Bivio Consulting

Bivio Consulting's Website

2010-03-30T09:02:00.002+02:00

This blog / website is no longer in use. The corporate website address of Bivio Consulting is http://www.bivcon.co.za/. Please visit our website for more info on this dynamic marketing firm

Our site is currently under construction.

2009-04-10T10:36:00.000+02:00

Our site is currently under construction. You are however welcome to contact us at: johan@bivio.co.za

Van Loveren’s blog a SA Blog award finalist

2009-03-27T15:04:00.002+02:00

The wine and food blog of Van Loveren Vineyards has been nominated for a South African Blog award. These awards are seen as the “Oscars” of South African bloging and it is a true accomplishment to be nominated.

This premier annual competition is divided into specific categories and the Van Loveren’s Blog (http://4cousins.blat.co.za/ ) is nominated for the Best Food and Wine blog.

The editor of this blog , Johan Schwartz (Bivio Consulting) , indicated that “It is a great honour and achievement for our team”. Schwartz added that the achievement is emphasized if you look at the quality and stature of the fellow nominees. Fellow nominees include well known wine personalities and sites like Neil Pendock’s blog, Cooksister.com and The Cru.

This blog is a celebration of life site with a predominant food and wine theme and has been very successful in the past 12 months. Although the general language of the blog is English some posts and conversation were also done in Afrikaans.

The online voting for the Best South African Food and Wine blog has started and the closing date is the 1st of April. Voting can be done by visiting the blog (http://4cousins.blat.co.za/ ) and clicking on the SA Blog awards banner.

Forget the stars , drink wine that you like

2009-03-12T12:47:00.005+02:00

My Grandpa used to say that you never save or diet on holiday and that life is too short to drink bad wine.

This is so true because we are living live at an enormous pace and when we eventually have the time to sit down and relax, it is time to treat yourself. Maybe treat is not the right word but what I mean is that when we are in our we-time mood (me-time) , it is not the time to drink wine that you do not like.

The problem is that when we order a wine at a restaurant our first question is: “What is the Platter number for the wine”. Referring to the star ratings from the John Platter Wine Guide (SA wine guide).

Wine guide scores have influenced the preferences and the thinking of the wine loving people (and the industry) for as long as I can remember.

It is time to appreciate wine according to your own preferences, rating scale and perceptions and not on the points, scores or opinions of others.

One must be realistic about the price you are willing (able) to pay for your wine. The ration between perceived value and the price are aspects that are unique and individual by nature. This implies that you must get wine that is of the quality and enjoyment level that you want but still within your price range. Do not go for wines, that you perceive as, great but to expensive or affordable but not enjoyable.

So listen to my Grandpa and live life a little.

Women react positively to the new Douglas Green TV advertisements

2008-10-28T10:32:00.002+02:00

The new TV advertisements of Douglas Green were very well received by consumers. An independent study conducted by Bivio Consulting found that South African women were very positive about these advertisements.

The advertisements are titled: “Do I really need a man” and it focuses on the Twenty and thirty something women consumer group. It is estimated that this consumer group (women age 20-35) accounts for 55% of all wine consumption in South Africa.

The ads effectively and in a humoristic way, portray women to be independent and enjoy life. The study found that women believe that these ads will differentiate and enhance the Douglas Green Brand amongst South African women.

It was bold step from Douglas Green but I believe it was mission accomplished and effective advertisements. Right time, right genre, right consumer group

New Douglas Green TV advertisements

2008-10-28T10:12:00.005+02:00

Bivio Consulting - Established Wine Marketing specialists

2008-09-18T10:23:00.023+02:00

In the past year Bivio consulting has grown from strength to strength. The company has established itself within the Wine industry of South Africa and numerous projects has been conducted for wine brands.

As wine branding and marketing experts, Bivio Consulting has grown its client and influence base. Apart from consulting services Bivio also implemented and provided certain specialized marketing services

Social Media Marketing and blogging campaigns prove to be very popular amongst clients. Strategic brand development, Datamining, ePR and e-marketing consulting services are also in demand from clients.

Don’t kill the brand that lays the golden egg!

2008-08-25T09:51:00.003+02:00

In the recent past wine brand owner s have put a great deal of emphasis on sales volume improvements. Marketing campaigns were specifically designed to increase short term sales volumes. This over emphasis on sales volume increases has caused some wine marketers to lose their focus on strategic branding aspects. These marketers must be cautious not to kill the goose (brand) that lays the golden egg.

South African wine producers in some cases diluted their brand value by focusing on short term sales improvements. These sales improvement strategies usually include price reductions and even brand sacrifice. Prof. Frikkie Herbst of the USB (University of Stellenbosch Business School) indicated that the total cost (price) is only one of the five main factors influencing the consumer’s choice of bottled wine.

These “ other” factors are firstly push and pull consumer’s choice factors. Pull factors include psychological motives like celebrations or value perceptions while pull factors are factors like grower’s reputation and wine variety. Other factors that influence the consumer’s decision are place of purchase and shopping time frame factors.

This implies that wine marketers can focus on different aspects to improve sales without damaging their brand. Although sales growth and market expansions are deemed to be important aspects of wine marketing, the sustainability of the business depends mainly on the brand. Some authors suggest that brands are the atomic core of the consumer-driven economy and companies are dependent on the success of their brands to be able to establish a sustainable business future.

David Higgens , president of Brown-Forman Beverages Worldwide Wine Group, indicated that “in general people in the wine business don’t understand the need to build brands”. He further states that this will become more and more of a problem in mid-sized wineries .

Studies conducted in Australia by the Fosters Wine group found that consumers look at “ brand” and label design more than any other feature when selecting wine. The study found that “brand” is consistently the strongest influence across all consumer segments, when browsing for wine. This implies that medium to long term brand strategies must be formulated to maintain a sustainable business.

South African wine exporters and brand owners have the advantage of organizations like WOZA to promote Brand South Africa. These organizations build a holistic industry brand and open international markets for local wine brands. It must be stated that wine brand owners must still focus on building their own brand and/or their region’s brand. Although the dynamics of local and international wine branding may differ, the basics still stay the same.

Sue Birch, CEO of WOZA, recently indicated that South African producers were heartened that the rate of value growth in the UK wine market was outpacing volume growth . ACNielsen data reflected a 7,2% rise in value, compared with a 2,1% increase in volumes for the year to June. Birch added that the higher value growth suggests that margins will be under less pressure than in the past, offering sustainable trading opportunities.

In the local market, wine producers must realise the importance of value growth. Perceived value growth by the market can be managed by effective brand and communication strategies. In effective sustainable business management it is impeccable, and non negotiable, to maintain the quality of the product (wine). In some cases brand building involves the influencing of consumer perceptions about the different aspects of the product. This implies that brand building and consumer communication goes hand in hand. Marketers must thus find new ways and angles to communicate their brand messages to the consumer.

Examples of new brand message communication platform include, but are not limited to the following:

Coopetition: This can simply be defined as collaboration among competitors. Many examples exits of cooptetion in the international and local wine markets. The consortium of Alluvia, Tokara, Sagila, Knorhoek and Yonderhill serves as a classical coopetition example.

Extended service offerings. Wine producers are expanding their brand by introducing new aspects of the brand. These new aspects serves as new communication platforms and brand awareness are taken to a far wider audience. Examples of this include function venues, theatres and conference facilities on wine estates. Spier, Lourensfort. Paul Cluver and Stellenrust are a few examples of brands that have found new angles to expand their brand audiences.

Wine Tourism: Dr. Bouwer from UCT Graduate School of Business indicated that cellar door marketing is a very important brand image tool, especially for the smaller producers. This gives producers the opportunity to sell and communicate much more than just the physical product. This enables wine producers to develop broader communication platforms and thus improving their brand image.

E-marketing: Marketers have not realised the wide array of brand building opportunities of e-marketing. Stormhoek has recently achieved tremendous brand building success with effective blog marketing campaigns. Facebook and other interactive web based platforms will create new opportunities for the expansion of brand communication platforms.

Although the improvement of short term sales are a very important consideration, wine marketers and wine brand owners must also focus on developing their brand. By nurturing and developing their brands, wine marketers can create a sustainable business future and the “goose” will keep on laying golden eggs.

High level of alcohol in wine is getting out of hand

2008-08-05T10:50:00.001+02:00

Alcohol is a ratings driver: easy, seductive, showy and impressive. What’s not to love? That it’s impressive for just about a minute, and then it’s also thick, sticky, heavy, overbearing, overripe, bitter, cloying, sweaty and the enemy of food and wine pairing. I hate it.

I know how important it is. To get an idea, taste one of the “non-alcoholic” wines. They are flat and insipid. Alcohol in wine provides body weight and, to an extent, richness. But in the pretzel logic of today’s wine making, the “more must be good” theory has gotten out of hand Balance and harmony in all the wine’s components are critical to its longevity, to its success with food and to your enjoyment of it. When out of balance, the alcohol becomes a negative contribution that kills flavor and numbs taste buds. Simultaneously, it acquires a hot and spicy taste with food - not attractive.

A reason behind the increasingly high alcohol contents in today’s wines is that most winemakers are looking for extreme ripeness. The benefits are twofold. The results please judges - when wines are judged at a blind tasting, the higher-alcohol wine with more extraction and ripeness stands out. Even more importantly, it makes a well-made but lower-alcohol wine appear thin and lackluster.

The other benefit is that these wines please consumers. The world market first was shifted toward these richer, bigger wines by Napa and then perfected to a degree by Australia. Wine drinkers like them on the first sip and on the second sip and, sometimes, forever. They are lush, easy to understand and ripe to the point of being sweet.

Alcohol is not a total enemy of taste. A wine can have up to 14 percent alcohol if the other components - tartness, fruit extract and concentration - are in perfect balance. If there’s too much alcohol, it comes over the top of the flavor profile to annihilate the rest of these nuances.

It also will numb the palate. It’s very much like the way the sugar in ice cream affects you after the second or third spoonful. In extreme examples, the back of the mouth gets a hot sensation and sweat pours from your brow! Most folks push this wine away after a couple of sips or, at the most, a glass. Even salty, savory potato chips have sugar added, and it seems that alcohol is the sugar of the wine world - cheap to produce and depended upon to please.

Lower Alcohol wine gets global support

2008-07-07T10:49:00.001+02:00

Lower alcohol wines have received support from a wide array of global wine stakeholders. American winemakers, British retailers and even British lawmakers have shown support for lower alcohol wines.

The trend of New world wines to be bolder and riper flavored are maybe coming to an end. Some winemakers in California are attempting to reduce the alcohol levels of their wines.

Adam Tolmach, one of California’s most celebrated winemakers said that US wine makers went too far in producing high alcohol level wines. He stated that "We lost our rudder when we went for ever bolder, riper flavours. We have to do the right thing."

Tolmach said that, at 15 % or higher, the alcohol content of his wines was too high. California is the fourth biggest wine-making area in the world, after France, Spain and Italy. As in South Africa and Australia, Californian wines tend to be stronger because they are produced in a hotter climate.

Californian winemakers have responded by picking grapes earlier and employing other tactics designed to produce the more "balanced", lower alcohol wines that are popular in Europe.

This move has in part been prompted by demand from US restaurants, which often hire European-trained wine buyers (sommeliers) who want lighter wines. The producers of lower alcohol wines also received a boost from the British government. The UK delegates are putting pressure on the European Commission to relax their stick wine making rules and regulations. This will make it easier for producers to sell wines with very low alcohol content, even as low as 6.5 %.

Jeremy Beadles, the CEO of the British Wine and Spirit Trade association welcomed this move by the British government. He added that retailers are interested in expanding the range of lower alcohol wines which they can offer the consumer. In a recent article, the Telegraph (UK) indicates that British retailers are starting to show signs of a backlash against high alcohol wines. Last year, Sue Daniels, Marks and Spencer's wine technologist, said the company would be trying to find more 12% wines in future.

Adam Tolmach also states that trying to limit alcohol content while retaining flavour is an increasingly major challenge for wine producers as the effects of climate change become more marked.

In South Africa some producers has been embracing the making of lower alcohol content wines for quite some time. Danelle van Rensburg, winemaker of Van Loveren indicated that the making of light wines have its challenges. She indicated that it is more challenging to achieve the right balance between the sugars, acids and the fruit of lower alcohol white wines.

Because of the lower alcohol levels, the other components of the wine are more prominent and thus grape cultivars with natural lower acid levels , like Semillon are usually used for light wines.

Adi Badenhorst, a wine consultant from Stellenbosch, indicates that higher alcohol wines are the more popular choice in South African wine competitions. The average alcohol level of the recent John Platter’s 5 star wines are in the region of 15,3 %. This higher alcohol in wine has even affected French wines. The average Bordeaux's alcohol content has grown slightly, up from 12.5% to 13%, the Telegraph reported.

Badenhorst added that some wine producers feel that the physiological ripeness of our (SA) grapes are incline to have higher sugar levels and thus are prone to higher alcohol content wines.

Badenhorst further stated that higher alcohol wines are favored by wine judges because the “alcohol carries the wine out of the glass” better. He concluded that the lower alcohol wines tend to have an inherent elegancy and balance with better potential to mature.

Taking a local brand to the global arena

2008-07-01T11:04:00.002+02:00

This is the view of Mr. Justin Letschert the CEO of Union-Swiss. Letschert was the speaker that the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) business breakfast gathering held on 27 June.

The first thing businesses must realize is that expansion to global markets can not be exclusively done by just starting a new export division. The experts, who established and managed the business and brands on the local market, must be involved in the executing of the strategies for entering global markets.

South African brands may have brand equity on the local market, but on the global stage is just another product. This implies that entering a new market is launching this new product form scratch.

Government regulation and duties, capital expenditure (cost) and the lack of established networks are some of the main difficulties in entering new global markets.

Letschert indicated that a simple calculation can determine the most viable international markets. By adding a country’s GDP/ Capita ranking and the population rankings the possible best export markets can be identified. This figure gives a more accurate indication of potential markets. The top 10 countries on this list are USA, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Canada, Spain, South Korea, Russia.

The cost of the media in the specific country as well as the duties and regulations must be taken in consideration when evaluation potential new international markets. Language and counterfeit problems must also be taken into consideration when evaluating proposed new markets.

Letschert emphasized the importance of effective distributors in foreign countries. These distributors must be able to communicate and deliver what they are hired for.

Letschert further added that to succeed in the global business area you must out-think the opposition. The geographical and other practical drawbacks imply that you cannot out-do the opposition, you must out-think them.

You must conduct your business in a more professional manner than the first world standards. The reason for this is because the foreign market participants have preconceived negative ideas about (South) African businesses. You must give them no reason to believe or confirm their preconceived ideas.

Letschert concluded by quoting Mr. Koos Bekker form Naspers. Bekker once said that it is difficult for first world countries to do business in China. South Africa is not from the first world which gives us a business advantage.

South African tenacity is your biggest advantage when we compete and enter new global markets.

Global business expansion considerations

2008-06-27T16:10:00.002+02:00

Expanding your business to the global stage has certain key considerations. This is the view of Mr. Justin Letschert the CEO of Union-Swiss. Letschert was the speaker that the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) business breakfast gathering held on 27 June.

South African brands may have brand equity on the local market, but on the global stage is just another product. This implies that entering a new market is launching this new product form scratch.

Government regulation and duties, capital expenditure (cost) and the lack of established networks are some of the main difficulties in entering new global markets.

Letschert emphasized the importance of effective distributors in foreign countries. These distributors must be able to communicate and deliver what they are hired for.

Marketers must take holistic view at the brand experience

2008-06-23T08:55:00.003+02:00

Differentiation is becoming harder every year with products and services commoditizing, consumers zapping away the ads, and an economic downturn reducing marketing budgets by an average 3%.

Smart marketers respond by taking a holistic view at the total brand experience. Apple, for instance, took the portable music market by storm by offering an exclusive service -- iTunes -- in combination with its MP3 player. Verizon improved its Web site with interaction optimization tools and raised its conversion rates by 36%. What are other marketers doing to differentiate their customer experience?

Take a business-driven approach.

Where is the money in improving the experience? Recent research from Forrester shows that good customer experience correlates highly to loyalty -- especially when it comes to consumers' plans for making additional purchases. Marketers in any industry can justify their customer experience investments with the savings they generate in client acquisition and the additional revenues from upselling and cross-selling.

Develop online communities.

As ever more consumers become active in social networks like Facebook, marketers have started to develop branded communities to engage with clients and non-clients. A successful community is not a fortunate accident but the result of careful strategic planning, an orchestrated launch involving the firm's brand advocates, and ongoing interaction with the community members by a dedicated social media team.

Turn employees into brand advocates.

Bad service is the No. 1 reason why consumers switch brands. To motivate and empower frontline staff to live and breathe the brand values, marketers develop employee brand advocacy programs improving their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Restaurant chain Garden Fresh, for instance, has empowered its staff to make any on-the-spot decision to improve client satisfaction. As a result, the number of loyal clients has been increasing by almost 50% each year since the program launched.

Inflation and economic uncertainty are hitting the European wine markets

2008-06-18T14:04:00.003+02:00

Inflation and economic uncertainty is hitting consumer markets across Europe, with retailers telling wine companies that value is more important to shoppers than ever.

But Chris Losh points out that even during the good times, the wine sector has been too price-led, and with consumers now tightening their belts it will be that much harder for wine companies to push through necessary price increases.

How quickly the consumer trend has shifted from saving the planet to saving the pennies! Whereas the era-defining phrase for ‘06 and ‘07 was ‘carbon footprint’, for the last six months economists can perm any two from ‘credit crunch’, ‘housing crash’, ‘oil price’ and ‘energy crisis’ and still have metaphorical change left over for ‘inflationary pressure’.

Wine marketers must take note of these changes in the market. Brand strategies must focus on value and sustainability as well as brand leveraging strategies

Most popular global wine brands

2008-05-20T10:50:00.004+02:00

Gallo is the most popular global brand with Hardy's of Australia being the runner up, with USA owning the maximum Top 100 wine brands, though no brand has made it to the top 10 slots in the spirit and wine category, declares an annual independent survey.

Compiled by Intangible Business, the report titled 'The Power 100- The World's Most Powerful Spirits and Wine Brands 2008' has evaluated over 10,000 brands across the world.

The brand numbering is based on the assessment of both the financial contribution of each brand alongside their strength in the eyes of the consumer.

Smirnoff has been adjudged as the top brand overall followed by Johnny Walker.

Intangible Business is the world's leading independent brand valuation consultancy, specialising in the valuation and development of brands. It has valued and advised some of the world's biggest brands from a management, legal and financial point of view.

The study uses a robust methodology which takes into account the consumer's perception of brand strength and its financial performance. A panel of leading international drinks experts score each brand on a variety of measures and these scores are combined with hard volume data to create a league table of the most powerful international drinks brands in the world.

Here are the wine brands that find a spot in the Top 100 spirits and wine brands:

1. Gallo Gallo USA (18)

2. Hardy's Constellation Australia (19)

3. Concha Y Toro Concha Y Toro Chile (21)

4. Robert Mondavi Constellation USA (36)

5. Yellow Tail Casella Wines Australia (38)

6. Beringer Fosters USA (44)

7. Jacobs Creek Pernod Ricard Australia (47)

8. Sutter Home Trinchero Family Est. USA (52)

9. Lindemans Foster Australia (60)

10. Blossom Hills Diageo USA (63)

11. Wolf Blass Fosters Australia (75)

12. Kendall-Jackson Kendall-Jackson USA (82)

13. Banrock Station Hardy Wine Co. USA (83)

14. Penfolds Fosters Australia (84)

15. Inglenook Robert Mondavi USA (86)

16. Torres Torres Spain (88)

17. Kumala Vincor Int. South Africa (98)

Chile, Spain and South Africa seem to be the party spoilers for the USA and Australia who have virtual brand monotony.

France may not enjoy the brand popularity in the still wine section but has a near monopoly in the sparkling wine sector with only Freixenet (49) and Martini (100) give some competition to Champagne brands.

Moet Chandon is the obvious king (14). Other brands enjoying a spot in the Top 100 Spirits and Wine Brands are Veuve Clicquot (26) also owned by LVMH. Other brands at the fag end of the ceremonial parade are Laurent Perrier (73), Piper Heidsieck (74), Mumm (76), Dom Perignon (79), Taittinger (91) and Nicolas Feuillatte (99).

How will the economic slowdown affect the global drinks market?

2008-05-20T10:25:00.003+02:00

The global economic slowdown will affect all aspects of business. The global drink market will also be affected as consumers' priorities change.

In a report form Intangible Business they indicate that the current economic slowdown will inevitably impact the global drinks market but the extent of its impact remains unclear. Recent figures reveal that American consumers are already reducing their number of shopping trips as they begin to feel the pinch of an economic downturn.

This trend is likely to spread across the globe as consumers look for value rather than luxury and there will be a decrease in the demand for premium products. The USA is a key market for many of the brands in the Power 100 and they will surely feel the pressure of an economic slowdown. Yet despite the threat of a global economic demise, the drinks industry has a history of remaining relatively buoyant in times of economic decline.

Business Golf Etiquette

2008-05-07T20:30:00.003+02:00

Business Golf etiquette has become a very important aspect of effective social business skills. In South Africa many business relationships are formed on the Golf Course. But unfortunately many potential business relationships were destroyed by a lack of Business Golf etiquette.

When you are hosting or invited to a business golf date, take advantage of this opportunity to project a positive image of yourself by demonstrating proper Business Golf Etiquette.

Follow these Business Golf Etiquette Tips to a tee and not only will you and your partner enjoy the day, you will also stand out as being polished, professional and trustworthy.

Scout’s Motto

Be prepared. Arrive early to get organized and to practice. Plan ahead and identify the outcomes you want from the day. These goals are just as important as any other business meeting. Prepare sound bites for your company or yourself that you can draw on if needed.

Don’t be green about the greens

Never attend a golf event for business purposes if you don’t first make the effort to learn the basic game and the lingo. You’ll only embarrass and alienate yourself and your company. Take lessons or attend a clinic.

Behave yourself

The links is not the place for you to get in touch with your inner child. No tantrums, throwing of clubs, foot stamping, swearing, whining, making excuses or indulging in other demonstrations of poor sportsmanship. Conversely, when you are playing well, be gracious. Don’t interpret the relaxed environment as an opportunity to behave in a manner unsuitable for the office, such as making jokes, gestures or remarks that may be considered by others as offensive.

Business or birdie

There is a time and place for everything. Spend the day building rapport and developing relationships. Only talk business if your guest brings it up first. Otherwise, save it for the 19th hole.

You Got Game

Don’t compromise your credibility by playing badly unless, of course, you are an Oscar winning actor. Don’t gloat when you are playing well, instead, turn it into a compliment, “You must be bringing me luck, this is my best game this year!” Sincerely compliment specific aspects of your partner’s game. Never coach or give unsolicited advice. If you are a beginner, warn your partner about your skill level and make sure they are o.k. with it.

Be an Etiquette Eagle

No cell phones / pagers/ PDA’s.
Always be ready for the next shot – don’t make others wait unnecessarily.
Never brag or complain about the cost of membership or green fees.
Take care of the course, remove your tees, replace kicked-up turf and rake after a bunker shot.
Don’t walk into or cast shadows over someone’s putting line.
Maintain a safe golf cart speed.
Get out of the cart whenever your opponent does.
Dress appropriately. If in doubt, call the club.
No cheating or creative scorekeeping.
Don’t distract other golfers by loud talking, laughing, and crinkling food wrappers.

Don’t let your manners be your handicap. Ace this opportunity to make a good impression and create shared memories that will enhance your business relationships and increase your bottom line.

Zuma- Africa's most influential person -Time Magazine

2008-05-05T21:17:00.001+02:00

Time Magazine has revealed its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2008, in which it “recognises the men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world”.

The list is divided into five subsections - Leaders And Revolutionaries, Builders And Titans, Artists And Entertainers, Scientists And Thinkers and Heroes and Pioneers.

South Africans Jacob Zuma (8^th) and Ocsar Pistorius (23^rd) made this list. Jacob Zuma were judged to be the most influential person from Africa while Oscar Pistorius were deemed to be the most influential sport person.

The paralympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius, was deemed to be the 23^rd most influential person in the world and the most influential sportsperson in the world. Pistorius is the 3^rd most influential person in the Heroes and Pioneers subsection. Only Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and Oprah Winfrey are deemed to be more influential than him.

Jacob Zuma is deemed to be the most influential man in Africa and the 8^th most influential man in the world. The Dalai Lama, Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, John McCain, George W. Bush and the Chinese president Hu Jintao are judged to be more influential than Zuma.

Google: The world’s most powerful brand

2008-04-24T10:53:00.000+02:00

Google tops the list of the BrandZ Ranking with a brand value of US$86.1-billion followed by GE (General Electric) at US$71.4-billion and Microsoft at US$70.8-billion. The third annual BrandZ Ranking, which identifies the world’s most powerful brands as measured by their dollar value, was conducted by global market research and consulting firm Millward Brown. “This year’s brand ranking demonstrates the importance of investing in brands, especially in times of market turmoil. Strong brands generate superior returns and protect businesses from risk,” said Joanna Seddon, CEO of Millward Brown Optimor in a statement. “Our data shows that strong brands continue to outperform weak ones in terms of market share and share price during recessions.” Top 20 Brands and their values in US $ 1. Google — 86.057-billion 2. GE (General Electric) — 71,379-billion 3. Microsoft — 70,887-billion 4. Coca-Cola (includes Diet Coke) — 58,208-billion 5. China Mobile — 57,225-billion 6. IBM — 55,335-billion 7. Apple — 55,206-billion 8. McDonald’s — 49,499-billion 9. Nokia — 43,975-billion 10. Marlboro — 37,324-billion 11. Vodafone — 36,962-billion 12. Toyota — 35,134-billion 13. Wal-Mart — 34,547-billion 14. Bank of America — 33,092-billion 15. Citi — 30,318-billion 16. HP — 29,278-billion 17. BMW — 28,015-billion 18. ICBC — 28,004-billion 19. Louis Vuitton — 25,739-billion 20. American Express — 24,816-billion From: http://4cousins.blat.co.za

Interest rate hikes: How will it affect South African Marketers?

2008-04-22T12:43:00.003+02:00

South African interest rates are going up with the effect that consumers spending will go down. In US consumer spending is also dropping and it is hurting both US and global brands. How is marketing managers reacting to the economic downturn? Forrester Research has conducted research and on the marketing implications of economic (spending) downturn.

Forrester asked its CMO Panel how the downturn would affect their budgets. More than one hundred panel members, with an average marketing budget of $83 million, responded that they expect their CFOs to demand an average cut by 3%. They said they would save on branding, advertising, and traditional media, while keeping budgets for loyalty programs, marketing technology, and new media mostly untouched.

Jaap Favier the Vice President and Research Director of Forrester suggest the following strategies to survive the downturn.

1) Employ agencies that connect with consumers. Traditional agencies excel at above-the-line mass marketing -- the line items you want to cut. Forrester believes that the agency of the future will excel at understanding your consumers, involving them in defining the brand and spreading the message, and in making them loyal brand advocates -- supporting those budget items you are keeping strong. Some agencies are on the path to connecting with consumers via social networks.

2) Start experimenting with online video. Traditional media is getting into the perfect storm: Consumer attention and trust is at an all-time low, and advertisers are cutting both ad budgets and old media budgets. To survive, they need to target ads and content to individual households and consumers. By experimenting with Web video, to understand which processes, content, and customer intelligence you will need when television offers the same functions.

3) Invest in intelligence. The name of the new marketing game: targeting. Marketing leaders have voted with their wallets to reduce the two large budget items that show the biggest waste. To get the most from their reduced budgets, they need to understand their clients better - their (media) behaviors, attitudes, needs, and social connections.

From Hemingway to Homer Simpson, everyone has the opinion on wine

2008-04-22T12:21:00.001+02:00

Wine has fascinated people over the centuries. Here is few wine quotes form prominent persons. From Hemingway to Homer Simpson, everyone has the opinion on wine.

Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.
Ernest Hemingway

Wino Forever
Johnny Depp
(The tattoo once read 'Winona Forever'!)

What is man, when you come to think upon him, but a minutely set, ingenious machine for turning with infinite artfulness, the red wine of Shiraz into urine?
Isak Dinesen

Wine is bottled poetry.
Robert Louis Stevenson

Wine is the most healthful and most hygienic of beverages.
Louis Pasteur

"Alcohol - the cause of and solution to all of life's problems"
Homer Simpson

We salute Trevor Immelman, a true champion

2008-04-14T11:52:00.002+02:00

Trevor Immelman has made all of South Africans proud and we salute a true champion for his courage, temperament and nerves of steel.

Lorne Rubenstein wrote in his column titled “Immelman masters one challenge after another” that the South African has established himself as on of the worlds finest young players.

The full column follows:

Last December, Trevor Immelman won the Nedbank Golf Challenge, a tournament many of his fellow South Africans call “Africa’s major.”

Yesterday, he won the Masters, one of the world’s four majors.

From the Nedbank Golf Challenge to the Masters in four months: Surely everybody will now realize that Immelman, 28, is one of the game’s finest young players.

His win yesterday didn’t come without high anxiety, something he’s faced before. Call it nerves, or simply the fright that can overcome any player for whom much has been promised but who had yet to deliver in the biggest tournaments.

It was early evening, and Immelman was on the 16th tee with a five-stroke lead over Tiger Woods, who had finished his round, and Brandt Snedeker, with whom Immelman was playing. Sure thing for the green jacket, right?

Not quite. Immelman dunked his tee shot into the water to the left of the hole, which was cut on the side nearest the drink, and double-bogeyed the hole. The swing betrayed anxiety. He’d felt it before at Africa’s major.

Immelman had watched each of the Nedbank events since their inception in 1981. This time, he’d been invited as a last-minute replacement for Sergio Garcia and held a two-stroke lead over Justin Rose with three holes to play. But Immelman lost his lead when he bogeyed the 16th and 17th holes against Rose’s pars. He then bogeyed the final hole, where he fluffed a chip shot. But Rose double-bogeyed the hole, and Immelman won.

“It just shows you what nerves can do,” Immelman said.

Immelman didn’t appear that nervous yesterday, but, of course, he was. He’d started the final round with a two-stroke lead over Snedeker, three over Steve Flesch, four over Paul Casey and six over Tiger Woods. Immelman pushed his opening tee shot and bogeyed the hole. Nerves? Immelman had prepared for this challenge and opportunity. He started to play when he was 5.

His father, Johan, the outgoing commissioner of the South African Tour, put in a practice bunker and green at the family home in Cape Town. Immelman followed in the footsteps of other elite golfers born on the African continent, most notably Gary Player and Nick Price. He admired both, and they him.

Immelman had been ranked as high as 13th in the world in 2006, when he won the PGA Tour’s Cialis Western Open, and was 29th when he came to the Masters. At 28, he’d fought a few battles, on and off the course.

For one thing, he was criticized as an amateur for being cocky.

Many people didn’t feel he deserved the two-year PGA Tour exemption he received after Player, the International team captain, named him to his side for the 2005 Presidents Cup. But Immelman’s rise in the world rankings along with his elegant, controlled swing won most critics over.

Immelman studied the game closely. He’d always believed he would reach the heights, he would justify his promise, he would become the golfer he knew he could be and that others who knew the game sensed he could be.

Obstacles presented themselves. There were his much-chronicled medical problems. He picked up a stomach parasite at last year’s Masters and lost 25 pounds. He didn’t play for a month.

Then, 10 days after winning the Nedbank, Immelman withdrew from the South African Airways Open because he felt pain in his rib cage and had difficulty breathing. A week later, surgeons removed a golf-ball-sized benign tumour from his diaphragm. Immelman took eight weeks off to recover.

He completed his recovery yesterday. Immelman took a three-stroke lead to the 17th hole and managed a par after finding the bunker in front of the green. He drove into a deep divot on the 18th fairway - the final challenge - but got down to business and poured through the ball with his lower body moving first and his arms and clubhead trailing. He was in the strike zone and found the green.

Immelman walked onto the green to a warm reception. His parents and his wife, Carminita, and their infant son were waiting behind the green. Minutes later, he was wearing the green jacket in recognition of winning the Masters.

Immelman had mastered one challenge after another. He deserved to be exactly where he was. He could well be there again.Immelman had mastered one challenge after another. He deserved to be exactly where he was. He could well be there again.

LORNE RUBENSTEIN

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080414.RUBE14/TPStory/Sports/columnists

Wine brands must foster differences - WOSA

2008-04-10T09:04:00.002+02:00

The product and concept offering of wine brands are becoming more generic. This is the view of Su Birch, CEO of WOSA

The European brands are all starting to look like the New World wines, and more and more the wines look as if they have been created to a recipe written by fmcg marketers. Birch adds that if the whole wine world goes in this direction, she wonders why the supermarkets would feel the need to stock more than a very few brands. Birch concluded that if the hundreds of thousands of brands that she saw at Prowein want to survive, the wine world needs to communicate a stronger sense of the people and places behind their wines, and foster the differences, not the similarities.

Social media marketing is the ideal tool to communicate a stronger sense of people and places behind the wine.

Social Media Marketing are becoming a crucial tool in CRM and B2B

2008-03-31T09:21:00.002+02:00

Research conducted by Forrester found that marketers will lean on social marketing tactics (blogs, podcasts, online communities etc.) to build relationships with existing clients.

B2B marketers commonly accept that it costs much more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. In some cases, it can cost five to ten times more to generate new demand or acquire qualified prospects. But do your marketing spending and tactics reflect this overlooked opportunity? Do your marketing programs specifically target your installed base of customers in an effort to build your brand, engender loyalty, and uncover upsell or cross-sell opportunities?

Forrester recently set out to research B2B marketers' behavior and attitudes around marketing to their existing customers. We believe that top marketers will lean on Web 2.0/social media tactics (like blogs, online video, podcasts, and online communities) to build enriched and sticky relationships with existing customers.

Our recent survey of 189 B2B marketing professionals helps to show that marketers who focus online and Web 2.0 media activity on their installed base not only uncover hidden cross-sell and upsell opportunities, but also build engaged communities that turn loyal customers into advocates.

Researcher- Laura Ramos: Vice President, Principal Analyst Forrester Research, Inc. http://www.forrester.com/Teleconference/Overview/1,5158,2269,00.html

Food, petrol prices fuel inflation

2008-03-27T21:21:00.000+02:00

The SA Reserve Bank's quarterly bulletin, released on Wednesday, highlights the increases in the prices of food and petroleum as important drivers of inflation. "The bank has already tightened the monetary policy stance and will remain vigilant with respect to the possible second-round inflationary effects which the price impulses originating from these drivers may initiate," the SARB's governor, Tito Mboweni, said at the release of the bulletin.

The resolve of the bank to bring inflation back within target over time should not be underestimated, he said.

Following considerable progress made with the containment of price inflation between 2002 and 2004, annual CPIX inflation accelerated from 3.9 percent in 2005 to 4.6 percent in 2006 and 6.5 percent in 2007, while headline inflation picked up from 1.4 percent in 2004 to 7.1 percent in 2007.

After forty-three months in the inflation target range, year-on-year CPIX inflation breached the upper band of the inflation target range in April 2007, amounting to 6.3 percent. Subsequently, CPIX inflation accelerated noticeably to a year-on-year rate of 8.8 percent in January 2008.

"This acceleration in inflation resulted primarily from higher food prices and intermittent steep increases in the international price of crude oil, leading to substantially higher domestic fuel prices.

"Various capacity constraints within a buoyant economy probably also imparted some momentum to the inflation process, the bulletin said.

Wine labels with animals: Why they work

2008-03-19T09:14:00.001+02:00

Recent studies indicated that animal figures on wine labels are effective differentiation tools. South African wine marketers can take note. In order to differentiate more creative and unique strategies are needed. The following study was conducted by AC Nielson

Traditional brand research argues that logos should be highly relevant to the product they represent in order to be successful. However, marketers have recently begun using unusual visual identifiers that have little, if anything, to do with the product. For example, market research firm ACNielsen reports that nearly one in five of the table-wine brands introduced in the last three years features an animal on the label. A forthcoming study in the April 2008 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research reveals why this tactic is works. “To our knowledge, this is the first experimental demonstration of the beneficial effects of unique visual identifiers that are not meaningfully related to the nature of the product,” write Aparna A. Labroo (University of Chicago), Ravi Dhar (Yale University), and Norbert Schwarz (University of Michigan).

Building on psychological research about processing fluency, the researchers find that consumers have an easier time processing images when they are already “primed” – that is, if they have already thought about the image earlier in an unrelated context or if they already associate the logo with something in their personal lives.

In one experiment, participants first had to do a word jumble, either searching for words related to dogs or words related to cats. They then participated in an ostensibly unrelated study and were asked to rate a series of products, including batteries and dog shampoo. Those who had done the word jumble relating to dogs rated the dog shampoo higher, on average, than those who had done the cat-related jumble.

The influence of priming, the researchers found, was most pronounced when exposure to the product before evaluation was limited to 16 milliseconds, a period of time shown in psychological experiments to be pre-cognitive. When more time was added to allow for cognitive elaboration, the results were less pronounced.

“Whereas common branding wisdom suggests that identifiers should be strongly associated with the product category, our findings suggest that it may be beneficial to choose visual identifiers that consumers strongly associate with themselves,” write Labroo, Dhar, and Schwarz.

The researchers also point out another important advantage non sequitur logos have over identifiers that are meaningfully related to the product (e.g. a picture of a winery or a bunch of grapes on a wine label). They are not shared by competitors – at least not yet.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/uocp-wlw031708.php

South African wines are becoming more authentic and less pretentious. How must wine brand managers act on this?

2008-03-14T12:31:00.005+02:00

South African wines are becoming more authentic and less pretentious. This is the opinion of Lisa Griggs of the little Wine Shop in Kalkbaai. She was the guest speaker at the University of Stellenbosch Business School’s wine auction.

Lisa further stated that in the next ten years wine will become the symbol of people who knows how to enjoy life. The South African wine industry is in essence a recreation of French wine styles in the South African climate and context. She used examples of icon wines like Meerlust Rubicon and Kanonkop Paul Sauer which is Bordeaux style blends.

Other excellent wines in this Bordeaux wine style includes the Stellenrust Timeless 2004 and Rustenberg John X Merriman 2005 and the Simonsig Tiara 2005.

Griggs concluded that South African producers are becoming more authentic and less pretentious. Producers are moving away from purely award driven wine styles and they are more philosophical and individualistic about there styles.

These new trends will make South African wine brands more interesting and the consumer’s individual feel, experience and taste will eventually replace awards as the prevailing factor for wine brand preferences

South African wine marketers must embrace these new branding trends. In the past some wine marketers were guilty of strategies that did not effectively differentiate their brand. Some SA wine brand managers are currently looking at new brand communications angles and the pioneers in these alternative branding approaches will reap the bottom line rewards. http://www.cheers.amagama.com

Why must South African wine marketers and brand managers embrace Social media Marketing?

2008-03-12T11:41:00.000+02:00

Rhea Drysdale wrote that social networks' market share continues to climb. She also states that Google have taken steps to embrace SMM with major updates।

What exactly is social media marketing?

Content or a marketing strategy that is submitted to social sites like social bookmark sites (del.icio.us), social networks (MySpace and LinkedIn), blogs, etc. It's important to note that viral marketing can be a component of SMM, but they are not one and the same।

Why should you care about social media?

Well, for starters both Google and Ask have taken steps to embrace it with major updates. Secondly, social sites don't appear to be a passing fad as the social networks' market share continues to climb.

That means there is still incredible potential for traffic, backlinks and brand awareness, social media it is not going away anytime soon, so marketers need to adapt!

Rhea Drysdale 's Social Media Marketing in 60 seconds: - Social media is here to stay

- Google and Ask recently embraced social sites with massive updates.

- If you want to dominate the SERPs, you should find an edge with social media whether it's through how-to videos, brand evangelist blogs or custom communities. Or all of the above!

- When you submit your site, brand or products, understand that just submitting content won't always translate to success. You need to work at building a relationship with relevant communities and understand the rules for each.

-Techniques vary depending on the size of your company. Big companies get away with more "spam" methods of SMO because the intent is blurred with marketing fluff.

- Have a strategy in place before you start submitting random articles to social networks.

- Not everything is worthy of buzz, so control your message

- Track your buzz!

The full article can be found at

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-meet-smm-session-at-smx-advanced/5053

Marketers must be aware of this new marketing field and embrace the opportunities it brings.

Web content is the backbone of a company's online brand presence

2008-03-04T12:03:00.000+02:00

Web content is the backbone of a company's online brand presence. This statement is made by Ron Rogowski of Forrester Research. He further adds that many firms struggle to provide useful, relevant content that allows users to accomplish their goals and supports the company's brand positioning. In order to hit the sweet-spot where useful, usable content makes a lasting brand impression, firms should use personas to focus the design effort on target users and checklist all content before it goes live to ensure that it reinforces brand attributes. To read this article, follow this link http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,45213,00.html

Branding: Its all about sustainable business future

2008-02-29T10:30:00.000+02:00

Ron Shevlin indicate on his blog that a Brand can create awareness, expectations, and even intention, but it doesn't close the sale.
We believe that in some cases the financial departments (bean counters) and management are guilty of trying to measure the short term ROI on branding campaigns but not seeing the big picture. This can create marketers that only play for the short term sales scoreboard. Management must understand that in order to create sustainable business, the brand must be nutured and looked after.

Although the short term sales are an important consideration for management and markerters, the long term and sustainable future of the company must be considered. This implies that branding campaigns must be judged on a longer term and with the emphasis on sustainble business future.

To read more about the ROI on brand vs the value of the brand visit:

http://marketingroi.wordpress.com/2007/08/03/the-roi-on-brand-versus-the-value-of-brand/

Social marketing must conduct with the right staff

2008-02-29T08:52:00.000+02:00

Social media marketing must conduct with the right staff, consultants or alliances. This was the findings of recent research conducted by Jeremiah Owyang of Forresters Research. He further identifies two key roles which is needed to conduct successful social marketing campaigns.
The first identified role is a social Computing Strategist. This role basically leads the internal charge.
The second role is the community manager. This role implies that a external customer advocate must be involved in the SMM campaigns.

It is important that these to role work in tandem in order to keep the social communities involved and happy.

South African companies (brands) must embrace these findings and
management must put more emphasis, structure and finance to SMM campaigns

Source:

http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,45127,00.html

Reasons why South African wine marketers are not embracing Social Media Marketing (SMM)

2008-02-14T11:29:00.000+02:00

In the recent past the apparent successes of social network marketing as a wine marketing tool has been highlighted. South African wine marketers are lagging behind the European and American wine brands and I believe that the following are some of the reasons

- Wine marketers deem SMM to be a time consuming marketing tool
- Lack of knowledge of the marketing options available
- Rigid internet sites are the marketer's only presence on the internet. Marketers are not willing to move beyond this strategy/marketing tool
- Marketers live in fear that an uneducated consumer will bad mouth their brand
- Marketers are waiting for other brands to lead the way. Will follow eventually (to late)
- Marketers not have the personnel or knowledge to effectively manage and implement SMM strategies

Wine marketers must accept the challenge and must use specialists(like Bivio Consulting) to promote their brand through SMM.

Start-up Companies: Don’t rush the business plan

2008-01-31T13:19:00.000+02:00

In the recent past the importance of business plans has been emphased by the business media. In order to create a guideline for the proposed business venture it is impeccable that a well structured and well researched business plan must be created. In some cases the entrepreneurs are so busy creating a business plan that they forget the bigger picture. Dave Dauten said: “Just because we increase the speed of information does not mean we can increase the speed of decisions. Pondering, reflecting and ruminating are undervalued skills in our culture” This implies that before entrepreneurs (or intrapreneurs) rush into a new venture the business idea must first be evaluated. I suggest that the first step of entertaining a new business venture is to set up a Formation of Business Idea (FBI) session. In this FBI sessions the idea, data, the dynamics of the venture, the cash flow implications and a realistic and honest short term growth (less than 12 months) etc. of the proposed venture must be discussed. These sessions also serve as a formal meeting of the stakeholders and to clarify and quantify precisely what the new venture implies. In many cases when a vague business idea are formally discussed the impossibilities and hurdles are identified. Start-ups and business extension program ideas must first be formally stated before it move the next step, namely the creation of a business plan. Johan Schwartz - Bivio Consulting

Retailers perceive co-branding to be an effective branding strategy

2007-12-13T09:04:00.000+02:00

The concept of co-branding as a branding instrument has been around for many a year. In the past decade we saw extensive growth in the use of co-branding as a brand leverage instrument. A study conducted by Johan Schwartz investigated the perceptions of brand practitioners towards co-branding within the retail industry of South Africa. This study found that retail brand managers perceive co-branding an effective and viable brand strategy. Academic authors suggest that co-branding occurs when two or more existing brands are combined into a new joint product or are marketed together in the same fashions. Co-branding also involve two or more firms that associate their brands together to create superior market offerings, or to engage in effective strategic or tactical brand-building program. The long lasting brand relationship between Wimpy and Engen is a classical example of joint ventures co-branding. Other examples of brands connections and the creation of a unique (and or new) products or service include: McDonalds and Coke, McDonalds and Disney, Shoprite and Computicket, KFC and Cadburys, House of Coffees and Russell Hobbs. In the past few years the use of co-branding as a brand strategy has excelled. National Retailers and financial institutions were at the forefront of the expanding this brand leverage strategy. Pick n Pay and Nedbank’s Go banking were one of the first well communicated co-branding ventures. Other retailers and financial institutions followed suit and a vast array of cross sector co-branding products were created. Examples of this inter-sectorial co-branding include, but are diffidently limited to, the following: Tiger Wheel & Tire and Hollard Insurance (Tire insurance), Shoprite and Capitech Bank (Money Transfers), Edcon and FNB (Home loans), Pep Stores and Nedbank (Pep Bank), Woolworths and Auto & General (Car & Home Insurance). In this research 112 retail brand practitioners were contacted and their perceptions towards co-branding strategies were measured though a structured survey (questionnaire). The result indicated that that retail brand managers perceive co-branding to be an important and effective brand leverage strategy. Brand managers indicated that in order for a co-branding venture to be effective, the venture must be a mutual beneficial venture and synergy must be created between the brands. The possibility of brand and sales improvement as well as the financial viability of the venture are also taken into account when proposed co-branding ventures are evaluated. The study firstly investigated the reasons why brand managers pursue co-branding strategies. Secondly the study investigated the preferred forms of co-branding. The study also examined brand managers’ main considerations when choosing a co-branding partner. Lastly the study investigated the sectors which retail brand managers prefer to co-brand with. Firstly the research found that the improvement of sales is the main reason for retail brand practitioners to pursue co-branding strategies. Secondly the research found that the improvement of brand image are deemed to be a lesser important reason for pursuing co-branding strategies. The research also found that reaching out to new segments of the market is another appropriate reason for brand practitioners to pursue co-branding. Extending the brand through a shared new product or service offering is deemed to be another appropriate reason to co-brand. The brand managers indicated that joint marketing co-branding was perceived to be the preferred co-branding form. Value endorsement and reach awareness co-branding were deemed to be the second and third most preferred co-branding. The research indicates that the possibility of sales improvement is the most important consideration when evaluating a potential a co-branding partner. The study also found that retailers consider the fit between the two brands as an important consideration when evaluating potential co-branding partners /ventures. The research results also found that companies in the FMCG sector are the preferred sector to co-brand with. The results suggest that the brand managers were not in total agreement and it implies that the when it comes to co-branding, retailers do not have particular preference towards sectors. When evaluating potential co-branding ventures, it seems that retail brand managers put more emphasize on the possibility of sales and brand improvement than on the sector they which to co-brand with. Conclusion It seems evident that South African retail brand managers consider co-branding to be an effective and viable brand leverage instrument. Certain conditions and considerations were identified in this study. The perceived fit between the brands are deemed to be an important consideration when marketing managers evaluate potential co-branding strategies (and partners). Secondly managers aim to improve their sales and to reach out to a wider or new market segment when pursuing co-branding strategies. Thirdly the study found that joint-marketing co-branding were deemed to be the preferred co-branding form and retailers also indicated that FMCG companies were deemed to be the favourite sector to co-brand with.

Wine marketers: Don’t kill the brand that lays the golden egg

2007-12-06T16:50:00.000+02:00

In the recent past wine brand owners has put a great deal of emphasis on sales volume improvements. Marketing campaigns were specifically designed to increase short term sales volumes. This over emphasis on sales volume increases has caused some wine marketers to lose their focus on strategic branding aspects. These marketers must be cautious not to kill the goose (brand) that lays the golden egg. South African wine producers in some chases diluted their brand value by focusing on short term sales improvements. These sales improvement strategies usually include price reductions and even brand sacrifice. Prof. Frikkie Herbst of the USB (University of Stellenbosch Business School) indicated that the total cost (price) is only one of the five main factors influencing the consumer’s choice of bottled wine. These “other” factors are firstly push and pull consumer’s choice factors. Pull factors include psychological motives like celebrations or value perceptions while pull factors are factors like grower’s reputation and wine variety. Other factors that influence the consumer’s decision are place of purchase and shopping time frame factors. This implies that wine marketers can focus on different aspects to improve sales without damaging their brand. Although sales growth and market expansions are deemed to be important aspects of wine marketing, the sustainability of the business depends mainly on the brand. Some authors suggest that brands are the atomic core of the consumer-driven economy and companies are dependent on the success of their brands to be able to establish a sustainable business future. David Higgens, president of Brown-Forman Beverages Worldwide Wine Group, indicated that “in general people in the wine business don’t understand the need to build brands”. He further states that this will become more and more of a problem in mid-sized wineries (www.seriousaboutwine.co.za/?p=443). Studies conducted in Australia by the Fosters Wine group found that consumers look at “brand” and label design more than any other feature when selecting wine. The study found that “brand” is consistently the strongest influence across all consumer segments, when browsing for wine. This implies that medium to long term brand strategies must be formulated to maintain a sustainable business. South African wine exporters and brand owners has the advantage of organizations like WOZA to promote Brand South Africa. These organizations build a holistic industry brand and opens international markets for local wine brands. It must be stated that wine brand owners must still focus on building their own brand and/or their region’s brand. Although the dynamics of local and international wine branding may differ, the basics still stay the same. Su Birch, CEO of WOSA, recently indicated that South African producers were heartened that the rate of value growth in the UK wine market was outpacing volume growth. ACNielsen data reflected a 7,2% rise in value, compared with a 2,1% increase in volumes for the year to June. Birch added that the higher value growth suggests that margins will be under less pressure than in the past, offering sustainable trading opportunities (www.biz-community.com -10 Sep 2007). In the local market, wine producers must realise the importance of value growth. Perceived value growth by the market can be managed by effective brand and communication strategies. In effective sustainable business management it is impeccable, and non negotiable, to maintain the quality of the product (wine). In some cases brand building involves the influencing of consumer perceptions about the different aspects of the product. This implies that brand building and consumer communication goes hand in hand. Marketers must thus find new ways and angles to communicate their brand messages to the consumer. Examples of new brand message communication platform include, but are not limited to the following: Coopetition: This can simply be defined as collaboration among competitors. Many examples exits of cooptetion in the international and local wine markets. The consortium of Alluvia, Tokara, Sagila, Knorhoek and Yonderhill serves as a classical coopetition example. Extended service offerings. Wine producers are expanding their brand by introducing new aspects of the brand. These new aspects serves as new communication platforms and brand awareness are taken to a far wider audience. Examples of this include function venues, theatres and conference facilities on wine estates. Spier, Lourensfort. Paul Cluver and Stellenrust are a few examples of brands that have found new angles to expand their brand audiences. Wine Tourism: Dr. Bouwer from UCT Graduate School of Business indicated that cellar door marketing is a very important brand image tool, especially for the smaller producers. This gives producers the opportunity to sell and communicate much more than just the physical product. This enables wine producers to develop broader communication platforms and thus improving their brand image. E-marketing: Marketers have not realised the wide array of brand building opportunities of e-marketing. Stormhoek has recently achieved tremendous brand building success with effective blog marketing campaigns. Facebook and other interactive web based platforms will create new opportunities for the expansion of brand communication platforms. Although the improvement of short term sales are a very important consideration, wine marketers and wine brand owners must also focus on developing their brand. By nurturing and developing their brands, wine marketers can create a sustainable business future and the “goose” will keep on laying golden eggs.

Improvement of sales and reaching new market segments are the main reasons for retail co-branding.

2007-11-21T09:56:00.000+02:00

Research conducted by Johan Schwartz indicates that South African retail brand managers have different reasons for pursuing co-branding strategies. The research firstly found that that the improvement of sales is the main reason for retail branding practitioners to pursue co-branding strategies. Secondly the research found that the improvement of brand image are deemed to be a lesser important reason for pursuing co-branding strategies. The research also found that reaching out to new segments of the market is another appropriate reason for brand practitioners to pursue co-branding. Extending the brand through a shared new product or service offering is deemed to be another appropriate reason to co-brand. The latter reason (extending the brand) were deemed to be a lesser important co-branding reason. Lastly the research indicates that renewing the brand though positive associations as well as launching a new and redevelop are deemed to be lesser important co-branding reasons.

Retailers prefer to co-brand with FMCG companies

2007-11-09T09:53:00.000+02:00

A recent study by Johan Schwartz found that South African retailers prefer to co-brand with FMCG companies. Retail brand managers were asked to indicate the sector which they prefer to co-brand with. The options (sector) given were financial institutions, e-companies, ticketing companies and communication companies (cell phone etc.). More than 60% of the respondents indicated that they prefered to co-brand with FMCG companies. The definitions of co-branding can be described as follows. Co-branding occurs when two or more existing brands are combined into a new joint product or are marketed together in the same fashions. Co-branding also involves two or more firms that associate their brands together to create superior market offerings, or to engage in effective strategic or tactical brand building programs.