Dentsu Aegis to buy FoxP2

by MarkLives (@marklives) Dentsu Aegis Network and FoxP2 have issued a holding statement, pending regulatory approval, on Dentsu Aegis Network’s proposed acquisition of a shareholding in the latter. FoxP2, one of South Africa’s leading creative agencies, launched in 2005 and employs 83 people across its Cape Town and Johannesburg agencies.

FoxP2 directors
The four FoxP2 partners (L-R): Justin Gomes, Grant Jacobsen, Charl Thom and Andrew Whitehouse.

“FoxP2 has declined many approaches from global advertising networks over the last decade,” says Charl Thom, FoxP2 CEO. “We never wanted to be another arrow in a quiver but, given the fact that Dentsu Aegis Network does not have a creative agency in South Africa, the opportunity for us as entrepreneurial founders to retain a meaningful stake in the business and, most importantly, the opportunity to truly stretch and improve our offering to our clients, made this a natural next step in FoxP2’s evolution. We are going to have access to a broad range of global and local skills, services and tools, as well as an authentic network on the African continent.”

“Gap in our market product offering”

“I am really looking forward to the collaboration with FoxP2,” says Koo Govender, Dentsu Aegis Network South Africa CEO. “There was definitely a gap in our market product offering for creative and design services. FoxP2 not only fills this gap with their award-winning creativity and accolades, but there is a magical chemistry among our teams. There are many synergies on how we could acquire and add value to more clients as a team. Together, we will make huge strides in the industry.”

Creative services only represent 15% of Dentsu Aegis Network Sub-Saharan Africa’s revenue, according to Dawn Rowlands, Dentsu Aegis Network SSA CEO, “currently making this environment an ideal space to grow our business. We have attracted the attention of a number of creative agencies across the region, but have focused on agencies with the top creative accolades combined with profitability. This lead us to FoxP2, a leading independent creative agency in South Africa. There are a number of opportunities to integrate Dentsu Aegis Network’s services into FoxP2’s clients’ and vice versa.”

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Have you listened to Jacaranda FM lately?

by Kim Penstone. That’s the question that Kevin Fine, Jacaranda FM general manager, is asking in his bid to change the way that South Africans view the award-winning, Gauteng-based, Pretoria-stronghold radio station.

With over 1.1m listeners across Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the North West Province, and a growing base of over 295 700 Facebook fans, 338 000 Twitter and almost 14 000 Instagram followers, the station has long-since broken ranks with the stereotypical white Afrikaner who defined it for so long, he says, and has its sights firmly set on owning Gauteng’s hotly contested airwaves.

Brand stance

The move began in earnest in February this year, with the launch of the station’s “More Music You Love” positioning, a brand stance that Fine believes is gaining traction and is set to knock the once-indomitable 94.7 off its perch. #MoreMusicYouLove showcases not only Jacaranda’s focus on playing music that makes South Africans smile but also the station’s creativity and forward-thinking attitude when it comes to advertising. In this way, it plays a dual role: talking to both potential listeners and potential advertisers.

As it stands, the Jan–Jun 2017 RAMS show 94.7 sitting at 6% share of the Gauteng audience, vs Jacaranda’s 5%, while Jacaranda had managed to sneak ahead of 94.7 at 6% to 94.7’s 5% share in the previous term. Jacaranda actually has a higher share of the province’s listening minutes, measured at 7% in Oct– Mar and 6% Jan–Jun, vs 94.7’s 4% share. And the station boasts a 44% exclusive listenership, people who listen to the station for an average of 2 hours 12 minutes every day. This is an increase from a 38% exclusive listenership with an average of 2 hours per day, according to the Jan—Jun 2016 RAMS. (For details, go to the Broadcast Research Council’s Radio Research page.)

The listenership is also not what one might expect, although it is impossible to really quantify if it’s changed over the past couple of years, due to the inability to compare the so-called Old RAMS to the new incarnation. But the gist is this: the white/black listenership is currently sitting at 65/29, while the English/Afrikaans split is 22/52, with listeners fairly equally spread over the age groups. “We believe in the power of music; it makes up 80% of our content and we have invested heavily — very heavily — in ensuring that we provide the kind of music our audience loves to hear,” says Fine.

Indeed, the August 2017 RAMS presentation points out that music is the primary reason South Africans listen to music, with 83% of listeners tuning into music and 35% reporting that they listen to music most often.

Best-of-breed

Last year, the station employed the services of a best-of-breed global consultant to help create a mix that, among other variables, takes into account the changing population demographics, music tastes across the generations, and the best combination of new vs familiar sounds.

The result is what Fine refers to as his “secret blend of 11 herbs and spices”, a musical style that allows listeners to enjoy a mix of modern and heritage songs from across a wide variety of musical genres that simply can’t be found anywhere else. It’s music that people recognise, that they can sing along to, that makes them feel happy and connected.

“We’re not in the business of breaking hits, rather in the business of making them,” he says. “Of course, it goes without saying that we match this with talent which has the ability to generate conversation, to keep audiences entertained and to ensure that they feel valued and loved.”

To this end, the station has recently shaken up its all-important drivetime lineup, launching a new (and somewhat controversial) breakfast show starring Martin Bester and Tumi Morake, and welcoming back the award-winning Rian van Heerden to the afternoon slot.

[You would be forgiven for expecting the race splits to shift in the next RAMS, especially in the wake of the recent furore that broke out when Morake compared post-apartheid SA to a bully refusing to return a ‘stolen’ bicycle. Jacaranda has been called to appear before the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of SA (BCCSA) and, aside from press statements that stand by Morake and the station’s “commitment to allow the expression of different viewpoints… to promote important and meaningful discussions, with the intention of building and uniting South Africa as a nation”, station management would not offer any further comment.]

Live events

It also has a full-and-growing list of live events, from the likes of the Jacaranda FM Spring Walk, a wellness event held annually in Pretoria; to the Sisters with Blisters walk, which represents the country’s largest collective stand against the abuse of women and children and raises much-needed funds in the fight against gender-based violence in SA; and Jacaranda Day, which is the station’s premier live entertainment event, attracting some of the biggest names on the local music scene.

If you thought Fine were only focused on the airwaves, think again: The powers that be at Jacaranda are more than aware of the power that rests in the digital world, and have invested heavily in ensuring that the station is well-represented on digital platforms across the board.

In addition to the station’s social media followers, jacarandafm.com receives around 1.2m page views per month, putting it in the top three most-consumed radio websites in the country. The station’s podcasts, says Fine, are growing at an average rate of around 25% per month.

“Ready for the future”

And that’s not all. He adds, with a grin: “I’m like one of those ducks, looking calmly at what’s happening above the water surface. But, below, I’m paddling like mad trying to ensure that the station is ready for the future! DAB [digital audio broadcasting] will bring with it massive changes in terms of how we consume radio, as, too, will increased disintermediation. It’s incumbent upon us to be part of the change, and to embrace it, so trust me when I say we are hard at work behind the scenes ensuring that we will be more than ready when the time comes!”

 

Kim PenstoneKim Penstone is a freelance journalist, specialising in marketing, media and advertising. Over the past 15 years, she has worked for a variety of leading marketing industry publications, including Marketing Mix, Marketingweb and Brand Magazine, and in her freelance capacity contributes regularly to specialist titles, such as Brands & Branding, AdFocus and MarkLives. She has recently started a blog, www.runlikeamom.co.za, which is completely unrelated to the marketing industry.

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Neo Mashigo’s 23c on what it takes to be a C#D

by MarkLives (@marklives) Instead of looking back at Net#work BBDO’s last 23-odd years, Mike Schalit, founding partner and CCO, thought it’d be more instructive to look forward and see what wisdom could be identified on what does it really take to direct creativity. The result? The Creative#Director (C#D) coffee table book, curated by Schalit and designed by Emma Strydom. Over several weeks, MarkLives is featuring the pearls of wisdom from five of the 30 participants — next up is Neo Mashigo.

In order to create C#D, Schalit approached as many creatives as possible who’d passed through the agency’s doors since its birth, in May 1994, as the very first agency in the new South Africa, and posed six basic questions.

Creative#Director bookNeo Mashigo
Cofounder & ECD, I See A Different You
Creative partner, M&C Saatchi Group
Years at Net#work BBDO: 4

As with most things in life, it requires a chakalaka of traits to be a CD. First, you have to be a creative. This might seem obvious. Yet there are many people out there walking the walk of a CD without having gone through the fire of a creative department baptism. And until that happens, you know nothing, John Snow!

You need to display leadership qualities. People should feel happy to receive your leadership and guidance. Note: this could require a little muti. Being a talented creative helps. However, being able to extract the best out of a team of people is paramount.

You should be curious; your interests should be broad, as your world will be a collision of countless different spheres, even that which you hate. And, so, you need to be willing to learn, to listen, to observe and sometimes, endure. Generally, the people around you are good teachers — meaning the teller at Pick n Pay, your family WhatsApp group and the friend who sends you chain prayers. It’s the people who aren’t wearing the creative crown who are the people you should be listening to carefully.

An innate understanding of people allows you to work your way around those who stand in the way of your creativity before they “make the thing that makes the pots not to be done”. You need to be able to step back and be willing to allow others to take the wheel when an idea is being improved upon.

Ultimately, I don’t think being a CD is something that you decide upon and pursue; it is something that finds you and chooses you.

Mike Schalit: Major achievements at Net#work and thereafter?
Neo Mashigo: While I was at Net#work, I came up with the idea of selling prepaid airtime for R5 when the going rate was R29,and this was a business big idea based on an observation from street hawkers. So the street hawkers would buy a 20-pack of cigarettes and then sell single cigarettes because people could afford to buy singles many times rather than a pack. So I took this idea to cellphone networks and gave Cell C a big competitive advantage that changed the prepaid market for good. This idea worked both for the brand and the consumer.

MS: Best piece(s) of work at Net#work that made you proudest?
NM: June 16 Metro FM poster.

MS: Most spectacular failure at Net#work?
NM: Failing to sell an idea we had that won Grand Prix three years down the line.

MS: Most-significant work/achievement post Net#work?
NM: TIA campaign for DStv Africa and winning a Loeries Grand Prix and Cannes Lion Grand Prix for Lucozade at Ogilvy.

MS: Crazy idea that we as a C#D collective could collaborate on to make a dent in the universe?
NM: We could do a campaign that would lead to a subject at school level which encourages pupils to think creatively and make creativity a normal thing, not a thing that weirdos do. Another one is a campaign for South Africans to learn one additional local language so that we can speak to each other’s hearts. This is not just white people learning local languages; this is everyone learning an additional one.

MS: A final provocation?
NM: “One who sows the seed will not enjoy the shade. The one generation sows the seed, another waters the seed, another prunes, another enjoys the shade. It is an intergenerational sacrifice.” —Unknown.

See also

 

Mike Schalit and Emma StrydomIn order to inspire the next generation of creative leaders in South Africa, Net#work BBDO has published the Creative#Director (C#D) book — insights into the creative process by 30 of South Africa’s top creative leaders. Beautifully crafted and designed by Emma Strydom, produced by Clinton Mitri and Exhibit Print in the finest of glossy coffee-table book traditions, it’s a riot of provocation and inspiration, edited and curated by Mike Schalit, Net#work BBDO founding partner and CCO, from the responses of 30 creative directors to a few leading questions.

A finer gang of rogues you’ll be hard-pressed to find — they’ve made the Net#work journey infinitely more madcap and magical, building and reinventing brands along the way, and making a difference to bottom lines and society. Some have gone on to become CDs in their own right; some have formed their own agencies; some have simply found themselves; and some are still with the agency today. All proceeds from the special limited-edition book, which costs R995, go towards helping build a library in a disadvantaged community. Donations for the library initiative may also be pledged.

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Cover Stories: Thoughtfulness in design (20 Oct 2017)

by Shane de Lange (@shanenilfunct) Let’s delve into great media design from South Africa and around the world:

  • The Caret discusses the norms of online life — online
  • DESTINY continues to define African femininity today — local/print
  • Jungle Jim presents a mashup of old and new, from vintage to vernacular — local/print
  • Radical Software proved that ‘geek’ was cool before it was officially declared cool — iconic
  • Sister creates a chimera from feminism and punk — international/print/online
  • TIME displays the contemporary face of patriarchy — international/print

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

Print

DESTINY (South Africa), October 2017

DESTINY, October 2017 - Caster Semenya

Proving to be an absolute natural in front of the camera, Caster Semenya is resolute in her stature — a powerful female presence, to say the least — all the makings of an intriguing cover for the November 2017 issue of DESTINY magazine. This follows the appearance of gogo Esther Mahlangu, an image of grace, on the cover of the September 2017 issue. Destiny continues to push the envelope with unconventional, nonconformist choices for its cover models, often challenging accepted norms in commercial magazine publication, subverting traditional notions of femininity, and offering alternatives to established perspectives of how woman should be represented in society today.

 

TIME (US), 16 October 2017

TIME, 23 October 2017 - Harvey Weinstein

After a torrent of shocking sexual harassment, assault and rape claims, with more likely to be uncovered, film producer Harvey Weinstein’s empire is in shambles. What this one important circumstance says is so much for the hard-fought, gargantuan cultural contributions set out by four prolific waves of feminism over the past 150 years, fighting for women’s liberation and equality. In short, hypocrisy in society has been exposed, proven by the slow pace of change and the manner in which we tend to turn a blind eye to such atrocities.

 

In lieu of these events, the cover of Time effectively portrays Weinstein as the face of patriarchy today: “Producer. Predator. Pariah”. Unmasked, once operating with impunity as one of the most powerful men in Hollywood; power which he has now rightfully lost. Problem is, Weinstein is not a lone wolf, this is merely the tip of the iceberg, and the issue persists. We forget too quickly, history repeats itself, we devolve quicker than we evolve. One thing is certain, heads must roll.

 

Jungle Jim (South Africa), #1 to #26

Collage - Jungle Jim, issues 1 and 26

Despite not having published an issue in months, Jungle Jim is meant to be a bi-monthly, independent African pulp fiction magazine that showcases genre-based fiction from across the continent and telling “stories that explore the collision between the visceral daring of pulp and the reality of living in Africa”.

Founded in 2011 by writer and filmmaker, Jenna Bass, and illustrator and graphic designer, Hannes Bernard, Jungle Jim is a labor of love: an attempt to craft a local creative heritage, negating any ambitions to directly clone Eurocentric or American design and literary forms. Jungle Jim finds inspiration in the local vernacular, with words and images that speak in an African mother tongue, from old ‘fotoboekies’ (photo albums) and tattered vintage comics to Bitterkomix, where B-grade sci-fi meets spaza shop facade, attempting to revive a seemingly bygone subversive cultural period.

In pushing the boundaries of what could be considered a cultural mashup, an element of nostalgia exists, remixing corner café lucky packets and old Chappies wrappers. The quasi-kitsch nature of the risograph printing on discoloured newsprint, with the ‘cheap’ illustration style commissioned from established local illustrators, such as Shaun Hill (Batt Butt) and Hanno van Zyl, to name a few, further emphasises golden era thinking deconstructed. This is resourceful DIY publishing at its best.

 

Sister (UK), Issue 7, The Space Issue, 2017

Collage - Sister magazine, The Space Issue, issue 7

First published in 2012, Sister is an independent, bi-annual magazine with a pragmatic feminist perspective. With a strong focus on women’s issues, Sister advocates female talent, opinion and culture. The publication provides a subversive discursive platform for young women especially, creating a consciousness moving towards changing institutionalised perspectives in society and tackling pressing matters that young women have to deal with.

#7 is themed “The Space Issue”, exploring and interpreting the idea of space from various perspectives — anything from head space to work space. Although this issue has been released with two covers, the one illustrated by London-based doodle bomber, Hattie Stewart, is arguably the most striking. Illustrated directly onto an exclusive editorial shot by Laura Allard-Fleischl, Stewart’s artwork spills over onto the magazine’s website. Here her cheeky approach flows between the various creative fields, including fashion, music and art, showcased on the site.

 

Online

The Caret (UK), issue #, October 2017

Collage - The Caret Online, Quinta Brunson, and Sunday Times magazine, Hilary Clinton

Named after “^”, the inverted V-shaped grapheme used as a spacing character in ASCII text, The Caret is a digital lifestyle digest focusing on the ever-evolving way that people live online. Subject matter ranges from light topics (such as uploading and downloading, streaming and sharing) to more-engaging interviews with active personalities about their respective internet lifestyles. The interviewee portrayed here is YouTube and BuzzFeed creator, Quinta Brunson, photographed by Austin Hargrave, who also recently did the cover portrait of Hilary Clinton for the October 2017 issue of The Sunday Times Magazine. The site is designed by the aptly named, New York-based Human; it’s a textbook display of responsive design, with its choice use of typography, embrace of white space, art direction and photography. No frills, just an aesthetically pleasing user experience, with equally pleasing literature to boot.

 

Iconic

Radical Software (US), no. 1, 1970

Collage - Radical Software, no 1 1970 and Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division

New York-based journal, Radical Software, was first published in 1970 as a means to promote video art, which was a fledgling creative discipline at that time. The name was not meant to reference some sort of program or application but rather the content of information, as visualised on the covers for issues 1 and 2. It was a call to action, creating awareness about the manner in which information is produced and distributed.

Originally intended to be a questionnaire sent to specialists working within the rubric of video art at that time, #1 was essentially a compilation of responses to the questionnaire, supported by a few extra articles. The journal was published by Michael Shamberg, known today for producing acclaimed films such as Erin Brockovich, Gattaca and Man on the Moon, among many others. The cover for #1 is particularly striking, designed by co-editor and co-founder, Ira Schneider, nine-years before Peter Saville designed his infamous album cover for Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division.

After 11 issues, and a fair amount of internal organisational conflict resulting in constant restructuring, the publication halted print in 1974.

 

 

Shane de LangeShane 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.

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

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SA TV Ratings: DStv — primetime top 30 for Sep 2017

by MarkLives (@marklives) The hottest primetime television shows on DStv in South Africa revealed: TV ratings for September 2017.

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.

DStv September 2017

BRCSA TV Ratings September 2017 primetime DStv

Source: BRCSA September 2017

Broadcast Research Council of South Africa

 

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.

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BEE myths & facts in adland

by Jarred Cinman (@jarredcinman) Last time, I wrote a general introduction to black economic empowerment (BEE) in the South African advertising and marketing sector. This time, I bring you a collection of BEE myths and facts.

Previously, I tried to make a case for why it’s is the right thing to do, as well as to give some guidelines on how to achieve success. In the course of doing that and over the past years, I have heard a lot of people say things about BEE which is not true — and not enough people saying things that are true. So keep this article handy for the next uncomfortable dinner party with your ill-informed relatives.

1. BEE is “reverse racism”

Myth or fact: MYTH

Racism is not simply defined as “decisions made on the basis of race”. There needs to be some disadvantage or prejudice implied, and the intention at the heart of BEE has nothing to do with degrading white people.

Even the term “reverse racism” is riddled with problems. Why is it only racism when applied to black people? Is there something special about being white that we can only experience racism in its reverse?

BEE is about mitigating racism of the past and its consequences. It is based on a desire to eliminate race as a factor in why people have the opportunities they do. The end product is a fair consideration for everyone, not that white people end up disadvantaged in the way people of colour have been.

2. Black people and people of colour are paid, on average, less than white people

Myth or fact: BIT OF BOTH

In some instances, people of colour are paid substantially more than white people for the same job. This is simply a matter of supply and demand: if you want a senior black creative director or client service director, there aren’t that many of them. Thus there is competition among employers to attract these people, which leads to higher salaries.

This is fairly common, even at somewhat junior levels in the business. As a talent business, creative agencies want to attract the best and with a small talent pool they have to — and are willing — to use money as a magnet. However, there is a tendency for junior staff, as well as interns and the like, to be predominantly people of colour. This reason is obvious: it’s much easier to find and recruit juniors of colour; and a key way to meet BEE points’ targets in some categories. As juniors in the agency, they are paid less than their colleagues — perhaps little enough that advertising comes to be regarded as not a viable career option.

There certainly may be a mercenary aspect to this recruiting strategy, where young, black people are hired as cheap labour as well as an easy way to look like an agency which understands and is equipped to produce culturally appropriate advertising. Transforming the agency, though, from the bottom up and progressing people through the ranks is a valid strategy that is often and unfairly dismissed. It’s worked particularly well for the progression of women in the workplace, for example.

3. The advertising industry is still mainly white-owned/controlled

Myth or fact: BIT OF BOTH

Control and ownership are two entirely different things. A slew of BEE deals over the past decade have seen a significant amount of equity transfer into the hands of black people. This has taken many forms, ranging from direct control to share trusts to broad-based ownership schemes (of the type deployed in my agency group).

On paper, at least, black people own a sizeable chunk of the advertising business in the country.

Control is a different story. For that, you need to look at how many people of colour hold senior (and other) management roles within the industry. And you also need to understand how global businesses exercise control via share trust schemes.

When looked at through that lens, things are a lot less convincing. A lot of the local industry remains run by, and presided over by, white people — and a lot of white men at that. There are some meaningful and notable changes afoot — the launch of Black Powder from the ashes of The Jupiter Drawing Room (Johannesburg) is one; Ogilvy has had senior black management in place for some years; Joey Khuvutlu is now MD over at HelloComputer Joburg; and there are some interesting shifts over at Collective ID, ex-Ireland\Davenport, (among others).

But these are, sadly, the exceptions that prove the rule. A lot more needs to be done to progress black people — and to retain them.

4. People of colour are difficult to retain

Myth or fact: FACT

Although this does turn out to be true in practice, the reality is that it’s a seller’s market. We have generally done such a poor job of attracting good black talent into the ad industry, making compelling enough reasons for them to be loyal to a single business on the one hand, and having an unprecedented demand for exactly that talent on the other, that great people tend to be highly mobile.

We regularly see staff offered 50% or 100% more money to move — numbers that are hard to ignore. Of course, we could just continually pay everyone more, but businesses don’t work that way. Like everyone else, we have to juggle the need for performance and profit with the need to diversify our staff base, drawn from a talent pool (at least at a senior level) that is too shallow.

I put a lot of the blame here in two places: a shockingly inadequate educational system over an entire generation, and the failure of the ad industry to present itself as an attractive place to work (financially and otherwise).

5. Hiring lots of black staff leads to a transformed business

Myth or fact: MYTH

This is a rookie mistake to make. First, from a BEE scorecard point of view, and as explained last time, transformation needs to cover lots of different areas. Employment equity is only one.

Secondly, even employment equity demands diversity AT ALL LEVELS of your business. You can’t merely populate your junior levels with lots of colourful people and be done with it.

And, lastly, transformation is deeper than just colour. Having the right staff makeup turns out to be only the first step in the transformation of organisational culture. It’s just as easy to have lots of people wandering around that feel powerless, misunderstood, out of place and freshly embittered.

The real work ahead — in this industry and many others — is to embrace “blackness” not as a colour but as a mindset and worldview. To do that, we need to unpack the essence of what an African is, what we all bring as a unique ingredient to the global melting pot, and how we can shed our Anglo-Saxon skew.

~~~

Some failures are certain; this is thin ice and rocky ground. But we have to start being honest with each other, really listening and making changes that not only materially but socially and psychologically improve people’s lives.

See also

 

Jarred CinmanJarred Cinman (@jarredcinman) is a longstanding member of the South African digital industry, having founded one of the first professional web service firms, VWV, in 1995 and the chair of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) South Africa until 2016. These days, Jarred is co-chief operating officer at VML Y&R Africa Group.

“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.

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Media Future: Fibre revolution coming to townships

by Arthur Goldstuck (@art2gee) The fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) revolution that has swept suburban South Africa is about to arrive in the country’s townships.

FTTH is this decade’s magic ingredient for high-speed, painless and unlimited internet access. But, until now, it has been the province of the privileged. Only the more-affluent suburbs of South Africa’s cities have been afforded the luxury of the dedicated optical fibre cables that typically run in trenches along leafy sidewalks.

That is about to change.

Low-cost alternative

Vumatel, the company that sparked the FTTH revolution when it won a contract to supply fibre to the suburb of Parkhurst, Johannesburg, is at it again. This time, it plans to connect the townships of South Africa. It has come up with a low-cost alternative to wiring dense suburbs, and intends to offer uncapped high-speed broadband for a mere R89 a month.

To put that in context, the average spend on a cellphone in lower socio-economic segments is typically around R100. Fibre, coupled with in-home wifi, can replace a large chunk of cellular spend by moving voice traffic from the mobile networks to voice over WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, among others. All data use in the home would move off the expensive data services provided by the mobile operators.

With wide-scale rollout, this could prove immensely damaging to the operators. More significantly and to the point, however, it could prove immensely beneficial to those who have previously been kept away from the largesse of high-speed, unlimited access.

The Vumatel service will offer a 100Mbps download and 10Mbps upload speed, which typically costs more than a R1000 a month in more-affluent suburbs. How is it possible, then, to offer it at a mere R89 a month?

Great deal of commitment

Only with a great deal of commitment to finding an affordable broadband solution for the mass-market.

“We think that the FTTH deployments as we and other operators are doing them are great for the country, because we are moving connectivity forward at a macro level,” says Niel Schoeman, Vumatel CEO. “But it is clearly not addressing the information divide between the less fortunate and the leafy suburbs, and potentially exacerbates inequality in terms of information access. We’ve been trying to come up with a solution to address townships, to provide that abundance of information to residents of townships. We think we can do it by providing it at R89 a month for a 100Mbps uncapped service. We think that is fundamentally different to a 500MB data allocation on a prepaid service, which has been the only kind of option for connectivity.”

Vumatel will initially roll out the service in the Johannesburg township of Alexandra, with an estimated 400 000 residents in the target area. “That is our township equivalent of the announcement that we were connecting Parkhurst. We’re going to give it a go between now and March.”

The question remains: how is such low cost possible on a business level?

Aerial fibre

On the surface, the answer lies in Vumatel’s October 2016 acquisition of Fibrehoods, a provider of aerial fibre similar to overhead telephone lines. However, that in itself would not cut the costs so radically. Until recently, Fibrehoods had also been serving wealthier suburbs.

“Clearly, to make that price point work, we need to work hard at the capital cost of deployment,” says Schoeman. “The topography of townships doesn’t lend itself to the typical buried, trenched solution, so we’ll use aerial fibre.

“The price is possible thanks to a combination of technologies , the potential number of customers per square kilometre, and the fact that it will also be potentially contended up to 20 times, meaning 20 customers will use the same 100Mbps line. So each customer is always guaranteed 5Mbps upward, but the probability of getting more like a 20Mbps service is high. Not everyone will be using the same line at the same time.”

Vumatel will also use its fibre to provide wifi in public spaces in the townships. This service will be possible, partly, thanks to corporate social investment from its 49% shareholder, Investec.
“We’ve looked at a broader wifi deployment model, but we don’t think it creates the abundance that closes the digital gap,” says Schoeman. “You can use the analogy of water: wifi hotspots create wells where people can collect water, whereas, if you provide piped water to homes, you see people growing gardens and using it in an unlimited way. We want to go deep into every home, uncapped, at high speed, and see if we can make a difference.”

“Make the model work”

Unlike the suburban model, where Vumatel lays down the fibre and leaves it to internet service providers (ISPs) to deliver access, it will initially provide access itself. It will piggyback on the Dark Fibre Africa grid that will link it to the broader internet and undersea cables, but will acquire and distribute access and data services itself. “We first want to see if we can make the model work, rather than having to add additional margins for service providers. Our philosophy is always open access so, if it works, we will see if we can let service providers offer innovative services.”

Schoeman believes the eventual fibre market for all service providers will be as much as 35m. He says it will be possible for Vumatel to bring fibre within reach of another 10m people in the next couple of years, at a cost of between R2bn and R3bn.

“We want to see if we can kick off another catalyst event like Parkhurst, and start a storm: to see if we bring abundant connectivity to low-income homes.”

 

Arthur GoldstuckArthur Goldstuck (@art2gee) heads up World Wide Worx and is editor-in-chief of Gadget, a personal technology magazine. He is a consulting editor to MarkLives.com and our media tech columnist. This article has been republished from Gadget.

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Headspace: Gen Z & the pursuit of a human touch

by Tenielle Maris. There is a new wave of shoppers who’ve entered the retail landscape, bringing a new set of beliefs, experiences and behaviour along with them: Gen Z. They’re the digitally native generation who’ve never known what it means to be without technology, and the instant gratification and access to information that comes along with it. They are embracing new ways of shopping directly from visual, social platforms (including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat) and retailers had better keep up with this formidable force of shoppers driving household shopping decisions.

A recent IBM study, which surveyed 15 000 respondents in 16 countries, revealed that as much as Gen Z is shaping the retail landscape — with how they instinctually turn to their mobile devices to conduct research while standing in-store, to receive advice from family and friends and to make final purchases — 67% still prefer to purchase in-store, wanting to touch and try before they buy.

With ecommerce growing faster than any other business sector, and the impending mall apocalypse on the horizon, the value proposition for bricks and mortar needs to evolve if those businesses plan on enticing young shoppers to spend time in their stores. Beyond simply placing interactive tech in-store, retailers need to offer them an experience that compliments both their shopping behaviour and their lifestyles.

Next level sophistication

Gen Z’s engrained digital behavior, coupled with their experience-hungry mindset, makes them arguably one of the most-sophisticated and -complex consumer groups in history: they demand hyper-efficient online retail and curated experiences in physical stores simultaneously.

To add to this dynamic, Gen Z is a far less trusting generation than others, making them more cautious spenders and more likely to trust the advice of influential individuals, rather than big institutions. The implication is that brands need to ensure that each human touchpoint along their customer journey (from store assistants to influencers on social media) is able to deliver the type of customer service and brand experience that will keep them coming back time and time again (if not, you’ll be tossed aside for a smarter and shinier alternative).

Evolved retail

Apple’s new and larger stores have been designed to represent “town squares”, complete with 24-hour wifi, trees and bright and airy spaces where shoppers are able to gather, connect and learn with the option to engage with new Apple gear.

Both Nike and Adidas have also launched concept stores as innovation labs to serve their customers in new ways: immersing those customers in the world of pro-athletes and giving them the platform to engage with complimentary apparel, if they so desire.

By understanding that the shopping experience is so much more than pure consumerism, this evolution of retail immerses shoppers in brand worlds where education and experience are at the forefront. The result? An intuitive retail experience that integrates the brand in a personal, authentic and unobtrusive way.

Getting it right

Brands and retailers cannot ignore the importance of the role of the in-store environment, especially for a generation who expect the world to be filled with seamlessly integrated, curated and share-worthy experiences.

What this means for forward-thinking retailers is that they need to continuously succeed at creating personalised, visual and interactive representations of brand worlds if they hope to serve this always-on, mobile-focused and high-spending demographic. Most importantly, they need to be one step ahead of the game if they plan on keeping their doors open — proactively thinking of new ways to innovate and disrupt the norm.

References

 

Tenielle MarisTenielle Maris is strategic director at TTL agency, 34°, in Johannesburg. Beginning her career in branding and communications, she has spent the last decade in the marketing industry where she has worked upon big brands spanning the African continent. Having found her passion in understanding what drives human beings to connect with particular brands, her time is spent getting up close and personal with the people whom brands are trying to connect with. Tenielle contributes the monthly “Headspace” column, which unpacks anything and everything that helps marketers and advertisers understand why people connect with brands, to MarkLives.com.

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Ad of the Week: Dala what you must with Brand South Africa

by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Brand South Africa takes a calculated risk in a series of mini-documentaries, produced by The Odd Number and director Anthony Bila of The Rudeboy Collective, by looking at some of the negative aspects of South African life. But the quick-flicks flip each downside up in a series that sells a strong, positive message for the country we love to call home.

Brand SA is an organisation that is responsible for promoting our country’s image overseas and locally. But this nation-branding effort is about more than just tourism. Building South Africa’s national brand and reputation is complex — a broad discipline aimed at luring foreign investment, facilitating trade, improving private-sector competitiveness, and even securing geopolitical influence.

Part of the strategy is to foster national pride, so that each South African becomes an ambassador for the country, whether at home or abroad. To this end, Brand SA has worked with The Odd Number to create a campaign, #InspiredByMyConstitution, that is South African to the core but not in a clichéd way. Real South Africans are featured in a series of mini-documentaries that tackle topics such as gang warfare, freedom of speech and xenophobia.

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The first short film is set in the Cape Flats, an area renowned for gang violence, and a major contributor to Cape Town’s ranking as SA’s ‘murder capital’ — and one of the world’s most-dangerous cities. The film is narrated by the principal character, Imraan Christian. He describes life in the tenement-town as a place where youngsters “don’t have a lot of choices”. During his commentary, there is a montage of life in Hangberg, Cape Town. The music is ominous and the visuals suggest a dangerous environment, with fast-paced cuts and anonymous people moving through frame.

“It’s either the light or the dark,” Christian says, and the camera cuts between running feet and close ups of bodies with tattoos. “If you want to survive, you dala what you must.” This is Cape Town slang for “you do what you have to.”

“So I did what I thought was right,” the commentary continues, and this is followed by a montage showing Christian meeting some shady looking characters, and getting what looks like a gun from them. He is then seen back at home, cleaning the device. It’s all filmed in close-up, so one never gets a clear view of what he’s doing, but the implication is that he is doing something illegal.

Christian is portrayed almost as a gunslinger in the next sequence, the camera following him as he walks between the tenement buildings. He comes face to face with some other young men, and his voice says, “This is where I learned to shoot.”

His hand reaches into his belt, and he pulls out a cine camera, and adds: “A skill that has allowed me to tell our stories, and a skill I will share with the next generation.” Now Christian is filming his friends, and the mood changes, with the music, to a more-upbeat tone.

“I’m Imraan Christian, and I’m backed by my right to freedom of expression,” he says, over images of smiling faces. “Salute to the Constitution for having my back,” he says in front of a mural depicting school children holding cameras.

The mural is part of #HealOurHome, a project Christian created, to bring about a conversation about violence against women and children. Done in collaboration with the Harvest Youth Project and Artlab, the project will be taken throughout the Western Cape.

Just looking at Christian’s Facebook page, it is clear that Brand SA has chosen wisely. This young activist is someone who will be an ambassador and example for the youth of Cape Town in a long-term, sustainable way.

Right to human dignity

Brand South Africa Facebook cover image with Gemini MajorThe second film in this series has also just been released. It is a harrowing look at xenophobia, from the point of view of a Malawian hip hop artist, Gemini Major. For him, the Constitution represents his right to human dignity.

The style of filmmaking and editing borrows from the ‘edgy’ hip-hop aesthetic. Colours are super-saturated and contrasty, and the music drives a frenetic pace that creates a sense of youthful energy and excitement.

But the power in these documentaries is #InspiredByMyConstitution. The South African Constitution has been recognised as one of the world’s most-progressive. It is the anchor that allows all South Africans to depend on their basic human rights, equality, freedom and justice.

Thank you, Brand South Africa, The Odd Number and The Rudeboy Collective, for reminding us in such a powerful and uplifting way, that we have much to be proud of in our constitution, and our country.

Credits

Ad agency: The Odd Number
Executive creative director: Sibusiso Sitole
Copywriter: Ntando Msibi
Art director: Monde Siphamla
Strategist: Sifiso Zondi
Account director: Siphokazi Mestile
Production company: The Rudeboy Collective
Director: Anthony Bila
DOP: Daniel McCauley

 

Oresti PatriciosAd of the Week, published on MarkLives every Wednesday, is penned by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki), the CEO of Ornico, a Brand Intelligence® firm that focuses on media, reputation and brand research. If you are involved in making advertising that is smart, funny and/or engaging, please let Oresti know about it at clientservice@ornicogroup.co.za.

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Agency Life: The black elephant in the room — part 2

by TJ Njozela (@tj_njozela) Previously, we looked at why the elephant is in the room. Now, we’re going to talk about the challenges of having a pachyderm in an advertising boardroom. Eish, white people, this one is mostly about you people. Not in a bad way, but we need to have some real talk for you to understand some things. Here are a few.

1. It’s not unfair

There are a few counter arguments that say that black economic empowerment (BEE) or transformation are just forms of reverse racism. That’s like saying that an economics teacher, who gives more attention to a student who struggles more than the rest of the class, has favouritism. Already you can see why the teacher focuses on that student.

Now let’s randomly assign a race to that student. Say, you know, for no particular reason, the student is black. Yet not only is the black student struggling in the economics class, some of his Asian and mixed-race classmates are struggling, too. Not as bad, but still. In the entire classroom, only two students understand economics. Again, totally randomly, let’s say these students are white. The teacher is obliged to help the rest of the class more than the two so that the Department of Education can give them a gold star for 100% pass rate.

Now swap out the teacher for the government and the students for South Africans, and it’s easy to see how not unfair it is that we need transformation.

2. You’re cool but not black

The brands that we create work for provide products and services in South Africa. The same country that’s mostly black people. And, as much as you may have a black friend, or maybe you’ve gone for drink at a shebeen in the hood, or your favourite song is The Story of OJ, you’re still not black. Sorry.

This means that there are a lot of nuances, insights, and other things that you just won’t ever get. That’s why some campaign, no matter how dope they are, just don’t vibe with the public. And going to a black team for some ‘kasi words’, or vernac, won’t make them any more relatable.

The good news is: you don’t have to be black. There’re blacks for that. And the best part is that the more you work with black people and treat them as equals, the more relatable your work will be, because you’ll be learning the intricacies and variations there are among black people. But a fair warning: once you go black, you never go back.

3. Even us, we can be smart

When you take a walk through most agencies today, you’ll probably notice a few more black faces. What this means is that there are some talented black people out there. So where does this notion of a lack of talented black employees come from?

The bigger problem is that, the higher up the ladder you go, the less black faces you see. What this picture paints is just how difficult it is to break through the so-called ‘white ceiling’, which is basically a racial version of the glass ceiling that caps women.

The most-disgruntled people in an office are the ones who must deal with both. Just imagine what it’s like to be black AND a woman (I got your back, ladies). In truth, you don’t have to look far to find some really smart black people; most just need a chance to prove their mettle.

~~~

The situation is obviously more complicated than one column or two may describe but at least by understanding that transformation isn’t unfair because we live in a country that’s majority-black, and there are people who can create work and get insights that people can relate to, we’ll be well on the way to making it work for everybody.

And, no, white people aren’t the only ones to blame for the lack of transformation. My people, I’m a holla at you in the next column.

See also

 

TJ NjozelaTJ Njozela (@tj_njozela) is a creative group head at Net#work BBDO. With several years of experience in the advertising industry, he’s more than a writer; he is also a reader, a thinker, and an avid liker of things. He once walked from Joburg to Cape Town in 30 days to raise funds to buy wheelchairs for people in need. #30Days30Wheelchairs. TJ contributes the regular “Agency Life” column, in which he gives career advice for working within the advertising industry, to MarkLives.

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