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Ad of the Week: Getting Dad’s approval for a car

Nissan Almera Dad's Approval TVC screengrab: upside down

by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) I’m generally wary of car ads that use dangerous stunts and high-speed driving to illustrate ‘the thrill’ of the drive, as if that’s the most important consideration when buying a car.

Considering our country’s road safety record, it’s like advertising an alcoholic beverage on the basis of how quickly it’ll get you drunk, or — I don’t know —a rugby team on the basis of how many bruises it inflicts on its opponents. It’s hard to come up with an analogy, because cars have a unique place in our lives: they are seen as a necessity for certain lifestyles, they are a status symbol and they become ‘part of the family’ (inasmuch as a mechanical item can).

Wax lyrical

Perhaps one day we’ll wax lyrical over the various merits of our personal robot as much as we do over our cars. Much as I love Top Gear, I have seen too many (often young) lives destroyed by reckless driving, so I wish the motoring industry could find something else than speed, power and handling to focus on as USPs.

That said, I think the following ad turns the model on its head.

TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris TVC for Nissan Almera: “Dad’s Approval”

This ad is full of electrifying stunts and advanced-driver techniques, but it takes the whole ‘thrill of the ride’ into a satirical dimension, with a great reversal of roles: the conservative father executes the stunts, while the youngster is in shock.

The ad starts with a young man pulling up to his father’s workplace, on the docks, to show him his proud new acquisition: a Nissan Almera — one of the Next Generation models. “So, what do you think, Dad?” asks the well-dressed dude. Dad kicks the tyres, but doesn’t look impressed. Son hands Dad the keys with a twinkle in his eye.

View all the Ads of the Week at a glance on our #AdoftheWeek Pinterest board!

Inside the car, Dad turns up the radio and some funky blues-rock plays. Dad does a high-speed reverse handbrake turn, slams the car into first and heads towards a ramp that goes up against a stack of shipping containers, six high. Son’s face shows pure terror.

Realm of fantasy

Here we enter into the realm of fantasy: the car ramps into the air, does an aerial flip [with a gorgeous view of Jozi’s skyline in the background — ed-at-large] and lands neatly on a container held aloft by a crane, then goes flying through a gap in two containers, vaults over a flatbed truck and lands with a bounce and a skid.

Now Dad looks impressed. He gives his son an approving nod, but the latter is still in a state of shock. The voice-over is “The next generation Nissan Almera. For the next generation you. Nissan — innovation that excites.”

So, yes, this ad is similar to many others that demonstrate power and handling in a stunt-driver way. It doesn’t mention any of the safety features, the roominess or the luxury of the interior. But, then again, if you’re looking for a car, those are features you’re going to find out at the showroom.

Redeeming factor

The redeeming factor in this ad is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously [and the music is a perfect fit, too — ed-at-large]. The Almera might be perceived as an executive model — it is roomy, with a wide wheel-base, and has all the trimmings of a modern sedan. But, this ad seems to be saying, it can still be ‘fun’ to drive, easy to manoeuvre and solid on the road.

The agency behind the ad is TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, with creative director Charles Pantland and chief creative officer Peter Khoury at the helm, and art direction by Melanie Moore.

Film production was by Slim from Egg, and post production by Sinister — who we can safely assume were responsible for all the flying effects.

I have enjoyed reviewing the ad, just to catch all the expressions on the son’s face. His performance isn’t over-the-top, but there are moments that give one a good giggle.

Entertaining ‘mini-movie’

By turning the ‘generation gap’ concept on its head, Nissan Almera’s “Dad’s Approval” advert manages to break the mould of excessively stunt-driven car ads, and create an entertaining ‘mini-movie’ that stands up to repeated viewing.

Ad of the Week, published on MarkLives every Wednesday, is penned by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki), the CEO of Ornico, a Brand Intelligence® firm that focuses on media, reputation and brand research.

If you are involved in making advertising
that is smart, funny and/or engaging,
please let Oresti know about it at info@ornicogroup.co.za.

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Brand Culture: A new reason for an old New Year’s Resolution

by DK Badenhorst. When Virgin Active opened its doors in South Africa at the turn of this century, I experienced the first real change in the perception of fitness.

Suddenly, gyms were no longer for professionals (who had no time to get out) and muscle junkies (who had no intention of ever getting out). A gym was not a fitness facility anymore; it was a health club. A place where ordinary people like you and me could go to have fun. Swim, run, dance, play or whatever else you’d like.

The white walls and musty smell gave way to brighter walls decorated with happy people and somehow the air became fresher.

Deafening clang

As the gym filled up with normal folks, so the muscle junkies got squeezed into the back corners and it was only really late at nights that you’d hear them moaning and groaning away, with the occasional deafening clang of triple-digit weights hitting the floor.

Weight lifting wasn’t considered healthy and bodybuilding lost the glamour of the Schwarzenegger era — there was no Goliath with a charming personality dominating the scenes anymore; all you really had was the intimidating no-neck club in every other gym.

Popular blog posts such as Slick Tiger’s guide to klapping gym boet in 2010 were a giveaway that it was finally open season on the trend. That this new language of ‘klapping gym boet’ resonated so well meant that it was already in common use and that, by 2010, the gap between normal gym goers and bodybuilders was big enough to fuel the satire in this post.

Strong for a reason

At the same time, however, functional fitness, Crossfit and MMA stepped up to fill the void between Zumba and bodybuilding. No longer were the options limited to weak and fun or strong and weird. You could now be strong for a reason. The super thin body ideal that Dove was fighting so hard to eliminate had been replaced by the Amazonian Crossfitter. In the same time that Slicktiger had us in tears over klapping it, Crossfit fanatics were launching their new mantra: strong is the new skinny.

Within a few decades, we’ve gone from pumping iron to klapping it back to strong is the new skinny. It’s a brilliant example of how the pendulum always swings back and brings a bit of learning with it.

From Arnold’s Pumping Iron, we learned that there is simply no substitute for a great physique. Superman’s Velcro muscles were nothing compared to Conan the Barbarian’s muscular chest. But it was as alienating as it was impressive, so we returned to swimming and Zumba, keeping in mind that health is important. Only to realise that defined bodies are beautiful, so we folded functionality in with bodybuilding to give us things such as Crossfit.

Relies upon sexual attraction

It’s hard to deny that the current wave of fitness relies heavily upon sexual attraction. The body ideal is influenced by icons such as Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian. More and more training regimes focus on the gluteus maximus or your bum. So important is this body part that even Kat von D got an enlarged one on Tony Hawk Skateboarding.

What I’ve always found somewhat amusing is the extent to which people will photograph their hard-earned abs and bums, often accentuating a hip while blowing a kiss and then going on to talk about how healthy they look. It is strange to see how hard health language has had to work to convey the growing set of performers’ need to display their new-found sexual attraction.

But language can’t stretch forever. It either has to move (ie healthy must mean sexy) or it snaps back (healthy means healthy again and sexy means sexy). Health can’t move; it has family and a job in the health environment. Brands such as Vital and categories such as ‘organic food’ require that it hangs on to its conventional meaning. So what now?

Saturated with sexuality and rebellion

In January 2014, American luxury gym Equinox launched the campaign ‘Equinox made me do it’. The TV commercial relies heavily on the language of lingerie commercials and TV shows such as Desperate Housewives, and the payoff line rings of a glamorous drug problem. It’s saturated with sexuality and rebellion and, in an almost too honest way, gets down to the vanity behind the extra few hours in gym.

It’s true that Equinox is a luxury gym and it makes it difficult to take it for a trend. That is true. But brands such as Equinox are the blips on the horizon that ripple out and become something more.

Take a look at Puma’s forever faster.

Once again rebellious; once again very sexual. It has a similar tone that echoes the confidence and power of an impressive physique.

The future of sports?

I do not imagine that this is the future of sports. There is health, self-realisation, escapism and more that all make up the growing landscape of an active lifestyle.

But it is interesting to note that it took the sporting world a decade and a half to acknowledge that Lester Burnham was not alone when he so honestly acknowledged that he’s not training for any other reason than to look good naked.

DK Badenhorst is a cultural insight and semiotics consultant who brings cultural context and long-term trend insights to brand communication. He contributes the monthly “Brand Culture” column, exploring the value and meaning interaction between brands and society, to MarkLives.com.

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The Word: Proceed with caution — customer ahead

by Mongezi Mtati (@Mongezi) More often than not, when brands launch new products, they tend to want to reach out to the ‘influential’, to the people with a large following. In my less-than-humble opinion, the general perception is still the notion that megaphones increase market share.

Awakening

While Cell C was running ad campaigns about existing and new offers, a disgruntled customer last year thought up a campaign that would hit as hard on the brand as any other well-funded one. The all-too-familiar Cell C customer complaint that took to the streets one quiet morning caused an upset on social media as well.

Unlike most broadcast, TV and print campaigns that go without so much as a mention in conversations, this one attracted the attention of both news platforms and individuals with varying levels of influence.

On any other day, that customer probably sent a disgruntled tweet or two, a status update that reached a small number of people and chances were someone saw it and it was marked as negative. Everyone moved on. Those mentions were probably filed as having been responded to and the customer was supposedly ‘sorted out’.

Generic responses

One of the challenges of big brands on social platforms is they tend to have some generic responses to complaints, ones which take the ‘problem’ out of the public’s gaze and news sites that may quote you the next day. Or the very same hour.

On Thursday, 6 November 2014, Joe Blog was not only moved to the front of the queue; he probably became a priority.

Unlike any other occasion when the customer just hangs up the phone, upset after talking to a customer care agent, or just leaving the store because nobody seems to want to help, this time, the once-nameless customer called a design agency and booked space outside a busy shopping mall to air the laundry of his mobile network.

The man who changed it all

George Prokas was the man who changed it all. He had a name and a banner that was erected at the busy intersection of Beyers Naude outside World Wear shopping centre, which according to Eyewitness News cost R60 000.

Instead of surprising the customer with something meaningful, building a connection and opening communication lines, Cell C — the once-loved new kid on the block with a sultry voiceover in all their earlier ads — sued George Prokas. And lost.

Brand-evangelist research shows that staff and converted customers are trusted more than adverts. They are the ones who build street movements that help brands to spread their message.

In a parallel universe

In a parallel universe, brands are using their social listening tools to understand customers and follow conversations that may have a bearing on their communities. There are some tell-tale signs that go far beyond a tweet and a comment on Facebook. These platforms provide a base from which to start — a place to open the lines and become ‘human’ on social platforms, where there is relatively affordable advertising and more affordable ways to interrupt people.

If the customer-led banner complaints against FNB and Cell C, less than a month apart, are anything to go by, customers are sending a message that they will no longer be ignored.

When the social-media buzzwords first emerged about individuals being media owners, the pain of a well-positioned banner — as a kick in the shin and the fact that those, too, are getting cheaper — was relegated to advertising campaigns.

What to do

Start here:

Listen to your community at all times.
A quick response on social media is not always the solution.
It starts inside the organisation (while this has been said more times than you care to remember, it remains true).

Mongezi Mtati (@Mongezi) is the founding MD of WordStart (www.wordstart.co.za). Apart from being a kiteboarding and sandboarding adventurer, Mongezi connects companies and brands with measurable word-of-mouth. He contributes the monthly “The Word” column on word-of-mouth marketing and social media strategy to MarkLives.

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The Business of Business: Where do creative directors come from?

Creative Circle South Africa Hall of Fame screengrab

by Jerry Mpufane (@JerryMpufane) They say that creativity can come from anywhere. We all agree.

If the advertising agency business is all about the work, then where does the attitude, influence, inspiration, and the vision behind the work come from? Many of us accept that a myriad of skill sets in the creative campaign value chain can influence the work. But, who holds the cards?

Many a gifted suit and strategist have, over time, shown that they can influence and direct the agency’s creative product. However, even the best ones accept that there is that special seat in the room, that special place, that hallowed hot seat reserved for the creative director. We also accept that the creative director’s seat is reserved for the inspirational types.

But where do the creative directors come from?

Industry greats

The Creative Circle, our very own association of creative excellence, proudly lauds the industry greats who over the years have made a significant contribution to our industry. It has a special space for what it calls the Hall of Fame.

In my search for whence the great creative directors came, I read up on the histories of a few of the Hall of Famers (recently, one of them insisted they be named Hall of Famer — and not Lifetime Achiever, because in his fifties he is very much still in the game!).

It is true that, just as with great ideas, creative directors can come from anywhere.

Little in common

The Creative Circle Hall of Fame is home to a very short list of personalities who have influenced the South African creative landscape. In my view, these people have very little in common. They are confirmation that creative directors can come from anywhere.

In the Hall of Fame you find the failed rock musician, the guy who gave up the law suits but kept the bespoke suits, the film director who started his working life deep inside a mine shaft, and the one who left the ad industry to become a taxi driver, then came back…

There’s also the one who grew up in a boy’s home and dreamt of becoming an architect, and the army rifleman who became a copywriter.

Hot seat

A disclaimer that is usually captured in fine print will be published, this time around, as a part of the main body of the article: this column is written with no apology whatsoever to that commercially astute suit, nor to the visionary strategist. I personally hold the view that, being in the creative services industry, ad agencies must reserve the hot seat for the creative director.

Creative directors always have a fresh perspective. They are fearless and open to being lucky. They are good listeners, open to critique and are always ready to share. They are proud of their ideas, and most of all, they are a point of inspiration.

Advertising being an industry that carries that sexy descriptor of being “creative”, I do also have a fascination for other creative industries, whether it’s the chef’s kitchen, the cocktail bar, interior design, horticulture, haberdashery, or even the kiddies’ party planner.

Fighting for second place

Second only to the rock star, the creative fighting for the second spot, alongside the agency creative director, must be the head of the design team in a fashion house. (Rock stars remain exactly just that, the pinnacle of stardom!).

Their moment of truth is showing at Fashion Week.

They have a vision for the Fashion Week brief, and they assemble the best skills set for the task at hand. They are focused on the fashion label’s growth and sustainability. They introduce a personal signature to the work, while paying homage to the history and heritage of the fashion house. They move their signature forward to appeal to new audiences while retaining a commercial sensibility.

The fashion-house creative director understands the balance required towards paying homage to an established heritage vs moving the fashion label forward — they know that focusing too much on the one aspect can be dangerous.

Under pressure

They work better under tough constraints, whether they be financial or time pressures, work with different skills at different times, and often retain a core team of trusted and reliable talent who have adopted their particular creative signature.

In the world of fashion, it is well understood that the appointment of a new creative director can make or break the house. They can alienate existing clients and introduce new ones.

The creative director’s personality is intrinsically woven into the brand. Those creatives are well-suited (pun intended) to the philosophy of the house, have an appreciation for the operations structures and ultimately support the long-term character of the brand house. They understand that their creative prowess impacts the long-term commercial viability of the house.

Want to work with them

The good creative directors add a lot of credibility to the house. The production directors want to work with them. The strategists and suits want to work with them. The really good ones, the bold, the rulebook-shredding ones, have over time introduced industry paradigm shifts.

What makes them so good?

Fashion house creative directors start their careers as artisans in small workshops. They start by handcrafting stuff. They specialise; they master the one thing. They don’t do it for the money, knowing fully well that money follows when they perfect their craft. They understand that their workmanship and quality must excite the connoisseur, this being representative of the innate marketing of the brand.

Never finished

In their minds, the best creative studio is never completely built, never finished.

Those types of creative directors exist in our industry.

Let’s give them free rein.

Because they are good at selling their vision for the brief. They bring the rest of the agency and the client along on the journey.

They also understand that failure happens when their ego and their poor ethos fail to connect with the agency brand’s history, essence and soul — ultimately failing to connect with the customer.

Jerry Mpufane has executive experience in both ad agency and client organisations. He’s only got one goal in life, which is to be an inspiring leader. Jerry is currently group MD, Gauteng of M&C Saatchi Abel. His monthly column on MarkLives, “The Business of Business”, focuses on what it takes to run a great AND sustainable ad agency.

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Media Report: Gareth Cliff. Radio reinvented.

a The Media Report 2014 interview. Once l’enfant terrible of South Africa’s airwaves, Gareth Cliff caused a major stir when he left his former employer, 5FM, for the brave new world of streaming digital content. The result of Cliff’s digital content experiment? Some 500 000 listeners a month as of September 2014. Going from broadcast to ‘streamcast’ has been an interesting experience for Cliff, who answers our Q&A on the medium he calls ‘unradio’.

What is the state of play in SA Talk Radio?
Gareth Cliff: Well, we’re not a radio station per se — that would be SAFM, Power FM and 702. I think there’s a lot of serious talk and news interrupted with lots of ads so commercially, they must be doing well. There’s room for everyone.

Why has the Cliff team opted out of the terrestrial model? What are the challenges and opportunities of this?
GC: FM [The FM broadcast band] is 100 years old. The technology is being replaced with much cheaper, much more effective, much more measurable and much less regulated alternatives. The internet is already where you get your favourite music, your news, your favourite TV shows and other content you care about. It’s time radio caught up. Data rates are dropping by the day, media companies are becoming more and more costly to run and everyone is going to have a smartphone within a few years. They’ve stopped making cars with radios in them in North America and Europe. For me personally, the choice was to be part of the new wave.

How central is Cliff’s brand to building audience?
Well it’s important at the beginning. It will hopefully become less important as we grow the CliffCentral brand with all the new talent and the diverse properties and programming options available on Cliffcentral.com.

What audience followed the move — what do audience figures look like?
GC: We had over a million podcast downloads between August 1 and 30 September, and we see that demand growing. We’re not expecting to have live listening figures anywhere near those of the big FM stations – this is much more niched but there’s a show for everyone!

What has the response from marketers been?
GC: The response has been amazing. Most are aware how fast the landscape is changing and are curious to explore to explore new and innovative ways of reaching audiences.

What value proposition does Cliff Central offer marketers?
GC: We allow clients, agencies and marketers an opportunity to have early access to early adopters. The audience who listen tare really engaged – they don’t just tune in for a song and then tune out again. We’re doing solid content and we’re building a loyal community, across all the online platforms, of influencers, leaders, and people who are more discerning than those a mass medium can reach. We aim to forge comprehensive interactive engagement between audiences and advertisers, products and services.

How is this value proposition different or unique when compared to other talk radio?
GC: Again, we’re not talk radio. We’re an online content hub engaging on air, on WeChat, on FaceBook, on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Google Plus. Our content lives on in the form of podcasts as it can be accessed any time post-broadcast, which in turn means our advertisers’ messages live on.

How does this move align with global media trends?
GC: We may be ahead of the curve for South Africa, and on course when we compare the model to examples in the US. We spent a great deal of time at Sirius XM in New York this February, and internet radio is the biggest threat to both conventional terrestrial radio and satellite radio.

How are CliffCentral listenership figures impacted by the cost of data in SA?
GC: Not very much at all. Audio data costs you between 25c and R3 an hour, depending on what package you’re on. What can you buy for 25c anymore? We were concerned about this before we launched, but there are so many fake stories and urban legends about the cost of data that some people are scared to try listening, So far, of the people who have listened, none have complained about outrageous bills. In fact, they keep coming back.

How have you or are you working on content to ensure listeners perceive massive value/relevance?
GC: Our content offering is unbelievable for a channel that has only just turned 5 months old. We have the likes of Tony Ndoro; Casper De Vries; Trevor Gumbi; the editors of Marie Claire, Stuff, The Daily Maverick, Heat, Business Report and Blaque doing their own shows. We have plenty of brand-new, undiscovered talent taking to the air for the first time and many niched programs that none of the big TV or radio channels would risk putting on. It’s the most exciting offering in content terms since broadcast licences were opened up for bidding in the 90s.

What is your message to marketers?
GC: Come and see us. We have solutions for your clients and brands.

Follow on Twitter: @garethcliff
Listen at cliffcentral.com

This interview first ran in The Media Report 2014, which is published by Ornico with MarkLives.com as its official media partner. Read or download the full magazine via Issuu.

Visuals used are licensed through Creative Commons. Attribution and gratitude go to: Reporters Without Borders and the Give Dictators The Finger campaign; r2hox, who documents urban and street art; Rebel Mouse Digital artist, Surian Soosay; Khalid Albaih, founder of Freestock.ca; Nicolas Raymond, print buyer, and photographer, Karen Roe; photographer SandisterTei; and author, scientist and occasional photographer, Duncan Hull.

— MarkLives’ round-up of top ad and media industry news and opinion in your mailbox every Monday and Thursday . Sign up here!

Interview: A quick guide to successful pitching

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Johanna McDowell, the managing director of the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS), has a storied career in South African advertising.

She became managing director of Grey-Phillips advertising in 1988 and later launched her own PR agency. in 2006, she founded IAS — a consultancy that assists marketers with agency selection in South Africa — with her partner, Dan Moyane.

We caught up with McDowell (@jomcdowell) to ask her about the secrets to successful pitching, managing client chemistry sessions, how important awards are to winning business and why using pitch consultancies doesn’t mean marketers are abdicating their responsibilities.

Why did you start IAS?
Johanna McDowell: I founded the IAS here as a result of an experience I had with the AAR Group in the UK back in the ’80s. I worked in advertising in the UK during the late ’80s and came across AAR. Their role was to help clients find agencies and to provide feedback to agencies post-pitch. Those were the fundamental reasons behind the business and I knew that, if I returned to SA at any time, it would be a great business to start.

Prior to working in the UK in the ’80s, I had worked for 12 years in SA in advertising and had experienced both client business and new business — in fact, I was the first new business director at Grey Philips in the mid ’80s. When I went to the UK, the agencies there latched onto my new business experience and that was how I got into the ad business in the UK.

Having said all of that, I grew up and was educated in the UK. My tertiary qualification is in marketing and my first two jobs were on the clients’ side. I had no intention of working in an ad agency but when I came to SA at the age of 22 on an adventure, the ad-agency world beckoned.

When I came back to SA in the late ’80s, it was to run Grey Philips as CEO. This was the largest and most creative agency in SA at the time, with more than 200 staff and 150 clients. I was then 36. I did this for a few years and then left as I wanted to have shares in the company and none were going to be made available. So I spent a year on client side once again, at Absa as chief manager: marketing for 12 months, before starting my first business, which was Integrated Communications.

As part of the process of founding the IAS some 18 years after I had first come across the AAR Group, I approached AAR to ask them if I could open their business in SA. They were delighted and indicated that they would not want to take any equity in the company but would be more than happy to train me in their systems — for a fee, of course!

I was trained at the AAR in London over a week and then, every year since, we work together or consult each other on the business. Through the AAR I was introduced to AdForum and the AdForum Summits, which I have attended ever since we started the business here in SA in 2007.

What is your revenue model — who pays for what?
JM: Clients — marketers and advertisers — pay for the projects we do for them such as pitch management, agency reviews, relationship management and general consulting, and training of marketing teams in agency management . These fees are bespoke to each service and product that we offer.

Agencies pay an annual low subscription fee — based on the size of their agency or agency group — and for that they receive a variety of services, including master classes, pitch feedback, pitch simulation, inclusion on our website, [and] access to AdForum.

How many pitches do you help facilitate in an average year?
JM: Between 25 to 30 pitches per year are handled by us. At any one time, we will have about six pitch processes in progress, as the process takes about four months from start to finish, including contract negotiation. In terms of opportunities for agencies, we create more than 200 pitch opportunities per year for them.

Describe the facilitation process as managed by IAS.
JM: Five stages all based on elimination:

Initial report, where we trawl the market to find a long list of suitable agencies who might fit the brief
Call for specific credentials – this is sent to a reduced list from the Initial Report — and Talking Heads
Chemistry sessions with the five or so shortlisted agencies
Final pitch with a maximum of three agencies
Contract and negotiation

Some might suggest that marketers are placing too much responsibility in the hands of third parties, thus abdicating their own responsibilities in the agency-selection process.
JM: On the contrary, we believe that marketers who use intermediaries are taking far more responsibility than those who do not.

First of all, they have made a financial commitment to the pitch process — this is a clear indicator to candidate agencies that the marketer is serious about the process. Secondly, the marketer makes the decisions; all we do is provide the information and the guidance to the marketers and their teams — most of whom have never had experience in agency pitches.

Our role is to bring the marketer as much choice as possible and we are always delighted when the marketer comments on how unexpected the level of choice was during a pitch.

When an agency presents its credentials what do you look at first?
JM: The agency submits credentials to us; we like to see their Talking Heads showreel as that really tells us what the agency is about. Then we look for the content of the case studies which are often crucial to the elimination process.

Tell us what you recommend on how agencies manage the chemistry sessions? [Tips for getting better results, what to do, what not to do!]
JM: There are some key points:

Stick to the time
Manage the team and its behaviour — make sure the people in the room are the team who will work on the business
Make sure that agency asks really good insightful questions of the client, which will indicate that agency has done some homework
Watch the room temperature
Switch off the mobile phones
If serving food, make it easy-to-eat food and readily accessible — sounds obvious but you would be surprised how often this is wrong

How important are awards in the selection process? Many agencies are quite convinced that, without a strong awards showing, they won’t be selected for pitch lists?
JM: Awards are overplayed here in South Africa. They are an industry hygiene factor — which is good — but they are not pitch winners. Marketers like to see that their agencies do well but they are not impressed by a string of awards unless a particular advertising-effectiveness award might be relevant to their business.

Marketers want to see results — and those results are marketing-specific, not awards-specific. Results such as increase in brand share, greater consumer awareness, improved sales — those are the results that impress clients and make a marketer want to do business with an agency. Not the number of Facebook likes or a Loerie.

Many agencies are complaining about the involvement of procurement departments in the agency-selection process. Is there reason for concern and how influential are they really in terms of the final decision-making?
JM: Agencies should be very conscious of the role of procurement. No marketer will be able to appoint an agency without procurement’s involvement.

The IAS works very closely with procurement on all pitch processes; in fact, if they are not involved, I would be very concerned. Procurement does not choose the agency in the end; the marketer does. But procurement is a key influencer in the decision-making process in terms of sustainability of the agency – they will point out the weaknesses in agency structures if an agency is too small, for example. Procurement does not just look at price.

Why do you filter out agencies with competing business on their books?
JM: Marketers, in general, will not work with agencies who have competitive brands on their books. Confidentiality of marketing strategy is critical to the success of any corporate.

Some would argue they deserve the opportunity to pitch as they would be willing to resign competitive brands?
JM: We think that this is a very unwise practice for agencies to resign a client in favour of another. Most clients view that kind of strategy with apprehension and distrust. After all, the same could happen to that client if that is the way an agency behaves. Those are not good business ethics.

Are you noticing any trends on client side in terms of the type of agency they want to work with?
JM: Marketers want to know that they are ahead of the game with their agencies. So, at the moment, with marketers asking “ What’s next?”, the digital agencies and the social media/content agencies are the current trends.

We are seeing a lot of M&A activity in the market at the moment — especially from WPP and Publicis Groupe — how are clients viewing it?
JM: With interest, of course, and especially to see how this might enhance agency activity in Africa, which in turn will help them as marketers.

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Dissident Spin Doctor: Seven things I learnt in 2014

Learn Blocks Show Education Studying And Learning by Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

by Emma King (@EmmainSA) It’s that time of year again, when we’ve said goodbye to 2014 (some with regret and some with a big sigh of relief) and have started to plan all of the ways in which we will be better and more successful in 2015.

Our industry is rife with people telling us what the next big thing will be, and what trends we should be investing our time, money and energy in. But, sometimes, I find it just as useful to spend some time reflecting on what has been and what I’ve learnt.

The previous year was a big one for me. I made the jump and started my own business — and, of course, with such a massive change, came massive learnings.

So, without being deadly serious, here are some of the things that I learnt in 2014:

Spend time being insanely productive or doing something extremely fun — instead of wasting time being average.

Sometimes I’ve felt I’ll meet my death from meetings-about-meetings. Or that there’s never enough time to do everything, yet I still find myself spending hours looking at kak on the internet or lying on the sofa watching the Kardashians and wondering where the hell the human race is heading.

An eye-opener was not just cutting out the kak but gaining the understanding that, to be super-productive, means not only getting my head down and focusing, but also spending the times in between having huge amounts of fun.

If I were going to watch TV, it would something I really wanted to watch, and I would make a damn fine meal to go with it. If I were going suffer from a hangover in the morning, I’d make sure there were at least some good friends, good bubbly and a sunset the night before to justify it.

Don’t go chasing after new clients.

I’m always amazed at how much time agencies spend on new business pitches vs time spent keeping an existing client happy. Yet it’s not rocket science to prioritise on keeping existing ones happy — not only do they have the potential to grow, but they also (as I have found to my joy) are a source of new business themselves — through happy word-of-mouth recommendations.

Follow your gut instinct.

It’s always right. I had a situation where, against my better judgement, I brought a supplier in on a job, because it had passed the work to me. Its work was shoddy, the client wasn’t happy and it was awkward all around.

When your better judgement says to change the situation or move on, don’t let your analytical head override it.

Be authentic.

In world and industry where everyone is trying to one up the other, there is something refreshing about people who are just… themselves. People are drawn to them and want to be part of their circle.

In business terms, I have learnt that this means not to try and be all things to all people — and that, by keeping it niche and marketing yourself for the audience and clients that YOU want, is ever more powerful than being the vanilla one-size-fits-all option.

Even the biggest asshole can become your friend.

We can’t avoid assholes in our industry; they are pretty rife. And, sadly, no more so than in positions of power — as bosses or clients. Our default response is to kow-tow and try to please, but last year I learnt that treating them like everyone else breaks down a whole lot boundaries, and surprising friendships can occur.

Sometime that asshole-ness is a front for shyness, insecurity or stress.

But that doesn’t mean you have to be friends with them.

Sometimes, however, it’s not a front for anything, and they are pure and simple idiots. And those kinds of idiots seldom change or get better.

How great it is to be adult and make the decision to remove them from your life and leave a negative situation — whether that’s leaving an uncomfortable job or walking away from a piece of business!

Make the call on what 2015 means for you, and let it manifest.

The first of January 2014 saw me sitting in a swimming pool, wearing a feather headdress and swigging champagne out of the bottle. I was surrounded by friends, it was a boiling hot mid-summer’s day, and life was notably fabulous.

I had the sudden realisation that life recently had not always been so fabulous and, on the spot, decided to make 2014 the year where I started living each day to the fullest, and making it as fabulous as possible — I declared it the #YearOfFabulousness.

It meant I stocked up my fridge with bottles of pink bubbly to whip out in emergencies; slicked on some red lippie just because; and got rid of a lot of negative people and processes that were niggling away at me.

The results were surprising — the amount of goodwill that came back to me was heart-warming. And it even resulted in me quitting a safe job and starting a business, because I decided not to be average any more.

The learning? Making a pointed decision to change something is often enough to start making it manifest.

And so, you may ask, what am I declaring this year to be? I’m thinking that 2015, the year of the #InternationalPlaygirl, has a certain ring to it…

#MagLoveTop10: Worst magazine covers of 2014

by MediaSlut (@MediaSlut) A “bad” cover isn’t just always about bad layout or photoshop; it’s also when a cover tries too hard, is too creepy, or makes you go WTF… Here’s my list of the Worst Covers of 2014.

Our #MagLoveTop10 magazine cover series include:

Friday, 5 December 2014: Best South African magazine covers of 2014
Friday, 12 December 2014: Best international magazine covers of 2014
Friday, 9 January 2015: Worst magazine covers of 2014
Friday, 16 January 2015: Sexiest magazine covers of 2014
Friday, 23 January 2015: Best food magazine covers of 2014

10. The Oprah Magazine, May 2014

I know, I know… it’s not bad-bad, but hear me out.

It’s the overly-posed-pose, overly-styled-hair… all too very dramatic and overly-Oprah when placed with the cover story, “How to Love the Skin You’re In”.

9. Rolling Stone, 10 April 2014

I love nothing more than four old men in black leather and makeup on my covers. Not.

8. Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit 2014

This cover definitely caused a stir, especially in the US! You can read the background story here but, basically, Barbie’s people paid to get her involved with Sports Illustrated’s 50^th anniversary Swimwear issue.

New York Times wrote, “Two familiar brands that have for decades been the targets of complaints about their depictions of women have joined forces for a promotional campaign that tells critics they are proudly ‘unapologetic’ about who they are.”

Uhm, OK…

7. Hoe overleef ik…

It’s all good and well to have your cover ‘talk’ to the target market, but I think Hoe Overleef Ik… managed to kill the last bit of cuteness by trying to use every single design element that might catch the eyes of teenagers.

My. Eyes. Hurt.

6. Interview, September 2014

“It’s Fashion”, but yet it’s not…

I’m struggling to see any element of ‘fashion’ on this cover. I only see someone with bedroom-hair, and what appears to be eyes half-open (look closely).

Nah, not fashionable, or sexy at all. Just a mess.

5. PLAYBOY South Africa, October 2014

“So all I have to do is push this lever, with my breasts?”

I must admit that the prop (whatever it is) used in this shoot to cover the essentials is smart but desperate at the same time.

And it doesn’t look like she’s very happy either…

4. YOU, 23 October 2014

Poor YOU magazine (and Huisgenoot, too)…

It really did have the best intentions when it published (photoshopped) bald pictures of South African personalities, for “Cancer Awareness”. But it backfired. Massively.

You can read the complete back story, and dozens of angry comments from readers, right here.

3. Scamp, Summer 2014

I’m confused. Extremely confused and distraught, actually.

But what is Scamp? “The sparkling new companion of the art and fashion shiterati”.

If you like the shiterati going on on the cover, you’ll like its website even more…

2. Heat South Africa, various

From Body Mayhem to Body Panics, Heat South Africa loves its fat-shaming body-dilemma covers (some even sponsored)!

So, for a collection of various covers (these are but a a few), Heat South Africa rolls into the no. 2 position.

And, for extra measure, it needs to be pointed out that its Joost van der Westhuizen cover, with “WHY WAS JOOST AT A GAY CLUB AT 4AM?”, was a low blow, especially as there was no real story behind it.

1. PAPER, Winter 2014

I found Kim Kardashian revolting on these covers and in poor taste (and, yes, she actually did go full frontal – extra images may be viewed here).

PAPER set out to “Break the Internet”, with some success, and people are still talking (and mocking her) about it but this just proved once again that Kardashian will go to any length to have people talk about her.

Even though these covers and the marketing campaign behind it will one day be used in case studies, Kim K — and the length she goes to — make for the Worst Cover for 2014.

Find a cover we should know about? Tweet us at @Marklives and @MediaSlut.
Want to view all the covers at a glance?
See our MagLove Pinterest board!

MagLove by @MediaSlut is a regular slot featuring the best local and international magazine covers every week, recognising well thought-out, powerful and interesting (and hopefully all three-in-one) covers and celebrating the mix of pragmatism, creativity and personal taste that created each of them. The (for now anonymous) blogger behind MediaSlut knows way too much for his own good about media in South Africa, magazines in particular. His mission is to show when SA magazines fail but, most importantly, also when they succeed. If you’re looking for a library about SA magazines and news, this is your one-stop pitstop.

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2014 Big Reads: The creative work you made time to read about in 2014

The creative work you made time to read about in 2014.

1. Ad of the Week: Where’s my name? #ShareACokeZA*

by Oresti Patricios. Coca-Cola is the global brand that proves time and again that it knows its market well. But, more so, it really understands how to connect with that market. Just in time for summer, when the pressure to grow market-share is on, Coca-Cola has launched an astute, bright campaign that makes its customers the hero of its marketing.

Since the beginning of November 2013, South Africans have been able to buy cans and bottles that have the wording “Coca-Cola” replaced with 600 of the country’s most common names. Produced by Draftfcb with Velocity Films, the television commercial (TVC) that goes with this #ShareACokeZA campaign is called “Share a Coke with Bobby”, featuring a gorgeous black-and-white border-collie-cross-pit-bull.

*We know this story ran in late 2013. Tracking only reader page views during the course of 2014, it remained the most-read campaign story last year.

Tweets about “#ShareACokeZA”

2. Loeries 2014 Winners: Saturday evening #loeries

The winners’ list for the first evening of the 2014 Loerie Awards (held on Saturday, 20 September 2014).

3. Hilarious response from Cell C to MTN’s “We’re Guilty”

Cell C has responded to MTN’s ‘We’re Guilty’ open letter that was published in the Sunday Times.

4. Cannes Lions 2014: First Grand Prix winners

The International Festival of Creativity, Cannes Lions, has held the first of its four awards nights, announcing this year’s winners in the Creative Effectiveness, Direct, Promo & Activation and PR categories. Here are the Grand Prix winners.

McCann Melbourne took the Grand Prix for ‘Guilt Trips’ created for V/Line.

adam&eveDDB were presented with the Grand Prix for its entry for Harvey Nichols, ‘Sorry I Spent it on Myself’.

OgilvyOne London received a Grand Prix for its entry for British Airways, ‘Magic of Flying’.

The Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles and Edelman New York jointly collected the Grand Prix trophy for its campaign for Chipotle Mexican Grill, ‘The Scarecrow’.

5. WeChat, Gareth Cliff’s CliffCentral.com launches TV ad

CliffCentral is launching with its own WeChat account and the app is launching a marketing campaign to celebrate the tie-in.

6. #AdoftheYear: Best South African Ad of 2014 — #getmeto21

by Oresti Patricios. I’m a big fan of digital, social media and viral campaigns that work well. That’s why I’ve decided to award this year’s #AdoftheYear to a campaign that has already made a tremendous impact upon people’s lives, and promises to do more as it continues gathering momentum.

Asking for a donation is a hard sell. Asking people for organ donation is even harder. There’s nothing in it for the donor, apart from the knowledge that — in the tiny eventuality that you are involved in a fatal accident — your body will be harvested for the ‘spare parts’ that will make someone else’s life better.

7. Ad of the Week: Fighting apathy with empathy

by Oresti Patricios. This week I am nominating a digital/social media campaign for #AdoftheWeek. It’s called “Get Me to 21” and it’s an unusual concept in terms of marketing and publicity. The appeal is for organ donors to sign up, because Jenna Lowe needs lung-replacement surgery, and there are currently no donors available.

Yes, it’s a good cause, and what makes it special is not just the way in which the campaign is centred on a smart, young girl; while her face personalises the plight of people awaiting replacement organs, this campaign is about much more than this.

8. Ad of the Week: Flights of imagination

by Oresti Patricios. It’s time for Ad of the Week and, this week, prepare to have a good belly laugh, thanks to the new campaign created for Student Flights by the specialist travel company’s advertising partners, TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris.

The more I watch these ads, the more I reckon these are the kind of commercial that could get a lot of traction on YouTube.

9. Ad of the Week: I see a different Brand Soweto

by Oresti Patricios. Three Soweto residents named Vuyo Mpanthsa, Justice Mukheli and his twin brother Innocent, decided to do something about the unfair image Soweto has accrued with a project they call, “I See a Different You”. This isn’t, strictly speaking, an advertising campaign, but it has so much to teach marketers that it is worth looking at.

10. Ad of the Week: More than a jersey

by Oresti Patricios. The oldest soccer club in South Africa, this team is known by many monikers. Some people call the home-grown Ibhola players the Buccaneers or the Bucs; others call them Ezikamagebhula, the Sea Robbers, the Ghosts, the Happy People, Amabhakabhaka, or Ezimnyama Ngenkani (which means the black ones — because this team plays home games in black kit).

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Shelf Life: Packaging, product, design & food trends for 2015

by Louise Marsland (@Louise_Marsland) New packaging, product, design and food trends in the fast-moving consumer-goods (FMCG) market for 2015 will revolve around three things:

consumer demand for fortified foods
packaging that provides functionality, and
ethical product sourcing and manufacture.

1. Product collaboration

I think I’ve already found my product of the year for 2015: this adults-only ice cream, infused with wine, has been launched in New York. Mercer’s Wine Ice Cream has an alcohol content of 5% and comes in flavours such as chocolate cabernet, red raspberry chardonnay, Riesling and cherry merlot.

As far as trends go, veggie flavoured ice-cream, tomato cherry and carrot orange have been also launched by Haagen-Dazs. I think I’ll stick to the wine one!

And unless someone else invents a body lotion that tans you while addressing cellulite, acts as a slimming aid and makes me look taller, this one is a winner for me this year!

2. Origin and source

Consumers want to know that what they are buying is 100% real, with ingredients they recognise, all natural ingredients and is ethically sourced. Natural and organic foods and beverages with a ‘back story’ are gaining traction. This feeds into the personalisation and craft product trends, design and packaging.

This is also fuelled by the growth of the urban farming trend and backlash against GMO foods and harmful additives.

Sources: Project Packaging 2015 Trends; PackagingoftheWorld.com.

3. Personal touch

Consumers are responding to brands that get personal with them, that evoke an emotional response, that reach out in their own language, be it via social media or the real world. The authenticity of voice required of brands these days has translated into beautifully crafted packaging for brands.

PackagingoftheWorld.com reports in its Packaging Design Trends for 2015 on the trend towards hand-drawn logos and labelling, with examples from Morrisons’ supermarket tea with its “whimsical, hand-drawn or hand-written typography [which] adds a personal, human touch to packaging and suggests to a consumer that there is a face behind the brand”.

4. Fortified foods

Banting, paleo, ‘caveman’ or whatever high-protein diets are the rage right now, combined with a focus on superfoods, have provided opportunities for manufacturers to come up with new functional foods and drinks.

Nowadays, consumers expect their food to deliver various health and nutritional benefits. Well, duh! But, really, the demand is there for added nutritional benefit with a combination of beneficial attributes and less harmful substances and ethical sourcing of ingredients and manufacture.

The most-popular food trends in recent years, according to US-based Food Technology magazine, where the US boasts the largest functional food market with sales in excess of US$43.9 billion: yogurt for digestive health; cereal for heart health; cholesterol-lowering butter/margarine; cholesterol-lowering orange juice; shakes/bars to reduce hunger; orange juice for joint health; immune-boosting dairy beverages; and medicinal teas.

5. Aesthetic functionality

As PackagingoftheWorld.com showcases, the function of packaging is “to house, protect and transport your product”. In the growing culture of ‘waste not’, designers are now starting to think about what happens to the product and packaging once it has left the store, creating “hyperfunctional” packaging that also has a purpose.

An example is Aquilequa wine packaging, which transforms into a wine rack.

6. Masterchef

While the proliferation of cooking shows and competitions is encouraging consumers back to the kitchen, this has led to a spike in products that enable consumers to “cook like a chef”, such as packaged gourmet ready-meals, says FoodNavigator.com.

7. Homemade

Design trends include “warm graphics that look homemade or friendly” and packaging that gives people a warm fuzzy feeling of all natural or eco-friendly and disposable, according to Pripackaging.com.

An example is Nutty Bunny frozen dessert, with its apparently hand-drawn labels.

8. Simplification

Less is more in this era of information overload, and packaging design needs to follow suit, says the Ambalaj packaging and design blog.

Showcase the natural ingredients, use iconic packaging shapes to identify your brand and reduce, rather than add, design elements, such as the Angus Nicholls design for Green Press juice that it references.

9. Snackification

Everything is being turned into snacks, including healthy food, as consumers want a more portable lifestyle.

Breakfast pouches, muesli bites and breakfast biscuits, as well as other convenience foods to replace lunch and dinner, too, are coming to market, says FoodNavigator.com, quoting Innova.

10. Techno-packing

Brands will start using packaging more and more in 2015 as a “bridge” between the offline and online worlds.

This is a trend that began late-2013, when Nabisco and Aurasma created bespoke One Direction video content for fans that could be accessed via packs of Oreo, Chips Ahoy, Ritz Bits and Cheese Nips, reports PackagingoftheWorld.com, with this clip of the project on an Oreo pack.

Guaranteed we’ll see more of this kind of work and collaboration, even though, hopefully, not too much more of One Direction!

Shelf Life is a weekly column by Louise Marsland. Tweet new product, packaging and design launches to @louise_marsland or email her at louise.marsland at gmail.com. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.

Louise has written about the FMCG, media, marketing and advertising industry for over 20 years as a former editor of magazines AdVantage, Marketing Mix and Progressive Retailing, as well as websites Bizcommunity.com and FMCGFiles. She also edited the weekly Wednesday Media & Marketing Page for The New Age newspaper. She is currently the publishing editor of industry trendwatching portal, TRENDAFRiCA, for consumer insight, research and trends in Africa; a regular industry columnist and speaker; a consultant on content strategy; and contributing editor to Fast Company South Africa magazine, which has just launched in South Africa.

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