Communications at the forefront - 14 Nov 2016[Leigh Andrews] In her weekly Loeries feature, Leigh Andrews spoke to Y&R about their Loeries rankings. They won in nine categories and had an impressive all round haul from the Awards. read more Why everyone is multimedia-focussed - 7 Nov 2016[Leigh Andrews] Last week we ran our #FocusonMedia, curated by our trends editor, Louise Marsland. Now's the perfect time to catch up if you missed it, as it offers insight into all the latest media trends, including print media with broadcast elements and digital media with video - this is all one and the same these days, as everyone is multimedia-focussed. read more King James hits the mark - 31 Oct 2016[Leigh Andrews] The Pendoring Awards, which celebrates the best in advertising in all South African languages, announced the winners on 28 October. King James walked away with the Prestige Award for the second year in a row! Have a look at the full winners list. From advertising to social media as JP Kloppers gets technical on the algorithms that try to analyse the meaning and sentiment that drives online messages. read more The business realities of AR and storytelling - 24 Oct 2016[Leigh Andrews] I've finally reached the end of my #BeyondRetail2016 conference coverage, with an overview of the final panel session. In it, Bruce Whitfield asked the day's speakers about future retail trends and how continued technological advancement and disruption is set to shake up the local retail industry. Tied to this aspect of innovation, Johan Walters writes that augmented reality is no longer the exclusive domain of the CMO. read more Business relationship betterment tips - 17 Oct 2016[Leigh Andrews] Last week's #BeyondRetail2016 conference resulted in many important factors for marketers to consider, all linked to one important question: Can retail save the SA economy? I kick off my coverage with 'the economist's view' as shared by the first speaker of the day, Dr Azar Jammine of Econometrix. I've also brought back my weekly #Loeries2016 article as a way to find out more about those who did well in the latest Loeries rankings. Bucking the trend of putting agency creatives front and centre, first up is Left Post Production, which came out on top of both the TV, film and radio: editing company and TV, film and radio: post-production 2016 tables, as well as two names in the top ranked editor table. Broadening our scope to the social media sphere, Edmond Hlophe shares how to effectively engage on Snapchat and get your brand to 'snap, crackle and pop' on the social media platform. Lastly, in an article that's relevant to all involved in the communication sector, James Wilson writes that Stockholm Syndrome is alive and well in the PR industry. read more Snapping to Snapchat and the cost of ‘impersonalisation’ - 10 Oct 2016[Leigh Andrews] All eyes are on Snapchat as its parent Snap is readying a 2017 share offering. Little wonder as it has over 8 billion video views a day. read more The digital consumer data revolution - 3 Oct 2016[Leigh Andrews] As we're now a month closer to the end of 2016, it's more important than ever before to track what your customers say about you in the fast-moving online realm. Ismail Schuster writes about this democratisation of brand perception, highlighting the importance of providing good customer experience as the starting point in keeping sentiment positive across social platforms. Bianca Quinn-Diavastos adds that digital marketing can also drive customer acquisition for financial brands, especially as the move online offers them ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness that can prove sluggish in the offline world. read more Brand representation and social media in the spotlight - 26 Sep 2016[Leigh Andrews] Just like sand through the hourglass, so are the days of the SABC. Bonnie Ramaila gives us her views on the issues revolving around the public broadcaster, but it's not all on Hlaudi's shoulders. read more Innovating online beyond click-throughs - 19 Sep 2016[Leigh Andrews] It's all about digital innovation this week, with Andre Steenekamp writing that SA's ad industry must not regress to using outmoded digital metrics for ROI - if you're one of the agencies regressing to click-through rates as their key measure for success, best you rethink your measurement strategy as the world speeds towards doing everything online. One agency that got the memo on this is Hero, which recently won the City of Cape Town's communications and PR account. read more A time for personal branding and communication innovation - 12 Sep 2016[Leigh Andrews] We kick things off with a wake-up call from Jessica Edgson of Rogerwilco: It's time to recognise that marketing doesn't just apply to the company you work for - you're a brand, too. You're in luck if you're in the dark on this, as she shares some tips to enhance your personal brand online. Dora Jurd also explains how semiotics or analysing the personal meaning we ascribe to things can be used as a strategic tool for innovation, particularly in the realms of branding and consumer research. Broadening the marketing relevance of our 'innovation-centricity' content this week, I chatted to Davin Phillips, CSA director specialising in influencer marketing, to unveil the intrigue factor of this form of communication innovation, especially as media consumption patterns evolve based on the 'constantly switched on' nature of tech-savvy millennial consumers. read more Business inspiration this #InnovationMonth - 5 Sep 2016[Leigh Andrews] We're well into #InnovationMonth on Biz, with an overview of how businesses are getting ahead by thinking outside the box and innovating in the industry. One such agency is Flume, which is using print to push its digital offering. read more Fiery female inspiration this #WomensMonth - 29 Aug 2016[Leigh Andrews] As we enter the final week of #WomensMonth I looked into how Y&R's #BreaktheMould campaign is flipping the script on 'gender-specific' toys, with gender-neutral toys like Iron Chef, Ninja Fairy and Princessaurus delighting children while perplexing parents. I also found out what BBDO's two Loeries 2016 Grands Prix wins mean for African creativity from former Loeries chair and BBDO SA CEO Boniswa Pezisa; as well as the career highlights and industry inspirations of Vicki Hey, Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town's "fun to work with" brand custodian-turned-deputy MD. Pasqua Heard also shares insights into 'the ad industry from a female perspective' - that of Carmen Schaefer, a senior design and art lecturer at Red & Yellow School of Logic and Magic. That's just the tip of the iceberg! Get reading... read more #Loeries2016 celebrates inspirational females this #WomensMonth - 22 Aug 2016[Leigh Andrews] It's no coincidence that the annual local celebration of creativity, the Loeries, takes place during #WomensMonth. As a result there were a wealth of international female speakers at this year's annual Loeries highlight, the DStv Seminar of Creativity, with audience members hanging onto their pearls of wisdom. Terry Levin reports back on some of her favourite moments that stoked that female creative fire. A number of well-deserved women were also presented with special awards and accolades over the two Loeries award nights this past weekend. read more Mobile, Millennials and Loeries expectations - 15 Aug 2016[Leigh Andrews] Loeries® Creative Week™ Durban 2016 has officially begun, with judging underway and most attendees arriving over the next few days. I caught up with a few of the industry's top creative minds to find out what they're most excited about - the winning work, the weather, the DStv Seminar of Creativity, and the networking opportunities all featured strongly on their scorecards. I dug even further beneath the surface with several of this year's Digital & Interactive category judges, who spilled the beans on what they're actually looking for from the entries, as well as the biggest trends they predict from the digital/interactive work in 2016. read more Creativity and clever marketing this #WomensMonth - 8 Aug 2016[Leigh Andrews] Interbrand identified the global 'Breakthrough Brands' disrupting markets last week, and Louise Marsland explains key findings from the report in the 'Age of You' as well as the two African brands that feature in it. Well done to M-Pesa and Tuluntulu! Still on the topic of getting your brand out there in these ever-more-complex times, Johan Hanekom explains how to turn around any struggling business - "innovate or evaporate" and remember the customer is king... Maria Berrios-Carter offers further food for thought by explaining how certain stores have been doing just this - making the customer king - by cleverly marketing to parents through their kids. read more |
