Dear Friends and Colleagues

FGI from time-to-time collects interesting insights which we like to share with our clients or people whom we hope will become our clients in the near future. FGI is growing and there are many exciting things happening , we hope you enjoy this newsletter and we look forward to seeing or talking to you soon.

The FGI Team

INTERESTING INSIGHTS

FGI recently interviewed 232 commuters in Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal and the Western Cape about their thoughts on Jacob Zuma’s visit to the UK, whether Julius Malema should be reined in by the ANC and other current hot topics.

The research was conducted during April with commuters and aimed to get insights from possible Zuma/Malema supporters who would have a more grounded view of these political figures.

The demographic profile of respondents in this study were mainly Black and Coloured, with a Male bias and with 25-34 being the most popular age group. The majority of the group are employed full-time.” The findings are below:

Julius Malema should be reined in
It appears the ruling party and commuters are in agreement about Julius Malema, this is supported by yesterday’s ruling by the ANC’s disciplinary committee and our results. The majority (55%) of commuters interviewed thought that ANCYL leader Julius Malema should be reined in by the ANC, while 45% supported Malema and felt that he should not be reprimanded for his actions.

Now that Julius Malema’s fate has been decided, we are curious about what people think about his “punishment” and have created a poll on our website to find this out. Visit www.fgi.co.za to participate.

JZ’s UK trip to improve SA image and foreign investment
When commuters were posed with questions regarding President Jacob Zuma’s trip to the UK and what they believed the impact would be on image and foreign investment for South Africa, 69% said that it improved our image and increased the chance of gaining foreign investment, while only 31% said that it damaged our image and decreased our chance of gaining foreign investment.

Julius Malema supporting Jub Jub was the right thing to do or was it?
Commuters seem divided on this question of if Julius Malema should have visited Jub Jub in jail. In total 50% backed Malema’s decision to visit Jub Jub in Jail, while only 57% said that he should not have visited him. Some of the main reasons given for supporting Malema’s visit were: He supported him because they were friends, I don’t see anything wrong with it, I think it’s a good thing, Jub Jub needs our support and guidance, He’s got the right to do whatever he wants to do.(Please note respondents were able to give multiple answers)

 IN SEARCH OF A MOVING TARGET- UNDERSTANDING BRAND SUCCESS WITHIN A CONSTANTLY EVOLVING RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT
As researchers, we spend a lot of time creating fancy algorithms and fussing over complicated equations all in the name of understanding “brand health”. This elusive construct is critical to Marketers in order to understand how their brands are perceived by consumers, relative to competitor brands. However, despite the very real need to understand brand perception, exisiting measures of brand success have become over-complicated.

In addition to this, the construct of brand success continues to evolve within the broader Marketing environment. A model aiming to measure such a moving target, therefore, needs to be be dynamic, not to mention understandable.

At FGI we believe in not over-complicating things. The old adage of “bullsh*t baffles brains” may have worked 20 years ago, but is obselete in today’s marketing industry where the level of knowledge, know-how and competition continues to reach new heights. To this end, FGI has developed a Brand Status Model (BSM). The BSM is based on three central themes, which form the basis for a rich and dynamic understanding of brand perception and success, without the frills and fuss.

The three key themes within this model are:
• Brand Resonance
• Brand Imagery
• Brand Economics

Edwin Artzt, former CEO of Proctor and Gamble, is quoted as saying "Brand value is very much like an onion. It has layers and a core. The core is the user who will stick with you until the very end." This principle is reflected in the FGI Resonance Hierarchy. This model provides an accurate assessment of brand perception as compared to other brands.

When asked what we think about Brand A in isolation, we tend to answer differently than when we are asked about Brand A vs. Brand B vs. Brand C. This method of questioning reflects real market competition, as consumers are never faced with one brand in isolation; they are continually faced with choice. It is this choice that the Resonance model aims to understand, with specific reference to the following questions:

• What elements are prevalent in the choice of one brand over another?
• To what level does the consumer see differentiation between one brand and another?
• Where can marketers focus on to create this point of differentiation?

Brand Imagery explores the perceptions towards each brand in a category using a set of statements or characteristics relative to that category. Within this, two crucial elements of brand success emerge:

• What characteristics drive usage of this category (for instance, “low charges” may be an important driver to the banking category, while “affordable meal specials” could be a driver for the Fast Food category).
• Do consumers perceive my brand to stand for the important characteristics/ drivers?

Brand Economics explores the relati onship between Cost and Value in the consumer’s mind, to assess the perception of value relative to spend required for each brand within the category.

The FGI model goes a step further in quantifying brand success, through the creation and use of a Brand Status Index score. This is a one number, composite score which provides an overall measure of brand success relative to that of competitors within the category.

Marty Neumeier, president of brand consultancy Neutron LLC, asserts to marketers that “a brand is not what you say it is, it’s what they say it is”. Marketers continue to make the mistake of believing that customers will perceive their brands in the same way as they do. This mistake is what keeps us researchers in business. There is a vast gap between what Marketers shout out about their brands, and what consumers hear and understand about these brands.

Without a simple and concise understanding of where these gaps exist, the gap will continue to widen and marketers will be no closer to tailoring brands and campaigns towards what consumers actually want to hear.

We would love to chat to you about how to best understand your brand, without having to understand complicated research. And if you don’t believe us, ask the experts – our model is endorsed by Professor Martin Kidd of the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Sciences at Stellenbosch University.

OMNIBUS SPECIAL- ARE YOU LOOKING FOR AFFORDABLE QUICK INSIGHTS ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS?
FGI will be conducting a Commuter Market Omnibus in June. The sample will be n=500 and will be conducted with taxi commuters in Gauteng (Johannesburg & Pretoria), Durban (including Newcastle), Cape Town and Mpumalanga. Standard questions to be included in the survey are: gender, age, education level, employment status, occupation, type of dwelling, region, area living in, area working in, language, radio/TV listenership/viewership and LSM. Each company participating in the omnibus can add 5 questions (4 closed and 1 open ended) for the cost of R20 000 excl VAT.
Contact us for more information and dates.

FGI IS GROWING -NEW STAFF:
Dr Dylan Fincham – Data Analyst
Dylan took his PhD in Research Psychology at Stellenbosch University. His studies took him to Maastricht University and Amsterdam Medical Centre where he performed statistical analysis of brain-imaging data. He has co-authored over twenty publications in international peer-reviewed journals with a key focus on multivariate statistical analysis. Prior to FGI he worked as a Research Executive at TNS Research Surveys in the FMCG and financial sectors. His key responsibilities at FGI include the design of quantitative methodologies, the construction of samples, data cleaning, data analysis and model development.

Emma Dicks – Account Manager

Emma has worked in the research industry for 4 years and has worked at Nielsen and Millward Brown as a client services/account manager. Emma has experience in both quant and qual within the following areas: brand tracking, adhoc, advertising copy testing, product and package testing and brand consulting. Emma has experience across the full spectrum of research from design to reporting. Emma studied at RAU and received a B Com degree in Marketing Management.

Fiona Chalmers – Business Development Executive
Fiona has worked in the research industry for 4 years as a Key Account Manager and as an Operations Project Manager for a large global research company. Fiona has been involved in managing research projects commissioned from across the globe and has gained experience in both local and African research across all methodologies and solutions. Fiona has over 8 years experience in marketing, PR and events which allows her to give clients insight into what kind of research an organisation should do and how to implement the findings across the business.

DO YOU WANT TO CONDUCT RESEARCH DURING THE WORLD CUP?
FGI is open and will be operating during the World Cup – contact us for your research requirements.