Category Archives: South Africa

Putting the service back into public

February 11, 2016Branding, communication, Mark Lives, Marketing, South Africacustomer service, delivery, serviceSean McCoy

Our return to 2016 has been greeted by a plethora of political, economic, social and, ultimately, public service issues. In the lead-up to municipal elections this year, we can only expect this to be exacerbated as the ruling party continues to pretend that it services the public and convinces us how well it has done. Political commentary is not the focus of this column, however, so I will stick to my knitting and make the connection to the concept of public service at a more tactical level.... Read On

Heads, hearts and deeds

December 7, 2015Branding, Mark Lives, South Africabrand, hero, Hetrz, MTNSean McCoy

There is clearly no shortage of leadership material of the wrong kind at the moment, but there is also evidence of the opposite.... Read On

From VW to government — a call for leadership

November 9, 2015Branding, Mark Lives, Marketing, South Africabranding, government, leadership, VWSean McCoy

The well-publicised Volkswagen emission issue has had far-reaching implications for the German motor manufacturer, and the impact of its falsified reporting in the US market had an immediate and significant effect on share price, which reeled under this news.... Read On

How about people skills?

October 30, 2015Branding, Mark Lives, South Africapeople skillsJonno

An obvious, yet often-neglected principle is that outstanding service levels are best achieved through committed people with — you guessed it — great people skills.... Read On

Xenophobia and the South African Brand Challenge

April 30, 2015Branding, South AfricaAction, brand, Change, Pledge, South Africa, xenophobiaJonno

South Africa has once again been plunged into the clutches of xenophobic violence. The first time this happened on a large scale was in 2008, where countless thousands of migrants were either killed or misplaced. Now in 2015 it is happening again; throughout the country; from the seemingly peaceful Cape right through the capital and beyond.... Read On

HKLM Living Lab

New Brand Thinking