In recent years, many focus groups shifted from in-person sessions to online formats, driven first by the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic and later by the convenience that virtual research offers. Online groups have undoubtedly made research more accessible, efficient, and easier to coordinate. Yet despite these advantages, nothing can fully replace the human element...Continue Reading

Understanding the Multifaceted Consumer: Consumers Beyond Data Points Consumers are not as homogeneous as brands sometimes assume them to be. Their worlds are complex, layered and constantly evolving. An individual is not defined by only one aspect of their life. They are shaped by many touchpoints, roles, environments and life experiences. They may be a...Continue Reading

For years, brand health has been measured through a familiar lens: awareness, consideration, and preference. These metrics have long served as the backbone of brand tracking studies. But in African markets—particularly in South Africa—this model is no longer enough. Because being known is not the same as being chosen. The Problem with Awareness-Led Thinking Awareness...Continue Reading

For years, marketers have focused on understanding the consumer. but in 2026, there’s a new question: Are you marketing to the consumer—or to the technology advising them? Because increasingly, the decision-making process is no longer human-only, it is AI-assisted. The New Decision-Making Journey: Traditionally, the consumer journey looked like this: Awareness → Consideration → Purchase...Continue Reading

For decades, brands controlled discovery. Media budgets dictated visibility. Creative dictated perception. And consumers followed. That model is broken. Today, discovery doesn’t start with brands—it starts with people, platforms, and communities. Social media has effectively become the new search engine, with consumers turning to platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube as their first point of...Continue Reading

In today’s market, brands are listening more than ever. Tracking sentiment. Running surveys. Monitoring social conversations and yet — many are still getting it wrong.Because what consumers say and what they do are no longer the same thing. Welcome to the growing tension between consumer sentiment and consumer reality — and why understanding this gap...Continue Reading

Ghosting means breaking off a relationship by stopping all communication and contact with the partner without any apparent warning or justification, as well as ignoring the partner’s attempts to reach out or communicate. Let us think relationship marketing and efforts driven to sustain a relationship with the said customers. It is apparent that ghosting is...Continue Reading

Gone are the days when the prerogative to produce a product\service sat with producer only. Consumers have an urge to have their personal stamp or rather touch on any product they consumer. We can, in this way, dub this the age of the prosumer, where both the producer and consumer are both involved in the...Continue Reading

Humans have an innate desire to experience different moments in life as they carve out their path through life. Take the emotions that one goes through in a day for instance. In addition to this we are prone to or have an inclination to share these experiences with those we hold dear to our hearts....Continue Reading

A South African IsiXhosa slang word which means that one is going through the most/going through a lot- Mgowo (other derivatives: gowa, gowishing, gowisha, umgowo) “I want to live my best life…” Millennials truly voucher for this statement and strife as much as the can to bring this to life. These individuals find themselves constantly...Continue Reading