The Bland & The Spicy – Sunday Times and Nandos

Tags

Nandos, Oscar Pistorius, Sunday Times

I had already written this column prior to seeing the Sunday Times this morning but decided to change it as I felt compelled to disagree with them this morning

The Bland

I like the Sunday Times. It has something for everyone. However, its headlines in recent times have left much to be desired – once again this week they chose to publish a front page headline “Oscar Parties” – and in my opinion it’s a non-story.

It has no significant relevance as in terms of Oscar’s bail conditions he is able to go out and party with his friends. For this to be a lead story on a Sunday is clearly shocking.

It is a typical example of paparazzi-style journalism for the front page.

The Madiba story on its own could have been a lead story, The Judicial Service Commission, Nkandla and many others. Instead the Sunday Times chose Oscar Parties.

Social media was abuzz with the story this morning with people questioning its significance. As he is a murder accused, is it of national importance that we are made aware of Oscar Pistorius’ social life? It is a story that belongs in the inside pages of the Newspaper. Not on the front page.

For the record, City Press had a photo of Oscar on the front page with the same story but had in the inside pages. They chose to lead with the meat story. Giving out Mampara awards to all and sundry is done weekly by the Sunday Times but for publishing this story as its main headline the newspaper itself has become a Mampara.

As for me, The Sunday Times has gone Bland.

The Spicy

Somehow I missed this ad as I don’t believe it was flighted on TV, but I did manage to catch it on social media. As usual, Nando’s are rising to the challenge of telling consumers about new meals in an entertaining and in their typical style. This ad uses some dubbing and news footage to get the message across.

It is a typical Parliament setting gets the message across and certainly entertains. Nando’s are spicy on this one (excuse the pun).

Check out the ad here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCR1sO1GL8Y

 

The Bland and The Spicy – MiWay and Coca Cola

Tags

Bland, Coca Cola, Difference, Feel Good, Geyser, Inspiration, Inspiring, Insurance, MiWay, Spicy

So how’s your old geyser… the one in the roof, that is – and do you reckon you can make a difference?

The Bland

The current MiWay campaign has been on air for quite some time now. If you watch Isidingo or 7de laan, you would see all the variations of the campaign.

There is the “Fame has it Perks” where fans ram their vehicles into Mpho’s car just to get a look at him. And there is the one that shows his vehicle with “You Suck” all over it implying you can claim online. There is also an ad that shows the geyser bursting over him. The intention is to show geyser is standard with homeowner’s policies. But this is not unique to MiWay. All homeowner’s policies (as far as I am aware) have geyser cover as part of the Homeowners policy. This clearly shows a lack of understanding of the competitor offering.

I happen to like the MiWay campaign. It is innovative and shows that you can claim online and insurance is made simple. However, this campaign has been flighted so many times that is now beyond wallpaper. I don’t notice it any longer. In 2012 alone MiWay spend R99m on TV advertising (Rate Card Value according to Telmar Transmit). If they took only 5% of that budget, they could have refreshed the campaign at least twice a year if not longer. Playing in a space in which there is so much clutter means brands need to stand out – but outspending the competitor is not always the solution.

The top 15 competitors in this category had approximately 40,000 spots flighted in 2012. That relates to over 3,300 spots per month. This brings us back to the point of remaining relevant and also standing out.

Hence, MiWay your campaign has gone Bland.

The Spicy

I have seen this ad many times on TV and to be honest I quite liked it. But I never thought of giving it a Spicy. However, my view of this ad changed when I was treated to the 90-second version on cinema in a big screen with all its grandeur. The ad I am referring to is Coca Cola’s Difference campaign.

The 90-second version gives you goose-bumps and certainly shows that ordinary South Africans can make a difference with small things. Be it a smile, small change, a hello to a stranger.

With South Africa going through its own challenges at present, crime, poverty, corruption, Marikana to name a few, Coca Colas ad certainly makes you feel good. It’s a pity that the majority of South African’s won’t see the full version. The SABC and e.tv should ensure that this version is shown in their top-rated programmes such as Generations, Isidingo, 7de Laan and E-News part of their CSI duty to promote goodness, togetherness.

We should adopt Crazy For Good in our daily lives. Coca Cola this ad is really Spicy. Click on the link for the 90-second version.

The Bland & The Spicy

Tags

Advertising, Bland, Boring, Errol, FNB, Inspiring, ipads, Spicy, Steve, Vodacom

Bland can mean many things Tasteless, Mild, Ordinary, boring and in some cases enough is enough I can’t take this anymore. FNB’s Steve campaign has been running for some time now and in the beginning it was an amazing campaign. The different variations of the Radio executions were exciting and you always looked forward to the next installment  Personally the Mrs. Dlamini ad is my favourite.  But over time the campaign got quite tired. They were saying the same thing over and over again. It became wallpaper. We know FNB offers e-bucks, ipads, Cellphones, data, cheaper 3G bundles, better service and competitive bank charges. Then Steve took a break and went on Holiday. He is back now still working for Beep bank but now trying to open a FNB account over the phone. His bank now also offers Ipad’s and so on. But the campaign is exhausted. Quite frankly this whole Beep bank novelty has worn out to the point that it is now irritating. Steve has become bigger than the brand. We don’t say did you hear that latest FNB ad we now say did you hear that Steve ad. When the brand becomes secondary to the character in advertising then you know it’s time to go. Remember the Boet and Swaer Castrol ads some years back well they eventually became a bigger hit than Castrol itself.  In Steve’s case he has outperformed the brand. It is time Steve went on retirement.  Sure, FNB got a lot of mileage out of the campaign and increased its market share. But they need to take their brand back and ensure the hero is the product and its offering and not the character in the ad. Thanks Steve you have entertained us for so long but it is time to go. This campaign has now reached Bland.

Spicy

Every so often we find an ad that truly resonates with South Africa. The latest offering from Vodacom and its Errol Ad is such an example. It uses ordinary folk in day to day situations to get its point across. I am sure most men out there feel like Errol from time to time. But what makes this ad work is that it is simple and demonstrates the product benefits through its story. You can run Errol but you can’t hide. A Real Spicy Ad from Vodacom

Click on the link to View the ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja0__TkU0Bo

The Amazing Adex

Tags

Adex, Advertising, Cinema, Competitor Spend, Media, Online, Outdoor

One thing I will say is that Amazing is probably the most ambiguous word ever. It can mean amazing in the sense of wonderful or amazing in the sense of the mother of all errors. In the same vain Adex is quite simply Amazing. You choose which side works for you. The tool has been in existence for many years and has served the industry well. Many marketing and media decisions were made with its guidance. As for me, I like Adex. It is a great tool.
The reason for this article is that I was simply amazed at the naivety of my long time friend Gordon Patterson. Gordon is a doyen in this industry and someone with a very well respected mind. For context please see http://themediaonline.co.za/2013/02/et-tu-cinema/
Adex reporting on Cinema figures have for a very long time just been too ridiculous to believe (the word amazing in the latter is relevant here). This really started with the advent of the Cinemark Golden reel. Figures were highly inflated simply because the discount structures were so high that it made the medium look good. Nu Metro has for a long time not disclosed its figures. Ster Kinekor however had continued to disclose its figures albeit inflated.
The Outdoor category is an interesting one. There are many Outdoor companies who also fail to disclose figures for whatever reason. The Outdoor categories within Adex have pretty much remained as is and has not evolved with the changing of the media. A billboard is no longer just a 96 sheeter or 3×6 Citilite. It has changed significantly. The outdoor categories in Adex are as follows:
Activation
Airport
Billboards
Commuter Promotion
Electronic
Premises Signage
Retail Street Furniture
Stadia Promotions
Transit Media
Walls & Murals

These days we have wraps, construction sites, outdoor in Malls, salons, fashion houses and washroom posters to name a few. These have been in existence for many years. Yet not all Outdoor companies report the data. Primedia Unlimited is an example of not reporting data to Adex. So to merely come out and be concerned about the lack of cinema data is naive. There is an entire sub section of Outdoor which is missing from adex and combined could greater than the entire Cinema category. I applaud ACN and the main Cinema players to have taken the step to get the reporting right. I would rather not have any Cinema data since this displays a grossly inaccurate media category that is one-sided. Well done guys.

The Online segment is also another category that is missing loads of data. I have no doubt that all DMMA member who can, report their data to Adex. Again like Outdoor this media type has various categories, Banners, Rich media, Search, Social etc. Yet the only data we can pick up is “Internet” with no further explanation on the breakdown. The growth of Facebook and Google advertising is going largely unnoticed as the figures are not reported. So at first glance of a competitor media strategy on Adex could indicate a drop in spend but “is it actually true”. It could mean a shift in spend to a media owner that is not represented in Adex.

How can we get it right?
The bumpy road started a long time ago. The fact that Cinema has withdrawn its figures to get it right simply puts the spotlight back on Adex.
TV, Radio and Print are reported with some degree of accuracy since the data from TV and Radio come directly from the stations and Print is still being manually measured.

On the Cinema side we need figures from the main players that are reasonably accurate. To do this both players will have to ensure that if a campaign is valued at R5m but only cost’s R1m the actual cost should be inflated by no more than 25% to get a degree of accuracy. Indicating the value of R5m is misleading.
We will probably never get Facebook and Google to display their figures but we can get the local major players included to have data that makes more sense.

As an industry we require an Adex symposium with all the relevant players and attempt to make the figures inclusive. The result from this can be that figures be displayed with some accuracy and used with a level of confidence. I am glad that ACN together with Ster Kinekor and Nu Metro have taken a step not to display Cinema until they get it right.

As for my friend Gordon Patterson, my suggestion is we look at the bigger picture of Adex data rather than be concerned about inaccurate Cinema data not being reported.

It is the best of times it is the worst of times.

Tags

Economy, Education, Inspiration, Life, Politics, Reflections

It is power of Nkandla, the New Age of politics; it is the sadness of Marikana, it is the gate of Zilledom and an All New Country. Welcome to South Africa.
It is a country filled with knowledge but not used wisely.
Our Finances are solid yet we are regularly downgraded by ratings agencies. One in four of the population is unemployed. It is an economy bursting with mineral wealth but lacking in worker survival.
It is known for the blame game and not accountability.
It is country where 12 million people go hungry every day.
We flick a switch and our lights come on but with the high cost of electricity it may self destruct
It is a country where 30% is good enough to pass matric.
It is a land of opportunity but only if you are connected. It is a place of diversity but only if you the right colour.
It is the promised land of Africa the gateway to the continent but cannot provide housing for its children.
It has the most powerful constitution in the world but you have to fight for your basic human rights – water, sanitation, housing and food.
It is a land of nine official languages yet we struggle to say Hello to each other. It is a land of many cultures yet we know only our own. The colour and diversity of the nine provinces speak of a world in one.
We have the ugliness of crime. We speak of a Motherland but rape our women daily. We abuse our children but talk about the future of the country.
We have Doctors but inadequate health facilities. We winning the war on HIV but the battle is far from won.
We have broadened our highways yet we have narrowed our views
We have traffic lights but not traffic sense. We kill 1465 people during the festive season and life goes on. No public outcry or no street demonstrations.
We listen but do we hear. We preach religion but are not tolerant and forgiving.
We speak of a quality life but yet inequality divides us.
We spend our lives being busy but have not learnt to live. We hug a Teddy Bear but won’t smile at a stranger.
We are passionate about sport but not our lives.
We have hosted spectacular sporting events but we lack development. Where is the next Neil Tovey, Bryan Habana or Makaya Ntini coming from?
We spend our time pressing the “Like” button and forgot the “Love” button
Our discussions are on Facebook and no longer the dinner table.

My name is Colin Ramparsadh. I was born in this wonderful country and will remain a Proud South African. Yes, this country is filled with challenges Poverty, Crime, Corruption, lack of Economic Growth, Inequality, Unemployment, Education and Healthcare to name a few. But I still love it. Let’s make a difference.
“We may have all come on different ships but we’re in the same boat now”. Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr.

Consumer Value – Reality or Myth?

Tags

Checkers, CRM, Dischem, FNB, Pick n Pay, retail, Spar, Woolies, Woolworths

Kevin Roberts once said “Consumers don’t stop buying when economies go through down cycles. They look harder for value”. In the current economic climate this still apply. We are in a stage where Value is the order of the day in an economic downturn or not. Consumers are constantly evaluating their shopping habits. The major retailers and banks need to respond to this ever changing consumer.

Who is adding value?

On the banking front FNB does it very well. Their E-Bucks programme has been a constant hit with consumers. The bank simply rewards consumers with E-Bucks for just using their card to pay for goods and services. There is no additional charge or change in habit required. Consumers simply go about their business normally. Being and FNB client for the past 3 years I have acquired a certain amount of E-Bucks. Recently we needed some small electronic items for the house so we went over to Makro and spent R900. We paid the entire amount with the E-Bucks card from the points accumulated from FNB. This to me was adding real value. Sure, one may argue that we eventually pay for it via bank charges (a subject for another article) but FNB has just saved me R900 at Makro. So I am happy. I was at Engen garage the other day and after filling up the attendant asked if I wanted to pay for my petrol with an E-Bucks card so I obliged. FNB just saved me another R300. Combined I have used R1200 worth of E-Bucks which I can equate to five months worth of bank charges. FNB, you do offer customer value

On the retail side I believe Pick n Pay is moving in the right direction. The introduction of the smart shopper card is nothing short of a master stroke. Not only do I earn points on the shopper card but also continue to earn E-Bucks as I pay for my goods with my FNB card. The smart shopper card points contribute to a cash voucher which I could eventually use at a Pick n Pay store.

As a member of the WRewards programme at Woolworths you will receive lower prices on selected items. Discount vouchers by week to use at a Woolworths store. If you have a MySchool or MyPlanet card, or if you link your Woolworths Difference Card, Store Card or Credit Card to the MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet fundraising programme, they will automatically donate up to 1% of the value of your purchases on your behalf to the school or charity of your choice. This certainly makes me enjoy shopping at Woolworths knowing that a percentage of my spend is going to a good cause.

I am not a Clicks shopper and don’t have their loyalty card, I can’t ignore the fact that they offer discount vouchers to their members. This can be used in store and also at Nu Metro theatres. They also have regular discount vouchers and promotions for members. This is again a move in the right direction in offering customer value.

Occasionally I go to Dischem and I am a member of their loyalty programme. There is no direct benefit in terms of vouchers or discounts but what they do well is that the points I accumulate is sent to the Dischem Foundation. They in turn support various charities. So, when I turn on 702 and hear the Dischem foundation giving R150 000 to a needy charity it makes me feel good as I am contributing to that charity even though it is indirect. It makes me feel good about shopping at Dischem and will continue to do so.

In the same fold as Dischem is Spar (sadly not nationally). Occasionally I go to the West Rand Lifestyle Centre Superspar. Once you have paid for goods on exit there is a cabinet with a number of pigeon holes. Each Pigeon hole has a name of a school. All I have to do is put my till slip into the school of my choice and then Spar will contribute an amount to that particular school. Again it makes me feel good about shopping there even though there is no direct benefit in terms of vouchers or points. It is a strategy that Spar should look at adopting nationally. There are many schools in South Africa that could use a cash injection.

Who is not doing it very Well?

Checkers is probably one the oldest and finest retailers in the country. Their marketing has promised the consumers the lowest prices and the best products. Their entire business has been built on this promise. Its share price and profitability has increased over the last few years. But with all of its successes have Checkers lost touch with its consumers or failed to keep up with the change in times?

The reason for the question is Checkers latest marketing effort “Our Price Cuts have saved South Africa R200m since January” campaign. I have been intrigued by this campaign as it has numerous TV commercials one with a cute little girl telling the announcer how much she saved at Checkers that day and she is going to buy a bicycle with the savings. A really nice ad and it certainly gets a so cute from my household. The other ads on TV are Fact based ads as to why you should shop at Checkers and how much Checkers is saving you. One ad also has a subtle dig at the Smart Shopper Loyalty programme from Pick n Pay. There has also been various radio ads and of course the inserts in the various newspapers. This was indeed a multi million Rand campaign across various channels. The only way you could miss an element of this campaign is if you were in hibernation. So thank you Checkers for telling us how much you saved us. Is that enough when there are retailers offering both savings and value?  Does Checkers indeed save me money? So armed with their latest insert that I found in the Caxton newspaper (key no. Ninety9cents GNFOCCO341/E&A) I set out to buy a selection of their products to test the savings. The insert reads offer valid from Monday 23/04/2012 until Sunday 06/05/2012. Prices apply to Checkers and Checkers Hyper stores.  The store I chose was Checkers Hyper in Sandton City and for comparison I chose Pick n Pay Hyper in Woodmead. I chose products on the Checkers leaflet and bought the exact same products at both the stores.

The results are below.

1st May – Products On the Checkers Catalogue
GNFOCCO341/E&A	Checkers Hyper	Pick n Pay Hyper	% Difference
Kelloggs Corn Flakes 750g	R                      27.99	R                        32.99	17.9%
Roller Towel (4)	R                      19.99	R                        32.99	65.0%
Skip Intelligent	R                      53.99	R                        69.99	29.6%
Ultramel Custard	R                      17.99	R                        17.99	0.0%
Knorr Cup A soup	R                      19.98	R                        21.98	10.0%
Joko tagless Tea	R                      18.79	R                        18.99	1.1%
Colgate TP	R                      15.98	R                        17.98	12.5%
Freshpack Tea	R                      14.69	R                        12.99	-11.6%
Bakers Marie	R                        5.99	R                          5.99	0.0%
S/Light Dishwash	R                      15.99	R                        15.99	0.0%
Take 5 Juice	R                      14.79	R                        19.99	35.2%
Mrs. Balls Chutney	R                      14.99	R                        14.99	0.0%
Tobasco Sauce	R                      14.99	R                        24.99	66.7%
White Sugar 2.5kg	R                      19.99	R                        24.89	24.5%
Bake Beans	R                      22.99	R                        25.96	12.9%
Peach slices	R                        7.99	R                        10.49	31.3%
Flora Lite	R                      17.99	R                        24.99	38.9%
Feta Cheese	R                      24.99	R                        23.99	-4.0%
Government Bag	R                        1.17	R                          1.17	0.0%
Total	R                    351.27	R                     419.34	19.4%
*Dairybelle Milk not available at Pick n Pay

Pick n Pay came in at 19% more expensive on the same products. So yes Checkers does save me money. But do they offer long term value. Is paying 19% more for products and gaining loyalty points in the long term sufficient for me to shop at Pick n Pay?

Pick n Pay may argue that of course Checkers would be cheaper since I have chosen to purchase products off their catalogue and also during their promotional period. I decided to do the exercise again but this time I chose mid month and used a Pick n Pay leaflet (key no. 1170606). The reason was to see if Checkers could maintain their low prices over its major competitor outside of its promotional period. So armed with my Pick n Pay leaflet I set out to test this. I have chosen to shop at Pick n Pay Hyper in Northgate and Checkers Hyper in Fourways Mall.  I must say the availability of specials during mid month is quite limited.

The results are below.

15th May – Products On the Pick n Pay Catalogue
1170606	Pick n Pay Hyper	Checkers Hyper	% Difference
Omo Auto W/P	R                      49.99	R                        57.99	16.0%
Iwiza Maize Meal	R                      13.95	R                        16.99	21.8%
Lipton Yel Tea	R                      19.99	R                        23.89	19.5%
2ply Luxury	R                      38.99	R                        49.89	28.0%
All Gold Sauce	R                      13.89	R                        17.99	29.5%
McCain Mix Veg	R                      20.49	R                        28.99	41.5%
Gouda Cheese Slices	R                      17.99	R                        14.99	-16.7%
Iodated Salt 1kg	R                      12.99	R                        17.99	38.5%
Mr. Min surface	R                      15.99	R                        24.99	56.3%
Bake Beans	R                        4.79	R                          5.49	14.6%
Sunflower oil 2l	R                      27.95	R                        32.99	18.0%
Government Bag	R                        1.17	R                          0.78	-33.3%
Total	R                    238.18	R                     292.97	23.0%
*Serena Lasgna and Provita Multigrain were not available at Checkers.

The test indicates that Checkers were 23% more expensive than Pick n Pay. Note the products were exactly the same.  So what does it prove, simply that Checkers with all the will in the world will not be able to offer low prices all the time? The same can be said for Pick n Pay. It is simply not a sustainable strategy. Consumers need to be offered value so that their loyalty can be maintained. The introduction of the Smart Shopper card by Pick n Pay is a move in the right direction in offering value. The fact that they have over 5 million shoppers using their card illustrates its success. It is time for Checkers to take a hard look at their offering and move beyond low prices.

As a retailer identifying ways to tap into loyalty to win over consumers for the long-term is critical. No longer is standing on a rooftop with a bell in one and a megaphone in the other shouting low prices sufficient to attract and maintain customer loyalty.

Launching a loyalty programme is not cheap. As Pick n Pay will tell you that whilst they showed healthy revenue growths of 8% in their last trading update (2^nd April). Their operational expenses were significantly up and that was mainly attributed to the launch of Smart Shopper. However, the expected medium to long term incremental increase in revenue due to Smart Shopper programme will eventually pay for cost of the programme.

As indicated previously saving money at major retailers such as Checkers or Pick n Pay are hygiene factors consumers expect it from them. Adding value to consumers is no longer a myth but a reality. So I would expect Checkers to respond in a more meaningful way to Pick n Pay’s Smart Shopper offering rather than looking at advertising to solve what really is a business issue.

Bidvest Bank Shubh Yatra (Happy Travels)

Bidvest Bank – Shubh Yatra
Over the last little while I have been subjected to the most irritating ad known to radio. It is from Bidvest bank, advertising their foreign currency services to the Indian community. The ad is currently being flighted on Lotus Fm. The delivery of the ad in the typical Peter Sellers type Indian accent is actually quite annoying. It is a clear cut illustration of a creative team that missed the mark. It seems they were ill informed on the brief or the strategic planner just did not quite think this through. This type of stereotyping of a community is past it’s sell by date and is no longer remotely funny.  I am sure the client and the creative team must have approved this ad on a Friday during lunch. One would have thought that Bidvest would want to make an impression and inroads into a community who regularly travels abroad especially to India. Sadly an opportunity missed. I would rather go to Steve and his Beep bank to buy my foreign currency than to go to a bank that has chosen to talk to me in a disrespectful manner.
The Indian community is probably among the simplest to market too. If one listens to Lotus FM, watch Eastern Mosaic on TV or any of the Indian channels on DSTV, the advertising is largely based on targeting a grouping of people say LSM 8-10 rather than Black, White or Indian.  The ads that appear on SABC TV or ETV are the same used to target the Indian sector of the market. And they do work. The ads that appeal to a white or a black person will in most instances also appeal to a person of Indian descent, unless of course it is in another language.
Hats off to Bidvest in thinking that they should have a specific ad to the Indian Diaspora, however in their attempt they got it completely wrong. How could they have improved it? Simply, using groupings from AMPS and TGI would have given them an understanding of the audience. A visit to Chatsworth Centre in Durban or Trade Route Mall in Lenasia would have also helped. This would have provided them with an opportunity to observe their target audience and simply just hear them speak. Even people from India don’t speak English in the way the ad portrays it.
The creative team may argue that this is a fun and tongue and cheek way of getting a message across.  Maybe so, but it is still offensive and an outdated way of marketing a message.  If Radio was the main driver of the message it should have been made simpler and less odious.  I have no doubt that it has given a few people in the boardroom and recording studio a few laughs, but unfortunately it just does not work. This is a typical example of a great initiative talking to a specific audience gone horribly wrong.  All I can say to Bidvest is ensure that your Insight into your target market is correct. Speak to them in a tone and manner that is not condescending.
Bidvest Bank Shubh Yatra (Happy Travels). This ad is a definite DOUBLE ZERO.

An Advertisers Nightmare

I read with great interest and amusement the article from Yvonne Johnston (http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/12/50582.html). From the outset I would like to declare that I have a great deal of respect for Yvonne and I am also one of her fans. She was in her time a great media mind and now an absolutely fabulously great marketer. Her credentials at Brand SA are proof of this.

I am still a news junkie. My day starts with News24, Iafrica, Businessday and Sky news online. It helps keep me in perspective on what’s happening in the world. I don’t own an Ipad, Kindle or iphone. I do own a Blackberry which helps me keep track of all my e-mails. I don’t he use it for surfing the net as the screen is too small so I use my laptop for that. I am proud of my simple technology use; it helps me stay in check. I am happy to pick up my novel and read it as it is and occasionally put in a donkey ear in case I can’t find a bookmark. Does that make me Technophobic don’t think so. In fact I consider myself very techno savvy. I just don’t own many gadgets and I am not an early adopter. I believe that both the online and offline media have a place and marketers can use them both to reach me.

I am also an art collector. Once every quarter I go to an auction at my son’s Montessori school and buy a few pieces. They may not have the same monetary value as a Picasso But the emotional value by far exceeds any Picasso.

I shop at Edgars and Mr. Price. I enjoy the Spar and also go to the Pick n Pay. I get my medicines from Dischem and refuse to go to Clicks because I find them to be very un friendly.

I don’t own a PVR. I seem to like my TV Live and NOT recorded. What’s the point of watching Steven Gerrard scoring against Man Utd on a recording? Sure the PVR has a place. There are some awesome programmes that one would want to keep for watching over and over again. The best part of watching TV is waiting for the ads. Its entertainment value is in some instances better then the programming. How else would I have been suckered into believing that one bottle of Sunlight Liquid will wash 1000 dishes (I do the dishes sometimes) or the Mr. Muscle ad telling me of its Multi purpose use or the Dygon helping me clear the bugs? I am a convert on these products. I moved my bank account to FNB as they said “How can we help you” and they gave me that limited edition VISA Electron card with the World Cup trophy embedded on it a real collector’s item and worth moving my bank account.

I go to the movies and I am always the first in the popcorn Queue because I don’t want to miss the start of the ads.

The 2010 world cup gave many advertisers the platform to showcase their products and talent. Who in their right mind would fast forward the MTN Ayoba ad or the Waving the flag ad of Coke? They gave me goose bumps throughout the world cup. And I still want to watch them. They were absolutely mind blowingly patriotic.

My current favourite is the Boxer ad series from Toyota. They just talk to me. It is like the advertiser has taken the trouble to know me. I like TV and TV advertising. Did I mention it helped pay my salary for the last 20 odd years and also helped buy those art pieces at the Auction? 

So how would an advertiser reach me well he will have to fork out R100 000 for a 7de laan spot on S2, an English Premier league package on S3 for about R500 000 and R2000 for Jhansi Ki Rani on Zee TV. I love soaps some of them are great.  Let’s not forget the news channels, eNews, NDTV, CNN, Sky and BBC.  My favourite media habit is 702 in the morning and Afternoon and also the Redi Dereko and Chris Gibbons shows.

I am an Advertisers Nightmare. It would cost them Gazillions to reach me whereas MS. Johnston well it seems R40 000 per month (before discount) on the Daily Maverick will do the trick a bargain I’d say for such a quality audience. And I am unashamedly proud to say it Mr. Advertiser I am a media junkie and it’s going to cost you money to reach me.

The Big Consumer Rip Off

On Thursday I took my wife and son to the airport. They were travelling to Durban to attend a family wedding. While waiting for them to board I decided to go for some breakfast. I chose a famous bakery that I often used to frequent in Fourways. They make the most amazing bread and croissants. Anyway I sat at a table and ordered some tea and a toasted sandwich. In front of me was the take away section. There was a lot of people bussing around and buying stuff inside the bakery. Above the coffee station I noticed a sign which read “NO TILL SLIP” “NO COFFEE”. I looked at this quite surprised and could not believe that in this day of customer service someone could be so arrogant as to have such a sign. Surely there are other ways of telling customers to please present a till slip before asking for coffee. The sign was big and bold. I wonder what the foreign tourists during the World Cup thought of it or did they just brush it off and say we seen it in other countries as well. The point is we need to show customers we care and present ourselves with some humility. Whether the bakery takes the sign off or not I sure they will continue to flourish. My appeal would be to do it properly.

Which now brings me to the big Consumer rip off? As indicated my wife and son are in Durban so I used the opportunity to go and watch a movie. The movie I wanted to see was “I Hate Luv Stories” A Bollywood movie which was showing only at the Zone in Rosebank. I paid my R49 for the ticket. I stood in the refreshment queue and ordered a Medium Popcorn and Medium Coke Zero, it cost R35. The same size coke instore at a supermarket would cost no more than R10 and popcorn at best another R10. Doing the sums that would mean I just paid R15 more than normal price or 57% more. How do they justify this? Wait it gets worse. I happen to glance at the top of the menu selection of stuff you could buy at a kiosk. Bottle water that I could buy at the Pick n Pay for R6 I now had to fork out R14 for the privilege of drinking it inside a cinema. As with most Bollywood movies there is an interval. So at the interval I was feeling low on Sugar and bought a Chocolate and a Coke Zero which cost a further R40. So my little night out at the movies cost me R124 just to watch one movie. I have not added in the R45 for the dinner after the movie or the petrol getting there. The movie was great and worth the ticket price but the TreatZ that went with it was a bit expensive and I felt that I was ripped off. With the volume of Water that they sell at the cinema I have no doubt that they get a good deal on price. If we assume that they buy it for R5 they sell it for R14 that would make a profit of 280%. A tad much I would say. Even popcorn one could argue that the unit cost is much lower than the selling price. The cinema does not allow me as a consumer to bring my own food beverage inside so I am forced to buy at the cinema at these ridiculous prices. It would be interesting to see how the new consumer act can tackle this issue. I have no issues with the cinema charging whatever it wants for its food and beverage that is their right but then it must allow me as a consumer to choose whether I buy from them or not. I can’t watch a movie without Water and Popcorn. However I would like to buy it at a price I am willing to pay.

Behavioural Targeting – Should it Be Common Practise

The accelerated adoption of the World Wide Web has seen advertising investment migrating from traditional media to online media. Planning online campaigns can be as simple or complex as the media planner, strategist, or marketer chooses.

A simple, but inelegant, solution may be to purchase 100 000 impressions on a site and hope for the best. What constitutes ‘best’ in this scenario? ‘Best’ hopes your impressions are served to your ideal audience – which requires that the “right” audience is clicking on your ad and being directed to your own website. The best, also being that at the end of the campaign you get a report saying that instead of the 100 000 impressions as contracted, the site drew an additional 25 000 click-throughs resulting in more exposure. However, the click-through rate from your online advertisement to your own website is only 0.25. The standard response from the online advertising website owner is that this is within the norm for websites. Anything above 0.25 is excellent. In traditional media planning this represents a typical ‘hope for the best’, shotgun approach.

How to refine the wild discharge from the barrels of a shotgun into a tightly-niched, pin-pointed telescopic rifle, high return on investment, campaign is the burning question.

Online advertising has advanced to the point where an astute advertiser may apply his mind in selecting the media he purchases. More and more websites and search engines charge advertisers only for ads a customer clicks on. The ad is served without charge, unless the customer physically clicks on it. Seemingly initiated, certainly perfected, by GOOGLE, it is the preferred method – saying “we have confidence in our site and our quality audience”.

The how? How do we find quality audiences?

Not all online advertising opportunities offer Cost per Click or Behavioural Targeting. One may assume they are concerned about the numbers of impressions given away and most likely do not have the ability to track consumer behaviour on their site. So what is Behavioural Targeting and why is it important that South Africa moves into a concentrated digital marketing communication era?

Behavioural Targeting uses information collected on an individual’s web-browsing behaviour, such as the pages they have visited or the searches they have made. This assists in delivering online advertisements and content to those users most likely to be interested.

In addition, the owner of the site can recommend on issues such as ‘most’ other users viewing the particular product also looked at … and list accessories, services aligned to the product thus reassuring the viewer and positioning him directly into a collective of probable buyers.

It can be used on its own or in conjunction with other forms of targeting based on factors such as geography, demographics or the surrounding content.

Behavioural Targeting allows site owners to display content more relevant to the interests of the individual viewing the page. My pet hate is still being served impressions for “1st Insurance for Women” Both the site and the advertiser got it wrong in this case.

In essence, Behavioural Targeting allows media buyers, marketers, and online stores to selectively target the most desired consumer and to offer a range of product and accessories attractive to the consumer, but retaining behind the scenes, and readily available on the Mouse Button, the full range of offerings. Coupled with Cost Per Click we not only get the customer we want but only pay for customers choosing to browse our website. An immensely powerful combination that virtually eliminates wastage!

Google, Facebook, Yahoo are some of the major sites offering Behavioural Targeting. All also offer Cost Per Click campaigns. Despite that many online networks offer the facility across a number of different sites, however there are still too few to undertake major campaigns and advantage ourselves fully.

South Africa lags its American and European counterparts on Behavioural Targeting as we do not have the critical mass available. Major online groups such as 24.com and Primedia are well-positioned to champion Behavioural Targeting in South Africa. Their audience base includes general, business, women, teenagers, and men. It should be noted though that Sales Houses Apurimac and Habari do offer this service for some of the global sites that they manage.

From an advertiser’s perspective, Behavioural Targeting is a logical progression to pin point the target market for their products. The consumer perspective includes the imperative issue of privacy, a debate currently raging in the USA as Behavioural Targeting is in reality, a form of permission based marketing. Consumers accessing sites need to be informed that their behaviour on the site is tracked and content relevant to that behaviour offered to them.

Still Behavioural Targeting is a powerful media planning tool targeting the “right” customer and only paying for the media when the customer clicks on your ad thus minimizing wastage.