Masterclass Notes: Prepping for the perfect pitch

by Johanna McDowell (@jomcdowell) Whether you are calling a pitch to replace an agency already on your roster, or to add new capabilities, it is only natural to be focused on finding the best agency for the job. However, during that, it is easy to forget the impact that a pitch process may have on your team, your other agencies, and the work that needs to continue while the pitch process carries on.

Seven aspects

Here are seven aspects to consider before you call for the pitch:

  1. Talk to your incumbent agency. You need them to remain motivated and working for you as normal during the pitch process. You need a good handover arrangement if a new agency is appointed and you want to avoid holding back work for when a new agency starts, as then the new agency will be swamped when it takes over.
  2. Make sure your team knows what is going to happen, why you called the pitch, what the process is and how long it will take. Team members also need to know what they should say if they are called by the media or if any of the other agencies on the roster approach them as they want to increase their remit. Keep your team updated throughout the process.
  3. Keep the rest of the business informed. You should brief anyone who might be affected by the hiring of a new agency. This is also a great opportunity to align agendas within the business eg working more closely with IT department and ensuring the digital aspects are taken care of in marketing.
  4. Tell the rest of your agencies on your roster what is happening. This should be done by the client lead either face-to-face or by telephone (rather than email). This will allay any fears that they may have that you are planning a full roster-wide review and also give them chance to start thinking about how they will work with a new agency.
  5. Plan your PR strategy: make sure that your media team has been fully briefed and understands the reasons for the pitch process.
  6. Plan for your senior staff to be involved in the pitch process: think about the possible disruptions in your department’s work while they are in pitch meetings etc.
  7. Plan your department’s workload for the first 6–12 months of the new agency’s contract. The new agency onboarding will be disruptive to the normal business processes that your department has — it is unavoidable — but, for the new agency to be successful, it will be key for them to have much more time than has been usual with your team as the agency is unfamiliar with your working processes.

If all of the above can be done before the pitch process starts, not only will things run more smoothly, you will find that it is easier to assess the pitching agencies in the context of your overall approach and your roster, which should lead to better results in the longer term.

My next column will look at some things for marketers to think about when appointing the new agency.

 

Johanna McDowellJohanna McDowell (@jomcdowell) is managing director of the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS), which is partnered with the AAR Group in the UK. Johanna is one of the few experts driving this mediation and advisory service in SA and globally. Currently she is running the IAS Marketers Masterclass, a programme consisting of masterclasses held in Cape Town and in Johannesburg. Twice a year she attends AdForum Worldwide Summits.

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

Agency 360eight to close

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Integrated creative agency, 360eight, will be closing its doors, effective 30 April 2017. The closure follows the consolidation of various divisions within Telkom, which owns a majority share in 360eight’s parent company, Trudon (publishers of the Yellow Pages). The Trudon board subsequently decided the consolidation process should include 360eight.

In a letter to stakeholders, managing director Olaf Brinkmann says that the agency, which launched in April 2013, had grown to become a R40m business and turned a profit every year of operation. The business is now being wound up and all 14 members of staff, including Brinkmann, are being retrenched. Brinkman says the tight timeframe excluded the possibility of a sale, and the formal wounding up of the business means that the exit process for staff is being managed responsibly.

Out to pitch

The bulks of 360eight’s revenue came from the Yellow Pages. It is expected that the business will now go out to pitch in the near future. Several smaller accounts had been handed over to other agencies, says Brinkmann.

In the letter announcing the closure of 360eight, Brinkman writes: “We are proud of all we achieved, of the calibre of people who’ve worked here and the awesome clients we were able to partner with over the past four years. Our supplier friends have been immense and industry itself has been generous in its acknowledgement of what we do. We thank every single person and institution that have walked the road with us and made us better people for it.”

 

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

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

Dear Radio: Breakfast on the go — analysing the lineup changes

by Paulo Dias (@therealptp) Nothing shakes up a radio station more than a lineup change and, when that lineup change includes breakfast shows, you’re looking at one of the riskiest and most-reluctant moves a station manager may make.

Changing breakfast landscape

The breakfast landscape, certainly in a Gauteng context, has undergone, or is due to undergo, major changes in 2017 and it’s no doubt that these changes are going to affect where stations such as 947, METRO FM, 702 and Jacaranda 94.FM end up.

First, however, why is a breakfast show host so important? I’m willing to bet you know who the host on your preferred station’s breakfast show is but, unless you’re a super-listener, you would battle to name who fills the noon–3pm slot. Just like grabbing your phone as you wake up, your morning cup of coffee, packing lunchboxes and dodging traffic cones at school drop-off, spending a few minutes in the company of your station’s breakfast team is a daily ritual.

According to BRC RAMS, we’re listening to an average of 30 minutes of radio every weekday morning — which is a lot of time to spend in the company of anyone, let alone a radio personality. So it’s safe to say we have a connection to breakfast-show hosts unlike any we have with personalities in other media.

Causes chaos

For a radio station, appointing and then moving or losing a breakfast-show host causes chaos through the business.

For commercial stations, the first to blink are clients and sponsors. The majority of stations’ revenue sits in their breakfast shows, with lengthy sponsorship deals signed based on the stability of breakfast presenters and their audiences. And that’s the next party who gets uneasy — the listener. No matter who is coming in, there’ll be a backlash simply because it’s not the other person.

Memories are very short in radio. Listeners tend to forget how upset they were when their current favourite came in and how long they took to warm to him or her, simply because — she or he wasn’t the previous host.

So how do you narrow the risk of not being like the old one?

Rising star

Appoint a new gal — or in 947’s case — the rising star of South African media, Anele Mdoda.

She was pre-ordained as a breakfast-show host the second she turned on her mic in whatever overnight slot she found herself in when she first arrived at 947. A few gap years away at “5”’ helped her master her craft and, ever since she returned to 947, the question has been “when will she get breakfast?”, rather than “will she get breakfast?”

That’s not meant as any disrespect to Darren “Whackhead” Simpson, who took on the most-difficult mantle in SA radio at the time, and probably at any time in recent radio history, replacing Jeremy Mansfield. The move was risky — taking a sidekick, with no sustained history of carrying a show by himself to replace a juggernaut of unprecedented commercial and programing success. To his credit, Simpson won out in the end with similar success and, while his advertisers and listeners were not Mansfield’s advertisers and listeners, he’ll take a loyal fanbase to his new drive slot with him and may be proud of the job he’s done.

My prediction on this one is that Mdoda is going to herald a golden age for 947, as there is no-one more tuned in to capture the mood of young and vibrant listeners in Joburg as we head towards the end of the decade.

Field day

I’m not sure about normal human reaction to it, but the now-sentient internet certainly had a field day when, after 22 years, Glen Lewis announced his move from METRO FM to Touch HD. The move had been rumoured for a while and is one that gives growing credibility to online SA stations and shows how serious Tbo Touch is about leading the revolution.

It left Metro with a big decision to make; hosts of a national breakfast shows need to be in total command of their craft, their audience and, as with any good club DJ, be able to switch the mood on and off from high to higher every single morning. It’s a really tricky job running a national breakfast show, due to the range of scenarios being lived through and variety of people you’re talking to.

The appointment was crucial: the wrong one would cement the uncertainty around METRO’s audience and add to the controversy and drama that pops up around their name every now and again. So moving DJ Fresh across from 5FM is the logical choice. The big man has been ready for the move for years, and he’ll get even better and gain an even bigger audience — the shrewd, positive business move needed to hold off the threat that a 947-Mdoda-lead poses and, for now, this keeps METRO at no. 1.

Moving over to talk radio, listening to 702 right now is to experience a whole new station. Gone are the Parkhurst callers bemoaning the influx of ants in their flower beds; we’re now treated to vibrant, inclusive millennial viewpoints, with new presenters offering real light and shade on any topic.

Effortlessly taken over

This has been led by Xolani Gwala, who has effortlessly taken over the reins from John Robbie and hasn’t had one tricky patch since he’s been on 702 breakfast full-time. Audiences have responded to him and the way he grills under-delivering public servants should warm even Robbie’s heart.

That the move has gone so smoothly shows that, when a station makes the right move at the right time, everyone knows it and it just works on air.

Finding the right person at the right time has proven to be an issue on Jacaranda. Rian van Heerden announced in July last year he’d be hanging up the headphones, only to reverse the decision recently and stay on for another three months. I think it’s a good move. With so much uncertainty and flux due to hit its competitors, a bit of stability will put it in a good position in the minds of advertisers and straggling audiences.

In radio, breakfast is big business and, in more-saturated and -competitive markets than ours, a wrong move with your breakfast show may sink your whole station. While most of our stations could probably survive the hit, there just aren’t more people listening to radio — the audience is what it is — so they’re all fighting for the same ears and trying to convince them over to their side.

 

Paulo DiasPaulo Dias (@therealptp) is the head of creative integration at Ultimate Media. He works closely with the programming teams at leading radio stations to help implement commercial messaging into their existing formats. He contributes the regular column, “Dear Radio”, looking at the changing radio landscape in South Africa, to MarkLives.com

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

Ad of the Week: Carpe diem

by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) NATIVE VML and Arcade Content have created a campaign that aims to lift South Africans out of the doldrums and inspire them to commit to something that they are passionate about. This campaign couldn’t have come at a better time.

Standard Bank has teamed up with NATIVE VML and Arcade Content, an Egg Films subsidiary, to create a campaign that challenges South Africans to share their dream project publicly, and pledge to start working on them today. Not now-now, or just now, but today.

At the heart of this campaign is that beautiful aphorism, “carpe diem”. A Latin concept, it literally means seize the day. It’s all about using the present to realise the future.

Pinterest icon View all the Ads of the Week at a glance on our #AdoftheWeek Pinterest board!
YouTube icon Watch our 2017 #AdoftheWeek playlist on YouTube

The TV commercials in this campaign are very up-tempo and clearly aimed at a younger target market. There are four ads in all, and each runs to about 1:30 or 2:00.


The ads are all shot in the same location, a moody warehouse. Several different directors have worked on different ads but there is a coherence — much of the styling is similar, and the overall colour tone is blue, which, of course, goes with the colour of Standard Bank’s logo.

The more-generic film used to launch the campaign has a voiceover and uses all the actors, including well-known faces such as creative collective I See A Different You, broadcast personality Kede Mkhabela and publicist Melanie Ramjee. This launch ad has a generic message and, in it, the narrator asks, “Why do we always say, ‘One day’? Why ‘just now’? Why ‘now-now’?” It is directed by Kyle Lewis.

The narration is complemented by sound bites from some of the people saying things such as “One day I’ll slay dragons.” But the final message is that instead of saying “one day”, why not say “today”? The narration ends with, “Don’t feel like you’re doing it alone, because you won’t be.”

The other three ads are more exploratory and tease out those things that keep people from fulfilling their dreams. In Lebogang Rasethaba’s mini-documentary, the characters give voice to their fears. Social media entrepreneur, Craig Stack. talks about how he wants to promote local electronic music, while the performance artists of Dear Ribane have an orphanage that they want to help refurbish.

New Arcade Content director, Zandi Tisani, has directed two of the other ads. One features singer Moonchild Sanelly with creative collective, The Sartists, talking about taking the first step — how one has to overcome many obstacles just to get started, such as scepticism in the family.

In Tisani’s other ad, musician Mashayabhuqe KaMamba and Rasethaba himself talk about how their friendship suffered over the years, due to their being too focused on work. The most-poignant moment comes when Rasethaba tells KaMamba that he wants to make it up to him by directing his next music video. KaMamba is clearly overcome with emotion, and covers his eyes to stop crying. The film ends right there.

The ads are all linked by similar design aesthetics: lots of white clothes and props, and a distinctive font that is used to punch home the message. The editing and music are pacey and exciting.

The website, makeoneday.today has a big blue button that invites you to “Start Your #Today”. If you click on it, you may choose from some funky backgrounds, or upload a photo which will be made monochrome. You are then presented with letters reading “I WILL”, and a blinking cursor. Fill in your dream wish, press “Create” and there you have it: your own personal pledge graphic, which you may share online or download. The site may then randomly publish it.

Published graphics feature people who have made promises such as “I will start my kids fashion line” and “I will grow my startup”. Some commitments are more nebulous: “I will take responsibility for my actions” is one; “I will do things the right way” is another.

These brand films have little to do with banking but they plug into the zeitgeist of young South Africans, identifying the brand with the hopes, dreams and wishes of the younger generation. NATIVE VML and Arcade Content continue to redefine advertising across various media in SA; and well done to the insightful Standard Bank for looking at content and marketing in a new and exciting way.

Credits

Ad agency: NATIVE VML
Chief creative officer: Jason Xenopoulos
Executive creative director: Ryan McManus
Creative director and head of copy: Michelle Kreuiter
Art director: Jacquin Botha
TV producer: Wendy Botha
Senior project manager: Kirsten Kennedy
Production company: Arcade Content
Director (launch film): Kyle Lewis
Director (Conquer Fear): Lebogang Rasethaba
Director (Take the First Step & Embracing Vulnerability): Zandi Tisani
DoP (launch film): Devin Toselli
DoP (influencer films): Adam Bentel
Production art director: Gerhard van Zyl
Wardrobe: Nola Williams, Hannah Smith
Post production: Deepend Post Production
Editors: William Kalmer, Jade Bowyer
Producers: William Nicholson, Julia Schnurr
Sound: Produce Sound
Final mix: Theo Potgieter
Music: Tapiwa Musvosvi
Talent management: Book of Swag

Credits updated at 11.15am, 11.55am and 1.12pm on 5 April 2017.

 

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 info@ornicogroup.co.za.

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

Clicks ’n Tricks: YouTube ad controversy doesn’t quite add up

by Charlie Stewart (@CStewart_ZA) When news broke in mid-March 2017 of brands pulling advertising from Google’s non-search platforms, it fed the dystopian view of many who fear the advance of artificial intelligence (AI).

The advertisers, who included the UK government alongside Hyundai, GSK and other heavyweights, were unhappy that their GDN and YouTube-flighted commercials were appearing alongside offensive content, including videos promoting David Duke, the American white nationalist and Steven Anderson, a pastor who praised the killing of 49 people in a gay nightclub.

Algorithms align advertisers with audiences

Google (and its subsidiaries such as YouTube) use algorithms to align advertisers with audiences. Increasingly, these algorithms are being fed insights gleaned from machine learning (ML) — as is the case with programmatic advertising. Mostly, it works and we hear little about it. But god forbid the machine goes wrong.

It was no surprise to hear various advertising bigwigs, including the industry’s biggest bigwig of all, moan about the very platform that’s made them billions. Sir Martin Sorrell, whose agencies spend around US$5bn on Google each year, issued a statement saying that Google (and Facebook) have the same responsibilities as any media company and could not masquerade as mere technology platforms.

While I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment, I was taken aback at the lack of context in his and many of his peers’ words.

Eyes wide open

First up, the media companies have been quick to use Google’s technology as it enables them to cut cost and boost profit (the birth of programmatic has seen many a highly remunerated planner head for career counselling). And they’ve done so with eyes wide open in the full knowledge that AI and ML is a nascent technology that will have the inevitable stumble.

IBM’s spent US$15bn on Watson and, yet for all its successes, its AI machine is probably best-known for thinking Toronto was in the US.

For its part, Google spends serious money and effort on improving its systems. Ronan Harris, head of Google in the UK — which is where the blooper was first spotted — openly acknowledged that it doesn’t always get it right, but pointed to the fact that Google removed nearly 2bn offensive ads from its platforms last year while blocking 100 000 publishers from its display network.

Contextual-placement challenge not new

The challenge of contextual placement isn’t a new issue — stories of print media running ads that are highly inappropriate in the context of adjacent editorial (such as an airline ad appearing next to a story on terrorism-induced aviation disaster) — and/or the history of the sometimes-fractured relationship between editorial and advertising.

The nexus of the concern, however, is that YouTube’s revenue-share model rewards content producers (viz the likes of Suzelle with her DIY tips, as well as homophobic pastors) each time someone is force-fed an ad while viewing their video. It’s not much of a stretch to claim that the advertiser is thus funding the content producer. That’s fine when the video is, say, showing you how to put a knob on a door. But it can become problematic if the knob is being put somewhere else.

Now I’m not suggesting that adland should remain quiet when something goes wrong with automated placement systems. Indeed, the reverse is true. It should be hollering from the rooftops and demanding change. But it should be looking to itself just as much as it’s complaining about the publisher.

Not using it properly

For a big part of the issue is that the ad execs using Google’s programmatic software aren’t using it properly. Just as Google’s search platform, AdWords, allows advertisers to choose which keywords they DO NOT want their ads be associated with, so, too, do its programmatic tools.

The system might still be far from perfect but, had the operators made full use of the platform’s configurable settings to better segment audience preferences and incorporate negative keywords, they probably wouldn’t have suffered the ignominy of being caught being loose with someone else’s money.

A big part of the issue is that we associate automation with time- and cost-savings. And as the media landscape has changed, adland’s seen an opportunity to replace expensive media planners with more-affordable resources in the belief that the computer will do most of the work. That may be true in the future, once Google’s AI has learned a few more lessons but, for now, the master needs to control the machine.

So let’s not use incidents like this to castigate the innovators. Let’s rather get ourselves up to speed on how to use their technologies.

 

Charlie StewartCharlie Stewart (@CStewart_ZA) is CEO of Rogerwilco, a multi-award-winning independent digital agency best known for its expertise with Drupal, SEO and content marketing. A Scot by birth, he moved to South Africa in the early 2000s in his quest to support a winning rugby team — a search he’s reluctantly forsaken. Together with Mark Eardley, he co-authored Business to Business Marketing: A Step by Step Guide, (Penguin Random House, 2016) and may be found on LinkedIn. Charlie contributes the monthly “Clicks ‘n Tricks” column, which looks at how brands are using digital channels to engage their customers, to MarkLives.

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

Agency Life: How to keep going when you’re burning out

by TJ Njozela (@tj_njozela) Working in an advertising agency may be a lot of fun, and the challenges you face may help you develop and advance in your career. Late nights and weekends spent at the office with colleagues, boxes of pizza and cappuccino after cappuccino while you work on a pitch or a huge campaign are inevitable. So are daily tiffs and squabbles. Coping with the everyday pressures of advertising isn’t too difficult with proper stress management. But sometimes, when you have too much stress, you experience burnout.

Unlike stress, burnout is a lot trickier to deal with because it affects you physically, mentally and emotionally. This is why people with burnout feel constantly fatigued, lack motivation, and find it more difficult than usual to do things they normally do with ease. When Friday drinks at the bar turn into ever day drinks at the bar, it’s probably a sign of burnout.

Fortunately, there are ways to deal with burnout so you don’t have to start your mornings off with a pounding headache and a toasted sandwich from the cafeteria. Here are a few tips to help you along:

Get inspiration

When you have so much to do that you don’t even know where to start, or you don’t have any motivation whatsoever to do it, you need to give yourself a breather and get the inspiration you need to keep going. Go to the theatre, watch comedy clips online, hang out with your friends, or simply switch off your devices and spend some time in nature.

It seems counterintuitive but, when you’re burnt out, doing things you enjoy will give you a more positive attitude, which will help you bounce back and find the drive you need to keep going. The key is to do things you enjoy. That means avoiding overly negative people or situations that add to your stress instead of allowing you some release.

Ask for help

One of the hardest things to do as a creative is letting someone else run with your ideas, or passing by a really good brief. But, when you have a lot on your plate, it’s better to get extra hands or some extra time so you can do the best work you can. Instead of trying to do everything all by yourself, or all at once, see if it’s possible to move out some deadlines so you have time to get through everything you need to. If not, see if there’s anyone whose workload is relatively light, and ask them to help you out with some of your work.

This will help you to not feel overwhelmed by all the tasks you have to get through, and allow you to focus on doing a few things really well instead of spreading yourself too thinly and ending up with a lot of mediocre work. Once you get through the burnout and are back on your A-game, you can start to take on more work. Do it wisely, though, so you don’t end up getting burnt out again.

Look out for no. 1

[No, not JZ — ed-at-large] One of the things that lead to burnout is self-neglect. Make sure that you do the basics right. Eat proper meals, get some exercise and, instead of binge-watching the latest series when you get home, get the sleep you need to have enough energy for the next day. Avoid excessive drinking and smoking. Practice mindfulness, whether it’s by doing yoga, meditating or putting in your earphones and listening to your favourite songs. If you need to vent, call a friend or see a therapist.

All these little things will go a long way in reducing the intense stress levels you feel physically, mentally and emotionally. At the end of the day, you are responsible for your own wellbeing, so take the time to make sure that your star player has everything needed to perform.

~~~

When you’re burnt out, you can’t help but feel helpless, and think that there’s no way to get out of it. But there is. It’s a phase that most people go through at one point or another because of the nature of advertising. But the sooner you start doing something about it, the sooner you can get back up and kick ass.

 

TJ NjozelaTJ Njozela (@tj_njozela) is an award-winning senior copywriter at FCB Africa with several years of experience in the advertising industry. More than a writer, he is also a reader, a thinker, and an avid liker of things; and 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.

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

Shelf Life: Utopia rocks the new Bok fragrance

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

  • Toyland-packaging inspiration from Utopia
  • Peppadew revitalises relish
  • AB de Villiers new Montblanc ambassador

Bok babies

Utopia’s packaging design for Frazer Parum’s bok fragrance, a storybook container that offers a little magic all of its own, will be featured in the Lürzer’s Archive 200 Best Packaging Design 17/18 publication, which features advertising campaigns for print and TV from around the world.

A first scent for babies and the nursery, “Bok” is both a diminutive of springbok and a term of endearment for children.

According to Utopia creative director, Carl Cardinelli, the idea was to give the iconic and beloved children’s favourite first toy — the rocking horse — a local refresh, creating a link between the fragrance and the nursery with the use of the rocking bok.

Tamara Isles, James Atkins and Sean Creighton are the designers behind the novel packaging that features a curved base, mimicking that of a rocking horse, so that, when it’s gently pushed, it rocks back and forth.

Simple, surprising and visually striking. What packaging is all about.

utopia.agency • Facebook • Twitter • Ramify
frazerparfum.com • Facebook • Twitter
luerzersarchive.com • Facebook • Twitter

 

#betterwithrelish

Peppadew International has relaunched and extended its relish range with two new relish flavours in a strategy to attract new customers and grow the category with additional products.

Since inception, Peppadew International has positioned itself as the go-to brand that offers a range of food products that consumers may enjoy as ingredients, accompaniments or on their own. Says Peppadew brand manager, Laurian Ovens, “As an aspirational and contemporary brand, we continuously seek to raise the bar and to redefine future possibilities that will consistently exceed consumer expectations.”

The range now consists of the Peppadew Mild and Hot Piquanté Pepper Relishes, the Peppadew Jalapeno and Ginger Relish and the Peppadew Hamburger Relish. The new packaging design is more modern and in line with the rest of the Peppadew by PI Brands’ Rachel Shadbolt, product range.

piglobal.com • Twitter
peppadew.com • Facebook • Twitter

 

SA star for Montblanc

Leading cricketer AB de Villiers has been announced as Montblanc’s new brand ambassador, representing the luxury Maison in South Africa and India where he is now the face of all categories, including watches, writing instruments, men’s accessories and leather goods.

AB de Villiers, Montblanc ambassadorMontblanc is said to have revolutionised the culture of writing with breakthrough innovations over the last century. Today, it continues to evolve its fine craftsmanship across each of its product categories, from luxury writing instruments and timepieces to leather goods, accessories, fragrances and eyewear.

Says Jérôme Lambert, Montblanc CEO, “With his disruptive and instinctively innovative approach to his sport, AB de Villiers embodies the same pioneering spirit that drives Montblanc to keep pushing boundaries.”

In addition to his outstanding performances for SA over the past decade, AB de Villiers has taken his unconventional talent to India, playing for the Delhi Daredevils in the first three editions of the Indian Premier League. He joined Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011 and has remained with the team ever since.

montblanc.com • Facebook • Twitter

 

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.

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

Big Q: Transformation — clients must take road less travelled

by MarkLives (@marklives) The marketing and advertising industries are transforming. So why are so many black professionals disgruntled with the rate of progress? And is the quality of most of the work specifically directed at a black audiences still sub-par? We emailed a panel of key industry executives for their take. This week it’s the turn of Zibusiso Mkhwanazi of AVATAR.

Zibusiso Mkhwanazi

Zibusiso MkhwanaziZibusiso Mkhwanazi (@ZibusisoSays) is group CEO of AVATAR Investment Holdings (AIH) and AVATAR360 Group, as well as co-founder of AVATAR Agency, from which he recently stepped down as CEO. He’s a serial entrepreneur, previously known in the agency world for being executive chairman at KRAZYBOYZ digital and later chairman of The Red Quarter Brand Design. Zi was a contender for Most Admired Ad Agency Boss in South Africa and in Jozi in our MarkLives Agency Leaders’ Most Admired poll for 2016, while Avatar was runner-up for Most Digitally Integrated Ad Agency in SA and Jozi, as well as runner-up One to Watch in Jozi in 2017. In January 2017, the AVATAR founders acquired a significant minority stake in M&C Saatchi’s SA agency network, which has allowed M&C Saatchi PLC to acquire a 20% stake in AVATAR from AIH.

Fast transformation is important for a sustainable industry and country as a whole. We all need to have a tough conversation over a short period of time, where we clearly agree that inequality in the workplace is unacceptable.

No industry continues with the same model forever. Times change and the businesses that operate in that industry have to be willing to accept change. It is no different to our industry.

While the marketing and advertising industries may be transforming, it is doing so at a frustrating pace. The only way to know if an agency is capable is for the client to give it a chance to prove itself. Clients have to be willing to take the road less travelled if they truly believe in transformation. If we are to build a sustainable marketing industry, if transformation is to be more than talk, it cannot be business as usual.

Risk-taking

If a brand is going to pit upcoming agencies that are black-owned against the more established large agencies — those with international backing — the results are fairly obvious. Frustration will continue to grow because the pace of transformation will continue to be staggeringly slow. Transformation means taking a risk where there are more comfortable options available.

I don’t believe that the failure of one black agency should be a mark against all black agencies.

Clients should consider their needs and find the best agency with which to partner and grow. Finding the partner you are comfortable with helps clients meet their transformation agenda.

We need to remember, as businesses, we are part of the community in which we operate. So what does transformation mean? It’s giving people, who would ordinarily struggle, a chance to prove themselves.

Doesn’t equal entitlement

This doesn’t equal entitlement. It is doing what we all know is right. If we are not willing to make brave decisions as an industry to help solve the social ills of our country, we will continue to live with two economies. We will never enjoy the fruits of our labor without constantly living in fear that it will be taken away.

Twenty-three years into our democracy, it is deeply worrying that there’s no large black-founded agency in South Africa. There are definitely rising stars but there aren’t enough of us. If brands don’t get involved in helping build agencies that are more representative of our population, brands will struggle to get their message across to the general population. Transformation is, therefore, good for business and sales. The flip side of the coin is that up-and-coming agencies need to also push to unlock value that results from speeding up transformation.

For transformation to move at a faster pace and the quality of work to improve, all of us need to play our part. Clients, established agencies and the rising stars who are representative of our population all need to gain understanding from the others’ perspective and share knowledge and success stories in a meaningful way. We need to have more conversations that build our industry.

Take on the Goliaths

I bear witness that it is very possible to take on the Goliaths of this industry and win if you have a challenger mindset. I am deeply inspired by Mediclinic’s vision and reason for being: to be respected internationally and preferred locally.

We as up-and-comers need to strive to have world-class systems, world-class processes and world-class people. We can’t wait to be given opportunities but have to seize them — power must be taken with excellence and not wait to be given. That is how you build an agency that can take on the Goliaths.

See also

 

MarkLives logoLaunched in 2016, “The Big Q” is a regular column on MarkLives in which we ask key industry execs for their thoughts on relevant issues facing the ad industry. If you’d like to be part of our pool of potential 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!

Sponsorship as a B2B marketing tactic

by Warren Moss (@warrenmoss) Ellis Park emblazoned with Emirates Airline logos. Vodacom plastered over the Blue Bulls rugby kit. TV advertising for KFC running during the T20 cricket tournament. When you think sponsorships, it’s always B2C that comes to mind. But this particular perspective needs to change. Because, if we look at things differently, sponsorship could be a B2B marketing tactic that may be used very effectively, at a fraction of the cost.

Sponsorships as an above-the-line marketing tactic are nothing new. Used correctly, they provide the perfect platform through which to expose your brand to the right audience. But, used incorrectly, they offer very low returns on investment and are extraordinarily expensive.

Found in unlikely places

What I’ve realised over years of working in the B2B marketing space is that some of the most value from a brand’s sponsorship is often found in unlikely places. It isn’t just the potential consumers who are exposed to your messaging on the airwaves; it’s also the corporate customers you engage with as you take them to the stadium and introduce them to the team, who then go on to spend three times more with you this year than before.

From these learnings, I have coined the term “below-the-line sponsorships” as I think they’ll become one of the most powerful B2B marketing tactics of the future. Here’s an example to illustrate my point:

AON is one of the leading commercial insurance brokers in the world, a quintessential B2B company, and a specific focus is offering employee benefit packages to corporates. A few years ago it signed a sponsorship deal with Manchester United, one of the biggest consumer-facing brands in the world. To many, this partnership made little sense. Why did it do it?

One extremely valuable property

AON did indeed exit its sponsorship deal early but it held on to one extremely valuable property: the naming and usage rights of Manchester United’s training academy at Carrington. This isn’t the famed Old Trafford ground where the soccer team plays; it’s where it TRAINS, a ground that gets virtually no above-the-line coverage or exposure.

Why was this significant? Because AON could see a correlation: Manchester United was using that particular ground to create football superstars. AON’s corporate clients had a need relating to employee benefits that was also focused on finding and building excellence. Because there was this brand value alignment, they used that training complex to hold presentations with their customers, which had a way of making each of their relationships much more fruitful (of course, having a football celebrity walk into a meeting certainly sweetened a few deals). It’s in this way that BTL sponsorships may be extremely effective.

This got me thinking about whether there are any exclusive spaces or experiences that we could secure for corporates in South Africa, which could then offer that benefit exclusively to their customers? Perhaps it’s a members-only private wine bar with a view over the city that the public can’t access? Or maybe it’s tickets to an exclusive function that money simply can’t buy, or a visit from a famed sports team?

Go much further

Wouldn’t budget spent on building relationships with a handful of key business customers go much further than spending millions on sponsoring a TV show? After all, it’s that human element or personal interaction that clients respond to, not only how much you’re spending on your above-the-line brand campaign this year.

So it’s not all about naming rights, t-shirts or TV advertising; it’s time to think about sponsorships differently, and more specifically, how they may be used effectively in a B2B context.

 

Warren MossWarren Moss (@warrenmoss) is founder of Demographica, a full-service B2B and niche-market agency. He is also the chairman of the Direct Marketing Association of South Africa (DMASA) and the Assegai Integrated Marketing Awards (Assegais).

“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.

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

When Zurich became Bryte

by Kim Penstone. The acquisition of Zurich Insurance by Canadian Fairfax Financial Holdings in December 2016 set in motion a very large, yet surprisingly quiet, rebrand. Despite being touted as one of the largest financial services rebrands over the past couple of years, the change to Bryte Insurance seemed to happen overnight, without virtually a ripple.

That might sound counter-productive to most marketers, but for a company that prides itself on understanding and mitigating risk, it was the perfect outcome.

Change, a risky business

Change, by its very nature, is a risky business. And the primary audience of an insurance business — the brokers — are not big fans of risk.

Nicholas Francis
Nicholas Francis

“We operate in a global environment characterised by ongoing change, and a business’s ability to proactively manage risk and adapt is essential to sustainable growth. During this transition, our priority was to ensure the continuation of top-quality customer service, as well as consistent and regular communication to all our stakeholders about each step of the process,” comments chief marketing officer, Nicholas Francis.

“As a long-standing and trusted short-term insurance provider in the South Africa [sic] and Botswana markets, we reiterated that it would be business as usual and that all polices and contracts would be honoured as before.”

“Approach risk with purpose”

And so it was that, on 16 February 2017, a new name in commercial insurance was revealed to a select market: Bryte, with new tagline “Approach risk with purpose.” The brand identity has been created from the knotting together of two Bs to emphasise the value of the enduring relationship between Bryte and its broker partners, and so, too, between brokers and business.

Despite the initial excitement of the brand reveal, the focus has remained on continuity.

By way of example, as large as the rebrand loomed, it was crucially important that staff and brokers understood implicitly that there would be no disruption in the company’s service. Appropriately, on the morning of the launch, while the new name was being revealed at a formal event executed by Jawbone Brand Experiences, all internal branding was quietly uncovered. Staff returned to their desks to find the new Bryte branding in situ, from signage in reception areas to email signatures and even personal access cards.

Warren Moss
Warren Moss

Deep understanding

This deep understanding of the brand audience may be attributed to lead agency on the rebrand, Demographica.

“Change, which is appropriately informed and implemented with the best interest of stakeholders in mind, delivers immense value. Zurich had developed a strong legacy of trust and partnership which we recognised, and ensured that it remained the foundation of the business’s transition to Bryte. The process provided a great opportunity to solidify relationships; we designed the brand in a way that resonated louder with stakeholders, created assurance of the aspects that were important to them, and got them excited and enthusiastic about the future of the business,” comments Demographica CEO, Warren Moss.

Demographica prides itself on its ability to deliver marketing solutions based on in-depth understanding of specific audiences, which it achieves through the help of employing several full-time anthropologists.

Anthropologists

“In developing the new Bryte Insurance brand, our anthropologists engaged with the business and its brokers to gain an understanding of the business’s legacy and its relationships with its key stakeholders. The deeper insights into why partners choose Zurich (now Bryte), what was culturally inherent to the business and where opportunities existed for change, were invaluable. These insights informed our overall creative approach but also ensured that we remained cognisant of the elements that were meaningful to these stakeholders, who ultimately needed to trust in and subscribe to the new brand.”

The company’s new name and identity was also informed by this research, and brought to life by Demographica’s long-time creative collaborator, Halo.

Game-changer

Commenting on the new name and identity, Francis says that he — and, by extension, his team at Bryte — firmly believes that the company’s approach to customer risk profile management is a game-changer, and what sets it apart in the insurance field: “We recognise that the global environment is dynamic; it is increasingly competitive, more technologically focused and the risks are constantly evolving. The insurance industry has a vital role to play by helping businesses stay a few steps ahead, using its insights and foresights to proactively mitigate against the many challenges of a dynamically evolving risk landscape. We believe that, while insurance is the solution, understanding and protecting our clients ahead of risk is the opportunity.”

As such, the core idea behind the new name is based around shining a light on risk. It is this focus on risk that empowers Bryte’s customers to make better risk-management decisions that, in turn, help build businesses that endure.

“While customers and partners consider consistency when selecting an insurer, they also want a service provider that can offer proactive risk management and innovative solutions,” says Francis. “To a large degree, this is can only come from effectively understanding, embracing and managing change, which we do very effectively.”

 

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.

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

Online CPD Courses Psychology Online CPD Courses Marketing analytics software Marketing analytics software for small business Business management software Business accounting software Gearbox repair company Makeup artist