Social media platform TikTok has become one of the world’s favourites over the last couple of years. If this acceleration feels somewhat sudden to you, you are not entirely wrong. According to CNBC reporting on TikTok, the app had 54 million active monthly users worldwide in January 2018. By August 2020, TikTok’s active monthly users […]
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Customer experience has always been a crucial business differentiator, but 2020 stressed why it is more important than ever that brands listen to their customers, whose needs are continuously evolving and changing. Forrester’s Consumer Energy Index study found consumer trust as the most relevant and influential metric for success. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer […]
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It has become more important than ever to take the time to understand what is changing and why, so that your brand doesn’t miss the opportunity to build stronger customer-brand relationships. But when you’re looking for the next new thing, don’t forget to look at what has worked in the past. Because in trying times, people seek comfort in the familiar. Last year saw a renewed interest in some old-school marketing formats like newsletters.
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If you have crossed the threshold into 2021 with a mixed bag of emotions and expectations, you are not alone. You have had to adapt to major changes and might feel uncertain about which changes will remain, evolve or return to something more familiar. The uncertainties will most likely remain but analysing the changes that have taken place across your industry and consumer segments, might help you navigate the choppy waters.
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With over a billion social media users worldwide, it is more difficult than ever for brands to break through the noise, but the social media influencer has proven very effective. Over the last ten years, brands’ investments in influencer marketing have been increasing rapidly. Which comes as no surprise; results of this study proves that influencer-promoted ad content garners remarkably higher engagement than brand-promoted ad content on Instagram.
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The way that we communicate online is constantly shifting, and every round of new technology changes acceptable response rates. Today’s consumer wants honest help – instantly- not another generic and overused marketing message. Companies must aim to provide the right information, at the right time, to the right person, on the right channel – every time. And that is where conversational marketing comes in because it is all about building relationships through customised, one-on-one content.
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Going Viral has become a buzzword, and something brands, influencers, and campaigns often aspire to. And although going viral can generate tremendous interest around your brand or campaign, it can also be for the wrong reasons, as we have seen ample times recently both locally and internationally. Shifting the focus slightly away from going viral and more towards creating what resonates, allows us a less myopic view and moves us more towards long-lasting impact as opposed to a ‘get-rich-quick’ approach.
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Recent research from Google shows that 80% of people want to understand the world around them. Our power to decipher and interpret the world around us sit in the palm of our hands – giving rise to the age of assistance. Access to information and attentive audiences have pushed brands to assist customers in providing valuable information and experiences. The notion of assisting customers requires brands to think outside their product and service offerings and consider what customers’ pain points, needs and wants are.
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2020 has placed our interconnectedness and interdependency under the microscope. What we see under this magnified view is how even the most seemingly minuscule individual actions form part of larger experiences, which in turn creates collective circumstances and, in some cases, global impact – a notion we are all well acquainted with by now. There is an acute awareness of the systems and structures we are a part of, whether by choice or by organisational, societal or political design.
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For any businesses to successfully introduce itself to the market, it has to develop a well-thought-out brand strategy, which delineates how the brand will present itself to the market both visually and narratively. From time immemorial, branding has been about how the business wants to be perceived, and it has been about generating leads and establishing a relationship with consumers so that they can eventually become loyal advocates of that brand.
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As most of us know, a relationship faces its greatest challenge when the environment within which it exists is hit by tragedy and uncertainty. The current COVID-19 crisis is posing a challenge to your relationship with both your prospective and loyal customers. 2020 is most certainly the year that your brand promises and value propositions are being put to the test in an unprecedented way; your response is being carefully monitored.
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Some of the stories we told ourselves three months ago have had to be rescripted. These days, you are probably writing new stories daily. If you said to yourself that you simply cannot start a new week without that tall latte from your favourite coffee spot on your way to work, well, that story has now likely become one where you are your own barista.
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Jeremey Gutsche from Trendhunter describes chaos as a state that presents new opportunities, but that only happens when we get out of a crisis disposition. By the time you read this, South Africa will be within the incremental lifting of a five-week lockdown. This might be different if you find yourself confined in other parts of the continent or the globe.
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Creative agencies are no strangers to remote working and flexible work schedules. Most creative agencies have a workforce that comprises full-time employers and remote freelancers. Interestingly enough, there are still some creative agencies that are reluctant to explore remote working as an option for their employees; this is due to the stigmas surrounding remote work and the mistrust that most managers have regarding on-time delivery and productivity.
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Over the past couple of years, podcasts have been growing in popularity as more and more content creators realise the increasing need for content on-demand. There is a podcast for almost everything under the sun and most people have that must-listen-to podcast that they’re recommending to friends and relatives. Whether it’s about romance, politics, business or mental wellness, there is a podcast for everyone.
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Supreme is a well-known American streetwear brand that is “a cultural phenomenon built on hype”. The brand is much-celebrated even here in South Africa, despite not having a single store in the country. Supreme is valued at $1 billion, with only 11 retail stores worldwide. So, how does a brand like Supreme make such an inconceivable profit and amass so great a following from something as abstract and unquantifiable as hype?
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The notion of trends has been around for over a decade but hashtags, famous futurists and trend talks and conferences have gained rapid popularity in the past ten years. So, what’s the big deal? Is it something worth taking notice of or is it just another short-lived sensation equal to one-hit-wonder and overpriced vegan ‘meat’? Moreover, how can brands benefit from practices such as trend research, analysis, forecasting?
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Nostalgia is a powerful marketing force and brands are fully aware of people’s sentiments regarding the festive season and Christmas; they set up campaigns to convince consumers that their products are what they need to have a fulfilling festive season. In order for you to gain the consumer’s attention during the festive season, you have to appeal to the memories and emotions that are associated with the time of year.
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The internet is a powerful global resource that connects and empowers us. It contributes immensely to our personal, professional and intellectual development by making it easy for us to access and disseminate a plethora of information. More than giving us access to unfettered knowledge, the internet is a gateway to platforms for voicing our opinions regarding global and local socio-political issues and decrying systems that are oppressive.
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Subliminal messaging has been viewed with much suspicion since the concept surfaced in 1957. Over the years, studies have revealed that people can consume information that influences their decisions and actions without being aware of the fact that their perception is being manipulated. Do brands and political organisations really use subliminal messaging and, if so, how effective is it as an advertising technique or a tool to push a certain agenda?
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There are various ways to perform market segmentation. For a very long time, the most common segmentation tool was the Living Standards Measure (LSM), which has now lost its weight as a solid market segmentation tool. Since South African consumers are multi-dimensional and ever-evolving, most marketers will agree that behavioural and psychographic market segmentation approaches are the most relevant way to group consumers and gauge which customers will resonate the most with your brand.
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The work of building a brand is continuous and does not necessarily stop at a particular point or stage. Your brand must be hard to miss, customers must encounter it in everything related to your company that they can see, read, hear and, if possible, feel. It is important to ensure that the brand’s personality, voice and message are in sync and incorporated into the content. The same uniformity needs to be applied across all marketing mediums.
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Every single brand is competing not only for market sales but also for the consumer’s attention. An essential step is building a sustainable content strategy that will work like a well-oiled machine. Besides having a streamlined content plan and a well-thought-out editorial calendar, businesses have to ensure that the content they create is thought-provoking, informative and empowering.
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As South Africa observes Mental Illness Awareness Month in July, we felt it appropriate to look at mental health in the creative industry. The notion of the psychologically tormented creative mind is more than a mere trope—it is a sad and disconcerting reality that requires much attention from companies in the creative industry and society at large.
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Your brand has a unique personality; therefore, it is important that you highlight the strengths and values of your brand, and establish what sets you apart in a saturated market place. The work of building a brand does not stop at a specific step. For as long as you want to have a thriving and memorable brand, you need to understand that the work of brand building is continuous.
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Many of us probably believe that we have a sound understanding of branding; what a brand is and how it functions or should function. In this article, Kaitoma’s managing director, Paul Moeng, briefly outlines what a brand actually is and discusses the importance of building a brand that will garner and maintain loyalty and support from customers, clients and consumers.
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The fourth industrial revolution is upon us, it is quickly impacting all industries, and we can no longer ignore it. People are now under more pressure to continuously upskill themselves in order to survive in this new revolution as there has been a shift in power, wealth and knowledge.
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After many years of intense, sleepless nights you finally have your degree or diploma! Yay?! Or not?! It’s time to look for employment. With our current unemployment rates, that can be a nerve-wracking experience. You’ve sent a few CVs and perhaps even attended a couple interviews here and there, with no luck.
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Paul acknowledges that being a student and a freelancer was tough, especially when it came to getting work. It taught him quite a number of valuable lessons. “It wasn’t easy at first, but it gave me some much needed exposure in terms of clients. Sometimes I would lose clients based on the fact that I was a freelancer and still using public transport”, Paul reveals.
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