by Candice Luis (@candicedl)Covid-19 is presenting legal and crisis teams, never mind businesses in totality, with unprecedented challenges; and now, more than ever, we need to come together as we navigate this uncharted territory.
When crisis strikes, it’s all hands-on deck. Have you stopped, however, to consider that this reaction often creates disharmony and a lack of effective action? A crisis isn’t always about how many ‘hands’ are on deck but, rather, more about how these ‘hands’ are working together.
In my experience, a reaction of merely getting everyone involved in the crisis, for the sake of it, creates a massive power struggle in war rooms today. You may start to create divisions — legal vs comms, marketing vs leadership and external vs internal — resulting in a disjoint in how to take things forward and whose way is the ‘right way’.
Today, as we face one of the biggest global crises the world has seen in decades, if not a century, we are reminded of this exact dichotomy.
The crisis power struggle
In the handling of crisis today, becoming side-tracked by internal power struggles is bound to impact any success. Slower response times, the creation of silos (which leads to ineffectively identifying the true impact of the crisis), market confusion and anger and internal failings to staff, partners and stakeholders, both from legal and reputational standpoints, is the last thing businesses need right now, especially as we all try to remain relevant and stay ahead of our competitors in a market that’s fighting for survival in the first place.
When a crisis becomes more about the battle between comms and legal, as opposed to the actual issue at hand, you have a much-larger problem.
Let’s face it, unless you’re Olivia Pope, the fixer from tv series Scandal, chances are your voice won’t be the only one heard and so, for any business navigating the impact of a real crisis, collaborating with all your experts is absolutely key. If a unified voice and approach to market isn’t agreed to across all stakeholder channels, one that’s given real consideration to both the legal and reputational side of things, then it doesn’t matter how often you communicate as it won’t have the impact or outcome your business needs.
A crisis isn’t your battle to win. And certainly, where we sit today, this battle won’t be won alone. It sounds strange, I know, but winning isn’t the derived result; rather, surviving through a crisis is understanding what’s the best outcome for the client (or market), no matter which side of the fence you sit. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, this crucial understanding is what is making or breaking brands right now. As we watch each brand follow its moral compass in a crowded space, the ones getting it right are the ones that are closely aligning to their human side while intricately understanding and applying the implications of this from a legal perspective. Right now, we are treading a very fine line as the need for humanity far exceeds any legal aspects in the eye of the public.
Success through collaboration: building a trust relationship
Today, with the ubiquity and speed of social media, the impact of a crisis is a very real everyday concern for brands; therefore, ensuring responsiveness — that takes legal security and reputational management (and recovery) into account — is critical.
If we consider that it may take 1–3 years for a brand to recover from a reputational crisis, then it’s certainly evident that financial risk is more than legal action, a dropping share price and loss of clients. The impact of reputational issues on financial sustainability over time is very closely linked. Again, this couldn’t be more relevant right now. Businesses truly need to find the balance between what they’re saying and doing over this time, and how this outreach and approach would impact them reputationally. The compounding impact of reputational damage, on top of a health crisis, could mean bad news.
In an ideal world, and not considering where we find ourselves at this very minute, comms teams need to bring themselves closer to the legal team/lead, prior to crisis. But how? And who is responsible?
Trust-based relationships drive success. Unfortunately, though, too often this trust doesn’t exist between legal and comms, especially as the first time you meet is when the ship is about to sink! So, it’s up to us, as comms consultants, to really build these relationships before there’s even a hint of crisis to ensure we can demonstrate our capabilities, understand legal parameters and properly build a solid working relationship. For me, this means connecting with the legal team from the outset of a client relationship and knowing who the team members are and really engaging around what’s important to both parties — all of which will go a long way, during a time that our client needs us the most: a crisis.
Response, transparency & humanness vs facts
If you consider that the fastest emotion to spread online is rage, then we have an important role to play in ensuring the quickest, most-accurate (but ‘human’) response possible is given to the market. All comms specialists understand that owning the rhetoric, as far as possible, is vital, especially if you want to ensure the market is left with as little room as possible to speculate and drive further negative enticement.
When legal and communications work together, we are able to do just this.
What we need to aim for is the ability to optimise two specific risk-based needs, create a response that is driven by transparency, drive factual information that is intrinsically underpinned by humanness, and cut out the ‘red tape’ between these two fundamental factions, which is massively beneficial to the client. It’s not enough to say “I want my life back” when your company caused the worst oil spill in history. Strong comment backed by a risk-based thought process should be delivered with speed and certainty, which can only be done, if all stakeholders, including comms and legal, are working together from the get-go.
A case in point
During a potential case of a crisis for one of my clients, I ‘made friends’ with a company’s local legal counsel — someone who has intrinsic insight into the history of the business, previous legal parameters of the case and who had the facts at hand. Together we worked closely to understand these facts, the potential impact on the reputation of the business and brainstormed what the potential outcome would be. Bear in mind that this isn’t unusual behaviour for any potential crisis; the difference is that this is usually done in silos and, by the time a crisis hits, legal and comms are on different ends of the plan. Having worked together for some months, we had built a solid trust relationship; I trusted that he would give me the absolute detail and legal counsel trusted that I would strongly consider the impact of what we say on the legal risk framework. We consulted together. It worked.
The reality is that crisis in today’s connected world is inevitable and so, if we hope to truly move towards ‘getting it right’ in a social community that’s largely unpredictable, we need to get closer to one another, drop the ego and really collaborate for optimal outcomes. Imagine a crisis where legal and PR can turn around a strong, factual, risk-averse but authentically human response around to the market in one hour! This is the power of legal and comms working and building trust together in crisis.
Candice Luis (@candicedl) is an experienced crisis specialist, marketing and communications consultant and business director who is digitally inclined and strategy-prone. She has spent the better part of 13 years harnessing the power of communications, and brand crises make her tick.
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.
EDITORIAL: This past week could have been a year. Our world is changing rapidly as our society and economy responds to and adapt to the realities being wrought by the covid-19 pandemic. We know the worst is yet to come. We’re bracing, all of us, for potential losses: personal, economic, societal. We don’t know what tomorrow brings but it’s important we continue to believe that a positive future awaits all of us — as people and professionals, as individuals and as an industry.
Our commitment to you
MarkLives commits to continue covering how the local advertising, marketing and media industries respond to the challenges posed by the pandemic and the fight to mitigate its impact on our health and the health of our creative economy.
While we redirect substantial resources to covering covid-19, we’ll continue to bring you other relevant industry news, including news on account tenders and wins, management moves and new work.
Funding for the future
The world is focused on the grim toll this pandemic is having on human lives and livelihoods. On the first, there’s no words for the horror emerging out of countries at the front line of this crisis. China, Iran, Italy and others hold a dire warning for us to protect the most-vulnerable members of our society and our healthcare professionals.
Equally, we understand the economic impact will be severe — on the livelihoods of millions, on our economy and fiscus, on our industry, our clients, your clients, on you, on us. With this in mind, we’re introducing several changes to our commercial operations.
We believe in the value offered by our industry, not only in a time of crisis, of contributing to the wheels of commerce and enterprise. And continue to turn they must. Marketing, media and communication are all critical aspects in ensuring commercial operations, and the jobs they help create and maintain endure. At the same time, we believe — as we always have — in the importance of an independent, journalism-driven trade media, and we’ll have to find a way to fund this into the future. We have purpose and intent.
1. Pay what you can
As of today, our company newsroom offering — Ramify.biz — switches from a fixed annual fee to a pay-what-you-can service. It will count for both new Premium Profiles, as well as those up for renewal. Our intent is to keep this policy in place for the duration of the national state of disaster declared by President Ramaphosa last week.
In short, our commercial arm that allows agencies and their suppliers to access our audience will be opened to all agencies and agency suppliers without a set minimum price in place. Renewals will function on the same basis. We ask clients who can afford to renew at our commercial rate of R13 690 (incl VAT) per annum to do so, as it will help fund our journalistic mission. But, if you can’t, please pay what you can.
Communication is key in a time of crisis. We believe that clients can’t afford to end commercial communication just because cash flow is tight. We’re trying to remove this as a barrier to creating narrative and movement around your business and around our industry. A similar offering is set to be announced for the commercial operations of our sister site though its Co.RetailingAfrica.com service.
We’re asking large agencies and industry supporters, who wish to contribute a subsidy to small and startup agencies’ profiles on Ramify.biz, to do so at a special discounted, annual rate. MarkLives will subsidise half the fee of new company newsrooms for qualifying agencies or agency suppliers, while our partners will fund the rest. We’ll liaise with relevant industry organisations to proactively identify beneficiaries. Subsidised profiles will stay in place even after the state of disaster is lifted, and they’ll be valid for 12 months at a time. Contact us to support this initiative; we’ll publicise the subsidised newsrooms as they become available.
We’re also upping our collaboration with various industry bodies to ensure relevant news and communication to their membership also reaches our audience.
3. Become a member
Last but not least, MarkLives now offers readers an opportunity to help fund us for as little as R50 a month, or R600 per annum. We’ll remain free and outside a paywall but MarkLives Memberships allow individuals who find value in our publication to both show their support and help finance our operations. We’ll gradually be adding benefits to memberships; for the moment, its purpose is to assist us in a time of crisis. We’ll keep members updated on progress in a private, members-only Facebook group.
With all of the above, we hope to have struck a balance between enabling our industry and its partners to effectively communicate with one another during this crisis (which should allow more of us to come out of these difficult times intact and operational) while continuing to fund our work as the industry’s go-to resource for news and insight.
by MarkLives (@marklives) The hottest primetime shows on SABC 1 in South Africa revealed: TV ratings for February and January 2020. Please take note of this loadshedding note (pdf) from the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA).
SABC 1, February 2020
Top 20 Programmes All Adults 15+
February 2020 Prime Time 5.30pm—10pm
Adults 15+ years U:36011 S:8223
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 Leigh Tayler (@LeighAnneTayler) Pandemic — novel coronavirus — covid-19 — these are the words that are front and centre of the almost every human being’s mind, conversation and newsfeed around the world. Nor are brands are excluded from this global disaster. But the age-old question of what, if any, right or role may brands play in these types of circumstances or issues rears its head: at what point does a brand’s engagement on an issue become exploitative?
Best answer
The best answer I may give is:
When the promotion of the brand is the objective of the conversation or action.
When the promotion of the brand seems more important than its contribution to solving the issue, and lastly
When its contribution seems fairly anaemic within the context and magnitude of the issue.
Several brands have engaged during this time of global pandemic, panic and social distancing. Some brands have done so tastefully, with others less so. It’s really important that markets, ad agencies and anyone else responsible for being the voice of brands at this historic time have a responsibility to respond appropriately and use their influence and power for the collective good. First and foremost, the coronavirus isn’t just an opportunity for a brief to create award-winning tactical work; it’s a proper opportunity to help, support or even just comfort a world in crisis.
Here are what I believe are some of the key elements to brands’ engaging this topic appropriately and with consciousness — the ways in which brands prevent themselves from looking opportunistic vs altruistic.
#1. Opt for PR, not advertising
When information’s packaged as an advert, it tends to be treated with a certain amount of discretion (or scepticism) because we’ve been taught over decades to understand that an ad’s purpose is to sell us something.
PR’s role has been less about selling and more about providing information; PR’s more about telling than selling. So, when a brand decides to take steps to joining the fight against the spread or impact of a global pandemic — the worst most of us will have seen in our lifetime — rather leave it to the reporters to share the news than the brand releasing a brag ad.
A great example of this is LVHM (the owner of brands such as Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior) turning its high-end French perfume factories into hand sanitiser manufacturers. The hand sanitisers will be provided free of charge to health authorities in France as there’s a nationwide shortage of anti-viral products and country’s being hit hard by the virus. This has been done as a matter of course and the story has been told via the media, rather than a billboard announcing its actions.
Locally, Standard Bank has offered relief to small businesses and students as it offers debt holidays to ease the strain on vulnerable businesses and individuals. This has also been communicated via earned media and not paid media.
#2. Make it about the issue, not you
Some brands have opted to use the power of their brand voice to educate and highlight the seriousness of the pandemic and the actions that need to be taken to stop the spread of the virus.
Nando’s, true to form, has shared a very important message in a very memorable way — while sticking it to its competition (we would expect nothing less, although perhaps at this time a tad unnecessary).
And, not one to remain quiet, Nike, has used the might of its brand to inspire the world to all be heroes and play inside.
I very much doubt that either of these brands have received any backlash or trolling from these pieces of communication. I suspect the reason for being positively received is that the brands haven’t made it about themselves. Yes, they do leverage their brand tonality and language but for something bigger than themselves.
#3. If you do something, make it count
I beg of all you brands out there that, if you’re going to contribute and then advertise your contribution, please make sure your contribution counts and doesn’t appear flimsy, stingy or token. If you’re a big brand and your contribution to this pandemic doesn’t hold a candle to what some individuals are doing, then rather don’t make much ado about nothing.
There are professional athletes around the world who’re personally paying the salaries of all the stadium workers until the shutdowns in their areas have passed. So, you donating 1000 medical masks when you earned millions in profits last year doesn’t seem so generous now, does it? (This is a figurative example, not an actual one.)
Part of this comment also relates to “stunts”. If you, as a brand, want to make a statement, then by all means do so — but please don’t make it a stunt that just lives on social media for 24 hours. Make it meaningful, make it lasting and make an investment in its impact beyond your earned media KPIs.
Are these signs real or photoshopped for a post? Do they appear on more than one store? Has the logo changed everywhere, on packaging, communication etc? Because, if they are just once-off posts, would they make an impact beyond a few hundred likes? Is that the best brands of this size and stature can do?
To sum up
Think before you act
Consider the weight and longevity of your contribution
Don’t do anything unless your intentions are bigger than your brand’s metrics
Opt for newsworthy, not brag ads, and
If you want to say something, make it about the issue — not about your brand.
Most importantly, communicate in line with the magnitude of a historic event that’s going to result in the deaths of millions and hundreds of crippled economies.
As one tweet said, “It’s a pandemic. Not a brief.”
To every brand confused about what to do right now: There’s a fine line between being relevant and being opportunistic. Not every brand should do a “coronavirus idea.” Actions will speak louder than words. Everything you do or don’t do communicates. It’s a pandemic. Not a brief.
Just to end off on a positive note, look at how The New York Times has used its platform to not just talk about social distancing but demonstrate it in a wonderfully media-appropriate way. Who doesn’t love an ingenious use of typesetting?
Leigh Tayler (@LeighAnneTayler) is the strategy director at Joe Public United. During her career of more than 12 years, she’s worked in just about every imaginable category and has fostered a well-rounded and instinctual approach to strategic thinking that she applies at every level, from big brand concepts to last-mile moments of truth. Leigh contributes the new monthly column, “WTF?!”, which highlights the things one might hear within an agency or be asked of in briefs, 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 David Alves (@TheDavidAlves) “Feel it. It is here.” The last time we used that line, we were celebrating hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup — except now what’s on everyone’s lips and in everyone’s inboxes isn’t about the shared anticipation of festivity. Covid-19 has called a hard stop to almost every industry in society. Remote working will become the new norm and the way we manage each day will be changed for the foreseeable future.
Sowing seeds of positivity
The good news is that measures are being taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, from the closing of schools to mandated WFH (work from home) policies enforced by most businesses in South Africa, as well as public and private healthcare communication being more on fleek than a Project Runway finalè.
There’s another upside, too. As germaphobes and introverts revel in this socially distant landscape, one channel may find itself in a very fortuitous position — ecommerce.
Businesses that have been gearing up to service customer demand via an online offering have the most to gain during this time of need for consumers. Despite the cautious tone of this piece, there are huge benefits to an offering that minimises human contact and “flattens the curve”. Yes, there will be consequences for both the consumer and retailer, but here are a few expectations consumers may look forward to retailers addressing:
Enjoy the convenience of numerous products and personalised offers from retailers
Door-to-door services à la the on-demand economy
Shop local and support small- and medium-sized enterprises
Increased productivity due to fewer interruptions
Collect parcels from your front door in your pajamas (personal win, I confess)
Don’t put all your eggs in one online cart
For business owners, the threat is real. Shrinking consumer confidence and physical traffic, panic-buying, stressed-out patrons and pressure on suppliers will make the retail landscape for SA a rocky trading environment for the next few weeks. Most, if not all, major retailers have woken up to the on-demand industry in the past few years but we’re in unfamiliar waters at present.
Our country has yet to deal with such an event. So, while providing consumers with the option to shop online, retailers will have to go a step further in the fight to flatten the curve.
One of SA’s retailers recently released a plan of action to allow its online shoppers to do just that. Its statement reads as follows:
No contact delivery:
When our drivers arrive at your delivery address, they have been instructed to ring the bell [people, this means clean your doorbell regularly! — ed-at-large], and stand back at a safe distance.
As a precaution, during this time we will package your order in bags so that you don’t need to handle any delivery containers.
The drivers will place the bags at your door and wait for you to answer.
The driver will then record your name, with the date and time of delivery in front of you, so you won’t need to sign any paperwork.
You then collect your items and head back indoors; the driver will take any delivery containers and head off.
One of the biggest drawbacks of leaning on the online side of your business is managing stock levels. It would be wise for retailers to configure their predictive algorithms to manage supply-and-demand rates. Forecasting technology will play a major role in assisting retailers to manage consumer demand.
One consumer posted a photo of a prominent retailer’s empty shelves with the comment:
Harsh. Empty meat shelves thanks to panic buying – but nobody is yet desperate enough to try the chicken rashers. Some unwanted market research for Woolworths pic.twitter.com/DNhuPQiejP
The best things in life are free, and we’ve already seen how a retailer has thought and could think about its logistical engagements, right down to the handling of packaging. So, what about those who want to rage against the dying of the light and choose to ignore social distancing protocols and take their chances with the bulk-buyers and the masked, gloved till workers?
How do you win when good customer engagement is… no engagement at all? To improve in-store consumer experience right off the bat, I suggest:
Cleanliness: Sanitary wipes and sanitiser stations can go a long way to make consumers feel more comfortable
Personal assistance: Consumers concerned about touching trolleys, products, etc could be assisted by “personal shoppers”; despite it rendering social distancing moot, it could help to provide consumers with a sense of reassurance
Communication: All channels should be firing, whether email, app or physical acknowledgement in-store. Retailers have the responsibility to communicate what they are doing to curb the spread of the virus and ensure a safe retail experience for consumers who venture out
Solely following the above steps isn’t going to protect your business. Immense fortitude, perseverance, leadership and commitment to the health and safety guidelines put in place by the WHO International will hopefully see everyone through this uncertain period [also take a look at SA government’s official microsite, sacoronavirus.co.za— ed-at-large].
In times like these, marketing and innovation are seen as cost centres and, unfortunately, fall victim to ring-fencing and budget cuts. What’s often missed is that businesses that invest in innovation in a crisis are likely to see a 3x return on their investment in the long run.
Cast your mind back to 2001. The internet bubble had well and truly burst, and consumer confidence was at its lowest, but that didn’t stop big business from stepping out into the cold and pivoting through hard times. Back then, Apple launched the iPod, while Procter & Gamble introduced Crest WhiteStrips, which quickly became a US$2m product.
Businesses that can move fast in times of crisis will benefit when the tide goes back out, but unfortunately, there’s no map, manual or oracle to show businesses what to do in a situation like the one we find ourselves in.
David Alves (@TheDavidAlves) is a business director and consultant at Acceleration South Africa, a Wunderman Thompson company, and an accomplished digital marketing specialist with over 12 years of entrepreneurial, digital agency and corporate experience, ranging from multinationals to bespoke SMEs. With specialities within the consumer and customer experience, relationship management environment and technical experience across multiple CRM suites, David’s blended experience is bedded in digital strategy, campaign planning and business development.
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 Kyle de Waal & Morgan Botha. Here’s our latest choice of South African ads that connect and engage: Chicken Licken’s Everyone’s Talking About It, Absa’s Baking Delights, Gumtree’s #TheLife ‘Kim & Kanye’, Property24’s #ThisisHome, and the latest MTN #DEFBARS.
#AdChamp: Chicken Licken — Everyone’s Talking About It
What do all the channels shown in this ad have in common? They all know what’s hot at Chicken Licken.
Joe Public United has come up with a unique concept for Chicken Licken’s #EasyBucks meals campaign: When every show on TV is talking about delicious deals, it’s time to give in and order up. The best part of this ad — aside from the price — is how the dialogue spans 14 different shows and genres, without skipping a beat. We’re talking reality TV, an infomercial, a war film, and even the classic SABC1 drama that all South Africans have watched at least once. The range of this ad is head-spinning.
We can’t get over how well this campaign has been crafted and it also flows to social media, where fans may watch and interact with the films. Despite the huge diversity of options and interaction, the dialogue remains seamless — an impressive feat of seamlessness.
Chicken Licken and Joe Public United get a huge round of applause from us for this entire campaign and we’re definitely getting a Soulicious something for dinner pronto.
Rating
Credits
Brand: Chicken Licken
Client: Chantal Sombonos van Tonder
Creative agency: Joe Public United (ATL & digital)
Group chief creative officer: Pepe Marais
Chief creative officer: Xolisa Dyeshana
Creative director: Assaf Levy
Art director: Zamani Ngubane
Copywriter: Caroline Bergh, Tshepo Tumahole
Strategy: Leigh Tayler
Account management: Amber Mackeurtan, Asbo Ofori-Amanfo
Agency TV producer: Wendy Botha
Production company: Giant Films
Director: Karien Cherry
DOP: Adam Bentel
Executive producer: Emma Lundy
Production house producer: Ashley Kadish
Stylist: Keenan McAdam
Post-production: Strangelove
Editor: Kobus Loots
Colourist: Nic Apostoli
Online operator: Charmaine Greyling
Music: Adam Howard
Audio: Lorens Persson
SFX: Lorens Persson
Here come the tears
#AdChamp: Absa — Baking Delights
When an ad makes your eyes well up with tears, you know it’s a winner.
Life insurance isn’t something we enjoy talking about; it reminds us that life is finite, that one day we will leave loved ones behind [especially now, during the novel coronavirus pandemic — ed-at-large]. Isn’t it brilliant, however, when an ad can talk about life insurance without once mentioning death? It shows that it doesn’t have to be scary, that insurance is important so that the people we love will be taken care of after we leave.
In this touching ad, Absa manages to take a subject that we usually mark as spam and turn it into a heart-warming story about a dad who just wants to do right by his daughter. It shows him teaching his daughter to bake and, as the tale unfolds quickly, she grows up to become a professional baker. As she ages, we see her father ageing, too.
We won’t ruin the ending for you, but it got actual goosebumps from both of us. A 45s-long ad — not even a full minute — and we were fully invested in the relationship between this duo.
This ad also excels when it comes to craft. No words are spoken at all. Yet everything — from the storied baking scenes, to the ageing of the actors and narrative transformation — is brilliant. Avoid the ‘skip ads’ button for this one!
Rating
Credits
Ad agency: FCB Joburg
Brand: Absa Bank
Client: Vongani Mageza, head of strategic marketing, retail & business bank
Client: Betty Dube, head, insurance cluster, strategic marketing
Executive creative director: Loyiso Twala
Creative directors: Bonolo Modise
Art director: Gwen Maluleke, Yaseen Mahomed
Copywriters: Bonolo Modise, Brandon de Souza
Agency producer: Mun Ying de Lacy
Key account managers: Alan Schreiber, Lindiwe Ncube, Maureen Bam
Production company: Seriti
Director: Paul Ramaemma
Production house producer: Sue Mills|Jhadi Quinn
DOP: Alard de Smit
Social media live date: 28 January 2020
Post-production facility: Post Modern, Fuel Content (QTV)
Editor: Jade de Jager
Sound engineer: Sean Jefferies
Music producer/composer: Garth Barnes, Tiger Fight
Audio facility: Audiophile
Broadcast stations: Online & social media platforms, in-branch QTV & collateral
Live life, Kimye-style
#AdChamp: Gumtree — #TheLife ‘Kim & Kanye’
We’re not the biggest fans of those celebrity moneyspinners, Kim and Kanye, but even we admit that the use of celebrity in this ad is absolutely hilarious. Why? Because Gumtree never takes itself too seriously and we think that’s one reason, coupled with an engaging concept, that it’s so successful.
It seems as if Gumtree has taken a page out of the Nando’s playbook by highlighting real-world, culturally relevant topics and celebrities — but in a fun, inclusive way that has a smart twist and makes the customer the star of the ad. This focus on making customers happy is something we truly admire about Gumtree.
Short, sweet, to the point and funny, this ad ticks all the right boxes for people who increasingly feel the need to skip past ads. When a video captures our attention enough to make us pause and watch the whole thing again, it’s definitely doing something right. We tip our hats to the online classifieds for this campaign and for pointing out that we, too, may shop like celebs at the click of a button.
Rating
Credits
Brand: Gumtree South Africa
Creative agency: Ogilvy Cape Town
Agency producer: Sindy Ngceba
Digital creative director: Melissa Attree
Creative director: Taryn Scher
Copywriters: Daniel Fisher, Paul Fulton
Art director: Robyn Phillips
Group account director: Brad Seaton-Smith
Account manager: Nicholas Dilley
Production house: Egg Films
Director: Robin Adams
Director of photography: Tom Revington
Production co-art director: Wikkus Muller
Production co-producer: Kerry Hosford
Executive producer: Colin Howard
Editing company: 2 + 3 Post Productions
Editor: Willie Saayman
Post-production company: Comfort & Fame
Grade: Nic Apostoli
Online: Blake Prinsloo, Static Black:
Sound design & final mix: Rob Brinkworth , Resonate Audio
Music & music publisher: Tapiwa Musvosvi, Original Composition
Mzansi home truths
# AdChamp: Property24 — This is Home
South Africa is incredibly vibrant and diverse, and Property24 offers up little slices of stories with this nostalgia-inducing campaign that’s all about the memories we make as South Africans.
By showcasing many different tales of the people who happily live in SA, we see that there’re many different definitions of home, yet they’re all something we can relate. It also cleverly shows how important community is in making a house feel like a home.
This is why we’re left with the warm and fuzzies — whether it’s having a sip of ice tea on the stoep with the family or a braai with buddies, this particular ad highlights what helps makes SA so beautiful.
Rating
Credits
Brand: Property24.com
Director: Jasyn Howes
Producer: Debi Shabason
Production manager: Tassyn Munro
Agency producer: Ali Coetzee
Creative director: Michel Brink
DOP: Felix Seuffert
Focus puller: Alex Ford-Robertson
Gaffer: Warrick le Sueur
1st AD: Bantuza Mchunu
Sound recordist: Sarah Faye de Muynk
Art director: Jako van Heerden
Hair & makeup: Angela Perreira
DIT: Ruan Swart
Editor: Paul Speirs
Online: New Creation Collective
Colourist: Nic Apostoli
Music score: Simon Malherbe
Final mix: Pressure Cooker Studios
It’s OK if you don’t get it
#AdChamp: MTN — #DEFBARS featuring Glen the Rapper
This winning ad is a combination of a brilliant concept and masterful execution that drives home an important message. If you struggle to understand what’s being said in this ad, then you’ve now had a small taste of what the deaf community deals with every day.
This campaign, which launched last year, takes only a couple of minutes of your day to show you the beauty that exists in the world when you don’t have your sense of hearing. There are very few ads that cater to the hearing impaired and this is one of the best ones yet, not excluding but educating those who don’t know what it would be like.
This campaign has genuinely impressed us with its innovative use of heavy bass and sign language. We feel that all ad agencies and companies could do with more inclusion of communities often completely left out of the narrative; this ad shows that it’s not that difficult. Inclusivity and diversity make life better for everyone.
Rating
Credits
Brand: MTN
Ad agency: TBWA\Hunt Lascaris
Chief creative officer: Peter Khoury
Executive creative director: Kabelo Moshapalo
Creative director: Johann Schwella
Art director: Neels Malan
Copywriters: Neo Makongoza, The Lazarusman (artist)
Agency producer: Stacey Moloi
Key account managers: Natalie Boyce
Production company: Fort
Director: Amr Singh
Production house producer: Craig February
Social media live date: 28 January 2020
Post-production facility: Fort
Editor: Clayton Rolfe
VFX: Frank Liebenberg
Sound engineer: Sean Jefferies
Music producer/composer: Myles McDonald
Audio facility: Hey Papa Legend
Note: This column was written before the coronavirus pandemic reached South Africa.
Absa credits updated at 5.24pm on 23 March 2020. MTN credits updated at 10am on 24 March and 3.37pm on 23 March 2020.
Who are Kyle de Waal and Morgan Botha? We are two young-at-heart millennials trying with all our might to break the mould of the stereotypical ‘all millennials are the same…’ because — after all — we’re all just people. Together with the editors of MarkLives.com, we enjoy finding ads worth watching and talking about, and then showcasing them here in our new monthly MarkLives column, #AdChamps.
If you’re involved in making South African or African advertising that’s smart, funny and/or engaging, please let us know at adchamps@marklives.com.
by Tiffany Markman (@tiffanymarkman)Only one in nine people is a natural salesperson. The rest of us hate selling — because, when it doesn’t work, it feels a lot like rejection and rejection brings emotional pain. So, let’s equip ourselves with better selling tools, especially in the age of covid-19, when panic is everywhere, times are tough, friends aren’t few but hiding at home, and no-one needs more emotional pain.
Seens & unseens
Every sales conversation has two areas: the seens and the unseens. The seens are the things that actually happen; the unseens are the filters, viewpoints, and values that colour an experience of the sales interaction.
Now, I believe that the goal of all sales conversations should be this: giving the prospect clarity. And you can let the prospect know that the goal is clarity by setting an informal agenda at the start of the conversation, like this:
“Thanks for taking the time to talk with me. In the next five minutes, I hope to learn… Based on our chat I’ll… And by the end, my intention is… How does that sound?” (This last bit is a good way to get their agreement.)
“Sales feels yucky”
Indeed. But it helps to think of sales like this: Sales isn’t something you do to someone; it’s something you do for someone. This is a hard one for me. I used to feel a weird guilt about selling my services and asking for money… like I was taking, never like I was giving. But, if you think about selling as serving, you can’t be mercenary. You want the prospect to win.
Here’s what I like to do, since I feel awkward about persistence. I like to show the value I can add by giving something for nothing. A tip. Free advice. I find that it keeps me top of mind without forcing me to ask for the “yes”. ’Til later. Specifically, I give away my intellectual property in the form of a first free consultation, newsletters, complimentary cheat-sheets and downloadable goodies, and this is how I serve without giving away what must be paid for.
To have a masterful sales conversation, it’s important to work hard to develop both comfort and authenticity. If you’re uncomfortable asking for money, requesting a commitment, or handling objections, practise like crazy.
Persist, but don’t stalk
“I’ll think about it” usually means “no”. Remember that, unlike in relationships (I feel I must make this clear), a no in business doesn’t mean “no forever”. It means, “persuade me” or “I’m not ready” or “I’m not comfortable enough”. You’re going to get a lot of “I’ll think about it” at the moment, as flight-or-fright mode isn’t conducive to quick decision-making. That’s okay. Expect it.
It usually takes up to seven* exposures before most people will try something new: product, service or person. That’s six “no”s from the same person, before they may — no guarantees here — eventually feel safe enough to say yes; before their inherent scepticism can be overcome. Most of the time, it’s not you; it’s them. So be optimistic. Keep trying. But please don’t stalk.
*I’m not sure the magic number is literally seven. It may be six. Or, in our current corona-nundrum, 12. But don’t give up after the first or fifth no.
Ask better questions
When you talk too much, you leave the buyer with the impression that you don’t understand their business, their industry or their needs. Listen first. Then talk. Ensure that you’re answering the question, “What’s in it for me?”
Tell and show and reiterate the value that your prospect can get from your offer, product, service etc. You need to find out what the prospect needs to establish the proper connections and synergies. I sometimes use a short questionnaire for this but I’m careful not to grill the buyer with too many questions, making them feel like they’re being interrogated. It’s really important that you take turns speaking.
It’s important to flip the agenda from yours to theirs, to harness their aspirations and getting your prospect to share hopes, desires, and even fears. Why? Because their reasons to buy or not to buy are inside them, not inside you. Ask, “What is it about this thing that’s making you consider it?”
Here’s another helpful question: “What challenge are you currently facing?” In other words, in what way/s can you reduce their ‘pain’? This motivates the prospect to hear a solution (containing both benefits and features) later on. Remember, however, that the prospect’s ego will be threatened by your proffered solution, and it will create objections. Unravel these, using clarity.
Use strong language
All words are not created equal. High-performing salespeople swear by these:
Imagine
Successful
Decisive language, like “definitely,” “certainly,” and “we can do that”
Risk-reversal language, eg: “We offer a 30-day free trial.”
The prospect’s name
It’s in the timing
Don’t schedule a first (virtual for now, in-person for later) meeting for a Friday. In The Invisible Influence, Kevin Hogan teaches that Fridays are the worst possible time to sell. People tend to buy on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays around 9am, 10am and 2pm. Rather, use Fridays to schedule virtual appointments. For Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
Tiffany Markman is a freelance copywriter, writing trainer and keynote speaker who’s worked with over 400 top brands in the last 15 years. She’s most proud of knowing the true meaning of the verb “revert”, though. She loves art and black coffee. If you’ve seen Tiffany on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, you may know that she hates the phrase “I hope you are well”.
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.
Q5: Talk us through the agency’s roots and rise: what led you into adland, and what has kept you here? Sanele Pesane: We started off as an IT company that did more brand design and web development work than IT. We did this for schools and small businesses in Soweto. We eventually made contact with Alistair King and James Barty, co-founders of King James Group, asking them to help train and mentor us into the next integrated marketing agency that would build on strong consumer strategy and produce relevant creative communication with a slice of homegrown perspective. We’ve tried not to be a “hype”-based agency but more of a “substance”-based agency, and so we’ve always relished in the success of creating a positive impact, not only for our clients’ brands but also for the products and services they sell.
Q5: What are some of the highlights and challenges you’ve had since inception? SP: We’ve had the privilege to work with Alexander Forbes, Corona, Old Mutual and many other brands, but the highlight for our agency was when we worked on and integrated a campaign for Cotlands (“I’m Previously Advantaged”). Though the campaign was intended to run only in 2017, it was so impactful that the client extended it to 2018. Another highlight was an integrated campaign we did for Game SA (Get More Out of iGroza). The campaign was well-received by the market and had a positive impact on food sales for the client. We were very excited when we were given a Hero status for this campaign by the one and only Andy Rice on his show Heroes & Zeros on 702 FM.
Some of the challenges we’ve faced are similar to what most agencies go through, and these have been finding clients, costing, or finding the right individuals to work with us, etc. But the challenge that has always stood out is adapting to the constantly changing landscape of advertising, and maintaining relevance for our clients’ brands or messages and making them resonate with the current consumer.
Q5: What would you say are the most-important skills to cultivate for success in this space? Thando Somacele: Having a good understanding of your clients’ challenges and being able to interpret and identify the core objectives beyond their briefs is one of, if not the most-important, skills to cultivate for success in this space. The next is having a good understanding of human nature or behaviour, both the rational and irrational, because when you have this skill you can map out a strong strategy and produce brilliant yet relevant creative communication for your clients and audience.
Q5: What are some things you think South African adland gets right, and where does it need to change? TS: We’ve managed to create communication that is relatable across a wider audience and culture because of the diversity that exists in our unique country; this is what we’ve done right and still often do right. Humour is another way we’ve managed to do well for our local brands over the decades.
What needs to change is something felt across the entire industry, and it has to do with the fact that, to some degree, we’ve lost the essence of true advertising. It began when we heavily relied on transient digital wagons, which worked very well for single-minded strategies and simple yet relevant creative. We need to go back to the basics of speaking to humans, to their emotions and their truths, and find ways of merging innovation with these and also become more courageous with our ideas and give them proper time to stick and build brands.
Q5: What are your goals for the next 12–24 months? SP: Our primary goal is to continue to improve and to keep working on projects that build brands and sell products.
Note: This interview occurred before the coronavirus pandemic reached South Africa.
Carey Finn (@carey_finn) is a writer and editor with over decade and a half of industry experience, having covered everything from ethical sushi in Japan to the technicalities of roofing, agriculture, medical stuff and more. She’s also taught English and journalism, and dabbled in various other communications ventures along the way, including risk reporting. As a contributing writer to MarkLives.com, her regular column “Q5”hones in on strategic insights, analysis and data through punchy interviews with inspiring professionals in diversive fields.
by MarkLives (@marklives) MarkLives is tracking South African and African advertising and marketing industry event changes, postponements and cancellations due to the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, and its resulting disease, covid-19. 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). Most-recent announcements will be added on top. This is for 16–20 March 2020.
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.
Save the Event Industries LIVE Conference
Held: Wednesday, 18 March 2020
A live broadcast, hosted by MJ Event Gear and EFX Productions yesterday, discussed the covid-19 impact on the events industry.
The organisers of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity have announced that the festival and awards will now take place 26–30 October 2020:
As always, the health, safety and wellbeing of our community is our priority. The decision was made following productive talks with our valued partners and customers and following consultation with public health officials, the City of Cannes and the French Authorities.
We have worked with the City of Cannes to make sure that the move from June to October is a smooth transition for everyone. If you are an existing Cannes Lions customer, all passes, sponsorship arrangements and bookings will roll over and remain valid.
We recognise that this is a difficult time for the entire community and we will remain in deep consultation with many of our customers and partners as we continue to plan. We are now focussed on planning the Festival and preparing for the Lions. It is our commitment to recognise the extraordinary spread of international creative work and its contribution to the development of people, business and society.
The Lions will be awarded during the new Festival dates and the work will still be judged and awarded by our global juries. We are planning to extend the deadline and eligibility date and are currently finalising the plans around this, with an update coming soon.
Our community is facing unprecedented challenges and collaboration and communication have never been more important. We’ll continue to provide you with regular updates and we look forward to supporting you with your plans over the coming weeks and months.
IAB SA invites you to join the #Bookmark2020 experience online
Announced: Tuesday, 17 March 2020
Get ready to go online this Thursday 19 March: 5pm-6pm
Feed: instagram.com/iab_sa
Last week, the IAB SA announced the digitisation of the 12th annual Bookmark Awards ceremony, scheduled for this Thursday at 5pm, and the cancellation of the on-site event at The Galleria that evening. as it only responsible to minimise any health risk of event attendees.
Says Andrea Quaye, Bookmarks jury president: “You won’t have to miss the 2020 Bookmark Awards because #Bookmarks2020 is a digital-first, free awards experience that will be accessible to all online through the IAB SA digital platforms and supporting local media. We invite all agencies, publishers, brands, companies and individuals to join in this week — from whereever you are — as we take the #2020Bookmarks online for the first time.”
“We are also thrilled to be inviting our 2020 Bookmarks Front Row winners to the #2020Bookmarks show format and will be further introducing them to the industry online this Thursday and at future events and platforms,” says Paula Hulley, IAB SA CEO.
2020 Bookmarks IAB SA Front Row winners:
Zoya Nkosi
KamogeloMakhale
Motshidisi Mokoena
Bokamoso Pascal Tsogang
Mahlatse Moti
Each of these winners submitted their entry by Friday 13 March and was reviewed by the IAB SA Bookmarks Front Row Panel. Each will receive a R10 000 online-course voucher from The Red & Yellow Creative School of Business, a R3 000 G-Star clothing voucher and an invitation to participate in the #2020Bookmarks online awards and future IAB events.
Annual AMASA Workshop postponed until further notice
Announced: Tuesday, 17 March 2020
AMASA has postpone its fifth annual AMASA Workshop, scheduled for 2–5 April 2020. “This decision was taken in the interest of pulling together as a nation to contain this disease to the best of our ability. We apologise for any inconvenience caused but wish you and your families good health during this time,” reads the statement.
The Radio Awards cancels event, opts for digital announcement
Announced: Monday, 16 March 2020
In light of the Government’s declared state of disaster and the collective national efforts to combat the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19 by prohibiting events where more than 100 people are gathered, it is important that we share the change of format for announcing the winners of The Radio Awards 2020.
The Radio Awards gala dinner which was initially scheduled to take place in Sandton on 18 April 2020 has been replaced with an online winners announcement to be aired via digital channels on Friday, 17 April 2020 at 14h00. Further information regarding access to the announcement will be shared in due course.
As planned, category finalists will be announced via the www.radioawards.co.za website and The Radio Awards social media channels at 10h00 on 18 March 2020.
While it’s unfortunate that it will not be possible to celebrate the success of local radio talent in person, we thank you for your understanding, and for playing your part in keeping the health of our fellow citizens top priority.
#TOW 2020 cancels event
Announced: Monday, 16 March 2020
The Times of the Writer (#TOW2020) festival, which was due to take place from Monday 16 March until Saturday 21 March has been cancelled. The organisers hope to facilitate part the festival through digital and media channels.
People who have already purchased tickets will be contacted regarding refunds. In case of any questions, contact cca@ukzn.ac.za or send a Facebook chat message.
Night of 1000 Drawings postponed
Announced: Monday, 16 March 2020
The organisers of Night of 1000 Drawings have postponed the event until further notice. The art-for-charity initiative was scheduled to take place from Friday 27 March to Sunday 29 March at Victoria Yards, Lorentzville.
“1000 Drawings acknowledges the extraordinary efforts made by members of the community to ensuring a successful event. A rescheduled date will be announced in due course. We anticipate that the event will go ahead in a few months. However, should you wish to be refunded, please contact: info@100drawings.org. (or Webtickets).”
IMC Conference postponed
Announced: Monday, 16 March 2020
The Nedbank IMC 2020 has been postponed in keeping with cabinet guidelines regarding covid-19. This is according to Dale Hefer, IMC CEO. The conference, which sold out with over 750 delegates and 18 speakers, scheduled to take place this Thursday 19 March. A new date will be established as soon as possible.
“We fully respect the prevention guidelines,” says Hefer. “The good news is that people who had cancelled previously due to the virus will now be able to attend. We have the full support of our sponsors, speakers and other stakeholders including the Marketing Association of South Africa (MASA) and the IAB. We undertake to supply delegates with no less than one month’s notice of the new date and are committed to a smooth transition to the new date.”
PRISM Awards cancelled
Announced: Monday, 16 March 2020
The PRISM Awards Committee and Public Relations Institute of South Africa (PRISA) cancelled the 2020 PRISM Awards event. The awards ceremony was scheduled for 5 April 2020 at the Houghton Hotel in Johannesburg.
“We have been monitoring the developments around the virus closely over the last few weeks and we were aware that a cancellation of the awards was a possibility. We acknowledge that the PR and communication industry at large will be disappointed, however, this decision has been taken with their health and safety in mind,” says Palesa Madumo, PRISM Awards convenor.
The PRISMs committee will be in contact with all individuals, agencies and organisations that have entered the 2020 awards ,and additional information will be shared with them in due course. Refunds will be given to all those of who have purchased tickets; contact Louise Struwig on louise@prisa.co.za with any queries.
“We are considering a number of options to still ensure that entrants and the ultimate winners of the awards are acknowledged and celebrated. We will make this information available once finalised,” says Madumo.
The IAB Bookmarks Awards has cancelled its gala event, which was to be held at The Galleria on 19 March 2020. The awards will instead be announced via digital format, and all paid 2020 Bookmarks ticket event holders will be refunded in full.
“While all systems are on track for the 2020 award announcements [this] Thursday, we are taking a cautious approach, based on the industry’s response to COVID-19,” says Paula Hulley, IAB SA CEO. “In conversations regarding company mandate to minimise risk to assure health and safety, we have decided to ask our attendees not to gather in the same venue at the event and, as such, we have cancelled the physical event planned for 19 March 2020 at The Galleria.”
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 (@marklives) MarkLives is tracking South African and African brand and ad agency reactions and news related to the covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. 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). Most-recent announcements will be added on top. This is for 16–20 March 2020.
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.
Thursday, 19 March 2020
Save the Event Industries LIVE Conference
A live broadcast, hosted by MJ Event Gear and EFX Productions yesterday, Wednesday, 18 March 2020, discussed the covid-19 impact on the events industry.
Triple Eight MD talks about hygiene, handwashing programme
Sarika Modi, Triple Eight founder and MD, discusses hygiene and handwashing programmes run by her agency:
Wednesday, 18 March 2020
Ogilvy Joburg CCO criticised over internal #covid19 video
Upset members of Ogilvy Johannesburg‘s creative team emailed MarkLives a YouTube link on Wednesday 18 March, shared by the agency’s creative leadership team, addressing staff on the realities of working remotely due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The Mortimer Harvey (MH) covid-19 action plan was updated on Monday 16 March to align and completely comply with all requirements stipulated by the national state of disaster declaration. This includes travel bans to any foreign destination and restricted local travel for all staff, other than personal transport where required.
MH has secured a stock of Bioscrub (a surgical cleaner and soap used in hospitals, clinics and doctors’ rooms as existing hygiene protocol). This is being applied to clean common surfaces such as handrails, light switches, reception, bathrooms, boardrooms and kitchens, and everyone will clean their own desk. Support staff at MH have already ramped up a rigorous cleaning protocol of these areas every two hours. Staff have been addressed and advised that all need to take responsibility for their own workspaces, common areas frequented and personal conduct.
MH has a stock of an approved hand sanitiser, including access to ongoing supply, which has already been placed in key work spaces and common areas, especially reception and boardrooms. Any arrivals at MH are required to use the hand sanitiser before entering.
In addition, MH has always retained the services of Supercare Hygiene, which takes care of intense hygiene services in all its bathrooms, including a monthly deep cleanse of each facility and the provision of hand sanitiser in each cubicle. Supercare Hygiene has been engaged to activate additional services that it’s providing as a result of covid 19.
A work-from-home (WFH)/offsite protocol is being double-checked through the agency’s specialist IT service provider. This has always been the case for certain staff by virtue of extensive offsite meetings. Secure VPN access to our servers, Chase and other key business tools are already being double-checked on all laptops. Criticallym though, the very nature of quality creative development and output, notwithstanding the size of files creative teams work on, means it isn’t entirely feasible for all to work from home/offsite at once. MH is therefore ensuring that all protocols are manged to ensure business continuity, as well as quality of output, balanced with absolute adherence to covid-19 protocols. Importantly, MH recognises that many of its staff do not have high-end fibre or reliable WiFi solutions at home, especially during loadshedding. The agency therefore must work around that.
With support from clients, meetings are limited to telecons, Skype or other such software tools. Protocols in the MH building do provide for the very real necessity of actual meetings with clients at critical stages, when required, to ensure all outputs progress unhindered.
MH already has substantial business-continuity insurance cover and its brokers will be furnishing MH with details on how this could be applied in the case of covid-19.
All MH staff that have to use public transport are either able to be accommodated in a lift pool or MH drivers will assist using the company vehicles to get them to work. No staff will be using any form of public transport and, if no other alternative will suffice, they will be required to remain at home.
A toolkit of relevant communications, to be placed in all key areas of the building, was finalised over the past weekend, following the Task Team Meeting. These are the absolute facts for covid-19, what to do, what not to do etc, as derived from the WHO and alongside guidelines from South Africa’s Department of Health and National Centre for Infectious Diseases. Certain of these are being prepared for distribution on MH’s social platforms and to its client and supplier base. Hard copies are available to MH staff to take home to assist and educate their own households and communities. The appropriate containment and management of COVID-19 begins at home!
MH’s head of talent has contacted the appropriate medical professionals with a view to have all staff vaccinated with the latest flu vaccine when it’s released later this month. While this is standard protocol each winter season across the world , it does remain voluntary. While this won’t yet be a covid-19 vaccine, preventing contracting any strain of flu will assist to maintain the body’s immune health over the general flu season.
Business continuity, adspend
According to Andrew Fradd, MH MD, the agency has received formal communication from most clients outlining their business-continuity protocols. “Most have implemented a [WFH] policy, specifically for marketing staff in our case. Meetings at the agency will be limited to critical requirements only and all other day to day contact, including status meetings, reviews, presentations etc are being conducted via Skype or other selected software and telecons”
Regarding discussions on spend, Fradd says clients are looking to redirect spend, specifically away from planned events and activations. “The intent remains to ensure business continuity, sustained and relevant communications, whether B2B or B2C, in the next two quarters from all clients. As an agency partner, we are tasked with developing proactive and recrafted, relevant communications to the appropriate and/or alternative channels to adapt to the environment consumers and businesses are facing. This type of challenge is one we relish, thrive on and are well poised to do,” he says.
“Lessons learnt from many countries is that covid-19 remains fluid, unpredictable and an ever-moving target,” he continues. “Whilst the short-term indicators are that clients will redirect spend and ramp up comms on certain channels, we must be cognisant of the ongoing global and local economic impact. As such, it would be naïve not to prepare for the potential impact on our bottom line, although the extent or severity of what this could look like remains unknown.
“In terms of day-to-day business operations and business continuity, we now have to understand the alternative impact on overheads and expenses on the [WFH] model. High-quality, reliable connectivity, IT infrastructure and cyber security [are] critical and core to all that we do, and it is very difficult to manage this in staff’s home environments. Obviously, the increased claims for individual cell phone and data costs, amongst other IT related costs, can ramp up significantly. It is also not possible to implement a corresponding reduction in IT and connectivity costs at the office, as the ‘Mother Ship’ must critically continue to operate as before.”
Meta Media: Covid-19’s potential effect on media in SA
MarkLives pulls some key insights from a release put out by Meta Media concerning the various ways covid-19 may impact the media industry:
Air travel is being massively impacted by covid-19, thanks to international travel bans and strong recommendations to avoid domestic travel where possible. As a result of passenger numbers declining, airport media owners will start to feel the pressure as advertisers aren’t going to be fighting for prime airport real estate anymore.
Commuter transport will also, in time, be affected, with a lot fewer commuters traveling to work as companies begin allowing people to work from home. Activations have already started being put on hold, making it more and more difficult for advertisers to connect with their audiences.
More people working from home means fewer people on the roads and therefore less audience for roadside billboards. Less audience means that advertisers might start to see OOH as a less-attractive media option for their messaging, and so spend might be affected.
If people aren’t commuting to and from the office as much, what will the effect on radio be? When you look at the RAMS data of where people claim to be actually listening to the radio, it turns out that listening in-car is not as big as you might have assumed (only 30%, according to the latest RAMS release). The majority of listening is claimed to be at home, so radio should be largely unaffected. Meta Media suggests looking at alternative time channels, however — perhaps mid-morning and early afternoon, outside of drive time, which is typically more expensive. This will make your radio advertising more cost-effective with lower CPMs than in drive time.
With more people staying at home and self-isolating, TV is probably one of the platforms best-placed to benefit from the effects of the pandemic.
It is well-known that sport is a primary driver of DStv subscriptions. However, what the coronavirus has done is effectively shut down all sports world-wide. With effectively no sport to broadcast, how is DStv going to encourage subscribers not to cancel their subscriptions and move across to the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime?
Which brings us to digital: aside from TV, digital is probably going to be biggest winner among all of the covid-19 chaos. News has always been an important driver of online content consumption but we believe that the newsworthiness of covid-19 will drive increased traffic to news sites such as News24, IOL, EWN and the like. Advertisers targeting news verticals and interest categories may pick up big audiences.
Online search advertising may well benefit as more people turn to the web to find out where to buy their goods online, giving a great opportunity for advertisers to target relevant keywords to ensure visibility in this virtual shop window! Some researchers predict that companies which adapt to online trading will be the least-impacted by a potential recession.
M&C Saatchi Abel issues response plan
These are certainly unprecedented times both from a health perspective and also an economic one. The situation calls for a considered and consistent response as it unfolds. As the agency leadership our job is two-fold:
Decisive action and interventions to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus in alignment with the government’s plans
Ensure we address the challenges in a way that makes our business resilient to this uncertainty for now and the future
From a personal health perspective: There are very clear and well documented guidelines and procedures around COVID-19 which we have already shared and which apply to any and all circumstances both as individuals in our daily lives, as well as to businesses and their day-to-day operations.
From a business health perspective: It’s important to note that the agency is not “shutting down” nor is it “closed for business” nor is it “an extended holiday”. The agency remains fully open and functioning within the contracted working hours, starting at 08h30. We are simply looking at a combination of remote working and specific in-office engagements to “significantly thin out” the number of staff in the building at one time. The physical campus remains open and will be used by various departments, HODs, clients and suppliers as and when needed.
In order to do this we will be putting in place a remote working strategy that seeks to balance these two important and dependent priorities.
For an initial 2 week rolling period from tomorrow, Wednesday 18 March through to Wednesday 1 April we are implementing the following:
1. Working remotely:
In an effort to land a successful and sustainable model in these uncertain times we want to enable as many people, as need be, to be able to work remotely. This is no easy feat for a business like ours. We need to ensure we continue to deliver on time and in full as this is fundamental to remaining a healthy and viable business. What we ask of you is to now, more than ever, is to work together to do this. We are all adults and know what needs to be done, please lean in to this. There will be learnings along the way and we will enhance on the below interventions as we evolve.
Simply : the “what” we do remains exactly the same, it is the “how” that needs to change.
Working remotely: Who should stay at home from tomorrow?
As of tomorrow, the following people should start working from home:
Primary caregivers: If you are a primary caregiver of a child or children that you need to be at home for
Immuno-compromised: If you, or any member of your household have a qualifying pre-condition (including: diabetes, asthma, HIV+, asthmatic, cardio-vascular)
Pregnant: If you, or anyone in your household, is pregnant
Elderly: If you or anyone in your household is 60 years or older
Feeling sick: Per previous correspondence, if you have any cold or flu like symptoms please stay at home until symptoms clear up or you are cleared by your doctor
Confirmed covid-19 contact: If you or anyone in your household has been confirmed as having had contact with covid-19 (the 14-day quarantine period would apply immediately). Equally if someone in your family or household has recently returned from a High-risk country, then you must also observe the 14 day quarantine as a safety precaution.
Please notify your line manager and HR today, if you fall into one of the above categories and elect to work from home.
Working remotely: For everyone else
Over the next two days, each department will be briefed by their department head on the plan for remote working to look at minimizing the amount of people in the building at one time. The plan will differ by department and will be a mix of off-site (remote) and on-site (office) working time. Heads of department and key functions in the agency will still be predominantly based in the office. Naturally as we learn more (and as the situation evolves) we will assess and evolve too.
What we’re doing:
Department plans: Department heads will discuss and align on a remote working plan and what key moments are needed on-site. Office hygiene: Per existing communication many initiatives are already in place, and a few extra precautionary measures will soon be implemented (including: common area hand sanitizers, visitor sign-in in the event that we need to trace & track anyone, meeting registers to trace & track people who are in meetings together, deep office cleans).
What you need to do:
Use the technology: Before you leave you must confirm with your line manager that you are equipped with the existing IT solutions that are in place to facilitate working remotely (MS Teams, VPN access, Email access). A separate email communication is going out with the specific details around this.
Be available: Please ensure all your details are with you line-manager and team members so that people can get hold of you. Also ensure that you have email installed on your phone to ensure easy and ready access specifically during office hours. Not being in the office, it is critically important that you are available at all times (as you would be in the office) as normal working hours apply.
Data usage: For those without fixed internet at home use your smart phone as a hotspot and buy data bundles, which can be claimed as part of an itemized expense claim. Alternatively you can request a data bundle code to be issued to you from IT. The detail around this will come in a separate communication.
2. Travel: Air travel
It is important to note that domestic travel is allowed but we will be aligning with the Government’s “Essential travel” directive.
For our purposes Essential Travel is: Travel that is required to get a specific deliverable out by needing your physical presence in a specific geography or location (e.g. a shoot). For JHB, please use Lanseria (regional airport) and fly at off peak times as necessary.
For any Essential Travel please discuss with your line manager for alignment and approval.
If you have been in a high-risk country please let your line manager know ahead of returning to work, and if you haven’t done so already you will need to go into self-quarantine and get tested if you develop symptoms.
It is obviously not the best time to be travelling outside of South Africa, so for the next 3 months we would recommend not booking or travelling internationally. If this is unavoidable please let your line manager know of those particular circumstances.
Travel: Public transport
If you need to be in the office and depend on public transport to get to and from work we would like you to consider the following:
Off-peak travel: Please discuss with your line-manager about commuting at off-peak times Alternative transport: Please make use of alternative transport (like car-pooling) if possible Specific needs: Please discuss options and arrangements with your line manager.
3. Client, supplier & staff engagements:
Going forward please re-format as many Client and Supplier engagements to take place virtually vs. face to face
If there is a need for a face-to-face meeting please be sure to practice the necessary hygiene interventions, as well as keep a log of the meeting if you’re the meeting owner (the relevant forms will be provided)
Reception at both our campuses will be open and recording all visitors should there be a need to track & trace around a suspected case
All bigger gatherings like : Staff meetings, Wednesday breakfasts, Friday drinks & Department gatherings are postponed until further notice
4. Task team:
A task team has been set-up for a few weeks already prepping for this eventuality. This team is already close contact with all the company heads. They continue to meet twice a week to align on updates, learnings and further interventions:
Robert Grace: EXCO oversight
Maciek De Waal Dubla: Internal comms
Warren Lawrence: IT and Technology
Wiggie Johaadien: Campus interventions
Tracey Wasserman: HR
We will be using Microsoft Teams to communicate updates on the COVID-19 Updates team handle.
5. Changing our language:
These are challenging times. But we have to work together to ensure we all get through this. Our intention is to manage the financial and economic impact on our clients, our agency, and our various suppliers as best as is possible.
At this time we all have a role to play. We need to be conscious and careful of the language we use and the information we spread. Specifically in the agency we don’t want to use language like “closed”, “unavailable”, “cancel”, “stop”, or “on-hold” – this is not the time for delivering less, or going slow. Similarly language that builds anxiety and panic are not useful either.
The way through this is to be calm, pragmatic and practical.
If you have any questions please contact your line manager who will direct them to the task team.
Thanks
The Partners
Pick n Pay to have special pensioners’ shopping hour
All Pick n Pay supermarkets and Hypermarkets will have a special pensioners’ shopping hour on Wednesdays from 7-8am, starting 18 March. Shoppers aged 65+ will have exclusive use of the store > https://t.co/7BkIMs4oXN
“…[A]s business leaders, our obsession must be on finding relevant and useful solutions for our clients, customers and friends — but with a clear eye on staff retention.”
Monday, 16 March 2020
Agency 3Verse issues remote-working protocols
We are living in unprecedented times, and 3Verse is 100% committed to a plan that helps contribute towards the slowest possible rate of infections of COVID-19 in our community. In response to President Ramaphosa’s address to the nation last night, 3Verse is implementing the following measures to protect our team and the extended communities we’re all part of:
Travel Restrictions: We will no longer be attending face-to-face meetings, and accordingly, we’ll be doing no travel until the domestic & international travel advisory is lifted. This is important to protect our clients as well as our team members.
Creative Production Restrictions: All planned productions & unplanned creative productions will be delayed until further notice. Where new assets are required, clever use of stock imagery and existing assets will be repurposed to meet campaign needs. Radio recordings will go ahead, with only Sound Engineer and VO artist present, with agency attending remotely to avoid close contact.
Remote Working Protocols:
– As of tomorrow, 17th March, all 3Verse team members will be working remotely and virtually. Strict protocols already planned for will now be implemented. We are very confident that our virtual office contingency plan will yield amazing results when placed into action, and we hope to use these learnings to work virtually more in future.
– We stress, there will be no break in the delivery of work & services by our agency. It remains business as usual in terms of campaign implementation and rollouts, as well as planning for the upcoming FY periods. Our full team will be online, and available for phones calls & emails throughout the working day.
– Backend office staff (i.e. cleaning/reception) have been placed on a paid leave of absence and encouraged to avoid any forms of public transport to protect themselves & their families.
Limiting Movement: we’ve strongly advised all team members, to avoid societal movement as much as possible. And ensure that while out and about, and especially on returning to their homes – that strict hygiene measures are taken to protect them and their families.
At times like this, we should recognize that despite all the technology in the world, we are actually an intimately connected society, deeply reliant on one another and close relations. The coming weeks surely will not be easy for any of us as we adjust to a very different way of existing among one another.
We know South Africa will beat Covid-19. As a small business, we call on all businesses who can, to try and implement similar protocols in their organisations, and look after their most vulnerable and most at-risk team members.
Stay safe, care for your family, and demonstrate responsibility as you move through society, with a particular focus in keeping our elderly and at-risk citizens out of harm’s way.”
Covid-19 has impacted the South African production sector with reports that some international clients are cancelling jobs due to concerns ranging from reluctance to transit through international airports to delays on products due to be shipped out of China for sale elsewhere.
Although many international commercial productions are going ahead in March and April there has been a sudden decline in requests for South African production companies to quote on international jobs. In the local market there are questions about the impact of Coronavirus on shoots and discussion on how this can be mitigated.
The CPA has consulted with The Chesterfield Group on the insurance implications and has established the following:
Generally speaking, agencies and Production companies are not able to insure against the effects of the Coronavirus and their policies exclude events caused by communicable diseases.
In some policies, cancellation of shoots may be covered however it is unlikely that a postponement or relocation will be covered.
It is therefore very important for all agencies and production companies to check directly with their insurance brokers to establish the extent of their cover.
Once this has been actioned, all parties must agree on the way forward in the event of a cancellation, postponement or relocation. This discussion should happen before the shoot and the agreement formalized in writing.
It is also important for suppliers, crew and talent (and their agents) to be aware of the implications as they too may be affected. In some instances, clients may agree to pay cancellation on all agreed upon costs if a job is cancelled due to Covid-19 however they may also request that jobs go ahead on risk. This means that the supplier accepts the risk that the job may be cancelled and that no cancellation fees will be paid if it is. In the client does request this, we recommend that agencies and production companies communicate this up-front to suppliers and agents — it will then be up to them to accept or decline the offer.
We encourage everyone in our industry to resist the urge to panic. Instead it is important that everyone take the necessary precautions and do their utmost to avoid the virus and to remain healthy.
In order to assist you with this, we have prepared some documentation that can be displayed and circulated on set – the aim is to keep the message simple, clear and consistent. We recommend that all production companies attach this information to your call sheets and provide facilities on set so that people can regularly wash or sanitize their hands and take other precautions necessary to halt the spread of Covid-19.
Star Film Co responds with new client guidelines
The Star Film Co wishes to assure clients that production work can continue, even as it implements new safety measures in response to covid-19.
Details of the statement below:
Until such time as advised/dictated otherwise, The Star Film Co will continue operations, with the health and safety of our directors, producers, crew and clients, top of mind. The Star Film Company wants to make sure that we all continue to feel safe, live relatively stress-free and feasibly still create great work. We are examining every detail, big or small, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, in a means to flatten the curve. We are giving this virus the utmost attention and encourage everyone to do the same.
We are striving to implement the following into our production protocol:
1. Castings
To avoid gatherings at casting studios, we are implementing self tape casting. Potential talent send casting “self tapes.” This would still require the efforts of the casting director to ensure a smooth workflow (and adequate briefing). We aim to continue access to the great talent pools in South Africa.
Furthermore, we would request declaration of health to be submitted alongside the self tapes as well as declaration of any travel the potential cast member may have taken in the last three months. Extensive screenings to be administered where required. Having said this, we would build time into production schedules to allow for this screening to be completed accurately.
2. Remote meetings
Where possible, our directors will pitch and present via video conferencing, All preproduction meetings and briefs to be conducted this way to implement social distancing.
3. Smaller, nimble units
Shoots can gather up to 100 people in no time, and there is a country wide ban on gatherings of over 100 people. We propose additional caution for shoots to continue in a streamlined fashion; limiting the size of crew and considering the shooting locations and time spent in confined spaces. We aim to maintain a safe distance between working crew and implement strict hygiene protocol.
4. Hygiene & safety
Whilst the requirement for a qualified medic on set has been around for a while, the medic will ensure the practice of safe hygiene, ensuring adequate hand sanitizers and wipes are available. [Disposable] Gloves and face masks can be provided to all crew members, agency and client.
5. Agency & client on set
We would like to extend the option to agency and client of remote VTO for shoots, streaming the shoot to an ipad or monitor at a location of their choice. We’re definitely not trying to kick client and agency off set, this is a temporary measure to aid in lowering the numbers of people on set and alleviate further risks for the spread of the virus.
6. Remote post production
All post production will be handled remotely, in a similar manner to face-to-face meetings. Approvals will be conducted either with video conferencing (where required) or WIP edits to be shared via email for approval and feedback. This will be scheduled accordingly.
7. Backup measures
COVID-19 is completely out of our control, but we can do our very best to limit its spread. It is not possible to insure crew and cast against communicable diseases. Crew will be requested to complete declarations of health and will supply declarations of recent travel. Should a crew member fall ill with the virus before the shoot or on set, they shall be removed from the project and replaced (if possible). Affected individuals will still be guaranteed their salary for the job, this will be paid from our company mark up so as not to put anyone at financial risk.
Please note that in light of the above, the following Covid-19 notification clause will be included on all Cost Estimates going forward:
NB: The latest developments regarding Covid-19 may impact our upcoming productions. Please note that any and all costs related to any delay, postponement, abandonment or cancellation caused directly or indirectly by the virus, are not covered within the insurance premium indicated within this cost estimate. Presently, both Production Companies and Agencies are unable to insure against the effects of Covid-19, and no insurance company is currently prepared to underwrite this type of cover due to the Communicable Diseases exclusion clauses in their existing policies. Hence, there is no cover in place in the event that the production is impacted by the virus. As a result, any and all costs related to Covid- 19 delays, postponements, abandonments or cancellations would be entirely for client’s account.
8. Star Talent Pool
We have the great fortune of representing a large pool of exceedingly talented directors at the Star Film Co. In the unfortunate event of the virus affecting one of our directors already committed to a project, we can assure that another of our equally skilled directors will complete it to the standard and satisfaction that is familiar for all Star Film Co productions. While we do want to take every precaution possible, it is also important that the industry continue to function. In particular we need to think about the thousands of freelancers who may have no income if the industry were to shut down for months on end. We look forward to continuing all our working relationships in a safe and responsible way, with care and consideration – centered in kindness.
The Fugard Theatre suspends operations
UPDATE: FUGARD THEATRE SUSPENDS SHOWS WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT
Jane Dutton, eNCA anchor of the The South African Morning weekday morning show, together with eNCA, has taken precautionary measures for her to self-quarantine against the spread of the coronavirus, following a trip to the US.
The eNCA anchor will present herself for testing and remain off-air until the stipulated self- quarantine period has passed, and she has received a clean bill of health.
Virgin Active gyms remains open, advises hygiene awareness
We have taken the decision to temporarily close the Marble Group of restaurants, Marble and @saint_jhb, in response to the global #Coronavirus pandemic. We are staying abreast of developments and will share updates with you as soon as we are able to. pic.twitter.com/JlaBk6rT3q
Telkom has zero-rated official coronavirus information sites on its network. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and South African government websites — www.nicd.ac.za and www.gov.za/NovelCoronavirus — are all accessible to Telkom’s subscriber base free of charge.
Telkom has zero-rated educational URLs which include institutions of higher learning and TVET colleges to help the youth access education. This will enable learning and teaching to continue as the country works to contain the spread of the virus.
Update 23 March 2020: Poster toolkit removed due to licensing issues.
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.
Candice Luis (@candicedl) is an experienced crisis specialist, marketing and communications consultant and business director who is digitally inclined and strategy-prone. She has spent the better part of 13 years harnessing the power of communications, and brand crises make her tick.
