Quantcast
MarkLives.com

MarkLives.com

Independent industry news for marketing, advertising & media execs

  • Home
  • Sections
    • Adland
    • #CoronavirusSA
    • Media
    • Marketing
    • S’HOT
    • Tech
    • Archive
  • Columns
    • #AdChamps – Kyle & Morgan
    • #AgencyLeaders – Most Admired Poll
    • Accountant in Adland – Siwe Lawrence
    • Big Q – MarkLives Panel
    • Campaigns – MarkLives
    • Circulation Data – ABC Analysis
    • Clicks ‘n Tricks – Charlie Stewart
    • #CoronavirusSA – Special Section
    • Curiosity – Marguerite Coetzee
    • #CustomerFirst – Craig Hannabus
    • Dear Radio – Paulo Dias
    • Extracts — Books & research
    • Fair Exchange – Erna George
    • Hard Relate – David Alves
    • Herding Words – Wendy Shepherd
    • Hermaneutics – Herman Manson
    • Masterclass Notes – Johanna McDowell
    • Media Redefined – Martin MacGregor
    • Mission – Tom Fels
    • Motive – By Invitation Only
    • #NotSoOrdinary – Taazima Kala-Essack
    • Press Pass – Carey Finn
    • Q5 – Carey Finn
    • SA TV Ratings – MarkLives
    • #TheInterlocker – Emma King
    • The Martini Shot – Bobby Amm
    • The Power Report – Megan Power
    • The Suit – Jason Harrison
    • Thinking B2B – Warren Moss
    • #Transformers Transform 2020
    • Watched – Richard Lord
    • #WritersBlock – Tiffany Markman
    • WTF?! – Leigh Tayler
    • Young, Gifted & Killing It – Veli Ngubane
    • Zeitgeist of Now – Jason Stewart
  • Find an Agency
    • Shortlist & Compare Agencies
    • List your Agency
    • List as Agency Supplier/Service
    • Register as a Marketer
    • Company News Feed
    • Upgrade to Ramify Premium
    • RamifyPRO
    • Add Premium to Cart
  • Data
    • Agency Revenue Rankings 2020
    • Agency Salary Survey
    • Biggest SA consumer magazines
    • Biggest newspapers in SA
    • The 50 most-valuable brands in SA
    • Top 50 SA advertisers 2016
    • SA TV Ratings – MarkLives
  • Careers
    • Advertising
    • Digital
    • Marketing
    • Media
    • Public Relations
    • View All
  • About
    • About & Contact
    • Advertise
    • Business supporters
    • Privacy Policy
    • Readership
    • Submissions
  • Partners
    • Brands & Branding
    • Brands & Branding – Profiles
    • Retailing Africa
    • Retailer/Supplier profiles
    • Ramify.biz
By Invitation Only – Motive
BBBEE gazette slider

Motive: Let’s keep calm and transform

  •   7 Jun 2016
  •   0
Share

by Gugu Madlala. After the sheer number of WhatsApp messages and forwarded links received pointing me towards Jeremy Maggs’ recent Financial Mail article about the gazetting of the BBBEE sector code for our industry, I couldn’t help but think empathetically on behalf of the various ad bosses in the industry — the frustration and ‘ag mans’ or ‘flipping hells’ being spat at another frustrating move by the government to put them in the same corner Fikile Mbalula’s put Allistair Coetzee.

But then I got to thinking. I got to thinking of my time as a small business owner trying to crack the big time.

I thought of all the frustrations I experienced when trying to get the established agencies to give you a small piece for work so that you can prove your worth. I thought of the numerous resignations I’d seen because of people being overlooked for promotion. And it dawned upon me.

Years of non-action

The latest announcement is a result of years of non-action.

The truth is that the core of the BBBEE codes and their purpose is the desire to see more black people succeed. The key word here is MORE.

Now, you tell me: If an agency is owned 49% by a black person or entity but procures from 90% white suppliers, how many black people are succeeding? Likely one or three.

However, if an agency has only a black share trust holding 10% and 90% is held by white people, but the supply chain sees 50% being procured from black businesses, how many black people are then succeeding? Likely 15–50.

So I carried on thinking.

I thought of the number of low-risk jobs available in the ad process. Vox pops, behind the scenes, freelance capacity for existing clients, studio rental (a simple site visit should suffice), and so on and so forth.

Nothing scary here

I can almost guarantee you that, had agencies taken the previous nudges seriously and, by extension, taken supply chain transformation seriously, there would be such a high number of successful black people in advertising and marketing that the government would not need to gazette the industry specific codes which it has.

The truth is we sell hours, and those hours are bought based upon competence so, if you’re going to sell top management at top management rates, they’d better be bloody worth it in this environment. Here’s a warning: prepare the black leadership talent you need to stay relevant or face the prospect of having staff who run you at a loss because you can’t bill them out.

In the same breath, KEEP CALM.

There is nothing scary here. It’s another gentle nudge. There is ample lead time.

Train the people who have potential, develop loyalty with them by exposing them to the upsides. Bring new players into your supply chain. Not to clean the windows and fix the generators but to actually influence your product. Buy from black freelancers. And make deals with the best ones — trust me, there are enough of them (just open some unread mail).

Take a pleasant approach

If we take a pleasant approach to these requirements, we will be extremely surprised at how easy this could potentially be.

We’ll end up achieving all the requirements and then have the luxury of getting crafty with equity and letting an NGO vest in the business or similar. And you know what? Nobody will mind because the spirit will be in good faith and the real impact of MORE would have been achieved.

So, let’s do ourselves a favour: let’s keep calm and transform.

 

Gugu MadlalaGugu Madlala is the head of entrepreneurship for The Jupiter Drawing Room & Partners Group; he also works as the business development director at The Jupiter Drawing Room (Johannesburg). A passionate citizen of the continent of Africa, his personal mission is to champion a society in which all people work together to collectively evolve our social, educational, economical and spiritual way of life.

“Motive” is a by-invitation-only column on MarkLives.com. Contributors are picked by the editors but generally don’t form part of our regular columnist lineup, unless the topic is off-column.

— Sign up now for the MarkLives email newsletter every Monday and Thursday, now including headlines from the Ramify.biz company newsroom service!

Share

Columns

  • #AdChamps, #AdOfTheWeek & #AdOfTheYear
    #AdChamps, #AdOfTheWeek & #AdOfTheYear
  • #AgencyLeaders – Most Admired Poll
    #AgencyLeaders – Most Admired Poll
  • #CoronavirusSA – Special Section
    #CoronavirusSA – Special Section
  • #CustomerFirst – Craig Hannabus
    #CustomerFirst – Craig Hannabus
  • #NotSoOrdinary – Taazima Kala-Essack
    #NotSoOrdinary – Taazima Kala-Essack
  • #TheInterlocker – Emma King
    #TheInterlocker – Emma King
  • #Transformers Transform 2020
    #Transformers Transform 2020
  • #WritersBlock – Tiffany Markman
    #WritersBlock – Tiffany Markman
  • An Accountant in Adland – Siwe Lawrence
    An Accountant in Adland – Siwe Lawrence
  • Big Q – MarkLives Panel
    Big Q – MarkLives Panel
  • Big Reads on MarkLives
    Big Reads on MarkLives
  • By Invitation Only – Motive
    By Invitation Only – Motive
  • Campaigns – MarkLives
    Campaigns – MarkLives
  • Circulation Data – ABC Analysis
    Circulation Data – ABC Analysis
  • Clicks ’n Tricks – Charlie Stewart
    Clicks ’n Tricks – Charlie Stewart
  • Curiosity – Marguerite Coetzee
    Curiosity – Marguerite Coetzee
  • Dear Radio – Paulo Dias
    Dear Radio – Paulo Dias
  • Extracts — Books & Research
    Extracts — Books & Research
  • Fair Exchange – Erna George
    Fair Exchange – Erna George
  • Hard Relate – David Alves
    Hard Relate – David Alves
  • Herding Words – Wendy Shepherd
    Herding Words – Wendy Shepherd
  • Hermaneutics – Herman Manson
    Hermaneutics – Herman Manson
  • Masterclass Notes – Johanna McDowell
    Masterclass Notes – Johanna McDowell
  • Media Redefined – Martin MacGregor
    Media Redefined – Martin MacGregor
  • Mission – Tom Fels
    Mission – Tom Fels
  • Press Pass – Carey Finn
    Press Pass – Carey Finn
  • Q5 – Carey Finn
    Q5 – Carey Finn
  • SA TV Ratings – MarkLives
    SA TV Ratings – MarkLives
  • Spotlight – MarkLives
    Spotlight – MarkLives
  • The Martini Shot – Bobby Amm
    The Martini Shot – Bobby Amm
  • The Power Report – Megan Power
    The Power Report – Megan Power
  • The Suit – Jason Harrison
    The Suit – Jason Harrison
  • Thinking B2B – Warren Moss
    Thinking B2B – Warren Moss
  • Watched – Richard Lord
    Watched – Richard Lord
  • WTF?! – Leigh Tayler
    WTF?! – Leigh Tayler
  • Young, Gifted & Killing It – Veli Ngubane
    Young, Gifted & Killing It – Veli Ngubane
  • Zeitgeist of Now – Jason Stewart
    Zeitgeist of Now – Jason Stewart
  • View All
  • Account Director: Video Marketing Agency
    16 Aug 2022
  • Mid – Senior Influencer Specialist: Integrated Communications Agency
    16 Aug 2022
  • Account Manager: Full-Service Agency
    12 Aug 2022
  • Digital Marketing Manager: Skincare Brand
    11 Aug 2022
  • Graphic Design & Digital Marketing Specialist
    11 Aug 2022
  • Mid-Weight Digital Art Director: Integrated Advertising Agency
    11 Aug 2022
  • Executive Creative Director: TV & Digital
    11 Aug 2022
  • Brand Manager: Hair, Wig & Accessory Brand
    11 Aug 2022
  • Communications Manager: Educational Institution
    10 Aug 2022
  • Multimedia Designer/Video Editor: International Brand
    10 Aug 2022
  • Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Leave a Reply Click here to cancel reply.

    No comments yet.

    Related News

    By Invitation Only – Motive, Columns, Featured, Marketing Unilever South Africa logo, TRESemmé logo and Clicks logo

    Op-ed: Brands & the politics of representation

    1 Oct 2020
    #Transformers Transform 2020, Adland, Columns, Featured, Marketing #Transformers Transform 2020 logo with playbook cover

    #TransformersTransform2020: Download the playbook now

    10 Sep 2020
    #CoronavirusSA, #Transformers Transform 2020, Columns, Featured, Marketing #Transformers Transform 2020 logo with Bozoma Saint John

    #Transformers: Change matters. Just do it.

    3 Sep 2020
    Facebook
    Like us on Facebook
    Twitter
    Follow us on Twitter
    Google Plus
    Add us on Google Plus
    YouTube
    Join us on YouTube
    Pinterest
    Follow us on Pinterest
    Subscribe Newsletter

    Get our round-up of top ad and media industry news every Monday and Thursday.

    Online CPD Courses Psychology Online CPD Courses Marketing analytics software Marketing analytics software for small business Business management software Business accounting software Gearbox repair company Makeup artist