POB Podcast: Brand diversification, heartfelt and radical campaigns

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Over the past few months, we have seen more and more brands entering new markets and diversifying their product range. Unlike before, brands now have the power to offer more than one product range. Brand diversification is the process where a brand expands its product range into new markets to increase profits.

Amazon is among the brands that have succeeded in product diversification, a global brand that started by selling books online to expanding into other markets like Cloud servicing and autonomous cars etc. Another example is McDonald’s, from Burgers to Mc Cafe. The benefit of scaling for small businesses is that customers have a wide range of products to choose from. Brands with strong equity capital are more likely to survive and receive positive customer support.

The Pat on Brand’s podcast introduced an exciting new feature called “The candid conversation”. In this episode, hosts, Pat Mahlangu and Nompumelelo Stasha had a very insightful conversation about the value of brand diversification. The pair made mention of some of the great campaigns shaping the marketing industry, like the #TweetItIntoExistent and #YoutubeBlackVoices.

Here is a look at some profound brand diversification trends and campaigns.

Brutal Fruit fragrance
Image: Business Insider

Brutal Fruit Fragrance #YouBelong

The South African alcoholic beverage company, Brutal Fruit Spritzer, has expanded into another exciting market. The brand decided to enter the industry of fragrance. Although many people are questioning the connection between alcohol and fragrances, some people are very enthusiastic about trying out the new You Belong fragrance.

Twitter billboard
Image: The Message

#TweetItIntoExistence

Many people make New Year’s resolutions and have many plans. Some people dream of what they will achieve in the New Year and hope to make those dreams come true. With an understanding of the great hopes of many, Twitter launched an exciting Ad campaign that featured historic celebrity tweets that came true.This was one of the most profound campaigns, and inspires many people and motivates them not to give up on their dreams. It encourages people to dream big and chase their dreams. As the saying goes, “What the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve”., The campaign on Twitter encourages people to tweet about their dreams and watch them manifest later.

YouTube Black Voices
Image: Opportunity Desk

#Youtubeblackvoice

In 2020 Youtube, the world’s leading video sharing content platform, launched #YoutubeBlackVoices. The campaign was launched to empower and celebrate African creators, artists, and culture. This launch is about embracing the unique African cultures.

Diversification allows for more variety and options for products and services. If done correctly, diversification provides a tremendous boost to brand image and company profitability.

Social Media Trends To Look Out For in 2022

The beginning of a new year ushers in new beginnings for many. Year planners have been purchased and planning has began, iIt is important to have insights to inform your goals. The social media landscape is one of constant change, keeping up with trends is the only way to stay afloat

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically increased the amount of time that people spend on social media. With more people creating content, it’s not only marketers who need to know social media trends, it has become important to the average joe too. Lets have a look at some forecasted social media trends for 2022.

tik tok logo witth airpods and laptop

TikTok is the place to be

TikTok has taken content creation by storm. The platform went from being ‘an app for kids’ to the next best social media app. According to an article published by Tech Crunch, TikTok is predicted to reach 775.0 Million monthly users in 2022. The increasing number of active users means more eye balls, and that is good for business and advertising. Businesses, marketers and content creators need to keep that in mind when trying to reach more people. Tick ock, the time is ticking… you better get on TikTok.

Drawing of a computer

The use of social media for meaningful customer connections

As the world is getting more and more open to the use of social media by businesses and brands, things begin to shift. We are used to brands using social media as just another form of advertising, and that’s set to change. Stricter privacy rules mean that it will be harder to get information on customer behavior. This means that the best way to connect and get to know the customer is by creating meaningful connections via social media. This year, marketers will be using social media to get to know the customer better.

Phone on a selfie stick

Video content is king

Video content keeps people glued to their screens for longer, its the best way to grab your audience’s attention. According to Pop Up Smart, video content is predicted to take up 82.5% of all web traffic. This comes as no surprise, we have seen a high introduction of video features on most platforms. Its time to hit those record buttons in order for your content to reach more eyeballs.

Phone open on photo galary

Influencers continue to influence

The rise and rise of influencer marketing continues. We have seen a lot of brands going the influencer route and this year will be no different. The reason for this growth is that influencer marketing costs less than running paid ad campaigns. Working with influencers also allows brands to work with more people, reach more consumers and thus getting a higher return on investment. I guess we can safely say that influencers are not just a trend, but a type of marketing that is here to stay.

People of different races holding hands
Image: Jaluch

Inclusivity remains important

In the age of social media, consumers have become more and more vocal about social issues. Over the past few years, we have seen a stronger pull towards brands that care about customers and general social issues. Inclusivity will continue to be an important factor for customers. This will push brands to stay on the pulse and represent the communities in which they operate.

By standing next to tv with a carton character that looks like him
Image: Pop Sugar

Just a few weeks ago, there was an image of a young boy who was so excited to see a cartoon character that looked like him. It is with such small impactful particles that we change the world, and ensure inclusivity by age, gender, race and sexual orientation. We can all agree that social media has the power to make a change.

In the age of digital, it is important for people and brands to keep up with social media trends. Anyone who wants to grow on social media, for personal or business reasons needs to understand that its all about adapting. The social media streets are a place to adapt, and keep up with the times, or die.

Cancel Culture needs to be CANCELLED!

We can all admit that the South African Twitter streets have been nothing but depressing as of late especially because it’s been overshadowing more pressing issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

One thing we’ve definitely been seeing is the idea of prominent South African figures “falling” as a result of reckless or mistaken tweets that should have never made their way onto the platform to begin with. The #MustFall trend has been making its rounds to popular figures such as Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, Simphiwe Dana, Ntsiki Mazwai, and Mihlali Ndamase just to name a few.

Now we have to understand that Twitter is a platform that most people go onto to know the latest in any form of news without having to go directly to the source. A simple hashtag gives you all you need to find regarding that particular subject matter. However, the platform for a long time,has allowed us to freely express ourselves through opinions that may not be in agreement with the Twitter community – especially Black Twitter. Whenever tweets are shared unintended to cause harm, there’s a sudden call to quickly cancel these figures.

Cancelling must be bigger than a hashtag

Sure, cancelling seems like the easiest thing to do – I for one used to believe it when some of our faves did things they weren’t supposed to, but quickly realised that some people vouching for cancelling don’t realise that it doesn’t do much. Cancelling needs to be bigger than a hashtag. It needs to come with an education but no one’s putting their hand up to educate the wrongdoers. Believe it or not, people legit don’t know what’s wrong with what they tweet because they’re sharing their own experiences.

It’s very easy for people to take a tweet out of context and interpret it however they want to. As the person responsible for the tweet, you need to welcome differing views and be open to a critical discussion on it. I say this because I was reading through tweets that circulated regarding Mihlali’s experience around dating older guys. This may have been her experience, but what was not acknowledged is that she didn’t realise that had that been shared by a man, Twitter would be boiling as much. However, once a few tweeps started addressing the matter, they realised that her experience didn’t acknowledge the fact that she was groomed by men to drive a preference for dating men her senior. The threads that were shared awakened a lot of women including myself about this subject and it made us talk about something we had normalised for a long time.

As a figure whose caught up in such situations, it’s also your duty to utilise your platform to address such matters. Let your followers teach you so you can teach others. Cancel culture doesn’t do anything if we were, to be honest, and it never will. Until we dig deep and start having open conversations about particular topics, we’ll start seeing the changed behaviour that we’re always advocating for.

Why Doves Funerals got a Slap over Sbahle Mpisane

There are certain conversations that brands simply can’t be a part of, irrespective of whether the conversations are taking place in the public domain or somewhat related to their line of business. A few months ago Absa faced massive criticism for running a poll on Twitter about black tax. The criticism stemmed from the history of South Africa and how black people were systemically denied opportunities actively participate in the economy and how Absa was bailed out by the apartheid government. Their poll got people upset and most people thought it was not their place to start engaging in black tax conversations because of the amount of black people that are over indebted and poor even in the new dispensation. Banks are accused of perpetuating the situation.

Last week, fitness guru and TV personality Sbahle Mpisane got into a horrific car accident. Family, friends and fans expressed their shock and sent messages wishing her a speedy recovery. Doves Funerals (a whole funeral parlour) also saw it fit to send Sbahle a message on Twitter, wishing a speedy recovery. Furthermore Doves Funerals designed a digital card with Sbahle’s picture, the message and their contact details. The tweet didn’t sit well with many people and they accused Doves Funerals of being insensitive. Sbahle’s father – Sbu Mpisane said the tweet was opportunistic.

Frankly, the tweet was opportunistic as the #SbahleMpisane was trending on Twitter for a long time on Friday and they knew that by jumping on the hashtag they would get some brand awareness (which they did). For Doves Funerals to design a whole card with their branding and Sbahle’s photo on it was wrong. If Sbahle was the Doves Funerals’ Brand Ambassador it was going to be a different story, but Sbahle has no relationship at all with the brand. They also didn’t ask for the permission to use her image on the card alongside their branding.

Doves Funerals has since responded with the tweet below:

This response is rather flat because Doves Funerals is in the business of burying people not bringing people back to life. Hence, the tweet was insensitive and opportunistic. It is for these reasons that Doves Funerals got a Slap! What is your take?