Scent or stench – the strategy of smell branding
“Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived.”
- Helen Keller
Smelling a profit, marketers are now using scents to attract customers and reinforce brand identity and loyalty.
Next time you are out shopping, the faint whiff of freshly baked biscuits might not be from the oven but from a diffuser that is programmed to trigger some nostalgia-fuelled spending. Airlines infuse cabins with "calming" scents that distract you from the cramped seats and frustrating delays. And that citrus scent in the bank's lobby isn't just to freshen the air - it's to freshen their customer engagement.
Studies (paid by the companies selling scent marketing solutions) claim that these smells will boost sales, customer satisfaction and employee productivity.
While your brain may associate vanilla with warmth and trust - the wrong smell - too strong, too artificial or too strange - can turn a promising smell branding strategy from a scent to a stench - and send your customers to the nearest exit.
Be informed, be sharp, bbrief...
Chemical safety compliance and insurance are linked
Working with chemicals presents inherent risks. These risks must be carefully managed to ensure employee safety and chemical safety measures. Additionally, businesses need adequate insurance coverage to mitigate potential financial losses.
Insurers often impose specific requirements for the storage and handling of chemicals. Failure to meet these requirements, however, can result in the repudiation of insurance claims.
Compliance with legislation
The cornerstone of ensuring insurance cover for businesses using chemicals is compliance with relevant legislation. Therefore, understanding and adhering to applicable laws is crucial for managing risks and securing insurance claims. Insurers carefully assess compliance with these laws when evaluating claims.
Additionally, full disclosure of all...
MultiChoice interim results - strategic gains despite challenges
Despite unprecedented external headwinds, MultiChoice achieved positive operational outcomes. Most notably, currency depreciation reduced trading profit by ZAR7 billion. This impact was felt over the last 18 months. However, through active interventions, MultiChoice navigated these challenges effectively. These efforts spanned the six months ending 30 September 2024 (1H FY25):
Cutting wasteful government spending to curb the debt crisis
Austerity does not need to mean suffering. Cutting public spending is urgent to address South Africa’s growing debt. Delaying cuts will only worsen debt and interest payments, making future cuts more severe.
Reducing spending needn’t harm South Africans, as many wasteful expenses can be removed. In 2023, the Democratic Alliance (DA) estimated that the African National Congress (ANC)-led departments wasted around R40 billion in 2022/23 alone.
Vanity projects, such as state-supported South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and South African Airways (SAA), absorb taxpayer money without adequate return.
The 2024 tax shortfall was R22 billion, yet fixing a small portion of inefficiencies could cover this gap. Essential services like welfare and law enforcement wouldn’t require cuts.
Cutting wasteful spending by ending funding for monarchs
South Africa should not subsidise traditional leaders’ lifestyles, given its democratic framework. Kings and queens receive high salaries, funded by taxpayers, that increase annually.
In addition...
Africas energy transition progress - driving sustainable solutions
Africa is making slow, steady progress towards energy security, which will only be enhanced through collaboration.
Energy access is undeniably one of the most crucial components of modern-day living. Reliable energy supply ensures that economies are growing. It supports critical industries like mining, manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare and education. It also improves the lives of billions of people.
Across Africa, approximately 600 million people do not have access to reliable power. The continent contributes to the global need for energy. There has been a considerable shift in recent years to address these energy needs.
In our newly released Africa Energy Review 2024: Driving energy access through collaboration report we examine key developments influencing change across Africa’s energy landscape. We assess the progress made towards achieving a just energy transition. The report also explores gas as a crucial bridge to a greener future. And, it also highlights the importance and power of multi-sector collaboration
Africa’s energy snapshot
In 2023, clean generation capacity increased by 7.1%, fossil fuel generation by 0.1% and total generation by 1.8%.
We anticipate that clean power generated in Africa will increase to 25% by 2025. This is driven by growth in solar, wind capacity and hydro-generated power. Africa has seen an overall increase in clean energy generating capacity. However, actual power generated in 2023 increased by less than 1% from the previous year.
Power generated over the last decade has increased by...
Renewable energy data centres - powering AI's future
Let’s face it: South Africa’s power grid is not winning any awards for reliability. Our data centres are feeling the heat – and not in a good way. These digital powerhouses not only keep our online world spinning but are also fuelling the recent Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution – yet their ever-expanding capabilities hinge on one critical requirement: an uninterrupted power supply.
Renewable energy has emerged as a promising solution to this pressing issue. By harnessing abundant solar and wind resources, coupled with battery storage to account for intermittency, South Africa could secure a stable energy supply for its data centres. This approach not only addresses the immediate need for reliable power but also aligns with national and global efforts towards sustainability.
The unprecedented demand for data centre
The global appetite for digital services is driving unprecedented demand for data centre capacity, with significant implications for energy consumption.
As highlighted by the International Energy Agency in its 2024 Electricity Report, data centres, AI, and cryptocurrencies accounted for 2% of global power generated in 2023. This figure is expected to more than double year-on-year until 2026, with some researchers considering even this estimate conservative.
To put this into perspective, a single query to ChatGPT uses approximately as much electricity as it takes to power a light bulb for 20 minutes – about 10 times the energy of a standard Google search. As AI becomes more sophisticated, its energy demands increase...
Geospatial smart city solutions - a key to urban development?
As more people move to urban areas, cities must become more efficient, sustainable, and liveable. Smart city initiatives lead this shift by leveraging advanced technologies to transform urban life.
Smart city initiatives aim to make cities more functional, resilient and inclusive. Technologies used include data analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). These tools improve city operations, reduce energy consumption, and enhance quality of life. Beyond efficiency, they promote environmental sustainability and community resilience. They help cities face challenges like climate change and natural disasters.
Rapid technological advancements make cities that “think” and “react” to real-time data feasible. However, smart cities face challenges and misconceptions that hinder full implementation of this vision.
Geospatial data and urban planning
Geospatial data has long been a cornerstone of urban planning, helping cities optimise land use, plan infrastructure and assess risks. Traditional urban planning depends on geospatial data for strategic decisions.
Smart cities build on geospatial data by integrating data-driven technologies into urban life. Geospatial data provides essential insights for...
Single source customer data unlocks AI-driven insights
Does anyone remember when banks and insurance companies lamented that customer information couldn’t be leveraged effectively? This was because it was locked up in silos.
Surprisingly, you don’t need a long memory – this was only about 12 months ago. And it remains a major issue for large organisations. Many still struggle to integrate disparate divisions dealing with the same customers, but separately.
The world of customer data
The solution lies in a phrase that signifies the opposite of silos – a “single source of truth.” In the world of customer data, this concept is transformative. It gained prominence in an African context during the Dreamforce 2024 technology conference in San Francisco. Hosted by Salesforce, the event attracted over 44,000 attendees, including South African enterprises.
During the event, Salesforce presented a bold vision for Africa. This vision focuses on transforming customer experiences through AI-driven solutions. Central to this strategy is a new suite of autonomous Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents. These agents are designed to tackle critical challenges and enhance...
PropTech transforming real estate landscape
While the property industry globally has traditionally been a laggard when it comes to the use of technology, focusing more attention on assets such as physical buildings rather than technology, this has rapidly changed.
A growing number of businesses are introducing technology platforms to enhance the client-tenant experience. They aim to ensure more informed investment and property management decisions. This shift is driven by technological advancements, changing tenant preferences, and global market changes. Property managers focus on optimising efficiency, enhancing tenant experiences, and driving sustainable growth.
A seismic shift to PropTech
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, most property technology (PropTech) solutions were front-facing. The pandemic acted as a seismic shift to PropTech, proving the need to be able to manage property businesses remotely.
The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has accelerated the growth of...
Online trading regulations compliance
It was the late noughties that saw the most prominent emergence of digital tools. These tools paved the way for a new generation of investment companies. This new generation came in the form of online trading platforms. Since then, rapid innovation has spurred the rise of emerging inventions like cryptocurrency. The speed of cryptocurrency’s mainstream adoption has put online trading into overdrive.
Regulators have faced challenges in trying to oversee these new markets. In South Africa, related legislation is slowly but surely taking shape.
The primary regulatory body overseeing financial markets in South Africa is the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). Over the past few years, the FSCA has introduced several important reforms. Furthermore, these reforms aim to bring higher levels of security and transparency to South Africa’s financial sector. Among the changes are stricter compliance requirements for online trading platforms. These compliance requirements also apply to the traders who use them.
Tax notes for online traders
Online traders need to understand their tax obligations clearly. Just like traditional investors, they must declare capital gains to SARS. Profits made from investment activities, whether offline or online, must be declared and are taxed accordingly.
Currently, Capital Gains Tax is part of normal income tax. It is calculated based on the sliding tax tables for individuals. However, only 40% of the capital gain is included in the calculation. And this portion is taxed according to the individual’s applicable tax bracket. As a result, the effective tax rate on investment profits is often lower than for regular income.
Most recently, capital gains realised from the trade of cryptocurrency have also been incorporated into the...
The Maintenance Act changes and the US electoral system
In this vidcast, we dive into the US electoral system and how it all works. We dig deep and try to understand the pros and cons of the system compared to the other voting systems that exist around the world. We also explore various permutations of outcomes to the election.
We gain some insights on the changes made to the Maintenance Act in South Africa and how these changes could potentially impact your credit profile as an individual. And, of course, we update our wall of preferred picks.
The aim is to get a better understanding of the driving factors, investment cases, and opportunities that may present themselves...
Owner: MNA
1 周Great piece - I really enjoyed reading it James!