Solly MOENG commented on Rebranding SAPS key to 2010 success

Great case story! The lesson that I believe Commissioner Cele should draw from this is that much of the work must be done from within. There are many factors that seem to take away the pride that many members of the SAPS could, indeed should, be demonstrating in the work that they do. Many are said to be under paid (perceptions rule here), scared of the tsotsis roaming the street, to easy to bribe, too fat / physically unfit and generally uncaring. Specialists in various fields need to be brought in to help make a turn around. It will not be an overnight strategy but something like 3 yrs seem realistic in order for the public to start seeing the difference. Corrupt police must be punished and be seen to be punished and good ones similarly rewarded. Members of the public who try to bribe the police must be punished and the cops must be firm in refusing bribes. Externally, the changes must be effectively communicated and public support solicited. Finally, no one must be afraid of reporting corrupt cops or act of crime. The SAPS must be taught to serve and to be seen to be serving!

Arthur Charlez commented on Grandpa commercial is the real deal

and Ogilvy.. the reputable Ogilvy.. exactly one month later.. decides to launch a TV ad for Grandpa headache tablets.. after they try and convince us that we should buy headache powders because it goes straight to work in powder form.

I feel insulted as a consumer who actually use these products..

Kate Elphick commented on Facebook has a big forking problem

Definitely food for thought. One other trend I am seeing is a lot more activity on FB since the economic crisis. People seem to have a lot more time on their hands.

Vivienne Gordon-Turner commented on Invest in training to recession-proof your business

This is such a good article by Sandy Pullinger and pertinent beyond the more obvious ATL advertising theme. I work in the specialist recruitment space and have been interested to see how different companies react to the current recession and concomittant downturn in the job market.
Up until mid 2008, recruiters like myself were constantly assailed by employers to find innovative ways to source rare skills in 'the war for talent'. Corporates were at pains to find exciting ways to entice prospective employees to their brands. However, with the supply-demand curve now clearly inverted to the detriment of would-be employees, the majority of companies appear to have put their recruiting activities into hibernation. Would it not make sense to use this time to engage with talented individuals both to assess potential for future recruitment drives, and to create a degree of brand loyalty in the candidate pool. A number of enlightened clients recognise this and have opted to do introductory interviews or work shadow days - with no promise of employment, but with immense goodwill generated as a result. The recession will end, talented individuals will be snapped up and only those companies that remained top of mind during the down-turn, will be seen as employers of choice.

Derick Poremba-Brumer commented on What will it take to “Celebrate Africa's Humanity”?

I agree with Sharon. The Soccer World Cup will come ... and go 'in the blink of an eye'. On the one hand it will provide SA with some state-of-the-art infrastructure (which is inanimate).
On the other hand it won't do much for "Africa's Humanity" because that will require something to benefit other people - and people are the basis of all human populations!

Hopefully I'm wrong - apparently all the new buildings have to make some provisions to benefit People With Disabilities ... like broader corridoors (that actually benefits everybody).

Gwen Watkins commented on Demise of a 'free' press in SA?

The concept of ‘pure’ journalism untainted by advertising influence hasn’t existed in the media since the last century. Ultimately newspapers have to make profit (ask O’Reilly) and special features have always been driven by advertising support – after all you don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

However, PR is hardly driven by editorial purity either. You comment, “The cornerstone of democracy is knowledgeable citizens and we rely heavily on the media to deliver this information.” Do readers know that most of it comes from PR consultants who are hardly giving an unbiased view? As a journalist I regularly get PR that speaks of “exceptional, magnificent, fantastic, best in the country, awesome, one of a kind (when clearly not),” and my favourite, “absolutely unique, completely unique and almost unique.”

Democracy and marketing are fairly far apart and whereas readers may want the ‘truth’ about political news, they expect and discount marketing hype when it comes to goods and services. Trading editorial for advertising is hardly an unfair business practice.

Derick Poremba-Brumer commented on Demise of a 'free' press in SA?

I don't think that this demise is new in any way. I'm in contact with an academic who states that her mother was treated as a naughty child in her class because she didn't listen to the teachers. Only when she was 12 did a teacher 'discover' that she was deaf in one ear! I don't think that the press was free enough in those days either!