the new discount coupon mobile application that which recently developed and Checkers has just launched? Will it be mobile specials and coupon third-party launched HomeTesterClub.com aggregator start-ups? Just what will Walmart do with Game? Or will the in South Africa, India and German might of Aldi make a move into the market? My prediction... Australia. After first working in it’s game on! the Australian office, Cragg returned to SA and set up the 2. Getting more comfortable using our phones in-store African office. Prior experience Shopping apps that use photo/scan technology, as well as the technologies of includes roles as marketing image recognition and augmented reality (albeit still nascent), free in-store manager at Unilever SA and ad wireless, smart retailers that begin to incentivise shoppers to use their mobile agency executive for Singleton in-store and packaging design that starts to incorporate more ‘mobile call-to- Ogilvy in Australia. Contact action’ will all see the mobile smartphone become the point-of-sale Steve on tel +27 (0)21 424 2310 (POS) screen. or email him at steve.cragg@ buchanangroup.com. 3. Mobilise your site before your competitor mobilises your customers Blue-chip FMCG companies will wake up in 2013 and ensure that their websites are optimised for mobile. Visiting a site with tiny text that’s hard to navigate and takes long to load will cost companies customers. A point to note is that on the home front, and globally for that matter, none of the top FMCGs have mobilised their sites, whereas sectors such as banking, car and electronics manufacturers have already cottoned on to creating platforms to suit the medium. 4. Do I Like it? No but I Recommend it... and here’s why Do you care, or act, in any way if someone in your social network LIKES something?! 2013 will be a ‘trojan’ year for brands that can incorporate and succinctly flesh out the ‘reason why’ someone likes something. How do you do that? You give them the ‘first chapter’ free. You sample. The most powerful form of advertising known to man. Businesses that offer brands effective and efficient sampling infrastructure, linked to scaleable word-of- mouth, will not only help to decommoditise the ‘like’ but will certainly have a boom year. 5. Mobile becomes TV’s new best friend Using a phone or tablet whilst watching television will reach new heights in 2013. Mobile devices will plant their flags firmly and rightfully in the living room as a second screen. Whether it be through the use of automated content recognition, TV-ad-detection applications or TV messaging, these media will drive audiences to do brand research and comparison, or even shop on their mobile devices, while watching television. 

Steve Cragg [2013 trends continued] In addition, users will share, rate and review on Facebook, poll or crowd source on Twitter – interacting, synchronising and integrating screens in real time. The marriage of second screens with televisions is a partnership marketers shouldn’t ignore. 6. Contrarian movement sees cinema’s appeal continue to grow For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. As more and more of our life becomes drowned in text, email, messaging and social media, a medium that mandates (at least socially, anyway) a break from it all will become a really ‘valued’ experiences and also do well. A visit to the cinema not only becomes a cherished ‘lean-back’ experiences for users but continues to offer marketers real gold in terms of levels of audience attentiveness and never-to-be beaten depths of content context. 7. Year of the app-store Gartner Research estimates 81 billion apps will be downloaded globally in 2013, twice as many as 2012. With this level of software coding being pushed out, we will see the emergence of helpful app aggregators start to segment these apps for us, separating the heap of redundant apps from those ‘must download and use’ ones, that will ‘hopefully’ change our lives.

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Sue Disler [2013 trends] Who said magazines are dead? What an interesting dilemma it was for me moving into publishing almost three years ago. The glossy was HERO and digital was a very, very bad word indeed. The environment was not dissimilar to the ad industry – and the old adage of “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” reared its ugly head – again! But I was excited that, for first time, I could really get to grips with CONTENT. In advertising that’s the missing, quintessential link. The beauty of publishing is we, as publishers, are sitting with copious amounts of content, all of which people really want to read (and yes “engage” with). About the author Sue Disler has more than 20 Historical, time-stamped journey years of experience in the In order to understand where I am headed here, let me contextualise my advertising and marketing as a thinking by way of illustrating a historical, time-stamped journey of sorts: designer (and sometimes coder), art director and strategist, the The world’s first magazine, Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen (Edifying last 16 largely dedicated to Monthly Discussions) was published in Germany in 1663. I am not sure digital. Currently, she is head how riveting – but first none the less! of digital at New Media The oldest consumer magazine still in print, The Scots Magazine, is Publishing. Email her at apparently the world’s best-selling Scottish-interest publication and has [email protected], been around since 1739. It has a circulation of 28 357, with 100 000+ follow @suediz on Twitter or find readers monthly, a website, iOS apps, 960 Facebook fans and 3007 Twitter out more on Linkedin. followers – for a niche market, that’s not bad! Biz press office: New Media In 1843 The Economist began examining news, politics, business, science and the arts. Currently, it prints 1 474 803 weekly, has 6 824 623 traffic globally and are accessed by 650 000 unique devices via iOS and Android monthly. It also has 1 306 289 Facebook fans and 2 695 187 followers on Twitter. In 1946, it started the Economist Intelligence Unit, a service for clients to tap into their research and audience. More recently, it added a content marketing arm and acquired a content-focused PR shop, essentially to act more like agencies in helping brands strategise, create and distribute branded content. The Atlantic Monthly was founded in 1857 by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and others. Nowadays, it attracts its print, digital, live, and mobile audience with breakthrough insights into the worlds of politics, business, technology, culture, and the arts. It prints 10 issues a year (1,16 million readers a month), was voted one of the 50 best websites by Time in 2012 (5 million users per month), has 3,2 million mobile users each month and full digital mag versions available on Kindle, Nook and Google Newsstand. Bookmark them if you haven’t already. In 1899, National Geographic first appeared. Today, it “strives to inspire, educate, and empower the audience by delivering world-class editorial content, using state-of-the-art multi-media tools, in a highly informative, entertaining, and visually compelling format”. And it certainly does that, with 20 million uniques globally, 215,48 million unique page views, 5,79 million video views. Its YouTube channel has enjoyed 859 714 457 video views since May 2006 and currently has 1 264 426 channel subscribers. It also has 10,73 million Facebook fans, 1,98 million Twitter followers and has won 2 Webbys in 2012: Best Green Website (People’s Voice) and Best Online Magazine (People’s Voice). South Africa’s very own Farmers Weekly, established in 1911, also sports a website, Facebook page, Twitter following and digital magazine. Condé Nast launched Vanity Fair in 1914. 

Sue Disler [2013 trends continued] De Huisgenoot (now SA’s largest circulating print title Huisgenoot), came on the scene in 1916, with President Paul Kruger on the cover. The first ad for that issue incidentally was for Stuttafords. It has 198 140 Facebook fans and 27 114 Twitter followers, apps and 64 762 uniques a month on its website. 1933 saw Esquire launch the first men’s magazine. The first magazine devoted to adolescents, Seventeen, graced the shelves in 1944. Drum launched in 1951 and with a website attracting 47 138 uniques a month, apps, a YouTube channel, 38 013 Twitter followers and 68 648 Facebook fans, it’s safe to say it’s still popular. Television’s popularity resulted in a major drop in ad revenue and circulation in the ’50s, so in 1953 TV Guide Magazine made an entrance. Fair Lady, born in March 1965, prints 56 986 copies with a readership of 737 000 each month, has 10 650 Facebook fans, 7121 twitter followers, two websites plus Zinio editions. In 1967, Rolling Stone launched – the start of popular special-interest mags. People launched in 1974 with Mia Farrow on the cover, heralding an explosion in niche magazines that continues today. 1987 saw SA weekly You launched. It has 49 628 Facebook fans, 18 161 Twitter followers, Youtube channel, app and 35 796 monthly uniques. In the ’90s, magazines began to publish on the Internet and, in 1993, Wired arrived with avid curiosity. From 2000 onwards, we saw Zines – Internet-only mags published by 1000s of home-based publishers. Then the digital newsstands started to appear on Apple’s iTunes, Google Play, Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Next Issue, Zinio, the “new kid“on the block, Magzter currently doing the rounds in South Africa) plus SA’s very own Snapplify making it easier for publishers to distribute, save costs and, of course, make money! And I could go on... but all of above illustrates that the magazine (or rather magazine-type content) is clearly not dead in print, nor digitally. In fact it has survived, and adapted, happily to the times/media/technology and by all accounts will continue to do so! I won’t go into the nitty-gritty, but when I suddenly started hearing our editorial teams conceptualising how content spanning social media, apps, web, mobile, print of course, but offline channels too, I knew the old dogs had learnt new tricks, including me :) Proof is in the pudding The proof, however, is in the pudding with Vodacom’s now! [disclaimer: New Media client], that’s now non- issue-based and responsively designed mainly for mobile devices. Mercedes’ MBlife [disclaimer: New Media client] follows a similar strategy complementing a quarterly print magazine. Eat Out [disclaimer: New Media client] is accessible not only via website, app, Facebook and Twitter, but also via the Go! travel app, iafrica.com and built into the free Telmap Navigator sat nav app available on iOs, Blackberry and Android too. Technology is purely the enabler... we could be publishing via 3D printing some time very soon. Ultimately, though, it’s content that fuels the trends, and to quote David Armano: “In 2013, content will not only be king, but queen, prince and jester, too!” Stats sources: Effective Measure and various magazine websites

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Terry Levin [2013 trends] It’s all Hype(r) Colloquially, the word hyper is often used to convey over-the- top or excessive behaviour – as in “those blue Smarties made my child/dog/girlfriend really hyper”. Additionally, over the last three or four decades, it has also come to mean linked. Indeed, it is the H in HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) and HTML (Hyper Text Markup language) that has enabled roughly a third of earthlings to bluelink our planet – in pursuit of info, old friends and likeminded sundries. It’s all been hypercool, really. For the purposes of trend prediction, I will go out on a limb and predict that, from 2013, hyper will replace mega, uber and even inter as an urban prefix About the author of choice. Terry Levin is an activist, owner of %ff the shelf marketing 1. Hyperdrive, hyperspace, hyperspeed (offtheshelf.co.za), Afrophile, Yes, 2013 will be the year that the word hyper goes into hyperdrive – the old designer, reporter, promoter, Greek word also means spatial or beyond. Maybe it’s an excess of forecaster, Bizcommunity.com abovementioned blue Smarties that goes some way to explaining why our kids creative director at large, and a relentlessly pursue separate and adjacent dimensions or hyperspaces via their regular contributor of events gaming cultures. coverage and opinion. Email her at [email protected], Could these virtual worlds in reality be anticipating the ability to link, teleport follow @terrylevin on Twitter, or apparate [in Harry Potter speak] to regions beyond or parallel to our known view her photos on Flickr one through hypergates or wormholes at faster-than-light or hyperspeeds, and connect on Facebook enabling them – like the fax, the email and the TV image before them – to and LinkedIn. arrive at their destinations much more quickly than expected by standard models of physics of their day? Could they [the gamers] be foreshadowing a much wider hyperlinking than we currently know? Goodbye Facebook, hello Hyperspacebook. 2. Hyperparenting A relatively new term – to describe the oldest, most exhausted parent group in the history of mankind, applying the same strategic micro-management technique to their kids as they do to climbing the corporate ladder – with arguable degrees of success. The results of hyperparenting will manifest over the next decade or two, when the kids leave to do their gap years in parallel dimensions. There’s even a book which you can read called www.hyper-parenting.com which advises how to avoid the pitfalls of hyperparenting. 3. Hypermaths, hyperphysics etc To which end the most hyperintelligent of the little darlings will be needing to apply hypermath where they might study hyperpowers, hyperplanes and hypersurfaces, which enable them to unravel concepts, such as the controversial string theory – which seeks the possibility of a multidimensional universe by replacing atoms with strings in order to knit a timeless, one-size-fits-all jumpsuit for the universe using strings instead of particles – having realized, in another Eureka moment, that you can’t knit anything with a particle. If you’re interested in these things, you can follow hyperbrains such as www.briangreene.org, who is described as the new Stephen Hawkins, and Leonard Susskind, professor of theoretical physics at Stanford University, among others.  what’s a biz press office? find out here!

Terry Levin [2013 trends continued]

4. Enter the hypergates To say that this author is no sci-fi boff would be the understatement of several millennia, but even I am beginning to realise that the genre may not be just the figments of deranged minds looking for escapist entertainment, as I had previously thought, and that we may well be standing at the very hypergates of futures as foretold in Star Gate, Star Trek and by the Hitchhiker guy – Arthur, wasn’t it? – where hyperbeacons that enable instantaneous hypergalactic hypercommunications via hyperwave transceivers begin to sound disconcertingly do-able. 5. The Hypernet? Which brings us to our current planetary comms network, which in the light of the above we could describe as earth’s own intranet. Now, two far-out guys, rogerandmike.com, are redefining the internet model, calling it the Hypernet and the Hyperweb, arguing that, as Apple has shown via app tech, it has been the addition of cellular and wifi tech that have been the gamechangers in web-based consumption and that, therefore, value differentiators on the net will be in new forms of delivery that will sort the media users from the losers going forward. If it weren’t for Apple, say they, we might still all be looking at green ASCII text against the standard issue pre- 1984 black background. Prove the Mayans right, by watching why everything that mattered for the last eight years won’t matter anymore for some new frontier thinking, or follow them at @Hypernet. 6. Hypermedia In a nutshell the difference in dimensions between multimedia and hypermedia is the ability to link. The internet is a hypermedium, whereas a feature film, being non-linking, is not. However, new hypermedia systems may soon allow just this, linking objects in video via snazzy tech such as voice command and other brave new features, which will lead to increased levels of hypercrastination – or the act of linking to every social media channel known to humankind for updates, instead of actually getting anything done. 7. Hyperlocal Describes the extreme niche content made possible by the marriage of GPS location and mobile tech to provide hyperspecific geographical information. Examples such as Google Maps and Foursquare have changed the way consumers consume and will, according to the fundis in these matters, continue to do so. 8. Hypergrowth Also known as onboarding. What you will have to anticipate if you get all the above right. Refers to the kinds of extreme upscaling required to motivate, move and manage companies to Googlesque or Amazonian proportions. How to head-hunt, hire, house and head-up upsize teams will require new hyperlative management skills. 

Terry Levin [2013 trends continued again]

9. The hyperhistory The terms “hypertext“ and “hypermedia“ were apparently coined in the heady days of the 1960s by IT pioneer Ted Nelson, having been inspired by an essay by someone called Vannevar Bush entitled “As We May Think“, which described a machine which could link and loop pages of related information. Although it is Douglas Engelbart who is independently credited with the first hyperlinking documents and with patenting the first computer mouse – which was quaintly described in the patent application as an “X-Y position indicator for a display system”. Which I guess is exactly what it is! A 1987 Apple Macintosh released the HyperCard that allowed hyperlinking between various pages within a document. HTML itself was refined in 1991 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, creator and founder of what came to be known as the World Wide Web – or the ability to share info using those ol’ hyperlinks, HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), by giving every web page on the planet a unique address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Bloody brilliant!

So, yes, it’s the year or maybe even the decade of superhyperactivity – expect to get your head around and even invest in hyperclouds, hypergaming, hypercraft, hyperblade48, hyperdash, www.hyperdesk.com hyperdesks, hypernature, hyperintegers, hyperD and even hyperTwitter! You have been hyperwarned.

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Thomas Kolster [2013 trends] ‘Goodvertising’ – the key to brand leadership There’s a transformational shift happening and it’s picking up pace in the New Year. Business and its far-reaching (some might say overreaching) arm, advertising, are becoming more responsible, more caring and more sustainable. The way we market products is changing as consumers want and demand more meaningful conversations with brands and as businesses slowly realise that their licence to operate is being threatened, what with rising energy and resource costs and stricter demands from stakeholders. This is a macro trend no marketer can ignore as their much valued brands are at stake and consumers begin to ask different questions: What is your brand About the author doing for me and my children? What’s your brand’s attitude to Thomas Kolster is the author of unemployment? Why do you produce food with such high fat and sugar Goodvertising (Thames & Hudson content when our country has huge obesity problems? 2012; (Goodvertising.info; Facebook), founder of the The brands that win will be those that embrace this shift and show care Goodvertising Agency towards people and planet – mark my words. I dub this movement (Goodvertisingagency.com) and ‘Goodvertising’ – it combines what’s good for people and planet with what’s the world’s first collaborative good for brand and bottom-line. communication platform 1. Sustainability is the new USP dedicated to sustainability: WhereGoodGrows The usual sales pitch is under pressure. As an advertising industry, we’re in the (Wheregoodgrows.com; business of creating relevant brand stories about why brand X is better than Facebook). He hails from brand Y. Copenhagen, Denmark, and In the early ’40s, Rosser Reeves of Ted Bates & Company spoke about unique has spent some time in selling propositions (USPs) to show how brands should be built on one unique South Africa. Read more at point of difference, for example, a tooth paste giving you the whitest smile. thomaskolster.com, email As one toothpaste has now become a thousand, this is no longer a meaningful [email protected], and differentiator and it becomes increasingly difficult to tell a different follow @dogoodvertising and brand story. @thomaskolster on Twitter. Sustainability offers a treasure chest of different stories that differentiate Brand Sustainable from Brand Run-of- the-Mill. When the outdoor company Patagonia said on Black Friday last year, “Don’t buy this jacket,” and urged consumers towards more mindful consumption, it challenged the accepted brand narratives and gained a lot of attention. Sustainability is the new competition and if your brand doesn’t own sustainability in its category like Heinz owns Ketchup, you’re losing your voice in this new paradigm. When IBM launched its initiative ‘Smarter Planet‘, it not only stood out from the competition, but the initiative delivered more than US$10 billion over five years to the bottom line. Something is working here. 2. Responsibility is the new trust currency A company’s responsibility used to stop at the factory gate, often limiting public scrutiny to visible pollution or people getting immediately sick. Today, companies are responsible for their products all the way from production to usage to disposal. The indirect consequences of using a product or service are also increasingly hitting the news headlines. Everyone today takes it for granted that smoking kills. The same feeling is gaining traction when we talk about high fat and sugar content in food all the way through to the harm inflicted by excessive alcohol consumption. 

Thomas Kolster [2013 trends continued] In France, for example, the law demands that all commercials selling food or beverages with a high sugar, salt or fat content should be clearly labeled with a health warning. Your brand needs to prepare itself for this new era of responsibility where consumer trust is at stake and consumers are increasingly skeptical and critical. It offers risks, but also potential for the brands that understand and act on this new agenda. 3. Taking a lead This brings me to my last point. For brands, goodvertising offers a different story that can distinguish your brand, attract new customers, challenge competition, grow business, encourage innovation and moreover drag your brand out of the past and secure its lead in the future. When you’re doing your marketing plan for 2013, be sure to ask yourself the right questions. Maybe it’s about finding one of your industry’s biggest problems and turning it into potential. That’s what the restaurant chain Chipotle did with its commercial “Back to the Start“, which challenges our current out-of-control industrialised food production and shows a new, more sustainable alternative where food is made in harmony with nature. The film exudes leadership and care from the brand. Business as usual is challenged. Your brand has an unprecedented chance to grasp this new potential and stand out and become a leader. If you tell the right story, people will not only listen, they will follow.

Thomas Oosthuizen [2013 trends] It’s not trends that matter; it’s the traits that marketers need! I like the number 13. Like with most other things, it is what we do with it that matters. Great companies never use the excuse of prevailing trends as a reason for them not to perform. They just leverage the circumstances better than their rivals. I remember a colleague of mine telling me many years ago about a conversation he had with Sol Kerzner (then of Sun International) about the negative impact of the pre-democracy conditions in South Africa. Sol told him, “This year, I will make a sh@thouse full of money.” About the author So, while economists will contemplate economic and social conditions in 2013, Thomas Oosthuizen is a it is what we as marketers do that matters. marketing and brand strategist It is clear the year will be turbulent and uncertain. This means markets in SA (www.drthomasbrand.co.za) who will grow slowly; companies will not invest in new ventures; and marketing focuses on helping clients and consumers will be cautious to spend – and they will be conscious of value achieve greater marketing and for money. This means large brands will remain stable, while undefined and brand success by spending less, smaller brands will suffer. for which he has devised his own methodologies. He has consulted Africa is growing fast widely to major companies Despite this, Africa is growing fast, and when you travel into Africa, you will across Africa and the Middle East find little evidence of the global stagnation and uncertainty. So the companies and holds a doctorate in that notice this will increase their presence into Africa, as they have done over marketing communications. the last years. This is appropriate and should accelerate: we still have Email Thomas at companies that hesitate: for them, China and others will close the door on [email protected], these opportunities. read his blog at brand- blog.drthomasbrand.co.za, Understanding Africa – and emerging markets in general – is a competitive follow @drthomasbrand on advantage for SA marketers – but only if we use it. We must never forget that Twitter and connect on LinkedIn. the average SA marketer is used to operating under far greater levels of resource constraints, diversity, adversity and uncertainty than most of our global counterparts. So invest in Africa if you have not done so yet, and strengthen your presence if you are there already. Aim to dominate where you can. “First-mover” advantage A “first-mover” advantage remains one of the most powerful strategic advantages in business.In most markets around the world, in most industries, those that were “first” hold onto leadership, even against major odds. MTN is the strongest mobile network in Africa despite major challenges from developed nation brands such as Vodafone and Orange. Invest in marketing Never underestimate key global multinationals such as Unilever and Proctor & Gamble, which invest to build markets. There is a lot of academic evidence to show how marketing investment in a downturn retains the brand vibrancy and translates into superior growth in an upturn. Yet, time and time again, I hear CEOs and FDs believe they can grow by shrinking. Have the courage and build your company. Sometimes we need to listen to those who “wrote” the textbooks on global business, such as the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. They dominate for a reason – they do not dominate by default. Emerging market companies have demonstrated this over the last 10 years – Samsung, Emirates, Qatar Airways, MTN, Hyundai, Kia – all of these invested in their markets – and it worked for all of them! 

Thomas Oosthuizen [2013 trends continued] ’Keeping’ and ‘getting’ customers Marketing is about ‘keeping’ customers and ‘getting’ customers – it is as simple as that. Know and understand what you need to do to keep your customers, grow their current franchise (the easiest thing to do) and acquire the customers you want. Understand why they defect if they do – and stop it – fast. Understand how they perceive the value your brand delivers to them. During turmoil, you need to consolidate and protect before you do anything else. To do that, understand your customers and become even more passionate about them. Make sure they love you even more! Understand and use your own customer data. Few companies really use their own data well – there is a growing global awareness of this. This is an area you can invest in without it costing your company a lot of money. Ask whether what you do in marketing actually ‘works’. Marketing budgets mostly have “a life of their own”: most companies I know add inflation to budget activities, without fundamentally questioning what works. Many activities in most marketing budgets do not have a clear, measurable objective that relates back to customer retention and growth directly (or, as important, brand-value growth). So, the first thing you do in 2013 is to start with a blank piece of paper and compile a task-driven budget. DIFFERENTIATE. If a market does not grow, you need to keep your current customers and acquire new ones – “parity promises” will not do that. One of my great passions – and frustrations with many marketers: know what makes your brand unique, if nothing does, find it – or create it. This sometimes requires hard work. The last thing you do during uncertain times is to be uncertain and ambivalent about what you offer the consumer that is different and better (partly why I believe Pick n Pay has had such ups and downs in fortunes over the last years: why should people buy from them instead of from Woolworths or Checkers?). I do not believe all consumers trade-down during tough times, but they all look for value, which are brand benefits supported by a “fair” price. So maybe it is not good to hike prices in 2013. Rather add value and keep your customers. Fundamentally, give consumers a ‘reason why’ your brand is best. Sunlight Liquid washes more dishes per rand spent. Mango ‘is more often on-time’. Deliver upon your brand promises: when the chips are down, it is good to focus internally and see whether your people, systems, processes and the support base of the company is aligned to deliver the best customer experience possible. The telecommunications companies can save a packet on marketing if they focus on their own customers, rather than to keep on selling “cheap” SIM-cards through the latest promotion. Learn how to really engage with customers in ways relevant to them through social media, and integrate that strategically into how your company works. Companies now mostly use social media as an extension of other media – as something they can “manage” as a company. This is wrong; social media is about true engagement, in areas that matter to people, in ways that contribute to their lives: it requires true reciprocity. It is not about turning websites into Facebook pages or posting ads onto YouTube. True engagement requires an entire change in how the brand interfaces with its customers, minute-by-minute. It has ideological, strategic, people and systems implications for companies. Marketers’ responsibility Lastly, never forget that marketers are the eyes, ears, psychologists, psychiatrists and mentors of companies and brands: if we become despondent and negative, our business will suffer. We have a particular responsibility to see what is possible – and to drag everyone with us, even when they are kicking and screaming. This means we also need to do our own homework so that we are able to motivate and manage spend with the right insights and motivations.

Tiffany Markman [2013 trends] The old ‘new’ rules for language In response to one of my tirades about execrable language usage, a client gently reprimanded me: “Language is a feeling – not a spreadsheet.” Which got me thinking about whether I’m a prescriptivist and whether that’s a good thing for a) a copywriter, b) a writing trainer and c) someone who was born after 1980, ie is still young-ish. Here’s my list of old ‘new’ language rules for 2013: things that have evolved over the last few years, things pro writers are using in certain contexts and things you will see more and more in today’s writing, now that you know what to look for. [Please note: the items below are to be used only in light of About the author the mini-disclaimer* at the bottom.] Tiffany Markman 1. And (www.tiffanymarkman.co.za) is a highly opinionated freelance One of the things you’ll notice in 2013, now that I’ve highlighted it, is more copywriter, copy editor and sentences starting with “And”. Obviously this applies to certain situations only writing trainer who has worked (you shouldn’t do it in a proposal to your bank), but many clients are for over 180 clients in South requesting a looser, more rhythmic, more conversational approach to copy, Africa and across the world. She and this includes beginning sentences with conjunctions. (“But” and “because” is an EMPOWERDEX-certified are other sometime-sentence-starters, but can be more dangerous in terms of EME who hates misplaced conveying intended meaning.) apostrophes and dangling 2. Prepositions modifiers but loves pizza and pina coladas. Reach Tiffany Winston Churchill is renowned in nerd circles for his tongue-in-jowl assertion anytime viat email at that ending a sentence with a preposition is ‘something up with which I will [email protected], not put’. This lovely phrase shows the awkwardness that can arise when follow @tiffanymarkman prepositions (the little words that link words to each other, such as “with”, on Twitter and sign up for “to”, “in”) are kept from the end of the sentence. How much neater is, “That is her newsletter. something I will not put up with”? Again, now that you know what to look for, you’ll see more “This is the direction we’ll go in” and less “the direction in which we’ll go”. Thank goodness. Whiches are clumsy. 3. Who/whom My mother-in-law, a world-famous professor in applied English language studies, regularly teases me for my adherence to some old-fashioned grammatical norms, insisting that languages must evolve. She adores SMS lingo, for instance, while I hate it. And the old ‘new’ rule about choosing ‘who’ over ‘whom’ reminds me of her because it’s an instance of deliberately using the ‘wrong’ way to achieve clarity. In short, in the past we used “who” for the person doing the action and “whom” for the person the action was done to: “To whom am I speaking?” and “Who is calling?”‘ But today, it’s “Who am I speaking to?” Bottom line: you’ll seldom see ‘whom’. 4. Split infinitives The favoured geek example of a split infinitive is “To boldly go where no man has gone before” (Star Trek). Back when English was new and basing its rules on Latin and other ‘Romantic’ languages, you couldn’t do that – insert an adverb, such as “boldly” – without getting into trouble. But the origin of that rule is that, in Latin, French, etc, the infinitive form of a verb (“to” + go, for example; “aller” in French) is one word. You can’t split it. Well, in English, these days, you can – provided that doing so adds to the clarity of your message, as in, “It is hard to really like stiletto heels.” 

Tiffany Markman [2013 trends continued]

5. I vs me Thanks for inviting Bizcommunity and I onto your screen. This sentence may look correct, but it should read, “...inviting Bizcommunity and me”. And yet, there’s something in most of us that resists using “me” – maybe because it sounds child-like. In my speech, I’m guilty of using “I” incorrectly because it feels more elegant, so I’m going to cite in my defence the wisdom of Bryan A Garner of The New York Times: “Sometimes, a usage will spread that is new, illogical and strikes commentators as tasteless. But if, over time, it becomes widespread among a critical mass of good writers and is accepted by many good editors, we must acknowledge a new rule. We must be descriptivists, in other words [people who try to describe language as it is used, not as it should be used].” 6. Made-up words People make up words every day. I don’t mean words that then become common, such as ‘googling’. I mean words that are used once, and then (possibly) never again. Such as “mini-disclaimer”, “sometime-sentence-starter” and “tongue-in-jowl” as used by me elsewhere in this article. Granted, this form of creative licence is most often used by confident writers, but it is spreading and we will see more of it this year, I predict.

*Mini-disclaimer: Why have rules for writing? Two reasons, and they’re linked: consistency to achieve clarity. But rules for the sake of rules make no sense. So here I’m advocating being aware of how the old rules have recently changed and using the ‘new’ ways where appropriate, if you want to. ‘Appropriate’ depends on your audience and the message.

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Vanessa Clark [2013 trends] Mobile money to give SoLoMo a kick in the pants? SoLoMo: the glorious intersection of social, location and mobile that was going to superpower hyperlocal search and prove to be the holy grail, allowing retailers and other businesses to attract an army of smartphone-wielding customers. Pretty exciting stuff, especially during an economic downturn, right? In my opinion, quite the contrary. So far, SoLoMo has been more a damp squib than a digital white knight. I’m not seeing businesses, especially in South Africa, using SoLoMo to any great effect yet. Even in the US, where there was much excitement about the concept over the course of 2012, with several retail initiatives in this space, About the author I’ve not seen any real shoot-the-lights-out success stories. Vanessa Clark divides her time Either businesses aren’t using the existing platforms effectively – the between heading up marketing platforms themselves are fundamentally flawed – or the privacy concern at Mobiflock hurdle is simply insurmountable. Add SoLoMo to the long list of tech (www.mobiflock.com), being buzzwords that have quietly retired into obscurity. It even sounds stupid and prepaid vending company is weird to say out loud. Kazang’s (www.kazang.co.za) marketing director, and freelance Something brewing in Africa journalism at Twokats However, it can be argued that something is brewing in Africa that may very Communications well provide the catalyst for SoLoMo services and uptake, and for harnessing (www.twokats.com). She was a SoLoMo in a way that provides real value to local businesses and their London-based tech journalist in customers – not just another way for hardworking consumers to more easily the last century. Email spend money on things they don’t want or need. [email protected], skype van_clark, connect on This catalyst is mobile money and these services could give customers access Facebook and LinkedIn and to products and services that would have previously been out of reach, allow follow @vanclark on Twitter. businesses to reach customers they would never have dreamt of being able to deal with, and give these companies an effective way of managing their businesses. Many people are familiar with the success of M-Pesa in Kenya and EcoCash in Zimbabwe, as well as a fleet of other mobile money services across the continent. But the mobile money eco-system, strictly a peer-to-peer payment system, has seen a shift over the past year, with a new layer of services emerging that join the dots between merchants and consumers. And these services, you guessed it, are using social, location and mobile features to do this. Morphed into a marketplace of merchants A great example is Kenya’s CrowdPesa. It started life as a way for customers to track down M-Pesa agents – crucial for getting money into and out of the system – but then morphed into a marketplace of merchants. This allows customers to find businesses in their area, see recommendations, interact with the business, place orders, pay via mobile money, and then have the goods delivered or collect them themselves from the store or restaurant. Another service that aids discoverability for merchants is Cape Town-based Kuza Mobile. Founder Pieter Nel showed the audience at Demo Africa last year how a business-owner can use a feature phone to create a website, mobisite, adverts and business cards in around five minutes. Once the business’s profile has been set up, the micro-ads are broadcast to customers in the area. This is a game changer for small business owners, who previously had little way to easily and affordably promote their businesses and access new customers. 

Vanessa Clark [2013 trends continued] Adds value to businesses As well as offering discoverability via SoLoMo features, this new breed of services also adds value to businesses by improving their backend processes, especially when it comes to taking mobile payments. With peer-to-peer systems such as M- Pesa, mobile payments are managed on a fairly ad hoc basis, sometimes with the customer paying the shop assistant via M-Pesa, and the shop assistant paying the cash to the store. Services such as Nairobi-based Lipisha offer a point-of-sale system that lets companies process their non-cash and micro-payments. Where companies have backend systems already in place, Lipisha integrates with these; otherwise, for those who don’t, it provides the foundation of a formal system for the business. Another Kenyan service, MPAYER, then brings location back into the mix by mapping factors such as branch details, weather and time of year onto mobile payment records to give the business further intelligence. It also offers statements – solving the lack of paper-trail that comes with mobile payments. Solving a number of very real problems These services solve a number of very real problems that businesses and consumers face in developing, and very often also in developed, markets. Google Search is still pretty useless when it comes to hyperlocal; not everyone has, or will have a smartphone, so they can’t download your fancy SoLoMo-power app; many business, especially medium, small and micro aren’t even online yet; and many South African retailers are a great example of missing the boat when it comes to the info people want to see (an out-of-date pdf is not good enough); and the desktop-to-mobile evolution does not apply in all markets, especially not in most of Africa. I see these new mobile money-powered SoLoMo-esque services being able to offer real value to both customers and businesses, making mobile a truly revolutionary force, rather than merely a lifestyle accessory allowing you to track down your next mass-produced branded thing. Opportunity for Africa And, at the risk of repeating myself, yet another opportunity for the African continent to lead the field when it comes to mobile innovation by solving real problems with appropriate solutions.

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Warren Moss [2013 trends] Targeted direct marketing to come into its own The year ahead is unlikely to see any fantastical new developments in direct marketing; in fact, it’s more likely to be characterised by the maturing of existing technologies and a return to more traditional practices. There is no doubt that direct marketing has moved ahead by leaps and bounds over the past five years, driven largely by new capabilities in identifying and targeting a specific segment of the market. This segmentation holds tremendous power for marketers, not only because of the increased effectiveness, but especially because that can be achieved at a lower cost than previously. About the author 2. Hyperlocal and hyper-targeted Warren Moss is the founder of Demographica The one expectation, therefore, is that brands are going to give far greater (www.demographica.co.za), emphasis to hyperlocal and hyper-targeted messaging. South Africa’s largest digital This is an especially powerful tool for retail and FMCG brands as they can direct marketing company. He target their messages only at consumers who are likely to take up the offer, has a profound understanding of based on their proximity and driving time to the store. The rapid deployment email and direct marketing, sales of specials – for example, on stock reaching the end of its shelf life – is an and entrepreneurship, and how effective marketing tool that previously would not been possible, or nearly businesses can benefit from as effective. these. Warren divides his time between running his company, The beauty of hyperlocal and hyper-targeted marketing is that people are consulting, teaching, and more open to marketing messages that are relevant to the community in speaking at events all over South which they live and when conveniently located to home or the office. Africa. Contact him on tel More brands will move away from mass-communicated messaging, +27 (0)11 447 7373, email particularly as budgets are cut in response to the continuing pressure on [email protected] consumer spending. and follow @warrenmoss on Twitter. And while SMS is a platform that offers a more rapid response to time- sensitive deals and announcements, hyperlocal and hyper-targeted messaging is not restricted to this medium. Ironically, the old-school postal method works as well for these location-targeted campaigns. 3. Re-emergence of traditional tools And that is my second prediction for 2013 – the re-emergence of traditional direct marketing tools, such as postal drops. The main reason for this is that the cost of producing smaller quantity, personalised messaging has fallen dramatically with the introduction of digital printing. Combine this with the insights of consumer behaviour and demographics that are now available, and the much-beloved snail mail suddenly becomes a contender again. What used to happen in this category of messaging was that mass-market thinking was applied using direct marketing principles. Now, instead of sending out 1 million messages and getting a 1% response, brands can send targeted messages to 100 000 people and get as much as a 30% response. 4. Propensity modeling This technique is strengthened by marketers’ use of propensity modelling, which determines a target market’s propensity for taking up an offer, or being in the market for a purchase. This can be used to great effect for consumers of large ticket items such as cars, who have a tendency to be more amenable when certain mileage and debt repayment thresholds are exceeded. 

Warren Moss [2013 trends continued] Knowing this or, for example, that a certain community it predisposed to a competitive brand, marketers can ensure their message is pitched at the right people, at the right level, and at the right time. The power of a physical mailer, in such instances, is far greater than SMS or email because the message is not limited by space constraints, which can be used to evoke a more positive response from potential customers. 5. Evolution Direct marketing has certainly moved from an era of communicating with everyone to knowing who you are speaking to, and why. This evolution has contributed enormously to the effectiveness of campaigns, and will remain the mainstay of the industry, although I do believe the delivery mechanisms are going to adapt to take advantage of these efficiencies.

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The biz trends editorial & production team Editor: Simone Puterman Terry Levin Ruth Cooper Ilse van den Berg Evan-Lee Courie Shan Radcliffe Brandon Williams Email [email protected]

The biz trends sales & marketing team Warren Harding Samantha Africa BECOME A BIZ TRENDS SPONSOR NOW! Email [email protected]

The biz trends IT team André Rademan Nkuleko Mthethwa Jason Grey

With the assistance of Adelaide Ncube Angelo Coppola Beverley Bradley Brittany Peece Ellen Aucamp Elyse Klass Isadora Isaacs Larry Khumalo Laura Vercueil Lauren Woolf Leigh-Anne Hunter Lisa van Leeuwen Luise Alleman Sarah Martin Zamathango Thango