AFRICA

Brands behaving badly on social media

[Banele Rewo] If you believe that social media enables brands to build relationships with consumers you are dead wrong. The technology merely provides a platform to connect the two parties then everything else goes back to basic psychology, group dynamics and social science. Read more >>

AFRICA

The challenge of negative word of mouth: Part 1

[Jason Stewart] I'm going to be sharing my agency's step-by-step process on how to combat negative word of mouth (WOM) in two consecutive articles. This first article looks at sustained negative word of WOM and how to effectively deal with it. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Virtual salesperson, making it work

[Brendan Peo] Most ecommerce sites - particularly in SA where we are a bit new to it all - need retail therapy, for though South African e-tailers spend a lot of time on site design, stock selection, advertising and promotion, they forget about the most important: the salesperson. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Digital media shifts landscape for media planners

[Marcus Stephens] The rapid growth of digital media over the past 10 years has completely reshaped the media planning landscape, challenging the way that media planners used to think as they rolled out the advertising strategies for their clients. Today, it's all about quality of audience and engagement rather than pure reach. Read more >>

MALAWI

PRB engage journos in IDEA Project

[Gregory Gondwe: @Kalipochi] US based Population Reference Bureau (PRB) continues to engage the Malawi media in a project called Informing Decision makers to Act (IDEA), in an attempt to help journalists take part through media activities to help change Malawi's population projections which is set to hit 60 million people by 2050, if the current trend continues unabated. Read more >>

AFRICA

The Africa CEO Forum launched at the AfDB Annual Meetings

The Africa CEO forum (ACF) was officially launched by Tim Turner, AfDB private sector operations director, and Amir Ben Yahmed, vice president of Groupe Jeune Afrique and founder and executive producer of the event, at the recent African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings that took place in Arusha, Tanzania. Read more >>

KENYA

Kenya's media to question opinion polls

[Carole Kimutai: @CaroleKimutai] A few weeks ago, Nation Media Group (NMG), a media house in Kenya sent a notice to its journalists asking them to treat, with skepticism, opinion polls trumpeting the rising or falling fortunes of Kenyan political leaders. "We take the view that, not knowing the sponsors of and how the polling was conducted, we risk our reputation if we play up the "findings" of these pollsters," read the notice. Read more >>

AFRICA

Airtel partners with Opera

Bharti Airtel, an integrated telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, has announced that it has signed a global arrangement with Opera Software to offer a customized and co-branded version of Opera Mini internet browser for Airtel mobile customers across its operations. Read more >>

NAMIBIA

iNamibia gets big

iNamibia (www.inambia.co.na) has announced that they have become the biggest local website in Namibia. This is according to the web traffic ranking site, Statshow. They have achieved this in a period of 18 months, launching in January 2011.

ZIMBABWE

Zimpapers Talk Radio begins trial run

Zimpapers' Talk Radio station has started conducting a trial run by playing pre-recorded music and promos on its FM band. Read more >>

AFRICA

AltoPartners chooses SPI as exclusive African partner

Search Partners International (SPI) has joined the AltoPartners global alliance of 45 independently owned and run executive search firms operating in 29 countries across the globe. Read more >>

AFRICA

Renaissance Capital restructures research teams

Renaissance Capital, the emerging markets investment bank, has merged its South African and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) research teams and appointed Gerhard Engelbrecht and Nothando Ndebele as co-heads, in addition to continuing to expand coverage of key sectors. Read more >>

GHANA

Ghana bans 'invader' traders from streets

Ghana is banning foreigners from operating in its informal retail business sector, giving them until 21 June 2012 to close shop. Read more >>

FRANCE

Cannes Lions: Dan Wieden to receive Lion of St. Mark

CANNES, FRANCE: The organisers of the 59th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity have announced that the 2012 recipient of the Lion of St. Mark will be Dan Wieden, co-founder and global executive creative director of Wieden+Kennedy. Read more >>

FRANCE

Cannes Lions 2012 entries break record

CANNES, FRANCE: A record 34 301 entries from 87 countries have been submitted to the Cannes Lions 59th International Festival of Creativity, claimed to be one of the largest and most prestigious global international annual awards for creative advertising and communications. South Africa's contribution to the record currently stands at 820 entries. This is the summary of entries by country. Read more >>

UNITED STATES

Improving product returns biggest opportunity to increase online shopping satisfaction

RESTON, US: While 86% of consumers are satisfied with the overall experience of shopping online, retailers still have significant opportunity to improve customer satisfaction and their competitive position by making the process of returning or exchanging items easier, a new study shows. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

SA Roadlink back in firing line

Every SA Roadlink bus on Western Cape roads will be stopped and its operating licence, vehicle registration and roadworthy documents inspected. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Red tape halts future property development

Property developments in South Africa are being severely hampered by bureaucracy and red tape, prompting at least two major development companies to end their commercial and retail property development plans in this country, according to a report in Business Day. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Clerks stealing maintenance monies

At least R80m paid to South African courts in the form of child maintenance, spousal support or settlements in terms of a court order has been stolen by corrupt departmental officials or has been "lost", reports Times Live. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Youth subsidy should complement industry: Shabangu

The implementation of a youth wage subsidy would not have a negative impact on the mining sector, but should complement it, Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said in Johannesburg on Wednesday. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Shortage of artisans hampers SMME growth

[Siya Miti] The shortage of skilled artisans hampers South Africa's small medium and micro enterprise (SMME) sector growth and employment, Eastern Cape MEC for economic development Mcebisi Jonas told a media briefing. This comes as the Eastern Cape hosts a jobs summit at the East London International Convention Centre (ICC). Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Limpopo making progress - National Treasury

Limpopo's liquidity and solvency challenge has been solved and payments to suppliers have begun returning to normal, while a number of provincial departments that were last year placed under administration have been able to reduce overspending, the National Treasury told Parliament on Wednesday. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

[10 Things I love About...] Destinations I've visited, the experiences

[Brian Berkman: contributing editor, travel] Mohamed Hamza, an MBA graduate from the University of Strathclyde Business School, began his career with Hilton Worldwide in 1990. During his tenure with Hilton, he played an active role in supporting the food and beverage functions for several pre-opening hotels and in 2010, accepted his fifth assignment as General Manager when he joined Hilton Durban. Contributing Editor Brian Berkman asked him about the 10 things he loved about destinations he's visited and the experiences he's had. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Americana sokkie

[Johann M. Smith] It's not hard to have fun with Peachy Keen. The name alone hints at their deeply imbedded perkiness. And with an EP entitled "Backseat Bingo", you can assume a theatrical carousal of good times, with all the intimate sexual underlying bells and whistles it suggests. This isn't rock 'n' roll with the intellectual Bob Dylan figure in mind, as much as it's about relationships' emotional complexities tossed and thrown like cheap whiskey down a teddy boy's throat. Either post break-up or before hitting on that fine-looking minx standing at the bar - who will inevitably tear your heart apart. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Facing the music

[Daphne Cooper] Face the Music is described as a "high-voltage show combining chart-topping songs and dazzling dance moves with the novel, fun format of a spectacular music game show". It is all that, but like most things, there's good and there's not so good. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Jeff Dunham's controlled chaos

[Jordan Scott] There is something incredibly odd about watching something on YouTube for hours on end and then actually seeing it live. I say odd, but what I mean is absolutely amazing! Jeff Dunham started his career when he was just a youngster and first appeared with Walter in 1996, but his major success came when he brought Achmed, The Dead Terrorist into the mix. His television specials and series have been the highest rating programmes in Comedy Central's history. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Dare to see Prometheus

[Daniel Dercksen] Master visualist and supreme storymaker Ridley Scott Gothicises the Alien legacy to its outermost intensity, showing the gloom of exploring an unchartered universe, confronting grotesque creatures and being endangered by supernatural forces in the supreme Prometheus. Read more >>