Tag: consumer behaviour

I do not consider myself an early or late adopter of technology. I need the right nudges to start exploring. After trial, I enjoy playing and learning new applications. Recently, our business unit started exploring Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to enhance strategy delivery.

Conversations about the war for talent in financial services have persisted for many years. Competition to attract skilled individuals has always been intense, with high demand for talented professionals. This competition has intensified recently as hiring activity accelerates to meet today's significant challenges.

Every day you are bombarded with visual stimuli. Your breakfast, your emails, your social media feeds, and almost every item you interact with, blast your brain with imagery in an attempt to get attention. Your brain diverts all of it to the unconscious side, including that very expensive campaign-from-that-oh-so-trendy agency. Unless, of course, it triggers some sort of divergence, something visually disruptive that forces the conscious brain to process and investigate.

No matter which industry your business finds itself in, advertising forms a crucial part of any company’s go-to-market strategy to help achieve a host of business goals - from influencing consumer behaviour or driving sales and revenue growth, to gaining a competitive advantage and expanding into new markets.

The global influencer marketing industry is set to grow to an astonishing $22.2 billion by 2025. If anyone ever doubted its staying power, this figure makes it clear: influencer marketing is here to stay. In fact, according to the latest The State of Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report 2024, this growth is not just a global experience. In South Africa, the landscape is evolving rapidly, with local brands poised to capitalise on this growth through digital strategies and meaningful connections with consumers.

Marketing professionals are no strangers to change, but the pace and complexity of today's environment presents some real challenges and may seem daunting at times. However, by labelling and embracing this chaos, marketers can not only survive, but thrive.

Three iconic apples have profoundly shaped human behaviour over the centuries. It began with Eve's fateful bite, symbolising our innate temptation for social status. Then came Newton's apple, revealing the gravitational forces that exist between objects and people. Finally, there was Steve Jobs' Apple, putting a powerful handheld window to the world in our palms - allowing us to seamlessly connect, purchase, and share our lifestyles like never before.

At the beginning of every year, a barrage of trend think pieces flood our favourite news sites and inboxes, courtesy of whatever newsletter we don’t remember subscribing to – from the useful; “Three factors influencing your investments this year” to the downright absurd; “Why that cuddly kitty of yours is a killer.” And no, we didn’t make that last one up – it’s a bona fide New York Times article!

Black Friday has come and gone, and with the current state of our economy we’ve seen a significant change in consumer behaviour. This years Black Friday has some clearly defined changes such as how consumers chose to make their purchases, the platforms they used to make them as well as how much they chose to spend.

With Black Friday around the corner, South African retailers are gearing up for one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Unfortunately, most are ignoring a vital element in ensuring they are ready for the influx of shoppers. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become staples of the South African calendar, with shoppers spending billions of Rands on deals.