MarketingMix
I 0 2 I Book Review
Marketing Mix reviews Quirkology
(authored by Richard Wiseman), and
finds out about curious aspects of
life: how much of a role does one’s
horoscope actually play? Or how can
I tell if someone is lying to me?
I 0 4 I Ed’s note
I 0 6 I DMA
Find out about the Assegai awards
criteria and categories, and the new
founder members for the DMA
11
I 0 8 I News
All the latest gossip in the wonderful
world of the marketing mix
I 1 6 I 7 Day [B]itch
Discovery Magazine editor, and
freelance writer, Gus Silber tells us
why he doesn’t like films about
pirates
12
I 1 7 I Expert Opinion:
Richard Duncan
Richard examines the nature and
impact of change
I 1 8 I Brand Anatomy
Marketing Mix gets to know Hummer
I 2 0 I Township
marketing 16
Marketing Mix investigates what’s
hot and happening in the townships,
and tells you how to get into the
township markets
I 2 8 I Footskating 101
Footskating 101 producer, Ronnie
Apteker, chats about the trials and
tribulations of marketing a local film
I 3 0 I Expert Opinion: 18
Michele Venter-Davies
Michele explores the school car park
dynamics, and the hullabaloo around
marketing to kids
CONTENTS
I 3 1 I Expert Opinion:
Lizelle Smit
Lizelle offers some expert tips for
advertising on radio ahead of the
holiday season
20 I 3 2 I Expert Opinion:
Helen McIntee
Helen unpacks packaging and its role
in the marketing mix
I 3 3 I Indian media
Marketing Mix gets a little closer to
the local Indian market, and
discovers a gem
29
I 3 8 I Business Media
New entrants into the business
media sector offer more niche target
markets and have forced everyone to
up their game
I 4 6 I Ethical marketing
49
Alison Tucker ponders what it means
to be an ethical marketer amidst the
Green revolution
I 4 9 I Expert Opinion:
Richard Mullins
Richard tells you how to maximise
your e-mail marketing returns
50 I 50 I Content Champions
We pick this year’s best content
providers
I 54 I Sales Promotions
Critique
Marketing Mix looks at some of the
best sales promos
I 5 5 I Expert Opinion:
54
Nici Stathacopoulos
Nici prompts direct marketers to Just
Do It
I 56 I Law Mix
Eugene Honey unpacks the risks and
issues around licensing intellectual
property
Vol 25 No. 11/12 I 2007 I MarketingMix 1
by michelle sturman BOOK REVIEW

Quirky
Quirkology is about the quirky nature than the other two groups.’
of humans. The author, Richard Wiseman, is Those engaged in research, will be inter-
a well-known psychologist whose studies ested in the section on lying. Research con-
and experiments have been featured on TV ducted by Professor Charles Bond, involved
documentaries across the world. Quirkology surveying thousands of people from over 60
not only details Wiseman’s foray into the countries. What’s intriguing is that the tradi-
weird and wonderful, but also some of the tional indicators we associate with lying –
other quirky studies undertaken in the name averting a gaze, fidgeting etc – just don’t
of trying to figure out what makes us tick. hold up, which could explain why people
According to Wiseman: ‘quirkology uses are so bad at detecting liars. Apparently, the
scientific methods to study the more curious way to tell a lie is to study the words used
aspects of everyday life… but has never been and the way in which they are used. A few
formally recognised within the social sciences.’ indicators include fewer references to them-
One of the first stories that Wiseman tells selves and feelings within the story or lie
is of an experiment playing the stock mar- they are telling. Following on from this sec-
ket. Can astrology really predict what’s tion is one on the human smile – can you
going to happen? Wiseman found a city most of the opportunities that came their way.’ tell if a smile is real or fake?
analyst, a financial astrologer and a four- A fascinating chapter, entitled In the chapter, Trust everyone, but always
year-old girl to invest in the stock market. Chronopsychology and the grim reaper, cut the cards, an experiment to get people
After a year, the results were analysed. The details an experiment by sociologist David to part with their cash through the power of
four year old made the only profit! Wiseman Philips at the University of California. His suggestion is demonstrated. In the experiment,
was prompted to engage in this first experi- specific interest is whether people are able two objects were bought from a hardware
ment to find out why people believe in to postpone their death until after the store. People in the first group of passersby
astrology – a few more examples of moment of important emotional significance. were asked if they felt anything unusual – as
astrological experiments are detailed in the While controversial, one of his largest expected, they didn’t. The second group
book. What’s important from reading the studies looked at whether people’s date of was told that the objects were designed to
astrology experiments is the notion that birth influences their date of death. It was feel unusual – some people reported different
many people who believe in astrology know found that women were more likely to die sensations and said they would pay far more
what star sign characteristics are meant to in the week following their birthday, while than the items were actually worth. The
be, and therefore tend to say they possess men were likely to die in the week before third group had visual elements introduced
those characteristics. their birthday. such as Wiseman dressed in a lab coat. This
Finding out detailed characteristics of Another study conducted on 2 000 Finnish group reported more extreme sensations
consumers could be a way to fine-tune men tried to establish a link between healthy and reported they would pay more than
campaigns. Do your consumers believe they thinking and longevity. The group was divided three times the amount for the objects than
are lucky or unlucky, for example? Results from into pessimistic, optimistic and neutral groups the second group. According to Wiseman:
various experiments reveal that people make and studied for six years. ‘It was found that ‘It was a dramatic demonstration of how
their own luck: ‘the lucky people were the men in the “pessimistic”group were far easily suggestion can be used to part the
optimistic, energetic, and open to new oppor- more likely to die from cancer, cardiovascular gullible from their cash.’
tunities and experiences. In contrast, the disease and accidents than those in the Other interesting experiments include: how
unlucky people were more withdrawn, clumsy, “neutral” group. In contrast, the “optimistic” people choose to save money for items on
anxious about life and unwilling to make the group exhibited a far lower mortality rate sale relates to the overall percentage of the
amount of money they are spending; how
subliminal advertising doesn’t really work;
The Chambers Dictionary 10th Edition how first names affect personality, life and
For those looking for the most eccentric, lesser-used words in the English language, this career choices; how news affects people’s
is the dictionary to have. It’s probably the only way you’ll ever get to know what jober- outlook; how to write the perfect personal ad;
nowl, fizgig, snoozle and zoozoo mean – and they’re just some of the examples on the how female van drivers are the most aggressive;
cover! A must-have for copywriters and anyone who loves words. The dictionary also and measuring the pace of life. 
contains sections on first names, foreign language quotes, books of the Bible, wine
bottle sizes, international paper sizes and Internet suffixes, among others. Quirkology The Curious
Science of Everyday Lives
The Chambers Dictionary 10th Edition By Richard Wiseman
Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd Macmillan
R495 R143

2 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007

by michelle sturman ED’S NOTE
PROPRIETOR AND PUBLISHER:
Systems Publishers (Pty) Ltd.
Tel: (011) 234 7008
North Block, Bradenham Hall,
Mellis Road, Rivonia
PUBLISHER: Terry Murphy
EDITOR: Michelle Sturman
e-mail: michelles@systems.co.za
JOURNALIST: Fulvia Becatti
e-mail: fulviab@systems.co.za
SUB-EDITOR: Jenny Bastomsky
e-mail: jennybee@telkomsa.net
ADVERTISING MANAGER:
Robyn Andrews
e-mail: robyna@systems.co.za
PRODUCTION:
Spencer van Graan
e-mail:
spencerg@systems.co.za
SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES:
Daisy Mulenga
Email: daisym@systems.co.za
Copyright of all material in this
publication and supplements are
reserved by the proprietors, except
where expressly stated. The opinions
in this publication do not necessarily
represent the views of the publisher.
Database:
List Perfect
3 944 Jan-June 2007
4 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007
T V talk
I’m addicted to Ugly Betty, the smash hit US comedy (just
won a couple of Emmys) but what has really piqued my
interest is the Dulux sponsorship. Talk about a match made in
heaven. It’s not as if we haven’t seen the ads before, but
kudos to the genius that decided to match the two.
This got me thinking about other sponsorships of my
favourite programmes. Prison Break, for example, was
sponsored by Peugeot. Not an altogether bad match and it
did tie the ads into the theme of the programme – fast
getaways, etc. Survivor is great local programming (and vastly superior this year without the
D-list celebs on it) but I’m not 100 per cent convinced by Vodacom’s ads. They’re cute and
designed to tie in with the whole ‘surviving without broadband’ idea but I think it’s slightly
misplaced and the cartoon theme doesn’t work for me. The KFC ads that are slotted in are great.
But, neither of them are a patch on Pick ’n Pay’s efforts last year – loved the fact that ads were
tied directly into an event that happened on a particular night’s episode. That’s creative.
Two sponsorships that really don’t work are Leaf Wireless for Grey’s Anatomy and Tata for
Desperate Housewives. Let’s start with Grey’s Anatomy. It’s simply the wrong product for this
environment and the ad is all wrong – aliens and hospitals, cellphones and hospitals! A little trite
and completely obvious, but how about medical aid, gyms, energy drinks, beauty products – the
female cast is always beautifully made up, no matter what the emergency, or tissues – who
doesn’t sniffle during almost every episode?
And now for Desperate Housewives… call me a snob (and the Marketing Mix team) but when
the cast of the show drive very expensive cars (Gabrielle and the Aston Martin, for example), Tata
doesn’t quite make the grade. That’s not to say I think Tata cars are rubbish or ugly, they just
don’t go with the show – a better fit perhaps would have been Audi with the new TT or BMW
showcasing the Mini Cooper S convertible. Coca-Cola’s sponsorship last year was ok, but so
much more could have been done with it. Why didn’t Coca-Cola come up with a mini-series that
offered a new episode with each airing of the show – it would have caused as much watercooler
gossip as Desperate Housewives itself.
If brands are going to spend so much boodle on sponsoring some of the best programmes
around, then at least do them justice. The very least you can do is think about which products
really fit with the show in question, then think long and hard about what type of ad would fit
best, and then think out of the box – a lot more.
Marketing Mix Conference Programme
• Effective Marketing in the Township: 16 October 07
• Word of Mouth Marketing Workshop: 6 November 07
• The Marketing Law Workshop: 13 November 07
Sponsorship and delegate enquiries: Robyn: robyna@systems.co.za (011) 234 7008
DMA

DMA Assegai Awards 2007

The Direct Marketing Association of South Africa has taken back the direct marketing awards and this year sees the relaunch of the Assegai
Awards. The purpose of the awards is to recognise and reward excellence in multi-channel direct response marketing. “We are aiming to
attract over 200 entries this year and in negotiations to secure international judges from the UK and US. We are looking for campaigns that
have pushed the envelope, have excelled and delivered real, measurable results,” says Brian Mdluli, CEO, DMASA.
This year, the South Africa Post Office (SAPO) has stepped onboard as the main sponsor of the awards. “We are committed to raising the
profile of direct marketing in our country and from a SAPO perspective, even influence the growth of direct mail as one of the effective
advertising media,” says Janras Kotsi of SAPO.
For more information contact Teresa Settas (011) 894 2767,
e-mail teresa@tscommunications.co.za or visit www.dmasa.org.
Closing date: 12 October 2007. The awards will take place on 5 Nov 2007

Assegai 2007 categories and criteria

There are seven sections covering 21 categories. Campaigns may be Section 6: Creativity
entered into multiple categories and across different sections. Categories
Assegai statuettes will be awarded to those campaigns that meet  Copy
the judge’s criteria in each category. The Inkosi Award will be given  Art direction
to the entry that exceeds all others in the area of creativity, strategy  Creative solutions
and results.
Section 7: Student Awards
Section 1: Media Categories
Categories  Young direct marketer of the year (under age 30)
 3D/Direct mail  Student marketing team/campaign of the year
 Alternative media
 Mass media (TV/infomercials/outdoor/radio/print). Judging Criteria
 Catalogue/mail order In each area of assessment, the judges will have the following
 Direct distribution/inserts criteria top of mind:
 Multiple media/integrated campaigns  Strategy: counts for 30 per cent of the judging criteria and will
 Telephone marketing be evaluated on whether the campaign demonstrates a thorough
understanding of the business environment and market, while
Section 2: New Media displaying a focused strategic insight in response to the challenges
Categories posed by the brief.
 Mobile marketing  Creative: counts for 30 per cent of the judging criteria.
 E-marketing Only work displaying true originality, effectiveness and
craftsmanship in execution will reach the finals. The use of
Section 3: Strategic and Integrated Marketing typography, photography and design in relation to the copy and art
Categories direction will be judged. Simple low cost, once-off campaigns that
 Customer relationship marketing/loyalty demonstrate creative excellence stand as much chance of winning
 Enterprise relationship management programmes as any other.
 Results/ROI: counts for 40 per cent of the judging criteria.
Section 4: Technology Solutions Relevant measurements such as cost per response, conversion rates
Categories and sales turnover must be provided for an entry to be considered.
 Database The results must also be in line with the predetermined objectives,
 Electronic commerce innovation whether those were sales, lead generation, retail traffic etc. Figures
can be represented in percentage or indexed terms. All judges are
Section 5: Individual and Company bound to secrecy and confidentiality.
Categories Campaigns that have received exposure from May 2006 to
 DM marketer of the year August 2007 are eligible to enter.
 DMA Hall of Fame  Creative Awards: counts 20 per cent strategy and 80 per
 Organisation of the year cent creativity.

6 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007

 DMA

Founder Members are offered the following:

 One year free DMA corporate membership
 A free (full day) customised educational seminar about direct marketing, presented by industry specialists
 Representation on the DMA website
 Logo on all pro bono DMA ad placements
 Six free tables over the course of 12 months at various DMA events
 Showcasing at various relevant exhibitions and conferences
 An official Founder Member certificate
 An opportunity to join the planned mentoring programme

Special consideration will also be given to Founder Members through Marketing Mix, with respect to:
 Nominating topics and being invited to provide expert opinions, leading sponsorship rights and occupying premium advertising
positions within Marketing Mix
 Nominating topics for executive roundtables that are hosted by Marketing Mix
 A customised communication programme that can be implemented with the DMA and Marketing Mix

More founder members for DMA

There are only two founder member places left for the DMA Founder
Member programme, according to Colin Hudson, founder member Join the DMA…
negotiator, DMASA. So far, FNB, SA Post Office, MTN, Absa, Computer
Facilities, Avis and HomeChoice have provided financial support as To join, visit www.facilities.coza/dma
founder member companies. “The need for a body representing the
industry as a principal lobbyist on legislation affecting direct marketing DMA fees are paid annually on the anniversary
has been graphically illustrated through the contributions made by the date of joining the organisation and are based
DMA to the National Credit Act and, in particular, to the Protection of on the size of your company. Payment can be
Personal Information Bill and the Consumer Protection Bill, all at a high made via cheque or EFT. An invoice will be
level. This positive contribution on behalf of the industry fully justifies e-mailed as soon as you have completed the
the wisdom of the founders’ investments,” says Hudson. online membership. Before you go to the link
Says Jacques Hattingh, senior manager, Customer Satisfaction (CRM, above in order to register to become a member,
Loyalty & Rewards), MTN Consumer Marketing: “MTN became a you will need to have the following information
founder member to show its commitment to the direct marketing available:
industry. We work with a broad base of customers and BTL
communications is used extensively in our own marketing as it’s  Your company details
cost-effective and more personal. Being in the cellular industry our core  Your company coordinator’s details ie
product is a direct marketing tool for many and with mobile broadband the person who will be responsible for
on its way and the next big thing, being a founder member is the right keeping your company details up to date
thing to do.” on a quarterly basis
Absa’s direct manager, Renny Letswalo, states that the bank’s  Your company decision maker’s details ie
involvement with the Founder Member programme will help direct the person who will authorise your
marketing take its rightful place in the marketing mix. “Direct Marketing membership of the DMA and the essential
is a critical element of the marketing mix, it allows you one-on-one payment of membership fees
contact with your customers. It is a platform to communicate your  The details of staff members who you
products and services as well as build relationships with customers. believe should receive information updates
Direct marketing in South Africa is not developed to the level that it from the DMA on an ongoing basis. If you
should be and it seems marketers do not realise its the full strength. do not have all the details with you, your
Given this, Absa Absa believes that supporting a direct marketing company coordinator can go back into the
specific body will assist in developing the field, for it to take its rightful system at any time to update these details
place in the marketing mix and realise the role it plays in effectively
achieving business objectives.” Contact details:
(011) 577 2780
Companies interested in joining the set of Founder Members dma@facilities.co.za
should contact Colin (011) 706 1657/083 628 6406, or e-mail www.dmasa.org
colinhudson@mweb.co.za.

Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 7

NEWS

The introduction of four new Pay TV services – ICASA
has awarded licences to Walking on Water, On Digital
Media, e-sat, Telkom Media and renewed MultiChoice
licence is going to shake up the sector considerably for both
consumers and the advertising industry.
The news is excellent for consumers as fierce competition is
expected to lower pricing and increase the number of channels
and programmes available. The news is also good for advertisers
for the exact same reasons, although media planners are going to
have to examine the prospects carefully as soon as pricing
structures, ad rates, target markets and programming strategies
are announced. Marketing Mix will keep everyone
informed as soon as information is available
although don’t expect any announcements for at least
another few months.
Telkom Media is expected to give incumbent MultiChoice a run
for its money, especially as it is looking at IPTV and video on
demand. We’ll have to see what e-sat and ODM offer and Walk
on Water is a niche channel aimed at SA’s large Christian
community. Expect to see lots of TV sales people knocking on your
door offering movies, sports, news and entertainment channels as
well as much more local content.

Partnering
for growth
The Efficient Consumer Response
(ECR) South Africa conference is
back again with a great line-up.
The conference deals with the
global and local shopper, retail-
ing and supply chain trends, and
case studies.
The conference runs over two
days and includes both local and
international speakers. The
keynote speaker is Grant
Pattison, CEO of Massmart SA.
Other speakers include Mark
Davies from Glendinning
Management Consultants, UK,
Mark Barnard from Unilever, Bob
Connolly from the US (ex Wal-
Mart) and Michael Poynor, chief
retail adviser,
PricewaterhouseCoopers UK.
Topics include: Brand Building
in the 21st Century Retail, Global
Retail Trends and the Effect on
the South African Retail Market,
Supply Chain – the big picture
and Turning Insights into In-store
Shopper Experiences.
What: ECR Conference 2007
Where: Sandton Convention
Centre
When: 30 and 31 October 2007
Website: www.ecr-sa.co.za
Website of the month –
www.guardian.co.uk
The media section within the UK’s The
Guardian newspaper has always been a
great read and it recently updated the
sector with the introduction of the
Creative Lounge. Within this sector, you
can view some of the latest ads in TV,
radio, print, outdoor and cinema with the
latest on show on any given day. A simple
layout means easy access to the ads, with
a link through to all of the ads by
category on the site. There’s a brief
description of the ad – once through
to the ads, you can search by
brand or company name or just
have a look at the top ad of the
day. Each ad provides the
company, brand, name,
product, ad type and first
recorded date of the ad, but
strangely no ad agency details.
Having said that, if you’d like to
know what the UK creatives
and brands are up to, then this
is a great resource plus you
have the added advantage of being able to
gain direct access to the entire media section-
which is always worth a look.
To gain access you will have to visit
The Guardian’s main website, click through
to the media section and then to Creative
Lounge.

8 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007

 NEWS

Cheque please
Want to reach millions of upmarket consumers
each month with your brand message? Then try
the Billads folder, a plush folder used to give
restaurant customers their bill. Developed by
the Nine Mile Group, the Billads folders are
proving popular with consumers as testing
shows that 93 per cent of consumers prefer
Billads to traditional bill folders. Inperspective
Research Consultancy performed an independ-
ent study and determined that 64 per cent of
consumers noticed the advertising in Billads,
78 per cent recalled the brand that advertised
and 43 per cent said the advertising would
encourage them to make a related purchase. For
brands, the advantages include being delivered
directly into the hands of a target audience in a to four million targeted con-
medium that has high frequency of contact. “Billads is embraced by up sumers every month,” says Craig Segal,
managing director, Nine Mile Group.
Cost is between R650 and R850 and contracts are
usually for a minimum of three months (although Segal says that this
can be adjusted to suit individual campaigns); branded pens are also
available. Nine Mile has 500 national sites – increasing daily – including
restaurants, coffee shops and hotels. These sites are researched and data
is available, including the ambience, type and foot traffic of the environ-
ment making it possible to target a campaign to a specific region. All
are LSM 7-10 focused sites (which receive an average of 30 folders each)
and only one brand is advertised on a site during a campaign.
The Nine Mile team visits sites regularly to ensure that all the units are
in good condition; restaurants are also fully educated on how to use the
Billads, care for and clean them. “The Billads are the only folders that
they are permitted to use to hand bills to their clients within the site,”
says Segal. This medium also holds great potential for product sampling,
vouchers, etc. “The key is that we are able to target a specific audience
without a gunshot approach and a lot of wastage,” says Segal.
For more information, call 0861 64 63 64 or e-mail info@ninemile.co.za.
 NEWS

The future of TV On the rampage

The announcement of four new Pay TV services and the changing nature of technology and Youth marketing has just been given a
consumers mean that Oracle Airtime Sales (OATS), the advertising arm of MultiChoice, has its work boost with the launch of Marvel
cut out for it, especially when reaching out to advertisers. Not only does its portfolio include M-Net, Rampage, a lifestyle magazine aimed at
SuperSport, DStv, and MultiChoice Africa and Global but also offers advertising packages such as boys aged between 7 and 12.
classic airtime, customised shows, interactive TV (iTV), sponsored fillers, sponsorships and product According to Sean Press, managing
placement for over 45 channels. director: Sales, Results Media Groups,
Chris Hitchings, director of sales at OATS spoke to Marketing Mix about the ‘future of TV’,
and says that the traditional tv businesses have “moved from broadcasters to content
distributors.” The power of that statement cannot be underestimated as Hitchings knows only
too well. The future of TV is a myriad of acronyms: PVR,
VOD, IPTV, iTV, DALs and DVB-H. The second digital
revolution is about TV in the PC and mobile arena with
a more complicated value chain, shorter development
cycles and infinite choice for consumers, and major
challenges for advertisers and broadcasters.

Personal video recorder (PVR)

Locally, the PVR has been around for a couple of years
and, according to OATS, over 160 000 PVRs have been
sold. “There are conflicting views on PVRs but it has been
found that the audience is engaged with the ads even on
fast forward,” says Hitchings. According to OATS
research,
51 per cent of respondents claim to watch more TV with
a PVR than without – sports programmes recorded the
most benefit and film viewership increased by around 20
per cent. So far, the PVR has penetrated less than two
per cent of SA homes, ensuring future growth. A high-
definition PVR is currently being looked at in preparation
for SA’s digital migration, supposedly starting next year.
which has secured the rights, the maga-
zine will carry one or two of the original
Marvel Comics range each month,
including icons such as Spiderman, X-
Men, Hulk, Silver Surfer and the
Fantastic Four, but it is not restricted to
Marvel Comics. Other editorial content
includes news, celeb news, amazing but
true facts, fashion, poster, toys, gadgets
& stuff as well as DVD, games and film
reviews. And we bet dad will love it too!

Video on Demand (VOD)

VOD is an interactive process whereby video content is
delivered to a decoder and accessed by the subscriber.
VOD systems either stream content allowing viewing
while the video is being downloaded, or downloaded
directly to the PVR before viewing starts. “DStv will be
launching VOD by the end of this year and we are work-
ing on the commercial application for it,” says Hitchings.
In its bid to offer consumers content on as many platforms
as possible, DStv is currently testing Internet Protocol TV
(IPTV) through its www.dstvbroadband.co.za service. The
service offers subscribers free access to premium content after a programme is originally broadcast. All
that is required for IPTV is an Internet connection and Internet-enabled device. The challenge locally is,
of course, the low penetration of broadband currently.
The magazine is currently exclusive to
Digital video broadcast-handheld (DVB-H) 240 CNA stores nationwide with a large
In the mobile space, MultiChoice is still waiting for the licensing process to take place regarding point-of-sale presence. According to
mobile tv, and notably its DVB-H product. Another area of interest to OATS is user-generated Press, Marvel Rampage will run between
content and the social networking space, which could be just one more platform in its arsenal, 36 and 40 pages monthly with ad slots
which it will need in the battle against Telkom Media, e.sat and On Digital Media. totalling 12 to 14, with a retail price of
All of this adds up to further fragmentation of future TV audiences, but also increased viewing as R14.95 and a 20 000 monthly print run.
consumers will have access to programming wherever, whenever and however they wish. All of this In the future, it is expected that Marvel
choice means that advertisers need to ensure that their ads are entertaining, seductive, involving, Rampage will be released in a number
and that they cover all bases and push services and benefits. of local languages.

1 0 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007

 NEWS

Just add music

Which music is currently enjoying its 15 minutes of fame or would
make a brilliant soundbed for an ad? The list below includes a
wide range of local and international music styles and, most
importantly, it highlights which songs are hip and happening with-
in different target markets right now.
The following list is courtesy of Roy Harman, who manages
South African artists and works on various
music entertainment productions and events.
For more information on how to match
your brand with an appropriate song
e-mail royharman@gmail.com or call
083 407 4928

Act and song Why it’s hot Genre and emotion evoked

Amy Winehouse Lots of hype and gossip about Pop– youthful, rebellious and
Rehab her music and addictions independent

Pink Just completed a South African Pop – party, fun and social
Get the Party Started tour

Pavarotti Mass awareness of Pavarotti’s death Classical – serious, proud,

Ti Adoro and his relevance in the music business romantic and trusting

Elton John About to create a media frenzy with Pop – celebration, joy and memories
Your Song his shows in January

K-OS Catchy and optimistic while being Hip-hop – vibey, positive and optimistic
Sunday Morning appropriate as he headlined the Arts
Alive festival at the end of September
Chemical Brothers Powerful electronic music from a Dance – uplifting, energetic, speed
Do It Again classic band and one of the biggest and drive
hits on youth radio

Jamali Major radio smash hit. Also, it’s an
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough instantly recognised cover of a classic
so cheaper to licence than the original
Miriam Makeba Just headlined the Joy Of Jazz festi-
Pata Pata val and advertised to mass media as
a result so fresh in people’s minds
Obita Another cover of an instantly recog-
Shaka Zulu nised classic with powerful vocals
Pop – cheerful, family, motherly, positive
and uplifting
African – cheerful, fun, friendship,
social and full of life
Hip-hop – force, pride, patriotic and
powerful

Queen Ending off the hype and patriotism Rock – a strong unifying and uniting
We are the Champions evoked by the Rugby World Cup and classic
Cricket 20/20 World Cup

The English way

Superbrands UK has released it CoolBrands results and  Apple – Steve Jobs we love you
while SA doesn’t always follow international trends –  Agent Provocateur – when are you going to
we have our own – it’s always worth taking notes of land in SA?
what’s cool elsewhere in the world. Five of the top 20  Nintendo – wiiiiiiiii
are websites, with three car brands and five lifestyle  Virgin Atlantic – fly British!
technology brands. What’s most interesting is that the  Ferrari – the Italian stallion
top five CoolBrands rarely advertise or market themselves – the power  Ducati – super fast, super cool
of style, sex appeal, packaging and the mighty word-of-mouth rule.  eBay – Fergie’s (Black Eyed Peas) Hummer
The top CoolBrands 2007 are: anyone?
 Aston Martin – thank you Casino Royale  Rolex – timeless
 iPod – to be expected  Tate Modern – greed experiential campaign
 YouTube – we really are all TV addicts  Prada – thanks to Ms Beckham perhaps?
 Bang and Olufsen – top of the range  Lamborghini – burnt orange or baby blue?
and super sexy  Green & Black’s – orgasmic organic choccies
 Google – only fifth place?  iTunes – SA is not a fan
 PlayStation – no doubt spurred on by the launch of PS3  Amazon – SA is a fan

Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 1 1

 NEWS

The interview
Marketing Mix spoke to Louise Sams, president of Turner
Broadcasting System International and executive vice president
and general counsel for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc, about
the future of broadcasting and Africa. This is what she had to say:

On Africa: For Africa, nothing is out of the question. Unfortunately, the scale
of our African operations is inhibited by the lack of broadcasting technology
such as cable and satellite. But, we already have programming such as Inside
Africa on CNN and we’ll continue with that great work. We have to take
countries as we find them but the potential with the cellphone for developing
markets is enormous and is definitely an opportunity on the continent that we
had not appreciated until recently. However, looking at the traffic to our mobile
service across EMEA, we are getting viewers from Africa although it seems that
the devices are primarily used for voice at this point. We are still experimenting
with mobile devices and while there is a real opportunity here, we do hope that
in Africa, broadband will become pervasive. Our goal is to be as agnostic as
possible as it relates to distribution – we want to be everywhere. We’ll not only
take advantage of additional platforms but also new platforms such as IPTV.

On programming: There is always the possibility of licensing existing

programmes from TBS and our plans are to move into new genres, in some
cases leveraging the brands in the US and adapting them locally.

On a digital future: We will have to work harder and use some of the new
tools to appeal to the younger generation such as user-generated content, etc. People are looking for excellent content and credible brands to
help them sift through all this information and to fulfil the brand proposition. The audience is still tied to TV but broadband and mobile are
growing. Our core (TV) is still very strong but the engine is definitely digital. TV is not going to go away. I think in 10 years there will be
different players launching linear channels in new markets.
For TBS, the aim is to have as much broad content across
as many different platforms as possible. The viewer
needs to be connected to the brand no matter how they
brief biography
interact with it. Services will become more interactive and Louise Sams is president of Turner Broadcasting System
‘on-demand’ – on-demand will become more and more International and executive vice president and general counsel for
important – how, where and when the viewer wants the Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.).
info is key. In the former capacity, she is responsible for production, distribu-
tion and ad sales relating
On growth markets: The largest growth in five years – to Cartoon Network,
Brazil, India and China, although China has regulatory Turner Classic Movies,
issues which means foreign channels are allowed only in Boomerang and all other
certain hotels. Russia is another rapidly growing market. A entertainment networks
major growth area will be multichannel TV and advertising and media services offered
spend in particular in the Middle East, Central and by Turner outside of North
Eastern Europe. America; the distribution and commercial operations of CNN’s inter-
national services; all of Turner’s international joint ventures; and
On branding: If you want to have a successful offering, licensing and merchandising activity of Cartoon network outside of
you have to distinguish yourself from the pack with a North America. Sams is based in Atlanta and reports to Philip I Kent,
recognisable brand, great content and a brand that chairman and CEO, TBS, Inc.
delivers on the proposition promised to the customer. In her capacity as exec VP and general counsel for TBS Inc, she
This is what appears to be working in this digital world, oversees the company’s legal matters worldwide, which include
where everything is available. Sometimes companies focus acquisitions and joint ventures; production and clearance of content
too much on what the competition is doing rather than for Turner Broadcasting’s news, entertainment and animation
on their own business and brand – brands must be networks; protection of the company’s intellectual property; and
proactive, not reactive and for any brand it’s important to litigation and employment matters. Sams directs a staff of 80
be on the ground. lawyers located in Atlanta, Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong and Sydney.

1 2 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007

 NEWS

Debating radio
As iPods, online media and new technology
change the way we consume music, radio is
forced to adapt if it is to survive. But more
importantly, radio still has to address a few
long-standing issues. One major issue is that
radio is frequently the ad campaign after-
thought; as a result, the radio brief is often
sponsors to get involved in the ‘on-demand’
environment. However, contentions surround
the use of podcast advertising and websites.
It is clear that some clients still believe that
this type of advertising should form the ben-
efit feature of a contract and be free! Others
argue that clients should be experimenting
and investing in these new media types in
preparation for mass markets (when broad-
band becomes affordable and available, who
isn’t going to be online?). Guest speaker
Anice Hassim of Immedia, argues that the
customer is online, researching your brand,
so that’s where you should be too; he urges
brands to develop an online presence that
supports mass media advertising.
On the other hand, there is the issue of
the online and mobile elements of radio and
its impact – will the audiences pull away
from radio. After all, why bother tuning in if
you can download the weather and traffic to
your phone? Or will these simply add value
for listeners and allow for time shifting of
radio content in much the same way that the
PVR has done for TV viewing? Watch this
space for the only real answer.

inadequate. Award winning radio copywriter,

Alison Hingel, chatted to Radmark Sound
Safari delegates about the poor quality of
radio advertising that too often is the result
of clients not giving radio enough attention.
Hingel championed the role of the copywriter
(who has trained to write powerful copy for
a medium that is unique, ie not visual).
Marketers and clients need to realise that the
advertising brief needs the same attention to
radio that is devoted to TV and print ads.
A related issue (and one that got tongues
wagging at the workshop) is the role of the
media agency, which is bypassed or disre-
garded by clients, who then complain when
the advertising fails to hit the mark. Creatives,
likewise, are accused of failing to understand
the role of the agency.
In terms of its future, radio needs to
embrace new media and technology.
Podcasting, for example, will extend radio’s
offering (lets listeners download info and
content that they want, which they can listen
to in their own time). Podcasts are easy to
produce and are easily loaded onto a radio
station’s website. Podcasts can also create
new opportunities for advertisers and

Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 1 3

 NEWS
One club education
The One Club recently held its 4th Annual One Club Education
Summit in New York City connecting decision-makers at universities,
portfolio schools and advertising programmes with key players in the
industry. Panel speakers were: Richard Ting, executive creative direc-
tor, R/GA; Robert Wong, executive creative director, Arnold; Robert
Rasmussen, creative director, JWT; Fernanda Romano, executive cre-
ative director, Lowe; and Matt Smith, creative director, TribalDDB.
The summit also covered Brand and Innovation with Brian Collins,
former chairman & chief creative officer, B.I.G; the New Creative
Revolution with Kevin Swanepoel, president; The One Club and
Clients – shepherding the Brand into the New Age with Moira
Cullen, design director, Coca-Cola North America; and Brad
Jakeman, executive vice president, Creative Strategy, Macy’s.
The following are extracts from the summit detailing key issues:
Reforming your students
Q: How do you want educators to change or prepare students
who come into your industry?
RT: Technology is changing very quickly and we are looking for people
who have a genuine interest, who are constantly learning and keeping
up to date with industry changes. The iPhone came out and there is an
amazing Safari browser on it that allows mobile browsing that is differ-
ent from any other browser out there. If you work in interactive but did
not know this, you are not keeping up with the instant changes of
events, so how are you going to pitch new ideas to clients?
Q: Is there anything you would change?
FR: There are two things schools need to focus on for creative stu-
dents. The first is media planning. It is a creative person’s responsi-
bility to understand it. They don’t need to be able to sit down and
do the planning, but be able to have a conversation about it.
Second, students need to know the business aspect of advertising.
They need to understand that they are selling a product. It has a
cost and an economic impact. The agency model is shifting and
products are created and becoming part of the campaign.
Q: Are agencies too busy to teach?
RR: It depends on the agency. If we want young people to be more
connected to what’s out there then we need to teach them.
FR: Students don’t come ready. If we don’t help the talent to devel-
op then we won’t find the talent.
What Happens Next? Brand and Innovation with Brian Collins
When people talk about branding, particularly in advertising, they are
talking about what we hear and what we see. However, there is a whole
territory of the brand experience that has nothing to do with that. When
we talk about branding and advertising, it is not just what we hear and
see; it is really about what we feel. I think it is so important for us to think
about what people touch and smell. It is a huge part of creating brands.
The interesting thing is smell goes right into our memory. It is instant and
we don’t analyse it. Every good brand story speaks internally and exter-
nally. The things that are powerful to us can be interesting. Now, what
we have discovered is when creating business ideas, emotionally charged
stories are powerful. It’s not just the object; it’s about the stories behind
the object. So when people buy products, they are not only buying the
item, they are participating in your story.
1 4 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007
The New Creative Revolution with Kevin Swanepoel
This is not about the death of old media but rather about the
birth of new media, an interactive media. It’s about reinventing
and reenergising your students’ career paths. It’s about pop
culture; it’s about the client’s need and the consumer’s desire. It’s
about community and collaboration on a scale never seen
before. It’s about the cosmic compendium of knowledge. The new
web is a very different thing. It’s a tool for bringing together the
small contributions of millions of people and making them matter.
It’s really a revolution. Here are some questions you should ask
yourself and your students. The answer to each should be ‘yes’. Do
you own an Xbox, WII, PSP, PS2, etc? Do you have a MySpace or
Facebook page, or your own website? Do you write or contribute
to a blog? Do you subscribe to RSS Feeds? Do you know what
Twitter is? Have you posted creative work online or have an online
portfolio? Have you created a podcast or posted a video on
YouTube? You need to be engaged and you need to immerse
yourself in the very space clients and consumers live in. If you
and your students do not understand the basics of how these
technologies work or fit together, if you do not play in the same
world as the new generation, how will your students come
up with concepts and ideas to create compelling commercials,
applications, games and websites? What I find interesting is that
some of the better interactive agencies are looking to hire creatives
from the traditional space. They are looking for better art direction,
writing and creative thinking. They are looking for traditional
creatives who understand the new media. Technology can be learned,
creativity cannot.
Clients – Shepherding the Brand into the New Age with
Moira Cullen and Brad Jakeman
Q: Over the past 12 months, there have been dramatic changes in
the media landscape. As Head of Creative Strategy, do you see this as
a trend? If so, are you changing your approach to retail advertising?
BJ: We are in a rapid cycle of change. Society and consumers are
taking more control over what they see, what they choose to see
and what they like. We are seeing people posting their content on
YouTube. We are seeing greater penetration of broadband. The
sophistication of what we experience online in our own homes is
getting deeper. This is leading people to talk about the death of the
30-second ad. I think it’s the death of the bad 30-second spot. All
of these new technologies are presenting more messages to more
people, but they are also allowing us to edit and filter. Most of the
messages are not breaking through because they are either irrele-
vant or they are not delivered in a way that is causing people to take
notice. It is not about trying to cover up the fact that it’s an ad and
trying to present it as something it’s not. It’s about making it better.
People will respond to advertising if it’s good.
I don’t believe new media is going to replace old media. I think one
of the biggest mistakes that marketers make all the time is they
think of new media as either black or white. I think the implications
are really simple – people who are in marketing positions like me
need to drive bigger ideas and execute them in better ways.

Q: In the past few years, design has become aggressive in a posi-
tive way. How do you work with advertising agencies and design
companies to ensure the overall design keeps the brand true?
MC: I think we are moving from a very networked world to a world
of relationships. Moving from a very rational economy to a much
more emotional economy. Design is difficult to value but on the
operational and even marketing side, its value has certainly increased
because we respond to it. Everyone responds to the ascetic aspect of
life experience, but there is no rational or quantitative value. The
only thing we can calculate is the executed product that can be
quantified down the line in an experimental approach where you
can look at consumers with empathy and observe their behaviours
and understand the kind of need they show. This can then inspire,
lead, help and build the creative ultimate experience. The value of
this is huge.
The challenge is the world has departmentalised design
advertising and established its value to the advertising community.
Design roles are complementary to the advertising role. It’s an
ongoing process and I think designers need to consider their
education in terms of their ability to communicate who they
are and what they are. The importance is, we are truly trying to
NEWS
create an integrated experience and this is the new way of working.
I think students and young professionals really need to have a deep
sense of what that means.
Q: What makes a good client-agency relationship?
BJ: How can most advertising agencies be good and most
advertising be bad? Clients have a very adversarial relationship
versus a complementary relationship with agencies. Clients
don’t see their roles as pulling the agency back from doing
something crazy. What I encourage is to make your work better and
to get work through to the organisation. There are many things
that make a great client-agency relationship. I think you have to
understand and have a mutual trust in each other. You have to
respect each other’s expertise.
Q: What would better prepare students for a career in
advertising?
MC: I am a client. I am looking for a partner. We need to ensure
that great work gets presented and done. I want to work with a
designer that is excited about the business we are in. I think to
really appreciate the complexities of the world that we live in is
unbelievable. I think the ability to appreciate the creative is only as
good as the emotion around it.
 7 DAY [B]ITCH
Gus Silber, editor of
Discovery Magazine and
freelance writer
27/08/07
Curses. I have to be up at 4am to be ready at 5am to be at the airport at
6am to be on the plane at 7am. The workshop I’m attending is
sometime this afternoon so, in theory, I could have taken a mid-morning
flight. But I would still have had to be on the road before sunrise to beat
the peak-hour traffic and get to OR Tambo in time to find parking. This is
known as the Johannesburg-to-Cape Town Paradox.
I’ve taken a bunch of mags and printouts to go through on the plane.
Those two hours of cellular-free confinement can be among the most
productive of the day. We take off at 7.09am. By 7.11am, I’m lolling
against the headrest with my eyes shut tight and my jaw hanging open.
It’s a nice sunny day in Cape Town, with just a wispy milk moustache of
cloud on top of the rock. We have a good workshop, focusing on the
challenges of producing custom titles for corporations in a fiercely
competitive media environment. I like being part of the Special Projects
Division of Touchline Media.
28/08/07
Coffee with Janna Joseph, managing editor of Discovery Magazine, at
vida e caffè, to go through the line-up for the next mag. We could just
as easily do this in the office on the 5th floor (or is the 4th? I work from
home, so I am always disoriented in a vertical working environment) but
there is something about Cape Town that induces in me a Pavlovian
response for a short cappuccino.
As soon as I break through the foam, I start feeling enthused, alert
and inspired. Three sips later, and I’m hallucinating, which is the best
way to deal with the growing realisation that we are presenting the mag
in – gulp – two-and-a-half weeks. We’re never going to make it. We’re
never going to make it. We’re never going to make it.
Janna smiles brightly and tells me we’re going to make it, we’re going
to make it, we’re going to make it. I flip open my new black MacBook to
look at the production schedule or at least to let everyone in the vicinity
see that I have a new black MacBook.
Several cappuccinos and a sushi lunch later, I head for the airport, in
good time to avoid the bottleneck on Hospital Bend. But thanks to all
the Jo’burgers hurrying to avoid the bottleneck on Hospital Bend, there is
a bottleneck on Hospital Bend.
29/08/07
Back at home, staring at my PC, in full, flat-out Triage Mode. People are
leaving anxious messages on my landline, to let me know that they have
left anxious messages on my cellphone. In situations like this, I am forced
to maintain radio silence, so that I can channel all my energies into tackling
the task. Just as soon as I’ve brewed myself a fresh cup of Twinings
Green Tea and cleaned these keyboard marks off my forehead.
1 6 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007
30/08/07
Coffee with a freelance journalist at the mall, to go through the first
draft of a story that is going to need a lot more drafting and a lot more
coffee. The problem with the story is that there is not enough story in it,
which is a growing syndrome of the age of journalism-by-Wikipedia. If
you are going to use Wikipedia, I tell the journalist, at least use it for its
intended purpose, which is to insert random mis-statements and inaccuracies
into the articles, and see how long it takes for someone to notice. I
spend the rest of the morning mooching around the mall and playing
cellphone roulette, which consists of looking at a ‘Private Number’ on
your caller ID and trying to decide whether it is someone nagging about
work, or merely someone inviting you to a presentation about timeshare.
31/08/07
My wife, Mandy, rushes into my study from her scrapbooking class,
warning me once again to keep the security gate closed because the little
old lady across the road was almost hijacked by two guys pretending to
be cops. They were driving a big black Mercedes, which was the first clue
that they weren’t cops. Also, they were carrying AK-47s.
01/09/07
Saturday is the freelancer’s day of rest, in theory at least, because not too
many people need copy on a Sunday. But a nice lady from a below-the-
line agency has come to see me about an urgent script for the launch of
a feminine hygiene product. She has brought along a sample for me to
look at. I’m not sure whether I should open it, or just run my fingers
along the packaging. I ask whether the script needs to mention the
product. Oh no, she says, and I sigh with relief. I set aside a few hours to
fashion a light script about fashion through the ages. What the heck. I’ll
rest tomorrow.
02/09/07
A friend comes around to discuss a project we’re supposed to be
working on. It’s a seminar on creativity for the corporate market. To get
me in the mood to spend my Sunday working, he’s brought along a
plastic bag full of pirate DVDs. I take a look. No thanks. I’m not interested
in movies about pirates. 

A time for change
The rate of change is unrelenting and
unforgiving, and for those brands that fail to
keep pace with the ever-evolving demands
and expectations of their customers, it can
prove fatal.
Change can be driven by societal pressures
like consumers’ enhanced environmental –
awareness and demands which directly impact
on manufacturers. It can be driven by heightened
service expectations as found in the retail
sector, which challenge the conventional
staff-to-customer ratio. Often, it can be as a
direct result of technological advancement, as
witnessed by the rapid evolution of the cell-
phone as a handheld television, Internet services
and general all-round communication tools.
Companies today face daily demands for
change that force them to continually review
and redress their product ranges, scope and
offerings. The speed and frequency of this
re-evaluation would make yesteryear’s chief
executives’ heads spin. This has resulted in
changes to the dynamics of many traditional
markets and their ways of doing business.
This is further supported by the trend of
‘masstige’, the demand for prestige products
by the mass and often-price sensitive market.
One example of this phenomenon is the
relative accessibility of brands like Sony whose
products are now much more widely affordable
to all income levels. Coming from the opposite
direction is the ALDI brand. While ALDI may be
unfamiliar to most South Africans, it remains
one of the biggest and most established
grocery brands in the world with around
7 000 stores. Founded in Essen in 1948 after
WWII, the ALDI brand was formed to offer
disenfranchised Germans in post-War Germany
a quality offering at an affordable price by
focusing on a select range of quality merchandise.
While it began its life as a traditional grocery
retailer and has largely stayed true to its
original formula, its unique format of pallet
box displays and weekly specials, supported
principally through its weekly catalogue, has
propelled it to the forefront of the European
retail landscape and threatens to spread across
the southern hemisphere.
In Australia, the brand has a modest network
of 140 stores, which currently accounts for less
than 10 per cent of the total market. From
EXPERT OPINION by richard duncan
humble beginnings in 2001 and while still a
minor thorn in the side on the local market
leaders Coles and Woolworths (same name but
very different brand to its South African
counterpart), the ALDI brand threatens
exponential growth in the years ahead.
With a public target of 200 stores by the
end of 2008, its MD Michael Kloeters
recently projected its potential growth on the
eastern seaboard of the country as 500 outlets,
which sent shockwaves through the Australian
grocery landscape.
Privately owned, the ALDI brand is under no
real pressure to grow and so quietly goes
about its business, largely under the radar of
its local competitors. And yet, even this
juggernaut brand is slowly evolving with the
times and is arguably causing a change in
shopping behaviour and attitudes. It offers
savvy shoppers a clever way to save money on
the basics and the opportunity to afford
“
certain luxuries. At present the brand’s image
is more commonly associated with discount
retailing and low-cost bulk shopping, even this
Companies today
is set to change as the brand taps into the new face daily demands for
trend of smart shopping.
In Australia, Woolworths and Coles realise
change that force them
that their future threat is ALDI. Despite this to continually review
realisation they are hard pressed to be able to
compete with its well-established formula of and redress their
high volumes at low prices. Consider this;
product ranges, scope
”
Wal-Mart in the US sells 100 000 SKUs with a
turnover of US$300 billion, which translates and offerings.
into $3 million per item. ALDI, on the other
hand, only sells 700 SKUs with a turnover in
the US of $44 billion. This surprisingly
translates into a turnover of $63 million per
item. With this sort of buying power it is no
small wonder that it can undercut its competitors
and offer its customers the same quality product
for substantially less.
The thought that comes to my mind is the
potential threat a brand like ALDI and its sister
IKEA could pose to the current retail status quo
in South Africa. Just how disruptive could they
be if they decided to turn their attention
southwards? Their arrival would certainly Richard Duncan
change the dynamics of the South African Sydney, Australia
retail landscape forever and force changes on +61 41 154 9791
the current market leaders. Perhaps this lduncan@bigpond.net.au
wouldn’t be such a bad thing. 
Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 1 7
 by fulvia becatti BRAND ANATOMY

Hummer has arrived

The star of action films, rap music videos market that would include South
and the Gulf War, the Hummer has become the Africa.
ultimate SUV, sought after for its capabilities, its Big questions were raised around local
style and its status. In 2005, General Motors brand awareness, and the mass market
(GM) made the decision to take the Hummer desirability of a vehicle that has
H3 to an the international market, and would become synonymous with millionaires. Brand motoring experts, car dealers, celebs and the
later invest a reported R650 million into the GM manager Bob Smith decided to test the waters media from across the country, for a mysterious
production plant in Port Elizabeth, with the aim ahead of the launch of the H3 locally with weekend ‘car clinic’. The first step was to estab-
of producing vehicles for launch to a global strategic market research. He brought together lish the price/volume relationship, the vehicle’s
positioning, and the specifications and features
The History history of Hummer: that would be required by the various local
1979: the US Military needs a multi-purpose war vehicle, and awards American Motors markets locally (ie the 4X4 enthusiasts versus the
General (AM General) a contract for the production of the High Mobility Multipurpose soccer moms); this involved a static display with
Wheeled Vehicle (or Humvee, as it was dubbed) competitors. “When we asked them how much
1990: Gulf War (and Operation Desert Storm in particular) generates positive media they would expect to pay for a Hummer, the
exposure for the Humvee. During this time, Arnold Schwarzenegger takes an interest in the response was ‘a million’. The mindset around
Humvee and he requests a modified (ie civilian-friendly) Humvee to be used in the filming of this vehicle is that it is expensive,” says Smith.
Kindergarten Cop. This was good news for Hummer: “This existing
1992: the The Humvee goes on sale to the US public, under the name Hummer. mindset would allow us to premium price the
1998: AM General sells the brand name and technology to General Motors, retaining only Hummer at a premium price,” says Smith.
the manufacturing rights. The next step was to gain insight into the
2000: The Hummer is renamed the Hummer H1. brand itself; the recognition factor and brand
2002: Hummer H2 Sports sports Utility utility Vehicle vehicle (SUV) is launched. associations. What became clear is that
2003: Hummer H2 Sports sport Utility utility Truck truck (SUT) is launched. Hummer enjoys a high brand recall. “The
2005: Hummer H3 is launched. In April, GM announces its export contract programme. Hummer shape and iconic design cues [the
2006: In February, Bob Lutz (GM Chairman, North America) visits South Africa. In August, grille, for example] were the most recognisable
GM expands its facilities and production lines at its Port Elizabeth plant (which produces and factors with 85 per cent recognition on of the
exports left left-hand drive Hummers to countries globally, including to Japan, Australia, the Hummer shape, from nine years of age
Middle East, and Europe). In October, the first left left-hand drive H3 is produced at this plant. upwards,” says Smith.
The H1 model is discontinued, due to the fact that the vehicle does not comply with new Based on this initial market research, it was
diesel emission laws. decided that the mystery about the car’s entry
2007: The pricing for the Hummer is announced, and the H3 is launched in South Africa. into the South African market would be

1 8 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007


Extending the brand
Brand extensions in the form of Hummer
clothing lines, sunglasses and accessories
are in the pipelines. “The brand is bigger
than the vehicle,” says Smith.
maintained for as long as possible. To achieve
this, Hummer held off on mass media cam-
paigns for a while, and opted for clever and
regular PR messages delivered to the right
media, as well as exciting test drives on the
dunes of Mozambique. Smith believes that the
media coverage that this generated is worth in
excess of R10 million when assessed relative to
the cost of purchasing traditional ad- space.
“Values are difficult to calculate but when one
thinks that an A4 glossy ad can be cost as
much as R60 000, then third third-party
endorsement is priceless and is more credible
than traditional ad spend,” he says.
It worked – orders for the vehicles started
rolling in, despite the fact that pricing would not
be set until later that year. “People were putting
down R20 000 deposits without even knowing
how much the cars were actually selling for. In
fact, we didn’t spend a cent on advertising, until
two months before the launch,” explains Smith.
GM simply kept the brand messages and PR
going on a regular basis.
The provocative billboard, print and television
ad campaigns were launched in May 2007,
following Smith’s media announcement in April
that the entry-level H3 was to retail for a com-
petitive R3754 000, (the orders doubled). “Our
planning was perfect. As a result, we knew
exactly which dealers to set up and where,
because we already had an idea of where the
footprint was,” says Smith. Dealerships opened
in KZN, Menlyn and Fourways in Gauteng, the
Western Cape, Bloemfontein, and in Nelspruit,
Mpumalanga. New dealerships are due to open
in Port Elizabeth, Bruma in Gauteng, and
Klerksdorp before the end of the year.
Since July 2007, when the H3 was launched
to the market, sales have exceeded expecta-
tions, with 234 Hummers sold through five
dealers within the first month. In its second
month on the market, another 230 cars were
sold, and a sixth dealer was opened.
Hummer in Hollywood
imcdb.org has compiled a list of all
the films and TV series in which the
Hummer has featured. Check out
www.http://www.imcdb.org/vehicles_
make-Hummer.html
BRAND ANATOMY
Who is buying a Hummer?
Interestingly, only 20 per cent of buyers are firm off-road enthusiasts. A hefty 40 per cent
of the brand’s early adoptersbuyers are ‘black diamonds’ and the brand’s early adopters.
And 40 per cent of buyers are females (many of whom see the Hummer as a safe vehicle
to travel our roads in). The core market is defined as LSM 10+, in their mid mid-thirties
and older, mostly married; they have a degree and/or are self-employed. This is a savvy
shopper that enjoys more subtle forms of status, but is still brand conscious. They are
looked up to their peers (trend setters), and have an adventurous spirit. The majority of
Hummers sold to date are either black or yellow.
“Everyone we sell to at this stage is a conquest Luckily for the Hummer brand, its image and
sale,” says Smith, “the repeat purchases will be appeal has landed it in more than a few films, TV
proof of our success.” Effectively, sales series and product placements (many of which
averaged at two cars per dealer per day – an have been unpaid). And there is the powerful
average Hummer wants to maintain for now, celeb endorsement by actor turned Californian
through careful control of the supply and governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger (who became
demand of the vehicles (ahead of the launch, a spokesperson for the H1 and H2 models). All
GM ensured that dealers had sufficient stock, of which went a long way to building the
but they have carried forward the mystique of Hummer brand (at no cost to Hummer).
the car post-launch by focusing on a drip-feed “GM has realised that these are big
of vehicles to the dealerships, and almost opportunities because it gets the message
encouraging a one one-month waiting list on across positively for the brand,” says Smith.
for the cars). They also invite new owners to Look out for the Hummers in a new Ricoffee
pick up their Hummers on a Saturday (when TV campaign (to be aired soon), and in the
buyers are more likely to bring their families Peter Pan pantomime at the Civic Theatre.
and friends along to check out their new toy). There is also a campaign planned with one of
“We place a great emphasis on the idea the cell phone companies.
that it should be a joy to buy a car,” says The big question on everyone’s lips is how
Smith. To this end, effective motor finance will Hummer survive the Green green
plans and customer service departments were revolution? The car is a renowned gas guzzler,
in place well ahead of the launch, ensuring and, as a result, is often targeted by
that customers would enjoy ease of service. environmentalists. The Green Hummer Project
And indeed, a part of the joy of buying a in the US, for example, built a mock Hummer,
Hummer is the fact that it is customisable. powered by two bicycles that are incorporated
“This vehicle lends itself to being unique,” into the frame of the vehicle, to protest
says Smith; and this is powerful in an age of against the vehicles. But Hummer seems to be
mass customisation. addressing the issue. In 2006, the H1 model
The success of this brand will depend on its was discontinued, precisely because its fuel
ability to maintain singular global presence. consumption did not comply with fuel
“What we do as brand Hummer internationally emission laws (and also because it was being
must be replicated in South Africa,” says ousted by the smaller H2 and H3 models,
Smith. Parent company GM (including global which were more suited to suburban driving).
brand managers, etc) are is highly involved; “Hummer is no worse than any of its
country brand managers hold fortnightly competitors,” says Smith, adding that
conference calls to discuss the brand’s image, Hummer has set itself “’green goals”’: by
as well as the marketing activities. Co-promotions 2010, the Hummer range will include cars that
must be approved and discussed, and deemed have biofuel capabilities. SAAB (which is GM’s
to be beneficial for the brand as a whole biofuel pioneer) is already taking biofuel-
before they will get the nod. “Every brand enabled cars into the market place. “We’re on
wants the Hummer association in order to our way to producing these for all Hummer
uplift their brand. As assessment policy is in models,” says Smith. Plus, GM is making
place to determine the ‘must must-haves’,”, inroads into electric cars (such as the Chevrolet
says Smith. Unfortunately, this does not prevent Volt). Product research and development
other brands from using Hummer as leverage efforts are underway, and we can expect to
without its sanction (for example, by purchas- see new engines and special editions by
ing a Hummer and then covering it in brand- 2010. And in the meantime, Hummer will be
ing, or offering it as a competition prize). developing its CSI initiatives. 
Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 1 9
by fulvia becatti TOWNSHIP MARKETING

Tapping in

2 0 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007


g into iKasi
Historically, townships were the underde-
veloped eyesores of SA’s landscape and cities;
considered poor (possessing little, if any, dis-
posable income), undiscerning and illiterate.
Few brands ventured into these no-man’s
lands as a result. But there is tremendous
change afoot, and today, the townships are
veritable goldmines. Yet still, too little is
known about this market by too many, with
assumptions that townships are all one and
the same; or worse, assuming that townships
hold no appeal for brands.
A changing consumer
The township population is increasingly
educated, employable (employed) and
possesses ever greater disposable incomes
and buying power. “People are beginning to
live good lives,” says Marcus Banga, marketing
director, PEP. As Pieter Groenewald, managing
director, Comutanet, says, while many town-
ship residents do not have large disposable
incomes, their combined purchasing power
and loyalty to specific brands are huge drivers
of the South African economy.
This growing percentile of the township
population works in the metropoles and
major cities, commuting to and from work by
bus, taxi and train. Jacques du Preez, manag-
ing director, Provantage Media estimates this
number of commuters to be around 18.2
million. “It takes an average of 84 minutes
for someone living in Soweto to get to work
in Rosebank. This means that they are a cap-
tive audience for that time,” he says. And yet,
as he points out, less than one per cent of
ATL advertising is allocated to taxi and transit
advertising. “When the average township
dweller starts their day, they are out of range
of conventional advertising media,” says
Groenewald. He insists that alternative media
(transit media, taxi radio and TV etc) is
the way to go, in order to reach these
consumers. Du Preez adds that most info into
and out of a township is through a taxi.
Mass media is just as prevalent in the
townships as anywhere else. “They own tele-
visions, radios, consume popular newspapers
(such as the Daily Sun and the Sowetan) and
definitely aspire to premium brands when
they are affordable,” says Groenewald.
Word of mouth is also extremely important
within this environment, says Melanie
Walter, media director, Starcom Media, as
they have more of a community information
network, than someone say, living in
Jo’burg’s northern suburbs.
Townships are the new cool
Property is booming in the townships, busi-
nesses are moving in and malls are springing
up. “When companies such as Pam Golding
move in, it shows that these areas are no
longer the ‘poor cousins’,” says Walter.
TOWNSHIP MARKETING
According to Casper Oelofsen (Shareholder
and Principal of entity that owns Pam
Golding Franchise rights of Khayelitsha,
Mitchells Plain, Kuilsriver and other empower-
ment areas) the boom has been triggered by
more land becoming available from the
supply side and current land owners starting
to see value in developments.
Oelofsen continues to say that not all
township residents want to or can afford to
move to the suburbs, but they are gaining
from economic growth and want to buy and
own a house in the area they live. He points
to areas such as Khayelitsha, where secure vil-
lages are in serious demand; prices in the for-
mal market range from R130 000 to R750
000. Businesses and government depart-
ments are also purchasing land and property.
As Caroline Rait, insight project director,
Added Value says, many people are choosing
to stay in the place where they grew up cre-
ating a market that is as rich and diverse as
any other. “They are looking for everything
that suburban dwellers are looking for and
they have access to all media platforms,” says
Walter. The burgeoning cafe culture is a
prime example of the ‘suburban’ trend that
has emerged in the townships. “Indeed, con-
sumers in the rural and township areas are
demanding it. They want to have a coffee
shop locally rather than having to travel
50km to experience it,” says Dave McKenzie,
Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 2 1
 TOWNSHIP MARKETING
managing director, Boo! Media, pointing to
the increase in the number of coffee franchis-
es across the townships.
Even those who move out of the town-
ships return on weekends and holidays.
“Much of this market is living in the suburbs,
but spending money in the townships,” says
Walter. Du Preez has found that township
schoolchildren attending model C schools in
the suburbs are being consulted on house-
hold purchasing decisions as they are deemed
to be informed, brand savvy and are bringing
this information home with them.
Government is also pumping money into
the townships, especially Soweto – ready for
the 2010 FIFA World Cup – with greenifica-
tion projects and the upgrading of taxi ranks,
malls, parks and services; the townships are
becoming fully functional and well equipped.
“The government is spending money improv-
ing these environments, and this changes
what you can do in terms of advertising,”
says du Preez; outdoor ads, such as posters
and billboards become a viable option in
these environments, now that they are for-
malised and attractive.
Marketers need to make the effort to
explore the many possibilities that are becom-
ing available to them. Refiloe Mataboge, CEO,
Infusion (a local market research company,
formerly Culture Cruizing) says that townships,
such as Soweto, have proved to be attractive
and unexplored markets for marketers seeking
to increase their sales by reaching new audi-
ences. Conversely, townships need to brand
themselves to attract more investment.
Infusion’s study found that Soweto has
attracted the most investment – retail, com-
mercial and community development – and
tourism plays its part as Soweto is a brand
known worldwide. Mamelodi, likewise, is gar-
nering investment, having positioned itself as
a ‘Jazz Capital’. Mataboge points to Tembisa
as a township that offers a lucrative market (ie
one with a disposable income and a brand
awareness) but is overlooked.
No one-for-all approach
Investigating each township is imperative as
they are not alike – each one is unique and
diverse, some being home to several sub-
groups (each with its own purchasing behav-
iour and brand preferences). “If one studies
Soweto as a prime example of a township,
one must realise that Soweto is a city in its
2 2 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007
Community service
According to the ROOTS study, the Caxton newspapers reach penetration in the
60-85 per cent zone and are primarily focused in Soweto, with newspapers also in
Tembisa, Alexandra, Mamelodi, and those townships of the Vaal Triangle (Sebokeng,
Boipotong and Sharpeville). “We cover about 320 000 households in Soweto, with
10 local newspapers. All in all, the group’s township print orders are roughly 500 000,”
says John Bowles, joint managing director, NAB. While the newspapers have had a
great response from national advertisers, it appears that the small businesses in the
townships lack an understanding of the role of advertising. “We don’t see the same
support for local advertising as we do in the more established areas but we do
anticipate that will change as the market becomes more formal,” says Bowles.
Primedia@Home recently launched the Store Carnival offering (a concept for store
openings among the LSM 1-6 markets). According to Melvin Chagonda, managing
director, Primedia@Home, there are three different Store Carnival products. The first
involves bottom-end distributors giving out leaflets at the malls/centres. The Deluxe
option involves more presentable distributors, dressed in branded gear, handing out
branded freebies; a popular radio DJ and music are included. The Extravaganza option
is a live event, with branded promoters, a well-known DJ, music and speakers, etc. This
option includes the use of an in-house trailer (equipped with its own generator), which
can be taken anywhere.
The Store Carnival offerings are adaptable to events, stadium environments and
more, making them flexible; plus, the concept can be adapted to the language profile
of the target market. And the cost is relatively low (with marketers paying between R4
500 and R12 500 for a Store Carnival). Chagonda believes that, given what the store
carnivals can do, the cost is negligible. “This is precision marketing, taking the right
product to the right person, at the right time and in the right place,” says Chagonda,
“we’re also able to speak the language of the people in that area. And the response is
instantaneous.”
Soweto TV
On 1 July 2007, Soweto TV
switched on again, this time
with a first of its kind in SA, a
12-month TV licence. This free-
to-air channel generates rev-
enues from advertising, spon-
sored programming and CSI
funding. Target Group Index
(TGI) is compiling research on viewership and
audiences (due for release in early in 2008), but according to head of marketing and
sponsored programming, Deon Botha, the longer 12-month contract has allowed the
station to become more proactive in the activation of viewers through community ini-
tiatives. The station’s Switch On campaign includes ads in the Sowetan and communi-
ty papers as well as distribution of pamphlets and promotions on taxi TVs. Shows
include Dlala Ngeringas (youth programming), Mbokodo (for women), Soweto Today
(current issues and events) and Ziyamporoma (the hip and happening in Soweto),
among others. Advertisers can expect to pay between R2 330 and R4 660 for a 30-sec-
ond ad spot; sponsorship opportunities are also available, especially with a focus on
edutainment. “This is a target market that contributes in excess of R10 billion in retail
sales per annum, and is highly motivated to improve its living standards,” says Botha.
Soweto TV is expected to increase its footprint to extend outside of the township
in the future as well as expand the number of platforms it can be viewed on.
The Marketing Law Workshop
13 November 2007
Sandton Sun, Johannesburg

Consumer Protection Bill, Protection of Private

Information Bill, National Credit Act,
Electronic Communications and Transactions Act

Your questions answered

These Acts and Bills are and will profoundly influence marketing practices. We are in constant dialogue
with the Regulators and the government departments about interpretations and the purpose of the workshop
is to brief you on the latest discussions and interpretations, as they will impact on marketing practices.
Present at the workshop will be representatives from the appropriate government bodies, legal advisors
and senior representatives from the marketing bodies who have been actively influencing government.

Keynote Address
Andy Quinan, chairman of the legislative sub-committee of the DMA, explains the consultative frame-
work with government, advising on the current status of the various discussions and highlighting three
key issues per Act/Bill which impact upon marketers.

Consumer Protection Bill

The Project Manager from the DTI will address key issues and our legal advisor will comment on the legal
interpretations and respond to your questions.

Protection of Private Information Bill

Christiane Duval, a director of the DMA and a member of the South African Law Commission provides a
briefing on the latest draft and the implications for marketers. The issues to be highlighted will be based
on the current draft Bill, and Christiane will suggest how companies can adopt best practices to support
the basic nine principles, including electronic marketing and purpose and consent marketing.

National Credit Act

The DMA have conducted a number of discussions recently with the Regulator concerning various
interpretations and the resulting clarifications are helpful. Andy Quinan explains the key developments
and a senior representative from the Regulator’s office will be present to answer questions.

Electronic Communications and Transactions Act

Critical issues include the extent to which SMS and email messages can only be issued with prior
consent, opt-in versus opt-out and conflicts with the wording of the Protection of Private Information
Bill. The policing of spamming and its effectiveness will be reviewed. A senior representative of ISPA
(Internet Service Provider Association) will comment and answer questions.

Legal Summary
Adv. Randolph Samuel, a director of LUCID Legal Business Services, a consulting firm specialising in these
areas, looks at the key issues from a legal and business impact perspective

Delegate fee: R1 950 plus VAT.

Three or more delegates: R1 750 plus VAT per delegate.
Enquiries: Robyn Andrews (011) 234 7008 or e-mail robyna@systems.co.za
 TOWNSHIP MARKETING
own right and city dwellers are diverse in
their beliefs, traditions, habits and behav-
iours. This is inadequately recognised by
those seeking to penetrate ‘this market’,”
says Groenewald. Mataboge agrees: “the var-
ious townships are at different stages of
development. On average, Soweto is more
advanced than the likes of Kwa Mashu and
Khayelitsha,” she says.
Marketers often complain that they are not
recognised by this market, and one of the
major reasons is that once-off marketing that
assumes people are alike is futile and ineffec-
tive. “This market is not homogeneous,”
insists Banga. Consider, for example, that
PEP’s market (primarily LSM 2-6, township
dwellers) is categorised into five groupings,
depending on the driver of purchase deci-
sions (value for money, lowest price, best
quality, fashion and style at any cost, and a
combination of best quality for best price).
“Irrespective of where they live, shoppers, as
individuals, make decisions based on these
factors,” says Banga. Groenewald points out
that contrary to the perceived stereotype,
there are more than 10 languages and
dialects spoken in the townships, people with
university educations and others with no edu-
cation at all.
Retail
While language can be a barrier, the main
obstacle, a lack of national retailers, is rapidly
being removed. Informal trade and small
independent retailers are the norm, but the
introduction of shopping malls makes it easi-
er for brands and retail marketing to begin
the quest for brand loyalty and sales.
“Marketers are not necessarily ignoring town-
ships, but look at them from the point of
view of a major player, such as Procter and
Gamble. They distribute through retailers like
Shoprite, and if these retailers are not in
those environments, it makes it difficult for
marketers to move into those areas,” says
Walter. McKenzie points out that while
traditional billboards are available and have
been for some time, the innovative use of
branding communication inside the mall or at
entrances as examples was not available pre-
viously. “Traditionally, the marketplace was
the town or village square, where one could
eat, shop, meet friends and be entertained.
The malls have become the modern market-
place,” says du Preez.
2 4 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007
Infusion Lifestyle Research
 The townships which have the highest incidence of residents who feel that they can
get by on their salaries are Tembisa and Soweto. Those who cannot meet their basic
needs are in Khayelitsha, KwaMashu and Soshanguve.
 Khayelitsha is described as being in a general state of despair (average household
income is R2 500 or less). However, Soshanguve has the lowest household earning at
R1 400 a month (yet they do not report feeling despair).
The taxi industry Taxi commuters per province
 120 000 taxis in SA Eastern Cape: 2 100 000
 11 per cent of taxi drivers own their Free State: 1 100 000
own taxis Gauteng: 3 200 000
 11 average number of trips that each KwaZulu-Natal: 3 300 000
taxi makes per day Mpumalanga: 926 000
 1 050 number of local taxi associations Northern Cape: 266 000
 55 number of major taxi ranks or transit Limpopo: 1 500 000
nodes in SA North West: 1 200 000
 14.5 million number of passengers Western Cape: 994 000
transported by the taxi industry each day Total: 14 586
 87 million the number of passengers
transported by taxi each week Source: Provantage Media
Property Boom
Pam Golding Property Group’s empowerment division has launched a black-owned
development franchise that will focus on the marketing and sales of new developments
in Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha and the Eersterivier areas of the Western Cape. “Rights
have been approved and split to accommodate existing residential (secondary market)
and developments (greenfield or primary opportunities),” says John Herbst, managing
director, Pam Golding Properties: Empowerment. This hopes to address the demand for
new housing to consumers (especially sectional title ownership, which is a new concept
to these markets) and to educate and inform consumers about property ownership.
Furthermore, the split in franchise rights will allow stakeholders to act as project advisers
or facilitators to developers seeking to develop in new markets. Market intelligence and
project viability can therefore be adjudicated with the assistance of a dedicated PGP
developments office that has an intimate knowledge of the market.
“New development franchises have been secured for Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain and
Eersterivier, with development capacity in Soweto, Johannesburg South, Roodepoort,
Roodepoort North, Pretoria West Moot and Kuilsrivier. Strategic partners also include
developers of affordable housing,” says Herbst. The Franchised offices have secured for
than R400 million in sell out value in new projects in the Western Cape; R300 million in
sell out value in KwaZulu-Natal and potential engagements on greenfield opportunities
in Gauteng (all of which are at an advanced stage of negotiation in excess of R1 billion).
“Townships will keep on attracting consumers based on affordability and socio-cultural
dynamics. The spend is unquestionably present, with an objective to contain economic
upliftment within these markets,” says Herbst.
Meanwhile, Old Mutual Property Group Investments (OMIGPI) is also involved in devel-
opments in previously under-developed areas. One such development is the R350 million
Thembokwezi Lifestyle Estate, which is under construction in Khayelitsha. Another is the
R2 billion development and office-to-apartment conversions in the inner cities of
Johannesburg and Pretoria. “OMIGPI is also exploring property development opportuni-
ties for Umgeni, Tsantabane, Mafikeng, JS Moroka, Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Metro
and Kokstad. These range from residential townships and mixed-use developments to
parkades and taxi ranks,” says Ben Kodisang, managing director of Old Mutual
Investment Group Property Investments.

These developments are impacting on con-
sumer behaviour, shoppers’ decision-making
and the response to advertising messages.
McKenzie says that the township consumer is
an emerging consumer; “they are demanding
a greater choice of product in their shopping
centres,” he says. Many of the landlords that
Boo! Media have signed contracts with are
developing additional malls in the untapped
rural and township areas, so there is a great
deal of development in the pipeline. “The
sizes vary from 15 000m2 gross lettable area,
which excludes the parking and taxi rank
area, through to 85 000m2. Foot traffic also
varies from 400 00 shoppers to two million
shoppers per month,” he says. The good
news for retailers is that the township malls
are seeing greater demand for the retailers
that are available in the upper LSM malls.
Woolworths, for example, has moved into
the townships with great success; according
to McKenzie, the Jabulani mall store generated
double the expected revenue in its first
month of trading. “If one works on a formula
of dividing the amount of monthly foot traffic
by the square meterage of the centre, the
township malls are receiving higher volumes
of traffic per square metre than the upper
LSM malls,” says McKenzie.
The good news is that the mall owners
and developers are backing mall advertising.
Mall owners and developers are more edu-
cated now than ever about the marketing
and advertising within their centres. “They
understand the opportunity that we are
creating, and are very much behind us.
Property owners want to see that the
shopper’s experience is enhanced,” says
McKenzie. For this reason, the property
owners will outsource professionals that will
help them to realise their ambitions. But care
must be taken to ensure that the ad
campaigns fit with the marketing profile of
the mall and its market positioning.
Questions have been raised over the
impact that these malls and centres will have
on the smaller retailers and informal traders.
“The rural and township markets are
experiencing unprecedented income growth.
The malls are purely satisfying the demand
from this growing economically active mar-
ket,” says McKenzie. Mataboge maintains
that the impact of the malls on informal
traders is largely dependent on which ‘industry’
they operate in. “Interestingly, there is a big
market for township junk food, such as kota
TOWNSHIP MARKETING
Township slang
 Chisa nyama: a butchery with a car wash and a braai area, where suburban locals will
hang out and show off their fancy cars (in particular, on Sundays)
 Ekasi: the township (derived from the word location/lokasie)
 B.E.E: any BMW driver in their forties (new money, flashy); likes to pick up young women; a
‘sugar daddy’
 Ziyawa/ziyabhixha: it’s happening
 Maraud: to paint the town red; party hopping
 Mpintji: a buddy or friend
 Mpintji Gazi: very close friend (almost like a blood relative)
 Hectic: crazy (used as an adjective); describes a tragedy; describes how busy one is
 Hundreds: used in reference to the first person, indicates that he/she is OK
 Heita/holla/hoezit: hello, how are you?
 Bra: used as term ‘guy’, applies both to males and females
 Jeses bra: exclamation, when something is ‘hectic’ or shocking.
Source: Added Value
s’phathlo (township bunny chow) and chisa
nyama.” There has been a visible increase in
the number of local car mechanics (relative to
the increase in car purchases), and in the
number of people who make security/
burglar bars.
Professor Andre Ligthelm of the University
of South Africa’s Bureau of Market Research
compiled a study into the impact of shopping
mall developments in township areas on
small township retailers. In the study, it was
found that in 2004 only 25 per cent Soweto
households’ retail expenditure was at outlets
in Soweto. This has changed today. It was
also found that those small retailers that are
based within 1km of mall lost the greatest
revenues and saw the greatest declines in
profit. Consider Southgate Mall; this mall is
very much an entrenched part of Soweto,
and while the new malls in the area are
pulling some customers away, the mall is
retaining its higher income shoppers. “The
one risk for malls in rural and township areas
is if they do not upgrade their malls; a com-
petitor will come in with a bigger and better
mall,” says McKenzie. Expect to see new
malls in Tsakane township in Springs,
Mamelodi, Everton, Mafikeng, Burgersfort,
Mdantsane and East London, among others.
Marketing savvy?
Studies, such as TNS Research Survey’s Black
Diamond, have shed a lot of light on the
township market, although it also has its critics,
and perceptions of this market have
progressed substantially. But there is still a
great need for marketer education, and du
Preez believes that some of the responsibility
Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 2 5
 TOWNSHIP MARKETING
lies with media owners and agencies. “A lot
of people who are responsible for media
planning don’t go into the townships,” he says.
Mataboge says that some marketers
believe that people in the townships will
simply ‘catch on’; these marketers seem to
lack the instinctive feel that they have with
people residing in the suburbs. And the
biggest mistakes are made post-product
launch. “Prior to launch, most retailers conduct
extensive research in order to understand the
potential market, ascertain viability of the
offering and so forth. Once the launch is
done, there doesn’t seem to be the same
enthusiasm to ascertain satisfaction with
products and services on a continuous basis.”
What works?
Integration is the key word here – traditional
mass media with alternative media such as
taxi advertising, mall advertising, etc).
McKenzie advocates the use of campaigns
integrated with experiential activations. “It’s
how you integrate your campaigns that is
important,” says du Preez. PEP, for example,
uses a combination of media: knock-and-
drop leaflets are popular, as is radio, and
branded TV entertainment (the brand fea-
tures in the SABC 1 soapie, Generations). In
terms of newspaper advertising it’s the Daily
Sun. Groenewald adds that the township
market is not an easily trusting one, so
tangible experience with a brand is important.
A condescending or patronising attitude
towards the township consumer is not
tolerated. Past oppression has made them
very aware of status.
Research data on the language preferences
of the township consumer is limited, but
marketers and media owners know that
communicating to this market in a home
language is important. Dubbing over an
English ad is not going to work; “it needs the
cultural nuances that go with it,” says Walter.
She adds that the younger, more educated
market doesn’t mind being marketed to in
English. Du Preez, meanwhile, has found that
88 per cent of taxi commuters read English,
and prefer to get info and news in English.
“It is an aspirational language – just look at
the success of the Daily Sun.”
Deeper insights
Groenewald says that serious analysis is needed
to better understand the township environ-
2 6 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007
ROOTS 2007: Soweto
LSM 7-10: Dobsonville, Protea, Diepkloof
Average HH income: Dobsonville – R6 600
Diepkloof – R6 200
Protea – R8 400
Most dominant home language:
Isizulu, Sesotho, Sepedi.
The averages: the percentage of Soweto households that have:
Fridge/Freezer: 91
Washing machine: 35
Microwave oven: 53
Have children under age of six: 19
Have school-going children: 38
Have children beyond school age living at home: 33
Without children: 20
90 per cent of Sowetans own their homes. Less then 10 per cent rent
17 per cent of Sowetans have one car in their household; Four per cent have two, and
just 1 per cent have three
65 per cent of Sowetans have bought take away food once a month (or more often); 39
per cent eat in a restaurant once a month or more often
30 per cent entertain at home once a month or more often
Durables purchased:
Small electrical appliances; large electrical appliances; furniture; soft furnishings (cur-
tains, cushions, etc); home accessories; and toys.
Contribution to savings and insurance (medical aid, short-term insurance) on a
monthly basis is below average in Soweto (though residents in Diepkloof and Protea
ranked highest).
Shopping, cellphone and techno gadgets
This market does not buy nutritional supplements; it purchases over-the-counter medi-
cines, and will try to improve its health by taking supplements. This market does not
exercise at the gym. Only 12 per cent of Soweto and Alex households have four or more
‘techno’ items in the home; however, 47 per cent of these markets have looked for or
bought audio visual products in the past 12 months.
Forty eight per cent of Soweto and Alex cellphone users are MTN subscribers; 47 per
cent are Vodacom; and six per cent Cell C. The majority are prepaid customers.
In the past month, the majority of Sowetans have shopped at Shoprite and Pick ‘n Pay.
Spar is also popular in Dobsonville and Meadowlands. These shoppers do bulk shopping
once a month. A small percentage will shop twice a month. For clothes and toiletries,
this market will shop at Edgars and Jet stores.

ment and insists that an intimate knowledge
of the demographics of the target market is
essential. But researching this market presents
challenges. Infusion encountered the following
challenges over the course of its township
research. “The most significant problem
behind research is the fragmentation due to
research projects focusing on a couple of
problems that are never seen in the context of
larger society,” says Melani Prinsloo, founder,
Infusion. Traditional fieldwork doesn’t work –
arriving at 7am to interview people that leave
for work at 5am, for example. Prinsloo also
points to the distrust of respondents because
of non-sustainable investments in the town-
ships. “What works best for us is referred to as
community-based participatory research,
where information is gathered for us through
community members, while this info is provid-
ed free of charge back to the communities for
development purposes.“
Mataboge adds that we need to start asking
different questions if we are to gain true
knowledge about life in the townships. And
respect for the community needs to be main-
tained; “we need to more humane when visit-
ing places that people call home. The same
sentiment applies to brands,” says Mataboge.
Traditional research methods do not apply
within the township environment; face-to-face
interviews set in the townships are the way to
go. Recruiting a local community member to
smooth the research process is key, as is inter-
viewing outside of working hours. “Taking
clients with us into the townships can be really
powerful, especially for those who’ve never
ventured there,” says Rait.
Expectations
Craig Irving, founding director, Consumer
Insight Agency (CIA), says that some suburbs
of Soweto already resemble Sandton. The CIA’s
NOW project reveals 12 archetypes that make
sense of the South African landscape, and the
‘loxion’ dwellers. “Township is not an amor-
phous catch all for some notion of black-
ness…we believe that marketers need to
spend time understanding this – drawing
inspiration from the reality of the streets.
McKenzie points to the growing aspiration of
these markets. “For the first time, dishwashers
are being sold in township malls beyond
Soweto. The biggest mistake marketers can
make is to under-estimate or ignore this
market,” he says. 
TOWNSHIP MARKETING
Bite-sized branding
There has been an increase in the number of
brands exploring bite-sized servings. Clorets
chewing gum recently launched a two-piece
pack; Cadbury’s bite-sized chocolates
campaign is doing well too. Kirstin Stapelberg,
senior brand manager: chewing gum, Cadbury
explains the launch of the Clorets two-piece pack. At the time of launch, SA was
consuming less chewing gum than other developing markets (in spite of the
huge growth in confectionary categories worldwide). “The so-called emerging
market consumes more bubblegum and sweets than it does chewing gum, due
to a lack of availability and an inability to afford chewing gum,” says Stapelberg.
For Cadbury, this represented the ideal opportunity to grow the chewing gum
market in a new direction. Clorets was identified as the ideal brand for this
extension because it is a well-established within this market; consumers trust
the brand. The smaller two-piece pack overcomes the issue of affordability (at
just 50 cents per unit).
A sampling campaign formed an integral part of the launch (especially since the
majority of South Africans had not been exposed to big-brand chewing gum in
the past); support in key wholesalers took the form of giveaways, win-and-spin
competitions and point-of-sale material. Other campaign platforms include taxi
branding, billboards, in-store activity and trade education. All communication
carries the payoff line ‘nge5bob nigmnandi’ (for just 50 cents you can be
cool/fresh).
Cadbury had researched the market extensively and tested a variety of concepts
at different price points. “Crucially, we confirmed that consumers in the low-
income market have the same needs and aspirations as those of their middle
and upper income counterparts, and that they desire similar quality products.
The difference lies in purchasing behaviour,” says Stapelberg. She also found
that it is a question of affordability and availability.
The Clorets two-piece offer has added growth to the brand (through awareness,
which had grown to 54 per cent four weeks after the launch). “One-third of the
consumers purchased two boxes at a time. Many consumers heard about the
product through word of mouth, which indicates that people are talking about
the product,” says Stapelberg.
The Imagination Lab in Soweto
The Imagination Lab takes matriculants from disadvantaged backgrounds and
gives them the opportunity to explore the creative world (and consider careers in
advertising, design and digital media, etc). After a year of study through the
Imagination Lab, students are offered internships at ad agencies and marketing
companies (such as TBWA Hunt Lascaris, Network BBDO, The Jupiter Drawing
Room, Old Shanghai and FCB). These agencies play a role in guest lecturing at
the Imagination Labs.
The Imagination Lab course is a Vega School and Communications and
Advertising Forum for Empowerment (CAFÉ ) initiative, and was launched in
2003. It was established with the purpose of fast-tracking transformation within
the industry. Recently, the fifth Imagination Lab was launched in Soweto (with
others in Alexandra, Kwa Mashu, Westville and Sandton). “We are very proud of
this initiative as it is playing a big role in transforming the industry and in help-
ing people develop their talents. Since inception, Imagination Lab has main-
tained a pass rate of 85 per cent, while many of the students went on to start
their own small businesses after obtaining the certificate,” says Gordon Cook,
founder and school navigator.
Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 2 7
 by ronnie apteker EAST MEETS WEST
Footskating 101
Two years ago South Africa’s imagination
was captured by Crazy Monkey’s Straight Outta
Benoni – a full-length local feature film that
created a lot of hype and set a massive
expectation. Well, the chips are down and the
numbers are in. That youth comedy sold just
over 200 000 cinema tickets. Not a bad first
attempt but not nearly enough to cover the
film’s budget. The result was a financial loss.
Many hard lessons were learned, resulting in a
lot of soul-searching.
Winston Churchill once said that success is
the ability to go from one failure to another
with no loss of enthusiasm. So, we are back,
with a different team of people, a radical new
approach and a clearer vision coupled with an
abundance of enthusiasm. The new colourful
youth comedy is called Footskating 101 and we
are very happy with the film. The budget came
down, drastically, and the marketing campaign
this time round will be more targeted with a
clearer message.
We made the new film on high-definition
digital, a huge cost saving over Kodak film.
Benoni had over 100 crew members. The new
film, which was shot on the West Rand, was
made with a handful of people and crew. I was
one of the crew. We laid down a set of house
rules. It was a simple, no nonsense approach.
There was no catering, no portable toilets, no
trailers, no frills and no attitude. What there
was, was a stronger sense of purpose, an
overwhelming humility, increased passion, and
a bunch of artists that were very hungry. The
film is complete and we have done some
extensive audience testing. The sense I am
getting is that we have moved up to a six or
maybe even a seven out of 10. That makes me
very happy. Finally, some growth.
Yes, it is a crazy, silly movie. The name says it
all, ‘Footskating’. But it has far greater heart
than Benoni. It is a more honest piece of work
and we hope that this time, the expectations
we create with our marketing campaign will be
more precise.
The Benoni film’s marketing drive started at
the beginning of 2005. It went on for nine
months and the Monkey was everywhere. It
2 8 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007
certainly was a relentless and pervasive
campaign and it had a lot of imagination
behind it. The Footskating marketing blitz, on
the other hand, is a lot more focused. It
officially kicked off in August and runs for two
months. The new campaign is simpler, but
bigger. By simpler I mean more direct, more
straightforward and clearer. By bigger, I mean
more creative and far more innovative.
5FM have come on board again as our main
marketing partner. The movie is branded as a
5FM project. For all intents and purpose, it
looks as if 5FM made the movie. In the new
film we have a lot of 5FM product placement
as well as some very clever cameos by some of
the DJs. 5FM will get kudos for the film and we
are hoping to forge an even stronger relation-
ship with the station from our efforts. And
the film gets a national broadcaster to help
promote it.
We learnt many valuable lessons on the
Benoni marketing roadshow. Poster signing, for
example, is highly cost-effective and we are
printing 20 000 posters that will be used on
campus tours, mall visits, cinema campaigns,
music store displays, etc. The new poster is
really brilliant, it hits all the right notes and we
are confident that every youngster will want an
autographed poster. Every teenager, for
example, that puts up a poster in their
bedroom or classroom becomes a billboard for
the movie. Even more important is reaching
our target audience through MXit, which is
being organised by the film’s distributor, UIP.
During the roadshow, we will be handing out
flyers, which will have an SMS line and an entry
form for a competition.
Handing out T-shirts is always cool. Everyone
loves getting a funky new hip T-shirt. But a
good quality T-shirt costs around R50 to make.
A poster costs less than R2. So, we are doing
more with posters and less with T-shirts. There
will be a range of stunning Footskating T-shirts
from Puma, but it will be focused, and more
strategic and tactical in its usage. This time
around, we are using the T-shirts for competitions
as opposed to just handing them out. We are
trying to be more tactical by getting people to
enter a Footskating competition by filling in a
form whereby we capture their cell numbers
and e-mail addresses to keep growing our
database.
We are creating a stack of big vinyl banners
to hang up in the cinemas across the country.
The cost of making a vinyl banner is around
R600. To make, say, 40 banners is not that pro-
hibitive from a rands and cents point of view.
The exposure these banners provide to the key
cinema-going population is focused and effec-
tive. There is no monthly real estate cost for
putting up banners in a cinema. Yes, it is excit-
ing to see a big billboard up on the side of the
road advertising your labour of love, but it is
expensive, and it is not that targeted. Having
said that, we have a bunch of roadside bill-

boards going live for the month of September.
For the Benoni film we had billboards up for
seven months. This time it is for one month;
the month of release. It is a smaller footprint
and more precise – there are about a dozen
boards going up in Johannesburg... mainly in
the north.
Probably the most innovative aspect of the
new campaign is the tie up with Fanta.
Collaboration is in the form of branding on
Fanta tins and the campaign will last about
10 weeks. This is an extraordinary win/win
proposition. The thing I want to point out
about this particular aspect is that it did not
happen over night. Nothing about the making
of this movie or its marketing happened quickly.
A lot of time and effort has been invested in
this journey and everything we have done on
the marketing side has been proactive. We
have not waited for the phone to ring. We
have been building bridges since the first word
was put on paper when we started writing the
story over two years ago. The secret to our
marketing campaign, and to life in general, is
to be as proactive as humanly possible.
We’ve been building our audience through
a website – www.footskating.com – TV and
radio spots, trailers, the Footskating Game
competition as well as music videos. The music
in the new movie is really solid this time
round, it is all South African. We had a ball
EAST MEETS WEST
working with EMI on the CD which hit the
stores mid August. We are expecting it to sell
well and create more heat for the film. A key
consideration here is that we are not calling
it a soundtrack, but rather, “The Footskater’s
Rock Compilation”. Generally, compilations
get far more exposure than soundtracks.
Look & Listen and 5FM are punting the CD
and at the time of writing, two of the songs
are in the Top 40 charts and climbing. We
are all hoping one of these tracks get to the
number one position. Bands include:
Fuzigish, Driverlane, Farryl Purkiss, Scarlet
Box, Fokofpolisiekar and Taxi Violence,
among others. from my perspective. We came in on budget,
Einstein once said that insanity is doing the on time, and with greater alignment in the
same over and over and expecting a different small team. This, to me, is fundamental.
result. I have been involved in eight film Everything in life is about people. People are
productions over the past seven years and this what make the difference. You only ever invest
last one, the Footskating adventure, has been in people; not in business plans or movie
the best. We did things differently, radically scripts. From my perspective this was the best
differently, and the result is already a success film investment I have made to date. 
Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 2 9
by michele venter-davies EXPERT OPINION
Word of mom
We’ve all recently read several articles in
women’s publications and witnessed
distraught parents on TV magazine
programmes slating advertisers for the harm
they are doing to their children.
‘The pressure’ has become a buzz phrase
flaunted in the car parks and on the cricket
fields of many prestigious schools. Moms
complaining about the stresses caused by
irresponsible advertisers who have brain-
washed their (above average) offspring to
believe that brands dictate social acceptance –
which is directly proportional to the price tag.
Dads bragging about the thousands paid for
a cricket bat for six-year-olds who must ‘get
off to a good start’. Sure, we all want to give
our kids the best. Heaven forbid they should
suffer psychological problems such as ‘material
deprivation syndrome’ and humiliation at the
next school function.
The school car park must be one of the
most powerful marketing arenas of our time.
A captive audience of women determined to
ensure that their children ‘make a success of
life’ – founded on brands. Word of mouth is
nowhere near as powerful as ‘Word of Mom’.
Well done to the marketing profession. It
has, it seems, successfully managed to remove
the word ‘no’ from the vocabularies of
thousands of well-heeled opinion leaders,
seekers and followers, hell-bent on their kids
outwearing, outperforming and out-marrying
their nearest and dearest cohorts.
An energy drink brand which, I guess, is
aimed at teens and twenty-somethings that
party all night, is poured down the throats of
gagging primary school athletes intent on
winning that gold (plastic medal) for mom.
As long as Johnny has one medal more than
Sipho we’ll risk the side effects of adult doses
of caffeine. A lingerie shop designed to fulfil
the dreams of any blushing bride-to-be is
patronised by 13-year-olds wanting to ‘look
sexy’. For whom we wonder? Maybe the
15-year-old who invited her to spend the
holidays at ‘our place in Plett’ sipping Mexican
beverages and smoking agricultural produce
from KZN, while his parents are overseas
making sure they keep ahead of the Jones’
and Gamedzes’. Good example of cross-
segmentation and targeting.
It was interesting to hear a mother
reprimanding a young boy who was
3 0 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007
“
While South Africa
has some truly innovative
criminal tactics, forcing
soccer moms to patronise
trendy boutiques is not
”
one of them.
tormenting the ‘dear little creatures’ at the
Johannesburg Zoo… “Stop it Daniel! I will
take away BOTH your bicycles!” Great marketing
campaign that convinced mom that Daniel
could ride two bicycles at same time.
And what happened to good old sarmies
for lunch? It is now essential to buy hamburgers
and pizzas from highly successful franchises
during break time. Again, ‘the pressure’. This
time it’s the pressure of having to shop for
shoes AND play tennis before noon. No time
to make a sandwich. But the real reason, of
course, is that the chubby teen will be
ostracised by ‘the others’ if they bring
homemade goodies. Not serious – chubby
can be liposuctioned as a Sweet-Sixteen gift
… they are all doing it.
Plastic surgeons are being hounded by
teens seeking boob jobs, nose jobs, lipo and
even eye jobs. Gone is the matric holiday …
we went to Disneyland by the time we were
10… Margate sucks. But lipo sucks better and
that’s what we are doing for the December
holidays. (And, after all, we had the sex-toy
party for our 16th so even that doesn’t
titillate anymore.)
And who is driving this consumption
phenomenon? It is accepted that there are
various role players in the consumer decision-
making process. Kids are strong influencers.
But, ultimately, the decider and buyer roles
are acted out by those who control the
spend. I assume that in most higher LSM
families these are adult parents with a reasonable
level of intelligence and education. And yet
they claim to be the helpless victims of armed
marketers who threaten horrid things if they
don’t join the ‘get branded’ inner circle.
Marketers lurk in car parks and on soccer
fields exploiting spineless creatures who’ve
lost their basic values. Those who merrily
spend R800 on a T-shirt, but turn away from
the child at the traffic lights for whom it
represents school fees for five years or more.
The same traffic lights where dad leans out of
his luxury German sedan to buy a DVD from
the informal sector. Very confusing as mom
insists ‘We NEVER buy fakes’ during car park
competitive dialogue sessions.
Marketers play a role, of course. They put
their brands out there for consumption. They
position themselves according to consumer
values. The consumer tells the marketer what
their values are and the marketer designs a
product offering to match. Maybe marketers
are to blame for delivering on what the
consumer wants? But, ultimately, the
consumer has a choice. While South Africa
has some truly innovative criminal tactics,
forcing soccer moms to patronise trendy
boutiques is not one of them.
The most interesting thing for me, however,
is how these consumers cannot seem to identify
at all with other like-minded souls. They all
lament the fact that they are ‘not like the
others’. It is ‘the others’ who place pressure on
them to conform to shopping behaviours
beyond sensible practice. ‘We have no choice’
is their car park war cry. I wonder which
marketing genius started the conspiracy? 
Michele Venter-Davies
faculty head: Marketing and Advertising
AAA School, (011) 781 2772
michelev@aaaschool.co.za

Surviving the silly season
– a radio guide
Where are all the Christmas trees? It’s
October and not a Christmas light in sight!
Don’t worry; they’re being unpacked as we
speak. In a month’s time you’ll be wondering
what happened to the year and to your new
year’s resolutions. Every year retail high season
starts earlier. Retail mediums become more
cluttered. Retailers become more competitive,
and consumers become more discerning.
While advertising mediums look more and
more like gaudy, overdressed, cheap and nasty
Christmas trees.
The question on radio, as in any other medi-
um, is how to STAND OUT. You might not
have the benefit of CAPS on radio, but a few
other pointers will help.
Creatively: try staying away from Christmas
tunes. I know it’s the only time of the year you
can jingle your bells under the voice over, but
it’s really not worth it. For the simple reason
that everyone will be doing it.
Slow down. The silly season brings out
something funny in advertisers. Everyone wants
to squash 45 seconds of price-product offers
into 30 seconds. Understandably so, since
there are so many fantastic offers and dis-
counts around. But a second of sanity on radio
often speaks louder than five words per sec-
ond.
On slowing down: allow enough time to
develop the creative. Clients, even agencies,
rarely allow their creatives enough time for
crafting. Every word counts, especially consid-
ering you have 60 to 80 words to get your
message across. Demand something fresh
from your creatives; even if it means rebriefing
them 10 times. Using a writer that actually
likes writing radio commercials helps.
Then an obvious one: avoid clichés and bad
Christmas puns. Rather, avoid all puns, not just
the bad Christmas ones. So no ‘miss it and
you’ll miss out’. No ‘get into the festive spirit
with…’ and definitely no ‘Tis the season to be
(insert brand name here)’. Please. They make
your brand sound contrived and unbelievable.
Likewise, many brands will be claiming ‘profes-
sional’, ‘friendly service’, ‘knowledgeable staff’
etc as they do throughout the year. These
phrases become more irritating in high season
“
Remember that nothing
beats a fantastic offer. So
make yours irresistible, and
keep it to one message
”
per ad.
because of how often you hear them being
thrown around.
But even before you start thinking creative,
think strategy. Retailers often flood the market
with frequency over the retail season.
Remember that different radio stations attract
vastly different listeners. Don’t un-sell your
brand by talking to customers in a way they
don’t appreciate or understand. Target the per-
son you want to attract in a way he or she will
notice. Related to this is understanding who
really makes the buying decisions – not who
pays for the item, but who nags for it. It might
change the way you advertise completely.
If at all possible, talk to people when they
are performing a related activity. For example,
if you sell a slimming product, talk to women
on their way to the gym. Or on a Monday
Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 3 1
EXPERT OPINION by lizelle smit
morning when a whole week’s worth of
starving was trumped by the Sunday braai.
Radio makes an even bigger impact if the
message is heard close to the moment of
purchase. For example, radio reaches people
on their way to the shops. Radio reaches them
in their homes as they get ready, in their cars,
in shopping centres (there’s a reason large
clothing retailers now have their own in-store
radio stations).
So think about the lifestyle of the person
you want to talk to and place your ad as close
as possible to the time he or she would want
to buy your product. And even if it can’t be at
the time of purchase, make sure you’re top of
mind when the purchase is made.
Then the fuzzy-feeling factor. Over the peak
retail season, say, from November to January,
people are feeling different from the way they
feel the rest of the year. They are looking for-
ward to their annual holiday, family gatherings
and spending time with loved ones. They are
realising how lucky they are, and getting into
caring and sharing mode. So join them, and
get on board a radio station Christmas charity
drive. It’s usually free, apart from your pledge.
And it’s fantastic PR, even though ‘you’re not
doing it for the airtime’. So give something to
the people around you, and be sincere about
it. More importantly, do it on radio – the most
personal and believable medium.
On being personal on radio: radio has this
strange and wonderful way of making the big
boys seem more personal and more caring
over this period. It also allows the little guys to
create a bigger ‘we’ve arrived’ vibe. Use this to
your advantage.
Then lastly, since the period is all about
selling: Remember that nothing beats a fantastic
offer. So make yours irresistible, and keep it to
one message per ad. One price per ad. One
beautiful shiny star for the top of the
Christmas tree.
Merry retailing. 
Lizelle Smit
creative head, RadioHeads
(011) 624 1319
lizelle@radioheads.co.za
 by helen mcintee EXPERT OPINION
Packing – the other ‘P’
Fifteen years ago I conducted some
research into packaging as the fifth ‘P’ of the
marketing mix, limiting my study to the cosmetics
industry. The results were interesting in that I
successfully managed to prove that packaging is
so closely linked to the cosmetic brand, that it
could not be regarded as a separate ‘P’. Okay, I
hear you sigh, so what’s your point?
My point is that after 15 years, marketers
have apparently still not hit on the fact that
‘packaging’ is a critical part of the product. It is
well recognised (my research revealed) that
many authors on the subject of marketing
indicate that packaging is really the only piece
of product information that every consumer
sees. ACNielsen’s Shopper Trends 2005 report-
ed that 60 per cent of shoppers are ‘extremely
susceptible’ to impulse purchases and the
average shopper makes 19 store visits in a
month, with supermarkets visited twice a
week, often two or three different supermarkets
a month. And while containment obviously
remains the most fundamental function of
packaging, over the years it has come to
perform many other functions.
Consider the following functions:
 Protection from physical or environmental
damage
 A source of information about manufacturer,
dosage, contents, usage instructions etc.
 Identification – the packaging enables quick
and easy identification of the product at
point of sale
 Security – for example, tamper or childproof
seals, authentication seals (to indicate that
contents are not counterfeit), and anti-theft
and pilferage devices
 Facilitation – the very nature of packaging is to
facilitate the usage of the product within, for
example, aerosol cans, easy pour spouts etc
 Storage of the product in warehouses, on
shelves and so on
 Convenience, such as the six-pack carry pack
 Marketing – packaging should be carefully
thought out as a very effective way of advertising
to and communicating with the consumer.
3 2 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007
Unfortunately, it seems that little space is
given by marketing textbooks or syllabi, either
examining or discussing this crucial part of the
mix and, in real life, by active marketing
departments. I feel fairly sure that proportionally
the amount of time spent on the packaging
of a product is probably fairly small when
compared to logo design, brand awareness
and advertising.
I decided to try and prove myself wrong and
so opened up Philip Kotler’s latest textbook
and yes, there it is in the index:
‘Packaging pages 393-394’
A page and a half does not, in my mind,
constitute nearly enough focus on the topic.
As marketers in one form or other,
we are all aware that Product is arguably
the most important ‘P’ as without it no
marketing would be necessary. However,
“
with the dramatic increase in products and
Marketing as a services available to the consumer, the
subsequent rise in intense competition
discipline is fairly new between brands and, most importantly, the
to the world, but I propensity for self-service shopping
environments, then it is the appearance of
believe it is old enough the product that has now become a critical
influencer in the purchase decision.
to necessitate a review In the marketing of services, we constantly
of past theory and emphasise the need to ‘tangibilise’ the
intangible. This means trying to display physical
practice. The world of evidence of the service so that consumers can
the ‘50s and ‘60s is no more easily evaluate a product they are unable
to touch or see – this is, in effect, the
longer our current ‘packaging’ of that service and is equally
important in the marketing mix.
reality – so let’s now
Marketing as a discipline is fairly new to the
add packaging to the world, but I believe it is old enough to
”
necessitate a review of past theory and
marketing mix. practice. The world of the ‘50s and ‘60s is no
longer our current reality – so let’s now add
packaging to the marketing mix. 
Helen McIntee
director, IMM graduate School of
Marketing
(011) 628 2038
helen@imm.co.za
 INDIAN MEDIA by fulvia becatti

H o t a n d sp cy...
The local Indian market makes up a
relatively small percentage of the total popu-
lation, with the 2001 census figures placing it
at 1 120 494 adults (Labour Force 2006
survey places the Indian population at 1.16
million). The majority of this market is settled
in KwaZulu Natal (where it accounts for
49 per cent of the total population). “KZN
has the largest population of Indian people
outside of India,” says Naveen Singh, pro-
gramming manager, East Coast Radio.
According to census figures, two thirds of
South Africa’s Indians are Hindu. “Even
though there is a small Indian population in 89.8 per cent and in Merebank 65.2 per monthly income of R8 010. The total wealth
SA, it is still representative of most of the dif- cent. They are wealthy households. “It is true of urban KZN households is approximately
ferent religions, castes, sects and languages,” that Indians are of the upper LSM, however, I R4.8 billion; the Indian population in KZN
says Shyam Pitamber, CEO, Indfinity.com (a believe that there is a significant portion that accounts for around R2 billion of this total
local Indian website). is up and coming; people who aspire to wealth (ROOTS 2007).
The NAB ROOTS 2007 study found that becoming upper LSM individuals,” says “This is a rich capital market,” says Rajesh
Indian purchasing decision-makers (PDMs) Pitamber. In Chatsworth, for example, where Devjee, CEO, SA India magazine. He warns
are settled primarily around Durban (in there are 47 158 Indian households, their advertisers that if they neglect to engage this
Phoenix, Chatsworth, Merebank, Overport, average monthly income stands at R8 620. market, they will alienate the country’s
Queensburgh and Umhlanga), with smaller This results in a total wealth of R407 million wealthiest group. “Indians won’t buy a
concentrations across Johannesburg and for the region. Overport’s 30 491 Indian brand-new Toyota. They would rather buy a
Pretoria, and the country metros of households have an average monthly income second-hand BMW. It’s about the status,”
Pietermaritzburg, Ladysmith, Newcastle, of R11 785, which puts the total wealth of he says.
Empangeni and Brits. the region at R359 million. Phoenix’s total Of the Indians who have flown in the past
In Phoenix, more than 94 per cent of wealth stands at R306 million with 38 252 12 months, 60 per cent have flown SAA, 27
PDMs are Indian. In Chatsworth, the figure is Indian households generating an average per cent Kulula and 12 per cent British
Airways. This market shops for clothing and
shoes at the following stores: Edgars (43 per
Race Profile: KZN (ROOTS 2007) cent), Woolworths (29 per cent), Jet stores
(25 per cent), Mr Price (22 per cent) and
Region Percentage of total population Truworths (14 per cent). KFC and Nando’s are
Black Coloured Indian White the most frequented takeaway/restaurant
KZN TOTAL 21 6 49 25 outlets, with 64 per cent and 58 per cent
Durban total 8 5 71 9 of Indian PDMs visiting them respectively
Phoenix 5 1 94 0 over the past month. Spur, Debonairs,
Chatsworth 6 0 90 4 Something Fishy, Steers and Ocean Basket
Merebank 4 26 65 4 follow (ROOTS 2007).
Overport 25 14 58 2 Mass media consumption among the
Queensburgh 17 1 30 52 Indian market consists of newspapers
Lower South Coast 26 2 19 53 (national, regional and community papers),
Umhlanga 26 1 19 54 radio and TV (with DStv offering North Indian
Berea 31 1 16 51 and South Indian bouquets), while SABC
Highway 27 3 14 56 programmes such as Eastern Mosaic meet
Empangeni 33 2 14 51 the need for locally produced content.
Bluff 29 5 12 54 AMPS 2006 figures found that of the 2.4
Upper South Coast 12 1 5 82 million DStv viewers, 137 000 were Indian.
Approximately 33 000 of these are sub-

Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 3 3

 INDIAN MEDIA

scribed to the North Indian bouquet and

approximately 16 000 to the South Indian Average household monthly income and regional wealth
bouquet. The North Indian bouquet includes (ROOTS 2007)
B4U, ZEE TV, Sony Channel and NDTV. The Region Ave HH monthly Number of Total wealth
South Indian bouquet includes KTV, NDTV income HH (in millions)
and Sun TV. “Our subscriber market reflects a Berea 17 231 3 560 61
strong sense of cultural identity and the need Umhlanga 18 919 2 997 57
for Indian cultural content which we provide. Queensburgh 13 863 4 801 67
They are also looking for an alternative point Highway 14 291 5 106 73
of view, referring primarily to news and infor- Bluff 17 198 1 944 33
mation,” says Cheryl Uys-Allie, specialist bou- Chatsworth 8 620 47 158 407
quet manager, DStv. She adds that the pri- Phoenix 8 010 38 252 306
mary content drivers are Bollywood films, Overport 11 785 30 491 359
song-and-dance entertainment, celebrity Merebank 10 028 12 294 123
news and entertainment formats. Family Amanzimtoti 18 114 515 9
viewing rates high in comparison to sport or Port Shepstone 13 000 3 019 39
documentaries. Ladysmith 10 522 1 931 20
In general, local community newspapers Newscastle 13 986 3 620 51
enjoy a high average issue readership, but Pietermaritzburg 11 688 25 813 302
publishers are starting to realise that this Empangeni 15 125 951 14
market is under-served. The Express stable of
community papers (a new venture formed of Indians value culture and
the partnership between the Express titles heritage
and The Witness Printing and Publishing Markinor’s World Value Study found that
Company) includes the Eastern Express, 99 per cent of Indian South Africans
which was launched because of changes that believe that their culture and heritage are
have taken place in the Indian community, very important to them. 94 per cent of
which feels that it is not being reflected fairly Indians say that their heritage and history
(if it is reflected at all) in mainstream newspa- is important to them.
pers. The paper will avoid sensationalism, and The World Values Study was carried
will focus on professional, upwardly mobile out by Markinor in conjunction with the
LSM 6 – 10 Indians, between the ages of 24 Centre for International and Comparative
and 55 years; they have an average monthly Politics at the University of Stellenbosch.
income of R7 500 plus. Half of this reader-
ship is female. The newspaper will cover a the gap in the market, says Piet Le Roux, CEO.
mix of national and international news, with The Sunday Tribune and the Daily News
a strong emphasis on lifestyle, food, fashion also rank high (ROOTS 2007). The Post reach- to refer to past copies, it’s always readily
and decor, as well as Bollywood, sports, cars, es 327 000 readers, of which 90 per cent are available,” says Post’s editor, Brijlall Ramguthee.
travel, health, business and property. The Indian (AMPS 2006). “Adverts or news for Indfinity.com will launch a new Indian
paper is distributed on Wednesdays (97 000 that matter, on radio and television are just lifestyle newspaper, the Indluminator, early
copies), door-to-door, as well as via bulk fleeting moments, not often remembered. In next year. According to Pitamber, the paper
drops at major shopping centres. print there’s sustainability. The shelf life of will focus on the Indian lifestyle in the mod-
The Express stable community papers will this title, for example, is from a Wednesday ern age, and will cover such topics as health
launch into the Durban metropole to address to Sunday, and if readers or advertisers want and spirituality, recipes, religious events, fash-
ion and technology, Bollywood, Tollywood
Spur advertising hits a nerve (Tamil and Bengali language film industries),
Spur Steak Ranches was forced to ditch its TV ad campaign (featuring a young Indian travel, community news, financial advice and
couple performing Bollywood dance sequences) after the Advertising Standards classifieds. Games and competitions will
Authority of South Africa (ASASA) confirmed that it had received several complaints from make the paper reader interactive. “We have
members of the Hindu community. The complainants claimed that the advertising was acquired the services of experts on these vari-
offensive and made a mockery of Indian culture. This has brought to light issues around ous topics to provide content. These experts
the manner in which advertisers target the Indian market (especially when this involves are located in SA, and some in India,” says
making light of Indian cultures and religions). As Pitamber says, one of the biggest mis- Pitamber. Meanwhile, research is being car-
conceptions held about the Indian market is that it is a homogeneous group. He points ried out to gain a better understanding of
to the failed Spur ad as an example of marketing that is not sensitive to the unique the Indian market; the results and data need
needs of the Indian population. to be processed as yet.

3 4 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007


In terms of magazines, community maga-
zines and mass market consumer titles are
viable media options. SA India magazine is
one title that is specifically designed for and
targeted at the Indian market. However, as
CEO, Rajesh Devjee points out, media plan-
ners don’t know about the magazine, and
don’t understand the Indian market. The mag
was a member of the Audit Bureau of
Circulations previously, but Devjee cancelled
the membership: he believes that these circu-
lation figures do not accurately represent
readership. “We sell 10 000 copies every
month. And we know that the average
Indian family has six members, all of whom
read the magazine,” he says. The magazine
has a 65 per cent female readership, and
focuses on Indian lifestyle (recipes, fashion
etc) as well as all the latest gossip from India.
According to Devjee, the magazine
researched its readers’ preferences and found
that there is great interest in Bollywood gos-
sip. “No media that hopes to target the
Indian market can survive without Bollywood.
Every Indian perceives himself as a living
reflection of a Bollywood actor,” says Devjee.
On the radio front, community stations
INDIAN MEDIA
Millward Brown explores India
Millward Brown research has found that English and Hindi account for the majority of
ad-space revenues. News is the most popular genre, followed by music, Hindi movies
and kids. Soap operas are also hugely popular.
It is expected that outdoor advertising will come to control a significant share of the
market in the coming years, since this medium will continue to enjoy new innovations
and advances. Seven per cent of advertising spend is allocated to outdoor media.
Radio is growing, and is seeing an increase in competition; it is expected that this
trend will be ongoing as content standards continue to improve. Plus, the Indian govern-
ment is waiving licence fees and opening the second phase of licence bidding. Radio cur-
rently accounts for two per cent of total ad spend.
India’s Internet user base is the fourth largest (49 per cent of this base comes from
outside of the country’s big eight cities). Real estate, travel and jobs will extend the
growth of the Internet. Currently, tourism is the primary e-commerce and online advertis-
ing driver. Internet adspend remains small at 0.5 per cent.
Cinema is expected to grow, aided by the development of multiplex cinemas and digi-
tal distribution. Cinema adspend is at 0.5 per cent. Press adspend is the greatest, at 48
per cent, while that on TV is at 42 per cent.
India is considered the least developed market in Asia, with low income and education
levels. But this is a competitive and assertive market, and consumerism is on the increase.
This is the world’s fourth largest economy (in terms of purchasing power parity), and it
has a population of 1.12 billion. It is the largest English-speaking country in the world
(although English is only one of 18 official languages). Nearly two thirds of all middle-
income households are rural, but they represent half of the country’s buying potential.
This is a market that is highly dependent on single serving packages (lower-income class-
es receive their wages daily). Non-traditional forms of communication (such as village
theatre, etc) are viable means of reaching the vast rural areas.
 INDIAN MEDIA

seem to have great reach among Indian
markets, given that they can focus on
issues around religion and culture. Hindvani
radio (based in KZN) reached 36 000
listeners in the past seven days, compared
with Radio Islam MW 1548, which reached
25 000. Eastwave Radio 90 92.2 FM had
8 000 listeners in the past seven days (RAMS
August 2007).
Of the commercial and regional stations,
East Coast Radio and Lotus FM deliver audi-
ences. East Coast Radio has a total past seven
day listenership of 1.786 million (RAMS Aug
2007). AMPS 2007 figures show that the
Fact a Day: did you know? (Eighty 20)
 Cricket is the most popular sport among the South African Indian population (40 per
cent of Indian adults are interested in the sport, the highest proportion of all the pop-
ulation groups). (AMPS 2006 RA).
 Seven per cent of Indian males say they have been a victim of violent crime (the high-
est proportion of males from all the race groups). (AMPS 2006 RA).
 0.5 per cent of single Indian women have babies under two years (the lowest propor-
tion from all the race groups. For the country as a whole, the ratio is 12 per cent.
(AMPS 2006).
 Six per cent of Indian adults understand at least one of their native languages (Hindi,
Tamil, Telegu or Gujerati). Of those who do, four per cent are under the age of 25
(AMPS 2006 RA).
 The Indian population is at 1.16 million. Seventy per cent of Indians reside in KZN.
(Labour Force Survey 2006).

station captured six per cent of total radio

audiences in the past seven days (a drop
from 6.3 per cent in 2006). Four hundred
and forty thousand of the station’s listeners
are Indians between the ages of 25 and 49
years; they spend an average of 19 hours lis-
tening to the station each week. “It can be
said that there is a lot of disposable income
that is used to create a better lifestyle among
this market,” says Singh.
Lotus FM launched its new corporate
identity recently. “The challenge was to create
a brand that fuses the richness of Indian cul-
ture with the diverse lifestyles of modern
South Africa,” says station manager, Shanil
Singh. Lotus FM had 380 000 listeners
(RAMS August 2007) in the past seven days.
Meanwhile, AMPS 2007 finds that the station
reached 1.3 per cent of the total adult audi-
ence in the past seven days (this figure has
dropped from 1.4 per cent in 2006). The
station’s core audience is between the ages
of 24 and 49, in LSM 8-10.
Bollywood films draw huge audiences
locally. Ster-Kinekor recently formalised a
broader strategy with regard to the acquisi-
tion, marketing and distribution of Indian
film content, including Tamil- and Telegu-lan-
guage films (previously, the acquisition of this
content was not financially viable). “Our
belief is that this content has strong potential
to also cross over to non-core audiences,
such as the Cinema Nouveau and the black
Media Mix: Average Household
Income (AMPS 2007)
Lotus FM - R10 162
East Coast Radio – R8
252
SA India – R11 488
Media Mix: Average Age
(AMPS 2007)
SA India: 35
Lotus FM: 42
East Coast Radio: 32
emerging market,” says Isabel Rao, CEO, Ster-
Kinekor Distribution. Recently, Ster-Kinekor
Distribution saw Tamil film Sivaji, which
opened in the Box Office Top 10, become
one of the biggest releases in the country.
According to Rao, Hollywood studios are tak-
ing a more active role in Bollywood produc-
tions, co-producing Indian films.
The Indian market is connected to the
Internet, and as broadband becomes more
popular and more affordable, one can expect
to see more Indians online. As Pitamber puts
it: “Indians are definitely not techno peasants
– they use it every day and embrace the
changes it brings to ordinary tasks.” Devjee
believes that as much as 95 per cent of
Indian households have a PC or laptop and
Internet access. Blogging, watching videos on
YouTube, chat rooms and social networking
are as popular among this market as any
other. “The Indian market has taken to these
sites to such a huge extent that we have
received thousands of requests to offer similar
features on Indfinity.com,” says Pitamber.
Mobile media and technology is ubiqui-
tous in this market. “While many Indians no
longer limit their cellphones to making and
receiving calls or text messages, many are
using them to interact in chat rooms (and
services like MXit), multimedia messages and
mobile social networking,” says Pitamber. He
believes that in the near future, Indians will
be consuming their news and information
through the most convenient means possible
– mobile media.
Research into the Indian market is some-
what limited, and Devjee speculates that this
is because of the relatively small size of the
population. However, as he points out,
researchers and media planners must keep in
mind that this is a proactive and entrepre-
neurial group. TNS Research Surveys’ Wildfire
study found that 39 per cent of total igniters
in 2005 were Indian/Asian, making this racial
grouping the most ‘ignited’ group.
Marketing and advertising that targets this
market in the right way is guaranteed to hit
the spot. “Big brands must remember this
silent market,” says Devjee. 

Newspapers:
Newspaper ABC (Apr-Jun AIR (%of adults, Readers per copy Ave Age (AMPS Ave Household Income
2007) AMPS 2007) (AMPS 2007) 2007) (AMPS 2007)

Sunday Tribune 119 495 2.1 5.7 41 R13 115

The Post 46 721 - 6.7 39 R11 218
Daily News 57 830 1.1 5.9 41 R12 886

3 6 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007

by michelle sturman BUSINESS MEDIA

Best foot forward

After stagnation in the business media sector, a number of new entries into the market has stirred the pot, upped everyone’s game and
put it firmly back in the spotlight. The TV sector has been shaken with the introduction of CNBC Africa and SABC News International and, to
some extent, Al Jazeera in English. In the print sector, Entrepreneur magazine launched and new newspaper supplements have made their
presence felt. There are also a myriad of online business news and information websites and the introduction of lifestyle elements into
previously staunch business-only editions. All this in the past 18 months or so. What this choice does mean is that it has become easier to
handpick and precisely target niche audiences but spreads advertising budgets more thinly.

Print Business-to-business magazines

Consumer magazines The management category of the
The battle between the B2B section makes up one third
Financial Mail and Finweek con- of the overall sector total with
tinues in the consumer business 227 184 copies (out of 665 502).
title race – there are less than Leaders in the sector include
500 paid-for copies separating Gauteng Business and Succeed
them, with Finweek taking a Magazine – interestingly, both are
slight lead. In a year, both mag- aimed at the SME and entrepre-
azines have managed to neurial business sector.
increase circulation, with the Two-year-old Gauteng Business
FM keeping itself over the magical 30 000 barrier and Finweek takes the lead after impressive
increasing its circulation more than the FM overall. increases in circulation, a recent
According to Marc Hasenfuss, editor-in-chief, Finweek and publicity campaign to raise aware-
Fin24.co.za, the magazine is seeing its biggest editions (100-plus ness among consumers as well as
pages-) since 2002. “Adspend is robust. A strong, churning economy a campaign aimed squarely at
is evident in the number of financial service ads and strong consumer media planners. It is aimed at the
spending is driving cellphone, car, watch and luxury property ads – a SME market but specifically tar-
relatively new phenomenon in Finweek,” he says. geting the boss that makes all the
The FM added lifestyle components to its line-up last year under its decisions for the business – those businesses that do not necessarily
revamp and is pulling in luxury brands. Finweek, however, is maintain- have a formal and professional management structure. The publication
ing its non-lifestyle editorial policy although Hasenfuss says that it has 3 500 agents with over 80 per cent of the distribution targeted in
“might look at a wine column… at least a different kind of wine Gauteng, but it is also found in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, KZN and the
column and perhaps a movie review… but that quite possibly a wider
focus on lifestyle would blunt Finweek’s thrust.” Still, it doesn’t seem Consumer magazines
to have done the FM any harm. ABC report
In the same consumer category, Entrepreneur magazine is next in All figures shown within the Consumer Magazines section are for
succession after Finweek and the FM. Andrew Honey, publisher of subscriptions and single copy sales. The figure in brackets is the
Entrepreneur, says that the entry of the publication into the market total circulation figure, including third-party bulk and controlled
may have helped the sector to throw off its staid image. He also says free distribution.
that the magazine has created a new niche market within the print Some magazines have recently been recategorised by the ABC so
sector – the ‘how-to’ guide. “We are still connecting with the regular for the purpose of this article, category headers will be used.
business media audience but we are the only ones in the consumer Category: Business and News
business media in this particular category.” April-June 2007
Entrepreneur is the fastest growing title in the business media Entrepreneur (Mtly) 10 407 (16 604)
sector, and one of the fastest growing magazines overall – the Financial Mail (Wkly, Fri) 31 127 (33 308)
magazine has also just increased its print order and number of retail Finweek (Wkly, Wed) 31 559 (35 028)
outlets. There are four divisions of the brand: print, digital, events and Maverick (Mtly) 8 574 (24 716)
business tools. “Entrepreneur is a resource, it’s a start and improvement AMPS 2007:
magazine for business,” says Honey. Finweek HHI: R16 643; ave age 40; 1.7 readers per copy (RPC).
Maverick is another of the big consumer business titles with sold Financial Mail HHI: R15 000; 5 RPC
copies coming in at under 9 000. Still, it does attract the luxury brands,
is a great looking magazine and comes at business news from a January-June 2007
completely different angle to any of the other publications. Your Business Magazine (AltM) 12 978

3 8 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007

BUSINESS MEDIA
Northern Cape.
According to Ryk van Niekerk, editor,
Gauteng Business there are plans in the
pipeline to expand with new editions provid-
ing information pertinent to a particular area.
There are three parts to the editorial content:
daily news, legislation and by-laws in
Gauteng. Secondly, how to expand the busi-
ness, trends, etc, and thirdly, a management
sector dealing with sales and marketing,
labour issues, etc. “Through independent editorial, we tell readers
which are the best products and services, says Van Niekerk. He states
that the fact the magazine is regional is very important as the reader
has news
that directly affects them. Van Niekerk will also be looking closely
at improving the existing website to include more editorial and
interactive features.
Succeed Magazine is also aimed at the SME business sector as well
as corporate management and a huge subscrip-
tion drive over the past year has seen its circula-
tion skyrocket with almost 15 000 paid-for
copies, according to the April-June 2007 ABC
figures. Covering marketing, advertising, brand-
ing, hiring and firing, motivation, etc, the edi-
torial focuses on the growth of formal SMEs.
“We aim for the aspirational market and for
those that want to start their own business; the
objective is to stimulate thinking,” says Wessel
Ebershohn, owner, Succeed Magazine.
Despite the success of Succeed, Ebersohn does, however, feel that
many independent publishers are largely ignored by those in charge of
the media spend. “We would like the agencies to take us seriously;
they tend to ignore the independents in favour of the large media
houses.”
Other magazines within the B2B sector worth taking note of are
CEO Magazine, Leadership and Enterprise Magazine, all of which
have distinct target audiences. Leadership offers high earners, mostly
males, editorial that has a special focus on business leaders and the
economy. CEO Magazine focuses on business management and
Enterprise Magazine focuses on black business leaders and black business
in particular, and is aimed at middle and senior management.
Newspapers
Online is giving newspapers more problems than other mediums, but
newspapers are fighting back as well as embracing online. The
biggest bonus is that on the whole, there is increased interest from
consumers regarding business news. “There is an interest in business
and this is supporting business media. However, business media has
also repositioned itself and now includes a lifestyle flavour that was
never there,” says Paul Stober, editor, Business Times.
The introduction of business-focused supplements is helping to
diversify the sector and introduce new advertising revenues. The Its
My Business supplement, for example, launched into the entrepre-
neurial space and is under the Business Times brand. “It is a clear
indication of the growing business market and although SA scores
low on the entrepreneurial monitor, there is a real sense of people
4 0 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007
Business-to-business magazines
Category: Management
Cape Business News (Mtly) 6 211
CEO Magazine (Mtly) 10 560
Enterprise Magazine (Mtly) 13 396
Gauteng Business (F) 23 244
Leadership (Mtly) 5 981
Succeed Magazine (11xA) 21 180 – AMPS 2007: HHI: R10 670;
ave age 36
doing it for themselves,” says Stober.
In the Afrikaans market, Media24’s business publication, Sake, was
relaunched in March under the Sake24 brand, setting off a number of
welcome changes. “The goal is to have a similar product whichever
Afrikaans newspaper is read,” says Charles Naudé, editor, Sake24.
Concentrating on business news and the economy, Sake24 is paving
the way for future generations of business readers by enticing younger
readers. “We are trying to make business news as user-friendly as
possible without lowering the standard as well as focusing on ICT and
new technologies for the youth market. A strong focus is on entrepre-
neurship, which is where it is expected that most young Afrikaans
Newspapers
All figures shown within the Newspapers section are for subscriptions
and single copy sales. Newspapers carrying business supple-
ments/sections are included for the purpose of demonstrating
potential circulation figures for business news.
The figure in brackets is the total circulation figure, including
third-party bulk and PMIE.
Daily newspapers
April-June 2007
Beeld 99 266 (105 184) – Sake24
Die Burger 83 967 (90 927) – Sake24
Business Day 40 778 (41 858)
Cape Times 47 252 (51 428) – Business Report
The Citizen 73 637 (74 037) – Moneyweb Biz
The Mercury 36 342 (43 129) – Business Report
Pretoria News 22 946 (28 140) – Business Report
The Star 153 909 (168 977) – Business Report
Volksblad 27 954 (28 987) – Sake24
Weekend newspapers
The Weekender 10 081 (10 204)
AMPS 2007 report:
Beeld HHI: R14 308; ave age 44; RPC 4.7
Die Burger HHI: R11 331; ave age 42; RPC 4.9
Business Day HHI: R20 159; ave age 39; RPC3.1
Cape Times HHI: R11 090; ave age 43; RPC 5.4
Citizen HHI: R11 740; ave age 42; reader per copy RPC 7.4
The Mercury HHI: R14 581; ave age 43; RPC 5
Pretoria News HHI: R11 991; ave age 38; RPC 6.1
The Star HHI: R11 818; ave age 39; RPC 4.8
Sunday Times HHI: R10 469; ave age 37; RPC 7.1
Die Volksblad HHI: R12 070; RPC 4.7
BUSINESS MEDIA

readers will be,” says Naudé.
The newspaper industry is still in a strong position in terms of circu-
lation, readership, advertising and quality of reader. “Business Times
readers are educated and moneyed, in top or senior management,
with six in ten male readers and six in ten black readers. BT also has a
phenomenal exclusive readership with 670 000 reading no other busi-
ness publication,” says Lynn Allcock, trade marketing manager,
Johncom Media Division (Newspapers). Sake24 has high LSM readers,
wealthy readers. “We have an exclusive and lucrative readership with
national representation,” says Naudé.
Alec Hogg’s Moneyweb was rebranded as Moneyweb Biz in The
Citizen a year ago, although it has supplied information for the past
four years. “The Citizen is a marketing exercise and we have five daily
pages. We also cover KZN through the Weekend Witness and in the
southern Cape we supply editorial to the George Herald and
Mosselbay Advertiser,” says Hogg.
Business Day and Business Report remain stable, while The
Weekender has doubled its circulation in the past year – we’ll see how
it does in the next few ABC reports.
TV
The TV sector has heated up in the past year. Firstly, we had the intro-
duction of Al Jazeera offering a completely different insight into news.
Next we had the launch of CNBC Africa to huge fanfare and then the
superb,” says Hogg – Moneyweb has a daily 30-minute slot, Power
Lunch, on CNBC.
Summit TV, on the other hand, is continuing to focus on providing
South African business and financial news and has introduced new
programming and interactive technology for further viewer engage-
ment. “Our new flagship daily markets show with Bruce Whitfield and
Stuart Theobald is a huge hit and our first Afrikaans programme, Op
Die Keper, went down well so we’ve introduced a daily Afrikaans
strand just after 6pm – Sake met Summit,” says Vernon Matzopoulos,
channel head, Summit TV.
Summit TV now offers live viewer call-ins, SMS comment and vote
lines on the shows with content on additional platforms. “You can
watch Summit on Vodacom’s 3G network and MultiChoice’s DVB-H
platform. You can watch Summit from anywhere in the world via IPTV
and M-Net’s kuduclub.com. We also supply news, finance and other
info via SMS, WAP and MMS to cellphones through MTN Loaded,”
says Matzopoulos.
Radio
Classic FM
Show: The Classic Business Day Show (Mon-Fri 6pm-7pm)
Presenter: Lindsay Williams
RAMS Aug 07: 171 000 P7D
AMPS 2007: HHI: R16 973; ave age: 49

Talk Radio 702

Show: World at 6
Presenter: Bruce Whitfield (Mon-Fri 6pm-7pm)
RAMS Aug 07: 392 000 P7D
SABC decided to head into the same territory with the launch of SABC AMPS 2007: HHI: R14 894; ave age: 49
International. On top of this, there is business news offered on Sky
News, SABC 3, eTV, BBC World, CNN, Bloomberg and Euro News, SAfm
along with News24 Alert. Finally, there’s the dedicated local channel, Show: Market Update (Mon-Fri 6pm-6.30pm)
Summit TV. Going forward with the announcement of four more pay Presenter: Siki Mgabadeli
TV licences, there’s bound to be even more business channels and RAMS Aug 07: 544 000 P7D
programmes to choose from, or at the very least be able to wrangle AMPS 2007: HHI: R12 336; ave age: 44
deals across different stations for the same channels.
Susie White, sales and marketing director, CNBC Africa, sees the Radio 2000
new licences as an opportunity for its mostly live channel. “We are Show: The Moneyweb Power Hour (Mon-Fri 6pm-7pm)
lucky in that we came into the market with an established brand, Presenter: Alec Hogg
although we still have to prove our audience,” says White. CNBCA is RAMS Aug 07: 262 000 P7D
looking at the SABRE research, and White says that CNBC Europe had AMPS 2007: HHI: R12 528; ave age: 44
185 000 viewers weekly when it took over. CNBCA has kept some of
the European content, has included information on the Lagos and RSG
Nairobi stock exchanges, and is due to go terrestrial in Kenya from the Show: RSG Geldsake met Moneyweb (Mon-Fri 5pm-6pm)
end of October with an available audience in the region of 15 to 20 RAMS Aug 07: 1.8 million P7D
million. Similarly, in Nigeria, terrestrial TV broadcasts several hour AMPS 2007: HHI: R9 658; ave age: 48
parts, offering regional buying.
White says that wherever a stock exchange and transparent govern- Kaya FM
ment become available across Africa, CNBCA will look at opening Show: part of the Mashashaba Show (Tues 8pm-8.30pm)
bureaus. With the only video wall on the continent, CNBCA has all the Presenter: Andrew Honey
techno gadgets and gizmos to spruce up its programming. “We have RAMS Aug 07: 1.063 million P7D
our own dedicated sales team and half of our business comes from AMPS 2007: HHI: R7 753; ave age: 36
advertisers that have never been on TV. We can provide advertisers
with an on-air strategy as we do all the production,’ says White. “The Community radio featuring The Moneyweb Power Hour:
technology that CNBC Africa possesses is first-rate so the graphics are All RAMS Aug 07 P7D:
Fine Music Radio: 29 000
1485 Radio Today: 10 000
Radio Rippel: 30 000
East Rand Stereo: 36 000
4 2 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007

Summit TV is also trying to lure younger viewers through initiatives
such as the Young Entrepreneurs series and ‘Learn to Trade Shares’
competition which has attracted 9 000 active online players.
Radio
Radio has always been a hotly contested medium for the business
media sector. Hogg’s Moneyweb has done the rounds and is now
comfortably settled at Radio Today, Radio 2000 and RSG which,
according to Hogg, has 500 000 Afrikaans listeners. Moneyweb has
also expanded to include business news on Lotus FM, Ripple Highway,
East Rand Stereo and Fine FM. “We wanted to move into African lan-
guages and as such started on Lesedi FM, but unfortunately it didn’t
work out,” says Hogg.
According to RAMS, Talk Radio 702’s listenership has been growing
steadily over the past year increasing by more than 100 000. Radio
2000 and SAfm have also increased listenership in the past year
although specific business programmes figures are unavailable.
Radio is a great platform for integration, and interests other media
sectors, including magazines. Hasenfuss hasn’t ruled out launching on
the airwaves either, saying that Finweek has the resources to start-up
its own radio show; “perhaps once the relaunched Fin24 is bedded
down, we will revisit our radio options.” Finweek wouldn’t be the first
magazine to move to radio, Entrepreneur is already on-air with Kaya
FM. “On radio, we showcase success stories and information on fran-
chises as news is now content on-demand, so the Internet, TV or daily
radio business programmes serve this purpose,” says Honey.
Talk Radio 702’s World at 6 show with Bruce Whitfield offers 80
000 listeners and 28 000 CapeTalk listeners for the show (March-June
07 RAMS). “The show is carefully constructed not only to provide the
biggest, most important business stories of the day, but also eyewit-
ness news bulletins, up-to-the minute traffic reports and top sport bul-
letins,” says Whitfield. Audience interaction is made quicker and more
interactive with the introduction of SMS on top of the regular calls,
which gives greater insight into stories that the programme may never
have had, says Whitfield.
Online
Online is where it’s at. The business person has changed and everyone
wants news now, which is what makes online so exciting. Most maga-
zines have a website, and while some excel, others need to up their
game. Most newspapers have realised the importance of the Internet
and are surpassing most magazines’ efforts and becoming more inter-
active by the day. Radio stations have websites, although the business
programmes rarely get their own dedicated section, so there’s still
work to be done. TV channels offering business news often have inter-
active content or at least good content. There are many local news
sites offering business news, all of which compete with business
media for eyeballs. Then there’s Moneyweb which has built its busi-
ness model on business news online and expanded outwards from
there. “The value of business information is in how fresh it is and all
our brand extensions are designed to push people back online to the
Moneyweb website,” says Hogg. Moneyweb is also currently expand-
ing into other online arenas, namely education, politics, real estate
and is also looking at sport and tax.
As news is now wanted more immediately, print is at the biggest
disadvantage, and as more South Africans move online, it’s only going
BUSINESS MEDIA
The following figures are from the Online Publishers Association and only
take into account actual business websites (ie not those from news sites
with business info). All results are Q2 2007
Sites with local traffic:
Unique browsers (ave) Page impressions (ave)
Fin24.co.za: 276 308 2 187 000
Business Report 125 031 519 377
Moneyweb 76 443 1 389 409
Business Day 70 442 785 206
Sites with local and international traffic:
Unique browsers (ave) Page impressions (ave)
Fin24.co.za 394 987 2 617 679
Business Report 210 117 724 553
Business Day 150 000 1 131 734
Moneyweb 136 696 418 053
to get tougher. Having said that, some newspapers have caught up
and are now putting more immediate news online with deeper analy-
sis in the print editions. “We want to be a business news service so
online we have breaking news with exclusive news held until the
paper has been printed,” says Naudé. Sake24’s website has grown
substantially in the past year, albeit from a relatively low base and,
according to Naudé, a mobile service will be live by the end of the
year, with podcasts eventually added.
Business Times’ Stober is simply not going to compete with online
but acknowledges that success lies in multimedia products, which are
put together properly and can grow together. The launch of Johncom
Media’s The Times, has led to a reworking of its online product, with
the Sunday Times (including Business Times) incorporated into the
daily’s website. Breaking business news is posted on the website along
with multimedia products such as podcasts and blogs. “We have
entirely separate newsrooms, however, we are constructing a 24-hour
news service, so The Times can carry company results and live feeds on
the same day. On Sunday, we can do the in-depth analysis,” says Stober.
Summit TV has focused on a different tactic – to move its branded
content through other media leaving its website for programmes and
information. “We’re now of the view that the business audience is
wired for video – so expect some changes,” says Matzopoulos. Plus,
you can watch Summit TV through IPTV.
On the magazine side, Finweek recently relaunched its website,
fin24.co.za, and more initiatives in the pipeline include a trader’s
forum, new investment tools and new look blogs. According to
Hasenfuss, the podcasts are doing well “The success of the
podcast hinges on the interviewee giving extra insight or dropping a
hint or suggestion that readers may find useful and overall I am
satisfied with the progress.” Mobile content for the website is in the
pipeline. An extra bonus is the deal between Fin24 and McGregor
BFA – Fin24 (Finweek, fin24.co.za) focuses on business and financial
info on consumer-orientated platforms, while McGregor BFA
focuses on the corporate market. Expect some interesting initiatives
from this partnership.
Entrepreneur magazine is rolling out its third-generation website
early next year and there will be an increasing amount of unique web-
only content available as well as editorial from the magazine.
Advertising on the site has just been made available as well. 
Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 4 3
 by Alison Tucker EXPERT OPINION
Ethical consumers under
the microscope
If you’d asked a consumer a year ago
what a carbon footprint is, they’d probably
have thought it is something to do with not
wiping your feet thoroughly before traipsing
through the house. Not now. There’s been a
massive change in their environmental
perception over the past year and it is
increasingly affecting consumers’ behaviour.
Ethical consumers have arrived and ignoring
them could be detrimental to your brand.
In this article we explore what ethical
consumerism is and how it manifests itself as
four distinct territories that we can relate to.
Eco-consciousness in the media is at an
all-time high; global and ethical issues are
quickly becoming mainstream; and in the UK,
for example, Marks & Spencer’s carbon
neutral five-year plan has stolen a march on
its competitors, grabbing the first-to-market
advantage.
There has never been a more appropriate
time or urgent need to debate how the
marketing community should respond to
emerging behavioural issues that concern not
just the individual consumer, but broader
cultural and environmental issues. Doing
ethical marketing right and staying emotionally
connected with your consumers will create a
springboard for brand and business growth.
The urgency-lies in the need to do it before
consumers are so far ahead of the game that
they leave your brand behind.
To talk ethical, you need to be ethical –
‘greenwashing’ will eventually peel off to
reveal something the consumer finds
unpalatable. There is no overnight fix; this is
a long-term journey.
Already, more than two thirds (68 per
cent)[1] of US and European consumers have
boycotted a food, drink or personal care
product on ethical grounds, and UK companies
lost US$2.7bn of sales through consumer
boycotts in 2003[2]. Now, 70 per cent of
UK consumers say they’ll deliberately avoid
buying goods and services from organisations
and brands they think are unethical[3] and 85
4 6 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007
consumption, through to social issues such
as giving to charity. But while it’s about the
‘we’ rather than the ‘me’, this doesn’t mean
making an ethical choice is about sacrificing
or ignoring your own needs as a consumer –
you just won’t drink Fairtrade coffee if it
tastes bad.
Consumers are becoming more affluent,
and making ethical choices can be seen as a
natural progression up Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs toward the pinnacle through self-
esteem to morality. Some people talk of this
as the age of mature capitalism. Importantly,
from a corporate point of view, whereas
many believe that consumers won’t pay more
for ethical products, almost 50 per cent claim
that they would pay at least five per cent
more and almost a quarter would pay 10 per
cent more[5].
“
People are increasingly turning to what
Marketing to the they can control. One important area is in
their personal consumption choices. But all
ethical consumer, ethical consumers do not respond in the same way –
ethical consumers are not homogeneous. So,
marketing, isn’t about
as with any brand initiative, it is essential to
charity, it is about revealing have insight into the potential audiences –
the differences and similarities that could
the unmet latent open up several different directions for the
commercial potential for brand. Ethical consumerism varies by sector,
but with our new research the key finding is
more responsible brands that, regardless of what the ethical issue is,
certain people have a tendency to respond in
and designing marketing
a certain way.
programmes to seize this This is more about people’s natural
”
responses and reactions. It is based on
potential. their values and it helps us to understand
and predict their potential response to things
like climate change, which is now passing a
tipping point.
per cent claim to be interested in ethical Using our semiotics expertise and practical
issues[4]. experience, together with proprietary/bespoke
So what are ethical issues? They are both quantitative research into certain categories,
environmental and social concerns. Ethical is we have found ethical consumers fall into
not a consumer word as such, it is a catch-all four basic typologies – two internalising their
for many different everyday choices: from reaction, putting themselves first, and two
‘green issues’ such as recycling and fuel externalising it. These four typologies then

split across another axis (see Fig 1), as to
which part of the ethical umbrella most
concerns them, environment or social factors.
The four categories themselves are: Healthy
Awakening – often new mothers seeking
healthy alternatives for their family (the
Me/Social quadrant); Empathising – people
making small gestures to show they accept
their social responsibilities (the Others/Social
quadrant); Ethical Badging – often inspired by
celebrity and high profile ethical brands, which
they use to display their awareness of global
issues as visibly as possible (the
Me/Environmental quadrant); and finally,
EWOL – those choosing an ‘Ethical Way of
Living’, where ethical concerns inform all their
choices (the Environmental/Others quadrant).
As we’ve said, the personal values of the ethi-
cal consumer affects their brand decision. So,
it’s important to understand the characteristics
of each typology in more detail.
Healthy awakening
Healthy Awakening is the behaviour of a new
generation of mums and others who may not
have previously had health issues on their radar
– but who, with the plethora of health and
obesity scares, and the strong media focus, be
it Jamie Oliver’s School Dinners or the large-
scale condemnation of marketing to children,
have woken up to the issues. They feel respon-
sible for the health of their whole family and
are now scrutinising labels, increasingly buying
organic (Tesco experienced 30 per cent growth
in organic sales last year[6]) and choosing super
foods to maximise mind and body potential.
Importantly, this new curiosity has bred a
greater awareness of the food chain and the
interrelationship between what we eat and the
state of our planet. They opt for the likes of
Innocent Smoothies or, locally, Woolies’ organ-
ic range, which have environmental impact at
the heart of their brand promise.
Empathising
Empathising, formerly polarised between the
behaviour of militants or local community do-
gooders, has become a broader church. Many
consumers have moved beyond a sense of
guilt to identification and solidarity with others
less fortunate than themselves. These
consumers feel empowered by taking positive
action to help people by giving to Oxfam, or
buying Fairtrade or Duchy Originals, or
shopping with their Save the Children credit
card. Local community efforts are also part of
this. Members’ small, but constructive steps
reinforce their sense of personal integrity.
Ethical badging
Ethical Badging is about buying ethical
because it makes you feel chic, trendy and
noble. The brands and products ethical badgers
choose are typically of excellent quality;
they are often more expensive, but these
consumers believe they are worth it. Brands
that appeal to them are the likes of Green and
Black’s, organic Fairtrade Maya Gold chocolate
bars, and the Ethletic: a Converse-inspired
shoe made with environmentally certified
materials. They shop with their Red Amex
card, promoted by Bono, which gives a
percentage of each purchase to the Global
Fund to fight Aids. These consumers want to
make a statement and be seen to be making it.
EWOL
The Ethical Way of Life behaviour is perhaps
the most complex touching on many aspects
of consumers’ everyday lifestyles. It begins
with an increased sensitivity to the environ-
mental impact of personal actions and then
transforms into behavioural changes. They
begin by turning off the lights, recycling,
minimising water usage and then take it
further, integrating their carbon footprint into
their mindset, seeking out alternative energies
etc. They like brands such as Worn Again,
which makes footwear from recycled materials
and responsibletravel.com, which offers envi-
ronmental tourism. They’ll get their fruit and
Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 4 7
EXPERT OPINION
Fig 1
veg from Organic Connections and power
from the likes of Ecotricity or Green Energy UK
– a green reusable
energy supplier with a unique share scheme
where consumers become partners in
green investments.
Having identified these groups, the next key
factor is finding out how brands can commu-
nicate and interact with them. As an example,
let’s look at what strategies a utility company
could use to address the four typologies and
their specific value responses. In reality, brands
will need to concentrate their efforts on a par-
ticular sector, the one that best fits their brand
profile. But assuming that decision hasn’t
been made:
Utility marketing strategies
based on these four typologies;
Healthy awakening
This is perhaps the toughest typology for a
utility company. The brand would have to go
down the route of long-term health benefits
for the consumer and their family. Being more
conscious of how they use energy is a benefit
to the environment, this in turn impacts on
such elements as water quality and, ultimately,
the food supply chain, bringing it back round
to their family. Improving the environment
also means a better future for their family. A
positive health message would be key.
Empathising
The brand would need to talk about social
injustice, such as how affluent people have
access to many resources while less fortunate
 EXPERT OPINION
people have none. The message could be
about rebalancing a community’s resources,
talking about reducing usage so that the
haves are able to help the have-nots. Eskom
is currently employing this kind of tactic in
its communications.
Ethical Badging
One easy option is to get endorsement from
a well-known or outspoken ethical celebrity.
Strong branding would also be very
important for this sector as well as a heavily
marketable message. Ethical Badgers care
about the environment, but it’s secondary to
hijacking the kudos they can gain surrounding
ethical issues.
EWOL
This is perhaps the typology most catered for
at the moment, though mostly inadvertently.
The strategy here would be about turning
things off, half filling a kettle, making sure
they’ve got electricity efficient light bulbs
and buying from a renewable supplier as a
way of life. It’s about doing their bit to help
the environment.
As mentioned, from a brand point of view,
a company needs to focus on one of these
typologies and develop its strategies accord-
ingly. The choice of which typology needs to
be informed by what the consumers in your
particular category are likely to view as the
4 8 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007
most logical path for the brand that is the
path that is likely to elicit the best response
and stamp the brand’s ethical authority on
the market.
Your message will need to come across
clearly. So, if your company has 50 ethical
initiatives, we believe it makes sense to
concentrate on communicating just one or
two that have the best fit with the brand,
and will be the most motivating to consumers.
It’s almost a back-to-basics approach
with factors such as first-to-market and
differentiation being extremely important.
Generally, we’ve found that most companies
are looking at EWOL consumer actions, but
very few are putting across a holistic positive
message or tapping into empathy issues. So,
given the wide range of brand sectors and
the four typologies proposed here, there is
plenty of scope for differentiation.
We also believe that brands need to strike
the right balance between what the company
is doing and what it is asking the consumer
to do. It has to be a partnership. The company
has to be seen to be doing something as
well. There is a clear acknowledgement on
the part of consumers that big business has
an important role to play in the ethical arena.
In our study[7], 30 per cent of consumers
rate businesses ahead of the government
as having the most responsibility for
change. This underlines a simple truth that
consumers understand intuitively; if
business is running the world, then it needs
to be held accountable.
What this means is that any change has to
be real, a company must be aligned with its
brand values, from top to toe, from product
to people. This is not about radical overnight
change, however: it is important to be realistic
about the degree of change that is achievable
in the short, medium and longer term. In our
opinion, a good way forward would be to
develop a clear ethical strategy and make sure
you communicate your progress that is be
transparent and honest about weaknesses
that still need to be addressed and objectives
that are yet to be achieved. We believe it will
be a rewarding option to talk openly to
consumers about the challenges you are
facing and how you are trying to address
them. (Though this doesn’t necessarily have
to be in your primary communications – web-
sites can be a good forum for this.) Many
larger companies are now engaging with
their critics and creating stakeholder panels to
help them as they move along this path.
And remember, while we are talking about
fundamental changes here, we are also
fundamentally talking about growing your
business, the key marketing goal. Marketing
to the ethical consumer, ethical marketing,
isn’t about charity, it is about revealing the
unmet latent commercial potential for more
responsible brands and designing marketing
programmes to seize this potential.
Can you make money by being ethical?
Companies which have focused on ethical
marketing, such as American Apparel, Toyota,
Marks & Spencer and many others, have
delivered better, not worse financial returns
as a consequence. So the response to that
question must be a resounding ‘Yes’.
1 Datamonitor 2006
2 The Co-op index
3 Datamonitor 2006
4 Added Value Branding for Good Research
5 Added Value Branding for Good Research
6 Added Value Branding for Good Research
7 Added Value Branding for Good Research 
Alison Tucker
director, Added Value
(031) 207 1781
alison.tucker@added-value.co.za

Build your own e-mail list
Companies that want to maximise their
returns from e-mail marketing should in most
cases build up their own e-mail databases
rather than buying lists of addresses from
third-party vendors.
Companies that invest the time and effort in
creating an e-mail database of users that want
to hear from them will generally experience
better results than those that buy a list from a
third party. The obvious risk involved in buying
an e-mail database from a third party is that
most of the users on the list will not be expect-
ing to receive marketing e-mails from your
company. Many will dismiss your e-mails as
spam, which could damage your brand.
In addition, some recipients might report
unsolicited marketing e-mails to their ISPs as
spam. ISPs could, in turn, block the domain
that the e-mails originated from, with the
result that the company will struggle to send
even legitimate e-mails to its customers.
Many companies think that buying an e-
mail database from a third party is a shortcut,
but this isn’t always the case. If you buy a list,
you may still face the arduous task of having
to sort through it to find the users that you
want to reach and ensuring that the e-mail
addresses are all still valid and up to date. By
contrast, a company that builds its own e-mail
database can target the people that it wants to
communicate with and, perhaps even more
importantly, build up a list of recipients who
are interested in its marketing messages. This
translates directly into higher return on invest-
ment from the e-mail marketing programme.
Companies often think that they can lever-
age an existing database that contains current
e-mail addresses from clients, events and sales
leads. However, they should realise that their
clients have not explicitly given them permis-
sion to use this information for marketing pur-
poses. These lists will also need to be checked
against the DMA’s Do Not Contact Me list.
Following a double opt-in process is therefore
recommended – first encouraging customers
and prospects to sign up to receive marketing
e-mails through the corporate website, online
advertising or offline channels, and then send-
ing them an e-mail requesting them to confirm
that they are interested in receiving marketing
e-mails. It is common to see a 30 per cent
drop-off in registrations after the confirmation
EXPERT OPINION by richard mullins
“
E-mail marketing
should no longer be
about reaching as many
people as possible with a
bulk message, but rather
about establishing and
growing a relationship
with each customer or
”
prospect.
e-mail, but those that do confirm are genuinely
interested in what your company has to say
and establishing a relationship with you.
Companies that invest in creating their own
databases are also laying the foundation to use
e-mail as a sophisticated customer relationship
management mechanism. With a database of
customers and prospects it regularly interacts
with, a company can start to communicate
with its audience in a more personalised man-
ner. Companies that create and maintain their
Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 4 9
own e-mail lists need to be willing to invest the
time and effort to ensure that their database
remains up to date as most users will not
inform you of a change in personal details or
e-mail address.
A good e-mail system will be able to track
whether a person’s e-mail address is still live
and whether they are opening and interacting
with the e-mail. If used in conjunction with a
preference centre, then the maintenance of
customers’ details is automated. In terms of
frequency, this will depend on the company’s
e-mail strategy and the dependency on the
data in terms of the core business and fre-
quency of interaction. For example, an online
casino has a very different timeline to a vehicle
manufacturer. By using preference centres to
capture information about its customers, a
company is able to deliver relevant, customised
and segmented content that caters to individ-
ual needs. This customisation allows the com-
pany to deliver targeted communications in a
streamlined and automated manner without
needing to personalise e-mails for each cus-
tomer manually.
It is recommended that companies out-
source the technical aspects of maintaining
and managing the database to a specialist so
that they can concentrate on strategy rather
than technology. They should also automate as
many of their e-mail marketing processes as
they can to reduce the possibility of human
error and free up the marketing team’s time.
A good online marketing services firm
should be able to help a company to manage
all technical aspects of e-mail marketing from
database management through to data
transformation, systems integration, report
automation and e-mail distribution.
E-mail marketing should no longer be about
reaching as many people as possible with a
bulk message, but rather about establishing
and growing a relationship with each
customer or prospect. It gives you the
opportunity to increase interactions with
customers and prospects, allowing you to
consolidate relationships. 
Richard Mullins
director, Acceleration
(011) 706 9836
richard@acceleration.biz
 by fulvia becatti CONTENT CHAMPIONS

And the winners are...

Marketing Mix has chosen the Content Champions across various media categories. The champs are
those media which have got their content mix right for their relevant target audience. Where the
competition was tight, secondary factors, such as audience ratings or circulation figures were looked
at. For circulation figures only, subscriptions and sold copy sales were used.
TV

Best reality content: A website offers

Survivor SA fans a game of
It’s almost a case of who doesn’t watch Survivor SA? With huge audiences Fantasy Survivor,
tuning into the programme (Survivor SA 2006 drew in an average of 1.254 downloadable con-
million viewers, according to Transmit 3 September-26 November 2006 fig- tent, the latest news
ures; the first episode of the show was the most watched in the history of and info, competi-
M-Net, with more than 1.3 million viewers). This is reality TV’s toughest tions and interactive
game, with a lucrative prize that demands a lot from contestants. “The phys- offerings. Plus, the
ical toughness plays a part in revealing the complexity of human behaviour innovative product placements and sponsorships have changed the way that
and mental reasoning that is unpredictable and sometimes shocking. The local brands engage with reality content. “The sponsorship opportunities
production is also one of the most demanding as crew and cameras must be were purposefully limited to food, hygiene and drinks other than water.
ready to roll at any moment of the day. All these factors make it one of the These elements become important issues for Survivor contestants as they are
most intense reality shows ever to be produced,” says Pierre Cloete, brand deprived of these necessities. This created a great opportunity for the 2007
manager, Survivor SA. sponsors,” says Henry Meyer, project manager, Oracle Airtime Sales.

Best sports content:
SuperSport
SuperSport covers everything from football,
rugby and cricket, to extreme sports (competitive
skateboarding and surfing), to horse riding and
boxing. Many of the sports offered are exclusive
and now include the major coup of the PSL. An Update channel, including
highlights, extra interactive content and more at the push of a button, sup-
ports programming. Major games and matches are broadcast live, drawing
in huge audiences with interviews and expert commen-
tary. The advertising and programming sponsorships
allow advertisers to really target specific consumers
according to the sports that capture their passion (and in
some cases, boost their brand share in the process). The
website lends SuperSport all the benefits of an online
platform (interactivity with sports fans, advertising opportunities, the
means to disseminate information, schedules, interviews and commentary
with ease).

Magazines

Best sports magazine: across a range of black market maga-

KickOff zines,” says Dearnaley. “But the KickOff
KickOff, now in its 13th year of publishing, offers the best of football (inter- ‘footprint’ in the black male market
views, highlights, fan feedback and more), presented in a glossy magazine continues to increase. Our latest
aimed at the male football fan. It was voted the sixth best consumer maga- website stats show that we had over
zine in the Sunday Times Top Brands survey, and has 1.8 million readers every 90 000 unique users on site for the
two weeks. The mag has seen a dip in circulation, but associate publisher, month of August!”
George Dearnaley believes this is attributable to the increase in competitive According to figures published by
media in their environment. He maintains that readership has remained high. the Online Publisher’s Association,
“With the 2010 FIFA World Cup around the corner, everyone is trying to kickoff.com is the fourth most popular
find a football angle. With the rise of new media, and free soccer supple- website among South African men, with 79 per cent of the total online
ments in some of the newspapers, we have lost out on around five per cent male audience. In August 2007, the website generated 1 953 823 page
of our total print circulation, although a decline in print circulation is true impressions from 93 104 unique users.

Best women/family interest magazine:
Move!
The magazine’s content is obviously meeting the needs and
interests of the emerging middle-class black woman. Since its
launch in February 2005, Move! has grown its circulation fig-
ures rapidly, and now finds itself at 107 719 (ABC
April-June 2007) as one of the biggest consumer titles in
the country. Content includes fashion and health advice,
recipes and home decor articles, success stories, reader
advice and more.

5 0 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007

 CONTENT CHAMPIONS

Best men’s magazine: from new cars, jokes, gadgets, women, oddities etc.
ZOO Weekly “Because ZOO’s readers are active, technologically
ZOO Weekly delivers the right content mix, in the switched-on members of the information generation, their
right way, to its teen and 20-something male read- level of interaction with zoo.co.za is extensive. ZOO’s read-
ers. Growing circulation testifies to the winning for- ers love to interact, submitting pictures of themselves to
mula sitting third in the category (not including the hugely popular ‘Inbox’ and ‘Eish!’ pages of the maga-
Popular Mechanics) with 15 655 domestic unique zine, and registering on zoo.co.za and leaving comments or
browsers and 230 949 domestic page impressions submitting stories,” says Margot Bertelsmann, ZOO
to the website. The content covers everything Weekly/Weekliks editor.

Best general interest magazine:
TV Plus
TV Plus is so much more than just TV, this mag delivers
everything from crosswords, gossip and interviews with local
soap stars to the ultimate TV guide. It is available in both
Afrikaans and English, and even though circulation figures
have taken a dip, this magazine remains a force to be reck-
oned with. The circulation losses are due to the mag’s switch
from a fortnightly to a weekly publishing schedule; according
to editor, Wicus Pretorius, the decline mirrors that which
resulted when the mag switched from monthly to fortnightly,
and it reflects the industry norm. “As previously, we will rebuild
the circulation. Our readers are in the habit of buying the mag-
azine every two weeks, so it will take time to change this. Plus,
the economic situation at the moment means that people
think twice before buying a magazine every week,” says
Pretorius. He adds that the magazine continues to cater to TV
fanatics, who watch about 25 hours of TV every week. “In
one sense, it’s a mass market magazine. But in another, it’s a
niche magazine,” says Pretorius.

Best Afrikaans magazine:
Weg
Weg is the travel and outdoor magazine for the informed and travel
loving. It highlights the outdoors, while also giving readers informa-
tion about creative (and affordable) travel destinations in and
around SA for campers, hikers, caravanners and walkers, as
well as 4X4 lovers. Photographic portfolios paint the best of
SA’s outdoors, while product reviews inform. Interesting
supplements and special issues add reader (and advertiser)
value, with growing circulation figures to prove it.

Best youth magazine:
National Geographic Kids
National Geographic Kids has taken a broad spectrum of top-
ics and made them engaging for the youth (with competi-
tions, special features, short snippets packed with fun facts,
etc). It covers science, animals and nature, current events, cul-
tures from around the world and technology, among others, so
it appeals to just about every kid. NGC educates while it
entertains, and encourages reader interaction. An Afrikaans edition
extends readership even further. Reader events add value, and the
Loerie Award for its illustrated advertising lends credibility. Since
its launch in June 2004, the magazine has grown its circulation
in a very tough category that is not only competing against
each other but against the Internet.

Newspapers

Best weekly newspaper:

Soccer Laduma
Soccer Laduma takes the country’s biggest sport to heart, delivering local, regional and international soccer news on a
weekly basis to a growing number of readers. It includes the latest news from all the local and international clubs, player
and team interviews, schedules and match information. The paper is currently relaunching its website with a promise of
more editorial and interactive content. Its uncompromising editorial stance sees this paper just keep on growing.

Best daily newspaper: Meanwhile, Zulu daily Isolezwe is

Shared between the Daily Sun and Isolezwe. reaching an ever-widening readership
The Daily Sun reaches the blue-collar worker with perfect aim and is the as it enjoys high brand affinity,
highest selling daily as a result (the latest ABC figures place it at 488 841 and is giving back to the community
copies). The paper is written in a style that speaks directly to this market, that reads it (newspaper
while the content includes community news, gossip and scandal, sport and salespersons are employed by the
entertainment. There is no other paper that reaches this market with such paper as area distribution
authority and understanding. managers, for example).

Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 5 1

 CONTENT CHAMPIONS

Newspapers

Best newspaper Best weekend newspaper:

supplement:
Business Day Wanted
Business Day Wanted is a lifestyle maga-
zine supplement that meets the needs and
interests of the paper’s core readership.
Travel, entertainment, dining, cooking and
films, decor and weekend activities are cov-
ered in a neat, stylish package aimed at the
high-end luxury buyer.
Shared between the Sunday Sun
and City Press.
Both these newspapers round up weekend news
(including community news, gossip, entertain-
ment and weekend events, sports and business)
effectively, meeting the needs and interests of
the middle-class black newspaper reader. Content includes community-
relevant news and information, sports roundups, entertainment news and
TV guides, as well as general lifestyle-related material.

Radio

Best national station:

5FM Best regional station:
5FM boasts a hugely popular DJ 94.7 Highveld Stereo
line-up, and has targeted its pro- 94.7 Highveld Stereo is one of Gauteng’s
gramming to its core, urban lis- favourite stations. The music mix is spot on
tenership. The music mix is hip (although song repetition is a sore point
and fresh, with a focus on new for many), the station’s interactive and
releases (especially in the rock, innovative competitions, such as The
hip-hop, R&B, rap and pop gen- Fugitive, and promos pull in massive audiences. Content is available via its
res). Competitions and events add website, also offering podcasts, streaming and mobile applications. Highveld
value and buzz for both advertis- also offers a VIP loyalty programme.
ers and listeners, and allow brands “We bring listeners the hottest music line-up, we showcase and support local
to really make waves with listeners. The online platform (complete talent and we invest in presenters who are enthusiastic and passionate about
with downloadable content, blogs etc) is top class, with DJ blogs music,” says Ravi Naidoo, 94.7 Highveld Stereo station manager. “94.7 prides
and podcasts, chart lists, competitions and interactive content as itself on developing and maintaining a close relationship with its listeners. We
well as community media features. strive to bring in the ‘human factor’ in everything that we do,” he says.

Online
Best website:
Sarugby.com
Sarugby.com is the official website for the Springboks and offers the ultimate in rugby content. This
includes local, regional and international rugby news and interviews. Downloadable content includes
the national anthem, Youth Weeks Annual and wallpapers. There is online shopping available as well
as useful links for fans.

Best Newcomer
Best newcomer:
The Times
This new tabloid is delivered free to Sunday Times subscribers and judging from the content it
should help to attract the younger newspaper readers with interactive, multimedia content
across various integrated media platforms. News includes celeb gossip, recipes and horo-
scopes as well as comics, sports and business commentary, and columns penned by local
experts and comedians. The Times now includes the New York Times insert (formerly housed
in the Lifestyle section of the Sunday Times). 

5 2 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007

Word of Mouth Marketing Workshop
6 N ovember 2 007
Sandton S un, J ohannesburg

Motivating customers and prospects to say good things about you

– that’s the trick and that’s how to gain real competitive advantage.
The keynote speaker and Master Class leader is Steve Barton, a
founding member of the Word of Mouth Institute in the UK.
Programme
Word of Mouth Marketing
Steve Barton from the WOM UK explains why WOM is more important than ever, highlighting the latest
trends from the UK and the US and focusing on the key issues affecting WOM marketing.
How to Get Youth Talking about Your Brands
Jason Stewart of Instant Grass discusses Seeding – Harnessing the Power of Consumer Advocacy to
generate word-of-mouth marketing for your brand.
Blogs and Brands
The do’s and don’ts of corporate blogging and how they should be treated as a
dynamic evolutionary extension of the Internet and a platform for really powerful dialogue with clients.
Mike Stopforth, CEO, Cerebra (www.cerebra.co.za)
Appraising WOM Models
Neil Higgs, director of TNS Research Surveys looks at:
Traditional models of word of mouth
New thinking about how people interact and what this means for marketing models
The Wildfire model (including Black Diamonds)
WOM Showcase
The best of the WOM campaigns from the US WOMMA and recent SA campaigns.
WOM Analytics
Ensuring a measurable and accountable campaign from the start; focusing on the real metrics and identifying
the keys to repeatable success.
Hendrik van Vuuren, director, Millward Brown
WOM Master Class
Led by Steve Barton, with the objective of communicating specific techniques and methodologies to
facilitate your WOM planning.
Briefing: If you are expecting a very different outcome (e.g. conversations rather than response) then you
need to account for this when you establish the brief
Targeting: There is no rate card for ‘influencer’. How you target the right influencers to spread the word
Planning creative & media: Designing ideas to get your brand talked about
Measurement: Creating the systems that can capture amplification rates rather than response rates or
brand ratings... and ultimately proving ROI.

A full day workshop: registration: 7.30am, conference starts: 8am and ends at 4pm.
Delegate fee: R2 500 plus VAT, 3 or more R2 250 plus VAT per delegate.
Enquiries: Daisy Mulenga (011) 234 7008, e-mail daisym@systems.co.za
 SALES PROMOTIONS
Sales promotions critique
The campaigns
Title: Thank You
Client: Bokomo Weet-Bix
Promotional tools: On-package
details, PoS, limited edition tins, print
and TV ads.
Description: Bokomo replaced the
Weet-Bix name on its cereal packag-
ing with the words ‘Thank You’ in the
same font and style as the Weet-Bix
logo. For every pack of Bokomo
Weet-Bix sold from April to
September 2007, Bokomo donated
7,5 cents to Childline, up to a
guaranteed R1 million. The Childline
logo and telephone number is
available on every Weet-Bix pack. The
‘Thank You’ campaign also had a
competition element, with consumers
standing a chance of winning one of
three Citroën C4s, Sony PSP Value
Packs, thousands of rands in cash
and Bokomo hampers.
Comments:
 Great ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking
 If going the empathetic route with
Thank You, donations to charity
etc, on one hand, and appealing
to the consumers’ soft emotional
side, DO NOT get greedy with a
commercial incentive to sell more
products – the ‘Win a Citroen’
competition, under the same ban-
ner. The consumer gets mixed mes-
sages and the brand-building
opportunity is missed. Leave it a
while and charge for a separate
concept.
Criteria
All sales promotions are based on eliciting a response of ‘I wish
I’d done that…’ The promotions are viewed from a consumer
point of view that is without information on the brief, agency
objective or results. Marketing Mix is also looking for innovative
work that has broken new ground.
5 4 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007
Marketing Mix’s definition of a sales promotion:
A sales promotion is designed to motivate a short-term call to action which adds value and
promotes a transaction between a consumer and a brand.
Title: PS Love is in the Air
Competition
Client: Cadbury’s
Promotional tools: An envelope in
magazines and SMS.
Description: A promotional envelope
was inserted in print publications from
Cadbury’s PS chocolate in time for
Valentine’s Day. The envelope had the
words ‘PS From Your Secret Admirer’
on the front. In the background, in
gold, was a love message. Turn it over
and there were details of a competi-
tion: ‘A message for your valentine on a
sky banner’. Recipients were also
encouraged to use the limited edition
envelope to put a PS chocolate bar
inside it. Details of the competition
were on the back with the entry details.
To win the prize, you had to buy the
chocolate bar and SMS the last three
bar code digits to a cellphone number.
Comments:
 Nice idea
 It could have been better geared to
increase sales to males prior to
Valentine’s Day
 The Valentine’s message in the sky
was good. Hope they got good PR
out of it
 Great creative with the striking enve-
lope and clear details on the back for
what to do and how to enter.
Title: Prevage Eye
Client: Vida e caffé and Elizabeth Arden
Promotional tools: cup tag and SMS
Details: Vida e caffé together
with Elizabeth Arden promoted
the new anti-ageing moisturising
treatment ‘Prevage Eye’ on
coffee cup ‘ear tags’. Customers
received their cappuccinos with
this tag attached to the ear of
their coffee cup. The front of the
tag promoted the treatment
using the same creative as its print ads. On the back of the tag were SMS
competition details to win one of four product hampers.
Comments:
 Nice graphics but call to action ‘WIN’ is lost in body copy.
 I trust consumers would read the tag if they were bored with their date.
 Choosing the right venues increases the hit rate to the target market
making it very cost-effective.
Title: Koo Donation Can
Client: Koo
Promotional tools: creative stuck
on Koo tins on-shelf
Details: A sticker mimicking the top
of a donation tin was stuck on top of
tins of Koo fruit. As a shopper took
the can from the shelf, it caught their
eye and they would read the accompanying text, which explained
that Koo was donating a percentage of sales of tinned food to Unite
Against Hunger.
Comments:
 Simple, brilliant communication explaining to existing buyers what Koo
is doing to help
 Great PoS would have furthered the message to ‘would-be’ buyers
 Certainly eye-catching for those doing their grocery shopping.
If you think your latest sales promotion
campaign warrants a look by Marketing Mix,
please send your campaign details to:
Michelle Sturman
1st Floor, North Block, Bradenham Hall
Mellis Road, Rivonia
Or e-mail: michelles@systems.co.za

Just do it!
Every month poses interesting CRM scenarios
and in my daily experiences with clients, family,
travel and staff, I collect anecdotal information
that helps the business to grow and enables us
to ‘disperse’ relevant and significant strategic
thoughts to everyone.
Let me start with government policy. As we
all know the National Credit Act has had a
direct impact on our ability to spam South
African citizens and, with the Data Privacy Bill
being the topic of the day, we all need to be
very cognisant of buying lists or even using our
own lists to communicate. We sit with clients
and pore over application forms – are they ask-
ing the right questions; what if a consumer
ticks the NO box for communications, and yet
we have a major operational issue they need to
be made aware of?
What if we know nothing about our con-
sumer but we believe our message will
enhance their lifestyle etc? What if they always
open our newsletters, click to relevant articles,
and yet they have never ticked a YES box?
All these questions certainly make us think
about and devise clever strategies for the
future. But the bottom line is quite simple, if I
don’t give you permission to communicate to
me, then don’t! And even more importantly, if
you really need to tell me something, send me
a letter, that way I don’t feel you have invaded
my privacy. After all, post boxes are usually far
removed from my personal space.
Yet the government disregards its own Bill.
Our company recently parted ways with a con-
tractor who went to the CCMA. At 8am one
Saturday, I received an SMS from the CCMA
notifying me of the case’s hearing date. How
dare they? I never gave them my cellphone
number. This is a company issue, so surely they
have no right to text me personally – and on a
Saturday? Surely, these issues should be com-
municated in a letter to my company? So, will
someone please tell the government institu-
tions it should follow its own policies before
intervening with the way businesses communi-
cate with their clients.
My next anecdote spins around loyalty pro-
grammes, or rather, the thought process that a
points programme will fix our woes and gather
data that will unlock the mysterious consumer.
Yes, it will, but over time, with continuous
EXPERT OPINION by nici stathacopoulos
“
Service is a hygiene
factor if you are dealing
with consumers, and to
this end, if you get it
right you will get the
”
customers.
effort and if you are starting from scratch, with
some serious money. With new clients you
need to begin with a ‘start small, start some-
where’ test and trial, and then roll out to the
masses. You need to start with data – under-
stand your consumers’ needs and wants so
that you can implement a programme that will
enhance your offering in a relevant manner.
Remember that only consumers who are truly
invested in your business and brand will take
Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007 I MarketingMix 5 5
up the programme and activate it – usually
your most valuable first – and in that consider-
ation, our office in Singapore recently sent out
an article on moving from monologue to dia-
logue – probably one of the best I have read in
years. You need to engage your consumers in a
manner that is relevant and rewarding to them
on a regular basis, that way they will continue
to purchase your brand, and don’t look
towards you for discounts. This will engender
dialogue, where consumers discuss your
offering, not your price.
Now we’re onto pitches. Remember when
you put your business out to pitch, you need
to be realistic in what you are asking the agencies
to do. Two recent pitches asked us to present a
strategy. But, how can we when we don’t
know the client’s business and this is where we
also make our money – so asking a CRM
agency to give you a strategy in the hope it
will appoint you without having spent a few
weeks immersed in your business is actually
quite unfair business practice.
Finally, I turn to my most recent trip to Paris.
Having visited the city in 2003, I was really
surprised by the turnaround in service attitude
wherever we went. Shop assistants, waiters,
hoteliers etc all smiled, helped, spoke the best
English they could and, generally speaking, you
felt that you were truly in a world-class city.
But so are our beautiful South African cities –
so how hard can it be for our airlines, shop
assistants etc to smile when they meet you and
give you the service you deserve – after all, you
are spending your money with them, even if
they are offering you a ‘low-cost’ solution.
Service is a hygiene factor if you are dealing
with consumers, and to this end, if you get it
right you will get the customers. (By the way –
how difficult is it for a customer to use the
sales assistant’s or steward’s name, if they have
a name badge – that also goes a long way in
launching dialogue). And only then can a loyalty
(points) programme kick in and enhance your
business offering so that your consumer buys
your brand on a regular basis. 
Nici Stathacopoulos
CEO, proximity#ttp
(011) 447 7093
nici@proximityttp.co.za
by eugene honey LAW MIX

Taxation o f royalties
 The royalty payment was made… for the
Royalties are an integral component of
use of the trademarks. Its purpose was to
SA’s business sector. As a result, the recent
procure for the licensee, ‘…the use – not
Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision confirming
ownership – of the intellectual property of
that royalties are taxable has brought welcome
another from its sole and rightful owner for
relief. Many businesses, which license intellectu-
the duration of the agreement.’
al property, were at a substantial risk, including
 The ownership of the intellectual property
international entities with local independent
remained with the proprietor throughout
operations and the entire franchising sector.
the term of the agreement and that on ter-
A South African entity entered into a
mination thereof the local licensee ‘would
licence agreement with its foreign principal in
automatically cease to have the right to use
terms of which it was authorised to use cer-
the intellectual property in question.’
tain licensed trademarks. In terms of the
 The anticipated and recurrent nature of the
agreement, the South African entity paid sub-
royalties was a strong indicating factor that
stantial royalties to its foreign principal, the
they are related to revenue rather than cap-
proprietor of the brand and trademarks, for
ital. ‘The recurrent cost of procuring the
the use of those trademarks.
use of something which belongs to anoth-
Prior to the Appeal Court’s ruling, the
er is usually recognised as being of a rev-
lower courts found that the royalty payments
enue nature. The most obvious example is
were of a capital nature and therefore tax-
the recurrent rent paid… for the use of
able. The Supreme Court of Appeal subse-
premises…’, which is certainly ‘expenditure

quently found differently and decided that
royalty payments are of a revenue rather than
a capital nature.
The decision reiterated the following previ-
ously established principles:
 ‘Expenditure incurred for purposes of
acquiring a capital asset of the business is
capital expenditure whereas expenditure
which is part of the cost incidental to the
performance of the income producing
operations… is revenue in nature.’
“
Many businesses,
which license intellectual
property, were at a
substantial risk, including
international entities with
local independent operations
and the entire franchising
incurred in the production of income and
of a non-capital nature and therefore
deductible… for the purpose of determin-
ing taxable income.’
The Court found that the royalty fees paid
were to all intents and purposes indistinguish-
able from ongoing rental payments for the
use of another’s property and that the royal-
ties neither created nor preserved any capital
asset in the hands of the taxpayer.
The confirmation of many previously exist-

 ‘A distinction is thus drawn between expen-
diture made to acquire an income-produc-
ing concern (in respect of which the outlay
is usually non-recurrent) and money
spent… in working the concern for the
present production of profit.’
 ‘The conclusion to be drawn from all the
cases seems to be that the true nature of
each transaction must be examined in
order to determine whether the expendi-
ture in question is capital or revenue expen-
diture’ and that, ‘in deciding that question
each case must be decided on its own facts
and circumstances.’
”
ing principles is comforting. Even so, it is criti-
sector. cal to bear in mind that each case will be
decided on its own facts.
Thus, although the general principles have
been confirmed, there are certain scenarios
where the Court could arrive at a different
decision –for example, in the case of an
indefinite exclusive licence agreement where
a single payment is made. 
Eugene Honey
director, Bowman Gilfillan Inc
(011) 669 9000
e.honey@bowman.co.za

5 6 MarketingMix I Vol 25 No. 9/10 I 2007