Matthew Bull (@StixBull) — founder of the soon-to-be-closed New York agency, The Bull-White House — takes a look in the mirror…
Category archives: By Invitation Only – Motive
Motive: Adland’s talent war and how agencies need to change
by Andy Sutcliffe (@andythirtyfour) Advertising agencies need to become extraordinary places to come to and, more crucially, to stay at. What with agency churn rates anywhere between 20%–50% as our people look to the client side for extra job security, comfort and training, there is a talent war going on.
Motive: Packaging trends to be led by mobile commerce
by Gareth Pearson (@gareth_pearson) Online retail represents exciting opportunities for South African marketers. But with such a strong focus on online shopping, where does this leave packaging and the intimate interaction it enjoys with consumers in the purchase process?
Motive: How brands can help us win back the internet
by Dan Herman (@elhermo) What can we, as brands and marketers, do to navigate the minefield that the online environment has become? How do we turn back the tide of brutality and negativity, and drive digital back towards the ideal it was intended to be? How do we stay relevant and be heard without contributing to the turmoil?
Motive: “If you’re not in fashion, you’re nobody”
by Robert Grace & Diana Springer. Lord Chesterfield’s statement so clearly defines the ultimate aim of marketing and advertising: constantly keeping the brands we work on current, in-favour, preferred, and hopefully even loved — essentially, in fashion. We’re not sure that Chesterfield could’ve foreseen just how hard that task would be in today’s world, where just about everything is available everywhere, all the time.
Motive: South Africa at risk of being digitally out-innovated by offshore players
by Jarred Cinman (@jarredcinman) Late last year, Liquid Telecom announced Kenya as the leader in average internet speeds, with the lowest costs on the continent. This is just the latest in the steady erosion of South Africa’s lead over its African cousins in the evolution of its digital landscape.
Motive: Ad award shows don’t get African creativity
by Felix Kessel (@FelixAK) How does African advertising stack up against the global standard of creativity? Stop and think before you provide a reflex answer to this seemingly simple question.
Motive: A chocolate by any other name is not a jam
by Gail Schimmel (@GailSchimmel) According to a recent press release from attorneys Adams & Adams, Italian confectionery giant, Ferrero S.p.A., has initiated legal proceedings against local jam producer, Roscherr’s Fine Foods. The real issue here is not so much the law and the precedents it will set but the psychology of the matter.
Motive: Reaching the masses in magazines — pay up
by Jocelyn Duff. You want to reach the masses by using magazines? Simple, use the ubiquitous family stable: Huisgenoot, DRUM and YOU. But hold on — not anymore.
Motive: Hello — we’re the Millennials
by Gareth Pearson (@gareth_pearson) Millennials are marketing-savvy and socially empowered — and, as consumers, can be ruthless with products and brands which they see as irrelevant, self-seeking, non-tech, shy and non-engaging.