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With 8Bit, bloggers unite for scale, ad spend

by Herman Manson (@marklives) An innovative sales network is emerging to ensure the sustainability of South Africa’s smaller independent publishers and bloggers. 8Bit, started by Tom Kennedy and Richard Hutch, combines the inventory of a number of popular blogs and indy websites in a bid to grab a bigger piece of the online advertising pie.

Opportunity to cross-promote

Their network also offers an opportunity for publishing partners to cross-promote content and so take individual site audience above 30 000 monthly uniques.

Kennedy is involved in running the youth culture blog Don’t Party. He’s pals with a bunch of other bloggers, and they all tapped his contact list to generate their own sales, so he was already, unofficially, running a network, he jokes. 8Bit just formalised the exercise.

Launched officially in August 2013, the network was recently accepted into the 88Mph Accelerator Program, an investment fund and accelerator programme sponsored by Google, Samsung and Microsoft, aimed at boosting tech start-ups in Africa.

Secondary sales rep

Kennedy says indy publishers and bloggers face various obstacles in effectively monetising their content. Part of the problem is that they are often not sales people, and they don’t generate enough revenue to appoint sales professionals. 8Bit doesn’t try to usurp direct relationships with clients. Instead, it serves as a secondary sales rep — one that offers a single touch point to multiple quality sites for media agencies and brand owners.

8Bit has also ensured standardise reporting across the sites it represents. It runs Effective Measure and Google Analytics, and ads are served using Google DFP.

Sites in the network include design portfolio site 10and5.com, lifestyle blog Bangers & Nash, youth site Mahala, tech favourites Bandwidth Blog and HumanIPO.

Campaigns already run

8Bit has already run campaigns for Pernod Ricard, Mercedes-Benz and Olmeca across the network — generating more than half a million rand in revenue. Kennedy expects this figure to up to R3-4 million a year quickly (revenue is split either 80/20 or 70/20 in favour of the publishers).

Interestingly, PR agencies seem to be holding budgets for a lot of online spend, says Kennedy, indicative of the evolving role of public relations in managing online reputations.

The network is also developing 8Bit Engage to cross-promote content from the various publishing partners (see image below). It will also allow for paid-for content (advertorial, really) to be displayed — creating an additional revenue stream for the network. The system already has franchises in Lagos and Nairobi.

Changing mindsets

According to Kennedy, 8Bit aims to change the mindset of media agencies and brands when it comes to reaching out to independent online publishers, and to offer tools to those publishers to make them competitive against larger networks.

Update: Bangers & Nash was misidentified as a foodie blog in an earlier version of this article. We apologise for the error.

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Smart Africa TV: WeChat Africa

by Russell Southwood (@BalancingActAfr) Brett Loubser, Head of WeChat Africa talks about:

how WeChat is a social communications platform;
the countries WeChat is focusing on growing in;
how South African “shock jock” Gareth Cliff used it to launch an online radio station called Cliff Central;
and its use as a second screen by the Big Brother series in South Africa.

Russell Southwood is the founder of Balancing Act and the web TV channel Smart Monkey TV, and has been an analyst in telecoms, internet and broadcast in Africa for the last 14 years. Smart Monkey TV aims to capture the energy at the crossroads between African culture and technology. MarkLives is syndicating content from Smart Monkey TV on a weekly basis for the column “Smart Africa TV”.

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The complex continent

a The Africa Annual feature by Jon Pienaar SA companies wanting to expand into the rest of the continent – beware: you can’t simply transplant your existing, highly successful marketing strategy/campaign to a new territory in Africa. Some SA and global brands have learned the hard way that marketing in each new African territory demands a local approach. It should be obvious.

The stories are legion of multinational companies launching products in foreign countries with unintended results, from bad translations to misinterpreted symbols: one might have thought multinationals would have learned their lesson by now, but it seems many have not.

Nowadays, it’s not so much a case of Ikea marketing its ‘Fartfull’ workbench in English speaking countries, or the Ford Fiera not doing well in Spanish-speaking countries because ‘fiera’ means ‘she-devil’ – or ‘ugly old woman’ in colloquial Spanish. It’s more about missing the mark entirely by ignoring the culture of the target audience. In a recent story, Nairobi-based journalist Katrina Manson in the Financial Times tells of how, when Indian mobile phone company Bharti Airtel launched in Kenya, it released a high production-value ad that bombed horribly. And no wonder: the ad was shot with South African actors using coins as currency; in Kenya, as in most African countries, only paper money is used. “They think everybody looks the same but just having black models is no longer enough,” Bharat Thakrar, head of Nairobi-based agency Scangroup is quoted as saying, adding: “It’s like putting a Thai, a Chinese and an Indian in the same Asia ad. People can recognise themselves.”

Research group Euromonitor predicts that consumer spending in sub-Saharan Africa will reach one trillion US Dollars by 2020. This market of over a billion people (300-million of them middle-class) has seen consumer goods flooding in from all corners of the planet; foremost among these being cellular telephones. This has resulted in a huge increase in advertising on the continent, and according to research company Nielsen, the Africa/Middle East segment has the greatest growth in adspend (14.6 percent) compared with the rest of the world (3.2 percent).

Africa is complex. It’s not just that there are some 56 countries (counting islands), and somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 languages and dialects spoken; but for each of these languages there are religious, cultural and cross-cultural issues. Take Nigeria, where around half of the country is Christian, in the south, and the other half is Muslim, in the north. The Christians range from Catholic and Anglican breakaway churches, to syncretic churches that believe in demon-possession and integrate traditional religion, while the Muslims are also divided into Sunni, Shia and Sufi. Then there are also many who only practice various forms of traditional religion.

Apart from religion, throughout Africa there are also class divides, differing education and literacy levels, and aesthetic differences to take into account.

Given this diversity, cultural appropriateness is best managed by “feet on the ground and eyes on the street” — as Victoria Williams of global PR company Hill+Knowlton Strategies puts it in her company blog. She adds: “And if that’s not possible, then you need to work with partners that can give you that coverage.”

Brands that want a piece of the action would be advised to approach each territory with an open mind and a willingness to learn, as well as a strategy for collaborating with the local agencies who can give valuable insights into culture. Airtel, having analysed where they went wrong, developed different ads using locals, which were better received. In Nigeria, it was a comedic piece featuring a pidgin-speaking ‘hustler’, while in the Congo it was a poignant story about a blue-collar worker, set to local music.

The Financial Times quotes Thakrar: “We tell multinationals all the time – they have to produce advertising that’s more relevant, that resonates – it’s costing more but it’s the only way to do it.”

Brands should also consider re-engineering their products to meet African needs. For example, Samsung developed a fridge that is more resilient to power outages and fluctuations, as is common in many African countries, where a standby diesel generator is usually essential apparatus for ensuring that you can keep your business running.

A recent ad by Guinness was an excellent example of integrating a brand into a community. The agency researchers had come across the phenomenon of ‘sapeurs’ in Congo-Brazzaville. The ‘society of elegant persons of the Congo’ have counterparts in South Africa — we call them ‘swenkas’. Like swenkas, sapeurs dress up in expensive and ostentatious suits, sometimes with incredible colour combinations, and always plenty of ‘bling’.

Sapeurs are hired to bring some ‘ambience’ to an event like a wedding, and they stage competitions where they can show off their latest threads. It’s a grand tradition, with a great history and cultural significance, and Guinness tapped into that with taste and sensitivity.

The Financial Times quotes unnamed “foreign executives from consumer companies” who “privately acknowledge that they will have to adapt, and quickly.” To do anything else would be to shut the door on opportunities in Africa.

This feature first ran in The Africa Annual published by Ornico with MarkLives.com as its official media partner. Read or download the full magazine via Issuu.

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MagLove: The best magazine covers this week

by MediaSlut (@MediaSlut) My choice of the best international and local magazine covers in MagLove this week:

Bloomberg Businessweek (Middle East)
Variety
Computer Arts
Monet
Esquire
VISI

INTERNATIONAL

Bloomberg Businessweek (Middle East), 1 July 2014

A new rail network in the Middle East is big news, creating a lot of debate, is more expensive than budgeted, and not reaching set deadlines (sounds so familiar…).

I think the final cover where it actually built a model railway illustrated it all perfectly, and everyone in the Middle East will immediately grasp what it’s all about…! Which is what a cover should do. [I thought the cover was an apt depiction of the Middle East actually — ed]

You can read more about the cover here.

Variety, June 2014

Variety magazine just keeps churning out beautiful covers! This time, the two images blending into each other got my attention, and also the angle of the cover story.

Actors in supporting roles usually play 2^nd fiddle in movies/series’, but there have indeed been some breakout roles where this was just the “springboard to stardom” for them. Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Allison Williams (Girls) are just a few examples…

You can read the full article here.

Computer Arts, Issue 229

I think a lot of art directors at agencies can learn a lot from magazine/editorial designers.

On the cover of Computer Arts, they look at “Type Secrets” and they reveal “why thinking like an editorial designer will sharpen your typography skills.” And they did this by breaking almost every rule in the design book!

Monet, July 2014

Monet, a magazine all about everything pop culture, has done a pretty cool job at showing the many faces and characters of actor Johnny Depp. The only character I couldn’t guess was the ‘bowtie’-section…

Esquire, August 2014

I really think that Esquire did not only do a great job with Cameron Diaz on the cover, but a bloody brilliant job with the logo and cover line effects on the wall!!

I just can’t work out if the team actually painted it (doubt), or if it’s just a brilliant photoshop and design job…

Either way, it’s sexy and marvellous!

LOCAL

VISI 73 (On sale from Monday)

The new cover of VISI, only out on Monday, has done everything in the cover-rule-book right as far as I’m concerned!

The team has used bold colours that draw attention and work together perfectly. I wouldn’t mind “copying and pasting” this bedroom…

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 Pinboard!

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 MediaSlutknows 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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Heroes & Zeros: best & worst ads of the week

The Ad Feature Heroes & Zeroes with Andy Rice on 702 Talk Radio

Andy Rice (@ricecommaandy) talks about his best (Olive Communications) and worst (Department of Labour) adverts of the week with Jenny Crwys-Williams (@jcwLIFE) during The Ad Feature on Talk Radio 702 (@Radio702).

Find out why these brands feature in this week’s Heroes & Zeros webisode by watching below:

For a fresh look at the world of advertising, Jenny Crwys-Williams of 702 Talk Radio chats to advertising critic Andy Rice on The Ad Feature, every Wednesday 2.30pm — 3pm. The filmed Heroes & Zeroes will appear on MarkLives every Friday morning as a webisode.

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Shelf Life: A story of disruption

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

Oakley urges disruption and innovation
Innis & Gunn craft beer launches in SA
local MAQ washing detergent increases brand profile and
Grolsch wraps things up at Cape Town International Airport.

Oakley creates disruption

One of the most exciting developments in advertising and branding in recent years has been the collaboration between the best movie directors and actors with brand objectives to create beautifully crafted brand narratives or mini-documentaries. Oakley’s ‘A Story of Disruption’ is the latest.

The release of the global brand flash film, narrated by actor Kevin Spacey, showcases 40 years of the Oakley brand philosophy, innovation and its product designs from 1975 to today.

The short film release also marks the launch of the ‘Disruptive by Design’ content platform by Oakley on http://disruptivebydesign.com/, where you can also watch the film short. The brand narrative is all about honouring a heritage of disruptive design and the creative visionaries at play and encouraging further disruption in design.

The film glorifies the ‘Oakley design bunker’ where the next disruptive inventions will be “conceived, designed, perfected and unleashed on the world…!”

This “incubator to disruption” will design a better future, as Oakley puts forward that imagining the impossible and disrupting the world around us is what visionaries do and “by embracing radical new visions, ideas and concepts, these disruptors in our world have been the originators of a new way of thinking, doing and being”.

It isn’t just about a beautiful website and a leading man to front a self-congratulatory movie, Disruptive by Design is a global brand communication that spans advertising, PR, content, events, retail, social and partnerships. Live in all markets, the campaign includes alliances with Wired magazine and designboom, for co-created content and a design brief to find future industry disruptors.

“This is the beginning of an exciting chapter for the Oakley brand,” said Tom Cartmale, Oakley global brand communications director. “We have stories that need to be told and philosophies that should be shared, as they have the power to inspire the next generation of innovators. We are excited to present ‘A Story of Disruption’ and bring people closer to the maverick mindset and unconventional design thinking that is infused in our brand.”

We can all be disruptors… challenge how things are built, advises Oakley.

New craft beer launches

Innis & Gunn have launched its flagship brand and “champagne” of beer in South Africa, Innis & Gunn Original. It has been launched in South Africa by Truman & Orange, a partnership between whisky connoisseurs Jason Duganzich, Rowan Leibbrandt and Owen Gibbs. All have worked for the top whisky producers.

The process followed in brewing this award-winning Scottish beer is quite fascinating: Innis & Gunn Original uses barrels made from white American oak heartwood, previously used for aging Kentucky bourbon. Innis & Gunn is slow brewed in small batches.

Internationally, focus on craft beer has risen in recent years with more interesting flavours and innovative brewing processes fuelling interest. In the US, retail sales for craft beers is already a US$14 million segment, up 20% on the previous year.

As Leibbrandt explains: “South Africans have had access to fantastic whiskies and wines, and it’s about time we were able to drink beer of the same quality. We believe the popularity of single malt whisky in South Africa, makes Innis & Gunn particularly compelling for South African drinkers.

MAQ cleans up

Home-grown South African detergent brand, MAQ, has updated its logo and hosted experiential events to interact directly with consumers — taking the now ubiquitous washathon experience that all the detergent brands seem to be doing, to another level.

It engaged with consumers to promote its fabric conditioner with a ‘washathon’ event at Thokoza Park in, that was both a charity drive and a brand awareness initiative.

Residents were encouraged to bring unwanted clothes and blankets to donate to charity via a promotional radio campaign prior to the event.

While the donated items were being washed by the MAQ team, consumers were entertained by live performances from various artists and JoziFM presenters.

In between performances, consumers took part in a ‘Spin and Win’ competition with product samples, branded spot prizes, as well as big ticket item appliances.

The washathon benefited five shelters within the Soweto area, reported Jacqueline Jacobs, marketing director of Bliss Brands, which launched MAQ washing powder on the South African market 10 years ago.

Grolsch wants to be interesting

Grolsch’s new international campaign, ‘Choose Interesting’ has been brought to life in a three-part building wrap at Cape Town International Airport.

“Choose Interesting” is the first campaign to be adopted by all markets under the SAB Global Brands banner and the site at Cape Town International Airport serves to champion the global presence and global appeal of the product. This is the first time Grolsch has made use of a large format outdoor site within the airports in SA.

As Airport Ads director, Mzukisi Deliwe, explains: “Airports are an ideal location for large format outdoor. It’s extremely rewarding to be part of a larger, international campaign as it relies on strong collaboration between client, media owner and creative team.”

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.

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SAARF/MarkLives #Top40TVratings: Bored with the World Cup already?

by SAARF & MarkLives (@marklives) Last week, the 2014 FIFA World Cup nabbed five of the Top 10 slots on SAARF/MarkLives #Top40TVratings national chart but our data this week (23-29 June 2014) shows it only managed to grab one Top 10 spot, for the game between Brazil and Chile, and it took only five of the top 20 slots. On the DStv chart, no FIFA games made the Top 10.

This weekly roundup of South Africa’s TV audience viewership, a collaboration between the South African Audience Research Foundation (SAARF) and MarkLives, reveals the best-watched shows of the week before, where it ran and how many South Africans tuned in to watch.

We offer two tables, the first covering all households — free-to-air viewing (the various SABC channels and e.tv) as well as the DStv platform — and the second charting the best-watched shows on the DStv network of channels only.

SAARF/MarkLives #Top40TVratings Chart: 23-29 June 2014

Market	Target	Activity
National	Total Indv (incl guests)	Live + VOSDAL
Counter	Description (grouped)	Channel	Level 1	_{Level 2}\^Variable	(r) AMR %	AMR	SHR %
1	GENERATIONS	SABC 2	Soap opera	LOCAL	23.0	9 851 173	66.71%
2	MUVHANGO	SABC 2	Drama	Drama	15.8	6 758 800	53.84%
3	ISIDINGO:THE NEED	SABC 2	Soap opera	LOCAL	15.7	6 729 816	48.14%
4	TEMPY PUSHAS	SABC 2	Drama	Drama	13.0	5 576 295	41.62%
5	POWERBALL	SABC 2	Variety	Variety	10.8	4 612 674	41.71%
6	GA RE DUMELE -R	SABC 2	Sitcom	Sitcom	10.0	4 303 470	43.21%
7	FAMILY BONDS	SABC 2	Sitcom	Sitcom	9.9	4 245 605	31.50%
8	FIFA WORLD CUP L BRAZIL/CHILE	SABC 1	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	9.2	3 939 136	32.88%
9	RHYTHM CITY	e.tv	Drama	Drama	9.2	3 929 337	29.42%
10	SCANDAL	e.tv	Drama	Drama	9.2	3 926 697	26.98%
11	FIFA WORLD CUP L NIGERIA/ARGENTINA	SABC 1	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	8.6	3 703 269	27.63%
12	THOLA	SABC 2	Drama	Drama	8.5	3 660 809	38.98%
13	MAMA JACK	SABC 3	Movies	COMEDY	8.5	3 653 868	27.74%
14	FIFA WORLD CUP L NETHERLANDS/MEXICO	SABC 1	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	8.5	3 632 595	28.34%
15	FIFA WORLD CUP L PORTUGAL/GHANA	SABC 1	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	8.1	3 468 405	25.65%
16	MY PERFECT FAMILY	SABC 2	Sitcom	Sitcom	8.1	3 453 761	23.48%
17	FIFA WORLD CUP L ITALY/URUGUAY	SABC 1	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	7.9	3 380 439	24.09%
18	SELIMATHUNZI	SABC 2	Variety	Variety	7.8	3 354 137	21.89%
19	XHOSA NEWS	SABC 2	News	News	7.1	3 045 185	20.95%
20	FORCED LOVE (DRAMA)	SABC 2	Drama	Drama	6.9	2 952 441	35.35%
21	SPEAK OUT	SABC 2	Actuality	Actuality	6.9	2 943 368	19.87%
22	ZULU NEWS	SABC 2	News	News	6.8	2 916 438	21.11%
23	7DE LAAN	SABC 2	Soap opera	LOCAL	6.8	2 900 508	21.76%
24	NEWS	e.tv	News	News	6.7	2 873 737	20.79%
25	ZAZIWA	SABC 2	Variety	Variety	6.6	2 822 587	19.34%
26	MRS. DOUBTFIRE	e.tv	Movies	Movies	6.5	2 797 638	26.61%
27	THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL	SABC 2	Soap opera	INTERNATIONAL	6.4	2 747 654	23.61%
28	GA BOSE GANGWE	SABC 2	Drama	Drama	6.3	2 691 492	26.84%
29	EMZINI WEZINSIZWA -R	SABC 1	Sitcom	Sitcom	6.1	2 630 536	45.89%
30	MUVHANGO -R	SABC 1	Drama	Drama	5.9	2 537 700	45.35%
31	FIFA WORLD CUP L CAMEROON/BRAZIL	SABC 1	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	5.8	2 499 369	40.73%
32	BLACK KNIGHT	e.tv	Movies	COMEDY	5.8	2 492 071	20.63%
33	FIFA WORLD CUP L AUSTRALIA/SPAIN	SABC 1	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	5.8	2 480 155	18.49%
34	SKWIZAS	SABC 2	Sitcom	Sitcom	5.8	2 479 719	18.74%
35	MOESHA	SABC 1	Sitcom	Sitcom	5.6	2 416 693	44.03%
36	GENERATIONS -R	SABC 1	Soap opera	LOCAL	5.5	2 368 034	45.64%
37	LOTTO DRAW LIVE	e.tv	Competition	Competition	5.5	2 365 725	22.68%
38	EKASI OUR STORIES:NGWANA WA TSENWA	e.tv	Drama	Drama	5.4	2 301 359	20.69%
39	WWE WRESTLING RAW	e.tv	Sport	WRESTLING	5.3	2 291 966	28.50%
40	VODACOM MILLIONAIRES	e.tv	Competition	Competition	5.3	2 280 791	17.68%

DStv platform only

Market	Target	Activity
DStv	Total Indv (incl guests)	Live + VOSDAL
Counter	Description (grouped)	Channel	Level 1	_{Level 2}\^Variable	(r) AMR %	AMR	SHR %
1	GENERATIONS	SABC 2	Soap opera	LOCAL	16.3	2 204 961	47.44%
2	MUVHANGO	SABC 2	Drama	Drama	10.6	1 437 262	35.26%
3	ISIBAYA	Mzansi Magic	Variety	Variety	7.8	1 048 613	23.47%
4	POWERBALL	SABC 2	Variety	Variety	6.6	886 582	24.16%
5	ISIDINGO:THE NEED	SABC 2	Soap opera	LOCAL	6.0	815 710	18.12%
6	RHYTHM CITY	e.tv	Drama	Drama	5.8	782 491	17.86%
7	SCANDAL	e.tv	Drama	Drama	5.5	740 387	16.04%
8	GA RE DUMELE -R	SABC 2	Sitcom	Sitcom	5.5	739 535	22.47%
9	FAMILY BONDS	SABC 2	Sitcom	Sitcom	5.1	691 425	15.64%
10	7DE LAAN	SABC 2	Soap opera	LOCAL	5.0	672 088	15.36%
11	TEMPY PUSHAS	SABC 2	Drama	Drama	4.9	655 581	14.87%
12	NEWS	e.tv	News	News	4.8	643 711	14.09%
13	MAMA JACK	SABC 3	Movies	COMEDY	4.7	634 203	13.95%
14	FIFA WORLD CUP L BRAZIL/CHILE	SABC 1	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	4.5	602 459	14.53%
15	SPEAK OUT	SABC 2	Actuality	Actuality	4.4	599 369	12.70%
16	MY PERFECT FAMILY	SABC 2	Sitcom	Sitcom	4.4	589 575	12.15%
17	THOLA	SABC 2	Drama	Drama	4.1	558 574	17.25%
18	SELIMATHUNZI	SABC 2	Variety	Variety	4.1	555 398	11.98%
19	FIFA WORLD CUP L NETHERLANDS/MEXICO	SuperSport 3	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	4.1	549 874	12.04%
20	FIFA WORLD CUP L NIGERIA/ARGENTINA	SABC 1	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	3.9	531 876	12.19%
21	FIFA WORLD CUP L NETHERLANDS/MEXICO	SABC 1	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	3.9	530 286	11.64%
22	FIFA WORLD CUP L ITALY/URUGUAY	SABC 1	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	3.8	511 945	11.81%
23	THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL	SABC 3	Soap opera	INTERNATIONAL	3.7	498 511	13.04%
24	CASTLE INCOMING TOUR 2014 SOUTH AFRICA VS SCOTLAND	SuperSport 1	Sport	RUGBY(ALL)	3.6	490 921	13.14%
25	ZAZIWA	SABC 2	Variety	Variety	3.6	486 159	10.39%
26	GA BOSE GANGWE	SABC 2	Drama	Drama	3.6	480 042	14.06%
27	ZULU NEWS	SABC 2	News	News	3.4	459 008	10.06%
28	LOTTO DRAW LIVE	e.tv	Competition	Competition	3.3	448 801	12.77%
29	FIFA WORLD CUP L PORTUGAL/GHANA	SABC 1	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	3.3	443 318	10.05%
30	OUR PERFECT WEDDING (MAG)	Mzansi Magic	Magazine	Magazine	3.2	429 710	9.55%
31	FORCED LOVE (DRAMA)	SABC 2	Drama	Drama	3.1	420 911	13.93%
32	FIFA WORLD CUP L NIGERIA/ARGENTINA	SuperSport 3	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	3.1	417 327	9.58%
33	FIFA WORLD CUP L BRAZIL/CHILE	SuperSport 3	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	3.1	417 116	10.63%
34	THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL	SABC 2	Soap opera	INTERNATIONAL	3.0	409 271	10.51%
35	MRS. DOUBTFIRE	e.tv	Movies	Movies	2.9	398 581	11.14%
36	MUVHANGO -R	SABC 1	Drama	Drama	2.9	398 114	21.58%
37	XHOSA NEWS	SABC 2	News	News	2.9	389 995	8.58%
38	GENERATIONS -R	SABC 1	Soap opera	LOCAL	2.9	386 741	22.05%
39	FIFA WORLD CUP L PORTUGAL/GHANA	SuperSport 3	Sport	FOOTBALL(SOCCER)	2.8	381 943	8.65%
40	BLACK KNIGHT	e.tv	Movies	COMEDY	2.7	369 473	8.80%

How to read the tables:

AMR% refers to the number of people in a target market who were watching an event ie programme, expressed as a percentage of the population for that demographic: “On average, 16.3% of adults aged 15+ who watched TV from 28 Jan-3 Feb 2014 watched Society on SABC 1”.

AMR is the number of people in a target market watching a specific event ie programme per minute, expressed in absolute figures: “On average, 1, 541, 066 adults aged 15+ who watched TV from from28 Jan-3 Feb 2014 watched Society on SABC 1”.

Share % (SHR %) is the share or proportion of the available audience (people watching TV at that time) that a specific channel/programme has achieved at that time: “Society achieved a share % of 52.59% from 28 Jan- 3 Feb 2014 on SABC 1″.

SAARF is the name by which the South African Audience Research Foundation is familiarly known. SAARF’s main objective is to direct and publish media audience and product/brand research for the benefit of its stake-holders, thereby providing data for target marketing and a common currency for the buying and selling of media space and time. SAARF has thus the responsibility to measure the audiences of all traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television, cinema and out of home media.

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Africa Style: The emotion of marketing

by Masingita Mazibuko. It was only recently that a certain Armin van Buuren piqued my curiousity. While listening on the sidelines to conversations that were raw with emotion and desperate to share, I was struck by how useful emotion as a tool is for marketers.

I learnt that Van Buuren is a Dutch-trance music maestro, whose appeal stretches to all corners of the world, including South Africa. He’d recently performed here and the people I’d heard discussing this had been overwhelmed by the power and intensity of this ‘in-person’ interaction.

United by his performance

From various walks of life and with vastly different personality traits and possibly values, they were, however, united by his performance, which included that ‘each set was unique and well thought-out”, ‘every experience varied’ and ‘oh boy, he then went old school on us and created music with just vinyl’.

So the show, the experience, certainly drove engagement with the Armin van Buuren brand and evoked the audience’s emotions on the deepest level.

At its most extreme, a brand is a culmination of experiences; a representation of the defined experience, or experiences over time. However, this need not be about shouting the loudest but rather creating a quality experience that touches consumers on a level that just makes sense.

Consider Nike’s ‘Taking Back the streets of Johannesburg’ initiative. On one level? A simple 10km run through the streets of central Johannesburg. On another level? A more defiant and liberating experience, one that takes consumers somewhere they would never ordinarily go on their own accord.

Ignite higher levels of engagement

And then Nike uses the experience as a springboard to ignite an even higher level of engagement with Nike Plus (+), the use of digital platforms and initiatives to promote the active lifestyle and ensure an ongoing interaction with many.

‘Taking Back Jozi’ and Nike Plus show us that it is also not about once-off experiences. Instead, the brand should be clear upfront about the clues that will inform the experience… and how these will impact upon future engagements — in other words, what the brand is now, and what it will become. This requires a clear plan of engagement to ensure entrenchment into the memories of the target consumers.

As I write this, Metro FM is currently playing tribute to the late DJ, Eddie Zondi. His romantic repertoire touched many and listeners have been calling in tears, sharing stories of how his playlists had mended breaking relationships. Zondi’s ability to connect and create saliency ensured that he was a strong and enduring ‘brand’.

Doing the same

I can’t help but think that Van Buuren’s emotion-stirring six or seven hours with his South African fans has done the same.

What about your brand?

Masingita Mazibuko is a marketing director at Unilever. The views expressed within this monthly “Africa Style” column are, however, entirely her own.

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Ad of the Week: Yebo!

by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Last week’s Ad of the Week was a nostalgic trip to a time before television. This week, it’s a self-referential trip for Vodacom, which has reprised a favourite campaign from yesteryear. Who doesn’t remember the ‘Yebo Gogo’ duo?

Michael de Pinna reprises his role as the flabby white guy in leopardskin tights, and an inappropriate manner. His foil is the irrepressible Kole Omotosho, playing the tin windmill seller, who once again comes to the former’s rescue with the loan of a phone — a Vodacom cellphone, that is.

This time the pair meet on a deserted road in the middle of a cycling race. The De Pinna character is taking the strain, as he is being passed by all the other cyclists, and so he pulls off at what he assumes to be a refreshment stop. He hurriedly downs a bottled water, pockets a couple more, and wolfs down a banana.

The music is the opening riff from Blondie’s ‘Call Me’ — but it suddenly grinds to a halt as the yuppie dude realises it’s not a refreshment stop, but a hawker’s stall. The woman behind the table looks at him with disdain. “Betaal,” she says, to his dismay. He searches his pockets, but of course, they are empty. She showers him with a flurry of vernacular curses, which sends him reeling.

Cut to a wide-shot, and who should be hawking his tin windmills nearby, but the Omotosho character, who lets out a friendly whistle and offers him a cellphone. Cut to Beigel-Boy on the phone, saying, “Hello, I need some cash – quick!”

It’s not the greatest punchline, but what makes the ad work is the performance by de Pinna; the expression on his face says it all.

De Pinna and Omotosho featured in the very first ‘Yebo Gogo’ ad, way back in 1994, and the ensuing campaign gained such a following that the general public began submitting story ideas to FCB’s Francois de Villiers, the man who came up with the idea (Vodacom’s current agency is Ireland/Davenport). The two characters and their various encounters became something viewers looked forward to, and the campaign ran for years.

Vodacom was started in 1993 by UK-based Vodafone and Telkom in a 50/50 deal. In 2008, Vodafone invested R22-billion to buy out 15% of Telkom’s shares, giving the mother company a strong majority shareholding. Telkom listed and sold the balance of its shares on the JSE. In 2011, Vodacom reportedly spent R200-million in a rebranding exercise that brought it more in line with the Vodafone image, adopting the white-and-red logo, font and branding. The name has stayed the same, however.

Vodafone is a very strong international brand, with majority stakes in 21 companies worldwide, as well as minority shareholdings and partnerships with some 40 others — making it the second largest mobile telecommunications company in the world. Vodacom is the largest mobile telecoms company in South Africa, and has expanded into Tanzania, DRC, Mozambique and Lesotho.

The iconic characters that FCB created evoke a certain nostalgia with the viewer, and this makes sense, as research has shown that people enjoy nostalgia in uncertain times. It taps into a desire for simpler, better times. Although Vodacom is only 20 years old, it is a testament to the brand that an ad like this can both entertain and evoke a sense of the past that is somehow reassuring.

So here’s hoping there will be more adventures of Beigel-Boy and Windmill Man to brighten up our screens this winter!

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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The Switch: Ethics and profits — the elephant in the room

by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) One of the key drivers of decision-making in society today is the role of ethics in business. Ethics is a realisation by both business and the public that there is more to a commercial enterprise than profit-making.

Ethics derive from a desire to do good. The reason ethical businesses are no longer a “nice-to-have” but an imperative is that society no longer ignores how profits are made and used by business.

For an industry that jealously protects self-regulation like the advertising industry does, the role of ethics is paramount. Not only is it critical to shaping the image of our industry in the eyes of our stakeholders, it is simply the right thing to do.

Inherently proper

In other words, we have to play fair and do good, not because society is exerting pressure on us but because it is inherently proper to conduct our affairs with integrity.

From a business perspective, doing good means meeting the following requirements:

being values-based, ie values such as honesty, integrity and fairness are non-negotiable
practising fair trade
upholding fair-labour practices
respecting the people we serve
respecting the environment (sustainability)
contributing towards addressing social issues

A critical analysis of our industry requires us to ask the following questions:

How many businesses in the advertising value chain have incorporated the above requirements in their performance scorecards?
Do our clients and partners respect the contracts we have with them? Sometimes, clients are known to bully agencies, particularly when it comes to payment terms and billings. Many small agencies constantly face the risk of closure, thanks for cash-flow issues beyond their control.
As agencies do we charge fairly? Are we always honest and diligent when it comes to billings and time management, as well as quality control? Agencies that do this well manage to hold on to client relationships for decades.
What role do our clients play in making the world, from which they rightly derive profits, a better place? Do they respect the environment in which they operate or is sustainability relegated to the bottom of the priority list? There is absolutely nothing wrong with profit-making; the issue is profiteering.
Are our clients serious about fighting social issues?

All these questions impact not only upon decisions regarding whom we choose to do business with, but also the kind of work we sell to our clients.

Huge influence

As agencies, we have a huge influence upon the communication our clients put out and, therefore, we need to have ethical marketing at the top of our agenda. Driving ethical communication is thus a shared responsibility between agencies and clients.

As agencies, we also have a role to play in addressing social issues.

We can make an impact upon structural economic issues such as unemployment, skills development and fair labour practices. We must support and develop small business. We must prioritise skills development and skills transfer.

Many agencies have established internship programmes in addition to other training programmes. These are key to improving the skills base in our country. A lot is being done to support small business in the advertising value chain, but more can be done. As an industry that is more susceptible to down-sizing than most, we have to be vigilant around labour issues. We also have to get better at career management. Our industry can very easily become the envy of all if we address these issues.

Quality costs more

Our suppliers, read “production houses”, often accuse us of being heavy-handed at when it comes to time and money. They argue that they need more time for the creative process and that quality costs more. Our clients, though, want work yesterday and they are tough negotiators when it comes to money.

As the ham in the proverbial sandwich, agencies end up appeasing the client by pressuring suppliers for favours. Favours are a part of life; however, it is not okay for favours to become the norm.

Nor is it fair for clients to put agencies in this compromising position. It undermines our ability to be ethical.

All agencies subscribe to a set of values and an industry code of conduct. A quick desktop study of agency websites yields the following universal values: respect, honesty, fairness and integrity. We have to guard these values with our lives if we are to protect agencies against abuse.

Our nation needs healing

In a country beset with a high crime rate and all the complications that come with years of racial discrimination, what are we doing as communicators to nudge the social psyche in the right direction? Our nation needs healing.

All is not well with us, and advertising can help with this.

This is not to say society is helpless and mindless, and therefore can be hypnotised into thinking all is well.

Advertising can, nevertheless, help individuals make personal choices that are for the greater good. We’ve done it before. We’ve helped society cope with post-war and post-recession times. We need to double our efforts in helping heal South African society.

Respect whom we serve

Lastly, as agencies, we have to respect the intelligence, the cultures and the values of the audiences we serve. No agency can ever claim to be adequately endowed with consumer insights. It’s an ongoing effort. This is the single biggest driver of our image as an industry and must therefore be a top priority in our pursuit of creative excellence.

Ethical business is profitable business. It pays to do good.

Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) is a Unilever-trained Chartered Marketer with lots of blue-chip marketing experience who is currently MD of FCB Johannesburg. One of his favourite pastimes is driving around in the bush, photographing wild animals. Alistair contributes the monthly “The Switch” column, covering relationships inside agencies and between agencies and clients, to MarkLives.com.

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