Future of Media (July 2021) by SundayTimesZA

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THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

CONTENTS

A note from the Future of Media team Which digital revenue models work and why? 21

How to remain human in the digital age

The selling power of SA celebs

Fighting through the fog

34 The power of trust 39 Digital: the taming beast

42 Finding your voice

A note from our headline partner

s the industry undergoes rapid changes across its various sectors, there’s no better time than the present to think about the future of your business and its space in the media industry. Just when you think you know where consumers hang out, another medium is born that is so intelligently customised to the needs of your consumers that it can rapidly affect your own bottom line. For the second year in a row, we are proud to be the headline partner for the Future of Media digital conference

Editor & project manager: Jade Fleishman Partnership manager: Cortney Hoyland Surveys editor: Les Tilley Designer: Busisiwe Ntsamba Sub-editor: Danni Marais

July 2021

series, which is designed to analyse and debate each of the trends that represent themselves in our evolving industry, and where captains of the media industry such as yourselves can discuss a way forward. We would like to thank you all for sharing, debating and participating in the series to help ensure we create a sustainable, innovative and agile media industry. Zunaid Parker – executive head, VodaMedia

he words “agile”, “pivot” and “expecting the unexpected” took on new meaning in 2021. A lot may have changed, but keeping positive is one thing we are still focused on. While we cannot ignore the impact the pandemic has had on our lives, environment and the world as we knew it, there is still a lot to be grateful for and to celebrate and plenty of exciting opportunities to look forward to. That’s why the Future of Media team wants to ensure the industry is continuing the conversation, and is providing a platform for us all to share our insights as we navigate this changed world. The second edition of the Future of Media supplement brings you excellent thought leadership articles, summaries of the online discussions, and video links of the actual online events. We are grateful to our partners VodaMedia, Primedia Outdoor, The MediaShop, FM Redzone, TILT, The Media Online, Out There Media, Introducing!SA, WAN-IFRA and Arena Events who helped ensure these valuable conversations were able to take place. Thank you for collaborating and engaging with us along the way.

Enjoy the read! Jade Fleishman Editor & project manager fleishmanj@arena.africa 072 -712-3503

Brought to you by:

Cortney Hoyland Partnership manager hoylandc@arena.africa 082 -442 -0624 3

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Building a better world with purpose-led creativity

By Natalie Botha, director of creative development, Kantar

ou can’t pass a socially distanced water How to authentically activate cooler or attend a team check-in on Zoom purpose in your marketing these days without hearing the words “brand purpose”, so much so that it has become one of the most misused and See purpose as a compass: misunderstood buzzwords today. A world that’s increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and But don’t let that scare you away, as purpose-led ambiguous is tricky to navigate. Purpose provides you with companies are making a tremendous difference in the a consistent, long-term approach to brand management world. In today’s “era of public” that’s all about how to which, in turn, provides certainty for both the company and contribute to a better society, purpose isn’t just about consumers. saving the planet, or at least it’s not about merely saying that you’re doing so in your company’s purpose-led brand manifesto. See purpose as experience: Today, it’s all about taking action. Purpose starts with people, so customer-centricity must No one expects world peace from their yoghurt, and be at the heart of the business. The call centre needs to be an end to global warming from their bank. But what as passionate about the brand purpose as the CEO. consumers do expect is proof of small, tangible steps your brand is taking to help make life a little better for a person, community or part of the world. This creates a more credible and achievable brand See purpose as communication: purpose, which results in more sustainable brand In today’s ad-cluttered world, brands struggle to get their growth, as proven by the BrandZ Global Top 100 Most messages past consumers’ filter bubbles. Reach them by Valuable Brands. But while your passion for a cause may aligning your brand purpose with their interests and ensure be strong, if your brand is all talk and no action, your it’s also the driving force of your marketing communication. credibility will be questioned: so your existing brand purpose needs to shift up a gear and put societal values in the public arena. If you’re feeling a bit frazzled from the Creating best-in-class purpose-led campaigns year that was and in need of a marketing 101 refresher To put this into practice, the Cannes Lions Awards of global for 2021, brand purpose is the reason your brand exists, creativity say catalysts such as climate change, diversity and extending beyond all things commercial to the role you cultural moments are especially effective in advertising if play in society. incorporated authentically. In last year’s #FutureOfMedia report, Abey So, ensure the big idea is rooted in what your brand stands for. Mokgwatsane, managing executive of brand at Then execute the campaign in such a way that it inspires Vodacom, said: “Good organisations your audience to get involved. know WHAT they do, great To reinforce your brand purpose, go back to organisations know HOW to your positioning and show your brand values in do it, but the best organisations action. Align with brands with similar values know WHY they do what they do. that hold themselves accountable; listen to Even better is when that WHY is your consumers, larger community and the inextricably linked to creating a social conversation to understand where your Consumers want to more sustainable world.” brand can support their action; and then do so see proof of small, This means your purpose needs on the most appropriate channel. to be relevant to your brand and Whether you’re talking to traditional or new tangible steps your feel genuine to the public — not as media, articulate with confidence that you are a brand is taking to though it has been bolted on as part purpose-led brand, and help create a brave new of a corporate social responsibility improve society world where purpose fuels profit and profit fuels checklist. even greater impact.

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THE BIG TAKEOUT

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KEEPING IT REAL T

How to remain human in the digital age

he first order of business for Covid-19 was forcing us to leapfrog into a version of the workplace that few recognised. Whether pitching on Teams, hosting webinars or producing content virtually, everyone was undergoing a learning curve of some kind. Yet, while some things have changed dramatically, a few things have remained the same – and one of them is the importance of maintaining meaningful partnerships. Proximity may not be what it was in 2019, but the importance of nurturing human connection is the same as it was in 2019 — BC or AD. At a time when vulnerability is a levelling force, marketers need to act as mirrors. Consumers are in a disarrayed, reactive state of mind. And that presents an opportunity to approach communication in a more empathetic and participatory way. Now is when we should remember that we’re speaking to people, not data points. We must aim to be purveyors of unifying,

comforting human truth. My mentor, Nontokozo Madonsela, always says: “Connect first, sell second.” That’s easier said than done, though. How can we connect better? A fundamental inroad to worthwhile insight lies in the power of social listening. We cannot always claim to know, but we can always pause to listen. Even if you aren’t a socially led brand, you are still operating in a hyper-social society. The time for guesswork is over, and investing in the most empowering tools — the ones that bring you closest to what matters to real people — should become a priority. Another aspect of maintaining meaningful partnerships is creating social currency — how consumers measure the credibility of a brand based on its social media presence and community profile. It necessitates walking the talk — and the pandemic has put brands to the test in this way. Now, more than ever, communities expect brands to enable

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Listen to the world around you, from consumer, to client, to colleague, to self

concrete change and initiate meaningful conversations along the way. Beyond social listening and investing in social currency, the necessity of creating time to connect with clients has become increasingly clear. No matter what kind of world-dominating platform springs up next, the power of phone calls and faceto-face interactions will never be diluted. Have you considered your interpersonal connection “strategy”? The biggest problems are solved when clients are made to feel like they can share their vulnerabilities — better relationships breed better briefs. If you have found it difficult to connect with clients during these strange times, call them and book a coffee date. It will bring you closer, create more candid conversation, and hey, it might even be fun. The same applies to your colleagues. You can tell a lot about a company when there is a crisis. I am lucky to work for an agency that appreciates the mutual value created by their employees’ wellbeing. During the lockdowns, VMLY&R made a real effort to ensure that all its employees

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By Natalie Katz, advisory lead, VMLY&R

still felt connected. From virtual learning sessions to park walks, a series of rituals made it easier to remain part of a tangible collective. All it takes is one person to make an exciting

THE BIG TAKEOUT The value of nurturing human connection and strong partnerships is the same as it’s always been

suggestion, and you’ll see how eager we all are to reconnect. Besides connecting with others, we need to connect with ourselves. But back-to-back meetings, followed by the rest of real life, make connecting with yourself tough. Where to even begin? I recently watched a TED Talk that solved this neatly. It was about the seven types of rest: physical (both passive and active); mental (scheduling short breaks); sensory (device downtime); emotional (escaping energy takers); creative (going outdoors, cooking, learning and so on); and spiritual (meditating or giving back). Find the ones that fill your cup most and make a habit of indulging in them. In conclusion, yes — things are changed and changing. It’s time we start forging unprecedented habits. Listen to the world around you, from consumer, to client, to colleague, to self. Make a habit of it, make a point of it, and make the most of it, because it’s those connections that have always been, and will always be, the cornerstones of our greatest steps forward.

Christian Wiediger

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By Styli Charalambous, co-founder & CEO, Daily Maverick

Lessons from a serial winner: how to innovate like Amazon 8

he news media is no longer the protected, high-margin industry it once was. Where before a few players dominated each channel, we are now faced with the reality that we have to either innovate or die. For organisations that are not used to inventing and delivering new products and services, we can take inspiration from the serial winners at the game of innovation. And there are few better exponents than Amazon. Students of innovation have recorded more than 25 significant innovations by the company in its first 20 years, and it collected 2,200 patents in 2020 alone. Clearly, their frameworks and cultural practices offer many lessons in how to stay relevant in today’s world. In their newly-released book “Working backwards. Insights, stories and secrets from inside Amazon”, Colin Bryar and Bill Carr, two former generals in the Amazon empire, recount the principles that helped make it the $386bn annual revenue behemoth that it is today. For an innovative culture to exist throughout the entire organisation, the vision, mission and values need to be crystal clear — something Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos goes to great lengths to cover in his letters to shareholders, published leadership principles and his own actions. Innovation is a function of leadership, and the news industry’s inability to innovate is not just a market failure but a failure of leadership. The first leadership principle (Amazon has 14 in total) is an obsession with customers. You can’t invent successfully unless you’re fulfilling a need of people you rely on for survival or, in the case of media organisations, the needs of the audience.

And, as the title of the book would suggest, innovation and success come from starting with this focus and working backwards from there. In the past, newsrooms would assume they knew best and printed, spoke and delivered based on those assumptions, with few efforts made to really understand what audiences need and value. Journalism was a one-way broadcast. In the digital realm, we have the opportunity to set our goals and priorities that overlap with the needs of our audiences, and then use data to measure our progress against those goals. We have feedback mechanisms in properly calibrated analytics, surveys

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Vision, mission and values need to be crystal clear for innovation to thrive

and engagement metrics, and yet many organisations have struggled to migrate to a place of being driven by audience-centricity. We didn’t obsess over our readers in a way that would lead the industry into digital transformation. There is a widely held notion that Amazon was never concerned with profit, especially in its formative years, but Bryar and Carr explain it a bit differently. Profit was important, but took second place to long-term thinking, where Bezos believed shareholder interest would align with customer

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satisfaction — trumping short-term gains. In the news space, when editorial standards are compromised for advertiser interests, this may achieve short-term gain but erode long-term trust and quality. Severe cuts to newsroom staff with little product left to show is another profit-seeking missile the industry has often been hit with. Frugality has been another leadership principle that allowed Amazon to stick with projects longer than others may have pursued them. Amazon Prime, Kindle and AWS all took more than three years to deliver profits for the firm, during which time they could easily have been killed off. A favourite of the media industry is the launch of the enormous, expensive product two years overdue and 500% over budget. Only to be killed months later. Failure and innovation are two sides of the same coin, as Carr recounts his time leading the failed Amazon Unbox project. Instead of firing him, Bezos knew his failed

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efforts would yield lessons for the rest of the organisation and he’d be even more motivated to succeed. Added to that, Amazonians try to reduce the costs of experiments, so that they can do more of them that could yield many bigger wins. All of these are practices that do not come naturally for most organisations, and rarely do news

THE BIG TAKEOUT Amazon’s success lies is in its obsession with customers: media needs the same obsession with its audience

organisations start experiments with “what is the job this product needs to do for my audience?” It is not that the media didn’t try to innovate in the past few decades, but rather that the motives for innovation were not driven by the needs of the audience. In Amazonian terms, there was no obsession with the customer. More likely there was an obsession with profit or competitors. Innovation is a form of leadership in itself. And a single article or content piece can in itself be innovative. But to achieve that needle-moving effect, we have to understand our audiences so well that we can fulfil their needs in fresh ways. Only then can we create value in their eyes that will keep them coming back and engaging with us. No one understands this better than Bezos, who recognises that it isn’t his job to have all the ideas, but rather to build a culture of innovation fuelled by customer obsession.

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Nando’s an inside view T

Marketing does not contribute to business success; it is the heart and soul of business success

here’s a meme that I see regularly resurfacing on the socials that says: “I act like I’m okay, but deep down I really wanna be part of the Nando’s marketing team.” As a member of said Nando’s marketing team, I can confirm that it is rather splendid. It’s also a humbling privilege, rewarding and can be intimidating. I’ve been at Nando’s for just over a year. I started three weeks before the Covid-19 lockdown. I had just completed my restaurant training and spent 11 days at our beautiful Lorentzville offices before I packed away my high heels in favour of flip-flops and slippers to work from home. During my first year at Nando’s we, like most businesses that aren’t selling sanitiser, faced some never-been-faced-before challenges. We launched a new channel called Kerbside collection so people could get their PERi-fix without leaving their cars. We taught more than 7,000 staff working in our restaurants how to implement and maintain new Covid protocols and supplied them with our branded personal protection equipment, and we managed to keep everyone employed, all while losing sales that have not returned to pre-Covid levels just yet. In short, “agile” might have its genesis in IT, but the restaurant industry really embraced that style of working out of necessity during the pandemic. This is the first reason I believe Nando’s marketing is unique. Now, more than ever, we are willing to make mistakes and head off down roads we aren’t sure of. Most people believe Nando’s marketing is great because of its advertising. Nando’s has won hundreds of advertising awards, and it’s true, we do great ads (incidentally I hope you like one of our more recent ones “Bubbles on a Budget #SwervetheRandemic”) but advertising alone is not marketing.

By Justine Cullinan, GM marketing: brand strategy & communication, Nando's

Marketing is a part-art, part-science profession which involves both looking back at history, which most people in a business do, and looking forward into the future, which is what few do. And all this is done while championing the customer. It is a marketer’s job to marshal the company’s resources to meet the needs of their customers, and possibly exceed them so they always come back. This also puts us in the scary, but exciting position of being the harbingers of what’s next: as marketers we do what we can to look after our company’s future. In 2021, we had the honour of receiving the Marketing Organisation of the Year Award at the SA Marketing Achievement Awards. At Nando’s we are truly marketing-led. Not only is the marketing team front and centre in the development and decision-making of all triple bottom-line acts, but we drive a strongly marketing-centric culture across our organisation. We don’t think of marketing as contributing to business success, it is the heart and soul of business success itself, and when it works well, it’s what defines a business, inside and out. Advertising is a single weapon in a marketer’s arsenal. At Nando’s, we have 34 marketers. Of these, there are only three or four of us that deal with advertising. We are assisted by our creative

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Robert Tshabalala

and media agencies who are further supported by design, experiential and PR firms, but most of our marketers have little, if nothing, to do with our advertising. The second thing I believe makes Nando’s marketing unique is the culture and spirit of Nandocas (who are everyone who works at Nando’s, whether they’re crunching numbers at central kitchen or getting ready to flame-grill your meals). In SA, there are very few business leaders with marketing backgrounds. At Nando’s, the CEO of SA and the CEO of our India, Middle East and Africa businesses are experienced and acclaimed marketers. We do not have to argue with our chiefs about how much money we spend where and why. We work from a position of strength, mutual understanding and appreciation for the art/science that is marketing, and the value it adds to the business process. Then there are a few values we live by. Nando’s prioritises people over profit. During lockdown, Nando’s paid every employee their full salary. Not one Nandoca lost their job to Covid. We live by the mantra: “It’s the people that make the chicken”. We can’t about our new campaigns when they unwrap our printed manage our business without them, menu boards. It’s watching one of our grillers record his first and we all know that. We spend more maskandi track in Flame Studios at Constitution Hill where we than half our marketing budget internally on regularly offer our marketing support and partnership to uplift and building the Nandoca experience and the brand. provide opportunities to young creative talent across art, music The Nando’s brand experience team inside our marketing and design. It’s rolling out a new and potentially risky strategy team work tirelessly to deliver uniforms that people are proud to to provide authentic, quality Nando’s PERi-PERi to people wear; run a Nando’s staff radio station that inspires and binds our feeling the pinch. It’s watching South Africans donate their Nandocas together across the country in every restaurant we stockpiled tins of food to early childhood learning own; develop direct marketing, social, audio and video material development centres in exchange for free chips. that keeps our people going in tough times and praises them Those are the real moments that make being in when we achieve big milestones; and run a the Nando’s marketing team immeasurably customer care centre that supports our restaurant humbling and wonderful. managers to make each customer feel like our guest. We understand an often undervalued marketing principle: if you can’t win over your own people and turn them into brand ambassadors, then you’ve lost the If you can’t turn your fight to win the consumer at your own front door. Great advertising own people into brand can’t compensate for poor guest ambassadors, then experiences. While awards are great you’ve lost the fight to and we enjoy the wins, the awards themselves are a by-product of us doing win the consumer what we love to do. It’s seeing the faces of the Nandocas in our restaurants get excited

THE BIG TAKEOUT

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Stepping up in the attention economy

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et’s rewind to the beginning of last year — living in a world of increasing information and distractions. A world where we hadn’t even really heard of Covid-19. So much has changed in the past year and a half, but when it comes to attention, the battle for it became a whole lot tougher as distraction took a giant leap forward. We are constantly asked for the best way to win the fight in the attention economy: there is no golden formula or single answer to the question. As with so many things, we need to stop worrying about the answers and go back to the questions. Questions lead to understanding, not just knowledge. We’re trying to connect with a human being: a consumer is a person before they are a target market or audience bucket. There’s a world of information about how to build a successful brand, some of which is contradictory. My advice is to absorb as much as possible, understand all the options and the science, then figure out the questions to ask. Once you know what they are, the

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Creativity is simply solving a question or challenge in an unexpected way

By Isla Prentis, intelligence lead, Tirisano Consulting within The MediaShop

answers will write themselves. You can have the same starting point and the same destination, and still take a different path to get there. My favourite word at the moment is balance. In life, we’re told to pick a lane, pick an answer. But I truly believe that it’s all about balance. How do you balance the different options to find the best possible answer? There’s so much talk about engagement, but we need to ask ourselves what it really is. Is it a metric for your media buying? It could be, but that’s not all it is. It’s content that determines the engagement. In a world saturated with content, we need to make sure that our message (big or small) draws the consumer in — after all, brands no longer have the control or power. Depending on what you’re trying to achieve, you might be trying to get the consumer to stay for a short or long while but, either way, the most important part is getting their attention. This world in which consumers are in control demands authenticity and bravery. It also demands creativity, which for me means finding the unexpected solution. Everything in life starts with a question or challenge, and creativity is simply solving it in an unexpected way. Try to make sure you inject some creativity into everything you do. Constantly look out for the unexpected answer or, even better, the unexpected answer to an unexpected question.

THE BIG TAKEOUT This world where consumers are in control demands authenticity, bravery and creativity

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I The selling power of SA

#celebs Do influencers still influence? By Jeanine Rainier, GM, TILT

nfluencer marketing has been a big marketing trend globally for the past five years and for at least three years in SA. So, is it all that? If you spend any time at all on Instagram, particularly, you would have seen celebrities or figures you follow with a sponsored post or product placement promoting a brand. So, how does it all work? Are these influencers and the marketing mode they represent still relevant? Or are consumers starting to get tired of the #sponsored phenomenon? Putting it simply, social media influencers are people who have built a following and now — either regularly or intermittently — create content that promotes certain brands through social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. Brands then use these social media influencers as a marketing medium, hiring them to increase interactions

with their online target audience, boosting their brand awareness and recognition and, ultimately, altering behaviour. This is often in an attempt to increase sales. The marketing industry has started to divide influencers into three main categories: nano, micro and macro. The smallest following begins from a few thousand, with macro-influencers attracting millions. And different-sized followings fit certain campaign goals better than others. The three largest global Instagram following bases belong to Cristiano Ronaldo (278-million+), Ariana Grande (232-million+) and Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson (230-million+). Obviously, our local crop does not attract those numbers, but they still have audiences larger than most TV channels. The SA Instagram top 10 list is as follows:

Influencer Instagram followers

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Boity Thulo (musician, entrepreneur) Insta followers: 4.8-million+

Bonang Matheba (actress, presenter, fashionista) Insta followers: 4.3-million+

Natasha Thahane (actress) Insta followers: 4.2-million+

Pearl Thusi (actress) Insta followers: 3.9-million+

Nomzamo Mbatha (entertainer, entrepreneur) Insta followers: 3.7-million+

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Cassper Nyovest (musician) Insta followers: 4,5-million+

Minnie Dlamini (TV personality, socialite) Insta followers: 4,2-million+

Somizi (TV personality, producer, socialite) Insta followers: 4-million+

Amanda Du-Pont (actress) Insta followers: 3.8-million+

Nasty C (musician) Insta followers: 3.3-million+

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Influencer marketing The major drawcards of using influencers in a marketing strategy are firstly, their ability to deliver an online audience for a brand, and secondly, the “rub-off” of their relevance and appeal, which increasingly few brands can muster independently. “People believe people more than brands” is a mantra that resonates with most marketers. This also seems to be borne out by the global findings: ● 9/10 marketers now regularly use influencer marketing, and the industry is estimated to exceed $12bn in 2021; ● One study says marketers see a return on investment on influencer marketing dollars of 1:1; ● 8/10 consumers interviewed say they have bought a product or products based on an influencer’s recommendation; and ● 57% of marketers said their influencer marketing budgets in 2021 would show increases over 2020. (Sources: Obilo, Liqia, Business Insider, Influencer Marketing Hub, Rakuten Marketing. 2020)

So, it seems this marketing channel is a mammoth force, but is it all that rosy?

‘I hate influencers!’ Social media users in SA and globally increasingly see #ad, #sponsored and the like in the timelines they follow. And there are a growing number of stories of influencers behaving badly and making themselves, and this marketing discipline, unpopular. A US-based 13-year-old, Danielle Cohn, caused controversy by lying about her age and posing as “pregnant”, until exposed by her father. And in 2019, SA female rapper Moozlie scared (and then irked) many people when she appeared to have a car accident in a live video on Instagram that turned out to be a campaign for @Volkswagen and @DriveDry. Other recent corkers can be seen at: https://www.scoopwhoop.com/entertainment/influencers-called-out-for-lies-scams.

These episodes can irritate and alienate audiences, and some influencers have earned themselves a bad rap. The bigger issue, however, is consumer fatigue of unauthentic posts that are obviously staged, and where the product isn’t even

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THE BIG TAKEOUT Using influencers is still a powerful marketing tool if a trusted and authentic choice is made

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Find the right fit: Find and create a good fit between brand and influencer: it may sound like common sense, but falls by the wayside with subjective preferences and desire for reach. Background checks: Make sure the influencer hasn’t posted for a competitor, does not have any historical controversial content that could damage the brand, and that their followers are real and not bot-generated. Natural and authentic: Craft a brand influencer story that fits the timeline. Its look, angle and approach should all fit in with what’s already there. The story should also have intrigue and entertainment value. Branded posts already jar followers; you don’t want them to stand out like sore thumbs, and no-one wants to watch yet another product unboxing.

aligned with the influencer’s life and style. Though most social media users know brands pay influencers to endorse their products, many influencers are still seen as trusted and authentic sources to their followers. But where there’s misalignment or over-exposure, the trust is broken and fans start clicking the "unfollow" button. So how can brands use this powerful tool without the negative outcomes? Here are some tips from our agency, TILT.

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Over-exposure: Don’t use influencers that already have an unduly high proportion of branded content on their timelines.

Subtlety: Don’t overbrand or force your brand into the post/s unnaturally. If it feels like an ad, you are sunk before you start.

Optimise: Get the influencer to post at a time of the day that they have highest levels of engagement.

Set expectations: Brand partnership posts do not attract the same level of engagement as influencers’ unbranded posts. Fifty percent of the average engagement achieved by unbranded content is very good, but anything over 30% of the average engagement is acceptable. TILT has run campaigns for hair growth brands that have tripled sales; for airlines that have reached a global audience of almost 100-million strong; and for local learning apps that have reached two-million Twitter users in days. Done right, it does work. If you “keep it real”, pick the right names, and slot this arrow appropriately into your marketing quiver, influencer marketing can really deliver. 15

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THE BRIEF: Nivea wanted to create brand awareness among the middle-class market in SA about its new Black & White deodorant. With a massive reach of 28-million, there was only one place to go for an awareness campaign of this magnitude. SOLUTION: A Rewarded video, Please Call Me and SMS with a zero-rated video play, and supported by the VodaMedia zero-rated micro-site, allowing the brand to give access to its content at no cost to its audience in data. RESULTS: More than 5-million impressions were served targeting a base of over 34-million people across SA based on their age, gender and location. The overall performance of this campaign obtained a 1.57% click-through rate, with a video view rate of 17%. This is 3.5 times higher than the international benchmark for video ads of only 4.8%. These results prove that VodaMedia is a real driver for product and brand awareness.

THE BRIEF: Emirates airlines wanted to achieve a high viewership engagement with an exciting new campaign based around the world of Afro-jazz music. The objective was to lift Emirates’ profile as the premium airline. Emirates wanted to be the inspiration for Afropolitans in their “pursuit of jazz” by giving them access to fresh talent and jazz lifestyle experiences, by which flying Emirates would mean enjoying a better flying experience. THE SOLUTION: With the VodaMedia advertising network Emirates was able to leverage its extensive channels and a variety of formats to drive significant traffic to the video content while tracking viewership. The solution included a zero-rated data microsite for people to view the videos without using those precious data megabytes. RESULTS: More than 15-million impressions were served targeting a base of over 34-million people across SA based on their age, gender and location. A click-through rate of 1.28% was achieved, with a 6.65% conversion. That is 1.85% above the industry benchmark of 4.8%.

July 2021

The proof is in the pudding By Sindy Snow, marketing project manager, VodaMedia

ccording to most marketers, there is very little that speaks to results of any campaign quite like a case study, especially when there are advertising budgets with media and new technologies involved. One of these media technologies that warrants a few case studies is the impact of zero-rated adverts for users and landing pages for advertisers. VodaMedia tech-com technologies, which have been implemented and taken to market with Google this year to zero-rate adverts through GAM (Google Ad Manager) and landing pages with VodaMedia site builder, have had very interesting results on campaigns run over the last year while still in testing. It’s clear that zero-rated environments and adverts have had a significant increase in click-through rates across all campaigns, especially in the fastmoving consumable goods industry. As the technology matures in the market, more case studies will become available. If you are a trending marketer and want to find out more about how VodaMedia tech-com advertising solutions can help you increase your return on investment and campaign effectiveness, contact VodaMedia today on vodamedia@vodacom.co.za. 17

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE By Paula Hulley, CEO, IAB SA in partnership with VodaMedia

A SA embraces the global digital revolution Brands, agencies and publishers are adapting, but not fast enough

Future of Media online event, in partnership with VodaMedia, has shed light on how the world is embracing new digital communication channels as businesses adjust on the fly to huge shifts in the market to stand out among the online crowd. To help businesses find direction in the ever-changing digital landscape, we share insights about the current consumer digital landscape and how some businesses embraced the change with sterling results.

A look at the consumer landscape and how some are cashing in on it

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This past year has been a year of change. Overnight, the entire world came to rely on digital platforms for connection, information In the digital world we need and education. According to the to build the plane while Interactive Advertising flying it, without even Bureau (IAB) SA, an association representing knowing our destination the SA digital industry, the – Paula Hulley, digital media industry saw IAB SA CEO rapid acceleration in terms of both revenue and usage. The IAB SA “Digital Landscape Report”, which is powered by Narratiive, comprises data from more than 180 websites and contains critical insights into the digital audience driving this growth. Notable statistics include a 12.5% overall growth in the number of people who are online, representing 98% of those older than 15 years old accessing the internet every four weeks. The report also notes a 21% increase in South Africans accessing the internet at home — that’s an increase from 48% to 58% — with the biggest increase in terms of the type of internet access being fibre. This aligns with the IAB SA/Narratiive monthly consumer reports, which highlighted the 26% increase in IAB SA publisher page views between January and April 2020, as users looked to find trustworthy information in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. Other noteworthy findings comparing 2019 activity to 2020 usage are a 19% increase in unique browsers and a 12% increase in mobile traffic. Haydn Townsend, IAB SA chair and Accenture Interactive MD, says: “The IAB SA recognises the importance of better understanding our online audiences and, in particular, the digital

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THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE consumer scale across demographics and behavioural 2020, a considerable rise from R1.4bn in 2019. insights that can be derived across audience segments. By The distribution of spends shifted in 2020 in line with equipping brands, agencies and publishers with a detailed, consumer consumption patterns, which resulted in digital relevant and realistic overview of the last year, we hope attracting a bigger piece of the pie in many planning to further empower them as they continue to steer the scenarios. Survey participants reported that their digital ad industry forward. spend amounts to between 21% and 40% of their total ad “The IAB SA ‘Digital Landscape Report’ and the PwC spend — this up from 9.2% a mere four years ago. ‘Internet Advertising Revenue Report’ detail the ways in The “Internet Advertising Revenue Report” also details which this expedited adoption played out on home ground. the three key trends that will shape the future of the SA and While some of the findings are expected given the circumglobal digital landscape. stances, these insights reiterate the fact that, when it comes One, consumers’ increasing concerns about privacy and to digital, the only constant is change.” data protection; two, the demise of the third-party cookie Commenting on these insights, Clare Trafankowska-Neal, (which has resulted in internet browsers Safari and Firefox iProspect MD and IAB SA Measurement Council lead, says: already phasing out the use of cookies. Google, however, “Not only does the report establish a demographic foundahas indicated their phasing out will be a gradual process — tion, it reaffirms the heightened digital consumption that has a controversial move, as Chrome accounts for more than been noted as a global trend since the beginning of the half of all internet traffic); three, the growth of headless Covid-19 pandemic — and also recorded locally. The report commerce as consumer expectations of a seamless further reveals the impact of the pandemic on the ways omni-channel experience continue to rise. South Africans connect, communicate and consume conIn addition to the maturation of the digital ecosystem, tent.” messaging and content have become markedly Top-level insights contained in the report more creative, connecting and include: resonating with an audience facing ● Internet connectivity is more readily uncertainty. This has driven revenue accessible than before, with a 21% increase and performance. in people who are able to access the interIf these remain the industry’s net at home (mobile phones aside). major focus areas , we can expect ● South Africans are increasingly using sustainable growth and increased In 2020, the SA digital the internet to shop (35% increase), game confidence, translating into an even industry grew 18%, (88% increase), and stream television (38% greater allocation of advertising increase). investment. with a total revenue of “2020 was a huge growth year for digital in R4.7bn and advertising Both the IAB SA “Digital Landscape SA. The online world entrenched itself into our revenue of R2.1bn lives and we believe these changes are here to Report” and the “Internet Advertising stay. The statistics noted in the report talk to the Revenue Report” are available, at no cost, expedited adoption of digital in almost everyone’s to IAB SA members, and can be accessed lives,” says Greg Mason, regional lead sub-Saharan via the IAB SA member portal. Africa, Narratiive. As consumer usage continues to rise, advertisers and The “Internet Advertising Revenue Report” was brands are allocating more resources to digital content and made possible by a multitude of SA agencies, brands media, shifting their focus in line with their audience. The and publishers, as well as PwC SA, the Advertising Media “Internet Advertising Revenue Report”, conducted by PwC Forum, the IAB SA Research Council led by Claudelle and commissioned by IAB SA, breaks down the numbers beNaidoo, Mediacom MD, and project lead Shaun Frazao, head hind SA’s increased appetite for digital content. of digital and content at Wavemaker. “When economic activity came to a halt at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country in 2020, most The IAB SA “Digital Landscape Report” was brought to you nonessential businesses could not operate. This had a huge by Narratiive, as well as BMIT, the Publisher Research impact on the economy and forced the advertising industry Council, Ornico and the many IAB SA publishers who to swiftly diversify the allocation of advertising investment promoted the survey. to be more in tune with what consumers were doing during this time. IAB SA empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the “We saw a big uptake in e-commerce due to online shopdigital economy. Its membership comprises more than 150 leading media ping, increased in-home media consumption, and the rise of companies, brands and technology companies responsible for enabling digital media in general,” says Claudelle Naidoo, Mediacom excellence in digital marketing, focusing on identifying and targeting MD and IAB SA Research Council chair. audiences, delivering and optimising campaigns to these audiences, and The data reveals that despite the state of the economy at the innovation and selling of such activities. The nongovernment, nonprofit large, the SA digital industry experienced an 18% year-ontrade group fields critical research on interactive advertising, while also year growth, with a total revenue of R4.7bn in 2020. Internet educating brands, agencies, publishers and the wider business community advertising revenue (excluding paid search) hit R2.1bn in on the importance of digital marketing.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

July 2021

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Democratising the news: a new, global platform for local voices

By VodaMedia

Lucie Greene of thisislightyears.com aptly describes this he unprecedented impact of Covid-19 since the first group as “perhaps the most brand-critical, bullshit-repellent, quarter of last year has brought a lot of challenges to questioning group around and will call out any behaviour they the media industry, the biggest of which is a 30% dislike”. drop in advertising spend globally, with SA being no exception. With the news aggregation platform, THE FUSE, VodaMedia The solution has started shifting away from the unpredictable to shape a VodaMedia wants to present a fresh take on the news and predictable future for small and big publishers. The idea is to views of “local people”, providing them a global reach. Diversity create a modern media ecosystem model for content producers, of thought and voice, which goes directly to the tenets of consumers and advertisers. democracy, seeks to ensure minority voices are represented. In doing so, it made sense for VodaMedia to enter THE FUSE This is accomplished by providing a platform for local, smaller into the Google News Initiative innovation challenge. content producers to enhance their reach. Embracing THE FUSE into the fold, Google said: “It is our THE FUSE addresses both reader engagement and the mission to organise the world’s information and make it useful. creation of revenue streams by catering for audiences that News is an essential part of that information and news matters typically don’t have access to content platforms. By trying to to Google. In a recent announcement, our CEO, Sundar Pichai, ensure broader participation, we can reach those previously said: ‘Google cares deeply about journalism. We believe in excluded. This scale drives ad revenue economics in turn. spreading knowledge to make life better for everyone. It’s at the heart of Google’s mission. It’s the mission of publishers and The method journalists.’ THE FUSE uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to “VodaMedia has taken up the challenge to drive drive personalised reader engagement. It also uniquely diversity and equal opportunity in SA with THE caters for readers who are excluded from FUSE news aggregation app. THE FUSE participating in and consuming web content supports large and largely undiscovered because of affordability. Accordingly, THE web content creators to distribute their FUSE compensates for the digital divide by content, earn advertising revenues, and zero-rating (data-free consumption) the reach an untapped audience via zeroaccess points to its platform. rated content access. We at Google The idea is to create are thrilled to be part of this journey as The outcome VodaMedia’s chosen ad tech provider.” a modern media Content publishers will become beneficiaries Back story ecosystem for content in two ways. The first is through advertising In December 2020, in its search for solurevenue share. The second is by a proposition producers, consumers tions to help the ailing industry against the developed in partnership with Google to zeroand advertisers Covid-19 scourge, VodaMedia sought out a rate display ads in VodaMedia’s environments, solution provider to develop a localised thereby ubiquitously driving further revenue content platform that would enable passionopportunities for all stakeholders. driven content producers to showcase their conVodaMedia’s goal is to create a sustainable media tent channels. industry that is inclusive of smaller publishers and ensure The platform would display the myriad diverse voices, viability by giving them access to revenue opportunities. in SA and the rest of Africa, while still catering for big Further to this, additional funding and support for smaller content publishers. publishers is a necessity to empower them with tools of the trade. Parallel to the above, our ambition is to equally drive public The challenge engagement and provide access to relevant news and content In an era of fake news and filter bubbles, THE FUSE wants to through personalisation. bring qualitative journalism from a large number of publishers, Diversification and democratisation of content will teach the both small and large, to Gen Z and millennials — a group that’s industry that there are wholesome perspectives and storied not only able to consume more information than any before, but individualism that can drive opportunity for a richer and more has also become accustomed to cutting through it. personalised user engagement.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

July 2021

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THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

Which digital revenue H models work and why?

By Danni Marais, sub-editor, Arena Holdings

ow do we keep quality journalism alive as the traditional revenue models become obsolete? Digital seems to be our only salvation, with readers flooding online for their news. In 2020 online news traffic in SA grew 76%; but increased audience numbers don’t always translate into increased revenue. In an instalment of the Future of Media online conference series, hosted by Siya Sangweni, the focus

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absolutely clear about what its was on digital revenue models emerging vision and mission is. And it needs in SA. Panellists were asked to share to have an understanding of how their successes and challenges as they that overlaps with the needs of the figure out how to monetise news in a You need to know audience, because “it’s in that overlap digital landscape. Kicking off the debate, what you stand for and that the magic happens”, he said. Sangweni asked the panellists how they Wolmarans agreed, saying that had decided on their chosen revenue who your audiences before you launch a paywall you first model. are, then deliver a have to ask yourself the tough question: “Trial and error,” said Daily Maverick CEO product they can “Do you have content worth paying for? and publisher Styli Charalambous. The online And sometimes the answer is simply ‘Well, newspaper soon realised that it was never trust nothing right now’.” going to raise enough revenue to cover costs Again, good research is critical: “If you don’t as a digital-only publisher focusing on political understand the demographics of your readers, any coverage in SA. paywall is a nonstarter.” And once a paywall is up, it Not wanting to put its content behind a paywall, Daily needs to evolve: Like a “living beast”, he said, it needs Maverick opted for a voluntary membership model. daily care and attention. “Content can move a country,” said Charalambous. “And you can't do that when only a few people have access to So which is the winning revenue model? that content.” Arena Holdings head of digital: media Riaan Wolmarans Wilkins said Primedia Outdoor chose a hybrid model described a different journey and set of challenges. using both classic and programmatic ads for OOH. She “First was getting the tech right: Arena relaunched its said while digital is growing, traditional models are still old websites and developed a new content management making money, so it’s about getting the balance right. system. After that it was finding the appropriate paywall Similarly, Wolmarans said that “legacy print is still and settling on freemium content, still giving readers free making good money on print ads, so we can’t drop content but requiring them to pay for the rest. Then came everything and focus only on digital. Monetisation is the hardest job: convincing readers to pay,” he said. not just trying to make up for what is lost on the print WAN-IFRA CEO Vincent Peyrègne was asked what side, but making it an entirely self-sustainable revenue SA can learn from global experience. stream”. “Success requires a culture shift,” he said. “There needs According to Charalambous, the main thing is to to be a new level of collaboration between newsrooms, innovate bearing your users in mind. “Don’t be driven tech developers and marketing departments. News groups by what your competitors are doing, don’t just chase also need to come up with a product that offers ’the right profits: focus on your audience.” content, to the right audience, at the right time’.” And audiences need to be able to trust you. Primedia Outdoor marketing and marketing services Wolmarans quotes editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg executive Jorja Wilkins said: “Tech came to the rescue, of The Atlantic magazine, which has had a soaring with new digital capabilities saving as many campaigns as subscription rate since the beginning of the pandemic: possible and helping identify which audiences were on the “We will be saved as an institution by bearing down roads at which time of the day. on quality, quality, quality. Just do the most deeply “Out-of-home (OOH) advertising also served the reported, beautifully written, carefully edited, factcommunity with important public service messages about checked, copy-edited and beautifully designed stories Covid.” — and the reader will come. They want Moving on to the all-important to be supportive and they want access. subject of content, Sangweni asked And it turns out to be true. Thank God the panellists how they ensure they for it.” “You can have smartest paywall,” have content that keeps consumers What alternative digital says Wolmarans, “but if you don’t have wanting more. revenue model do you believe the quality to back it up, you’re Charalambous emphasised the will grow substantially in the next year? nowhere.” importance of understanding your audience and creating value in their 1. Premium content reserved 47% eyes. And he says data analytics and To watch the full for subscribers only tech can help with that. discussion, click here But first an organisation needs to be 2. Paywalls

POLL results

THE BIG TAKEOUT

3. Voluntary support models

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July 2021

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READY, SET RESET

fter a year such as 2020, it’s difficult to predict anything confidently. Yet it’s crucial for the industry to stay ahead of the game and gain new insights to prepare, however possible, for the future. In an installment of the Future of Media online conference series, we focused on the tough question of how the media industry can best attempt to predict the unpredictable. Helping guide the conversation was Siya Sangweni. He got straight into it by asking sub-Saharan Africa specialist lead at Google Lorraine Landon how 2020 has changed consumer demands, and how she thinks brands should prepare for 2021. Landon approached it from a Google analytics perspective, saying that since people have been stuck at home in lockdown, she’s seen a lot of change in

By Tanja du Plessis, project manager, Arena Events

inspiration, a lot more consideration when buying goods and, interestingly enough, extensive concentration on the mode of delivery, with key words such as “promo code” and “buying local” popping up frequently. “In 2021, brands should focus on the demand to be dynamic, and consumers are especially looking at brands to respond before they do.” Justine Cullinan, Nando’s GM of brand and strategy, said: “To try to predict what to do this year, you can’t be too married to your plans; you need to be agile. “Once you’ve make peace with that, you will start having fun with your plan adaptions and you will see more

opportunities arise. Remember that progress is better than perfection.” Directing the question at the media owner representative, Arena Holdings head of advertising, sales and trade marketing Eben Gewers, Sangweni asked his thoughts on agility in the workplace. “Last year, we were forced to take our five-year plan and condense it into one. The key is to be adaptable and to accept the fact that mistakes are inevitable,” said Gewers. “As long as you don’t have a rigid mindset and have community-based thinking at the forefront of your plans, you will make things work. I believe that companies will be far better off after this whole thing blows over because of a shift in mindset.” So what are the standouts of the next normal that marketers should concentrate on to earn long-term brand equity and to ensure that agility and

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adaptability are more than fashionable buzzwords? Cullinan said she likes to think of brand equity as a reservoir: “For the stream to keep flowing, the reservoir needs to be full, or it needs to continue being topped up. It’s important to invest in this continually, to remind consumers why they are buying from you.” She believes the equity investment is about the “why” – why customers want to buy from us and what they can obtain from us. Cullinan urged brands to build their ethical muscles rather than technical processes. She also said hearing and listening are different. “Hearing is collecting data, listening is understanding what to do with that data. So brands really need to focus on what people want and interpret their needs to build products or services around what will fulfill brand purpose.” VMLY&R advisory lead Natalie Katz deals with multiple brands, agencies and marketing requests daily, and gave a few suggestions about what tools and tactics can make change faster, simpler and more positive. “Tapping into social listening is really important for keeping your finger on the pulse. Knowing what your audience is going through and giving them what they want will make your outcomes relevant and authentic. From a tools perspective, it would really depend on the way you are working.” According to Katz, inter-agency working is vital, but so is remembering to stay in your lane. Analytics and monitoring are also important, as well as the integration of your findings with actions. “Lastly, without proper internal team communication, your entire plan or campaign will most likely fall flat. So scrum, scrum, scrum!” The year 2021 seems to be more about questions than answers, said

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Katz. The opportunity lies in learning, collaborating, and forging a view of fast-paced changes in an increasingly fragmented media and economic landscape, both locally and globally. Inter-agency workings is a good tool for change, she said. Gewers concurred: “Everything has changed for all organisations, from brands, to agencies, to media owners. Look within your own organisation to see who has the skills to deliver what needs to be done. Thereafter, look externally to see who you can lean on. This may involve letting go of ego and working together for the greater good of the overall campaign.”

THE BIG TAKEOUT To prepare for an unpredictable future, brands need to be agile and adaptable and collaborate effectively

Last words from panellists on predicting the unpredictable

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“Whether you’re in the front line or the back end of your organisation, the Covid-19 pandemic has most certainly forced all industries to reset and refocus.” — Sangweni

“Communication and meaning is rooted in the need for authenticity. Just remember to keep asking: ‘What is really meaningful for a brand to leverage, as opposed to what is popular?’” — Landon

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“There is a huge desire to go back to the way things were, but we have to accept that business has changed and we should look at opportunities that speak to where we are at the moment." — Gewers

“We need to be aware that 2020 was a crisis and we are now experiencing the natural depression [associated with] a crisis. Understanding your consumers is important, but having the courage to reset is also.” — Cullinan “Focus on the insights consumers are giving you; tapping into meaningful conversations is a good investment; and the best social currency comes from creating meaningful and shareable content.” — Katz

To watch the full discussion, click here

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

Think SMART

By Annie Pace Scranton, founder & president, Pace PR

The future of media relations is through thought leadership

There are a few standard ways that we, and other publicists, pitch clients:

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One way is using company news to garner interest from a reporter. This could be the launch of a new product, a new survey or data report that has interesting titbits, or a big new hire or partnership announcement. Another method is what we call “newsjacking” — seeing what stories are being covered in real time by the media, then pitching and aligning our clients as subject matter experts or “talking heads” on the story du jour. Another way is via thought leadership.

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s a publicist, I often get asked the question, “What is public relations?” I explain that PR can mean many different things to many different people and entities. The brand of PR I practise is commonly referred to as media relations — the act of pitching a client to a journalist and then securing a placement in the media. Of course, there is a lot more that goes into it, but that’s a simple way to think about it. The most common follow-up question I get asked is: “Well, how do you do that? How do you get featured in the media?”

Thought leadership is the informed that legitimacy and credibility for our opinion of a leader in a particular field of clients. expertise. Essentially, it’s addressing Thought leadership can also work well something that’s happening (a trend, on social media, in particular LinkedIn, and perhaps) in one’s field with an informed or on your company’s website or blog. Not interesting take on that issue. every op-ed piece will get picked up in The most common way we secure a news outlet, so having a routine of thought leadership placements for our placement on your internal verticals can clients is via “op-eds” or opinion pieces in be a great way to continue to speak to a news publication. your audience in that thought By having our clients leadership capacity. react to a news Remember, event or trend, or half of thought give their opinion leadership is about the future of thinking of yourself their industry, the as that thought op-ed can instantly leader or expert. Placing an informed or boost their credibility The other half is interesting op-ed piece and legitimacy. actually doing the This can be due to work, which entails can instantly boost a their thoughtful ingetting that opinion client’s credibility sights, but can also be out in the world. due to the perception When it comes to and legitimacy surrounding the placement raising one’s profile in the of the piece itself. This is media, thought leadership what PR is all about — driving is definitely the future.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

It’s stil all about

CHEMISTRY

B2B marketing in a post-pandemic world: finding new ways to connect By Claire Denham-Dyson, head anthropologist, Demographica

for me is not being able to see half of people’s facial expressions veryone is concerned with how the world will adapt while they wear a mask. The eyes tell you a lot, but expression to the challenges of a post-Covid-19 environment. works throughout the face, and it’s a challenge to “fill in the No matter what industry or size your business is, blanks” without knowing what the person looks like without a we’ve all felt the shift — personal or professional — mask. In our specialist call centre, we have found securing of living in a post-pandemic world. Many clients meetings and engaging with people over the phone challenging. and partners of Demographica have been asking us People revert to replying over email, so it’s difficult to influence questions about this too. follow-up communication and make that human connection. What will marketing to businesses look like if no one is going In this new environment, onboarding a customer onto a buyer to work? How do we connect with customers when they are journey means finding ways to connect with people and help Zoomed-out and hard to reach? How are they responding to them understand value outside an office environment. This can enquiries to do research? These questions are pertinent as mean surprising them with a direct mail at their home, noticing business-to-business (B2B) marketers are being held to something about their family or personal life and marketing a shorter, more reactive timelines and tighter budgets. more personal message, or creating events that allow people to As a B2B agency which uses anthropology as our core immerse themselves in a virtual reality experience at home. research discipline, observational and in-person interviews are Families are again becoming the centre of the buyers’ world, the cornerstone of our insights. We need to get “into the field” and questions such as “can I live and work from Cape Town for to be able to see, hear, feel and ultimately immerse ourselves in the lifestyle?” have prompted a lot of them to make the jump. our target audience’s world. In a post-pandemic reality, this They are also buying or selling assets in their personal lives and has meant being more flexible and empathetic. reorganising resources (both financial and emotional). They’ve We’ve needed to be ready to have sessions rescheduled at become more explorative and decisive. the last minute due to personal emergencies or Covid-19 The trauma of resettlement in the “new normal” has been scares. Business people are also more focused on the business prompting life-altering decisions about how we want to live, problem at hand, and less concerned with spending time with both personally and professionally. As marketers, this shift is an anthropologist rummaging around in their office and something we need to pay attention to. The energy of their head. “big decisions” should have also prompted big But it has also shown us that research technology leaps for companies, overhauls in is still possible and, if anything, more health and safety policies, and a real reflection important than ever. Rather than around what businesses can afford. travelling to other regions, we have This means that marketers should be using adapted our interview technique to this time to prompt switches, rollouts, upsell suit online meetings, and are finding or cross-sell strategies, and even tell our that a much more personal picture Priorities have shifted customers where they’re overspending. This can emerge when you are in a home and people are making has been one of our most clear and powerful and not an office. Online observational triggers as B2B marketers. sessions have also been possible by life-altering changes: At Demographica, our advice to clients is what screensharing and a well-positioned Marketers must make it’s always been (with a few never-before-seen computer camera. the leap with them tactics and some tweaking here and there) – get to Some businesses never stopped going know what makes your audiences’ eyes light up and into the factory or office, which Covid-19 then market to them, using that insight. You simply protocols have made manageable. can’t go wrong with chemistry. One of the most out-of-the-ordinary things

THE BIG TAKEOUT

July 2021

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Corporate citizenship: are SA brands just ticking the boxes?

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

one are the days of businesses By Tanja du Plessis, operating for profit motives project manager, alone. Today, companies are Arena Events expected to take a stance on societal issues if they don’t want their bottom lines to appealed to businesses to reach out for suffer. So, is corporate citizenship the way us to help them get back on their feet. to go? “Activation, connecting and using firstIn an instalment of the Future of Media party data helped forge and strengthen online conference series, moderator Siya relationships.” Sangweni engaged with experts who have Whether corporate social responsibility taken steps to ensure the consumer is heard (CSR) efforts are in place to take care of loud and clear within their businesses. employees, to help a community, or to Sangweni started by asking panellist advance a positive change, there are few Hennie Myburgh, programme manager at big businesses that can afford to ignore Jacaranda FM, how the station supported the corporate citizenship imperative. long-term clients during this time. Who better to promote anything than Myburgh said there has been a lot of the media — but what is humanizing, and many the media’s role in honest conversations. supporting and “The past year has promoting corporate taught us to connect and citizenship? to listen. As a group, we Lyndon Barends, embarked on a couple of Consumers can see if head of group strategy campaigns," he said. at Arena Holdings, said “One that stands out is brands are truly the media has been the ‘Jacaranda Gives invested in something part of the storytelling Back’ campaign, where we

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THE BIG TAKEOUT

business for years now, narrating both the good and the bad stories. “It’s the media’s mission to inform, educate and entertain. These stories are good for the brand as well as the consumer when a story is told in a truthful, objective and meaningful manner.” Myburgh concurred: “Storytelling, coupled with authenticity, will drive impact in campaigns, and influence the connection between a brand and its audience.” A good example of this is Vodacom, which has implemented various corporate citizenship initiatives, such as its medical and educational drives. Thami Majola, executive head of brand and communication at Vodacom, said: “In the Covid-19 climate, we have tried to stay away from being too focused on revenue , and rather focused on creating programmes and platforms that lead with purpose.” He named apps such as BrightStar, Doctors and Digi-Parenting. “The products and services we offer look to serve our customers and drive our purpose-driven ambitions,” Majola said. While it was agreed that brands need to drive change and create a sustainable difference in people’s lives through corporate citizenship, Natalie Botha, Kantar’s director of creative development, reminded the audience that CSR and purpose are different. “CSR is tactical and purpose is something you lead with. Purpose is embedded in everything you do, and for this to be properly infused into your brand, it needs to be included in the C-suite mandate,” she said. In the same way purpose and authenticity have become a mandate

July 2021

Today’s consumers value authenticity, purpose and empathy, but we need to listen to them to get that right

for marketers, so has empathy. This brand band-aid has forced marketers to think out of the box. “Empathy is not just a box-ticking exercise; you need to be transparent in what you do and you need to have a brand purpose,” said TILT GM Jeanine Rainier. “Consumers can see if brands are just throwing money at something or if they are truly invested in it.” Engagement is also an important cog in understanding culture and being culturally relevant. Botha advised brands that when it comes to being culturally relevant, the only way to do achieve this is to put in the legwork upfront and communicate with consumers to understand cultural nuances. “Once you get it, the consistency needs to be on point, otherwise the narrative can erode your authenticity,” she said. Majola also feels strongly about authenticity, and said that branding and marketing never used to be a balance sheet item, but these days “goodwill” branding is a real asset for a brand. It symbolises the promise of service and quality, and connects community and family.

He warned that brands that are not authentic will get caught out, and purpose-driven brands will be trusted and gain a loyal following. It’s time for a different way of thinking about how people engage with media, each other and the world around them. As an industry, we need to listen first to better understand what to do next. In closing, our panellists shared final thoughts on corporate citizenship, and how to make this a key to the success of the future of media. Rainier said that for brands to be successful in their purpose, they need to truly listen to what South Africans are saying and then be agile in using that information. Barends reminded the audience that we live in difficult times in SA and, while we often focus on the higher purposes, we also need to appeal to the masses. “Remember, ubuntu speaks to the heart of CSR,” he said. Myburgh’s advice for brands to be successful was simple: “Be authentic, get real, genuinely care and get involved in an area that your brand has a role to play in.” Botha emphasized that connection is everything. “We connect on digital platforms, but we are not engaging face to face. Try to connect with your consumers as much as you can, so you can have genuine insights that will drive your business forward, and then remember to be consistent.” And lastly, Majola said that tech is nothing without humanity. “Be at the heart of connecting with humanity and ensure the connection is purpose led.”

To watch the full discussion, click here

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

n the face of socio-cultural upheaval, an unknown By Tanja du Plessis, economic future and a global pandemic, the media project manager, industry finds itself in a near impossible situation. Arena Events Opportunities lie in collaborating, learning and forging a view of fast-paced changes in an increasingly fragmented economic and media landscape, both multiplatform strategy is imperative. We always want to colocally and globally. exist and collaborate with industry.” In an instalment of the Future of Media online conference Hulley said she is impressed by brands that have created series, host Siya Sangweni and the panel took a look at how access for people to go online, whether it’s for SMEs to grow the world is embracing a new way of digital communication their businesses or for students to learn online. and how businesses are adjusting to a shift in the market to A brand that’s doing this well is VodaMedia. Parker said the stand out among the online crowd. rationale behind THE FUSE and Saccess, two Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) new platforms helping to shape a predictable SA CEO Paula Hulley was asked to future for publishers, brands and advertisers. share insights from the IAB SA 2020 “These platforms were developed with report on the current consumer digital the influential capabilities of sports and the landscape. She reminded the audience youth in mind. [The intention] is to give lift to that in the digital world, we needed to great content to become more relevant build the plane while we’re flying it, to mainstream publishing. We needed to without knowing the destination we’re develop a platform that allows co-access for heading towards. the nonconsumers of news for it to resonate She then shared some key stats with a particular segment. This will, in turn, about ad spend from the research enable publishers and content creators with report, which showed a huge shift consumer views.” to online. “The current consumer According to Fahmueller: “THE FUSE landscape is digital,” said Hulley. and Saccess speak for the user, the content “The advertising spend from the buy creators, the advertisers and the publishers. side went up 18%, and even though They allow introductions to both users and the industry shrank a little, the portion advertisers, broaden the audience for the of the digital pie grew 21%. Paid social publishers, and open up revenue avenues for [media] stayed constant, accounting content creators. This offering brings a lot to for 20% of revenue, and searched the market and plays a big role in the media content on Google stayed at 90% of ecosystem.” digital spend.” The panellists agreed that an increase in digital consumption Benjamin Fahmueller, head of SSA Global Partnerships at is bringing some great opportunities for brands to reach their Google, said: “The most recent search trends show a lot more targeted audiences. Brands need to be versatile and open to supplier/product searches, meaning that consumers are collaboration, and with better collaboration comes a world of making more informed decisions and doing more research opportunity to push content, build on engagement, and help when it comes to buying a product from a pricing and quality with monetisation, which is an all-round win for publishers, perspective. users and brands. “This is a great opportunity for brands to get into this space to be the search of choice. Searches for local To watch the full discussion, click here getaways and domestic travel have grown more than 200% and — not related to product — online privacy searches have also increased.” VodaMedia executive head Where do people spend Zunaid Parker said: “The ad most of their time on digital The increase in digital industry and all businesses have platforms? been in a state of flux and have consumption is an Reading news needed to re-evaluate best 3% all-round win for practices, so where do you YouTube allocate revenue to get return? publishers, users Social Media “The evolution of advertising is and brands the realisation that you can’t just go Internet with only one construct, and that a

SHAPING a predictable FUTURE

for SA media

POLL results

THE BIG TAKEOUT

3% 76% 17%

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July 2021

Fighting through the fog

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THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

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Digital users have an attention span of three to five seconds, leaving the advertiser with little to no control

n an era where people’s ability to focus is increasingly on par with that of a goldfish, consumers are being driven to distraction by the volume and frequency of “stuff” demanding their attention daily. So how does a brand build, boost and bag the attention of an audience in today’s world? In an instalment of the Future of Media online conference series, moderator Siya Sangweni picked the brains of his creative panel on the topic “Fighting through the fog: consumer attention as a scarce commodity”. Sangweni started the conversation by asking panellist Kendal Zoghby, head of communication strategy at Yellowwood,

By Tanja du Plessis, project manager, Arena Events

what her biggest challenges were in terms of consumer behaviour or attention during the pandemic. Zoghby said that, at first, the biggest challenge was to get people to realise how permanent this is, and to be aware of how consumer journeys were going to be altered because of Covid-19. “We had to make sure we were now aware of the changes in how people are consuming content, what consumption habits now look like in the home space,

and what brands people are buying into. So the challenge was really the change in mindshift,” she said. With consumer habits changing constantly, surely applying the lessons from 2020 will help us gain a better understanding of consumer behaviour? “Attention economics is not a new concept,” said Charis Coleman, head of digital content at MultiChoice. She said Netflix has 207-million paid subscribers worldwide, and last year digital users spent on average two hours a day on social media, with estimates that this figure will increase to three hours a day this year. Coleman said businesses and brands have realised that attention is not only a valuable resource, but it’s a currency —

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

THE BIG TAKEOUT Remember, we are preprogrammed to notice what stands out, like a pigeon wearing a bikini

difficult. Brands need to understand their consumers; by doing that, they will ensure they are getting the right type of attention.” It’s been said that social media can turn anything into a conversation, but in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, social media strategies had to change. Druion spoke about the biggest strategic change in their business. “We needed to uphold the values of consumer-centricity, and to do that we interrogated our work all the time. Social media has become an important way to showcase experiences instead of looking at a platform in an isolated way,” he said. When advising brands on how to deliver an effective campaign, how to get more with less, and how to stand out from the rest, the panellists had these tips.

POLL results

the most valuable currency of the century. However, “unfortunately the attention economy has turned humans into products that can be bought or sold, and brands need to entice users to volunteer their attention”. When it comes to curating content that makes people volunteer their attention, Danny Druion, creative director at Wunderman Thompson, put it simply: “My number one rule is to keep it consumer-centric and not about the business.” He said to make a real impact, brands need to aim for the extreme and stand out. “Remember, we are preprogrammed to notice what stands out, like a pigeon wearing a bikini.” Isla Prentis, intelligence lead at Tirisano Consulting within The MediaShop, said that being extreme will get you noticed, but sometimes less can be more when it comes to attention. She said whether it’s less or more, the biggest objective should be to cut through the clutter. “Digital users have an attention span of three to five seconds, leaving the advertiser with little to no control," said Prentis. “Ultimately, consumers will look for what they want, so a good balance between being extreme and having a focused message is probably the best way to go.” There are also more “proven” ways to connect with an audience, said Coleman. “We use data to analyse and build real connections. We use the insights gained to guide the content strategy, to help our clients build successful campaigns, and to give our audience the best experiences, helping to create brand ambassadors,” she said. Prentis said there are so many options out there, all with their pros and cons, but every single option has one starting point: to be customer-centric and to focus on the human being. And this is how brands should capture the right type of audience. “Knowledge is easy to access these days, but understanding is a lot more

To watch the full discussion, click here

How does a brand build, boost and bag the attention of an audience in today’s world? Social Media Gamification Video Out of Home Print

July 2021

Zoghby recommended that to deliver an effective campaign, brands should have a good integration plan. “Try integrating your communication plan into your creative plan, and that plan into your consumer journey plan. While integrating everything, remember to keep the customer and human focus at the centre of all your plans.” According to Coleman: “What we’ve done for the past year is test the content, see how it relates, look at how it can be measured, and understand how it can be adapted. Remember that not everything is going to work for every campaign, so sometimes you will need to test, fail and move on.” Druion said collaboration also plays a big part in the success of a campaign, especially if you are looking at making sudden changes. “More collaboration will allow you to have a greater understanding of how the ecosystem works, so when things need to change quickly, having a good working relationship with a collaborative partner dissolves any agility challenges there may be,” he said. “Bravery is often rewarded, whether that’s through success or learnings.”

35%

6% 3% 2% 1%

Television

1% Influencers 1% Events 1% Combination of all of the above 46%

Radio

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

The

Power of trust Consistency, intimacy & connection: why radio’s still our best friend

By Deborah Schepers, chief strategy officer, Primedia Broadcasting

acknowledge that a relationship exists between adio has consistently proven to two parties. Unlike other media types, which are be the number one most trusted often faceless, radio as a medium is delivered by medium throughout Europe. This real people, creating that second party. is according to an annual survey Another reason for trust, which has become conducted by the EU Commission, increasingly important to people during the the Eurobarometer, which monitors pandemic, is that regional radio has an intimacy the perceptions of EU citizens on a range of with the world you live in, rather than delivering a issues, including trust in media. more generic global view. The fact that radio has maintained this lead Nielsen data released during 2020 showed throughout a decade of digital and other media that radio made people feel more connected to disruption is impressive. The latest figures show their communities and less alone. In this time of that radio is trusted by 57% of respondents, isolation, people cling to things that make them compared with 49% for TV, and 46% for press. feel part of something meaningful. A sense of A number of recent research releases suggest connection to community through the medium that the pandemic has only increased these also drives trust. levels of trust across all markets. Trust researchers Roger Mayer, Primedia constantly surveys consumers James Davis and David Schoorman and has been releasing information on a talk about the three elements to regular basis on how the pandemic trust: ability, benevolence and has affected people’s behaviour and integrity. perceptions. More than half our of respondents Ability is having knowledge, respondent panel do not have one of trusted radio, skills or competencies that allow our stations as their favourite station, according to latest influence in a specific area. Integrity giving us a wider view of the landscape. research figures “involves the trustor’s perception that Our most recent data shows that in the trustee adheres to a set of principles terms of the most trusted institutions and the trustor finds acceptable”, and benevolence mediums, radio is generally ranked as second to is “the extent to which a trustee is believed to family. TV is ranked sixth, Facebook eleventh and want to do good to the trustor”. Twitter tenth, on average. One only has to think of the work done by talk There are several reasons for these high levels radio stations to drive societal change by using of trust. The first is that by nature, trust is built up their influence to hold the public to account to through consistency — it’s a daily commitment. realise why levels of trust are so high with these The habitual way radio is consumed, as it’s presenters and stations. woven into the fabric of people’s lives, means It’s also worth noting that advertising on radio that there is frequency behind the experience. is regulated, with consumers able to complain The personalities on air begin to feel familiar, and about the truth of the advertising message, and so trust forms over time. messages making false claims are removed. In any trusting relationship, one needs to first

57%

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THE BIG TAKEOUT Radio still rates as the most trusted medium, even more so in this time of isolation

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Trust in the medium extends to the advertising messages placed there. IPA Touchpoints survey now includes a measure of the extent to which advertising is trusted by each medium’s audience. Survey results showed that trust in radio advertising is higher than for other mediums when measured in this way. In a sense, radio personalities are the original influencers. Because the presenter is trustworthy, the message is perceived as true. Because the news bulletin is presented by a credible, independent source with a long-standing history, the information can be believed. This benefit of radio hasn't changed and is, in fact, becoming more valuable. Social media influencers and their paidfor followers, fake news and the avalanche of unfounded digital opinions, have re-established radio as your knowledge-

able and trustworthy friend. The friend that shares the latest news as you get ready for work and your companion in the car. People are finding trust, companionship and hope in radio, just like they've always done.

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

YouTube/Bloveslife

How do brands compete for the average attention span of eight seconds?

BITE-SIZE Bloveslife blogger Bethany Gaskin makes millions eating crab

he attention charge of content marketeconomy has ing should be asking is how an impact on our to engage consumers to time, our mental stimulate more natural converhealth, and the ways sations in specific communities. we communicate. That’s More importantly, how do we do this all great to know, but how can brands in a credible way? earn a piece of the attention pie in an age In 2020, a nine-year-old made $29.5m flooded by brands vying for the same from his YouTube channel, reviewing toys. By Charis Coleman, eyes, minds and hearts? Netflix has paid subscribers worldwide who head of digital contribute $207.64m to their coffers, as of I recently took part in a Future of Media content, the first quarter of 2021. discussion where my fellow panellists and MultiChoice Last year, the average internet user I discussed the attention economy and spent two hours and 24 minutes daily on what brands should be doing to break social media, and it’s predicted we will see that increase by an through the endless content noise. hour this year. A big focus should be talkability – the ability to motivate I could go on listing businesses, brands and people who’ve consumers to discuss and share news, marketing and other figured out that attention is not only a valuable resource, but also information about your brand. a currency, and it is this attention economy that has turned Fact, the average attention span for humans is only eight humans into products to be bought and sold. seconds, so attention is a hot commodity. Digital products are When we think of attention economics, brands must entice competing for users’ limited attention. users to volunteer their attention and spend money. It is also one I am quite ashamed to say I spent 11 minutes watching a of the most valuable resources of the digital age. Publishers use woman eat a giant crab… and enjoyed it. The video, by the way, eye-catching animations that call attention to the content. Sites has eight-million views. The modern economy increasingly revolves around the human send out frequent notifications to boost engagement. Social networking sites are fuelling the attention economy attention span and how products capture that attention. What with the number of users using those sites every day. brand managers, agencies, content developers and anyone in

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE The dynamics of the attention economy incentivise companies to draw users in to spend more and more time on apps and sites. And, of course, there’s a negative side to this. With an abundance of information out there, businesses are fighting for our attention. Netflix said last year that they had two big competitors – YouTube and sleep. Who needs sleep when there are eight episodes of Bridgerton to watch in one sitting? Whether we want to or not, we are participating in the attention economy every day. Every time you pick up your cellphone, turn on a screen or open an app, your

attention is for sale. We’re using technology that’s designed to be addictive. Your phone has features that were designed specifically to keep you Brands need to break actively engaged. Infinite scroll on Facebook and Instagram, or through the endless automatic sound on YouTube, are content noise in an age designed to increase the likelihood where attention is the of keeping our attention once we’re in. News headlines are not designed to hottest commodity inform us — they’re designed to get us to keep clicking.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

How can brands drive the quantity and quality of consumer conversation – offline and online? Influence and measure connection with audience As publishers, East Coast Radio and Jacaranda FM wade through the battle of attention by turning to data and building real connections with our audiences. I have mentioned to anyone in earshot that East Coast Radio and Jacaranda FM have invested in a number of data tools to help guide the content strategy, both on-air and online. They use insights to influence events they put out and to help clients build successful campaigns that their target market will engage in and convert into leads. They do this through surveys, polls, and data mining with a data management platform. The brands are able to build their own audiences based on poll data, surf behaviour, form data or any other sources. They also use an object-relational mapping tool to measure brand reach and sentiment on social media. The stations are focused on understanding who they are speaking to, where these listeners are consuming their content, and how to convert them into loyal listeners and ambassadors.

Develop talk-worthy campaigns In today’s economy, there’s no way to grab and hold attention without creating highly attractive content. East Coast Radio and Jacaranda FM do sticky content well, which is why they are in the top three most visited radio station websites in SA (Naratiive April 2021), and why both brands have loyal listenership. Gamification is another secret weapon. Polls and quizzes increase time on site and boost page impressions. The brands know how to jump on trending topics and turn them into engaging content. When the song Jerusalema became a global way to unite people, East Coast Radio personalities Danny and Tee created a dance tutorial video to engage listeners and social media users. The video is not heavily branded, or scripted and edited like a movie. It’s real and natural. They weren’t aiming to “go viral”: the interest was real and because of that, the video has had over one-million Facebook views – with no paid promotion.

Be creative Take risks Create campaigns that align with your brand but don’t be afraid to be innovative and sometimes controversial. Recently, East Coast Radio’s breakfast show spoke about cash-in-transit (CIT) driver Leo Prinsloo’s bravery during an attempted heist. The team gave Prinsloo their “stamp of approval” as the star of the week and created a parody video. Darren Maule and Sky Tshabalala recreated the scene with a parody video as an ode to the courageous CIT officers all over the world but, most importantly, to Leo and his colleague, Lloyd Mthombeni. The video is controversial and has had mixed reviews, but as a colleague said: “Yes, it makes light of the situation, but it also keeps the conversation about these guys going. They risk their lives for peanuts and they now have a voice thanks to the video and social media storm. ”

July 2021

Creativity leads to more exposure. Something I picked up while trawling the internet was a quote by David Ogilvy: “Effective campaigns are those that enter the currency of conversation.” Emotive campaigns outsell informative campaigns. In 2020, Jacaranda FM listeners donated a record R3.6m to farming communities in the Free State. What started out as an interview with Martin Bester and Springbok legend Bakkies Botha, soon turned into a community campaign as listeners and the station rallied together to support Bakkies’ appeal for a convoy of trucks loaded with fodder and feed for livestock. Keeping customers informed, connected and cared for is the biggest challenge businesses face. Meet them where they are, give them real stories to discuss, and make an impact. Both brands know that even if the new normal changes, good content and a good experience will always be the key drivers of engagement.

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

Memes of production

By Bronwyn Williams, trend translator & future finance specialist, Flux Trends

In mid-2020, a group of British Instagram influencers formed a union called the Creator Union. This was also created with the stated aims of increasing diversity and fighting discrimination in the influencer industry, in addition to improving working conditions, pay scales, and rights for freelance social media content creators and independent influencers. The creation of the British Creator Union was followed, in February 2021, with the Screen Actors Guild-American The unions of the future are mobilising Federation of Television and Radio Artists (Sag-Aftra) approving an “influencer agreement” that allows social media for social justice as well as the rights of personalities who are paid to promote products (no follower workers themselves limit required) to join the influential union as members. Sag-Aftra has agreed to help “meme workers” set pay rates and secure working conditions and contract standards as it does with its other union members. As t Flux Trends we have written about the rise of the such, brands can expect to have to activist employee for some years now. These are more than pay their content creators and the employees who are biting the proverbial hand influencers more transparent and that feeds them when that hand is deemed to be more standardised rates in the unjust or irresponsible. They do this by organising future. public protests or by airing their employer’s dirty This growing trend towards laundry, exposing racism, bigotry or employee exploitation. Google engineers more organised and more This sort of speak-out culture is just one manifestation of the formed a formal minority union, called activism-oriented employees ways employees, particularly tech and media workers working for the Alphabet (and freelancers) should give the digital titans, are organising against their employers. Workers Union brands and businesses, especially Digital workers, from influencers (yes influencers have their companies and publications in the own unions now) to Amazon warehouse workers, are also now public eye, pause for thought; particularly in an forming unions to negotiate and secure their rights. age such as our own where companies are under increased In a world where inequality is on the rise and where platform scrutiny by public and private actors just waiting for someone companies have become powerful rent-seeking digital landlords to put a step wrong. with near-monopoly market share, it’s no wonder workers are Social media has created an insatiable appetite for scandal seizing the memes of production and organising against and drama. Businesses and brands that are caught on their “digital landlord” employers. the wrong side of history (today’s version In January 2021, a group of more than anyway) can suffer significant, potentially 400 Google engineers (mostly skilled devastating, financial and reputational harm “white collar” workers, in a departure from a single badly considered tweet. from the traditionally “blue-collar” Now, as their own workers organise as labour unions of the industrial era) potential arbiters of social justice verdicts formed a minority union, called the and sentencing, with the ability to inflict real Alphabet Workers Union. The activist employee damage on employers that fail to live up to The union is, at present, focused trend will keep brands their social contracts, brands and businesses on “giving structure and longevity to need to take more care than ever to toe the more accountable activism at Google” rather than on ever-changing line of social norms and social negotiating pay rates and contracts. to their social responsibility. This is a significant point. The unions of the responsibilities There are eyes and ears in your own camps, set future are mobilising for social justice, as well to keeping you accountable to the zeitgeist. as economic rights for workers themselves.

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DIGITAL

taming the beast

By Tshepo Sefotlhelo, CEO, Vuma Reputation Management

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he digital era has revolutionised away from going viral and undoing the way we communicate and years of reputation building. has brought information about This situation is not any conceivable topic to our helped by advertisers fingertips. While this vast taking their spend network has also allowed to digital and social us to connect with other users all media platforms. over the world, the Global How often do you Web Index 2021’s digital see an ad for a reputable trends report says in company next to a fake 2019 social networking story or site? Business is had become less about unwittingly funding fake news connecting than about for the sake of clicks. consuming content. It’s reported that in 2020 nearly fourThis trend has created a billion people worldwide were on social minefield for us communicators and media, where news (whether true of marketers, because digital is an alwaysfake) spreads like wildfire, leaving on platform, breaking down barriers to organisations scrambling to pick up access of information, campaigns, headlines, the pieces. Brands go through a trial and so on. by social media long before the rumours While the public relations professionals of yesteryear or comments are proven or invalidated. It is could respond to negative publicity in the media in a fairly in these moments of crisis that companies try to targeted and structured way, today a single tweet or comment strategise on how to respond appropriately. But more often can cause a business to undergo a trial by social media before than not, the damage is already done. anyone can react. The unfortunate reality is that despite a myriad case studies Social media has become, in a sense, an untameable beast. on how quickly a reputation can be tainted, most companies, While this medium is useful to corporates for interactions with governments, media and individuals are still grappling with how brand consumers, it has also unravelled reputations that have to tame the beast. Yes, in recent years there have been some taken decades to build. reforms, but we’re still a long way from a sustainable solution. These developments have, over time, put significant For example, governments around the world have been trying pressure on the media to report the news, and have to hold executives of social media networks to account. often blurred the lines of what is true. The But these sessions proved that we’re a rise of social media has led to advertisers long way from finding policies that are able taking their rand to digital platforms, which to curb the problems with social media, as has made it even more challenging for it’s an ever-changing phenomenon. Policy traditional media to remain relevant. Also, development can’t keep up. pushing the “be first” agenda has at times It’s encouraging to see that media have compromised their integrity. started asking themselves tough questions We’re a long way from Denzel Washington once said when and are having even tougher conversations, taming social media, asked about fake news: “If you don’t read such as the SA National Editors’ Forum the newspapers you’re uninformed. If you ethics report launched at the beginning of where a single tweet read it you’re misinformed... There’s a need 2021. can destroy a brand’s to be first, not even to be true anymore.” In the interim though, in my view, the lowIt is increasingly challenging for anyone, reputation hanging fruit is marketing directors asking the whether they are corporates or an individual, to tough questions about where their ads are being protect their reputations, and the media have not placed and where their clicks are coming from. been spared. We are all a badly-judged comment Could it be that simple?

THE BIG TAKEOUT

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

Blurred lines, sensory overload and AI: navigating the future of media

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Truth, fact & fiction I

t is 8.45pm on a blustery, cold Osaka’s decision was spurred By Michael Perman, November evening in Brussels, by the media’s invasion of her CEO, C’EST WHAT? Belgium. The year is 2026 and privacy and dramatisation of LLC you’re thinking about a new coat happenings. Celebrities and to wear to the climate change star athletes often have moral protest that will be taking place in front of the clauses in their contracts. In the future, might we see European Commission building the next day. At the more integrity clauses which allow people to avoid same time, you are intuitively scanning for facts about biased media on the grounds of their perceived absence the most controversial climate issues, and reconfiguring of truth-telling? The ways we discover and verify truth your search algorithm to ensure that a diverse mix of will impact the future of how media is produced, content flows your way, while connecting you with your distributed, and consumed. swarms of fellow protesters to co-ordinate protest logistics. Will alternative realities lead to Welcome to the future of media, where the lines alternative facts? between content and citizen journalism blur. Where When Kellyanne Conway, counsellor to a former US sense-making enables truth to win. Where sensory president, introduced the concept of “alternative facts” stimulation transcends our digital walls. Where in a “Meet the Press” interview on January 22 2017, consumers take more control of media flow. she ushered in an era in which falsehoods I think the decision by tennis and lies became acceptable modes of star Naomi Osaka to withdraw communicating. In the subsequent from the French Open after she years, certain media outlets and political refused to speak to the media is leaders bombarded the populace with a relevant example of consumers lies, leading to alternative realities and taking control of content due to skewed belief systems. ‘Your wish is my her frustration over the blurring of “Rabbit-hole” algorithms designed command’ will truth and facts. by social media brands proliferated the Her silence became a message concept of alternative facts, which then define future of its own, syndicated through perpetuated myopic belief, warping our content curation media channels around the world. sense of reality.

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THE BIG TAKEOUT

Of course, new forms of reality will be part of the future of media either way, with the growth of virtual, augmented and interactive content and storytelling. These new mediums offer greater sensory stimulation and, therefore, greater emotional attachment to the content. Might the fabricated and fantasy genre of virtual reality have the potential to turn lies into truth? How, and in what mode, will we discern the distinction between truth and fantasy?

REUTERS

We are likely to see more oversight boards, such as the one established by Facebook to Sense-making will “promote free expression by become the guiding making principled, independent decisions regarding content”. force as consumers But it’s also likely that other crave the clarity media brands establish independent boards to justify false claims. Will we of truth see independent truth boards for right-wing outlets such as Gab or Telegram? Ugh! Will AI and Blockchain skew or verify the Another force of change for the future of media is the convergence of 5G and 6G with truth? artificial intelligence (AI) to provide more intuitive In the future, digital mechanisms, such as blockchain offerings and gestures. “Your wish is my command” should technology, could provide definitive sourcing and validation be the moniker for content curation of media in the future. for facts and enable sense-making, which is the process of Presently, audio commands enable us to request a piece giving authentic meaning to experiences and knowledge. of content such as a podcast, web search, song or film. In Author David Eagleman, in his book Incognito: The Secret Lives of The Brain, said: “Instead of reality being passively 2026, you should be able to ask entertainment devices to recorded by the brain, it is actively constructed by it.” This “make me laugh” or “make me think profoundly”, based on a construction is our sense-making ability. deep understanding of your sense of humour, emotional profile, and intelligence wingspan. In the coming years, sense-making will likely be a guiding In the future, cognitive-based AI systems will build force in the way brands convey content to their customers, knowledge, understand natural language, interpret facial and the way customers convey content about brands. expressions, and provide direction for media strategies and Sense-making will also influence filtering criteria for platforms. publishing on social media. Whether you are a budding protester in Brussels of 2026 or a media mogul in 2021, the future of media will need to navigate the blurring of truth, facts and fantasy to provide the meaning the readers crave. We are in an era where truth is easily obfuscated by technology and a holistic lack of discipline among media leaders. In my view, the media outlets that determine ways to entertain their audience and inform with honesty will win.

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THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

Finding your We’re all trying to become our own true, best self: it’s no different for brands

rand voice is the combination of words, pictures and colours that communicates our vision, mission and beliefs. It’s one of the most important and genuine articulations of what we call “brand”. What we say and how we say it reveals our personality: clever, serious, funny, academic, smartass, witty, deadpan or corporate. We are all the colours of the sea. We are all well acquainted with how Nike, Samsung, Apple, Coke and other big brands voice their global ideas. But here are others, including some newcomers, who might be reinventing the ways we read, listen to and hear things in the future. The Skimm is a daily email newsletter that delivers popular news. Founders Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin have found a refreshing new way to report the news that is BFF casual, “Hey there.” The Skimm reaches more than seven-million subscribers and toplines the news, using bullet point-style subheads that carry us from one point to the next:The story. What happened. What did Trump say? What are other people saying? The Skimm also creates nontraditional (that means clever) lead-ins like, “What to say to your friend who works at a nonprofit…” to steer us into an article about nonprofits pulling back from search-and-rescue missions. Quartz, another news daily, wraps up stories about how alcohol levels help fish survive in cold climates and how skyscrapers make China look more attractive (in photographs, anyway), with the sentence, “Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, tipsy fish, and skyscraper pics tohi@qz.com.” Beauty company Glossier translates its hair, skin and other products into an articulate vision for the modern woman. This is competitive turf, but Glossier has discovered its own place in the beautiful universe. The core of Glossier’s success is its brand voice (it has received five rounds of funding), which speaks from an insight gleaned by Glossier founder Emily Weiss — that all women have a beauty routine, they just don’t like to talk

VOICE By Patrick Hanlon, founder & CEO, PrimalBranding.co

about it. Uncovering that truth in the age of transparency has made all the difference for Glossier, whose blog features real women exposing their down-to-the-details routines for skin care, acne, hair styles, exfoliating, you get the picture. Glossier’s unique brand voice matches its unique product selection. Speaking openly about personal rites makes outer beauty an experience that reveals each person’s inner beauty. This transforms Glossier into an intensely personal experience, rather than just a transaction. BrandWoot.com (see photo if you want to get this) subverts the entire thing by creating an inner voice and “un-copy” that pokes fun at traditional sell copy. Which totally tracks with the Woot audience, looking for instant deals on the merchandise they already identify with. This tactic also works well for oat milk brand Oatly, which lampoons advertising while engaged in the act of advertising. This campaign surfaced in pre-pandemic Manhattan, in busy locations where the oat milk buyers proliferate. Think With Google, an online offering from Google (duh) to help people break down how Google works and understand how their brands might participate, looks like a high-end Stanford tutorial. The voice is friendly, erudite, academic, thoughtful. Google reminds us that brand voice can be expressed without words. The simple illustrations for Think With Google are as clean and friendly as a software app. The design language communicates purpose, personality and values . Here’s another way to look at brand voice. Direct marketing mail houses have

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

THE BIG TAKEOUT

traditionally been staid B2B empires, but kudos sell sell. (Athleta and Old Navy are go to the courageous leadership at MailChimp, the sales engines behind Gap.) the email marketing platform that serves So it’s no real surprise to find millions of customers. an explanation of the functional When the audience The firm embraced its reason for being with qualities of Athleta brand fitwear on knows immediately an award-winning campaign from advertising their pages. (Since this article was that it’s you sending agency Droga5. (A less courageous brand might first written, Athleta has improved its have changed their crazy-ass name MailChimp to brand voice and we would now have to the signal: that’s something more, well, business-like.) turn to Levi’s and J. Crew for straight brand voice MailChimp’s inspired campaign played with their merch selling.) brand voice with a series of jolting cultural intervenSo, how’s your robot? tions that included creating a new potato chip brand Today, the brand tonality of emojis and (FailChips), starting a fashion trend (NailChamp) and artificial intelligence (AI) personalities such as making short films about singing sandwiches. Alexa, Cortana, Siri and Bixby can even be perThese social activations served up names like MaleCrimp, sonalised (somewhat) with British accents, skin MailShrimp, KaleLimp, VeilHymn, SnailPrimp, JailBlimp and tones, and so on, to fit your human type. WhaleSynth. And the only thing they all have in common, is What if, in the future, thanks to AI personalisation, brand that they all sound like “MailChimp”. copywriting and voicing is “sized” to speak your own vernacuToday, MailChimp is the world’s leading marketing aular? Hey, bro! tomation platform, according to Crunchbase. Hmm. Smartbox retailer Birchbox breaks the fourth wall with a Can a city have a brand voice? Yes, and thanks for asking. subtle message to users. Rather than using a conventional Urban communities are little different than communities address line, the online fashion retailer that fulfills via mail that surround products, services or companies. Cities want to makes their customer and themselves feel just a little more attract visitors, neighbours and citizens just as voraciously as special by adding adjectives next to the customer’s name. products want to attract users. Not just Jane, but The Tranquil Jane, Pretty Amazing Jane, In fact, urban development is so critical in the US right now and other BFF descriptors designed to make someone’s day that, according to sources, the city of Atlanta, Georgia, has when their order arrives. started a transformational project that will help it claim itself It’s all in the voice. as a unique, distinctive and welcoming US metropolis. Probably no one expressed their brand voice as literally as Each of us is trying to become our own true best self. It’s no T-Mobile’s former CEO John Legere. The self-described different for brands. “magenta-wearing, customer-loving” CEO claimed over Your brand voice is the combined wave force of sights, 4.45-million followers on Twitter and sported his own emoji. sounds, images, smells, tastes, actions and feelings you Mostly, Legere snarked rival Verizon on Twitter. But he mumble, shout, whisper and scream into the media multiverse. also hosted a cooking spot on Facebook each week. Since If you speak to me in a voice that I can understand and that taking the lead spot at T-Mobile in 2012, Legere filled his means something to me, I might listen harder next time. closet racks with magenta-coloured shirts, shoes, scarves The voice of the community ultimately celebrates that and jackets. Legere served as the which we want most on this Earth: literal embodiment of the T-Mobile to belong somewhere, with people brand. What other CEOs live their like us. brand? Each of the companies, products A company’s brand voice can and services mentioned articulate also be communicated via images, distinct, differentiated messages sound, smell, architecture and other thanks to videographers, bloggers, sensory executions. The New York design language, web designers, Times, Vogue and even AirBnb graphic designers, art, colours and differentiate themselves with photography, tone of voice or in the imagery that’s dramatic, playful, images used. killer. In a snap, we know it’s National Their content developers may Geographic, not Buzzfeed. be various, but each has a singleSince its founding, clothing company Patagonia has been minded focus that keeps them sending out their own distinct the voice of Planet Earth. So it’s no great surprise and totally beacon to attract followers, influencers and fans, and to purpose-driven to find a request to help save US wilderness surround themselves with a thriving, engaged and passionate areas on the company’s home page. And please to help save community. It’s when the person out there listening knows bees in company emails. immediately that it’s you sending the signal. On the other side of the spectrum, Athleta is built to sell That’s brand voice.

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

And so, the By Michelle Randal, sales director, Christopher Africa

KIE Crumbles

he saying, “that’s the way the cookie crumbles” is commonly used when something bad has happened and that we should now just accept the way things are. I can’t help but reflect on the relevance and irony of this statement when it comes to analysing the effect of the cookie on the advertising and media industry over the last decade (pun absolutely intended). If we digest and unpack the last few years, is it fair to say that advertising, with all the tech, tools and promises, has in fact worsened? It’s become less effective, more annoying and, in most cases, avoided. In addition, the cascading effect of cookie tracking and algorithms has had a dire effect on the political and social landscape because, as the advertising giant, Bob Hoffman, says: “There is a clear line connecting tracking, ad tech and political radicalization and destabilisation.” Cookies have accelerated surveillance marketing, which has led to mistrust and irritation among consumers. It has also driven the obsession with short-term mentality. This has resulted in skewed measurement of brand health and growth, unrealistic expectations on agencies and media owners, and annoyingly intrusive ads. Although short-term activations are necessary, long-term brand growth is imperative. The hope is that we move back to the better balance of the two, focusing on the importance of long-term brand health. A recent quote on LinkedIn, in my opinion, summed it up perfectly: “Only poor marketers are concerned about the death of the cookie” (kudos, Kimon Sitas, PhD). This rings true for so many reasons, but mostly The fundamentals of because great marketers understand the basics of marketing are still effective marketing, which the same and exist exists (and has for years) outside the cookie world. outside the world of At the risk of being overly cookie tracking simplistic, there are two fundamental requirements for media efficacy: reach and attention.

The unchanged role of marketing is to nudge and remind more consumers to buy more, on more occasions. To get more consumers buying your brand, need to reach more consumers continuously. But not all reach is equal. The other vital currency marketers and media planners need to “buy” is attention (reaching the category effectively). In our frenetic, over-stimulated society, this is the most sought-after commodity for any advertiser. Attention, the main measure of reach quality, is a key factor to consider. Only 12% of served digital ads are ever seen, and just 4% are looked at for one second or more. Attention matters. Studies have shown how much it contributes to brand growth metrics, such as brand-building measurables and sales. Though there are many nuances, distractions and reasons for not paying attention, says Lumen Research, applying a few key principles will give us our best shot. Understanding why and when consumers will be primed to pay attention will help your messaging cut through the clutter.

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THE BIG TAKEOUT

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High-impact formats attract considerably more attention than standard display. Media environments play a significant role in consumers’ attention and trust in the brand message: Premium environments offer less clutter, better formats, and, by association, trust.

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Creative that is memorable, linked to your brand, and has distinctive brand assets that are easily recognisable, raises the propensity of attention, recall and action. Planning around contextual suitability (medium, message and timing) also dramatically improves the opportunity to be noticed.

The aim is mass meaningful reach: the right category consumer, in an environment where they’re primed to pay attention, with creative that is distinctive, memorable and linked to the brand. Despite an evolving media landscape, marketing fundamentals are still the same. And they exist outside the world of cookie tracking. Perhaps the shift will return us to more trusted and less annoying ads: a win-win for brands, agencies, media owners and consumers.

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

Traditional OOH,

a signature for your brand

s we ride the third wave of Covid-19 in SA, we By Jorja Wilkins, are reminded of the resilience and tenacity of executive: marketing & big, brand-building media and what it can do marketing services, for advertisers across SA’s media landscape. Primedia Outdoor In the initial lockdown in March last year, many advertisers pivoted their campaigns in the journey are different too. Whereas Bizana includes face of the unknown future — and some chose to go conversion hubs such as taxi ranks, which are close to completely dark. For those that kept the lights on, out-ofretail spaces and in some cases a lone mall in the area, home (OOH) media owners are grateful for your business Sandton’s experience includes a host of malls which and your trust in an advertising medium that for centuries provide perfect purchase prompts via ad screens, when has proven to be effective, even in the face of adversity. consumers are already predisposed to buy goods. Digital out-of-home (DOOH) was seen as the saving Notwithstanding the fanfare around DOOH in the grace for advertisers during this time as campaigns could metro areas, let’s not forget the power of tOOH in the SA be switched off or delayed and communication changed at landscape — especially since more than 30% (TGISA the touch of a button, and the birth of programmatic 2019C) of the population live outside metros where the DOOH (pDOOH) later in the year meant that advertisers majority of roadside DOOH is situated. When looking at could optimise their buying based on impressions. various market segments, the reality of where people live The industry has been buzzing about DOOH and becomes more paramount with regards to targeting. pDOOH: these formats have taken the limelight over the Ten years ago, Primedia Outdoor launched Bhamuza, a past 18 months and will continue to grow and adapt with product built from market insights based on where people technological advancements and increased inventory live and how they shop. These 60 structures are located across media owners. They’ve proven to be a resounding in the biggest towns across SA, outside metros. Here success for both advertiser and media owner. you’ll also find other tOOH structures; mass impact and That being said, in 2019 PWC reported that by 2023, mass reach billboards, which have more than 34,000m² 32% of all OOH revenue will come from DOOH, leaving of creative canvas available from Primedia Outdoor 68% for traditional OOH (tOOH). That’s a huge that are perfectly positioned for big brand chunk of OOH income from tOOH. building. Outdoor auditors have reported Kasinomic Revolution author GG in their latest audit there’s been a Alcock amplifies the importance of rise of 24 LED screens across SA brand building in large towns. “Frontier since October 2020 —399 screens towns are critical commercial points out of more than 13, 700 billboard and you need to be present and visible faces, and this includes only Traditional OOH with your brand.” billboards that are bigger than 18m². Alcock says “high street shopping The country is geographically and delivers scale and activity is growing rapidly, branding demographically incredibly diverse; voice, making your needs to be local, visible and present advertisers need to engage with their brand stand out and when targeting the kasi shopper”. audiences where it’s the most effective tOOH is known as a stalwart for building and suited to a consumer’s environment. stand proud trust among consumers — advertisers have Shopping in Bizana in the Eastern Cape used tOOH to bring their brand to consumers, is very different to shopping in Sandton, allowing their brands to be entrenched in a and media touchpoints along the shopper’s

THE BIG TAKEOUT

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE consumer’s familiar environment. tOOH has an emotional and memorable impact on its audiences through contextually relevant placement and creative expertise. SA’s major highways and main arterials are bustling with canvases that offer an opportunity for effective communication to the drive-by audiences on their daily journeys. Creative excellence is the name of the game: the simpler the message, the harder the impact. The tOOH canvas offers a myriad opportunities to stand out from the clutter and create channels for seeding online, by driving consumers to a website or application. tOOH also delivers scale. With the one-to-many capability and far-reaching localisation of the medium, no audience is left untargeted. Covid-19 has brought the element of hyper localisation to the forefront, and OOH has been able to break the ice of screen fatigue for consumers looking to escape. tOOH delivers 100% share of voice. Your brand is in full view of the audiences, all the time, in all the right places. tOOH has been positioned as credible and measurable to other media types with Road, the SAA OOH currency from the Out-of-Home Measurement Council — and with the AM4DOOH capability, DOOH also holds its own in the measurement category. pDOOH has allowed for mobile location integration, where advertisers can access campaign performance upon layers and layers of certified data. tOOH is not as traditional as you may think: with the advancements in technology, it’s found its place in the digital era. Globally, we’re starting to see static OOH being traded through automation with GPS-enabled location data that allows for live data readings across static inventory. Supply-side platforms are making tOOH inventory available to advertisers based on a location’s impression performance. The buying process is fully automated, just as you would see with pDOOH. We often hear the question, “What’s better? Digital or traditional?” The fact is, they both have their place in the OOH landscape. They are both effective when aligned to clear performance measures and objectives that the advertisers’ campaigns need to achieve. DOOH’s dynamic capabilities offer an advertiser’s campaign contextual relevance as well as impression optimisation through pDOOH. Its undeniable agility is a win for many brands. tOOH makes your brand stand out and stand proud: and it’s a daily/weekly/monthly reminder to consumers that your brand is here to stay. Over the past year, Primedia Outdoor has partnered with advertisers who have carefully chosen OOH strategies that have utilised the benefits of tOOH to ensure their brands remain top-of-mind no matter the demographic fit or the environment. When considering OOH for your next campaign, look to the benefits of not only DOOH, but also tOOH, and see just how far out-of-home can take your brand.

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

The power of mobile advertising in the Covid-19 era By Tanja du Plessis, project manager, Arena Events

n an era where people are becoming more reliant on internet technology to stay connected to friends, family, employers and employees from work-from-home locations, they are spending significantly more time online, making mobile technology a huge opportunity for marketers and brands. Hosted by Siya Sangweni, an instalment of the Future of Media online conference series, in partnership with Out There Media, probed the minds of industry professionals on the power of mobile advertising, how brands view it, and its place in the media ecosystem in the context of ever-changing consumer behaviour in a pandemic era. “Mobile has certainly made the world a lot smaller. It’s an extension of who we are. It’s connection to our friends, family and colleagues. It’s the first experience of the internet to most people. It plays a huge role in connecting the world,” said Wandisile Nkabinde, senior manager of media and digital marketing at MultiChoice. Now that we’ve established the power of mobile, where does mobile advertising fit into the performance media ecosystem? According to Clare Trafankowska, MD of iProspect SA, it’s important to first establish what performance media is. “What we tend to talk about in the industry is Driving relevance performance being linked to business results, revenue and return on investment (ROI). Though at scale requires your world has become a lot smaller, it’s also a you to have data to lot bigger in terms of content expansion and digital experiences at our fingertips. understand what “So, when we take it back to performance and the consumer is the role of mobile, what we need to think about looking for is mobile and social commerce: all happening on your mobile. Performance media and marketing are closely linked to business revenue.” Trafankowska said mobile gives brands the opportunity of time, transactional ability and exposure, as consumers are just one thumbprint away from a purchase. Having access to mass audiences to promote your brand sounds like a dream. However, with privacy laws becoming increasingly important, Donald Mokgale, sub-Saharan Africa CEO of Out There Media, was asked how they manage this aspect of mobile advertising. “The super critical thing is to be compliant when it comes to privacy laws. We adhere to GDPR [the EU’s general data protection regulation], which means all data is significantly regulated, and we only work with opted-in audiences. In instances where we run campaigns for clients who want to grow their audiences, we take things further by being extra careful with the new laws coming into play such as the death of third-party cookies.” According to Trafankowska, “the death of the cookie will force marketers to make deliberate decisions that will influence and enhance their customer experience. The data the telecommunications companies hold will also push for partnerships that will help marketers create these personalised experiences”.

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THE BIG TAKEOUT

POLL results

On the whole, the marketing budDriving relevance at scale gets allocated for mobile have been requires you to have data that increasing as a result of the rising penhelps you understand what the Whether brands rely etration of mobile devices in SA, but consumer is looking for and what on apps, SMS or what percentage of budget should makes sense to them.” businesses, brands and agencies alloAt the end of the day, every banner ads, our mobile cate specifically to mobile for cambrand, campaign, and investment devices are in prime paigns? needs some sort of ROI, so how can position to do Mbulelo Pahlana, media and digital we ensure that we receive the best manager at Reckitt Africa, touched on a few ROI value from mobile? the job things that need to be considered here. As a “Have an attribution model. Mobile is a starting point, he said it’s difficult to decide on a channel and there is a difference between figure without an understanding of your client’s desktop and mobile performances. Attribution segmentation processes and how much time they models allow you to place value on various spend on mobile. platforms and channels,” said Trafankowska. “To get a better idea of a budget allocation Nkabinde said that they track return on advertising amount, know your audience profile and how much spend. “How it’s calculated is revenue divided by ad time they spend on their mobile devices, understand spend. The point is to know your business’s revenue your campaign objectives and, lastly, be clear in structure and how much the business made from what you want your audience to action.” that specific aspect.” Sangweni asked how brands should make use of He said sometimes marketers don’t paint the various mobile advertising formats to amplify their whole picture, and urged them to share information marketing. Nkabinde gave a few practical tools for with the agency to accurately measure ROI. agencies to use regarding video and social media We keep our devices with us wherever we go. content. They’re next to the bed, in the bathroom, worn on “For high-impact display, less copy is best, along wrists – always within reach. Whether brands rely with good-quality graphics, and a very clear call to on custom apps, SMS messaging, banner ads and action is important. Regarding video, the creative the like to reach consumers, our mobile devices are in needs to be good; shorter durations are generally prime position to do the job. better on social media and mobile. Never cut and In conclusion, the opportunity lies in collaborating, paste a TV commercial onto digital. Lastly, take your learning and forging a view of fast-paced changes in remarketing into consideration and make sure your mobile media that will benefit both the brand and the impact lands quickly.” consumer. Implementing these suggestions will propel you into a good space to get the most out of your mobile advertising brand objectives. To watch the full discussion, click here Trafankowska said that for mobile advertising to truly fulfil a brand’s objectives, it must get the basics right. This includes a good understanding of the role of the mobile channel as well as the consumer, and having the right creative and strategies in place. She advised brands to keep in mind there’s no umbrella strategy, and to couple that with the best attribution model based on their objectives that will Why do you think mobile lead the consumer journey. Brands should have a advertising is so effective? clear strategy that focuses on value when adopting this channel into communication plans. It's more personal 17% Mokgale is a huge advocate for businesses and brands driving value. He said a way to do this is More ways to deliver a message through data stacking. “Data stacking is the golden thread to a good People don't like to leave their phones alone marketing strategy. Putting the customer first is the conversation we are having with most marketers. More people have access to mobile

July 2021

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THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

Neuromarketing

123RF

delving deep into the subconscious

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There’s a great deal going on below the surface that we don’t yet understand

By Lynette Dicey, freelance business journalist

n a world dominated by human needs and desires, having insight into how people think could be the ultimate recipe for brand success. The million-dollar question is whether neuromarketing is the tool that can provide a customer experience that’s second to none? In a nutshell, neuromarketing concerns the understanding of

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THE BIG TAKEOUT

POLL results

Eliciting an emotional the psychological drivers and triggers Jackie Dhaeyere, market that make people respond in a certain research consultant specialising response and tapping way. This insight then allows marketers in implicit and other nontraditional into subconscious to design products and services, and techniques, said the single biggest position them in a way that makes them success factor when it comes to drivers helps brands appealing to consumers. understanding why some adverts or connect Though there is never likely to be a campaigns are more successful than one-size-fits-all approach to grabbing others is emotion. Adverts that elicit an consumer attention, neuromarketing could emotional response — even a very subtle provide insight into the marketing stimuli that emotional response — connect better with consumers are the most responsive to. consumers. While it may all sound a bit like science fiction, Mark Drummond, co-founder of Neural Sense, neuromarketing as a concept is not new. said many brands miss a trick because they don’t Many organisations and brands, including understand how the consumer feels at every PayPal, Frito-Lay, McDonald’s and even tequila touchpoint. Brands need to realise the power of producer Patron, are using neuromarketing to owning the consumer’s emotional experience draft effective brand strategy and guide product at every touchpoint. But the experience will only development. be memorable if they are personally relevant. In an instalment of the Future of Media digital Repetition and consistency are key. conference series, a panel of experts, moderated Brand loyalty, agreed Dr David Rosenstein, by Siya Sangweni, discussed how neuromarketing co-founder of Neural Sense, needs consistent bridges the gap between cognitive psychology and and authentic connections between brand and behavioural economics. consumer. At the same time, the attributes of In addition to exploring the subconscious and the brand need to resonate with the consumer. explaining how neuromarketing can — and should The panellists encouraged marketers and — be incorporated into marketing strategies, they brands to investigate the field of neuromarketing, also provided insight into better understanding given the potential competitive advantages it how the human brain processes decision-making, could give brands. measures emotion, and what kind of information grabs attention. To watch the full discussion, click Thom Noble, president and chief strategy officer here at Cloud Army, said that a growing understanding of how the brain works and processes information is helping marketers better understand the role of emotion in decision-making. The “Iceberg Theory”, said Noble, focuses on the fact that there’s a great deal from a behavioural Before today, did you know science perspective going on below the surface about Neuromarketing? that we don’t yet understand. This explains why we don’t always make rational and logical decisions. No 46% Essentially, the Iceberg Theory maintains that every person has two different ways of thinking: Heard about it but didn’t above-the-water thinking takes time and effort; know enough below-the-water thinking is intuitive, automatic, effortless and very fast. Yes% To better predict how people will behave, it’s important to understand both these systems and how they interact. Until recently, however, it has been hard to measure the latter.

July 2021

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The transformative power of data R ecent research conducted by the American By Vincent Peyrègne, Press Institute (API ) reveals that 85% of US CEO, publishers surveyed say studying subscribers WAN-IFRA “is very valuable”: however, almost 70% rate their proficiency in studying them as just moderate. This observation certainly holds This is excellent news, but it requires a profound and true across markets and regions around the world. rapid overhaul of our editorial organisations. Newsrooms All too often, navigating data analytics and data move from traditional, functional-based organisations to science can be a frustrating journey for journalists and cross-functional teams, where editors and journalists business developers. Instead, what news publishers and work with developers, marketers and analytic experts. newsrooms want is a better way to understand what their audiences value, what engages them, and what will The new product management culture make them paying customers. Without audience research, questions about who the in the newsroom audience is and what it needs tend to be answered based As advertising reliance becomes an increasingly risky and on hierarchy within the organisation or on assumptions redundant strategy, it is incumbent on publishers, large about who the audience is. That is not good enough in an and small, to implement strategies that generate revenue organisation dependent on audience participation and from multiple sources. Many industry leaders recognise revenue to thrive and fulfil its mission. this need. A recent survey of media executives by the We need powerful journalism analytics that can go Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford beyond traditional traffic metrics, built around newsroom University revealed that publishers believe four different priorities to grow audiences, deepen engagement and revenue streams will be essential in 2021. drive subscriptions, and designed so every user can see The old newsroom culture will need to pivot to a new how their work contributes to larger organisational goals. product management culture to support those revenue As the API survey confirms, knowledge of reader streams. In this culture, the “lone wolf” and “commandbehaviour is still a recent discipline for and-control” leadership style is replaced by legacy news media organisations. For collaboration in teams, coaching and a decades, efforts in this area were delegation-style leadership. A culture of reserved for advertising research. failure informed by data predominates. But everything changed with the We are, in a way, living in a similar turning point in 2013. That year, the moment to what the architecture world World Association of Newspapers experienced after World War 1. With the A culture of failure and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) creation of the Bauhaus, the architect informed by data measured an historic shift in the global (the creator) joined the engineer and the replaces ’lone wolf’ news business model, with reader businessman. Their ambition was to revenues exceeding advertising create a better world in tune with the leadership revenues for the first time. needs of a society under reconstruction. In the 20th century, print revenues Similarly, an unprecedented strategic dependably flowed from the outstanding work of ad sales, alignment between content, business marketing and circulation. This is no longer the case in and audience is essential for the new audience-centric 2021. Like all enterprises and industries today, news culture in our news organisations. organisations battle for the scarce time and attention of New jobs for the journalists people who spend vast amounts of time on screens. This historical turning point necessarily leads to a new The reader becomes our first customer and the primary definition of the profession and the role of the journalist. It source of revenue, ahead of the advertiser. Today, the is agreed that a critical function of journalism is to hold newsroom itself is the business — not circulation, not politicians and powers to account. marketing, not ad sales. In an audience-centric, digitalIs this enough to meet the new expectations of the first business model, journalists, content and editorial public and build a lasting relationship with its subscribers? quality become the number one priority.

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THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

Journalism must offer much more. Practical engagement with the audience and community of readers is required. What form this should take is under debate. I find much virtue in the contested principle of solution journalism. News audiences expect to be engaged as members of a community. They want immersive and rich experiences, with content that offers solutions to their problems. The new jobs of a journalist must commit to improving our readers’ quality of life, beyond the necessities of their life and where they live. It should also help the reader to work with others in the place where they live, with the ambition to make that place better.

news organisations and how these might apply to their data science teams. The group’s scope is on four expert domains: data analytics, data science, data engineering, and co-ordination and project management. The combination of these disciplines is essential. From our first international exchanges, it is already clear that it would be illusory to build a data strategy by only investing in dashboards and having the support of a team reduced to data analysis. Before media companies can benefit from an improved understanding of their audience’s behaviour, they must first build a reliable and sustainable foundation. The process that turns data into actionable insights for Data documents, but does not decide businesses and newsrooms is both complex and resourceData is like fuel in the business. You cannot just move ahead intensive. This takes time, and the benefits may not be felt without being well informed about your editorial decision. for one or two years. Data science plays a significant role in newsrooms. It can However, this is the foundation phase during which the apply in multiple ways like developing products, enhancing fundamental building blocks of the strategy must be put in management decisions, predictive analysis, and many place with method, judgement and discipline by teams of more, but it should not dictate the editorial line. engineers and data scientists. There is a danger in making data the Their mission will be to build a absolute arbiter of information. Data relationship of trust with the entire and consumer insight experts inform organisation. Trust, authenticity and and document the editorial map. loyalty to the corporate mission are They do not replace the editorial essential to sound data management. decision. Their work is based on new Where there is confusion about disciplines and skills that have yet Data science informs the discipline and role it plays in the to be invented. To address this organisation, the team manager is and documents the challenge, WAN-IFRA just launched responsible for insulating the team editorial map: it does the Data Science Expert Group for members from unreasonable requests news. The group is the first community and explaining the team’s role to the rest not replace the of practice of its kind. It intends to create of the organisation. editorial decision real change within the industry. If you are in this position, your team must By sharing use-case studies, ideas, have confidence in your support, and you resources and connections, the group aims to must ensure you have the buy-in of your top accelerate disseminating good practices used in management as well.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

Got your

ATTENTION?

Your audience’s attention is always up for grabs if you know how to play to human nature

ttention. This intro has only a few seconds to grab yours. In a world of unpredictability, restrictions, social distancing measures and lockdowns, we’re immersed in our screens more than ever before. And with the proliferation of available content, it’s a noisy, cluttered world where brands are battling it out for their share of time. Our altered behaviour and consumption habits have unsettled marketers, but there is opportunity: we’re fivesecond attention spanners, who’ll happily watch hours of unexpected content. So, what’s the trick to attracting attention?

Different times What marketers and advertisers thought we knew about consumers has evolved, so to capture and hold their attention, we must target them differently. Ad-blockers, cord-cutters, #WFH devotees: in an ever-changing world, finding spaces to connect needs disruptive thinking. It comes down to paying closer attention to people. When you listen and authentically “meet” customers in their zones, you already have a head start on earning a share of their precious attention-time.

By Kendal Zoghby, head of communications & creative strategy, Yellowwood

home cooks while preparing pasta, or using Instagram Story ads to promote Swarovski jewellery subconsciously, marketers are being more experimental about crafting authentic and delightful moments for their audiences.

Skilful manoeuvring That doesn’t mean bombarding audience with contrivances — rather, it requires clever and skilful manoeuvring to appeal to actual human beings, not end users or consumers of media — and not put service on the backburner. As ad contrarian Bob Hoffman says, “If companies would stop wasting their time implementing their marketing department's idiotic ideas about brand engagement and just provide better service, maybe customer satisfaction wouldn't be at an all-time low.” The irony, then, is that artificial intelligence (AI) is central to enabling more targeted, human-centric marketing. Marketers now have access to advanced AI tools that help them deliver adverts, improve their relevance, measure and monitor quality.

Finding your tribe

Identifying your customers’ journey is critical to planning the right engagement strategy: what channel are they engaging on most often? What Competing for time kind of topics are they invested in? What With so much demanding our attention, type of content are they consuming? This is audiences are often drawn to unexpectall vital information to help you understand ed content: to be entertained, surprised, preferences and behaviour so you can tailor feel connected or even grossed out. The your strategy. messy, morbid and mundane are great Changing consumer We’re at an exciting moment, where we’re ways to escape: why else would millions preferences presents reimagining ways to connect with consumers’ of devotees watch mukbang (South Kochanging consumption habits. In the end, great rean eating shows), live streams of people new opportunities to creativity trumps it all. As more brands access gorging on shellfish, or view famous TikTok delight, surprise and more data, and as marketers sharpen their planstars staring at sourdough starters? engage our audience ning, it all comes down to people-first, impactful and powerful creative. Finding insightful, smart Moments that delight ways to connect with people, not just consumers, So whether it’s Barilla’s “Mixtape Spaghetti” on makes all the difference. Spotify, which created a timed playlist to entertain

THE BIG TAKEOUT

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

Putting personalisation into mobile advertising

very time we think our targeted and engaging mobile messaging cellphones can’t become campaigns that can span different mobile more entrenched in our messaging formats — from SMS all the lives, they do. Our digital way through to rich communication lives mean we are glued services (RCS) — and reach millions of to our smartphones and mobile users worldwide. rely on them for everything. This has While many brands understand the made our smartphones a perfect value of mobile advertising, few have yet channel for mobile advertising, from mastered how effective microtargeting messaging ads to mobile app ads. and personalisation can be. In fact many brands are still serving the same ads While these ads have become part of our daily lives, we’re becoming across different channels. We can change this, especially as increasingly immune to them as the world recovers from more brands compete for Covid-19. The our attention. pandemic has Consumers changed our today want ads behaviour: we’re that are targetnot socialising, ed, personalised working and living and relevant to As consumers and as we once them. But that used to. The way brings up several become immune to the we advertise will issues, of which generic ads on their need to reflect that the biggest is change, and personprivacy. phones, brands need alisation will need to How can brands to get personal ... be at the heart of this wanting to leverage strategy. mobile ads ensure Also at the heart of this they are also adhering to strategy will be ad budgets, data privacy laws? as brands have to think more At Out There Media, we help creatively about how they can drive brands reap the benefits of mobile higher return on investment (ROI) on ad advertising by taking advantage of spend. Wasting millions on digital banner first party telco deterministic data. ads that yields a 0.1% click-through rate The way we manage and process will no longer do. Brands need an alternadata is heavily regulated and is tive — that alternative will come in the compliant with EU general data new messaging formats that exist today. protection regulation laws, a more Whatever the strategy or goal, brands stringent version of SA’s Protection need to think about microtargeting and of Personal Information Act. personalisation when it comes to mobile This means our brand customers messaging. Without these two things, get the best from telco data — micro, they won’t achieve the engagement or yet anonymised, targeting — without the reach they desire, or deliver the ROI from risk of breaching laws or infringing on their ever-squeezed budgets. subscribers’ privacy. The result? Highly

THE BIG TAKEOUT

By Donald Mokgale, CEO Sub-Saharan Africa, Out There Media

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

123RF

By Moky Makura, executive director, Africa No Filter

A new A African narrative

frica’s media has a lot to answer for. Despite what we have come to believe, they, not the Western media, are complicit in reinforcing the persistent narrative that Africa is broken. We’re not perfect, but we’re not broken either, and stories of poverty, poor leadership, corruption, conflict and disease should not be the only ones we hear about other countries on this continent. Unfortunately, this is still very much the case. In October last year, Africa No Filter surveyed 38 African editors and analysed more than 300 articles from 60 African news outlets in 15 countries to produce our report, “How African Media Covers Africa”. The results were eye-opening but sadly not entirely surprising. Nearly all (81%) the stories we looked at were about the conflicts and crises on the continent. Back then, the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria, the growing conflict in Tigray, It’s no wonder that Ethiopia, and the post-election conflicts in how the world sees Tanzania and Guinea dominated the pages Africa is exactly how of African newspapers. So, if I were sitting in SA, reading SA Africa sees itself media’s coverage of other African countries, I would be reading about conflict. The

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July 2021

123RF

Thuli Dlamini

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

There’s a dynamic energy and entrepreneurial spirit in Africa that is left largely unreported

Grammy-winning Nigerian rapper Burna Boy

stories that surround me feed the stereotype of a continent, media. Vibrant exchanges on social media show that there is a as rockstar Bono put it back in 2004, “in flames”. It’s no dynamic energy and entrepreneurial spirit on this continent wonder that how the world sees Africa is exactly how Africa that is left largely unreported. sees itself. We have no other perspectives, no alternative Traditional media seem tied to an ageing belief that news is stories, and traditional media has a huge hand in this. always “hard”, that politics should dominate, and that stories Given the size of this continent, it’s impossible for one of people, places, arts and culture should be relegated to the country outlet to have correspondents searching for stories in back pages. This is exactly how to alienate your biggest the other 53 countries. So, we weren’t surprised that our potential market — the youth. report showed Western news agencies accounted for more Our report identified that only 7% of the stories analysed than one third of all the African content carried in African were human interest and 4% were on arts and culture. This, media outlets. Specifically, AFP, Reuters and the BBC were at a time when music is undeniably one of Africa’s biggest the main sources of news for most of the mainstream outlets. exports: ask the Nigerian rapper Burna Boy, who recently won This begs the question: who is really writing Africa’s story? a Grammy and made it on to the front page of iconic British There is a clear need for Africa’s mainstream and influential style magazine GQ. media editors to take back the pen and help redefine the There are a few exemplars, those who are attempting to tell Africa story. It’s true that 83% of the editors we spoke to nuanced, contextualised, varied stories about other African wanted more and “better” African content, but they largely countries, including The Nation in Kenya and Mail & Guardian’s felt they were constrained. The Continent in SA. But new perspectives about They cited lack of funding, advertiser Africa are coming from alternative, interest in African stories, and space. Yes, focused pan-African and regional, multilack of space. Which tells us print is still media platforms like Okay Africa, Amplify big in Africa. Given our youth population, Africa, True Africa and Nigeria’s Zikoko. internet reach and mobile penetration, We just need the mainstream media to that’s a missed opportunity and a debate latch onto this growing opportunity to for another opinion piece. Back to this one. attract young people to their platforms. Africa is known In a continent of 54 countries, one known There is a clear need for human interest for its resilience and for its resilience, innovation, rich history and and feature-style stories to counter the diverse culture, and one blessed (not cursed) barrage of hard news and negative reports innovation, so why with a youthful population — why are we still informing the world’s view on Africa. There’s are we still tied to tied to this single story of Africa? never been a better time to start shifting this single story? The reality is that the world is changing and the narrative. The world is ready for uplifting this persistent image is prevalent in two areas… stories that reflect this dynamic continent. It’s the development community and mainstream up to us, Africa’s media, to deliver them.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

How A influential is media in defining Africa’s story? By Lynette Dicey, freelance business journalist

frica has made considerable strides since Live Aid — a concert held in 1985 to raise funds for relief of Ethiopia’s famine — and The Economist’s “Africa the hopeless continent” cover in 2000, both of which came to define the continent’s image across the world. The prevailing image of Africa in the 2000s, particularly in the mainstream global media, was focused on civil wars, unrest, corruption, poverty, poor leadership, violent elections, Ebola and HIV/Aids. Fast-forward 21 years and the reality is that the continent’s image in global mainstream media is largely unchanged. There is an argument to be made that Africa’s media has a great amount to answer for given its complicity in reinforcing the persistent narrative that Africa is broken. In the final instalment of the Future of Media digital conference series, in partnership with Africa No Filter and moderated by Siya Sangweni, panellists were asked to weigh in the media’s role defining Africa’s story. Africa No Filter is an organisation that supports the development of nuanced and contemporary stories that shift stereotypical and harmful narratives in and about Africa. Executive director Moky Makura said there is a need for stories that counter the barrage of hard news — and often negative stories — informing the world’s view on Africa. An Africa No Filter report said that Western news agencies, specifically AFP, Reuters and the BBC, accounted for over a third of all the African content carried in African media outlets, which begs the question of who Stories either reflect is really writing Africa’s story. While most of the editors Africa’s hopelessness interviewed for Africa No Filter’s or the idea of Africa “How African Media Covers Africa” rising, neither of report wanted more and better African content, they cited lack of which is realistic funding, lack of advertiser interest and space constraints, said Makura. African media outlets, she said, need to invest in such quality content that people would be prepared to pay for it. Mary Harper, BBC’s Africa editor, pointed out that stories out of Africa either reflect Africa’s hopelessness or the idea of Africa rising, neither of which is realistic. Content needs to be better curated to ensure a more balanced perspective. She added that African media should not rely so heavily on international media and should instead take the lead when it comes to generating content, in the process challenging stereotypes. Marie Mbullu is a 20-year-old Tanzanian-American student who is using TikTok to try to change stereotypical perceptions of Africa. Mbullu said it was important that viewers ask questions and look for bias as far as African news stories are concerned, given the lack of regulation. Africa has so many stories to tell, said Sipho King, editorial director at The Continent, and more journalists need to be encouraged to tell its stories, which will allow for more and varied viewpoints. In turn, better content will attract more support.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

To watch the full discussion, click here

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

July 2021

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA - PREDICTING THE UNPREDICTABLE

July 2021