The ten best read stories on MarkLives during the month of May.
1. The biggest circulating consumer magazines in SA
May 15, 2013
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! Total ABC member circulation fell to 6,207,891 from 7,004,714 in the previous corresponding period.
2. Newspaper circulation decline continues
May 15, 2013
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.
ABC member circulation totals:
Weeklies: down to 630,268 from 697,254 for the previous corresponding period
Weekend: down to 2,292,053 from 2,443,855
Hydrid: down to 157,975 from 167,119
Dailies: down to 1,541,488 from 1,672,658
3. An immigrant to New York, building an ad agency
May 21, 2013
by Matthew Bull, The Bull-White House, New York. There was an ad for Porsche many moons back that I have never forgotten. It was a picture of a Porsche flying over a rise on a road. The headline said: “It’s like children. You can’t understand until you have one.” That’s kind of how I feel about owning an agency in New York – you never really know what it’s like until you own one.
4. Africa’s biggest animation studio – soon also its biggest gaming developer
May 13, 2013
Back in 1996 Triggerfish was a traditional stop frame animation 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.
5. How to save TopTV: let customers pick packages of channels at various prices
May 14, 2013
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?
6. Millennial ad-grad: How to impress in post-recessionary Adland
May 23, 2013
by Faheem Chaudhry (@FaheemChaudhry) ‘Never waste a good recession’ were Warren Buffet’s witty words of advice during the financial downfall of recent years. While this sort of philosophy has become synonymous with his unrivalled investment and business success, many business leaders will argue it’s easier said than done as they still fight the battle to full financial recovery.
As the next generation entering the advertising game, we are entering the industry at a time when marketing budgets are under the spotlight and need to prove their full worth in the boardroom.
7. Great #GuptaGate Tweets
May 3, 2013
Great #GuptaGate Tweets “South Africans should be thankful for the investment the Gupta family is bringing to the country, businessman Atul Gupta says.”
8. Pistorius the ultimate litmus test for declining circulation (ABC Q1 2013 figures)
May 21, 2013
by Gill Moodie (@GrubstreetSA) That SA newspaper circulation is in decline is common cause these days but the latest set of figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations of SA (ABC) figures – for the first quarter of 2013 – really rubs it in.
Consider that we had the biggest, most compelling news event to hit SA in many years – the arrest of Paralympian superstar Oscar Pistorius for the murder of his girlfriend model Reeva Steenkamp in that quarter – and it had little effect on the circulation figures!
9. Chillibush – no pretensions or clutter
May 27, 2013
by Herman Manson (@marklives) Dale Hefer and her agency, Chillibush, are significant players in the South African ad market, but have maintained a relatively low profile in a space still cluttered with egos and an awards obsession bar none.
Hefer has avoided the awards rush, instead building an agency that isn’t precious about itself. Chillibush employs 35 people and billings recently hit R90 million, without help form a clutter of little statuettes. It is independent, management owned and BEE level 3 accredited.
10. Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – hip hop hooray
May 15, 2013
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.
This “Dance Battle” ad for DStv takes place in a suitably dingy downtown environment. It starts off with close-up shots of what seems to be two crews facing off to do battle. There is a DJ in the background, warming up his scratching and mixing.
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