Briefly…Marketing financial concepts to the masses; Starcom MediaVest Group wins Network of the Year– Festival of Media; The Wild’s Gail takes it off; Women’s Health launching annual age issue; Citroen speaks to commuters via exterior mall advertising strategy; M&G sponsors ABF; ABF announce industry sponsorship deal; Mentos does a 360 degree spin; Growth in African Mobile Ad Impressions in 2011; IKEA named the 2011 Cannes Lions advertiser of the year
Marketing financial concepts to the masses
Financial services company, Metropolitan has taken a different approach in delivering financial education to the low to middle income market. iMali’Yam is a financial education magazine, produced by Unlimited’s Mamba Media, which Metropolitan distributes to customers through 40 Customer Service Offices (CSO’s). Since 2007, 10 editions of iMali’ Yam have been published in striking cartoon visuals. The objective of the magazine is to provide as much useful information as possible, and to provide the reader with an enjoyable experience when reading about financial matters.
Two reader surveys have been conducted to test its efficacy. The first, in 2007 was a questionnaire, distributed to Metropolitan customers through its CSO’s and representatives. In 2009, a double page spread entitled “Please call me” was written into the magazine’s story line, the first time Mamba Media had used this approach. Again, incentives were offered and analysis was conducted internally.
Survey one showed that 91% of readers found the magazine to be informative and said that they learned especially from the ‘dangers of debt’ feature. When asked what other information readers wanted from the publication, 77% said financial advice, 75% said savings tips and 73% were interested in investment advice.
Starcom MediaVest Group wins Network of the Year– Festival of Media
The Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) received top honours at the Festival of Media Awards held in Switzerland this month. The group claimed the Network of the Year award following its 32 entries receiving awards across 13 different categories – more than any other network in the competition. The Festival of Media is the world’s first festival of media rewarding creativity and innovation that attracts around 700 delegates from over 40 countries.
SMG’s global network led the overall competition thanks to six wins, two honourable mentions and 24 total shortlists. Across the globe, SMG’s offices in Australia received eight awards followed by Norway, UAE and USA with four. Sweden received three while The Netherlands and UK both acquired two awards. Chile, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Poland all received one.
Gordon Patterson, SMG South Africa’s Group Managing Director comments, “We’re delighted that our network has been recognised with this globally prestigious award. It again proves that our investment in becoming a truly ‘human experience” orientated company offing a clear competitive advantage”. This is thanks to a truly integrated network which expertly leverages insights, infrastructure and intellect to produce leading media campaigns. We’re proud to be part of the group and commend all key players in their involvement in securing the award.”
The Wild’s Gail takes it off
The latest Women’s Health cover story, actress Gail Nkoane reveals her journey from Idols hopeful to TV actress, as well as startling weight-loss trajectory from former “chubby” beauty queen to svelte cover star. She reveals how she maintains her perfect curves through a routine that gives her the license to indulge in her favourite treats in moderation, including hot wings on a weekly basis!
Women’s Health Editor, Kate Wilson, says: “Gail has an amazing story to tell – not just in terms of her career, but also because she made a conscious decision to lose weight and dropped more than three sizes. She shares her health advice from personal experience and that will resonate with our readers. Gail is a relatively new face on the scene, but we feel she is gorgeous and charismatic enough to appeal to a broad audience. Women’s Health is the type of magazine that is able to ‘break’ new talent because we are not reliant on A-listers to attract readers. With our very targeted health approach, our audience does not necessarily expect to see big-name Hollywood stars on the cover – the brand is its own selling point – which allows us the freedom to promote both exciting new stars like Gail, and international names like Glee’s Leah Michele, who haven’t had covers in South Africa before.”
Women’s Health launching annual age issue
Women’s Health is launching its first annual ‘Age Issue’ in June. In the words of editor Kate Wilson, it is “dedicated to helping you carve out the longest, healthiest, happiest life possible.”
The magazine investigates women’s changing needs across all aspects of their life – health, nutrition, fitness, sex, wealth, fashion and beauty – in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Expect expert advice and life lessons tailored to each phase of your life to help you live a longer, healthier and more fulfilling lifestyle.
Citroen speaks to commuters via exterior mall advertising strategy
Citroen is enticing shoppers at KwaZulu-Natal’s Gateway shopping centre to check out its three latest models. It tasked Unlimited’s shopping mall advertising specialist, Primall Media, to draw the attention of KZN commuters and shoppers until September this year.
Primall Media’s Lee Curtis explains, “Citroen’s objective is to generate exposure of the sexy new models amongst KZN consumers, on an outdoor medium. It is key for client to catch the attention of these consumers as they enter the mall while they’re in a spending mindset. Securing outdoor space in the region is fairly difficult so our Exterior Billboard gives Citroen a unique opportunity to reach broader consumers who live in close proximity to the centre.”
M&G sponsors ABF
The Mail and Guardian newspaper is the first online sponsor of the Advertising Benevolent Fund (ABF), with a generous donation of R40 000 worth of online advertising space as well as a full page in the Mail and Guardian newspaper worth R60 000.
“When the ABF approached us and requested the sponsorship we were only too happy to assist,” says Les Van Dyk, Online Business Manager of the Mail and Guardian.
As its online business is growing exponentially, the newspaper decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to get involved with the ABF Vital Support Fund and provide it with a R40 000 online media sponsorship as well as a full page advert in the Mail and Guardian Newspaper.
Van Wyk said “We value what the ABF does and we know that there is definitely a place in the industry for a Fund of this nature. Our business is all about figures and turnaround time, and at times it pays little respect to the people who make it as exciting and as lucrative as it is. We need an industry support mechanism to ensure that there is a safety net when we need it most.”
ABF announce industry sponsorship deal
The ABF Vital Support Fund has announced an industry specific sponsorship package deal enabling sponsors, for a cost of R20 000 per annum, to buy into multiple ABF hosted fundraising events. “It is quite difficult to continually ask corporate donors, agencies and media owners to support some of our smaller events when they crop up. The ABF, under the guidance of the treasurer, Riana Stander, have put together this annual package to better assist our supporters in their annual planning budgets,” said Sharlene Vallance, the ABF’s Vice President.
The package will allow the purchaser to participate in both ABF Johannesburg golf days (The President’s Cup and the Crazy Golf Day), ten pin bowling and lawn bowls events as well as make provision for a block booking of ten tickets to the ABF’s annual Bursary Fundraising Comedy evening. It will also include a corporate membership fee for the year. Riana adds, “It simply makes financial sense. A once off payment is much more manageable than chasing up invoices throughout the year and spending valuable time on admin.”
Mentos does a 360 degree spin
Operating in its upmarket coffee shops and light meal environments, Billads sampled two new flavours, Mint and Winter Green, directly into consumer’s hands. In conjunction with the Billads campaign, a full 360-degree activation was executed including table talkers, scratch cards, window decals and thousands of instant prizes. This is the first campaign in which Billads has added window decals to its mix. They were strategically positioned to the left and right of the entrance doors, to instantly grab consumer attention, and were printed on both sides so that consumers approaching the site and those seated inside could view the artwork and communication.
Research conducted by Interact RDT questioned 150 respondents from nine different restaurant sites around Johannesburg and Pretoria onsite, and held telephonic interviews with 50 of these respondents one week later. Said Craig Segal of Nine Mile Media: “The research indicates that an average of 85% of all respondents noticed the advertising and 86% received a scratch card. It also revealed that 47% (onsite) and 43% (telephonic) respondents could accurately recall promotion specific details and, of these, 80% recalled ‘Mint’ as a new Mentos flavour.
Growth in African Mobile Ad Impressions in 2011
InMobi has released its latest Africa Regional Insights that provide a snapshot of mobile advertising trends on the continent between December 2010 and March 2011. Data from the report shows that InMobi now serves over 3.6 billion impressions a month in Africa and that these mobile ad impressions have grown consistently by three percent during the period.
Africa specific data includes:
· 36% growth in mobile impressions in Nigeria in the period
· 16% growth in mobile impressions in Kenya the period
· Nokia OS holds 36.9% impression share, followed by Symbian OS at 25.9% and RIM OS at 2.9%
The data also indicates that while eight out of 10 mobile adverts in Africa are delivered on either a Nokia or Samsung device, when it comes to smartphones platforms in Africa, RIM reigns supreme; although RIM/iPhone OS/Android collectively only represent 4.1% of the total Africa ecosystem. In fact, in just months, RIM has grown 2,5% share points while Nokia, which owns the majority market share (in total number of handsets, rather than just smartphones), has remained static.
“RIM Blackberry’s growth during the period is proof that the lowering cost of data plans and devices will lead to smart phone adoption in Africa,” comments Isis Nyong’o, Vice President and Managing Director InMobi Africa. “It will be critical to track both RIM and Android market penetration as a key to growth in mobile advertising ecosystem”
The report also showed that South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt represent the largest mobile markets in Africa. South Africa maintains position as the largest of thesewith in excess of 850 million impressions a month.
IKEA named the 2011 Cannes Lions advertiser of the year
The organisers of the 58th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity have announced that the 2011 recipient of the prestigious Advertiser of the Year Award will be the Swedish home furnishing retail company IKEA. This important accolade is presented to advertisers who have distinguished themselves for inspiring innovative marketing of their products and who embrace and encourage the creative work produced by their agencies.
Working with a number of different agencies, IKEA has encouraged creative, unconventional and humorous advertising to raise awareness of their brand and drive people to enter their stores. “IKEA’s approach to its marketing and communications, with its decentralised structure and strong relationships with many different kinds of agencies, has been hugely successful over many years,” says Philip Thomas, Cannes Lions CEO. “The company’s superb track record at Cannes reveals a clarity of vision and an enviable willingness to allow its agencies to truly flex their creative muscles. We congratulate both IKEA and its many agencies across many countries on this well-deserved honour.” The Advertiser of the Year trophy will be presented in Cannes to Noel Wijsmans, Global Retail Manager and Vice President of IKEA Group, during the Film, Film Craft, Titanium & Integrated and Creative Effectiveness Lions on Saturday 25 June 2011.
AAA Master Classes a must for winter learning
When the AAA School of Advertising first opened its doors 21 years ago, the founders knew the school had what it took to make greats in the ad industry. Today the AAA continues to produce high calibre graduates who will one day be greats on the ad scene themselves! In celebration of its 21st birthday, and to update AAA graduates, current top achievers and potential leaders in ad agencies on LEADERSHIP issues, the AAA will be hosting two Master Classes in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Says Dr Ludi Koekemoer, Principal of the AAA School, “These ‘not to be missed’ Master Classes, will be offered by advertising & marketing industry gurus and promise to deliver valuable insights to tomorrow’s leaders. On the cards to speak include industry stalwarts such as Reg Lascaris, Brand Pretorius, Gail Curtis, Aubrey Malden, John Griffin and Graham Warsop. The Master classes’ subject matter will include leadership lessons these professionals have learnt during their illustrious careers, lessons learnt from successful sports teams and the leadership challenges for the future.
The breakfast workshops will take place in Cape Town on Wednesday June 22 and Wednesday July 6, 2011, and in Johannesburg on Tuesday July 19 and Tuesday July 26, 2011.
For more information and to book please contact:
Cape Town: Mel Tripp: (021) 4221800 or mel@aaaschool.co.za
Jhb: Ruvimbo Tengende: (011) 781 2772 or 0827630207 ruvimbot@aaaschooljhb.co.za
JWT Johannesburg and children walk on sunshine
For children in Nigeria, drinking Ovaltine is like walking on sunshine and they have the smiles and dance moves to prove it in the latest TVC produced by JWT Johannesburg. The actors in this TVC sing the catchy well known tune “Walking on Sunshine” from Canadian band Katrina and the Waves which got the world dancing when it was released in 1985.
“To add authenticity to this ad we asked the kids to sing the song themselves as opposed to just overdubbing the band into this ad,” says Diane Fraser, Business Unit Director at JWT Johannesburg. “It adds credibility to the product and emphasises the popularity of this brand in Nigeria, which to the target market feels ‘like walking on sunshine’.”
JWT Johannesburg was awarded the Ovaltine account, part of the Twinings stable of brands, for the Nigerian market in September last year. All strategy and material for the Nigerian market is generated out of the Johannesburg office with JWT Lagos supporting on local insights, market specific material and the activation implementation.