KFC COMMITS TO CONTINUED SUPPORT OF MINI CRICKET, T20 INTERNATIONALS AND THE PROTEAS

As South Africa continues to tap into our resilience as a nation during this challenging period, KFC and Cricket South Africa (CSA) are thrilled to announce the renewal of their partnership to keep the Protea fire burning by investing in the sport of cricket. The renewal of the formidable partnership that started just over a decade ago sees KFC retain its position as the title sponsor of the T20 internationals with CSA, official partner to the Proteas and official sponsor of the flagship, KFC Mini-Cricket programme.

While the COVID-19 pandemic crisis continues to redefine life as we know it; South Africans will also face the socio-economic challenges that will come as a result of it. Amidst such uncertainty, KFC acknowledges its role as a pillar of the South African sporting community by showing unwavering support of South African Cricket, a sport that continues to unite us all.

“KFC believes sport is a great catalyst to truly unite and give hope. As a brand that operates in communities all over SA and one that is passionate about investing in those communities, it is paramount that we are part of the solution,” said Dhruv Kaul, Chief Marketing Officer of KFC South Africa.  

“We are aware, more than ever, that sport also remains a major contributor to economic and social development in this beautiful country. We continue to be proud of the partnership with one of South Africa’s most loved sports. In this next chapter, we look forward to continuing the growth of one of the biggest sporting grassroots development programmes, partnering with our Proteas team and their fans at T20 International matches and supporting national cricket at the highest level,” concludes Kaul.

“CSA is delighted about this decision by KFC and we are excited for the sport of cricket and its development that this strategic partnership with KFC is being extended. We are particularly excited that our continued association with a strong brand like KFC will further advance the game of cricket and help to unearth new talent for the overall purpose of ensuring the sustainability of our cricket pipeline structures”, said Jacques Faul, Acting Chief Executive Office for Cricket South Africa.

The renewed partnership will be for five years and three years, respectively. KFC will also continue being the Protea’s Official Restaurant for the next five years.

KFC ends off the 2019/20 KFC Mini-Cricket season on a high note

As the curtain closes on yet another action-packed KFC Mini-Cricket season, KFC takes this time to reflect on the key moments that continue to set the grassroot programme apart. Whether it’s the dedicated mini-cricketers batting and bowling at a Provincial festival held in Umtata or Benoni, or the heart-warming moments of watching new friendships being made on the pitch, one appreciates the time to look back on what truly makes the programme a home for kids to learn and grow in the best way possible. This reflection comes with an even greater milestone of KFC marking an incredible 10-year partnership with Cricket South Africa (CSA) this season.

The 2019/20 season saw the KFC Mini-Cricket programme grow in leaps and bounds. The season saw 126 642 kids playing the beautiful game of cricket with an additional 122 schools across the country joining the programme. This phenomenal trajectory can also be attributed to the great work being done by the 13 673 passionate KFC Mini-Cricket volunteer coaches. Furthermore, there was an increase of games played, with over 60 000 matches taking place throughout the season.

“When our partnership with CSA began over 10 years ago, we had a clear vision of getting even more kids active across the country through the KFC Mini-Cricket programme. Together with CSA, we believe we have delivered on this mandate. The hard work continues as we continue efforts of growing the world class programme that impacts South African children. The incredible dedication of our volunteer coaches and coordinators has been an incredible driving force, with their selfless commitment and passion and fun being added to the game every day,” says Andra Nel, KFC Corporate Social Responsibility Manager.

The impact of the programme is a true reflection of the extraordinary contribution it brings. Not only does it teach life skills and the value of dreams and aspirations but KFC and CSA continue to invest greatly in improving the quality of cricket for the kids by implementing skills development programmes for the volunteer coaches and coordinators through its coaching courses, using provincial and regional seminars across the 16 unions as a platform to educate and motivate the key role players and continuing to find ways to assist more schools gain access to the sport.

“It is indeed part of Cricket South Africa’s vision to make cricket a truly national sport that is accessible to all and that is what makes our partnership with KFC such an important one through our KFC Mini-Cricket program,” says CSA CEO Jacques Faul.

“The success of the Mini-Cricket initiative continues to make a massive contribution to the growth of our game and particularly for those who do not have the benefit of attending one of our leading cricketing schools. These have been really heart-warming projects that have contributed immensely to our pipeline.”

With the new season planning  underway, even as the COVID-19  global pandemic impacts schools and communities across the country, KFC and CSA will continue to engage with relevant officials and associations to make sure the KFC Mini-Cricket kids and coaches will have an opportunity to get on the pitch to play the game we all love so much as soon as it is safe to do so.

Ways to build trust that are worth considering for any type of business.

Building trust with your clients is often ignored or does not fall part of a marketing or PR strategy. The customer is often forgotten in a business's marketing and PR strategy by looking at new sales without considering what your current clients can do for you. 

When you ignore your customer you lose their trust. If you lose their trust you can lose your client and they will go to one of your competitors. 

Here are some easy ways to keep your clients trust and easy ways of attracting new clients to your business by building on the relationships that you have with your current clients.

• Collect testimonials and reviews. People trust people. People like to see the opinions from others on the quality of service that they have received before they make a decision on a service or product. A recent study indicates that the average consumer reads 10 online reviews before making a purchasing decision. In the retail and consumer world, reviews can be found online. In the B2B space, there may be product reviews or even testimonial on the company’s website or Facebook page. However these are chosen testimonials or edited ones so they can be biased. Video has become important because people can hear and see a customer talk about a product on video is a turbo-charged testimonial.

• Get quoted in an article. Even a one-line quote in a large article can be powerful when used the right way. You can even send articles to online publications on various topics that your company is an expert in and show how well you know your product of service.

• Business credentials reinforce your brand’s expertise.  Even displaying the number of years you’ve been in business can help add to the trustworthiness of your organisation.

• Exploit the wisdom of your colleagues, friends and family. This is also called “word of mouth” marketing and it’s perhaps the most credible type of marketing you can have. It consists of referrals from people you know and trust. Studies have proven that recommendations from people you know are exponentially more powerful than traditional advertising and marketing.

Henno Kruger from Running Wolf Rant talks about how he sees the music scene changing after the Coronavirus

We interviewed photographer, influencer and blogger Henno Kruger owner of http://rwrant.co.za/ about the music scene. Henno is passionate about music and can often been seen at a music event taking photos for the musicians and for his blog. Henno is very much a behind the scenes guy that likes to highlight the brilliance of South African musicians.

Tell us about yourself and how did you get involved in the music industry and why you are so interested in music.

I've always been a fan of live music shows. I think the first show I went to was a Koos Kombuis show at a place called Navigator's Ladies Bar (that used to be across the road from the Reserve Bank in Pretoria). Since then I've always made an effort to watch bands / artists live at pubs / clubs. I watched James & Smashing Pumpkins live in 2000 (at Supersport Park in Centurion) - 43,000 people attended to show - After that I was hooked. I just had to get my fix on a regular basis. Sadly I missed all of the Cokefests (because I wasn't earning that much before 2010), but I did manage to catch live shows and make my way to Oppikoppi annually (I ended up going to 20 of them in total). 

From 2011 things changed significantly though (thanks to my blog and me re-disovering my love for photography). I started posting festival reviews and photos on a regular basis and starting mingling with artists and organizers at shows and festivals on a regular basis. Because people were reading my blog and checking out my photos and I became part of the SA Music family (which is actually smaller than people think it is, but it's a fun group of like-minded peeps).

Why did you start your blog?

Back in 2008 I was doing a lot of chatting online (as one used to do). I got very opinionated about a subject in a chat with a girl (who I haven't met till this day). She kept on telling me that I had a lot to tell the world and that I should explore options to do it. She suggested that I start a blog. I was not keen to do it, but I gave it a shot. 

I started using Blogger (*puke*) and tried Wordpress.com (which was not too bad, but still didn't give me the control that I wanted) and eventually settled on buying my domain and installing Wordpress to start Running Wolf's Rant. RunningWolf was my nickname on IRC and I liked to rant (I got that idea for the Rant & Rave section in Top 40 magazine). I degress, but I actually got one of my letters published in that section when I was still in high school (my psuedonym was "Kurt Grungehead").

In 2009 my site was featured on 5FM and I posted my first Oppikoppi review and it got a little traction, I realized that people liked to read my rants and reviews and I decided to post more regularly, that just increased from 2010 onwards (especially after I started tweeting - a lot). I've deleted some posts, but I currently have more than 2900 posts on the site :D

What were the trends that you saw before the lockdown?

The industry was pretty stable before lockdown (despite some ups and downs and a dwindling SA economy). Rock bounced back with RAMFest 2020 in Pretoria (which I luckily attended before the lockdown). Awesome shows were lined up for April & May. My girlfriend and I were actually planning to go to STRAB (in Mozambique). 2020 was going to be a great year for SA Music.

Just before lockdown I saw that a lot of live music venues were limiting capacity, live venues were closing (like Mercury in Cape Town), festivals and concerts were getting postponed and cancelled. I don't work in the music industry full time, but I'm actively involved with it at times. I know a lot of people that are part of it (bands, artists, photographers, organizers and venue owners, etc.). It was actually heart-breaking seeing all of this happening. I've seen many folks build up a band / brand / following / venue / festival from scratch and the prospect of them not being able to engage, work or build the industry is just unfair / sad / concerning / scary. Negativity doesn't belong in the SA Music Scene.

What are the trends that you see during the lockdown?

Performances in living rooms or lapas that are being streamed on different platforms (with musos asking for tips for themselves or venues), Zoom parties (with bands / artists / DJs asking for tips and people drinking home brews or the horrible whiskey they got for Christmas in 2014), Music Quiz Nights hosted by musicians, bloggers (like yours truly) promoting new music from artists & their online shows. There has definitely been a surge in people consuming video content online. Platforms like Netlfix and Showmax have broken streaming records. The same goes for music streaming platforms like Spotify.

How do you see the industry changing after the lockdown?

It's going to change big time. Some things will still be the same, but a little different. Pubs and venues will limit their capacity and enforce social distancing. Festivals will get a lot smaller. There will be sanitising stations all over. I don't think we're going to see festivals with more than 2000 people in the near future. Tickets will be more expensive (because of limited capacity - venues pay artists thanks to ticket sales - less tickets sold, less money in). Crowdfunding is going to become even more popular amongst artist - most of them were already struggling before lockdown and won't have money to pay for studio time and tours when the lockdown is over. People will also get very picky about the shows they want to go to.

But, I don't think that the changes will  all be negative. Concerts / performances / festivals will sell tickets to stream their shows. That's a revenue stream that hasn't really been tapped into properly yet in my opinion - even though some people are getting gatvol of it during lockdown. The shows you go to will be a more intimate affair that will allow you to connect with performers (thanks to crowd reductions). 

What have you got in the pipeline for your blog?

I''m currently working on a SA Music Directory (which will link to articles about the artists / festivals / venues that I've featured on there). I'm also working on trimming old content that's not relevant any more.