By Kerryn Le Cordeur
CompuBrand hosted its 2010 Brand Summit at the Microsoft offices in Bryanston, Johannesburg on Thursday, 11 November. Speakers included CompuBrand’s Darren Naidu, Zayd Abrahams from Coca-Cola, Ashantha Armogam from Grid World Wide Branding and Design, Microsoft SA’s Nazeer Suliman and Digital Mark's Attila Bernarlusz, among others, who gave various perspectives on the latest innovative thinking and business solutions to help transform the way in which we position our marketing, advertising and branding strategies.
First up was Business Development Manager of CompuBrand, Darren Naidu, who explained that CompuBrand specialises in computerised branding management and is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. It offers a software-based solution which is an add-on to Microsoft Office and manages corporate identity at document level. Naidu showed delegates how this is controlled by a toolbar administrator within Microsoft Office, which is uniquely designed according to each company’s requirements, content and rules and results in speed, consistency and compliance. This is because it allows for central control of all documents and content, with instant access to files and the ability to instantly insert pre-approved phrases, descriptions and files that fall under company standards. The benefits of this are accelerated productivity, rapid deployment and a familiar interface so complex processes are streamlined, reducing the margin of error.
Zayd Abrahams, Coca-Cola South Africa Head of Marketing - sparkling beverages, addressed delegates next, opening with the statement that we are all in the technology industry, regardless of what we do, because that’s where our consumers are.
Abrahams said that Coca-Cola is the world’s most valuable brand, according to the Interbrand Global Survey, with IBM and Microsoft coming in second and third, respectively. He noted that all the other companies which have grown are technology companies and asked how an old brand like Coca-Cola can still grow at the same rate. He feels it’s because the brand has adapted to the new consumer environment, embracing social media in particular – a point made by Coca-Cola’s 11-million fans on Facebook and 96 000 followers on Twitter – and also getting involved in CSR initiatives to promote active, healthy lifestyles. To be successful, said Abrahams, you need to work where consumers are and embrace it.
So, what exactly do consumers want? Abrahams discussed that Coca-Cola focuses on being culturally relevant around the world, and as such, the brand is considered to be South African or Vietnamese, for example, depending on where you are and who you ask. On top of this, Coca-Cola’s ‘Open Happiness’ brand positioning allows consumers the opportunity to take a break from the bad news and focus instead on aspects of their lives such as relationships, fun and community – in other words, things that make them happy and connect them to one another. This is clearly a brand positioning that works, as Abrahams stated that “Coca-Cola makes people happy 6.5-billion times a day.”
Abrahams concluded his presentation by showing delegates the new Coca-Cola
Christmas ad, which was broadcast to the digital community before being shown on TV, illustrating the brand’s connection with its consumers. He added that Coca-Cola was also instrumental in making Santa Claus the red-clad figure he is today (before the brand’s influence, you seldom saw more than his face, and Christmas was largely associated with green), once again linking back to the idea that the brand is all about happiness and celebration.
The third speaker of the morning was MD of Grid World Wide Branding and Design, Ashantha Armogam. She explained that the company specialises in creating new brands and refreshing tired brands and believes it is important to collaborate and share ideas in order for the brand to be successful, and this takes time. She emphasised the need to be responsible, fair and honest, as well as innovative in coming up with an approach uniquely suited to each client.
Grid World Wide has worked with companies such as Virgin Mobile, Coca-Cola, Nando’s and Nike, as well as been responsible for creating brands such as Brand SA, Exclusive Books, MTN,
YFM, Sandton City and Airports Company South Africa from scratch. However, one of the most exciting projects the company has worked on has been the creation of the SLOW Lounge – an airport lounge for Comair. The idea behind this was taken from the ‘slow’ movement in Italy, which is the antithesis to the fast life we are all accustomed to leading. As such, the lounge is designed to get people to enjoy waiting for their next flight and show them how important it is to take some time out now and then, by creating an experience through the use of solid interiors, natural fabrics, gourmet food, a library stocked by Exclusive Books, massage stations and other interesting features to take passengers’ minds off of being in transit. Armogam noted that such an experience really speaks to consumers and is something other brands will ‘want a piece of’.
Nazeer Suliman, Consumer and Online Lead, Microsoft SA, moved away from the tangible, offline consumer experience to showcase what Microsoft has been working on to engage with consumers – this includes Windows Live Wave 4, the Windows Phone 7 and Xbox Live and Connect, which allows players to play online with any other player around the world.
Suliman said that people keep talking about digital and the changes coming to the world of marketing and communications, but they’re already here. He added that the debate about online and its importance is a moot point – there’s no doubt we need it to keep in touch with consumers. Technology has changed how people seek information, entertainment and how they interact with one another, with their needs and interests being fulfilled instantaneously. There’s great potential for brands in this space, according to Suliman, and brands that don’t embrace the change are effectively sidestepping their consumers.
He said that Microsoft sees the technological shift and its returns and as such has formed a Strategic Alliance with Kagiso Media, which allows for greater enhancement of the MSN portals in South Africa, which in turn offers more benefits for advertisers.
Suliman then handed over to Attila Bernariusz of Kagiso Media and Digital Mark, who explained that Digital Mark is a new media marketing solutions provider in the digital space that partners with key websites. As such, it now has the rights to market MSN and is the sales house for Microsoft’s digital media in Africa.
Bernariusz explained that one of the latest developments is the launch of howzit MSN, which makes MSN a lot more relevant to South African users and advertisers. He said that online is a relevant place to be because in the last three years, digital spend has doubled, with the amount of time spent online equalling that spent watching TV, while internet penetration has increased from 2.4-million to 5.3-million. MSN attracts 43% of this market, specifically users between the ages of 20 and 50 with a disposable income, and there is minimal overlap in audience with other local websites, meaning that it is a beneficial space for advertisers to make use of.
According to Bernariusz, there are several different areas which advertisers can make use of on howzit MSN, including homepage ad banners, sponsored links and banners on each of the content pages, such as news, Zalebs, business, sports, property, careers, or Afrikaans, depending on your target market. There are also innovative ad formats which use rich media, adding to consumers’ experience while remaining on the MSN platform. Bernariusz explained that the benefits of advertising on this platform include the local relevance of the website, the large, unduplicated audience and the ability to target according to category.
Moving on to Windows Live, he explained that this incorporates Hotmail, online chat, Windows Messenger, Microsoft Office web apps (which operate in the cloud) and the Skydrive, which is an online storage system. He added that it is a single hub for all networks, going so far as to link to Facebook in order to notify users of their friends’ birthdays. Each of these tools also provides opportunities for advertisers, offering advertising space to make brands part of the conversation in this social space.
Other speakers at the CompuBrand Brand Summit 2010 included Julia Coulson of CompuBrand, Stephen Newton of InMobi, Avusa LIVE’s Elan Lohmann and Michael Smurthwaite from Voice of Wits, who discussed a range of topics including building a brand identity and advertising on radio, online and in the mobile space. Brands certainly have a lot to consider in the digital and consumer-driven space.