by Ann Nurock (@annnurock)When we eventually come out of this lockdown, consumers and brands will behave differently and communications agencies need to be ready to adjust to this different world. Here are some key issues currently facing clients, and how agencies will need to respond.
For eight years, I’ve been conducting the Radar survey which measures the health of client/agency relationships and provides actionable solutions for corporate clients and agencies of all disciplines. Recently, I felt the need to present these insights and learnings to the industry and, to provide a more-global view, I also researched some of the best creative agencies globally (ie Droga5, David Miami, BBDO New York and Wieden+Kennedy) to understand what they’re doing to succeed.
Meaningful
A very meaningful quote came from David Droga, who, when asked why Droga5 was so successful, stated that they “care beyond the brief”. It’s this caring that is ‘out of scope’ and creates relationships that can weather many challenges and deliver great work.
The agencies that don’t have these trusting relationships deliver work that is vanilla. They’ve lost their courage and this has resulted in 89% of people ignoring advertising (Forrester Research).
Needs such as critical thinking, problem-solving and relevance (among others) also don’t change and there are now additional considerations agencies need to recognise in this “new normal” world: the need for more authenticity, kindness and delivering real value to clients and brands.
Changed channels
The client/agency interaction has altered and the channels have changed. Microsoft Teams and Zoom are the new meetings, and agility has never been so important. One of the benefits (and there aren’t many) that should come out of this tumultuous time is that we should move from a “selfie” world of “me” to a kinder world of “we” — a world of shared humanity where community and collaboration are crucial and where purpose has never been so vital.
In terms of client challenges, one of the biggest is the level of competency among account management. Clients feel that middle, and even some senior, account managers are too transactional. They don’t understand their clients’ business and, as a result, don’t have a point of view. They’re not providing critical thinking or problem-solving. They don’t stop and ask: “Why?”
Additionally, there’s too much reliance on emails and WhatsApp messages, which reduces the amount of talk/face-time, and this is detrimental to building a trusting, meaningful relationship.
Work closely
Every single great relationship I encounter (and there are many) are those where the agencies work closely with their clients, be it on co-creating briefs, discussing issues or simply having a deep understanding of their business.
• ~•~•
On reviewing these insights and many others, I launched my presentation entitled “Future-Proof Your Agency — What Clients Want” five weeks ago, and the bookings came in fast and furiously, but so did covid-19 and everything has been postponed. So, like the rest of the world, I’ve had time to stop and think, and the opportunity to relook at and adapt this presentation to also cover the needs of clients in a post-covid-19 world and how agencies need to adapt.
So, I’m really excited to be launching “Future-Proof Your Agency in the Post-COVID World. What clients want” this coming Monday, 20 April 2020. It will include all the key insights from eight years of Radar, global learnings from the best in the business and the requirements to adapt to the “new normal”. It can take the form of a 90-minute presentation or workshop, via Zoom/Microsoft Teams or in person (after lockdown). Interested agencies and marketers may email me on ann.nurock@relationshipaudits.com for further details and bookings.
While we have your attention, please would you consider taking out a MarkLives membership to help finance our operations? The covid-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on society and industry. With your support, either as a once-off or monthly contribution, we can continue our coverage of its impact on our industry.
Ann Nurock (@annnurock) spent 25+ years in the advertising industry, working on some of the biggest global and local brands in her role as CEO of Grey South Africa, followed by president and CEO of Grey Canada. In 2011, she chose to return to South Africa and open the Africa office of Relationship Audits and Management, a global consultancy that measures and optimises business relationships, focusing on the marketing services industry. For over eight years, she’s been conducting her Radar survey with 15 corporate clients and over 60 agencies of all disciplines.
This MarkLives #CoronavirusSA special section contains coverage of how the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and its resultant disease, covid-19, is affecting the advertising, marketing and related industries in South Africa and other parts of Africa, and how we are responding. Updates may be sent to us via our contact form or the email address published on our Contact Us page. Opinion pieces/guest columns must be exclusive.
by Elena Protulis (@elenaprotulis) Sometimes, it’s ok to not say anything, to not be creative or tactical. Sometimes, people just want space to breathe and deal with the anxiety and the unknown in their own way.
Some brands have felt the need to make a statement, such as McDonald’s, which ultimately received backlash, whereas others feel they need to educate and inform on preventing infection, such as Mercedes-Benz on its global Instagram page
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-oxDR9iKll/
“Unprecedented” literally sums up where we yet are. Nobody could’ve planned for this type of crisis and nobody has to plan. It’s ok to not say anything.
If I take a step back into my world, what have I filtered out? I delete mailers from companies saying whether they’re essential services or not’ I don’t watch or read most content forwarded on WhatsApp, which has become a cesspit for sharing fake news.
Who’s doing it well?
Who’s doing it well? Supermarkets have gotten it right and are relevant for now. Now, more than ever, I want to hear from brands which know I need them now and which are providing input and advice to how they’re helping — they’re an essential service for me to get through day by day.
Pick n Pay launched a great video to drive awareness on not panic-buying. Then, all the supermarkets came together to drive a unified front in the important role they play in our lives right now.
The real winners
But, for me, the real winners in all of this are the artists who’re handing out their intellectual property to sprinkle some magic, creativity and inspiration in households:
David Walliams is releasing a free audio book every day for 30 days
HarperCollins Publishers has relaxed its copyright to allow teachers to read books online for their students, and
People are on lockdown and are looking for experiences — or even nothing at all — just trying to get through the day.
I don’t really want to hear from brands right now, unless they’ve something of value to add or there’s an injection of creativity or inspiration. Don’t tell me what to do or how to cope in this crisis; this is where the World Health Organisation and our efficient government’s communication is sufficient.
Time to step back
Most brands are in lockdown, too, and that’s ok. Following a trip to Cuba in 2011, I’ll never forget how there were no billboards on the streets, only music. Let’s calm down on the advertising and let the artists, musicians and authors feed our souls. Let the essential services provide us with the information we need.
It’s time for advertising to take a step back and reassess its values, its objectives and the incessant requirement that it’s not ok to always be on.
While we have your attention: Please would you consider taking out a MarkLives membership to help finance our operations? The covid-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on society and industry. With your support, either as a once-off or monthly contribution, we can continue our coverage of its impact on our industry.
Elena Protulis (@elenaprotulis) is a seasoned publishing, content, social media and digital marketing professional. She has UK, South and pan-African social media and digital experience across blue-chip clients in the finance, FMCG, consumer, B2B, automotive, telecoms, tech and gaming sectors, and was previously head of social media and content at Aqua. Elena was at the forefront of social media marketing in London in 2010 and has gone on to clock up career highlights such as establishing MTN Group’s social media policies, guidelines and strategies across 22 opcos, as well as creating a social media command centre for a global beverage company.
This MarkLives #CoronavirusSA special section contains coverage of how the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and its resultant disease, covid-19, is affecting the advertising, marketing and related industries in South Africa and other parts of Africa, and how we are responding. Updates may be sent to us via our contact form or the email address published on our Contact Us page. Opinion pieces/guest columns must be exclusive.
Major Casey Schuler: I hate this bug. Col Sam Daniels: Oh, come on, Casey. You have to admire its simplicity. It’s one-billionth our size and it’s beating us. Major Casey Schuler: So, what do you want to do, take it to dinner? Col Sam Daniels: No. Major Casey Schuler: What then? Col Sam Daniels: Kill it.
by Siwe Lawrence (@Siwe_Lawrence) Only four months into 2020 and it feels more like seven. With most of our 2020 strategies and resolutions rearranged to align to the movie set outside our homes, it definitely doesn’t feel like the 2020 we envisioned. The above lines are from the 1995 blockbuster, Outbreak, starring Dustin Hoffman as Colonel Sam Daniels, Kevin Spacey as Major Casey Schuler and Cuba Gooding Jr as Major Salt… and the expression of “art imitating life” couldn’t be truer, 25 years later.
The outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic this year has done more than shaken us up. It’s created a new normal, that, with the right perspective, can move us to a better way of living and mindfulness.
Physical inter-connectedness
If there’s one thing that this little ‘bug’ has highlighted, it’s the physical inter-connectedness of everything and everyone. It’s also highlighted the need to zone into the micro-ness of the moments around us. The other day during our “cororo” banter, my colleagues and I started connecting the dots of the ecosystems surrounding us at work and our homes: the IT person who services all the computers at work; that one biometric at my complex’s residents entrance; that Uber Eats driver delivering lots of dinners in one night; the three taxis that one person used to take to get to their township; that car guard who didn’t only help you with your trolley but many more, long after you had left the parking lot… multiple those by all the micro-moments of hand-touching and physical contact.
As much as this could cause more anxiety than awe, I found myself awestruck at the sheer simplicity of connectedness that still exists in the offline world and the simplicity of one virus to make us more aware. Our proximity to a whole other network of people is definitely less than six degrees of separation. This means that there’s fertile ground for behavior change to break out and happen.
Life as we know it has been disrupted and our response has been to change behaviour, from fist bumps to elbow bumps. Somewhere between social gatherings to social distancing, the skrr-skrrs are having meltdowns at the thought of less “groove”.
Henry Grabar of online magazine, Slate, writes: “These changes will emerge from the total, unprecedented reappraisal of the modus operandi that is already taking place… People might stick with the disruptions to their lives, too: More deliveries taking the place of personal trips. More cooking, and less eating out. More driving in solitude — or, optimistically, biking — and less reliance on Uber, Lyft, and transit. Therapy, yoga, and medical advice online. More video games; less live entertainment.”
Small businesses
Another layer of this inter-connectedness is that all of the above changes are connected to some sort of business or service provider. Small businesses are starting to buckle at the effects of the outbreak, mostly because most business models depend on people being able to gather in some way.
Our Department of Small Business Development announced an estimated R1bn in support packages to assist small-, micro- and medium-sized businesses, but one has to consider how small businesses such as photographers and event planners will have to be more agile in shifting their services to provide for a socially distanced and less-travelled population.
Henry Grabar also writes: “Companies might emerge with a revised, stricter sense of what kind of travel is really essential to business. Perhaps we’ll build more resilient, local supply chains.” That thinking is not only going to change the entire structure of things within China but also the global fabric connecting China to the rest of the world. Your “Made in China”s may convert into more “Made and distributed in Gauteng/Durban/etc”s. A little ‘bug’ has done that.
The above examples of changes in behavior create new opportunities for marketers and media buyers to engage with audiences. Despite the forced behaviours of social distancing, working from home and a reduction in travel, audiences still need to be connected, entertained and informed. Media buyers are probably seeing a decrease in things such as taxi-rank dwell time, listenership on morning- and afternoon-drive radio, or a reluctance to accept samples. Depending on the forced behavior, we’re seeing an increase in terms of time spent on social media, meeting platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, food delivery apps and sites, Netflix, podcasts, news sites and an increase in specific searched words or topics. The question to then ask is: How are we changing our approaches to campaign to align with what media buyers are informing us about?
Col Sam Daniels: You know, Salt, fear gets a bad rap. I don’t want anybody in my outfit that doesn’t get scared. Major Salt: Then I’m your man, sir.
Victors
Fear right now seems to be our biggest adversary but what if we are the victors in all this? If you think about it, any country’s economy is only as good as its people’s health. Traditionally, a good economy consists of more-productive and critical-thinking human beings. The definition of a good economy may very well shift to also being about cleaner human beings, which contributes to a cleaner planet.
According to recent observations by NASA, nitrogen dioxide pollution (associated with cars, trucks, factories, and power plants) fell by as much as 30% in heavily industrialised eastern China during its lockdown, purely because of the increase in working from home and the drastic decrease in travel and automotive movements outside of the home. A little ‘bug’ has done that.
Right now, the interconnectedness of everyone is positioned as our demise but collective changed behavior towards living better certainly sets us far from failure. Could a virus actually change the way we think about a globalised world in years to come? Sure, it’s one billionth our size but you got to admire the simplicity of this little ‘bug’ in making us break out of our old ways, and into a new normal.
While we have your attention: Please would you consider taking out a MarkLives membership to help finance our operations? The covid-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on society and industry. With your support, either as a once-off or monthly contribution, we can continue our coverage of its impact on our industry.
Siwelile Lawrence (née Thusi) (@Siwe_Lawrence) is a qualified South African chartered-accountant-turned-senior-strategist at M&C Saatchi Abel; she’s also a working photographer and writer. Since mid-2015, she’s been in strategic planning, working on some of South Africa’s big brands in different categories and industries in the ATL and digital spaces. Siwe contributes the regular column, “An Accountant in Adland“ — exploring the fluidity of the disciplines and other themes like film and music that influence our lives — to MarkLives.com.
This MarkLives #CoronavirusSA special section contains coverage of how the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and its resultant disease, covid-19, is affecting the advertising, marketing and related industries in South Africa and other parts of Africa, and how we are responding. Updates may be sent to us via our contact form or the email address published on our Contact Us page. Opinion pieces/guest columns must be exclusive.
by MarkLives (@marklives) The hottest primetime shows on SABC 3 in South Africa revealed: TV ratings for March, February and January 2020. Please take note of this loadshedding notice (pdf) from the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA), as well as this notice regarding the impact of covid-19 on the BRCSA’s homepage.
While we have your attention, please would you consider taking out a MarkLives membership to help finance our operations? The covid-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on society and industry. With your support, either as a once-off or monthly contribution, we can continue our coverage of its impact on our industry.
SABC 3, March 2020
Top 20 Programmes All Adults 15+
Prime Time 5.30pm—10pm
Adults 15+ years U:36011 S:8368
While we have your attention: Please would you consider taking out a MarkLives membership to help finance our operations? The covid-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on society and industry. With your support, either as a once-off or monthly contribution, we can continue our coverage of its impact on our industry.
The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA) 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. In 2016, it 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.
by Charlie Mathews (@CharlesLeeZA) It’s hard to reimagine the optimism that was Design Indaba 2020. That was February; this is lockdown. Seven weeks ago, the ‘Think Tank: Do Tank’ super-conference had flown in ‘super creatives who [had been] changing the world’ to rub shoulders with the local press. Today, everyone’s talking about the death of the conference industry and I’m wondering how Design Indaba (DI) will survive.
DI was opened by a tone-deaf spokesperson for Brand South Africa, that government agency tasked with improving this Mzansi’s reputation based on the delusion that marketing fixes countries. It doesn’t. Participative government that has a compelling vision of the future, matched with excellent ethics that propel transparence, accountability and efficacy, does. As does global contribution, great diplomacy and the protection of all the planet’s stakeholders.
Let’s put this simply: “I am dumbstruck by the naiveté of governments who think that people are going to change their minds about a country they are totally indifferent to just because of some crap advertisement,” Simon Anholt, founder of Good Country, made clear over a decade ago.
The fiction of Brand SA
But that sheltered-employment project is convinced of its fiction. Take a look at the tale Brand SA spins about its formation:
“Brand South Africa was established in August 2002 to help create a positive and compelling brand image for South Africa. At that time, the world was unsure about what to think of South Africa, with many different messages being sent out by various sources. This did very little to build the country’s brand and it was evident that to attract tourism and investment there was a need to co-ordinate marketing initiatives to make them more effective.”
Let’s get back to DI and the Brand SA mouthpiece who tells the audience how desperate our situation is. As if we don’t already know. Clang! The speaker persists on instructing the incredulous, shuffling crowd that saving our country is a citizenry job. But no one’s listening. Everyone’s waiting for the unicorn to appear. All anyone wants is Sho Madjozi.
Maya Christinah Xichavo Wegerif, aka Sho Madjozi, is who Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School professor, calls “disruptive innovation”. Transformation is, after all, not born of big iron and hybrid clouds; humans are the real agents of digital transformation.
While technology accelerates the pace of progress and enables disruptive innovation, the hard work of transformation happens in our psyches. In business, this translates to the CEOs who have to reinvent themselves, their hierarchies and legacy structures in a covid-19 instant. Transformation is the hard work of reinventing unimaginative structures and strategies that limit innovation, and using our imaginations to invent new, better, more-benevolent ecosystems that do.
Just as leaders enable transformative movements in enterprises, in society, intellectuals and cultural actors do the work of transformation by revealing to us the hidden truths that illuminate the margins of society, so that we collectively and individually integrate what’s been lost to the self. This is for the betterment of everyone and everything.
Agents of change
One only needs to look to Fela Kuti, who called his music “a weapon” to realise how impactful artists are as agents of change. As Kuti said to Hank Bordowitz in an interview for the latter’s book, Noise of the World: Non-Western Artists in Their Own Words: “Music is supposed to have an effect. If you’re playing music and people don’t feel something, you’re not doing shit. That’s what African music is about. When you hear something, you must move. I want to move people to dance, but also to think. Music wants to dictate a better life, against a bad life. When you’re listening to something that depicts having a better life, and you’re not having a better life, it must have an effect on you.”
The destructive complexity of Kuti and bright optimism of Madjozi may seem at odds, but both traverse the transpersonal and, in so doing, make their respective cultures more alive than ever before. In a piece for Paper, Amira Rasool describes Madjozi’s vitality as born of imagination: “Unlike many mainstream African pop acts, Madjozi raps in several different native African languages over tracks that are usually reserved for English lyrics, and on gqom beats that typically don’t require much lyrical content at al.” He adds, “This unique ability means she has a wide appeal, reaching audiences across the continent and beyond by speaking directly to them.”
~•~•~
A lifetime ago, Madjozi exploded onto the DI stage in a riot of colour to rapturous applause. A story on legs, this artist entices her audience into her narrative through fashion, film, dance, music and comedy. This is a genre-mashing, convention-smashing performance that simultaneously reinvents and champions what it means to be Vatsonga.
Pied piper
Madjozi the magician is a pied piper, and we, her children, sing, clap, dance and laugh our way through a metamorphosis of a historical narrative wrapped up in the reinvention of the xibelani. The handle for a traditional Vatsonga dance, xibelani is also the name of the skirt used to perform it.
Xibelani is uber-cool these days. Social channels such as YouTube feature xibelani challenges, while influencers on Instagram wear the Tsonga-wraparound made of tell-tale Asian cloth to swoons of: “How much is the shibhelani skirt”?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrKi5LShf3m/
When culture collides with commerce and finds a sustainable home, this is a clear sign of mainstreaming. But, in the case of the xibelani, this particular Vatsonga icon had to be wrestled out of a museum of shame.
“It’s not an African idea to cover up the body, but the xilemba says: ‘I have the right to dress colourfully and lightly, without losing my tradition.” — Sho Madjozi
In the #grimdark that was apartheid, with so much of identity and culture murdered or dispossessed, it was unsurprising to learn the cruel story of how traditional Tsonga skirts fell out of fashion. The book, Embroiled: Swiss Churches, South Africa and Apartheid, explores how Christian colonists, like the Swiss Mission, arrived ideology-primed, became land barons and started re-engineering the beliefs, culture and experiences of the Vatsonga. Wits’ Historical Papers lays bare the chilling intent of these initiatives with a note from apartheid beauraucrat, DF Malan, that talks about the Swiss Mission “civilising the heathen”.
At DI, Madjozi premiered the trailer for a forthcoming documentary she’s making, “The History of the Xibelani”, that reveals this facism through stories and interactions that includes snatches such as:
“In the old days you weren’t allowed to wear a xibelani without a cloth.”
“Men were even forbidden from touching it, or seeing it.”
“If your mother walked past you wearing a xibelani, you wouldn’t feel good about it. You’d even ask your mother not to wear it.”
A revealing interview with an unidentified elderly Vatsonga woman wearing a xibelani sees this dancer confess, “When you wore a xibelani, you were called a ‘heathen’.” The Tsonga dancer sits on the floor in front of her home, proudly wearing her tinguvu and a bright yellow top.
Transmedia experience
Leading us along the transmedia experience, Madjozi reveals, “The first xibelani I saw, I think, was the woolly ones,” and explains how her mother introduced her to the dance, and attire, and importantly, how it became a point of identity, and a living manifesto for Madjozi’s own invention.
Madjozi was already famous in Africa off the back of her 2018 hit single, Huku, when the “Captain of the Limpopo League ‘‘ turned Wakanda Forever into a closed-fisted, arms across the chest, viral wave of empowerment.
She amplified this global popularity in August 2019 with her global breakthrough hit, John Cena produced by boy Daflame on COLORS, the YouTube platform with a zen-like square aesthetic.
The musician’s inventive, genre-defying style saw her disrupt the cultural flows in the globe’s digitally connected commercial ecospheres. Madjozi says the song — a mash of Xitsonga, Kiswahili and English — is about how, “growing up, we only got to watch two TV shows: one was WWE and the other was Generations.”
Tools of cultural connection
Facebook, Spotify, Netflix and other social platforms are tools of cultural connection born of the US, and empower creativity but arrive with an overbearing overlay of cultural dominance. American media floods and saturates social networks, and this does little to empower local economies. If you’re on a budget and it is a choice between Drake or Kwesta, you bet that Drake’s remarketing power and reach will win through. Or, as Madjozi has said on Cape Talk, “As an independent artist, there isn’t a big machinery pushing me onto these platforms. It’s all been genuine and organic love from people — that’s amazing to me!”
This is why her breakthrough is so important. She doesn’t only represent South Africa. Rather, she presents a pan-African identity at a time when xenophobia has fractured this country’s relationship with the rest of the continent. Beyond the recovery of the xibelani, Madjozi is a fierce icon for a new kind of identity that speaks to a post-nationalist, postmodern identity at a time when our world is in crisis.
This song’s power is that it’s a story about a message that’s accessible to everyone. “This song has a powerful ‘feel good’ vibe to it and you can see how Madjozi enjoys singing it. Even if some humans don’t know what the singer means, they’ll get the John Cena reference as this is now part of popular culture because it has become a meme,” says Edre Bosch, a Pretoria-based music producer who specialises in the contemporary Afrikaans genre, and who’s worked with Karlien van Jaarsveld, Lianie May and Fatman.
Anthem for reinvention
The founder of Rock Beats Paper adds, “The beat is constant, with the snare drum driving the entire song. Her melodies and phrasing are very modern pop but I also hear the obvious elements that speak to Madjozi’s family history, tradition and place in our world. The background whistle and the ‘chi chi chi’ are very distinctively a fusion of traditional and non-traditional elements.” Bosch says that the song is enlivening and makes anyone get up and dance. In this way, it’s become more than itself — it’s become an anthem for reinvention at a time when we most need it.
But let’s get back to Brand SA. If the government’s smart, it’ll use the novel coronavirus as an opportunity to pare back on that wasteful expenditure. Established in 2002, Brand SA has had 18 years to exercise its fiction. Now that we’ve finally arrived at junk status and the dark night of the soul, the full #grimdark, we should let it go. Or integrate it into a more-useful department like diplomacy.
Brand SA’s covid-19 message to market. What does this even mean?
As for Madjozi? She’s telling everyone to stay safe, and stay at home during this pandemic. And we’re listening. Because we respect her. She’s a force of nature and we know she knows how to reach the promised land — and realise a vision of a new world.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-reqiHAIOn/
That’s where SA needs to go now, toward #hopepunk and the land of reinvention. We need to separate ourselves from the #grimdark that was the past. We must put the corruption and wasteful expenditure behind us, and use all our imagination, power and resources to build a better life for all. But we need a clear vision of the hard work we really need to do. Now is the time for our leaders to arise, so that we might become more economically, politically and socially inclusive, diverse, collaborative, transparent, responsible, accountable and open.
Let the #hopepunk revolution, covid-19-cocooned metamorphosis become a heady, vibrant vein that propels our collective transformation and future. #WakandaForever
While we have your attention: Please would you consider taking out a MarkLives membership to help finance our operations? The covid-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on society and industry. With your support, either as a once-off or monthly contribution, we can continue our coverage of its impact on our industry.
As an entrepreneur, Charlie Mathews (@CharlesLeeZA) has worked in growth teams with Naspers, Microsoft, and Tutuka.com (the global prepaid card company). Mathews has also successfully founded and exited two marketing companies. Published in Rolling Stone magazine, Guardian UK, and SA’s Greatest Entrepreneurs, edited by Moky Makura, Mathews wrote for Daily Maverick during the title’s legendary startup era. Today, Mathews is the founder and CEO of HumanInsight, a research, insights and learning company that helps brands better understand, and serve — humans.
by Richard Lord (@rlord182) What a difference a month makes! But, before we get to the March 2020 TV numbers, I thought I’d discuss the broad effects that covid-19 is having on media consumption in South Africa.
When I wrote the February column a month ago, covid-19 was something that we were only vaguely interested in from an intellectual POV as it was happening in other countries but not yet in SA. We were all still working in our offices, having face-to-face meetings, exercising in the gym, taking our dogs for a walk and going out for a run or a cycle.
Lockdown
Fast-forward several weeks and we find ourselves in lockdown.
Most of us have been working from home for three or even four weeks, and the world that we know is a very different place! Last month, we were worried about the effects of load shedding on media consumption; now we’re wondering what the impact of forced isolation means for advertisers and media owners alike!
First, all media that’s consumed in groups — such as cinema, events, sports — is no more. Cinemas are closed; sport has been cancelled; gatherings have been banned. Airports are closed, and the roads are empty as the nation is in lockdown so out-of-home (OOH) advertising is ineffective for now [with exceptions: see this piece by Margie Carr — ed]. If you haven’t already, chat to your media agency and review your strategies.
News24 traffic
However, if you’re not already investing in digital, then now’s the time to increase your budgets as digital’s seeing a massive spike in activity, especially social media and news websites. Below is a graph supplied by News24 and you can see the impact that covid-19 is having on its audience! Massive!
Impact of covid-19 on News24 traffic via Meta Media.
TV viewership
But what about TV? What will the effects of the lockdown have on TV viewership in South Africa?
People are at home during the day, and daytime TV viewership is and will be increasing. Before the lockdown, daytime already offered advertisers great value. In this column, I’ve spoken about how certain shows outside of primetime (6pm–9pm) have really good audiences with really competitive rates and CPPs. This is only going to improve. In fact, we’ve already seen evidence of this happening.
Looking at just the SABC and e.tv, and comparing the week before President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster in SA and the week after, when people started to self-isolate and work from home (we didn’t have the complete data for the first full week of lockdown yet at the time of writing), we see a significant increase in average TV ratings across various time channels of the day:
Time channel
% Increase
Overall average weekly ratings (SABC & e.tv, all adults 15+)
+28.1%
Average 2pm–4pm
+15.0%
Average 4pm–6pm
+47.9%
Average 6pm–8pm
+32.3%
There’s an increase across the board but look at the increase in the 4pm–6pm time channel specifically… this is when most working people would be commuting home from the office but now they’re already home, and we’re seeing a massive jump in audience in this time channel. Advertisers who shift some spend to this time channel can benefit from increased audiences, and lower CPPs = better media efficiency.
Also, if we look at how specific programme genres are being impacted, as well as with the News24 digital example I shared above, we’re seeing that audiences tuning into news programming on TV have increased by 37%. This shows that South Africans are hungry for news information at the moment!
Main market
What are March’s top 10 shows (averaged data)? First the main market (LSM 4–7):
Top 10 TV shows
Channel
LSM 4–7
Uzalo
SABC 1
9 486 146
Generations: The Legacy
SABC 1
7 829 601
Skeem Saam
SABC 1
5 784 067
Scandal
e.tv
4 547 046
isiZulu News
SABC 1
4 351 305
isiXhosa News
SABC 1
4 149 079
Muvhango
SABC 2
4 099 883
Sgud’snaysi
SABC 1
4 097 619
Ngempela
SABC 1
3 908 719
Mina Nawe
SABC 1
3 623 974
To reinforce my point above about the audience growth for news content, we see isiZulu and isiXhosa news jumping firmly into the top 10 and taking up positions 5 and 6, replacing Muvhango, which is a consistent contender for the top five. Last month, by comparison, isiZulu news ranked no. 12 and isiXhosa news was no. 14. If we compare the average audience the week before and the week after the national disaster was declared, the picture becomes even clearer.
Before disaster
After disaster
% increase
isiZulu news
3 453 848
4 825 005
+39.7%
isiXhosa news
3 004 022
4 809 780
+60.1%
High-income earners
What about the high-income earners? For the longest time, the top three programmes watched by the high-income earners mirrored that of the main market. But last month we saw a change, with the state of the nation (SONA) address coming in at no. 2, and now, for the second month in a row, we have a new entry, which again drives home the point about how important news content has become during this time.
Top 10 TV shows
Channel
LSM 8–10
Uzalo
SABC 1
1 133 361
SABC News: Covid-19 Lockdown
SABC 2
963 753
Skeem Saam
SABC 1
887 852
Generations: The Legacy
SABC 1
833 858
Scandal
e.tv
675 857
The Queen
Mzansi
652 128
isiZulu News
SABC 1
582 617
Our Perfect Wedding
Mzansi
548 299
Xhosa News
SABC 1
547 326
Imbewu: The Seed
e.tv
518 027
Covid-19 has become a defining moment of our time and generation, and people want to keep abreast of developments. How long this will last before news fatigue sets in? We can only guess. But, for now, brands that want to capture a lot of eyeballs should consider the news genre an important one.
What’s important, however, is that brands be very careful about their tone during this time. We’ve plenty of examples of brands that are getting it right but others have been accused by consumers of being tone-deaf. Consumers are scared at the moment and, in times like these, we all draw comfort from the things that we trust — and brands are one of those things. But brands which try to exploit the situation to turn a profit are going to be panned by consumers. Brands need to be sensitive; they need to show consumers that they care, that they are here for people in their time of need, and that we are all in this together!
Stay home, stay safe!
While we have your attention: Please would you consider taking out a MarkLives membership to help finance our operations? The covid-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on society and industry. With your support, either as a once-off or monthly contribution, we can continue our coverage of its impact on our industry.
Richard Lord (@rlord182) is media and operations director at Meta Media, South Africa’s newest media agency and part of the IPG global network and Nahana Communications Group of specialist agencies. With over 20 years’ experience in the media industry and having worked for FCB, UM in London, and The MediaShop, he’s spent most of his career with IPG. Richard contributes the monthly “Watched” column, which analyses monthly TV audience viewership figures in South Africa, to MarkLives.com.
This MarkLives #CoronavirusSA special section contains coverage of how the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and its resultant disease, covid-19, is affecting the advertising, marketing and related industries in South Africa and other parts of Africa, and how we are responding. Updates may be sent to us via our contact form or the email address published on our Contact Us page. Opinion pieces/guest columns must be exclusive.
by Justin Gomes (@justinjgomes)When the normal rules no longer apply, might we be inspired to better use our time?
Covid-19 has given us many things over the last four months: stress, fear, anxiety, panic-buying, a stock market crash and a shitload of toilet-roll memes. But it’s also given us a new way to think about how we use our time.
Interestingly, only 16% of mental breakthroughs happen in the workplace. We’re constantly in alert mode, waiting for the next ping from our phones, the next iCal or urgent meeting request. And, while email is great for staying on top of things, it often distracts us from getting to the bottom of things. With our brains in constant alert mode, our adrenal glands release a steady stream of cortisol (the body’s main stress hormone), never allowing the brain to relax and tap into what neuroscientists call the “imagination network”.
A reimagined world
The imagination network is the part of the brain responsible for processing, planning, critical thinking, problem-solving and creativity. In a covid-19 world, our ability to imagine other perspectives and future scenarios has never been as important.
Studies also show that, while most workers think they spend time in the office being highly productive, on average, a person working an eight-hour day is only productive for two hours and 53 minutes. According to Inc. magazine, the biggest time-wasters, in order of importance, are:
Reading news websites: 1 hour 5 minutes
Checking social media: 44 minutes
Discussing non-work-related things with co-workers: 40 minutes
Searching for new jobs: 26 minutes
Taking smoke breaks: 23 minutes
Making calls to partners or friends: 18 minutes
Making hot drinks: 17 minutes
Texting or instant messaging: 14 minutes
Eating snacks: 8 minutes
Making food in the office: 7 minutes
So, if we manage our new-found time out of the office wisely, we have the opportunity to get more done. Add in the introduction of social distancing and a lockdown that will, in all likelihood, be extended, and how will we be spending what was previously known as ‘free time’? Will we be overloading our nerves, increasing the chatter of our monkey brains to deafening volumes with a never-ending scroll through metres of coronavirus-saturated social media feeds? Will we be furiously downloading Netflix series before our undersea internet cables finally give out?
Or are we designed for more?
The creative conundrum
Pablo Picasso once said, “All children are born artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
Could the time of covid-19 be our time to break free from the deep-etched grooves of mental habit that come with age, in order to create space from our perpetual busyness and reconnect with our creativity as a species? Reconnecting not to ‘make a dent in the universe’, like the left-footed geniuses we glorify for being out of step with the world, but simply to create something for the joy of creating it.
In the words of the American children’s book author, Shel Silverstein,
Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
‘Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain’t been there before.
When you’re completely absorbed in a creative act, you’re ‘in flow’. Repetitive creative motions like knitting, drawing or writing help activate flow, reduce anxiety and boost your mood as your brain is flooded with dopamine — that feel-good chemical that helps motivate you.
Gift of time
Over the last few days, I’ve seen colleagues make pony blankets out of secret socks, create <Now That’s What I Call Covid-19> playlists (and, yes, “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” by The Police featured on every one), dust off cobweb-stringed guitars and learn how to learn again.
US writer and poet, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr, once declared: “Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out.”
You have been given the gift of time. What will you do with it?
While we have your attention: Please would you consider taking out a MarkLives membership to help finance our operations? The covid-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on society and industry. With your support, either as a once-off or monthly contribution, we can continue our coverage of its impact on our industry.
This MarkLives #CoronavirusSA special section contains coverage of how the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and its resultant disease, covid-19, is affecting the advertising, marketing and related industries in South Africa and other parts of Africa, and how we are responding. Updates may be sent to us via our contact form or the email address published on our Contact Us page. Opinion pieces/guest columns must be exclusive.
by Skhumbuzo “SK” Tuswa (@SkhumbuzoTuswa) The rainbow nation — a beautiful image. The multicoloured flag. South Africans from all walks of life coming together, sharing stories about themselves over beers. All of them suddenly realising that, you know what, we really aren’t that different — race is a simple matter of your skin’s melanin content, nothing more, and our nation really is ‘[hashtag] stronger together’. Look, ntwana, that’s not reality, no matter how many ads they show you with that storyline.
As ad people, I would expect us to be the first to recognise the difference between a scripted commercial and reality. Twenty-six years into democracy, we refuse to leave the set and see our country for what it really is. Surely this attitude can only have a disastrous effect on future generations of talent in our industry?
The labour industry hates black people — let’s talk about that
If it weren’t for black economic empowerment (BEE), I know for a fact I’d be struggling to participate in the creative economy. No university degree. No copywriting qualification whatsoever. English isn’t even my mother tongue. At my first job interview, my portfolio was basically a Soundcloud link with rap music that I’ve since deleted off the internet. Any other potential boss might have shown me the door, there and then, but I was lucky enough to get my mixtape in front of an ECD who loved working with creatives from non-traditional backgrounds.
Fast-forward about five years, said ECD is leading a respected agency and I’m working somewhere else. I’d been working as a writer at this other agency for a while but I was on a council that oversaw major diversity initiatives in the company. That is when I started learning about BEE, and that many companies get tax incentives for recruiting young, black talent. After digesting information about the many ways a company could go about its ‘BEE strategy’, I fully realised that, if it weren’t for policies like BEE, the industry would want nothing to do with me.
‘We just need you to prove yourself one more time’
An ex-colleague told me an interesting story relating to the hiring process for black creatives vs other races (mainly white). He told me how he, as an exco member, had seen interview panels make black creatives jump through hoops to prove that they know what they and their awards lists say they know. Their white counterparts, however, would sometimes get hired for the same role simply because they’re old mates with the hiring ECD.
Personally, I’ve been told point-blank at an interview to differentiate between work I’d done as part of a team and work that I conceptualised and made individually. This happened because my interviewer was convinced I couldn’t possibly have thought of and rolled out an idea that went on to do really well. It’s as if, even when you’re good, you’re just not good enough.
We can’t rely on people who benefit from a lack of transformation to be its drivers
Redressing the injustices of the past is an issue that’s not only complex but costly, too. Take a quick look at the economics of agencies and you’ll see why transformation is so stubbornly slow, and stubbornly low. The industry is made up of private companies which aren’t subject to very extensive scrutiny when it comes to their labour practices. They can hire whoever they want, according to whatever criteria they choose, and pay that person whatever both parties are willing to agree on. Free market, akere?
Now, the thing about the free market is, it has no problem with people who are disadvantaged being the biggest losers in the economy. The free market doesn’t care about workers’ rights, women’s rights or human rights, really. If the lady who’s cleaning your office is too sick, the free market would rather replace her on the spot than get someone to cover for her. The free market hates that there are laws which prescribe minimum wages in this country. The free market would rather have companies pay desperate job-seekers the lowest amount of money they’re willing to agree to. The free market is the most-consistent explanation as to the sorry state of transformation in advertising today.
Back to BEE
An agency I worked at had its HR department gather data on existing employees’ remuneration data. The idea was to test the theory that there’s a strong correlation between one’s race and how much they earn, regardless of seniority. The results were visualised as a bar graph. The highest earners in the business were white, followed by coloured employees, then Indian. The tiniest bar was that of the business’ lowest earners — its black employees — who far outnumbered any other race at the agency.
The same agency had a BEE share scheme that was set up to pay dividends to black employees at the company. The idea behind it was to recognise the financial burden black employees today are under, and how this comes as a direct result of generations of people in their communities being outlawed from participating in their country’s own economy. It was about using financial instruments to relieve people’s financial burdens. As well-intentioned as the initiative was, many beneficiaries felt dehumanised by it.
While I can’t blame my colleagues for seeing things that way, I think we should shift the conversation to something more important. BEE and similar policies were designed out of necessity, because agencies and other companies are only willing to get on the road to transformation under one condition — which is that they’re dragged kicking and screaming. Until their stance changes, phambili nge-BEE, phambili!
While we have your attention: Please would you consider taking out a MarkLives membership to help finance our operations? The covid-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on society and industry. With your support, either as a once-off or monthly contribution, we can continue our coverage of its impact on our industry.
Skhumbuzo “SK” Tuswa (@SkhumbuzoTuswa) is an award-winning copywriter and Soundcloud rapper. He’s obsessed with helping black youth navigate a tricky post-apartheid South African economy.
“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.
by Wayne Naidoo (@WNaidoo)As I write this, we’re only on day four of lockdown and what a wild ride it’s already been. While this most certainly will be remembered as one of the most-devastating human and economic crises of our time, I can’t help but marvel at humankind and how we’re choosing to show up at in this uncertain time. We’re seeing the best of some and the very worst of others; as American actor, Denis Leary, aptly put it, “Crisis doesn’t create character; it reveals it.”
As early as the first day following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation, in which he declared a national state of disaster (not even lockdown yet), we already saw companies and individuals shouting about force majeure. We hadn’t even snatched our first pack of toilet paper off the shelves and some were looking at ways to get out of contracts and having to pay others.
Yes, there’s the distressing reality of businesses that’ve been forced to close their doors and those who’ve lost their livelihoods, but I’m not talking about those. I’m talking about those self-serving corporates which panicked and kicked their staff and small suppliers in the teeth instead of coming up with workable payment arrangements and work agreements to keep everyone going.
By contrast, there’s Standard Bank which were the first to show the other side of the spectrum by giving small businesses and students a three-month payment holiday. There are those who are crowdfunding to pay their employees, entire animal shelters that have been emptied by generous foster families who’re providing food and shelter for 21 days (and longer, judging by the number of foster fails already) and average humans like you and I who’re setting up entire feeding schemes.
Don’t be a parasite
People will remember how you treated them during this time and it’s companies and brands that go the extra mile to help their customers, suppliers and staff that will ultimately gain our business when we come out on the other side. Pay your suppliers, check in on your clients, look after your staff and, if you can’t, then talk to them to find workable arrangements to try and help each other out. Be a partner, not a parasite.
While we’re talking about partners, our current situation is proving to be a good test of how on-board your team really is. Once again, it’s an indicator of people’s true colours: are they buckling down and getting the job done amid the home-schooling and family admin or are they MIA, missing deadlines and making excuses? Do you have those who make stuff happen or those who whine about how difficult it is? Times of crisis reveal character, leadership and adaptability. Those who’re able to remain dedicated, focused and continue delivering on time in difficult circumstances are your keepers and, as for the rest, be grateful for the opportunity to reveal them to you.
The other eye-opening aspect of working through this difficult time is how teams are managing to work remotely and function without each other. Skype and Zoom and all the digital tools have been lifesavers for businesses and individuals needing to connect with others; however, they’vehave also highlighted how we’re battling to communicate efficiently and effectively. Yes, I do see the irony of the communication industry not being able to communicate but I’m currently drowning in email messages as I wade through conversation threads trying to make sense of it all. Our new way of working means we need new protocols as to how we communicate. Not every conversation requires a Zoom meeting — how about just a regular phone call? If you can’t fit your message into one short email, then pick up the phone.
Human connection
While technology’s most definitely been a lifesaver in providing us with the ability to continue working, learning and staying in contact, it’s also highlighted how transactional and sterile it can be. WhatsApp and email allow for misinterpretation and miscommunication, and seldom offer the authenticity of face-to-face interaction. Human connection remains a vital part of our business and, now more than ever, as we find ourselves removed from others, we’re realising just how important relationships are. Having a difficult conversation with a staff member or client needs a relationship and it’s not possible to develop relationships without connection. Perhaps we’ll value our human connections more when we emerge from this.
Business leaders will know that this is most definitely a time of VUCA (vulnerability, uncertainty, complexity and authenticity). How we deal with this won’t only reveal a lot about us but it may also be an opportunity to forge greatness. Now, more than ever, we’ve the opportunity for creativity and problem-solving — we’ve never had more time and certainly never had more need. As John F Kennedy said, “Great crises produce great men [and women], and great deeds of courage.” We’ve been given the opportunity to do the right thing, to be good citizens, to care for our people and show what South Africans are made of.
While we have your attention: Please would you consider taking out a MarkLives membership to help finance our operations? The covid-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on society and industry. With your support, either as a once-off or monthly contribution, we can continue our coverage of its impact on our industry.
This MarkLives #CoronavirusSA special section contains coverage of how the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and its resultant disease, covid-19, is affecting the advertising, marketing and related industries in South Africa and other parts of Africa, and how we are responding. Updates may be sent to us via our contact form or the email address published on our Contact Us page. Opinion pieces/guest columns must be exclusive.
by MarkLives & HaveYouHeard. We asked marketers and agency staff what advice they’ve been giving to their brand teams and clients during this covid-19 pandemic and national lockdown as part of our first South African advertising communications services industry survey to track the impact of covid-19 upon agencies and marketers. The main results were released earlier this week.
While we have your attention, please would you consider taking out a MarkLives membership to help finance our operations? The covid-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on society and industry. With your support, either as a once-off or monthly contribution, we can continue our coverage of its impact on our industry.
Advice
Here’s what they had to say:
“Stop thinking about the performance of your brand, and focus on being empathetic to the human need overall. Don’t push sales, but push morale and positivity in a negative landscape.”
“Carry on, be conscious of tone and take time to think”
“Talk to your customers and prospect regularly and provide reassurance. Do whatever you can to innovate and provide service above and beyond. Build relationships with your customers that are beyond mere transaction — offer real value to their lives. Now is not the time to only think in terms of profit margins. Collaborate.”
“Put customer & staff safety first, keep a close read on how customer reality is continually shifting, communicate clearly and appropriately”
“Communicate regularly with your stakeholders. Stay Top of Mind with your markets by using the communication channels still available to you. Help your customers deal with the situation now, but also help them to consider and plan for the post lockdown recovery.”
“See an opportunity but don’t be opportunistic during this time.
Preparedness: it is incredible how many brands have not prepped for black swan events.
Be authentic”
“Communicate to staff and customers, support the government is providing education and reallocate as opposed to cutting budgets”
“Show up (through support), level up (by connecting with people) and continue to drive comms”
“It’s not a marketing opportunity. Clear corporate comms is what’s needed now.”
“Engage meaningfully, don’t try to push product sales, give back to the community, plan for the future knowing that the world will be different after this”
“Build advocacy not drive sales. Stay true to the role your brand plays and add value to your audience within that role. Deliver on your brand purpose, now more than ever.”
“1. Increase digital spend, particularly on video based platforms.
2. Continue CRM and manage their customer’s expectations.
3. Expect ad delivery delays on Facebook owned platforms.”
This MarkLives #CoronavirusSA special section contains coverage of how the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and its resultant disease, covid-19, is affecting the advertising, marketing and related industries in South Africa and other parts of Africa, and how we are responding. Updates may be sent to us via our contact form or the email address published on our Contact Us page. Opinion pieces/guest columns must be exclusive.
While we have your attention, please would you consider taking out a MarkLives membership to help finance our operations? The covid-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on society and industry. With your support, either as a once-off or monthly contribution, we can continue our coverage of its impact on our industry.
Ann Nurock (@annnurock) spent 25+ years in the advertising industry, working on some of the biggest global and local brands in her role as CEO of Grey South Africa, followed by president and CEO of Grey Canada. In 2011, she chose to return to South Africa and open the Africa office of Relationship Audits and Management, a global consultancy that measures and optimises business relationships, focusing on the marketing services industry. For over eight years, she’s been conducting her Radar survey with 15 corporate clients and over 60 agencies of all disciplines.
