by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) All you ad execs who are 50 years and older, please stand up so I may come to you for wise counsel?! One of the things that strikes one when one joins the advertising industry is that it is full of young people, as well as a preponderance of women, just like a pride of lions.
Tag archives: the switch
The Switch: Why adland needs pen pals
by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) My prediction is that we will continue to see many more agencies close shop while others downsize. We will also see clients in-source some services and recycle or “sweat” their advertising material. It’s a jungle out there. Yes, strength can help you survive, but it takes a lot more to thrive.
The Switch: The power of the inner circle
by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) We’ve all received an email from a client on a Monday morning telling us about advertising insights they picked up at a braai with friends or at a family dinner. That email usually ends with: “Why don’t we make ads like that?”
The Switch: Off to see the Little Five
by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) For bush lovers like myself, nothing beats escaping the city madness and spending a weekend surrounded by nature’s very best. I love that the air is fresher and the sky clearer. The eclectic mix of sounds, smell and colour constantly remind you that God was smiling when He created the earth.
A lesson never to forget
I’ll never forget a lesson I learnt from one Elvis, a game ranger in the Waterberg region of Limpopo.
The setting was one of those red-eye game drives that are a pain if you love sleep like I do, but are a real gem when it comes to sightings. On the Landcruiser was myself, my wife, a South African couple from Durban and two American families.
Off we went in Elvis’s Jeep. Armed with my trusted Nikon D5000 and a newly acquired 400mm telescopic lens, I could not wait to spot the first of the Big Five. My assumption was that we were all there to see the Big Five. Boy, was I wrong.
The Switch: What is the currency of aspiration?
by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) The love of money is problematic. Many of the problems we face today can be linked to a desire to possess more. This is an important debate for us advertisers, as almost every client brief we receive asks for aspirational communication.
The Switch: A window today, a mirror tomorrow
by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) Ever thought about the relationship between a window and a mirror? The question on many people’s lips is, is advertising a mirror to the soul or a window into the aspirations of the soul?
The Switch: Try marriage vows
by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) The client-agency relationship is often referred to as a marriage. Even though this feels like a colloquial use of the term, it is not a misnomer. In fact, there are many elements of the client–agency relationship that bear similarity to a marriage.
The Switch: What contract law taught me about agency briefs
by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) It is my submission that applying contract law rules to advertising briefs would be of great benefit to the creative development process. If anything, they serve as a good barometer for what makes a good advertising brief.