Rapport comes to the party as gold Pendoring sponsor

"Rapport's gold sponsorship of the Pendoring Awards bears testimony to the newspaper's commitment and dedication to the futherance of the Pendoring Awards and Afrikaans advertising in particular. It is paramount that Rapport remains actively involved in the promotion of creative Afrikaans advertising, not only to ensure its own future, but also to actively demonstrate its pay-off line," says Rapport marketing manager Cathy Pestana.

Cathy Pestana, Rapport marketing manager

She says the promotion and future of Afrikaans are the lifeblood of the newspaper. "A newspaper renders a service to its community, its readers. Just like any other service, the newspaper's sustainability will be under threat if it does not meet the aspirations of its consumers."

Rapport boasts more than 1.4 million readers who buy the newspaper every Sunday to obtain news and information, as well as commentary on the past week's events, in the language they feel comfortable with, "therefore it is crucial that Afrikaans marketing messages are also accessible to them.

"Rapport regularly undertakes market research to keep abreast of readers' expecatations and needs. The newspaper's letters page, blogs and website also provide better insight into its readers. These revealed that Afrikaans speakers prefer to be addressed in their home language, so the promotion of Afrikaans advertising not only develops a closer bond with consumers; it also improves their loyalty to the brand.

"To create a good and effective advertising campaign in Afrikaans, is an art in its own right - and one that should not be underestimated because Afrikaans is still spoken by 13,4% of the South African population. The use of Afrikaans in English advertising campaigns proves just how deep the language has crept into the hearts of all South Africans," Pestana stresses.

She points out that Rapport actively promotes Afrikaans in various fields: from its involvement in Afrikaans festivals and support to music and theatre productions, to the release of the popular 'Rapport Sing Jou Taal' CDs and awards like Pendoring and Rapport VONK Afrikaans music awards.

Rapport reaches some 27% of the total Afrikaans-speaking market. The majority of Rapport readers have significant buying power, with 96% of the readers in the higher LSM 6-10 groups and 83% in LSM 7-10. "Marketers who ignore this lucrative market by not addressing it in its mother tongue, lose golden sales opportunities... and a lot of money!"

When one considers the incredible growth in Afrikaans festivals and the masses they lure, including English speakers, the increase in Afrikaans music, theatre and TV productions, the hugely successful Afrikaans soaps on TV, and the growth in emerging artists in the music industry, it is quite clear that Afrikaans is here to stay, she reckons.

"Afrikaans will continue to survive as long as the corporate world supports and promotes the language. The language will probably undergo some transformation to meet the needs of future generations, but this dialect will still be a form of Afrikaans.

"It's not for nothing that, since the 1700s, we've worked so hard to promote and protected the language. Afrikaans is a lekker language. It's a culture. It's a language that is set to hold its own for years to come," Pestana predicts.

Pendoring General Manager Franette Klerck says Rapport's continued support of Pendoring is invariably, and in more than just a financial sense, worth its weight in gold.

"The newspaper is not only a founding Pendoring member; it commits itself annually to the futherance of the creative use of Afrikaans in the advertising industry and in many other areas. Hence Rapport is much more than a Pendoring partner and sponsor. As a standard-bearer for Afrikaans, Rapport is a shining beacon in the future of Afrikaans."