by Herman Manson. Quirk Education and ad school Red & Yellow are merging in a move which could have a significant long-term impact on the skill sets and quality of trainees entering the advertising industry.
Category archives: Marketing
Brand experience: Why Kulula is shit
by Jarred Cinman. Here’s the simple one sentence reason: you have to earn the right to be cute.
Chad and Bert le Clos opens Virgin Active’s 100th club
The headline should have read CHAD SHIRTLESS.
Virgin Active has opened its 100th club in Balfour Park Mall Gauteng. We thought the T-shirts for Olympic medallist Chad le Clos and his dad (and social media phenom) Bert was spot on.
As a marketing and media site we have no business publishing photos of a shirtless Chad. But we figured it will probably draw a boatload of traffic to the site so we’ve gone ahead and done it anyway. The guy with Chad is Virgin Active MD Ross Faragher-Thomas.
Allan Kent leaves Saatchi AtPlay for Primedia Broadcasting
by Herman Manson (@marklives) Allan Kent, Head of AtPlay at Saatchi & Saatchi, has left the agency to join Primedia Broadcasting where he will head up the digital division.
Kent has spent close to twelve years at Saatchi – first as an ‘external resource’ (his words) then from 2006 as an employee.
Primedia Broadcasting, a client of AtPlay, consists of really passionate people, says Kent, who has grown to know the business well. When the new position came up he felt it would be a great opportunity to spread his wings at a business where he “already knew what I’d be getting myself in for,” says Kent.
Brands require domain strategy for new gTLD names
Mike Silber, a Director at ICANN, says brands who have not participated in the current round of applications have been pressing to get clarity on further opportunities to apply for new gTLDs.
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.
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).
Owenkessel GM Sizwe Salimane – sharp as a Ginsu knife*
by Herman Manson. Owenkessel has appointed Sizwe Salimane as its new GM, just a year after appointing Donovan Bryan as its executive creative director.
Salimane knew Bryan from their time together at Grey where Bryan was Creative Director and Salimane Strategic Planning Manager and lists his presence at Owenkessel. Salimane says Bryan’s presence at Owenkessel was a major contributing factor to his decision to move to the agency from FNB where he was the marketing manager for FNB EasyPlan – an affordable paperless bank offering.
As GM Salimane is responsible for ensuring processes are put in place to facilitate business growth, protecting both shareholders and clients, and ensuring internal efficiencies. Salimane says he aims to improve briefing processes and the traffic system inside the agency.
Martin Lindstrom on Brandwashing and the consumer revolution
by Mandy de Waal (@mandyldewaal) Take a look at how angry consumers are getting in banks and what’s gone down in Wall Street. Seen a consumer revolution on Facebook or insurgence on Twitter lately? If you’re a big brand that’s been manipulating consumers for longer than you can remember, perhaps now’s the time to be nervous. Mandy de Waal speaks to Martin Lindstrom, author of ‘Brandwashed’ – a book in which the marketing guru turns the heat on his own industry, drawing on all he has witnessed behind closed doors to expose the psychological tricks and traps that companies use to get consumers’ hard earned cash.
Mandy de Waal: Consumers are taking action against greed and what they see as the perversion of capitalism. What does this mean for brands and branding?
Martin Lindstrom: Brands should get their ‘house in order’ soon, rather than later. I’m convinced that we’ll soon see a Wikileaks of brands – some independent organisation that will disclose trade secrets and marketing programs from companies across the world without their permission. Many companies will “survive” this as there’s simply nothing to disclose – but some will be hurt greatly because they’ve crossed the line.
MdW: What was the motivation for ‘Brandwashed’?
ML: I’ve worked in advertising since I founded my own advertising agency at the age of 12. I’ve seen a lot – and at times become disturbed about what’s going on. Admittedly I’ve been part of this, and feel the time is right to put a line in the sand and push back on some of the techniques used. Had I written a book about ethics I’m sure no-one would ever read or write about it – so I had to write a provocative, thought provoking, edgy book which grabs people attention on both sides of the table. My hope is that the consumer gets a “wake up call” and realizes that they’re probably not as “immune” as they think they are. I also hope they’ll push back on some of the topics I’m raising in the book – like privacy – which (when you read about it) is rather shocking.
In terms of companies I hope the same – over the past months I’ve been on a road tour presenting for them a new set of 10 ethical standards. These are developed by the consumers not by me – but outlines what the “future” consumer hopes / expects from brands. Here’s the good news – all companies – all belonging to the biggest in the world – have bought into these guidelines – giving me a great sense of hope that things indeed can change. I’m fine about Brandwashing people – as long as it is positive – it is when it’s negative brandwashing I start to feel uncomfortable.