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	<title>Marklives!com</title>
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	<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress</link>
	<description>Media, marketing, design and advertising translated for the rest of us</description>
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		<title>Angelina Jolie has something to say</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/10939/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/10939/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>MediaSlutZA</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[S'HOT Creative]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Angelina Jolie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[by mediaslut]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[de kat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[double mastectomy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GQ South AFrica]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[magazine covers we love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marilyn Ramos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Samuel L. Jackson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Solange Knowles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10939</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[MarkLives.com runs a regular slot featuring the best local and international magazine covers every week. We recognise well thought out, powerful and interesting (and hopefully all three in one) magazine covers and celebrate the mix of pragmatism, creativity and personal taste that created each of them.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/10939/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Powertech System Integrators pops onto the scene</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/powertech-system-integrators-pops-onto-the-scene/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/powertech-system-integrators-pops-onto-the-scene/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2013 13:24:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>PocketMedia® Solutions</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News Room]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10946</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Powertech selected PocketMedia® Solutions’ Pop Up marketing application to utilise as an attention-grabbing invitation to the birth of Powertech System Integrators, a solutions business with its core competence in system technology integration to improve its customers’ operating efficiencies. Booked by advertising agency, JWT, on behalf its client, Powertech System Integrators, PocketMedia® Solutions’ Pop Up application [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/powertech-system-integrators-pops-onto-the-scene/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bletchley Park appointed by wonga.com for SA market</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/bletchley-park-appointed-by-wonga-com-for-sa-market/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/bletchley-park-appointed-by-wonga-com-for-sa-market/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2013 13:23:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bletchley Park</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News Room]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10934</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Wonga.com, a ground-breaking online lender, has appointed Bletchley Park as their creative marketing agency in SA after a successful pitch process. “We are really excited to have wonga.com on board; its international pedigree speaks for itself and we can’t wait to get started in helping the team to solve their ‘Beautiful Problems’,” says Jonty Fisher, Managing Director [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/bletchley-park-appointed-by-wonga-com-for-sa-market/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Full of Fire &#8211; Blue Moon’s Dikeledi Mogorosi</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/full-of-fire-blue-moons-dikeledi-mogorosi/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/full-of-fire-blue-moons-dikeledi-mogorosi/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2013 09:42:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Blue Moon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News Room]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10927</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dikeledi Mogorosi is a red-hot firecracker of a Producer in the Employee Engagement Division at Blue Moon.  She took some time out to share her work ethic, and more, with us. I’ve worked at Blue Moon for five years &#8211; time flies when you having fun! I am Fresh, True and Brave, because&#8230;  from what I’ve [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/full-of-fire-blue-moons-dikeledi-mogorosi/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Shelf Life: ‘Designed to Move’</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/shelf-life-designed-to-move/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/shelf-life-designed-to-move/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2013 07:42:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Herman Manson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andre Agassi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ariel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brandyourcar.com]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[by louise marsland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nike]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Primedia Unlimited]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shelf Life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10919</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Louise Marsland’s (@Louise_Marsland) pick of new product, packaging and design launches.

P&#038;G hopes to clean up in the detergent market; Gucci gets Guilty; Brand Your Car hits the sweet spot; and Nike does it again…]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/shelf-life-designed-to-move/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Your obsession with pandering to 18-34 year-olds is decades out of date</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/your-obsession-with-pandering-to-18-34-year-olds-is-decades-out-of-date/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/your-obsession-with-pandering-to-18-34-year-olds-is-decades-out-of-date/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Herman Manson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Digital & Mobile media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[by Bob Hoffman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Ad Contrarian]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10912</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[by  Bob Hoffman (@adcontrarian), San Francisco Bay One of the enduring absurdities of the marketing and advertising industries is the old wives' tale that "people over 50 want to be like young people."

Ask any brain-dead CMO of a car company why the people who inhabit his commercials are all young, when 18-24 year-olds buy 1% of all new cars, and you'll get some version of that idiocy.

It's what passes for "strategic thinking" in the Golden Age of Marketing Brilliance.

Yeah, I was having coffee with Jerry Seinfeld, Meryl Streep and Barack Obama the other day and they were telling me how much they aspire to be like the morons in Taco Bell and Coors Light commercials.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/your-obsession-with-pandering-to-18-34-year-olds-is-decades-out-of-date/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>‘Team Ah Yeah!’ Wins First Hellocomputer/Draftfcb Hack-a-Thon Of 2013</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/team-ah-yeah-wins-first-hellocomputerdraftfcb-hack-a-thon-of-2013/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/team-ah-yeah-wins-first-hellocomputerdraftfcb-hack-a-thon-of-2013/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 16:13:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Draftfcb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News Room]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10914</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[‘Team Ah Yeah!’ has won the first Hellocomputer/Draftfcb Hack-a-Thon of 2013 in a challenged dubbed ‘Hack4Kids’. Briefed to meld tech and creative to engage children between the ages of 4 and 10, participants and their creations were judged by Danette Breitenbach (Advantage), Fran Luckin (Ogilvy), Brent Singer (Network), Brett Morris (Draftfcb), Theo Ferreira (Aqua) and [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/team-ah-yeah-wins-first-hellocomputerdraftfcb-hack-a-thon-of-2013/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Newspaper circulation decline continues</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/newspaper-circulation-decline-continues/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/newspaper-circulation-decline-continues/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 11:39:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Herman Manson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[abc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[circulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[newspapers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[south africa]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10905</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The ABC has released circulation statistics for the period January 2013 - March 2013. Here are a couple of numbers that stood out in terms of newspaper circulations.

Daily newspapers

Beeld declined to 67,700 from 75,019 in the previous corresponding period. Pretoria News fell to 18,775 from 21,406. Sowetan held steady at 98,258 (compared to 98,128). The Star fell to 106,484 from 124,641.

The Cape Argus fell to 33,247 from 35,493, The Cape Times fell to 35,616 from 39,519. Die Burger (Eastern &#038; Western Cape editions combined) rose sligtly to 62,237 from 61,980.

Daily News fell to 32,002 from 34,173. Isolezwe declined slightly to 116,186 from 117,266. The Witness fell to 19,001 from 20,222 and The Mercury fell to 31,025 from 32,098.

Business Day fell to 33,690 from 35,897. The Citizen fell to 63,854 from 68,632. The Times declined slightly to 142,117 from 142,111.

On the tabloid front the Daily Sun fell from 375,185 to 296,489 (it stood at 322,324 in Q4 2012). Son fell to 92,213 from 104,696]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/newspaper-circulation-decline-continues/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The biggest circulating consumer magazines in SA</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/the-biggest-circulating-consumer-magazines-in-sa-4/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/the-biggest-circulating-consumer-magazines-in-sa-4/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 10:24:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Herman Manson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[abc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The biggest circulating consumer magazines in SA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10899</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The ABC has released circulation statistics for the period January 2013 to March 2013. Here are a couple of consumer magazine ABC numbers that popped out for us. We also updated our list of the biggest circulating consumer magazines in SA!

Note: We compare the current figures with the same figures for this time last year and not with the previous quarter!

Magazines not entertained

On the previous quarter we reported that the ABC figures for music magazine Tempo (from the Huisgenoot brand extension stable) dropped from 62,928 (Q4 2011) to 39,991 (Q4 2012). Well, in Q1 it managed to claim an ABC of exactly 39,991 once again. We smell BS.

Heat fell to 29,422 from 30,193 (but its up on Q4 2012 when it stood at 27,945). People fell to 82,464 from 87,179. TV Plus (Afrikaans) fell to 37,752 from 40,385 and twin title TV Plus (English) declined to 41,594 from 47,140.

Bona fell to 98,267 from 106,981, Drum fell to 121,768 from 138,007, Huisgenoot declined to 285,520 from 298,262 and YOU fell to 165,330 from 181,071 (up from 155,125 in Q4 2012). Reader's Digest fell to 28,378 from 31,486 for the previous corresponding period. In Q4 2012 it had hit 40,269 - so it's a bit of a shocker for a title than many have kicked to the curb already.

The Big Issue did very well for itself jumping to 15,074 from 10,651.

Rolling Stone was critised for not publishing its ABC figuires in the last two quarters. They are back in but shows a steady decline - down to 7,155 from 15,889 (total paid: 5,755). This can't be a sustainable figure surely?

The Red Bulletin slashed circulation to 38,425 from 69,700 (total paid: 19).]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/the-biggest-circulating-consumer-magazines-in-sa-4/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Dentsu &#8211; not just big in Japan as group focuses on international markets, digital</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/dentsu-not-just-big-in-japan-as-group-focuses-on-international-markets-digital/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/dentsu-not-just-big-in-japan-as-group-focuses-on-international-markets-digital/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 07:32:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Herman Manson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Agencies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dentsu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dentsu Aegis Network]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10895</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tokyo based communications group Dentsu Inc., which recently completed a deal to acquire Aegis Group, has released its 2012 financial report.

The group posted 1,941.2 Billion Yen in Consolidated Billings (Net Sales) (2.5% year-on-year increase), 58.4 Billion Yen in Operating Income (12.5% increase), 59.0 Billion Yen in Ordinary Income (6.1% decrease) and 36.3 Billion Yen in Net Income (22.9% increase).  It recorded a gross profit of 345,940 million yen, an increase of 3.9%

Dentsu reports a gradual recovery in the Japanese advertising market following the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, but continued uncertainty in Europe and a slow-down in China. Dentsu's estimate for advertising expenditures in Japan for the 2012 calendar year was 5,891.3 billion yen, an increase of 3.2% compared with the 2011 calendar year - the first increase in five years.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/dentsu-not-just-big-in-japan-as-group-focuses-on-international-markets-digital/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – hip hop hooray</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/ad-of-the-week-with-oresti-patricios/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/ad-of-the-week-with-oresti-patricios/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Herman Manson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[S'HOT Creative]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ad of the week]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[by Oresti Patricios]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hip hop]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10889</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The origins of hip-hop culture date back to the urban minorities of 1970s USA, when ‘battles’ were introduced as a way of settling neighbourhood scores. Instead of having a gang fight, two crews would face off and compete, either in breakdance, rap, 'turntablism' or even graffiti.

Probably most exciting were the breakdance ‘battles’ where different crews would face off and take turns in showing off their breakdance moves. The tradition continues today and can be experienced at hip-hop events, even here in South Africa – mainly in Cape Town, but also in other cities.

DStv’s promotional ads have a history of humour, and of using cultural genres to make a point about the brand and the strength of its content, and the latest ad which features a gangland type face off is no different.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/ad-of-the-week-with-oresti-patricios/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Blast Brand Catalysts creates a fresh new look for Italtile</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/blast-brand-catalysts-creates-a-fresh-new-look-for-italtile/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/blast-brand-catalysts-creates-a-fresh-new-look-for-italtile/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 13:42:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Blast Brand Catalysts</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News Room]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10883</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A brand that has been around for over 40 years will follow a responsible transition in its evolution. Italtile embarked on a bold transformation. When new directorship took over in 2008, the money crunch crisis had well and truly bitten. These are not generally the loveliest times for retail. Italtile, operating in a slightly more [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/blast-brand-catalysts-creates-a-fresh-new-look-for-italtile/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>“Do Not Fear the White Space” with Blue Moon Designer, Suzette Britz</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/do-not-fear-the-white-space-with-blue-moon-designer-suzette-britz/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/do-not-fear-the-white-space-with-blue-moon-designer-suzette-britz/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 09:16:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Blue Moon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News Room]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10866</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Suzette has been a Designer at Blue Moon for five years. She’s legendary for her cool, calm and collected approach. She shares her design tips and spills the beans about her dislike of monkeys. After a design brief and brainstorm with the team I establish the core message from the concept and start gathering references. [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/do-not-fear-the-white-space-with-blue-moon-designer-suzette-britz/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>PocketMedia® Solutions joins forces with Terrapinn as media partner for SatCom Africa</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/pocketmedia-solutions-joins-forces-with-terrapinn-as-media-partner-for-satcom-africa/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/pocketmedia-solutions-joins-forces-with-terrapinn-as-media-partner-for-satcom-africa/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 09:15:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>PocketMedia® Solutions</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News Room]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10875</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[PocketMedia® Solutions will be exhibiting at SatCom Africa 2013 (stand A17), Africa’s leading satellite, broadcast and telecommunications show, on 28 and 29 May at the Sandton Convention Centre. “We have again joined forces with Terrapinn as its media partner to produce a double cover conference and exhibition Z-CARD®, that provides exhibition-goers with a handy guide [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/pocketmedia-solutions-joins-forces-with-terrapinn-as-media-partner-for-satcom-africa/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>The Dissident Spin Doctor: Dear Brand Manager, your social brand strategy bores us</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/the-dissident-spin-doctor-dear-brand-manager-your-social-brand-strategy-bores-us/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/the-dissident-spin-doctor-dear-brand-manager-your-social-brand-strategy-bores-us/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 03:36:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Herman Manson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Digital & Mobile media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[by Emma King]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10703</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[by Emma King (@EmmainSA) We’ve all been cornered at some point in our lives. Cornered by an acquaintance or co-worker into listening to lengthy and detailed descriptions of holidays (we did not get to have), all while living through a computer avalanche of accompanying slides.

Surely, they know we don’t care.

We see brands spending more money and time trying to tell stories about themselves to their consumers, and it’s becoming ever more prevalent as we see digital and social media channels as a way to pump out our stories – our ‘content’ – to the reluctant consumer. Brands have become the yapping co-worker who cornered us to listen to a detailed account of their holiday itinerary.

Do we care that your brand product, for example, was first formulated by a nomadic people, eking out an existence in a remote jungle by making vodka from a rare root, distilled over the pure leaves of a rare orchid?

I’m not sure we do. In fact I’d go as far to say that all most of us care about is that the products tastes good (or feels good, or looks nice), is as cheap or as expensive as our wallet demands, and essentially makes us look cooler/hotter/thinner/more trendy when we are seen consuming it.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/the-dissident-spin-doctor-dear-brand-manager-your-social-brand-strategy-bores-us/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
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		<title>How to save TopTV: let customers pick packages of channels at various prices</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/how-to-save-toptv-let-customers-pick-packages-of-channels-at-various-prices/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/how-to-save-toptv-let-customers-pick-packages-of-channels-at-various-prices/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 03:00:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Herman Manson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[by gill moodie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grubstreet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[multichoice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[naspers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[toptv]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10831</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[by Gill Moodie (@GrubstreetSA)  Don’t be afraid of competition in the market, say the business handbooks, but  rather assess you rivals’ strengths and weaknesses. Everyone does this in business plans and it helps new entries in the market or smaller players  to spot the gaps and opportunities.

But what do you do when you’re playing in a market that is utterly dominated by one big player – as On Digital Media’s TopTV that was rescued recently in a complex takeover deal by China’s digital pay-TV company StarTimes  – found with Naspers’ DStv Multichoice?

Did TopTV ever actually stand a chance?

DStv was already so entrenched in the local market – and across Africa too. It had nailed down  that absolutely essential – and enormously expensive – element of pay-TV: local and international sports rights.

And it had the ability (and savvy) to counter the new entry’s threat by putting money into a big marketing drive for a cheaper bouquet, the Compact, to sign up  lower-LSM subscribers that were TopTV’s target market.]]></description>
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		<title>The Sell: Driving bigger baskets. Learnings from Mickey Mouse</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/the-sell-driving-bigger-baskets-learnings-from-mickey-mouse/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/the-sell-driving-bigger-baskets-learnings-from-mickey-mouse/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 02:00:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Herman Manson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[by Mimi Nicklin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shopper marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the sell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Walt Disney]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10083</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Sell, a regular MarkLives column on shopper marketing, by Mimi Nicklin (@miminicklin) Walt Disney once said “People spend money where and when they feel good.”

This understanding led Disney to found one of experiential retails’ biggest ever successes with 14+ theme parks across the globe that are an almost perfect, high margin,seemingly recession proof, experiential ‘shopping’ offering. But can you really learn from a theme park when looking at how to sell more in a supermarket in Benoni or hyper store in Phoenix? And are there ways that us as marketers (versus retailers who have the power to do what they wish with the physical store) can really effect the joys of shopping and in doing so, encourage more people, more often to choose our product?

Shopping is emotional. It has been proven time and time again, we shop based on the Limbic system in our brain. It is the part responsible for instant pleasure or immediate reward, and it reacts and responds much quicker than the Prefrontal Cortex which is the part of the brain which follows up, albeit very quickly, with the rational support for the decision we have just made. This understanding helps us explain why one promotion will work and another will fail. If you haven’t caught the shoppers’ emotional interest with something bigger than a functional “buy and win” then there are alternatives she will rather pay her attention to (in or out of your category).]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Blast Brand Catalysts bolsters NSPCA campaign against trade in exotic animals</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/blast-brand-catalysts-bolsters-nspca-campaign-against-trade-in-exotic-animals/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/blast-brand-catalysts-bolsters-nspca-campaign-against-trade-in-exotic-animals/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2013 06:21:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Blast Brand Catalysts</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News Room]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10762</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[May 2013 The National Council of SPCAs was founded in 1955 to bring uniformity to animal welfare legislation and establish national standards. Today it is the oldest and probably the largest animal welfare movement in the southern hemisphere. Typically, the SPCA movement has been associated with the welfare of domestic, suburban pets. The scope of [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Africa&#8217;s biggest animation studio &#8211; soon also its biggest gaming developer</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/africas-biggest-animation-studio-soon-also-its-biggest-gaming-developer/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/africas-biggest-animation-studio-soon-also-its-biggest-gaming-developer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2013 04:00:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Herman Manson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[3d movies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[animation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[By Herman Manson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[khumba]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids entertainment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stuart forrest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[triggerfish animation studios]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zambezia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10696</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[by Herman Manson (@marklives) Back in 1996 Triggerfish was a traditional stop frame studio. It did commercials for ad agencies and landed a contract to produce the South African version of kiddies show Sesame Street, Takalani Sesame, and did such a good job of it that it soon landed the US domestic version as well. It was in 2002 that Stuart Forrest joined the business as a junior animator. By 2005, he would be MD and have taken over the business with a handful of business partners.

"Africa's Answer To DreamWorks, Disney And Pixar," screamed a headline in Forbes magazine recently. " Hollywood Reporter and Variety has also reported on the studio, currently the largest animation studio on African soil.

The fact that Africa can produce top quality kids content suitable for international markets are surprising many in the industry, and are certainly turning some pre-conceptions about the continent on its head. African cinema able to break into the global mainstream (like District 9 for example) helps break the stigma and can change the way the world sees this continent.

How does a junior animator take over a successful studio in less than four years? They don't. Post Sept 11 the US owners of Sesame Street were cutting budgets and pulling back work into the States. Ad agencies meanwhile had come to view Triggerfish as a producer of kids’ content - hardly anything cutting edge in that - they reckoned. Work dried up. Then the bottom fell out of the stop frame market as CG took over.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<title>Design Annotator: Digital offroading and the fastest film ever made</title>
		<link>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/design-annotator-digital-offroading-and-the-fastest-film-ever-made/</link>
		<comments>http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/2013/05/design-annotator-digital-offroading-and-the-fastest-film-ever-made/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2013 03:59:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Uno de Waal</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[S'HOT Creative]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[10and5.com]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[by uno de waal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Design Annotator]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fastest Film Ever Made]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rooiwolf photography studio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SHOTGUN GARFUNKEL]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Postcard Revival Project]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=10838</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Design Annotator with Uno de Waal is a  new column featuring the top design work from South Africa's biggest online creative showcase, Between 10 and 5, curated by Publisher Uno de Waal @Unodewaal. 

I'm really liking the production efforts behind the team that put together the Fastest Film Ever Made - the level of commitment is fantastic and the work produced is great for the constraints placed on it. We also have a quick look at some of the work produced by NATIVE, and if you find yourself in Johannesburg on the 16th be sure to check out the Postcard Revival project. The Portfolio review night coming up is also an event that we hope to see more of.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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