Advertising is essentially all about people and it is about more than influencing people’s buying behaviour with persuasive selling messages. And you learn a basic rule of advertising: people buy from people.
I am one of the twin girls born into a business family in Gqeberha. Newspapers were a part of our lives – not only were they prominently displayed in my parents’ and grandparents’ store, but it was also an unspoken tradition for all of us to read the newspaper every day.
So it’s not that surprising that my first paid gig was as a freelance movie columnist for The Herald newspaper. And when I completed my BComm degree in accounting and economics, it was the media industry that called.
I learnt from the bottom up, and got to understand almost every aspect of print media. One of my career highlights is being part of the team making up the plates used in the old printing press that was housed at The Herald offices in the Baakens Valley building.
But my career path didn’t take a direct line – and was not confined to print media. I spent four years at a PE-based advertising and PR agency, then nearly four more at a Cape Town-based communications agency, before joining the Arena Group family in 2000. Initially, I signed on as brand manager for The Evening Post, but when that paper folded later in the year, I made the switch into company’s advertising departments – and the rest is history.
I love that advertising is essentially all about people. It is about more than influencing people’s buying behaviour with persuasive selling messages. You learn more about your client, and about people, in this industry. And you learn a basic rule of advertising: people buy from people.
This is why I believe networking, connectivity, constant learning and mentorship are all major contributing factors to individual success. I’ve been fortunate to have had a few mentors; one of them, Ernest Theron, constantly highlighted my potential. This gave me the confidence to raise my hand for opportunities, and when the company launched a Xhosa newspaper called Ilizwi, I applied, and became a women issues columnist for the publication. I have worked in circulation, publisher`s office, production, handling customer complaints … and these experiences all opened my horizons.
In 2014, I was nominated by the company to represent it in the drive towards greater gender balance in the media. Women in News (WIN) South Africa was launched in partnership with WAN-IFRA member association PDMSA and the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef). I was one of 19 women who made up the first cohort of the programme. It was driven through Wits University, who afforded me a mentor to help streamline and craft my way forward.
The journey did come without a lot of obstacles. To build teams you must make everyone feel included. You have to build a network within and outside your category of business focus and expertise. If you want to change how people have been doing things in the past, they must believe in your vision.
I strive to do things right the first time, I double-check everything; a small error in advertising may be costly or cause irreparable harm. Paying attention to detail plays a major role in your success in advertising.
Play to your strengths, build trusted colleagues, coach, mentors, and advisors whom you can bounce ideas and scenarios to and they provide you with sound advice. I believe in proper training, support and continuous coaching and mentoring – especially for more women in media.
Tiny Koaho is the national sales manager for the public and private sector at Arena Holdings.
