1918 to 2013 to Beyond

To a much adored Global Icon,

Dearest Mr Mandela, Dearest Madiba,

Born on the 18^TH of July 1918

He was and is;
A Son,
A Father,
An Uncle,
A Grandfather,
A Great Grandfather,
A Great-Great Grandfather,
A Former President of South Africa,
A Mentor,
An Advisor,
A Legendary Icon,
A magnificent Global Leader.

Brand Values Alignment & Synergy in Marketing, Digital Marketing, Communication & Advertising

Brands which are admired, Brands which are Epic – the Brands that set trends and that are truly legendary,

But every journey is not easy, there is time, effort and dedication that went in to overcome the endeavour, there are many (metaphorical mountains, and waves) that where present on the path to success/es – but there was a Vision (the dream), and a Mission (the now aspect – what must be done now to reach the dream, the goals) and also Strategic Intent (the values in which the Mission, and the Vision is completed)

The Vision, Mission, and Strategic Intent are equally important; these core factors assist one in the journey.

I hear you asking, but “what has this got to do with Business, Marketing, Communications and Advertising?”

The truth is that it has everything to do with Business, and with Brands from Marketing, to Communications, to Digital Marketing to Advertising, there is an internal and an external perspective,

The internal is the Vision, the Mission, and the Strategic Intent of the brand, the external is how the brand is perceive by those whom form part of the market,

The Adobe Generation - “It is inspiration with preparation.”

There is excitement, there is passion, there is belief, there is a purpose in Adobe and the drive to inspire a generation and the reason is ... the Adobe Generation has returned “It is inspiration with preparation.”

We all have played awesome games.

We all have seen amazing images.
We all have viewed brilliant videos.
We all have been moved by incredible animations.
We all have used scintillating apps.

Now imagine that you creating those awesome games, those amazing images, those brilliant videos, those incredible animations and those scintillating apps. Sounds brilliant

Adobe a global iconized brand and with the Adobe Generation endeavour, as a brand as an organization they want  to assist and guide those whom have a passion for Photo Imaging, Animation, Video, Game and App Design.

Intrusive Promotion 101

In this generation with advancements in technology, systems, processes, which proliferate into the strategy/strategies for the Brand, so there are better and continuous improvements and value adds (in terms of shaping the influence, the strength, the sentiment, the passion and as well the role to take cogence of the Customer’s/Client’s Situation/s and Experiences which adds value to the Customer’s/Client’s Journey with the Brand.)

I have being called twice, once from a 011 (+2711) number and from a 021 (+2721) number as well and I answered, then caller was an automated system (“Okay, Let see what this is about” I thought to myself) but it was an automated system that tried to get me to subscribe to some service that I really didn’t (well now – after hearing what this was about) want to hear about (“Press 1 – if you want, like to subscribe?” “Press 2 – to hang-up the call” Wow an option to hang-up amazing – well I just press the hang up button on the screen and the call was terminated, Haha)

The Position of Economics

Can a Brand, Can an Organization¸ Can a Government, Can a Country be blamed, I believe not as the result of the situation was the of various vortexes that affected the globalized economy as thereof, the vortexes collided with epic force it too each another, the result was a “Hybrid Vortex” (all the vortexes added up) – that played out across world economies, anyway if we do play the “blame game” what would actually be solved? As the situation and experience would still exist,

In this globalized economy a proverbial “sneeze” – results in a chain over events that are played out in various unique countries, industries, and to clients and to customers as individuals as households across the world over,

The practice of Securitization – this means a Financial Institution would have a book of loans that are sold more commonly to an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) and the SPV acquires the loan – this practice is extremely dangerous and short term focused (when a Market/Economy is based on an excess level (Supply) of credit) as played out in global terms which manifested into a situation in which the level and quality of the Securitization was diluted, an AAA+ loan was only a AA level type (and it was possibly less than that) that is  which was a dangerous situation indeed. South Africa has the Regulations and the Relevant Acts and Legalities in the Supply and Level of Credit there is the National Credit Act (NCA) and, and also those whom provide advice in a Financial Capacity on behalf on the Financial Brand must be FIAS compliant, there is also the FICA aspect as well, which serve as a means of Custodianship

Marketing Insights and Strategy

Marketing Insights and Strategy

In this Information Era, where one can connect, interact and engage with individuals across time-zones, across cities, across countries,

My adage is “Aspire to Inspire, Live to Dream, Envisioning the Vision and the Opportunities.”

This means Aspire (To be Passionate) Inspire (My Actions/Decisions impact on my current and future and my reputation)

Live to Dream (Looking to the current and the future to improve, and to believe in the greatness and ability to far-surpass my full potential)

 Envisioning the Vision and the Opportunities (Focused on my goals and dreams, being respectful, a willingness to listen, observe, engage, interact, communicate)

Dearest Marketing-stars and Marketing-staress

Brand continues to adapt, develop, re-focus, create awareness, increase the sentiment, grow the reach, drive the passion towards the brand, and build the strength, in the pursuit of greatness, and far-surpassing the full potential,

The Heart and Soul of an Economy

 We live in a globalized economy.

An economy is made up of many different subsets (some are variables and some are constants) but each and every economy is made up and influence accordingly. Sometimes is it direct or indirect – They Heart and the Soul of an Economy is Petrol and Electricity – the two have a direct impact and an indirect impact on the economy and influence individuals, brands and organizations to act accordingly.

If the combined cost is higher in average to the Global Cost (i.e. The Petrol and Electricity Prices in one country is too high in comparison to a globalized world) the production and as a result exports would be impacted upon because it will cost much too produced the goods/services in that country, and then to be exported, and will wouldn’t be cost effective for the another country to import the goods/services, when the same quality or better grade of quality can be sourced from elsewhere.

Everyone is impacted on by Petrol and Electricity – A financial institution (i.e. Bank) has to take money and deliver it to an ATM, Even an I.T start-up is depended on Electricity. The Internal stakeholders (i.e. Staff) of a Brand/Organization use transport to travel to work. The Phone, PC and Notebook which are used which require Electricity.  Increasing the cost of one has a direct impact on you, as well as other individuals, as well as Brands and as well as Organizations as the prices of most goods and services do appreciate.

Leading Inspiring Brands in S.A in the year 2013

Greeting Blog-Stars, Blog-staress, Digital-Stars, and Digital-Staress

A very special thank you goes to the Sunday Times, TNS, but also all of those individuals whom have spent the time, and the effort in the collection and sampling of the results – and the provision of the insightful information,

Some of the Brands that would appear here are mentioned in the previous post – “Legendary Advertising”

Some of the results have surprised me – let’s just leave it at that, and celebrate those whom have won and those whom have the potential to achieve greatness and define their full potential

Marketing Insights

Kindly remember that in this age, in the industry, in this environment – there is a lot of insights and research that are suggesting that Customer Centricity is continuously is gaining momentum and Brands are focusing or going to be focusing on the “you” as the customer as an associate.

I have observed conversations, interactions, engagements in regards to situations and experiences – there is a situation of how does a Brand influence the Market Sentiment, Reach, Strength and Passion (to current and potential client/customers) in terms of leveraging creativity, innovation, technology, flexibility as a means, it starts within the Brand as an Organization to purposeful create meaningful relationships and network, synergized and aligned , and continuously improving (i.e. being the best the best that the brand can be each minute, each hour, each day, each week, each month and every year) – “walking in the shoes of your customers” whom have had experiences and situations and also knowing your brand’s greatness and the full-potential that is capable of being envisioned into reality currently and into the future.

Legendary Advertising

Legendary Advertising

 It is said that there always a Movie, a Show, a Song, that defines and inspires a generation as a group of individuals, the same is true in the Advertising Industry, great adverts have the manner to inspire, to entertain, to share a laugh, to provide insights, to educate, and when that and the content, the music, the tone, the ambience shines through transparently - it is truly a joy to view and experience that creates a great and a brilliant Advert (and/or Campaign)

Greetings to the Digital-sters, Digital-star-ess, Blog-stars, and Blog-staress and to the Brands and the Organizations,

Advertising Insights;

I believe that the internal values of a Brand influence the Story, Outline, Plot, the Tone and the Message in the Advert – also in high competitive platforms (where there is a lot of Advertising) – the Brand Values create the means to differential and the means to individualize the Advert to the Audience as an Individual (in accordance to their situation/s, their experience/s via your brand)

I love Advertising that tells a Story/ or responds to a situation/experience,

The sense of the individual’s favourite team (scoring a goal, a touchdown, crossing the checked line first and a try) the pride of understanding and those are some of the aspects that should be encapsulated in the Advert,

Please kindly note that there is a fine line between Distinctive and just being Brash, a fine line between Entertaining and just being Asinine – but there is always an Advert that encapsulates the experiences and situations those are the Advert I treasure- that has the potential to go viral as the individuals (customers/clients) feel understood, acknowledged (i.e. valued)

The Digital Marketing and Social Media Marketing Process

The Digital Marketing and Social Media Marketing Process;

Greetings to the Blog-stars, Blog-staress, Digital-stars and Digital-staress

I have interacted, engaged and communicated with Brands in S.A, U.S and the U.K – these Brands are greater and defined a generation as an Organization, some of the individuals of these brands are great and some aspire to be great and I am sure that they would be great,

I am appreciative of the great and the insightful Brands in South Africa, the USA, and United Kingdom that I acquire information from so that I can improve, develop, assist, and understand the Marketing and Digital Marketing Environments

Online Brand Presence, Digital Marketing is about but this is situation and scenario dependant;

* Creating a Sentiment

* Driving the Passion

* Building a Brand of Superior Strength

* Developing and Enhancing the Reach

Social Networking Media as a Platform – the Brand as Organization covers some costs in terms of content but the individual also pays in terms of data and the content is worth their effort if the interaction, engagement, and communication are there if they find added value to their lives in acquiring, or sourcing the content via the Brand as an Organization.

As there price of internet is gradually decreasing due to improvements in technology (LTE) and there is talk about “White-Spaces” being leveraged to connect individuals into an online environment network/platform – so this is incredibly encouraging and awe-inspiring,

The Future of South African Brands Now

The Future of South African Brands Now,

 Update: See the 2014 report here: http://www.kashveer-kash-gobichund.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-future-of-brands-reloaded.html 

Greetings to you,

I would like to thank the Sunday Times and the Youth Marketeers, Monash University, and the Individuals for the research, the time and the effort that was undertaken in talking, interacting and engaging for the Generation Next project and then providing this insightful and mind-shaping content - Where the Young Generation (8 – 23 years) made their voices heard, the Brands that have shaped and influenced their lives where identified, and as well as those Brands that relate, and inspire, and start conversations, creating interaction and engagement. Some Brands are there, and some Brands have great potential to go there.

“Polling over 5 500 in six provinces.” So there was an incredible effort, time, research and the commitment to showcase the research which is great and awe-inspiring

“With an Annual spent of over R105 Billion;

Kids; R29.9bn
Teen; R36.2bn
Young Adults; 39.3bn”

This contributes a sizeable portion of the market, the Young Generation is the market that is the future for Brands, The Young-Generation are learning, watching, they see value, future clients and customers, There Young Generation is has spoken, the Brands that have won identify with the youth. Please kindly note that some categories only have the current top 3 – so you should acquire a copy of the Sunday Times to acquire an in-depth analysis. Well done to the Brands in specific Industries as well as, the Overall Winners.

Overall Brand Winners;

1. Blackberry
2. BMW
3. Apple
4. Coca – Cola
5. McDonald’s
6. Samsung
7. Nike
8. Mr Price
9. Mercedes Benz
10. Adidas

Saturday – The 25th of May 2013

Saturday – The 25^th of May 2013

The day that I was waiting for since the 18^th of September 2012 had arrived on the day the 25^th of May 2013 – it was a Saturday, the prestige, the passion, and the belief is always clearly visible and the spirit is encapsulated for current and future generations.

I love sports especially Cricket, Rugby, and Soccer (known as Football in some parts of the world) – I have respect for most individual athletes, and I do have respect for the individuals whom are part and parcel of a team, 

The Event is the UEFA Champion League – the 25^th of May 2013 was the Final in Wembley, between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund

The Closing Ceremony was spectacular visual display;

Imagine this;

·        The Setting was a Battlefield

·        The Outline was two fractions each dress in the colours of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund engaging on the Battlefield,

With the mood and tone set for an epic encounter between the rivals in the Bundesliga, 

The UEFA Champion League is sponsored by Heineken,

Social Media Networking Platform news

I am passionate about Marketing, Digital Marketing, Strategy, Innovation and Corporate Entrepreneurship and I aspire to be the Leader in Marketing, Digital Marketing, Strategy, and Corporate Entrepreneurship in Durban, then S.A and then the World

In Social Media Networking Platform news

I have viewed;

·         LinkedIn has now enabled tagging/mentioning

There are more changes to be expected in the Social Networking Media Platform

I have heard;

Twitter –On April 30th, Twitter announced that advertising would finally be available to all users through the launch of its new, self-service ad platform. Previously, advertisers had to be invited to use Twitter ads -- and spend a minimum amount of money per quarter – via the full-service platform.  This functionality is currently only available in the U.S (check out http://advertising.twitter.com/2013/04/Twitter-Ads-now-generally-available-for-US-users.html for more) I do expect the functionality to be rolled out in countries across the world (perhaps sooner than you expect for some countries)

Marketing Ice to” Eskimos”

Individuals often say in Sales “Can you sell ice to an Eskimo” and so an indirectly question the asked from a Digital Marketing, Advertising, and Marketing Perspectives is” Can you draw up a Marketing, Digital Marketing, Advertising Plan for this.”

I am passionate about Marketing, Digital Marketing, Strategy, Innovation and Corporate Entrepreneurship, and I aspire to be the Leader in Marketing, Digital Marketing, Strategy and Innovation, and Corporate Entrepreneurship in Durban, then in S.A and then the World.

So to answer the question above my answer would be No – because there is no value added to the Eskimo’s daily life and doesn’t benefit the organization and the Eskimo in the Medium to Long Term, I would export the ice to a Climate Zone which is Humid - because the organization and I would add more value to daily individual lives and abundant advantages (Strategic and Competitive) and opportunities will be attained this way.

My Inspiration

My Inspiration;

My Inspiration is; You,

Yes I am passionate about Marketing, Digital Marketing, Strategy, Innovation and Corporate Entrepreneurship, and I aspire to be the Leader in Marketing, Digital Marketing, Strategy, Innovation and Corporate Entrepreneurship in Durban, then in S.A and then the world.

LinkedIn Tagging/Mentions - The Functionality is coming to you soon

There is news via the network that Linked In is currently testing “Mentions”/ “Tagging”

I do spend a lot of time on Online Platforms (Social Networking Media) and I acquired great insights in the aspect of Digital Marketing due to my passion for the Industry and eagerness to learn about Digital Marketing.

So the new functionality is envisioned to connect and provide notifications to the mentioned individual/brand/organization making life easier

I believe that this is a great functionality for a network with +- 200 Million consisting of individuals from many different and unique “walks-of-life”
With a colossal individual support base with the regional traffic ranking (acquired on the 13/03/2013) indicate this;

The Greatest Marketing, Digital Marketing, Advertising, Communications Strategy/Concept

The Greatest Marketing, Digital Marketing, Advertising, Communications Strategy/Concept is perhaps the oldest one but it still holds merit and adds value in the Modern Era,

Have you ever heard of a pebble meeting the water?

 I am sounding a bit out – there or you are of the impression that I am talking in riddles

So what is it The Greatest Marketing, Digital Marketing, Advertising, Communications Strategy/Concept; which is still provides;

·         A Royal Flush

·        A Try

·        A Goal

·        A Podium Line Finish

Here it is;

“Take a stone/pebble drop it into a pool of water, one would see ripples in the water"

The Business Bill 2013 in South Africa - Department of Trade and Industry

With respect to the Trade and Industry Department and Minister (Dr Rob Davies)

I am always positive in regards to my outlook – which is one of the reasons why, I might have found great opportunities, but there are moments in time when things are need to be said,
As you may know or may not know the Minister of Trade and Industry in S.A(Dr Rob Davies) has drafted the “Licensing of Businesses Bill 2013”

A business is an organizational or a brand that had an entrepreneur or a group of entrepreneurs that saw a gap/opportunity in the market and the Industry and seized/leveraged the opportunity via its products and services,

In the Draft it is said:

 “the state must respect, protect, promote and fulfil, the right of every citizen to choose their trade, occupation or profession and all rights in the Bill of rights which is the cornerstone of democracy in the Republic;

Provided impartially, fairly, equitably, and without bias;

AND IN ORDER TO-

Promote a culture of transparency and accountability in public bodies through legislative commands to ensure participation by every citizen in trade, occupation or profession,”

But with respect to the Trade and Industry Department and Minister(Dr Rob Davies) – the Draft goes against the constitution and probably grossly violates the rights of individuals that the constitution values 

Hashtags on Facebook? Work in progress?

Acknowledgment to all those whom are passionate about Social Networking Media and Digital Marketing

I am passionate about Marketing, Digital Marketing, Strategy, and Corporate Entrepreneurship and I wish to be the Leader in Marketing, Digital Marketing, Strategy, and Corporate Entrepreneurship in Durban, then S.A and then the World.

Facebook might be incorporating #Hashtags into the interface – but I believe that; knowing Facebook and prior developments (such as the “Graph Search” functionality)  Facebook as an innovating Brand operates and transcends into countries boundaries but I would expect the functionality to be tweaked as if as a strategy/concept (as if the functionality is just merely duplicated/imitated then as a Brand you have not set yourself apart from those whom are in the Industry and the throne of the Market Leader/s is just for a few Brands.) Facebook could just adjust the #Hashtags concept/strategy into the platform, in unique manner.

Digital Marketing - Social Networking Media Platforms

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Buying Likes for Social Networking Media

Buying Likes for Social Networking Media - is not what to do on social networking media!

This my perception of the situation – the Exercise of “Buying Likes” this goes against everything that Social Networking Media is about – and actually more harm is done to a Brand Image and Brand Reputation of the respective client’s image but also the Brand Image and Brand Reputation of the organization conducting these behaviours when it is becomes apparent of what transpired – and yes social networking is about “likes” but it is also about interaction, and engagement.  

Biz Community and our Interaction

Greetings to you as an individual,

It is was an interaction and conversation between BizCommunity’s Facebook page and myself - which is a key source of my inspiration and belief in my passions of Marketing, Digital Marketing, Strategy, Innovation, and Corporate Entrepreneurship;