Studies in psychology and consumer behaviour consistently tell us that emotionally charged experiences are remembered vividly. Purely functional ones? Vicki Scheffel, Founder and Creative Director of GeSkenk, doubts many of us can even recall one of them, which honestly should concern more businesses than it currently does. Why? Because companies are spending significant amounts of […]
Jacques Burger, CEO at The Up&Up Group, says as creative industry leaders, we like to believe we are in the business of rational persuasion. We talk about being data-led, insight-driven and optimised. We measure what works and we defend what we can prove. We build cases, not just campaigns. And yet, quietly, often uncomfortably, we […]
Leslie Adams, Sales Director at Reach Africa, says Connected TV (CTV) receives just 7% of total media budgets, despite delivering a knockout punch on returns (30% higher ROI according to Analytics Partners). The question worth asking is why, because CTV is not new anymore, and the evidence is strong. Audiences have already made the move, […]
The agency-client relationship is undergoing a radical transformation in 2026. The days of ‘creative for creative’s sake’ have officially been replaced by a demand for uncompromising accountability. With every cent of marketing spend under scrutiny, the definition of ‘value’ has shifted from the volume of output to the velocity of impact. According to Neill Robertson, […]
Mogorosi Mashilo, Founder and Director at Trender, a VML supplier development partner, says research only becomes useful when you know how to use it effectively. That starts with gathering the right insights to achieve your specific goals. It also means knowing how to interpret the information you receive and use it strategically. Here’s where many […]
According to Mateen Suliman, Business Development Executive for digital media at iqbusiness, digital marketing has never had more tools, targeting options, and dashboards. And yet, many brands are working harder than ever for returns that feel smaller than they should. Often, the reason for this is that brands are still following ‘conventional wisdom’ that has […]
Caitlyn Greve, Digital Co-Ordinator at Sauce Advertising, says if you’re a marketing decision-maker, you need to hear this: brands aren’t just losing clicks, they’re losing eligibility. As we all know, online search doesn’t work like it used to. Discovery is becoming increasingly local and context-aware, and that means your marketing mix needs to be managed […]
According to new data from consumer insights agency KLA using YouGov Profiles+ data, among South African internet users, 62% stream games and 61% download games. A further 49% actively play games online, placing gaming firmly alongside the most common internet activities. These are not fringe numbers, they reflect a mainstream shift in how South Africans […]
There is a quiet coup happening in the C-suite. It isn’t being led by a rival brand or a disruptive startup, but by a department two floors down: procurement, writes Pieter Geyser, Commercial Director, Humanz. In the modern corporate machine, marketing, once the engine of growth and the soul of the brand, has been demoted […]
According to Adheesh Ori, Consumer Goods and Services, Retail and Automotive lead for Accenture Song, South Africa’s Consumer Goods and Services sector is entering a defining stretch. Product alone is no longer a differentiator. Experience has become the strategy. Consumers are not simply buying goods or services; they are assessing how easily a brand fits […]