Whether you like it or not they’re talking about your brand. Not only in supermaket aisles and in restaurants but on Facebook and on Twitter; on blogs; on YouTube and in chat rooms.

Brand managers no longer control the message, customers do – finished and klaar.

All of this requires a massive shift in mindset and an implicit understanding that brands need to take on and embrace the inherent risk.
Apart from the brand chatter, social networking also opens new channels of communication and distribution and that’s good for the bottom line.

Join Jeremy Maggs for another power breakfast marketing debate as he’s joined by a panel of leading thinkers on the subject as they explore where social networking intersects with brand development – the new brand frontier.

When you leave you’ll know more than your competitor, increase your brand awareness, make more money, get famous and eventually retire to Barbados – where you can social network for fun.

The panel:
• Mike Stopforth – CEO – Cerebra
• Ingrid Rubin – MD – Virtuosa
• Arthur Goldstuck – CEO – World Wide Worx
• Brent Shahim – MD – Aquaonline
• Toby Shapshack – Editor – Stuff Magazine

Bookings: Contact Megan Larter on megan@thefuture.co.za

If you are unable to attend the morning in person be sure to follow the live updates on Twitter and eMarketing Trends.

On the 6 May 2010, The Journal of Marketing will host another one of their illustrious Breakfast Debates titled “Customer Relationship Management [CRM] – An overused acronym or a Marketer’s Secret Weapon?”

Mention the three letters CRM and marketers generally fall asleep or have a spam attack. But unless you’re engaging one-on-one with your loyal customer base and looking to add to it, you might as well quit and go farming. CRM is a marketer’s most important weapon, but can also be the greatest curse.

The debate will discuss how should existing and potential customers be spoken to; what are the optimum methods of communication; what role is technology playing in the dynamic, and how do you execute and quantify the results of a cost-effective CRM campaign. And, once you’ve done all that stuff, the debate will discuss how it all fit in with bigger issues like sales, distribution and overall brand development.

Hosted by Jeremy Maggs, the debating panel will include:

Fraser Lamb – Group CEO, Y & R Brands SA
Michelle Perrow – Strategic Director, Lesoba Difference
Andrew Ambrogioni – CEO, Action Ambro’s
Prakash Patel – Head of Digital, Draftfcb Johannesburg
Etien van Loggerenberg – Territory Sales Manager – Africa, Maximizer Software Ltd
Bridgette Ward – Sales Manager, AdvanceNet Group

To book: email Marcia Minnaar at marcia@netactive.co.za 

Date: Thursday, 6 May, 2010
Time: 07h00 for 07h30 – 09h00
Venue: L’Incontro Ballroom, The Michelangelo Hotel,
Nelson Mandela Square, West Street, Sandown
Cost: R395 (subscribers to The Journal); R495 for non-subscribers (prices ex. VAT) includes breakfast and parking

The big question today at the Journal’s breakfast debate is whether Sponsorships are consider to be money down a deep hole or the best brand builder ever? On the panel we have:

• Clive Grinaker - Group Executive: New Business, SAIL Group Ltd
• Gavin Cowley – Marketing Director, Addidas SA
• Billy Lascaris – Director, Matchworld (Pty) Ltd a division of Primedia Sport
• Serame Taukobong – Chief Marketing Officer, MTN SA
• Stanley Anderson – Marketing Director, Huyndai Automotive South Africa

In marketing terms sponsorship is probably the biggest word flying around right now as we gear up for … well you know what. Some insights on this topic from the panelists:

Stanley Anderson: For us we believe that you are seen as a best quality brand if you are associated with the World Cup and you must be doing something right. Perceived quality is doing a great job for us in this regard.
We have been lucky as the World Cup has given us huge visibility also with an audience that we don’t always get into contact with. Our website hits have grown extensively in the last couple of months. The website gives the customer an opportunity to interact with our brand at its own leisure.

Billy Lascaris:

• Sponsorship is an emotional platform.  It helps you build that trust.  Essential to integrate consumers into a campaign.
• All brands can use sponsorships regardless of the industry you just have to be clever on how you approach it and leverage it.
• In terms of CSI sponsorships be sure that if you do it you do it properly  otherwise it will come across as insincere and be more harmful.
• Naming rights are important as this forms your platform to develop on but it depends on who your target audience is.  For me naming right are more about visibility and association.

Gavin Cowley: Addidas have been around for a long time but for us it’s about reinventing for us. We are different than the rest of the brands as we are on the field of play. Have a lot of commercial variables to help us measure our return on investment. The benefit is not just for during the event but it’s about positioning your brand during the event for you to successfully take it forward.
Need to approach things in a holistic way, signing is easy but servicing is not. Use all the elements of the marketing mix and part of that is social responsibility to ensure you leverage it.
Staff involvement is key and we make them part of this event with regular information on the event.

Serame Taukobong: We do have a post World Cup strategy. This event has allowed doors globally to open up for MTN. The value is that now we have instant recognition globally for our brand.

Social networking is part of our consumer lives. Beauty of mobile and social networking gives you a one to one ratio.

Clive Grinaker: Sponsorship is about strategy and the objectives you have for the brand. It’s got to align with your target audience. Sponsorship does give you a much better return on spend than electronic media.  It’s a fine ratio between what you want to get out of it over what you put in. Your staff is your brand ambassadors and it’s key to get their buy in.

For more on this event make sure you get a copy of the next edition of The Journal.

If you are one of the lucky few that have managed to book a ticket for the Mega Brand Forum tomorrow you will have a front row seat to all the action, insights and tips on how brands like Sun International, Avis Rent A Car, FNB, BP Southern Africa, and BMW got those awards.

If however, you won’t be able to be there you can still catch a piece of the action, by following our live tweets and blog updates. So tune in tomorrow and find out the success stories from 5 of South Africa’s Top Brands.

With the Top Brand Survey still fresh in everybody’s memory it’s the perfect time for the Mega Brand Forum.

The Journal has selected five top brand winners and invited their custodians to present their success stories highlighting key points such as:

• History of the brand
• HOw the brand is managed in SA
• What the competitive climate looks like
• HOw the brand stays fresh and successful
• What the brand outlook is for next year

The Brands that will be in the hotseat include:
Sun International – David Coutts – Trotter, Chief Executive
Avis Rent A Car – Wayne Duvenage, Chief Executive
FNB – Gisele Wertheim -Aymes, Media Director
BP Southern Africa – Tristao Abro, Brand & Insight Manager: Marketing
BMW (South Africa) Xoliswa Ndungane, General Manager: BMW Brand

Don’t miss out the event will take place on the 17 September 2009 at the Michelangelo Hotel from 07h00 to 11h00. Visit The Journal’s Facebook page for more details.

The Journal of Marketing; Advertising; Media; and Branding is the official publication of the Marketing Association of South Africa MA(SA) and provides cutting edge reporting on all issues pertaining to the important marketing discipline.

Continue reading