Every South African app team knows the feeling. You launch something great, the download numbers look tasty, and then a few days later the curve looks like Table Mountain. Wide at the start, cliff drop at the end.

Don Packett walked onto the AGSA stage with one mission. To remind everyone that the real game is not acquisition. It is habit. Because if your users need reminders to open your app, you already have a problem.

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The Toothbrush Test

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Don opened with a question that had the room laughing and panicking at the same time.

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"Did you put your morning tooth brushing session into your calendar today? No? Exactly."

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The point is simple. Habits do the heavy lifting. We brush because we always brush. No calendar invites. No reminders. No mental load.

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The same goes for products. If people must be convinced to return to your app, it is not yet part of their routine. You have not entered the habit zone.

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The Reality Check for South African App Teams

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Retention is dropping. Acquisition costs are growing. People download your app today and delete it faster than you can say fibre outage.

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Don brought two uncomfortable questions to the room:

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1. Is your product something users cannot live without?
   
   
2. If the answer is no, is the team building the right habits into the experience?

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Most brands in the room knew the answer. Not yet. And that is the exact gap Don wanted everyone to tackle.

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How to Build the Habit Zone

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Don reminded the audience that the science is already done. Habit formation is not guesswork. It is about:

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• Clear cues
  
  
• Small actions repeated often
  
  
• Psychological triggers that feel natural
  
  
• Reward loops that are genuinely valuable
  
  
• Removing friction so people can return without thinking

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This is where South African apps often fall short. We throw features at users and expect magic. But magic happens through consistency and behaviour shaping, not features alone.

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Joe Coffee: A Simple Habit Story

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To prove the power of habits, Don shared a favourite example. A coffee app that personalised the ordering experience and saw a thirty percent revenue jump in one month.

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The interesting part is that the increase did not only help Joe Coffee. It helped every coffee shop on the platform because users kept coming back.

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That is the habit zone. Increased usage that benefits the user and the business.

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Three Questions Don Wants Every Team to Ask

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Don wrapped up with three questions that every product, marketing, and customer team should pin to the office wall:

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1. What habits do you want to build with your customers?
   
   
2. What must you redefine internally to support those habits?
   
   
3. What is possible for your growth once you master the habit zone?
   
   

Simple. Hard. Worth it.

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Why This Talk Hit Home for South Africa

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South African users are unique. Data conscious. Experience driven. Impatient in the best way. If your app does not solve a real problem repeatedly, they will leave.

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Don’s reminder was clear. Building an app is not the hard part. Getting people to keep coming back is. And if your team can align around habits, the retention curve becomes a whole lot friendlier.

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Ready to Move Beyond the Cliff Drop?

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If you're ready to stop chasing acquisition numbers or just wanna chat more about this, our team is super keen to have a 15-minute consult with you 👇

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If your onboarding flow is confusing, slow, or asks too many questions, that user, who is already rushing to find a deal, will abandon you for a smoother experience. And during the busiest shopping week of the year, that initial drop-off is magnified tenfold.

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The success of your entire Black Friday push ultimately rests on how well your first 90 seconds perform. This is how you use behavioural analytics to diagnose and fix that critical first impression.

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How Do You Stop New Users From Quitting Your App in the First Minute?

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If Saffas can’t get to your deal fast, they’d rather not deal with you at all. If your process asks for too many sensitive details upfront, or if the product's value isn't immediately clear, they are gone. 

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You need an analytics platform that captures every click, scroll, and form fill, allowing you to watch the user's journey leading up to the cold feet moment. We use our partner Amplitude for this kind of deep diagnosis because it lets us link the replays directly to specific events. The key is being able to dive deep and filter those replays to see only the sessions where the user actually struggled.

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How Does Session Replay Reveal Why Users Are Frustrated?

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Session Replay can show you the exact moment of frustration in onboarding that led users to drop off your app. 

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• Rage Clicks: Did the user click a button repeatedly because it appeared broken or unresponsive? That's immediate evidence of poor UX.
• Confusion: Did the user scroll back and forth between the app's home screen and the sign-up form, suggesting the next step was unclear?
• Technical Errors: Replay often highlights console logs and network errors, letting you pinpoint if a slow page load is what drove the user away.

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The ability to move instantly from a Funnel metric to watching the human frustration is how you move from generalised data to confident, actionable fixes.

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The Strategic Payoff: Converting Early Insight into Long-Term Retention

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We’ve previously spoken about how global brands search for early signs of friction to improve retention and how SA can learn from that. This ties into that, as a user who completes a smooth onboarding journey is a user far more likely to convert during Black Friday and retain thereafter.

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By perfecting the first 90 seconds, you can:

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1. Optimise the Path to Value: Remove unnecessary steps and ensure users reach the core feature of your app quickly, reducing the chance of abandonment.
2. Identify True Conversion Drivers: Pinpoint the early behaviours (like searching for a product or viewing a specific guide) that predict a user will stick around. This tells you which parts of your app to highlight in the onboarding flow.

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This level of diagnosis allows you to confidently make changes that drive guaranteed, data-backed improvements to your most critical conversion path.

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So, What’s Next?

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This isn't just about Black Friday; it’s a direct pathway to improving your retention all year round. Black Friday is simply the perfect opportunity to expose where you’re falling short and make the fixes that truly matter.
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‍
But if you do wanna know more about Black Friday and why Saffas abandon their carts, we’ve written another blog here. 

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Ready to learn more about Amplitude? Chat with our team. We’re super keen to help you get set up 👇

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South Africans are serial cart-abandoners, and if your app or digital product feels the pain every November, you are definitely not alone.

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Whether you work in retail, banking, insurance, mobility, or fintech, abandonment stings. It is frustrating, expensive, and usually blamed on “price,” even when that is not the real issue.

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The truth is, most brands are still guessing. And Black Friday is not the week for guesswork. You need behavioural context, not vibes. You need to know why the drop-off happened in the exact moment it happened.

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So why are Saffas actually bailing before checkout?

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Let’s start with the real magic word.

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Session Replay: Your New Favourite Investigator

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If you could watch a user’s exact steps before they got cold feet, would you?

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Session Replay lets you see every click, scroll, hesitation pause, and rage-tap. This is how brands move from “We think the issue might be step seven” to “Aha, they dropped at the ID upload screen because the button wasn’t responding.”

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You need an analytics platform that captures every interaction so you can filter Session Replays directly from the drop-off point of a Funnel.
We use Amplitude, but whatever platform you choose, the goal is the same: see the truth, not the assumption.

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Where Exactly Is Your Black Friday Revenue Leaking?

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Black Friday journeys in South Africa are long. We love a multi-step checkout. Want a card upgrade? FICA. Want a new device? RICA. Want groceries? Delivery fee shock.

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Funnels help you map every step objectively so you know where the leaks are. Instead of fixing ten steps, you fix one. And instead of debating in a boardroom, you look at the data.

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Maybe the leak is:

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• The surprise delivery fee
  
  
• A slow payment gateway
  
  
• A confusing upload screen
  
  
• A loyalty login that forgets you exist

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Funnels stop you from generalising and show you precisely where your conversion is dying.

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Let’s Talk Conversion Drivers

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Seeing the leak is great. But understanding what drives actual conversions is even better.

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Conversion Drivers automatically surface the behaviours most linked to successful journeys.

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For example: Amplitude found that users who complete in-app onboarding are up to 33% more likely to convert.

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Imagine knowing insights like that for your brand.

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If a user who reads the security policy converts 15% more often, you now know to highlight trust badges during checkout. If users who compare two products convert more often, you make comparison easier.

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It is not guesswork; it is behavioural science.

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Black Friday Is Not a Day, It Is a Journey

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To act on everything above in real time, you need automation. That is where OneSignal comes in.

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Picture this:

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A user abandons their cart.
Your analytics platform picks it up instantly.
Your messaging platform sends the right message automatically.

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Something like:

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“Hey, we saved your item. Just a heads up, Black Friday stock moves fast.”

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If they ignore it, the system tries email. Then maybe SMS. Multi-channel journeys help you recover revenue without manually monitoring dashboards at 11pm.

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And SA consumers respond to well-timed nudges. OneSignal found that apps using automated Journeys see up to 13% higher retention within 30 days.

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Retention is the real win. Revenue is the by-product.

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So, What Should You Fix Before Next Black Friday?

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If you truly want fewer abandoned carts next year:

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• Use Session Replay to see the real friction
  
  
• Use Funnels to map your entire journey
  
  
• Use Conversion Drivers to find the behaviours worth amplifying
  
  
• Use Journeys to re-engage users automatically and personally
  
  
• Use your team’s time on strategy, not guesswork

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And if you want help putting this into action, you know where to find us.

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We’d be keen to show you how Amplitude and OneSignal, plus a proper data strategy, can change your next Black Friday.

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👇 Chat to one of our experts

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Black Friday in South Africa is no longer the loud, messy, trolley tackling chaos we all remember. It has become smarter, quieter, and far more strategic. Consumers are under pressure, they are comparing everything, and loyalty comes at a premium.

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A recent article on Bizcommunity by Lindani Nkala from Oliver South Africa makes this very clear. Shoppers are not impressed by blanket discounts anymore. They want clarity, consistency, and real value, and they want it in a way that acknowledges the reality of the South African economy.

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And after working with brands across banking, retail, telco, insurance, and e commerce, here is the truth. If your Black Friday strategy is only built on price, you are already behind.

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South African consumers want to feel understood, not pushed.

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So let us break down what the market is telling us and where the biggest opportunities sit for brands that want to approach Black Friday like leaders, not last minute discounters.

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1. South African Shoppers Are Choosing Brands They Can Trust

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The Bizcommunity article highlights something we have seen repeatedly in our work with clients. Consumers are leaning toward brands that communicate clearly and deliver what they promise.

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That means no surprise fees at checkout. No disappearing stock. No vague messaging. No pop up discounts that contradict each other.

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A clarity first strategy will outperform a discount first strategy every time.

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This is where tools like Brandwatch become incredibly powerful. Not for the sake of the tool itself, but for what it unlocks.

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If you can track sentiment, spot complaints early, identify confusion in customer language, and understand how your audience is reacting in real time, you can fix problems before they cost you sales and reputation.

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Most brands wait for the chaos to hit. The best brands prepare before it does.

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2. Global Trends Are Starting to Show Up Here, Just Later

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Nkala points out that South Africa follows global consumer behaviour patterns, just with a slight delay. That is a huge advantage for local brands, because we get to watch the wave before it reaches our shores.

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Some of the biggest global trends that matter locally include:

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Value over volume
Shoppers want fewer but better deals. Less clutter, more clarity.

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Loyalty driven spending
Customers buy from brands that have shown up for them all year, not only in November.

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Search and social as the new retail floor
People do their homework months before they buy. Sentiment online predicts conversion in stores.

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Brandwatch data consistently shows that up to 99 percent of conversations about your brand happen in spaces you do not own. If you are not listening, you are operating blind.

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3. Black Friday Is No Longer One Day. It Is a Behavioural Season

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What we have seen across local clients is that the real opportunity with Black Friday is not the sale itself. It is the pre behaviour and the post behaviour.

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Before Black Friday
People are searching, comparing, complaining, wishlisting, testing brands, and talking to friends.

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During Black Friday
People are trying to validate their decisions. They lean heavily on reviews, peers, and the sentiment of other shoppers.

After Black Friday
They judge. They talk about your delivery time, product quality, customer service, refund experience, and how your brand made them feel.

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That means your Black Friday success is not measured on one weekend. It is shaped by how well you understand your customer sentiment from mid October to early December.

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You cannot manage what you cannot see. Brandwatch helps businesses map these behavioural peaks and dips so they can respond with clarity, not panic.

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4. What South African Brands Can Do Right Now

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Here are the biggest opportunities we see across our local clients:

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Listen before you plan
Start building sentiment dashboards in early October. Do not wait until your store is on fire.

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Track expectations, not only performance
Black Friday complaints often start long before the sale. Brandwatch surfaces these early warning signs.

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Align your messaging to the economic reality
South Africans are prioritising needs over wants. Speak to that reality.

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Make loyalty a strategy, not a points card
People who trust you will always convert faster, especially when budgets are tight.

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Use data to guide stock, support, and comms
If negative sentiment spikes around a delivery partner or a payment flow, you need to know immediately.

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SA brands who prepare well always outperform brands who try to “wing it”. Learn about What 2023’s Black Friday Data Taught Us (and What It Means for 2025)

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So Where Does YOUKNOW Fit Into All This

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We work with South African brands every day to translate behavioural and social insight into real decisions that drive sales, retention, and reputation.

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Our role is simple.
We make sure you have the right tools in place, the right setup, the right listening framework, and the right reporting to actually understand your Black Friday audience.

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Local support, local expertise, global technology.

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If you want to build a Black Friday strategy with fewer assumptions and more clarity, let us help you get set up.

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Chat to one of our experts.

‍Black Friday in South Africa is noisy.

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‍Brands are shouting, inboxes are full, consumers are overwhelmed, and most teams are scrambling to make the most of the four-day window. But here is the truth that separates the winners from the rest.

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Black Friday is not a campaign. It is an insight engine that tells you exactly what your customers want, what stops them from buying, and how to get them back. And if global brands have proven anything, it is this. Behaviour always beats guesswork.

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Why SA Brands Should Start Borrowing from Global Playbooks

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South African brands have a unique advantage. We get to watch global markets move first, learn from what works, and then adapt it for our own context where budgets are tighter, teams are leaner, and consumer trust is harder to earn.

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The shift is simple. Global leaders treat Black Friday as the beginning of a customer relationship, not a one-off sale. They use behavioural data to maintain engagement long after the weekend ends. And that is where tools like Amplitude and OneSignal become genuinely powerful.

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The Grover Story: When Behavioural Insights Beat “Vibes-Based” Marketing

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Grover is a European tech rental startup that operates a lot like Rentoza does here. They used to do what many South African teams still do. Send newsletters, make a few announcements, and hope for conversions.

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The problem was familiar. People were clicking, browsing, and abandoning, and they had no clear idea why. Then they switched to data-first marketing, supported by behavioural analytics.

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The insights they unlocked changed everything

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Know who is ready to buy

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They built segments based on real user actions, such as:

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• Who viewed an item three times
• Who added an item to their cart but left
• Who browsed multiple products without deciding

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See where people lose confidence

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Amplitude Funnels showed the exact moment users got cold feet, and why.

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Give every team data autonomy

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Grover democratised analytics across teams so they could answer their own questions without waiting for analysts.

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The Black Friday impact

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Their conversion rate jumped from 32 per cent to 38 per cent almost immediately. Imagine what a South African retailer with three months’ preparation could do.

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Source: Amplitude case study on Grover

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Why Journeys Matter for Black Friday and Beyond

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Data tells you the “what”. Journeys tell you the “what now”.

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Apps that use automated journeys have 13 % higher retention than those that do not, because the communication is personalised, timely, and relevant.

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Here is what this looks like in practice.

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- A user abandons their cart.
- Amplitude picks up the behaviour.
- OneSignal automatically creates the response.

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They receive:

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Push Notification: “Hey, we saved your item for you. Black Friday deals move quickly, so you might want to grab it soon.”

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No response. Then an email arrives with the item image, social proof, and a reminder of delivery perks. This is what turns a frustrated Black Friday window shopper into a converted December customer.

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South African Reality Check

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South Africans are price-sensitive, wary of gimmicks, and increasingly vocal when experiences fall short. Hidden fees, slow support, stock shortages, and irrelevant marketing are deal breakers. The brands that win are the ones that act early. They listen to behavioural signals. They personalise the journey. They build trust long before the sale. Black Friday's legacy is not built in one weekend. It is built in the months before and the months after.

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So, What Should You Do Next?

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If you want your next Black Friday to run with less chaos, more intelligence, and a higher return on effort, here is the starting point.

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Step 1
Use analytics to understand what customers do, not just what they click.

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Step 2
Automate personalised journeys that respond instantly to their actions.

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Step 3
Test early, learn early, and refine often.

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If you want to explore how Amplitude and OneSignal can help your brand scale smarter, chat with our local YOUKNOW experts.

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We would be happy to show you what world-class behavioural journeys can look like for a South African audience.

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If Black Friday 2023 taught us anything, it is that consumers are still shopping, but they are doing it smarter, quieter, and with far less noise online.

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Our YOUKNOW reporting team, led by data wizards David Vahle and Shaun Pearson, analysed Brandwatch’s social data to understand how brands, retailers, and consumers behaved during the year’s biggest retail event. The findings? Fewer mentions, sharper engagement, and one big reminder: in the race for attention, early birds and creative campaigns still win.

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1. The Conversation is Cooling Down

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Globally, chatter about Black Friday has been declining for almost a decade. Mentions dropped from over 90 000 in 2021 to just under 49 000 in 2023, showing that the hype cycle is flattening out.

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Economic strain, post-Covid fatigue, and consumer cynicism are cooling the frenzy, but this is not a bad thing. It signals a more conscious shopper, less likely to be swept up in the noise and more interested in genuine value.

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2. South Africa’s Retail Race Starts Early

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While global mentions slowed, local brands still know how to make an entrance. Pick n Pay kicked off Black Friday chatter as early as 19 September, two months before anyone else, and walked away with the biggest share of voice.

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Other big players like FNB, Takealot, and ABSA only joined the conversation in November but still ranked in the top four. The takeaway? Starting early matters, but timing is not everything. Strategic messaging and media amplification count just as much.

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‍

3. Not a Retailer? No Problem.

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Competitions remain a powerful driver of engagement, and clever brands outside of retail used them to join the Black Friday buzz.

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Local insurer Pineapple SA ran a cross-platform #BrandOff campaign, asking followers to vote for their favourite brands. The result was 954 mentions on X, a flood of retweets, and serious visibility.

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This shows that even if you are not offering discounts, you can still join the cultural moment if you make it fun, participatory, and relevant.

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4. Visibility Still Sells

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In 2023, Xbox and Mercedes-Benz were the most visible logos in the South African conversation.

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Xbox’s success came from self-driven promotion, while Mercedes earned visibility by sponsoring the Chris Walker & Regina Belle concert.

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The lesson? Visibility does not always mean advertising. Partnerships, sponsorships, and cultural events can all keep your brand in the frame.

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5. Hashtags: Still the Hero

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Despite the decline in overall conversation, use of #BlackFriday barely changed.

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It remains the entry point for discovery and engagement, proving that while people may be talking less, they are still searching.

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Add local flavour too #Loadshedding even crept into the top ten hashtags of 2023 (because of course it did).

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6. The Shift: From Discount Culture to Data Culture

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The smartest brands are moving from hype to insight.

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Those using tools like Brandwatch to track sentiment, mentions, and logo visibility are making better calls on when and how to activate.

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Instead of waiting for Black Friday chaos, they are mapping trends months in advance, building smarter, data-driven campaigns that connect awareness, consideration, and conversion.

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The Takeaway

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Black Friday 2023 was not about who shouted the loudest. It was about who listened the best.

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Pick n Pay proved that starting early pays off. Pineapple SA showed that creativity beats discounting. Xbox and Mercedes reminded us that visibility, digital or physical, still drives impact.

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For 2025, the winners will be the brands that predict the conversation, not just participate in it.

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If you want to uncover how your brand performed or benchmark your industry, our YOUKNOW reporting team can show you the numbers behind the noise.

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📊 Download the full Black Friday Snapshot here:
👉 Black Friday Snapshot 2023 – YOUKNOW x Brandwatch

Customer loyalty is having a glow-up, and the conversation starts at App Growth Summit Africa 2.0.

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Hosted at Workshop 17 in Newlands on 14 November 2025, the YOUKNOW team is joining forces with Welcome Tomorrow, Amplitude, OneSignal, AppsFlyer, and MMA South Africa for a day of app growth insights, real talk, and, yes, good coffee.

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This time, the spotlight is on the shift every brand is feeling, moving from user acquisition to loyalty. Because while downloads look good on a dashboard, real growth happens when customers stick around.

‍

‍

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The Conversation: Why Businesses Shift from Acquisition to Loyalty

Moderated by Kelvin Jonck, CEO of YOUKNOW, the panel brings together three leading voices shaping customer engagement in South Africa:

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• Leigh Stefanski, Managing Director at Now Boarding
• Sarah Utermark, Regional Director at MMA South Africa
• Nakita Bam, Head of Growth Marketing at Yoco

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The topic: Why businesses shift from acquisition to loyalty.

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The discussion will unpack how retention is becoming the new acquisition, what “loyalty” really means in 2025, and how brands can use technology and empathy to build lasting connections.

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Expect debates on everything from predictive analytics and personalisation to the “nice thing factor”, those small, human touches that make customers feel seen, not sold to.

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The Bigger Picture: Building Habit-Forming Products

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The panel is part of a wider AGSA agenda focused on activation, retention, and growth. Speakers from Amplitude, AppsFlyer, and YOUKNOW will explore the mechanics of stickiness, what keeps users engaged after that first “Aha!” moment.

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From Welcome Tomorrow’s keynote on the hidden truth behind user acquisition, to YOUKNOW COO Don Packett’s session Highway to the Habit Zone, the day is designed for practical insights, not pitch decks.

‍

‍

Why This Conversation Matters for South Africa

‍

In a market where customer expectations are high and competition is fierce, retention is not just a marketing metric, it is a survival strategy.

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As one of the panel’s core questions explores: How do you use predictive analytics to identify customers at risk before they walk away? The answer lies in collaboration between data, creativity, and heart, exactly what this line-up brings to the table.

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For South African brands, loyalty is not built through points or discounts. It is earned through relevance, reliability, and relationship, all things that start with understanding your audience.

‍

Join the Conversation

‍

If you are attending AGSA, make sure you do not miss this panel at 11:30 AM. Expect fresh perspectives, honest reflections, and a reminder that real loyalty is built between people, not platforms.

‍

For updates and event highlights, follow YOUKNOW Technologies on LinkedIn, and stay tuned for post-event insights from the day.

‍

‍

Fintech is not the future anymore. It is here, reshaping how South Africans bank, invest, and pay. From mobile-first payments to buy-now-pay-later products, the competition for consumer attention is fierce. For banks, the challenge is clear: you cannot afford to wait for quarterly reports or outdated customer surveys. To compete with agile fintech disruptors, you need real-time consumer insights.

‍

Why Real-Time Matters

‍

South African consumers are moving faster than traditional banking systems. According to GWI, 73 percent of South Africans now use mobile banking weekly, while nearly half of Gen Zs and Millennials expect instant resolution to queries online.

If banks are not capturing this behaviour as it happens, they are already a step behind. Real-time insight means knowing:

• When fraud signals start trending on social media.
  
  
• Which products customers are praising (or abandoning) in comments and reviews.
  
  
• How sentiment shifts when you change fees, policies, or digital interfaces.
  
  

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It is the difference between reacting late and leading early.

Curious how this works in practice? See our guide on Spotting Trends Before They Break.

‍

Where Banks Fall Short

‍

Most traditional banks rely on lagging indicators: NPS surveys, call centre escalations, or campaign reports. By the time an issue surfaces, the damage is already done.

This creates three blind spots:

1. Fraud and Risk Signals: Phishing attempts and debit order scams often appear first in consumer chatter online.
   
   
2. Product Experience Gaps: Customers post frustrations on X or HelloPeter long before they escalate complaints formally.
   
   
3. Missed Opportunities: Positive moments, such as new feature adoption, are often lost in the noise without structured monitoring.
   
   

‍

For more on turning these signals into action, read 5 Ways Social Monitoring Helps Banks Detect Fraud Signals Fast

‍

How Real-Time Insights Drive Fintech-Grade Agility

To operate at fintech speed, banks need to adopt the same playbook:

• Always-On Listening: Tools like Brandwatch give banks access to billions of real-time data points across social, forums, and review sites.
  
  
• Contextual AI: Sentiment analysis detects frustration, delight, or sarcasm in multiple South African languages, turning raw data into usable intelligence.
  
  
• Dashboards That Talk to Strategy: Live dashboards link consumer behaviour to KPIs such as churn risk, campaign performance, or product uptake.
  
  

‍

With these capabilities, banks are no longer chasing the conversation, they are shaping it.

‍

Local Insight, Local Advantage

The South African financial market has unique signals. Township economies, stokvel communities, and budget-conscious consumers create patterns global banks might miss. Real-time insights give banks the ability to:

• Spot geographic hotspots of fraud activity before it escalates.
  
  
• Detect how fee sensitivity drives loyalty shifts among lower-income groups.
  
  
• Understand cultural nuances in slang and sentiment that affect perception.
  
  

‍

To dig deeper into the mass market, see our piece on Decoding the SA Consumer.

‍

Trust is the New Currency

‍

At the end of the day, fintechs thrive on speed, but banks still hold the edge in trust — if they manage it right. McKinsey’s 2025 report showed that South African consumers are 2.5 times more likely to remain loyal to financial institutions that act transparently during crises.

Real-time consumer insight is the bridge between fintech agility and banking trust. It helps banks move faster, speak clearer, and act before customers lose faith.

‍

Your Next Step

The future of banking will not wait. If you are relying on old data, you are already falling behind. With the right tools and partners, South African banks can use real-time insights to match fintech speed while reinforcing trust.

‍

Book a consultation with YOUKNOW to see how we help banks unlock fintech-grade agility.

‍

South Africa woke up to insights over coffee and croissants as we hosted Brunch with Brandwatch, bringing global expertise to a local stage. Together with the Brandwatch team, who flew in from the United Kingdom to join us, we explored how consumer research and social listening can help decode today’s fast-changing behaviours.

‍

From banking and retail to telecommunications and tourism, one theme cut across every conversation: the speed of culture has never been faster, and the brands that thrive are those who can hear the whispers before they become headlines.

‍

The Ripple Effect of Influence

‍

Our Chief Executive Officer, Kelvin Jonck, opened the day with a reminder that every shift in consumer behaviour begins with a spark.

‍

Sometimes it is seismic: tariffs, boycotts, global conflicts. Sometimes it is small: a meme, a viral TikTok, a comment on Reddit. But the effect is always the same, ripples that spread across culture, shaping what people buy, believe, and expect.

‍

Drawing on Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point and a touch of Freakonomics, Kelvin framed the psychology of influence:

‍

• Recognise sparks with ripple potential.
  
  
• Capitalise on trends before competitors do.
  
  
• Guide conversations with authenticity.
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It was the perfect set up for a day that moved from theory to practical application.

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Insight-Driven Storytelling: Share of Heart

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Alistair Wheate followed with a keynote on insight-driven storytelling. His challenge to the room: relevance is not about noise, it is about being seen, heard, and understood.

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Through examples that ranged from toothpaste tariffs in Canada to the role of human truths in global campaigns, Alistair showed how insight can unlock “share of heart.” When brands listen deeply and stack those insights into powerful narratives, the results move beyond awareness to genuine emotional impact.

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Key takeaways included:

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• Human truths drive the most powerful stories.
  
  
• Relevance is about connection, not just reach.
  
  
• Insight stacking can transform campaigns from tactical to cultural.
  
  

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Masterclass: From Misinformation to Micro-Trends

The finale of the morning was Alistair’s masterclass on misinformation, artificial intelligence, and trend spotting.

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Misinformation is no longer just a news problem; it is a brand problem. When trust erodes, every interaction is at risk. Social listening, however, offers a way through the noise.

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Alistair’s session explored how artificial intelligence can enhance listening, where it falls short, and why human judgment still matters. Practical demonstrations showed how to:

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• Track journalists, creators, and forums with AI-powered dashboards.
  
  
• Detect weak signals early and convert them into action.
  
  
• Curate sources carefully to avoid “garbage in, garbage out.”
  
  
• Treat AI not just as a tool, but as an audience in its own right.
  
  

The message was clear: insights are only as strong as the sources they are built on. Pair the speed of AI with human scepticism, and you unlock smarter, safer decisions.

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Wrapping Up: Where Do We Go From Here?

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The morning made one thing clear. Influence and information will only get faster, noisier, and more fragmented. The teams that succeed are those that can separate the signal from the noise, turn it into insight, and act quickly with credibility.

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Brandwatch showed us the tools. The conversations in the room showed us the appetite. And the examples, from tariffs and toothpaste to memes and misinformation, proved that no brand is immune.

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For South African marketers, analysts, and strategists, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. Listening is no longer a “nice to have”, it is the edge. Those who invest now will be better prepared not just to keep up, but to set the pace.

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We are grateful to Alistair Wheate for flying in from the United Kingdom, and to the full Brandwatch team for making it practical, not theoretical. And of course, to everyone who joined us, thank you for bringing your questions, your scepticism, and your curiosity.

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If you want to go deeper, check out our posted workshop notes or book a session with YOUKNOW to see how Brandwatch can help your team listen sharply, spot trends earlier, and act with confidence.

Social Media Trends 2025: What South African Brands Need to Know

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Social media is evolving faster than most teams can keep up with, and chasing every new trend is not a strategy. According to Hootsuite’s 2025 Social Trends report, the brands seeing real results are not the ones copying viral dances or jumping on every meme. They are the ones who know their audiences, experiment with bold creative, and use AI to scale without losing authenticity.

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For South African marketers, that shift matters. Our audiences are diverse, demanding, and digitally savvy. Whether it is retail, finance, or FMCG, the challenge is no longer simply being present online, it is about being meaningful.

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Entertainment Is the New Engagement

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Almost half of global marketers now say their social content is built primarily to entertain, educate, or inform. In South Africa, this shift is already obvious. TikTok and Reels have become default spaces for younger audiences, and brands that entertain are the ones being shared.

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It is not just about humour either. Checkers’ Sixty60 pushes into culture with speed and creativity, while Nando’s continually reinvents its tone to stay sharp. These brands prove that when you move beyond rigid brand rules, you unlock more cultural relevance.

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Outbound Engagement Builds Trust

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The report shows that more than four in ten organisations are testing proactive engagement strategies. This means joining conversations in the comment sections of creators, not just waiting for your own page to light up.

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For South African industries where trust is fragile, such as banking or insurance, this approach is gold. Instead of trying to buy attention with ads, being part of conversations where your audience already engages builds credibility.

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Listening Powers ROI

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For years, social media reporting stopped at likes and shares. Today, social listening tools are proving direct ROI by linking conversation data to sales, churn reduction, and product feedback.

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In South Africa, this is particularly valuable in sectors with high competition. Banks can detect early complaints about app issues before they escalate, while telcos can track sentiment around service quality in real time. Social listening is not about vanity metrics, it is about protecting revenue and reputation.

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AI Moves Into the Everyday

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AI has officially gone mainstream. The report highlights that most marketing teams are now using AI to create more content than they could without it, but the real opportunity is not volume, it is scale.

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For South African brands, AI makes it possible for smaller teams to perform like larger ones. It helps draft, edit, and analyse, but it cannot replace local context or cultural nuance. The winning formula will always be AI plus people, not AI instead of people.

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The Takeaway

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The 2025 trends point in one direction: audiences want more meaningful, authentic engagement. South African brands that combine bold creativity, proactive engagement, and sharp social listening will not just keep up, they will lead.

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👉 Download the full Hootsuite Social Trends 2025 Report here

Car buyers in South Africa no longer begin their journey at a dealership forecourt. They begin online, searching Google, scrolling social feeds, and comparing brands in review forums long before a salesperson has a chance to engage.

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The new Automotive Digital Trends Report, developed with Rogerwilco and MoyaApp, reveals how digital discovery and sentiment are shaping the industry. Download the full report.

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The power of search signals

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The report highlights how challenger brands are making gains not because they outspend the big players, but because they are easier to discover online. Search visibility at the “moment of intent” is now critical.

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If a prospective buyer cannot find you when they’re comparing models or calculating finance, you have already fallen behind. This echoes lessons from Spotting Trends Before They Break, where timing often decides who leads and who plays catch-up.

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Why sentiment still matters

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Although listed mentions in the automotive space have slowed, expectations for service, safety, and reliability are higher than ever. A dip in sentiment can quickly chip away at trust.

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This is why structured reporting is key. Tools like Brandwatch, underpinned by frameworks such as the [Social Data Audit Checklist], help brands detect whether conversations are shifting before it snowballs into a crisis. Combine this with approaches we covered in [Optimising CX with Social Insights] and you move from reacting to pre-empting.

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The local lens

In South Africa, context is everything. Over 90% of automotive-related searches include “near me”, emphasising just how much proximity and convenience influence purchase decisions. Beyond national brand campaigns, it is often the dealership visible in a specific township or city that wins the sale.

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This reinforces the need for hyper-local digital strategies, tailored messaging, and authentic service delivery that align with the South African reality.

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The bottom line

If your marketing budget still leans heavily towards traditional media while competitors are investing in discoverability, you’re giving away an edge.

Winning in this market isn’t about shouting louder. It is about being visible when it matters, listening to what buyers are actually saying, and ensuring those insights shape pricing, stock, service, and creative strategies.

For the full analysis, download the Automotive Digital Trends Report. And if you’re building your own foundation, start with How Social Listening Actually Works.

On Sunday 19 October 2025, thousands of runners were ready to take on the Cape Town Marathon. Hours before the start, strong winds forced organisers to cancel the event.

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For runners, it was devastating. For organisers and sponsors, it was reputationally risky. And for marketers, it became a live case study in how one decision can dominate the national conversation.

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Because while the race never ran, the conversation did.

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The Conversation Surge

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Mentions of the Cape Town Marathon jumped from just 127 the week before to 7,543 during the cancellation period. That is a 5,839% increase.

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On the day of cancellation, conversation peaked at more than 6,000 mentions, driven by over 4,000 unique voices. Compared to 2024, where the event barely made a digital ripple, this was a seismic shift.

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For brands, this is the first lesson. Events can change course in an instant, and the conversation does not wait for your press release.

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Sentiment Split: Not All Negative

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The most striking insight was not the spike itself, but the balance of emotion.

• 45% negative: complaints about wasted money, travel, and preparation.
  
• 43% joy: relief and even gratitude that organisers put safety first.
  
• 13% anger: frustration at communication gaps and accountability concerns.

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This mix is uniquely South African. Consumers here can be outspoken and critical, but they are also pragmatic and quick to respect difficult decisions when they are made for the right reasons.

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Who Was Talking

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The conversation was not limited to athletes.

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• Journalists amplified the news with quick reporting.
  
• Executives and professionals discussed accountability and business impact.
  
• Artists, athletes, and communities shared personal stories.
  
• Interests spanned sport, fitness, family, parenting, and business.
  
  

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The Cape Town Marathon was no longer a sporting story. It became a national talking point that stretched across industries and households.

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The Sponsor in the Spotlight

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One of the most telling insights was that the two most mentioned words were “Cancelled” and “Sanlam.”

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Although weather was the root cause, the sponsor was inevitably drawn into the conversation. Sanlam’s response, offering future race entries, softened some of the disappointment, but it also shows how easily a brand can become the centre of a crisis it did not cause.

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For brands, this is the reality. You do not need to cause a crisis to become the face of it.

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Why Monitoring Matters

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This is where Brandwatch proves invaluable. Real-time monitoring gave us the ability to see:

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• When conversation spiked and why.
  
• Which platforms were driving it (with X dominating, followed later by news and community forums).
  
• How sentiment shifted hour by hour.
  
• What emotions sat beneath the numbers.
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With tools like Brandwatch, brands can move from reacting late to acting with agility.

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Why Post-Event Analysis Matters Even More

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Once the crisis passes, analysis remains essential. It answers key questions:

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• Which issues continued after the peak?
  
• Who was most vocal, and in which communities?
  
• Did the brand response improve sentiment, or leave frustration unresolved?
  
• What lessons can be applied to future planning?
  

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This is the kind of insight our YOUKNOW reporting team specialises in. We provide bespoke reports, delivered quickly, that move beyond surface-level sentiment to show the real drivers of conversation and what they mean for future reputation.

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The South African Spirit

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Amid the frustration, what stood out most was the resilience. Nearly half of the conversation praised the safety-first decision. And many runners still took to the streets on the day, supported by friends and family, to finish their own races.

That duality, outspoken criticism combined with pragmatic resilience, is what makes South African audiences unique. And it is why data is so important. Without it, the story looks one-dimensional. With it, the full picture becomes clear.

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Final Word

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The Cape Town Marathon 2025 did not run, but it gave us an invaluable lesson. Crises cannot always be prevented, but they can be managed. Brands that monitor in real time, listen to the nuance, and learn from post-event analysis stand a far better chance of protecting trust.

Our YOUKNOW reporting team, working with Brandwatch, helps brands do exactly that, producing fast, bespoke reports that cut through noise and reveal what audiences are truly saying. Because in South Africa, events may be cancelled, but the conversations around them never are.