5 Questions With Trend Analyst Dion Chang

Today I sat down with trend analyst Dion Chang from Flux Trends.

Dion Chang

I asked him 5 questions.

How far away are we from Free WiFi across Africa?

It's become such a commodity.  Profit is quite narrow in this medium.  When we see the benefit of it in countries GDP then maybe we can see it happening.

What social media trends do you see for 2015 and into the future?

Social Media Commerce.  We are at a tipping point.  It's the next step of shopping.  It's going to integrate into our lifestyles.

How do you see wearables and Google Glass?

I am disappointed in Google Glass.

Wearables are in a fitness phase at the moment.  I think wearables are going to disrupt the healthcare industry.

What does Flux Trends do?

We are a trends analysis company.   We look at the consumer mindset and we look at trends as a business strategy.  We are very much interested in disruptive technology.

Which South African Brands are doing well on Social Media?

Mr Price does it really well.  They speak to their target market well.
Spree is killing it.  They are also doing very well.

You can find Dion Chang on Twitter @dionchang


Interview by Fred Felton
Twitter @fredfelton


Fred Felton was a guest of MWEB WiFi at their #TheFutureOfWiFi Luncheon.
Find out about their WiFi here: http://www.mweb.co.za/MwebWiFi/AboutMwebWiFi.aspx

Frontier Advisory talks Social Media in Africa

Frontier Advisory talks Building Companies and Brands through the Rise of Social Media in Africa

The concept of Social Media is top of the agenda for many brands and companies in Africa. Social media provides a unique opportunity for brands to foster long lasting relationships with their customers and it can be a very powerful weapon in the corporate realm.

A research, strategy, and advisory firm; Frontier Advisory held an interesting event on the 22^nd of July 2014 at Sandton, Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). Building Companies and Brands through the Rise of Social Media in Africa was the topic of the day. 

The panel of speakers included:

Dr Martyn Davies, Chief Executive Officer, frontier Advisory

Justin Spratt; Managing Director, Quirk Digital Agency

Addiel Dzinoreva; Executive Director, Social Media Week Johannesburg

Nicholas Kuhne; Managing Director, Wunderbrand

Walter Pike; Founder, Pike New Marketing

Mike Sharman; Owner, Retroviral Digital Communications

Loyiso Twala; Creative Director, FCB Social marketing

Dion Chang; Corporate Trend Analyst and Design Consultant, Flux Trends

Frank Rizzo; Technology Sector leader, KPMG Africa

Jonathan Ainscough; Social media manager, Wits Business School & Search Online casting

They got together and conversed about the significance of social media and how brands and companies can capitalise and grow through social media platforms. The most important factor that was conferred about is ‘Authenticity’.

Brands need to be genuine and transparent on the digital landscape because it means a great deal to audiences. At the at end of the day social media is not about the number of followers you have but is all about managing the customers journey from its initial awareness to total engagement, building relationships and maintaining them.

In this case when it comes to your social media presence, quality should always trump quantity. Frontier Advisory really informed a lot of delegates and great event it was. 

Article by +Molly Dimpho