Media Redefined: Super Bowl moments in the age of Netflix

by Martin MacGregor (@MartMacG) The average annual media budget for a large brand in SA is around R70m — and that is exactly what a 30-second spot in this weekend’s Super Bowl in the US costs. That is something to digest, and neatly shows the wealth and size gap between the two markets; the Super Bowl does reach 110m affluent Americans, after all.

More significantly, it highlights the continued demand among advertisers for those singular, live moments where there is certainty that audiences will actually watch it live. Many CMOs in the US have now publicly stated that the majority of their TV spend will now focus on these “Super Bowl moments”.

Live vs non-live

For proof, they need look no further that the top 10 most-watched programmes of 2016, all live events: Super Bowl, World Series (Baseball), The Oscars, Summer Olympics, NFL (Gridiron) playoffs and the NBA (Basketball) Finals. Audiences range from 112m for No. 1 to 31m for No. 10.

The highest non-live programme rating? The Big Bang Theory at 19m.

What this has done is to separate live content from packaged content. Netflix, Showmax and similar services are succeeding because they have understood the shift from packaged programmes being seen as a live event (think Dallas in the ’80s) discussed around the water cooler to something that is consumed more like a book — when and where you feel most comfortable, and seen more as a whole, not as individual chapters. Individual episodes are no longer discussed, but the series as a whole.

What works best

Understanding these Super Bowl moments and what will work when advertising during them, has now become key.

An interesting study was done by the research firm Communicus around the 2014 Super Bowl, which found that 80% of Super Bowl ads don’t actually help sales. Of the ones that did, a vital component was an agile digital strategy, amplifying both the original content plus the social conversations that started as a result of the ads.

Further to that, three different kinds of campaigns were identified as working best in a live environment:

  1. Brands new to the market without name recognition: The opportunity to make a splash and be seen in an environment that punches above its weight works harder for an unknown brand, especially if the creative is edgy. A famous example is the GoDaddy.com ad in the 2013 Super Bowl, which involved a long, intimate kiss between Bar Rafaeli and a less-than-attractive partner and became the most talked about ad on social media and massively increased sales.
  2. Brands that want to align with a social issue: This is usually a new news story for an old brand and it gives an opportunity to launch a fresh association of a good news story. Creatively, this space is also usually looser for a brand and allows for something really impactful to be done.
  3. Super Bowl moments work well as a pivot for long-term engagement campaigns. Months before, a campaign may be seeded to build up anticipation and ensure that awareness is heightened when it is actually flighted. Post-flighting, it may be leveraged and sustained much longer than if the Super Bowl moment had not been used.

Rather unexpected

So the next time you thinking about doing a TV campaign, think about how it may be structured around Super Bowl moments. They may not be as big in South Africa, and there may not be one, defining, total population-capturing event, but they are there if you look for them — and some of them are rather unexpected. Anyone doing anything during the president’s state of the nation (SONA) speech this year?

 

Martin MacGregorMartin MacGregor (@MartMacG) is managing director of Connect, an M&C Saatchi Company, with offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Martin has spent 18 years in the industry, and has previously worked at Ogilvy and was MD of MEC Nota Bene in Cape Town. He contributes the monthly “Media Redefined” column, in which he challenges norms in the media space, to MarkLives.com.

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#AgencyLeaders2016: Most admired ad agency in Cape Town

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Today, we reveal which ad agencies in Cape Town were most admired by their peers in 2016!

Every year since 2012, MarkLives has been polling South Africa’s top agency leaders to find out what they think of their competitors, whom they see as effective managers and great creative leaders, and where they believe their future competition is likely to come from. Next week, we announce the 2016 results from Johannesburg. National results will be announced in two weeks’ time.

The most-admired ad agency in Cape Town

King James Cape Town. Source: Facebook.

King James Group (Cape Town)

King James Group was the clear winner, by a significant margin, of our most-admired agency accolade for 2016. According to James Barty, co-founder and chief executive at King James Group, 2016 was a magnificent year for the group, thanks to the massive win when it picked up the Pick n Pay account, which is shared across both the Cape Town and Johannesburg offices.

The group concluded two acquisitions in 2016: SOC, now rebranded as Punk Media in Joburg, added digital media planning, buying and analytics capability, while Flnt&Tnder, which merged into Punk Jozi in a share swop deal, provided an empowerment impetus.

The group grew by 34% (GP/revenue) vs previous year (only six months of PnP revenue).

Previously

In 2015, King James was named our most-admired ad agency in Cape Town. In 2014, King James tied with Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town. In 2013, it was Ogilvy Cape Town. In 2012, our inaugural poll, it was…. King James!

 

The runner-up

Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town. Source: Facebook.

Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town

Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town, already one of the larger agencies in the country, continued to win significant new business in 2016. These included Mondelēz International (as global lead agency for Clorets and Dentyne). Ogilvy Cape Town is also one of three global lead agencies on the Gum and Candy portfolio; the others are Droga5 in New York and W+K London. It won Tracker in a competitive pitch against M&C Saatchi Abel and King James, as well as the Coca-Cola Stills & Sparkling portfolio — it now manages every Coca-Cola Company brand other than Coke itself, which is held by FCB Africa. It was appointed agency of record for KFC Africa, while Ogilvy PR was appointed PR agency of record for Woolworths. It was recently announced that the agency had been awarded the Appletiser global business (a global lead agency role, much like with Mondelēz). The staff count now tops 310.

“So there is a tremendous story to be told of a South African agency taking on the world and winning,” says managing director, Luca Gallarelli. “I am determined that we become a global agency, managing global clients out of Cape Town — driving thinking and work, and leveraging the network to deploy into market, not the other way around. And, as you can tell from the above, we’ve had some real success in this regard. No other agency in SA can claim this kind of success in owning global relationships.”

Previously

Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town was also our runner-up in 2015. FoxP2 was the runner-up both in 2014 and 2013. In 2012, our inaugural poll, it was Ogilvy Cape Town once again.

 

How the poll works

Towards the end of 2016, Cape Town’s agency leaders were invited to nominate their most-admired agency in Cape Town, the most-admired creative leader in Cape Town and the most-admired agency boss in Cape Town. We also asked them which agency did the best at digital integration and which agency they saw as the one to watch in the future. Nobody could nominate his or her own agency or staff members, and only agencies or execs who work out of the Mother City could be voted for. All the nominations were then tallied up for the final result. The editors of MarkLives had a single vote in the poll. The most-admired agency of the year is disqualified from the One to Watch category; votes cast in its favour in this category is discarded.

Note: Runner-up(s) will only be named if they achieved a good nomination tally relative to the winner’s position. Contenders are named if they stood out significantly above other nominees, but weren’t able to close in on the winner’s tally.

See previous poll results for Cape Town:

 

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

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Innovator’s Toolkit: Trump’s impact on global innovation landscape

by Preetesh Sewraj (@iPreetesh) In the innovation space, imbalances are sometimes the catalysts for remarkable breakthroughs that then return the system to the ideal state until the next imbalance occurs. There is one factor, however, that may pose severe benefit and threat to a large segment of society — politics. Recently, the US swore in Donald J Trump as its 45th president. This represented one of the most polarising elections in US history. While I am far from a supporter of Trump, I am intrigued by the impact his election will have on the global innovation landscape.

Constant tug-of-war

Innovation is stimulated by both consumers’ desire for life-improving products and manufacturers’ desire to unlock greater consumer revenue. This constant tug-of-war between consumers and manufacturers results in a sweet spot where innovation thrives and great products may be found.

This scenario is the simplest form of the ideal world situation but there are times that this constant churn is disrupted. Some of the factors that force this relationship into a state of imbalance may include technological advancement, a wholly new way of delivering the end benefit and change in consumer needs. These imbalances are not necessarily negative.

Globally, the US acts as one of the greatest disruptors on the global stage. It has the ability to attract talent from around the world and constantly disrupt existing industries at various points. A total disruption of the ecosystem is unlikely, as no single company has the ability to generate mass-disruption technology and no consumer group is able to evolve needs in a relatively short period of time. In situations such as these, the innovation cycles are therefore never in sync which allows calm waves of innovation to be generated and spread over the market.

Key trends

Some key trends that I forecast include:

  • Greater American innovation (albeit with higher costs and reduced volumes): Keeping money within the borders of the US will ensure that there are more jobs for innovation professionals within one of the most-innovative global economies. Despite the creation of great IP, the lack of cost-effective manufacturing opportunities will mean that most of the tech created will not be able to filter through the global supply chain. It also means that most Americans will be unlikely to afford these products, thereby relegating them to a limited number of privileged individuals who have the disposable income to pay the price premiums.
  • Global innovation slowdown, particularly in China and Mexico: As China and Mexico represent two major external manufacturing hubs for the US, we may expect that the reduction of both capital and IP flow into these markets will reduce their ability to create next-tier innovation that is derivative of primary innovation techniques generated in the US. This also means that feeder economies, into Mexico and China, will suffer from the lack of capital inflow.
  • Reduced potential for African innovation: As a feeder economy into China, Africa is reliant on capital inflow through the supply of raw materials to China. The Pan-African economy will therefore see less revenue for the development of transport networks that are a key requirement for high-impact innovation economies.
  • Space innovation is likely to see significant leaps: Nationalist ideology from a super power such as the US is likely to spur development in glamour innovation categories. The highly contested space innovation category is likely to see greater competition as the current political regime will look to use this area as a testament to the success of its policies. Space innovation will see a resurgence it has not seen in years and will likely offer a knock-on effect in areas such as airplanes and other forms of transportation.

Key takeout

Political change is never easy and, when there is a highly disruptive change in a major economy, such as the US, we can expect that government revenue will be directed to areas that make the new administration look good while funds are diverted away from areas that impede populist agenda.

The key takeout should be that the disruption merely forges a new path for innovation that may seem contracted in the short term but is merely in a position to unleash greater innovation when political uncertainty is removed, and the freedom to innovate becomes the challenge of not just one economy but a truly global endeavor.

 

Preetesh SewrajPreetesh Sewraj (@iPreetesh) is the CEO and chief innovation analyst at Product of the Year South Africa. He is passionate about the various facets of innovation that touch our lives and improve our life’s journey. He contributes the regular column, “Innovator’s Toolkit”, looking at innovation trends and the impact of innovation upon our ability to capture the hearts and minds or consumers, to MarkLives.

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Ad of the Week: It’s the future, Jim, but not as we know it

by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Strap yourselves in and hold onto your bootstraps: Terence Neale is back with another movie for adidas Originals. The result is a rollercoaster ride of a dystopian flick that is at once fragmented, strange, beautiful, familiar and frequented by interesting people. Once you’ve seen this — dare I even call it an advert? — you’ll want to go back and see it again, and again, and again.

There’s so much to see and take in, but it never feels like too much. And this soundtrack — why is it so hauntingly recognisable, yet completely remashed? Watching the latest adidas Originals movie, “Original is never finished”, it comes as no surprise that this cultural statement has become a viral Youtube sensation.

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

The ad — directed by homeboy Neale for an offshore agency — starts with five youths hanging upside down, Batman-style. They all, of course, wear adidas gear. The scenes progress in montage form, featuring personalities from popular culture. But these are not the Kardashians; rather they are culture’s anti-heroes, its kings and queens of cool.

The music is haunting but soon it is evident that this is the song made famous by Frank Sinatra. “My Way” changes throughout, from a hummed melody to spoken word to an anthemic rendition; at other times, it is a shout. As the scenes unfold, like a meditation or a menace, nothing seems at first to tie them together. By doing this, Neale creates a mood of mystery and anticipation and, in the end, as the song rises to become the chorus of a new generation, it all starts to makes sense.

Now, let’s talk about this television ‘commercial’.

In one scene, singer Mabel McVey reinvents that cult classic, Clockwork Orange, with a feminist twist. She leads a gang of white-clad women down an underpass, and takes out a drone with a baseball bat. In another scene, one of the world’s greatest basketball players, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, appears dressed in black, on a black-and-white basketball court, with two women with identical black-and-white hair styles. The scene is perfectly symmetrical, which contrasts with the ultra-violet shot of current LA Lakers rising star, Brandon Ingram. The perfect symmetry is later destroyed by dozens of black basketballs falling from above.

Pop musician Devonté Hynes (aka Blood Orange) shows off his dance moves in a hall of mirrors. Controversial fashion photographer/designer, Petra Collins, is filmed from above, as part of a carefully constructed scene that transforms into Botticelli’s Venus. But, before you can soak it all in, the Botticelli masterpiece becomes a dark version of the same, with Venus’s shell replaced by an old satellite dish, and the entire scene populated with broken, black, disused computers and TVs.

A highlight for me is when Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr, aka Snoop Dogg, brings his seminal ‘Doggystyle’ album cover to life, with some glitchy edits uniting the fantasy world of people with dog heads and the graffiti-styled art on the album’s cover. Then there’s skateboarder, Mark ‘Gonz’ Gonzales, who uses his skateboard to do street luge. This cuts to another skateboarding great, Lucas Puig, whose luge path travels under the legs of some half a dozen cheerleaders.

Intercut with this are several other images — people in masks that seem to be made of sdidas shoes and protective gear; a young man standing on his head on the paving between tenement buildings; a woman in a billowing outfit that seems to be made of black plastic.

The end of the ad reverts to the modernised Venus, with the title, “Original is never finished” and a cultish choir singing: “I did it my way”. Phew — this is a work of breathtaking beauty.

A Jozi son, Neale’s bio at Egg Films says that he “developed an appreciation of street culture by watching skate videos on VHS tapes and loitering in city parks”. The street is an aesthetic that dominates much of his work. (A case in point is the Ragga Bomb, the music video he made for the US electronic dance music phenomenon known as Skrillex, early in 2014. It premiered on YouTube on 1 April and, when I checked on Sunday 29 January 2017, the video had 107 279 562 views.)

Shot in Jozi’s inner city and the township of Alexandra, this pulsing, high-energy piece is part Mad Max, part Gangs of New York. It is gritty, deep-etched and addictively watchable. You will never tire of seeing it.

This seems to be a strong signature of Neale’s work. It is, in part, why the ‘in’ crowd love him. He also directs for Eggs Film in South Africa, and has worked repeatedly with Die Antwoord, co-directing music videos for Baby’s On Fire, Fatty Boom Boom and, most recently, Banana Brain.

https://youtu.be/kkrIxYpXAbk

‘Original is Never Finished’ isn’t the first work that Neale has done for adidas through RSA Films, which represents him in the UK and US, and the New York-based creative agency Johannes Leonardo. Early last year, the sports-shoe brand flighted adidas Originals Your Future Is Not Mine, and the short won Neal his third Gold Direction Craft award in three years at The Loeries. It also achieved a Gold Craft award for cinematography. The commercial also helped Neale win a slew of international awards, including a Gold Film Craft at the Cannes Lions. The dystopian flick was compared, by international media, to Ridley Scott’s landmark 1984 ad for Apple and Jay-Z’s “Run This Town” music video with Rihanna and Kanye West.

Being compared to Ridley Scott. If you’re a director, surely it doesn’t get better than that? Well, only if Skrillex or Die Antwoord want to make movies with you.

adidas is on a winning streak here, and I think the company knows it. The Originals brand is all about the future, says adidas: “As a brand defined by its own creative courage, and by its unique point of view on creating the future by re-inventing the past, adidas Originals is inspiring a new generation not to follow, but to challenge the status quo of the future itself. The conversation invites a new generation to create their own future despite all the predictions society lays upon them, among which is the threat of a dystopian tomorrow, and the misconception that looking ahead is about forgetting the past,” Adidas says on its site.

That’s exactly what makes this ad-cum-short so great. It is the adidas Originals brand in all its glorious, living, dystopian, fractured, familiar-yet-strange, moving colour. More so, it is a cultural masterpiece that somehow tells us where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going.

Credits

Director: Terence Neale
Production company: RSA Films (UK and US), Egg Films (Africa)
Editorial: Exile
Visual effects: Blacksmith
Color: Company 3
Adidas global music manager: Daniel Cross
Music remix: Human
Sound design: Q Department
Sound mix: Sonic Union
Advertising agency: Johannes Leonardo, New York, US
Chief creative officers: Jan Jacobs, Leo Premutico
Creative director/partner: Ferdinando Verderi
Creative directors: Wesley Phelan, Matthew Edwards
Copywriter: Jeph Burton
Art director: Hunter Hampton
Head of integrated production: Dana May
Executive producer: Maria Perez
Senior producers/film: Tina Diep, Stine Moisen
Producer/online content: Doug Moffitt
Production coordinator/film & online content: Alexandra Olivo
Group account director: Sam McCallum
Account director: Dom Dalton
Account supervisor: Gulru Soylu
Head of strategy: Mark Aronson
Strategist: Miné Cakmak
Senior business affairs manager: Ann Marie Turbitt

Reference to Die Antwoord updated at 11.38am on 1 Feb 2017.

 

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

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#AgencyLeaders2016: Most admired creative leader in Cape Town

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Today, we reveal which agency creative leaders were most admired by their peers in Cape Town in 2016!

Every year since 2012, MarkLives has been polling South Africa’s top agency leaders to find out what they think of their competitors, whom they see as effective managers and great creative leaders, and where they believe their future competition is likely to come from. Next week, we announce the 2016 results from Johannesburg. National results will be announced in two weeks’ time.

The most-admired creative leader in Cape Town

Alistair KingAlistair King
Founding creative partner
King James Group

Alistair King remains Cape Town’s most-admired creative leader. He’s won the accolade four times over the past five years (once in a tie with Justin Gomes, ECD of FoxP2). The result is partly a reflection of the continued rise of King James Group as the preeminent independent ad agency in the country (it has no network affiliation). Creatively, it ranked 15th in the official Loeries Ranking 2016 and third in the official Pendoring Awards 2016 ranking. King isn’t entirely satisfied with these results but he remains exited about new work the agency is breaking for Pick n Pay.

Previously: In 2015, King also took this title. In 2014, King and Gomes tied for the top spot. In 2013, it was Chris Gotz, then chief creative officer of Ogilvy & Mather South Africa. In 2012, our inaugural poll, it was King yet again.

 

The runner-up

Tseliso RangakaTseliso Rangaka
Executive creative director
Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town

Tseliso Rangaka  took the top creative job at Ogilvy Cape Town in mid-2015 following the departure of Chris Gotz from the agency. Rangaka started his career at Draftfcb (now FCB Africa) before moving on to Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg and later Ogilvy Cape Town. See our profile of him here.

“We had our best creative year in three years this year,” says Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town managing director, Luca Gallarelli. “We finished the Loeries as the no. 2 large agency behind our Joburg brothers and sisters. So that was a one-two result for the group.

“I’m tremendously happy with our momentum under Tseliso and am looking forward to a cracking 2017 in partnership with him and with our studios under his leadership. ”

Previously: Gomes was our runner-up in 2015. There were no runners-up in 2014. In 2013, Gomes was a joint runner-up together with Graham Lang, CCO at Y&R South Africa. In 2012, our inaugural poll, Gomes was also runner-up.

 

How the poll works

Towards the end of 2016, Cape Town’s agency leaders were invited to nominate their most-admired agency in Cape Town, the most-admired creative leader in Cape Town and the most-admired agency boss in Cape Town. We also asked them which agency did the best at digital integration and which agency they saw as the one to watch in the future. Nobody could nominate his or her own agency or staff members, and only agencies or execs who work out of the Mother City could be voted for. All the nominations were then tallied up for the final result. The editors of MarkLives had a single vote in the poll. The most-admired agency of the year is disqualified from the One to Watch category; votes cast in its favour in this category is discarded.

Note: Runner-up(s) will only be named if they achieved a good nomination tally relative to the winner’s position. Contenders are named if they stood out significantly above other nominees, but weren’t able to close in on the winner’s tally.

See previous poll results for Cape Town:

 

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

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Shelf Life: Lego never dies; it becomes EverBlock

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

  • Adult ‘Lego’ comes to SA
  • Respublica refreshes for growth
  • TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris births Loyiso Madinga’s BabyBot for Student Flights

Building blocks

EverBlock Systems, the adult ‘Lego’ building blocks that have ignited imaginations around the globe, are finally available in South Africa, although ordering online is tricky because of huge volumes of traffic that have resulted in a large backlog.

EverBlocksa offers a modular building system of oversized polypropylene blocks that may be used to construct durable, fun furniture and structures — just about anything your imagination may create modularly. It’s quick and easy to build by stacking and organising the universal blocks in nearly any shape, pattern, colour or size. Each EverBlock module is designed to connect easily with the parts above and below, using a pressure fit, which creates a strong link between blocks, exactly like Lego.

And there’s the appeal: aside from the ease of building, everyone remembers playing with Lego and the idea of life-size Lego houses or furniture calls to the child in everyone.

The range includes different-sized blocks and finishing caps in 12 standard colours for creating objects for all types of use from leisure lounge and kids’ play areas to corporate workspaces. EverBlock furniture may be taken apart and reassembled again, and the pieces reused to build other objects, making it an affordable furniture solution with increased longevity, as well as being an exceptional green building method.

The South African agents offer rentals and sales of EverBlock, along with design advice and installation services with customised solutions.

everblocksystems.co.za • everblocksystems.com • Facebook • Twitter

 

Creating communities

Student accommodation provider, Respublica, has kicked off 2017 with a revitalised brand and related but unique brands for each of the residences in its portfolio.

Respublica logoAccording to CEO, Craig McMurray, the company has been expanding locally and internationally, and it’s the right time to rejuvenate the brand: “Each of Respublica’s residences now has its own unique identity, created in line with the company’s overall branding and acknowledging that each residence has its own unique characteristics and collective personality. These identities are set to strengthen bonds and traditions within each residence, but have been created with the refreshed Respublica branding in mind, linking the individual locations with the company and affirming each student’s identity as a member of the extended Respublica family.”

The brand refresh is part of an internal, long-term strategy and the new logo includes the individual logos of the first seven residences managed by the company — Saratoga Village, The Fields, West City, Eastwood Village, Urban Nest, Hatfield Square and Yale Village. These logos come together to form the letter “R”, honouring the company’s foundations while positioning it well for growth.

As new residences are added to the Respublica portfolio, they too will contribute by creating a logo that will be rotated in all electronic and digital formats of the logo as the Respublica community of residences grows.

“As we welcome more residences into our portfolio, we are reinforcing the depth of our sporting leagues, inter-res cultural and social activities, and residence life activities that pit the students’ diverse talents against one another, providing students a lifestyle with a strong sense of spirit and community.”

respublica.co.za • Facebook • Twitter

 

The BabyBot

Would you take a baby to a music festival? Not unless you’re South African comedian, Loyiso Madinga, and Student Flights has convinced you to as part of a campaign to encourage student travel.

The challenge was for Madinga to successfully care for the baby (a baby bot, that is) at the festival and, in return, Student Flights would reward him with an overseas trip.

According to TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris creative director, Jenny Glover, the #BabyBot campaign was all about showing its target audience that it’s better to travel before it’s not fun anymore: “By sending Loyiso to the last place on earth anyone would ever want to take a baby — robot or otherwise — Student Flights successfully conveyed the message that it’s better to travel when you’re young and unencumbered.”

The 15kg BabyBot was designed and built by the agency’s innovation department to be loud, demanding and show complete disregard for personal time, sleeping patterns and social life.

studentflights.co.za • Facebook  #BabyBot • Twitter #BabyBot #Tjalenj
www.tbwa-africa.com • Facebook • Twitter
@LoyisoMadinga

 

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

Cheryl Hunter (@cherylhunter) has written for the South African media, marketing and advertising industries for more than 15 years. A former editor of M&M in Independent Newspapers and contributor to Bizcommunity, AdFocus, AdReview and the Ad Annual, she has also produced for various television networks and currently consults on communication strategy and media liaison.

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The Adtagonist: Trend to make you blend

by Carl Cardinelli (@CarlCardinelli) That is, if you ever want to produce something semi-unique or #firstever<insertradnesshere>.

Setting the scene

An anecdote, if you’d please. You rock up at a friend’s party and, while sipping on your craft gin and coconut tonic, you let your eyes wander around the room. Whom do you notice? The people who all look the same — donning the latest sneaks paired with ripped and rolled jeans and a V deeper than a Dumbledore quote? Nope. You spot, identify and, often reluctantly, admire the ones who stand out.

The ones who attract the most attention are often the most influential and, therefore, inspire the most action. They are the trendsetters. Those who bravely don the unique, the self-inspired and challenging — often met with ridicule or Haterade. That, is until every Tom, Dick and Dickier adopt the previously scoffed-at item.

Now relate that to our industry and, more so, creativity. Do you notice the comms that all look the same, tell the same stories, and use the same tech? Those using the #latest #greatest #dopest #trendiest techniques, styles and buzzwords? Or are you immediately drawn to the one(s) that stand out? The off-the-wall, unexpected? Condescendingly rhetorical? Yep.

So why then do we flock to the hundreds of trend articles that plague our inboxes every January? Simple. The fear of irrelevancy.

Let’s be unique; let’s follow what everyone else is doing.
What someone tells us is ‘on point’

And, yes, the irony — that to dismiss trends is, in fact, a trend in itself — is certainly not lost on me. I might as well be the definition of a keyboard hipster. “But I disliked trends before it was cool. The later stuff is rather commercial — the first bit was the best — you know, when no one knew about them”. My beard, she itches.

Defining trends

The Oxford Dictionary defines trends as “a fashion”, or “a general direction in which something is changing or developing”. I see trends as having a beginning, a middle, an end and, if vinyl is anything to go by, a resurgence.

Ninety percent of 2017 trend articles in a snap: chatbots, AI, and VR (again).

“The Number 1 trend for 2017 — VR”. Seriously? VR is hardly a ‘trend’, let alone a new one. And, again, it’s not going anywhere. Sure, the tech has caught up to the dream — and constant improvements make that intimate relationship with Siri more and more a reality. But, if anything, VR is an evolving medium, one which we will all learn to love and adopt. There’s no imminent end.

Two things:

  1. No, a chatbot is not a trend; it’s new technology (but not that new) and provides us with a new medium.
  2. It’s not some 2017 12-month fountain of ching ching; it’s a retail marketing tool. And, no, it’s not going anywhere.

Five steps to writing an effective “trends” article

  1. Find one of 10 000 trend articles
  2. Copy-paste
  3. Paraphrase (not necessary)
  4. Title it with something like “2017 Trends you must follow to stay in business”
  5. Receive praise from your peers for being so forward-thinking and saving them the embarrassment of irrelevance.

What’s eminent from the above (slight) exaggeration is that one need not even explore so-called trends to have an opinion on them. I wonder how many self-proclaimed trend experts have state-of-the-art VR headsets, or been lucky enough to have ordered a coffee in a cone from INJOZI’s GotBot (do it — it’s f***ing delicious)?

Borderline clickbait

That’s just it. Nine out of 10 of these articles use fear to reel you in. Headed with the likes of ‘6 Trends that will affect your business. 11 Trends that you need to know to stay in business. Share this post or Jesus will cry.’

My personal favourite? “100 Trends to ensure your business’ survival”. ONE HUNDRED TRENDS? Are you kidding? We hardly hold the attention span to get through a 30-second video — let alone trawl through 100 lofty predictions on how we should do business in order to stay relevant.

If I’ve learned one thing in my years of leading an agency, it’s this

“In advertising, we spend our lives trying to forget everything we know.”

The trends. The past. The future. The rules.

To create something truly unique, the nugget needs to come from deep within oneself. So deep that it makes you sweat, yet so innate that it is instantly relatable to whom you are speaking to.

New tech. Medical breakthroughs. Programmatic buying. Startup companies. THESE ARE NOT TRENDS.

Trends should be left as the things clients approach us with as “the next big thing”. That thing that brings even the most senior of execs to hit the mute button on Skype, roll their eyes and let out a sigh even Napoleon Dynamite would be proud of.

Now, I understand that I won’t be receiving any fruit baskets from the forecasters and columnists who took the time to research these wagons-full of bands (kudos to those who wrote from experience). By all means — if you would like to focus your energy on what everyone else is focusing on — be my guest. In my opinion, I’d focus my energy on being aware of what’s cooking and avoid recreating the dish at all costs.

As marketers, are trends not the very things we need to avoid?

To me, trends are merely implementations of the status quo. The execution of something safe. But what do I know? It’s at times like this that I look to the legendary George Lois, as he always finds a way to put things at its simplest. When asked by a reporter during trend season what he thought the trends in advertising would be for the coming year, his response was: “Beats the shit out of me. I’ll know it when I do it.”

When you subscribe to trends as gospel, you’re ultimately executing someone else’s idea. Don’t believe the hype. Follow and adopt new tech and advancements; it impacts your business, why wouldn’t you? Study the competition, and what they’re doing.

Then — do the complete opposite.

 

Carl CardinelliCarl Cardinelli (@CarlCardinelli) began his career in branding and communications in 2003, spending the better part of six years establishing himself in London. Upon his return to South Africa in 2012, he was selected to lead Utopia, the “screw-the-line” agency based in Cape Town. When not heading up a team of unruly young admen, he can be found brewing his own beer, picking out a new pair of sneakers or travelling the globe in search of live music. Carl contributes the monthly “The Adtagonist” column, in which he challenges perceptions of the advertising industry and its practices for the next generation of marketers, to MarkLives.com

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Slow growth, budget cuts & other key 2017 adland themes

by Bongani Chinkanda (@bonchiachanza) We all agree that 2016 was a tough year. Having reassured ourselves, and our clients, that 2017 is the promised land, we’ve started January on a high. We’re walking tall, eating better and even making use of that R570 gym debit order. Agency executives have promised themselves they won’t make the same mistakes as they did in 2016. In short, they have heeded the learnings and left the heartache behind.

Great! But what does the future hold for Adland SA?

We will be faced with new opportunities, which will make our hearts race like the first time we fell in love. However, with each new year, we bring along the baggage from previous relationships. 2017 will be no different. The baggage of slow growth is the new norm and with it, unfortunately, come budget cuts and the domino effect of retrenchments.

But there is hope.

The growth of digital brings new opportunities for consumers, clients and agencies. Our population is still growing and, unlike Japan, ours is young and vibrant. So how do we keep the spirits of our youth high and their appetites hungry, even in the face of #feesmustfall and high unemployment? In tough times, the winner is always the one with the innovative ideas — just think of M-PESA in Kenya. Its growth has been explosive and even Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg flew into the Rift Valley from Silicon Valley to learn more about mobile money.

So what are the key themes for the year of promise that is 2017?

Africa’s promise — don’t be too quick to pack your bags; just ask Tiger Brands and MTN

So billings are down and you get the call, “Can you execute a campaign for us in Kenya, Angola, DRC and Nigeria?” With dollar signs in your head you, answer, “Sure! We have partners on the ground. Should be a walk in the park.” And then comes the afterthought “What have I committed to??”

Many an agency executive has dreamt of having offices in Nairobi, Lagos and all sorts of ‘exotic’ capitals on the African continent. The harsh reality is that African countries are not like South African provinces. We already battle to understand that Limpopo is not KwaZulu-Natal when executing campaigns, and now you want to cross the border?

As much as Africa is the next growth frontier (which it has been for almost a decade), the danger is the assumptions we make about her. Yes, there is opportunity — especially if you look at what is happening in East Africa, specifically Kenya and Rwanda. However, there are also pockets of trouble, due to the drop in commodity prices and unmanageable sovereign debt — think Nigeria, Angola and Mozambique.

So, before you invest heavily in that African team, spend a good R50k or so. Visit the markets and understand the on-the-ground dynamics; it will be a great investment. If anything, you will come back with great insights to share with your creative team on how to win with the base of the pyramid consumers back home.

We also do digital — what does that mean?

The big idea has been sold and you can practically see the purchase order being issued by procurement. Then the CMO says, “What’s lacking is the digital execution. Maybe we should get a digital agency to come through?”

The fear of another 2016 hits you and you say, “Oh, we also do digital” First mistake — that is, if you don’t have it as an offering within your agency.

Digital is not an ‘oh, by the way’ offering anymore. There is now a whole industry that is changing how we consume media, products and services. If you think digital is just a few Facebook posts and tweets, you have another think coming.

The digital growth figures are out and we see how it has changed industries. Even businesses such as MultiChoice are fighting to stay ahead of the change it brings. Digital has no respect for borders — think Uber and Netflix. We can run to trade and industry minister, Rob Davies, as often as we want for protection, but it won’t help. The baby was thrown out with the WWW and the rest is history.

What’s key for us as agency executives is to understand what the growth of digital means for our clients and their customers, and also how we may change our business models to suit this trend. Understand what you are talking about before you are asked whether UGC is a good fit for the big idea.

No. 1 says its 2.9%, IMF 0.8% & SARB 1.7% —they are all right

The era of CEs and POs coming through within 24 hours has ended. We now have the budget and CE police, aka ‘procurement’. These people don’t care about how aspirational your idea is and how it will induce trial. The question that causes any account director to pause is “what is the CPC?” Yes, clients want to know what the “cost per contact” is and rightfully so.

Just like them, I am tired of ideas that cannot be measured (though subjective) in some way. Enough of the pretty promoters that come at a premium and spend half their time on social media at an event. And the hashtags that are supposed to trend, but then what?

We are in a slow growth cycle. Just as you now think twice about going to Woollies for your monthly shop, our clients are in a similar position. So, when you present ideas in 2017, don’t force their hand to shop around. Be bold and quantify your ideas. Agree and define what the ROI is. They will love you for it. Besides, no one likes ‘we need to do a recon as we are not seeing value in the campaign’. You’ll think ‘but you approved the idea’. The proof is in the eating, not what is says on the menu.

Happy hunting!

 

Bongani ChinkandaBongani Chinkanda (@bonchiachanza) is business director at communications agency, Stretch.

“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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Dissident Spin Doctor: Things I learnt in 2016

by Emma King (@EmmainSA) Jeepers, how much of a headache was 2016? I think I heard a pretty universal sigh of relief when we bid it goodbye, and I know I’m not the only one who’s hoping that 2017 will be kinder to us. And as usual, at this time of a new year, we hear a lot from experts telling us what the next big thing will be, and in which trends we should be investing our time, money and energy. But I have found it useful to spend time at the beginning of each year reflecting on what the last year taught me.

So, here, in no particular order, are some of the things from last year that I am taking into this one.

It’s good to say no

As a business owner, it often feels as if you need to take any work that comes your way, especially when starting out and there’s still somewhat of a disbelief that anyone wants to actually pay you for anything. But two years in, with an established business, it feels good to have reached a solid place and an understanding that saying no to (some) business is the best thing to do.

I have learnt that the hard way. Taking on too much works on is exhausting and soul-destroying, and it often results in work that is not the best that can be done. That’s not just harmful for the employees and people involved but for the business itself.

Having the best people on your team is the most-valuable thing there is

We all know we need to get the best talent and keep them. This isn’t something new; I’ve always known it to some extent. But 2016 was the year in which this understanding was properly cemented for me, when we took on some big and complex projects. The success of these projects has not been down to me but purely because of the excellence and attitude of the team I brought in to work on them with me. It reminded me, again, that you can teach pretty much anyone skills but you can’t place a value on people who are keen, dedicated and focused on doing an amazing job (and, just as importantly, who can have a laugh along the way and join you for a relaxing drink when it’s all done).

Sometimes the random people you meet along the way turn out to be something special

I’ve always found that the interesting people are the unexpected ones you meet along the way. There’s an old adage about treating the little people well — you never know when that person who used to sweep the floors may turn out to be the CEO interviewing you one day. Yet I think it’s more than just about being nice to people in case they one day turn out to be your boss. The people you chat to on the sidelines may end up playing an important role in your life (and your business), or if nothing else, become interesting friends.

This holds true for someone I met many years ago, in an odd job, where the big cheese didn’t particularly like either of us, and we were sidelined — figuratively and even literally, in that we were ousted to the shitty end of the office. But, sitting in the sidelines, we formed a strong friendship and a solid mutual respect over many, many laughs and heart-to-heart chats. Fast-forward all these years later, we are both running our own agencies, and partnering together on big clients on some big projects, which are incredibly beneficial to both of our businesses.

The world will keep getting crazier

History shows us that human sentiment works like a pendulum, and I believe we are in phase where we are moving away from globalisation and the embracing of differences towards times of renewed paranoia and intolerance. Extreme times result in extreme actions, and worrisome comments and thoughts become mainstream. This will continue.

Thus there is a need for measured responses and a responsibility of business leaders and those in the communications industry to lead the way in a restrained and responsible manner. When chaos prevails, and politics and people’s perceptions are driven by those who yell the loudest, I’m personally pledging to ensure that anything my business is involved in works to contribute to a South Africa (and a world) that is built around commonalities rather than divisions.

But it’s not all gone to pot

In among the crazy, I do think there are little things that give us hope. The South African media is still free, and challenging, and strongly spoken. We have a strong constitution. Rhino-poaching numbers in the Kruger Park went down for the first year. Leonardo DiCaprio won an Oscar. Find little sparks of happiness where you may.

The biggest thing I learnt from 2016 was learning when it’s important to care, and when it’s important to let go. Sometimes in the middle of a crazy project, it’s hard to see the bigger picture. I tell that to the people in my office when they start to panic because the big-ass logo on a poster isn’t big enough or a client makes a last-minute request after everything has gone to print. It’s not the end of the world. No one will live or die because of what we do.

Keep that passion, and urgency, and worry for big things. Things that matter.

 

Emma KingEmma King (@EmmainSA) is the owner and MD of The Friday Street Club (@TheFridayStClub). She is allergic to bad grammar and ampersands, but likes working her way through piles of novels and travelling the globe. She contributes the monthly “Dissident Spin Doctor” column on PR and communication issues to MarkLives.com.

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#AgencyLeaders2016: Most admired ad agency boss in Cape Town

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Every year since 2012, MarkLives has been polling South Africa’s top agency leaders to find out what they think of their competitors, whom they see as effective managers and great creative leaders, and where they believe their future competition is likely to come from. Today, we reveal which agency leaders were most admired by their peers in Cape Town during 2016!

Next week, we announce the 2016 results from Johannesburg. National results will be announced in two weeks’ time.

The most-admired agency boss in Cape Town

James BartyJames Barty
Co-founder & chief executive
King James Group

For the second year running, and for the third time since the poll was initiated, King James Group co-founder and chief executive, James Barty, has been voted the most-admired agency boss by his peers in the city. Barty also won in 2015 and tied for first spot with Claire Cobbledick in 2013.

Barty has continued to successfully lead his agency group through a number of massive account wins in recent years, including Pick n Pay in early 2016, which moved from Y&R after spending 48 years with that agency. King James won the giant Sanlam account in early 2014. The group have grown by 34% (GP/Revenue) versus last year (only 6 months of PnP revenue).

Previously

As mentioned, Barty took the top spot in 2015, too. In 2014, it was Adrian Hewlett, CEO of Publicis Machine; in 2013, it was Gavin Levinsohn, ex-MD of Ogilvy Cape Town and, in 2012, our inaugural poll, Claire Cobbledick (then MD of The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town) and Barty tied for the top spot.

 

The runner-up

Mike AbelMike Abel
Co-founder & chief executive partner
M&C Saatchi Abel

M&C Saatchi Abel chief executive partner, Mike Abel, came a close second in our poll for Cape Town’s most-admired agency boss. What could have been a terrible year for the agency, through the loss of the giant Edcon account, turned into a win when the agency took the Sun International advertising account.

It also won Superbalist.com, Lancewood Cheese, Twinsaver and additional work from Heineken (including the launch of the world’s biggest apple cider brand, Strongbow, into the South African market). As a result, only two or three people — all with specialist skills — have been directly affected by the Edcon account loss. New business revenue gained R35m annualised and year-on-year growth came in at 7.4%, including the loss of Edgars. The group acquired two agencies, Creative Spark and Dalmatian.

Abel was also instrumental in the deal, announced in January 2017, for Avatar Investment Holdings, owned by Zibusiso Mkhwanazi and Veli Ngubane, to acquire a significant minority stake in M&C Saatchi’s South African agency network. This allowed M&C Saatchi PLC to acquire a 20% stake in fast growing agency AVATAR from Avatar Investment Holdings.

Abel expects the economic environment to remain tough in the year ahead. “Socio-political instability will continue to stunt growth through poor confidence. Fortunately, we opened our agency during a downturned economy and have never had the benefit of the tailwinds of a prospering economy. So, from the get go, we have had to look for smarter solution for our clients that will create significant impact on their business,” he says.

Abel describes his leadership style through the following quote: “A candle loses nothing by lighting another.”

Previously

There were no runner up in 2014 or 2015. In 2013, Barty was runner-up; in 2012, it was Levinsohn.

How the poll works

Towards the end of 2016, Cape Town’s agency leaders were invited to nominate their most-admired agency in Cape Town, the most-admired creative leader in Cape Town and the most-admired agency boss in Cape Town. We also asked them which agency did the best at digital integration and which agency they saw as the one to watch in the future. Nobody could nominate his or her own agency or staff members, and only agencies or execs who work out of the Mother City could be voted for. All the nominations were then tallied up for the final result. The editors of MarkLives had a single vote in the poll. The most-admired agency of the year is disqualified from the One to Watch category; votes cast in its favour in this category is discarded.

Note: Runner-up(s) will only be named if they achieved a good nomination tally relative to the winner’s position. Contenders are named if they stood out significantly above other nominees, but weren’t able to close in on the winner’s tally.

See previous poll results for Cape Town:

 

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

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