Kidnapping

Kidnapping risks for execs and minors on the rise

Upsurge in opportunistic kidnappings drives awareness of kidnap and ransom insurance. Recently released statistics has revealed a sharp upsurge in kidnappings in South Africa. This comes while news of the rescue of high-profile kidnapping victim, Sandra Moonsamy, is still fresh in South Africa’s collective memory.

Official police statistics show that kidnapping cases have increased by 139 percent over the past decade, with opportunistic abductions accounting for the greatest number of incidents. South African businesses must therefore be vigilant in ensuring the safety of their employees when travelling on business. It is also advisable to have a kidnap and ransom insurance policy in place to cover costs for retrieving individuals safely.

This is according to Dave Honeyman, Managing Executive: Accident & Health at SHA Specialist Underwriters, who says that employees are often at greater risk of falling victim to opportunistic abductions when traveling to cities that they are unfamiliar with and may be at risk of being snatched by kidnappers who believe they can extort money from their families.”

In addition to this, Honeyman says that the abduction of school-aged children is also becoming increasingly prevalent. It is believed that there have been numerous incidents where schools and parents have been victims of extortion following the abduction of a child. When faced with the choice of saving a life, there is no sum too high. Coming up with the ransom funds can, however, be financially crippling, this is why we strongly urge organisations (including schools) to familiarise themselves with kidnap and ransom insurance products.”

Honeyman highlights that the real value behind having kidnap and ransom insurance is not only having the policyholder reimbursed for the cost of the ransom, it also provides unlimited access to a team of specialised response consultants. These are highly trained and qualified individuals who have primarily had careers in the military, police, intelligence and diplomatic services. The consultants provide valuable kidnap response advice services, as well as dedicated support to secure the hostage’s safe release.

“Proper management of a kidnapping by highly trained individuals is essential to protecting the life and well-being of the victim, as well as the organisation’s assets. With that said, there is one caveat to keep in mind: when companies take out a kidnap and ransom insurance policy, there is a clear condition in the policy that obliges the insured company to take reasonable steps to restrict knowledge of the insurance as far as possible. In other words, the insured organisation should ensure that only key employees are aware that the cover is in place.”

In addition to the reimbursement of ransom money, kidnap and ransom insurance also covers the destruction, loss, confiscation or wrongful appropriation of money in transit to the kidnapper. It also reimburses the costs incurred in attempting to mitigate physical disfigurement or emotional harm suffered as a result of a kidnapping as well as judgements and legal expenses incurred by the insured company due to legal action taken by the victims or their families.

“Whilst kidnapping cannot be prevented, businesses can secure the appropriate insurance cover to alleviate the damage caused and assist both the hostage as well as their family on the road to recovery,” says Honeyman.

“The sad reality is that kidnappings are on the rise in South Africa, and business owners, school administrators and parents alike, need to be prepared to deal with it in the correct and safest manner. Businesses and schools have a responsibility to those in their care, and this cover should be considered as part of every organisation’s overall insurance armoury,” he concludes.

These are highly trained and qualified individuals who have primarily had careers in the military, police, intelligence and diplomatic services.

Brand/Agency CO-CREATION – Are two heads better than one?

Uber and Netflix have created a monster – a new type of consumer wooed by an unsurpassed customer experience (CX) that is changing the game for brands worldwide. From personalised viewing choices to real-time feedback on trips – brands live in a world where ‘instant’ is no longer a novelty and seamless transition from tablet to smartphone to desktop to human, is a baseline expectation. And brands are scrambling to keep up.

In South Africa, as in the world, customer co-creation is not just a buzzword, but a lethal weapon in the arsenal of brands striving to improve customer experiences through real, valuable solutions at the concept or design stage of a new or improved product or service. Instead of playing catchup and engineers creating products in a vacuum, brands like Lego, DHL and the CTICC are crowdsourcing solutions, often in a vulnerable way.

Brand/agency co-creation is another avenue for brands to get back into the driver’s seat when it comes to creating solutions for the customers, they, let’s be honest, know best. This type of collaboration creates a pro-active partnership where the agency is part of the process from start to finish instead of being brought in at the end to slap a flashy design on it.

Co-creation refers to clients enlisting input directly from an agency on a product, service or process. The agency works directly

with the brand’s internal team and (ideally) have the same KPI’s as the internal team. Specialist brand storytellers, Idea Hive, is a local agency that works with blue-chip brands to tell African stories for Africans on a variety of platforms. The team have found client co-creation to be so successful that they now include it in most of their projects.

CEO, Yaw Dwomoh, encourages brands and agencies to move from a traditional reactive position of servant/master to one of reciprocity and partnership in collaboration.

He expands on some of the benefits available to brands co-creating with agencies in the process of strategy development, tactics and execution to ultimately improve the brand/consumer relationship:

1. It injects speed and agility

“For clients who are in the highly competitive fastmoving foods industry for example, speed-to-market is key. Sitting in on internal operational, marketing and product strategy sessions and workshops from the get-go means we are able to give and receive valuable input into the efficacy of the marketing strategy and day-to-day processes that affect the relationship between the client and their consumers.

“Working with internal teams, we are able to pivot quickly, should issues arise, make small adjustments and monitor consumer reactions real-time and streamline the design process as we gain closer access to decision-makers.”

2. It plays to both parties’ strengths

“Part of the success of co-creation is that both parties are working towards a common goal. Trust is built, when we build something together. Marcus Stephens, EVP of Brand Marketing for Sagamore Spirit says, “Agencies typically have a diverse client base, so they can bring a broader, unbiased perspective and help internal teams see the larger opportunity”. Similarly, the internal team relies on the fact that they are experts in their most important subject – their customer. The agency becomes a valued partner in the process who can inject relevant strategic direction into the creation process while leveraging the client’s expertise to inform strategy.

The agency meets the client where they are, whether that is by working or meeting onsite. This makes it easy for the client to provide feedback in a way that doesn’t interrupt their workflow.

3. The customer is king

“As customer needs are placed at the centre of the cocreation process, customer experience soars. Where internal teams may have an unintended blind spot when it comes to unhappy clients, informed and honest feedback from a through-the-line agency like ourselves gives brands and agencies the opportunity to solve customer problems together.”

Co-creation results in a win-win situation for brands and agencies. If consumers are happy, clients win, and agencies are included in future projects. Creativity becomes a joint responsibility and it is no longer left only in the agency’s lap. The more everyone can get in the room together – to align, plan; reimagine and innovate – the stronger the impact will be on the brand and the agency’s common goals.