SAMRA announces rates for 2009 Conference

SAMRA, the Southern African Marketing Research Association, has announced the rates for delegates for the 2009 30th SAMRA Conference, which will be held on the 28th and 29th May 2009 at the Spier Wine Estate Stellenbosch in the heart of South Africa's Cape Winelands.

The 2009 Conference aims to bring together researchers, research users and marketers from all over Africa with the goal of growing and improving marketing research in the region.As an added bonus at the 2009 SAMRA conference, the rates have stayed the same as the 2008 rates. The rates for the 2009 conference can be found on their website.

Bookings for the 2009 30th SAMRA Conference open on 10 November 2008 and early-bird rates apply until the 31st January 2009. For more information or to make a booking for the 2009 SAMRA Conference contact Lebo Maphosa on (011) 704 7770 or e-mail lebo@thelime.co.za or visit www.samra.co.za.

Please note that this is a draft programme for the 2009 30th SAMRA Conference and therefore is subject to change and will be updated:

The 23 paper synopses selected are:

• Making sense of nonsense, a re-examination of brand attribute association matrices - Amien Ahmed - TNS Research Surveys
• Death of the analyst - the case for data calibration and advanced weighting - Joe Boniaszczuk - Research International
• A World Without Surveys? - Joanne Campbell, Nicky Liddle, and Taryn Smart - TNS Research Surveys
• What Consumers Really Talk About: Understanding the true power of word-of-mouth - Gillian Drewett - Synovate Brand Lab
• The Fundamentals of Market Structure - Kyle Findlay - TNS Customer Equity Company
• The sanitation of real human beings - Jean Green - Jean Green and Associates
• A quasi experimental investigation into the effect of interviewing methodology on the findings and applications of socio-political studies - Mari Harris and Wayne Viljoen - Ipsos-Markinor
• The Only Universal Law in Marketing? - Jan Hofmeyr and Martin Bongers - Synovate and Synovate Brand Lab
• The Research Club of Kenya - Research Demystified! - Maggie Ireri and Nanzala Mwaura - The Steadman Group
• Beyond the 'What' in Social Polling - Measuring the strength of the Zuma brand in South Africa - Nomsa Khanyile - The Nielsen Company
• Global Speak? Or is Local Lekker? - Monique Leech - Millward Brown
• Using Online Qualitative Methodologies To Catch The Big Fish - Justin Levitt - Synovate
• The development of a Tastetometer for bridging the gap between scientific evaluation and consumer experience in the beer category - A heuristic approach to understanding the experience of taste in Sub Saharan Africa - Andrea Marais - Consumer Lab
• Why innovate? Is change genuinely necessary within the field of market research based on the changing attitudes of consumers, clients and market researchers? - Stephanie Matterson, Matthew Glogauer, Tanja Naidoo, Claire Speirs and Adam Rosenberg - Kauffman Levin and Associates
• Get Back to Modelling Basics - Caution from an End User - Walter Moldenhauer - Telkom SA Ltd.
• Research 2.5: Ceding control to consumers as co-researchers - Henk Pretorius - Columinate (Pty) Ltd
• Tangled Webs and Other Grey Areas - Where are we headed, and can we come back from the brink? South Africans' shifting attitudes to crime, ethics and morality - Kathryn Ann Robinson - TNS Research Surveys
• The difference between online and non-online consumers: How much bias is there really? - Adam Rosenberg, Candice Watt, Matthew Glogauer, and Sally Timcke - Kauffman Levin and Associates
• Marketed Research: Personal promotion and network effects within our industry - Enrico Tronchin - TNS Customer Equity Company
• Come join the joy ride... 30 thrilling years of wild and wonderful research - Carel van Aardt and Mari Harris - Bureau of Market Research (UNISA) and Ipsos-Markinor
• Consumers are much richer than we think: Reweighing AMPS income data using analytical hierarchical process modelling techniques - Carel van Aardt and Sean Louw - Bureau of Market Research (UNISA) and Synovate
• The influence of online social networks on long-term consumer behaviour - Lesley van der Walt and Lorcan McHarry - TNS Customer Equity Company
• Optimising the Retail Landscape: Utilising shopper research to enhance the in-store experience and optimise the retail space - Peter Wilson - TNS Research Surveys

In addition to the above papers, we are delighted to include in the programme two Q&A sessions with experts:

1. Carol Affleck, who runs her own consultancy and qualitative research agency, Youth Focus, will introduce and answers questions about Effective methods for Researching the Youth Market through an Understanding of Developmental Levels.
2. Gary Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of Primedia Face 2 Face, will introduce and answers questions about Targeting the Bottom of the Pyramid Market.

Keynote addresses include the following:

• Discovery Health (Johan van Rooyen, COO; Francois Theron, Head of Service; Andrew Webb, Head of the Service Laboratory) will present The Discovery Health Science of Service approach, which includes service metrics throughout the client journey, the Discovery Health quality, people management, independent measurement, client segmentation, and infrastructure systems, the result of this science and becoming the best service organisation in the world.
• Graham Page, Executive Vice President of global solutions at Millward Brown, leads a team that develops new solutions and approaches to help marketers drive their brands and services forward. Graham's research areas include neuroscience and neuromarketing, the role of emotion in advertising and how to measure it, and brand elasticity.
• Dawie de Villiers, CEO of Sanlam Structured Solutions, oversees the Derivative Structuring business in the Investment Cluster and the Smooth Bonus and Annuities businesses for Sanlam Employee Benefits (SEB). Dawie will illustrate how successful research leads organisational strategy and can be used to achieve a thought leadership status by means of the Sanlam's Annual Retirement Fund Survey example. He has been instrumental in the design, analysis and presentation of the latest Sanlam Retirement Fund Survey.
• Ged Parton, CEO Global Brand Practice and Qualitative at Synovate Global, London, is responsible for Brand and Communications Practice, Qualitative Practice and The Synovate Marketing Sciences group. Ged will share his view on Confronting Industry Challenges.

New brand for Gauteng

Gauteng has a brand new logo!

The new logo is a spiral shape made up of multi-coloured dots of increasing size. The central dot represents the ignition, the beginning, and the promise of all the possibilities that the province offers.

"This province is a leader across a variety of fields - in business, industry, tourism, and arts and culture - Gauteng is at the heart of all activity. We believe that the new brand, and tagline 'It Starts Here' is especially fitting, and a great visual interpretation of the power and vigour of this incredible province," said Premier Mashatile.

The province, which has a population of approximately eight million people, is acknowledged as the nation's economic engine.

It is the heart of industry and commerce in South Africa, and the base of African operation of numerous multi-national companies.

The province generates 33 percent of South Africa's GDP, and 10 percent of Africa's gross domestic product, making it the fourth largest economy in Africa.Gauteng, which is home to more than 70 international banks, stockbrokers and insurance giants, also has an impressive employment rate.

It accounts for 47.7 percent of employee's remuneration in the country

Nielsen Consumer Insight November newsletter

Nielsen has released their November newsletter:

Media infuses life into modern-day politics. New strategies optimize spending in hard economic times. Texting flourishes as a mainstream medium. A brand transcends the test of time. Creative thinking tackles obesity.

Politics Unusual: Media & the Making of a President.

Keyboard politics and the Internet have replaced the backroom dealings of Presidential elections with a more immediate, personal and opinionated forum for evaluating candidates and platforms. read more

Economic Blues Color Holiday Outlook

Scrooge will be in good company this holiday season, as American consumers tighten their belts and hang on to their wallets, with 85% planning to spend less or the same as last year. read more

Gourmet Shoppers Cook Up Retail Opportunities.

With rising inflation and gas prices taking a bite out of household budgets, now is a good time to cater to high-earning, big-spending home-grown gourmet cooks who account for one in five U.S. households. read more

Flying Fingers

Text-messaging has become so popular that U.S. mobile subscribers now send and receive more text messages in a month than they do phone calls. Increasing 351% since last year, it has become a ubiquitous method of communication. read more

One Nation Under Madden.

How does a brand stay true to its core, and continually reinvent itself for 20 years and manage to thrive in the challenging new media? The Madden video game scored with a commitment to authenticity and a three-screen approach. read more

A Widening Market: The Obese Consumer

Obesity is on the rise around the world, but is especially predominant in the U.S. How should marketers navigate this sensitive, but opportunity-laden environment? read more

"Below the Topline" - Asian Persuasion.

Asians in the U.S. are often overlooked by marketers due to the tremendous growth of the Hispanic population. However, marketers will need to dig deep in order to reach this rapidly growing segment. read more

Top Tens and Trends

Our latest intelligence on Movies, TV, Books, Music, CPG Trends and more. read more

Obama is Red Bull, McCain is Diet Coke

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Famous personalities are brands, and the current US presidential candidates are no exception. According to new research by Synovate, John McCain and Barack Obama have more in common than you may think with some of the world’s most recognized brands.

When you think of Diet Coke and Apple, John McCain probably doesn't come to mind but he's similar to both brands in a few important ways. Each has a confidence and straightforwardness to shout about who they are and what they believe in. They don't bother talking about their features or benefits; they simply put themselves out there and expect you to figure out for yourself why you should like them. This is a classic 'me me me' strategy. These brands have chosen something to stand for and invite you to join them in their club with other like-minded folks.

Barack Obama, on the other hand, is more about what he'll do for you than what he's all about. More like Red Bull rather than Diet Coke, he's 'you you you' focused. He believes his policies offer a benefit for you and that's what he's going to shout about. This strategy is outer directed and is the basis of how he's been connecting with voters. Brands that focus on you, instead of me, talk more about the specific benefits they have that will make your life better. With the current economic turmoil in the world, perhaps 'you you you' is a better offer for brands than 'me me me'? To read more of the report, click here.

The Australian journal Perception has also released an article on how well Barack Obama would have faired, had he taken his childhood nickname and mother's surname of Barry Dunham.

Brand Xpo coming in 2009

Affinity Publishing, parents of Encyclopaedia of Brands & Branding in South Africa, organise a new brand exhibition next year: Brand Xpo. It seems the expo will be in September 2009 and a selection of iconic brands will be showcased for all to see.

According to Bizcommunity.com

Brand Xpo is Affinity Publishing's brainchild but its advisors include an impressive line-up of marketing experts: André Beyers (André Beyers Marketing), Andrew Human (The Loerie Awards), Andy Rice (Yellowwood Brand Architects), Derek Carstens (First National Bank), Derick de Jongh (UNISA), Gab Mampone (SABC), Gordon Cook (Vega School of Brand Communication), Heidi Brauer (Ipsos Markinor), Jeremy Sampson (Interbrand Sampson), Mike Perry (Perry & Associates), Nicola Kleyn (GIBS), Roger Sinclair (BrandMetrics), Sean McCoy (HKLM), Sizakele Marutlulle (Moonchild) and Thebe Ikalefeng (Brand Leadership).

The Advisory Board has already suggested Brand Xpo's primary audience be segmented into three groups - marketers of today, marketers of the future, and consumers - and that activities and displays be developed to appeal to, and benefit, all three.

The first two groups, marketers of today and marketers of the future, will achieve maximum benefit from the ‘industry days' that will form the backbone of the exhibition. According to Preston, these are aimed at SMEs, branding agencies, corporates, colleges and universities, all of whom will derive great value through skills transfer sessions and displays, and learning how the various elements of branding are used to build profitable brands.

Brand Xpo will held at Gallagher Estate in September 2009.

For further information, contact Ken Preston or Samantha van Staden on 011 442-2366.

D&D Awards 2009 - almost time for entries

The D&AD 2009 Awards, familiarly known as the ‘Yellow Pencils’, are the most internationally respected and prestigious creative awards for the design and advertising industries, and has announced the lineup of jury foremen:

Ambient: Mike O'Sullivan, Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand
Art Direction: Grant Parker, DDB London
Book Design: Damon Murray, Murray & Sorrell FUEL©
Branding: Glenn Tuttsel, The Brand Union
Broadcast Innovations: John C Jay, Wieden & Kennedy
Digital Installations: Matt Clark, United Visual Artists
Direct Advertising: Ian Haworth, WWAV Rapp Collins
Environmental Design: David Adjaye, Adjaye Associates
Graphic Design: Alan Dye, NB:Studio
Illustration: Marion Deuchars, M Deuchars
Integrated: Mark Cridge, glue London
Magazine & Newspaper Design: Andy Cowles, IPC Media
Mobile Marketing: Dan Rosen, AKQA
Music Videos: Lizie Gower, Academy
Online Advertising: Dave Bedwood, Lean Mean Fighting Machine
Packaging: Bruce Duckworth, Turner Duckworth
Photography: Tony Chambers, Wallpaper*
Posters: Tay Guan Hin, JWT Singapore
Press: Rosie Arnold, BBH
Product: Sebastian Conran, Conran & Partners
Radio: Ralph van Dijk, Eardrum
TV & Cinema Advertising: Mark Waites, Mother London
TV & Cinema Communications: Grant Gilbert, Double G Studios
Typography: Nick Bell, Nick Bell Design
Viral: Michael Lebowitz, Big Spaceship
Websites: Mauricio Mazzariol, Big Man
Writing for Advertising: Will Awdry, Ogilvy & Mather London
Writing for Design: Adrian Shaughnessy, Shaughnessy Works

The D&AD Awards span 30 different categories encompassing all aspects of creative communications from writing and art direction to architecture, graphic design, music videos and photography.

They annually attract over 23,000 entries from internationally leading agencies and design groups, clients, in-house studios, architectural practices, as well as film and post-production companies of over 58 nations.

Important Dates:
15 October 2008 - Call for Entries launches - enter online starting from this date
19 November 2008 - Discount Deadline - all entries completed by this date will receive a 10% discount
21 January 2009 - Final Deadline

To be eligible into the D&AD Awards 2009, work must have been commercially released for the first time between 1 January and 31 December 2008.

Our awards scheme is international.Full information will be available on the awards site at the beginning of October. Please contact awards@dandad.co.uk if you have any other questions.

007 is Proudly South African

I am a huge 007 fan and belong firmly in the Daniel Craig camp (even though you'll find no argument from me that Sean Connery was the best James Bond ever) so image my delight to see that Craig is Proudly South African!

Cherryflava has posted a pic (click on the image to enlarge) that clearly shows Craig walking with a South African flag as a keyring, they humorously also speculate that the entire tabloid reading United States population [will be] wondering and speculating if the keyring is a symbol of his sexual orientation or the logo of the new hybrid he's driving.

For other die-hard 007 fans - the good news is that the new movie, Quantum of Solace should be released during the course of the next month.

Brand magazine suspended

The board of award-winning B®AND magazine has decided to suspend publication of the print version of the title with immediate effect while founder, editor and publisher, Di Paice, takes a much needed sabbatical. The decision has been taken for personal health reasons - Di has been fighting cancer for three years.

They are still leaving the website up in the interim for those who wish to browse back issues for free. All you need to do is register to access the magazine.

Are Obama and McCain on Twitter?

www.placer.ca.gov
The upcoming US elections is using social media more than any other campaign, this according to a MarketingVOX report.

* Online Video
YouTube is used to present sponsored debates, campaign-oriented efforts and professional broadcasts, as well as clips submitted by users that embarrass or laud the leading candidate, eMarketer predicted YouTube would "decide" the outcome of the November Presidential elections.

If you doubt the impact, Palin's acceptance speech as Vice-President for the Republicans drew 860,469 views on YouTube, while Obama's drew 2.2 million views.

* Cell phones
Obama has used cell phones to invited users to be updated on the campaign if they provided their mobile numbers on BarackObama.com

McCain has not jet joined this type of marketing, but apparently statistics show cell phones are better for reaching Democrats than Republicans

* Search
McCain outspent Obama 22-to-1 in search advertising in August. One analysis observed McCain's search ads are generally also more targeted than Obama's, though neither did especially well.

* Social Networking
MySpace added a political channel with voting info and links to candidates' MySpace pages and blogs, while Gather.com launched Create Debate, a forum where everyday people can submit questions to candidates to answer at leisure. Not be outdone Facebook set up the 2008 Presidential Election application, with election news updates and debate groups.

Can Apple make you more creative?

Can using Apple branded merchandise make you more creative? And will the Disney brand make you more honest?

This is what a study conducted by Fitzsimons, G, Ghartrand, T and Fitzsimons, GJ set out to investigate. Their findings were recently published in Automatic Effects of Brand Exposure on Motivated Behavior: How Apple Makes You "Think Different" in the Journal of Consumer Research; June 2008, Vol. 35(1), p21-35.

The journal is embargoed (so if you want it please request it via interlibrary loans) but here is the abstract:

This article first examines whether brand exposure elicits automatic behavioral effects as does exposure to social primes.

Results support the translation of these effects:

• participants primed with Apple logos behave more creatively than IBM primed and controls;
• Disney-primed participants behave more honestly than E!- primed participants and controls.

Second, this article investigates the hypothesis that exposure to goal-relevant brands (i.e., those that represent a positively valenced characteristic) elicits behavior that is goal directed in nature.

Three experiments demonstrate that the primed behavior showed typical goal-directed qualities, including increased performance postdelay, decreased performance postprogress, and moderation by motivation.

Best Global Brands 2008

Interbrand has released their Best Brands for 2008 report recently and here is what the Top 10 looks like:

1. Ranked 1st in 2007, brand value +- $m 66,667
2. Ranked 3rd in 2007, brand value +- $m 59,031
3. Ranked 2nd in 2007, brand value +- $m 59,007
4. Ranked 4th in 2007, brand value +- $m 53,086
5. Ranked 5th in 2007, brand value +- $m 35,942
6. Ranked 6th in 2007, brand value +- $m 34,050
7. Ranked 7th in 2007, brand value +- $m 31,261
8. Ranked 8th in 2007, brand value +- $m 31,049
9. Ranked 9th in 2007, brand value +- $m 29,251
10. Ranked 20th in 2007, brand value +- $m 25,590
    

Here is what you can expect from the rest of the report:

• Guest contributor Harvard Business School Professor Nancy Koehn speaks out
  on managing brands
• The six laws of collaborative branding by Jason Baer - A guide to understanding the new era of branding in a consumer driven world
• Sustainability and its impact on brand value by Paula Oliveira and Andrea Sullivan -Can organizations structure their green, or sustainability, initiatives to produce value growth for the brand?
• The Red Thread by Jez Frampton - Putting the brand at core of the business becomes a uniting force behind everything you do and say to drive value
• Taking action: acting like a brand leader by Graham Hales - Practical steps for acting, behaving, and managing like a brand leader
• Interbrand’s method for valuing the 2008 Best Global Brands - Understanding our method and approach to looking at brands through a financial lens
• Profiles of the 2008 best global brands and industry insights - A snapshot of the top 100 global brands and insight into what’s driving growth in each industry
• The business purpose for brand valuation by Nik Stucky - A look at how we understand brands as business assets, and how brand value is a barometer for a healthy business
• The impact of risk on brand value by Jean-Baptiste Danet and Valérie Herdlicka - Brands create shareholder value and should be managed to mitigate risk of decreasing value
• The future of future-proofing brand investments by Greg Silverman - How will we measure the unobservable and make informed brand investment?
• Planning your touchpoints to accelerate profit by Rune Gustafson - Understanding brand as a central organizing principle requires the management of every touchpoint to build the experience for consumers
• Building brands in emerging markets by interbrand’s leaders in Brazil, China, India, and Russia Aléjandro Pinedo, Nicola Stanisch, Iain Ellwood, and Jonathan Chajet talk about the challenges and opportunities to build brands in developing economies
• Brands create nations by JÜrgen Häusler - A look at the association between nations and their brands
• The luxury kingdom by Manfredi Ricca - Understanding the laws ruling the luxury market
• It’s what on the inside that counts by Stephanie Colton and Carolyn Ray - An employee’s engagement with the brand means the difference between satisfied customers and bottom-line results
• The value of creativity by Andy Payne - A creative director’s point of view on the value of brands

The impact of a recession on Brands

Brand Finance, a brand valuation consultancy, revealed the impact of recession on the top 100 leading global/US brands in their report Brand Value in a Recession which is an update of the Brand Finance 500 report published in May this year.

The report reveals that between January and September the brand value of these brand dropped to US$67 billion - a drop of 4.2%.


“In the current climate, it is essential to understand the absolute value of brands and what drives their value,” said David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance.

He continued, “The BRANDFINANCE Global 500 report provides an insight into the effect of recession on leading brands. There is clear evidence that basic, value for money brands like WalMart, AT&T, Exxon and McDonalds are performing very strongly, particularly when they invest consistently in advertising and marketing. By contrast unnecessary or discretionary brands like Starbucks, Nike, Coca Cola and L'Oreal are declining in value as consumers watch their finances more carefully.”

“There is also evidence at the global level that developing world brands are growing rapidly. Samsung, Tata, Bank of China and Lukoil are all good examples of this phenomenon.”

The study is calculated by Brand Finance based on the widely used and technically superior “Royalty from Relief” methodology, which assumes that a company does not own its brand name, and then calculates how much it would have to pay to license it from a third party.

Article published in Bizcommunity.com