Heiner Kuhnel, Media Director, The MediaShop Cape Town says: "The idea behind the seminar was to give our clients/agencies serious 'food for thought' and some solid reminders when planning for the future.
"The challenge to the panel was not to reflect on their media, but to reflect and predict on where media would be going in the next three years."
Areas of debate included the fact that too many brands are wasting energy in being irrelevant and too many good marketers are leaving the industry. Many of those left do not posses the necessary skills yet to build a compelling case for consumers to believe in their brands, leading to consumer apathy and eventually to no real long-term growth.
Whatever the solution, marketers are increasingly demanding accountability for the media planning decisions taken on behalf of their brands. The media and media planners need to continuously stay in touch with the changing consumer landscape in order to understand their media consumption behaviour.
Kuhnel says if consumers are not prepared to pay a premium for your product or service, and you are unable to retain their loyalty against stiff competition, you have probably not built a viable brand.
Debbie Lello, Managing Director of The MediaShop's Cape Operation says: "Constant change within our social, political and economic landscape requires industry players to be aware and stay abreast of current trends. Based on the very positive feedback The MediaShop has received from our clients after the first media day, we plan to repeat these value-added seminars annually."
