Gavin Etheridge Manufacturing processes can be replicated, products imitated and ideas copied. But, it is not as simple to emulate the authentic relationships South African consumers share with their favourite brands. Nor is it easy to contest the position these products occupy in the minds of their loyal patrons. In the face of technological innovation, globalisation and a bewildering array of traditional and online media, brands can and often do win… now more than ever before. This is according to Gavin Etheridge, Cape Town Director of Epic MSLGROUP , who says that when a deep emotional connection is cultivated between companies and customers, its brand loyalty and not improved features, augmented services and innovative designs that protect their market share. Etheridge further explains that few markets display this phenomena better than the pharmaceutical industry. “Almost entirely driven by product promotion in the past, doctors were considered the only target market. In...