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The Dissident Spin Doctor: The PR agency of the future sits with creative

by Emma King (@EmmainSA) Much has been said about what the ad agency of the future will look like. We all know that the old ways of creating adverts for each separate media channel, and pontificating for ages about this radio execution or that print layout is outdated. We know that integration of all disciplines – in whatever form – needs to be the primary aim; and we know that digital understanding and execution needs to run through everything.

But what about the PR agency of the future? Communications and engagement has to be more than simply farming out a press release to a bank of media names. PR practitioners need to embrace social media and work with online influencers – however we interpret that meaning. That much is a given.

Today PR agencies must make fundamental changes to the old way of working in order to be relevant. These changes need to happen within the agency structure as well as in the expertise and services that they offer. PR agencies need to move away from the constraints that have been set on them, often driven by client perceptions, that their role is simply about media relations, whether that be traditional or social.

When I started at my latest venture as part of a larger agency group, we had a lot of discussion about how the PR function would work – whether we would have a standalone and separately branded business unit or whether it should fall as a truly integrated part of the agency. We decided on the latter – much like the agency did with the digital function – because we felt that in the future we really needed to work in a way in which everything flowed together, and which was not constrained by the division of business units and billing structures.

The Bookmarks promises to grow up

by Herman Manson (@marklives) The Bookmarks Awards, the digital focussed awards evening, promises to be a much more settled affair this year, according to Bookmarks chairperson Nikki Cockcroft (@nikkicockcroft). In recent years the awards evening itself was better known for the general rebelliousness of its audience than for its role in showcasing stand-out work in the digital industry.

Entry levels have hit a record number, up to 590 this year from 453 in 2011, 400 in 2010, 229 in 2009 and 120 in 2008 – its launch year. The shortlist for the evening’s awards shows a mix of large and small, specialist and mainstream agencies. It sees agencies like The Jupiter Drawing Room, Ogilvy, 140 BBDO, Ireland Davenport, M&C Saatchi Abel, Machine, Joe Public and King James compete with digital experts like Quirk, Hellocomputer (recently acquired by Draftfcb), Prezence, Gloo and Native.

Cockcroft says she was especially pleased to see growth in the integrated campaign and social media categories this year.

Why Knott-Craig Jr left Mxit

Mxit has announced the immediate departure of CEO Alan Knott-Craig Jr, and a “R100-million investment”. Arthur Goldstuck (@art2gee) unravels the shock move.

Alan Knott-Craig Jnr has stepped down as CEO of Mxit, barely a year after he bought it through his investment company, World of Avatar (WoA). He is also departing WoA.

“While the shareholders and I share the same vision, we differ on how to get there. Therefore, I agreed to go my own way. I wish them all the best for the future. Mxit is Africa’s biggest tech success story, and can be a global success story,” said Knott-Craig Jnr in a statement issued yesterday afternoon. The statement added that he would not be drawn further on the issue, suggesting that the terms of his departure include a confidentiality clause.

His departure comes as a shock, as he was seen as being heavily invested on an emotional level in the future of Mxit and social networking in Africa – as evidenced by his book Mobinomics, jointly authored with Gus Silber.

Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – A good reason to love Nando’s (even more)

MarkLives Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios – A good reason to love Nando’s (even more)

Ever tried to list all the reasons why you love South Africa?

In a context saturated with mining violence and strikes, investor pessimism and ratings downgrades, you’ve got to love Nando’s for reminding locals to think of the reasons why they love this country.

In a clever campaign that celebrates the chicken people’s 25th birthday, the savvy brand has called on Fando’s (Nando’s fans, get it?) to use the hash tag #25reasons and to start showing the love.

There’s a Pinterest board called #25reasons where SA lovers can repin their favourite reasons or create their own. Fando’s were also required to Tweet their #25reasons or to post them on Nando’s Facebook page. The fowl brand says the most shared reasons will be made into online videos.

To drive interest in the campaign Nando’s agency, Black River FC, created a couple of spots that have been flighted on TV, can be seen on YouTube, and are doing the rounds via email, Google+, Facebook and other social networks.

Social secrets of the digital divide

by Arthur Goldstuck (@art2gee) Our society is held back by many digital divides. Those who have computers and those who don’t. Those who have Internet access and those who don’t. Those who create mobile apps in their spare time and those who are over 21.

Seriously, though, the digital divide is real, it’s a drag on the economy, and it exacerbates the gap between the haves and have-nots.

The one digital divide that has been crossed, however, is the gap between those who could afford a communications device called a phone, and those who could not. Today, 80% of South Africans have a phone. That’s the good news. The better news is that, as the average phone becomes more advanced, it becomes a tool to help users cross several other digital divides.

The findings of the South African Social Media Landscape 2012 study, released by World Wide Worx and Fuseware, reveals startling secrets of social South Africa.

The key findings of the research were that, at the end of August, 5.33-million South Africans were using Facebook on the Web, 4,6-million were on WhatsApp ,2,43-million on Twitter, 1,9-million on LinkedIn. A huge 9,35-million were active on Mxit.

Because Facebook does not measure mobile-only usage among those who have registered via their cellphones, however, the full extent of its penetration is significantly understated: primary research by World Wide Worx shows that 6.8-million people were accessing Facebook on their phones in mid-2012.

The connected CEO: From iPads to social media, enabling rather than dictating

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Added Value Saffron Hill recently released results from a study, commissioned by MEC and CNBC, looking at digital technology adoption by Asia’s CEOs. The study found that “Top executives are taking up digital technology, but the extent of the embrace appears to be tempered by their need to remain in control of their business ecosystem.” It goes on to reveal interesting insights on the relationship between technology and senior executives – including how the iPad has emerged as a game changer that makes execs, in the words of one, feel less like a salesman hidden behind a laptop. We caught up with the authors of the report.

MarkLives: What kinds of technology have been embraced by the CEOs in your study?

Saffron Hill: Anything to do with information and communication technology is valued as they are seen to be business performance enhancers. If you are talking about specific devices, these would include laptops, phones (BB and iPhone) and iPads.

MarkLives: What do they want to get out of technology?

Saffron Hill: Efficiency first and foremost. Also knowledge and, now more than before, entertainment.

MarkLives: An interesting aspect of your research centres on how distracting technology can be and how well CEOs recognise this – which is why they for example hand their mobile phones over to secretaries during meetings.

Saffron Hill: Yes the philosophy of these C Suites is that technology (as with other resources) should enable not dictate their lives. They are very conscious of not being enslaved by gadgets and very much value human interaction. They are still gentlemen in that sense, they feel it is most rude to place more importance/focus on a device than a real live person in front of them

MarkLives: Some comments in your research suggest CEOs prefer iPads to say laptops which make them feel like ‘sales people?’ So is the iPad a status symbol as much as a useful tool even in CEO circles?

Saffron Hill: I wouldn’t say the iPad is seen as a status symbol by these senior and very affluent people (it doesn’t cost much more than a phone). What is has though is more ‘cool factor’ compared to a laptop because of its aesthetics (typically with a nice cover) but also because of its novelty and the fact that it is embraced by young people. When a CEO whips out his iPad for a presentation, it is a subtle signal that he is forward looking and he is in tune with the latest developments. The CIO of Standard Chartered Bank was very proud to say that the bank was the first to issue iPads to all their senior people. For him, this move shows that the bank is technologically savvy but also open minded, willing to try new things.

Springleap – design crowd with marketing muscle

How do you turn a T-shirt company into a powerful marketing play? You provide access to your pool of 17 000 designers to brands needing beautiful and relevant content (through design) and utilise your social media skills and significant global crowd source loving fan base of course.

That’s just what Eran Eyal and his team at Springleap.com has been doing and so far the results have been positive.

The Springleap team has been proving their concept using the best possible case study – themselves – having grown Facebook their fan base 6000 to 193 000 in less than a year (it’s now closing in on the 200k mark). Eyal says at one stage he was testing 600 different Facebook ads to figure out best practice and what achieves the most success.

At its core sits 17 000 designers who submit designs to Springleap.com – these designs are then voted on by its community and as many friends as the designers can pull through their own networks to the site. The winners receive a cash prize and royalties from the resulting product, usually a T-shirt. Sales are handled by Springleap. Eyal looked at this talent pool and their social pull and realised it could be a powerful asset to activate design and brand fans.

Oreo gets Licked and Liked

What could be less controversial than the iconic Oreo cookie? Well, try an Oreo with rainbow crème filling. Nabisco, a division of Kraft Foods made a calculated marketing move in June 2012—which amongst other things is LGBT Pride month—by posting an image of a pro-pride cookie on their Facebook page. By Oresti Patricios, CEO Ornico

The imaginary cookie had a six-layer rainbow-coloured filling, reminiscent of the pride flag; below was the simple text: “June 25 | Pride”. It went viral, and attracted kudos from the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.

Within 24 hours, the company’s Facebook post had 177 000 likes, 52 000 shares and 22 463 comments. There were negative remarks from anti-gay commentators, but most of the comments were supportive of Oreo’s marketing intent. And the debate has resulted in free publicity for the product, made by Nabisco, a brand owned by Kraft.

EXCLUSIVE: HiringBounty.com disrupts recruitment industry with social power

by Herman Manson (@marklives) I often receive emails from friends with links to job posts and a note that says “this will be perfect for you” (just in case your business goes belly-up or you actually want to afford that new car – though that part goes unsaid). Greg Schneider, a rising star at digital agency Quirk, has launched a start-up that taps into networks of friends to bypass recruitment agents and crowd-source candidates for positions in the marketing and technology industries.

Schneider’s new recruitment platform, Hiringbounty.com, allows businesses to place recruitment positions on the site alongside a bounty. The bounty, should a position be successfully filled, is paid out in thirds – 1/3 to HiringBounty, 1/3 to the person recommending the successful candidate and 1/3 to the person finally appointed.

So if the bounty next to the position says R5000 the cost to client is R5000 x 3. It pays HiringBounty and HiringBounty pays the other two parties. If you applied for the job without a recommendation from friend you are set to pocket the bounty x 2 (as referrer and successful candidate).