By Miguel Correia, marketing manager of established brand activation, entertainment and event company, the Zinto Marketing Group  

Brand activation is the physical manifestation of storytelling that combines personal interaction with visual narrative. Once the context, format and setting is determined focus on the mechanics of bringing the brand to ‘life’ and encouraging the target market to engage and interact with the product or service. To make a meaningful impact, drive affinity and inspire consumers to act, one should consider the following: Why would the audience pay attention to the campaign? Why should they engage? What factors should be considered?  

Truly understanding the market and its challenges will give insight into consumer preferences, how and where to communicate with different audiences, thereby enhancing on-shelf presence, brand recall and market share.    

Location: Find a space you can ‘own’

Experiential events are not as straightforward as placing imagery in a demarcated area and expecting consumers to connect with a brand because it exists in that space. The location must be easily accessible, visible and have a presence where there is a high level of traffic or footfall.  

The physical space will also determine the scope of the project: an in-store campaign will limit activities to a promotion where brand ambassadors provide product information while handing out samples to passers-by to encourage trial and consumption.   

On the other hand, an outdoor platform presents an occasion to create hype about the brand and its offerings. Rather than ‘pushing out’ content about the features of a product or service, the activation area can be used to ‘pull audiences’ and immerse themselves in a truly captivating experience.  

Target Market: The brand should be relevant and reflective of the values of the audience

Different market segments are made of a population profile that includes race, age, gender and income levels etc. However, there are areas of the same geographic spread where the demographics are highly comparable with other target groups.  

The communication should be tailored to resonate with the audience and marketers need to consider language barriers, cultural nuances, different belief systems, ingrained values and entrenched competitor brand loyalty.  

Knowledge: Have a firm grasp and understanding of linking content to real-life, ‘bigger picture’ scenarios

Activation success occurs when a brand is already known to consumers who use or are open to trying a new product or service. But established brands must tackle market perceptions that are outdated and build on existing relationships, reinforcing important messages that drive consumption, increase sales and lead to brand loyalty.  

For brand activation to resonate with customers and achieve results, strategic planning is required to lay down the groundwork, enhance all touch points in the purchasing process and make consumers a central part of the brand journey. Experiential events give shoppers a compelling reason to look at brands in new ways, which motivates them to take desired action – changing their thought processes or buying habits.  

Brand reputation is a business imperative and providing consumers with the right information empowers them to make purchasing decisions that can impact and change their lives. Being transparent is vital to winning brand trust, and openness and honesty outdoes baseless or misleading communication. Companies need to accept that they can’t ‘win over’ consumers by making false claims that will compromise the brand’s integrity.  

For more information about implementing successful brand activations, visit www.zinto.co.za  

The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of Pretoria (‘Tuks’) recently invited the Zinto Marketing Group (Zinto) as guest speaker to address young marketing enthusiasts studying Honours in BCom Marketing Management.

Part of the curriculum requires learners to organise an event and create awareness to raise funds for a non-profit organisation.  As experts in the field of brand activation, entertainment and events, Zinto was requested to provide the students with the necessary background information needed to run a successful campaign.

The module included a general overview and introduction to events management as well as highlighting the challenges and providing possible solutions to overcome obstacles in the event space and improve marketing efforts.   

Dr Liezl-Marié Kruger, Senior Lecturer: Department of Marketing Management commented, “Zinto’s experience in events management greatly benefited the students in their endeavours to organise and complete their non-profit event(s).”  

Zinto selected account executive and project manager, Jolanda Payne (26), to attend the course-related event organised by the university. She has worked at the brand agency for the last eight years and is passionate about event management and seeing her ideas come to fruition.    

Jolanda relished the interaction with the students, “You feel that you are doing something good to unlock the potential in people. It is about drawing on experience and I would really encourage people to take up the opportunity because it is good to give back and share the knowledge that we have acquired.”  

Earlier this year, Zinto launched Zenzele Educational Doorway, a brand ambassador training academy and incubation centre for future client service professionals. The three-month pilot project aims to provide informal training programmes to produce proficient brand activators and storytellers using visual narrative in the marketing and events industry.  

For more information visit www.zinto.co.za   

The No Nonsense Group, a direct and digital marketing agency, announced that their media division has launched a new and exciting product, Digital Street Pole™ Ads! After being in the marketing industry for 20 years, TNNG has continued to grow with the ever-changing digital marketing environment. Digital Street Pole™ Advertising is testimony to this, using the latest technology available in digital advertising networks, to deploy location based advertisements to targeted audiences.

The Founder and CEO of TNNG had this to say, “The launch of Digital Street Pole™ Advertising is a very exciting time for TNNG! We are so proud of this new product and looking forward to seeing where it will take us and our clients. I recommend this product to any company or marketer wanting to reach a larger audience and ROI.”

Digital Street Pole™ Advertising has the following benefits:

• Guaranteed ROI
• Lower cost per click (CPC)
• Larger audience reach
• Select specific audience
• Unlimited ads

TNNG Media is a division of The No Nonsense Group based in Durban, South Africa, having worked with clients such as uShaka Marine World, Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Zimbali, Keter, Island Style, Food Lovers’ Market, Windovert and many more.

Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more.

By Miguel Correia, marketing manager of established brand activation, entertainment and event company, the Zinto Marketing Group  

South Africa has an extensive public transport system that carries hundreds of thousands of commuters from their residences in ‘eKasi’ (townships) to economic hubs in major cities.

According to the latest statistics published by Arrive Alive, the taxi service industry occupies 65% of the public transport system. A R40-billion a year industry, there are 250 000 minibuses on South Africa’s roads carrying up to 15 million people per day. By comparison, taxi transportation is the most widespread among local commuters relative to the remainder of the sector which is 20% by bus and 15% by rail, which is indicative of the income earning potential of the main market due to high transport costs.  After all, the masses spend a large portion of their remuneration on daily transport.

Passengers travel some distance traversing main arterial routes over lengthy periods of time to reach their destinations and regularly they will transfer from one location to the next via several modes of transport.

Because people are investing more time travelling and waiting at taxi ranks, bus stops and train stations, this opens up new communication channels, marketing opportunities and transaction windows for brands. A captive audience, these consumers in transition are constantly are looking for ways to reduce waiting times and eliminate boredom. 

Since the main market is driven by experiences and entertainment, these transfer points present an ideal opportunity for experiential marketing to take the stage and to capture the consumers’ direct attention for a longer duration of time than traditional forms of advertising.

This trend offers real value for marketers wanting to reach mass markets and numerous touch points at high traffic intersections simultaneously. Since consumers are more open to being approached in these situations they will embrace a new experience that is engaging whilst waiting for their transport to arrive.

Whether brands are providing product samples, leisure activities or resting places with products/ services that can be consumed/ used while they wait, it allows a wide umbrella of companies to use these areas to communicate messages to a receptive audience and capture the hearts and minds of consumers.

We see an example of this interactive experience in practice on Bree Street in Johannesburg where a well-known coffee brand has placed brand promoters at a bustling node. While waiting in line for their transport to arrive on a cold winter morning, commuters are offered a hot cup of java, handed product samples for trial and consumption as well as promotional leaflets which can be read in-transit.

At the same time, key brand messaging is communicated by way of brand activators through live entertainment platforms. As a result, consumers are given the chance to truly immerse themselves in the brand.

The influence of the senses – sight, sound, scent, taste and touch, on the customer experience is collectively activated in a single interaction and largely impact buyers’ perceptions, judgement and behaviour towards a product or service. This helps consumers to make informed purchasing decisions and is a powerful tool in winning brand loyalty.

Stimuli received from the brand activation environment trigger consumers’ senses and leave a lasting and memorable impression (in this case – respite from the harsh cold), which can break through a plethora of marketing clutter.

These brand encounters also create useful spaces to position a brand positively across the major touch points where consumers can get involved, exchange relevant information and broaden their understanding of the product or service offerings and its benefits.

Experiential marketing activities generate awareness, engage consumers, build brand goodwill, elicit a direct response, and enable potential buyers to absorb content and information in real time.

To further enhance the user journey advertisers can utilise in-transit television commercials or radio inserts to promote the product or service and encourage users to download a brand app or visit digital platforms.

For more information about main market activations visit www.zinto.co.za

The Zinto Marketing Group (Zinto) together with the Sandton SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) will embark on an edutainment roadshow from the 4th to 7th July 2016. Taking place at the animal rescue centre in Marlboro, it will introduce children from Alexandra Township to its educational initiative.  

As part of its holiday programme, the SPCA aims to promote responsible pet ownership among children from lesser-resourced communities who share a special bond with their pets as well as teaching them the importance of sterilisation, health, hygiene, nutrition and the ethical treatment of animals.  

The campaign intends to communicate key messages about preventing neglect and mistreatment of our four-legged friends and promoting better animal care and welfare in the community at large. 

Zinto’s edutainment format cleverly incorporates pop culture and the brand character ‘Ken’ who imparts educational messages through a format that minors can understand. The visual nature transcends communication and language barriers, enabling adolescents to learn while enjoying the experience.

Through positive exposure to the animals, the interactive show enables youngsters to become familiar with cats and dogs and reassures them that they are loyal and devoted companions.

Focus sessions and discussion groups teach the kids about the positive work the SPCA is doing and the knock-on effect it has on the well-being of the community. The centre cares for up to 300 stray, abandoned, rescued and unwanted canines and felines.

The purpose is to build support from a young age by encouraging the urban youth market to adopt, donate or become a volunteer at the shelter.

The infotainment platform also emphasises the need for ongoing health and safety checks and encourages children to continue to contribute to humane treatment of all living creatures.  

For more information visit www.zinto.co.za or contact 011 553 1000

Event organiser Kinetic has confirmed that industry-giant Performanta has signed on as platinum sponsors for this year’s anticipated 6th edition of their successful flagship event; the IT Leaders Africa Summit.

The event, taking place from 18 - 19 March 2015 at The Maslow Hotel in Johannesburg, is set to go beyond your usual routine business conference, evolving to deliver on a more exciting, topical, trendy and current platform, utilising both the latest technologies coupled with the latest in conference trends internationally.

Together with Performanta, the event aims to deliver an expert-lead agenda that features an educational conference program backed by the latest in technology workshops and demonstrations. 

Performanta’s workshop; Safeguard your organisation now, your wallet will thank you later; focuses on measuring your organisation against the industry on 10 information security and privacy measures, derived from real-world assessments.

Performanta Consulting was established by Anthony Olivier 4 years ago, aligning information security consulting services to the Performanta Technology & Services stable. Performanta Consulting has provided services to primary South African banks, insurance companies, brokers, mining companies, service and retail organisations. Their key differentiator: senior, qualified, experienced consultants, integrated frameworks and fair pricing. Furthermore, the team has assisted in addressing security problems in seventeen African countries and has a thorough understanding of the continental landscape.

As thought-leaders in the industry, they are amongst the most active South African participants in industry conferences, blogs and podcasts.An expert-led advisory panel will lead the summit with industry giants Robert Sussman, co-founder and joint-CEO of Integr8; Hugo Timmerman, Head of IT Southern Africa at British American Tobacco; and Tunde Coker, MD of Rack Centre (A Jagal Group Company).

The event also features over 35 speakers, keynotes, panel discussions and numerous educational workshop sessions hosted by key industry providers, all sessions led by some of today’s most notable individuals who are shaping the IT landscape in South Africa and beyond.

Speakers, just to name a few, include; David Visser, CIO of Coca-Cola Southern Africa; Anthony Hlungwane, Group IT Director of Mr Price Group; Sal Laher, CIO Eskom; Rocky Gwewera, Global Head of Infrastructure Architecture at Sasol; Stephan Ekbergh, CEO and founder of Travelstart; and Sunil Joshi, MD and CEO of Neotel.

Some sponsors and partners include; Telkom Business, HP, Performanta and Blue Coat Systems, SITA, Airwatch, Kofax, Dimension Data, Neotel, Meso Systems, Sage Pastel Accounting and ERP Africa, and Blackberry.

For more information on the event to register to attend or to sponsor, visit www.itleaders.co.za or contact the event organisers Kinetic on +27 21 180 4700.Follow the event and stay up to date on Twitter. @ITLeadersAfrica and join in on the conversation using #ITLAfrica.

SEO & Online marketing solutions for small businesses On the 22nd of February, SERP SEO Solutions launched it's host of out-of-the-box marketing solutions via it's innovative online store.

Along with the launch they are running a competition giving away web design vouchers valued at R1000. SERP is a provider of Marketing Services for website developers. They offer a powerful range services aimed at providing website owners with access to tools & services used to help improve a websites local search visibility. To celebrate their launch they are giving away vouchers to be used at their site. Some of their many services include- Article writing, Web Design, Monthly SEO Packages and more.

Visit their web-page at www.serp.co.za/competition and read the competition guidelines to stand a chance to win a R1000 voucher which can be used for any of their services. Competition closes on the 18th of March 2015.

Contact Information:

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www.serp.co.za/contact-us

By Antoinette Pombo

Millennials are commonly defined as those born between 1981 and 1996. That currently puts them at between 19 and 34 years of age.

The youngest of this generation will be in the throes of finding their own feet in the big wide world of employment or tertiary education…

Whilst many of their older counterparts will be settling down with their partners – some starting a family. But what does this really mean for South African marketers and brand managers?

Individuality, independence and career growth are extremely important to this generation at this stage of their lives. And their unique spending habits seem to be shaking things up fast.

The most significant contributing factors to this shake-up are the sheer size of this population segment as well as the rise of multimedia and networking.

The millennials make up about 26% of the South African population. To put this into perspective, the rest of the entire working population under the official age of retirement only makes up about 28% of the population in South Africa.

And although these percentages aren’t very different from 10 years ago, the actual numbers are significantly different. As marketers and brand managers, we have over one million “new” potential customers we can attract in this segment.

But that’s not all! This new up-and-coming generation has an extremely powerful force behind them: Instant communication and HUGE networking capabilities.

Consequently, as these millennials rise through the echelons of young adulthood, they’re shaping the future of brands, business and the economy – VERY fast!

Here’s your three-point checklist to ensure your brand is in the running to gain from this incredibly powerful generation…

• Take a little extra time to test the market to make sure your marketing touches the right emotional chords, otherwise, it could fall on deaf ears.
• Mellennials will read up on products and services of interest and compare brands much more so than past generations. Is your website packed with USEFUL information they can use to make their purchase decision? Do you target this generation specifically on your site or have you lumped the entire South African population into the same ‘box’? A message directed at a 50 year old is unlikely to be identical to a message targeted at a 20 year old.
• And finally, with the revolutionary expansion of the social networking landscape in recent history, millennials aren’t just connecting with friends online. They’re also connecting with thought leaders, idols, experts and other figures they’re interested in. Do you have a presence in this space? Here’s how to do that: You’re an expert on something if you provide a service or sell a product. So find a way to share your expert knowledge and advice with those who need it most – young potential customers. If you’re not the expert, find one! Hire idols or brand ambassadors the millennials aspire to in order to bring your product or service alive for this generation. Encourage this young generation to talk about your product/service and related topics. If you can get them personally involved in your brand, they’re more likely to engage with it. Of course, they’ll either love it or hate it so be sure you’ve worked out all the other bits, like your value proposition, customer service, return policies etc. There you have the most important reasons to sit up and pay attention to millennials.

If you don’t have a dedicated marketing strategy for this segment, you’re missing out. And worse, your brand’s future is at stake.If you need assistance getting to know this segment well and niching your marketing to this sector, speak to Youth Dynamix, Africa’s leading youth authority.

Website: www.ydx.co.za

Broadband will be the deciding factor as soon as Broadband becomes faster the Internet will change overnight. The Internet is destined to become a fully audio visual medium like TV but better as people will be able to interact live with each other. The future of the Internet will be a video platform.

People don’t want to have to read as much as they currently do whilst browsing. Our weakness as humans is that we expect information without having to work for it, reading is more work than just watching a video so we prefer to do that. Already youtube.com is the second largest search engine after Google for South African audiences and they are not watching YouTube they are watching a video.

If you want to fix a leaking pipe without calling a plumber then watch a video how to do it. If you want to cook a delicious meal and are looking for a particular recipe then watch a video, if you’re looking for health advice watch a video, if you want to see the latest fashion trends then you can watch a video, if you want to know how to extract DMT from Mimosa Hostilis and use it to awaken your pineal gland watch a video.

The benefits to your business If you have a business and provide a service to clients let them watch a video of what you have to offer, the same with a product show your customers how to use your product. With video on the web you can create a better relationship and more trust for visitors to do business with you from your website.

The winners will be the ones that have recognised that people would like to be “spoon fed” information rather than have to work for it by reading text. Today on YouTube there is tons of this content already, people are able to search on any topic they like and can find out more information. People make their own video about plumbing and cooking etc. No matter how good or bad the video quality is people want information and they don’t want to have to read much to be able to get it.

Do these videos have your brand on them? No they don’t. Brands in South Africa today need to wake up and produce their own content, not for YouTube alone but for all social media and more importantly for their websites. Even now before the year 2020 bandwidth has becomes faster video is growing and is starting to overtake everything you see on the web. The TV stations are already gearing up for this as well as other major media players in the South African industry.

You only have to look at DSTV, SABC and NETFLIX to see how growth in this sector has already caught on here. The massive investment in live streaming is overwhelming and new technology is created every day. Corporations are all working on video solutions it is happening all around us with new technology and new hardware being announced almost daily. Video Production for the Web. Video for the web is more like a TV news or Reality news it is more unrehearsed and instantly produced, unlike your company developing a TV commercial which has a really high degree of production values which also comes with a high budget requirement. This will affect how we communicate with each other. Cost of live streaming and video production has drastically reduced due to lower cost of entry. Companies can purchase very good quality High Definition cameras. You no longer need to bring in expensive film crews and with HTML5 video technology as well as software devices like SKYPE which exists today but other software which will be faster and better. SKYPE and Google Hangouts will not be the only Apps. to be able to run visual communications’ it will become normal on every website and web platform. With new hardware solutions you will be able to see and talk to your customer directly from your website. Or at the very least, due to privacy issues, your website visitor will be able to see and talk to you.

Imagine being able to have a one on one live video chat with a customer instead of the usual written word chat. How we will market ourselves in the year 2020 is happening now in South Africa are you ready for this? People want VIDEO they do not want to have to read tons of words, the winners in the future will be the websites that take this into account. Sure the written word will always be important but the web is going to be a video platform and nobody can stop it or even want to stop it.

Search engine optimisation in the year 2020 Visual rankings Search engines will read the video content and your site will rank accordingly. Content on the web will be in the main, how to fix a leaking pipe, how to cook the best roast duck, how to approach your bank manager, how to, how to… Reading and ranking your content Even today YouTube has significant ability to read the content of any video you upload.

Music sound tracks have a digital signature which can be read for copyright reasons however YouTube can even read background music played at a wedding reception by the DJ with the main soundtrack of people talking and generally enjoying themselves in the foreground. There is no digital signature on this “noise” however YouTube can read the music. I know because I have uploaded such a video and YouTube pointed out that I was using the exact songs in my video, how do they do that? Profanity is also recognised by YouTube. So in the future, as YouTube is owned by Google, they will rank you according to your content but this will include your Video content as well. Homeland Security in the USA uses this technology where “chatter” is monitored across the globe.

It’s not people listening for this chatter it is computers that have been programmed to monitor in various languages certain keywords or key phrases and once alerted an operator will take over and examine it. Same as you will be doing on Google by 2020 you will search for keywords and they will produce a list of “chatter” from videos in your keyword search results. YouTube Viral Video An example of the Power of video.

Here is a link to YouTube for the, Dover Police DashCam Confessional (Shake it Off), although your videos don’t have to go viral this guy has had nearly 27 million views in just 1 week, and it cost nothing to produce? Whilst these kinds of videos are exceptional it just goes to show how much interest and how large an audience and opportunity is out there for your own marketing.
Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XFBUM8dMqw

Website: www.epnet.co.za

Econorisk is fast becoming one of South Africa’s leading independent short term insurance brokerages, with a national footprint and a passion for personal service and individual advice being key to its success. One of the people behind the business is none other than former South African bowler, Brett Schultz.  

Brett, your cricket career was brought to an abrupt end through injury. Describe the transition from sport to business?  

“I became involved in the financial services industry while playing cricket, as I wanted to diversify my interests as well as have something to fall back on after my playing days were over. This proved to be the right decision and the exposure was good business grounding for me. I quickly learnt that a successful business is all about excellence in service delivery through the right product and relevant pricing. When my cricket career was over, I returned to the financial services industry, joining Econorisk in 2003.”  

The business is going from strength to strength. To what do you attribute Econorisk’s success?  

“You need to be passionate about what you do, as it is infectious and it affects the people around you. Whether it’s your team mates, colleagues or clients, your attitude has an enormous impact on the overall outcome. In cricket, we expect to be judged on the results we deliver; the same goes for business. At Econorisk we understand that having a passion for producing results is essential.   We’re committed to delivering an all-round service, getting to know our clients and their individual short-term insurance needs, and being in the best position to provide them with the right solutions to alleviate risk.”  

Econorisk believes in doing business the traditional way with relationships and personal service…  

“Rob Sylvester founded the business together with Econometrix in 2001 with a mission to provide what clients wanted, but were not getting – a professional, personal service. It is this philosophy that drives our business. We believe in conducting business the traditional way, with relationships and personal service at the top of our priority list. By getting to know our clients, we are able to provide informed advice and the most suitable products tailored to their individual needs. This, coupled with our strong industry relationships with almost all Insurers and Underwriting Managers, enables us to deliver a comprehensive service which continually looks after our clients’ ever-changing risk profiles.”  

You have a wealth of experienced specialists at Econorisk, with some recent key appointments and substantial investment in the business. Tell us more about this?  

“Since its inception, the business has grown as a brand with a core staff compliment of insurance specialists. In 2011 Cyan Capital invested into Econorisk which provided the capacity to bring in industry leader Guy Scott as CEO and operations specialist John Rivers-Moore as COO. These key appointments have in turn attracted highly skilled employees to fill critical positions. In addition to moving into a new head office in Rivonia in Johannesburg, Econorisk has also in the past year opened offices in Umhlanga Ridge, Durban and Woodstock, Cape Town. Econorisk now has the platform for extensive growth through both employment and acquisition of the required expertise to be able to become a market leader.”  

You’ve not forgotten your sporting roots. Econorisk is actively involved in supporting a number of charitable organisations, including dressage competitor and Paralympic hopeful, Nicole Sanders….  

“With limited access to training and insufficient funds, Nicole was running out of time to make her dream of competing in the 2016 Paralympic Games come true. The commitment and dedication that Nicole has shown is remarkable, even when all the odds seemed stacked against her. This sort of passion and drive is in keeping with our own ethos, so we set about raising funds for Nicole to help keep her Paralympic dream alive. We are extremely proud of Nicole and her determination.”  

There are many comparisons drawn between business and sport. As a professional sportsman turned businessman, where do you see these similarities?  

“In business, as with sport, it is essential to keep an ear to the ground and an eye on your competitors, assessing their strengths and weaknesses, then working as a team to achieve a better result for your clients and your stakeholders. This, coupled with a passion to be your best, will help keep you ahead of the game.”  

Tel: 0861 ECRISK (327475)

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.econorisk.co.za
Twitter @_econorisk
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