In his book, ”The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference”, Malcolm Gladwell invents a concept called the stickiness factor, which makes people remember a new idea the first time they hear about it.
”Stickiness means that a message makes an impact and doesn’t go in one ear and out the other,” writes Gladwell.
”Take a simple, every day example of this. Think about a song that you couldn’t get out of your head or that television commercial you still remember from when you were a kid. Could you pinpoint what it is you think makes them ‘sticky?”
Researcher Jos Kuper believes the success of the Black Diamond survey lies in its ”sticky” character.
”People intuitively feel that it has value,” says Kuper. ”However, my big criticism of the research is that it is not methodologically sound in sampling terms and yet they draw quantitative, grossed up deductions from it. The size and nature of the sample is questionable and they use a web-based survey to make deductions such as media reach. The degree of internet access is too small for that.”
In a country where many marketers and creative directors are still struggling to speak to the black market, the Black Diamond survey, conducted by Research Surveys and the UCT Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing, received a warm welcome from those needing to reach this wealthy sector of society.
The survey came to the conclusion that there are some two million Black Diamonds in South Africa with an estimated annual spending power of R130-million. This group represents 10 percent of the black adult population but makes up 43 percent of black consumer spend and 23 percent of total consumer spend.
But the SABC’s national trade marketing manager, Kgaugelo Maphai, cautions that marketers who view black consumers as a homogeneous group are on the wrong track.
”Through Apartheid, a black market was born. Black Diamond research profiles the black consumers in general but I think we need to dig deeper. Black people have a lot in common but culture plays a big role in how we see society.
”There are some differences in how a Zulu-speaking person raised in KwaZulu-Natal and a Tswana speaking person from Mafikeng might see the world, for instance. Marketers need to understand those nuances, because based on our sad past, they see black people as being the same throughout the country, forgetting that there are 11 ethnic groups with different customs and values.”
Refiloe Mataboge, executive director at Research Surveys, explains how the research came about.
”Car sales were booming and property prices were going through the roof and everyone was asking, who is driving this economic growth?”
Research Surveys and the UCT Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing decided to find out. Their first study was a face-to-face quantitative survey of 750 respondents to size and define the market. This was followed up by a second qualitative, web-based survey on how to communicate with this market. The research produced a brand-new term: Black Diamonds.
It soon became the next best thing in marketing lingo, seemingly providing direction to many a marketer.
But the sample size was small, and with internet access in South Africa standing at around six percent, a web-based survey was not the best choice. Mataboge acknowledges this but says cost implications played a role.
”Absolutely, the sample size was too small. When we did the introduction to the research, we said the results were only indicative of trends and that it only represented a small portion of Black Diamonds who have internet access.”
”I am open to criticism because that is the only way to get it right. We did not set out to misinform,” she adds.
The first Black Diamond survey was released in March 2006, and it was followed up by a second one in September which looked at how marketers could best appeal to the market.
Probably the most significant conclusion from that research was that many advertisers do not have a clue how to speak to the black market. Some 49 percent of respondents felt that blacks are often misrepresented in advertising, 79 percent said there is too much attention on up-and-coming blacks and 65 percent felt that many adverts show black people in a poor light.
”The research has tapped into something,” says Mataboge, although some have complained about the term Black Diamond.
”The majority of people have responded positively to the term Black Diamond, because it is a step up from being only an emerging market. But some people do not like to be put in boxes and I appreciate that.”
Maphai says the Black Diamond research is an over-simplification of a diverse and complicated market.
”What I like about the Black Diamond survey is for once there is some kind of insight into the lives of black consumers in South Africa. Someone has taken the time to do that. But unfortunately, sometimes you do need to dig deeper for the benefit of mainly our white marketers – who dominate the marketing and communications fraternity – and who have had limited exposure to our history and lifestyle.
”For instance, black people are generally very polite and therefore a lot of feedback via research can be a bit skewed. The researcher needs to know how to ask the questions to get honest answers.
He would also like to see the Black Diamond survey – which is only conducted in cities – extended to rural areas.
”There are a lot of rich, black people in townships and rural areas and they also contribute to the economy. The Black Diamond survey is a good start but it needs to be extended beyond the urban areas like Johannesburg and Cape Town. It needs to be a lot more representative of other areas such as Polokwane and the North West. Only then will it start giving marketers the insights they need.”
Research Surveys has now embarked on a new project called Black Diamond Omni, paid for by 12 clients who will be able to draw up their own questions to respondents. It will also track media usage. Three such surveys will be conducted during the year. The first survey will contain the questions of the first four clients and the information will be made available to these clients at the end of February.
The clients pay between R17,500 and R22,500 per question and the answers from respondents will be available only to paying clients.
Additionally, all three surveys will research media habits among this market and the information on media usage will be available at a cost ranging between R15,000 and R20,000.
In these surveys, the sample size will be 1,500 and the research will be done by a syndicated survey instead of a web-based survey.
Further research plans include looking at market growth in other segments of society.
”I would love to do a Coloured Diamonds and an Indian Diamonds survey,” says Mataboge.
”We are looking at doing that – I think it would be reckless not to look at that. It is hugely important for us to be able to say these are the developments that have taken place in the country and to fully understand that,” says Mataboge.
Taweni Xaba, editor of the newly launched The Deal magazine, scoffs at the criticism of the Black Diamond survey, saying its critics are ”clearly ignorant of what’s happening on the ground”.
The new monthly magazine, in a press statement announcing its arrival, said it was aimed squarely at the Black Diamond market.
”We are the ones who are not being catered for— we’re hoping to try and come up with something more respectful to our readers, where they’re at in life, to be understood and to be heard,” Xaba said at the time of the launch.
The content of the publication focuses on ”the things that make the Black Diamonds sparkle; a day in the life of a Black Diamond; fashion in that environment; how do we navigate our way to success in style.
”There’s this very viable market and no-one is tapping into it. Any publication worth its salt should certainly be looking at this market with its very different and diverse interests,” Xaba says.
The Natal Witness has identified the Black Diamond market as the main source for readership growth.
”Much of the new consumer spending power sits with what researchers are now terming the Black Diamonds – the burgeoning new middle class that is coming through, and this is where we believe future circulation growth lies,” says general manager Dave Erasmus.
”They’re literate, upwardly mobile, and have a keen interest in what is going on around them.”
One look at the latest circulation figures will certainly show marketers that black readership is growing. The titles with an increase in copies sold are the Daily Sun, aimed at the lower end of the market, Zulu newspapers Isolezwe and Umafrica, Sunday World and City Press. Not to mention the resounding success of Move! magazine for the black woman in the lower income groups, although the magazine’s own research now shows that higher income groups are also buying it.
Perhaps Xaba summarised it best when she said: ”We need to respect that rand.”
Research Surveys is trying to understand how to respect it, and with its flaws, its research confirms what many marketers’ instinct has been saying. Nobody is questioning the existence of this market, but the industry seems hungry for more comprehensive research to fill the gaps.