Independent industry news for marketing, advertising & media execs
A selection of South African newspaper front pages today, Friday, 6 December 2013, reporting the death of Tata Madiba, Nelson Mandela.
In no particular order.
See also:
by Arthur Goldstuck (@art2gee) While cutting-edge 5” devices drain wallets and batteries, a range of great non-smart phones can be had for less than a tenth of the cost of the flagships.
As the holiday season arrives, the cutting-edge elite are settling into an intense debate about the merits of the new iPhone 5s vs the Samsung Galaxy S4 vs the HTC One vs the Sony Xperia Z vs the Nokia Lumia 1020 vs Blackberry Z30.
Crucial element of the debate
A crucial element of the debate that tends to be played down is price. In South Africa, every one of those devices will set you back from R8000 (or should that be R7999?) upward. Some even break the R10 000 barrier.
The noise generated by the debate gives less-demanding users the impression they don’t have any choice but to select one of these wallet-busters. The truth is, however, that there are many superb phones that cost less than one-tenth of the top-end.
These include feature phones that provide Internet access and basic apps; and basic phones. Even at the most basic entry-level, the phones on offer are excellent for their purposes. And they can all be had for less than R700.
Basic phones
Once upon a time, when you heard the phrase, “Basic phone”, it meant you could only make a call and send an SMS. Today, it means no Internet access, but it typically comes with FM radio as well and, in the case of Nokia’s entry-level devices, even a torch. Two of my contenders here are both from the same manufacturer:
Nokia 105, at R179 from Pep, adds a vibrate alert and polyphonic ringtones to that package, but gets an added boost from a dustproof, splashproof and aesthetically pleasing casing and colour screen.
Feature phones
The most surprising bargains lurk in the basic Feature phone space between these basic phones and smartphones. My contenders in this category for bargain of the year are both QWERTY keyboard phones, meeting a strong aspirational demand at the entry-level:
Then there are the high-end feature phones that cost the same as entry-level smartphones, but tend to be more solid. Here, too, the same manufacturer contributes both contenders:
One more thing: all of these phones are vastly superior to the high-end smartphones in one area: battery life. Even if you are in the market for a contract phone, all of these make great back-up devices for when your 5” display kills off your battery.
Arthur Goldstuck heads up World Wide Worx (www.worldwideworx.com) and is editor-in-chief of Gadget. He is a consulting editor to MarkLives and our media tech columnist. Follow him on Twitter on @art2gee.
This article has been republished from Gadget.
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by MediaSlut (@MediaSlut) As we move towards the end of 2013, it’s the perfect time to reflect on some of the best, worst and most talked-about magazine covers over the past 12 months. For the second year running, I’m proud to announce my selection of the 10 Best South African Covers of 2013.
It’s the first part of our #MagLoveTop10 magazine cover series, which includes:
Remember to tweet us whether you agree with our selection or whether you think we’ve totally missed the mark…
Want to view all the covers at a glance? See our MagLove Pinboard!
THE HUNT: If I have to be honest, I don’t think Country Life produces consistently beautiful covers. It’s very hit-and-miss with this publication.
But this cover (April 2013) has all the elements to make make it onto my Top 10 list, and it’s also probably its best cover so far.
It has great photography with a great story behind it, almost keeping me in suspense wanting to know “So what happened next?!”
THE WHOLE HOG: You might recall that one of the Food and Home Entertaining covers (April 2012) made it to my 10 Worst Covers of 2012 last year… Forward 14 months, and turn the oven to 180°, and you get a relaunch and new-look issue and cover that makes it to my #MagLoveTOP10 Best SA Covers of 2013 list…!
It’s one of my favourites for a number of reasons: it’s of international standard; it’s a massive leap from its previous covers; it’s quirky (spot the little piglets on the pie); and it’s drool-worthy.
GET YOUR FREAK ON: I’ve been told, and have read, that a lot of people don’t like these De Kat covers with a naked Elzabé Zietsman, which were so controversial that only Exclusive Books decided to stock the issues. But I think it’s brave, bold and beautiful. It started a conversation, and that’s partly what makes it a great cover!
It’s been one of the most talked about issues and covers in SA media in 2013, and it comes in at no. 8 on my list…
CRAFTY: If there were an award for a SA magazine that consistently produces creative and crafty covers, and constantly pushes the boundary, it would have to be Ideas/Idees magazines. Ideas had one of the biggest price increases of any SA title (from R29.90 to R40), but I think it’s worth every cent…
It’s worth looking at all the covers but I have to single this one out because of i’s creative logo that just captures the essence of this brand perfectly.
FOR THE FAMILY: Last year, its September 2012 cover took the n0. 1 slot on our Top 10 list, and this year at no. 6 is Getaway’s April 2013 cover, with the ultimate gorilla-family picture on the cover that just has so much emotion! It actually pursuaded me to put gorilla-tracking in Rwanda on my bucket list, as it just captured a perfect moment, and set the scene for the whole issue.
It’s a pity that Getaway will most probably never be producing such amazing (and striking) covers with nature’s models on it again, as it recently launched a new look which includes having models/people on its covers. Would be interesting to keep an eye on, though.
QUIET HUMANITY: If I think of all the covers of 2013 which featured a personality on it as part of a profiles feature, My Tyd (Rapport) and this Tobie Cronje cover has to take the prize as the best of the best. This image and cover of Cronje captures his humour and personality, and what he stands for in the minds of South Africans, perfectly!
The cover was shot by photographer Antonio del Hoyo, who passed away just after completing this project — I see this cover also as a tribute to his amazing work.
THE FALLEN HERO: Since the shocking news of SA amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius shooting and killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013, SA has been inundated with Oscar-related covers and news. Huisgenoot and YOU took the lead with Oscar covers, and their very first cover of 28 February 2013 even received a Highly Commended for Consumer Cover of the Year at the recent PICA Awards.
But the strongest out of all the covers, and my no. 4, goes to Business Day Sports Monthly for its April 2013 cover (BDSM is free with Business Day every month)!
I find the cover very haunting and feel that it tells a whole story just by itself. And the “O” of the text “SPORT” behind his head is indeed intended to represent a “halo” for this fallen angel…
THE EXPLORER: My favourite SA in-flight magazine is definitely British Airways’ High Life magazine, as cover after cover is brilliantly done and executed, and the layouts are always award-winning! Its May 2013 Maputo-inspired cover takes my no. 3 position for its creativity and for taking the editorial feature to the next level.
But it’s not just me who likes the cover; it also won Customer Cover of the Year at the PICAs, and at the New York Awards it took home a Gold Pearl Award for Best Cover in the Design category (with circulation less than 50 000).
STITCHED: When you have a magazine cover that gets readers to interact with it, it’s amazing. But when you get a cover that actually gets people to spend hours and hours (literally!) with it, it’s just bloody brilliant publishing! For its DIY-issue (VISI 64), it invited readers to use the actual cover (that had holes in it) to crochet it, and to send in pictures of their own art works. And, by looking at the entries, they received thousand!
This issue and cover of VISI is the perfect example of why print is so important (and still amazing), as something like this wouldn’t have been possible if it’d only been done digitally.
VISI 64 also won Consumer Cover of the Year at the recent PICAs.
And the no. 1 SA magazine cover of 2013 goes to SA Rugby for its August 2013 cover, where it celebrated the massive contribution Nelson Mandela made to South African rugby!
It could easily have been done in a cheesy way, but about 40 000 images were used to create this amazing collage of Madiba pictures to celebrate this “Memories of Madiba” issue. The pictures used were of him, and some pivotal players (John Smit, Victor Matfield, Francois Pienaar and Chester Williams etc) and significant moments (’95 and ’07 Rugby World Cup ect).
The cover was published at a difficult time when SA is was unsure of how much longer Madiba will would still be with us, so it puts a smile on my face (and the rest of the country, I’m sure) and a very proud moment (of magazines and publishing in SA, and of Madiba).
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 MediaSlut knows way too much for his own good about media in South Africa, magazines in particular. His mission is to show when SA magazines fail but, most importantly, also when they succeed. If you’re looking for a library about SA magazines and news, this is your one-stop pitstop.
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Tata — a people’s prayer for a people’s hero 1918-2013:
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Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky |
W H Auden |
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He is dead, he is dead. |
Media reporting on Rihanna’s erroneous tweet that Mandela was dead in June, 2013. |
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Nature has silenced him in a way the apartheid regime never could. |
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We called him… |
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Father of our nation, |
Message left outside PTA Heart Hospital, July 2013 |
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Inspiration to the world. |
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A political prisoner, peacemaker and president. A healer of nations… |
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An extraordinary life. |
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The greatest man to ever live in the 20th and 21st century. uMadiba omde!!! |
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We evoked him… |
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I will forever remember the Madiba Jive |
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Tata Nelson came to the rally in Orange Farm at the stadium, my son had an ANC band on his head,my hero Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela picked him up, climbed the stage with him and said, he is our next leader. |
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Mandela is my hero because is a man of great personal honor, strength, and integrity, but he was always fighting for something greater than himself, and that was the freedom of an entire nation. |
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“I’ll never forget that. It was so special when Madiba gave me the cup. He shook my hand and said: “Thank you very much Francois for what you’ve done for the country.” I said to him: “Madiba, you’ve got it wrong. Thank you for what you’ve done for the country.” |
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We will be better off remembering Mandela as a human being wrestling, sometimes unsuccessfully, with intractable historical and political challenges. To idealise a great political leader — to try to take that person out of politics and the humanity out of that person — is in the end a futile or even contradictory endeavour. |
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We grieve… |
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The stars are not wanted now: put out every one; Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun; Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood |
W H Auden |
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The greatest tragedy for us would be for Mandela to die and we fail to learn anything from the book of his life. |
Ng’ang’a Mbugua, Associate Editor, The Daily Nation. |
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Mandela taught us to love ourselves, to love one another and to love our country. |
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And we honour his life: |
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Mandela’s death will make his legacy come alive. |
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The time to build is upon us… to implant hope in the breasts of the millions. |
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“Memory,” Madiba said, “is the fabric of identity”. With his memory woven into it, our national fabric is immeasurably stronger. Mayibuye. |
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Read more, remember Mandela and say goodbye:
Crowd-sourced by:
Mandy de Waal
Image:
Some rights reserved by chaouki
Tweets about “Mandela OR Madiba OR NelsonMandela OR “Nelson Mandela””
Louise Marsland (@Louise_Marsland)’s pick of new product, packaging and design launches this week:
Johnnie Walker has updated its Johnnie Walker Red Label bottle, which has remained unchanged for over a decade, with a slicker look to bring the brand in line with the other Johnnie Walker variants.
The story goes that Alexander Walker designed the iconic ‘square’ bottle in 1860 to allow for safer shipping. The label was angled at exactly 24 degrees. It hasn’t changed that much since then and this is the first redesign in 10 years.
“The redesign includes chamfered corners to give the bottle a slicker, sharper and more masculine finish and to bring Red Label in line with other Johnnie Walker variants. Increased bottle height, double collar neck profile and a higher quality Striding Man logo contribute towards a sleeker, more elegant design,” the brand states.
Engen is helping DHL roll out its services into Africa with a new partnership that will see DHL extablishing express services at Engen forecourts across the continent: the pilot project will be in Namibia, followed by rollout in Botswana, Ghana, DRC, Kenya and Tanzania.
DHL is also introducing a new product offering, Express Easy, to streamline document and parcel delivery by offering consumers a choice of seven sizes of envelopes or boxes ,with a fixed price per size, rather than weight.
Comments Sumesh Rahavendra, DHL Express head of marketing for sub-Saharan Africa: “The express logistics industry, and specifically retail services for consumers and small and medium enterprises, are becoming hugely important in Africa. For us to better service this market and open up global opportunities for students, small business owners and general consumers, we needed to both increase access to our express products but, simultaneously, make it easier and more affordable to use them.
“Engen is therefore an obvious partner for us – they are not only a solid African business but have an extensive retail network across the continent, which can benefit consumers. ”
Edgars has had a makeover, rolling out its new-generation store design using Fashion Media to promote its new look and new brands to customers in store.
Targeting new and existing Edgars consumers, Primedia Unlimited’s Fashion Media has used multimedia platforms to promote new clothing trends and brands being carried in the various stores, and to highlight the chic new interiors that have resulted from the store refurbishment programme that was completed in September.
“Edgars realises that innovation, cutting-edge store design and fabulous brands are key to remaining one of the leading fashion and cosmetic retailers in the country. The new-generation stores are not carbon copies of each other and do not carry the same lines; each store has been tailored according to market needs and their interior advertising needed to reflect this individual style,” explains Sean Reed, Fashion Media CEO.
The Edgars Club Magazine is being used to advertise the store upgrades and raise awareness of the new brands, and Fashion Media marketing material is being employed in 56 stores, using various elements including window branding, escalator branding, hanging banners, lift doors and sensomatic branding.
Shelf Life by Louise Marsland is a weekly column 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 18 years of her 25-year media career as a former editor of magazines AdVantage, Marketing Mix and Progressive Retailing, as well as websites Bizcommunity.com and FMCGFiles. She currently edits the weekly Wednesday Media & Marketing Page for The New Age newspaper; and is the co-founder and publishing editor of South Africa’s industry trendwatching portal, TREND. at www.trendlives.info, in partnership with MarkLives.com.
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by Bob Hoffman (@adcontrarian), San Francisco Bay One of the great afflictions suffered by people in the advertising industry is status anxiety — worrying about what people think of you.
I’m not really sure what role status anxiety plays in the lives of media people, account people, planners or administrative types. But having grown up in creative departments, I know that it plays a powerful and seriously unhealthy role among creative people.
One of the most obvious manifestations of status anxiety is job-hopping. It has been my experience that creatives who jump from job to job are usually among the most status conscious and least happy people in our industry.
At one time, in one of my agencies, we had a talented creative guy who was about to be promoted to creative director of the agency. He had just completed a wonderful campaign for one of our clients that was winning all kinds of awards and he was gaining recognition. He was a very good creative but had bounced around a lot and had never settled into a situation in which his talent could be fully cultivated and harnessed.
Because of his much-awarded campaign he was suddenly on the radar of some of the most high status agencies in the country. He did not accept our offer to run our creative department and become a partner. He accepted a second-tier job at Goodby. Obviously, working at Goodby conferred more status on him than staying at our agency.
Instead of choosing the opportunity to be the chief architect of his own agency, he chose the reflected glory of someone else’s. I have nothing but respect for GS&P but, in my opinion, he punted.
The problem with a decision like this is that it confuses reflected glory with true accomplishment. It may feel nice to tell people at cocktail parties that you work at a famous agency, but as the person in question soon found out, reflected glory has a limited shelf life.
It’s important to remember that the truly high-status people in our business – the Goodbys, the Wiedens – eschewed status themselves to start their own things. They did not take a job at a prestige agency. They built their careers on a bet against the reflected glory of someone else’s agency, and put their money on their own ability to outclass the high-status agencies of the time.
There are plenty of people who find solace — and, in fact, satisfaction — basking in the reflected glory of their employers and colleagues. While I always enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to work with top quality people, the only status I could ever convince myself was worth anything was that which came from having accomplished something myself. Being near success may feel nice, but creating something on my own was my only true gratification.
Status anxiety is a destructive and debilitating force. Worrying about what others think is a monumental waste of time and energy. Making career decisions based on what you think others will think of you is not just pitiable, it can damage your life.
Do what you think is right, not what you think will impress others. If others don’t like it, fuck ‘em.
The Ad Contrarian is Bob Hoffman (@adcontrarian), the author of The Ad Contrarian and 101 Contrarian Ideas About Advertising.
This column has been republished from his blog The Ad Contrarian.
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by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) One of the challenges of running an agency is getting to know your clients intimately. Knowing their business is a fairly easy thing to get right; knowing your clients (and their inner circles) well is harder. And your clients’ inner circles hold a lot of answers to many questions.
Meeting the inner circle
A lot has been written about the tell-tale signs of a man or woman in love, one of which is when he or she invites you to meet their inner circle — their friends and family. This always comes as a surprise and leaves you wondering if this is a sign of how serious your partner is about you, or whether he or she just wants a second opinion of you.
Until that moment arrives, you aren’t sure what to expect and what to think. Your mind starts wondering: Will they like me? What has she told them about me? What do they like to talk about? Whom do they admire in the world and, more importantly, will they approve of me?
Opportunity
Instead of agonising about how your first date with your partner’s inner circle will go, how about using the date as an opportunity to get to know more about your partner through the eyes of those that are close to him or her?
In other words, instead of seeing this as a one-way panel interview, flip the script and use the date with her inner circle to gather insights about your partner.
This approach has two benefits:
There’s nothing more attractive than a partner who is interested in knowing the “you of you,” so they can better meet your relationship needs.
Running an agency
One of the challenges of running an agency is getting to know your clients intimately.
Knowing their business is a fairly easy thing to get right. Most of what you need to know about your client’s business is codified in its mission statement, its value system, its business plans, previous research, competitor analyses… the list goes on.
Knowing your clients well is harder:
Answers to questions
Your client’s inner circle holds a lot of answers to questions such as: What drives my client? What are their fears and dreams? Whom do they admire? Whose opinion do they value most? What makes them feel like a rock star and what steals their joy?
And a question that’s on every advertising professional’s mind is: What advertising appeals to this inner circle?
Let’s face it: we all wanna be rock stars in the eyes of our kids, partners, family and friends. We love it when members of our inner circle congratulate us on an ad we’ve just shot. We hate it when they go on about other agencies’ advertising. We want to make ads that they love so they can keep giving us some love.
Entertain the possibility
Before you start protesting that the inner circle isn’t your target market, entertain the possibility that the views of your client’s inner circle might just be representative of the views of your target market. If these people who are close to your client think that the Wonga ads are funny, then maybe that’s what South Africans like.
We’ve all received an email from a client on a Monday morning telling us about advertising insights they picked up at a braai with friends or at a family dinner. That email usually ends with: “Why don’t we make ads like that?”
What the client is really saying is: “The people whose opinion I respect, and whose admiration I desire, think those ads are cool and I’d like for them to say that about our advertising.”
Most of us dismiss this “sample of six” research by either pointing out the fault with other people’s advertising or by defending our own work — instead of probing what makes this advertising a hit with the inner circle.
Case in point
A case in point is FNB’s “Steve” campaign. Some were quick to dismiss it as irritating and repetitive instead of learning a few things about how to disrupt a market by provoking dissatisfaction with the status quo. The results proved us wrong. That campaign did wonders for FNB’s book.
I’m not for a second saying we should abandon our sense of judgment as advertising professionals and bow to everything clients say, but there’s a lot we can learn about how to win with our clients by exposing ourselves to their inner circle.
And I’m using the word “win” in the broadest sense. We have to win with both the client and the consumer.
Goes without saying
It goes without saying that the advertising has to be relevant and appropriate to the brand and to the target market, but the techniques we employ, the style we adopt, the language we use and all other tricks of the trade which I’m not going to give away can be influenced by what the inner circle says works.
So the next time my client invites me to a braai with his or her mates, I’ll be there. Not like a bear, but like an ethnographic spotter, looking for insights into what South Africans love.
Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) is a Unilever-trained Chartered Marketer with lots of blue-chip marketing experience. He’s currently MD of Draftfcb Joburg. Mokoena contributes the monthly “The Switch” column to MarkLives.com.
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by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) [1st 5 of 10 — for the Top 5 click here] It’s that time of year when many of us can look forward to a few weeks off from work, and a nostalgic look over the shoulder at how the (ad) world has turned for the past 12 months.
It’s been a good year for advertising and brands, and it’s been hard to single out the single ad that I would nominate as “Ad of the Year”. In fact, using the very scientific method of reviewing all my Ads of the Week, I’ve decided on a “Top 10” countdown of the best of the Best Ads of 2013. Here they are, with no apologies, and no prizes:
Want to view all the Ads of the Week at a glance? See our Ad of the Week Pinboard!
The message of the ad was simple: in a pinch, you don’t want to find Henri when you urgently need a plumber (or a doctor or whatever). So the normal search engines won’t be of much use. What you need is a site that allows you to find suppliers in your area. So, in this unique, humorous and clever ad, Yellow Pages brings its message home.
It’s all about assumptions and stereotypes, while establishing the brand as a fast-food competitor that appeals to the everyman.
The agency is Red Rocket and the production company is Velvet.
Filmed in New York, with awesome CGI done here in South AFrica, the TVC is a showcase for agency Brandlab and director Ian Gabriel of Giant Films.
The ad celebrates the soft-spoken Captain ‘Sully’ Sullenberger’s heroic and professional actions in the face of extreme danger; actions based on rational thinking and experience that saved the lives of 155 people.
he payoff line, that links the event to the banking group, is: “In the right hands, anything is possible.”
Featuring comedian Jason Goliath in a spoof of “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”, the ‘mockumentary’ documents the life of Kreepy Wrangler Kris Jnr, who has dedicated his life to ridding South African pools of this ‘wild animal’ — the Kreepy Krauly.
The ad is made for YouTube, rather than TV, which allows for a longer, three-minute mini-movie that shows potential to go viral. It’s interesting and exciting to see the internet medium being used for entertainment that also has a message.
The video production was by Team Best, and the digital and seeding was done by Retroviral Digital.
The speech was a conglomeration of statements made by school children, as gathered by an independent research firm hired by the bank. The ruling party was deeply offended by the campaign, as was The Presidency.
We all know that the advert has been a massive political issue, and context is everything, but it’s important to look at the marketing, brand and creative merits of this campaign.
To back up the campaign, FNB had a site www.youcanhelp.co.za, as well as social media footprints on Facebook and Twitter. (#littlehelps). The website is still running, with ‘stories of help’ as part of the bank’s continued involvement in social activism.
Before the political brouhaha, which evoked a whole range of emotions to the ad — from anger to fear, and more politically measured responses — came what I believe were more authentic, emotive responses. There was a genuine bristle of excitement ahead of the airing of the ads and the campaign certainly created a massive buzz.
The agency was MetropolitanRepublic.
So, that’s the first half of my ‘Top 10’. Check back in a week for the second half, and my no. 1 ad of the year.
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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by Herman Manson (@marklives) Publicis is buying out digital agency Synergize and launching a new unit within Saatchi & Saatchi South Africa, called Saatchi & Saatchi Synergize. AtPlay, the digital division of Saatchi & Saatchi, will be integrated into the new agency.
Aim of the acquisition
The aim of the acquisition is to build Saatchi & Saatchi SA out as a fully integrated agency. The deal comes after 10 months of negotiations 
between the two. Synergize shareholders will have a five-year earn out.
According to Saatchi & Saatchi SA Group CEO Gail Curtis, building an integrated agency offering isn’t as simple as many may suggest, but this deal shows the group’s commitment to becoming a fully integrated agency that houses good technology, as well as good ideas skill sets.
Shaune Jordaan, CEO of Synergize, becomes CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Synergize. Synergize’s 48 staff members will move into the current Cape Town offices of Saatchi & Saatchi.
“Big data and big emotion”
Jordaan says the deal combines “big data and big emotion” (Saatchi is positioned as The Lovemarks Company) that will give the digital agency colour. He foresees a powerful offering that uses digital as a point of measurement for ATL campaigns.
Saatchi & Saatchi will also adopt a two-office-one-agency approach to its agency offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Ian Young, its Cape Town MD, recently stepped down after 17 years with the agency to pursue new career opportunities. “We have done away with an independent Johannesburg and Cape Town office structure, consolidating our offering into Saatchi & Saatchi South Africa,” says Curtis. “We have moved away from a hierarchical model, towards a more streamlined to offer our clients a fully integrated offering with business directors running teams who are focused on individual clients.”
With the acquisition of Synergize, Saatchi & Saatchi now employs 154 people across SA. The Cape Town office will serve as a hub for creative and digital work within the SA agency. The digital and creative teams will be fully integrated — a task Jordaan aims to achieve within 100 days of the merger.
Won a joint pitch already
Synergise and Saatchi & Saatchi has already won one significant joint pitch, says Curtis, details of which can only be released in the new year.
A digital education programme is also being rolled out throughout the agency so that all the people in the company have an understanding of digital. Curtis says the agency is about to completely transform itself and will soon look vastly different from its current incarnation.
Chris Corbet, COO of Saatchi & Saatchi Synergize, says the management team at Synergise brings an entrepreneurial culture into Saatchi & Saatchi and that its aim is to grow the Saatchi & Saatchi brand in SA and across the continent.
Roll out across Africa
The new integrated offering will eventually be rolled out across the Saatchi & Saatchi Africa Network. The agency has been moving from affiliates to minority or majority ownership of its Africa agencies, and growth has been gratifying, says Curtis.
Jordaan says that, with its fast-growing population, decent economic growth and large mobile user base, Saatchi & Saatchi Synergize will be well positioned to build its business out across the continent.
Synergise was established in 1999 and offers a broad range of digital services, including SEO, web and mobile development, and content management development. It is a certified Google Adwords and Analytics partner. Its client portfolio includes Mr D, Remax, Sotheby’s, Frank.net, Mr Price, Checkers and a host of others. The business turns around R20 million in revenue a year.
Broad range of clients
Saatchi & Saatchi, part of the Publicis Groupe, serves a broad range of clients, including Pampers, Ariel, UCT GSB, Campari (Nigeria), Tuffy and others. On the back of the successful launch of Ariel in SA, Saatchi & Saatchi was recently appointed to launch Trident Gum and Halls into Africa.
Not too long ago, however, it lost the Guinness account in Africa to Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and sister agency Network BBDO.
Jordaan says his team are excited to work with Curtis, Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide CEO Kevin Roberts, and Saatchi & Saatchi EMEA COO Justin Billingsley.
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by Mike Abel (@abelmike) I would wager that few of us in business, or specifically the marketing industry, would dispute that the true hunt in our game is for that elusive Big Idea.
It is the Holy Grail — the single-minded thought that differentiates and distinguishes what you say and, more importantly, DO in a shinier, more magnetic and compelling way.
Famously prophetic words
But, lately, those famously prophetic words sung by Bob Dylan, “The times, they are a-changin”, have been a-ringin in my ears. Because our traditional view of the Big Idea itself can no longer be the standalone silver bullet.
The new generations, Y and down, are looking for more from brands and companies. They want a deal.
In days past, if brands could generally fulfill an emotional and functional need, and if they offered it at fair value, a sale could be made.
But this generation is the sons and daughters of the coupon/Groupon beneficiaries, the buy one/get two, the goodie-bag, free apps, so-called loyalty programmes, points, miles, Avios — you name it – and so, sales strategies such as freemium are being introduced to seduce these new customers into the brand’s fold and then to, ever-so-gently, sell-in.
A distracted, more demanding customer
They’re a distracted, more demanding customer for whom time is short and patience is shorter. They resent paying for stuff, expect better service and are largely entitled.
You see, they’ve grown up during the best of times. They try to get everything for free — music, movies, content. Why pay when you can watch it now — or later on YouTube or use the multitude of pirate offering for downloaded entertainment?
Look at the newer brands that have gained massive market share over the past decade.
Far more compelling
You need both, you see — the marriage of the Big Idea behind brand Apple and its big offer becomes ultimately far more compelling than just the big offer of, say, BBM for Blackberry, where its brand idea is indistinguishable.
How many of us now regularly receive calls on Viber?
We’re all being trained not to pay.
For this generation, the notion of loyalty programmes, as I’ve commented upon before, is farcical and an entirely incorrect lens through which to view the customer strategy. These programs are designed with the intention of retaining, growing and attracting customers. They are therefore value-added services and discounts (offers if you like) to sweeten the deal and enhance stickiness.
“What’s in it for me?”
It has nothing to do with “loyalty” and everything to do with providing customers with the best “what’s in it for me”.
If I sign up, am I the first to know, to be invited, to get the newest thingy, to get the special price or that discount? The moment we think this, it translates into loyalty; drop the offers, and we’ll lose the customer. So how loyal is that?
Brands and companies today need to become traders. They need to understand that this generation suffers not only from attention deficit but loyalty deficit. They have all the options in their hands.
Literally.
Their mobile device will very quickly tell them where the best deal is to be had and how it can be obtained in the most convenient way.
Fast, easy and disposable
It’s fast, easy and disposable. When I look at the way my kids burn through game apps, it’s remarkable. Unlike a toy in “our day”, which you played with for months, they lose fascination in a matter of days, or even hours. Next!
These are the customers we are hoping to attract and retain — and, while most certainly they’ll only be enticed to your company, product or brand through a Big Idea initially, you’ll need the Big Offer to close the deal and get them coming back. There are just too many choices nowadays.
Soon, they won’t even be using proper money but Bitcoins or whatever newfangled form of tender makes its way ultimately into the not-so-new economy.
Mike Abel (@abelmike) is founder and chief executive of M&C Saatchi Abel. This article has been republished with permission from Mike’s blog, Mike & Friends.
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