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Brands require domain strategy for new gTLD names

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Mike Silber, a Director at ICANN, says brands who have not participated in the current round of applications have been pressing to get clarity on further opportunities to apply for new gTLDs. While the ICANN Board has committed to further rounds of applications, it has not yet provided a time frame for those applications.

It will take approximately a year for the current roster of applications to be approved and depending on the final number approved, between one and two years to roll them out at a maximum rate of 1 000 per year (they will be rolled out through-out the year rather than in a single bunch to ensure the stability of the Net). So within the next several years the opportunity will again present itself to apply for new generic top level domains, including brand names.

If your competitors have applied for their brand names to be registered you need to investigate if and how it might impact on their, and your own, marketing strategy, says Silber.

Brands need to develop and adapt a domain strategy. This includes protecting your brands in existing gTLDs and ccTLDs (country code top level domains like .za and .uk) as well as seeking to put them the top level domains where they really need to be – particularly domains such as .app or .hotel if they are relevant to your business.

Also look at protecting your brands in the new top level domains that are less relevant or not relevant. Many brands were concerned about brand dilution or damage and defensively registered names under the adult content-related domain .xxx that was launched in 2011 to prevent competitors or squatters registering their names. Similar brand protection actions are expected in new gTLDs that are not directly relevant but could be damaging if used by third parties.

Silber also recommends marketers consider registering their brands at the ICANN trademark clearinghouse which, according to ICANN, “will accept and authenticate rights information, and will support both trademark claims and sunrise services, required in all new gTLDs.”

Don’t forget to go through the new gTLD application list and raise objections where appropriate.

Arthur Goldstuck, the MD of World Wide Worx, says that the online environment is mirroring what is happening offline. He argues that mom and pop stores will never be able to afford the rent on Times Squire but that they can find other innovative spaces (and domain names) from where to build viable businesses.

Goldstuck warns that owning too many top level domains might lead to consumer confusion while not opening them up to the open market might put a brand in danger as consumers might take a dim view of uncompetitive behaviour.

Also see: New generic top level domains hold dangers for brands, democratisation of Internet

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New generic top level domains hold dangers for brands, democratisation of Internet

by Herman Manson (@marklives)The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body responsible for the Internet’s naming system, is working its way through nearly two thousand applications for New Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) names.

It had invited companies and organisations to apply for new domains to be created in a similar vein to .com, .net, .org etc. Only this time brands could apply to register for gTLD names as well. Companies such as Abbott Laboratories have applied to register .ABBOTT, Accenture Global Services applied for .ACCENTURE and Aktiebolaget Electrolux for .AEG.

South African linked companies and organisations that have applied for new Generic Top-Level Domain names includes .AFRICA, .CAPETOWN, .DURBAN, .JOBURG by UniForum SA, .AFRICAMAGIC, .KYKNET, .MNET, .MZANSIMAGIC and .MULTICHOICE by M-Net, .DSTV and .GOTV by Multichoice, .NASPERS by Intelprop (Proprietary) Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Naspers), MTN via MTN Dubai Limited and .SUPERSPORT by Supersport.

Swiss based Richemont DNS Inc. applied for .NETAPORTER, .CARTIER, .MONTBLANC amongst its 8 applications (Of course Richemont has a South African connection through Johann Rupert and a listing on the JSE). For .CARTIER Richemont justifies it application by arguing that “a new gTLD will reinforce our brand worldwide and provide a more secure communication channel” and “a new gTLD will provide our authorized dealer network with a space that sets them apart from counterfeiters and provides them with the direct relation to Cartier in the minds of the public.”

For owners of global brands like Richemont or Coca-cola the new gTLD names offer the opportunity to expand their domain strategy and entrench their brand names at a new level in the digital environment. But some serious flaws have emerged in the process managed by ICANN as the types of registration applications by brands become clearer.

There are the applications for registering generic words as new gTLD names by companies for exclusive use rather than by registries who would open them up to the broader business community – look no further than th eapplication for .BABY (by Johnson & Johnson) . Johnson & Johnson says in its application that “a limited number of generic second-level domain names relevant to the baby care industry would initially be reserved/allocated to Johnson & Johnson and its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates.” Johnson & Johnson also applied for .AFAMILYCOMPANY.

L’Oréal is angling to own .SALON, .BEAUTY, .HAIR, .MAKEUP and .SKIN amongst others. Conceivably it would exclude competitors from accessing these top level domains. It is also unclear what leverage owning .SKIN for example will give L’Oréal in global copyright and trademark law over the long term.

The application guide merely states that “Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed as establishing or granting to Registry Operator any property ownership rights or interests in the TLD or the letters, words, symbols or other characters making up the TLD string” but 15 years down the line a court might find differently should the domain have become closely aligned with public perception of the brand. Wal-Mart believes it should own .GROCERY which it says will have “no public registration sales market.” Main street grocers be damned.

Amazon wants to own .APP, .AUTHOR, .BOOK, .BUY, .CAA, .CIRCLE, .DEAL, .DRIVE, .FAST, .FIRE, .FREE, .GAME, .KIDS, .PLAY, .READ, .SONG, .NEWS and .STORE amongst its numerous applications. The mission of the .STORE registry is, according to the Amazon application, to “provide a unique and dedicated platform for Amazon while simultaneously protecting the integrity of its brand and reputation.” (They seem to have submitted a similarly worded and formatted document on all their applications). Nothing in the application suggests it will benefit the broader internet community.

The open application brief by ICANN also allowed the League of Arab States to apply for the domain .arab. It could potentially turn the domain into a political propaganda tool and affect legitimate public interest registrations for the domain (like gayrights.arab).

Also of concern is the large number of applications originating from tiny territories (and tax havens) like the Cayman Islands (91) and the Virgin Islands (72). Will these territories enforce international laws and agreements governing intellectual property rights? A company in the Virgin Islands for example hopes to register .ZULU for the ‘benefit’ of the Zulu nation.

Let’s take a step back and explain how the whole gTLD process got started. ICANN has gone through two previous rounds of expanding top level domain names which has resulted in an expansion from the original .gov, .mil, .com, .net, .edu and .org domains to include domain suffixes such as .mobi, .jobs and .xxx.

Mike Silber, a Director at ICANN, says the initial two rounds to expand the generic top level domain space saw the introduction of some new generic names (like .mobi and .travel) but did not generate the significant changes expected, in part due to restrictions on the use of those names.

With the increase in user generated content on Web 2.0 and changing business models ICANN had been requested to add new names that would help stimulate innovation on the Internet.

A four year process followed which resulted in the call for new gTLD applications and which for the first time allowed brands to register their own names. This could facilitate better internal communication for these brand owned domain names and greater control over their brand in the digital environment.

Looking at the list of applicants and the names they have applied for , it would seem that some brands have been convinced by consultants into registering applications that are of questionable value. It costs $185 000 to apply for a new gTLD which is not an insignificant investment however is relatively minor in comparison with the overall costs of operating a gTLD.

Arthur Goldstuck, the MD of World Wide Worx, says the gTLD application process will undermine the credibility of ICANN if it is seen is ‘corporatizing’ the Internet in a way that limits rather than enhances its democratic credentials. The costly (at 5000 Euros) formal appeals process already makes a mockery of talk about a level playing field as it clearly puts smaller companies and start-ups at a disadvantage very early in the application review process.

Goldstuck also says that 15 years from now ownership of generic words by companies for private use might well create bottlenecks as possible top level domain names run out. This will again put smaller brands and start-ups at a distinct disadvantage.

Consumer confusion might also become an issue – most people will look at .com or region specific domains suffix like co.za or co.uk to find the business they are looking for.

Unless ICANN rejects applications by brands for generic words it will inhibit the democratisation of the Internet by moving more power into the hands of global conglomerates intent only on their own bottom line and with little interest, commercial or otherwise, in an open and free Internet economy. It will in effect be endorsing anti-competitive behaviour by these brands.

If it does reject the generic domain names registered from exclusive benefit of brands it would still be open to legitimate criticism in not ensuring limitations placed on applications for gTLD names were sufficiently clear to begin with opening the window for consultants to cash in on a process that will leave their clients disillusioned and out of a considerable amount of money.

Also see: Brand strategy required for new gTLD names

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Magazine covers we love (wait – is that fingerpaint?)

MarkLives.com runs a regular slot featuring the best local and international magazine covers every week. We recognise well thought out, powerful and interesting (and hopefully all three in one) magazine covers and celebrate the mix of pragmatism, creativity and personal taste that created each of them. By media blogger MediaSlut.

INTERNATIONAL

Catalog Magazine (Singapore), Issue 95

For their Pride issue (love the simple way in which they announce it with “Subject: ______”) they’ve created a very unique image of a (fashionable) leopard/tiger by mix-and-matching different patterns and pictures. It’s a bit out-there, but I would say successful.

Critic, 30 July 2012

For this special issue of Critic this New Zealand based publication made use of (finger?) paint to illustrate the cover.

GUP, Issue 34

Simple, but very effective, with the orange (finger?) painted stripes over the black and photo of Marilyn Monroe (by Bert Stern).

PAGES OF, Launch issue

Yes you’re reading correctly. This new titles name is “PAGES OF”, and it seems like they’ve re-invented the magazine cover. The cover will announce the number of pages (then reading “80 Pages of…) in the magazine and also list a few of the unique articles that are featured in the issue. It will be interesting to see if they will keep this up on future covers.

Zeit Magazin, 2 August 2012

The Batman-symbol, with a single tear-drop, is the cover of the 2 August 2012 issue of Zeit Magazin. No cover lines. Just an image that everyone will know what it’s about. And when you open the magazine, you get a 2^nd cover, with the names of the movie-goers who were killed on that horrible night. I quite like the idea of a magazine having two covers…

– 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 South African magazines might fail, but most importantly, succeed. If you’re looking for a library about South African magazines and news, your one-stop pitstop is MediaSlut. #MagazinesForTheWin

– Find a cover we should know about? Tweet us @marklives and @mediaslut
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MarkLives refused media accreditation to The Loerie Award shows (again)

by Herman Manson (@marklives) MarkLives (or to be more precise, me) have been refused media accreditation to the award shows of the 2012 Loerie Awards.

Lebogang Mohaule, Media Assistant at The Loerie Awards, confirmed that no accreditation to the two main award events would be forthcoming. Mohaule offered a single seminar pass for the rather grandiosely named International Seminar of Creativity taking place on Friday 21 September at Cape Town’s City Hall instead. I would also have access to “online press kits & official image gallery.”

Mohaule claims the Loeries “are following the same accreditation process used by the Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity” in which accreditation “is not based on the type of media you represent, rather [on] the planned media coverage.”

“Because we now receive more applications that we have availability, we have to determine the most suitable accreditation for each application,” wrote Mohaule. “If a media plan is not deemed of sufficient value, we do not provide accreditation.”

A look at the accreditation process for Cannes Lions shows that submitting a ‘media plan’ to the organisers is not a prerequisite for applying journalists. Cannes issues accreditation to “full time, professional journalists who wish to attend the Festival to report on the event.” It requires proof of press status (that you really are a journalist). Cannes does split the ‘level’ of journalist accreditation into two parts – access to all Festival activities, award ceremonies and galas or access to all Festival activities and award ceremonies.

The Loeries also consists of festival activities, the award ceremonies and galas/VIP parties. It seems to have split the ‘level’ of accreditation into access to the press kit and the seminar and then everything else.

What to expect if you made the Loeries version of the ‘it’ journalist crowd? Access to VIP parties, the seminar at City Hall, access to both awards ceremonies, access to the Media Brunch and the Marie Claire Winners Party and the Official Party, access to the Media Centre, the two official Media Conferences and online Press Kits to be precise.

I would be perfectly content with the Cannes ‘b’ grade package – the very basic access to the seminar and awards ceremonies. But the Loeries offer is a slap in the face. I expect I received accreditation to the seminar just so the organisers would be able to deny not providing accreditation.

Not that you can really compare Cannes, which draws entries and coverage from around the globe, and the Loeries. There are but a handful of journalists in South Africa covering the advertising beat. You can probably count them on two hands.

The Loeries is supposed to be broadly representative of the industry. It is endorsed by the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA), the Creative Circle (CC), the Brand Design Council (BDC), the Commercial Producers Association (CPA), the South African Institute of the Interior Design Professions (IID), and the Public Relations Institute of South Africa (PRISA).

The Loerie organisers seem to be making a point. One that failed previously when my accreditation to the event was revoked and I was blacklisted (you can read an account of those events here).

It was made clear (to me as well as) to my then editor Simone Puterman, that “the Loeries would no longer deal with Herman [Manson] in any capacity whatsoever.” My access was reinstated at the time after a bit of media drama that also pulled in the SA National Editors’ Forum and the South African Media Interest Group. Now my media access to this industry event seems to have purposely been curtailed again by the current game of ‘accredited non accreditation’.

Why is this more than a dumb spat between the organisers and a journalist? In a letter to the Creative Circle at the time of the blacklisting fracas I made the following point which still holds true today;

The Loeries belong to the entire creative industry with its complex dynamics and personalities and relationships, its many voices. This diversity should be celebrated, not denied or stifled. The Board of The Loeries, the Creative Circle and Mr Human need to dispel any notion that media accreditation depends on journalists towing the organisational line and writing sunshine journalism. Failure to do so creates pressure on journalists to censor themselves, and leaves accredited journalists in an untenable position which renders anything they write suspect, through no action of their own.

In the meantime I’m declining the offer for accredited access to the seminar. Media accreditation to the Loeries should include access to its three primary components – the seminar and the two awards evenings.

Update added 1012/08/10: Industry body The Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) has sent me all access tickets to the Loerie Awards. This was facilitated by ACA chair and Lowe + Partners CEO Wayne Naidoo. They have my thanks.

This does not mean I have media accreditation. It does mean that I will attend the Loerie Awards in spite of the stance taken by the organisers of the Loerie Awards.

My point around Loerie accreditation and independent media coverage of this event is an issue that needs to be addressed by the Creative Circle and other bodies associated with the Loerie Awards.

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Demystifying the CTR vs. CPA debate

MarkLives asked Michelle Pearman, a media planner at DigiVOX, to discuss what determines a successful online media campaign. Here Pearman tries to demystify several metrics used for measuring the success of your online campaign and weighs which one brings you closer to meeting your marketing objectives.

Have a question about digital marketing? Email or Tweet it to us and we will go looking for answers!

In a world of measurable marketing initiatives, what exactly constitutes a successful campaign? You design a great ad. People click on it. Objective met? Unlikely.

CTR (Click-Through-Rate) has been considered the benchmark for many years surrounded by debates on what constitutes a good CTR. Is this a discussion worth having?

If the objective is to sell tickets to an event, wouldn’t you care more about how many tickets you sold, and what the return on investment on your marketing buck is?

Differentiating between CTR (Click-Through Rate) and CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)

– CTR: The click-through rate is the number of clicks divided by the number of impressions, as a percentage. E.g.: 2,000 clicks achieved from 100,000 impressions = 2% CTR.

– CPA: This is the amount that an advertiser has paid to reach its objective. This could be to generate leads, competition entries, sales, downloads etc. E.g. If you spend R400, 000 on online media and achieved 1,000 sales (if your objective was sales), your CPA is R400.

The effectiveness of CTR, CPA and Campaign objectives:

CTR is but one possible measurement to assess if the creative is compelling enough to entice the target audience to click on it. From the CTR results you can assess whether the creative work needs to be relooked. One should, however, think twice about basing a campaign solely on CTR as, CTR does not indicate if an objective had been reached.

CTR does not produce accurate results from which one can base a campaign’s success as each click does not necessarily result in a land the target website. The drop-off from a click on an ad to a successful land on the landing page can be quite high (particularly with a very heavy, graphic-intense landing page).

When considering the unique objectives of a campaign, it would be best practice to base the success on CPA (Cost Per Acquisition), based on a clear objective which is set from the onset.

CPA = ROI:

Online advertising, unlike any other channel, allows us to track more than just how many times an ad has been displayed, clicked on, or even interacted with. It allows us to accurately measure ROI (Return on Investment). How much did it cost a client to acquire a sale/lead?

So why focus on CTR?

It is crucial to partner with an agency that understands your business objectives and employs the necessary technology to enable the tracking of these objectives, as well as monitor closely and remould campaigns in order to ensure the best possible CPA.

Every campaign has a specific objective. Be clear on the objective – determine your key performance indicators in relation to your objectives, employ the best possible technology to render robust results with regards to the tracking matrixes, continuously optimise throughout the campaign – and you’ll receive a more in-depth and relevant understanding of the effectiveness of your campaigns.

– Michelle is the Media Planner at DigiVOX. Pearman specialises in digital media strategy, planning, buying, negotiation and digital media optimisation.

The Gate Keeper (Chapter 10: In which actions are taken)

by Andrew Miller TBW Smith Jones Wallace Broadbent and Ndimande is an agency in crisis. Their ‘basket of boutique services’ strategy has bombed. Only a massive new project can keep the doors open – all eyes are now on the corporate tent at Mangaung. Far in the background, an emergency replacement executive PA with decades of experience makes important decisions. Interns rise, board members take unexpected steps and things begin to change…

The hotline to cabinet is activated, hip hop and rural development are joined and Phil starts a poem…

The Gate Keeper (Chapter 10: In which actions are taken)

“Dad, it’s me,” He said to his smart phone, which relayed the message to His father, who returned a semi-audible grunt. “Listen, askies, I know you’re busy but I just wanted to say that we’ve got something pretty powerful lined up from EFT for Mangaung. It’s gonna change the whole economic set up in the rurals. It’s really strong.”

Vati watched His face carefully as He listened to whatever his father was saying. This was, she guessed, a kind of performance art. It was why He held the position He did at TBWSJWBN. There was nothing like a hotline straight to cabinet.

Still, it was surprising how little talk time little Sizwe appeared to be able to gain with His father. He held the phone next to his ear for several seconds, listening helplessly, then said, “Cool, sho baba, I hear you loud and clear. We’ll make sure it’s in line.”

“Sounds good!” He beamed artificially at the gawking strat team, then slowly shifted his aim to Isaac Ndimande. “Hip hop and rural economic development it is!”

“But you didn’t actually tell him what it was?” Isaac Ndimande said suspiciously.

“No,” He shot back, “but more importantly, I listened to what they want. And rural development is it. The rest is a no brainer.”

The table squirmed, then the meeting broke up. Vati was still squirming as they wobbled back over the grass back to the parking lot. In theory, everything was turning out in her favour. In practise, none of it felt right. There had been suspiciously little interaction on her pitch, and yet clearly they were going with it. But at least she had had a pitch. The other three presented, well, they rambled around verbally rather than pitching as such. It was no wonder hers had won out – really it was all they had. Suddenly she was overcome by renewed feelings of abuse. She turned quickly to find Him eye-balling her backside intently while he spoke to Isaac Ndimande. She shivered and pulled her skirt down.

Tim Broadbent slammed his phone onto his home office desk, then picked it up to check he hadn’t cracked the screen, which he hadn’t. Bladdy Isaac was too soft. He should have gone to that strat thing instead. Isaac said he witnessed the call and it sounded 50 / 50 to him. In Tim’s long experience, 50 / 50 really meant 70 / 30. The odds were getting worse. Something needed to be done. He thought about whether it would be him that have to do it. He decided it would.

Back at the commons Phil the graphic designer extracted a joint from the sidelines of his Stuyvesant Blue cigarette box, stood, and announced he was going for Nandos if anyone wanted any. It was the first time he’d looked up in weeks, and he hated what he saw. Rows and rows and rows of little bopping frogs, as transfixed by their screens as he was by his. He grabbed Amanda’s Nandos list and scuttled past the bar, which smelled a little off to him, to his car. This skunk was far too strong. Not only was it making him paranoid, but his eyes were too scratchy and he had a thumping headache. The bar made him think suddenly about his little tongue scuffle with Vati just after she had arrived. The boys all said he was a dirty dog but really he had no idea what had happened, or why, or how. One minute he was staring into the deep green of his Amstel, the next she was locked around him, trying her best to drive him to the floor. In a way he was relieved she’d be moving off to corporate and strat and all that stuff, but in another way he felt a kind of a loss. An absence. Her absence.

Phil turned the ignition, waved awkwardly at security, sparked the blunt and rolled the windows down. He began composing a poem in his head. As usual, the initial spark was graphic rather than literary – this time it was a latent image still dancing on his retina; an unfortunately lumpy thigh on the leg of an otherwise perfect chewing gum model.

I spend so long inside your thigh I run away and hide
It’s just a way I guess to see you less
lest my heart shrinks from the sun…

Phil shook his head and started again. Real creativity was the toughest nut around.

Part 1 -10. Part 11: August 15th.
Author: Andrew Miller Illustrator: Lebohang Goge

IOL deal helped transform Primedia Online as turnover jumps 38%

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Primedia Online is evolving from an online publisher with a sales capacity into a major online sales house following its partnership with Independent Newspapers to take over the sales function of its online properties held in IOL at the start of the year.

The company absorbed the online sales team of IOL and its impact on revenues and the company has been significant says Primedia Online CEO Tanja Lategan.

Lategan has been spending the past year consolidating the business after taking over from Nikki Cockcroft. Sales and traffic staff have been moved into a single space – Lategan says although they have traditionally been seen as two teams their goals are closely aligned in terms of delivering returns to clients. Incentives have been aligned for both teams as has work schedules (same incentive means same overtime when required). Turnover has jumped 38%.

Lategan has also cut 15% from expenditure by cutting expense lines on non-core items such as travel and entertainment which wasn’t necessarily properly utilised to grow sales. She also renegotiated service contracts to ensure they were market related. Lategan also focussed on retaining staff by starting to pay market related salaries, creating internal promotion opportunities, providing training and aligning the office structure with those of the teams, which meant breaking through a couple of walls.

A new content division was set up to service client requests for content – marketers often need content on a project basis and the new content team will be able to provide this. So for example a sponsor of the Super 15 series will be able to get syndicated content from Primedia Online to run on its dedicated sponsorship site.

The content hub will pull in the iafrica content team, bloggers and a team of freelancers and “leverage” them for client content needs. A new payment model for freelancers, based on a pay per read model, was also introduced, with Primedia Online calculating the money made in a specific community/section, working out a CPM rate and then applying it to a story.

The sales team, through Primedia Online owned sales company Dash of Lime, now sells on over 40 channels, including IOL. These channels reach over 5.4 million unique users, serving 48 million page impressions and 220 million ad impressions.

The contract with Independent Newspapers runs for two years before it becomes renewable on an annual basis. So although talk of a change in ownership at Independent Newspapers is increasing the contract rolls over automatically next year protecting Primedia Online.*

On its content portal, iafrica.com, Lategan says the site continues to be refined and optimised. Development work on its mobile platform is also ongoing. The mobile site and content will help expand its youth audience.

The business currently employs 38 people and Lategan says the next financial year will be a good growth year for the business. Lategan expects turn-over to grow by 50% and gross profit to increase by 40%.

Lategan had spent time in London in a sales training position before returning to South Africa in 2005. She helped set up the digital department at Touchline Media, now part of Media24, before being headhunted by Primedia Online in 2008 to their digital sales team. She was appointed CEO in June 2011.

Lategan says the business is a substantially more aggressive and a bigger player in the online advertising and publishing market than it had been.

The combination of publishing and sales experience coupled with ad serving technology through its relationship with Adtech gives the business a unique set of skills that can easily be leveraged for growth.

* We have received the following clarification from Primedia Online: “Although the contract will begin to automatically rollover the contract can still be changed or ended.” Added 08:35 am 2012/08/08

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South African mobile media market to hit a R1 billion this year

by Herman Manson (@marklives) M&C Saatchi Mobile, the UK based full service mobile agency that is part of the M&C Saatchi network, has launched in South Africa in co-operation with M&C Saatchi Abel. The new local operation of M&C Saatchi Mobile will join a network of offices stretching from London, New York and LA to Paris.

The SA operations will be lead by Zeyad Davids – Managing Partner, Digital at M&C Saatchi Abel.

Davids says the mobile media market in South Africa will be worth a R1 billion a year by the end of 2012 with annual growth of between 40-50% annually through to 2016.

According to Davids South Africans consume an average of 6 hours of media daily of which 30% is spent on their mobiles – just ahead of television. Unlike TV however usage happens through the course of the day and serves multiple needs such as accessing social media, checking email, games and search.

The agency was originally launched in 2006 as Inside Mobile by James Hilton and Dusan Hamlin but re-branded when it become part of M&C Saatchi in 2010. Hilton was in South Africa for the launch and says the agency had identified the local market as having reached a tipping point. Entering now gives it a competitive advantage and access to local skills as the market scales for growth.

Although the Mobile agency operates as a separate entity it is not a silo within the main agency says Hilton. Rather it champions mobile thinking in 360 degree campaigns. Hilton says the agency wanted talent with local knowledge across the different continents to cater to its international clients’ growing interest in emerging markets such as South Africa. He sees the SA operations as an entry point into the rest of the continent.

Hilton says the SA office has already secured a number of clients. Surprisingly he declined to reveal the client list citing issues around competitive advantage on client side. The agency also doesn’t release case studies on successful campaigns. For an industry still legitimising its credentials to the broader marketing community this is not good news. (The list of clients for the international offices is quite impressive and freely available and includes the BBC, HSBC, Reebok and News International.)

M&C Saatchi Mobile is offering clients media, production and strategy skills. Hilton says the agency champions mobile when it is appropriate to client needs and he doesn’t believe in rolling out technology for the sake of it. Instead the agency aims to understand the community a brand wants or needs to reach and then try and find a point of connection that would resonate with that market. Its solutions offers consumers utility and value – spray and pray has given mobile marketing a bad reputation and it’s something the agency promises to avoid at all costs. Mobile is a personal space, says Hilton, but one where people will engage if they find value.

While data is still expensive in South Africa Hilton says increased Wi-Fi access, access to cloud computing and increasingly lower data bundle pricing means it’s quickly becoming less so. In any case marketing solutions are geared towards low data usage.

Davids says the local mobile display ad market is a healthy one as is search – location based services offer real advantages and will help drive growth and adaption of mobile and tablet advertising. Consumer behaviour is also changing – the Kalahari.net Mobile Shopper survey suggests over 25% of South Africa’s mobile internet users are shopping online while 63% planned to do so in future. Some 73% of tablet owners are already shopping online using these devices of which it is estimated there is already half a million active in SA.

Hilton says the agency is geared to embracing opportunities that exist today rather than fretting about what isn’t available in the local market yet. While the mobile media market in SA has traditionally been the ugly stepsister of digital marketing interest from a big agency play is certainly an indicator of both the money at stake and the opportunity that exists for it to emerge into its full potential in a market with 100% plus mobile phone penetration.

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Draftfcb Joburg’s MD Jerry Mpufane leaving agency

by Herman Manson (@marklives) The Managing Director of Draftfcb Johannesburg, Jerry Mpufane, is leaving the agency at the end of the year. John Dixon, Group CEO at Draftfcb South Africa, confirmed that he has received a letter of resignation from Mpufane.

Mpufane is considering a number of opportunities at the moment, says Dixon, but has made no decision about his future yet.

“The early notice allows us to manage the continuity in a controlled manner,” says Dixon. “It also gives him an opportunity to seek his next adventure openly and transparently. In this time he’ll continue to run Draftfcb Jhb and will be instrumental in helping us to identify and recruit his replacement.”

Staff were informed on Friday.

Mpufane joined Draftfcb in 2008. He had previously been group marketing director at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and had held positions at South African Tourism and McDonald’s.

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Yo-Landi Vi$$er we love

INTERNATIONAL

New York, 6 August 2012

It’s not easy to create a cover that screams “SEX” but doesn’t offend too many people. So New York magazine created a very interesting crop on their Sex issue cover. The close-up of the lips remind me a bit about the huge cover (probably A2) of Exhibition magazine.

Open Skies, Issue 8

The Emirates inflight magazine has created a unique and lasting cover (you can read the issue here) to celebrate the life of long distance swimmer Diana Nyad. They’ve created an art piece to celebrate her life and accomplishments which is much better and more striking than the normal “profile picture”. I can see this as a poster on a wall.

Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin, 27 July 2012

It’s difficult coming up with a stand out concept for an Olympic cover because there are so many great ideas out there already. At first glance you think “something isn’t right” and it makes you look again.

LOCAL

Car, August 2012 (Subscription copy)

Car magazine subscribers received a nice surprise when the August issue arrived in their post boxes. On the left is the issue that is sold in stores, and on the right, a beautiful, clean, and striking cover, without any coverlines, for the subscribers. I predict that more and more South African magazines will move in this direction to make subscribers feel special.

FHM, August 2012

Yo-Landi Vi$$er from Die Antwoord. On the cover of FHM. Who would have thought? It all started with her mentioning in one of their music videos that she’s going to be on the cover of FHM. FHM landed up being bombarded with queries for the cover (which hadn’t happened yet). So they decided to make it happen. For the full story, and relating images and video’s, make you sure you read my blog post. I love it when there’s a background story to a cover, something unplanned, but ends up being a massive success. And she looks hot.

– Find a cover we should know about? Tweet us @marklives and @mediaslut
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