Tell better stories
[Justin Cohen] Ever tried to sell, persuade or teach and noticed your audience's eyes glazing over? Perhaps you were in the audience and the presenter had just clicked onto the 40th slide, you know the one I mean. The one with about 12-bullet points and a triple bar graph that you can never quite understand. The presenter finishes up satisfied that he has covered all the information and that's EXACTLY what he's done - covered it - forgetting that the point is to uncover it.


Launch of information and data quality forum
Data management and information quality specialist InfoBlueprint this month launched the South African Community of Practice (CoP) of the International Association of Information & Data Quality (IAIDQ). This is said to be the first local information and data quality forum, a professional association for those interested in improving business effectiveness through quality data and information.

TBWA young lions roar
In a hotly contested competition, young creatives from TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg, Kursten Meyer and Verona Singh, recently won the South African Young Lions Award in the lead up to the Cannes Festival 2008.

Energy efficient advertising in the looming crisis - Smatch Media
South Africa is heading towards tough times. The energy crisis, exploding petrol prices, recession - and winter. Scary visions of unemployed marketing experts twiddling their thumbs in freezing cold apartments and darkened mansions are frightening the living daylights out of the advertising industry. Those in the know say: You don't need to fire your marketing staff or reassign them to gardening duties in order to cut costs and continue making a profit! Instead, shift some of your budget toward energy efficient, innovative media ideas to make a real difference this winter... Reap the rewards of originality.

Taking email for granted?
[Kezia Crawford-Cousins] If familiarity breeds contempt, email is in severe danger of being neglected as a serious focus for corporate attention when it comes to evaluating end users' experience of their IT infrastructure.

Customer decision-making affected by social media
[Walter Pike] A social media think tank, the Society for New Communications Research, recently conducted a survey to quantify the effect of social media on customer service. The research quantifies what we have suspected and that is that social media has a very big effect on customer decision making and that influential people are making use of it to “vent” and that other people are listening.

Questions before starting a social media campaign
[Gino Cosme] When it comes to running a social media campaign, here are eight questions that you should ask yourself before starting.

Hip Hop to become digital fashion diva - QuickOnline
Hip Hop Fashions, a label synonymous with feminine Afro-glam and worshipped by fashionista throughout South Africa, is ramping up its digital presence with quickOnline, a specialist digital marketing company that makes online easy.

Afrikaans cooking mag goes quarterly
Sarie Kos, Sarie's stand-alone food magazine, has become a permanent addition to the Sarie menu and will now be published quarterly. According to Barbara Joubert, those that enjoyed the first issue can look forward to more “honest soul food to complete any dinner table”.

Worldwide polls supports press freedom, Internet access
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND, US: A new worldwide poll finds widespread support for freedom of the press and strong opposition to government restrictions on Internet access. Although most publics surveyed believe the media in their countries should have more freedom, those polled in Russia and many Muslim countries think their leaders should be able to regulate news coverage they consider politically destabilising.

SABC condemns Sunday Times headline
The SABC and group CEO Dali Mpofu yesterday, Sunday, 4 May 2008, released a statement condemning yesterday's Sunday Times headline ‘Cabinet plots against me: SABC boss'.

World press pays tribute to colleagues
[Issa Sikiti da Silva] A huge cloud of uncertainty, anxiety and fear hung on Saturday, 3 May 2008, the 18th World Press Freedom Day, as media practitioners and lobby groups across the globe paid a silent tribute to their imprisoned, missing and dead colleagues and decried the critical downturn of press freedom even in countries claiming to be liberally democratic.

Ornico launches new editorial analysis tool - Ornico
ImpacTrac Statistical Report (ITSR), a new editorial coverage analysis tool, is being launched by Ornico Media Information. Representing a vast enhancement on Ornico's previous editorial analysis products, ITSR will become critical for businesses and organizations that need insight into their own and competitors' editorial coverage.

Mobile advertising spend booms
[Eddie Groenewald] While mobile advertising spend stats are sketchy, ranging between US$ 2.44 billion by 2009 and US$250 billion by 2018, the industry is looking to make it easier for advertisers and consumers to produce and consume mobile advertising.

Our newspaper editors are boring
[Chris Moerdyk] South Africa's newspaper editors are boring. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they're not good editors; after all, they're having to work under trying conditions, such as increasing political pressure on freedom of the press and having to balance editorial integrity with commercial imperatives.

Information services from IFRA
DARMSTADT, GERMANY: IFRA last month published the 11th edition of its international directory, the IFRA Suppliers Directory 2008 - Suppliers and Service Providers to the News Publishing Industry. The print run of more than 10 000 copies will be distributed in some 80 countries. The sixth edition of IFRA Newspaper-Community.com 2008 - Webguide to the News Publishing Industry, also recently became available.

Scenario planning for newspaper companies
The future is unpredictable, but that doesn't mean you can't do something about it. That message has particular importance for the newspaper industry and is the basis of a new report, "Scenario Planning for Newspaper Companies," from the Shaping the Future of the Newspaper (SFN) project of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN). The report is based on interviews with eight of the world's most prominent publishers, a two-day scenario planning seminar involving executives from 15 countries, and research developed for the SFN project, which identifies, analyses and publicises all important breakthroughs and opportunities that can benefit newspapers all over the world. An executive summary of the report can be found at www.wan-press.org/article16963.html.

Investor relations online: it's a niche thing
[Derek Abdinor] Creating and managing investor relations (IR) websites is a great exercise in fulfillment. You have a captive audience of institutional investors, shareholders, analysts, journalists and students that scour your domain and you can manage all of their informational requirements with some careful planning and design.

Sidelsky of Bouffant directs Harley Cologne - Bouffant
Marc Sidelsky of Bouffant has directed the new Harley Cologne commercial for Ogilvy Johannesburg titled “Bad Ass”.


Pollack shoots VW Polo ads in darkness - Fresh Eye Film Productions
The latest VW Polo television commercials were shot in the dark. Playing off the Eskom situation, director Gavin Pollack from Fresh Eye Film Productions found shooting with limited light sources very interesting technically.


Are you ready to lead? - Evo Media
Few brands lead in the modern world - most prefer to follow - but Evo Media doesn't believe in following and prefers to push the boundaries of convention and take brands into a space that's unlike anything else - one that's extraordinary.

Talk2Us strengthens its marketing and communications muscle - Talk2Us
Talk2Us welcomes Buhle Madlala, a talented account executive. Her strengths are in the arena of communications and public relations, complementing and adding to the existing dynamic team.


The London Fair bookie's take - The Write Co.
Essential items for any serious bookie. An oyster card, a book fair guide, a hotel key and a badge!


Global Fluency expands footprint in Africa
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA: GlobalFluency, a multi-channel marketing and strategic communications firm, has expanded its network of global affiliates with the addition of five new members in South Africa (HMC Seswa of Johannesburg), Brazil (LVBA Communicação of São Paulo), Russia (Fort-Ross of St Petersburg), Ireland (Comit Communications & Marketing of Dublin) and France (Marketing HotSpot of Paris). “As more corporations demand a tight, integrated approach to marketing services across borders, languages and cultures, they will continue to look to a single source that can deliver both regional insights and global influence,” says Donavan Neale-May, president of GlobalFluency. “In extending our reach in Brazil, Ireland, Russia, South Africa and France, we are expanding our capabilities in both established geographies and some of the most dynamic and important emerging growth markets.”

Nic Marais says goodbye to Kfm
Popular 94.5 Kfm breakfast show host Nic Marais will be leaving the station at the end of June 2008. Marais, a bachelor's graduate of the University of Cape Town (UCT), plans to further his studies at a top US law school.

DJ Sbu back on Y
[Tshepiso Seopa] Sibusiso Leope, better known as DJ Sbu, is officially back on the YFM airwaves - this after speculation, denials and even a podcast stating that DJ Sbu will not be joining YFM or any radio station but was exploring other opportunities off air since he left SABC's Ukhozi FM in March 2008.

Giving market research a bad name
Britney Spears starts belting out from the recesses of your hand bag: it could be the boss calling, or your son wondering why he's the last one left at school. The bag is upended in desperation to stop the infernal noise. Finally, Britney's voice is located and you answer it to a delightful person on the other end: “Good afternoon Miss..., my name is Margaret and I'm calling from...”

Does money make the world go round? - Synovate
Above all else, South Africans define financial success as being able to provide the basics of food and shelter for their families. This is according to a global study carried out by market research company Synovate.

Readiness for 2010: South Africans remain confident! - African Response
Seventy one percent of South Africans say “Yes, we will be ready to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup!” - this is according to market research company African Response.