With Easter Weekend just a couple of weeks away, Good Housekeeping (US) is getting readers in the mood with this colourful cover (really liking the tones!). If you also want to get in the mood, look at their “35 Cheerful Crafts for Easter” and be inspired.
British Airways High Life (South Africa), April 2017
“Strange” always grabs the attention, and British Airways High Life South Africa’s latest cover proves it once again! On the cover is the Zambia’s stork, the Shoebill (Google Image it!), as well as a story on “detail, difference and diversity”. High Life is saying that the “idea was to have some fun, take a lateral view and stop people in their tracks. The use of text in non-traditional places (and sizes) deliberately plays with the left-field nature of the cover and the two features.” Love the concept, and I hope I’m on a British Airways flight in April so that I can see it playing out on the pages!
Ooh… creative! If you’ve been to IKEA, you would know how synonymous the basic pencil is to IKEA and its brand. ICON has used this iconic icon to illustrate another iconic icon in Milan, the Milan Cathedral. But why? Because IKEA is filling a 3 500m2 warehouse during the Milan Furniture Fair, 4–9 April 2017, and teaming up with various famous designers to showcase 400 new products (yeah!!!). I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out next week to see what some of these are but, until then, it has this great pdf you may download on what it’s planning during its own IKEA Festival. For more on the shakeup being caused, here’s what ICON is saying.
Madagascar has been on my bucket list for some time but it’s just moved up a couple of notches thanks to this beauty! On the cover, in all its stunning glory, is Madagascar’s famous “Avenue of the Boababs”, where these majestic trees line up a 260m-long area. There are only about 25 trees left, yet they stand up to 30m tall! Thanks for inspiring me once again, Lonely Planet Traveller! Thinking of going to Madagascar? See what Lonely Planet suggests…
Real men wear pink. Nor do real men have a problem being surrounded by pink colours and cover lines J. Maps Maponyane is this type of guy, and much, much more. Such a sexy and suave cover!
Nope, we’re neither nearly finished seeing nor showing this amazing Trump cover… and by amazing, I don’t mean because he is amazing but because all these magazine covers show his true colours, and call him out where and when necessary. The New York Times Magazine has done it again brilliantly by calling him out through showing a variety of the negative things he’s said about people in Congress. These very people whom he now needs on his side. Read the full article here; it’s a long one…
MagLove by @MediaSlut is a regular slot featuring the best local and international magazine covers every week, recognising well thought-out, powerful and interesting (and hopefully all three-in-one) covers and celebrating the mix of pragmatism, creativity and personal taste that created each of them. The anonymous (for now) blogger behind MediaSlut knows way too much for his own good about media in South Africa, magazines in particular. His mission is to show when SA magazines fail but, most importantly, also when they succeed. If you’re looking for a library about SA magazines and news, this is your one-stop pitstop.
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by MarkLives (@marklives) The hottest primetime television shows on SABC 2 in South Africa revealed: TV ratings for January and February 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.
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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by Herman Manson (@marklives) McCann Worldgroup has been awarded the Diageo SA Scotch, Gin and Reserve portfolios, effective 1 July 2017. Brands moving to the McCann stable include the entire Johnnie Walker portfolio, Bells, J&B, Black & White, Singleton and Tanqueray.
“Our challenge was to pitch on the Scotch portfolio against five other agencies,” says Fraser Lamb, executive chairman for McCann Worldgroup Africa. “We won the pitch, and were also awarded the Gin and Reserve portfolios when the announcements were made. It’s another game-changing win for McCann and we are all very excited about the prospect of working on such amazing brands.”
Other agencies involved in the pitch included Grey South Africa, J. Walter Thompson, Owen Kessel Leo Burnett, 3-Verse and Mortimer Harvey.
Eight business wins
McCann Worldgroup has won eight new pieces of business this year. Due to client restrictions, the agency says, it has only been able to announce two, the Diageo win as well as the Kulula.com business, but more announcements will follow as client restrictions fall away.
“We were presented with fantastic work by all of the agencies who pitched for our business,” says Sandra Griffiths, marketing and innovations director for Diageo SA. “The decision to appoint McCann came down to their integrated approach and strong strategic insights. We are excited about the vast experience they bring as well as their passion for our brands and look forward to embarking on this journey together.”
Herman Manson (@marklives) is the founder and editor of MarkLives.com.
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by Brad Dessington (@braddessington) I often get requests from newbies in adland on what the best route is for them to build careers in advertising and branding. I know what to tell them, based on the structures of the industry as it is today. But, every time I finish an email or phone call, I feel as if I’ve sent someone to the slaughter.
I left advertising and branding after 12 years in it. I was fortunate enough to be able to grow a business that employed a decent number of great people, and even more fortunate to be able to sell a profitable agency. I owe the industry that gratitude. But there is a part of me thinks I should have done something differently.
Wrong way around
I fundamentally believe that advertising and branding are the wrong way around. Many believe that they’re the lure at the end of a line. And, in some ways, they are. But, for the most part, the lure is the product of business itself; that’s where the core value lies. The industry attracts young creative minds with the proposition of an unfettered playground for ideas, a place where you can create anything, amazing things, things that can change the world, and so on. The entrenched will believe this for a long time. Yet, while that’s great for keeping youngsters motivated and, to a degree, to inform their attitude to the craft, it’s grossly misleading. Advertising and branding are not, in their current form, the way businesses change industry conventions.
Brand purists will argue that the brand is all encompassing, the lifeblood throughout a business and DNA for behaviour, product development and overall direction that links to the company core. But is it, really? Is the industry really applying all its creative might to the theoretical principle it holds most value in?
The truth is that the power we place in brands and the method of delivering that power is misplaced, entirely. If brands are so much more than logos, advertising and communication, then why is the creative capital, agency structures and revenue methods all geared to delivering this tiny part of it? And why is so much of it superfluous noise that actually doesn’t mean anything anyway?
Problem goes a lot deeper
The industry has for years debated its relevance and sustainability. It’s overlaid integration, digitisation and automation as a way to keep up with client’s immediate needs of an old problem. I propose the problem goes a lot deeper — creative talent is used at the wrong end of the brand’s proposition.
If there’s one thing that I’ve learnt about good creatives, it’s that they have an empathy and intuition for what feels right. That may sound soft but apply that to designing products, simplifying engagement, designing service experiences and, for me most importantly, continuous innovation, then real value is created.
Some may argue that “creatives” don’t have the skills or experience to be embedded into the bowels of the technical value chain. Not yet, I agree, not before change happens. The advertising and branding model, ironically, is a beast that is hard to change. But, surely, if the market for advertising is screaming for value, the industry should redesign itself to deliver on that need.
Creation, not packaging, of value
Yes, there is still a place for traditional brand communication. But I believe it will play servant to a creative model that is tangibly connected to the creation of value — not packaging of it. Then, maybe, the industry can be rewarded handsomely, once again, for creative that actually changes the world. Methods will need to be created for IP transfer, costing models will need to be overhauled and agency structures will need to incorporate more business analysts to direct creative minds — this is hard work. But the industry owes it to itself to at least try.
Hopefully then the aspiration of budding young minds won’t be stifled every time they hear: “Make it pretty.”
Brad Dessington (@braddessington) is an experienced business and marketing strategist, leader and former CEO of Rogue Brand Agency, which was bought by House of Brave in 2016. After founding the latter, he successfully grew the company into a multimillion profit business and later sold the business to focus on his aspiration to open a tech startup for business innovation, Nectir, of which he is CEO. He is currently on sabbatical in Australia, consulting to multinational businesses, NGOs and bodies while executing Nectir’s launch into the global market.
“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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by Veli Ngubane (@TheNduna) It’s not just writing ability or ideas that have won Melusi Mhlungu (@Adverttown) a proud place in adland, with the Loeries 2015 Young Creative of the Year already among his accolades. It’s his love for industry that has got him this far, he explains. “Loving what you do is everything because that’s what’s going to get you through the bad days, like when your creative director says, ‘That’s a brilliant idea but it’s been done before.’” We discover how this young and gifted Ogilvy Joburg copywriter’s been killing it!
Melusi Mhlungu
Veli Ngubane: Where did you grow up and how did your parents react when you told them you wanted to be a creative? Melusi Mhlungu: Originally, the Mhlungus are from eNkandla (and, no, we don’t have a firepool at home) but I grew up in the southeast of Jozi in Brackendowns. My mom had no idea what advertising was and I think at that point I also didn’t know exactly what I was getting into, but she supported my decision regardless.
VN: How did you a) get interested in advertising and b) break into the industry and land your first job? MM: I got interested in advertising when I was in grade seven; my aunt worked at Leo Burnett as an accounts human [sic] at the time. I remember bothering her with my “adverts” for a car brand I can’t mention (let’s just say it starts with a “Merc” and ends with a “des”) every time she came home. She was the person who introduced me to the likes of Vega and AAA.
How did I break into the industry? Well, let’s just say I knew the wives of some advertising bigshots at the time (no, man, not like that…get out!). On the real, though, my lecturer’s husband (hi Nicci Martins) worked at Ogilvy and so she organised for me to intern there. While at Ogilvy, I met another human lady and her husband worked at FCB. The way she spoke about FCB made me feel like I NEEDED TO BE THERE! And so the stalking of her husband began; basically, stalking got me here.
VN: What are your specialisations/creative processes/most-important tools of the trade? MM: I’m a writer but I don’t think it’s my writing abilities and ideas [that] are the only things that have gotten me this far. I think my most important tool has to be the love. Loving what you do is everything in this industry because that’s what’s going to get you through the tough days, like when clients say “I love everything, guys, just one change” or when your creative director says “that’s a brilliant idea but It’s been done before”.
VN: Any interesting hobbies/second jobs/bits of information that make you pop as an individual? MM: My favourite hobby is bothering client service with ideas they might be scared to take to client…I LOVE IT; IT GETS THE PEOPLE GOING.
VN: What is the South African advertising industry doing right? What needs to change? MM: I think the South African Industry is doing amazingly well; in the past five years we have seen South African agencies and creative leaders being recognised by international awards — which is great. But I think our industry can still improve by using the same amount of creativity and craft that we put into international awards for the local market. I think as an industry we can all still do better at making “our own kind of work”.
VN: What is your take on transformation in creative studios and adland as a whole? MM: Oh, the good old “T” word. I think the industry, in terms of the people coming in, is becoming more and more transformed, but the weird part is the work we’re seeing doesn’t feel that way. For an industry that is always talking and doing things in the name of transformation, the work out there doesn’t reflect that. Maybe it’s because the transformation taking place is happening at the entry level, which doesn’t have much impact most in the creative output. And trust [me]…the consumer sees this and they will let you know. I’ve received a question on Black Twitter which was “Why are the so called black ads not as creative?” to which I replied with a * hide eyes monkey face * and logged off!
I think more transformation needs to start happening on the top level, where bigger decisions about the creative output are made. This needs to happen soon, so that I can go back to that person who asked me that question with this reply à “What are you talking about joe?”
VN: You won the young creative award at the Loeries in 2015; how did that feel? What advice would you give young creatives in the ad industry? MM: It felt unreal; it was one of the awards I’ve always dreamt of winning and, when it happened, I was over the moon. That feeling quickly changed from “yoop yoop young creative” to “ohhhh crap what’s next?” That “what’s next” feeling is what’s helped me pushed myself daily and made me an even better creative than the Melusi that won Young Creative.
VN: Can you remember an advertising campaign that caught your attention? MM: There has been a lot; my all-time favourite has to be VODACOM “We’ve been having it”. It was such sweets.
VN: What makes an ad memorable? MM: The best part about what we do is we never know whether the script/ad we have is going to be memorable. But there are certain things you can do within the process to make your chances better. Like telling a great story with great characters, and that great story needs to have some great moments within it, whether it’s a phrase or expression from your characters. The rest is up to the people to decide.
VN: What differences can you notice between ads from 10 years ago and ads today? MM: Ads are not as memorable as they were 10 years ago and part of that is because all brands are telling the same person, the same thing, the same way.
VN: You got a chance to go to NYC in 2014 after winning a radio ad competition. How did it feel to find out that you’d written a winning ad? What did you learn from that trip that’s helpful today? MM: When I first told my creative director at the time the idea. he gave me that “have you taken your medication today because that’s sick” look. It was really a great moment to win that competition, mainly because it was a RADIO competition and I love radio.
That was my first ever trip outside of the country so I got to learn that the world is a really, really big place.
VN: Agency life requires you to expend a lot of energy and come up with fresh ideas constantly. How do you keep your mind sharp and the inspiration flowing? MM: I think it’s less about keeping the mind fresh and more about keeping the heart big. To stay passionate, to love what you do and not letting other people steal that love from you.
VN: What do you consider the most effective current form of advertising in South Africa? MM: SFX: Clears Throat
MVO: It has to be radio
VN: What has been the most-exciting project that you’ve worked on? MM: Last year, I got the opportunity to go to Cannes for Ogilvy World Class programme. Where there were 10 other young creatives from Ogilvy around the world. We worked on one brief and got to present to the global client.
This was such a life-changing experience (yes, I said life). I got to learn so much from so many people; I even learnt things I didn’t know about myself when it comes to this whole creative process thing. I was in a foreign place, with strangers, working on a female shaving product. I was so out of my comfort zone; the only thing I had with me was my ideas (and cool socks). It was amazing to see how ideas broke down all the boundaries and differences we all had, and we ended up making some work which was DOPE.
VN: Please would you supply two or three pieces of work you have been involved in?
https://youtu.be/nmx0y6CWBIQ
Veli Ngubane (@TheNduna) entered the world of advertising with a passion after completing his BSocSci (law, politics and economics) at the University of Cape Town and a post-graduate marketing diploma at Red & Yellow, where he also currently serves as advisory board chairman. He is the chief creative officer and founding partner of one of the fastest-growing agencies in the country, AVATAR. A full-service marketing agency with digital at the core, its clients include Brand South Africa, FOX Africa, National Geographic, SAA and Chevron. Veli hails from Kosi Bay in the rural KwaMhlaba Uyalingana area of KZN. In his monthly column “Young, Gifted & Killing It”, he profiles award-winning, kick-ass black creative talent in South Africa.
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by Mark Eardley. Marketing needs to catch a wakeup call. A big one. Unless it starts pulling its weight and proving that it creates sales and protects margins, marketing runs the risk of losing even more commercial relevance than it has in recent years. Whether it’s crooked media buying, illusory digital metrics or that the kids are running the playground, the marketing function is in a bad space.
What’s gone wrong? Answer #1: The internet
As a business communications tool, the internet should have been marketing’s great ally. But, over the past 20 or so years, it’s mutated into a potent enemy. To paraphrase some wise, old words from Peter Drucker, the ’net has created an environment where focus is on the hammer, rather than driving in the nail — let alone on building the house. The ‘house’, of course, is sales, margins and long-term profitable customers.
An addiction to all-things-internet has spawned marketing mind-sets obsessed with finding ways to apply its ‘beautiful gimmicks’. It has blinded too many marketers that there is no magic wand in the tool box and there never has been.
When Drucker wrote his hammer and nail analogy in the 1973 book, Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, the ’net hadn’t been conceived (and neither had a lot of today’s marketers). Nevertheless, well over 40 years ago, the doyen of management and marketing consulting recognised the dangers of an overreliance on business techniques and tools, and how this leads to losing focus on building the house:
…the emphasis is on techniques rather than on principles, on mechanics rather than on decisions, on tools rather than on results, and, above all, on efficiency of the part rather than on performance of the whole…
In short, activity has been confused with achievement. In terms of the only achievements that matter — sales, margins — ‘performance’ has become marketing’s dirty word, an old-fashioned, embarrassing taboo that must be quietly ushered from the room.
What’s gone wrong? Answer #2: Lack of knowledge and experience
“The sad truth of the matter is that we have allowed, even enabled, the development of an under-skilled, inexperienced and over-entitled workforce — to the detriment of the industry at large.” — Adrian Hewlett, Publicis Machine CEO, writing on MarkLives
To counter this overpaid lack of knowledge and experience, Hewlett is calling for marketing agencies to collaborate on establishing graduate ‘apprenticeships’ similar to those in professions such as law and accountancy. Just as articled clerks have to learn how to apply the rules of their game — over three tough years — it makes sense that admittance to the marketing profession should require the same grounding. Hewlett believes the results would improve professionalism and standards of work, as well as restoring clients’ respect and trust. It might also arrest marketing’s headlong decline into irrelevance.
Back-to-basics. In B2B especially
If there’s one area of marketing where the rules of the game apply in a literally draconian manner, then it’s B2B. It’s a discipline where the rules are as severe as the punishments for breaking them: falling sales, eroded margins and loss of market share.
Modern B2B companies confront two major challenges: commoditisation and self-sold customers.
Commoditisation — and the cutthroat pricing it demands — thrives when there is no relevant differentiation between competing offerings. When price is the only difference they see, customers buy the cheapest. It’s marketing’s job to address this challenge because differentiation is a core function in B2B: it protects margins.
Self-sold customers are a product of the internet. Twenty years ago, they didn’t exist. Here’s the ’net as the enemy… again. Beyond causing marketing’s lack of focus, the ’net has diluted the influence of professional sales teams during the pre-sales process. That’s the part of the B2B buying-decision cycle where customers identify needs, set criteria to meet them and research appropriate solutions. The internet has empowered customers to do all that online and on their own. Pre-sales now happen on the ’net.
Address that challenge
It’s marketing’s job to address that challenge, too. Ensuring that an offering is visible, credible and applicable is another core marketing task: it generates sales.
The alarms are ringing loud and clear. Marketing needs to hear them, wake up and respond with activities that create achievements.
Mark Eardley is the author, together with Charlie Stewart, of Business-to-Business Marketing: A Step-by-Step Guide (Penguin Random House), which offers practical, actionable advice on how to make marketing make money. Both he and Charlie will be speaking at the forthcoming B2B Trade Conference on 18–19 May 2017, Emperor’s Palace Convention Centre, Johannesburg, organised by Vukani Communications. Mark contributes the monthly “Back2Basics” column, covering how B2B companies and their agencies should manage their marketing, to MarkLives.com.
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by Charlie Mathews (@CharlesLeeZA) This week the Marketing Mice remember local legend, Joe Mafela, the film industry pioneer who also famously starred in various Chicken Licken ads.
Charles Lee Mathews (@CharlesLeeZA) is a writer who likes to draw, such as this regular editorial cartoon — exclusive to MarkLives — in which The Marketing Mice offer their take on the world of marketing, media and advertising.
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by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki)Commercial Bank of Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya, has launched an app, called Loop, for millennials that promises to ‘unbank’ them. South African companies Halo and Star Films present a breakout, vibey, appealing TVC to motivate these young adults to use this system, rather than their bank branches or other online banking.
Millennials in Africa are an entrepreneurial, progressive bunch, according to the research I’ve read, and are only too happy to use whatever tools there are at their disposal to make their lives easier. To cater for them, and to help grow the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) user base, the financial brand has brought in the experts to help create a service that recognises that millennials have different needs. Oh yes. The younger, wired generation need a different approach to banking.
The Loop mobile software is based on the idea of a smartphone app. Along with the app, users get a banking card that they pick up, not from a branch, but from a Loop Store. I read that these stores are slickly designed venues that feature vending machines and comfortable seating. The system integrates existing bank accounts with M-Pesa, the micro-transaction system so wildly popular in Kenya. Thanks to the app, you may pay your utility bills, save, invest and do a range of other online banking transactions.
CBA’s offering also provides the same sort of personal finance management system that has made South Africa’s 22Seven so popular. The functionality here includes budgeting and automated recording of spending, as well as financial goal-setting.
The ad to promote this innovative financial solution is a fast-paced montage that tells the story of a few selected millennials who go about their lives. A high-energy piece of music drives the piece. The first part of the montage shows the youngsters pursuing their ‘passion projects’. So, in the ad, we see:
a man working on a robot ‘hand’
a woman baking a cake
a man repairing a boat
a dress designer working on her creation
a man working on a muscle car
a man woman working on a rooftop garden
a man practicing basketball in a dusty lot.
This is a great ad but the big question I’ve got to ask here is: Why are the women so typecast, and why are the men positioned as smart and nerdy? If there’s a flaw in the ad, it’s this. It’s about time that the ad industry got a little more gender-savvy.
Moving on. Each shot builds up a picture of the passion and dedication that these people put into their work. And every scene features a different light source, because these people are working at night. The shots get closer and closer, focusing in on the intense concentration and joy that they get out of what they are doing.
Even though it’s shot at night, the colour palette is rich with purples, yellows, blues and magentas. The scenes are not romanticised in terms of decor: you get a real sense of the gritty day-to-day life of these ‘ordinary’ people.
About halfway through, the scene changes to daytime: early morning. The palette becomes a little washed out and bland. The young men and women we got to know through their projects are now seen getting ready for work: dressed in suit and tie, corporate gear, walking through streets and into their places of work: factories and offices.
The high-energy music now becomes a little darker, echoing the frustration these people feel with their jobs. There are some heated interactions as the music builds to a climax, ending with closeups on the protagonists’ faces. The key actors look directly into camera, and the following words flash on screen: YOU LIVE TO WORK.
Directly after this, the film switches back to the night-time scenes — the passion projects. Here the words that flash over these scenes read: WE WORK TO LIVE.
The final text on the screen reads simply: Unbank yourself. CBA Loop.
What really makes this ad work is in the contrast between the workaday life and the passion projects of the subjects. By showing the latter first, it’s clear that work is secondary, a means to an end, to be able to go home and do those things that provide them with energy and a sense of purpose.
A stylish and powerful message that goes to the centre of its target market — great work by Halo and director Tristan Holmes of Star Films that speaks to a younger generation who want more than just a career — who want to craft meaningful lives.
Credits
Client: CBA Group, Loop (Kenya)
Client: Chris Pasha, Viola Kioko, Angela Muriuki, Charles Ndirangu
Agency: Halo (South Africa)
Creative director: Greg Harrison
Art directors: Hanneke du Toit, Jurgen Freese, Candice Bondi
Copywriters: Klara Sebright, Pakamani Mancotywa, Michelle Hollinger
Producers: Tanja Rae, Tania Neale
Client service: Akona Ndungane, Kagiso Lerutla
Production company: Star Films (South Africa)
Director: Tristan Holmes
Producer: Adam Thal
Audio: Markus Wormstorm
Post: Left Post Production
Ad 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.
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Cheryl Hunter (shelflife at marklives.com)’s weekly pick of all things new — product, packaging, design, insight, food, décor and more!
Joe Public extends iWYZE campaign
Organic Siam Botanicals come to South Africa
Nando’s and M&C Saatchi Abel mix it up
From dragons to ostriches
Joe Public United, in partnership with Old Mutual iWYZE and its new offering, iWYZE Life Insurance, has launched its first advertising campaign for the client, titled “Ostriching Through Life”.
https://youtu.be/1JH5v6G0-TY
The TVC, shot by Plank Film Productions, depicts a couple avoiding some of life’s awkward moments — as we all do — and is an extension of the 2016 campaign, with strategic messaging revolving around the concept of differing human reactions.
So how do you react when faced with difficult circumstances? The ads depict various reactions from the fiery dragon (car insurance) to headless chicken (household insurance), based on the premise that we all react differently in challenging, awkward and even embarrassing situations. Joe Public United has embraced the language and tone from previous ads, rooting the humour in the real world with the juxtaposition of an unexpected creature. The metaphor this time? An ostrich.
The humour in this ad plays out in an awkward way: The story takes us through a journey of embarrassing life moments and the viewer is lulled into a predictable rhythm where they see the couple ‘ostriching’ their way through life’s difficult questions. Just when you think the Mom will try to ‘ostrich’ her way out of the question “What will happen to the children when their mother/father dies?”, she is unfazed.
It is a poignant moment and it anchors the brand promise — iWYZE takes control of the one thing you simply can’t avoid while showing that ultimately ignoring uncomfortable situations in an effort to hide away from the truth isn’t necessary if you’ve made a good decision.
Says Laurent Marty, group chief strategic officer, Joe Public United, “Unpacking these consumer insights is critical to developing something that is relatable for the audience, and that speaks a human truth. We can all lose ourselves in a panic and a stressful situation.”
Responding to increased demand for natural, organic products in the skincare market, Siam Botanicals, a premium range of skin, body, bath and spa products, is now available in South Africa.
Siam Botanicals products are used in premium hotels and resorts around the globe, including JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, Amatara Destination Spa in Phuket, Soneva Jani luxury resort in the Maldives, and Keemala Spa.
Thomas van der Linde, CEO of Marx & Harris, the South African online distributor of Siam Botanicals, says: “Only natural cold-pressed oils and the nutrient-rich extracts of herbs, flowers and fruits are used in the range; they’re free from synthetic chemicals, fillers and artificial colours and fragrances and are never tested on animals.”
The use of natural ingredients is what has resulted in the demand for the products in some of the world’s top spas: “Guests are looking for products that are all natural and, more importantly, organic.”
Siam Botanicals products are handcrafted in small batches and packaged by local workers in recycled and environmentally friendly packaging.
Shelf Life is MarkLives.com’s weekly column covering all things new. Notify us of yours at shelflife at marklives dot com. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.
Cheryl Hunter (@cherylhunter) has written for the South African media, marketing and advertising industries for more than 15 years. A former editor of M&M in Independent Newspapers and contributor to Bizcommunity, AdFocus, AdReview and the Ad Annual, she has also produced for various television networks and currently consults on communication strategy and media liaison.
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by Tenielle Maris. Collaboration is a basic human instinct that has been engrained in each and every one of us since the beginning of time. In 2013, Forbes described collaborative marketing as the “next big thing”. Now, in 2017, collaboration is the thing that brands, marketers and advertisers simply can’t do without, and has evolved into a multifaceted platform for connecting with audiences more powerfully than ever before.
According to Trendwatching, the consumer trend of “joyning” is based on consumers’ desire to come together to connect, to solve a joint issue, or simply to take part in a collective experience. It is applicable to consumers regardless of demographic or geographic divide and is infiltrating the way in which brands are connecting with audiences across the globe.
Not new news
The notion of collaboration is not new news: the penny dropped for organisations many moons ago that, simply by listening and responding to their customers, they would stand to improve their offering, their message or even their processes. Fast-forward to the hyper-engaged world we currently live in, and technology has proliferated consumers’ desire to be engaged and have their say. Social media has amplified prosumerism by enabling two-way conversations, between brands and target markets, where creative and innovation exchange is seamless.
The result? Consumers are expecting to be invited to actively ‘play their part’ in building brands. Through open creativity and open innovation, consumers now want more opportunities to share their masterpieces within a greater community.
So why exactly is collaborative marketing so powerful for connecting with consumers? Simply: at the heart of all this is the feel-good emotions that are associated with having contributed to something. By tapping directly into the global mind-set of collective consciousness, brands are feeding consumers’ quest for a sense of recognition, belonging and sense of purpose when others accept and talk about their creations. To add to that, consumers are made to feel empowered and valued by brands entrusting their brand’s storytelling to them.
Crash the Super Bowl
For 10 years running, Doritos’ Super Bowl campaign — Crash the Super Bowl — leveraged this trend by putting the power in the hands of consumers to exercise their creative flair by producing their very own Super Bowl commercial. What was initially met with scepticism became one of the most well-known Super Bowl campaigns of all time, earning Doritos the title as the most-effective Super Bowl advertised brand 2010-2015 (ahead of other brand giants with big agencies behind them). According to Frito-Lay North America chief marketing officer, Ram Krishnan, the success of this long-term campaign was the product of ‘giving consumers a platform to shine’.
Brands need to take a good look at the types of conversations they are having with their consumers and the level to which they value the ideas that those consumers are able to bring to the table. What they need to get right, however, is keeping collaborative campaigns current and in-sync with emerging technology and evolving consumer behaviour. More than that, they need to see it as a powerful tool — not a gimmick — that should be used sensibly to enhance brand strategies.
By doing so, brands will be able to connect with their audiences in relevant and personal ways that value consumer creativity and recognise their contribution in the most-desirable way possible: by putting it out there for the rest of the world to see.
Tenielle 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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