The Real McCoy: Economic revolution & building the citizen brand

by Sean McCoy (@TheRealMcCoyTRM) The catalytic role of brand and the citizen for economic emancipation, rather than political revolt, could be an interesting new focus for 2018. While the two cannot easily be separated, economics can change our game — perhaps the very reason that Americans voted for the otherwise questionable Donald Trump.

After nearly 20 years of travel in Nigeria, I never cease to marvel at the immense energy, belief and optimism of the people we mostly engage with. Admittedly, this is the business elite and the more-privileged segments of the economy but, surprisingly, the disenfranchised youth and many highly marginalised folks from all walks of life, too Perhaps it’s the sheer pressure of survival and necessity that demand this but you somehow sense that there’s simply a spirit and ethos that believes things can and will be made better.

Power to the youth

On my most recent visit, in which I facilitated some working sessions with various industry sectors and youth groups, in particular, regarding Brand Nigeria, I was again astounded by the enterprising approach, energy and passion to work hard on restoring the Nigerian economy and focusing it away from its dependency on the oil sector. The examples presented of entrepreneurial efforts in fashion, entertainment and manufacturing were very encouraging and these efforts extend beyond the Nigerian market in several cases, promoting regional and international exports and with an impressive brand orientation in certain instances.

Private and public partnerships

Frustratingly, many of these initiatives could be accelerated, funded and supported by government sector initiative and collaboration but this is sadly mostly defunct in so many African countries, Nigeria included. With a history of siphoning off natural resource wealth and extreme corruption, there are scant examples of where the public sector is likely to come to the aid of the entrepreneur or start-up organisation. Much like South Africa in so many ways, where the entrepreneur is largely expected to make it happen while the public sector becomes increasingly bloated, inefficient, corrupt and dependent on regular bailouts. I sensed from the Nigerians present at this two-day workshop that they will not allow this inertia to restrain them, and will find innovative and creative ways to break the blockages that they are dealing with.

Move over, Robert

As this article, influenced by Nigeria, was taking shape, our good friend to the north of us was suddenly displaced to much delight, jubilation and some trepidation on what comes next. At the risk of over-simplification, given the many complexities under Robert Mugage’s 37-year rule, economic destruction must feature as one of the central tenets of his demise, notwithstanding the probable 20 other good reasons for his dethroning. We have marvelled for a long time at the lack of resistance to this and the silent voice of many entrepreneurs, students, job seekers and business people who simply tolerated this. The intention of this column and in keeping with my commitment of last year, is to avoid the political space, so, to put it bluntly in a purely economic sense, enough was clearly enough.

Economic revolution

With the burgeoning youth population forecasts to 2050 and the massive urbanisation thrust that is expected in Africa, it is very evident that we need a different kind of pan-African revolution: an economic one — one that can drive employment and job creation, small business progress, innovation and export capability for the continent. Sadly, this necessitates private-public sector partnerships in many economies but entrepreneurs and business people simply cannot depend on government to enable many of these initiatives. The enterprising, energetic and driven pursuit of innovative and disruptive economic solutions is a necessity for our continent. My column last year, on the stimulating read from Senor and Singer, titled Start-up Nation, relating the incredible story of Israel and the entrepreneurial successes of their people, should clearly be inspiration to all.

Reimagining a different future

Borrowing from the tagline of a prominent Johannesburg university, we truly do need to reconsider and reimagine a different future. While its proposition talks to knowledge development and learning, brand and business need to extend this into commercial reality and prosperity, reducing the citizen dependency on state-owned or governmental initiatives and displacing this with courageous entrepreneurship and solutions to a more-prosperous continent. Brand has a critical role to play and the importance of the national brand cannot be underestimated in improving country-of-origin capability, enabling export opportunities, driving foreign direct investment and developing badly needed infrastructure.

 

Sean McCoyDr Sean McCoy, MD and founding member of HKLM, is a prominent figure in the branding arena, with his expertise centered on client service, brand strategy and business development. He contributes the regular “The Real McCoy” column focusing upon internal branding to MarkLives.

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Industry says goodbye to ad legend Bob Rightford

Tribute by Matthew Bull

When John Pace, Ian Calvert and I opened Bull Calvert Pace in 1996, we were thrilled to hear the fax machine going off at 10am on our first morning. We rushed to see who it was from. Bob Rightford. Wishing us well. But, at the same time, warning us we were in for the ride of our lives. He said he’d always be there if we needed him.

And he was. All three of us had been together at Rightford’s, or O&M:RST&M*, John for most of his career, and Ian for a significant part of it. Bob’s integrity, his tenacity, his principles, left an indelible mark on the three of us as we built our business.

He was a formidable man. Formidable. Yet always approachable. He truly had the gift of great leadership.
As I transitioned from a creative leader into an agency leader, I would occasionally ask Bob for a sit down, for his guidance and his opinions. He was true to his fax; he was always there. And he gave me one piece of advice that to this day I’ve never forgotten. I had decided to do something (can’t even remember what it was) which he advised against. I fell silent. So did he. Then he smiled and said, “Bull, the truth is, you are your own man. And I can give you all the advice in the world. But the best advice you’ll get, the best lessons you’ll learn, are the mistakes you make yourself.” Never a truer word spoken.

Bob didn’t just lead his agency; he led this country into the world advertising arena. Ogilvy’s jewel in the crown, AdAge international advertising agency of the year, the man who wouldn’t let Sorrell be king. Formidable. He was an account guy who championed the product — who believed in the power of creativity. He never sold out; he never put company profits before the people or the product. He, together with his partners, created a legendary culture that still resonates and influences around South Africa and, indeed, the world.

And, of course, he continued to give back in the form of The Red & Yellow School that he, Brian Searle-Tripp and Roger Makin started.

I confess my heart aches for his wonderful family but also for our industry. Something has come to an end, something that cannot return. I hope, though, that his legacy will forever be remembered and that his actions and accomplishments will continue to inspire today’s, and tomorrow’s, leaders. They — we — have a lot to live up to.

Bob Rightford, a Lion of a man.

*Ogilvy & Mather: Rightford Searle-Tripp & Makin.

Industry reaction on social media

https://twitter.com/LynnMadeley/status/955827992860733440

 

https://twitter.com/Ncedo/status/955772835854766080

https://twitter.com/abelmike/status/955739202251055104

Condolences to Bob’s friends and family from the team at MarkLives.

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Masego Motsogi joins Grid as MD

by MarkLives (@marklives) Masego Motsogi has been appointed as managing director of Grid Worldwide as of 1 February 2018. She was previously managing director of Ninety9Cents Johannesburg.

Grid logo 2017“The communications industry has changed over the years and continues to do so,” says Motsogi. “There are players in the industry who are playing catch up, and then there is Grid Worldwide. They seem to have their finger on the pulse. There is something incredibly enticing about the work they do. Their energy as a team is awesome. I’m thrilled to be part of the magic.”

Her career spans stints at Ogilvy & Mather, South African Breweries, The Jupiter Drawing Room, Zamtel and FCB Africa. She holds a degree in community and health psychology and a higher diploma in integrated marketing communications.

“We are excited about the role that Masego will take up in leading Grid’s new integrated model day to day as MD. We have spent almost two years looking for the right person from a culture perspective and someone [who] has the same vision as us in building an agency model of the future. Masego was a natural fit,” says Adam Byars, joint CEO at Grid.

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#BigQ2018: Brand films are TVCs that aren’t scared to be overly sexy

by MarkLives (@marklives) What are the expectations for the branded content industry in 2018? We emailed a panel of key industry executives for their take on the macro environment, budgets, changes in messaging, movement in the industry and any consumer and communication trends they’ll be looking out for. Lebogang Rasethaba of Arcade Content and Egg Films gives his take.

Lebogang Rasethaba

Lebogang RasethabaLebogang Rasethaba is co-founder of the multi-award-winning production company, Arcade Content. He directs ads through Egg Films and brand films, music videos and documentaries through Arcade. His work has won Creative Circle Ad of the Year; been featured on sites such as Highsnobiety, i-D, Nowness and Vice; and screened at TED Global, among other accolades.

2017 was a strange year. Our lead politicians misbehaved and basically threw the narrative of our progressive democracy into a tailspin. People lost hope; people got scared. My business partner got worried.

Now, I usually don’t care when older white men ‘are scared about the future of our country’ because whatever, older man, me and you have different ideas of ‘scary.’ But, for the most part, even though we live in completely different worlds, I think he gets it; he tries. So, when he laid it down to me and put his fears about the future of South Africa into context, I also got a little shook. For example, marketing budgets will be the first thing to get cut by foreign companies which have invested in South Africa. “I mean look at VW,” he said. “When last did they make an ad?” For the first time, I got a sense of the relationship between politics, South Africa’s reputation and what we do — what I do. 2017 was a strange year.

But we kept at it, asking ourselves serious questions.

“What is my company? What is branded content? What is the difference between the two companies? On which reel does this new job go? What happens when our one director does a job for the first company but is technically a director for the second company?” These questions all might sound like self-indulgent-office-politics but they’re not. Because a lot of people are asking the same questions; just change the names of the players and then, all of a sudden, these questions also affect you.

Little echo-chambers

Here’s a mindf*ck I grapple with daily. If your ad flights during Generations, there is a chance around 8m people will see it. Eight. Million. People. At. The. Same. Time. And then think of how long it takes for an ad to get 100 000 views on YouTube. In our little echo-chambers, it feels as if digital is where it’s at, and that’s probably true but, for the larger population, they are more likely to see an amazing advert on TV.

Brand films aren’t low-budget ads. If you spend money on branded content, you will win E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.

So, that’s the first challenge: we need to expand our definitions of what brand films are. Together. All of us. That brand films are for the internet and TV commercials are for TV isn’t good enough because brand films end up on TV and TVCs end up on the internet. How do we manage this overlap?

A good female friend of mine was on Instagram and stopped on this random women’s account and said, “She is who I would be if I had the guts to be hot.” And that kinda feels like the relationship between brand films and TV ads: brand films are TV adverts that aren’t scared to be overly sexy.

Potential and nuance

And then my last point. and probably my favourite word: nuance. I recently watched and thoroughly enjoyed Baby Driver; a fun, energetic film about a young heist getaway driver and all his wonderful idiosyncrasies. A few years ago, I watched and thoroughly enjoyed Drive: a dreamy, arty film about a young heist getaway driver and all his wonderful idiosyncrasies. The point I am making is that Hollywood has been successful at creating characters and then exploring the full extent of the nuances of these characters. In South Africa, we often limit our deeper exploration of the nuance of our characters because we think it’s already been done. But we haven’t fully explored the extent of nuance of the characters we create and capture on screen.

I think we did a good job of creating stars and influencers, and making films about them where they talk about themselves over slow-motion footage of themselves talking about the thing they are doing. I think there’s an amazing opportunity to push our understandings and explore the nuance of what it means to be South African through the characters we create and capture on-screen.

My brand content company has been in business for about four years now. I was convinced the work I did at the beginning were brand films but, now, I look at my showreel and I think, “I need to think bigger about what I can do with this idea of brand films.” But I can’t do it alone: we all need to think bigger about the potential and nuance of brand films.

#BigQ2018 series

 

MarkLives logoLaunched in 2016, “The Big Q” is a regular column on MarkLives in which we ask key advertising and marketing industry execs for their thoughts on relevant issues facing the industry. If you’d like to be part of our pool of panellists, please contact editor Herman Manson via email (2mark at marklives dot com) or Twitter (@marklives). Suggestions for questions are also welcomed.

— Sign up now for the MarkLives email newsletter every Monday and Thursday, now including headlines from the Ramify.biz company newsroom service!

#BigQ2018: Creative effectiveness is channel-agnostic

by MarkLives (@marklives) What are the expectations for the marketing and advertising industry in 2018? We emailed a panel of key industry executives for their take on the macro environment, budgets, changes in messaging, movement in the industry and any consumer and communication trends they’ll be looking out for. Next up is Odette van der Haar of the ACA.

Odette van der Haar

Odette van der HaarOdette van der Haar (@odette_roper) is the CEO of the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA), which is the recognised industry body of the advertising and communications profession in South Africa. It is a voluntary body formed both by and for the industry, focused upon and committed to self-regulation, and to defend the highest standards of ethical practice.

Famous management consultant, educator and author, Peter Drucker, once stated: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” But can we truly create our future, predict it? There are too many variables that we’re simply not in control of. Within our profession, the quote is definitely more fiction than fact but, then again, it’s also more fact than fiction. The latter holds true, however, because as marketers we should prepare ourselves for all and any eventuality.

Preoccupied

We could explore estimated adspend numbers for a specific year or series of years; however, this is never an exact science. Besides, why is the industry so preoccupied with how much is being spent on communications campaigns, and where the money is being spent? Certainly, it affects our bottom line if the spend is either higher or lower; however, our key motivation should be producing exceptionally creative and effective work, and not simply chasing the supposed next big thing.

We should rather concentrate our efforts on preparing for what lies ahead, ensuring that, if it’s a bumper year, we take advantage of it, grow revenues and work toward ensuring the future sustainability of the entire value chain.

Nevertheless, let’s look at figures and use them as a means of guiding our understanding of trends within marketing and communications; this way, these figures start to have real value. So, let’s consider predicted ad-spend for 2018. The latest Dentsu Aegis study estimates growth of 3.6%, taking global media spend to US$589.5bn for 2018. Globally, digital’s share of total media continues unabated, predicted to grow to 38.3%, knocking TV at 35.5% off the top spot for the first time! Then there’s the predicted growth of VR, AI, social, and the list goes on.

Question that prediction

Sounds fantastic. However, consider the current global economic ‘disorder’ and you may have to question that prediction.

There are trends in the immediate future that cannot be ignored when we create campaigns on behalf of brands. These include real-time marketing, content marketing, video, social, in-stream ads, digital out-of-home and more. Yet, as stated previously, we should prepare ourselves rather than spend inordinate amounts of effort on looking back and predicting forward.

The trends we talk about then should not be restricted to spend, growth, decline, and any other descriptor you may choose to use. We should be looking at what our industry will do to mitigate a drop in consumer spend because of tough economic times, or boost consumer spend when times are good. And this approach is starting to gain momentum.

From small shops through to global networks, we see greater and greater effort placed in generating effective work. Today, agency leaders are talking more about their effective work and the difference it has made to the bottom line for clients, rather than blowing their own horn about the creativity of the work alone. If you are looking for a trend in the industry, this is it!

We have one thing to do

Let’s ignore the tedious traditional vs digital debate. Let’s presume that there are no economic factors that inhibit/propel growth in adspend. Let’s for a moment presume that, all things being equal, we have one thing to do, and that is to provide communications campaigns that are effective and provide true value and ROI to brands.

Whether coming from an ad agency, below the line, PR, events, media, digital, experiential, OOH (the list goes on), we all have one common goal: driving the sector forward.

#BigQ2018 series

See also

 

MarkLives logoLaunched in 2016, “The Big Q” is a regular column on MarkLives in which we ask key advertising and marketing industry execs for their thoughts on relevant issues facing the industry. If you’d like to be part of our pool of panellists, please contact editor Herman Manson via email (2mark at marklives dot com) or Twitter (@marklives). Suggestions for questions are also welcomed.

— Sign up now for the MarkLives email newsletter every Monday and Thursday, now including headlines from the Ramify.biz company newsroom service!

Shelf Life: Tag 8 telling success stories for Retail Capital

Cheryl Hunter (shelflife at marklives.com)’s weekly pick of all things new — product, packaging, design, insight, food, décor and more!

  • Retail Capital’s new campaign gets real
  • Convenient delivery with Engen and DSV ByBox
  • Wag the Dog launches handbooks for retailers

Capitalising on entrepreneurs

The summer campaign of Retail Capital, which showcases entrepreneurs and their business visions, is designed to remind SME owners that the finance company offers alternative funding mechanisms that are specifically geared to support the local entrepreneur.

Says CEO Karl Westvig, “Our goal is to see the potential in promising small businesses and work with the owners in making their vision a reality.”

The campaign, developed in collaboration with Tag 8, Social Media Now and Dais, needed to bring to life the brand’s purpose of “Believing in people who believe in themselves” through the brand message of “Your vision. Our belief.”

Andrew Franks, creative director of Tag 8, says, “The creative campaign invites entrepreneurs to share their business visions and in turn inspires others to reach new heights. Our first video documents the inspiring story of how adventure enthusiasts, Peter Silberbauer and Chad Gordon, combined vision and action to build Africa’s first bike hotel.”

Based on the brand message and positioning, it was important for the team that ‘real’ business owners were used in the campaign on both print and digital platforms. “We wanted to tell genuine stories about business owners dealing with challenges and ultimately achieving their vision.”

Social Media Now founder, Tacita McEvoy, who heads up digital strategy, says, “We have been overwhelmed by the feedback and engagement from entrepreneurs and SMEs across South Africa, and their willingness to share their vision for their business with the world. As soon as the first campaign video was posted on social media, the engagement shot up to 40 000 views within a week.”

retailcapital.co.za • Facebook • Twitter
tag8.co.za • Facebook • Twitter • Ramify
socialmedianow.co.za • Facebook

 

Innovation at Engen

DSV ByBox, an automated parcel locker which offers the public a secure and convenient means to send or receive parcels at Engen service stations across South Africa, plans to challenge the delivery arena this year, based on its commitment to convenient solutions for customers.

DSV ByBox on the Engen forecourtEngen partnered with logistics group, DSV Global Transport and Logistics. in 2014 and over the past three years the partnership has gained significant traction, according to Seelan Naidoo, Engen’s general manager: retail.

When ordering online, shoppers simply select the ByBox delivery option to their nearest locker at selected Engen service stations. Parcels are dispatched the next day, and drivers scan them in at the selected ByBox terminal; the correct one opens automatically, and an SMS is sent to the customer with the delivery location and a PIN number to access the locker.

“Our partnership with DSV Bybox is another way in which we can offer our customers real convenience and take full advantage of this growing trend. Our footprint around the country, as well as our ambitious plans for 2018, will position our partnership as a leading buy-and-collect service provider.”

Customers may also send parcels from any of Engen’s 65 ByBox lockers.

za.dsv.com • Facebook • Twitter
engen.co.za

 

Wag the Dog: Your Hardware HandbookHandy hints for retailers

Wag The Dog Publishers is launching a series of handbooks aimed at addressing the ongoing challenge, faced by retailers, of training and retaining staff.

Says Sandra Gordon, MD of Wag The Dog Publishers, “We are excited about the new publications. We researched the gaps within the retail industry and specifically within sales. Our handbooks will respond to these gaps, and provide the management and sales teams with the knowledge they require to encourage great customer relations and improved sales.”

First in the series is Your Hardware Handbook, focused on up-skilling sales in two areas: a deeper understanding of salesmanship — listening skills, questions to ask, professionalism, handling objections, confidence, addressing complaints, helpful attitude, preparedness, customer dynamics and after sales service; and, secondly, product features and benefits, frequently asked questions plus  handy hints and tips on each product.

Your Hardware Handbook will be available in print and digi versions, and will be distributed by mail and hand-delivered via wholesalers and advertisers.

wagthedog.co.za • Facebook

 

Cheryl HunterShelf Life is MarkLives.com’s weekly column covering all things new. Notify us of yours at shelflife at marklives dot com. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.

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.

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Back2Basics: It’s official — a renaissance in B2B is on the way

“In 2018, forces that have been roiling for the past several years will coalesce to spark a B2B marketing renaissance.” —Forrester, October 2017.

by Mark Eardley (@mdeardley) Isn’t it great when people agree with your thinking? You pitch a concept and somebody says, “You know what? That’s so totally total! We can so up-gear with that!” Or words to that effect… It’s even better when your thinking gets endorsed by a heavyweight such as American research company, Forrester.

In my previous MarkLives column, I ended by saying that a golden age in B2B had already dawned. Even though I might have jumped the Forrester gun a bit, I was still chuffed when reading its report, Predictions 2018: Digital Disruption Is The New Normal For B2B Marketing.

A renaissance in B2B

The report is boldly bullish in its intro about how the coming year will herald nothing less than a renaissance. A revival, a reawakening, a resurrection.

Put like that, it all sounds a bit like those ancient fertility narratives that mirrored the changing seasons: the ailing king (in this case, B2B) slowly dies in his ruined land and autumn decays into winter. He then healthily returns as spring blooms to summer and his once-blighted lands are rejuvenated. A renaissance.

To be fair, Forrester goes on to describe this metamorphosis more prosaically. It bullet-points B2B’s three key reanimators in its precis of predictions for 2018:

  • B2B marketers will put customers at the core of their purpose
  • B2B marketing will redefine its charter to better engage the new business consumer
  • B2B marketers will prioritise operational excellence

It’s about bloody time…

In my first MarkLives column last year, I looked at why B2B marketing has declined into such shameful irrelevance within the organisations it’s supposed to serve. To save time, I’ll bullet-point those three reasons:

  • B2B marketers have so little customer-contact that they have zero customer-insight
  • They have totally relinquished their responsibility for governing customer experience (CX)
  • Operationally, they’ve relegated themselves to organising the year-end party and golf-days

I also made the gun-jumping point that any direct, attributable effect upon sales and margins has been allowed — by marketers themselves, mind you — to become so negligible that their voice carries no corporate authority.

In the eyes of the C-suite, low achievement has fostered low expectation. In far too many B2B enterprises, marketing isn’t even supposed to have any significant commercial impact on the business.

Acting on Forrester’s insights

With its stated intent to “Challenge Thinking. Lead Change”, Forrester certainly hits some bullseyes.

I like some of its thinking about what needs to change. And change in ways that mean the widely dilapidated discipline of B2B finally awakes from its self-induced coma and once more fulfils its responsibility to attract and retain profitable customers.

Its report deserves credit for the bullseyes it does hit. That’s why I’m reviewing it and recommending it as worthwhile reading.

Although it might not say it in so many words — and reading between many words of jargony marketing-speak — Forrester’s advocating that B2B marketers must change focus in order to:

  • Understand how customers expect your organisation to advance the success of theirs
  • Accept total responsibility for ensuring those expectations are matched by experiences

Perhaps try walking before you attempt pole-vaulting…

Ensuring that expectations are consistently fulfilled by experiences definitely sets marketers on the right path towards creating sales and protecting margins. It’s a winning strategy. Unfortunately, in terms of implementing that strategy, the report suggests deploying tactics that are maybe a bridge too far in terms of their complexity and sophistication.

For example, at the bottom end of the complexity scale, there’s some pretty basic tactical advice about using buyer personae and journey maps to guide customer engagement strategies. However, following this sound suggestion will be pointless unless marketers have first identified all the people who influence and make buying decisions.

The simple task of then mapping personae to a buying decision cycle (‘journey map’) will be equally pointless until the reasons that inform influencers’ decisions have been qualified, quantified and ratified. You might have plenty of demographic info on the influencers, but do you know what motivates them to support a buying decision?

For a moment, let’s assume marketers have got those fundamental customer-centric insights spot-on. Which is really fab because they can put all that insight ‘at the core of their purpose’. And that means the undoubtedly crucial task of mapping personae, motivators and engagement-channels to the cycle is about as difficult as painting by numbers.

But — and I’m afraid it’s a big ‘But’ — if you don’t know the numbers, you can’t paint the picture. You’re daubing in the dark.

When reading the report, some marketers might miss the vital point that becoming customer-centric is the hard part; once you’re there, being customer-centric is the easy part.

For the budding pole-vaulters

Further up the scale of complex tactics, one of Forrester’s predictions is certain to strike a chord for all marketers who reckon they’re ready to vault the pole. It concerns an extension of artificial intelligence (AI) in B2B. Forrester believes that in 2018 B2B marketers will need to be adept at deploying “intelligent agents”:

“Intelligent agents (IAs) — in the form of virtual assistants and chatbots — are most often used to help existing customers solve problems without engaging more expensive human agents.”

This is going to be the sweetest music for the legions of marketers who would happily stick pins in their eyes rather than leave their ivory towers to engage buying-decision influencers. For those shy-aways, there’s a neat techno solution. Forrester says you can buy and deploy machines to guard the fortifications between you and the people who create your company’s sales and margins. It even lists a few vendors who will defend you.

In reality, the most likely effect of rushing to embrace such techno-wizardry is that it will exacerbate B2B’s headlong decline: ‘Customers? Don’t worry about them. The bots have got ’em covered.’

A renaissance in B2B? Steady, tiger…

I’m encouraged that an organisation of Forrester’s calibre is championing a return to understanding customers and acting on that knowledge to generate sales and reinforce margins. But let’s not kid ourselves: this is nothing new. B2B marketers should never have allowed customers to become anything other than the core of their purpose. But they did.

In terms of a renaissance, hopefully, what was once discarded, washed up and left for dead has undergone a sea change and is about to come back to vibrant life.

 

Mark EardleyMark Eardley (@mdeardley) advises B2B companies on how to govern their marketing to attract and retain profitable customers; several of his clients have grown to become market leaders. He and Charlie Stewart have written Business-to-Business Marketing: A Step-by-Step Guide (Penguin Random House), which offers practical, actionable advice on how to make marketing make money. His monthly “Back2Basics” column covers how B2B companies and their agencies should manage their marketing.

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Salary Survey 2018: Who earns what in adland & marketing in South Africa

by MarkLives (@marklives) Recruitment agency, Ad Talent, has released its 2018 salary survey for the communications industry. This annual survey is not intended to be prescriptive but is a report on what this specific recruiter has experienced over the course of the last year.

Ad Talent logo 2018It was compiled using:

  • figures of actual placements made by Ad Talent
  • figures from salary information obtained from all candidates interviewed by Ad Talent from January 2017 to December 2017
  • figures from salary information obtained from candidates who have submitted their CVs to Ad Talent
  • cost to company (CTC) figures
  • the average salaries per sector.

The survey notes that salaries vary significantly, depending on many factors, including size of the company, desirability to work for a particular company, and status. Salaries for media-sales roles vary significantly, depending on the commission structure / incentives. Years of experience references time spent in that particular position and NOT total working experience. This survey is not intended to be prescriptive. MarkLives reprints it with permission.

Advertising agencies

0–2 yrs (light)

2–5yrs (medium)

5–9 yrs (heavyweight)

Managing Director
Johannesburg R90 000 – R100 000 R100 000 – R150 000 R150 000+
Cape Town R75 000 – R88 000 R88 000 – R130 000 R130 000+

Deputy MD
Johannesburg R85 000 – R94 000 R94 000 – R100 000 R100 000+
Cape Town R75 000 – R84 000 R84 000 – R93 000 R93 000+

Client Service/Business Unit Director
Johannesburg R55 000 – R59 000 R59 000 – R65 000 R65 000+
Cape Town R45 000 – R49 000 R49 000 – R57 000 R57 000+

Group Account Director
Johannesburg R48 000 – R53 000 R53 000 – R57 000 R57 000+
Cape Town R42 000 – R46 000 R46 000 – R53 000 R53 000+

Account Director
Johannesburg R35 000 – R40 000 R40 000 – R48 000 R48 000+
Cape Town R32 000 – R40 000 R40 000 – R46 000 R46 000+

Account Manager
Johannesburg R23 000 – R26 000 R26 000 – R35 000 N/A
Cape Town R17 000 – R20 000 R20 000 – R28 000 N/A

Account Executive
Johannesburg R14 000 – R17 000 R17 000 – R20 000 N/A
Cape Town R10 000 – R12 000 R12 000 – R15 000 N/A

Project Manager
Johannesburg R25 000 – R37 000 R37 000 – R43 000 R43 000+
Cape Town R23 000 – R30 000 R30 000 – R39 000 R39 000+

Operations
Johannesburg R48 000 – R58 000 R58 000 – R79 000 R79 000+
Cape Town R45 000 – R57 000 R57 000 – R66 000 R66 000+

Production
Johannesburg R12 000 – R20 000 R20 000 – R38 000 R38 000+
Cape Town R10 000 – R18 000 R18 000 – R31 000 R31 000+

Traffic
Johannesburg R12 000 – R18 000 R18 000 – R35 000 R35 000+
Cape Town R12 000 – R17 000 R17 000 – R30 000 R30 000+

Strategic Planning Director
Johannesburg R61 000 – R68 000 R69 000 – R85 000 R85 000+
Cape Town R53 000 – R65 000 R65 000 – R82 000 R82 000+

Strategic Planner
Johannesburg R16 000 – R28 000 R28 000 – R45 000 R45 000+
Cape Town R13 000 – R21 000 R21 000 – R39 000 R39 000+

Digital

0–2 yrs (light)

2–5yrs (medium)

5–9 yrs (heavyweight)

Strategist
Johannesburg R18 000 – R32 000 R32 000 – R49 000 R49 000+
Cape Town R18 000 – R30 000 R30 000 – R45 000 R45 000+

Project Manager
Johannesburg R25 000 – R33 000 R33 000 – R40 000 R40 000+
Cape Town R22 000 – R30 000 R30 000 – R42 000 R42 000+

Social Media Brand Manager
Johannesburg R19 000 – R26 000 R26 000 – R40 000 R40 000+
Cape Town R16 500 – R20 000 R20 000 – R29 000 R29 000+

Social Media and Analytics Specialist
Johannesburg R22 000 – R31 000 R31 000 – R48 000 R48 000+
Cape Town R18 500 – R28 000 R28 000 – R42 000 R42 000+

Social Media Community Manager
Johannesburg R14 000 – R20 000 R20 000 – R35 000 N/A
Cape Town R12 000 – R18 000 R18 000 – R26 000 N/A

Content Manager
Johannesburg R14 000 – R20 000 R20 000 – R30 000 R30 000+
Cape Town R11 000 – R17 000 R17 000 – R25 000 R25 000+

Account Executive
Johannesburg R15 000 – R18 000 R18 000 – R22 000 N/A
Cape Town R11 000 – R15 000 R15 000 – R19 000 N/A

Account Manager
Johannesburg R25 500 – R29 000 R29 000 – R38 000 N/A
Cape Town R18 500 – R24 000 R24 000 – R29 000 N/A

Account Director
Johannesburg R38 000 – R43 000 R43 000 – R48 500 N/A
Cape Town R34 000 – R42 000 R42 000 – R47 000 N/A

Group Account Director
Johannesburg R47 000 – R53 000 R53 000 – R56 000 R56 000+
Cape Town R44 000 – R52 000 R52 000 – R54 000 R54 000+

Client Service Director
Johannesburg R51 000 – R56 000 R56 000 – R61 000 R61 000+
Cape Town R47 000 – R49 000 R49 000 – R58 000 R58 000+

SEO Specialist
Johannesburg R14 000 – R20 000 R20 000 – R30 000 R30 000+
Cape Town R14 000 – R18 000 R18 000 – R28 000 R28 000+

PPC Specialist
Johannesburg R15 000 – R21 000 R21 000 – R30 000 R30 000+
Cape Town R14 000 – R20 000 R20 000 – R28 000 R28 000+

Brand Manager
Johannesburg R25 000 – R28 000 R28 000 – R48 000 R48 000+
Cape Town R20 000 – R25 000 R25 000 – R38 000 R38 000+

Analyst
Johannesburg R17 000 – R22 000 R22 000 – R30 000 R30 000+
Cape Town R16 000 – R20 000 R20 000 – R27 000 R27 000+

Creative: Traditional

0–2 yrs (light)

2–5yrs (medium)

5–9 yrs (heavyweight)

Chief Creative Officer
Johannesburg N/A N/A R130 000+
Cape Town N/A N/A R120 000+

Group/Executive Creative Director
Johannesburg N/A N/A R104 000+
Cape Town N/A N/A R92 000+

Creative Director
Johannesburg R48 000 – R65 000 R55 000 – R75 000 R75 000+
Cape Town R40 000 – R48 000 R48 000 – R62 000 R62 000+

Head of Design
Johannesburg R37 000 – R50 000 R50 000 – R55 000 R55 000+
Cape Town R30 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R45 000 R45 000+

Designer
Johannesburg R10 000 – R17 000 R17 000 – R32 000 R32 000+
Cape Town R10 000 – R15 000 R15 000 – R27 000 R27 000+

Creative Group Head
Johannesburg R35 000 – R45 000 R45 000 – R53 000 R53 000+
Cape Town R27 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R45 000 R45 000+

Art Director
Johannesburg R11 000 – R18 000 R18 000 – R36 000 R36 000 – R55 000
Cape Town R10 000 – R18 000 R18 000 – R31 000 R31 000 – R47 000

Copywriter
Johannesburg R11 000 – R17 000 R17 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R69 000
Cape Town R10 000 – R17 000 R17 000 – R28 000 R28 000 – R55 000

Proofreader
Johannesburg R14 000 – R19 000 R19 000 – R30 000 R30 000 – R45 000
Cape Town R10 000 – R15 000 R15 000 – R25 000 R25 000 – R40 000

Creative Strategist
Johannesburg N/A R22 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R48 000
Cape Town N/A R20 000 – R33 000 R33 000 – R42 000

Studio Manager
Johannesburg R30 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R40 000 R40 000 – R50 000
Cape Town R25 000 – R30 000 R30 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R45 000

DTP Operator
Johannesburg R9 500 – R16 000 R16 000 – R25 000 R25 000 – R40 000
Cape Town R8 000 – R15 000 R15 000 – R24 000 R24 000 – R36 000

Promo Director/Producer
Johannesburg R10 000 – R15 000 R15 000 – R27 000 R27 000 – R45 000
Cape Town R9 000 – R13 000 R13 000 – R25 000 R25 000 – R40 000

Animator
Johannesburg R12 000 – R18 000 R18 000 – R32 000 R32 000 – R55 000
Cape Town R10 000 – R16 000 R16 000 – R26 000 R26 000 – R41 000

Video Editor
Johannesburg R10 000 – R15 000 R15 000 – R28 000 R28 000 – R48 000
Cape Town R9 000 – R13 000 R13 000 – R22 000 R22 000 – R37 000

Creative: Digital

0–2 yrs (light)

2–5yrs (medium)

5–9 yrs (heavyweight)

Creative Director
Johannesburg R45 000 – R55 000 R55 000 – R75 000 R75 000+
Cape Town R40 000 – R50 000 R50 000 – R65 000 R65 000+

Copywriter
Johannesburg R12 000 – R18 000 R18 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R50 000
Cape Town R11 000 – R15 000 R15 000 – R30 000 R30 000 – R43 000

Art Director
Johannesburg R13 000 – R18 000 R18 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R50 000
Cape Town R13 000 – R16 000 R16 000 – R32 000 R32 000 – R42 000

Designer/Multimedia Designer
Johannesburg R13 000 – R18 000 R18 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R48 000
Cape Town R13 000 – R16 000 R16 000 – R30 000 R30 000 – R40 000

User Experience (UX) Lead
Johannesburg N/A N/A R70 000+
Cape Town N/A N/A R60 000+

User Experience (UX) Designers
Johannesburg R16 000 – R25 000 R25 000 – R42 000 R42 000+
Cape Town R13 000 – R20 000 R20 000 – R37 000 R37 000+

User Interface (UI) Designers
Johannesburg R16 000 – R25 000 R25 000 – R38 000 R38 000+
Cape Town R13 000 – R20 000 R20 000 – R35 000 R35 000+

Front-end Developer
Johannesburg R12 500 – R18 000 R18 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R53 000
Cape Town R10 000 – R15 000 R15 000 – R28 000 R28 000 – R46 000

Back-end Developer
Johannesburg R18 000 – R22 000 R22 000 – R45 000 R45 000+
Cape Town R17 000 – R22 000 R22 000 – R40 000 R40 000+

Full-stack Developer
Johannesburg R12 500 – R20 000 R20 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R50 000
Cape Town R12 000 – R17 000 R17 000 – R25 000 R25 000 – R45 000

Marketing

0–2 yrs (light)

2–5yrs (medium)

5–9 yrs (heavyweight)

Head of Digital and Insights Marketing
Johannesburg N/A R55 000 – R66 000 R66 000+
Cape Town N/A R48 000 – R58 000 R58 000+

CRM and Loyalty Manager
Johannesburg N/A R39 000 – R50 000 R50 000+
Cape Town N/A R35 000 – R47 000 R47 000+

Online Marketing Manager
Johannesburg N/A R35 000 – R46 000 R46 000+
Cape Town N/A R29 000 – R35 000 R35 000+

Marketing Director/Group Marketing Head/Head of Brand
Johannesburg R79 000 – R86 000 R86 000 – R145 000 R145 000+
Cape Town R64 000 – R77 000 R77 000 – R135 000 R135 000+

Marketing Manager/Group Brand Manager
Johannesburg R52 000 – R56 000 R56 000 – R78 000 R78 000+
Cape Town R47 000 – R52 000 R52 000 – R63 000 R63 000+

Brand/Product Manager
Johannesburg R22 000 – R30 000 R30 000 – R52 000 R52 000+
Cape Town R19 000 – R30 000 R30 000 – R46 000 R46 000+

Brand/Marketing Assistant
Johannesburg R13 000 – R20 000 R20 000 – R35 000 N/A
Cape Town R12 000 – R18 000 R18 000 – R27 000 N/A

Corporate Communications

0–2 yrs (light)

2–5yrs (medium)

5–9 yrs (heavyweight)

Communications Director
Johannesburg R37 000 – R55 000 R55 000 – R75 000 R75 000 – R130 000
Cape Town R32 000 – R42 000 R42 000 – R62 000 R62 000 – R100 000

Communications Manager
Johannesburg R30 000 – R40 000 R40 000 – R68 000 R68 000 – R90 000
Cape Town R25 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R45 000 R45 000 – R75 000

Communications Officer/Consultant
Johannesburg R20 000 – R30 000 R30 000 – R40 000 R40 000 – R45 000
Cape Town R16 000 – R26 000 R26 000 – R32 000 R32 000 – R41 000

Events Manager
Johannesburg R28 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R40 000 R40 000 – R70 000
Cape Town R20 000 – R28 000 R28 000 – R33 000 R33 000 – R65 000

Events Coordinator
Johannesburg R18 000 – R22 000 R22 000 – R30 000 R30 000+
Cape Town R15 000 – R20 000 R20 000 – R30 000 R30 000+

Internal Communications Manager
Johannesburg R27 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R48 000 R48 000 – R78 000
Cape Town R22 000 – R30 000 R30 000 – R40 000 R40 000 – R52 000

PR Consultancies

0–2 yrs (light)

2–5yrs (medium)

5–9 yrs (heavyweight)

Managing Director
Johannesburg R65 000 – R75 000 R75 000 – R80 000 R80 000 – R130 000
Cape Town R55 000 – R65 000 R65 000 – R70 000 R70 000 – R110 000

Account Director
Johannesburg R35 000 – R41 000 R41 000 – R50 000 R50 000 – R65 000
Cape Town R31 000 – R36 000 R36 000 – R41 000 R41 000 – R50 000

Account Manager
Johannesburg R25 000 – R30 000 R30 000 – R36 000 R36 000+
Cape Town R22 000 – R26 000 R26 000 – R31 000 R31 000+

Account Executive
Johannesburg R16 000 – R21 000 R21 000 – R24 000 N/A
Cape Town R14 000 – R19 000 R19 000 – R21 000 N/A

Public Relations Assistant
Johannesburg R10 000 – R14 000 R14 000 – R19 000 N/A
Cape Town R8 500 – R13 000 R13 000 – R18 000 N/A

Sponsorship Manager
Johannesburg R22 000 – R30 000 R30 000 – R45 000 R45 000 – R75 000
Cape Town R20 000 – R25 000 R26 000 – R40 000 R40 000 – R50 000

Media

0–2 yrs (light)

2–5yrs (medium)

5–9 yrs (heavyweight)

Media Director
Johannesburg R38 000 – R44 000 R44 000 – R54 000 R54 000 – R80 000
Cape Town R28 000 – R38 000 R38 000 – R48 000 R48 000 – R75 000

Media Planner
Johannesburg R27 000 – R30 000 R30 000 – R43 000 R43 000 – R53 000
Cape Town R20 000 – R28 000 R28 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R40 000

Media Buyer
Johannesburg R16 000 – R23 000 R23 000 – R33 000 R33 000 – R43 000
Cape Town R12 000 – R15 000 R18 000 – R23 000 R23 000 – R28 000

Media Strategist
Johannesburg R30 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R50 000 R50 000 – R80 000
Cape Town R22 000 – R27 000 R28 000 – R40 000 R40 000 – R70 000

Media Sales Executive
Johannesburg R25 000 – R28 000 R28 000 – R38 000 R38 000+
Cape Town R20 000 – R25 000 R25 000 – R35 000 R35 000+

Media Sales Director
Johannesburg R35 000 – R40 000 R40 000 – R48 000 R48 000 – R90 000
Cape Town R30 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R40 000 R40 000 – R60 000

Media Sales Digital
Johannesburg R27 000 – R35 000 R35 000 – R45 000 R45 000+
Cape Town R20 000 – R27 000 R27 000 – R35 000 R35 000+
Digital Media Strategist
Johannesburg R35 000 – R40 000 R40 000 – R55 000 R55 000+
Cape Town R27 000 – R32 000 R32 000 – R42 000 R42 000+

 

See also

 

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#BigQ2018: 2018 is not the ad industry’s Kodak moment

by MarkLives (@marklives) What are the expectations for the marketing and advertising industry in 2018? We emailed a panel of key industry executives for their take on the macro environment, budgets, changes in messaging, movement in the industry and any consumer and communication trends they’ll be looking out for. Next up is Mike Abel of M&C Saatchi Abel.

Mike Abel

Mike AbelMike Abel (@abelmike) heads the group he and his partners started in 2010: it now comprises M&C Saatchi Abel Johannesburg and Cape Town, M&C Saatchi Africa, CONNECT, Creative Spark and Dalmatian. He has 28 years of industry experience, and has built and led major groups in South Africa and Australia. In our MarkLives Agency Leaders’ Most Admired poll for 2016, he was named a contender for the most-admired agency boss in South Africa and was runner-up for most-admired agency boss in Cape Town.

2017 saw a number of brown shoots creeping out the soil. No longer green, full of hope and optimism, they looked like they were struggling to emerge with real growth potential. While stock markets have risen, while bitcoin and other crypto-currencies became the must-have flavors of the day, for everyone from your cab driver to barber (always the first major watch-out of a bubble), there is definite instability rumbling within the global economic foundations.

As the UK confronts Brexit; as Europe confronts Brexit. As Trump and Kim Jong Un rattle sabres, as global debt grows, as uncertainty continues to destabilise the Middle East, as Russia continues to fiddle beyond its borders. Or maybe it hasn’t? Hell, we could be in the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s or ‘’80s — when hasn’t the world been in a mess? When haven’t we had uncertainty?

Uncertainty sells

But uncertainty sells. Not just gold but new snake-oil salespeople come to town selling their unique salves, cures and balms. New business models are predicted, and the imminent demise of the ad industry gets predicted — as has been the case for over two decades.

As soothsayers, naysayers and other doomsdayers like to espouse about the industry irrefutable implosion, truth be told, the industry isn’t in a bad way at all. Let me qualify.

The ad industry’s stock in trade is ideas. Not any idea, not a scam ad that goes on to win global fame even if it never sold one single item but ideas that solve client’s business challenges and sales objectives.
If you’re in that game, and if you understand the various pulleys and levers to help grown your client’s business through customer-focused strategies, then how can you be vulnerable as an industry? Why would a client hoof an indispensable business partner delivering growth and ROI?

The reason global groups are struggling is partly because they used acquisitions to drive their growth. Growth in many instances wasn’t organic and off solid bases but through adding revenue to the top — while the founders of those companies saw the acquisitions as exit strategies. And so, three years down the line, you’ve paid top dollar for a star yet the jockeys who rode the horses across the winning line are no longer there. Nor are the trainers.

Growth strategy

That is why one should never acquire a company if the founders want to exit; it’s only if they see a vibrant and vital partnership with one as a growth strategy whereby the less equity they own through the partnership will ultimately be worth more than had they held everything for themselves. Some of the greatest agencies have withered on the vine of a global acquisitions because the sellers feel cramped, controlled, disincentivised and unappreciated.

It’s been extensively covered in the most highly regarded business publications that the best protection against AI stealing jobs is to be in the creative industry. It’s going to be a long while before we see computers develop an imagination or intuition. To be able to see what isn’t vs replicating what is.

So, while it’s often commented on that consultants are entering the advertising industry space, we’ll meet them and raise them, as good agencies enter their space with big, ballsy and effective ideas that fuel growth vs simply analysing the status quo and doing some predictive modelling.

Sure, agencies need to be immersed in their client’s business, to live it, eat it, sleep it, drink it, to truly add value but, when they do, and that beautiful, simple, powerful idea arises, there’s little else that has the power to push the sales graph in the right direction.

Click-bait

2018 will be a tough year economically. New agencies will be born, new technologies will be discovered, and established agencies may die. Just like they did last year. Just as they’ll do in two years, in five years.
Predicting the demise of the industry every year is click-bait for marketing publications, and fuels the ambitions and bravado of consulting firms.

Respected ad agencies will continue to build invaluable trusted relationships with their clients, based on their innate ability to understand their existing and potential customers, and to drive innovation, relevance and reappraisal. If they don’t, then they sadly deserve to be part of the doomsday predictions. Such is the way of life in any business, not just advertising.

It is, once again, not our Kodak moment.

#BigQ2018 series

See also

 

MarkLives logoLaunched in 2016, “The Big Q” is a regular column on MarkLives in which we ask key advertising and marketing industry execs for their thoughts on relevant issues facing the industry. If you’d like to be part of our pool of panellists, please contact editor Herman Manson via email (2mark at marklives dot com) or Twitter (@marklives). Suggestions for questions are also welcomed.

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The Martini Shot: Adopt a greener approach to commercial production

by Bobby Amm. When it comes to climate change, there is hope. If we can all (production companies included) implement more-sustainable methods of doing business, then we can slow, or potentially even stop, the rising temperatures across the globe.

Water crises [Cape Town will be implementing level 6B water restrictions from February 2018, with Day Zero — the day the city’s tap run dry — predicted to happen in April 2018 — ed-at-large], flash floods, and other previously unheard of natural disasters. If you didn’t think global warming was upon us before, there’s little doubt about it now. And it isn’t just your ethical duty to do something about it… With experts warning us that entire cities and even lower-lying nations of people could be displaced by rising ocean levels, your survival could be dependent on it too.

Greening production

Many of South Africa’s commercials depend on the beauty and function of our environment — so if our lives as we know it aren’t enough to make a change, the sustainability of our industry should be. With access to so many players in the field, production companies are also the ideal leaders when it comes to lowering the environmental impact of the industry as a whole.

Further, Adgreen, the leader in green production in the UK, notes that, “as with anything, demand drives supply. If we want cheaper low-energy lighting, enough people have to start using it. If we want our studios to provide recycling facilities, or real plates from our caterers, we have to ask for them and make it clear why we want these things.”

The bottom line? The more of us who change for the better, the cheaper and easier making these changes will become.

A few simple steps

In the years to come, ‘green’ processes will all be regulated anyway. So, while it may seem like a daunting an unnecessary task right now, adopting a cleaner production strategy means you’ll get a head start. Plus, with the guidance of organisations such as Adgreen, it’s not that difficult. Here’s a South-Africanised version of its Five Easy Things that you can do immediately to help reduce your production’s carbon footprint:

  1. Reduce your printing

In today’s digital age, it’s absurd that any of us are still printing call sheets, treatments, or invoices — especially since there are several approaches you can adopt instead, such as:

  • Using cloud services such as Dropbox, annotation apps, and digi-signing tools for invoices
  • Using digital pre-production meeting callsheets and books instead of paper
  • Printing one set of the storyboards, schedule, scripts and callsheets and displaying these on set. instead of printing numerous copies for all

  1. Ditch polystyrene & correx

Neither polystyrene nor correx (the plastic floor protection often used on locations) are recyclable. In future, rather:

  • Display shoot documents on noticeboards instead of polystyrene
  • Ask caterers to supply real plates or a compostable alternative
  • Ask your DP and electrical team to use reusable alternatives to polystyrene
  • Use ram board, a recycled and recyclable alternative to correx, which comes in rolls

  1. Reduce water bottles

Bottled water contributes significantly to waste costs. Reduce this by:

  • Hiring table-top water coolers for your location. These are collected, sanitised and refilled, so there’s virtually no waste
  • Asking attendees to bring their own water bottles, or provide them with reusable bottles that they may use and refill on every set
  • Supplying glasses or compostable cups

  1. Rehome your leftovers

If you’ve ever been on set, you know how much food and other stuff may go to waste. Here are a couple of ways reduce your leftovers:

  • Donate leftover food to a charity such as Food Forward SA
  • Donate props and costumes to charities such as Hospice

  1. Recycle & compost

Recycling is getting easier in SA; many organisations will even collect and sort it for you. For instance, you could use:

  • A waste management provider, such as WastePlan (Cape Town)
  • Or a recycling collection service, such as ECOmonkey (Johannesburg)

What else you can do

Adgreen’s Five Easy Things are just the tip of its proverbial iceberg. You may also use its office check list and dozens of other tips designed specifically for the production industry. It’s a priceless resource for one of today’s most-critical concerns.

The grass is greener where you water it, they say. The same sentiment counts for us. After all, in our gorgeous country, why wouldn’t you want to preserve the beauty that is such an integral part of the work we do?

See also

 

Bobby AmmBobby Amm is chief executive of the Commercial Producers Association of South Africa (CPA), the trade association of production companies that produce television, cinema and internet commercials for the local and international market. After a brief stint in journalism, she began her career in the industry at the Consultative Committee for the Entertainment Industry in the early 1990s. She first joined the CPA in 1997 but left three years later to join a production company. After finding that she missed the big-picture perspective of the CPA and the interesting issues which continuously perplex the production industry, Bobby returned to the CPA in 2003. She contributes “The Martini Shot” column monthly, covering developments, trends and insights into the commercial production and film services industries in South Africa, to MarkLives.

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