MarkLives.com • Page 105 of 579 • Independent industry news for marketing, advertising & media execs

Media Design: Arts & Architecture, frieze, In Shades, TIME

Shane de Lange (@shanenilfunct)’s weekly analysis of media design — both past and present, print and online — from South Africa and around the world:

Iconic: Arts & Architecture helped to establish LA as a cultural hub, performing an important role in the cultural history of the city, and modernism in general within the US
Independent print: frieze features work by Brazilian artist Valeska Soares, who ventures into a poignant yet formal painterly style, simultaneously informed by traditions in portraiture and abstraction
Online: In Shades delivers off-beat combinations of short fiction and illustration, and six-word ‘micro stories’ translated using typography
Commercial print: TIME launches its inaugural yearly World’s Greatest Places, with a list as diverse as the world it reflects, illustrated by Studio Muti

Find a cover we should know about? Tweet us at @Marklives and @shanenilfunct.
Want to view all the covers at a glance? See our Pinterest board!

Print

TIME (US), 3–10 September 2018

The latest issue of Time magazine introduces its inaugural annual World’s Greatest Places, with a list as diverse as the planet it reflects. Meant to be an insider guide aimed at spotlighting ‘new’ and contemporary global attractions and destinations, as opposed to the usual suspects, this list comprises eccentric selections within a variety of categories, including places to visit, stay, eat and drink.

Showcasing anything from museums to hotels, TIME’s list is a collection of suggestions from the magazine’s impressive global network of correspondents, evaluated and selected based on quality, originality, innovation, sustainability and influence.

All in all, there are 100 entries covering six continents and 48 countries. The only South African listing is Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, a point thankfully balanced by the cover for this issue, which is illustrated by Cape Town’s very own Studio Muti.

This prolific studio never seems to fail, consistently delivering world-class illustration. Last featured in this column in June of this year detailing work done for London’s TimeOut magazine, Muti’s work for this TIME cover — with its monoline illustration, animated typography, bold colour relations, dynamic grid usage, textured space, and stylised geometric visual language — is one style that the studio has become known for and has refined to perfection.

frieze (UK), issue 197, September 2018

The cover for contemporary art and culture magazine, frieze, features an oil painting by Brazilian artist, Valeska Soares, titled “Nickel Titanium Yellow/Permanent Green”, taken from her Doubleface series. Soares has drifted away from her early studies in modernist architecture, currently producing art that investigates phenomenology alongside notions of desire and opposition, to name a few.

Known for her sculptures and installations which are somewhat informed by her architectural background, in the Doubleface series, she ventures into a poignant yet formal painterly style informed by the seemingly opposing tradition of portraiture and the history of abstraction. She does so by appropriating, restoring, and altering old portraits of anonymous women who have alluring qualities.

By restretching the old canvas and painting on the back of the original work with flat, subdued tones, and physically cutting into the material, folding it to expose selected evocative feminine features, Soares formally disrupts the surface, exploring the tension that is created by the opposing substrates. And, so, she subverts orthodoxies within modernist painting, effectively merging abstract painting with representational painting and simultaneously rescuing her found paintings of anonymous women from oblivion.

These paintings are exhibited alongside her rugs, which form part of Soares’ “Ground” series. The rugs are cut, folded, and painted in the same manner as her paintings, pieced together as collages and dissecting political and social issues connected to borders.

Online

In Shades (UK and Spain), August/September 2018

Based in London and Barcelona, In Shades is a monthly online magazine that delivers off-beat combinations of short fiction and illustration, analogous to other print publications mentioned at some stage in this column, such as Jungle Jim, A Profound Waste of Time, and Counterpoint. Delving into unknown terrain online, the magazine works with a global network of contributors, accompanied by selected submissions, in order to effectively combine short fiction with illustration.

Founded by illustrator/art director, Marina Esmeraldo, and writer/editor, James Vincent, this husband-and-wife duo has pieced together a site that is filled with an assortment of writing and illustration styles. With a new short story published weekly alongside bespoke visuals, this formula performs well to construct a neatly designed site. There’s also a side project called Six Words, where ‘micro stories’ using only six words are interpreted in various ways using mostly typography. The latest short story, titled “House on the Edge of Town” is written by G Emil Reutter and illustrated by moonmambo. The most-recent Six Words, titled “We exchanged Christmas presents in Departures”, is a collaboration by Esmeraldo and Vincent themselves.

Iconic

Arts & Architecture (US) 1929–1967

First published in 1929 as California Arts & Architecture magazine, by 1945 its name had evolved into Arts & Architecture magazine (A&A). Starting in the ’20s as a fairly conservative architecture publication, post-World War II the magazine had developed into an avant-garde design, architecture, and art magazine with greater experimental and social tendencies.

The cultural history of Los Angeles, and the brand of modernism that had developed on the west coast (of northern America) at the time was of special interest for the magazine’s editors, particularly John Entenza, who was at the helm of the publication from 1938 until 1962. With this foundation, A&A helped to establish LA as a cultural hub, performing an important role in the cultural history of the city, and modernism in general within the US. Under Entenza’s editorship, A&A moved away from cultural historicism and architectural nostalgia that had placed emphasis on the decadent houses of the wealthy, opting rather for low-cost housing, experimental projects, and more socially aware architectural endeavours.

Typical of most avant-garde publications, A&A existed on a meagre budget. Taste was a relative topic, open to critique and, if any content came from abroad, the magazine preferred influences from often-overlooked or -ignored sources, such as Mexico, as opposed to the obvious influences from Europe. A&A’s purpose was to expose the magazine’s mostly untrained readership to ‘good’ design and, at the same time, steer its professional readers towards the greater modernist worldview. The post-World War II era was an energetic period for A&A, and its eclectic blend of culture and politics made the magazine a forerunner for design, architecture, and the arts, introducing the world to the work of Richard Neutra, Charles Eames, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Frank Gehry, to name a few. A&A’s covers had an element of dada, recalling the work of Kurt Schwitters, thanks in part to the magazine’s graphic designer, Swiss-born Herbert Matter, who would himself go on to influence modernist design, specifically with his use of photomontage in the commercial arts.

A&A was not averse to offending advertisers or architects, but it did often present projects free from scrutiny, allowing structures to speak for themselves. If text was included, it was mostly limited to a short statement, normally the architect’s description of the project and the building. By 1962, with a paid circulation 8 500, Entenza decided to relinquish his editorial reign at the magazine. David Travers, author of a recent book detailing the magazine’s history, titled “Arts & Architecture 1945–49”, succeeded Entenza and remained the magazine’s editor until its closure in 1967.

References

Shane de Lange (@shanenilfunct) is a designer, writer, and educator currently based in Cape Town, South Africa, working in the fields of communication design and digital media. He works from Gilgamesh, a small design studio, and is a senior lecturer in graphic design at Vega School in Cape Town. Connect on Pinterest and Instagram.

Media Design, formerly Cover Stories and MagLove, is a regular slot deconstructing media cover design, both past and present.

— One subscription form, three newsletters: sign up now for the MarkLives newsletter, including Ramify headlines; The Interlocker, our new monthly comms-focused mailer; and Brands & Branding, launching soon!

Charging for PR proposals

South African currency currency notes courtesy of Pixabay

by Michelle Cavé (@brandfundi) Should PRs hold onto our trade secrets until it’s paid for, or should we accept that providing strategic proposals is the cost of doing business?

I’ve found myself in a catch-22 situation of late. As the founder of a boutique PR agency, I manage and implement all activities of the business, and have truly come to understand the concept of “time is money” over the past three years. This has been acutely emphasised when dealing with too many prospect clients who want meeting after meeting, followed by a PR proposal, sometimes even committing to formalising the PR partnership, before taking the strategic roadmap — which could quite easily be implemented in-house, or by a cheaper or preferred competitor — and literally avoiding all future contact via phone or email.

Should or shouldn’t include

As a new agency trying to secure a sustainable future, I’ve found it difficult to define what I should shouldn’t include in my proposals — especially when, more often than not, budgets aren’t even disclosed upfront. My dilemma is that, the less detail I provide in a proposal, the more the client might end up thinking that I don’t really know the job. In contrast, the more information I provide, the greater I’m at risk of giving away my 20+ years of knowledge and ideas for free.

But, in order to afford myself a better chance of being awarded the business, I’ve invested many hours researching, liaising with suppliers and/or relevant media and preparing detailed proposals with a strategic approach and supporting tactics. Basically, giving away my intellectual property in the hopes that the prospect would see the value and appoint me.

Following a string of proposals submitted to no avail, I sought out some advice from a mentor who is a respected key player in the telecoms sector. She shared that, in her space, it’s common practice to develop a ‘memorandum of understanding’ for prospects that outlines a fee for proposal development. This fee is either ‘absorbed’ if the supplier is awarded the business, or billed for if the prospect rejects the proposal and/or goes with a competitor.

Benchmark

This is a good idea; if only it were supported by local PR practitioners so as to establish a benchmark for doing business.

The advertising world has long solved this issue by insisting on a pitch-rejection fee, which is upheld by the ACA (Association for Communication and Advertising). That said, the smaller agencies don’t like this much because it limits the number of proposals a client will look at, making it more difficult to break in.

So, I posed the question to a global PR industry group on LinkedIn, and was astonished by the overwhelming responses from professionals across the US, UK, Australia and Africa. The majority of respondents confirmed that this is a contentious issue, as many have been burnt; in some cases, PRs have seen their ideas brought to life without being appointed or remunerated, and there is little one can do to fight this after the fact. The overall consensus is that prospects should pay for the intellectual property and the creative ideas that go into developing strategic proposals.

One respondent shared, “…creativity is coming up with ideas that others haven’t thought of. So why offer free help to others who are stuck thinking through their problems, challenges or opportunities?”

Proposal isn’t a plan

Furthermore, the collective point of view from the group is that a proposal shouldn’t be a plan. Ultimately, PR practitioners need only include information about themselves, their company, relevant case studies, campaign objectives, scope of work, costs and terms of service. “Prospects should have an idea of why you’re the right choice for them and that you understand their communication challenges and opportunities. However should they want more detail, they will need to pay a project fee for the plan. Proposals tell them who, what and why, but not how. Once you go into the ‘how’ there should be a fee. I don’t even do free consults anymore because everything costs!” added another respondent.

It was also shared that “it comes down to this: Serious clients who want to work with you will do so based on your reputation and specific capabilities for the project.”

What I’ve taken away from this debate is that I believe trade secrets are valuable and PRs should be paid for the blood, sweat and time that goes into solving specific brand challenges. Great ideas build brands and brands build businesses — that’s worth something, right?

Michelle Cavé (@brandfundi) is founder of Brandfundi, a PR and marketing communications agency. She began her PR and marketing career in 1999, and has undertaken multiple B2B and B2C briefs across various industries and categories. Career experience spans across sectors including FMCG, fashion, health and beauty, media and marketing, manufacturing, retail, ICT, banking, corporate social investment, and fintech (cryptocurrency/ICOs).

“Motive” is a by-invitation-only column on MarkLives.com. Contributors are picked by the editors but generally don’t form part of our regular columnist lineup, unless the topic is off-column.

Market Research Wrap: Greater adoption of entry-level smartphones

MarkLives Market Research Wrap 30 August 2018

Cheryl Hunter (research at marklives.com)’s weekly wrap of the latest market and consumer research:

Connected consumers
Naturally derived sweeteners
World of wine

Shaking up the smartphone category

man mobile phone person smartphone courtesy of Pixabay.com — Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

The growth of smartphones locally is being driven by the greater adoption of entry-level smartphones, according to a new report from Euromonitor. Many second-tier brands are making their devices more desirable based on functionality and, more importantly, on price and this, in turn, is playing a significant role in driving ecommerce in South Africa.

The digital landscape is rapidly changing as consumers become more connected, thanks to an increasing array of digital products and services. Sales of premium devices decline as consumers continue to migrate to entry-level alternatives and increasingly become more open to trying affordable brands which are attempting to make gains locally. Developments in the mid-tier smartphones offering are set to shake up the category as these devices become more affordable and more popular, with end-users expecting innovation and invention from smartphones, regardless of price.

Huawei is in the process of implementing a local strategy to compete with the leading names in smartphones: Samsung and iPhone. SA has been identified as a key market and plans are being implemented whereby more localised services, along with cheaper flagship devices, will be introduced.

The next year will see the introduction of mid-to-low-range phones that bring the kind of user experience, camera quality and operating system technology that are associated with higher-end or premium smartphones to a broader group of consumers.

Buy this report at Euromonitor.

Awareness impacts naturally derived sweeteners market

Increasing consumer awareness about the consumption of naturally derived food ingredients is expected to continue underpinning the demand for naturally derived sweeteners over the upcoming years, with this market anticipated to be worth more than US$37bn by 2028, according to a recent intelligence outlook released by Future Market Insights (FMI).

Demand for plant-based sweeteners or sweetening agents containing only naturally sourced ingredients is expected to create new opportunities in the marketplace, especially since governments are extending financial support to encourage natural ingredient cultivation, creating a favorable scenario for farmers — particularly in developing countries. Expensive pricing and an unfamiliar aftertaste are currently restricting consumer acceptance, but a growing population base is gradually developing the taste for these unconventional natural sweeteners.

The naturally derived sweeteners industry is still in its early phase of development, as most of the products are yet to be approved or have been recently approved by the authoritative regulatory organisations for usage in various food products. Currently, molasses, honey, and coconut sugar are enjoying higher sales in the market for naturally derived sweeteners. FMI predicts that, within the next few years, palm sugar, stevia, and other naturally derived sweeteners will showcase rapid growth. This includes positive growth prospects for organic certified products, as the escalating consumer demand for non-GMO, chemical-free, organically cultivated, and fresh and natural products continue to push the growth of the naturally derived sweeteners market globally.

A high price-point continues to act as a barrier to widespread adoption of natural sweeteners by soft-drinks manufacturers. Besides the expensive cost, strict regulatory norms regarding the inclusion of naturally derived sweeteners as an ingredient in food products may also remain a major factor expected to restrict adoption in the near future, especially in end-use sectors such as bakery and confectionery.

Buy this report at Future Market Insights.

US drives wine sales

According to researcher at Technavio, the high demand for wine in the US is anticipated to be one of the major factors driving the global wine market and is expected to impact the market significantly during the next few years.

In order to provide a clear understanding of niche markets globally, the report — due to be published in September 2018 — will present a detailed analysis of multiple segments and their market evaluation, examining product type, geography, and end-user application. Also considerered are the factors that impacting the growth of similar markets, such as the global whiskey market, which is expected to grow at a steady 7% during the next few years.

Buy this report at Technavio.

Cheryl Hunter (@cherylhunter) has written for the South African media, marketing and advertising industries for more than 15 years. A former editor of M&M in Independent Newspapers and contributor to Bizcommunity, AdFocus, AdReview and the Ad Annual, she has also produced for various television networks and currently consults on communication strategy and media liaison. She now does the new weekly “Market Research Wrap” column for MarkLives.com.

MarkLives Agency Revenue Rankings 2018

south-african-coins-banknotes-money-currency courtesy of Pixabay

by MarkLives (@marklives) We’ve updated our 2014 agency revenue rankings to help assist marketers gain a comprehensive overview of the relative scale of agencies in the South African communications landscape.

MarkLives Agency Revenue Rankings 2019

Revenue bands and staff count are not reliable indicators of the health of a business but they do offer important context in terms of the scale of new business an agency can take on and their relative positioning in the industry (in the categories small, medium and large). Agencies listed in the ranking are included based upon publicly available revenue bands for 2017/2018. The information was sourced directly from agencies and holding companies, through a survey run via MarkLives.com, and from publicly available information, including the business and trade press, such as AdFocus, and our directory service Ramify.biz.

Note: Billings is the amount of client money that flows through an agency — what you can touch but you can’t keep = billings. Revenue is the money agencies get to keep, and this is the number MarkLives is working on.

Left out? Add your information for inclusion.

MarkLives Agency Revenue Rankings 2019

2018 ranking (largest to smallest)

R450m+
Agency	Network/independent	Staff count	Source
FCB Africa	IPG	640	Management
Incubeta Group (Global)	Independent	300 +	Management
Ogilvy South Africa	WPP	850	Management
Publicis Groupe Africa	Publicis Groupe	1500+	Publicis Groupe
R350–450m
N/A
R250–350m
Creative Counsel	Publicis Groupe	710	Publicis Groupe
Wunderman SA	WPP	400 +	Management
R200-250m
Joe Public United*	Independent	300	Management
JWT	WPP	200	Management
King James Group	Independent	309	Management
R150–200m
99c	Independent	314	Management
FCB Joburg	FCB Africa	284	Management
VML South Africa	WPP	300	Management
R125–150m
Net#work BBDO	Omnicom	85	Management
R100–125m
Hellocomputer	FCB Africa	137	Management
Iconic Media Group	Independent	160	Management
Liquorice	Publicis Groupe	151	Publicis Groupe
M&C Saatchi Abel	M&C Saatchi Group	200+	#AgencyFocus
Mortimer Harvey	Independent	85	FM AdFocus (2017)
TBWA\Hunt Lascaris	Omnicom	135	Management
R80–100m
Demographica	Independent	45	#AgencyFocus
McCann Johannesburg	IPG	76	Management
R70-80m
Grey Africa	WPP	85	Management
HKLM	Independent	22	#AgencyFocus
Penquin	Independent	39	Management
R60–70m
Clockwork Media	Independent	70	Management
FoxP2	Dentsu Aegis Network	65	Management
Leo Burnett	Publicis Groupe	102	Publicis Groupe
Riverbed	Independent	35	Management
Saatchi & Saatchi	Publicis Groupe	62	Publicis Groupe
R50–60m
1886	FCB Africa	44	Management
Arc	Publicis Groupe	50	Pubicis Groupe
Avatar Johannesburg	M&N Holdings	60	Management
Boomtown	Independent	45	Management
Carat	Dentsu Aegis Network	66	Dentsu Aegis Network
DDB South Africa	Omnicom	50	Management
Grid Worldwide	Omnicom	51	Management
John Brown	Dentsu Aegis Network	60	Management
Promise	Independent	74	Management
Publicis Machine	Publicis Groupe	100	Pubicis Groupe
Vizeum	Dentsu Aegis Network	43	Dentsu Aegis Network
R40–50m
Colourworks	Independent	25	#AgencyFocus
Edelman	Independent	40+	FM AdFocus
Havas South Africa	Havas	73	Management
HDI Youth	Omnicom	40	#AgencyFocus
Levergy	M&C Saatchi Group	40	M&C Saatchi Group
Mark1	Independent	50	Management
Tradeway	Independent	50	Management
R30–40m
34	Independent	53	Management
andPeople	Independent	14	#AgencyFocus
Collective ID	Independent	33	#AgencyFocus
Conversation Lab	Independent	70	Management
Creative Spark	M&C Saatchi Group	46	Management
FCB Cape Town	IPG	38	Management
Fort	Independent	35	#AgencyFocus
House of Brave	Independent	72	Management
Leratadima	Independent	20	#AgencyFocus
MSL Johannesburg	Publicis Groupe	50	Publicis Groupe
OFYT	Independent	50	Management
Switch Group	Independent	40	Management
The Odd Number	Independent	20	Management
R20-30m
BRANDTRUTH//DGTL	Independent	23	#AgencyFocus
Hoorah	Independent	16	#AgencyFocus
MADE Agency	Independent	22	#AgencyFocus
Minanawe	Publicis Groupe	24	Publicis Groupe
MPULL Group	Independent	40	Management
MullenLowe South Africa	IPG	53	Management
National Positions	Independent	17	Management
Retroviral	Independent	16	#AgencyFocus
Rogerwilco	Independent	45	Management
The Jupiter Drawing Room CT	Independent	20	Management
R10–20m
Avatar Cape Town	M&N Holdings	25	#AgencyFocus
Bamboo Network	Independent	20	Management
BWD Advertising	Independent	16	Management
Dalmation	M&C Saatchi Group	26	M&C Saatchi Group
M&C Saatchi Africa	M&C Saatchi Group	14	M&C Saatchi Group
M&C Saatchi Connect	M&C Saatchi Group	6	M&C Saatchi Group
Platinumseed	Independent	20	#AgencyFocus
SearchKings Africa	Independent	16	#AgencyFocus
SoulProviders Collective	Independent	25	Management
Xfacta	Independent	20	#AgencyFocus
Under R10
DarkMatter Agency	Independent	10	#AgencyFocus

The information provided by agencies is impossible to audit and MarkLives accepts such information in good faith.

Left out? Add your information for inclusion.

#Campaigns: When you thought you’d bought a beer (but got a brewery)

by MarkLives (@marklives) This week we feature insight into the brief, creative idea, production challenges and results of the “For Sale Ale” campaign for Garagista by Duke.

View all the #Campaigns at a glance on our #Campaigns Pinterest board!
Watch our #Campaigns playlist on YouTube

Client: Garagista
Ad agency: Duke
Title: For Sale Ale

Information supplied by Duke.

Brief

The client, founder Steve Miller, had come to the end of his tenure with the world of craft brewing and was looking to sell the Garagista brewery. But, since the brewery in question was Garagista (which has a history of fairly out-there marketing campaigns), it couldn’t just be done in any normal way.

Creative summary

Duke started with the insight that, if you’re going to invest in a brewery, you may as well get a proper feel for what you’re buying — and what better way of doing so than literally trying what you’re buying? The beer, along with the spirit of the brand.

Garagista is also an irreverent brand which doesn’t like to play by the rules and whoever wanted to buy the brewery needed to not only understand this but adopt it, too. So, instead of the usual business-selling channels, Duke created a beer to do the job: For Sale Ale, a bittersweet IPA that’s not just a beer but also an ad that gives you a literal taste of what you’re buying.

The packaging design wasn’t merely inspired by classified advertising but was an actual classified ad that appeared in the Sunday Argus. This was then reproduced as the beer label, a limited-edition bottle wrap and other collateral. This approach enabled Duke to turn the beer into a media channel which targets potential brewery owners in the place they would definitely be looking: the beer fridge. It also ‘stole’ media space in stores where few craft beers have the budget to advertise.

Put simply, this allowed the beers in the store fridges to become the actual advertising aimed at selling the brewery.

Resources

The key audience was craft-beer enthusiasts who also had the mettle to take on a brewery themselves. The budget was limited, so the campaign had to be as targeted as possible while also creating as much intrigue and talkability as possible. The campaign was also timed to coincide with the appearance of the beer on Dors – a DStv show focused on different craft breweries around the country. At the same time, Duke distributed the beer to beer fridges in selected craft-beer stores around the Western Cape and continued to sell the beer from the brewery.

Production

The beer’s label is literally a classified ad, the design based on classified ad specs and run in the Sunday Argus in the section where one might look to buy businesses. The agency then bought the paper, scanned the ad and turned it into the front section of the beer label, as well as the limited-edition bottle wrap. The same newspaper texture as the background was used for the back-label design.

Measurement

The Garagista brewery was sold in the same month the full campaign launched. Well, half of it. Miller is still going to keep his hand in continuing to build Garagista but with new partners carrying the load. So, in short: Brief met.

The total campaign spend was R10 275, which lead to a 24:1 ROI, based on the nett profits of the transaction for the sale of half the brewery.

Credits

Client: Garagista
Client representative: Steve Miller
Agency: Duke
Executive creative director: Mike Beukes
Creative directors: Gareth Cohen, Andrew Ringrose
Design/art directors: Andrew Ringrose, Gareth Cohen, Brinké Stemmett
Copywriters: Mike Beukes, Liam Olding
Client service: Boitumelo Phetla
Producer: Nicola Davidson
Film production company: Tin Toy/Dors
Editor: Francois Conradie
Sound studio: Tin Toy
Photographer: Matt van Lille, Bird on a Wire

#Campaigns is the new weekly MarkLives column featuring insight into the brief, creative idea, production challenges and results of South African communication campaigns, both ongoing and recent. Have a campaign worthy of being featured in #Campaigns? Submit a short motivation to and we may well be in touch. Please include links to campaign material, when it ran/is running and why you believe it should be featured.

Fair Exchange: To build credibility, balance theory with walking the talk

balance-stones-meditation-zen courtesy of Pixabay

by Erna George (@edgeo23) I’ve had the fortune and misfortune of working with some of the best marketing brains and practitioners, as well as some of laziest. “Laziest?”, you may ask. “Why this, rather than worst marketing practitioners?”

Hard work

The reality is that marketing, while multifaceted, isn’t difficult. But it requires hard work, especially to make the story simple enough to be integrated across the business. Lazy and disconnected marketers can be over-reliant on one approach, be it theory or gut feel, writing decision papers or directing activities. Theory must be balanced with pragmatic approaches or walking the talk to actively drive implementation — essentially, theory may provide credibility that the approach is rooted in thinking but what’s the use of good thinking that can’t be implemented?

Good thinking is crucial and requires the structure of a level of theory. Theory may often make the likes of the engineers and accountants feel as if there’s more than luck or wizardry behind marketing strategy and planning. Strategy is a critical guardrail and needs a clear and strong framework to be taken seriously, to align all behind it and to be enduring.

Think of the ever-present tension with the sales team. Sales teams know their numbers (they can’t stand in front of buyers without this) and these numbers are part of their ‘theory’, which makes them strong negotiators to win the sale. If you don’t have a compelling and equally strong point of view, you won’t be able to stand the onslaught and could soon be implementing the salespeople’s directives. Collaborating is key as those on the ground provide keen insights into the trade and what’s happening or coming soon. But you own the brand. Filter insights and considerations through the brand-strategy lens and route the way forward in the strategic framework. ‘Theory’ has a place.

Second nature

Marketing terminology, another theoretical construct, can unify. When speaking of driving penetration vs consumption, the actions should be clear to agencies, marketers et al (at least I hope these terms are clear to all, as just the other day I had to explain that driving penetration meant more people rather than more bowls being eaten per person!). Please don’t forget the theory you learned; some of it really is useful and necessary. In the same way as a tennis superstar’s ball skills are honed to a fine art, so the theory must be the backdrop or support, practised until it’s second nature. You wouldn’t start a brand extension project without going back to the brand-positioning framework to check fit, and reviewing the portfolio map to ensure a white space with big enough size of prize and placing on the pricing strategy graph to determine the optimal strategy vs key competitors or relative to existing packs/ ranges. These provide the grounding and ensure alignment, as well as easier assessment of drivers of success or failure.

On the flip side, theory isn’t enough and must never be a crutch. Lazy marketers never get to the doing. Without action, brilliance on paper does exactly nothing — a piece of paper is unlikely to motivate all. You have to make the plan move from the page into action of delivery and, as a marketer, you have to do this through people. Unless you know how to engineer the line at the factory, procure the raws, process and pack these, distribute and negotiate a listing in store, best you learn how to turn your theoretical plan into an operational plan. Management from behind a desk is never going to change the world; as a marketer, you will never get your job done effectively.

Marketers can develop a vision but, without exciting and aligning key stakeholders to the vision or new launch strategy, landing the project will be an uphill or frustrating battle. On projects, you have to rally multiple teams around your timelines. Engagement with cross-functional teams is critical for relationship-building and relationships make business happen more easily; you will actually get preferential treatment. It’s crucial to know who your key stakeholders are, connect with them and ensure you’re able to strategically influence them to see the end-point benefit to the business and themselves.

Stature

You have to have presence — out of sight equals out of mind, as well as being aware that, without stature, you won’t be considered a worthy contributor or leader. Having a point of view and considered approach will assist with you effecting change. I’m not suggesting that you need to be a bouncy radiator — but, without a connection and without presence, you don’t have a hope of shifting people and business operations towards the brand vision.

There is a great image that shows the progression from data to wisdom that was shared with me by a mentor. Data is about single points of fact; getting context to these delivers useful information and meaning; then creating connections between various points yields knowledge — a level of understanding. Insight and wisdom are critical for strategy and decision-making. Being able to connect dots, see patterns, understand critical drivers, start points and outputs ie seeing the whole — all of this creates vision. Building the thinking muscle and applying it in practice over time (experience) creates total muscle memory that enables shortcuts to judgement and processing in the future. Experience builds wisdom and intuition. Without intuition, you’re too reliant on knowledge (which isn’t a whole or cohesive view) and decision-making and action are either really difficult or often fall flat. Balancing theory and application is critical.

Tips

Stop teaching theories and start teaching how to structure and write a compelling stakeholder email:

Use theory to create a solid foundation and structure
Know the key players in the value chain and have relationships with them to influence or to alter the reality within the value chain to turn strategy into operational plans
Develop your intuition using theory plus your experience of application or plans in practice

This takes hard work but, without credibility, you won’t stand a chance of moving the business to implement thinking, even if it’s is good.

Updated at 9.16am on 29 August 2018.

After starting at Unilever in a classical marketing role, Erna George (@edgeo23) explored the agency side of life, first as a partner at Fountainhead Design, followed by the manic and inspiring world of consultancy at Added Value. She has returned to client-side, leading the marketing team in the Cereals, Accompaniments & Baking Division at Pioneer Foods. Her monthly “Fair Exchange” column on MarkLives concerns business relationships and partnerships in marketing and brandland.

The CX-Files: CEOs need to put their HR hats on

chess-metaphor-board-business courtesy of Pixabay

by Julia Ahlfeldt (@JuliaAhlfeldt) CEOs already have a lot on their plate but, in today’s competitive landscape, attracting top talent and rallying teams around a common purpose is critical for brand success. This shift has put HR in the spotlight.

Traditionally tasked with recruitment, staff turnover, talent management and remuneration, today’s HR leaders are increasingly using customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) to amplify employee engagement in an effort to deliver a financial return for their firms. HR and marketing play key roles and must closely collaborate to ensure that a company’s vision, mission and values are more than just words plastered on the wall, but rather something that is realised through each employee.

HR, EX & CX

It’s taken some time for CX to take its rightful place at the boardroom table, but according to Gartner, 90% of businesses see its value. The next step is now to integrate CX with EX (ie every interaction staff have with a business, from the first interview to resignation) to really make a commercial dent.

Google, the tech company with the best corporate culture, famously brought the beanbag, nap pod and office ping-pong table to life. It also encourages employees to come to work happily by offering work flexibility, providing opportunities to spearhead innovation, and developing team-mindfulness programmes so that everyone in the team is cared for and may perform at their best. It may sound fluffy, but it brings in the bucks: as of May 2018 Google’s brand value was US$132.1bn.

Google and other Silicon Valley giants such as Airbnb and LinkedIn have also emphasised culture, invested in employee engagement and reaped the rewards of motivated and purpose-driven teams. These organisations realised that, if you want employees to look after a company, they must feel valued and respected.

While the Silicon Valley institutions are renowned for treating their employees well, not every business is as progressive. In South Africa, there are a handful of businesses that follow in the tech giant’s footsteps but many others have been slower in adopting this approach and still consider HR as being exclusively responsible for acquisition, retention and the bare-bones of employee well-being ‘tick boxes’. Have they, or will they, take the necessary steps to put their HR hat on and show their trust in their internal ‘customers’ too?

Bring on the CX cavalry

When an HR team needs help ramping up employee engagement, it creates an opportunity for a highly impactful collaboration with marketing. Marketing teams are the stewards of a brand’s purpose and values, and often the closest to customer insights. These messages must form a key part of employee engagement. From values-based interviews, to ongoing skills development, HR strategy must be informed by brand strategy.

Marketing teams are also masters of communication. The same skills that masterfully communicate a company’s value proposition into the marketplace may be used to communicate this internally as well. And marketing teams are always under the gun to demonstrate ROI, something that HR teams will need to do, as they motivate for investment in culture. They also bring confidence and cred to sit down with the CEO to demonstrate the value of a strategic EVP and how, by integrating it across the business and aligning with its goals, there is a higher likelihood of financial gain. After all, what catches a CEO’s attention faster than demonstrating how an approach will impact the numbers?

Given that engaged employees contribute to better financial results, it’s worth everyone’s time to fully understand the role that employees play as internal customers and update business, HR strategies and communication tools that inspire, inform, instruct, involve and incent. Companies that do align culture with brand values and invest in employee engagement make more than four times the average profit and more than two times the average revenue.

Future-fit

Whichever way you look at it, HR, CX and EX make good business sense. So, too, does a mutually beneficial collaboration between HR and marketing: successful EX will impact CX. This supports the CEO’s long-term goals and creates an organisation that is future-fit for competitive differentiation.

Julia Ahlfeldt (@JuliaAhlfeldt) is a certified customer experience professional (CCXP). She consults to blue-chips and multinationals, working with Virgin Active, Momentum, Absa, and American Express, Ross Stores and JP Morgan Chase in the US, among others. By tapping into her vast local and international network, she produces a monthly podcast, Decoding the Customer, interviewing leaders on CX trends and adoption (including Michelle Beetar). She contributes the new column, “The CX-Files”, to MarkLives.

— One subscription form, three newsletters: sign up now for the MarkLives newsletter, including Ramify headlines; The Interlocker, our new monthly comms-focused mailer; and Brands & Branding, launching soon!

FastForward: The future & the role of marketers

Sanlam 200 Year Old and Bright Idea collage

by Marguerite Coetzee. Increasingly, our role as marketers is to not only uncover the future but to prepare brands and companies for it, and to help them shape the future they want.

Back to the future

Some futurists believe that the future is buried in the past and grows in the present. Other futurists state that we can’t predict the unknown, and that we should pay greater attention to randomness and chance as the past may at times be misleading, misinterpreted, or remembered falsely or subjectively. Another group of futurists encourage people to take control of the future, to create it themselves.

Whether marketers look at patterns of the past to understand where we’re going or, by admitting that we ‘don’t know what we don’t know’ and therefore should avoid generalisations or expectations based on the past, we do need to have a perspective on the probable, possible, preferable and unknown futures that lie ahead.

The future is bright

This year, South African financial services giant, Sanlam, turned 100. In light of the financial futures it’s been building over the past century, it now looks ahead to creating a better world for generations to come. It recently released a podcast called “The 200 Year Old” — set in the year 2218 — telling Lesedi’s story, with expert knowledge woven into the narrative. By drawing on a popular storytelling method and incorporating popular themes or concerns for the future (such as the topic of aging), Sanlam aims to encourage listeners to plan, prevent, and plan for the future.

In another example, Sanlam draws on history to inform its future. In its “Bright Idea” TVC, the narrative outlines the history and use of the lightbulb, one in particular that’s been burning for 117 years. In the context of a mass-produced world of commodities, where consumers opt to rent rather than own, dispose rather than repair, and change instead of commit, Sanlam asks the question: “If we can make things that last, why don’t we?”

What’s next

To increase the lifespan of a brand or to enhance the impact of a message in an increasingly unpredictable world, it is wise to draw inspiration from timeless needs, values and concepts. These human and cultural truths may be identified and decoded to help strengthen positioning, innovations and communications, to build a brand that lasts.

SA TV Ratings: e.tv — primetime top 20 for Jul 2018

South African TV Ratings Top 20 shows 2018

by MarkLives (@marklives) The hottest primetime shows on e.tv in South Africa revealed: TV ratings for July 2018.

e.tv July 2018

BRCSA TV Ratings July 2018 primetime etv — Click to enlarge to view clearly.

Source: BRCSA July 2018

In 2016, the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA) changed its policy about giving away TAMS and now only monthly reports, highlighting the top 20 or 30 primetime shows on several popular channels, are available.

The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (the BRC) is a non-profit, industry body that was incorporated in 2015 to cater to the audience research needs of the radio and television industry in South Africa.

BREAKING: M&C Saatchi Group, Avatar part ways

by Herman Manson (@marklives) M&C Saatchi Group and Avatar South Africa have officially “parted ways”, a joint statement by the two groups has confirmed.

“Zibusiso Mkhwanazi (Founder M&N Brands, the holding company for Avatar) and Jerry Mpufane, Chairman of M&C SAATCHI Group (Johannesburg) have confirmed that the two companies will amicably part and go their separate ways,” the statement reads.

“M&N Brands has embarked on a path to build a Pan-African network, thus realizing a long-held dream. M&C SAATCHI Group already operates a very successful African network of its own, servicing clients in more than 20 markets on the continent.

“Both companies emphasise that they part as friends, and that there may be further opportunities to collaborate in the future.”

When contacted, Mkhwanazi had the following to say: “Our vision is to create an agency network for Africans by Africans, and it is rolling out quickly. So the decision to focus on M&N Brands African ambitions does mean a parting of ways. Obviously, we hope to collaborate with a number of agencies, including MC Saatchi Abel when opportunities arise. Veli and I have a huge amount of admiration and respect for Mike and Jerry and the team, and we all remain great friends.”

In January 2017, it was announced that Avatar Investment Holdings (later rebranded as M&N Holdings) would acquire a minority stake in M&C Saatchi’s South African agency network, which today includes M&C Saatchi Abel, M&C Saatchi Connect, M&C Saatchi Africa, Dalmatian, Levergy and Creative Spark. At the same time, M&C Saatchi PLC would acquire a 20% stake in the agency Avatar from Avatar Investment Holdings.

The deal was supposed to allow for “collaboration and an exchange of resources” between Avatar and M&C Saatchi PLC’s SA agencies. AVATAR has also been sharing premises with M&C Saatchi PLC’s Johannesburg agencies.

Herman Manson (@marklives) is the founder and editor of MarkLives.com.

Print

TIME (US), 3–10 September 2018

frieze (UK), issue 197, September 2018

Online

In Shades (UK and Spain), August/September 2018

Iconic

Arts & Architecture (US) 1929–1967

References

Should or shouldn’t include

Benchmark

Proposal isn’t a plan

Shaking up the smartphone category

Awareness impacts naturally derived sweeteners market

US drives wine sales

2018 ranking (largest to smallest)

R450m+

Agency

Network/independent

Staff count

Source

R350–450m

R250–350m

R200-250m

R150–200m

R125–150m

R100–125m

R80–100m

R70-80m

R60–70m

R50–60m

R40–50m

R30–40m

R20-30m

R10–20m

Under R10

See also

View all the #Campaigns at a glance on our #Campaigns Pinterest board! Watch our #Campaigns playlist on YouTube

Client: Garagista Ad agency: Duke Title: For Sale Ale