Biz Trends 2015 Highlights by Bizcommunity

BizTrends 2015 in association with TRENDAFRiCA.co.za and sponsored by INTERBRAND

2015 will herald momentous global change 2015 is a year in which momentous change will coalesce around rapid technological developments, economic reinvention, social revolution and political upheaval driven by

TREND SPONSORS BIZTRENDS2015, AFRICA, BRANDING, CONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSOR

rising social activism. This era is akin to the moment in history when the horse-drawn carriage made way for the automobile, predicts our lead sponsor, Interbrand Sampson De Villiers. As a journalist and B2B editor working for over 20 years in the media and marketing industry in South Africa, consumer and brand trends have always fascinated me. Curating the 2015 trends in partnership with Bizcommunity.com for #BizTrends2015 has been a real labour of love as it is a hugely

MARKETING SPONSOR

creative undertaking. Consumer insight and media and marketing trends are something every single person with a business and in business should be on top of. The accelerating pace of change in society today impacts on everything in work and play. We’ve done

STRATEGY SPONSOR

some of the work for you by curating the top trends from around the globe, locally, and from our generous industry influencers who participated. We so appreciate our sponsor support in helping make this happen and taking this project to a whole new level: Interbrand Sampson De Villiers, Brand Alive, Millward Brown,

MEDIA SPONSOR

Yellowwood, Meltwater, Branded Youth. Thank you too to everyone at Bizcommunity who worked hard on making this special project work, with its apps, event, associated print products and social and marketing elements: Dries, Andre, Terry, Rod, Bev, Ilse, Megan, Jason, Leigh, David,

SOCIAL MEDIA SPONSOR

Ruth, Lesley, Brandon, Mike and Graeme. Please do forward this PDF to your clients and network in

TOP TRENDS SA MEDIA & MARKETING TRENDS GLOBAL CONSUMER TRENDS DION CHANG EXCLUSIVE SPONSOR’S FORECAST TREND CATEGORIES 1. ADVERTISING 2. AFRICA 3. BRANDING 4. CONSUMER RESEARCH 5. DIGITAL 6. MARKETING

the industry and in business.

7. MEDIA A very happy, bright and shiny 2015! Louise YOUTH SPONSOR

8. SOCIAL MEDIA 9. STRATEGY

Louise Marsland www.branded youth.co.za

Specialist Editor: Biz Trends 2015

10. YOUTH

TOP TRENDS S A MEDIA & MAR KE TI NG T R E NDS

Your 2015: The consumer, content and collaboration

It’s all about me, you and what we want. Now. No waiting around. This is the year the consumer and content will dominate and brands learn the meaning of true collaboration.

It is about tapping into the stories we all have to tell: individuals, brands, countries, continents. Our past, our present and the future we want. It is about our legacy, our craft and working together These are our top South African media, marketing, advertising communications trends for 2015 from all our interviews with the leadership of our local industry, research and the past year, following consumer and industry trends both locally and internationally. This is what you need to keep on your agenda for this year: 1. ADVERTISING: Transformation

The industry has had more than a decade since the first parliamentary hearings into lack of transformation in the South African advertising industry took place, to get its house in order. This year there are no more excuses as the Triple BEE codes take effect and pressure is put on agencies by their clients as regulations bite. It will be an industry “game changer” for 2015, warns Ogilvy & Mather South Africa CEO, Abey Mokgwatsane. A second trend for South Africa is true digital integration. We’ve lagged at international awards shows in recent years because we have fallen behind in this trend. Pattern: Human society is experiencing a fundamental shift in culture as the speed of change and technological innovation trumps even industrialisation. Everything is up for review: our political and economic systems, religion, gender, family structure, race relations, culture, society... It is a time like no other to renew, refresh beliefs, start something.

By: Louise Marsland

‘Made in Africa’

TOP TRENDS Influence: Become the creative powerhouse of Africa, producing unique, global, culturally-relevant work that truly reflects an understanding of consumer culture and nuance. Every global ad agency network is trying to gain traction in Africa. Let’s show them how it’s really done. The African way. 2. AFRICA: Land of Opportunity One billion consumers. Burgeoning, aspirant middle class numbering 15 million in 11 of Africa’s largest economies. Youngest population. Increasingly urbanised and connected via mobile. Africa’s gross domestic product will grow by 50% to US$3.7tn over the next five years and Africa’s consumer-facing industries are expected to grow by more than $400bn by 2020. 93% have access to a cellphone and 334 million new smartphone subscribers are predicted in the next three years. A secondary trend is mobile adoption. The timing needs to be right for brands launching into Africa and affordability is key. Listen to Africa. Pattern: Growth. GDP per capita has grown 26% in the past decade. Incomes are rising. African consumers, many of whom have very little, are used to ‘hacking life’, coming up with innovative, makeshift solutions to problems. We are the original ‘Maker Economy’. Mobile adoption is accelerating and the demand for home grown entertainment and content is insatiable. There is a new pride in African culture - look at the wholesale rejection on the continent of the latest sycophantic boy band/old rocker collaboration of that tired old ditty ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’ to raise money for the fight against Ebola. Influence: ‘Made in Africa’ - create home grown brands for Africa. We need to come up with solutions to our own challenges. Brands need to collaborate with consumers to find those solutions. A Nielsen analysis found that products developed or tailored specifically for Africa’s consumers achieve a success rate of 40%, well above the standard 10%. It’s our time. Now get on with it already. 3. BRANDING: Brand Personalisation This is the era where humans are plugging into technology with wearables and brands are trying to become more human by listening to their consumers and taking on board the influence of the crowd. Brand personalisation is a current mega-trend which is fuelled by brand storytelling and purpose-filled branding. Brands want to be seen to be good. We want them to do good. Pattern: Mass production, stereotyping, lifestyle measures, profiling is no longer enough to understand each individual consumer. Data is the answer, analytics, the solution. “Your brand is no longer what you say it is. Your brand is what your customers tell each other it is,” says Euphoria Telecom’s CEO, George Golding. Influence: Be really good: do good. Make a difference. Solve problems. Save the world. Be true to your consumer. Tell the truth. Keep your promises. People actually care about such things. Really.

TOP TRENDS 4. CONSUMER RESEARCH: The Experience Brand Conspicuous consumption is a trend damped down somewhat by the recession. Consumers have cut back radically on spending during the recession, particularly since food and petrol prices began rising locally. Consumers are buying less stuff, but they still want brands to charm and entertain them, find solutions to societal ills. This time it is all about the experience a brand gives, how it makes their consumers feel, the positive impact on their lives. We may still have a dominant mall culture in South Africa, but we also go there to be entertained, which feeds into this trend.

Brand storytelling is defined best by Aesop agency: “In essence, it’s the application of narrative thinking and storytelling techniques to define brands, inform strategy and structure creative activity”. According to the Content Marketing Institute. “Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience - with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”

Pattern: Consumers are gravitating towards source - they want to know the origin of ingredients, suppliers, the brand back story. It is why newer, craft brands or brands that hark back to their artisanal roots are doing well.

Influence: Curating content is still a sought-after skill. Opportunities abound for brands which become owners of their own content channels as the media industry continues to implode and audiences fragment between different media and channels; and social media platforms keep changing the rules. Brands have to work hard to engage their consumers for longer than 30 seconds in the places they are both comfortable with.

Influence: This feeds into the society we need to create after this apocalyptic recession, political and economic upheaval. Brands that come up with solutions to real problems, will win their hearts and leave a lasting impression. 5. DIGITAL: Mergers & Acquisitions As the media and agency land grab continues in Africa by the global agency and media networks, 2015 is the year the big mergers and acquisitions of 2014 need to prove themselves and perform. The measure will be in the integrated work that wins awards. Pattern: The acquisition assault is not yet over, as the global networks pay attention to other media types such as out of home (Continental has been bought by JCDecaux, it was announced in December); merchandising (WPP acquired Smollen) and experiential (again, WPP, bought EXP.) Influence: Competition will be fierce locally as there are only so many clients to go around, but it does present an unparalleled opportunity for many of the younger, formerly digital-only agencies to head up North to opportunity that awaits in Africa. And of course there are some global brands that they will probably get to work on too, given that the talent in our local industry is right up at the top there with the best in the world, creatively and digitally. 6. MARKETING: Content Marketing This will also be the ‘year of content’ without a doubt on the nitty gritty of campaign implementation. Almost every one of our contributors to this trends report has referenced content as a trend. The trick will be producing content that consumers want to engage with, share, and which will generate leads. Because this is also the year content marketing becomes content selling. Great content can build a compelling business case for potential customers, can be targeted and results measured. Pattern: Yes, there is a difference between brand storytelling and content marketing.

7. MEDIA: Programmatic Media Buying Programmatic Media Buying is being seen globally as the media buying tool that acts as a magic bullet to solve all online advertising issues. eMarketer predicts that advertisers in the US will spend $3.36bn on “real-time bidding,” up from $2bn in 2012. “Programmatic is a catchall term that many people are using to categorise everything from behavioural and intent-based targeting to real-time bidding and exchange-based buying of inventory,” Peter Naylor, former EVP at NBC Universal, tells AdWeek. “Programmatic is advertising’s newer, better mousetrap.” There you have it. But marketers still need a demand-generation strategy. It is not email marketing. Pattern: The fact is, that marketers will continue to be confused by it, media owners will champion it, and media planners will rail against it. And it will dominate 2015. Influence: Anyone who actually understands it and can coherently explain it, will be our industry person of the year. Thankfully, AdWeek has done a Programmatic for Dummies series. I can recommend it! 8. SOCIAL MEDIA: Hashtag Social Activism Social activism is a growing trend as our world becomes more connected and physical boundaries disappear. “Hashtag activism” is a way for people to rally around a cause, an issue, or a “Bashtag” in which a person or organisation are trolled instead. Pattern: In the early days of social media, brands made mistakes and were often on the receiving end of trolls, rightly or wrongly so. It is our current narrative as a society - this global trend to transparency and ‘having our say’ on everyone and everything, including brands. Influence: Social media amplifies issues and people’s concerns and causes. So social listening strategy and tools are key for brands to gain traction in this volatile space.

TOP TRENDS 9. STRATEGY: Brand Storytelling

We tell ourSelves Stories in order to livE... Joan Didion The White Album

Brand storytelling across every channel, be it earned, paid or owned media, will dominate 2015. The same buzzwords will be thrown around: authenticity, transparency, narrative, content, collaborative, etc. It is the storytelling era: “People don’t have 30 seconds to be interrupted - but they always have 30 seconds to hear a great story,” reports SayQuarterly.com. Pattern: The influence exerted on brands is immense. In this wired, networked, sociallycohesive world, where truth is everything - from fake-real reality shows to social media - people’s lives, including their fantasy lives, are on show and that includes brands. In order to friend your consumer, you need to share too. Your values, your history, your craft, your ‘family’. Brands will stop faking stories of fictitious founders and kindly uncles, or embellishing the narrative. It’s time for the rawness of real life. Influence: Brands that crack that rich narrative, provide the awesome stories and surround them with considered and informed content marketing strategies, will win 2015. No doubt. Brands getting it right, including the ad everyone references, and everyone wishes they’d done: Coke Rainbow. Some more examples from eConsultancy. 10. YOUTH: The Millennial Effect We have been bombarded the last couple of years with reports and surveys on the current Millennial generation, also known as the ‘boomerang’ or ‘3G’ generation (three generations) because they are having to move back in with their parents due to the recession - joining their grandparents who can’t cope on their pensions. The most important point about millennials, no matter where they fall into the large age grouping - they are our first generation of truly digital citizens and they are currently in the workforce. They are the ones who have to fix things: economically, politically, culturally. So that is why what they do and say carries incredible weight. They have to try give us a future. And they do have a need to want to leave their mark on the world. Pattern: A key trend is that they are pushing back against brand marketing - but do believe brands have the power to influence change and are supporting the ones which do make a difference. They expect a lot from brands; bravery, collaboration, authenticity. This is a generation hard hit by the recession and financial uncertainty they have witnessed or experienced. They are delaying many of the customary rites of adulthood as a result: marriage, parenthood, career. Influence: Brands need to help millennials navigate this rapidly changing world. Work with them in creating new solutions to societal ills. They are the most educated generation in history, they see you, really see you. There is no space for brand confusion. Work with them. Ask them what they need. They will tell you. (A side eye here to Generation Z, the teenagers still at school, who seem much nicer, more empathic, philosophical, tolerant and entrepreneurial than their older millennial siblings. We expect big things from them in the next decade).

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15 Global Consumer Trends for 2015 by Louise Marsland

From the Sharing Economy to Virtual Reality Marketing, a Tactile Internet and Thought Control, these are some of the trends which will influence business and brands for years to come. While there are very specific trends for 2015 in consumer insight for the South African and African market, we can’t ignore the mega-trends and shifts in the marketing landscape internationally. This is our list of some of the most interesting trends ahead, curated from top marketing, branding, advertising and tech brands and media, internationally, with all the relevant links for further information and sharing: 1. The sharing economy As the internet enables the efficient sharing of information with unprecedented ease, the idea of a sharing economy is potentially huge, says Ericsson Consumer Lab in its annual mobile consumer 2015 trends report. It basically enables consumers to enjoy the benefits of use without the hassle of ownership in areas beyond that of transportation only. “In our research we found that more than half of smartphone owners are already open to renting other people’s leisure equipment, rooms and household appliances. 46% could even imagine using a smartphone app to book a dinner in someone else’s home.” Download ‘Hot consumer Trends 2015’ by Ericsson Consumer Lab.

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Sharing Economy

)

HackerspaceS

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2. Maker movement One of the mega-trends to note is the Maker Movement which has been credited with the rise of the Maker Economy - a more collaborative, creative economic model for the future. ‘Maker culture is a contemporary culture or subculture representing a technologybased extension of DIY culture, including art, crafts and creativity. ‘Maker culture’ emphasises learning-through-doing (constructivism) in a social environment. The rise of the maker culture is closely associated with the rise of hacker spaces, Fab Labs and other maker spaces, of which there are now many around the world, including over 100 each in Germany and the United States. Hackerspaces allow like-minded individuals to share ideas, tools, and skillsets.’ (Source: Wikipedia). Mainstream business publications like Time and Forbes, as well as marketing and technology media, are now starting to follow the Maker Movement and highlight this burgeoning substrata of mainstream business and culture. 3. Internet of Things With wearables going mainstream and the internet connecting our devices to everything else, there is the need for “deep knowledge” of smart devices and the “rise of DevOps” in advertising agencies, along with the acquisition of new talent in the form of hardware engineers to get involved in the development of product design and 3D printing and “prototyping products so that a creative idea may now be given some physical form,” reports AdAge in its trend report for 2015.

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4. Predictive marketing JWTIntelligence’s Future 100 report for 2015, reports that big data is enabling extreme personalisation and also predictive marketing and retail, to track “serendipitous discovery” which resonates with consumers and is what marketers need to unlock. “There’s a tension between the convenience and opportunity offered by predictive retail and advertising, and rising recognition of the importance of randomness, chance and surprise. Innovators and technologists will increasingly focus on incorporating chance discovery to complement prediction and automation.” 5. Visual content marketing Visual content marketing is more successful than any other form of communication, says Reuters. Marketers who embrace visual content reap the rewards of higher returns - in terms of more fans, followers, readers, leads, clients and, of course, revenue. “Visual content drives engagement. Neuromarketing science confirms it.” 6. Wearables Ad Age reports that wearables will change how agencies operate, as wearables and smart devices will produce a lot of data and agencies need to know how those devices work and mine that data for insights. “Most importantly, wearables will provide marketers and agencies with data that has more situational context than adland has previously seen.”

VISUAL CONTENT DRIVES ENGAGEMENT

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7. Tactical Internet JWT Future 100 describes the ‘Tactile Internet’ as a “Sufficiently responsive, reliable network connectivity which will enable [haptic technology, robots and the Internet of Things] to deliver physical, tactile experiences remotely.” They refer to the Tactile Internet as a “true paradigm shift” which will be able to interconnect with the traditional wired internet, the mobile internet and the Internet of Things- thereby forming an internet of entirely new dimensions and capabilities.” Watch. 8. Virtual reality marketing Virtual reality is one of the trends from CES 2015 that could change advertising forever. While still mainly part of the ‘trade show’ floor, Virtual Reality Marketing got a shot in the arm with the cheap cardboard headset released by Google which could put it in reach of the consumer. It is envisioned that virtual reality “experiences” for consumers will contain advertising units, much like in video games and television advertising, reports Portada-Online. 9. Cognitive technology

cardBoard headSet

It’s not quite AI (Artificial Intelligence), but cognitive technology is about systems that “learn over time to predict and intuit human desires that are being integrated into consumer devices. With the advent of intelligent personal assistants like Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Google Now, we’re moving toward a future in which mobile devices harness AI and the rich data contained in a phone - calendar, search history, payment history and social media activity - to anticipate their owners’ needs, JWTIntelligence highlights in Future 100.

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10. Third-way commerce

13. Behavioural economics

“Charity and profitability have traditionally been viewed as mutually exclusive, but a new wave of business models is establishing a ‘third way’ that combines social good with sales and marketing - and it’s proving popular with ethically minded Millennials.” JWTIntelligence advises brands that rather than focus their efforts on self-serving content, brands should increasingly use innovation and social initiatives with genuine merit to tell their stories, and let social media do the rest.

There needs to be a new research model that looks at the problem of why people have stopped buying your client’s product. The Guardian reports that advertising and marketing are a little too fixated with changing the way we think about brands, rather than changing the way we buy and urges that behavioural insights could help agencies and brands stand out in a crowded category.

11. Culture of enrichment

People will seek genuine inspired collaboration - and the chance to bring together the best minds, ideas and opportunities, predicts Added Value. “The connections people make will aim to give new perspectives, new insights, new stories, even new skills. They will be deep, rich and enlightening.”

This year will also be the year that people seek to get the very best from themselves and the most from their lives, reports Added Value. “They will be increasingly aware that they only live once - and want to squeeze every last drop. They will want to be actively involved, deeply enriched and want to seize every single day.” 12. Post-demographic consumerism People - of all ages and in many markets - are constructing their own identities more freely than ever and post-demographic consumerism is one of Trendwatching.com’s top trends for 2015. The outcome is that consumption patterns are no longer defined by ‘traditional’ demographic segments such as age, gender, location, income, family status and more. “Successful products, services and brands will transcend their initial demographics almost instantaneously. Never stop scanning all demographics for relevant new innovations.”

14. Collaborative creativity

15. Thought control A vast majority of consumers think we will be able to use our thoughts to control domestic appliances by 2020. Ericsson Consumer Lab found that over a third of consumers are interested in using a smart watch that conveys touch gestures or their pulse to others. Interestingly, 40% of smartphone users would like to use a wearable device to communicate with others directly through thoughts - and more than two-thirds believe this form of communication will be commonplace by 2020. 72% of those surveyed think we will also use our thoughts to control household appliances by 2020. Download ‘Hot consumer Trends 2015’ by Ericsson Consumer Lab.

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Business and consumer trends for 2015 By Dion Chang

1. Active citizenry in South Africa - AKA ‘Yes we can’ Irritated, annoyed and fed-up with the lack of service from Government monopolies and parastatals, South African citizens are doing it for themselves. Parkhurst, Johannesburg, was one of the first suburbs to get high-speed fibre-to-fibre home broadband last year, supplied by a Stellenbosch-based start-up company. And then there is the ongoing e-toll saga. The people of South Africa have spoken and rejected the implementation of e-tolls; creating debate, discourse and the rise of The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance, the driving force behind the e-toll opposition.

“All rise for standing boardRooms” Dion Chang Founder of research trend specialists, Flux Trends

Social activism and the underpinning of digital solutions to major market innovation will characterise this year, according to renowned South African trend analyst, Dion Chang, in this exclusive list of 2015 trends for Biz Trends 2015.

“likE2buy

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‘Privatisation’ is the recurring buzzword as citizens seek alternatives for postal service, electricity and more. Not a new idea in the global space, the implementation of privatisation, involving a genuine transfer of public assets to the general population, would not only be a constructive solution to citizen frustration, it would also significantly help to create a real sense of participation and inclusion in the economy. 2. Social media commerce 2.0 the sociable way to shop The term Web 2.0 was used in the first Web 2.0 conference held in 2004 and defined as a second generation of technology development and web design. Social media commerce is the evolution of social media - the next generation of online shopping - with the hot spots being Instagram and Pinterest joining last year’s Starbucks’ Tweet-a-Coffee and Amazon’s #amazoncart. Evolving into a shopping catalogue, Pinterest joined the social media e-commerce fray last year with the introduction of its Rich Pins feature. This enables brands and retailers to include metadata like real-time pricing, stock availability and a ‘Buy This’ link to product images to make pins more purchase-friendly. Categorised under the sub-heads: Place Pins, Article Pins, Product Pins, Recipe Pins, and Movie Pins, the Product Pins include real time pricing, availability and where to buy. Over on Instagram, Curalate (a marketing and analytics suite for the visual web) have now introduced a “like2buy” app, which now enables users to buy directly, via an Instagram post with registered brands.

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3. Click and collect. Fetch and go A survey from Which?, a company that reviews products and services, found that over 60% of people shopping online last year had problems with delivery. Enter Click and Collect. A convenient solution for online shopping that offers customers the option of collecting their purchases at convenient locations like shopping centres or petrol stations. In the US, Amazon has installed Click and Collect lockers in shopping centres. Pioneering Click and Collect in South Africa, Makro finalised an agreement with Sasol last year, which will provide nationwide access to Sasol’s extensive forecourt network. Makro is also acquiring access to other sites to enable click and collect delivery. Using a proven technology already deployed in other markets (a code sent to customers’ cellphones opens the locker) these lockers will be located in safe and accessible locations including fast food restaurants, office parks and other Makro stores. 4. Wi-Fi - Maslow’s new hierarchy of needs Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs most basic needs has been adapted to the new world order. Wi-Fi is now a serious contender as a basic need. As we live in a connected world, people feel vulnerable when they’re without a Smartphone or can’t access a wireless network. Just how intense is the need for Wi-Fi? Some Londoners unwittingly signed over their firstborn children in exchange for access to free Wi-Fi last year. An experiment was conducted whereby an unsecured, free Wi-Fi hotspot was set up in a busy London district so they could see who would fall victim to the “Herod Clause” and other forms of IT theft. The ‘Herod Clause’ was put into the Terms and Conditions of accessing

“Click & collEct”

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the free Wi-Fi. In agreeing to gaining access to the free Wi-Fi, users had to sign away their first-born child. Six people clicked “Agree”. If you give people free Wi-Fi, they might not willingly give you their first born, but they’ll happily give you their (increasingly rare) loyalty. 5. Fast casual restaurants eat into fast food market share ‘Fast casual’ is still a niche but it’s the segment expanding the quickest. In the US, there are roughly seven times as many fast-food restaurants as fast-casual eateries-yet both categories notched roughly a $9.3bn increase in sales over three years. Positioned somewhere between fast food restaurants and casual dining restaurants, the fast casual restaurant is a fast growing concept. Being a hybrid of the two concepts, they provide counter service and offer more customised, freshly- prepared and high-quality food than traditional QSRs (Quick Service Restaurants), in an upscaled and inviting ambiance. Brands such as Chipotle Mexican Grill, Panera Bread, Qdoba Mexican Grill and Baja Fresh are considered the top restaurants in this category. As the traffic growth in the fast casual segment surpassed that of every other segment for the fifth consecutive year, Big QSR brands such as McDonald’s, Subway and KFC have been facing a huge threat by the leading fast casual restaurants.

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6. Wearable tech becomes ‘computational couture’ 2014 was wearable tech’s big debut but 2015 sees a high tech fashion romance blossoming. Style met wearable technology with ‘smart’ jewellery at New York Fashion Week last year with novel accessories like an 18k gold-plated ring featuring semiprecious stones that connects to a Smartphone and alerts the user to any notifications. But wearable tech is moving beyond smart watches and jewellery, and into smart garments and wearable textiles. “Companies are making gadgets that are attached to your body. That’s not innovation, really,” says product engineer, Amanda Parkes, of Skinteractive Studios. She’s designed a dress that uses piezoelectric material to generate electricity from wearers’ body movement. The energy is then stored in a battery that can later be used to charge a device. The sports industry has been the frontrunner in using nano technology in textiles to monitor athletes’ performances. 2015 sees this technology move from the laboratories and onto the streets. 7. Digital burnout. Mobile meltdown Recent research has found that we now spend more time on our devices (on average, eight hours and 41 minutes) than we do sleeping. This ‘always on, always connected’ lifestyle is what is fuelling digital burnout. It has rewired our brains to be in a permanent multitasking mode. Our new default reaction to any spare time is to delve into cyberspace. No one simply stares into space any more. This leads to digital addiction, a new healthcare threat, which is being formally listed in some countries.

“sMart”

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Digital addiction keeps our minds hyperactive. Once you’re on your smartphone, you get tunnel vision: it’s like delving into a cyber rabbit hole. This not only blurs the boundaries between work and play, but we become less aware of the physical world around us. When we do come back to our physical world, we discover there is still an entire offline life to live. Living in two worlds means that we actually work doubly hard - so at the end of the year, you’ve not worked 12 months but essentially 24. 8. Sit, stand, move. Agile action in the workplace With the high level of technology used to communicate and work, the concept that an employee needs to be positioned at the same desk in the same office every day is changing. Agile working creates a flexible environment, which leads to greater productivity. By creating different working areas within an office, the staff has the freedom to work wherever they want, whenever they want.

Flexible enVironment

Giving the workforce the freedom and autonomy to make individual choices ignites creativity and fresh thinking. Fluidity creates new ideas and perspectives, improves communication and boosts productivity across diverse departments. Google and Unilever have adopted agile working with measurable results in productivity. All rise for standing boardrooms. Nobody gets too comfortable and everyone is alert enough to be focused on setting a goal before they leave standing boardrooms. With no chairs, meetings are limited to a maximum of 30 productive minutes, after which everyone leaves with a specific plan of action.

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9. Doctors go digital. Healthcare 3.0 Remote patient monitoring - a trend linked and enabled by wearable tech - is poised to revolutionise the healthcare industry. Cisco, a multinational technology corporation, presented their offering of remote patient monitoring at My World of Tomorrow in Johannesburg last year. A system whereby a satellite clinic in a remote area run by nursing staff, is able to consult with a network of doctors for patients who have ailments that they can’t treat or who need further diagnosis. A patient’s vital signs are uploaded into a cloud-based system, which the doctor accesses in real time and via webcam, and allows the doctor to speak to the patient and nurse. By March this year, South Africa will be introduced to My Doctor24, a local online service that puts you in touch with a doctor who will assess the urgency of your ailment, via remote consultation. For healthcare professionals, ‘Figure 1’ is an app for discussing medical issues on a global scale, and is already proving invaluable in South Africa, connecting doctors in rural areas with city centres.

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10. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s just another drone From delivering pizzas to saving lives, the sky’s the limit for drone technology. Ambulance Drone is an all-purpose medical toolkit that can be automatically flown to any emergency situation and used to guide people to make non-technical lifesaving procedures. A courier service in China is currently testing high-tech drones that can deliver packages to remote locations. With a built-in navigation system, these drones can go where trucks can’t. Amazon has promised drone delivery by 2016. Last year the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) clamped down on the use of drones for commercial purposes without a special license, but the drone revolution is unstoppable.

tHe Sky’s the limit For Drone techNologY

Drones are already widely in use in South Africa for commercial filming and anti-poaching operations. The City of Cape Town have plans to test drones which would be used to monitor land occupations, crime, scrap yards suspected of harbouring stolen copper, shack fires and disasters. A Pretoria-based company is developing a drone that could spray tear gas and fire rubber bullets at protesters. The company revealed that an unnamed mining company ordered 25 units.

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On the cusp of a New Age By Jez Frampton & Doug de Villiers

It’s sometimes hard to appreciate the power of a historical moment. An era isn’t always defined by one seismic event, but sometimes by a thousand little tremors shaking - and reshaping - the world. We are living in such a moment, quite literally on the cusp of a new age. As futurist David Brin theorised in late 2013, each century effectively begins in its 14th year. However dominant influences and technology from the previous century appear to be, new elements come to the fore and shift the mood. The arc of the riding century becomes perceptible. If that is so, then 2014 was no ordinary year. For those of us in business, it may well have been a pivot point - a time to pause, connect the dots, gain a broader view, and align our visions and our plans with the unstoppable currents carrying us forward. But what will those currents be in 2015? Which great advances and ideas have already set the future of business in motion? INTERBRAND SAMPSON DE VILLIERS IS THE LEAD SPONSOR OF BIZ TRENDS 2015

Doug de Villiers Global CEO of Interbrand

Digital technology is ending the long reign of the book as a repository of knowledge and ushering in a world of interconnectedness, intelligent machines, vast data sets, and powerful algorithms, says Jez Frampton, global CEO, Interbrand and Doug de Villiers, Group CEO, Interbrand Sampson De Villiers.

“The future of business iS Personal.”

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Horses and cars

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

In the early 20th century, life was changing at a pace never-before seen. From the introduction of electricity, indoor plumbing, and refrigeration to washing machines, telephones, and life-saving medical breakthroughs, modern progress was raising the standard of living on all fronts. And then there was the development that turbocharged modern civilisation’s ascent: the automobile. For thousands of years, the most efficient mode of transportation usually involved a horse. By revolutionising mobility, the car made things possible that simply weren’t possible before. People now had more freedom to choose where they could live, where they could work, who and what they saw - and how often. It ignited a desire to travel, to explore. The car moved us collectively from a limited, static state of being, to a more dynamic, expansive one. It catalysed an evolutionary leap. But did people at the time perceive it that way? When the car emerged, were they aware of its profound implications for society? Probably not. If they weren’t, it was because the transformation, though rapid from a historical standpoint, was gradual - and the new, for a time, still mingled with the old. Yet, among the most perceptive there was surely a moment, a “horses and cars” moment, when the trajectory of the future and magnitude of the oncoming cultural shift became evident. In this transitional space, a period when horses and cars co-existed on city streets, a torch was passed. The long agrarian epoch that had defined and governed human life for so long was coming to a close, and a completely new chapter in human experience was about to begin.

INTERBRAND SAMPSON DE VILLIERS IS THE LEAD SPONSOR OF BIZ TRENDS 2015

TOP TRENDS

The shifting of the ages Given the rapidity and immensity of the changes we’ve witnessed since the dawn of industrialisation - and the degree to which these changes altered the way we began to live and do business at various points - our modern era can be divided into distinguishing features and events. Through the lens of branding, we at Interbrand have defined and reshaped business: the Age of Identity, the Age of Value, the Age of Experience, and the forthcoming Age of You. Many of us in business know that the term “branding” referred originally to a crude mark of ownership, literally burned into the hides of cattle. While this is an interesting bit of trivia, it also gives us some perspective and helps us realise just how far the art and science of branding has come and how sophisticated it has grown. In the post-World War II era, this mark of ownership evolved into a powerful symbol of differentiation and identification in the period we refer to as the Age of Identity. Mass communication media like TV, radio, and widely circulated print material that characterised this age elevated the status and significance of brands among both consumers and business owners. Here is where a relationship was cemented, trust was built, and a symbiotic evolutionary process began to accelerate. In the Age of Value, beginning in the late 1980s, quantifying the intangible aspects of branding proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that brands had concrete value - and that leading companies needed to take these business assets seriously. As products and services multiplied exponentially and businesses gained a deeper appreciation of the role brands play in delivering satisfying and

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Age of Value

TOP TRENDS

the Age of Experience is giving way to a new era - one of Ubiquitous computinG

differentiated experiences to consumers, a new age - The Age of Experience - was under way. But coinciding with these deeper realisations about the importance of experience was the emergence of a phenomenon that would change the world forever: the internet. Benefitting immensely from the rise of digital and, later, mobile technology, savvy brands like Apple grew stronger and new categorykillers like Google, Amazon and Facebook, soon reset customer expectations and significantly raised the bar for brand experiences. Today, the multiplication of channels has pushed brands to strive for the greater levels of clarity and consistency across touch points; and necessitated the creation of ecosystems of integrated products, services, information, and entertainment: both physical and digital. And, due to another game changer - social media - consumers are more empowered than ever before, more influential than ever before, and expect seamless interactions, responsiveness, 24/7 accessibility, customisation options, and high levels of personalisation. In a sense, they increasingly expect brands to know them. The Age of You As digital technology continues to weave its way into every aspect of our lives, and more of who we are is captured on servers and hard drives, the Age of Experience is giving way to a new era - one of ubiquitous computing. The shift in this direction is observable nearly everywhere and virtually unstoppable. In fact, we have reached a “horses and cars” moment of our own. Think, for instance, of people casually reading in a train or in a café these days. Some are reading books and magazines, and a growing number are engaging with a device - smartphones, tablets, laptops and e-readers. The significance of this is greater than it appears.

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TOP TRENDS

The nearly 600-year-old innovation that kicked off the original information age, the printing press - widely regarded as one of the most influential events in human history - has surely passed its peak and is swiftly being replaced by text via digital interface. In the way that the automobile effectively ended the long agrarian period and ushered in the comforts, conveniences, and wonders of modernity, digital technology is ending the long reign of the book as a repository of knowledge and ushering in a world of extreme speed and efficiency, instant access, interconnectedness, intelligent machines, vast data sets, and powerful algorithms. Like the printing press in its day, digital technology is revolutionising the way we live and process information, impacting modes of production, impacting traditional work processes, and increasing the demand for core devices that can do more things for us. And the key to getting our devices to do more for us in our data. Now that the world is filling with devices and more people own not only one, but several (including wearables), the world is quietly being filled with someone elses: sensors. As ecosystems become more fully integrated, these sensors (on our bodies, in our homes, and in our devices) will be able to talk to each other in new ways. Already, our devices can check our pulses, count the calories we have burned, and calculate how close we are to our personalised fitness goals; they can save energy in our homes by controlling thermostats and lighting; they can allow us to pay our bills and remind us when our payments are coming up; they can track where we go and make recommendations based on where we are; and they keep us connected to everyone and everything we care about most.

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All this activity, of course, generates massive amounts of data, which, if analysed properly, can reveal the insight brands need in order to understand who customers are and what they really need. As more of us come online as data repositories, machines get smarter, and all devices are working in concert, supply chains will reorganise around individuals. Ecosystems will become â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mecosystemsâ&#x20AC;? - ecosystems that revolve around and cater to you. From the way we manage our personal brands and share pieces of ourselves through various social media platforms to the increasingly personalised world of commerce - which uses purchase histories and location-based services to tailor products, events, services, and offers to whoever we are, wherever we are - our data is creating value for ourselves, for brands, and for the system at large, every second of every day. Brands that seek to lead in the Age of You, ruled by Mecosystems, will have to recognise the human in the data, uncover genuine insights, and create a truly personalised and curated experience.

To put it simply, the future of business is personal.

Stories need to feel real, fresh, consumers are demanding more honesty from brands Neo Mashigo co-executive creative director at Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg Read on Biz

Many moons ago advertising was Fun Dr Ludi Koekemoer CEO of AAA

Surround yourself with the best, Most talented people”

Now it’s Africa’s time! Xolisa Dyeshana executive creative director at Joe Public

Jonathan Deeb Executive Creative Director at FCB

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CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS REQUIRES STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS Odette van der Haar CEO of The Association for Communication and Advertising

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Brands will strive to deliver work that shows they care Stuart Stobbs executive creative director at 1886

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DO SOMETHING THAT RESONATES ON AN EMOTIONAL LEVEL

Brett Morris CEO at FCB South Africa Read on Biz

Clients today are reshaping entirely the agency Model” Felix Kessel CEO at OwenKessel Leo Burnett Read on Biz

ADVERTISING TRENDS

ADVERTIS ING TRENDS

Transformation Industry pundits across the globe and locally believe the industry is experiencing the greatest shift it has ever known, as the scale of change across business, politics, technology and consumer culture accelerates. In South Africa, this is also the year of transformation as the revised Triple BEE codes take effect in April.

The biggest thing we get asked (by clients) is, ‘Where are the black Creatives’?

This search for black talent is the biggest challenge facing advertising agencies and marketers and is already impacting on brand relationships, adds Neo Mashigo co-executive creative director, Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg. The creatives are also all agreed on the fact that true integration of digital into South African advertising agencies has to follow global trends in this regard and that the industry has to deliver on it this year in order to start delivering award-winning and effective work of an international standard. Says Xolisa Dyeshana, Joe Public executive creative director (ECD): “Every year we have these kinds of polls and everyone talks about integration, but I don’t think we have cracked it yet. Imagine how we could make our single idea live on all those screens? Now is Africa’s time!”

Abey Mokgwatsane, CEO of Ogilvy & Mather South Africa

Abey Mokgwatsane, CEO of Ogilvy & Mather South Africa, emphasises that compliance with the new BEE codes will be a gamechanger in 2015. Coupled with a tough trading environment, agencies will have to “operate with a value mindset” and work with marketers in aiding transformation in the industry to reflect the reality of South Africa’s diverse population, he adds.

ADVERTIS ING TRENDS

Pepe Marais Chief Creative Officer & Senior Partner at Jo Public Group

And firmly on their radar is the need to highlight the good that brands do. Purpose-driven branding needs to move from talk to action, says Pepe Marais, chief creative officer and senior partner, Joe Public Group. “The more the world feels devoid of meaning, the more people are attracted to brands that display a deeper sense of purpose.” ECD of 1886, Stu Stobbs, is more blunter, saying 2015 is the year that “brands will grow a conscience and deliver work that shows they care”. In some cases they really will. While the educators such as Dr Ludi Koekemoer, CEO of the Triple A, urge the industry to develop the talent pool; talent retention also needs to be encouraged within the agencies, emphasises Odette van der Haar, CEO, Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA). Jonathan Deeb, executive creative director, FCB, says content seems to have killed the commercial, but what it really means for agencies is that there is an opportunity for agencies to create uniquely South African content with cultural nuances to excite and engage consumers. In the end, it is also clients who are creating this paradigm shift in the agency model as everything speeds up and brands become “content”, and agencies have to understand their clients’ business and operations like never before, offers Felix Kessel, CEO of OwenKessel Leo Burnett. However, Brett Morris, CEO of FCB South Africa, warns the industry not to forget the basics of marketing communication - that the challenge is to still create that emotional work that moves people.

ADV ERTI S I N G TRE N D S

People are attracted to brands that display a deeper sense of purpose

2015 could be the tipping point for the African Digital Revolution”

The ‘Sound’ of africa Sampa Diseko Strategy Director at Y&R SA Advertising

Ravi Bhaya Managing Director of The Starcom MediaVest Group Read on Biz

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Power to the have-nots Wayne Naidoo Founder & Managing Director at Duke

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AFRICA TRENDS SPONSORED BY

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2015/01/22

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AFRIC A TRENDS

Land of opportunity Africa has unique stories to tell, its own problems, it needs its own solutions. Brands need to understand this and collaborate to create homegrown brands in partnership with the African consumer to harness the opportunity presented by the fastest growing middle class in the world and the continent with the youngest population. Since 2000, the middle classes of Africa’s 11 largest economies have grown from 4.6 million households to 15 million today (Standard Bank, August 2014). Africa’s consumer-facing industries are expected to grow by $400bn by 2020, representing the continent’s largest business opportunity, as the much referenced McKinsey Africa “Rise of the African Consumer’ research study revealed in 2012. McKinsey urged companies to: focus where it matters in urban centres, including the development of mid-tier cities; develop locally relevant, quality products for local markets based on an understanding of the preferences of their African customers in the various regions; and hit the right price point - reengineering products to ensure they provide the African consumer with affordable products.

AFRICA TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

“With over one Billion consumers-A number Growing faster than that of any other continentAfrica boasts a wealth of Potential. ”

AFRIC A TRENDS

These are the key curated African consumer and industry trends:

On average, half of all Household spending in Sub-Sahara Africa goes to consumer packaged Goods AFRICA TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

1. Growth potential: With over one billion consumers - a number growing faster than that of any other continent - Africa boasts a wealth of potential. The young and quickly growing population, paired with a rising gross domestic product (GDP) that has grown faster than the rest of the world every year since 2001, make Africa a vital market brimming with opportunity. Traditionally viewed as an impoverished continent with little discretionary spending, Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s middle class is growing at an astounding rate and the GDP per capita (PPP) has grown 26% in the past 10 years. With its steadily rising incomes, Africa offers vast potential and rewarding growth opportunities. (Nielsen, June 2014) 2. The Rise of the African Consumer: Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consumer-facing industries are expected to grow by more than $400bn by 2020. That would account for more than half the total revenue increase that all businesses are expected to generate by the end of the present decade. The world has caught onto the potential of this burgeoning consumer market. Africans are more optimistic, connected, discerning and brand conscious. (McKinsey, FCB, Jan 2015) 3. Digital usage is growing fast: In a 2012 study, 50% of Africans said they had accessed the internet in the past four weeks; a percentage on par with rural China and Brazil. This number is likely to have increased to well over 60% now. (FCB, Jan 2015) 4. Buying power: On average, half of all household spending in Sub-Sahara Africa goes to consumer packaged goods. (Nielsen, Feb 2014)

AFRIC A TRENDS

5. Homegrown solutions: A Nielsen analysis found that products developed or tailored specifically for Africa’s consumers achieve a success rate of 40%, well above the standard 10%. (Nielsen, Feb 2014)

7. Price point: Quality and brand matter to the African consumer but they must be delivered at the right price point. Price and promotion sensitivity are high given lower income levels. Private consumption in Africa is higher than in India or Russia. (FCB, Jan 2015) 8. Optimism: Africans are exceptionally optimistic about their economic future; 84% say they will be better off in two years. (Source: FCB, Jan 2015) 9. Purpose-led brands: Brands need to ensure they also benefit the society they are selling to, to earn the trust and gratitude of the next generation of middle class consumers. (Trendwatching.com, Dec 2014) Wayne Naidoo, founder and managing director of agency, Duke, predicts unique Africa solutions born of new African networks: “Original, potent African solutions to African problems. Already we are doing things with mobile that are precipitating tectonic change. Much more will follow. Africa is rising.

AFRICA TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

Wayne Naidoo Founder & Managing Director at Duke

6. Made in Africa: African consumers want tangible, visible and wearable manifestations of cultural heritage embedded in African brands to celebrate their cultural heritage and favour products ‘Made in Africa’. (Trendwatching.com, Dec 2014)

Africa is Rising

AFRIC A TRENDS

Sampa Diseko Strategy Director at Y&R SA Advertising

Listen’ to the “Sound” of Africa

“Hot new thinking is delivering hard business results. We now have the chance to combine inventiveness and understanding with technology and measurement. We can learn what works, what’s useful. We can innovate upon it. For the first time, engagement with the market will yield platforms and assets and true goodwill. It’s no longer sitting in the cost column,” Naidoo says. It is not enough to “tweak” international campaigns and product launches for the African consumer. Marketers looking to learn about Africa need to engage at source, ‘listen’ to the “sound” of Africa, a continent entrenched in oral storytelling, movement and vocal expression, advises Sampa Diseko, strategy director, Y&R SA Advertising. For Henk Swanepoel, CEO, MeMe Mobile, mobile will become the leading mass media channel in Africa as the continent moves to full adoption of mobile marketing. “More people across Africa have access to a cellphone network (93%) than they do to electricity (64%), piped water (59%), or a police station (38%). Africa’s gross domestic product will grow by 50% to US$3.7tn over the next five years as the continent’s rapidly expanding middle class helps drive faster rates of urbanisation and increased consumer demand for goods and services. It is also predicted that the expansion of Africa’s economy will see mobile subscription penetration grow from its current 72% to 97% by 2017, as the continent adds 334 million new smartphone subscribers over the next three years. “The scope of a mobile media and marketing channel will offer enormous benefits, opportunities and value to African consumers. For some, these benefits are not available in any other way - or are certainly not as accessible, present and inexpensive. 2015 will be the year full advantage is taken of the mobile opportunity,” says Swanepoel.

AFRICA TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

AFRIC A TRENDS

FCB’s strategy team has this advice for brands in 2015 expanding into Africa on the strategies that need to be considered:

• Get the timing right: Brands should focus on “hot zones” where disposable income is on the rise and demand accelerates between three to five times. Avoid the “chill zones” where incomes have peaked and market saturation has occurred. • Build locally relevant, quality products: This does not imply launching entirely new brands but rather understanding local nuances. For example, LG removed the “frost free” functioning from its refrigerators in Nigeria as frosting is seen as an indication of proper functioning. • Create strong value propositions at the right price points: Affordability remains critical. Brands should strive to reach optimal price points within their respective categories through a combination of price engineering, smaller pack sizes and lower cost operating models. *Trends curated by Louise Marsland, specialist editor of Biz Trends 2015.

Sources: ‘The Road Ahead - Macro Trends Shaping 2015 & Beyond’ (FCB, Jan 2015) ‘10 African Consumer Trends’ (Trendwatching.com, Dec 2014) ‘The diverse people of Africa’ (Nielsen, June 2014) ‘Why marketing to consumers, not the masses, is the key to brand success in Africa’, Nielsen, Feb 2014.

AFRICA TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

Henk Swanepoel CEO of Me Me Mobile

• Focus where it matters: 53 Countries, 2000 dialects and over a billion people... Brands that view the continent as a single market are exceptionally foolish. Most marketers focus their efforts in the megacities of Johannesburg, Cairo and Lagos, but the “middleweight” cities of Abidjan, Khartoum and Rabat allow for faster growth with less competition.

Mobile will become the lEading mass media Channel in Africa

Your Brand is what your customers tell Each other it iS George Golding CEO at Euphoria Telecom

Quality is now associated with things that are handmade Read on Biz

Gaby de Abreu Creative Director at Switch Brand Communication

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Today Consumers want meaninG and value

Ann Nurock Partner at Relationship Audits & Management Read on Biz

BRANDING TRENDS SPONSORED BY

Best Global Brands 2014

Apple +21% 118,863 $m

McDonald’s +1% 42,254 $m

HP -8% 23,758 $m

Facebook +86% 14,349 $m

Gucci +2% 10,385 $m

AXA +14% 8,120 $m

Shell +14% 6,288 $m

Adobe +9% 5,333 $m

Kleenex +5% 4,643 $m

Gillette -9% 22,845 $m

Pampers +8% 14,078 $m

Philips +5% 10,264 $m

Nestlé +6% 8,000 $m

3M +14% 6,177 $m

Johnson & Johnson +9% 5,194 $m

Smirnoff +8% 4,609 $m

Louis Vuitton -9% 22,552 $m

Volkswagen +23% 13,716 $m

L’Oréal +3% 10,162 $m

Allianz +15% 7,702 $m

Discovery +7% 6,143 $m

John Deere +5% 5,124 $m

Land Rover New 4,473 $m

Honda +17% 21,673 $m

Kellogg’s +4% 13,442 $m

Accenture +4% 9,882 $m

Nissan +23% 7,623 $m

KFC -2% 6,059 $m

MTV +2% 5,102 $m

FedEx New 4,414 $m

H&M +16% 21,083 $m

HSBC +8% 13,142 $m

Audi +27% 9,831 $m

Thomson Reuters -8% 7,472 $m

Visa +10% 5,998 $m

DHL New 5,084 $m

Corona +3% 4,387 $m

Google +15% 107,439 $m

Mercedes-Benz +8% 34,338 $m

Nike +16% 19,875 $m

Budweiser +3% 13,024 $m

Hermès +18% 8,977 $m

Cartier +8% 7,449 $m

Prada +7% 5,977 $m

Chevrolet +10% 5,036 $m

Huawei New 4,313 $m

Coca-Cola +3% 81,563 $m

BMW +7% 34,214 $m

American Express +11% 19,510 $m

J.P. Morgan +9% 12,456 $m

Goldman Sachs +3% 8,758 $m

adidas -2% 7,378 $m

Tiffany & Co. +9% 5,936 $m

Ralph Lauren +9% 4,979 $m

Heineken -3% 4,221 $m

IBM -8% 72,244 $m

Intel -8% 34,153 $m

Pepsi +7% 19,119 $m

Zara +12% 12,126 $m

Citi +10% 8,737 $m

Porsche +11% 7,171 $m

Sprite -3% 5,646 $m

Duracell +6% 4,935 $m

Pizza Hut -2% 4,196 $m

Microsoft +3% 61,154 $m

Disney +14% 32,223 $m

SAP +4% 17,340 $m

Canon +6% 11,702 $m

Siemens +2% 8,672 $m

Caterpillar -4% 6,812 $m

Burberry +8% 5,594 $m

Jack Daniel’s +5% 4,884 $m

Hugo Boss New 4,143 $m

GE -3% 45,480 $m

Cisco +6% 30,936 $m

IKEA +15% 15,885 $m

Nescafé +7% 11,406 $m

Colgate +5% 8,215 $m

Xerox -2% 6,641 $m

Kia +15% 5,396 $m

Johnnie Walker +2% 4,842 $m

Nokia -44% 4,138 $m

Samsung +15% 45,462 $m

Amazon +25% 29,478 $m

UPS +5% 14,470 $m

Ford +18% 10,876 $m

Danone +3% 8,205 $m

Morgan Stanley +11% 6,334 $m

Santander +16% 5,382 $m

Harley-Davidson +13% 4,772 $m

GAP +5% 4,122 $m

Toyota +20% 42,392 $m

Oracle +8% 25,980 $m

eBay +9% 14,358 $m

Hyundai +16% 10,409 $m

Sony -3% 8,133 $m

Panasonic +8% 6,303 $m

Starbucks +22% 5,382 $m

MasterCard +13% 4,758 $m

100

Nintendo -33% 4,103 $m

BR ANDING TRENDS

Brand Personalisation CreativeBloq.com calls it ‘Human Era’ branding, this time when the focus is all on the individual and their patterns and brands discover their ‘human’ side out of need. Brand personalisation, brand storytelling and purpose-fuelled branding all feed into this mega-trend for 2015. “We’ve seen a fundamental shift from ‘Institutional Era’ to ‘Human Era’ brands. Today’s admired brands are flatter and less centralised than those before them. They listen to the world around them and are open to their customers’ input. Their delivery is more intimate and personalised, and also more inclusive. They realise that customers seek not just to buy something, but to buy into something,” reports Creativebloq.com in ‘5 big branding trends for 2015’. Gaby de Abreu, creative director, Switch Brand Communication, calls it “mindboggling”. “In brand communication, ‘knowing your target market’ will cease to be about drawing an average everyman in outline, but will rather be about speaking to every individual customer who comes into contact with your products. It’s mindboggling. “We have to tailor mass production to the individual. We can’t just understand our target audience, broadly speaking, but have to try to find ways of speaking directly to every individual that makes up that

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It’s mindboggling Gaby de Abreu Creative Director at Switch Brand Communication

BR ANDING TRENDS

“how a Brand conveys the narrative matters. Its success is dependent on its Authenticity and relevance to the consumerS” Ann Nurock

audience. It’s a daunting task, and one that requires us to be experts not only in branding, design and copywriting, but also in the media, social sciences and psychology to solve problems in a global market of products and ideas,” explains De Abreu. The reason consumers are seeking out purpose-filled brands - that stand for something - is because they have the power to choose what to use and consume and the social conscience and social platforms to make their influence count. “Consumers have developed a buying conscience and seek brands that vindicate their purchasing decision. Everyone is looking for more fulfilment and ways to improve their lives. This also applies to their choice of brands,” says Ann Nurock, a former CEO of Grey South Africa and Grey Canada, and now South African partner in Relationship Audits and Management which aids agencies and corporate brands on increasing the value, trust and thought leadership of their business relationships. Higher brand purpose is a brand promise that truly improves the lives of the consumers it aims to reach, says Nurock. This also feeds into the current storytelling trend, as “how a brand conveys the narrative matters. Its success is dependent on its authenticity and relevance to the consumers”. For Giles Shepherd, chief executive, Brand Alive Group, understanding the power of the individual was a game changer in 2014 for both external and internal brand communications. “What’s new is the realisation that the best form of promotion of the business is getting customers to passionately advocate the brand due to the positive experiences they are having.”

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BR ANDING TRENDS

Your brand is no longer what you Say it is. your Brand is what your customers tell Each other it iS. Shepherd’s advice to brands is that they keep their brand promises: “Remember that brands are conversations, and those conversations are instant and global. Things won’t always go well, but if you manage the conversation with integrity, even a bad situation can work in your favour.”

Golding wants to see more South African brands standing by their brand promise in 2015, instead of just advertising it. “Brands need to start doing what they say, removing complexities and simplifying our daily lives. If your product has value, customers do not need to be tricked into buying it.”

BRANDING TRENDS SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

George Golding CEO at Euphoria Telecom

George Golding, CEO, Euphoria Telecom, adds that brand power will continue to shift from the corporation into the customer’s hands. “Your brand is no longer what you say it is. Your brand is what your customers tell each other it is. Ethical, transparent brands have begun to gain favour with consumers and this trend will continue to gain traction and momentum. The greatest brands of the future will be the ethical brands that deliver on what they promise.”

THE SOLUTION FOR INTEGRATING THE DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL WORLDS LIES IN FINDING A REAL SHOPPER NEED AND ANSWERING IT Dr Sarah Britten Strategy Director Labstore South Africa

72% of those surveyed think we will use our thoughts to control household appliances by 2020!

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CONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSORED BY

CONS UMER RES EARCH

The experience brand “Instantly accessible information, globalisation and social media have accelerated the pace of trends exponentially.” Lucie Greene, worldwide director of JWTIntelligence

From ‘Me’ brands, to category collapse in the retail sector, mindful business and new definitions of power; and design-led experiential public spaces - JWTIntelligence has produced a superlative vision of current consumer culture and expectations in 2015. The dominant theme is what brands can do for consumers, in terms of experience and purpose, not advertising. Consumers have hacked into brand culture and made it their own. The shift towards personalisation and craft and artisanal food, remembered skills and a caring culture, makes the influence of the individual within a broader community, very powerful. JWTIntelligence this year launched ‘The Future 100: Trends and Change to Watch in 2015’ with original insights on 100 cultural shifts expected in the year to come. As industry trends such as ‘Brand Storytelling’ and ‘Content Marketing’ feed into and reflect consumer experiences with brands, much of CONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

CONS UMER RES EARCH

JWTIntelligence’s 100 trends breaks down those cultural shifts and provide fascinating examples of consumer and brand collaboration and brands and technology partnering to provide ultimate consumer experiences. According to JWTIntelligence, the 2015 report is an “evolution of JWTIntelligence’s flagship ‘100 Things to Watch’ ...connecting the dots between the ‘what’ and the ‘why’, by including a ‘Why it’s interesting’ analysis with each item.” The full list of categories covered in the report include: Culture, Beauty, Brands, Food and Drink, Innovation, Lifestyle, Luxury, Retail, Sustainability and Technology.

Nike x Pedro Lourenço Collection

Reports like this one are critical for brands to understand change when “instantly accessible information, globalisation and social media have accelerated the pace of trends exponentially,” said Lucie Greene, worldwide director of JWTIntelligence, when the report launched shortly before Christmas, December 2014.

CONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

“The ubiquity of the web has accelerated the pace of trends, the spread of information and the sophistication of consumers, who are increasingly confident and expect brands to work around them rather than dictate to them. Other consumer expectations are also shifting in this new landscape, under influences as diverse as the vast range of information available on the internet, globalisation, environmental change and difficult economic times. As a given, not a bonus, brands are expected to deliver experiences, be hyper-transparent and achieve sustainability. They’re expected to produce beautifully designed products and environments. And they are also increasingly expected to be societal leaders, benefactors, innovators and philanthropists.”

Brand trends On Brands, ‘Do’ brands; ‘Me’ brands and ‘Third Way Commerce’ allow consumers to take centre stage. Third Way Commerce is a movement started by Toms that “combines social good with sales and marketing and includes the entire marketplace, whereby you ‘buy one/give one away’ and includes everything from meals or a week of water for the needy. “Consumers, particularly Millennials, are increasingly discriminating between brands by looking for ethical behaviour and sustainability. They are also looking for brands and companies with clear values,” reports JWTIntelligence. ‘Do’ brands are those which focus on ‘doing’ rather than ‘talking’ as a marketing platform, “using activism, innovation and philanthropy projects to connect with consumers and inspire marketing content”. Example: Kenco, which sources coffee from areas where unfortunately there is strong gang culture, hence Kenco training programmes for those at-risk who work in coffee farming. Their advertising showcases the project, not their coffee. Then, ‘Me’ brands are where consumers are invited to create local brands in their own image - part of the sharing economy and an increasing desire for “personalisation, collaboration and consumer entrepreneurship”. Pernod Ricard Our/Vodka campaign invited their customers to create their own local version of the brand in a business partnership. The end result was Our/Vodka micro-distilleries in various cities around the world, like Berlin and Detroit. “Local stakeholders receive 20% of the profit in exchange for investing their time and managing the distillery as well as marketing and events. Pernod Ricard invested the capital and supplied a global recipe, which is adjusted to include local ingredients,” writes JWTIntelligence.

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Our/Vodka

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digital connectivity

Retail trends The focus on Retail prophesises category collapse and the mass boutique - plus Amazon’s very first offline bricks and mortar store - it has signed the lease on premises in New York. JWTIntelligence says it is interesting because Amazon is the latest in a slew of online retailers opening up physical stores: “while consumers increasingly shop online and via mobile, they also seek compelling in-store experiences. Technology is a gem, with ethical smartphones, clever fabrics, cognitive technology - and going invisible online - off the grid so to speak. JWT Future 100 These are the additional highlights from JWTIntelligence: • In its Culture section, the report spotlights the rise of the ‘Mipsters’ (Muslim + hipster) and the growing number of Teetotal Millennials. It also looks at Experiential Public Spaces-the transformation of public spaces via creative immersive projects-and Experiences Going Dark, the advent of unsettling experiences as entertainment. • Beauty trends include South Korean Beauty: a look at how the axis of 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). CONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

CONS UMER RES EARCH

• 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 sped up the rate of trend and niche discovery, and its path to mass exposure, but some celebrities and brands are doing this too fast, and in an inauthentic way, creating a backlash among connected, sophisticated Millennials, who view it as opportunistic. There’s an opportunity for brands to connect with real subcultures, but they must tread a careful path or risk looking cynical.”

Source: JWTIntelligence. Download the full report ‘The Future 100: Trends and Change to Watch in 2015’. CONSUMER RESEARCH SPONSORED BY INTERBRAND SAMPSON DEVILLIERS

nike’s “house of mamba”

• 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.

I’m under no illusion that 2015 will be any Easier” Andrew Kramer Vice President of sales at Mxit

Majority of media buying will switch to programmatic buying

Andrzej Suski Head of media solutions at Millward Brown

Vincent Maher Chief innovation officer at Kagiso Media Read on Biz

Do something that resonates on an emotional level Brett Morris CEO of FCB Read on Biz

Synchronised messaging for all channels

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Mobile... to become the leading mass media channel for Africa

VIDEO AD REVENUE WILL INCREASE

Henk Swanepoel CEO of MeMe Mobile

Gustav Goosen CEO of The Space Station

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2015’s trEnds can be manipulated to youR advantage” Gil Sperling Chief Technology Officer at Popimedia

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DIGITAL TRENDS

Visual content will dominate the digital and mobile environment in 2015, as rich media and video are expected to increase exponentially. And this in a digital agency environment in South Africa that has been dominated by mergers and acquisitions in the last couple of years. It is now the time to see how the digital agencies, bought or merged into global agency networks, perform - both in South Africa and further afield on the African continent, which of course is what the ‘media and agency land grab’ in South Africa is mostly about: gaining a valuable foothold for development and growth on the continent. “2014 was characterised by the massive acquisition spree, of which we were part of. All acquisitions need to now bed down and become real propositions,” says Adrian Hewlett, CEO of Publicis Machine, acquired by the Publicis group last year. For Hewlett, it is the end of the standalone digital agency and for him, the biggest trend for 2015 is which of the top 10 advertising agencies next year will reveal themselves to be truly integrated, despite all the acquisitions and new alliances.

Adrian Hewlett CEO of Publicis Machine

Mergers & Acquisitions

It is the end of the standalone digital agencY

DIGITAL TRENDS

Gustav Goosen CEO of The Space Station

‘POP up’ Websites

For Gil Sperling, chief technology officer, Popimedia, the digital marketing environment heralds “explosive disruption” in 2015. He cites the fact that video consumption is on the rise; the surge in mobile phone subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa; and multi-screening. “We must accept the consumer’s growing preference for video, the behaviour of multi-screening, and the explosive growth of mobile devices. By combining these with a content strategy that adds value, while effectively targeting the right audience at the right time via algorithmic tools, 2015’s trends can be manipulated to your advantage.” 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 almost 40% of total paid media spending in the UK, with estimates that mobile will account for nearly 30% of all UK digital ad spending this year, with this figure rising to more than half by 2016. From our vantage point, it’s a natural progression that South Africa will follow in the wake of these mobile advertising trends.” And of course, it all comes down to content again - customised content is one of Gustav Goosen, CEO of The SpaceStation’s trends for this year. “The need for credible branded content has leapt forward in South Africa. Good, engaging content that builds brands is a win win scenario for all. We have seen this first hand with our ‘pop up’ websites.” There was a definite trend, Goosen said, for consumers to be more discerning about the content they wished to consume and when and how they wanted to consume it.

DIGITAL TRENDS

Kramer’s comprehensive trends focus on how mobile is phenomenally successful in education and the political landscape in SA, and the fact that rich media will remain one of the biggest mobile advertising trends in 2015.

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 is sold by one machine talking to another. This trend is still fairly new in South Africa although I anticipate an interesting uptake in 2015. Its popularity lies in its efficiency because it greatly simplifies media procurement and is designed to be highly targeted.” Maher also highlights the fascinating growth of e-Sports, which in terms of spectators, prize money and growing coverage in mainstream media, is providing an audience for gaming, bigger than any other sport in the world. Marketers need to be aware of the opportunities this trend presents.

Vincent Maher chief innovation officer at Kagiso Media

“I anticipate that advertisers will 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 behind generating top-of-mind awareness in driving sales.”

20% of all digital Advertising is sold by oNe machine talking to anotheR

IT IS OFTEN ORDINARY PEOPLE WHO START SOMETHING; BUILD A FOLLOWING WITH TRUTH AND PURITY, ORGANIC CONTENT

Consumers are looking for premium brands

Be careful which space you choose to play in

Paul Scanlon MD of Pernod

Diane Charton MD of Red & Yellow

Keri-Ann Stanton Heads of PR division at Joe Public

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The big trend for 2015 is the actual move into integrated communications”

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Relationships are the game changer Heidi Brauer Chief Marketing Officer of Hollard Insurance

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a Great brand is a Promise kept Giles Shepherd Chief Executive at Brand Alive Group

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Bridget von Holdt MD of Glasshouse Communication Management

MD of Primedia Lifestyle

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SOCIAL MEDIA HAS PRODUCED A MORE ELUSIVE CONSUMER WITH SHORTTERM THINKING

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David Blyth CEO at Yellowwood

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Smart brands are starting to work with publishers”

Content marketing is the industry’s hottest topic

Johanna McDowell CEO of the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company

Cécile Missildine

PR CAN BE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN BRANDED CONTENT

Consumers expect marketing solutions to be tailor-made forDoug them” Mayne

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Melissa Attree Director: content strategy at Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town

MARKETING TRENDS SPONSORED BY

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MARKE TING TRENDS

Content Marketing will dominate 2015 in the marketing environment as brands increasingly use digital platforms and data gathered from consumers to create and curate relevant content to bolster brand engagement and brand loyalty. There isn’t a marketing plan that won’t have content marketing at the heart of its marketing process - whether it is paid, earned or owned content - or whether you call it content marketing, native advertising, PR, storytelling or advertorial. The chapter and verse is to touch the consumer on an emotive level so that they share your content too. The consumer’s insatiable desire for cool content to share to their networks hasn’t abated and in fact recent global and national events in the massive news 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 online and how more prepared they are to share relevant content; content that adds value; and content that makes them look good. The next evolution of content marketing for 2015 is predicted to be ‘content selling’ according to Hubspot’s marketing blog, which provides a handy graphic explaining how Content Marketing can transmute to Content Selling, as well. South African marketers need to download this infographic and pin it to their desktops as a reminder. MERKETING TRENDS IS SPONSORED BY BRAND ALIVE GROUP

David Blyth CEO at Yellowwood

Content Marketing

“hotteSt toPic”

MARKE TING TRENDS

In our exclusive Biz Trends 2015 reports, there isn’t a contributor who doesn’t have content on their trends list for 2015, no matter which trend category they commented on. David Blyth, group MD, Yellowwood Brand Architects, pegs content marketing as the industry’s “hottest topic” at present. Consumer-generated content is at its peak and marketers are contributing to the content overload with stories and campaigns for consumers to share and engage with.

Heidi Brauer Chief Marketing Officer of Hollard Insurance

“In 2015 we will continue to witness the rise of curated content and infographics, but good curation is still a rare skill and even infographics are becoming pervasive and invasive. We will see the increasing use of video. And we will also see more people unsubscribing from everything they don’t find valuable,” Blyth warns. Marketers need to really understand what their consumers want, when they want it and it needs to offer solutions to problems, Blyth adds.

“beautiful work”

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Brands are becoming publishers of their own content, seamlessly integrating content of value for customers and native advertising (advertorial - paid for content), says Melissa Attree, director content strategy, O&M CT. Attree also urges brands to build their own communities on their own platforms. “It’s not enough to just create good content - we need to pay attention to how that content is packaged, repurposed and, most importantly, distributed to ensure that it really adds value and builds an audience in the long-term.” Heidi Brauer, chief marketing officer, Hollard Insurance, does not believe the game changer in the industry in 2015 is digital integration or data. She believes agencies and clients need to work harder at collaborating on the brands they are responsible for to create that “beautiful work” is required. Marketing convergence/integration and a single currency for industry research are also on her wishlist for this year.

MARKE TING TRENDS

Collaboration in itself - between brands and their partners and brands and their consumers - has of course been popping up as a trend in the past year and will no doubt continue. It fits into the whole ‘transparency and authenticity’ movement. Basically we have to act like the human beings we are: with more humanity. We certainly can’t tell those authentic stories if we don’t. You can’t fake authenticity for very long. “Truth, purity and organic content” are the big trends for 2015 for Di Charton, managing director, Red & Yellow school of branding, Cape Town. Strong content will gain social capital and be shared by consumers. Paul Scanlon, MD, Pernod Ricard SA, highlights the trend towards “brands with providence” - brands that have a compelling story to tell, in collaboration with their consumers, as part of that organic content.

And again, content is referenced by Keri-Ann Stanton, head, Joe Public Engage: “Great content across the correct platforms that shows that brands and corporates themselves have realised and acknowledged that their consumers and influencers and stakeholders live in more than one place, and need more than one message.”

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“Truth, purity and organic content” Diane Charton MD of Red & Yellow

Cecile Missildine, EMEA regional director, Text 100, wants public relations agencies and ad agencies to work closer together to get the owned, earned and paid content model working as it should with fully integrated communications. In fact, Bridget von Holdt, MD, Glasshouse Communication Management, advises PR agencies to really focus on creating compelling content as the media industry shrinks in South Africa and the rest of the world. This includes visual content. “The rise of the so-called second screen phenomenon, in which users log onto the internet on their tablet or smartphone while watching TV, is creating a new mind-set where consumers and business will grow more willing to interact with brands through social channels in the coming year.”

IT’S BACK TO THE COALFACE - WE NEED TO SELL PRODUCT Jacques du Preez MD of Provantage Media Group

Truly innovative and uniquely African concepts and ideas will place your organisation in the driver’s seat

Majority of media buying will switch to programmatic buying

Dawn Rowlands CEO Dentsu Aegis Network SSA Read on Biz

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We need braver clients and braver agencies

More consumer groups will start bartering with their data”

Chris Hitchings Chief Executive Officer at DStv Media Sales

Craig Page-Lee MD of Posterscope SA Read on Biz

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Vincent Maher Chief Innovation Officer at Kagiso Media

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2015 could be the tipping point for the African digital revolution” Ravi Bhaya MD of The Starcom MediaVest Group

PROGRAMMATIC BUYING HAS PROVEN THAT IT’S NOT A FAD Paula Raubenheimer MD of SouthernX

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More channels and less reach for media buyers

THERE WILL BE NOTHING THAT CAN’T LINK INTO THE ONE SCREEN

John Bowles Joint MD of the Newspaper Advertising Bureau

Omar Essack Group deputy CEO of Kagiso Media

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MEDIA TRENDS SPONSORED BY

YOUR

CONSUMERS ARE

SHIFTING

seamlessly BETWEEN SCREENS...

is your brand? The digital revolution has changed the media landscape. As South Africans’ media exposure is becoming increasingly diverse, it is more important than ever to ensure you are using the right touchpoints and creative to engage your target consumers and deliver your brand objectives. Millward Brown’s CrossMedia Research™ helps determine if your marketing investments are working. CrossMedia evaluates the brand-building effectiveness of your campaign by relating consumers’ touchpoint exposure with their attitudes towards your brand and combining this with a measure of creative power to provide a holistic review. All touchpoints are evaluated so you can see how they perform, alone and together, and optimise for future success. If you want to maximise the brand-building return from your media investments, visit www.millwardbrown.com / crossmedia or contact adfanatics@millwardbrown.com

MEDIA TRENDS

Programmatic media buying Programmatic Media Buying is the local trend that will dominate in 2015, although revitalising their businesses for growth is also what most media owners will be focusing on this year.

We’ve heard of big media contracts being cancelled and profits down at media agencies. Of all the interviews we did, the media owners were the most cautious about the operating conditions in 2015 and those that seemed to be in need of a holiday the most over the festive season! They hope for a better trading conditions in 2015, but are not sure they will get it. Media owners like Jacques du Preez, MD of Provantage Media Group, don’t pull their punches when talking about 2014 as one of the toughest years in the business, when brands cancelled contracts and pulled back on spend during the Platinum Miner’s strike, etc, and the recession.

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John Bowles Joint MD of the Newspaper Advertising Bureau

Media owners are mostly in agreement that 2014 was a shocking year as brands cut spend due to the economic downturn, rising costs due to rising fuel prices, a slowdown in consumer spend and national events like the miner’s strike which hit satellite towns hard.

It is programmatic media buying that will continue to evolve and we see more private ad exchanges playing a role in the market

MEDIA TRENDS

Paula Raubenheimer MD of SouthernX

“tHe market is Poised to see a growth of spend in this area at A steeper Curve in 2015”

His major trend for 2015 is the fact that the investment by the international agency networks in media and agencies in South Africa, is creating an international playing field overnight and tight competition. It is programmatic media buying that will continue to evolve and we see more private ad exchanges playing a role in the market, says John Bowles, co-MD, NAB. Paula Raubenheimer, MD, SouthernX, explains further: “Programmatic buying has been a learning curve for South Africa in 2014. While there are no meaningful statistics available on the quantity of revenue flowing through real time bidding (RTB) platforms in SA, based on discussion with buyers in the industry, there has already been huge growth in programmatic buying in 2014, but that is off a very low base in 2012 and 2013. With the global trend, as always, dictating South Africa’s way forward, the market is poised to see a growth of spend in this area at a steeper curve in 2015.” While brands are still allocating small budgets to this, many major media buyers are adding programmatic buying to the marketing mix and including it in their strategies, she says.

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MEDIA TRENDS

The Media Shop had a list for marketers on what not to do with programmatic media buying, by digital strategist, Dylan Roberts:

“Though programmatic buying has exploded with expected growth numbers in the billions, too many marketers are at risk of falling short when it comes to implementing and using these tools. There’s no denying the power of programmatic - but it isn’t a magic formula that will instantly solve all your issues.” This is his advice: 1. Have a documented strategy: Be sure your strategy is in line with the company’s overall goals and with the tactics and activities you’re going to be using. Programmatic media buying tools are a means to execute the strategy - not the strategy itself. 2. It is not a glorified email marketing tool: Email marketing can be incredibly effective, but programmatic media buying tools like Cadreon, for example, also do SEO, lead scoring, landing page tracking and metrics and reporting. 3. Include other teams: Setting up an effective lead nurture campaign can’t be done in a silo. You must talk to your counterparts in sales, content marketing and even customer relations. Getting better insight into your audience, leads and customers is essential for crafting campaigns that will ultimately convert visitors into customers. 4. Selling instead of nurturing: Stop selling, and start nurturing... Lead nurturing is one of the most powerful aspects of any programmatic tool and is designed to help move people along the sales journey to purchase. An effective programmatic tool will allow you to identify who needs to be nurtured versus those that may be ready for a more direct approach. MEDIA TRENDS SPONSORED BY MILLWARD BROWN

5. Not producing enough targeted content (creative): Getting demand generation teams and content teams to work together is a key element of programmatic success. Too often, content teams live in isolation, without much interaction with their demand generation counterparts. 6. Tracking the wrong metrics: It’s easy to get stuck in analysis paralysis. At each stage of the funnel, identify the key metrics that matter. Initially, it might be email opens and click-through rates, but as people move deeper into your sales funnel, customer conversion is all that matters. 7. Running on autopilot: Despite the name, programmatic doesn’t mean you can go on autopilot. A good demand-generation strategy will focus on continually optimising everything from email marketing workflows to lead scoring and even landing page layouts. A good demand-generation marketer will also dig deeper into the database and uncover leads that need to be re-engaged or leads that should be passed along to the sales team.

THE KIDS PLAY IN DARK MARKETING SPACES

Mike Sharman Retroviral Digital Communications

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The importance of social listening in 2015â&#x20AC;? Heidi Myers marketing and communications at Meltwater Read on Biz

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Feeling lost amongst the buzz? Find the information you need to make informed decisions for your PR campaigns. Increase your social media presence.

Hashtag social activism “Mediums like Twitter give people the platform to amplify their concerns, demand authentic storytelling and create dialogue.” Social activism is a massive social media trend and doesn’t just pertain to global events as we saw in early January 2015, but can also target brands. And the influence and reach of social media and those who know how to use it correctly, will only increase, particularly as another 2015 trend grows: that of mobile social media marketing as more people access social media from mobile devices.

#JeSuis Charlie

S OCIAL MEDIA TRENDS

According to Statista there are already about 1.79 billion users in social media in 2014. And it is projected to reach about 2.44 billion by 2018. Social media is becoming the most effective platform to get your message out, across the globe. The question of whether social media is being used and measured correctly in order to derive maximum benefit from it, is another question. There is no doubt that social activism is on the rise because of the popularity and global reach of social media. So-called “Hashtag Activism” has gained popularity worldwide. 2014 will be remembered for the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, among others, and 2015 is already trending with #JeSuisCharlie, referring to protests over the Paris attacks on a satirical newspaper. SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS SPONSORED BY MELT WATER

revolution

S OCIAL MEDIA TRENDS

Social media is an opportunity to spread the word about various causes at a faster rate, to a bigger number of people, than through traditional methods, reports the HuffingtonPost.com, which describes social media as one of the most powerful forms of activism. The reasons are simple: social media allows more people to be reached, and around the world. There are no boundaries, no borders, no perceived freedom of speech issues, no overt censorship, no bias. Everyone gets a say, good or bad. And when an issue moves people - like any other great content that engages them emotionally - they share it. Again. And again. Until it trends around the world. “Social media gives people the power to call out injustices, inaccuracies and misrepresentations and brings about better understanding of other cultures and people. Mediums like Twitter give people the platform to amplify their concerns, demand authentic storytelling and create dialogue that may eventually dispel stereotypes,” reports the HuffingtonPost. Social investment For brands and services, it takes investment in specialists and software to ensure their brand message gets across in the manner they want it to, to achieve a return on investment (ROI). Socialmediatoday.com’s top trends for 2015 are: • Social media will be designed more for mobile devices. • Images will be used in a more extensive manner. • Short videos will be more in use. • Companies will look to go for viral marketing.

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S OCIAL MEDIA TRENDS

• Real-time marketing will rise significantly. • Instagram and LinkedIn will be the most popular platforms. • Creativity will be the need of the hour - content needs to be visual and creative. Visual content will in particular have a major impact for marketers and video marketing in 2015 will be big. “The use of visual content on social media is not going to be limited to images only. Companies are likely to create short but informative videos on their products and services. And this is going to be one of the best ways to connect with the target audience within the shortest possible time. Interactive videos are also expected to rule the roost in 2015. Sites like Instagram, which offer excellent video marketing opportunities, are likely to become more and more popular during the year,” reports SocialMediatoday.com. Innovation Social media growth is also being fuelled by innovation: • Mobile payments: Facebook has built a hidden (for now) payment feature inside its Messenger app, which will allow people to send money to each other using debit card info, free of charge, reports Time magazine. Mobile payments are a huge global trend. • Social shopping: Both Twitter and Facebook began testing ‘buy’ buttons to allow users to purchase from brands online. (Time) • Investment: More money will flow into social networks as social media companies become more than just networks, to fully fledged digital platforms, reports Techrepublic.com.

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Visual contEnt will In particulAr have a major imPact for Marketers anD vidEo marketing in 2015 will be big.

Heidi Myers heads up marketing and communications for Meltwater across Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

S OCIAL MEDIA TRENDS

“If a tweet falls in a Forest and no one is Around to share it, does it make a Sound? The short answer is: Nope”

• Smart social: The explosion of smart devices collecting data and pushing it wirelessly to various apps, including social networks. The smart marketing of that data and harnessing it is another chapter yet to unfold. (Time) • Converged media: Social media will integrate into live events, including television. Tweeting while watching shows, television, live events, etc., can push them to the top of ratings (Techrepublic). • Content marketing: “In 2015, marketers will finally realise that there are two core pillars of a content marketing strategy: publication and distribution. Marketers will learn that social media is the most effective method of expanding the reach and visibility of their content, and because of this, will come to view social media as more of an ‘amplifier’ for their published content rather than as the content itself,” reports Forbes magazine. What is always very interesting is that internationally, much of the research done into social media comes from public relations companies - quite the opposite in South Africa, where the PR companies are largely being sidelined by the digital agencies as regards championing social media, both in research, solutions and implementation. Measurement is a huge trend this year. Heidi Myers, Meltwater’s head of marketing and communications across Central Europe, Africa and the Middle East, poses this question: “If a tweet falls in a forest and no one is around to share it, does it make a sound? The short answer is: nope”.

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S OCIAL MEDIA TRENDS

Top tip: don’t be the guy with the megaphone. If your content isn’t shared socially, it simply isn’t social marketing. It’s long-format advertising. As social media marketers, driving word of mouth (going viral) is our primary goal. “We want people clicking on our content to share it. Once they share it, that’s viral word of mouth - and that’s what we’re after. Top tip: don’t be the guy with the megaphone. We as marketers decided on a static target message, and we broadcasted it to a target audience. This is fine for traditional advertising and some PR initiatives: basically, if you want to control the message and that’s more important than having it shared, this broadcast model works,” Myers says. However, the traditional monologue marketing model doesn’t work for social media, she says. “You can’t just broadcast a message at an audience and hope it resonates, because we’re trying to start a conversation. Social media is a dialogue marketing model.”

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No one will see the next big thing coming” Sid Peimer Freelance Strategist resident at www.stratplanning.com Read on Biz

Successful brand activities need to be based on powerful, authentic consumer insights

SOCIAL MEDIA HAS PRODUCED A MORE ELUSIVE CONSUMER WITH SHORTTERM THINKING

Johanna McDowell CEO of the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company

Alayne Reesberg CEO of Cape Town Design, NPC

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Africa’s consumer facing industries are expected to grow by more than $400 billion by 2020

Adene van der Walt Executive Strategy Director of agency Ireland Davenport Read on Biz

DESIGN NEEDS TO BE HUMAN USERFOCUSED INSTEAD OF POLICYFOCUSED

David Smythe Strategy Director of FCB Cape Town Read on Biz

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There’s no such thing as “the African consumer”.

Unconventional Wisdom ® www.ywood.co.za

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Branding story One of the biggest shifts in marketing communications recently has been the shift towards telling the authentic stories of brands and their consumers. Brand storytelling is a result of a shift in consumer behaviour, driven by the transparency of a socially connected world. Changing consumer behaviour and improved data analytics is dictating strategic brand change, while at the same time, marketing fundamentals such as using authentic consumer insights to build brand resonance through storytelling, must be embraced by marketers in 2015, top brand and marketing strategists urge in exclusive opinion for Biz Trends 2015. In the insightful 2015 macro-trends report by FCB, published first by Bizcommunity.com, strategy director, David Smythe, is optimistic that despite an economic downturn in South Africa, opportunities exist for brands on the continent of Africa; and for those brands that are open to the rapid change in the market which includes transparency, authenticity and consumer engagement - primarily through brand storytelling. “The best brands will not be those with fictional or made up stories, but those that will give an accurate, real time picture of what they are doing for consumers, at any given time,” says Johanna McDowell, founder and managing director of Independent Agency Selection (IAS). Transparency has become the most important tool in marketing today.

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“Opportunities exiSt for Brands on the continent oF Africa”

“The best brands will not be those with fictional or made up stories”

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“brands need to deliver products that are up to date and innovative whilst remaining true to their brand’s core values”

“live a mOre SustainaBle liFe” STRATEGY TRENDS SPONSORED BY YELLOWWOOD

In her key trends piece, McDowell provides a smorgasbord of top trends for the industry, including a new role for media agencies in the data race and the need for “agility marketing” from marketers to manage that stream of data. She urges marketers to engage in “silobusting” and to simplify their internal structures in order to become those agile deities who know every move of their consumers before their consumers know it themselves! The key takeout for 2015 for expert contributor, Adene van der Walt, executive strategy director of agency Ireland Davenport, is that brands need to deliver products that are up to date and innovative whilst remaining true to their brand’s core values. Transparency, authentic consumer insights and emotional connections through campaigns, both earned and paid-for, will drive brand resonance and value, in consumer’s minds, she says. It is this emotional connection with consumers and a movement back to the origin of things: craft skills; brands with a back story; authentic products; real food with ethically sourced ingredients and packaging, that is driving the artisan trend of the Maker Movement. It is these inventors and creators who are creating a new economy around the ‘Maker Culture’, predicts Alayne Reesberg, CEO of the World Design Capital 2014: Cape Town. This deep need, particularly among the Millennial generation, is to “live a more sustainable life” with purpose. Brands that tap into this zeitgeist have a future.

S TR ATEGY TRENDS

Not to be missed in the Strategy trend category is one of Bizcommunity’s most popular columnists for over a decade, strategy guru, Sid Peimer, who tells the industry to relax because “no one will see the next big thing coming”. Even the current big things, like Facebook and Twitter, started as something else before evolving into what they are today. That’s the thing about the speed of change and evolution of current business thinking and strategy - the only thing that will save you is your strategic thinking ability.

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“Help consuMers mAke better choiceS”

Yegs Ramiah, responsible for group brand, corporate affairs, marketing and communications at Sanlam, says brands need to help consumers make better choices by focusing on the real issues consumers face, ahead of the bottomline and marketing plans. Coming from a financial institution, this is a distinct shift in thinking.

“no onE will see the Next big thing coming”

SA youth lifestyle and culture Bradley Maseko Founder and Youth Marketing Strategist at BrandedYouth Read on Biz

Keep an eye on Generation Z Read on Biz

YOUTH TRENDS SPONSORED BY

www.brandedyouth.co.za

WE FACILITATE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BRANDS & THE YOUTH MARKET. RESEARCH • ACTIVATIONS • BRAND STRATEGY • CONFERENCES • WORKSHOPS • EXPOS www.brandedyouth.co.za

YOUTH TRENDS

The millennial effect Cynicism and skepticism by the millennial generation towards brands’ marketing efforts can be explained by the constant feeling of financial insecurity that has become their way of life over the past few years. However, the majority of millennials believe that brands have the potential to be a force for good. FCB reports in its 20 trends for 2015, ‘The Road Ahead - Macro Trends Shaping 2015 & Beyond’, that millennials are increasingly becoming difficult to convince, pushing back against brand marketing. The impact on brands, is as follows: 1. Adaptability. The ability to adapt to economic uncertainty is their life skill. So brands should show empathy for their circumstances. 2. Creativity: They expect brands to be brave, succeed, don’t settle and give back. 3. Collaboration: They thrive on collaboration and brands are expected to give to them fully and authentically.

YOUTH TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRANDED YOUTH

“Millennials look to rework - not reject the rules and status quo in order to put their mark on the world”

YOUTH TRENDS

“Millennials look to rework - not reject - the rules and status quo in order to put their mark on the world”

FCB quotes from a global research study, ‘Debunking the Millennial Myth’, which was conducted by London-based creative agency, Initiative, among 10,000 respondents (25-34 years old) from 19 different markets, released in September 2014. Many have been hit hard by the recession in recent years and modern millennials are delaying the customary rites of adulthood, such as marriage and children. The study found that: • 72% suffered significant personal setbacks in the recession • 36% have had their income reduced • 65% are employed full-time • 28% have experienced job loss • 69% have already significantly changed their career path or are planning to do so • 47% are happy with their current job • 59% worry about not having enough money to retire • 32% are single • 59% don’t have children • 35% are still living at home with their parents • 52% don’t have enough money to cover their everyday living costs IPG Media Lab says, “Millennials look to rework - not reject - the rules and status quo in order to put their mark on the world”. Giving them the power to co-create with brands and products, in their own way, builds ongoing trusting relationships. Millennials have surpassed simply wanting to help in supporting causes and are starting to demand that others, especially companies, do their part. Millennials are prepared

YOUTH TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRANDED YOUTH

YOUTH TRENDS

to reward socially responsible companies; they are more likely to trust these companies and buy or recommend their products to others. According to the ‘Cone Millennial Cause’ study, after learning that a company is socially and/or environmentally responsible: • 83% are likely to trust the company more • 79% are likely to purchase that company’s products • 74% are more likely to pay attention to that company’s message A study by Pinta warned against stereotyping millennials. As Fast Company reported, they are “multifaceted, savvy super-consumers, who happen to be the most educated generation in history”. In fact this generation understand the conversion game and have access to more information than any other generation too. “Our on-demand, segmented media landscape makes it easy for prospects to tune you in or tune you out altogether,” Fast Company added. The report states that brands do not win over the millennials with broad strategies, they will win by “micro-targeting sub-segments” of the millennial audience.

YOUTH TRENDS SPONSORED BY BRANDED YOUTH

“multifaceted, savvy super-consumers, who happen to be the most educated generation in history”.

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Search: Trends 2015 Twitter: #biztrends2015 Mobile App: Click here to download app or search the app store on your phone for "Bizcommunity" Contributors: View all contributors Newsletter: View special Biz Trends 2015 newsletter Resource PDF downloads: PWC: Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2014 – 2018 Ericsson: 10 Hot Consumer Trends 2015 JWT: The Future 100: Trends and Change to Watch in 2015 FCB: Macro Trends Shaping 2015 & Beyond Sparks & honey: Meet Generation Z

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