Brand Africa - flexing its muscles in the 21st century

[Thabani Khumalo] In the year 2000, marking the close of the 20th century, the World Bank published a report provocatively entitled, Can Africa Claim the 21st Century? Seeking to answer this question, the report said: "The question of whether Sub-Saharan Africa can claim the 21st century is complex and provocative...Our central message is: Yes, Africa can claim the new century." 25 May 2012 12:04

[Biz Takeouts Podcast] 22: Marketing comedy locally

Find out how the marketing of comedy in South Africa has changed with social media and get some tips for producing live shows by listening to the Biz Takeouts podcast of this week's Biz Takeouts Marketing & Media radio show which airs every Wednesday 5pm-6pm streamed live via 2oceansVibe Radio. [twitterfall] 25 May 2012 11:34

CNBC Africa opens office in Mozambique

CNBC Africa, a CNBC International franchise owned by Africa Business News, has entered into a joint venture with Mozambique's state broadcaster, Televisão de Moçambique (TVM), and will open a bureau in Maputo. CNBC Africa's country bureau representative will be Sunnyboy Mshengu. 24 May 2012 11:35

Three steps to writing well

[James Hurford] Often when people write, they're afraid to make mistakes and so they edit themselves word by word, inhibiting the natural flow of ideas and sentences. However, professional writers know that writing is a process consisting of numerous drafts, rewrites, deletions and revisions. 24 May 2012 09:50

Content marketing: what it is, and why you should be doing it

[Anna Malczyk] It has become increasingly clear that the most effective way to gain your customer's attention is to earn it. In this context, content marketing is the process of creating and sharing something awesome - entertaining, engaging content (text, photos, video, audio, interactive) that promotes the brand in an indirect way. 22 May 2012 12:16

Loeries deadline extended

Both the entry deadline and the eligibility period for the 2012 Loeries have been extended to 15 June 2012, meaning that all work must be commercially published, launched or aired to a substantial audience for the first time between 1 June 2011 and 15 June 2012. 22 May 2012 10:55

Intl speakers at the 2012 Loeries seminar

This year, the Loeries judging migrates to Cape Town's City Hall and forms part of the Cape Town Creative Week. The week will includes a seminar on 21 September 2012, which aims to inspire its audience with insights from a selection of top global brand leaders - including the Loeries four international jury chairmen. 16 May 2012 16:07

Valuing the keynote presentation

[Douglas Kruger] Let's talk frankly about cost. In particular, the cost of hiring professional speakers. How on earth is it that one such creature asks R10 000 for a keynote, while another cheerfully sends through an invoice for R30 000? Is there really that much of a difference? Should you choose based on price? If not, then what? And if you find yourself on the other end of the equation, being asked to voice your expertise at a conference, how would you know what to charge? One grandiose thumb-suck? 16 May 2012 14:41

2012 CLIO Awards - SA winners

NEW YORK, US: The awards evening for the winners of the 2012 CLIO Awards, one of the world's most recognised awards competitions honouring excellence in advertising, design and communications, was held last night. Among the winners - out of more than 11 000 submissions from around the world, were a number of South African entries. 16 May 2012 12:31

Integrating mobile to create compelling campaigns

International research suggests that consumers in their 20s look at more than 20 different types of media per hour, in interactions with both small and large screens, from film to TV, tablet, smartphone and back again. 15 May 2012 11:54

[Thought Leadership Digibates] 05: Marketing, media trends

The focus of the online media marketing sector discussion at the fifth Thought Leadership Digibate, recently hosted by Aegis Media in conjunction with Bizcommunity.com in Johannesburg, centred around the 2012 Biz Trends Report which was released earlier this year. 11 May 2012 15:21

Selecting digital online agencies

[Johanna McDowell] Digital or online agencies are different to lead agencies, as they operate in the online space by creating and implementing digital marketing campaigns that get onto online networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Whatever digital dilemma a client may have, digital agencies have the ability to provide a holistic solution. 8 May 2012 13:08

Africa: Two countries named in 10 worst for censorship

Eritrea experiences the worst censorship in the world, while Equatorial Guinea is among the five most heavily-censored countries, says the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). 2 May 2012 13:56

What's stopping you marketing yourself?

[Donna Rachelson] You know you need to market yourself and you've even come up with a few ideas, but you just haven't done anything about it yet. Sound familiar? 2 May 2012 09:52