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1. INTRODUCTION

The emergence and adoption of digital communication technology has rapidly transformed

businesses, consumers, governments and industries around the globe (Accenture, 2015).

Organisations have embraced digital and are shifting to address implications, manage

consequences, and capitalise on opportunities presented by these new digital

communications platforms (Accenture, 2015). Organisations that are responsive, transparent

and willing engage in direct dialogue with their constituents and customers on their chosen

platforms are increasingly rewarded in this new landscape (Bishop, 2015). Those that fail to

adapt find it increasingly challenging to get their stories out, manage their brands, and

develop goodwill amongst their constituents (Cruz, 2015). The shift to digital communication

has changed the way that people expect to find, share, and discuss information, and has

opened whole new models for engagement and participation in which public discourse occur

online and in social networks (Bommel, Eldeman and Angurman, 2014). The volatility,

uncertainty and the rapid changes makes it an organisational imperative to transform and re-

imagine their enterprises through developing new skills, practices, and policies in order to

effectively communicate, engage, and manage their brand in this new environment (Evans,

2015). Because wireless internet, tablet computers, and smart phones have also become

widespread, people now expect to be able to access and share information on a wide variety

of computing devices and effective communication strategies take this into account and

choose content platforms that are widely supported on a variety of devices (Walters, 2015).

According to Guzman, Cassidy and Spencer (2015) reaching an audience in this

environment demands strategic and skilful use of digital communications and analytics tools,

as well as basic investments in creating compelling stories and content. The argument for

this paper is that, while early in its evolution, digital transformation represents the next big

thing in customer experience and, ultimately, how business is done. Those companies that

“get it” and invest more in learning about their digital customers’ behaviours, preferences,

and expectations will carry a significant competitive advantage over those that figure it out

later (if at all). This essay details what digital really is and how organisations and consumers

are embracing this digital transformation and the challenges and opportunities that emerge

throughout the process. It will explore the strategic utilisation of the digital platforms and how

digital is leading the brand in 21st century and will discuss the notion of public sphere and

how it influences public opinion, the role of the new consumer behaviour and the disruptive

technologies and lastly discuss the importance of measurement in digital. This discussion

will focus on the South African digital landscape as the case study for this paper.

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1.1 BACKGROUND

1.1.1 What ‘digital’ really means?

According to Walters (2015) the scope of the concept of digital is broad and complex hence

defining it is a challenge. McDonald (2013) states that digital is an adjective describing an

increasing information intensity and connectedness of physical resources. Resources like

facilities, processes, people, teams become digital through the application of technologies

that extract information and connect resource and its information to other resources

(Elderman & Singer 2015). Bishop (2015), argue that thinking of digital as a set of

technologies (analytics, big data, mobile, cloud, social etc.) limits digital potential to the

instrument rather than the application. A smartphone has information intensity and

connectedness, but it requires applications to transform value and disrupt industries

(McDonald, 2013). The term application should be considered broad going well beyond

‘apps’ to the ecosystems we are able to build based on making things digital (Cruz, 2014).

Digitalisation is the transformative process for turning digitised resources into new sources of

revenue, growth and operational results. Creating a competitive premium is the goal of a

digital business. Cinman (2013) states that digital businesses create competitive edges

based on unique combinations of digital and physical resources, they therefore do things

that others cannot and in ways that build comparative advantage.

According to Dorner and Eldelman (2015) the 21st century has been termed the digital era

and the companies today are rushing headlong to become more digital. But what does digital

really mean? For some executives, it’s about technology, for others, digital is a new way of

engaging with customers and for others still, it represents an entirely new way of doing

business. None of these definitions is necessarily incorrect (Dorner & Eldelman 2015).

However such diverse perspectives often trip up leadership teams because they reflect a

lack of alignment and common vision about where the business needs to go (Accenture,

2015). This often results in piecemeal initiatives or misguided efforts that lead to missed

opportunities, sluggish performance, or false starts (Cruz, 2015). Dorner and Eldelman

(2015) further state that even as CEOs and managers push forward with their digital

agendas, it’s worth pausing to clarify vocabulary and sharpen language. Business leaders

must have a clear and common understanding of exactly what digital means to them and, as

a result, what it means to their business (for a deeper look at how companies can develop

meaningful digital strategies and drive business performance. Notable is that although it can

be tempting to look for simple definitions, but to be meaningful and sustainable, one believes

that digital should be seen less as a thing and more a way of doing things. For the purpose

of this document the operational definition of digital will be made more concrete by breaking

it down to three attributes which are creating value at the new frontiers of the business world,

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creating value in the processes that execute a vision of customer experiences, and building

foundational capabilities that support the entire structure.

1.1.2 Creating value at new frontiers

Dorner and Eldelman (2015) argue that being digital requires being open to re-examining

your entire way of doing business and understanding where the new frontiers of value are.

For some companies, capturing new frontiers may be about developing entirely new

businesses in adjacent categories; for others, it may be about identifying and going after new

value pools in existing sectors (Accenture, 2015). Unlocking value from emerging growth

sectors requires a commitment to understanding the implications of developments in the

marketplace and evaluating how they may present opportunities or threats (Andrews, 2015).

The Internet of Things, for example, is starting to open opportunities for disrupters to use

unprecedented levels of data precision to identify flaws in existing value chains. Accenture

(2015) gives an example of an automotive industry where cars connected to the outside

world have expanded the frontiers for self-navigation and in-car entertainment.

Dorner and Edelman (2015) also state that being digital encompasses, being closely attuned

to how customer decision journeys are evolving in the broadest sense. This then means

understanding how customer behaviours and expectations are developing inside and

outside your business, as well as outside your sector, which is crucial to getting ahead of

trends that can deliver or destroy value.

1.1.3 Creating value in core businesses

Digital’s next element is rethinking how to use new capabilities to improve how customers

are served (Dorner and Edelman 2015). This is grounded in an obsession with

understanding each step of a customer’s purchasing journey regardless of channel and

thinking about how digital capabilities can design and deliver the best possible experience,

across all parts of the business. For example, the supply chain is critical to developing the

flexibility, efficiency, and speed to deliver the right product efficiently in a way the customer

wants. By the same token, data and metrics can focus on delivering insights about

customers that in turn drive marketing and sales decisions.

Critically, digital isn’t about just working to deliver a one-off customer journey. It’s about

implementing a cyclical dynamic where processes and capabilities are constantly evolving

based on inputs from the customer, fostering ongoing product or service loyalty. Making this

happen requires an interconnected set of four core capabilities:

Proactive decision making

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Cruz (2014) states that relevance is the currency of the digital age. This requires making

decisions, based on intelligence, that deliver content and experiences that are personalised

and relevant to the customer. Remembering customer preferences is a basic example of this

capability, but it also extends to personalising and optimising the next step in the customer’s

journey. Data providers such as Click Fox, for example, blend data from multiple channels

into one view of what customers are doing and what happens as a result (Accenture, 2015).

In the back office, analytics and intelligence provide near-real-time insights into customer

needs and behaviours that then determine the types of messages and offers to deliver to the

customer (Dorner and Edelman 2015).

Contextual interactivity

According to Dorner and Edelman (2015) this means analysing how a consumer is

interacting with a brand and modifying those interactions to improve the customer

experience. For example, the content and experience may adapt as a customer shifts from a

mobile phone to a laptop or from evaluating a brand to making a purchasing decision. The

rising number of customer interactions generates a stream of intelligence that allows brands

to make better decisions about what their customers want. And the rapid rise of wearable

technology and the Internet of Things represents the latest wave of touchpoints that will

enable companies to blend digital and physical experiences even more.

Real-time automation

To support this cyclical give-and-take dynamic with customers and help them complete a

task now requires extensive automation Dorner and Edelman (2015). Automation of

customer interactions can boost the number of self-service options that help resolve

problems quickly, personalise communications to be more relevant, and deliver consistent

customer journeys no matter the channel, time, or device. Cruz (2015) states that

automating the supply chain and core business processes can drive down costs, but it’s also

crucial to providing companies with more flexibility to respond to and anticipate customer

demand.

Journey-focused innovation

Serving customers well gives companies permission to be innovative in how they interact

with and sell to them (Dorner & Edelman 2015). That may include, for example, expanding

existing customer journeys into new businesses and services that extend the relationship

with the customer, ideally to the benefit of both parties. These innovations in turn fuel more

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interactions, create more information, and increase the value of the customer-brand

relationship.

Building foundational capabilities

The final element of the definition of digital is about the technological and organisational

processes that allow an enterprise to be agile and fast. This foundation is made up of

elements that include

Mind-sets

According to (Cruz, 2015) being digital is about using data to make better and faster

decisions, devolving decision making to smaller teams, and developing much more iterative

and rapid ways of doing things. Thinking in this way shouldn’t be limited to just a handful of

functions. It should incorporate a broad swath of how companies operate, including

creatively partnering with external companies to extend necessary capabilities (Mckinsey,

2015). A digital mind-set institutionalises cross-functional collaboration, flattens hierarchies,

and builds environments to encourage the generation of new ideas. Incentives and metrics

are developed to support such decision-making agility.

1.4 Digital is about unlocking growth now

How companies might interpret or act on that definition will vary, but having a clear

understanding of what digital means allows business leaders to develop a shared vision of

how it can be used to capture value.

2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR DIGITAL: TECHNOLOGICAL DETERMINISM

Technological determinism, simply put, is the idea that technology has important effects on

our lives (Clark, 2011). According to Chandler (2014) the technological determinist view is a

technology-led theory of social change that views technology as 'the prime mover' in history.

According to Chandler (2014) technological determinists, particular technical developments,

communications technologies or media, or, most broadly, technology in general are the sole

or prime antecedent causes of changes in society, and technology is seen as the

fundamental condition underlying the pattern of social organisation. (Chandler, 2014)

technological determinists interpret technology in general and communications technologies

in particular as the basis of society in the past, present and even the future. Technology

changed society and in its most extreme form, the entire form of society is seen as being

determined by technology: new technologies transform society at every level, including

institutions, social interaction and individuals (Qualman, 2009).This theory argues that

because of technological advances and innovations, humans constantly adapt to these new

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conditions that are brought about. Technology creates a new way in which social

relationships come about and how people interact with one another as well as the changes

that occur from a cultural perspective. In a post-modern environment, the digital platforms

and the information that is available gives a relatable space in which consumers are able to

relate to the world. Taking the technological determinism theory into consideration, McLuhan

(1964) argued that the environment in which people live and is around them influences them

and a communication medium has the power to enhance the stimuli that they are exposed

to. This exposure acts as extension of individuals self and so the change in human’s social

as well as cultural behaviour can be evident even in a post-modern world (Clark, 2011).

Technological determinism has two approaches in which the first one stipulates that there is

one communication technology that is the sole cause of social change and behaviour in an

organisation (Chandler, 2014). If technology is not the sole cause, it at least needs to be one

of the determining circumstances for the sociological change and another approach in

contrast explains that instead of technology being the sole role player, it is the facilitator

which could create an opportunity that could see a social change. The argument is that

technology gives the option for a change but it does not mean that it will be taken (Chandler,

2014). Technology nowadays is one of the factors that influence an opportunity for change,

technological innovations are able to assist in creating a cultural change which ultimately

shifts the way in which communication occurs which leads to a change and transformation in

the way an individual’s life is shaped (Sayre, 2015). People have become dependent on

technology as it makes daily activities simpler and easier to manage which creates a change

that does become unavoidable. Due to the constant innovations and new developments,

reliance on technology will only increase which means the theory of technological

determinism will continue to remain appropriate. In a post-modern environment individuals

make use of digital platforms to enhance their lifestyles and this has been evident in the

changing of behaviour. Thus is seen in how technology has the individual, the business and

the society as they get to change and re imagine their ways of doing things in order to adapt

and embrace the change.

3. STRATEGIC UTILISATION OF DIGITAL PLATFORMS

3.1 Creating new frontiers: the pathway to growth

Recent Accenture research (2014) uncovered empirical evidence that deep and broad

penetration of digital technologies in businesses and economies which is called “digital

density” leads to quantifiable improvements in productivity that can accelerate

competitiveness and economic growth. The advent of digital has resulted in a scale

disruption of business models to enter a new space or redefine the existing ones and

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organisations and leaders have embraced this transformation to digital and are re-imagining

their businesses not just as a way to improve their own internal processes, but also as a

driving force for how they grow (Mackay, 2014). This broad digital ecosystem provides the

platforms that serve as the new blueprint for how companies will build connect, and deliver

applications specific to industry problems and opportunities (McKinsey, 2015). Companies in

every industry are trying to find new sources of value through digital technology by using re-

imagination which is putting the user at the centre of everything that company does including

strategy, product development, operations, marketing, sales, and customer service and this

entails the reshaping of an entire enterprise and its capabilities system around the customer

or user experience (Cruz, 2015). According to Dorner and Edelman (2015) most companies

are exploring new business models, developing new user experiences, and experimenting

with new channels and platforms all with the strategic goal of creating significant value in a

digitally powered business environment. To get there, most of these companies are pursuing

the same laundry list of initiatives which includes re-engineering processes and products,

investing in technology platforms, and launching efforts to achieve back office efficiency.

Many are recruiting digitally native talent, setting up internal venture funds, or crowdsourcing

new digital business ideas to get a jump start on this transformation (McKinsey, 2015).

KFC South Africa is a company that has re-imagined its business with the help of a giant

agency is South Africa OgilvyGloo. Ogilvy managed to convey a distinctive brand identity for

KFC and created a tangible emotional connection with its targeted customers which are

youth. The Soundbite campaign reinforced the connection across many different channels:

bricks-and-mortar retail stores, websites, and mobile apps. Evans (2015) from Ogilvy stated

that they fundamentally believed that digitally integrated experiences are right for targeting

the youth market. KFC have been progressive partners in considering new ways to use

technology to engage and deliver against their business objectives. The technology that was

used then allowed us to create a highly engaging experience that we felt customers would

not only love, but also talk to others about. Happily for us, we were right! The reactions from

consumers has been very positive. We ultimately adapted technology that is already on the

market for other commercial uses to support our idea. With our own twist and additions, this

became the 'record table'. These beautifully designed table services were designed

specifically to appeal to the target audience. This serves to show that companies will to re-

invent their business process and embrace their customers and digital, they are able to

deliver value and add value to its brand.

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3.2 The Internet of things

Goosen (2015) state that the internet of things is driving the need for organisations to

transform into digital businesses and this is disrupting business operations like never before.

To be globally competitive means being able to make rapid business decisions (Furlonger,

2014). For companies this means digitisation of process, automation of workflow, access to

global information affecting ones business and being able to respond with agility, based on

factual information. Gordon (2015) writes that digitisation is not just about scanning and

saving a document but having the ability to scan, extract, analyses and search information in

a document automatically as an example. Customers are more connected and this has

resulted in an enormous increase in the amount of data flowing into the organisation. For

companies to survive this revolution, they have to become digitally enabled and take

advantage of business analytics to make sense of this data this is the view of Isaac

Mophatlane, CEO of Business Connexion (2015). “Through the internet of things we are

seeing a vast increase in the amount of devices connecting to organisations, “You can no

longer ignore the fact that you can control everything remotely and that is being driven

through the internet and the cloud.” He further states that for companies to remain relevant

in this age of the digital business, they will have to have a solid strategy in place to manage

these access points, devices, increased data and the potential security risks that come with

it. “You must be able to monitor these devices, knowing where they are in your organisation

and what information they are accessing, otherwise you are leaving your organisation

extremely vulnerable.

Accenture (2014) state that mobile devices mean that our customers have access to the

internet wherever they go. Marketers now have layers of contextual information about

customers’ behaviour, added to what they are already able to track using web analytics tools

(Andrews, 2015). The entwined threads of the Internet of Things and wearable computing

take this theme of mobility and data to the next level. These trends see everyday objects

such as cars, watches, fitness trackers, televisions, and even fridges and thermostats

connected to the internet. All of a sudden, there is a wealth of new customer data available

as this network of devices share information with each other and the people who use them.

And they will be even more new points of interaction and transaction with customers, thanks

to new connected devices.

3.3 Big data

Mullins (2015) argue that preoccupation with the customer is the core in the digital

transformation and reimagining and this is where data has an important role to play. Data

and the insights it yields allow companies to align and re-imagine the organisation from the

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customer experience, decision journey and brand touch points (Morris, 2015). The

companies use “big data” and analytics to gather insights in real time from what people do

on each of these channels, and they deploy those insights in real time as well, providing

products and services that respond instantly after sensing and analysing what people need

or expect (Morris, 2015). The operations are set up to react and pivot on these insights with

nimbleness and ease. They continually measure the impact of these products and services,

and set a “test and learn” agenda that can react quickly and iteratively to feedback from

anywhere (Cruz, 2015). Perhaps most important, these companies position their digital

investments not as costs, but as catalysts: using them to build their capabilities, drive their

culture, and accelerate their progress, creating a virtuous circle where behaviour change

fuels more digital innovation. The digital process is a viable contributor to the business, with

significant revenue and profit growth rates. The ultimate goal of reimagining your business is

to transform it into a user-focused organisation with the capabilities to create significant

value (McKinsey, 2015). Some brands in South Africa including Discovery and many other

leading companies are following this trend of successfully using big data analytics to

manage the demands of their growing businesses (Discovery, 2014). The investment in a

robust and fully scalable system by Discovery has definitely helped them manage their

business more efficiently (Gordon, 2015). The understanding of customer needs has helped

increase customer retention and enhanced a more targeted and efficient overall operation.

Big data analytics has also had a top-to-bottom impact, from helping decision-makers gain

critical and more accurate insights into the business to helping call centre staff resolve

customer queries much faster. In today’s digitally powered business environment, every

management team wants to play offense, not defense (Cruz, 2015). Every management

team wants to capitalise on expanding digital opportunities for their business. And every

management team fears that a disruptive digital competitor will threaten the company’s

positioning. Reimagining your business can help businesses navigate through all that. It will

be indeed a bold move and re-imagination through human-centred design has become the

prerequisite for developing the businesses, products, and experiences that engage users

and drive significant value creation in which digital platforms serve as the basis of doing that.

4. THE NEW CONSUMER DECISION JOURNEY

“In an era of “DIGITAL DARWINISM” where technology, society, and business models

rapidly evolve, customer experience is often elusive”. (Walters, 2015).

In a world where physical and virtual environments are rapidly converging, companies need

to meet customer needs anytime, anywhere (Furlonger, 2014). Enormous opportunities exist

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for enterprises to take advantage of connected devices enabled by the Internet of Things to

capture vast amounts of information, enter new markets, transform existing products and

introduce new business and delivery models (Bishop, 2015). Creating above-average digital

customer experiences is a key challenge for many organisations, especially given the variety

of platforms available to consumers (Dorner & Edelman, 2015). However, the reward for

getting it right can be a long-lasting relationship, with the maximum lifetime value of your

customers realised (Dorner & Edelman, 2015). One key component in improving the

consumer's digital experience is an accurate idea of the customer journey (McKinsey, 2015).

This illustrates a customer's path through his shopping experience and how he interacts with

brands, platforms, and products. Developing a customer journey model helps brands

pinpoint the key moments of value, opportunity, or friction with consumers (Walters, 2015).

Customer journeys are unique to each product or service. However, to gain the most value

for their efforts, marketers must consider consistent elements to each customer journey. To

capture the customer journey there has a been advent of Zero Moment of Truth which plays

the role of:

4.1 Zero Moments Of Truth

(Google, 2015)

According to Google (2015) Zero Moments Of truth describes a revolution in the way

consumers search for information online and make decisions about brands. ZMOT has

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become a crucial as it has continued to grow in importance and scale, and as consumers'

behaviour evolves, so must the ways in which brands engage those consumers (Google,

2014). Frampton (2015) argue that consumers now have the convenience of discovering and

experiencing products both online and offline that has become available to them every day,

24/7. Consumers in the digital age do not only listen to what brands communicate but they

rely much on peer reviews and and their own personal experiences or encounters with the

brand (Bishop, 2014). According to Accenture (2015), the internet has allowed for

consumers to be constantly exposed to information that is posted online which makes them

more knowledgeable. When consumers are looking information about the brands they

review lot of things they will look at a reviews before they make a purchase and 60% say

that they trust brands that are recommended to them. These statistics show how others

experience now have a stronger impact on decisions that are made by consumers showing a

change in behaviour. In today's always-connected, mobile-first world, how do brands win

ZMOT?

4.1.1 Content is King

Consumers use search to uncover and understand the moments that matter (Google, 2014).

Search is a natural step in the discovery process according to (Lecinski, 2014) in a web

world, search engines offer a lens into a qualified and structured view to help online

consumers focus and make informed decisions. With Google dominating search, marketers

concentrated on improving search ranking through tried and true techniques to ensure that

what they were marketing earned a coveted position in the likely search results a customer

might consider clicking (Lecinski, 2014). In the digital era content is king, for organisations or

brands be reached by their target audiences their need a great deal of content creation that

is relevant to their customers and stakeholders. Content creation has been a trend in the

strategic communication in South Africa with consumers preferring snackable content

(Dallas, 2015). Mckinsey (2015) brands have an unparalleled opportunity to position

themselves via content and storytelling. The rise of the smartphone society means that

mobile-friendly content targeted and designed to meet the specific needs of individual

preferences is an essential part of strategy. All websites need to be mobile-capable and opt

content needs to be snackable. Pulizzi (2014 advises taking a hard look at your content to

see if what you are producing is actually useful for your customers and enriches their lives in

some way. Pulizzi (2014) puts emphasis on the importance of telling stories; define and

answer your customers’ questions; involve your employees in content marketing; and the co-

creation of content with partners.

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4.1.2 Retargeting

This is where re-targeting has an invaluable in role to play in your marketing strategy

(Azionya, et al, 2014). The digital communication allows brand to embrace a technique for

reaching the same customer on different devices and across different digital touch points,

with messages tailored to where he or she is in the customer journey and his or her likely

activities and behaviour at a given time. Retargeting enables brands to reach consumers

with targeted ads across Google, Facebook, Twitter, ad exchanges, networks and across the

different devices they use. By taking a cross-platform and cross-device view of customers,

marketers can nudge them further down the conversion funnel by targeting them with

relevant messages at each point. Pulizzi (2015) believes brands are not taking their content

seriously enough and that a new mindset is needed in order to become the “leading

informational provider for your niche”. Mike Silver of Stretch Experimental Marketing (2014),

specialises in brand activations targeting the consumer directly and incidentally, delivering

up genuine, authentic, real time consumer brand interaction. However, in many cases, he

says brands don’t seed this great content to their social media and PR channels, or don’t

involve the digital agency or their communication agency in the strategy.

A clear picture of your connected customer’s journey: All touch points and related

information that shows exactly how UMOT connects to ZMOT and where your customers

click to continue their journey. `Once you’ve identified the state of shared experiences, it’s

time to develop a strategy to close the experience gap. Start by defining

What is it that you want people to experience?

What is it that you want them to feel and share?

What are people sharing today, where (networks/apps) and how (content)?With technologies

such as wearable computing, the internet of Things, and augmented and virtual reality all

maturing at a rapid speed, the next stage in the development of a connected world is starting

to unfold (Cruz, 2015). In the future, we can expect many of our old assumptions about in-

store marketing and broadcast advertising challenged as digital technologies are woven

deeper into our customers’ lives (Walters, 2015). These emerging trends mean that digital is

no longer just about offering eyeballs. It is about creating personalised customer

experiences that fuse digital technologies with the real world. Such experiences will be

driven by customer data and they’ll bridge the distance between what we once thought of as

the real (analogue) world and the internet. According to Steenkamp (2015) the

Gloo@Ogilvy’s FNB “Switch” campaign is one of the intersected creativity and deliverable

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innovation quite neatly to give consumers a different experiences. This campaign involved

adding an extra layer of code to the bank’s ATMs which allowed non-FNB users to switch

over at the touch of a few buttons. “This work showcases the power of digital to help brands

engage customers whilst adding huge monetary value to their business. Not only was this a

first of its kind communication, but it also helped directly add millions of rands in value to the

bank.

4.2 Public opinion

In the experience gap, there’s the experience we want people to have, which is reinforced by

our marketing messages and strategies (Walters 2015). Then, there’s the experience people

have and share, which usually demonstrates that what “they” say about us is frequently

different than what we say. Driving shared experiences is a form of customer journey

optimisation. What comes back in the Zero Moment of Truth, patterns and context of

questions, what customers find that helps them make decisions, and also why customers err

to locate or value traditional content (Walters, 2015)? Real world impressions as told through

expressions: What product opinions, tips and tricks, cautionary tales and how these shared

experiences influence the impressions of others. When balanced with a premier SEO

program, optimized shared experiences will complement the customer journey wherever

your customers search and share (Google, 2015). What is soon realised is that Moments of

Truth aren’t just moments in time, they become an experience fuelled continuum. The future

of shared experiences and brands isn’t just created, it’s co-created.

Azionya, Benecke, Crystal, Davis, Levy, Muir, Oksiutyz, Verwey and Fereira (2014) states

that digital technology and communication platforms has led to a shift in communication

patterns and moved from two-way conversations to many-to-many, collaborative

communications that usually take place via open platforms. The emergence of new

communication models, which emphasises many-to-many forms of communication, has

transformed recipients into active participants, content consumers into content generators,

and recipients into producers (Obasanjo 2007; Dmochowska 2008; Mullins 2011).

Consumers are no longer passive users, but have become active influencers through the

use of social media platforms. According to Strokes (2008) the experiences that people have

and in turn share is created a powerful collective repository that is indexed and tapped every

minute of every day. In this sharing economy, social media is primarily about collaboration,

users generating content, sharing and connecting (Stokes, 2008). These individuals now

function in an environment where the F-Factor (fans, friends and followers) plays an

important role and this refers to the fact that a person interlinked with many other people on

social networks may have more power to influence, through collective collaboration, than

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others who are less connected (Azionya, Benecke, Crystal, Davis, Levy, Muir, Oksiutyz,

Verwey & Fereira 2014). This is facilitated through sites and social media platforms such as

YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Myspace, Mxit, and blogs.

Social media platforms are very popular within the South African communication context.

Similarly, many South African organisations use social media to build and sustain strong

relationships between the organisation and its stakeholders. In support of this, Meier (2013)

states that the majority of the top 50 brands in South Africa all have Facebook pages, with

an average of 58 000 fans per page and a collective 48% fan growth per month. The

millennials are an important stakeholder group and thus they are a trend driven demographic

changes these are a generation that one can refer to as the digital native hence business

strategies In 2015 are crafted taking into cognisance that this group of people emerging.

A trend that is driving co-creation online is the idea of the ‘sharing economy’ which explains

that the ultimate driver of a post-modern organisation, the internet, has created a fluid

approach of allowing any individual that have access, the power to continuously discover

and share relevant information. Today consumers are pushing this trend even further by

being open to sharing more than their opinion online but even their material possessions

(Marsland, 2015). Accessibility to online platforms are readily available worldwide to anyone

who has access to mobile or digital devices. This means that discussions can be formed

between individuals or various groups across the world. The concept of the super consumer

shows that consumers hold the power and feel free to express their own opinions. Their

experiences, whether it is a positive or negative one, are disseminated on digital platforms

and so individual encounters and events become intertwined in the digital sphere that then

becomes available to either their followers or any person also making use of the specific

platform (Loader, 2014). The information that is shared via social media has become

somewhat of a commodity that is shaped and disseminated which is eventually going to

create an influence on society. This is known as ‘socialnomics’ and the influence can span

across many disciplines which can alter social outcomes (Qualman, 2009).

4.3 The concept of brand stewardship

According to Azionya et al (2014) the use of social media by organisations has resulted in an

environment where communication professionals have had to develop and assume new

roles in order to manage brand reputations in the online spaces where brands have become

communication platforms. Due to the power that consumers now have over organisations

and their brands, organisations are increasingly not in control of the messages sent out

about their brands (Berthon, Pitt & Campbell, 2008). Brands are no longer solely built by the

communication team or brand owners but by different stakeholders, as brands are now

rather connected in an exciting conversation through social networks where stakeholders

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group themselves and make their voices heard when they love or hate a brand. Azionya et al

(2014) states that this has created an environment where communication management is

shifting from communication that is focused on building the brand, to risk management as a

defence. This has given way to a new paradigm, which is referred to as brand stewardship.

Brand stewardship alludes to the fact that the power no longer lies with the brand owners,

but the customers who have been empowered due to the rise of web 2.0 technologies and

digital communication platforms. Klein (1999) argues that this increased connection with

brands afforded by participative web technologies has profound implications for brand

reputation, as consumers are entangled with the culture and identities of the organisations

and it has become imperative for these organisations to develop measurement metrics to

effectively manage this environment.

4.4 Reputation management

Klein (1999) argues that the current business environment, with stakeholders having

increased connection with brands afforded by participative web technologies, has profound

implications for brand reputation. Consumers are entangled with the culture and identities of

the brands they support and feel complicit in the brand’s behaviour (Klein, 1999). This has

forced brands to seek strategies aimed at collaborating and positively leveraging the

influence of web 2.0 technology and to devise new communication strategies aimed at brand

protection rather than brand building. This has given way to a new paradigm that is referred

to as ‘brand stewardship’ and alludes to the fact that the power no longer lays with the brand

owners but the public, that has been empowered due to the rise of web and digital

communication platforms (Azionya et al, 2014). The increase in reputational risk has resulted

in various online reputational management tools and monitoring systems and, in turn, this

has resulted into an environment where the ability to discern brand risk potential has

become a valued ability (Upson, 2010).

5. CONSUMERS AND NEUROSCIENCE

A new set of tools and technologies has emerged over the last several years to measure the

behaviours of consumers (O'Rourke, 2015). These tools, if used responsibly, transparently,

and without violating people's privacy, hold important potential for better understanding

consumer behaviour with respect to sustainability. According to research that was conducted

by Accenture (2015) it got a finding was that CEOs don't believe consumer-stated

commitments to sustainability. One will argue and say that this makes sense as there is a

massive gap between what consumers say and do. Which is why most companies don't ask

consumers what they believe or value; they study their actual behaviours and increasingly

16

their brain waves. Brands, retailers, and market researchers assert that the newest

behavioural tracking and neuroscience tools are designed to help them learn what

consumers want and need. And ultimately they help them deliver more relevant ads and

products (O'Rourke, 2015). Through online tracking mechanisms such as super

cookies, browser fingerprinting, location-based identifiers, behavioural tracking, and social

network leakage, marketers track both real-time behaviours on web sites down to what you

type, mouse over, purchase and detailed personal data (Enerst and Young, 2015). So when

you land on an e-commerce site, without telling the retailer anything about yourself, they

know your age, gender, physical location, favourite websites, favourite movies, comments

you've left across the web, estimates of your income, marital status, whether you own a

home, etc. (O'Rourke, 2015). This sophisticated tracking has also arrived in brick-and-mortar

stores, In-store cellular and Wi-Fi signal tracking systems can monitor consumers as them

move through malls and stores. According to Ernest and Young (2015) there has been an

introduction of video surveillance and eye tracking systems track what consumers look at,

focus on, and are "engaged" by. One of the most far-reaching of these initiatives involves

Facebook's partnership with data firms Acxiom, Datalogix and Epsilon to connect in-store

purchases from retailer loyalty card data to Facebook user profile data. With all the

information that brand are able to capture about the consumers it is important for them to

practise pro-active intelligence and re imagine the customer journey by designing

experiences that really carry through someone to what they are expecting. Neuroscience

equips the marketers and the brands with new capabilities to target and personalise and also

optimise. Except for organisations that were born digital most South African companies have

not managed to embrace the importance of consumer tracking.

6. THE SA DIGITAL LANDSCAPE

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(We are social.org, 2015)

According to Live Internet Stats (2015) with around 24m internet users, today the country is

one of the fastest growing internet markets in the world with a yearly growth rate of 14%. But

with a current penetration rate of around 47%, there is still considerable room for growth.

Affordable mobile technologies and increasingly alluring online services are seeing more

South Africans come online (Kemp, 2015). Additionally, by 2030 the South African

government is expected to have invested R70b (£4bn) to ensure everyone in the country has

internet access (Steenkamp, 2015). Now is a good time for businesses to explore online

channels in the region and many enterprises are already making good headway in engaging

with South African audiences through digital channels. Much of South Africa’s digital

audience are coming online via mobile devices. In January 2015, We Are Social put the

number of mobile owners in the country at 79m and PwC estimates that mobile internet

users in the market will reach 24.4m in 2015 (PWC, 2015). This proliferation of mobile

devices and the current infrastructure and affordability issues surrounding internet access at

home means a lot of internet users are going online in public spaces in urban centres, at

work, in schools and in internet cafes. When they do log on, getting information (via search,

Wikipedia and domestic news sites) and socialising (predominantly on Facebook) are the

biggest online activities.

South African agencies and brands alike are rapidly evolving and adapting to keep up with

changing buyer behaviours and new technologies. Evans from Ogilvy state that we are

slowly seeing a shift from the same old, tired tactics to forward-thinking, effective strategies

that actually get concrete results. This is brilliant news for the South African business-to-

business sector. Over the past couple of years, the digital landscape in South Africa has

18

shifted dramatically. We’ve seen international advertising players invest in the market,

snapping up many of our leading digital marketing agencies and consulting firms to

strengthen their presence in Africa (Media Yearbook, 2015). Agencies are continuously

facing mergers from the larger agencies such WPP and Publicis and these agencies

dominate by merging with strong digital agencies to increase their presence and superiority

of the industry (Media Yearbook, 2015). Digital agencies that have gained momentum are

taken under the larger group to ensure that they maintain a wide spectrum of skills

(Nadasen, 2015). WPP has done this with Quirk and Native VML to strengthen the brand

(WPP, 2015) as well as the merger of Ogilvy and Gloo that gives a small agency a chance to

develop under the guidance of an industry leader (Furlonger, 2014).

Despite the overwhelming usage of digital platforms in South Africa some brands and

agencies are still stuck in their traditional and often obsolete ways of doing business and are

still hesitant to embrace digital. (Cruz, 2015) argue that if these brands take up the digital

communication platforms they will have a great chance at optimal success. This is evident

with what Lotze explains: as redefining of business that had tremendous results. He states

that taking a legacy agency like Marcus Brewster and rebooting the agency was both

surprising and fraught with challenges as the shift to digital and social channels significantly

impacts on agency internal operations, internal meetings, idea generation needs to be

expanded, staff competence needs to be broadened to allow for this expansion, reporting

structures need to change, compensation models, and use of marketing technology, as well

as measurement systems all need to be reviewed however this integration paved a way for

the agency to a variety of opportunities and there is more value in the work that they deliver

for the clients. Also FleishmanHillard president and CEO, Dave Senay (2014): stated “Many

years ago we recognised the changing communications environment and increasingly heard

client demands for integrated solutions. We reimagined and reinvented our business. We

invested in non-traditional talent and new capabilities behind four significant growth areas

driving our business today: the alignment of brand and reputation; analytics and insights;

social enterprise; and strategic integration across paid, earned, shared and owned media

channels. This statement by the CEO reiterates what the argument states that companies

that get it and embrace digital are more positioned to have better competitive advantage

leaving their counterparts wondering what happened.

The year book (2015) presented the shortcomings of the South African digital landscape.

The biggest problem is the issue of talent in the digital industry. According to Mckinsey

(2015) the power of a digital platform is not always apparent until it reaches a certain critical

mass, this serve to show that with the talent digital platforms cannot be effective as they are

19

tools that require strategic utilisation and currently the South African industry has not

invested much on talent and they are lagging behind in as far as leading the digital

transformation. According to Newlan (2015) in digital today the bar of creativity is extremely

high and the South African agencies are not there competing with the best internationally.

This was evident in this year Cannes Lion awards, the 2015 awards were not a happy

hunting ground for South African agencies In fact, the only local digital agency to win

something was Gloo@Ogilvy, which won a bronze in the Digital Media category. The

Cannes Lions International Festival are about creativity and awards effective applications of

technologies, or tried and trusted methods that deliver solid results. That means it’s meant

for wild, out there ideas that push the limits of creative advertising. In that respect, the South

African digital space should be very worried about the slow uptake of digital.

7. MEASURABILITY AND RETURN ON INVESTMENTS

The advent of digital communication platforms has delivered an opportunity for agencies to

deliver measurable and trackable business results today (Walters, 2015). The issue of the

return on investment has been one of the pressing matters in the digital era with clients

wanting agencies to prove the return on their investments. This has been a bit of a trouble in

South Africa and marketers, agencies and publishers that are serious about helping to grow

the accountability of digital advertising should embrace a shift in the international market

from served ad impressions to viewable impressions. With major digital marketing vendors

such as DoubleClick providing the tools to measure viewable ads and the Interactive

Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Media Rating Council (MRC) promoting the metric, South

Africa’s industry should also get on board. Promoting this metric can help brands to drive

better return on investment (ROI) from their campaigns and enable publishers to drive

premium pricing for certain inventory. We see the international move towards reporting on

the viewability of ads as a significant step towards a more mature and accountable digital

advertising market. According to (Walters, 2014) the advent of viewable impressions

answers common frustrations of publishers and advertisers alike. It addresses the concern

that many advertisers have that they are paying for ad impressions that are not always seen

by users. For publishers, a shift to viewable impressions addresses the devaluation of parts

of their inventory, for example ad impressions below the fold (Walters, 2015). It helps them

to show advertisers that their money is well-spent because people are seeing their ads

(Walters, 2015). It however important to note that in time, viewability will shift from being a

measurement to a transactional currency in digital advertising, says Walters. But its

immediate impact is to help brands and agencies to be more informed in their media

planning since they will be able to gravitate to the placements and environments that offer

20

the best viewability for their ads. The shift towards trading viewable impressions will take

some time, but leading agencies and publishers are already investing in the tools they need

to value, trade, serve and optimise to viewable impressions. The trend will benefit everyone

in the ecosystem by making ad trades more transparent and boost ROI for advertisers.

8. CONCLUSION

In conclusion it is important to note that the emergence and adoption of digital

communication technology has rapidly transformed businesses, consumers, governments

and industries around the globe (Accenture, 2015). Organisations have embraced digital

and are shifting to address implications, manage consequences, and capitalise on

opportunities presented by these new digital communications platforms Organisations that

are responsive, transparent and willing engage in direct dialogue with their constituents and

customers on their chosen platforms are increasingly rewarded in this new landscape

Those that fail to adapt find it increasingly challenging to get their stories out, manage their

brands, and develop goodwill amongst their constituents .The shift to digital communication

has changed the way that people expect to find, share, and discuss information, and has

opened whole new models for engagement and participation in which public discourse

occur online and in social networks. In this volatile digital era business businesses are in

the process of digital transformation and are reimagining their enterprises to ensure that

they are sustainable and able to deliver value for their customers and stakeholders. Digital

has brought in both opportunities and threats and in the context of South Africa they are

companies that have embraced digital communication platforms maintain competitive

advantage even though South Africa when compared to other countries internationally is

still lagging behind in digital transformation.

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