Welcome to BizTrends 2016! - 18 Jan 2016[Leigh Andrews] This week sees the launch of BizTrends 2016. Curated by Louise Marsland, the industry's thought leaders have submitted their top business trends to watch out for over the coming months. read more 2016 business success secrets - 11 Jan 2016[Leigh Andrews] One way to get the business year off to a good start is by looking at last year's success and building on it by learning from it. With their 'media agency of the year' win at the recent Annual AdFocus Awards, Vizeum is one such successful industry leader. read more Jawitz Properties off to a bad start - 4 Jan 2016[Leigh Andrews] 2016 has kicked off, and while everyone is looking forward to a (hopefully) positive year, Jawitz Properties finds itself in a rather bad situation. One of its estate agents, Penny Sparrow, wrote an offensive post regarding the KZN beaches on New Year's Day. read more Festive wishes from the Biz team - 15 Dec 2015[Leigh Andrews] While December is considered a quiet time for business news, we'll keep you updated with daily stories across our industries on the website throughout the festive season. That said, this is our last newsletter for 2015, but keep your eyes peeled on your inbox as our first editions for 2016 will be ready for delivery on Monday, 4 January. read more Brand-building and boosting the nation - 14 Dec 2015[Leigh Andrews] It's been a busy weekend, with SABC's Motsoeneng cleared to stay and the #ZumaMustFall political rollercoaster ride playing out on social media. We look at the topsy-turvy week that was for South African politics. Looking ahead to the year to come, Dee Stephens offers five tips in winning the 2016 content marketing challenge. read more Creative inspiration, past and present - 7 Dec 2015[Leigh Andrews] Three South African agencies struck financial marketing gold at The Midas Awards® for the World's Best Financial Advertising. I chatted to Tom Cullinan, creative partner at The Jupiter Drawing Room (Johannesburg); Devin Kennedy, ECD at King James; and Adam Weber, ECD at Joe Public about what it takes to get financial advertising right, as well as where SA creative truly shines when compared on a global playing field like this. Next, Barbara Cooke shares the highlights of SAARF and AMPS from 1974-2016, remembering how it all began and mourning its demise, from the initial planning discussions nearly 50 years ago in the boardroom in the Sandton offices of then-Lindsay Smithers through to the final reports set to be published in March 2016... read more Brand intrinsics in the business-to-person space - 30 Nov 2015[Leigh Andrews] Today sees the start of our Special Focus on OOH (Out of Home) advertising. It features exclusive interviews with the trendsetters in this field and pinpoints global out-of-home advertising trends as well as the importance of location. In addition, get set for lots of tears in the traffic as KFM kicked off its annual Christmas Wish campaign today. read more What it really means to succeed with the new generation - 23 Nov 2015[Leigh Andrews] The winners of the 3rd Annual 2015 New Generation Social & Digital Media Awards were announced on 19 November at the Johannesburg offices of main award partner, Microsoft SA. Unilever and agency Liquorice scooped the Digital Brand of the Year, sponsored by Endemol Shine Africa, for Unilever Knorr - What's for Dinner, as well as New Generation Social & Digital Corporate of the Year and New Generation Legacy Award for Unilever OMO Fast Kids. But the focus on social and digital media isn't all about youth. read more Selective grief and outrage on social media - 16 Nov 2015[Leigh Andrews] Our top story is about social solidarity in times of tragedy, with Louise Marsland focusing her [TrendTalk] column on how the tragic events of the past few days in Paris and Beirut, have fuelled a debate about whose lives matter most on social media. While mainstream media has come in for this kind of criticism many times, Facebook's decision to enable its Safety Check in Paris has many debating "selective grief and outrage"... We also focus on a primary concern across the continent: Digital illiteracy. read more Music brands, Twitter hearts and recycling for education - 9 Nov 2015[Leigh Andrews] William Nicholson takes the reigns this week, tapping into the connection between bands and brands, describing "the fertile ground where music and advertising meet". The relentless expansion of global internet access over the past decade has led to some radical changes to both and led to their integration. Thrishni Subramoney takes the sentiment of social media to the max by describing the awkwardness of 'hearts instead of stars' on Twitter. read more The narrative of effective content marketing on any platform, in any language - 2 Nov 2015[Leigh Andrews] We kick off this week's in-depth articles with an overview of Friday night's Pendoring award winners. Danette Breitenbach attended and spoke to the night's big winners, Dominique Swiegers and Stephne de Villiers from King James Group, who took home the Pendoring Awards Prestige Award as well as a gold in the Live Events & Activations & Direct Communication category for their Sanlam Musiekfees campaign. read more The changing face of communications - 26 Oct 2015[Leigh Andrews] Today sees the start of our Special Focus on Communications. Curated by Louise Marsland, it features exclusive interviews with the trendsetters in this field and pinpoints global communications trends as well as the current media view on PR and how these two industries can better work together. In Marsland's latest [TrendTalk] column she also focuses on the hashtag revolution, especially in light of how last week's student protests about fee increases became a national 'movement' by mid-week, rallying support across South Africa via multiple hashtags. According to Dee Stephens, the line between content marketing and SEO is also blurring - instead of opponents, they actually work hand in hand like a well-oiled machine. read more Creativity in a nutshell – make mine an emoticon - 19 Oct 2015[Leigh Andrews] We're celebrating a raft of senior editorial appointments at Bizcommunity.com - girls run the world! Then, kicking off with some agency insights, I chatted exclusively to Gil Oved, co-CEO of the Creative Counsel, ranked by AdReview in 2014 as the largest marketing, media and advertising group in South Africa, about the impact of their recent acquisition by Publicis and so much more. Still on creativity, in her latest [TrendTalk] column, Louise Marsland talks us through the emojis of language. This is becoming increasingly important to consider as we become a more visual society focused on expressing ourselves as easily - if not creatively - as possible. read more Turn to white papers for digital marketing wisdom - 12 Oct 2015[Leigh Andrews] Jacques van Wyk writes that interactive print is crucial to direct marketing. This is based on insights gleaned from a white paper released by PwC that shows mobile elements in marketing campaigns are becoming an industry standard, with up to 88% of South Africans now having mobile internet access and mobile accounting for more than 50% of all global e-commerce traffic. Research from other white papers such as Exponential's recent one on audience engagement shows that audience engagement is no longer an intangible, immeasurable aspect of marketing. read more Tips on professionally handling customers - 5 Oct 2015[Leigh Andrews] We start off with an exclusive from Louise Marsland...The Mail & Guardian has appointed seasoned journalist, editor and digital strategist Verashni Pillay as its new Editor-in-Chief. It's hoped that Pilllay will reinvigorate the brand and steer the publication "back to its roots", following a raft of retrenchments, recent cutbacks and falling circulation. read more |
