Author: Mark

South Africa’s largest urban community quantitative survey, ROOTS, is currently in field. ROOTS 2019 is set to launch in the first quarter of next year. The new instalment of the survey balances trendability while keeping up to date with current industry developments.

 “ROOTS 2019 shows what consumers look like, how they behave, where they shop, what media they consume and how they have changed over time,” says SPARK Media’s Jacqui Hansen. “At a local level and compared to ROOTS 2016, our new methodology incorporates both LSM and SEM descriptors, painting a more accurate picture of South African communities, as well as a more in depth look at the digital environment.”

 Besides the usual datasets of demographics and general info, ROOTS digs deeply into categories like digital integration, activities, entertainment and many retail categories too.

“The 2019 ROOTS survey includes 20 new communities with 148 total areas across South Africa being interviewed, with a total sample of 26 000 decision makers in homes using the pure random sampling method,” she says. “We have increased the percentage of digital related questions and have adapted our methodology to test in real live environments concurrently with the main study in 2016 and 2019.”

“ROOTS 2019 has maintained the industry gold standard in terms of validated readership methodology, but has also included the digital versions of media platforms to provide a holistic view.”

Some of the questions in next year’s survey include asking which shopping centres are favoured by those living in the Northern Suburbs of Johannesburg and does selection differ depending on purpose?

The survey also explores how many people shop for food and groceries online, with who and how frequently; are people in the Western Cape interested in the same things as people in Johannesburg and Durban; which area is the healthiest in the country; are consumers more interested in local community news or current affairs, where do they go to get this information and importantly; do people still read their local community paper and how many use it to make shopping decisions.

 “ROOTS started in 1984,” says Gill Randall, Joint CEO of SPARK Media. “Since then close to 200 000 interviews have been conducted. In 2001 we partnered with TNS, ensuring that the past 18 years of data is consistent and trendable at a community level. This year we delve even more thoroughly into the digital and technology aspects that take up so much time and resources of a consumer’s daily life.”

For more on SPARK Media, visit our website and follow us on social media @sparkmediasa.

SPARK Media

Established in 2015, SPARK Media, a division of CTP Ltd, are experts in retail and location based marketing solutions. The company owns and represents a myriad of print and digital products that deliver locally relevant, effective audiences for advertising clients. SPARK Media are Strategic Partners in Audience Research and Knowledge and offer ‘Insights that Ignite’.

On the back of a successful website re-launch, South Africa’s premier online retail aggregator Guzzle, which allows consumers to browse the best deals from South Africa’s largest retailers, has just launched its business-to-business app that will allow local businesses to create catalogues on the fly. “Not many small to medium businesses have the capital available for large advertising campaigns which is partly why Guzzle has launched a dedicated app for these businesses. This will allow them to create and share their own digital catalogues directly to www.guzzle.co.za right from their mobiles, and in the process increase their bottom line,” says Joint CEO of SPARK Media Marc du Plessis.

Through the Guzzle app, catalogues can be created using predefined templates which showcase up to eight products at a time.

“The purpose of this new development is to allow SME’s the ease and affordability to create catalogues while having the opportunity to have these catalogues potentially be seen by the hundreds of thousands of monthly Guzzle browsers who come to the site looking for the best deals within their specific geographic areas,” says Guzzle’s General Manager, Muntasir Bester.

“It’s a great exposure opportunity for small businesses. We know that in order for any brand (national or local) to be part of a consumer’s consideration set, they need to be seen as broadly as possible, which is exactly how the Guzzle app will serve them.

We encourage all SMEs to download the app and share their catalogues to the website,” he says. “All SME owners who create catalogues using the app will receive regular emails detailing how many potential customers have viewed their catalogue as the month passes to measure ROI. We’re looking forward to making a real difference to the success of our registered SMEs.”

For more information on the app or to get started, contact 021 286 5464, or send an email to dtp@guzzle.co.za.

SPARK Media DNA

Established in 2015, SPARK Media, a division of CTP Ltd, are experts in retail and location-based marketing solutions. The company owns and represents a myriad of print and digital products that deliver locally relevant, effective audiences for advertising clients. SPARK Media are Strategic Partners in Audience Research and Knowledge and offer ‘Insights that Ignite’.

In the competitive world of retail, shopping centres need to provide exposure for their tenants in unique and innovative ways. One such offering is experiential events. Over the last few years, Caxton Magazines has partnered with many shopping centres all over South Africa to offer their readers bespoke retail experiences in an everyday setting.

Although shopping centres rely on foot traffic within their catchment areas, it benefits the centre to partner with national glossy magazines that resonate with and speak to their customers.

“Recently, Caxton Magazines together with magazines from their female interest group: Essentials, Woman & Home and Garden and Home partnered with Eastgate shopping centre,” adds Anton Botes, General Manager at Caxton Magazines. “The activations highlighted certain tenants and introduced the magazine readership to what the centre had to offer. These events included: a Beauty Meander with Essentials magazine, a Food Meander with Woman & Home magazine and a Décor Meander with Garden and Home.”Building on the pillars of each magazine, the content was translated into unique experiences where a meander format guided the readers though the shopping centre. During each meander, guests where divided into different groups where they could actually experience various offerings at a more intimate level.

The Beauty Meander had pit stops at a nail bar, a fragrance house and a hair salon. Experts gave talks at each destination and the readers were treated to complimentary beverages and canapés. One of the restaurants provided the final destination, not only for a relaxing dinner, but also the conclusion of the evening: fabulous spot prizes including Alexander McQueen fragrances and PureCup Hampers worth more than R2000.

The Food Meander portion offered readers the opportunity to have a three-course meal at different restaurants – tasting three different food styles in one evening coupled with wine pairings throughout.

The Décor Meander incorporated trend talks and style ideas at three different décor stores in the centre.  The furniture and décor items that the stores had in stock were incorporated in the talks and the readers received special discount offers on purchases during the evening.

The Food Meander (or any of the associated Meander concepts) can be adapted to any of the Caxton Magazines titles that feature related content. Great examples can be seen with the upcoming Food Meander for the year; Food & Home Entertaining Magazine at Melrose Arch on the 6^th of November 2018 and a meander with rooi rose and Lynwood Bridge on 4 December 2018.

“Caxton Magazines offers a wide variety of experiential events across all its titles,” concludes Botes. “We structure a package that suits the client’s budget and marketing objectives with a win-win result for both parties.”

For all future Caxton Magazines events, visit www.caxtonevents.co.za.

Caxton Magazines DNA

Storytelling is our business. Content is our currency. Caxton Magazines is a division of Caxton CTP Printers & Publishers and houses 12 brands in print and digital formats, primarily aimed at the women’s lifestyle segment across life stages, lifestyles and income groups. These brands are: Vrouekeur; Woman & Home; Bona; Living & Loving; People; Food & Home Entertaining; Your Family; Garden & Home; Farmer’s Weekly; Essentials; Rooi Rose and SA Country Life. Visit www.caxtonmags.co.za

Relativ Group, founded by Brett Tucker, has announced the appointment of Sijadu Mzozoyana as Chief Executive Officer of the company effective 1 September.

 “This is the first big step towards transformation in our Group, and what we believe is a crucial move for media owners in South Africa,” says Brett. “Sijadu is a phenomenal home grown South African success story, a man who has literally beaten all the odds to embrace his entrepreneurial spirit which is already having such a positive impact within the business.”

Born in a small village in Maluti, Sijadu was a cattle herder attending a mud hut school in Ramohlakoana in his adolescent years. He was raised in a household with 29 other children. Through sheer hard work and determination Sijadu’s parents raised funding for him to study at St Andrews College where he owned his first pair of school shoes. After completing high school he obtained a bursary to study at UCT before joining Investec’s graduate programme.

Before joining Relativ Group Sijadu was en route to filling the position of Treasurer at Investec Bank. “I’m an entrepreneur at heart with a massive social conscience,” he says. “After spending an initial couple of weeks with the team here, it became very clear that not only is the business made up of specialists within their own right, but here’s a company that is set on changing the dynamic of media owners in South Africa, both from a service offering and a transformation point of view.”

“I grew up in a dichotomy of black and white within South Africa and when you live in one environment, whether that be of privilege or poverty, you automatically hide the one and focus more on the other. My lived experiences have given me an understanding of both sides of the coin. I’m very passionate about uplifting people. I’m driven by a need to be a great example to kids that feel that their obstacles to success may be too great to conquer,” he says.

Sijadu was recently nominated for TOYP Ten Outstanding Young Professionals Awards. He is also a founding member of the Young Professionals Association which is an organisation that combines the access and resources of young South Africans to make a meaningful impact in Education and Employment within South Africa. Sijadu has a great love for outdoor and digital media which was part of the attraction to Relativ. He is also investing a lot of his earnings into township programmes – in particular towards empowering and uplifting women.

Sijadu says that Relativ’s ethos of putting people first was another major draw card for him. “I was very fortunate to get a taste of who the team is and I really connected with them. The environment is unbelievable and the people are highly skilled and extremely motivated.

This business has extreme potential,” he says. “I see my initial role at Relativ as one where I will do three things. I will help optimise the businesses balance sheet; I will refine strategic focus of the businesses within the group and finally I will look to provide an enabling environment for our people to perform at their absolute best. I’m excited about the opportunity that lies ahead.”

The shortlist for the highly anticipated AMASA Awards taking place on the 10^th October 2018 is finally here!  A record number of entries have been received this year from specialists across media, creative, direct, PR and specialist agencies.

“This year’s edition has seen a record number of entries making 2018 the most competitive iteration yet,” says AMASA Chairperson Wayne Bishop, “We’ve also brought in a new category ‘AMASA Awards Agency of the Year’ which will go to the agency with the most number of shortlists, certificates and Golds.

Our goal when we launched the AMASA Awards in 2014 was to show how much value agencies can add to client’s businesses and this new award promises to do just that.”

The most entered categories for 2018 include: Best Tactical use of Media, Best use of Mobile and Best use of Technology and Data.

Long standing AMASA committee member and judge Wayne Bischoff had this to say: “There is still a large gap between the entries that won Gold and the majority, and that gap needs to be filled. AMASA will endeavour to give feedback in an open session on what is missing and how to level up. There was definitely uncertainty in what ‘insight based’ media strategy meant and many of the ‘insights’ that should inform the strategy were just facts. A fact without the insight it points to is useless.

These awards are vital part of our industry make-up. They celebrate passion and excellence in media strategy and creative innovation. They also help increase the understanding of the importance of excellent media planning and strategy in delivering on client’s business and marketing objectives. In addition, by celebrating the agencies and individuals who win Golds and the Grand Prix, we increase the professionalism of the industry and hopefully attract and retain future stars.”

The shortlisted agencies are:

Tickets are selling fast for the Gala Awards dinner on 10 October at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton. Secure yours today to avoid disappointment. Visit amasa.awards2018@gmail.com for more information.