Independent industry news for marketing, advertising & media execs
Cell C has put its through-the-line and digital advertising up for pitch, following the completion of its rebranding campaign. The process will be managed by field specialist Yardstick. Incumbent agency Ogilvy Johannesburg has been asked to pitch again.
“We will only be in a position to provide more details at a later stage,” according to Cell C spokesperson Karin Fourie.
by Herman Manson The advertising and media industries are bracing for stricter government regulation of alcohol advertising. It is an incredibly complex and global issue, so here is a framework to help contextualise what is actually going on.
Health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has been positioned as a campaigner mobilising the “international community against harmful foodstuffs” by his department. Dr Motsoaledi argues that non-communicable diseases are preventable through the promotion of healthy lifestyles, which would include moderating alcohol intake and eating less fast food.
However, the debate around access to and the promotion of alcohol is global in scale, and heavily influenced by influential organisations such as The World Health Organisation (WHO).
At the Second Biennial Substance Abuse Summit held in March 2011, delegates “took cognisance of the need to restrict access to alcohol through regulation of sales and marketing, taxation and restrictions on the legal age of purchase – despite alcohol, like tobacco, being a legal substance.”
The summit then resolved to “facilitate effective governance of alcohol, including production, sales, distribution, marketing, consumption and taxation.”
Proposals from summit
Proposals include raising the legal age for the purchasing and public consumption of alcohol from the age of 18 to the age 21 (to which critics retort – so you can drive, get married and have sex but you can’t have a drink – and put like that, yes, it sounds ridiculous) and tighter restrictions on the time and days of the week that alcohol can be legally sold (so you have to buy bulk like you do for Sundays).
The summit would also like to see a reduction in the number of liquor outlets, further raising of duties and taxes on alcohol products, prescribing measures for alcohol containers including its form, warning labels and the percentage alcohol content, another ‘Independent Fund’ to tax the alcohol industry a bit further, launch of anti-alcohol campaigns and harsher punishment for anybody contravening any of the new regulations.
A further reduction in the current legal alcohol limit for drivers, disallowing novice drivers (0-3 years after obtaining a driving license) from consuming any alcohol before driving and setting an example to the public by ensuring that all public service functions are alcohol-free, were all put on the table at the summit. It would also set up more rehabilitation and aftercare centres and look closely at home/privately-brewed alcohol.
Called for banning of all sponshorship
Finally, the summit called for the banning on all sponsorship by the alcohol industry for sports, recreation, arts and cultural and related events.
The department of health (DOH) expects a draft Integrated Strategy (warning: PDF file) “reflecting existing and new [government] interventions on amongst others the ‘harmful use of alcohol’ and ‘poor diet'” being compiled by May 2012 (it seems likely the minister will be targeting the fast food industry and its advertising practices as well).
In its report ‘Monitoring Alcohol Marketing in Africa – MAMPA Project‘, compiled for the WHO, the MAMPA paper reports that 2.2% of all deaths in sub-Saharan Africa and 2.5% of all adjusted life years are related to alcohol.
Increasingly focused on emerging markets
The WHO, quite correctly by the way, notes that the giant alcohol companies, such as SABMiller, Heineken, Diageo, Carlsberg and Anheuser-Busch Inbev, are increasingly focused on emerging markets, including those in Africa, to grow their businesses.
It seems like a prudent time to debate the merit of government intervention in the alcohol industry as a result, although the extent to which such intervention is required is a debate happening not only here but also in developed economies.
The WHO notes the growing dependence of society from alcohol producers and distributors in terms of economic benefits, such as employment and investment in infrastructure and taxation, and the reliance of media and events on sponsorship from alcohol advertising. It calls on governments to “heavily restrict or to prohibit alcohol advertising to prevent a one-sided and positive image on the risks of alcohol and to restrict the volume.”
Language isn’t flattering to Africa
Look – the language of the MAMPA paper isn’t exactly flattering to Africa; its peoples are described as ‘vulnerable African societies’ (a. we are prouder that than and b. all societies are vulnerable to consumption abuse) while ‘limited resources prevent governments from taking adequate measures’.
When the authors of the report gush that “[t]here is no time to waste, since the alcohol industry is already present in Africa on a large scale and is actively strengthening their position in the African market to increase the annual level of alcohol consumption in the continent”, it gives a clear perspective of their views on the supposed homogeneity of African societal and political systems, as well as the negative role big business plays in exploiting us.
Of course, it’s not that simple. The idea that uniform solutions to a major social issue can be effectively applied across an entire continent is naïve, and removes the flexibility required for debate and discussion to take place which also takes into consideration local developmental needs and regulatory environments – something we happen to value in democratic societies.
Where the authors of the WHO do make a valid point is when they write that advertising portrays alcohol “as an emblem of success, and a symbol of heroism, courage and virility.” It does, and it shouldn’t.
Rather tellingly, the MAMPA paper states that “there is inconclusive evidence from the studies of restrictions of alcohol advertising on the effectiveness of alcohol marketing bans” but then continues that “a comprehensive ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship would reduce alcohol-related harm, and that self-regulation is an ineffective mechanism to reduce alcohol-related harm, effective legislation is necessary to strictly regulate alcohol marketing activities.”
In response to government proposals, the South African advertising industry has actively been putting its case against tighter regulation. The argument, simply, is that that alcohol advertising affects market shares of the various brands and not consumption or abuse. This is according to Wayne Naidoo (@WNaidoo), chair of the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA). Naidoo is also CEO of ad agency Lowe Bull.
Affect brands, not alcohol abuse
So, in essence, the industry is arguing that an ad ban on alcohol advertising would affect brands but not alcohol abuse, which is what the DOH really attempts to achieve. As Naidoo says, he doesn’t see any advertising for weed, yet consumption continues unabated.
Because of the number of government departments involved, including the departments of health, social development, transport, trade and industry (dti) etc, it’s difficult to make any headway in discussions with Government, as staff come and go, and the priorities of the different departments shift, says Naidoo.
Meanwhile, the advertising industry will be hugely impacted – Lowe Bull’s own media agency, Initiative Media, will be gone if a complete ban on advertising came into place (80% of its business comes from SAB), says Naidoo, while major agencies such as Ogilvy, Draftfcb and BBDO, all with alcohol brands on their books, will be severely impacted.
Impact on investment
Not only will agencies lose revenue and be forced to retrench staff – international partners find the current process unsettling, impacting on investment in the country’s creative industry.
The industry is working closely with the Industry Association for Responsible Alcohol Use (ARA) – a non-profit whose members include SAB Ltd, Distell, Brandhouse, KWV and many others.
The current debate is a complex one.
On the one hand, most would reject the advertising industry’s assertion that alcohol advertising exists solely to build brands and that in no way is it aimed at increasing levels of consumption. As the market expands, alcohol brands win and so do their agencies – with no regulation in place, it would not serve their self-interest or that of their shareholders to not encourage volume and market growth. If you grow an alcohol brand, you probably also grow its market.
Aspirational messaging
At the same time, it’s clear that advertising targets the young adult market (of legal age – agreed) with aspirational messaging. The glamorous messaging agencies created are now the weapon used against by its opponents – yet I haven’t seen advertisers or brands pull back from this strategy – have you, Vuyo?
On the other hand, Government is prepared to wreak economic havoc to the tune of R2.6 billion per annum in the media and ad industries alone. While the WHO itself declares that the effectiveness of alcohol marketing bans cannot yet be determined.
As I mentioned earlier, the debate is a global one, and it is worth looking at how other countries are implementing regulations to ensure a balance between the interests of society and those of industry.
International advertising codes
The UK Broadcast Advertising Standards Code states, among other points, that:
The UK Non-Broadcast Advertising Standards Code also states that “Marketing communications must not be likely to appeal particularly to people under 18, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture.”
Stronger regulations, coupled with a system to clear ads before flighting rather than one relying on consumer complaints, if implemented here (the SA advertising code] as per the Advertising Standards Authority of SA, currently up for annual review, seems to allow more flexibility than the UK code), would probably see off most of the alcohol advertising current featured in SA media.
“Alcoholic drinks are not ordinary consumer goods”
In Europe, Egta (the Association of Television and Radio Advertising) acknowledges that “alcoholic drinks are not ordinary consumer goods” and that “certain legislative measures restricting the advertising of alcoholic beverages on broadcast media have been implemented at EU level for more than 20 years.”
The European Centre for Monitoring Alcohol Marketing (EUCAM) has data that shows many European countries ban alcohol advertising between 6am and 9pm, while France and Norway bans all alcohol advertising on TV. Last time I checked, the media and ad industries in Europe were still functioning.
And in Australia, the government there has decided to “pursue voluntary and collaborative approaches with the alcohol industry to promote a more responsible approach to alcohol in Australia before considering more mandatory regulation” which includes a (still) optional pre-vetting system to help advertisers ensure their ads comply with the code before they are published.
Australian government monitoring compliance
The Australian government will be monitoring “the compliance of the alcohol industry with voluntary codes of practice and other commitments on responsible alcohol advertising; monitor industry-funded efforts to conduct evidence-based social marketing on responsible drinking; and report annually to the Minister for Health and Ageing on these activities.”
It might still undertake a staged-approach phase-out of alcohol promotions from times and placements which have high exposure to young people aged up to 25 years.
The global debate on alcohol advertising has swung against alcohol brands and their agencies. Regulation – be it through government-monitored self-regulation, or direct regulation limiting the reach of alcohol advertising – seems inevitable in this context.
SA ad industry will do itself a disservice
The local ad industry will do itself a disservice in rejecting all attempts to regulate alcohol advertising – instead, it should focus on tightening its own rules while offering Government oversight of its performance in enforcing these.
It should also steer clear from the doom-and-gloom scenario of an industry collapsing in on itself through the loss of adspend – other markets have survived worse.
The industry should take care to balance its own interests with those of the DOH and civil society – it lacks public support and sympathy on the matter of alcohol advertising, and should be careful not to back itself into a corner with alcohol brands themselves.
The challenge
The challenge now is to direct the dialogue away from the sweeping statements (such as blanket bans) by organisations, such as the WHO, to solutions that better manage the social and human development needs of our country with the need for economic sustainability and growth.
It seems to be the only argument Government would consider listening to, and finally places both parties at the same table to solve the same problem. And, if some common sense prevails, the industry – and South Africans – will be better off than with the alternatives (blanket ban vs no government intervention) currently on the table.
Originally published on Bizcommunity.com Marketing & Media | South Africa – click to see more comments.
BuzzCity is a global mobile advertising network focused on emerging markets. In Africa this Singapore-based company, in which media giant Naspers owns a stake, does substantial business in South Africa (where it also has a sales office), Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. It also sees significant growth in mobile traffic in African markets north of the Sahara.
In South Africa alone, BuzzCity served 299 901 948 mobile ads in November 2011, with another 176 964 649 being served in Kenya. In Nigeria, it served a massive 349 million ads in the same month.
Dr KF Lai, BuzzCity co-founder (it launched in 1999) and CEO, visits SA every six months, and says he sees remarkable changes in uptake and usage of especially smart- and smart-feature phones (basic phones with smartphone features) in the local market. He believes people have become much more engaged with their phones as they discover social media applications and integrate these into their daily (and increasingly constant) communication.
Dr Lai says that publishers and marketers are still catching up with consumers in the mobile market stakes but that they are accelerating their engagement with the medium. Local publishers BuzzCity works with includes the mobisite of Soccer Laduma, many of the 24.com family of properties and international content partners with significant African traffic, especially on the community and lifestyle side.
Naspers bought into BuzzCity three years ago (in 2008) when it invested US$10 million into the business. In 2010, it upped this stake to 36%. Dr Lai says BuzzCity benefited from the deal through better corporate governance with the assistance of Naspers, as well as improved exposure to the various Naspers businesses around the globe (focused, like BuzzCity, on emerging markets).
In Africa, SA is leading mobile take-up in terms of mobile marketing and content, with the rest of sub-Saharan Africa lagging the country by about three years. Dr Lai says it’s interesting to see some brands switching directly to mobile in some of these markets, skipping the Internet, as many consumers in Africa use mobiles as their digital access point, rather than PCs.
Education for marketers and ad agencies on the opportunities for reaching markets through mobile advertising remains a challenge, says Dr Lai, who notes that marketers don’t fully understand how personal a mobile device has become to people (it’s an always-on, constant presence in most of our lives). BuzzCity holds regular seminars in Cape Town and in Johannesburg to engage with and help educate the broader advertising industry.
People tend to associate mobile with the youth market. But all generations are active on these devices. Dr Lai says older users (especially in the 35-55 age group) have been picking up social networks, thanks to smartphones. Starting with Facebook, they soon embrace digital services and additional content through apps.
Mobile social networks are used for both communication and entertainment, says Dr Lai; look no further than the most basic interaction on social platforms, namely posting and accessing status updates. Often these status updates doubles up as both sources for information and entertainment.
In terms of mobile commerce, Dr Lai says he is surprised at the speed with which it is being adopted in Europe, something he attributes to the success of app stores like that of Apple, that familiarised people with the mobile commerce environment. In emerging markets, lack of banking infrastructure is tempering m-commerce growth at the moment.
Dr Lai says smartphone users are much more likely to access digital services and content, thanks to its friendlier interface – the growth in the adoption of smartphones correlates with increased media consumption via mobile devices.
Tablets, meanwhile, are helping advertising dollars leak from the Internet into mobile, as often marketers classify these devices as mobile devices, even though it’s really PC and other computer users who are emigrating to tablet devices (many of them also access the web via tablets, so use isn’t limited to apps). It’s a great way for marketers to ease into mobile marketing through engagement with mobile experts on shifting advertising budgets towards consumers active on tablets and, ultimately, smartphones.
Social networks and mobile are increasingly interlinked – obviously mobile makes these platforms more relevant to people’s lives. Dr Lai says that in Singapore, where he lives in a condominium, smartphones are coming into play even in the basic management of the complex. Residents are forever taking pictures of problem areas on their smartphones and loading them onto social networks, alerting not only fellow residents but also managers that the pool needs cleaning, or whatever the problem might be.
When marketers talk about social media, they cannot afford to look at it solely as a PC platform. Increasingly, it’s very much a mobile platform, which suits Buzzcity just fine, for as people consume more media (especially the socially generated type) through their phones, both publishers and marketers will inevitably have to follow.
Originally published on Bizcommunity.com Marketing & Media | South Africa – click to see more comments.
The Jupiter Drawing Room (Johannesburg) has confirmed that the agency sent out 80 notices of possible retrenchments to staff on Friday, 2 December 2011. This follows news that Edcon is pitching its business. Jupiter, which currently employs 210 people, has held parts of the Edcon business for as long as 14 years.
Jupiter Joburg CEO Alison Deeb says the agency is following the legal requirements as set out by labour legislation, which requires notice to be given if jobs cannot be guaranteed. Obviously, with the account going out to pitch and the possibility that Jupiter might lose parts or even all of the business, jobs are at risk.
That said, no actual retrenchments have yet been made.
Jupiter Johannesburg handles the Edcon account through two streams, one being the discount division (which includes Jet, Jet Mart, Jet Shoes Discom and Legit) and the other the Edgars department store division (which includes Edgars, Boardmans and Red Square). Both streams employ a team of 40 staff members each.
Deeb says the agency had been informed of the move to put the account out to pitch some time ago and has had time to take in the news and to decide if it wanted to repitch for the business. Deeb says that, while it’s difficult for incumbents to retain accounts that has gone out to pitch, the agency is cautiously optimistic that it will be in the running for both streams, and that it would retain at least some of the Edcon business.
Deeb says Edcon has a new CEO in Jurgen Schreiber, who wants to ensure his group is partnered with the best throughout its supply stream. Deeb says she is confident that Edcon isn’t pitching it business because it wants to replace its agency but because “it wants to ensure it is working with the best agency”. She believes that that will remain Jupiter Johannesburg.
Edcon consolidated its advertising accounts under the direction of The Jupiter Drawing Room Johannesburg in 2005 “in a move designed to generate improved efficiencies of scale for the group”.
Deeb says the discount division shortlist has already been announced and that her agency is one of the five on it. Deeb expects an announcement on who will take the account by early to mid-February. She has no information on when the agencies in the running for department store business will be shortlisted.
Edcon announced improved results for the quarter ending 2 July 2011. Adjusted EBITDA increased 12.4% to R908 million for the quarter. Total retail sales rose 7.3%, with comparable same store sales up 6.0%.
The news from Johannesburg follows on that from The Jupiter Drawing Room (Cape Town) which is retrenching 20 members of staff, as well as numerous contractors, following the shock announcement last week Thursday that it has lost the Woolworths business. Woolworths has decided to move its advertising in-house as a cost-saving measure.
Originally published on Bizcommunity.com Marketing & Media | South Africa – click to see more comments.
DDB South Africa has lost its deputy MD, Michael Udell, and one of its two executive creative directors, Matt Ross, to King James in Cape Town.
Emmet O’ Hanlon, MD at DDB SA, says Udell and Ross, known for working together closely, had some time ago informed DDB that they wanted to work in Cape Town where both live, and that they went out looking for an opportunity to both stay and work in Cape Town with the blessing of DDB.
O’ Hanlon says he knew the duo would be likely to leave the agency when he heard that Ross’s wife was expecting a baby and that the weekly commute to Johannesburg would become unpractical. While he is sad to see them go, his team has had a good amount of time to prepare for the loss.
Grant Jacobsen, the other ECD at DDB, will now handle Ross’s clients as well. Jacobson was hired away from Draftfcb earlier this year amid considerable controversy and threats of legal action from Draftfcb.
Udell will be replaced by Louise Johnston as deputy MD. Johnston is currently the head of account management at DDB. Tsitsi Dhlamini has been appointed deputy head of account management, while Stephan Zimelka remains digital creative director.
DDB SA merged with its digital affiliate agency, Tribal DDB, to form a single agency mid-2011. Udell was the founder and MD of Tribal DDB SA before the merger, while Ross was the ECD. Both worked together at Tribal DDB London prior to that.
The announcement that Ross and Udell had joined King James was made on Twitter this morning, Monday, 5 December 2011, by Alistair King (@ALsparkes), group creative director of the King James Group. Details of their roles at the agency are yet to be publicly confirmed.
Originally published on Bizcommunity.com Marketing & Media | South Africa – click to see more comments.
by Arthur Goldstuck. Two 3D phones arriving on the market at the same time with similarly dazzling capabilities suggests the time has come for 3D. Not so fast.
The future just called: it wants its 3D toys back.
Two cellphones released in South Africa in recent weeks offer a new glimpse of the future of 3D, and it looks like fun and games. Literally.
The LG Optimus 3D and the HTC Evo 3D sit at the cutting edge of mobile phone technology, but it’s a cutting edge that the market is not yet demanding. Their 3D functionality offers two major selling points: taking, making and viewing 3D images and videos, and playing 3D games.
The big benefit they both punt is that the user doesn’t need 3D spectacles. By fitting the phones with two lenses on the back, they create stereoscopic images, a technique that is quite ancient.
Previously they required special viewfinders, but normal human beings prefer not to have to change their own appearance simply to look at a still or moving image. For this reason, we are seeing a global push towards natural 3D, i.e. glasses-free viewing of 3D images. The concept is called auto stereoscopy, meaning that you automatically see the image in 3D if you view it from the appropriate angle.
Nintendo first showed the world that it could be done convincingly on a handheld device with its 3DS gaming device. The 3DS doubles as a camera, and introduces Augmented Reality (AR) to the gaming arena.
AR isn’t in itself a 3D technology, and is designed to overlay information, images or other content over a scene when viewed through an enabled camera or viewfinder. Combined with 3D, AR can be spectacular. A flat, dull surface can come alive with anything from soldiers to monsters to – and this is the scariest of the lot – commercial product offerings.
In that context, the 3DS set the bar high for the next variation on the 3D theme, and LG and HTC were forced to push the edges of innovation on their new phones. The most surprising outcome is that the two phones are almost indistinguishable in feature range and specifications. Both sport dual 5 Megapixel cameras on the back, and the resultant images and videos are pretty much on a par.
The difference lies in the software on the phone, and here the LG has the edge, with a 3D interface that gives the user a full 3D experience, rather than merely in games or applications. Its 3D zone also includes books, images, videos as well as games in 3D. The HTC makes up for it with the dazzling HTC Sense interface, which makes for quite magical normal use of the phone. For example, going from locked phone to camera ready in one swipe of the finger is more impressive than being able to explore the phone interface in 3D.
The problem for both phones, however, is that once the novelty of 3D wears off, the phones will inevitably be compared to the top-of-the-range non-3D phones from other manufacturers. Both are rather bulky, in order to accommodate the dual cameras, and certainly don’t slip comfortably into a pocket.
The rival manufacturers’ non-3D flagships, the Samsung Galaxy S II, the Motorola Razr, and the new Nokia Lumia phones as well as their current N9, are so easy on the pocket, they more than make up for the absence of a feature that the market has not been demanding.
In future, all phones may well be 3D, but that is also a future in which all phones will respond to voice commands, all will double as high-speed WiFI hotspots, and all will have social networking and instant messaging as core functions on the phone.
Playing Spiderman 3D on the HTC Evo or reading a genuinely pop-up version of Gulliver’s Travels on the LG Optimus belong to that future. They are amazing experiences, but once you’ve gone beyond the experience, you will want he phone to do what every other great phone can do. Like slipping into a pocket and barely leaving a trace.
* Arthur Goldstuck heads up World Wide Worx (www.worldwideworx.com) and is editor-in-chief of Gadget. Follow him on Twitter on @art2gee. Reprinted from Gadget.
South Africa has various pieces of legislation in place supposedly protecting consumers from unsolicited commercial communication (be it via email or SMS).
Unfortunately, they seem to be worth little as they are often vague, lack enforcement mechanisms readily accessible to the public (who don’t want to add to the work load of police officers with low priority items) or still lack the implementation systems and tools envisioned by the legislation to protect them.
Ant Brooks, spokesperson for the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA), says current legislation offers weak protection against spam. And what is in place is hardly ever enforced.
Section 45 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions (ECT) Act of 2002 is the first line of defence for consumers against spam and states that “[a]ny person who sends unsolicited commercial communications to consumers, must provide the consumer
(a) with the option to cancel his or her subscription to the mailing list of that person; and
(b) with the identifying particulars of the source from which that person obtained the consumer’s personal information, on request of the consumer.”
Consumers are left to institute charges when companies fail to comply with the act, and do we really want this to be a priority of police officers? (Easy: no.) The issue of responsibility down the supply chain is also open to question.
For instance, I recently received unsolicited communication from Hospital Premium Cover, which on enquiry complied with the ECT Act by not only removing my details from its database and undertaking not to message me again but also by providing me with the details of the company it purchased its database from, Datadirect24.
Datadirect24 initially promised to implement “a full investigation to track the excate [sic] source of your email address and will keep you informed.” That was late September. I’ve had no joy in getting any feedback from it as yet and, at this stage, don’t really expect to. After all, it did not directly send me any information – it simply facilitated the process for its rather naïve client.
My contact details (and more besides) are out there drifting around in databases ready to be sold and resold, in spite of the ECT Act. Here is a paper by Lance Michalson shredding any real hope that the act can protect consumers. This ‘first line of defence’ seems to have a couple of gaping holes in it, to say the least.
The National Consumer Protection Act would provide some recourse if it actually implements its national opt-out database – something the legislation caters for but which for now doesn’t exist. There has been some discussion as to who should operate the database – at one stage even the Direct Marketing Association of South Africa (DMASA) was in the running – something that lead to a consumer and media backlash.
Brooks says the latest feedback he has is that the National Consumer Commission will manage the list in-house. Companies will eventually be forced to check their databases against the national opt-out database or be fined 10% of turnover, or R1 million. Enjoy the wait in the meantime.
The Protection of Personal Information (PPI) Bill is yet to reach Parliament and will offer the strongest protection yet to consumers, says Brooks. It could criminalise trade in databases which don’t fulfil legal requirements for data collection, and would set strict criteria aimed at protecting consumers’ personal information – although consistent lobbying by various players might still dilute some of the bill’s clauses. The bill is still winding its way through the corridors of power and isn’t expected to be implemented soon.
The ISPA, which represent a good number of South African Internet Service Providers, does take direct action against spammers through its ‘hall of shame‘ which publishes the names of spammers (and identified address resellers) while the Wireless Application Service Providers’ Association also takes action when complaints are lodged against its members (though most SMS spammers are not members of WASPA).
So, plenty of legislation but few options for consumers on the receiving side of spam. Name ’em and shame ’em seems to be the most effective tool to dissuade marketers from spamming you, so give their details to the ISPA, and make some noise on your social media platforms.
Brooks also says that smsing STOP to SMS spam is generally effective, though you still have to pay for the SMS, while around 50% of unsolicited email senders will adhere to an unsubscribe request.
Walter Penfold, MD at Prefix Technologies, a provider of email and SMS marketing solutions, meanwhile encourages consumer to contact service providers (when you are able to track them down) with information on spam, which will result in termination of the user accounts of spammers.
“If a recipient demands proof of where the sender obtained their email address and the sender cannot provide that proof, we would consider this grounds for terminating the account,” says Penfold.
Originally published on Bizcommunity.com Marketing & Media | South Africa – click to see more comments.
The Jupiter Drawing Room (Cape Town) has confirmed that Woolworths, one of the largest advertising accounts in Cape Town, has given it notice that it is moving its account into an in-house studio. AIS/ADEX valued adspend from Woolworths at R104 million during 2010. Jupiter Cape Town held the account for five years.
Jupiter Cape Town CEO Kevan Aspoas says the agency was completely blindsided by the move, of which it was only informed on Tuesday, 29 November 2011. The move away from Jupiter is effective from today, Thursday 1 December. By implication, Woolworths had been planning the move in-house for months without informing its agency. [Aspoas has since clarified information on the termination period by saying that the termination period is effective today, 1 December, with a two-month termination period, and this has been confirmed by Woolworths.]
Aspoas expects the agency to undergo restructuring that could see the retrenchment of more than 20 members of staff, as well as numerous contractors. Aspoas says that, although he has an agreement in place with Woolworths that doesn’t allow it to poach his staff, he will, for the benefit of those being retrenched, and on certain conditions that would continue to protect the agency, waive this restraint if it meant some of those affected could take up employment at the new Woolworths studio.
Aspoas says Woolworths had decided to move its advertising in-house as a cost-saving measure and that the client had been complimentary about the work Jupiter had done on the account to date, including in how the agency had handled the client, known for being a difficult one throughout the industry, in the new customers it brought into stores and how it had lifted the brand.
Aspoas says Woolworths expects exceptionally tough market conditions in 2012 and that it is preparing for considerable fallout from the financial turmoil in Europe.
Retrenchment packages are expected to cost Jupiter over a million rand from its own pocket. Aspoas says after the restructuring the agency will still employ around 112 people, keeping it in the big agency league in Cape Town. The agency will try and retain staff for a medium and a large account it won, and for which it is gearing to take over in the New Year.
Tony Koenderman also reported this week in Finweek that the Edcon account, much of it handled by The Jupiter Drawing Room (Johannesburg), is also up for grabs. Edcon had been with Jupiter Johannesburg for more than a decade.
Originally published on Bizcommunity.com Marketing & Media | South Africa – click to see more comments.
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 MediaSlutZA. This will be his last update for 2011 but he will be back in 2012 with more fantastic magazine covers to share!
INTERNATIONAL
Vanity Fair, December 2011
She’s done it before in September 2010, and it looks like she’s going to do it again for Vanity Fair, namely be one of their best sellers of the year! With her 2010 cover she made the September issue of Vanity Fair its 2nd best seller (http://www.hollywire.com/2011/01/lady-gaga-2010s-best-selling-magazine-cover). No wonder they featuring her again… This time with make-up and a bright red dress – just in time for Christmas [that hat is bound to inspire a meme – Ed].
AdWeek, 28 November – 4 December
The now instantaneously recognizable little boy in the Volkswagen Ad, that has raked up more than 44 million views on YouTube, makes him the perfect little cover guy/icon for the “10 Best Ads of 2011” issue. To view all Top 10 ads click here. I promise you, definitely worth a watch.
Fricote, #5
A fun and quirky food magazine with unique and smart covers. Their covers definitely follow a trend to be unique and different.
LOCAL
Mango Juice, December 2011
I’ve been noticing the covers of Mango’s in-flight magazine for a while now, and they’re definitely doing something right without trying too hard. At first I thought this was a digitally manipulated sand castle, but the description of how it was built in Durban, and all the drama that went with him (Read a minute-by-minute update here) makes one appreciate this art form just a bit more.
Plascon Spaces, #6
This cover makes me feel like I’m back in Greece on a small island. It just screams sexy and summer. I saw it in store and the striking gold logo makes this cover even more striking.
Finweek, 1 December 2011
The treatment of the cover, the cover lines, the clean background with its striking image; everything just makes this cover and issue worth picking up.
– The (for now anonymous) blogger behind MediaSlutZA 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 MediaSlutZA. #MagazinesForTheWin
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Damon Stapleton, executive creative director at TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, has announced that he is heading to Saatchi & Saatchi Australia to take up the role of ECD at that agency. This follows initial reports that he would be heading to London (additional job offers landed on his desk as soon as initial reports revealed he was preparing to leave TBWA).
Stapleton (@D_Stapleton) lead the team behind the Trillion Dollar campaign, done for The Zimbabwean, which swept the 2009/10 ad awards season to become one of the most-awarded advertising campaigns in adland history.
The then worthless Zimbabwean currency was used to create a billboard, murals, posters and flyers for The Zimbabwean newspaper (a follow-up campaign for the paper has been met with less acclaim so far – handing TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg a Campaign Gold and a Silver at the 2011 Loerie Awards, a Bronze Cannes Lion and the only South African Titanium finalist at Cannes).
Stapleton has worked on brands as diverse as Adidas, Heineken, Nissan, Exclusive Books, Yfm, Jameson, BMW and the Apartheid Museum. Here follows an edited version of our Q&A with him.
Herman Manson: You are busy packing for Oz. Why now? What made you decide it was time to move to another agency in another country?
Damon Stapleton: With the success of the last couple of years, obviously people have been talking to me. It was not a simple process to choose Sydney (ask my wife). The combination of who[m] I’d be working with and what I would be working on and where I’d be working made me feel like it was time for a new adventure.
Manson: You had three offers on the table, including one from London. Tell me about the scramble…
Stapleton: I had thee offers – [from] London, Singapore and Sydney. To be honest, the London offer led to the Sydney offer. They all had merit; they were all good offers. All it came down to was who my partner would be.
Manson: And you picked Saatchi & Saatchi Australia because?
Stapleton: Firstly, it’s what is right for my family. [Also], the creative pedigree of Saatchi & Saatchi Australia is like that of Hunt Lascaris; they were both agency of the decade. Also the lengths they went to, to get me to go there. I really felt that Mike Rebelo (my partner) shared the same vision. He understands creativity. He was one of the people responsible for the T-Mobile work that came out of London in the last 2 years.
Manson: I didn’t know you were born in Oz. How did you land here?
Stapleton: My father was a 60s’ rock-star (I am not joking) who fell into the hotel business. He persuaded Sol Kerzner to give him the job of running Chobe Game Lodge in 1973. That’s how I ended up in Africa.
Manson: So when do you start?
Stapleton: I start on the 10 January 2012
Manson: Are there any other South African agencies you would still have liked to work at?
Stapleton: A few. But more than agencies, there are specific people I wish I had worked with, because combinations of people rather than agencies create great work.
Manson: You’ve pretty much won everything there is to win (including a Cannes Grand Prix, a Grand Clio, an ADC Black Cube and a D&AD Black Pencil). Your perspective on awards and the importance our industry attaches to it?
Stapleton: Despite what many may think, being a creative is a tough job. You need thick skin to deal with a lot of rejection. I always believe creatives should be rewarded for coming up with great ideas. The truth is creativity is often subjective and intangible.
So awards, although imperfect, create some sort of measurement. This is important for any creative’s career. It can be a brutal business and to succeed you have to get noticed. And this will always be a combination of what you have won and what you have done. Look at the early career of a great creative like David Droga and you will see that.
Having said that, I believe in the future awards will change significantly. We are consuming media in [a] far more integrated way. Awards, however, have many categories. This will have to change. Advertising will change more in the next five years than it has in the last 100 years.
Manson: Trillion Dollar was a major award winner. Is this the campaign you are proudest of?
Stapleton: Sure, I am proud of the most awarded campaign in the world. I am proud of the awards. But what I am most proud of [is] the five people who backed an idea. When we backed the idea, we were not sure it would do anything. I am proud of the belief. And, yes, the rewards were very nice.
Manson: Michael Rebelo (@MikeRebel), the CEO at Saatchi & Saatchi Australia, talks about creating a ‘company-wide culture around creativity.’ I’ll be honest – I thought that was supposed to be the default mode at ad agencies – but obviously some have been getting it wrong. In terms of company culture, what do you seek and how will you contribute to building it?
Stapleton: Unfortunately, creativity is not the default mode for many advertising agencies. Creativity is our USP but I think as an industry we forget this sometimes. Packaging and selling are important but they mean nothing without an idea.
In the end, you can’t make someone creative; you can only give them an environment to be creative in. This is where I agree with Steve Jobs who, when asked how he motivate[d] people, he said, “I don’t. I hire motivated people. The right people will create the right culture.” A lot of agencies forget this.
Manson: In Campaign Brief you mentioned the importance of a partnership between agency management and the creative side of the business. Is this something your time at TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris really brought home to you?
Stapleton: I have never subscribed to the David Koresh School of Advertising – the cult of the individual. Weiden and Kennedy; Crispin, Porter and Bogusky; Hunt and Lascaris; King and James; Saatchi and Saatchi – I could go on. All great agencies are created through the power of partnership. I have always believed that partners, however, are just not that easy to find.
Manson: Does TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris have a replacement for you yet?
Stapleton:Ask the grown-ups. [According to Ivan Moroke, group MD at TBWA South Africa, the agency is in the final stages of negotiation with a replacement for Stapleton.]
Manson: Best of luck Damon!
Originally published on Bizcommunity.com Marketing & Media | South Africa – click to see more comments.
