After the announcement that South Africa will be the proud host of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, mixed emotions arose regarding our readiness as a country for this challenge. The implementation of construction plans and marketing strategies, together with taxis that are geared to cater for this challenge, assure our international guests of a soccer experience never to be forgotten. 20 Nov 2009 Read more >>

The annual Ask Afrika Orange Index® ended on a high note at a conference held at The Venue, Melrose Arch, on 3 November 2009. The Orange Index® is an annual service benchmark which provides South African companies with a means to service excellence. 6 Nov 2009 Read more >>

South Africans love their dogs. However, they do not love them equally. The difference lies in the perceived role that dogs play in their lives. 22 Oct 2009 Read more >>

The Ask Afrika Orange Index® 2009 promises greater insights than ever before. The Ask Afrika Orange Index® - South Africa's largest service excellence benchmark - identifies the best customer-service companies in South Africa, and the key drivers of service in the various industries that have been measured. With a history of nine years, the Ask Afrika Orange Index® has a strong base from which to rank the top customer-service companies in the country. It offers companies the opportunity to celebrate the successes of moving beyond mediocrity to providing service excellence. 13 Oct 2009 Read more >>

The Ask Afrika Trust Barometer® is the preferred local corporate reputation and trust benchmark. It is currently in its fifth year running, and is based on an expert panel of 200 telephonic interviews with CEOs, EXCO and senior managers reporting directly to the EXCO of JSE-listed companies. Business leaders spontaneously mention three companies (except their own) that they believe are the most trusted in South Africa. They also rate these companies based on various trust and reputation drivers. Among others, respondents from a number of companies such as Standard Bank, Pick n Pay, Massmart Holdings, and BHP Billiton participated in this year's Trust Barometer®. 2 Sep 2009 Read more >>

The intense debate on using margarine or butter has been raging since the 19th century when margarine was developed as a cheap alternative for the armed forces. Yet it is still generating debate today despite the perception that butter has disappeared from most diets and food-preparation routines. 93% of urban South Africans eat margarine; 41% exclusively use margarine; 52% claim to use both margarine and butter; and 4% claim that they only use butter. It is clear that butter has still has an important role to play in food preparation, albeit it in tandem with margarine. 21 Aug 2009 Read more >>

The results of the 2009 Ask Afrika Trust Barometer® were announced at a conference in Rosebank on 18 August 2009. 20 Aug 2009 Read more >>

The Target Group Index SA (TGI SA) has announced in Johannesburg that they have included a number of life event questions that measure the major events experienced by a consumer within an identifiable period of time. At this stage, 16 major life events have been included, ranging from leaving/completing high school to retirement. Life events help to pinpoint events in two specific periods of time: whether such an event occurred in the last 12 months, or if such an event is expected to occur in the next 12 months. 27 Jul 2009 Read more >>

TGI SA has announced in Johannesburg that they have included a brand awareness measure in their continuous single-source brand, product and media survey. Top-of-mind and spontaneous brand awareness levels in 23 product categories will be measured from 1 July 2009 (2009B). 23 Jun 2009 Read more >>

Forward-thinking marketers know that the Green market is growing and can be lucrative as environmentally aware consumers tend to earn more and are willing to pay a premium for Green products such as organic food and hybrid cars. However, since at present only a small proportion of consumers make their buying decisions primarily based on the environmental qualities of a product, it may be difficult to sustain sufficient revenues within that niche alone. Until the tipping point is reached, a process which will be driven by economic factors, marketers will need to start building Green benefits into existing products while simultaneously creating purely Green products that are economically viable on a large scale. 8 Jun 2009 Read more >>

Word of Mouth (WoM) has always being a powerful marketing tool, whether used informally through everyday human communication or through more formal structured programs designed by marketers to propagate a particular message. With the advent of Web 2.0 and the subsequent proliferation of online media such as social networks and blogs it has become an even more important element to bring into the marketing mix. It is becoming a medium in its own right and brand owners and agencies are now considering it as a channel alongside traditional media. 26 May 2009 Read more >>

Ask Afrika is pleased to announce that it has acquired the remaining 30% of TGI SA, the suppliers of the largest source of strategic media, brand and product information in South Africa. This is a culmination of a year-long hand-over phase between Ask Afrika and the founders of The Brand Survey Company, Tim Bester and Barbara Cooke, who have now retired. 18 May 2009 Read more >>

Brand loyalty is highly sought after by marketers as there is a direct positive relationship between brand loyalty and repetitive buying behaviour which ultimately translates into a larger share of the market. The goal of the marketer is to attract and retain consumers. They want the consumer to choose their brand and then to “stick” to it. 6 Mar 2009 Read more >>

Ask Afrika, a South African marketing research firm, has announced that it has taken broad based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) to new levels. 3 Dec 2008 Read more >>

Domestic help is often said to be one of the reasons more South Africans do not emigrate. The truth is that a very small proportion of South Africans say they have domestic help at all at only 11%, with only 4.8% saying they have full-time help. 13 Nov 2008 Read more >>

TGI (Target Group Index) the premier global marketing and advertising database was introduced in South Africa six years ago by Barbara Cooke and Tim Bester. South Africa was the 50th country in the world and the first in Africa to offer this highly acclaimed research method to the local advertiser, advertising, media planning and media owner industries. Since that time the TGI client base has grown substantially and TGI has become an essential knowledge source for the industry it serves. 25 Aug 2008 Read more >>

The results of Ask Afrika's Trust Barometer® survey were released at an awards ceremony held at Melrose Arch on Friday, 8th of August 2008. It was attended by various CEOs and executives from major South African corporates. 12 Aug 2008 Read more >>

Standard Bank South Africa has been ranked first in this year's Ask Afrika Trust Barometer, narrowly beating last year's winner, SAB. Jacko Maree, Standard Bank CEO, was also elected best CEO overall. 8 Jul 2008 Read more >>

In August 2008, Ask Afrika's 2007 Trust Barometer results will be launched, capping off a fourth year of existence since 2004. Previously this ran as the Most Admired Company Survey. This year the questionnaire has been revised extensively to include a major trust section to supplement the Reputation Questions. 17 Jun 2008 Read more >>

South African marketing research company Ask Afrika has been awarded the TGI data collection contract for South Africa. TGI is an international survey conducted in 60 countries worldwide - a crucial survey for media planners, brand managers, marketers and marketing researchers. 19 May 2008 Read more >>

A recent survey, reported in Business Day (29 June, 2006), concluded that Cell C will sustain market share losses when mobile number portability (MNP) is introduced. This is refuted by Meta Analyst at Ask Afrika, Craig Kolb, who says these conclusions may have been drawn too quickly. 6 Jul 2006 Read more >>

According to Andrea Rademeyer MD of Ask Afrika, the telecommunications regulator ICASA's, inquiry into the possibility of scrapping handset subsidies is worrying. 25 Jun 2005 Read more >>