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Retired after 52 years in the business, and currently working half-day with Applied Media Logic as a data analyst.
Barbara Cooke was the General Manager Research and Marketing at National Magazines, the magazine division of the Nasionale Pers Publishing Group [now Media 24], for over 13 years.
She joined Media24 from ad. agency Lindsay-Smithers FCB where she was the Account Director on their business. Prior to this, she was the Director of Research and Planning at J Walter Thompson (1981-1985), which she joined after 2 years with one of their major clients, Stellenbosch Farmers Wineries. Her early experience was gained during the nearly 20 years spent at Unilever (1958-1978).
Barbara has published widely, and presented papers at conferences both here and overseas on numerous occasions, including the Lisbon conference of the International Magazine Publishers Association where she was voted best speaker for her presentation on 'The Power of Print'.
She has been a member of a variety of professional bodies and has served on the boards of the Print Media Association of SA, the Magazine Publishers Association and the South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) and was Vice-Chairman of SAARF from 1997 to 1999. She has Founder Member status of the Southern African Market Research Association which made her an Honorary Member in 1993.
In 1994 she received the Protea Award from the SA Association of Marketers, and was named the 'marketing person of the year' - the first and only woman to be so honoured in the history of the award.
In 1998 she was awarded the Fellowship of the Print Media Association and, in 1999, the Fellowship of the IMM.
In February 2001, with Erik du Plessis (Chairman of Millward Brown Impact) she received the inaugural Platinum Achievement Award from the Media Directors Circle for long term service to the industry.
Barbara served on the Council of the Technikon Witwatersrand until its amalgamation with Rand Afrikaans University to form the new University of Johannesburg
In September 1999 she started Marketing & Media Research Brokers with her husband Tim Cooke, and then, in 2002, with Tim Bester [formerly Chairman of McCann Erickson and also one time Chairman of SAARF], they formed The Brand Survey Company SA [Pty] Ltd to introduce the internationally acclaimed TGI [Target Group Index] to the South African market - the 50th TGI country in the world and the first in Africa. After successfully launching and establishing TGI in South Africa, Barbara retired from the company in 2010 and started her own consultancy once again.
In August 2010 OHMSA [Out of Home Media SA] appointed her Executive Director of the association, which post she held till August 2011. She has now joined AML [Applied Media Logic] as an analyst on a half day basis, whilst continuing to remain involved in the industry, particularly in training activities.
21st May 2012
