Brand Power

When I arrived in South Africa, it took a while to adjust to the different mindsets here. There are things going on here that are commonplace now, but that you haven't even heard of if you;ve been overseas for a while. For example there's a game called '30 Seconds'. I still haven't played it but it's apparently a riot with just about everyone.

There's also a shop which is called The Friendly Grocer which seems to be everywhere and is relatively new, and of course CELL C's advertising is everywhere, hanging off buildings, hanging upside down, with copy saying: Choon someone, or Tell someone.
Another thing are the movie adverts which go to great lengths to show why it is necessary to turn off your cellphone. Both Vodacom and Cell C are at it, and it's pretty amusing stuff. I also saw a Nashua ad today that was quite dry, but funny. You have ther office, and voiceover explaining about principles and longevity in business. Then the man in the shadows gets up, to open the blinds, and pulls them down so they fall on top of him, and it turns out to be that comedian guy, whatisname? In another ad he chokes on a cigarette. Quite funny my cousin.

In Bloem they still refer to Virgin Active as The Health and Racquet (once also known as the Wealth and Faggot Club). The old logo of the now defunct H&RC is still on the tiles of the swimming pool, which any Brand expert will tell you is just not done. That's like going to a shop and saying can I have a Pepsi, and the guy gives you a Coke and nobody bats an eyelid.
Interestingly I have also started referring to it as the Health and Racquet simply because that is what it was all these years, and Virgin Active just sounds weird and contrived.

If you ask me, I'd rather waste money on mineral water, healthy as it is (or alternatively potentially free but increasingly endangered in its pure form)than pour sticky stuff the color and consistency of liquid tar, down my throat. It's the thirsty man's equivalent of smoking.
Rather feel the sunshine, breathe the fresh air. It makes sense to buy something that is actually good for you at the end of the day, doesn't it?

The fastest growing segment of the beverage industry today is Energy Drinks. I read a recent article which argued that this may produce unhealthy side-effects since most energy drinks contain a lot of caffeine - think Red Bull. But others, like Gatorade, Powerade, Energade, are all healthier and often tastier alternatives to the great terror - Coca Cola.

So I think the most amazing of all is Mineral Water. In South Africa, you can drink water out of a tap, yet there are countless mineral water brands. When you can sell water to people, you've discovered the art (the manipulative power) of marketing, and you've found a market that is dumb (but healthy) enough to eagerly consume it. Like I do.