The Managing Director of Draftfcb Johannesburg, Jerry Mpufane, is leaving the agency at the end of the year. John Dixon, Group CEO at Draftfcb South Africa, confirmed that he has received a letter of resignation from Mpufane.
Category archives: Featured
Yo-Landi Vi$$er we love
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.
Cell C restructuring agency agreements
Cell C is in negotiations to restructure its agency agreements. Karin Fourie Executive Head: Communications at Cell C, told MarkLives that “We are in discussions with all of our advertising agencies about possibly restructuring our agreements but these discussions are confidential between the parties and so at this stage we cannot provide further information. We can, however, confirm that we are satisfied with their performance.”
Fourie confirmed that the account is not out to pitch.
Oreo gets Licked and Liked
What could be less controversial than the iconic Oreo cookie? Well, try an Oreo with rainbow crème filling. Nabisco, a division of Kraft Foods made a calculated marketing move in June 2012—which amongst other things is LGBT Pride month—by posting an image of a pro-pride cookie on their Facebook page. By Oresti Patricios, CEO Ornico
The imaginary cookie had a six-layer rainbow-coloured filling, reminiscent of the pride flag; below was the simple text: “June 25 | Pride”. It went viral, and attracted kudos from the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.
Within 24 hours, the company’s Facebook post had 177 000 likes, 52 000 shares and 22 463 comments. There were negative remarks from anti-gay commentators, but most of the comments were supportive of Oreo’s marketing intent. And the debate has resulted in free publicity for the product, made by Nabisco, a brand owned by Kraft.
BBC interview with father of Chad le Clos and why it is a loss for the free Internet
by Herman Manson (@marklives) In a stunning victory South African swimmer Chad le Clos took gold in the 200m butterfly at London 2012. Le Clos’s father, Bert, was being interviewed by the BBC shortly after Le Clos received his medal. His father, emotional and excited at once, gave an interview pundits in the States have referred to as the “media moment of the games so far.”
South Africans accessing the BBC website wanting to watch the interview with the farther of their newly minted national hero will receive nothing but the le clos father bbc interviewfollowing message “Cannot play media. Sorry, this media is not available in your territory.”
For the International Olympics Committee the free Internet is not a place to cross borders or a showcase of international co-operation. It is a stumbling block in coining it (more than usual).
The Gate Keeper (Chapter 9: In which situations don’t quite pan out)
by Andrew Miller TBW Smith Jones Wallace Broadbent and Ndimande is an agency in crisis. Their ‘basket of boutique services’ strategy has bombed. Only a massive new project can keep the doors open – all eyes are now on the corporate tent at Mangaung. Far in the background, an emergency replacement executive PA with decades of experience makes important decisions. Interns rise, board members take unexpected steps and things begin to change…
Prospects of romance recede all round while a foot bleeds and a white boy ponders the absence of venac in his life…
The Gate Keeper (Chapter 9: In which situations don’t quite pan out)
He was surprised, intrigued and yes, a little disappointed to note that the fresh young one had chosen not to overnight at The Cradle Five Star Accommodation within the Springbok Lodge conference venue. No one, in fact, from the strat team had chosen to overnight, which, again, He found strange. They would be getting up at three in morning to make the 7:30 start time. All of which left Him swimming through the lush facilities alone for the entire night. He flashed a sophisticated smile at the waitress – who ducked neatly and professionally – and ordered another whiskey. Sometimes you just couldn’t tell.
He spent as much time as He could at the restaurant, forcing the Chef out the kitchen for a chat and generally intimidating the help by interrogating them as to their Mandela Day activities, and then stumbled off to His room, where he flicked through the channels and the mini bar until He passed out with the remote on his chest and His glass broken in pieces on the floor.
Charl Thom tackles current agency compensation models – “we need to move from cost to value”
by Charl Thom. To date, the advertising industry has still not figured out the perfect compensation model.
Letter from NY: “I despise the research of advertising” — Matthew Bull
by Matthew Bull (@StixBull) Look, let me not sit on the fence here. I despise the research of advertising, particularly at conceptual stage. It brings nothing but vanilla to the table.
EXCLUSIVE: HiringBounty.com disrupts recruitment industry with social power
by Herman Manson (@marklives) I often receive emails from friends with links to job posts and a note that says “this will be perfect for you” (just in case your business goes belly-up or you actually want to afford that new car – though that part goes unsaid). Greg Schneider, a rising star at digital agency Quirk, has launched a start-up that taps into networks of friends to bypass recruitment agents and crowd-source candidates for positions in the marketing and technology industries.
Schneider’s new recruitment platform, Hiringbounty.com, allows businesses to place recruitment positions on the site alongside a bounty. The bounty, should a position be successfully filled, is paid out in thirds – 1/3 to HiringBounty, 1/3 to the person recommending the successful candidate and 1/3 to the person finally appointed.
So if the bounty next to the position says R5000 the cost to client is R5000 x 3. It pays HiringBounty and HiringBounty pays the other two parties. If you applied for the job without a recommendation from friend you are set to pocket the bounty x 2 (as referrer and successful candidate).
Magazine covers we love (Olympic style)
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.