Briefly…Competition Success for Kalahari Ads; Aegis Media’s online debate scores great panelists; CAR Conference to highlight lessons from emerging markets; Cell C, Avis, Chevrolet launch Facebook Check-In Deals in SA; Record number of entries for Spikes Asia 2011; and FINESSE fine-tunes the best A-Z best websites to visit
Competition Success for Kalahari Ads
Kalahari Ads Win a Car Competition campaign, which saw two winners drive off in brand new cars, was a success resulting in an increase in site traffic of 17% for July and an increase in ad placements of 30% for the month.
This is according to Bronwyn Johnson, head of marketing at Kalahari Ads, who says that the win a car competition, which ran from June 15 to July 31, was aimed at increasing brand awareness and to encourage people to place ads on the website and in the 50 Kalahari Ads branded Naspers title newspapers such as Beeld, Die Burger, Volksblad, People’s Post, Tygerburger, City Vision and other Media 24 titles.
“The results show a significant increase in the ads placed via newspapers and online, as well as an increase in visits to the site, which show the success of using the competition as a platform to drive traffic to the site,” she says.
The competition required entrants to upload an advert on the Kalahari Ads site, which would automatically enter them into the competition to win a VW Polo TDI car.
“The response to the competition has been incredibly successful and we have seen an increase in the amount of traffic to the website and an increase in the number of adverts being uploaded,” Johnson adds. “We are really happy that more South Africans are visiting our site and using Kalahari Ads to buy and sell virtually anything.”
Aegis Media’s online debate scores great panelists
Aegis Media in association with www.bizcommunity.com <https://www.bizcommunity.com> has called in an elite panel of speakers to debate at its first ever online “digibate” for the media-marketing arena. The Thought Leadership Digibate will stream live on Thursday from 9am on www.thetaxi.co.za. Panelists include:
· Dawn Rowlands, CEO, Aegis Media Sub Saharan Africa
· Arjan Pomper, CEO, Aegis Media Middle East & Africa and The Netherlands
· Nic van den Bergh, Head of Digital Media, Trigger/Isobar
· Peadar Hegarty, Marketing Innovation Director Africa, Diageo
“We are excited to kick off the Digibates with such a strong panel and we really look forward to growing the already exceptional quality of panelists going forward,” says Rowlands, CEO of Aegis Media, “We are also excited about the outcomes from the debate which I am confident will add value to the media-marketing sector as a whole.”
The first Digibate, hosted by radio personality Soli Philander, will be centred around The Africa Question and will bring into discussion;
· What are the core digital marketing challenges
· What is the main technology platforms driving growth on digital marketing in Africa?
· What is the current level of digital skills across the continent and how does this influence strategies
· How do marketing communication strategies differ across the various African regions?
· Fragmentation of channels, (300+ TV stations, and radio stations) how does this affect what is done on digital channels?
These Thought Leadership Digibates, will be hosted on a monthly basis and will cover topics as varied as all forms of media from digital to broadcast, magazines to newspapers and Out-of-Home. These will all be discussed by some of the most respected marketing and media personnel in the industry.
CAR Conference to highlight lessons from emerging markets
The South African motor industry can learn important lessons and principles from emerging markets – China in particular – in fostering an even more robust strategy for the future. That’s the word from Tim Lee, president of General Motors’ international operations, who will deliver the keynote address at next month’s CAR Conference.
The 2011 CAR Conference, in association with Tracker, takes place at Nasrec on October 12 as part of the Johannesburg International Motor Show. It will bring together specialist speakers from across the world for a global perspective on the challenges facing automotive manufacturers and suppliers.
SA industry guru and former McCarthy CEO Brand Pretorius will head the list of distinguished speakers, which will also include economist JP Landman, Naamsa president and VWSA managing director David Powels and RMI chief executive Jeff Osborne.
Among the issues to be discussed are:
· Adapting marketing strategies in a changing automotive market (Greg Levine, sales and marketing director, McLaren Automotive)
· Rebuilding a brand image and the lessons that could be applied in a changing automotive market (Xavier Gobille, managing director, Renault SA)
· Changing profiles and behaviour of the South African car buyer – demographics and psychographics (Alan Todd, Bateleur Research Solutions).
The CAR Conference is recommended for anyone at management level in any aspect of automotive and component marketing, exporting, manufacturing and retailing. This includes advertising, vehicle finance, fleet managers and buyers, insurance executives, retailers, sales and service managers, human resources managers, shop stewards, and other senior staff in the retail side of the motor industry.
Check it out on www.carconference.co.za. For media accreditation, contact Dean Dicks on 021 530 3205 or email, dean@ramsaymedia.co.za.
Cell C, Avis, Chevrolet launch Facebook Check-In Deals in SA
Social media fans who find it hard to tear themselves away from Facebook apps on their phones now have a new reason to keep connected, with the launch in South Africa today of Facebook Check-In Deals.
“Facebook users can now enjoy special deals at nearby businesses, just by checking in using Places,” says Adrian Hewlett of Habari Media, Facebook’s South African sales partner. “All you need to do to get the deal is show the coupon on your phone to the cashier – it’s instant and doesn’t depend on how many other people sign up.”
South Africa’s first Facebook Check-In Deals partners are Cell C, Avis and Chevrolet, all of whom are offering compelling deals for the launch.
Chevrolet is offering a discount on the new Chevrolet Spark Lite L. Even those who aren’t shopping for a new car right now can benefit as R1 000 will be donated to the GM Child Life Foundation for every 100 check-ins. Avis Rent a Car South Africa has also signed up, the first car rental company in the world to do so. Cell C is offering two deals on 24-month Casual Chat 100 contracts, which include 100 off-peak minutes per month.
“Businesses can offer four different types of deals,” says Hewlett. “The individual deal is the kind people are familiar with, but there will also be loyalty deals, which you can claim after a certain number of check-ins, and friends deals that apply when a group of people check in together. We expect people will also love the charity deals, where the business donates to a charity every time people check in. Chevrolet is the first company in South Africa to offer a charity deal, but we’re looking forward to seeing what others come up with.”
Hewlett adds that South Africa is the first emerging market to launch Check-In Deals. “South Africans are huge Facebook fans, and most of us access it on our mobile phones,” he says. “We’re a natural market for this.” There are currently 4.25 million active users in South Africa, of whom 3.1 million access Facebook through their mobiles and another 425,000 check in to various places weekly.
Record number of entries for Spikes Asia 2011
Taking place in just a few weeks time, Spikes Asia, the regional awards and festival celebrating Asia Pacific’s creative excellence in advertising and communications, has received a 20% increase in entries versus 2010 and so far 1 000 delegates have already registered to attend this year’s three-day event.
As the last few entries are being checked, over 3 600 pieces of work have already been processed and are waiting to be judged in Singapore later this month by 55 regional and international creatives and industry leaders. Whilst the final number of entries submitted in the 14 different categories – Print, Outdoor, Digital, Direct, Promo & Activation, Media, Design, Radio, Film, Print & Poster Craft, Film Craft and new for this year, PR and Mobile – will be announced in the next few days, this will be a record year for the annual event.
Spikes Asia delegates can look forward to an intense and interesting festival programme, featuring an exciting line-up of 27 seminars and six workshops. Speakers include: Rémi Babinet, Chairman of BETC Euro RSCG and Global Chief Creative Officer of Havas; Jeff Benjamin, Partner and Chief Creative Officer of Crispin Porter + Bogusky; Bobby Chinn, Chef, Restauranteur, Author and TV Presenter; Daniel Morel, Chairman and CEO of Wunderman; James Thompson, Asia Pacific CMO, Diageo; Michael Wall, Global CEO of Lowe and Partners; and John Wren, President and CEO of Omnicom Group, amongst many others https://www.spikes.asia/festival/speakers/
All seminars will be simultaneously translated into Japanese, Korean and Mandarin, an additional benefit for attendees.
FINESSE fine-tunes the best A-Z best websites to visit
Spring is upon us and every plant seems to be sprouting buds. Not just the plants! People are venturing out and starting to gather new ideas and inspirations. That is why FINESSE Magazine is presenting readers with practical tips and tricks to try out in the September issue.
The A-Z internet guide, which is presented over 5 pages, fits in perfectly with the focus theme “How to…” This guide contains useful websites and will be one of those articles readers would want to tear out and keep afterwards.
Each letter of the alphabet represents a word referring to an important issue in our readers’ lives, for example, “A” represents “anxiety”. Two short reviews of interesting websites are placed underneath each heading. One website has a Microsoft tag that readers may access directly from their smartphones while the other one has a written link.
