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.
Category archives: Adland
Creation: Finding a creative job in 2015
by Artwell Nwaila (@artwelln) It’s that time of year when creatives start scratching around for new job opportunities. I don’t know what’s in the air but it reeks of sweet creative success and growth. I’ve compiled five points that should help your search be a little bit easier.
Stretching experiential marketing
by Herman Manson (@marklives) Stretch, an experiential marketing agency launched in 2009 by Mike Silver, is one of a number of smaller agencies hoping to raise its profile and growth curve by stepping into the space opened up for independent agencies through the effective vacuuming job by WPP and Publicis Groupe.
The Business of Business: Where do creative directors come from?
by Jerry Mpufane (@JerryMpufane) If the advertising agency business is all about the work, then where does the attitude, influence, inspiration, and the vision behind the work come from? Many of us accept that a myriad of skill sets in the creative campaign value chain can influence the work. But, who holds the cards?
Interview: A quick guide to successful pitching
by Herman Manson (@marklives) Johanna McDowell, the MD of the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS), has a storied career in South African advertising. We caught up with her to ask about the secrets to successful pitching, managing client chemistry sessions, how important awards are to winning business and why using pitch consultancies doesn’t mean marketers are abdicating their responsibilities.
The Switch: Staying on top — the need for planning
by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) Many advertising agencies battle to retain their winning ways following being crowned “agency of the year” after topping creative charts. Why does sustained success seem to elude us? How do other organisations get it right?
Interview: New National Certificate of Advertising with Red & Yellow
by Herman Manson (@marklives) The launch of the Red & Yellow Springboard Marketing Institute is a bid to attract a more diverse skills pool for the advertising and marketing industries. It offers students a National Certificate Of Advertising (NQF Level 5). We speak to Sharon Warroll, who heads up the initiative.
The Business of Business: Getting paid well — the holy grail
by Jerry Mpufane (@JerryMpufane) Let me start this month’s column by sharing the good news: The optics have shifted to Brand. More and more, company executives are asking questions about the opportunity to leverage Brand in order to create stakeholder value.
The Sell: Are consumers killing advertising?
by Mimi Nicklin (@MimiNicklin) Is it really the consumers who are killing advertising? Is it their fragmented attention spans and fickle loyalty that is killing the specialism as we know it? Can we blame these pencil-portrait segmentation models that disguise normal people as distant ‘consumers’ for responding less to our work?
The Switch: Get the reference right
by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) The various nationalities, races, languages, class groups, cultures and the subcultures of South Africa all make for a very interesting landscape — the kind of landscape that should be an artist’s paradise. I use the words “should be” instead of “is” because I don’t believe our industry does enough to take full advantage of this diversity.