Not many people can launch a new career at retirement age and make a success out of it but media research veteran Barbara Cooke is definitely one of them.
Five years ago, she set up one of the world’s leading research companies, Target Group Index (TGI), in South Africa, alongside colleague Tim Bester under the name: The Brand Survey Company. Today, she and Bester are still as strong as ever in serving the need for a single source media, marketing and advertising planning data base.
Cooke’s career as market researcher spans four-and-a-half decades and her many ground-breaking research papers on media issues presented at local and international conferences have earned her the reputation of a leading expert.
Highlights include her becoming the first woman to win the annual South Africa Marketing award – the Protea Award – in 1994, presented by the Association of Marketers.
Cooke (68), who was born in KwaZulu-Natal, started her career at Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing in 1958 and worked her way up to branch manager of Research International in Johannesburg.
She spent the 1980s as research and planning director at J Walter Thompson, at the time the most powerful advertising agency in the country, and joined Nasionale Pers as group research manager in 1987. She was promoted to general manager of research marketing at Nasionale Tydskrifte in 1991 and retired from Naspers in 1999.
Cooke is a founding member of the South African Market Research Association (Samra) and served on the Samra national executive. She also was vice-chairwoman of the South African Advertising and Research Foundation (Saarf) and served on its board.
The Media has asked her colleagues and friends about her secret to success:
“Working with Barbara has convinced me that as a child she was what is now called hyper-active. I sometimes wish that I could lay my hands on a dose of Ritalin to calm her down! She’s great! Articulate. Wise. Enthusiastic. Empathetic. Committed.” – Tim Bester, co-founder, TGI
“When her contemporaries would be dreaming of the tranquility of Hermanus, Barbara sets up a new company! Not just remarkable, but incredibly courageous.” – Govin Reddy, board member, The Media
“She’s absolutely steadfast about friendship and will defend her mates until the last man is standing— To this date we have never had a contract between us – a handshake is as binding as a document written in blood.” – Chris Brewer, MD, Interactive Market Systems
“I have regarded Barbara as the epitome of a great market researcher, fiercely loyal to the truth, often at commercial cost.” – Brian McMillan, media consultant who has worked with her for 40 years.
“She has acted as a mentor to numerous women within the marketing, media and research industries. Her advice, often by way of an illustration on a restaurant napkin or spare menu, has motivated many to take the plunge.” – Sandra Gordon, publisher, The Media
“Barbara’s delight in using data to create insight and understanding in the market place remains undiminished and has culminated in the publishing of the South African TGI database, which has significantly ‘moved the cheese’ in terms of advertising and media strategic thinking in this country.” – Gordon Muller, media consultant
“She assembles thoughts, observations and conclusions very well, and presents them in a most clear and meaningful manner. For example, when I asked her to marry me, she summed up her feelings thus: ‘You’re drunk!’ she said. She nevertheless accepted.” – Tim Cooke, her husband of 11 years.