MarkLives.com • Page 363 of 579 • Independent industry news for marketing, advertising & media execs

Shelf Life: Exclusive Books switches branding, focus

New Exclusive Books store design by Switch

Louise Marsland (@Louise_Marsland)’s weekly pick of recent product, packaging and design launches:

Exclusive Books turns the page with Switch
USN unveils new packaging, and
a new Addis product to mop up any mess

A new chapter for Exclusive Books

Following upon the sale of Exclusive Books a year ago to a consortium led by Global Capital in partnership with Benjamin Trisk, Mark Barnes and Simon Sussman, the iconic brand last week launched its new identity, interior and exterior store branding, plus the new in-store coffee-shop brand, the “EB. Café”.

The stated vision for the book retailer is to create bookstores that are destinations in their own right. Switch Design has developed a design inspired by the idea of the colophon, the printer’s logo that appears on the spine of books. The “E” is contained within the “B”, with the curves of the B meant to suggest the spines of a pile of books, with a grammatically correct full-stop punctuating it.

While the words “Exclusive Books” appear alongside, the logo should be instantly recognisable without them.

The new branding was launched last week at the redesigned Exclusive Books store at the newly revamped Rosebank Mall.

Switch executive creative director, Gaby de Abreu, explained: “With so much visual clutter in the market, simplicity with a clever twist is far more impactful than complex images. These type of identities are difficult to design, but the effect is dynamic and timeless… [and] part of a fairly new trend that is difficult to sell to clients.”

Switch worked closely with the architectural and interior design teams to conceptualise a new identity that welcomes customers to a lifestyle destination store. It’s all about diversity — of books, textures, and categories, De Abreu told MarkLives.com.

The new identity talks about the rich tradition of literature and publishing, but it’s expressed in modern, bold, simple lines with the ‘colophon’ concept at the heart of the creative inspiration for the new corporate identity.

“Switch was inspired by a number of factors but predominantly by creating an icon [while] retaining versatility. In order to incorporate the publishing theme with playful intelligence, we decided on mimicking the colophon, which directly translates as ‘finishing touch’. It allowed us to develop an easily recognisable and iconic logo, which is easily adaptable to an endless range of visual executions.

“The different iterations will keep the identity interesting and young, [while] the iconic nature will grow the brand in any environment. Another inspiration was simplicity — people are attracted to, and recognise shapes. We are also able to animate the CI, which allows our media to be extended to mobile and digital.”

According to De Abreu, the logo can retain its distinctive shape and core identity while being adaptable in various colours and permutations to advertise in-store promotions, seasonal changes and topical events: “The ‘E’ within the logo can be created out of coffee beans for the coffee shop, or out of crayons for the children’s section.”

For its part, Exclusive Books wanted a new identity that it could grow with and that everyone could identify with, as well as something that could be pulled through to planned special events, said Trisk, who has returned as CEO of Exclusive Books after an absence of 30 years.

While there are no set dates for the roll-out on subsequent stores, each store will have its own unique personality, based upon its geographic location and community, De Abreu said. “Because of the ultimate simplicity of the logo, the brand comes through strongly while permitting slight changes and details within each store, which will ensure the store is in sync with its surrounds.”

USN weighs in on new look

Sports nutrition brand USN (Ultimate Sports Nutrition) has undergone a global brand relaunch and repositioning, including new packaging and a logo refresh. This includes a rollout of new products globally and the biggest reinvestment in the brand since its launch in 2000.

USN aims to reposition itself to inspire consumers to challenge themselves and push harder to reach personal performance goals. This comes after experiencing global growth, which has made it also necessary to educate consumers about its sports and lifestyle products.

The brand believes the new logo and product look helps to reinforce the brand’s focus on research and superior quality.

Announcing the relaunch, USN CEO, Albé Geldenhuys, commented: “The rebranding process is part of our global brand strategy to unite the USN brand. It will impact more than 48 countries globally, and will allow us to share one voice and global vision.”

New products will also be rolled out in the American and South African markets, to be followed by the UK/European and Australasian markets.

“The USA represents a significant part of the global supplement industry. USN has established working partnerships with the most prominent research, development and manufacturing laboratories in the USA, and as a result we have access to the most pioneering nutritional technology available. This supports our drive for new innovations and continues our quest to formulate and deliver superior quality in every single product,” stated Andrew Beck, USN USA President and CMO.

Swifta mops up

Addis has launched the Swifta Floor Cleaner with various wet and dry mop options. The new product is packaged neatly for on-shelf and usage convenience — from a starter kit to refills for the dry sweeping cloth or disposable wet-mopping cloth.

It is being billed as a floor cleaner that is more effective than both a broom and a mop; is lightweight and easy to use and easy to store; and with the emphasis on efficiency and convenience.

Swifta’s disposable, thick dry sweeping cloth is intended to lock away the dirt using electrostatic action, supposedly making it more hygienic to use than most brooms. It also aims to be “allergy-reducing” as the electrostatic cleaning means more dust is supposed to get trapped in the cloth.

The thick dirt-grabbing ridges and grooves on the dry sweeping cloth should follow the surface of one’s floors to reach surface pores, crevices and grout lines.

To clean up wet spills, Swifta’s disposable wet-mopping cloth traps and dissolves dirt, and locks it away until disposal, promising a streak-free, clean result.

Shelf Life is a weekly column by Louise Marsland on MarkLives. 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 19 of her more-than-25-year career as a former editor of magazines AdVantage, Marketing Mix and Progressive Retailing, as well as websites Bizcommunity.com and FMCGFiles. Until its cancellation, she 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.

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

The Millennial: The employee of the future

by Faheem Chaudhry (@FaheemChaudhry) As the people responsible for guiding organisations through such a dynamic time, we too need to stay agile and adapt. Failure to do so will quickly leave our approach old and staid, as the plethora of messages doubles and triples with each year.

The marketing industry is continuing to evolve at a speed like never before, creating and growing brands that have a significant impact upon the hearts and minds of consumers is becoming more and more difficult. Brands are having conversations with people in more places than ever before, and this is happening at a time when the average person is being exposed to 50 000 branded messages a day (Jay Walker-Smith, Yankelovich Consumer Research).

Grow in capabilities

The key to staying relevant in our thinking is to grow in capabilities. The industry used to be known for housing multiple teams of specialists under one roof, each with a sound understanding of their particular field of expertise; “I”-shaped thinkers, if you like. This then moved to “T”-shaped thinkers becoming the employees that were sought-after — being a specialist in one field with a broad understanding of others.

I’d like to argue that such an approach is old and stayed, and we need to move from being T shaped thinkers, to Pi (∏) shaped thinkers, as first coined by Ashley Friedlein chief executive of Econsultancy in 2012 — those with an understanding of data and technology, together with emotion and storytelling.

There’s a risk that we will become tech-driven creators of campaigns that lack emotion and just follow the trend. Pi-shaped people are able to juggle what are, at their core, very different disciplines. The left brain cuts through the clutter; the right brain wraps the insight in the most compelling story to take to market.

Making a real impact

Sir John Hegarty has widely discussed how, as an industry, we should be getting better, but we seem to be getting worse. We have more toys to play with, but don’t seem to be using them to create the most remarkable communication. The employees of the future who can balance left and right will be the ones who will make a real impact in our industry going forward.

Many would argue that each side can be owned by different functions of the business, and can then be integrated to mine out the best solutions. My problem with this is that it relies on successful internal integration, every time, to deliver the best output for brands. The holy grail therefore relies heavily upon an agency’s ability to integrate, rather than upon the employees’ ability to think across the spectrum.

True integration, if we’re honest, looks easier on paper than it is in real business practice. Those in the next generation who nurture an ability to straddle their thinking across both divides of the industry will be the ones who can drive the most remarkable change going forward.

Chief creative technologists

The world’s leading brands have been quick to realise this, as we can see by the growth of titles such as “chief creative technologist”.

Take Coca-Cola, for example. It talks about nurturing creativity through content excellence. To create ideas so contagious that they cannot be controlled. In fact, consumer-generated stories outnumber Coca-Cola generated stories in the world today.

The power lies in those individuals who will be able to listen and engage with consumer-related stories, mine the data and insights, and reply with stories that are compelling at that moment in time.

Develop deeper emotional connections

This is where we can use technology to develop deeper emotional connections with consumers. If we don’t balance technology with creativity, we’ll just create noise. And there’s enough noise in the world today. We need to find those individuals who can successfully move the industry from one way of storytelling to dynamic storytelling.

Burberry is another brand which has nailed this, with the opening of its global flagship residence at Number 1 Regent Street.

Burberry taps into all our senses, from the dropdown monitors that showcase their latest items to the 55 monitors that twice a day mimic a live rainstorm inside the store. It’s a wonderful marriage of technology and human touch — personalising the experience for their customers using technology at the base, and individual experience to create memorable brand interactions for their consumers.

What we need

Ultimately, we’re in the ideas business. But simply having creative ideas isn’t enough. Ideas are like voices; everyone has one. We need to have a thorough understanding of how ideas will evolve and engage in different ways at different times in the consumer journey.

Those Pi-shaped thinkers who can connect the dots will be the most successful in navigating the industry of the future.

Faheem Chaudry (@FaheemChaudhry) is an account director at M&C Saatchi Abel. His monthly “The Millennial” column on MarkLives aims to give a voice to the industry’s next generation, giving insight and guidance into how to navigate the increasingly complex and changing tides of today’s communication industry.

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

Thinking TV: SA’s most-popular reality TV shows

by Inge Hansen (@mecnotabene) Showing no signs of slowing down, reality TV in all its forms is available to South African viewers at the touch of a button, extracting various emotions from the viewer as the unscripted stories unfold.

This type of voyeuristic programming found popularity internationally before it hit our shores in 2001, with Survivor Borneo, and later when the first season of Big Brother South Africa was aired.

Dominated talk and viewing time

Suddenly, overnight, our water-cooler talk and viewing time were dominated by housemate antics, confessionals and the infamous ‘Shower Hour’.

Captivating news stories have also played into this space: cast your memory back to the ‘event’ that was the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1981, which drew a global TV audience of 750 million people.

More recently, in 2010, viewers around the world were glued to the live rescue updates of the Chilean miners who were trapped underground and ultimately rescued.

Local top 10 reality TV shows

If we look at our local top 10 reality-TV shows (excluding game shows) for July 2014, against Adults, we see a mix of interests, which, aside from Idols, are all broadcast on free-to-air channels.

The no. 1 spot in July is held by the first season of SA’s Kitchen Queens, a show with high community engagement, as the contestants are both voted into the show and voted for as the eventual winner.

Overall, positive themes dominate the Top 10, revealing that viewers are enjoying shows which are aspirational. Pay-TV programming reveals a top three which is headed up by Idols Season 10, Kokkedoor and The Bachelor — The Women Tell All, the latter two shows achieving an average reach in excess of 100 000 adult viewers.

Target	Activity
All adults 15+	Live + VOSDAL
Programme Name	Channel	Typology	_{Level 2}\^Variable	Average Minute Rating (AMR)	Average Audience
SA’S KITCHEN QUEENS	e.tv	Reality	Reality	4.7	1 536 590
THE X-FACTOR USA	SABC 2	Reality	Reality	4.1	1 348 612
BRAXTON FAMILY VALUES	e.tv	Reality	Reality	3.3	1 064 411
THE AMAZING RACE	SABC 3	Reality	Reality	2.3	760 294
ONE DAY LEADER	SABC 1	Reality	Reality	2.3	753 011
STRICTLY COME DANCING	SABC 3	Reality	Reality	2.2	714 517
EXTREME MAKEOVER HOME EDITION	SABC 3	Reality	Reality	2.0	651 906
IDOLS YR 10	DSTV	Reality	Reality	1.8	601 378
LOVE IN THE WILD	e.tv	Reality	Reality	1.5	492 499
16 & PREGNANT	SABC 1	Reality	Reality	1.5	504 860

Global audiences demanding more

In global terms, the interest in reality TV remains constant but audiences are demanding more and more. As a result, some extreme versions of reality TV are preparing to air in the US, eg ‘Born in the Wild’, which follows expectant parents into the wild as they give birth in nature, without medical intervention.

Closer to home, from 2006 to July 2014, the average annual ratings for the reality-TV genre (by all Adults, 15+ years) as a whole, has seen a steady decline in interest. We do, however, need to take into account the audience fragmentation that is taking place, as well as that a large portion of the reality programming that we have access to is aired on pay-TV channels.

This effect can be seen if we isolate the show America’s Got Talent, which on DStv has not traditionally achieved high TVRs. Yet, when the show is aired on free-to-air channels, it achieves significantly higher ratings which are more comparable to our local version, SA’s Got Talent.

Relating better to local

Interest in reality TV, where the show has been adapted locally, tends to gain traction quickly due to viewers relating better to a local superstar than a relatively unknown foreign celebrity. It will be interesting to see how this develops with two new locally adapted reality TV shows premiering in September, X Factor SA (6 September on SABC 1) and Dragon’s Den SA (23 September on Mzansi Magic).

Looking at Idols SA, which began broadcasting its 10th season in July 2014, the show continues to steadily increase its following and the volume of content available to viewers. In terms of ratings, the first episode of Idols Season 6 (18 July 2010) saw an average audience rating during the show on MNET of 1.5 TVRs, with a reach of 390 907 (all Adults, 15+ years). In 2014, while the launch show on MNET shows a slight decline in viewership, the Idols show on Mzansi Magic reached 613 673 adults (1.9 TVRs), which is a near 60% increase on the MNET 2010 audience, with DStv having opened up this show to its compact viewers.

The problem now for viewers (and advertisers) is what to choose, as there is literally something for everyone, from Dance Moms and Don’t Tell the Bride to Ultimate Survival Alaska and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Audience fragmentation and the constant availability of ‘something new’ mean that loyalty is hard won in this genre.

Interaction and engagement increasingly crucial

Therefore, both locally and internationally, interaction and engagement are becoming increasingly crucial for reality TV. The rise of second screening continues to impact upon this, as more viewers watch their favourite shows while using their mobile phones, whether as a distraction, or to engage with the show they are watching.

To illustrate this, on an international level, producers are looking to take reality-TV voting systems to a live model, enabling viewers to see the immediate impact of their vote as they watch the show, which has them invested in the outcome of the full programme. This would, however, mean heightened chances of receiving the spoilers of a series’ conclusion in another country, when in SA we are barely half-way through the season.

Going forward, the integration of multiplatform channels will be significant for viewers. This will allow them to access additional or unseen content, foster engagement and, hopefully, increase the volume of positive brand noise created.

Significant implications for marketers

Implications for marketers will also be significant, as immersing your brand into a relevant reality property will no longer be about promo spots or stings but about an omni-channel offering to viewers, where they can experience your brand across multiple devices and platforms. This will require adaptation for some brands, and a focus on thinking mobile and digital in relation to their TV planning will be essential.

While television may be the platform, in order to differentiate and to succeed, the campaign idea needs to be rooted in digital in order for opportunities to thrive.

Source: Arianna Programmes

Following two years at Media24 scrubbing for insights within the magazine division, Inge Hansen joined Nota Bene as an A&I analyst in March 2013. Working across multiple clients, including FMCG, alcohol and petroleum, she has the luxury of working with teams to develop robust insights that drive strategy while keeping abreast of media trends the world over. Inge loves having her pulse on the media landscape but far prefers raising her pulse mountain-biking on weekends. She contributes Thinking TV, a monthly analysis of South African TV viewership figures, to MarkLives. Follow @mecnotabene for regular media updates.

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

The Ad Exec: Inside the agency — working hard vs smart

by Tom Fels (@thomasfels) The constant hum inside advertising and communication businesses creates a real sense of energetic productivity, no doubt leaving managers quietly pleased that the staff is working efficiently and effectively, deadline after deadline being nailed as they tap away at their keyboards and crisscross the office to fuel up on caffeine.

All too often, however, the inadvertent sense of busyness is not much more than, well, being busy. Working smart and working hard are far from the same thing — it’s actually hard to work smart and, as an agency leader, it’s often even harder to ingrain a culture of behavioural excellence throughout an organisation.

Here are four ways to counteract the appealing fallbacks of human nature to greatly increase your personal and professional productivity:

1. Drop multitasking for mono-tasking

We’re stuck in a society where we chase quantity over quality. If you were a mathematician, you would not try to solve 30 complex problems simultaneously, jumping from one to another throughout the day. Yet, in the advertising world, we have come to pride ourselves in just how many different roles we can take on at any one time.

Rather than justifying this lunacy and applauding yourselves, try to drastically minimise the number of tasks you juggle in any particular workflow. The results will be more considered, and likely more valuable. Your clients will, no doubt, thank you later.

2. Plan your most important hours

The modern professional seems entirely dominated by their work calendar and overflowing inbox, to the point that they are missing out on their zones of highest potential output by cramming work into the gaps in their diaries.

Ignore the urge to react to external influence and take control of your high-energy times during the day by booking out slots where you disable email access and focus yourself on specific project tasks.

You’ll not only experience greater quality output but also more satisfaction when reflecting upon the work you’ve handled through the day.

3. Opt for power meetings

Have you noticed that people only ever send meeting requests in multiples of 30 minutes? It’s almost as though a design flaw in Outlook has determined the way we approach decision-making. I’d argue that at least half the meetings you host and attend can be completed in a fraction of the time they are booked for.

My first rule of meetings is that, if you can avoid them, choose rather to make decisions on the fly by engaging the key stakeholders face to face. This will keep conversations lean and momentum levels high.

If you do opt for a meeting, maintain a deep respect for the people’s time you are absorbing. Start by inviting only those needed for a well-informed and decisive session where, much like in a presentation team, passengers should not be encouraged.

Then get aggressive on the objectives, structure and expected outputs of the meeting before kickoff by touching base with attendees ahead of the time. This will not only shorten the actual session but also transform its orientation toward decision making.

The final ingredient is energy. If an excellent framework is set and all apply their energy generously, the context and content will be amplified significantly. Conversely, sensing a deep despair in the room after 40 minutes is a sure sign to hit the eject button.

4. Dump email in favour of conversation

Email is the worst of all the communication sins, for a variety of reasons. No client was won, business relationship was mended or big idea was ever cracked over email. Yet, every day, hours are spent crafting long and beautifully formatted emails, not only to our clients, but to our colleagues, too!

This archaic approach encourages delays, along with an over-supply of information and a lack of specificity about what actually needs to get done.

Therefore, the fewer emails sent, the better. Rather use the tool to formalise outputs from discussions so everyone remains aligned.

It’s a simple science

There are no new ideas captured here, no magic formula or revolutionary practice — just simple and accessible ideas that, if fully embraced, have transformative power. Far too much time and effort are spent over-compensating and ass-covering in our industry, when the highest form of agency performance can be achieved by placing our trust in age-old processes, well-implemented.

I challenge you to apply these principles for two weeks and then share your experience with me on Twitter (tweet @thomasfels). It won’t come with a money-back guarantee but, then again, it wouldn’t have cost you anything.

With a decade of local and international experience in leading independent brand consulting, design, shopper marketing and integrated advertising roles, Tom Fels (@thomasfels) has gained a deeply relevant understanding of the dynamics of independent agencies. His skills are put to work daily as group managing director of MACHINE. He contributes the monthly “The Ad Exec” column to MarkLives.

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

Ad of the Week: Down, boy!

by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Retailers seldom step outside the box when it comes to advertising.

Stock-in-trade is the loud, annoying ad with flashy images and obvious graphics, displaying (usually three) items on sale, with the message “buy now” or “price special” hammered home. Whether it’s toilet rolls or bread rolls or chicken rolls on ‘special’ in these formulaic ads, unless one’s looking for a bargain, it’s a signal to turn one’s internal attention ‘button’ to mute.

Thankfully, Checkers has decided to surprise viewers with an amusing and appealing spot, that has nothing much to do with products, but targets a bigger issue: inflation.

This tale is told using humanity’s best friend – a dog. And who doesn’t love dogs? The star, in this case, is an English bulldog, with possibly the most expressive face I have ever seen (on a dog.)

99Cents TVC for Checkers: “Inflation, down boy!”

“This,” the voiceover tells us, “is Inflation. He’ll chew up your valuables…” And, at this point in the narrative, we see the dog making a snack of a plush toy. The masculine voice continues: “Keep you up at night…” And here we see Fido – er, ‘Inflation’ – howling at the moon.

“Follow you around wherever you go – and you can’t do anything about it,” the voiceover continues, while the dog in the ad follows the owner into the bathroom, and watches his master with the most baleful expression.

We hear the narrator say: “But at Checkers we spent years perfecting the art of controlling inflation.”

This is a television ad that skilfully positions the SA supermarket as a hero in the fight against rising prices and the increased cost of living. Checkers is taking the retailer’s conventional sales pitch and reframing it in terms of something that affects us all: inflation.

Consumers are tired of being told that one store is cheaper than the other, or that prices are lower for a limited time only – and all the other ‘tricks of the trade’. But inflation is a concept all consumers experience, it is common to everyone, and is one of the things most consumers blame for not being able to make ends meet.

Anyone on a budget has noticed how the steady creep of inflation eats away at the salary cheque. Prices go up monthly, but raise time only comes around once a year. Living within your means, as financial advisers always tell us to do, is made difficult by the continuous rise in prices. Inflation means that either our standard of living must drop to accommodate it, or something must be sacrificed, such as savings. Which, financial advisers tell us, is bad.

So of course, the sales pitch here is that Checkers will keep inflation (or a dog named ‘Inflation’) under control. That the retailer is our ally in the war against that which eats away at our ability to live a reasonable life. And that Checkers will help make your life as a consumer better.

It’s a new way of looking at the situation, and the symbol of a dog that can be trained to balance biscuits on its nose is appealing, Not that inflation can actually be controlled in macroeconomic terms, at least not by one retailer, but the promise is original and its execution is novel and endearing.

Getting back to the ad: “Last year,” the voice-over claims, “we saved our shoppers from one billion rand in price increases brought on by inflation.” The shot of the dog looking sorry here is priceless. How exactly Checkers did this is not explained, but it’s an interesting claim. Hopefully this will be fleshed out in print and online ads that extend the campaign.

The ad ends with the question, “Isn’t it time you changed to the supermarket that has inflation under control? “Inflation,” the dog in the ad is told: “Down, Boy” – and of course the Winston Churchill lookalike gets down and looks very well behaved. The payoff text is: “Don’t change your lifestyle, change your supermarket.”

The commercial was conceived by the team at 99Cents agency in Cape Town, including executive creative director Marius van Rensburg and agency producer Hylton Heather. Studio production was by AFS Productions under the direction of Brin Kushner, and the man behind the lens was DoP Terence Maritz.

Animal wrangler Nicole Jennings says that this was a debut performance for the bulldog star, Banjoe. Bulldogs are apparently difficult to train, so having such a well-behaved animal on set was a real coup; the shoot actually ended ahead of schedule.

Hats off to Checkers, for doing something unusual, and engaging with customers in an entertaining and challenging way – demonstrating that the supermarket brand really understands its customer and the challenges they face.

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.

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

Dissident Spin Doctor: When to listen — and when to push back

by Emma King (@EmmainSA) As agencies, and as suppliers, there’s often an unwritten understanding of “the client is always right”. And fair enough — they are paying our salaries, calling the shots and essentially deciding whether we can all go on holiday this year or have a Christmas party. So there’s a temptation to say “How high?” when they say jump, and “Sweeteners or brown sugar?” when they express a yearning for a coffee.

However, I firmly believe that, as agencies, we should not be simpering sycophants and, as with most relationships, a client/agency relationship works well when the respect is reciprocated and there’s a mutual ability for both sides to speak frankly and openly to one another.

So, when is it right for an agency to push back to a client — whether that be concerning workload, how it is implemented or how the relationship is unfolding?

When they can’t see the wood for the trees

One of the greatest values that an external partner can bring to a client is exactly that — the fact that they are external. Sometimes, being in the middle of a project or development means that a client cannot see any other ways of doing things than the way it is doing them at that moment.

A fresh perspective, an alternate approach or simply an idea from the left field can turn something average into something ground-breaking.

When you have a better way of doing things

This is a tough one — because everyone thinks that their ideas and processes are the best. But real value can be added when an agency can introduce new ways of working or fresh ideas that speed up processes or get better results.

Of course, it’s difficult when working with huge corporates that have complex systems in place that cannot be changed, but you would be hard-pressed to find a client who doesn’t appreciate small ways of making things work better, faster and cheaper.

When they have been drinking too much of the corporate Kool-Aid

I am sure we have all been in the situation where we have been chatting to in-house teams about their products or their business, and we wonder what planet they are actually operating on. Do they really believe that their new kettle-fried crisps will lead to self-belief and world peace, or that the appointment of their new HR manager should be a lead story on Sky News?

To be fair, they have probably spent the past six months, 24/7, working on it, wading through reams of research convincing them that the world is on tenterhooks eagerly awaiting their new product or piece of news.

And this is where we really can add value. Not by shooting them down and telling them that they are kak but rather by helping them tweak their messaging and approach into something that is relevant, realistic and workable in the real world.

When your staff and culture are being affected

This is a tough one to manage, but one which I feel very strongly about. As temping as it is to go after the big bucks, there has to be a moment when other things are more important.

More money can always be found. But when you are losing good people because clients are bullying them or forcing them to work in an unreasonable way, or when your very values or ways in which you do business are being compromised, it’s important to stop it in its tracks, or call it quits and walk away, keeping the foundations on which you are built intact.

Go with the flow

And when, then, should you keep just go with the flow?

I’m a great believer in learning when to fight your battles. No one wants to work with someone who is constantly challenging them or being disruptive, purely for the sake of it. Keep the fight in you for when it’s needed and learn when to back down and keep quiet.

Seriously, the world won’t end if they go with that big-ass logo or use red instead of green.

Emma King (@EmmainSA) is the owner and MD of The Friday Street Club (@TheFridayStClub). Previously, she was head of PR at The Jupiter Drawing Room (Cape Town). She contributes the monthly “The Dissindent Spin Doctor” column on PR and communication issues to MarkLives.com.

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

The Real McCoy: Serving after the sale

by Sean McCoy (@TheRealMcCoyTRM) How often are we delighted during the sales process and have that warm afterglow following our latest acquisition, only to have our consumer world disintegrate later when dealing with an after-sales service experience, warranty claim, repair job or the like? Alas, all too often it seems!

Myriad factors

The initial transaction is often somewhat easier. An enthusiastic buyer and an equally driven salesperson, keen to earn his or her commission, may result in an experience that appears to go the extra mile — often accurately so. Sadly, in many instances, this sales experience is not replicated further down the value chain due to myriad factors.

In my column earlier in the year, following some travel fatigue, I picked on the airline industry as a proxy for a very complicated industry process that it often has difficulty in managing — the transition and ownership of the experience, from the travel-agent booking through to baggage arrival at your point of destination, is no easy after-sales environment, after having made an apparently simple flight-ticket purchase.

Less so in the case of the automotive industry, I would argue. The original product — produced on a manufacturer’s assembly line — is now serviced at an appointed, essentially franchised, service centre. In this sector, as an example, this single degree of separation is often a bridge too far and the after-sales service is left wanting.

Share of wallet

This is a heinous crime on both the part of the manufacturer and the dealership, given the significant margin on original-equipment parts and the considerable incentive to stay invested in you, in terms of brand loyalty to the manufacturer for repeat purchase of a big-ticket item; and to the service centre for your share of wallet over the often-extensive service period.

Of my own recent story of woe of this very issue, suffice to say, I have supported (and loved) a particular manufacturer for some 15 years. In a vehicle upgrade during the last year, I was blown away by the sales effort and special touches surrounding my new purchase, only to become totally underwhelmed and miserable at the after-sales service offered by the dealer that I had opted to go through. A travesty, really, and an indicator that the manufacturer and dealer network need a greater level of alignment to the promise the brand is making.

Franchising is a particular challenge but this need not always be problematic and under-performing.

Doing something right

Take Famous Brands as an example — its exponential growth would suggest that it is doing something right.

Across its broad array of casual dining and quick-service restaurants, you generally know what you are getting and the experience is consistent with the promise.

Admittedly, the purchase is not exactly capital expenditure in nature, but the need for consistency and trust each time we put that Wimpy burger or Debonair pizza slice to our mouths is a critical dimension of its performance. And it does it well, notwithstanding that it is convenience food and we are possibly more forgiving.

Results are evident

It may be formulaic in parts and highly systematised, but it works and the results are evident.

Of course, this is not only a matter for the franchise business or the consumer-product industry. Good old corporate suffers the same challenge when we opt to put contractors into key roles or outsource a critical shared service to … oh no, a contact centre! The contact centre is in itself a column on its own and we will address that another time.

Brand owners need to consider that outsource service partners and contractors are an extension of staff and operating systems, therefore they are critical to the internal brand and delivery of the promise — much like the well-oiled franchise model.

Common sense should be common practice

The point always seems so fundamental, yet we do not make common sense common practice in this case. If it were so, we wouldn’t have the volume of customer complaints that we experience in so many industries (just make a quick visit to hellopeter.com and tell me if you experience more service orchids or onions).

Talented and driven salespeople are a wonder and a critical business essential. It is vital, however, that they confine the sale to what the organisation can follow through on.

Alternatively, and better still, perhaps they should be given the mandate to ensure that the rest of the business can keep up with the promise and retain their very reason for being — the customer.

Dr Sean McCoy, MD and founding member of HKLM, is a prominent figure in the branding arena, with his expertise centered on client service, brand strategy and business development. Sean has been chairperson for the Brand Council of South Africa since 2012. He contributes the regular “The Real McCoy” column focusing on internal branding to MarkLives.

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

Grubstreet: Seven big circulation trends in SA newspapers

by Gill Moodie (@grubstreetSA) “Declining circulation” is a term that haunts editors and publishers today and, while some in South Africa point to the fact that Amps readership figures remain stable, the reality is that, every time a new set of Audit Bureau of Circulations of SA (ABC) numbers come out, one sees diminishing sales.

Whereas Amps figures are difficult to understand – and some say are too generous in their allocations of readers per copy – ABC numbers are easier to grab hold of because they are broken into detailed spreadsheets. Every quarter – as the industry did this week when the figures for April-June 2014 came out – the media owners and journalists can see exactly how many copies a particular title sold, how many went to individual, business, and “travel & commercial” subscribers, how many were sold at 50% less than the cover price and how many sold to third-party bulkers.

When it comes to circulation numbers, there are very few places to hide.

As simple as it may seem, circulation is a complex business involving hitting the right note editorially; managing supply and distribution – both to subscribers and to the streets and retailers – and doing effective marketing. It involves managing the mismatch with ever rising costs with diminishing revenue because newspapers today are under both circulation and advertising pressure.

Therefore, pinpointing what is causing a rise or fall in circulation is very tricky.

However, if you take a long view, trends do emerge and in South Africa over the past year, we can discern:

1. From the perspective of publishers of daily and weekend newspapers, Times Media Group (TMG) appears to be faring the best: The Sowetan, the Daily Dispatch, The Herald and The Times are all holding steady or growing slightly while the Dispatch has shown the biggest rise in daily-newspaper circulation for both its daily and Saturday editions for two successive quarters. This company trend appears to be the product of a combination of canny new management (under new-ish owner Andrew Bonamour) and solid editors who are being allowed to invest in newsrooms far more than rival newspaper groups such as Independent Newspapers, Caxton and Media24.

Further, in the case of the Daily Dispatch and The Herald, there is close co-operation between editorial, distribution and marketing, editors Bongani Siqoko and Heather Robertson have told Journalism.co.za. Circulation for TMG’s flagship, the Sunday Times, is down over the past year but a large part of this is because of the stripping out of costly incentivised sales, e.g., bulking and PMIE (that goes to schools for free to aid literacy development). For the first time in a decade or more, the Sunday Times had no incentivised sales to its name in the most recent ABCs. Copy sales (as opposed to total circulation) were at 237 721 compared with 248 721 year-on-year.

2. There’s no doubt that the Afrikaans papers are struggling. Die Burger is less affected but both Media24’s Beeld and Rapport are losing sales. In the most recent ABCs, Rapport was at 175 552 compared with 192 328 year-on-year while Beeld was at 59 544 compared with 64 073 a year ago. Die Burger’s decrease is less dramatic but it is still down: 57 423 compared with 59 704 a year ago. This is despite some very good editors – Beeld’s Adriaan Basson and Rapport’s Waldimar Pelser are among the smartest of their generation – so could this be a combination of Afrikaans readers moving to English-language news and shrunken newsrooms (far smaller than at TMG, for instance)?

Then there is the fact that distribution at Media24 is quite far removed from the newspapers because it is done by a completely different (though still owned by Media24) company, On the Dot. Certainly, few of the Media24’s titles have managed to come back from the massive disruption to distribution and subscriptions in 2010 when a new enterprise resource system was put in place – something that Koos Bekker, CEO of Media24 parent company Naspers, described in 2011 as a “bloody mess”. The recent ABC figures tell us that Afrikaans daily papers have declined by 7.1% annually since 2010 (compared with 3.9% annually for the English dailies) while Afrikaans weekend papers have dropped 8.9% annually over the same period (5.6% for the English titles).

3. Vernacular titles – mostly on the back of Independent Newspapers’ jewel in the crown, the isiZulu-language Isolezwe – have bucked the [downward circulation] trend consistently. Isolezwe, which is a seven-day-a-week publication, has really hit the spot in every way and even seen off rivals such as Ilanga (owned by the IFP’s investment arm and which is in a significant circulation slump), UmAfrika (owned by the Catholic Church and stopped as a commercial product in 2013) and an isZulu edition of the Sunday Times (closed in 2013). The circulation of daily vernacular newspapers has risen annually by 1.4% since 2010, according to the latest ABCs, while the weekend papers have increased by 11.5%.

4. In terms of interesting individual titles, Media24’s City Press and Sunday Sun appear to stabilising or turning around after a couple of years of decline while the Daily Sun is still in the wars: at 274 165 in the second quarter of 2014 compared with 287 222 year-on-year.

5. The majority of Independent Newspapers’ English-language titles are in sustained decline – as is Caxton’s flagship, The Citizen, which just cannot get out of its funk even after making bold moves such as a cover price and ad-rate drop in 2010 and a significant redesign last year.

6. This general circulation decline means that media inflation for the print sector – which tracks the cost of reaching people through advertising in the media – is on the increase, making newspapers less attractive to advertisers, which are themselves squeezed in our tight economy.

Mike Leahy’s Ibis Media Data Services numbers tell us that DStv – which sells a combination of ad packages and spots – has become much more competitive recently because it reduced the price of packages in 2012 and gave advertisers more spots in the packages. The latest Ibis figures – for the first quarter of 2014 – put print-sector inflation at 4.29% compared with overall media inflation of 7.4% (for print, radio, TV, online, out-of-home and cinema). However, Gordon Patterson, who compiled the most recent ABC presentation, noted the “devil is in the detail… (because) the compound effect of circulation declines has resulted in Print Media Inflation Watch reaching 9.72%”.

7. While PMIE free newspapers to schools is largely a thing of the past – it was considered to be of little value to advertisers because it didn’t reach the right target markets – Patterson also noted in the most recent presentation that there was an increase in both newspapers and magazines of sales below 50% of cover price.

“There is little doubt that our economy still faces significant economic challenges during 2014,” he said in his comments in the second-quarter presentation. “The declining GDP growth, coupled to the growing labour issues, means that both publishers and purchasers will be cash strapped for the foreseeable future.

“There is a real need for leadership in print, and a renewed effort by newspapers, in particular, to invest in their own future, and to compete with new technologies.

“Improved content, strong marketing efforts and perhaps the adoption of several of the known digital marketing strategies, could turn the trend around. Doing nothing, however, rarely produces a change in fortune!”

He also warned: “One thing is clear from my perspective, and it’s that the solution won’t be found in further distribution at less than 50% of the cover price. Marketers and decision makers should take account of such tactics in their negotiations.

“… the decline in press circulation started well before new technologies established themselves, so the issue is not competition, it’s relevance…and that can be addressed if we invest in understanding the problem.”

South Africa’s leading media commentator, Gill Moodie (@grubstreetSA) offers intelligence on media, old and new. Reprinted from her site Grubstreet. This piece was published first on Journalism.co.za, the website of Wits University’s journalism school.

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

Publicis Groupe’s Digitas LBi buys Liquorice

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Digitas LBi, part of Publicis Groupe, has acquired South African digital agency Liquorice. Liquorice will form part of Digitas LBi’s Middle East & Africa region but will retain its own brand identity.

Digitas LBi was formed in 2013 when Publicis Groupe merged Digitas with then Amsterdam-based LBi. The network has 40 offices in 25 countries.

Miles Murphy launched Liquorice in 2005 and the agency currently employs 115 people in four offices – Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Bellville. Agency clients include Unilever, Distell, Sanlam, Pioneer Foods, SAB Miller, SA Home Loans and Elizabeth Arden.

Murphy says Liquorice will be used as a vehicle for Digitas LBi to expand its footprint into key African markets. The agency had been in discussions with Publicis Groupe for 12 months after rejecting several other possible deals. Murphy says these would have merged Liquorice with traditional agencies when he still believes that, in emerging markets, growth for outfits like his lies in digital specialisation.

Digitas LBi is a digital pure-play – just like Liquorice. “It’s us but on a much grander scale,” comments Murphy. The deal, a full acquisition, gives Liquorice access to greater expertise and international contacts. It will assist the agency to grow its African footprint quicker – a key client demand, according to Murphy. The fact that Liquorice can remain true to its digital core, and that Digitas LBi has no existing agency structure into which it would have had to fit, sealed the deal, he adds.

In terms of expansion plans, Murphy says the agency is already doing work for clients in a number of countries outside of SA, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Angola and Nigeria. Cape Town will remain the production hub for the agency but local client service and content teams will be established in key markets. It’s a model already tried and tested in both Johannesburg and Durban, and Nigeria is next in line says Murphy.

The South African ad industry has recently seen a series of takeovers and mergers of high-profile independent agencies by global communications networks.

Publicis Groupe (head-quartered in Paris, France) acquired BrandsRock, which it merged with Saatchi & Saatchi to form Saatchi & Saatchi Brandsrock as well as OwenKessel (merged with Leo Burnett) plus digital agency Lighthouse Digital (which has become part of Publicis division Starcom MediaVest Group). In December 2013, Publicis bought out digital agency Synergize to sit within Saatchi & Saatchi South Africa.

WPP, meanwhile, bought into Cerebra and Native. WPP operating company JWT acquired a majority stake in Durban-based The Hardy Boys; WPP announced that its wholly-owned operating company Grey had acquired a majority stake in The Volcano Group; and the same British multinational advertising and PR company also took a controlling stake in Quirk.

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

Creation: Design isn’t hipster propaganda

by Artwell Nwaila (@artwelln) Not so long ago I was asked by the good folks at Open Design Cape Town to write a short article on how design can be used as a tool for change. That got me thinking: can design really change how we look at the world or is it some more hipster fairy-dust mumbo-jumbo?

My goal today is to prove that the hipsters are correct. Design is about solving problems; it’s about communication; and it’s about impact.

Let’s take a look at five examples that will support my case.

1. Propaganda posters

World War I propaganda posters worldwaripropaganda.wordpress.com — Source: World War I Propaganda

These influential poster campaigns encouraged the populations of Britain and America to support the armed services during the First World War.

Sometimes, dramatic design helps move a nation (and, yes, I realise it was true for the other side as well).

2. Che Guevara

Che Guevara posternation.com — Source: PosterNation

In 1967, Jim Fitzpatrick designed one of the most iconic designs, based on Alberto Korda’s photography. This design is now a power symbol for revolution.

3. Ideas that matter

Still don’t believe that design can influence change? The people behind Ideas that Matter, a grant programme that supports the designers who donate their time to charitable causes, certainly do.

Since 1999, this programme has funded more than 500 non-profit projects, contributing US$11 million worldwide to causes that enhance people’s lives through the power of design.

4. Design can also manipulate; ask any adman.

Branding with colours 360newsfeed — Source: 360newsfeed

The power of design is that it can talk to you from a subconscious level. A good example is how ad agencies and brands manipulate colour to do further emphasise their message.

Ever notice how the top fast-food companies all have the colour red in their branding? The colour that stimulates appetite.

5. Apple

The evolution of Apple's iMac whatsyourtech.ca — Source: Whats Your Tech

Last, but not least, is Steve Jobs’ brilliant idea to transform boring clunky home PCs into beautiful pieces of art.

In 1998, the iMac took everyone aback with its brightly coloured body and, a year later, Jobs released the iBook’s unique shell design. After that, Jobs never stopped coming up with new products that were as aesthetically pleasing as they were technologically advanced.

This would be the first time that design became as important as hardware and engineering, transforming the world of tech as we see it today.

In conclusion, you can only really understand how effective design is when you become aware of how it drives your life and determines your daily decisions. It is then that you will see that design can be used to facilitate change on a large scale.

Artwell Nwaila (@artwelln) is a creative director at Offlimit Communications and publisher of the award-winning creative publication SA Creatives (@thesacreatives). His monthly column on MarkLives, “Creation”, takes a look at creative work from around the world and what we can learn from it in South Africa.

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