by Herman Manson (@marklives) Net#work BBDO is losing both its Executive Creative Director Rob McLennan and Deputy Executive Creative Director Graeme Jenner.
Mike Schalit, Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of Net#work BBDO South Africa, confirmed that their resignations have been received by the agency. According to Schalit the creative partners are leaving to set up a new hot shop. They will remain with the agency for several months to ensure a smooth transition.
Schalit says Net#work BBDO has always spawned creative break-aways, some of which have become highly successful agencies in their own right, like Ireland-Davenport and Joe Public. According the Schalit the agency has always focussed on attracting creative entrepreneurs and accepts that eventually they do leave but not before contributing to the legacy of Net#work BBDO.
Creatives setting up their own shops are nothing new, it encourages reinvention and change in the industry and as such has his support, says Schalit.
The timing of the duos’ departure was also opportune for the agency, which became top heavy after Nedbank announced in December that it was moving its account to Joe Public. Net#work BBDO has had to retrench staff as a result.
Both McLennan and Jenner had been with the agency for many years and their move means another layer of creative talent gets to move up within the agency says Schalit. Details of the promotions are yet to be announced.
The agency is still in the process of informing clients about developments.
by Herman Manson (@marklives) Publishing houses RamsayMedia and Highbury Safika Media (HSM) are in due diligence with the prospect of a possible merger between the two companies.
Ramsay Media Chairperson Alan T Ramsay has confirmed the authenticity of an email penned by him to RamsayMedia staff earlier today and seen by MarkLives that addresses internal speculation on the possible merger. In it he advises RamsayMedia staff of the state of negotiations between his board and HSM’s chief executive, Kevin Ferguson, their managing director, Tony Walker, and their financial director, Lindsey Allen.
Ramsay confirmed to MarkLives that no deal had yet been signed off on. Because of the due diligence process he was unable to reveal any information on the state of negotiations between RamsayMedia and HSM.
In the email, sent out to staff this morning (31 January 2013) Ramsay writes that “I am now in a position to confirm that the company that we have been having discussions with (in relation to a merger) is Highbury Safika Media, but that still no agreement has been finalised.”
The email confirmed that the companies have entered due diligence. “While the different stakeholders are very keen to see the merger take place, there is the process of ‘due diligence’ to be undertaken – in other words, however keen the parties may be to come to a satisfactory decision, there needs to be clarity and understanding of the skills, attributes and USPs that both companies bring to the merger,” wrote Ramsay. “Such investigations are being carried out at present.”
Ramsay also outlined some of the benefits of the deal to staff; “Highbury Safika are attracted by – and interested to learn from – a number of RamsayMedia skills and achievements: our strong association with the motor industry, our specialist content skills, our circulation marketing achievements, our ability to build strong, lasting relationships with clients, some of our processes, our policy of 360 degree publishing across different platforms and particularly our special-interest publishing skills. We in turn will learn from many of their strengths: ad sales, layout and presentation and notably their custom publishing skills, among many attributes.”
Ramsay indicated key staff members at RamsayMedia would be called in to meet members of the HSM leadership team over the course of the next couple of weeks.
HSM is an established content marketer and publisher of titles such as Business Day Sport Monthly, Cape Etc and SA Rugby. It also houses a book publisher, image library, a PR consultancy and a sports management agency.
RamsayMedia launched in 1933 and is the widely respected publisher of magazine titles such as CAR, Getaway and Popular Mechanics. In 2006 Caxton acquired a 30% shareholding in the business.
At the time of publication MarkLives was unable to reach HMS’ Ferguson or Walker telephonically for comment.
by Herman Manson (@marklives) 60 layers of cake will become part of The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town effective Feb 1 2013. Jupiter Cape Town will integrate most of the 60 layers team into its own staff and 60 layers CEO Michael van den Heerik will join the Jupiter Cape Town leadership team.
60 layers burst onto the Cape Town agency scene in 2010 when it was launched by van den Heerik and Ben Wren. Both had left senior positions at The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town to launch the business.
Clients with 60 layers included The Coca Cola Company’s GLACEAU vitaminwater and international business like the worldwide social media/Community Management account of US sports brand Under Armour. It also worked with Heineken on Community Management & digital PR. The local partners bought out shares held by Dutch shareholders last year.
In a bid to evolve the traditional agency model The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town has quietly been experimenting with its internal workings, including collapsing its ‘leadership’ and ‘management teams’ into a single unit. It also evolved its team structure, headed jointly by an accounts manager and a senior creative, to draw skills from a central creative pool. Its PR division and digital specialists also sit in the creative department rather than in specialist divisions.
MD Claire Cobbledick, who was recently voted as one of the most admired agency bosses in Cape Town her peers, has in the past acknowledged the importance of reinventing agency processes in line with today’s changed market environment.
It’s in line with this commitment to building a new kind of agency that 60 layers was brought on board, says van den Heerik, who describes the now ex-60 staffers as ‘a (change) virus injected into the bloodstream of Jupiter Cape Town’. “Brilliant ideas come from conversations,” says van den Heerik, who is keen to get this one going inside Jupiter.
Cobbledick is excited about transforming ‘the machine’ – operations at the agency – taking change beyond the service offering and into the agency itself. It is exactly the nimbleness of a small agency that she hopes to bring to her much larger organisation and she believes the 60 layers team has a role to play here.
Discussions between 60 layers and Jupiter Cape Town started late last year after Wren left 60 layers to launch OwenKessel in Cape Town. Minus one agency co-founder, van den Heerik had called Cobbledick for advice and after a meeting with her board, she decided to open negotiations to try and bring 60 layers into her agency. Details of the financial aspects of the deal were not made available.
For the sake of some client continuity the 60 layers of cake brand will continue to operate as a sub-brand in the Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town stable, but with no dedicated staff or management, it is effectively part of the main agency.
Now Business Advancement Director at Jupiter Cape Town, van den Heerik will be responsible for advancing business transformation and service diversification (they are looking at building out a 3D animation and content offering for example) at the agency as well as winning new business.
Liezl-Mari van Rensburg, the former ECD at 60 layers of cake, is exploring launching a new venture on her own, details of which will be made public in due course.
Louise Marsland’s (@Louise_Marsland) pick of new product, packaging and design launches.
Sustainable packaging trends, Lancôme gets animated with designer Alber Elbaz and CID goes to the wall for Wiesenhof, while we discover some eco-friendly kids toys.
Designer Lancôme
Lancôme has announced a daring collaboration with fashion designer Alber Elbaz for the design of its new product range being unveiled this year.
A short animated clip was posted on YouTube to announce the collaboration.
“Alber Elbaz is, without a doubt, one of the world’s most influential fashion designers. But beyond that, he is also the most talented. His sense of luxury, his vision of femininity and that hint of audacity, resonate perfectly with the new values of the Maison Lancôme,” explained Youcef S. Nabi, Lancôme President.
The “deeply audacious” Lancôme Alber Elbaz collection will be unveiled worldwide on June 15 and arrive September 16 in South Africa.
Smell the coffee
Clarion Innovation & Design (CID), the design and innovation division of The Clarion Group, recently completed a design and branding project for Wiesenhof Coffees.
CID was briefed to design interior wall branding for the new Wiesenhof Coffee Bar at Cape Gate Makro, working within existing brand guidelines and visual language, whilst giving the restaurant branding a Cape flavour.
Sustainable packaging
Sustainability is manifesting in how brands are communicating and positioning themselves today, most noticeably through packaging.
Added Value’s cultural insight and semiotics specialist, Dr Inka Crosswaite, has identified new trends emerging in sustainable packaging: there’s the rise of digital, the power of pouches, labelling for recovery, utilising new materials, downsizing product packaging in terms of formats and materials as well as concentrates, packaging on demand, the return of paper, reusable and refillable packs, recyclable packs made from recycled materials, and biodegradable or compostable packs.
“One of the areas where brands can improve their sustainability credentials is packaging. So much so that the Sustainable Packaging Coalition has published a concise definition of what it expects from brands claiming to be packaged in sustainable packing.”
Smart product pick of the week
Smarticle, a recently launched online toyshop, offers a boutique range of educational products hand-picked as the best examples of green design.
They believe that toys should be natural, safe, eco-friendly, non-violent and sourced from manufacturers who provide safe and nurturing environments for their employees.
The range of selected toys on offer from Smarticle caters from tiny tots to 10-year-olds. The range includes arts and crafts goodies, games and puzzles, toys for active play and outdoor fun and building sets and blocks.
Offering fair, competitive pricing, Smarticle’s unique range of educational products are sourced from around the world, chosen for their excellence in green design.
– Shelf Life by Louise Marsland is a weekly column on MarkLives. Tweet new product, packaging and design launches to @louise_marsland.
Louise Marsland 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 websitesBizcommunity.comand FMCGFiles. She currently edits the weekly Wednesday Media & Marketing Page for The New Age newspaper; and is the co-founder and Publishing Editor of SA’s newly launched industry trendwatching portal, TREND. at www.trendlives.info, in partnership with MarkLives.com.
But there’s a lot more wrong with Mercedes’ strategy than just tossing money away on teasers. According to an article appearing this week in Marketing Daily, their new campaign…
“…is clearly intended for a younger, if daring driver — one who wants entrance to the premium segment…
‘The CLA lets us open Mercedes-Benz to a totally new audience,’ says (their VP Marketing) ‘It’s our new gateway car; it’s a very seductive design, very sporty and aggressive, and it’s for a younger audience…’
He adds that the automaker is reaching out to 30- to-40-year-olds…”
We’ve all read a version of this same blather every year forever. Every car manufacturer, every year, introduces some new products and makes a big hoo-haabout how their new models are more youthful and more aimed at attracting a younger buyer.
The question is this: Why?
Why in the world would any sane car manufacturer want to aim his product at young people?
Let me give you the facts and then maybe you can explain it to me.
People 18-24 bought 1% of all new cars in 2011
People 24-35 bought 10% of all new cars in 2011 — down 1/3 from 2007
People 45-74 bought 62% of all new cars in 2011
People 65-74 bought 30% more new cars than people 25-34
The average age of a new car buyer has risen 3 years in the last 4 years
Someone over 45 is twice as likely to buy a new car as someone under 45
Between now and 2030, the 50+ age segment will grow at 3 times the rate of the 18-49 segment
Please explain to me why in the f**king world any auto manufacturer who can read and count would be targeting young people?
Every ounce of demographic, economic and social information points to the fact that the key to success in the auto business is attracting the older buyer, and that the road to ruin is targeting the younger buyer.
And yet the knee-jerk, out-of-date, pointless strategy of pandering to young people — invented in the 1960’s and completely irrelevant today — continues at full speed.
As hard as I try, I have a difficult time exaggerating the alarming stupidity of the marketing profession.
The automotive data in this post come from RL Polk & Co. The demographic data come from a study called “Introducing Boomers, Marketers Most Valuable Generation” by The Nielsen Company.
– The Ad Contrarian is Bob Hoffman, ceo of Hoffman/Lewis advertising in San Francisco and St. Louis. Hoffman is the author of The Ad Contrarian and 101 Contrarian Ideas About Advertising. Reprinted from his blog The Ad Contrarian.
MarkLives Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios– Diffusing political drama with satire
The last couple of weeks have been saturated with the drama of the ANC/FNB debate, resulting in heavy and heated discourse on the issue. That’s why it was such a delight when the latest CAR Magazine advert landed in my inbox.
If there’s one thing that effectively diffuses political drama it is satire, and CAR Magazine’s parody of the FNB’s controversial campaign does this with clever copy that will give lovers of radio a reason to smile when they hear the spot. The ad opens with the dulcet tones of an accent that’s very at home in South Africa. “There will be a day…” the ad sounds with serious music playing the background that sets up the scene for an announcement of some gravitas. “… a day when every car magazine throughout this magnificent land will come with a free, full-colour poster of the McLaren MP4-12C Spider.”
“There will be a day…” the ad continues in solemn timbre, its tongue firmly in its cheek, “when CAR Magazine will give its readers an exclusive preview of BMW’s new four series, with special emphasis on the M4. That day is today, and tomorrow, and the day after, and every day until March, because you can get all of this, and much, much more in the February issue of CAR Magazine. On sale today.” The ad ends with the voice over becoming more hopeful and wistful, and the music ending on an up-beat tenor.
The ad is very smart for a number of reasons. Firstly it intuitively gets the fact that when people are down because of the political context they are in, humour is the best weapon for breaking through that mood. CAR Magazine really hits the money – you think you’re going to hear yet another FNB ad that will mentally pull you back into the whole debate fracas, but hey. This ad is going somewhere else and it immediately draws attention because of that.
Now, I don’t think it isn’t that we don’t care about issues of the freedom of speech or caring about our country enough to help; it is just that the FNB debate has saturated our media, which can cause a kind of consumer fatigue. The ad breaks this fatigue with wit, which is both refreshing and uplifting. Nothing like a good chuckle to make people feel better because laughter releases feel-good chemicals in our brains, which is why people appreciate laughter.
Then there’s the fact that CAR Magazine really understands its audience and what it wants in a good read. And so it should. At a time when magazines have been bleeding or dying, CAR Magazine has thrived. The periodical first launched early in 1957 and today is the market leader – it is acknowledged as the authority on cars locally and is much loved by its readers who are avid motoring enthusiasts.
As of November 2011, CAR had a circulation of 72,578 and readership of just over 1,250,000. That’s the kind of traction many other magazineswould sell its mother for, and its social media reach is impressive too. The media brand’s Facebook site has close on 37,000 members and when I looked at it this morning some 1,000 were conversing on the page, which indicates a high level of activity. On Twitter @CARmagSA has just over 5,000 followers, while the magazine’s Associate editor, Ian McLaren reaches an audience of 1,307, and Editor Hannes Oosthuizen has over 4500 followers*.
So what’s the secret sauce? The first think, as I’ve said, is that the title knows its audience like the back of their hand, as is well indicated in the radio ad. The McLaren MP4-12C Spider is pure porn in motoring terms. If you’ve read any reviews on this little baby, you’ll realise it’s the kind of car that would make a car fanatic take the photograph of his wife out a frame, and replace it with a pic of the Spider. In other words, it’s the ultimate centre spread and has even made car journos go all gaga and write headlines like: “The McLaren Spider gives our reviewer the ride of a lifetime” and “McLaren MP4-12C Spider: Is this supercar perfection?”
Similarly, an exclusive preview of the BMW’s new four series is another CAR lover’s wet dream. The much anticipated BMW 4 Series Coupe was launched at the Detroit Motor Show just over two weeks ago, so having a local scoop on what is one of the biggest international car stories of the year, is a major coup. Hats off to RamsayMedia, agency Bester Burke and the CAR team for showing other local magazines that have lost their way in a tired print market what can really be done when you know your audience.
* Correction: In an earlier version of this post we identified Ian McLaren as the editor of CAR magazine. He is the Associate editor.
Ad of the Week is published on MarkLives every Wednesday. Seepast selections here. Oresti Patricios is the CEO of brand and reputation analysis company Ornico.
by Gill Moodie (@GrubstreetSA)I went to a very interesting presentation of research last week by World Wide Worx’s Arthur Goldstuck and the MapIT MD, Etienne Louw, into data mapping and how many SA companies are doing it and for what reasons (mostly vehicle tracking).
So it was slightly out of my field of coverage but Arthur’s research is always interesting so off I went.
It struck me during the presentation that there is the germ of something very interesting going on in marketing today – and more companies should be using it.
Just as millions of online publishers throughout the world – like me – can study Google analytics (in real time, nog al) and see exactly how many people are hitting one’s site, which pages they are reading, what devices they are using and where they are coming from (e.g. Twitter or Facebook or Google searches), so can marketers, media planners and advertisers use digital mapping to analyse exactly how many people – and of which LSM profiles – are seeing their ads in print campaigns.
Louw told us (munching breakfast with a crew of amiable geeks in a function room at the Nellie in Cape Town) that MapIT – which is owned by Times Media Group and TomTom – did an analysis recently for a company of an ad campaign in a knock-and-drop newspaper. What MapIT did was overlay the newspaper’s delivery area with census and LSM stats (as I understood it).
And what did they discover?
That the company that was advertising did not, in fact, have any clients in the delivery area and there were less households in the area than claimed by the newspaper. There was, therefore, a 100% mismatch between the advertiser’s target market and the paper’s circulation area – and, further more, the company was overpaying for the campaign.
That puts paid to operating in the dark when it comes to marketing in print!
Just as digital tools have put paid to operating in the dark when it comes to journalism. I never quite shook the unnerving feeling when I worked at mainstream newspapers that you really knew if people were interested in your stories and – if they were reading them – who were they? You only had letters and emails to the paper to go by or anecdotal evidence.
Likewise, a lot of newspaper editors must extrapolate who the readers of their print tiles are from stats such as circulation, Amps and LSM figures, letters and emails. (And the Amps figures are very hard to get to the bottom of!) Now Google analytics has happily done away with all of that – and marketers have a similar tool to hand.
I’m sure you could use data mapping to test the claims of big newspapers too – not just community papers – especially when the full set of numbers from the most recent census is published.
Image courtesy of MapIT MD Etienne’s Louw’s presentation
Other interesting data-mapping happenings that cropped up in the presentation include:
You can map the retail landscape, i.e., where your competitor stores are located, your current and potential clients and the catchment drive-time area (how long you think your customers are prepared to drive to buy from your store )
That data mapping is now going into the interiors of shopping centres, lecture halls, hospitals so that you could perhaps – in the near future – use your phone to find the lemon juice or Tabasco in Pick n Pay or a particular lecture hall on a varsity campus. MapIT is doing a pilot project with Tuks at the moment.
And my absolute favourite:
That developing countries that are unaddressed can leapfrog the old mapping ways into digital mapping so that each house, shack, shop or whatever will have a digital marker that you can find with your phone. MapIT is, in fact, doing this in Uganda and can digitally map large areas of shanty towns in a day. The Ugandan government has even passed a law to get the nation on board with this mapping effort!
Amazing stuff, neh? It’s such a wonderful brave new world!
– SA’s leading media commentator, Gill Moodie, offers intelligence on media – old and new. Reprinted from her site Grubstreet.
byArthur Goldstuck (@art2gee) The watchwords for consumer technology in 2013 will be “thinner” and “bigger”. If that sounds like a contradiction, it’s only because the hi-tech industry itself is wrestling with contradictory demands in two key areas of gadgetry: TV sets and cellphones. In particular, the consumer is demanding ever-thinner and lighter devices, while expecting ever-bigger screens.
That is a given when it comes to TV sets, but there has long been an assumption by market commentators that phones would always get smaller.
Apple, for example, clung tenaciously to its 3.5” screen size through the iPhone 3, 4 and 4S, it only relented a little in expanding the iPhone 5 to a 4” screen. It was trounced in the market, however, by Samsung’s Galaxy S3 with its 4.8” screen. At the same time, the first so-called “phablet” (phone/tablet), the Samsung Note, was a surprise success with its oversized 5.3” screen.
One of the big questions that the recent International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas was expected to answer was whether this push for higher screen sizes was a firm trend, or whether small remained cool.
The answer came largely from two devices. First, the Galaxy S3 was named the product of the year in the 2013 Mobility Awards announced during CES, which recognises current products. While the iPhone 5 did get the nod as smartphone of the year, its award was overshadowed by Samsung’s overall recognition.
The clearest signpost to the future, however, was the buzz created by the Sony Xperia Z. It’s worth delving into the specifications, given the extent to which Sony had fallen behind its competitors in recent years.
The Xperia Z is a smartphone with a 7.9mm thin body and a high-definition screen measuring 5”. Its 13 megapixel camera uses HDR (High dynamic range) imaging, and combines a series of images, each with a different exposure, into one photo. Its 1920 x 1080 screen resolution and 441 pixels per inch (ppi) display knocks the rival Galaxy S3 flat, with the latter offering 1280 x 720 resolution and 306 ppi.
Despite its large screen, the Z phone doesn’t feel much bigger than the Galaxy S3, but overcomes many of the limitations of older phones. It packs in a 1.5GHz Qalcomm quad-core Snapdragon S4 chip, putting it marginally ahead of the Galaxy S3’s 1.4GHz chip. It also adds 2GB of RAM and a 2330 mAh battery, making it not only faster, but also longer-lasting: 14 hours of talk-time is promised, versus 11 hours on the Galaxy S3.
Will it be the phone of the year? Chances are it will be pipped by Samsung, which is expected to announce a Galaxy S4 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona at the end of February, and launch the phone in mid-year. It is expected to sport a screen measuring – you guessed it – 5”.
The two up-and-coming Chinese phone makers, Huawei and ZTE, both also launched 5” smartphones at CES. The Huawei Ascend D2 matches the Xperia Z spec-for-spec, except for a lower-resolution screen, while the ZTE Grand S falls short in screen resolution and battery size.
If these phones all suggest that 5” is the new standard, Huawei would like to push the boundaries further. At CES it also launched the Ascend Mate, with a huge 6.1″ HD display and a massive 4050 mAh battery. That sounds more like a tablet than a phone, but Huawei insist it is not only a smartphone, but in fact “the world’s biggest smartphone”.
Lenovo offered a compromise, with a 5.5” screen in its new Ideaphone K900. The Lenovo device is a mere 6.9mm thick, which proves that, even as the phones specifications are ratcheted up, more power can be packed into less space. This is one trend that will continue as miniaturization keeps advancing.
The two hold-outs against the 5”+ screen this year are likely to be BlackBerry, which is expected to launch a full touchscreen phone called the Z10 at the end of January, and Apple, which the market expects to bring out both an iPhone 5S and an iPhone mini this year.
The BlackBerry Z10 is rumoured to have a 4.2” screen, while the iPhone 5S will stick to the 4” mark. The iPhone mini will, obviously, be a smaller device with a smaller screen – all the better to sell it at a lower price to the mass market. Not everyone wants the next big shape.
* 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. Reprinted from Gadget.
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Last week we kicked off our poll results in Cape Town and today it is the turn of Johannesburg ad execs to tell us whom they most admired on the Jozi ad scene in 2012. Results for our overall national poll runs on Feb 4.
We sent nomination forms to 54 agency CEOs or MDs from ad agencies in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. We received 34 responses.
Cape Town’s agency leaders were invited to nominate their most admired agency in Cape Town, the most admired creative director in Cape Town and the most admired agency boss in Cape Town. Johannesburg agencies received a similar form for their city. Executives in both cities received a request to similarly vote for those they most admire on a national stage (ignoring where an agency is headquartered) and Durban execs were invited to participate in the national poll only.
Nobody could nominate his or her own agency or staff. All the nominations were then tallied up to see whom adlands’ highest decision makers most admire.*
The Jozi execs Jozi’s ad execs most admire*
• The most admired agency in Johannesburg (as voted for by Jozi ad execs)
Most Admired: Joe Public Runners-up: Black River FC and M&C Saatchi Abel
In the nine months to June 2012 Joe Public had already seen revenue growth of over 100% while its staff numbers climbed by 60%. That was well before news broke in December that it had won the Nedbank ATL account estimated to be worth several hundred million rand. It also won the Financial Mail AdFocus Advertising Agency of the Year for 2012 accolade.
Black River FC delivered several of the most memorable ads of the past few years for Nando’s (including our Ad of the Year for 2012) while M&C Saatchi Abel has emerged as one of the most formidable agencies in the country over the two short years of its existence.
M&C Saatchi Abel runs on a two-office one-agency model and while Cape Town’s ad execs refused to crack it a nod those in Joburg don’t seem to mind acknowledging its dramatic impact on the local agency environment. Revenue at M&C Saatchi Abel is closing in on the R85m mark and it currently employs more than 150 people.
Joe Public received 60% of the nominations and Black River FC and M&C Saatchi Abel 20% each.
• The most admired creative director in Johannesburg (as voted for by Jozi ad execs)
Most Admired: Pete Case (Gloo) Runner-up: Pepe Marais (Joe Public)
Pete Case of Gloo as voted as their most admired creative director by Jozi ad executives. Gloo is one of the most awarded digital agencies in the country and last year took the overall Agency of the Year award from AdReview. Clients include FNB, BMW, Spur, Castle Lager, Mini, SA Tourism, Samsung, Allan Gray and Afrisam. Case splits his week between Johannesburg and Cape Town. Most of Gloo’s business resides in Joburg. Gloo also took home the accolade of ‘Best Agency’ and ten trophies at the digital ad award show The Bookmarks 2012.
Pepe Marais is ECD and a partner in Joe Public. His agency was voted the most admired by his peers in Johannesburg. Marais is widely credited for driving the now famous campaign that shifted vehicle tracking brand Tracker from a product to a service positioning.
Pete Case (Gloo) received 60% of the nominations and Pepe Marais 40% (Joe Public)
• The most admired agency boss in Johannesburg (as voted for by Jozi ad execs)
Most Admired: Gareth Leck (Joe Public) Runner-up: Nunu Ntshingila (Ogilvy South Africa)
Gareth Leck runs the feisty, independent agency Joe Public, the only Johannesburg based ‘traditional’ agency that really made waves last year. Growth has been exceptional and the profile of his team keeps on rising.
Nunu Ntshingila chairs Ogilvy South Africa and is a member of the Ogilvy & Mather Board. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the both the AdReview and the AdFocus Awards in 2012.
Gareth Leck (Joe Public) took 57% of the nominations and Nunu Ntshingila (Ogilvy South Africa) 43%.
• The Jozi agency with most success in integrating digital into its offering
Draftfcb was the only agency to receive more than a single nomination. The group had recently bought out digital agency Hellocomputer in a bid to make it more competitive in its digital offering.
* Only agencies or agency staff who received more than a single nomination was included when we worked out voting percentages.
by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) This is not the ad of the week, because how could I do an ‘ad of the week’ and ignore the elephant in the room?
Instead, there is a troubled country. A bank. And a campaign that saw this financial brand being accused of treason.
How did South Africa get to a point where The Presidency would feel the need to express its disappointment in First National Bank’s “How can we help” campaign?
Just before seven on the evening of Thursday 17 January 2013, FNB did something bold. It launched a massive new brand campaign with a live broadcast to South Africans from Naledi Secondary School, a place of learning that played a pivotal role during the anti-apartheid uprisings of 1976.
The campaign was based on a massive survey that the bank had done. In September last year FNB, famous for the brand’s How can we help you? pay-off line, went to South Africa’s youth to investigate what the verb ‘help’ meant to the youngsters of this country. An independent research company did the survey.
“We spoke to over 1300 learners and students (ages 10 to 22) from around the country and from all walks of life. We learnt that today’s youth are losing their innocence, not to apartheid, but to the many social ills and tragedies that came after it. One child said, ‘If I was President for a day, I would make South Africa safe for children, women and teens who are abused.’ Another 10-year-old boy added the following, ‘I get scared when people are killing each other’,” FNB said in a statement to launch the campaign.
The progressive bank says although much of what the survey uncovered, admittedly, was tough to hear, there was hopefulness. “Our youth carry inside them a fire that burns with hope and positivity. Their sense of identity is astounding, and they have an unprecedented interest in working as a community to improve our society and environment,” FNB added.
The responses were heart-warming: A 12 year old said: “When we help people, we make them feel like they’re somebody.” Another reflected: “If we help each other, we raise our country.” A wise learner of 10 stated: “In the future I want to live in South Africa… I know South Africa is full of crime, but if I didn’t live here I don’t know who I would be.” A 15 year old said: “We help each other because we are one blood, one soul.” A 13 year old declared: “If we don’t help each other, who will help us?”
The broadcast went out and children stood up to express their hopes and dreams and fears. To back up the campaign, FNB had a site youcanhelp.co.za as well as social media footprints on Facebook and Twitter. (#littlehelps).
“The intention of the campaign is not to talk about ourselves, but rather to be a brand for betterment by providing the youth of our country with a stage to voice what impacts the daily reality of many South Africans through the lens of our brand’s core positioning of ‘Help’,” Bernice Samuels, FNB Chief Marketing Officer, explained. The thinking was to listen to the voices that are seldom heard – those of this country’s children.
To sum up FNB’s intent, as the campaign launched, Nelson Mandela’s sentiments were quoted: “If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.”
The content of the ad showed SA youth making comments on the nation’s political situation. The ruling party were deeply offended by the campaign as was The Presidency. Yes, we all know that the advert has been a massive political issue, and context is everything, but let us try and look at the marketing, brand and creative merits of this campaign first.
Before the political brouhaha which has evoked a whole range of emotions to the ad – from anger to fear, and more politically measured responses – came what I believe was more authentic, emotive responses. There was a genuine bristle of excitement ahead of the airing of the ads. The campaign certainly created a massive buzz.
My immediate response was emotional. I was deeply moved by the ad, thought it had a great message and that it positioned the bank well. My immediate response on Twitter: Oresti Patricios @Orestaki : “#youcanhelp Great emotional Live ad from @fnb We will put it in the @OrnicoMedia YouTube channel tomorrow. #buildSALet’s help each other”
This sentiment was echoed by a slew of other commentators on Twitter: RefilweMolatlhiwa @Fifi_Mo : “Nice one FNB. Well heard. #YouCanHelp”
Patrick. T Chauke @PatrickChaukeZA : “When you help someone, they can help someone, who in turn helps someone, we can be a greater nation #youcanhelp #FNB”
Pierre Schroeder @Mnr_Schroeder : “Wow!! What a brave girl, and let’s stand up just like she did and start helping! #youcanhelp”
cherylann smith @mylifescape : “@thirdsaturnmoon: Watching first live ad ever #youcanhelp well done @NatalieHuddle — awesome!”
CeeKayMabaso @CeeKayFreshh : “Guys #Youcanhelp.co.za ad is an Fnb initiative, congrats to the CEO of Fnb @MichaelJordaan for adding value to our country. Great work !!”
Ntobey Arlie Ngwenya @NtObeyOfficial : “It was worth the wait! :D “It’s time for us to remember who we are” #YouCanHelp #FNB RT @RbjacobsNtObey You’ll need to tune in to see :D RB”
As the political storm continues and polarises opinions and divides our society, I think we need to remember the original intent of this campaign and our genuine, reflexive responses. We all want a better country, let’s follow FNB’s suggestion and do what we can to help, rather than stagnating in circular rhetoric. This is a time for good men and women to take action. Let’s rise up and help. In our homes, our communities, our schools, our churches, our families, our businesses, our agencies let’s each do what we can to build, to change for the better, to contribute. Let’s each ask “How can we help?”
Ad of the Week is published on MarkLives every Wednesday. Seepast selections here. Oresti Patricios is the CEO of brand and reputation analysis company Ornico.
the agency. According to Schalit the creative partners are leaving to set up a new hot shop. They will remain with the agency for several months to ensure a smooth transition.
