BizTrends2015

BRANDING TRENDSThe power of the crowd Luxury please By Gareth Pearson Consumers are still looking to purchase luxury goods, however, they want to Gareth Pearson, CEO and shareholder of BMi Research get their hands on these items for less. Good margins and gross profits are (www.bmi.co.za), is a market research specialist with particular focus achievable. in the industrial and FMCG markets in various sectors, including the retail market. He serves as a member of the South African Institute People's choice of Packaging's Regional Committee and is involved with the South African Packaging Council. Gareth was responsible for the merger of Consumers can influence purchasing habits thanks to social networks in real- BMi Foodpack and Adcheck Research during 2008. Contact Gareth time, so brands need to work harder to earn consumer loyalty. on tel +27 (0)11 615 7000. View profile Just app it\"Consumers are actively trying to simplify their lives.\" Unprecedented growth in apps for everyday use, helping consumers, butBMi market research chief executive officer, Gareth Pearson, outlines his making them data and connectivity dependant.consumer brand trends in brief, which will shape 2015, including the rise ofeco brands; mychiatry services and product opportunity; and crowd-shaping Crowd shapingproduct trends. People will pool their data, their profiles and their preferences, in groups toWith the fast speed of change today, it is imperative for brands to track the shape new goods and services.trends driving the market: MychiatryEco brands Consumer interest in 'quantified self' products and services will continue toConsumers looking to connect with brands, business models and products that grow, as smartwatches and other powerful tech products enter the market.are environmentally or socially responsible. OmnichannelChoice rich, time poor 'Always connected' consumers expect fast questions and answers or requests,Consumers are actively trying to simplify their lives, some with financial meaning businesses will need to work extra hard to get in touch with shopperssecurity concerns, others questioning personal or career satisfaction and goals, across multi-channels.against the constraint for having so many choices and selections to choosefrom.BRANDING TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

BRANDING TRENDSMobility tipping pointsBy estimated mid-2015, the smartphone tipping point will be reached in Africa.This will drive M&E Commerce more than ever, making Africa a single screenmarket that is bypassing the online phase.Millennial powerBrands need to be cognitive thereof of what Millennials want and how theywill shape brands and service usage.BRANDING TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

BRANDING TRENDSBrands need a higher immensely popular and successful 'Like a girl' campaign. Not once do they make reference to the functional benefits of the brand, or even to the brandpurpose itself. By Ann Nurock 'Cultivate a better world' A former CEO of Grey South Africa and President/CEO of Grey A higher brand purpose must be something that touches consumers in their Canada, Ann Nurock is now the Africa Partner of Relationship Audits day-to-day lives, reflecting their dreams and aspirations. Take Chipotle for and Management, a global consultancy specializing in the example - the successful Mexican fast food chain that doesn't talk about the measurement, risk mitigation and optimization of B2B relationships. quality of their burritos or customer service, but rather about \"food with She also conducts workshops on Thought Leadership. These provide integrity\" and \"cultivating a better world\". This is manifested in buying the skills to middle management in terms of adding value to their vegetables that are organically grown or meat from farmers who do not use own/client's business, in order to find a higher brand purpose. antibiotics on their animals and treat them humanely. Contact details: [email protected] | @annnurock | View profile Brands that communicate a higher purpose do it best by telling a story. While storytelling in advertising is really nothing new, it is how a brand conveys the\"Today, consumers want meaning and value.\" narrative that matters. Its success is dependent on its authenticity and relevance to the consumers.Everyone is looking for meaning and fulfilment. Today, consumers wantmeaning and value that go beyond products and services. Consumers have According to Simon Sinek, author of 'Start with Why': \"People don't buy whatdeveloped a buying conscience and seek brands that vindicate their purchasing you do. They buy why you do it.\" Most people know what a brand does anddecision. Everyone is looking for more fulfilment and ways to improve their probably how. But how many know why they do it? 'Why' is the reason to buylives. This also applies to their choice of brands. into the brand/company's value and truth. This is not about making a profit - that is a business imperative. But it is finding the 'why' that leads a brand toIn his book 'Grow', Jim Stengel wrote: \"Brands that articulate and activate a finding its higher purpose. A great example of this is the latest campaign forhigher brand ideal/purpose are rewarded with especially high rates of Intel, where the company created and taught people in Sudan how to print 3Dgrowth.\" A great example is Coke, the brand that shares 'Open Happiness' in prosthetic limbs for amputees. It was all about the 'why'.every single piece of communication, ensuring that it is relevant to the culturesof each market.So what is a higher brand purpose? It is a brand promise that transcendsmerely the functional benefits or service of the brand. It is something thattruly improves the lives of the consumers it aims to reach. It recruits, unitesand inspires people to want to buy the service or brand. For example, thelatest campaign for Always does that by giving young girls confidence via theirBRANDING TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

BRANDING TRENDSElon Musk, one of the most influential business people in the world, who wasborn and schooled in South Africa, stated it most eloquently when he said:\"Putting in long hours for a company is hard. Putting in long hours for a causeis easy.\" His cause is creating a cleaner environment via his Tesla electric cars.What is yours?*Ann Nurock was interviewed by Louise Marsland, specialist editor of BizTrends 2015.BRANDING TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

A brand promise BRANDING TRENDS By Giles Shepherd What's new is the realisation that the best form of promotion of the Chief Executive at Brand Alive, President of the Advertising business is getting customers to passionately advocate the brand due to Benevolent Fund of South Africa. the positive experiences they are having - and that the only way to @GilesShepherd | View profile achieve that is to invest cleverly in the people of the organisation. And not simply by telling them what words and ideas have been crafted by\"A great brand is a promise kept.\" the marketing department and expecting them to conveniently believeQ: Your most significant industry trends for 2015? in them. Rather by involving them in the process of 'architecting' andA: A brand is a promise made. A great brand is a promise kept. It is people that articulating those words and ideas. By facilitating them on a journey andkeep promises, and they can only do so if they understand what those allowing their passion and contributions to reveal the uniqueness of thepromises are, believe and buy into them and most importantly, understand brand. People will naturally support what they have had a hand inhow to deliver on them. creating - or even feel as though they have - and sensible businesses are realising this. • Inside out • Short, powerful communication The idea of internal brand engagement - getting the staff of an organisation to understand, buy into and live the values and principles The age of the standard 'corporate video' has come to an end. In a of the brand - is not new. What is new is real corporate commitment to world where time is of the essence and our every moment is this practice. Over the past decade, South African brands have dappled bombarded with communication - from emails and SMSes, through with engagement, some putting more money than others behind it, but television and social media to a multitude of advertising - we have very few investing seriously. In many cases, consumer-facing brands become very discerning as to what we will pay attention to, and our have seen it more as an opportunity to look good to their customers by expectations as to the quality of communication has risen significantly. displaying their supposed activities and internal communication The ordinary person is very aware that powerful ideas can be campaigns loudly in branches and stores - yet the real engagement of communicated in a very short time frame - if conceived and executed the people behind the scenes is left sorely wanting. well. And more to the point - they understand what constitutes quality communication.BRANDING TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS What this means is that the 12-minute long, 'talking heads' style video, where executives describe the operation, principles, locations and other extraneous information, no longer has a place. Instead, the same principles that are applied to advertising and film work are the standard for corporate communication - both internal and external. Short, powerful 'concept' pieces that employ excellent photography, graphic styling and animation create a sense of a quality brand that is at the

BRANDING TRENDS forefront. And even in these short pieces, a well thought-out story that Q: What would you like to tell your clients? can leave the audience imprinted with a memorable message. Most A: A brand is a promise made... A great brand is a promise kept... We need to importantly, only one key message at a time, rather than everything the ensure that you have a compelling, differentiated and relevant promise, brand has to say in one piece of communication. communicated excellently both internally and externally, and that your people are impassioned and equipped to deliver. The clever brands are using these techniques and then creating a variety of versions to suit the various channels, and integrating them to work in harmony. So a version for YouTube, another as a presentation intro piece, one to send out on memory sticks, one for social media, and so on. Properly managed, this is the way they are making powerful and cost-effective use of the digital world.Q: Your 'game changer' trend in 2014?A: Understanding the power of the individual - creating ambassadors for abrand out of high profile people so that they advocate it on their social mediaplatforms. Well managed, an extremely cost-effective marketing tool.Q: What do you hope to see less of going into a New Year?A: The misunderstanding and misuse of social media by brands that believethat simply being there is what counts.Q: What do you hope to see more of in 2015?A: Real industry collaboration - rather than just window dressing by fancily-named organisations suggesting that the industry is working together toimprove and advance itself. Real activities and real commitments by agenciesthat honour their undertakings.Q: What advice do you have for your employees/peers for the next year?A: Remember that brands are conversations, and those conversations areinstant and global. Things won't always go well, but if you manage theconversation with integrity, even a bad situation can work in your favour.BRANDING TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

BRANDING TRENDSYour customers hold the Q: Your 'game changer' trend in 2014? A: Your brand is no longer what you say it is. Your brand is what yourpower customers tell each other it is. This was undoubtedly the year South African brands realised the easy days are over. They need to start doing what they say By George Golding because in the internet age, the truth is quickly revealed. Ethical, transparent brands have begun to gain favour with consumers and this trend will continue A natural-born entrepreneur, George is as fervent about IT as he is to gain traction and momentum. The greatest brands of the future will be the about affordable communications services and business integrity. He ethical brands that deliver on what they promise. is driven by a burning ambition to see the promise of cloud computing translated into tangible business benefits, and to Advertising and marketing can no longer be designed to trick the consumer providing fellow entrepreneurs with better alternatives to the into buying something, but instead should tell them the truth about the services of South Africa's landline telecoms incumbent. George has a offering and let them choose it. When this occurs, the brand has won a new postgraduate diploma in Distributed Commercial Information customer and a brand ambassador at the same time. Systems (UCT) and BCom Honours in Information Systems (UCT). @ smeSpark | View profile Q: What do you hope to see less of going into a New Year? A: Load shedding, broken promises, corruption, crime and poor leadership.\"Your brand is what your customers tell each other it is.\" Political issues aside, I would like to see less of authorised credit providers providing loans to the poor at excessive interest rates. It is the most exploitive2015 will continue to be all about the customer, for brands. and damaging practice in society. Fuelled by greed, it is entirely out of control and urgently needs to be regulated.Q: Your most significant industry trends for 2015?A: I would like to see less of business service providers overselling to customers, especially in the IT and financial services sectors. Sales consultants should be  Brand power will continue to shift from the corporation into the selling what the customer needs - based on their analysis. All too often, I see customer's hands. quotes filled with smoke and mirrors with line items that are vague and confusing to the customer. The role of the service provider is to look after the  The continuation of the rise of customer-centric, ethical brands. customer's interests and not the interests of the specific commission-based  Skilled employees leaving exploitative job positions for ethical sales consultant. companies where they are engaged with purpose, enjoyment and within a healthy company culture.  Mobile payment solutions, the provider agnostic mobile wallet is around the corner. More of the unbanked will have mobile bank accounts with lower banking fees.BRANDING TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

BRANDING TRENDSQ: What do you hope to see more of in 2015?A: I want to see more SA brands standing by their brand promise instead ofjust advertising it. I want to see brands taking ownership of the precious trusttheir customers put in their hands. For example, ensuring food products aresafe for consumption, rather than using the cheapest ingredients regulationdemands. Brands need to learn to have empathy towards a customer's specificcircumstance. Brands need to start doing what they say, removingcomplexities and simplifying our daily lives. If your product has value,customers do not need to be tricked into buying it.I want to see businesses investing in cloud-based IT services from reputableproviders. Enterprise class business cloud services remove complexities,automate processes and simplify everything. This allows businesses to focuson their core service offering instead of their IT infrastructure.BRANDING TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

BRANDING TRENDSThe rise of 'me' By Gaby de Abreu Gaby de Abreu is creative director at Switch Brand Communication. View profile\"Quality is now associated with things that are handmade.\" Mathias Rosenthal via 123RFIn brand communication, 'knowing your target market' will cease to be about It took a while for big corporates to catch up, but catch up they have, and nowdrawing an average every man in outline, but will rather be about speaking to they're throwing their big budgets at providing the kinds of individualisedevery individual customer who comes into contact with your products. It's experiences that consumers crave. We've all watched as Coca-Cola releasedmindboggling. bottles and cans with people's names on them onto the market. We lapped up the campaign, searching for our own names emblazoned in red and white on aThe customer has become king like never before. In the past, this used to can. Now Coca-Cola Israel has taken it a step further, allowing Diet Cokemean that when things went wrong, shop assistants had to offer sympathy and drinkers to design one of two million bottles for production.solutions. In 2015, this will mean that every customer's wildest whim will haveto be satisfied - individually. This customer engagement and involvement in the process creates a great bridge between big brands and their individual users. This is a trend that willThere has been a big shift in the way that consumers consume. In the past, big gain momentum in 2015. We already see big South African retailers packagingbrands with big marketing budgets and corporate clout offered a degree of their mass-produced products in brown paper and string to create the illusiongravitas that consumers associated with quality. The hipster, organic, bespoke of deli shopping. And Magnum stores now allow customers to create their owncrowd have pushed back against this in recent years, and quality is now version of a global ice-cream product.associated with things that are handmade, to order, from small companies.BRANDING TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

BRANDING TRENDSBig dataAnother tool that the corporate giant has in his hands as he quests toindividualise his customer experience is the ability to analyse big data. Theability to gain insight from the mass of data that customers generate everyday, in real-time, means that brands can start responding to consumer needson an individual level, almost at the moment that they are imagined. We areyears away from that yet, but big data is already helping corporates to deliverindividualised services.Consumers are even demanding individualised associations with the places inwhich they live. They don't want their city to offer the same global servicesand attractions as every other city, but would rather be proud of the specificsand idiosyncrasies. Vancouver and Melbourne have launched campaigns toannounce their brands, quantify what they stand for and make their residentsproud and their non-residents wishful.All this presents a challenge for brand communications specialists. We have totailor mass production to the individual. We can't just understand our targetaudience, broadly speaking, but have to try to find ways of speaking directly toevery individual that makes up that audience. It's a daunting task, and one thatrequires us to be experts not only in branding, design and copywriting, but alsoin the media, social sciences and psychology to solve problems in a globalmarket of products and ideas.BRANDING TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

BRANDING TRENDSChanging consumer Q: What do you hope to see more of in 2015?behaviour A: More brands that are focused on making a real difference in the lives of consumers with the aim to create lasting value. From a financial services By Yegs Ramiah perspective, there should be a responsibility to connect consumers with their money which will lead to more responsible and considered financial Yegs Ramiah joined the Sanlam team at the end of 2012 as chief behaviour. executive of Sanlam Brand. Ramiah is responsible for Group Brand, corporate affairs, marketing and communications at Sanlam. Prior to Q: Your 'game changer' trend in 2014? her appointment at Santam, Ramiah spent 12 years of her career at A: Sanlam's new payoff line, 'Wealthsmiths,' which is a simple description of Merrill Lynch. View profile what we do and what we believe in. Described in a word that did not exist, it is a word that has a sense of familiarity and one that we will give meaning to\"Brands need to be less about themselves.\" over time. It represents our roll-up-your-sleeves, pragmatic approach to doingBrands need to help consumers make better choices by focussing on the real things, our ethos, and our appreciation for the raw materials with which weissues consumers face, ahead of the bottom line and marketing plans. work - our clients' money.Q: Your most significant industry trends for 2015? Q: What advice do you have for your employees/peers for the next year?A: Self-awareness. Getting people to connect with who they really are, to A: If we want to make a difference in the world and in our country we all needunderstand their needs and their means and to enable them to make better to follow the simple advice of Colby Loucks, Deputy Director of the Wildlifechoices by creating awareness and incentivising people to change their Conservation Programme: \"What we can, and must do, boils down to threebehaviour. Self-awareness will result in true insights of what it takes to lead a words: Make. Better. Choices.\"happy and fulfilled life and what real wealth is. Brands need to be less aboutthemselves and more about the real issues that consumers face and in this Q: What would you like to tell your clients?way create affinity with consumers. A: To spend smarter. South Africans need to understand that their opportunity for a better life in the future is completely dependent on their currentQ: What do you hope to see less of going into a New Year? relationship with money. People need to save first and spend later, rather thanA: Fewer people spending money that they don't have. People need to be save what is left after spending, because the latter approach will always seesavvier with their money, they shouldn't spend beyond their means and they them saving the minimum amount, if any at all.should aim to save more.BRANDING TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

CONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSORED BY

CONSUMER RESEARCH TRENDSTREND: The experience Source: JWT.combrand According to JWTIntelligence, the 2015 report is an \"evolution of\"Instantly accessible information, globalisation and social media have JWTIntelligence's flagship '100 Things to Watch'... connecting the dotsaccelerated the pace of trends exponentially.\" - Lucie Greene, worldwide between the 'what' and the 'why', by including a 'Why it's interesting' analysisdirector of JWTIntelligence with each item.\" The full list of categories covered in the report includes:From 'Me' brands, to category collapse in the retail sector, mindful business culture, beauty, brands, food and drink, innovation, lifestyle, luxury, retail,and new definitions of power; and design-led experiential public spaces, sustainability and technology.JWTIntelligence has produced a superlative vision of current consumer cultureand expectations in 2015. Reports like this one are critical for brands to understand change, when \"instantly accessible information, globalisation and social media haveThe dominant theme is what brands can do for consumers, in terms of accelerated the pace of trends exponentially,\" said Lucie Greene, worldwideexperience and purpose, not advertising. Consumers have hacked into brand director of JWTIntelligence, when the report launched shortly beforeculture and made it their own. The shift towards personalisation and craft and Christmas 2014.artisanal food, remembered skills and a caring culture, makes the influence ofthe individual within a broader community very powerful. \"The ubiquity of the web has accelerated the pace of trends, the spread of information and the sophistication of consumers, who are increasinglyJWTIntelligence this year launched 'The Future 100: Trends and Change to confident and expect brands to work around them rather than dictate to them.Watch in 2015', with original insights on 100 cultural shifts expected in the Other consumer expectations are also shifting in this new landscape, underyear to come. influences as diverse as the vast range of information available on the internet, globalisation, environmental change and difficult economic times. As a given,As industry trends such as 'brand storytelling' and 'content marketing' feed not a bonus, brands are expected to deliver experiences, be hyper-transparentinto and reflect consumer experiences with brands, much of JWTIntelligence's100 trends break down those cultural shifts and provide fascinating examplesof consumer and brand collaboration and brands and technology partnering toprovide ultimate consumer experiences.CONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

CONSUMER RESEARCH TRENDSand achieve sustainability. They're expected to produce beautifully designed Ricard invested the capital and supplied a global recipe, which is adjusted toproducts and environments. And they are also increasingly expected to be include local ingredients,\" writes JWTIntelligence.societal leaders, benefactors, innovators and philanthropists.\" Source: JWT.comBrand trends Retail trendsOn Brands, 'Do' brands; 'Me' brands and 'Third-Way Commerce' allowconsumers to take centre stage. Third-Way Commerce is a movement started The focus on retail prophesises category collapse and the mass boutique - plusby Toms that \"combines social good with sales and marketing and includes the Amazon's very first offline bricks and mortar store - it has signed the lease onentire marketplace, whereby you 'buy one/give one away' and includes premises in New York. JWTIntelligence says it is interesting because Amazon iseverything from meals to a week of water for the needy. \"Consumers, the latest in a slew of online retailers opening up physical stores: \"whileparticularly Millennials, are increasingly discriminating between brands by consumers increasingly shop online and via mobile, they also seek compellinglooking for ethical behaviour and sustainability. They are also looking for in-store experiences.brands and companies with clear values,\" reports JWTIntelligence. Technology is a gem, with ethical smartphones, clever fabrics, cognitive technology - and going invisible online - off the grid, so to speak.'Do' brands are those which focus on 'doing' rather than 'talking' as amarketing platform, \"using activism, innovation and philanthropy projects to JWT Future 100connect with consumers and inspire marketing content\".Example: Kenco sources coffee from areas where unfortunately there is strong These are the additional highlights from JWTIntelligence:gang culture, hence Kenco offers training programmes for those at-risk whowork in coffee farming'. Their advertising showcases the project, not theircoffee.Then, 'Me' brands are where consumers are invited to create local brands intheir own image - part of the sharing economy and an increasing desire for\"personalisation, collaboration and consumer entrepreneurship\". PernodRicard Our/Vodka campaign invited their customers to create their own localversion of the brand in a business partnership. The end result was Our/Vodkamicro-distilleries in various cities around the world, like Berlin and Detroit.\"Local stakeholders receive 20% of the profit in exchange for investing theirtime and managing the distillery as well as marketing and events. PernodCONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

CONSUMER RESEARCH TRENDS • In its Culture section, the report spotlights the rise of the 'Mipsters' opportunistic. There's an opportunity for brands to connect with real (Muslim + hipster) and the growing number of Teetotal Millennials. It subcultures, but they must tread a careful path or risk looking cynical.\" also looks at Experiential Public Spaces-the transformation of public spaces via creative immersive projects-and Experiences Going Dark, the Source: JWTIntelligence. Download the full report 'The Future 100: Trends and advent of unsettling experiences as entertainment. Change to Watch in 2015'. • Beauty trends include South Korean Beauty: a look at how the axis of *Trends curated by Louise Marsland, specialist editor of Biz Trends 2015. influence is changing in the beauty world as the global appetite for South Korean products grows. • The Food and Drink section includes Cold-Pressed Everything (consumers are increasingly fetishising cold-pressed and unprocessed foods); Guilt-Free To-Go (healthy, ethical fast food will gain momentum as a raft of virtuous brands appropriate junk style for the Millennial generation); and Haute Vegan (a new wave of hip restaurant concepts departs from the hippie vibe associated with meat-free dining). • In Innovation, the report notes the rise of the Tactile Internet as innovators play with haptic technology, wrapping in digital connectivity with physical action, among other trends. And in Lifestyle, the report examines the rise of new centres of influence (for instance, Los Angeles is reinventing itself as a fashion, tech and innovation hub) and the new Adventurist Impulse, as well as the crash in Helicopter Parenting. • The Future 100 also looks to the worlds of Luxury and Retail, where the sharing economy is increasingly aligning with business and luxury, Amazon is launching its first store, and retail experiences are channelling BuzzFeed surveys.A word of warning from the team at JWTIntelligence: \"Social media has spedup the rate of trend and niche discovery, and its path to mass exposure, butsome celebrities and brands are doing this too fast, and in an inauthentic way,creating a backlash among connected, sophisticated Millennials, who view it asCONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

CONSUMER RESEARCH TRENDSShopper marketing Mall culture By Dr Sarah Britten With approximately 1,780 shopping malls and over 1 million square metres of Dr Sarah Britten is strategy director, Labstore South Africa. Labstore floor space, South Africa has more retail space than the rest of Africa collaborated with Kantar Retail and Y&R to bring you these 2015 combined. With more malls opening and in development - especially in under- trends. Labstore is part of Y&R. Follow Sarah on Twitter (@Anatinus) serviced areas - malls will continue to dominate the local retail landscape. At and read her blogs at www.nicolandsecond.com and the same time, South Africans prefer to shop locally, so the catchment area for www.thoughtleader.co.za/sarahbritten. View profile malls has shrunk. Malls are also an important entertainment destination - which means that they will need to recognise and get better at understanding\"The solution for integrating the digital and physical worlds lies in finding a the process and behaviours of how of people are 'gathering' - which can bereal shopper need and answering it.\" physical (in a mall) or virtual (on a social platforms) and how both of theseThe era of consumer marketing is over, and now we're in the age of shopper converge.marketing. With retail as the new centre of marketing gravity, agencies, clientsand media across the spectrum need to get to grips the new marketing reality. Malls will continue to be the places where more South Africans gather to shop, eat and play. Understanding how individual malls plug into their localIt's a common misperception that \"shopper marketing\" refers only to in-store communities will be key to attracting shoppers and building programmes thatactivity. In fact, it's about understanding the entire path to purchase and how create value for shoppers, retailers and brands.the right message in the right place at the right time will result in a purchase.In social media, the hashtag has become as much a part of US retail campaigns Authenticity chapteras the key visual. The corollary to the growth in malls - and their inherent \"sameness\" - is theIn-store displays are supported by product information on retailer websites quest for authenticity. Hipsters have shown us the way, and now moreand apps, while conversation is generated both on social media platforms and mainstream shoppers are discovering the joy of buying artisanal margaritas atwith bloggers and other influencers. 10 o'clock on a Saturday morning. The success of the Maboneng Precinct, Neighbourgoods and the Old Biscuit Mill are testament to a hunger for moreMarketers that understand how to use social media to engage shoppers before tactical, personal shopping experiences built around discovery of the local andthey even walk into the store - and continue the conversation after they buy the handmade.and use the product - will be the winners. Many shopping malls are now bringing the market experience to theirCONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS shoppers, with varying degrees of success. The new Watershed market at the V&A Waterfront, with its curated, handcrafted products, is a good example of how markets are providing more

high quality goods with a good story. The steady gentrification of CONSUMER RESEARCH TRENDSBraamfontein near the Johannesburg city centre is another indication of asearch for authentic urban spaces outside of the contained, somewhat shopper's lifetime value. Finding ways to personalise products, pricesartificial limits of shopping malls. However, this will remain niche. and offers while driving profit and without excessively complicating the rest of the business, will continue to be a major trend in 2015 andAlong with the shift in emphasis from consumer to shopper marketing, media beyond.owners will have to look at how to offer a proposition to advertisers thatmoves beyond simple awareness to engagement and an impact on behaviour. • Mobile has been the star of the story of digital in Africa for years now,For example, the Daily Sun carries a weekly supplement of cash and carry and the cellphone has a natural place in the store - after all, it's theoffers to help shoppers buying for spaza stores and stokvels. It's simple, but digital device that almost all shoppers have with them all the time.useful for shoppers, and an incentive to buy the paper. Media channels able to Finding ways to integrate mobile into the shopper journey will continue,offer platforms that take the path to purchase into consideration will be able whether it's about providing coupons or making the process of findingto offer the kind of innovative packages that advertisers are looking for. the things you want just a little easier. Snapscan, the Payment Pebble and other mobile-enabled payment devices are making it easier forPersonalisation shoppers with credit cards to purchase outside of formal retail spaces.Major trends for 2015 include: Mobile apps can help in multiple ways such as list writing, prompts and ideas, and giving location of products in stores. 'Anticipation' will be a • Personalisation is a major trend expressing itself in multiple ways. The key theme as retailers rise to the challenge to connect shoppers with success of something as simple as putting names on Coke cans is a the items they want to buy quickly. Price comparison apps are growing reminder of how even a very basic level of personalisation can impact in popularity globally. Memeburn did a useful overview of the 2015 on sales. South Africans are queuing to try out personalised ice-creams prospects for mobile retail apps in South Africa. at the Magnum pop-up store; while at Bite Lip Labs in the US, it's possible to customise your lipstick down to the colour, the finish and Hype around mobile technology in retail will continue to be par for the the flavour. course. RFID tags, NFC and now beacons have all promised to revolutionise the shopping experience. We expect to see South Personalisation does not only apply to product. Shoppers are becoming African retailers experiment with new ways to add value to shoppers, more willing to trade their own personal data for a more specialised but it will be a while before we see anything on a large scale. (and even localised) service or offer or price. Loyalty programmes will be part of this, as retailers look to make their loyalty programme • Once upon a time, online retail was going to render bricks and mortar knowledge bases work harder to influence shopper behaviours. How irrelevant. That hasn't happened; instead, online retailers retailers reward loyalty in the future is already starting to emerge like Bonobos are opening physical showrooms that allow shoppers to internationally though the principles of 'dynamic pricing' tailored to a try on merchandise, which they then buy online. \"There's still growth on the internet, but there's more growth in fitting digital into the physicalCONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS world,\" says Kevin McKenzie of leading mall operator Westfield.

CONSUMER RESEARCH TRENDSShopper need will continue to attract retailers, brands and investors - and there will continue to be losers, as well as winners.The solution for integrating the digital and physical worlds lies in finding a realshopper need and answering it. For example, online grocery retailing remains This is impacting not only on retailers and brand owners, but the agencies thattiny in South Africa. Rather than isolate online retailing as a specific vehicle for service them. With the South African economy under pressure, many Southgrowth outside of physical retailing, the key in online will be retailers who can African agencies are expanding into the rest of the continent, either by buyinghelp shoppers with particular tasks, such as making routine replenishment of agencies in Nairobi or Lagos, or servicing clients further north.regularly purchased items easier. The investment into home delivery (Pick nPay TukTuks) and Click and Collect (Walmart/SASOL) services is a strong Understanding the nuances of shopper behaviour - and how it intersects withindicator that 'making routine replenishment easier' is getting attention in consumer attitudes - in different African markets will become more and moreonline strategy discussions. important to getting shopper strategies right. Given that information and tracking in most African markets is still a major challenge, researchers that areMarrying the best of the digital and physical worlds in a way that increases able to offer practical, affordable and fast access to shopper insights and dataemotional engagement for consumers and shoppers will continue to be a will be the winners.major driver of innovation. Shoppers typically make three investments when they enter a store:Reducing clutter in-store has been a long-term strategy of South Africa's bigretailers. At the same time, brand owners are less willing to spend on point-of- 1. Money - looking for a good deal doesn't discriminate across LSM.purchase material that gets damaged or displayed incorrectly. (The FSU South African shoppers love broadsheets and the magic word 'sale' isgraveyard is still a common sight in many larger supermarkets, where free still a major trigger.standing units are lined up like tombstones in a corner of the store, ignored by 2. Time - they want to save time and retailers are looking to convertshoppers). Simplicity and ease of navigation are major drivers. For example, those seconds into sales.Pick n Pay together with Y&R has instituted new rules for displays. Everything 3. Angst - the emotional capital spent when shoppers can't get whatin store must do one of the following four things to justify its presence: help they want or are confused by the offering available (too few or tooshoppers navigate, educate, inform or inspire. many choices).Brands that are able to collaborate with retailers to come up with simple, Retailers and brands that can minimise the first and second factors androbust and attractive displays will be the winners. maximise the third will win. This means keeping shoppers front of mind, understanding how to make their lives easier, and not losing sight of whatAfrica allure matters to them in the quest to innovate or maximise profit. Help shoppers to find the value they want while making the experience as enjoyable as possible.With the South African economy under pressure, the allure of growth in Africa This has always been true of shopper marketing, and always will be.CONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

CONSUMER RESEARCH TRENDSOne consumer culture smartphone users would like to use a wearable device to communicate with others directly through thoughts - and more than two-thirds believe this form\"72% of those surveyed think we will use our thoughts to control household of communication will be commonplace by 2020.appliances by 2020!\" 4. Smart citizens: 76% of smartphone owners want traffic volume maps forAll around the world, internet users are increasingly sharing one culture. In the streets, pavements and public areas to report how crowded the area is. 70%most recent Ericsson Consumer Lab survey of 23 countries, they found that want to compare daily household use of gas, electricity and water with theirmore than three-quarters of consumers browse the internet and half use neighbours, and 66% say a smartphone that checks the water quality of publicsocial media every day. facilities and compares it with similar facilities nearby would be useful. Over 70% think that these concepts will be mainstream by 2020... We are becomingThese are the major consumer trends: smart citizens. Through our changing behaviours, efficient practices and smarter social norms are developing in our cities, and in the process they are1. The streamed future: Media usage patterns are globalising among making cities organically grow smarter too.consumers and they are shifting towards easy-to-use on-demand services that 5. The sharing economy: As the internet enables us to efficiently shareallow cross-platform access to video content. 2015 will be a historic year, information with unprecedented ease, the idea of a sharing economy isEricsson predicts, as more streamed content will be watched than broadcastTV.2. Helpful homes: With continuously rising fixed broadband adoption and thefast global uptake of smartphones with mobile broadband subscriptions, ourlives are becoming more connected than ever before. However, despite thisconnectivity, houses are not increasing in intelligence at the same pace. This isnow set to change, as consumers show a strong interest in having their homeshelp them. 48% of smartphone owners asked were also interested in abathroom mirror that shows data about how well they have slept, and displaysa calendar, news and reminders. 47% would even like their toothbrush to giveadvice on how to brush effectively.3. Mind sharing: 72% of those surveyed think we will use our thoughts tocontrol household appliances by 2020... New means of communication willcontinue to appear, offering us even more ways to stay close to our friendsand family. Over a third of consumers are interested in using a smartwatchthat conveys touch gestures or their pulse to others. Interestingly, 40% ofCONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

CONSUMER RESEARCH TRENDSpotentially huge. It could enable consumers to enjoy the benefits of use life expectancy by 1.8 years. Pillows and sheets that monitor sleep patternswithout the hassle of ownership in many other areas. and medicine jars that regulate medicine intake would potentially add 1.1 years each.6. The digital purse: Of the smartphone owners we surveyed, 48% say theywould prefer to use their phone to pay for goods and services, while a third 9. Domestic robots: Of those open to the concepts Ericsson tested, 64%believe that smartphones should replace cash. thought all of these robot types will be common in households by 2020. With artificial intelligence becoming cloud-based, the cost of making smart robots is7. My information: 56% of smartphone owners would like all email, chat and set to decrease dramatically, so the next five years could potentially seeother internet communication to be encrypted. Over half agree that using drastic changes. 57% of consumers wanting a domestic robot to do theirfingerprints would be better than passwords for this. laundry8. Longer life: Wearable technology has been popular among consumers for 10. Children connect to everything: Children will continue to drive thesome time, but now it is time to shift the emphasis from the novelty of demand for a more tangible internet, where the physical world is as connectedwearing technology to what the advantages may be. Important benefits as the screens on their devices. 46% of smartphone owners say that those whoinclude the ability to monitor and regulate activities. Urban consumers think are exposed to tablets as babies will expect all objects to be connected whenwearables regulating stress levels could give them an extra two years of life on they are older. Using information technology will be less abstract in 2020 andaverage, and wearables that help with physical activity will have the second beyond.largest potential impact, with an addition of 1.9 years on average. However,help with monitoring goes beyond wearables: cups and plates that measure Source: Ericsson Consumer Labs. Download the full report, '10 Hot Consumerthe intake of calories, salt and unhealthy ingredients are believed to increase Trends 2015'.CONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

DIGITAL TRENDS

DIGITAL TRENDSTREND: Mergers & Image via 123RFAcquisitions For Gil Sperling, chief technology officer, Popimedia, the digital marketing environment heralds \"explosive disruption\" in 2015. He cites the fact thatVisual content will dominate the digital and mobile environment in 2015, as video consumption is on the rise; the surge in mobile phone subscriptions inrich media and video are expected to increase exponentially. And this in a Sub-Saharan Africa; and multi-screening.digital agency environment in South Africa that has been dominated bymergers and acquisitions in the last couple of years. \"We must accept the consumer's growing preference for video, the behaviour of multi-screening, and the explosive growth of mobile devices. By combiningIt is now the time to see how the digital agencies, bought or merged into these with a content strategy that adds value, while effectively targeting theglobal agency networks, perform - both in South Africa and further afield on right audience at the right time via algorithmic tools, 2015's trends can bethe African continent, which of course is what the 'media and agency land manipulated to your advantage.\"grab' in South Africa is mostly about: gaining a valuable foothold fordevelopment and growth on the continent. Andrew Kramer, VP sales, Mxit SA, says this will be the year, globally, that mobile ad spend overtakes print. \"By 2018 it is expected that mobile will claim\"2014 was characterised by the massive acquisition spree, of which we were almost 40% of total paid media spending in the UK, with estimates that mobilepart of. All acquisitions need to now bed down and become real propositions,\" will account for nearly 30% of all UK digital ad spending this year, with thissays Adrian Hewlett, CEO of Publicis Machine, acquired by the Publicis group figure rising to more than half by 2016. From our vantage point, it's a naturallast year. progression that South Africa will follow in the wake of these mobile advertising trends.\"For Hewlett, it is the end of the standalone digital agency and for him, thebiggest trend for 2015 is which of the top 10 advertising agencies next year willreveal themselves to be truly integrated, despite all the acquisitions and newalliances.

DIGITAL TRENDSAnd of course, it all comes down to content again - customised content is one Maher also highlights the fascinating growth of e-Sports, which in terms ofof Gustav Goosen, CEO of The SpaceStation's trends for this year. \"The need spectators, prize money and growing coverage in mainstream media, isfor credible branded content has leapt forward in South Africa. Good, engaging providing an audience for gaming, bigger than any other sport in the world.content that builds brands is a win win scenario for all. We have seen this first Marketers need to be aware of the opportunities this trend presents.hand with our 'pop up' websites.\" *Trends curated by Louise Marsland, specialist editor of Biz Trends 2015.There was a definite trend, Goosen said, for consumers to be more discerningabout the content they wished to consume and when and how they wanted toconsume it.Kramer's comprehensive trends focus on how mobile is phenomenallysuccessful in education and the political landscape in SA, and the fact that richmedia will remain one of the biggest mobile advertising trends in 2015.\"I anticipate that advertisers will move towards campaigns, content andcreative that will assist them in promoting the consumption of relevant, cooland engaging rich content including videos, graphics and music downloads.Ads focussed around rich media achieve increased engagement, higherperceived value and is the driver behind generating top-of-mind awareness indriving sales.\"Both Goosen and Vincent Maher, chief innovation officer at Kagiso Media,highlighted programmatic media buying as a big trend for digital media.Said Goosen: \"The IAB says that approximately 20% of all digital advertising issold by one machine talking to another. This trend is still fairly new in SouthAfrica although I anticipate an interesting uptake in 2015. Its popularity lies inits efficiency because it greatly simplifies media procurement and is designedto be highly targeted.\"

Synchronised messaging for DIGITAL TRENDSall channels consumers use while watching. Brands will be able to reinforce their TV By Andrzej Suski message with targeted reminders during the ad breaks. Car ads will be followed up with test drive messages, for example, as more and more Andrzej Suski is head of media solutions, Millward Brown, Africa & media owners roll out the capability to match messages across desktop, Middle East. He heads up the Media Solutions practice at Millward tablet and mobile. Brown in Africa and the Middle East and his role focuses on helping clients optimise their communications budget allocation, calculate • Social and mobile silos will be broken down. Brands need to and maximise ROI both across and within channels, for both understand the synchronised impact of cross-platform and cross-device traditional and new media. View profile behaviours to justify continued (and increased) media investment. To facilitate this, in 2015 social and mobile media will start to deliverThe continued development of digital infrastructure and the ensuing change in insights into how brands and their media agencies can best harmonisesocial behaviour patterns continue to gather pace in Africa. their overall social and mobile strategy.Adopting some of the tried and tested solutions from other markets and • Insufficient data will become big data and increasingly, intelligentblazing our own path in some areas (like mobile), enable consumers to data. In 2015, marketers will start to appreciate the importance of theirparticipate in the all-encompassing digital revolution. data: they will streamline their assets and invest in the analytic talent they have been lacking to identify the metrics that are actual predictorsThis in turn will allow marketers to commit a larger share of their budgets to for brand and sales growth.new media and new business models, facilitate better planning (with moredata) and force more rigorous evaluation of ROI - creating a perfect storm to • Native more often gets it right. In 2015 native advertising will becomefurther accelerate the pace of change. an established part of the advertising landscape. The key for brands will be to partner with publishers that strike a proper balance betweenMost successful marketing organisations are those that can best anticipate the brand messages and editorial, clearly identifying sponsored content andforms that change will take. Here are some of the key trends for 2015 from matching the site's tone and style.Millward Brown's annual Digital & Media Predictions: • Marketers get savvier about 'Multi-Generational Multi-Screen • Perfect timing will be critical. The new, new thing in 2015 will be Marketing'. In 2015 smart marketers will optimise across devices by synchronised messaging across TV and the other devices that aligning branding objectives with learning about how screen usage varies by generation and contextual task. • Programmatic will improve with better quality behavioural data but it will also increasingly contemplate brand. Marketers will question whether programmatic optimisation is damaging or enhancing brand

DIGITAL TRENDSbuilding. The best programmatic providers will increasingly differentiate • Successful organisations will structure for success in the digitalthemselves based on their ability to manage cost effectiveness on age by courting innovators, focusing on digital training and becomingbehavioural metrics while delivering campaigns that build brand more collaborative. The very best will step back and take stock bymetrics. examining the impact of digital campaigns on the hearts and minds of consumers.• Programmatic also gets creative. Creative agencies will design smart,engaging and customisable creative \"elements\" (rather than ads) which *Millward Brown's full Digital & Media Predictions for 2015 are availablemerge seamlessly with programmatic media buying algorithms. The for download.best of these executions will enable a new kind of dynamic, relevantstorytelling based on when and how they are delivered.• Micro-video is propelled into the mainstream. There will be moreopportunities to build reach in the micro-video landscape with paidmessages. Brands (and agencies) will succeed by understanding thenuances of micro-creativity and the different roles fulfilled by platformssuch as Vine and Instagram.• Analogue will become digital. Every channel will be digital, even if it'snot. Marketers will add digital responses such as interaction viasmartphones to channels that remain analogue in order to digitalisethem. Going digital in every channel will allow brands to put consumersin control.• Location-based marketing blooms. This will be the year that brandsfocus on consumer needs to deliver messages and services that aremeaningful and relevant to specific locations. In 2015 the ability ofbrands to give consumers what they want, at the right place and theright time will be a key differentiator.

DIGITAL TRENDSThe acquisition spree For Hewlett, the biggest trend for 2015 is, which of the top 10 agencies next year will reveal themselves to be truly integrated, despite all the acquisitions By Adrian Hewlett and new alliances. In 2004 Adrian Hewlett founded The Habari Group, a media and \"It is the end of the standalone digital agency. Some agencies are producing marketing communications company. The company was the partner integrated work, but most cannot claim to be totally integrated, with digital to MSN in Africa for seven years and then went on to launch the thinking at the core. The measure of that will be the work - delivering fully commercial operations for Facebook in Africa in 2010, while integrated work out of the mothership, not having to pull in sister specialists. counting the likes of the BBC and LinkedIn amongst its partners. @adrianhewlett | View profile \"It will be so interesting to see how the top 10 agencies play this out in 2015 and who will be able to call themselves a full integrated agency at the end of it.\"It is the end of the stand-alone digital agency.\" Diversity is also an issue - Ogilvy & Mather SA are by far the most diverse agency, the rest of us have to work harder on that front.\"Mergers and acquisitions of agencies across the digital, media and FMCGindustry in South Africa continued unabated in 2014 and has revealed a much The new buzzchanged industry landscape for 2015 as the push into Africa is consolidated. The buzz in the industry is no longer all about digital - that is a given. It is now\"2014 was characterised by the massive acquisition spree, of which we were about shopper marketing over the past couple of years, and now contentpart of. All acquisitions need to now bed down and become real propositions,\" marketing, says Hewlett. \"This could be the year when you finally start to getsays Adrian Hewlett, CEO of Publicis Machine, acquired by the Publicis group PR shops having a bigger say in the value proposition around contentlast year. marketing. If you consider what brands waste on media that doesn't work for them, when content marketing works, ad costs are so much less.\"The shake ups are inevitable, Hewlett says, after the talent acquisition drivethat agencies like Ogilvy & Mather South Africa have been on, merging with Hewlett believes we are at the start of a few very interesting years in theGloo late last year, beefing up their leadership across the spectrum; and the current industry landscape. \"Who will be the next breakthrough agency? Theaggressive investment by international agency networks WPP, Omnicom and next big independent buy out? Could RGA open up here?Publicis, in South African over the last few years.He wonders out aloud whether the two big advertising agency independentsleft - King James and Joe Public - will be able to resist the lure of internationalinvestment and further growth into the 'promised land' of Africa.

DIGITAL TRENDS\"From a client perspective, the past year has been a tough tradingenvironment. Brands have cut back spend. From a media perspective, thewhole industry is in flux, it is not an easy environment, the media world istough right now.\"Brand growth on the African continent is the one to watch right now, Hewlettbelieves, particularly the rise of local tech and Chinese brands on thecontinent.*Adrian Hewlett was interviewed by Louise Marsland, specialist editor of BizTrends 2015.

DIGITAL TRENDSThe big online advertising November 2014, clearly showed that especially with the astounding amount oftrends content available online, South Africans respond particularly well to relevant and meaningful content that engages. By Gustav Goosen Content over clutter Gustav Goosen is the CEO of The SpaceStation digital media sales company. The SpaceStation is a partnership between 24.com and In line with the above trend, South Africans are becoming very astute and DStv Media Sales, both members of the Naspers group. demanding online consumers. CTR (Click-through rate) is not the only measure Representing over 60 of Africa's websites, mobi-sites and mobile of success and never more has this been true than at the tail end of 2014. apps, the company offers advertisers a launch pad for reaching more Online advertising offers so much more value in terms of brand building, which than 12 million connected South Africans each month. is why less is becoming more in the online advertising space. @gustavgoosen | View profile Publishers are opting for quality, clutter free, content rich advertising options.\"Video ad revenue will increase.\" Creatively, this means we need to be moving towards greater use of tech innovations, like large format advertising, such as the Rising Stars, which theAs always, it was a highly competitive space but this year that seemed the case IAB has shown more than doubles interaction rates and user dwell time.more than ever - especially when it came to online advertising, fuelled by thecontinued growth of digital, but also because clients want more bang for their Programmatic buyingbuck. Budgets are tight and tangible results are essential which has given riseto some worthwhile trends. The IAB says that approximately 20% of all digital advertising is sold by one machine talking to another. This trend is still fairly new in South AfricaCustomised content although I anticipate an interesting uptake in 2015.The need for credible branded content has leapt forward in South Africa. Its popularity lies in its efficiency because it greatly simplifies mediaGood, engaging content that builds brands is a win-win scenario for all. We procurement and is designed to be highly targeted (if done correctly). There ishave seen this first hand with our 'pop up' websites. These microsites are still some controversy around whether it is as effective as punted, but I believebrand specific platforms that were populated with content created by award- it will play a very important part of SA's digital advertising landscape in 2015.winning editorial teams. Video: fast growthOur most recent platform was Men24, sponsored by Nivea for Men, and theover 300,000 Unique Browsers consuming almost a million Page Views in A US based report from BI Intelligence states that online video is growing faster than any other advertising medium aside from mobile. They project that

DIGITAL TRENDSvideo ad revenue will increase at a three-year compound annual growth rateof 19.5% through 2016.Contributing to this staggering estimated growth rate is that online video adshave the highest CTR of all digital ad formats (1.84%), add the uptake ofprogrammatic tools to this and you have a force to be reckoned with. Whilstthe majority of statics and reports are based on US data, South Africa iscertainly taking notice and following the international trends as seen in PwC'slatest Entertainment and Media Outlook 2014-2018, which says that videoadvertising is expected to grow at a CAGR of 43.7%.Predictions...According to PwC, \"internet access will generate more consumer spend thanany other media product or service in the next five years\". The same reportshows that internet advertising will generate R4.4bn in revenues by 2018,which is a CAGR of 22.7%. (2013's revenues were R1.6bn). And morespecifically, South Africa's display advertising market will grow by a CAGR(Compound annual growth rate) of 18.8% to R1.2bn in 2018.SA may be a little slow in adoption of online advertising but the growth isdefinite and inevitable and we will see many more marketers incorporatingdigital into the marketing mix in a more meaningful way. By and large, SouthAfrica still relies on television commercials, however, if we look at theinternational trend, linear TV is on the decline. Consumers today areinundated with content, they are choosing the content they wish to consumeand even more importantly, when and how they wish to consume it.

DIGITAL TRENDSMobile advertising is 2015's Interestingly, according to eMarketer, mobile ad spend is to overtake print in'media giant' 2015 and by 2018 it is expected that mobile will claim almost 40% of total paid media spending in the UK, with estimates that mobile will account for nearly By Andrew Kramer 30% of all UK digital ad spending this year, with this figure rising to more than half by 2016. Andrew Kramer is vice president of sales at Mxit South Africa, having joined the Johannesburg sales team in October 2012. Mxit is a From our vantage point, it's a natural progression that South Africa will follow home-grown mobile social network with 4.9 million monthly active in the wake of these mobile advertising trends. I anticipate these key trends users. Kramer has over a decade's executive experience in media looking into 2015: strategy, marketing, advertising and sales. @MxitMedia View profile Trend 1: Seeing but not believing\"I'm under no illusion that 2015 will be any easier.\" Mobile social network advertising continues to present phenomenal opportunities for brands to reach and engage with target consumers.Mobile advertising has been steadily forging a stronghold in the media However, there is still a large portion of the marketing, media and advertisingindustry throughout 2014. Looking ahead to 2015, I forsee the continued trend sector, which don't yet fully understand the powerful and affordable potentialof positive gains and ROI in the mobile social network ad space, given the of the platform. Many brands and marketers are trapped in traditionalburgeoning success and repeat business commissioned by leading brands mindsets because \"it worked before\", and as a result, have not taken the timeincluding MTN, Vodacom, Nandos, KFC, SAB, Coca-Cola, DStv, Samsung, to elevate their repertoire to include trending customer acquisition andMicrosoft and Unilever, to name a few. engagement practices. As it has become the norm for so many local brands, in 2015, mobile advertising will become the norm for many more brands inMobile social network advertising has proven time and again to trump tandem with contextualised real-time content becoming an indispensableengagement and awareness levels offered via alternative advertising avenues. component of digital marketing and content strategies.For B2C brands, mobile has transitioned from being an isolated channel toplaying an integral role in the marketing mix. Consumer trends and business Trend 2: Rich media centre stagemodels have rapidly evolved and will continue organic growth alongsidestrides in mobile technology. As a marketer, it's vital to anticipate what to Although rich media is already here, in my opinion it remains one of theexpect in the sector so as to have in your armoury a mobile marketing plan biggest mobile advertising trends into 2015. I anticipate that advertisers willand content strategy ready for the future. move towards campaigns, content and creative that will assist them in promoting the consumption of relevant, cool and engaging rich content including videos, graphics and music downloads. Ads focussed around rich media achieve increased engagement, higher perceived value and is the driver

DIGITAL TRENDSbehind generating top-of-mind awareness in driving sales. Mobile enables anywhere, any time learning. As our world changes at a rapid pace, we will continue seeing technology maximising on how students learn,Trend 3: Push selling gets ignored communicate, socialise, connect and purchase. Mobile learning is a reflection of the world we live in. We're just at the adoption phase of educationSporadic, tactical selling is good, no doubt about it. However, when brands harnessing the possibilities of technology in keeping content relevant andrelentlessly sell to customers all the time, they risk becoming spam and an accessible to the masses. As more mobile-savvy marketers seek to incorporateaggravation factor. As a result, they land up being ignored, overlooked and technology into the schooling system, I anticipate this trend to be prolificdismissed. To avoid advertising fatigue, your content plan should be a across a host of brands and initiatives going into 2015.balanced combination of selling, rich content, engagement mechanics such aspolls, competitions and live chats as well as value adds and freebies with no Trend 5: Mobile - Political gateway to youthstrings attached. In 2014 we witnessed how political parties bolstered social mobile networkAsk your consumers what they want, when they want it and make them feel presence in the lead up to the elections on 7 May, with some developing newlike they have a say in what content they receive. After all, mobile is about specialised apps on Mxit to take election engagement to a new dimension. Inbuilding an engaging community for the long haul. future I have no doubt that we'll see our political parties embark on robust campaigning, especially on mobile social networking as one of the criticalTrend 4: Mobile - Education's helping hand arenas, particularly in terms of accessing the youth vote.Witnessing the evolution of education through our Cape Town-based Let's be honest, 2014 was tough. I'm under no illusion that 2015 will be anytechnology client Rethink Education, we've unlocked the power of mobile easier from an economic perspective. Advertising and marketing budgets willeducation. Launching an app aimed at reaching our youth, especially those continue being under scrutiny and reduction as the relentless drive to deliverdisadvantaged Grade 8 - 12 students studying Maths, Physics, Chemistry and profit and sustainability hang around the necks of South Africans. I believe,Natural Science. The Rethink Education app provides access to the school however, that mobile social network advertising's saving in cost, time andcurriculum in both English and Afrikaans, with its learning platforms and aids unsurpassed ROI will provide welcomed relief and alliance to marketers andhaving received national acclaim. advertisers.Today Rethink Education has had over 180,000 active users since launching theapp in 2013.The success of this new innovation was thanks to the average highschool pupil being far more engaged when using social chat-styled communityplatforms. The application leverages this preference by delivering bite-sizedportions of content in conversational bubbles.

Full adoption of mobile DIGITAL TRENDSmarketing in Africa present and inexpensive. 2015 will be the year full advantage is taken of the By Henk Swanepoel mobile opportunity. Henk Swanepoel, CEO, MeMe Mobile. @tokoloshy View profile\"Mobile... to become the leading mass media channel for Africa.\" Image via 123RFThe impact of the mobile phone is one of the most important changes to have More people across Africa have access to a cellphone network (93%) than theytaken place in Africa in the last century. It has changed people, societies, do to electricity (64%), piped water (59%), or a police station (38%). Africa'scommunities and relationships. It has enabled millions that were gross domestic product will grow by 50% to US$3.7 trillion over the next fiveincapacitated, and it is difficult for anyone in the developed world to even years as the continent's rapidly expanding middle class helps drive faster ratescontemplate the impact of this technology upon Africa. of urbanisation and increased consumer demand for goods and services. It is also predicted that the expansion of Africa's economy will see mobileIn 2015, mobile will become a premium advertising channel that offers subscription penetration grow from its current 72% to 97% by 2017, as theadvertisers a unique customer interface opportunity for their brand. Combined continent adds 334 million new smartphone subscribers over the next threewith the next evolution of mobile advertising by means of, for instance years.geographical subscriber targeting and unsurpassed measurability, mobile is setto exponentially gain market share in Africa from traditional media channels, Reliable data in Africa is scarce and in most places non-existent, and traditionaland to become the leading mass media channel for Africa. media's measurability is very limited. Mobile is set to play a fundamental role in shaping consumers' consumption of media and therefore, marketingThe scope of a mobile media and marketing channel will offer enormous messages. When we review the devices people use to access the internetbenefits, opportunities and value to African consumers. For some, these around the world, Africa stands out as a mobile continent. This means whenbenefits are not available in any other way - or are certainly not as accessible, consumers engage, they engage using their phones.

DIGITAL TRENDSMobile phones offer the most direct, most personal, most measurable way formarketers to connect with consumers, using content that is relevant andimpactful. Consumers in the developed world are saturated by media contentand filter out anything that does not add immediate value to their lives.Conversely, emerging market consumers look to media, content and brands asentities that enrich their lives. They look for opportunities to learn, engage andbetter their own lives and the lives of their families, peer groups and friends.The right content, wrapped the right way, has enormous impact.

DIGITAL TRENDSExplosive disruption for Consuming content on mobile devices is the medium of choice. Andmarketing while locally we have a lower smartphone penetration and are far more conscious of the cost of data than those in wealthier economies, the By Gil Sperling growth remains rapid. Incidentally, the number of subscriptions is set to increase to 930 million by the end of 2019, which leads into the next Gil Sperling is the chief technology officer at Popimedia. An electrical highly influential trend - that of multi-screening. engineer by training he is also skilled in software engineering which helped him earn Facebook's Preferred Marketing Developer (PMD) 3. Multi-screening. 99% of media is consumed in front of a screen, badge, the only one in Africa at present and one of 260 such whether these are phones, TVs, computers, or tablets. Via multi- companies in the world. The PMD Badge is awarded to developers screening, users use multiple devices sequentially and simultaneously - that build the highest quality products for Facebook Pages, Ads, predominantly via hand-held devices. If marketers and advertisers Apps, and Insights. www.innovations.popimedia.com | @gksperling adequately understand their target audience, this consumer behaviour View profile can be extraordinarily effective in their endeavours to engage.\"2015's trends can be manipulated to your advantage.\" Multi-screening, for the first time, allows us to create incremental reach to users with targeted content (for example, a woman aged 32, with2015 will be the year that disruption becomes explosive on the marketing and children, who watches a TV ad for a car, and while on her mobile at theadvertising landscape. Organisations that fail to adequately understand and same time sees an ad for the same car - but this time saying there isembrace the coming trends will be surpassed in the market. space for a baby seat - due to the targeting available). Consumer preferences dictate effective marketing and advertising strategies.Three elements have conjoined, which deeply impact on the way organisations Social media platforms are already on board with these peaking trends, withwill need to communicate with consumers: Facebook and Twitter already tackling tech problems that don't yet exist - these platforms are investing in upgrades to cater for the heavier demand on 1. Video consumption is on the rise - significantly. The Ericsson Mobility their infrastructure. Facebook is directly taking advantage of the increased Report predicts that globally, 55% of mobile data traffic will come from demand for video by creating products justified by organisations' investments video by 2020. Already, video accounts for 45% of the global mobile in brand lift and direct response through video. data traffic. Locally, World Wide Worx's South African Social Media Landscape 2015 report states that YouTube has an active South African And organisations are seeing strong returns on both their direct response and user base of 7.2 million. brand lift video campaigns. Simply, if you adequately understand your audience, and thus produce video ads that offer value to them, they become a 2. The surge in mobile phone subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa is highly effective medium. If we run a video on Facebook, we see on average touted to top 635 million by the end of 2014 (Ericsson Mobility Report). that 75% of people watch that video to the end. As an outreach tool, it is extremely cost effective. And, through a medium such as Facebook, combined

DIGITAL TRENDSwith sophisticated algorithm tools available, the spend can be finely targeted,ensuring that you appear only to those who are genuinely interested in whatyou are marketing.We must accept the consumer's growing preference for video, the behaviourof multi-screening, and the explosive growth of mobile devices. By combiningthese with a content strategy that adds value, while effectively targeting theright audience at the right time via algorithmic tools, 2015's trends can bemanipulated to your advantage.

MARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY



MARKETING TRENDSTREND: Content marketingContent marketing will dominate 2015 in the marketing environment asbrands increasingly use digital platforms and data gathered from consumers tocreate and curate relevant content to bolster brand engagement and brandloyalty.There isn't a marketing plan that won't have content marketing at the heart ofits marketing process - whether it is paid, earned or owned content - orwhether you call it content marketing, native advertising, PR, storytelling oradvertorial. The chapter and verse is to touch the consumer on an emotivelevel so that they share your content too.The consumer's insatiable desire for cool content to share to their networkshasn't abated and in fact recent global and national events in the massivenews year that 2014 was - seemingly a disaster, a war or a global issue to'hashtag' every week - only proves how more engaged the individual is onlineand how more prepared they are to share relevant content; content that addsvalue; and content that makes them look good.The next evolution of content marketing for 2015 is predicted to be 'contentselling' according to Hubspot's marketing blog, which provides a handy graphicexplaining how content marketing can transmute to content selling, as well.South African marketers need to download this infographic and pin it to theirdesktops as a reminder.MARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRAND ALIVE

MARKETING TRENDSIn our exclusive Biz Trends 2015 reports, there isn't a contributor who doesn't and will no doubt continue. It fits into the whole 'transparency andhave content on their trends list for 2015, no matter which trend category authenticity' movement. Basically we have to act like the human beings wethey commented on. David Blyth, group MD, Yellowwood Brand Architects, are: with more humanity. We certainly can't tell those authentic stories if wepegs content marketing as the industry's \"hottest topic\" at present. Consumer- don't. You can't fake authenticity for very long.generated content is at its peak and marketers are contributing to the contentoverload with stories and campaigns for consumers to share and engage with. \"Truth, purity and organic content are the big trends for 2015 for Di Charton, managing director, Red & Yellow school of branding, Cape Town. Strong\"In 2015 we will continue to witness the rise of curated content and content will gain social capital and be shared by consumers. Paul Scanlon, MD,infographics, but good curation is still a rare skill and even infographics are Pernod Ricard SA, highlights the trend towards \"brands with providence\" -becoming pervasive and invasive. We will see the increasing use of video. And brands that have a compelling story to tell, in collaboration with theirwe will also see more people unsubscribing from everything they don't find consumers, as part of that organic content.valuable,\" Blyth warns. Cecile Missildine, EMEA regional director, Text 100, wants public relationsMarketers need to really understand what their consumers want, when they agencies and ad agencies to work closer together to get the owned, earnedwant it and it needs to offer solutions to problems, Blyth adds. and paid content model working as it should with fully integrated communications. In fact, Bridget von Holdt, MD, Glasshouse CommunicationBrands are becoming publishers of their own content, seamlessly integrating Management, advises PR agencies to really focus on creating compellingcontent of value for customers and native advertising (advertorial - paid for content as the media industry shrinks in South Africa and the rest of the world.content), says Melissa Attree, director content strategy, O&M CT. Attree also This includes visual content. \"The rise of the so-called second screenurges brands to build their own communities on their own platforms. \"It's not phenomenon, in which users log onto the internet on their tablet orenough to just create good content - we need to pay attention to how that smartphone while watching TV, is creating a new mind-set where consumerscontent is packaged, repurposed and, most importantly, distributed to ensure and business will grow more willing to interact with brands through socialthat it really adds value and builds an audience in the long-term.\" channels in the coming year.\"Heidi Brauer, chief marketing officer, Hollard Insurance, does not believe the And again, content is referenced by Keri-Ann Stanton, head, Joe Public Engage:game changer in the industry in 2015 is digital integration or data. She believes \"Great content across the correct platforms that shows that brands andagencies and clients need to work harder at collaborating on the brands they corporates themselves have realised and acknowledged that their consumersare responsible for to create that \"beautiful work\" required. Marketing and influencers and stakeholders live in more than one place, and need moreconvergence/integration and a single currency for industry research are also than one message.\"on her wishlist for this year. *Trends curated by Louise Marsland, specialist editor of Biz Trends 2015.Collaboration in itself - between brands and their partners and brands andtheir consumers - has of course been popping up as a trend in the past yearMARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRAND ALIVE

MARKETING TRENDSIt's integrated \"It is looking at campaigns holistically. Where you look at a campaign or storycommunications or bust and see how you can best disseminate that message, through: By Cécile Missildine 1. Branded, owned content: Whether it is online or social media, content can also be pushed out through paid activities through Cécile Missildine has more than 20 years of communications sponsored links, sponsored tweets, paid SEO, and media relations experience working for global brands in the United States and in elements. EMEA, focusing on technology and innovation-driven companies 2. Earned media: Supplement other campaign elements or advertising such as IBM, Skype, PayPal, SanDisk, AMD and Philips. As executive campaigns with a story in the publication to make it rank higher in vice president and regional director EMEA, she looks after Text100's search or to pin it to the top of a page. operations and key clients in Europe, Middle-East and Africa. @cmissildine | View profile Missildine firmly believes that the human element is fundamental in all communication campaigns and that audience behaviour should be at the\"The big trend for 2015 is the actual move into integrated communications.\" centre of any storyline or strategy. This is at the core of making integrated campaigns work in 2015.South African communications agencies need to evolve and adapt their skill setto match global expectations and the global industry transition across the \"We, as humans, have specific behaviours and we are not dictated by themedia and marketing communications industry towards fully integrated demographic we fit in - I see very little use of research into the psychology ofcommunications. consumers inside PR agencies. How do we tap into this reference point so we can engage with them and change their behaviours? Those are the questionsThis is according to Text100 regional director for EMEA, Cécile Missildine, who we need to be asking.\"was interviewed in South Africa on a visit in November last year. In 2015 she would also like to see less publicity for the sake of publicity: \"I\"The big trend for 2015 is the actual move into integrated communications and often see clients putting their CEO on the cover of a magazine - just gettingI think this is a key point for companies and agencies in South Africa and Africa. your name out there is not engaging people.\"There needs to be a reflection on how to make all communications campaignsintegrated. I still see people thinking in terms of traditional media and then Top trendsadding on social media or digital media,\" she explains. In addition, her trends for 2015 include:Missildine emphasises that integrated communications is not doing publicrelations with \"a little bit of social\" in it. 1. Thinking 360: Evolving towards integrated communications means that agencies, especially in South Africa, look beyond traditional andMARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRAND ALIVE social - they need to think 360 and they need to get closer to their

MARKETING TRENDS marketing clients. 2. Engagement: Engage people in a difference way, think about human element. 3. Branded content: Media relationships are sacred and PR people do not tell journalists what to write, so PR agencies have been slow in pushing branded content. But Missildine emphasises, this is a totally different strategy and you don't deal with the same people. 4. Creating new audiences: This is an area communication agencies will be going into in the future.She says there is an opportunity for communications agencies to work withadvertising agencies. \"We should not sit back and see the digital and adagencies eat away into our PR budgets. We have to work with the ad agenciesand there should be a clean, clear definition of the advertising dollars, vs. thesofter, media relations dollars. There is a grey area and that is mostly online.That is where the opportunity lies for the PR agencies. We suffer as PR peopleof a massive inferiority complex - 'we can never be as sexy and shiny as the adguys' - of course we can!\"In the past we were the implementers, executing communications campaigns,now we are part of the thinking: that strategic conversation. There are stillmeetings and discussions happening on bigger campaigns that we are not partof, that the advertising guys are part of, but in the coming years, we are goingup the 'food chain' and will be brought into the conversations happening [withmarketers] earlier, to define the insights,\" Missildine concludes.*Cécile Missildine was interviewed by Louise Marsland, specialist editor of BizTrends 2015.MARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRAND ALIVE

MARKETING TRENDSA return to brands with consumers where it's made. We've had a big upsurge in visits throughout theprovidence world to our distilleries in Scotland and Ireland to see where product is made. By Paul Scanlon \"Beefeater Gin (established in the 1820s) rebuilt its distillery in London and Paul Scanlon is the managing director of Pernod Ricard South Africa opened up in May 2014. You can touch and feel the juniper berries, see gin and Namibia. View profile being made, there are limited edition bottles available... It is all about having real stories to tell about brands and their providence.\"Consumers are looking for premium brands.\"Consumers are returning to products that have distinct origins, providence and Scanlon says there is no slowdown in demand for super premium brands inhave stories to tell, says the newly appointed managing director of Pernod South Africa, which is mirroring international trends which have seen growthRicard South Africa and Namibia, Paul Scanlon. in the market for champagne and high-end spirits. \"The high-class consumer wants to be seen to be drinking the right product - from Soweto to Cape TownScanlon, who has worked on almost every continent in the world in various nightclubs.\"marketing roles, became regional director: North America of Chivas Brothers in2002. For the past seven years, he has been based in London in the capacity of He said consumers in South Africa are becoming more knowledgeable onChivas Brothers commercial director. Pernod Ricard's brand portfolio products and are very aspirational, so they are seeing the top end of theircomprises premium brands, including Chivas Regal, Absolut Vodka and brand portfolio flying off the shelves. \"We can't keep up with demand. We areJameson. seeing a lot of premiumisation. People want to show that they have made it...\"\"There is definitely a global trend for consumers to go back to products that He is positive about growth in his premium brand category in 2015. \"I am veryhave distinct origins. In some of the most advanced spirits markets in the positive about premiumisation. Brandies and low-end Scotch whiskies willworld, such as the UK, consumers are moving away from faddish, brightly have a hard time. Consumers are looking for premium brands. I definitely seecoloured brands, with no history, towards brands with a rich history, stories, more consolidation of wholesalers and grocers becoming stronger in thecraft brands that have authentic stories to tell or a real place to show trading environment, independents being squeezed.\"MARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRAND ALIVE Regulation Scanlon does feel that South Africa is going down a dangerous route in terms of regulation and it is becoming a real challenge to try recruit international expertise to help out. \"SA has to continue as an open economy to try develop and compete. South Africa can't expect to have experts in every single field. This is a 'watch out' for me.\"

MARKETING TRENDSThe mooted \"dark market\", which will result from a ban on alcohol advertisingof every type, needs more open dialogue between the industry, business andgovernment, he says.The other 'watch out' for him on South Africa is GDP growth. \"We have seenGDP growth halve in the past year - that is obviously having a squeeze onconsumer's pockets. The growing middle class, LSM 5 and 6 are emerging andwe are having incredible volume gains. The middle class are not just lookingfor cheap and cheerful local products, but are looking for premium products.Definitely the premium brands are looking good.\"\"I'd be cautiously optimistic about 2015: companies with premium,aspirational, top brands will do well.\"*Paul Scanlon was interviewed by Louise Marsland, specialist editor of BizTrends 2015.MARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRAND ALIVE

MARKETING TRENDSConvergence marketing acknowledged. I have been on a hobby horse for a long time, wanting an award that celebrates a great collaboration with agency and client. By Heidi Brauer Heidi Brauer is the chief marketing officer of Hollard Insurance. \"When I talk to my teams and agency partners, I say it takes a village to raise a @heidibeeee | View profile brand. For me, the game changer has to be the gift of a real adult partnership between the client and agency.\"Relationships are the game changer.\"Heidi Brauer, chief marketing officer of Hollard Insurance, believes solid \"More and more I'm going back to psychology 101 and transactional analysisclient/agency relationships based on mutual respect, trust and collaboration is and parent/child relationships. Since when did we need intermediaries toat the heart of industry growth going forward into the New Year. moderate our relationships with each other? It is a diminishing of respect.\"I don't think the game changer is digital or data. I think it is back to the basics \"I need my agencies to be the very best they can be, but I can't expect thatof relationships: trust, respect, collaboration. I want an adult-adult relationship from them unless I liberate them and let them know as much as I do about mywith my agency. We are parenting this brand together. If you don't want a business and not be intimidated by it. Of course, it also comes down to theclient with opinions, you have the wrong client. I want to be challenged. We calibre of marketers out there. Relationships are the game changer. And a littleimmersed our agency in our business so they could hit the ground running and bit of humility goes a long way,\" Brauer emphasises.make beautiful work with us - not for us, with us.\" What she doesn't want to see more of in 2015 is the \"global gobbling andThis is important for Brauer, who has worked both sides of the marketing and amalgamation of all the independent agencies into global giants\". This isadvertising agency fence, for independent and global brands, most notably because it gives her less choice as to who she wants to work with.Ipsos Markinor, Kulula and recently, Halo agency. \"No matter how much they tell me that it won't change anything, it does. I amWhat was special for Brauer in 2014, was to finally see awards shows such as sorry for me as a client and sorry for them as independents because it meansThe Loerie Awards acknowledge marketers and not just the agencies. \"This that South African brands are not thriving, we are giving ourselves away. I'dyear at the Loeries, clients went up to the stage with the agencies to be love a little less naivety and a little less gobbling, it is anti-competitive and it is bad for the consumer and bad for brands.\"MARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRAND ALIVE Brauer is also tired of seeing marketers being gullible about digital. \"Just because you can measure it, doesn't mean you must do it. I'd like to see people choosing media for the feasibility to deliver to the audience. I'd like to see marketers more informed and less gullible.\"

MARKETING TRENDSBrauer's top trends for 2015 are: 4. Continue brand spend: \"I see marketers being smart and being able to convince their peers around the boardroom table to continue to 1. Marketing convergence: As in \"proper convergence\". In the current invest in brand communications even when the economy is tight. I see economy, there is less to spend, yet it is so important to spend, Brauer marketers being as proud of their strategic business communications says, so marketing has to be fully integrated. This means applying a plans than they are of their events. We live in hope... Spend is shifting creative solution across the best channels in an integrated way, and we have to spend differently, through retention/loyalty spending, converging and joining up all the agencies involved. It doesn't mean direct marketing and lead generation, not just blasting money at a TV taking a piece of work from another media channel and sticking it on a strategy,\" says Brauer, admitting it's probably more of a wish than a billboard. reality. 2. Single data currency and source for planning media: Marketers will *Heidi Brauer was interviewed by Louise Marsland, specialist editor of Biz get a shock in 2015 when they realise that the SAARF AMPS data is no Trends 2015. longer available after all the drama around measurement in the South African industry, says Brauer. \"Marketers are not aware that they will soon not have AMPS as a measurement and they don't seem to know what is coming next, nor do they seem to care. I want focus on a single currency that is properly moderated that we can do our planning on, or media owners will be pulling the wool over our eyes in a big way.\" 3. Multi-layered brand building: Planning brand communications is like making a multi-layered chocolate cake, recounts Brauer, using a favourite analogy. \"Different marketers and different audiences will like a different layer. Some of the layers will be common to the market. Then we have to interleave that with local business milieu and local cultural layers so we end up with the right kind of slice of cake for that market. But it is still our 'Hollard' brand cake. We need to be adaptable and flexible as markets are different, but you can't be so laissez- faire that no one knows what you stand for. Some markets will like it sweeter, some with fresh cream, some with strawberries, but it is still a chocolate cake. In putting layers in, that is when it becomes nuanced and layered and brilliant.\"MARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRAND ALIVE

MARKETING TRENDSDon't be scared of if they get value.\"advertising In 2014 Charton oversaw the implementation of the merger between Quirk By Diane Charton Education, which bought the Red & Yellow School of Logic and Magic, adding a whole suite of online digital marketing courses to the advertising school's As managing director of Red & Yellow, Diane Charton steers the curriculum; a new brand identity, Red & Yellow; as well as a move to trendy strategic direction of the business. She strives to empower and new premises for the school in Cape Town's Salt River. These are Charton's top educate the SA marketing communications industry through a trends for 2015: myriad of traditional and digital educational platforms. With a unique combination of marketing, leadership and engineering experience, 1. Stop apologising for advertising. Consumers are savvy and brands and Charton brings a multifaceted approach to using marketing trends agencies must stop trying to hide advertising and messaging in different ways. and insights to innovate and empower the industry as a whole. \"We mustn't be scared of advertising. If it is valuable, relevant, people will Follow @DiCharton on Twitter | View profile respond. Stop apologising for advertising to people - our role is to add value.\"\"It is often ordinary people who start something; build a following with truth 2. Good content marketing will continue to grow, bad content marketing willand purity, organic content.\" die. \"People want useful content and valuable content. That will increase dramatically. Filling up the web with useless stuff... Brands that go that routeThe brands that will stand out in 2015 will be those that leave the \"herd\" will find they have invested a lot for zero return. Brands need to createbehind. This is the view of Di Charton, managing director of the Red & Yellow content that results in engagement. Too much content marketing is from aSchool, who adds that the shape of advertising will continue to change. broadcast-led mentality rather than a customer-led strategy.\"An international example of a brand that stood out for Charton in 2014, 3. Social capital. Embedded in our content marketing is a 'build it and they willwas Newcastle Brown Ale's Superbowl campaign including 'storyboard'. \"What come' mentality. \"People are needing to increasingly pay to get visibility. TheNewcastle Brown Ale did at the Superbowl this year, 'stole it'. It is a great shifts within social media platforms to cut down on organic visibility of brandsbrand that is true to its core essence. It knows exactly who it is. Its advertising means brands will have to pay to get visibility of their content. It all comesmessage is consistent - from coasters in a pub, through to what it does online. down to someone creating a great piece of content, which we then shareThe whole 'no bollocks' attitude... And their numbers and sales support that.\" because we get social capital out of that. People are very happy to share great pieces of content - even with a strong marketing message with a brand. WeA local example of a brand that stands out from the herd, for her, is Yuppie will continue to see that. Social capital is not on the decline. That is on theChef. \"We must remember that consumers are quite happy to be advertised to increase.\"MARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRAND ALIVE 4. Seamless integration of spend. The 'siloed budget' cannot continue, Charton warns, as people move seamlessly between devices. \"There cannot be

MARKETING TRENDSa TV budget, a digital budget, a mobile budget, etc. A consumer doesn't sit in relationships. It will be interesting to see how people adopt it, use it, how wethose different brackets.\" What is required is different thinking from as brands create value in that exchange and usage.\"marketers and media agencies. Content creation needs to move seamlesslybetween devices and platforms to allow for a journey to take place. \"Don't just 9. Rise of storytelling. Storytelling is \"real-life amplified\" explains Charton, inrepeat what I've seen on my mobile device - enhance it.\" one of the best explanations given to date. \"It is about what people relate to. Look at the things people share online. It is a good indicator. The things that5. Mobile-first thinking. The question is still asked: 'how do I add mobile onto people absolutely relate to are real.\" Here Charton references the Coke 'Firstthe backend of this...' says Charton. But mobile is such an incredible tool, Parenting' commercial from Argentina; and the Wren 'First Kiss' campaign,people need to start thinking of mobile first, not last, she says. \"It requires a which was the most viewed advertising video campaign in 2014, and one ofdifferent type of thinking. Brands that will win will get proximity thinking.\" only 19 campaigns that have surpassed 100 million views. \"Again, it comes down to great storytelling,\" Charton emphasises. Sharing great content gives6. Cross-device attribution. \"I've been talking about this trend for a long time. people social capital and provides rich human connections. This pastWithin the digital space, I can attribute a purchase to various touchpoints and Christmas, both the Sainsbury and John Lewis campaigns stood out, oncethe associated consumer behaviour. We haven't done that particularly again, for the richness of the human connection, she adds.effectively - a lot of that was cookie led - now we are working consistently ondifferent devices, plus exposed to TV advertising, different experiences in 10. Making a real difference. Consumers know when brands are doingstore. The importance of analytics - human analytics - will see an increase next something for the sake of doing it. Marketers need to understand whatyear. Cookie-based tracking is something we are seeing a shift away from. It is motivates consumers and for Millennials especially, who are hyper-aware ofnow very device-oriented. It is much more about me as a user.\" the world around them, what motivates them is brands that make a real difference. \"We will see a lot of attention paid to that this year,\" Charton7. Content partnerships. Charton says the industry has always known the concludes.power of partnerships and influencer marketing in a content-led strategy wasgoing to be very important. This led to the rise of online influencers, such ascelebrities. \"How we view celebrities is changing - it is often ordinary peoplewho start something on YouTube or Instagram or Pinterest and build afollowing of millions with truth and purity, organic content, and then thebrands notice and come on board. You have to see what is coming, what isinfluencing people. It is not brand-led, it is people-led, customer-led, contentthat is meaningful for a customer.\"8. Wearable tech. The Internet of Things, wearable technology will exertinfluence in 2015 as more and more wearable devices hit the market. \"Asmarketers, we need to get our heads around it - not to advertise, to buildMARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRAND ALIVE

*Diane Charton was interviewed by Louise Marsland, specialist editor of BizTrends 2015.MARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRAND ALIVE

MARKETING TRENDSWinning the marketing race complexity and if the environment they are in is becoming more complex, companies respond by creating more and more vertical structures which will in By Johanna McDowell turn lead to further complexity. CMOs will need to make 'silo-busting' a top priority in order to ensure that the company's brands are clearly positioned Johanna McDowell counsels clients and agencies around and understood both internally and externally if they want to succeed. Internal expectations in the advertising, marketing process. She is CEO of communications will be a vital part of this 'silo busting' drive. the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS), a division of black-owned marketing services group Mazole Holdings. 4. Shopability. Digital marketers are realising that every screen, i.e. computer, Contact Johanna on tel +27 (0)10 594 0281, email her smart and feature phones, digital outdoor and ambient as well as classical TV at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter screens, all need to be shop-able. Commerce and transactions from those at @jomcdowell | View profile screens will become more common with greater linking and accessibility to solid sales measurements.\"Social media has produced a more elusive consumer with short-termthinking.\" 5. Advertising decoupling and recoupling. The trend has been happening overseas for some time and there are marketers in South Africa who haveWhile the fundamentals will always remain the same, 2015 will also bring 'silo- decoupling in place. Decoupling is separating the creative concept andbusting', 'agility marketing', and advertising decoupling and recoupling. production work so that an agency produces the creative concept but client (marketer) has a direct relationship with the production companies and1. Consumers will become more and more involved in marketing and will therefore produces and prints their own work.continue to exert power and influence over brands. Transparency will becomethe most important tool of marketing - and the opportunity for brands to take This has happened for some years with printing and has moved into pressthe lead in this area will be significant. This means the best brands will not be advertising material as well as occasionally broadcast materials, e.g. TV andthose with the fictional or made-up stories but those that will give an accurate, radio commercials. However the complexity of producing TV commercials isreal-time picture of what they are doing for consumers, at any given time. ensuring - to a certain extent - that commercial production stays with agencies. For the rest, this potential loss of revenue (mark-ups on production2. Shareability. Campaign successes will be measured by how much they are are traditionally part of agency income) could have a significant effect onshared by consumers. This will be a key factor in the ever more powerful social agencies.media stratosphere and will be one of several significant measurements thatagencies and clients will need to consider when evaluating the success of a 6. Snackable content. Time-poor consumers - and business people - will becampaign. doing less and less long emails and more and more shorter communication and snackable content - emoticons are already used extensively by a few3. CMOs will become Chief Simplifier Officers. Companies, by nature, create veteran digital users. This will increase.MARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRAND ALIVE

MARKETING TRENDS7. Search for talent. All over the world, agencies and marketers are searchingfor the 'holy grail' of marketing and advertising talent. These days they arecompeting with the large digital channels such a Facebook and Google in orderto secure the services of marketing technologists - those with a deepunderstanding of technology who will be able to use that knowledge to drivemarketing strategy.8. Media agencies will step up and lead. Traditionally, media agencies havebeen the planners and buyers of advertising for clients. They will continue inthis important role but with their increasing knowledge and access toconsumer trends and big data, much stronger than the creative agencies, theywill become far more important as a key strategic partner to marketers. This ishappening extensively in the US and I can predict that our local media agencieswill tap into this trend and earn their much higher place in the level ofimportance that they have with clients.9. Winners will be adept at 'agility marketing'. Social media has produced amore elusive consumer with short term thinking. This means that marketershave to follow 'likes', 'shares' and 'tweets' as well as click-throughs, whichproduce immediate - but not necessarily useful - data. Marketers who canselect and manage this data and adapt their marketing strategies more quicklywill be better placed to win the marketing race.10. Procurement's powers will increase. Greater levels of accountability,financial sustainability and transparency will increasingly motivate marketingprocurement within companies. Procurement will maintain their cautiousapproach but will become more adept and removing any road blocks withinthe procurement chain. In addition they will be more involved with agencies inproducing better efficiencies and operations, not just fee and contractnegotiation.MARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRAND ALIVE