Future of Media (July 2021)

Which digital revenue models work and why?

A note from our headline partner

As 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

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

A note from the Future of Media team

The 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

Cortney Hoyland Partnership manager

hoylandc@arena.africa 082 -442 -0624

Building a better world with purpose-led creativity

You can’t pass a socially distanced water cooler or attend a team check-in on Zoom these days without hearing the words “brand purpose”, so much so that it has become one of the most misused and misunderstood buzzwords today.

But don’t let that scare you away, as purpose-led companies are making a tremendous difference in the world. In today’s“era of public”that’s all about how to contribute to a better society, purpose isn’t just about 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.

Today, it’s all about taking action.

No one expects world peace from their yoghurt, and an end to global warming from their bank. But what 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 purpose, which results in more sustainable brand growth, as proven by the BrandZ Global Top 100 Most Valuable Brands. But while your passion for a cause may be strong, if your brandis all talk and no action, your 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 year that was and in need of a marketing 101 refresher for 2021, brand purpose is the reason your brand exists, extending beyond all things commercial to the role you play in society.

In last year’s #FutureOfMedia report, Abey Mokgwatsane, managing executive of brand at Vodacom, said: “Good organisations know WHAT they do, great organisations know HOW to do it, but the best organisations know WHY they do what they do. Even better is when that WHY is inextricably linked to creating a more sustainable world.”

This means your purpose needs to be relevant to your brand and feel genuine to the public —not as though it has been bolted on as part of a corporate social responsibility checklist.

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2 3

By Natalie Botha, director of creative development, Kantar

How to authentically activate purpose in your marketing

See purpose as a compass:

A world that’s increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous is tricky to navigate. Purpose provides you with a consistent, long-term approach to brand management which, in turn, provides certainty for both the company and consumers.

See purpose as experience:

Purpose starts with people, so customer-centricity must be at the heart of the business. The call centre needs to be as passionate about the brand purpose as the CEO.

See purpose as communication:

In today’s ad-cluttered world, brands struggle to get their messages past consumers’filter bubbles. Reach them by aligning your brand purpose with their interests and ensure it’s also the driving force of your marketing communication.

Creating best-in-class purpose-led campaigns

To put this into practice, the Cannes Lions Awards of global creativity say catalysts such as climate change, diversity and cultural moments are especially effective in advertising if incorporated authentically.

So, ensure the big idea is rooted in what your brand stands for. Then execute the campaign in such a way that it inspires your audience to get involved.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Consumers want to see proof of small, tangible steps your brand is taking to improve society

To reinforce your brand purpose, go back to your positioning and show your brand values in action. Align with brands with similar values that hold themselves accountable; listen to your consumers, larger community and the social conversation to understand where your brand can support their action; and then do so on the most appropriate channel.

Whether you’re talking to traditional or new media, articulate with confidence that you are a purpose-led brand, and help create a brave new world where purpose fuels profit and profit fuels even greater impact.

KEEPING IT REAL

The 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.

How to remain human in the digital age

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

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

‘‘ 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.

Haveyou consideredyourinterpersonal 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

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

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.

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

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.

how to innovate like Amazon

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

The 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.

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

We have feedback mechanisms in properly calibrated analytics, surveys

‘‘Vision, mission and values need to be crystal clear

innovation

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.

for

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

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

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.

Nando’s

Tan inside view

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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 kitchenor 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 manage our business without them, and we all know that. We spend more than half our marketing budget internally on building the Nandoca experience and the brand.

The Nando’s brand experience team inside our marketing team work tirelessly to deliver uniforms that people are proud to wear; run a Nando’s staff radio station that inspires and binds our Nandocas together across the country in every restaurant we own; develop direct marketing, social, audio and video material that keeps our people going in tough times and praises them when we achieve big milestones;and run a customer care centre that supports our restaurant 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 fight to win the consumer at your own front door. Great advertising can’t compensatefor poor guest experiences. While awards are great and we enjoy the wins, the awards themselves are a by-product of us doing what we love to do. It’s seeing the faces of the Nandocas in our restaurants get excited

about our new campaigns when they unwrap our printed menu boards. It’s watching one of our grillers record his first maskandi track in Flame Studios at Constitution Hill where we regularly offer our marketing support and partnership to uplift and provide opportunities to young creative talent across art, music and design. It’s rolling out a new and potentially risky strategy

THE BIG TAKEOUT

If you can’t turn your own people into brand ambassadors, then you’ve lost the fight to win the consumer

Stepping up in the attention economy

Let’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’sa 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

‘‘

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.

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

The selling power of SA #celebs

Do influencers still influence?

By Jeanine Rainier, GM, TILT

Influencer 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

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+

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:

2

4 6

8

10

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+

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.

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:

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 episodescan 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

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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7

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.

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.

THE BRIEF: Nivea wanted to create brand awareness among the middle-class market in SA about itsnew 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 proof is in the

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 VodaMediaadvertising 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%.

pudding

By Sindy Snow, marketing project manager, VodaMedia

According 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 VodaMediasite 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 VodaMediatech-com advertising solutions can help you increase your return on investment and campaign effectiveness, contact VodaMedia today on vodamedia@vodacom.co.za.

SAembraces the global digital revolution

Brands, agencies and publishers are adapting, but not fast enough

By Paula Hulley, CEO, IAB SA in partnership with VodaMedia

AFuture 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

This past year has been a year of change. Overnight, the entire world came to rely on digital platforms for connection, information and education.

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) SA, an association representing the SA digital industry, the digital media industry saw rapid acceleration in terms of both revenue and usage.

‘

In the digital world we need to build the plane while flying it, without even knowing our destination –Paula Hulley, IAB SA CEO

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

consumer scale across demographics and behavioural insights that can be derived across audience segments. By equipping brands, agencies and publishers with a detailed, relevant and realistic overview of the last year, we hope to further empower them as they continue to steer the industry forward.

“The IAB SA ‘Digital Landscape Report’and the PwC ‘Internet Advertising Revenue Report’detail the ways in which this expedited adoption played out on home ground. While some of the findings are expected given the circumstances, these insights reiterate the fact that, when it comes to digital, the only constant is change.”

Commenting on these insights, Clare Trafankowska-Neal, iProspect MD and IAB SA Measurement Council lead, says: “Not only does the report establish a demographic foundation, it reaffirms the heightened digital consumption that has been noted as a global trend since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic —and also recorded locally. The report further reveals the impact of the pandemic on the ways South Africans connect, communicate and consume content.”

Top-level insights contained in the report include:

● Internet connectivity is more readily accessible than before, with a 21% increase in people who are able to access the internet at home (mobile phones aside).

● South Africans are increasingly using the internet to shop (35% increase), game (88% increase), and stream television (38% increase).

“2020 was a huge growth year for digital in SA. The online world entrenched itself into our lives and we believe these changes are here to stay. The statistics noted in the report talk to the expedited adoption of digital in almost everyone’s lives,”says Greg Mason, regional lead sub-Saharan Africa, Narratiive.

2020, a considerable rise from R1.4bn in 2019.

The distribution of spends shifted in 2020 in line with consumer consumption patterns, which resulted in digital attracting a bigger piece of the pie in many planning scenarios. Survey participants reported that their digital ad spend amounts to between 21% and 40% of their total ad spend —this up from 9.2% a mere four years ago.

The “Internet Advertising Revenue Report”also details the three key trends that will shape the future of the SA and global digital landscape.

One, consumers’increasing concerns about privacy and data protection; two, the demise of the third-party cookie (which has resulted in internet browsers Safari and Firefox already phasing out the use of cookies. Google, however, has indicated their phasing out will be a gradual process — a controversial move, as Chrome accounts for more than half of all internet traffic); three, the growth of headless commerce as consumer expectations of a seamless omni-channel experience continue to rise.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

In addition to the maturation of the digital ecosystem, messaging and content have become markedly more creative, connecting and resonating with an audience facing uncertainty. This has driven revenue and performance.

In 2020, the SA digital industry grew 18%, with a total revenue of R4.7bn and advertising revenue of R2.1bn

As consumer usage continues to rise, advertisers and brands are allocating more resources to digital content and media,shifting their focus in line with their audience. The “Internet Advertising Revenue Report”, conducted by PwC and commissioned by IAB SA, breaks down the numbers behind SA’s increased appetite for digital content.

“When economic activity came to a halt at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country in 2020, most nonessential businesses could not operate. This had a huge impact on the economy and forced the advertising industry to swiftly diversify the allocation of advertising investment to be more in tune with what consumers were doing during this time.

“We saw a big uptake in e-commerce due to online shopping, increased in-home media consumption, and the rise of digital media in general,”says Claudelle Naidoo, Mediacom MD and IAB SA Research Council chair.

The data reveals that despite the state of the economy at large, the SA digital industry experienced an 18% year-onyear growth, with a total revenue of R4.7bn in 2020. Internet advertising revenue (excluding paid search) hit R2.1bn in

If these remain the industry’s major focus areas , we can expect sustainable growth and increased confidence, translating into an even greater allocation of advertising investment.

Both the IAB SA “Digital Landscape Report”and the “Internet Advertising Revenue Report”are available, at no cost, to IAB SA members, and can be accessed via the IAB SA member portal.

The “Internet Advertising Revenue Report”was made possible by a multitude of SA agencies, brands and publishers, as well as PwC SA, the Advertising Media Forum, the IAB SA Research Council led by Claudelle Naidoo, Mediacom MD, and project lead Shaun Frazao, head of digital and content at Wavemaker.

The IAB SA “Digital Landscape Report”was brought to you by Narratiive, as well as BMIT, the Publisher Research Council, Ornico and the many IAB SA publishers who promoted the survey.

IAB SA empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. Its membership comprises more than 150 leading media companies, brands and technology companies responsible for enabling excellence in digital marketing, focusing on identifying and targeting audiences, delivering and optimising campaigns to these audiences, and the innovation and selling of such activities. The nongovernment, nonprofit trade group fields critical research on interactive advertising, while also educating brands, agencies, publishers and the wider business community on the importance of digital marketing.

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

The unprecedented impact of Covid-19 since the first quarter of last year has brought a lot of challenges to the media industry, the biggest of which is a 30% drop in advertising spend globally, with SA being no exception.

With the news aggregation platform, THE FUSE, VodaMedia has started shifting away from the unpredictable to shape a predictable future for small and big publishers. The idea is to create a modern media ecosystem model for content producers, consumers and advertisers.

In doing so, it made sense for VodaMedia to enter THE FUSE into the Google News Initiative innovation challenge.

Embracing THE FUSE into the fold, Google said: “It is our mission to organise the world’sinformation and make it useful. News is an essential part of that information and news matters to Google. In a recent announcement, our CEO, Sundar Pichai, said: ‘Google cares deeply about journalism. We believe in spreading knowledge to make life better for everyone. It’s at the heart of Google’smission. It’s the mission of publishers and journalists.’

“VodaMedia has taken up the challenge to drive diversity and equal opportunity in SA with THE FUSE news aggregation app. THE FUSE supports large and largely undiscovered web content creators to distribute their content, earn advertising revenues, and reach an untapped audience via zerorated content access. We at Google are thrilled to be part of this journey as VodaMedia’s chosen ad tech provider.” Back story

In December 2020, in its search for solutions to help the ailing industry against the Covid-19 scourge, VodaMedia sought out a solution provider to develop a localised content platform that would enable passiondriven content producers to showcase their content channels.

By VodaMedia

Lucie Greene of thisislightyears.com aptly describes this group as “perhaps the most brand-critical, bullshit-repellent, questioning group around and will call out any behaviour they dislike”.

The solution

VodaMedia wants to present a fresh take on the news and views of “local people”, providing them a global reach. Diversity of thought and voice, which goes directly to the tenets of democracy, seeks to ensure minority voices are represented. This is accomplished by providing a platform for local, smaller content producers to enhance their reach.

THE FUSE addresses both reader engagement and the creation of revenue streams by catering for audiences that typically don’t have access to content platforms. By trying to ensure broader participation, we can reach those previously excluded. This scale drives ad revenue economics in turn.

The method

THE BIG TAKEOUT

THE FUSE uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to drive personalised reader engagement. It also uniquely caters for readers who are excluded from participating in and consuming web content because of affordability. Accordingly, THE FUSE compensates for the digital divide by zero-rating (data-free consumption)the access points to its platform.

The idea is to create a modern media ecosystem for content producers, consumers and advertisers

The platform woulddisplay the myriad diverse voices, in SA and the rest of Africa, while still catering for big content publishers.

The challenge

In an era of fake news and filter bubbles, THE FUSE wants to bring qualitative journalism from a large number of publishers, both small and large, to Gen Z and millennials —a group that’s not only able to consume more information than any before, but has also become accustomed to cutting through it.

The outcome

Content publishers will become beneficiaries in two ways. The first is through advertising revenue share. The second is by a proposition developed in partnership with Google to zerorate display ads in VodaMedia’s environments, thereby ubiquitously driving further revenue opportunities for all stakeholders.

VodaMedia’s goal is to create a sustainable media industry that is inclusive of smaller publishers and ensure viability by giving them access to revenue opportunities. Further to this, additional funding and support for smaller publishers is a necessity to empower them with tools of the trade. Parallel to the above, our ambition is to equally drive public engagement and provide access to relevant news and content through personalisation.

Diversification and democratisation of content will teach the industry that there are wholesome perspectives and storied individualism that can drive opportunity for a richer and more personalised user engagement.

Which digital revenue models work and why?

By Danni Marais, sub-editor, Arena Holdings

How 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

was on digital revenue models emerging in SA. Panellists were asked to share their successes and challenges as they figure out how to monetise news in a digital landscape. Kicking off the debate, Sangweni asked the panellists how they had decided on their chosen revenue model.

“Trial and error,”said Daily Maverick CEO and publisher Styli Charalambous. The online newspaper soon realised that it was never going to raise enough revenue to cover costs as a digital-only publisher focusing on political coverage in SA.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

You need to know what you stand for and who your audiences are, then deliver a product they can trust

Not wanting to put its content behind a paywall, Daily Maverick opted for a voluntary membership model.

“Content can move a country,”said Charalambous. “And you can't do that when only a few people have access to that content.”

absolutely clear about what its vision and mission is. And it needs to have an understanding of how that overlaps with the needs of the audience, because “it’s in that overlap that the magic happens”, he said.

Wolmarans agreed, saying that before you launch a paywall you first have to ask yourself the tough question: “Do you have content worth paying for? And sometimes the answer is simply ‘Well, nothing right now’.”

Again, good research is critical: “If you don’t understand the demographics of your readers, any paywall is a nonstarter.”And once a paywall is up, it needs to evolve: Like a “living beast”, he said, it needs daily care and attention.

So which is the winning revenue model?

Arena Holdings head of digital: media Riaan Wolmarans described a different journey and set of challenges.

“First was getting the tech right: Arena relaunched its old websites and developed a new content management system. After that it was finding the appropriate paywall and settling on freemium content, still giving readers free content but requiring them to pay for the rest. Then came the hardest job: convincing readers to pay,”he said.

WAN-IFRA CEO Vincent Peyrègne was asked what SA can learn from global experience.

“Success requires a culture shift,”he said. “There needs to be a new level of collaboration between newsrooms, tech developers and marketing departments. News groups also need to come up with a product that offers ’the right content, to the right audience, at the right time’.”

Primedia Outdoor marketing and marketing services executive Jorja Wilkins said: “Tech came to the rescue, with new digital capabilities saving as many campaigns as possible and helping identify which audiences were on the roads at which time of the day.

“Out-of-home (OOH) advertising also served the community with important public service messages about Covid.”

Moving on to the all-important subject of content, Sangweni asked the panellists how they ensure they have content that keeps consumers wanting more.

Charalambous emphasised the importance of understanding your audience and creating value in their eyes. And he says data analytics and tech can help with that.

But first an organisation needs to be

Wilkins said Primedia Outdoor chose a hybrid model using both classic and programmatic ads for OOH. She said while digital is growing, traditional models are still making money, so it’s about getting the balance right. Similarly, Wolmarans said that “legacy print is still making good money on print ads, so we can’t drop everything and focus only on digital. Monetisation is not just trying to make up for what is lost on the print side, but making it an entirely self-sustainable revenue

According to Charalambous, the main thing is to innovate bearing your users in mind. “Don’t be driven by what your competitors are doing, don’t just chase profits: focus on your audience.”

And audiences need to be able to trust you.

Wolmarans quotes editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic magazine, which has had a soaring subscription rate since the beginning of the pandemic: “We will be saved as an institution by bearing down on quality, quality, quality. Just do the most deeply reported, beautifully written, carefully edited, factchecked, copy-edited and beautifully designed stories —and the reader will come. They want to be supportive and they want access. And it turns out to be true. Thank God for it.” “You can have smartest paywall,” says Wolmarans, “but if you don’t have the quality to back it up, you’re nowhere.”

watch the full discussion, click here

After a year such as 2020, it’sdifficult 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.

READY, SET RESET

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.”

“Once you’ve make peace with that, you will start having fun with your plan adaptions and you will see more

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

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 saidhearing 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 requestsdaily, 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.”

THE BIG TAKEOUT

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

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

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.”

Last words from panellists on predicting the unpredictable

1

“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

2

“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

“Communication and meaningis 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

34 5

“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

“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

Think SMART

The future of media relations is through thought leadership

As 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?”

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

1One 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.

Thought leadership is the informed opinion of a leader in a particular field of expertise. Essentially, it’s addressing something that’s happening (a trend, perhaps) in one’s field withan informed or interesting take on that issue.

The most common way we secure thought leadership placements for our clients is via “op-eds”or opinion pieces in a news publication.

By Annie Pace Scranton, founder & president, Pace PR

By having our clients react to a news event or trend, or give their opinion about the future of their industry, the op-ed can instantly boost their credibility and legitimacy.

This can be due to their thoughtful insights, but can also be due to the perception surrounding the placement of the piece itself. This is what PR is all about —driving

that legitimacy and credibility for our clients.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Placing an informed or interesting op-ed piece can instantly boost a client’s credibility and legitimacy

Thought leadership can also work well on social media, in particular LinkedIn, and on your company’s website or blog. Not every op-ed piece willget picked up in a news outlet, so having a routine of placement on your internal verticals can be a great way to continue to speak to your audience in that thought leadership capacity. Remember, half of thought leadership is thinking of yourself as that thought leader or expert. The other half is actually doing the work, which entails getting that opinion out in the world.

When it comes to raising one’s profile in the media, thought leadership is definitely the future.

It’s still all about CHEMISTRY

Everyone is concerned with how the world will adapt to the challenges of a post-Covid-19 environment. No matter what industry or size your business is, we’ve all felt the shift —personal or professional — of living in a post-pandemic world. Many clients and partners of Demographica have been asking us questions about this too.

What will marketing to businesses look like if no one is going to work? How do we connect with customers when they are Zoomed-out and hard to reach? How are they responding to enquiries to do research? These questions are pertinent as business-to-business (B2B) marketers are being held to shorter, more reactive timelines and tighter budgets.

As a B2B agency which uses anthropology as our core research discipline, observational and in-person interviews are the cornerstone of our insights. We need to get “into the field” to be able to see, hear, feel and ultimately immerse ourselves in our target audience’s world. In a post-pandemic reality, this has meant being more flexible and empathetic.

We’ve needed to be ready to have sessions rescheduled at the last minute due to personal emergencies or Covid-19 scares. Business people are also more focused on the business problem at hand, and less concerned with spending time with an anthropologist rummaging around in their office and their head.

But it has also shown us that research is still possible and, if anything, more important than ever. Rather than travelling to other regions, we have adapted our interview technique to suit online meetings, and are finding that a much more personal picture can emerge when you are in a home and not an office. Online observational sessions have also been possible by screensharing and a well-positioned computer camera.

Some businesses never stopped going into the factory or office, which Covid-19 protocols have made manageable.

One of the most out-of-the-ordinary things

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 while they wear a mask. The eyes tell you a lot, but expression works throughout the face, and it’s a challenge to “fill in the blanks”without knowing what the person looks like without a mask. In our specialist call centre, we have found securing meetings and engaging with people over the phone challenging. People revert to replying over email, so it’s difficult to influence follow-up communication and make that human connection.

In this new environment, onboarding a customer onto a buyer journey means finding ways to connect with people and help them understand value outside an office environment. This can mean surprising them with a direct mail at their home, noticing something about their family or personal life and marketing a more personal message, or creating events that allow people to immerse themselves in a virtual reality experience at home.

Families are again becoming the centre of the buyers’world, and questions such as “can I live and work from Cape Town for the lifestyle?”have prompted a lot of them to make the jump. They are also buying or selling assets in their personal lives and reorganising resources (both financial and emotional). They’ve become more explorative and decisive.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Priorities have

The trauma of resettlement in the “new normal”has been prompting life-altering decisions about how we want to live, both personally and professionally. As marketers, this shift is something we need to pay attention to. The energy of “big decisions”should have also prompted big technology leaps for companies, overhauls in health and safety policies, and a real reflection around what businesses can afford.

shifted

and people are making life-altering changes: Marketers must make the leap with them

This means that marketers should be using this time to prompt switches, rollouts, upsell or cross-sell strategies, and even tell our customers where they’re overspending. This has been one of our most clear and powerful triggers as B2B marketers.

At Demographica, our advice to clients is what it’s always been (with a few never-before-seen tactics and some tweaking here and there) –get to know what makes your audiences’eyes light up and then market to them, using that insight. You simply can’t go wrong with chemistry.

C C o o r r p p o o r r a a t t e e c c i i t t i i zz e e n n s s h h i i p p :: a a r r e e S S A A b b r r a a n n d d s s j j u u s s t t t t i i c c k k i i n n g g t t h h e e b b o o xx e e s s ? ?

Myburgh said there has been a lot of humanizing, and many honest conversations.

“The past year has taught us to connect and to listen. As a group, we embarked on a couple of campaigns," he said.

“One that stands out is the ‘Jacaranda Gives Back’campaign, where we

By Tanja du Plessis, project manager, Arena Events

appealed to businesses to reach out for us tohelp them get back on their feet.

“Activation, connecting and using firstparty data helped forge and strengthen

Whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts are in place to take care of employees, to help a community, or to advance a positive change, there are few big businesses that can afford toignore

Who better to promote anything than the media —but what is the media’s role in supporting and promoting corporate citizenship?

‘‘ Consumers can see if brands are truly invested in something

Lyndon Barends, head of group strategy at Arena Holdings, said the media has been part of the storytelling

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.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

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

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

for marketers, so has empathy. This brand band-aid has forced marketers

“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

“Consumers can see if brands are just throwing money at something or if

Engagement is also an important cog in understanding culture and being

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

In the face of socio-cultural upheaval, an unknown economic future and a global pandemic, the media industry finds itself in a near impossible situation. Opportunities lie in collaborating, learning and forging a view of fast-paced changes in an increasingly fragmented economic and media landscape, both locally and globally.

In an instalment of the Future of Media online conference series, host Siya Sangweni and the panel took a look at how the world is embracing a new way of digital communication and how businesses are adjusting to a shift in the market to stand out among the online crowd.

Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) SA CEO Paula Hulley was asked to share insights from the IAB SA 2020 report on the current consumer digital landscape. She reminded the audience that in the digital world, we needed to build the plane while we’re flying it, without knowing the destination we’re heading towards.

She then shared some key stats about ad spend from theresearch report, which showed a huge shift to online. “The current consumer landscape is digital,”said Hulley.

“The advertising spend from the buy side went up 18%, and even though the industry shrank a little, the portion of the digital pie grew 21%. Paid social [media] stayed constant, accounting for 20% of revenue, and searched content on Google stayed at 90% of digital spend.”

By Tanja du Plessis, project manager, Arena Events

multiplatform strategy is imperative. We always want to coexist and collaborate with industry.”

Hulley said she is impressed by brands that have created access for people to go online, whether it’s for SMEs to grow their businesses or for students to learn online.

A brand that’s doing this well is VodaMedia. Parker said the rationale behind THE FUSE and Saccess, two new platforms helping to shape a predictable future for publishers, brands and advertisers.

SHAPING a predictable FUTURE for SA media

Benjamin Fahmueller, head of SSA Global Partnerships at Google, said: “The most recent search trends show a lot more supplier/product searches, meaning that consumers are making more informed decisions and doing more research when it comes to buying a product from a pricing and quality perspective.

“This is a great opportunity for brands to get into this space to be the search of choice. Searches for local getaways and domestic travel have grown more than 200% and — not related to product —online privacy searches have also increased.”

VodaMedia executive head Zunaid Parker said: “The ad industry and all businesses have been in a state of flux and have needed to re-evaluate best practices, so where do you allocate revenue to get return?

“The evolution of advertising is the realisation that you can’t just go with only one construct, and that a

“These platforms were developed with the influential capabilities of sports and the youth in mind. [The intention] is to give lift to great content to become more relevant to mainstream publishing. We needed to develop a platform that allows co-access for the nonconsumers of news for it to resonate with a particular segment. This will, in turn, enable publishers and content creators with consumer views.”

According to Fahmueller: “THE FUSE and Saccess speak for the user, the content creators, the advertisers and the publishers. They allow introductions to both users and advertisers, broaden the audience for the publishers, and open up revenue avenues for content creators. This offering brings a lot to the market and plays a big role in the media ecosystem.”

The panellists agreed that an increase in digital consumption is bringing some great opportunities for brands to reach their targeted audiences. Brands need to be versatile and open to collaboration, and with better collaboration comes a world of opportunity to push content, build on engagement, and help with monetisation, which is an all-round win for publishers, users and brands.

Fighting through the fog

‘‘

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

In 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”.

By Tanja du Plessis, project manager,

Arena

Events

Sangweni started the conversation by asking panellist Kendal Zoghby, head of communication strategy at Yellowwood, habits now look like in the home space,

and what brands people are buying into. So the challenge was really the change in

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’sacurrency—

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 thatbeing 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.

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.”

“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

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.

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.”

To watch the full discussion, click here

The Power

of trust

Consistency, intimacy & connection:

why radio’s still our best friend

Radio has consistently proven to be the number one most trusted medium throughout Europe. This is according to an annual survey conducted by the EU Commission, the Eurobarometer, which monitors the perceptions of EU citizens on a range of issues, including trust in media.

The fact that radio has maintained this lead throughout a decade of digital and other media disruption is impressive. The latest figures show that radio is trusted by 57% of respondents, compared with 49% for TV, and 46% for press.

A number of recent research releases suggest that the pandemic has only increased these levels of trust across all markets.

Primedia constantly surveys consumers and has been releasing information on a regular basis on how the pandemic has affected people’sbehaviour and perceptions. More than half our respondent panel do not have one of our stations as their favourite station, giving us a wider view of the landscape.

By Deborah Schepers, chief strategy officer, Primedia Broadcasting

acknowledge that a relationship exists between two parties. Unlike other media types, which are often faceless, radio as a medium is delivered by real people, creating that second party.

Another reason for trust, which has become increasingly important to people during the pandemic, is that regional radio has an intimacy with the world you live in, rather than delivering a more generic global view.

Nielsen data released during 2020 showed that radio made people feel more connected to their communities and less alone. In this time of isolation, people cling to things that make them feel part of something meaningful. A sense of connection to community through the medium also drives trust.

Trust researchers Roger Mayer, James Davis and David Schoorman talk about the three elements to trust: ability, benevolence and integrity.

of respondents trusted radio, according to latest research figures

Our most recent data shows that in terms of the most trusted institutions and mediums, radio is generally ranked as second to family. TV is ranked sixth, Facebook eleventh and Twitter tenth, on average.

There are several reasons for these high levels of trust. The first is that by nature, trust is built up through consistency —it’s a daily commitment.

The habitual way radio is consumed, as it’s woven into the fabric of people’s lives, means that there is frequency behind the experience. The personalities on air begin to feel familiar, and so trust forms over time.

In any trusting relationship, one needs to first

Ability is having knowledge, skills or competencies that allow influence in a specific area.Integrity “involves the trustor’s perception that the trustee adheres to a set of principles the trustor finds acceptable”, and benevolence is “the extent to which a trustee is believed to want to do good to the trustor”.

One only has to think of the work done by talk radio stations to drive societal change by using their influence to hold the public to account to realise why levels of trust are so high with these presenters and stations.

It’s also worth noting that advertising on radio is regulated, with consumers able to complain about the truth of the advertising message, and messages making false claims are removed.

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-

THE BIG TAKEOUT

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

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.

BITE-SIZE

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

The attention economy has an impact on our time, our mental health, and the ways we communicate. That’s all great to know, but how can brands earn a piece of the attention pie in an age flooded by brands vying for the same eyes, minds and hearts?

I recently took part in a Future of Media discussion where my fellow panellists and I discussed the attention economy and what brands should be doing to break through the endless content noise.

By Charis Coleman, head of digital content, MultiChoice

A big focus should be talkability –the ability to motivate consumers to discuss and share news, marketing and other information about your brand.

Fact, the average attention span for humans is only eight seconds, so attention is a hot commodity. Digital products are competing for users’limited attention.

I am quite ashamed to say I spent 11 minutes watching a woman eat a giant crab…and enjoyed it. The video, by the way, has eight-million views.

The modern economy increasingly revolves around the human attention span and how products capture that attention. What brand managers, agencies, content developers and anyone in

charge of content marketing should be asking is how to engage consumers to stimulate more natural conversations in specific communities. More importantly, how do we do this in a credible way?

In 2020, a nine-year-old made $29.5m from his YouTube channel, reviewing toys. Netflix has paid subscribers worldwide who contribute $207.64m to their coffers, as of the first quarter of 2021.

Last year, the average internet user spent two hours and 24 minutes daily on social media, and it’s predicted we will see that increase by an

I could go on listing businesses, brands and people who’ve figured out that attention is not only a valuable resource, but also a currency, and it is this attention economy that has turned humans into products to be bought and sold.

When we think of attention economics, brands must entice users to volunteer their attention and spend money. It is also one of the most valuable resources of the digital age. Publishers use eye-catching animations that call attention to the content. Sites send out frequent notifications to boost engagement.

Social networking sites are fuelling the attention economy with the number of users using those sites every day.

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

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Brands need to break through the endless content noise in an age where attention is the hottest commodity

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 actively engaged. Infinite scroll on Facebook and Instagram, or automatic sound on YouTube, are designed to increase the likelihood of keeping our attention once we’re in. News headlines are not designed to inform us —they’re designed to get us to keep clicking.

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.

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 colleaguesaid: “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. ”

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 anothersecret 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

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.

Memes of production

The unions of the future are mobilising for social justice as well as the rights of workers themselves

At Flux Trends we have written about the rise of the activist employee for some years now. These are the employees who are biting the proverbial hand that feeds them when that hand is deemed to be unjust or irresponsible. They do this by organising public protests or by airing their employer’s dirty laundry, exposing racism, bigotry or employee exploitation.

This sort of speak-out culture is just one manifestation of the ways employees, particularly tech and media workers working for the digital titans, are organising against their employers. Digital workers, from influencers (yes influencers have their own unions now) to Amazon warehouse workers, are also now forming unions to negotiate and secure their rights.

In a world where inequality is on the rise and where platform companies have become powerful rent-seeking digital landlords with near-monopoly market share, it’s no wonder workers are seizing the memes of production and organising against their “digital landlord”employers.

In January 2021, a group of more than 400 Google engineers (mostly skilled “white collar”workers, in a departure from the traditionally “blue-collar” labour unions of the industrial era) formed a minority union, called the Alphabet Workers Union.

The union is, at present, focused on “giving structure and longevity to activism at Google”rather than on negotiating pay rates and contracts. This is a significant point. The unions of the future are mobilising for social justice, as well as economic rights for workers themselves.

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 Federation of Television and Radio Artists (Sag-Aftra) approving an “influencer agreement”that allows social media personalities who are paid to promote products (no follower 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 such, brands can expect to have to pay their content creators and influencers more transparent and more standardised rates in the future.

This growing trend towards more organised and more activism-oriented employees (and freelancers) should give brands and businesses, especially companies and publications in the public eye, pause for thought; particularly in an age such as our own where companies are under increased scrutiny by public and private actors just waiting for someone to put a step wrong.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

The activist employee trend will keep brands more accountable to their social responsibilities

Social media has created an insatiable appetite for scandal and drama. Businesses and brands that are caught on the wrong side of history (today’s version anyway) can suffer significant, potentially devastating, financial and reputational harm from a single badly considered tweet. Now, as their own workers organise as potential arbiters of social justice verdicts and sentencing, with the ability to inflict real damage on employers that fail to live up to theirsocial contracts, brands and businesses need to take more care than ever to toe the ever-changing line of social norms and social responsibility.

There are eyes and ears in your own camps, set to keeping you accountable to the zeitgeist.

DIGITAL

The digital era has revolutionised the way we communicate and has brought information about any conceivable topic to our fingertips. While this vast network has also allowed us to connect with other users all over the world,the Global Web Index 2021’s digital trends report says in 2019 social networking had become less about connecting than about consuming content.

This trend has created a minefield for us communicators and marketers, because digital is an alwayson platform, breaking down barriers to access of information, campaigns, headlines, and so on.

taming the beast

By Tshepo Sefotlhelo, CEO, Vuma Reputation Management

away from going viral and undoing years of reputation building. This situation is not helped by advertisers taking their spend to digital and social media platforms. How often do you see an ad for a reputable company next to a fake story or site? Business is unwittingly funding fake news for the sake of clicks.

While the public relations professionals of yesteryear could respond to negative publicity in the media in a fairly targeted and structured way, today a single tweet or comment can cause a business to undergo a trial by social media before anyone can react.

Social media has become, in a sense, an untameable beast. While this medium is useful to corporates for interactions with brand consumers, it has also unravelled reputations that have taken decades to build.

These developments have, over time, put significant pressure on the media to report the news, and have often blurred the lines of what is true. The rise of social media has led to advertisers taking their rand to digital platforms, which has made it even more challenging for traditional media to remain relevant. Also, pushing the “be first”agenda has at times compromised their integrity.

Denzel Washington once said when asked about fake news: “If you don’t read the newspapers you’re uninformed. If you read it you’re misinformed... There’s a need to be first, not even to be true anymore.”

It is increasingly challenging for anyone, whether they are corporates or an individual, to protect their reputations, and the media have not been spared. We are all a badly-judged comment

It’s reported that in 2020 nearly fourbillion people worldwide were on social media, where news (whether true of fake)spreads like wildfire, leaving organisations scrambling to pick up the pieces. Brands go through a trial by social media long before the rumours or comments are proven or invalidated. It is in these moments of crisis that companies try to strategise on how to respond appropriately. But more often than not, the damage is already done.

The unfortunate reality is that despite a myriad case studies on how quickly a reputation can be tainted, most companies, governments, media and individuals are still grappling with how to tame the beast. Yes, in recent years there have been some reforms,but we’re still a long way from a sustainable solution.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

For example, governments around the worldhave been trying to holdexecutives of social media networks to account. But these sessions proved that we’re a long way from finding policies that are able to curb the problemswith social media, as it’s an ever-changing phenomenon. Policy development can’t keep up.

We’re a long way from taming social media, where a single tweet can destroy a brand’s reputation

It’s encouraging to see that media have started asking themselves tough questions and are having even tougher conversations, such as the SA National Editors’Forum ethics report launched at the beginning of 2021.

In the interim though, in my view, the lowhanging fruit is marketing directors asking the tough questions about where their ads are being placed and where their clicks are coming from. Could it be that simple?

Blurred lines, sensory overload and AI:

navigating the future of media

Truth, fact & fiction

It is 8.45pm on a blustery, cold November evening in Brussels, Belgium. The year is 2026 and you’re thinking about a new coat to wear to the climate change protest that will be taking place in front of the European Commission building the next day. At the same time, you are intuitively scanning for facts about the most controversial climate issues, and reconfiguring your search algorithm to ensure that a diverse mix of content flows your way, while connecting you with your swarms of fellow protesters to co-ordinate protest logistics.

By Michael Perman, CEO, C’EST WHAT? LLC

Welcome to the future of media, where the lines between content and citizen journalism blur. Where sense-making enables truth to win. Where sensory stimulation transcends our digital walls. Where consumers take more control of media flow.

I think the decision by tennis star Naomi Osaka to withdraw from the French Open after she refused to speak to the media is a relevant example of consumers taking control of content due to her frustration over the blurring of truth and facts.

Her silence became a message of its own, syndicated through media channels around the world.

‘‘

Osaka’s decision was spurred by the media’s invasion of her privacy and dramatisation of happenings. Celebrities and star athletes often have moral clauses in their contracts. In the future, might we see more integrity clauses which allow people to avoid biased media on the grounds of their perceived absence of truth-telling? The ways we discover and verify truth will impact the future of how media is produced, distributed, and consumed.

Will alternative realities lead to alternative facts?

‘Your wish is my command’will define future content curation

When Kellyanne Conway, counsellor to a former US president, introduced the concept of “alternative facts” in a “Meet the Press”interview on January 22 2017, she ushered in an era in which falsehoods and lies became acceptable modes of communicating. In the subsequent years, certain media outlets and political leaders bombarded the populace with lies, leading to alternative realities and skewed belief systems.

“Rabbit-hole”algorithms designed by social media brands proliferated the concept of alternative facts, which then perpetuated myopic belief, warping our sense of reality.

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?

Will AI and Blockchain skew or verify the truth?

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Sense-making will become the guiding force as consumers crave the clarity of truth

We are likely to see more oversight boards, such as the one established by Facebook to “promote free expression by making principled, independent decisions regarding content”. But it’s also likely that other media brands establish independent boards to justify false claims. Will we see independent truth boards for right-wing outlets such as Gab or Telegram? Ugh!

In the future, digital mechanisms, such as blockchain technology, could provide definitive sourcing and validation for facts and enable sense-making, which is the process of giving authentic meaning to experiences and knowledge. Author David Eagleman, in his book Incognito: The Secret Lives of The Brain, said: “Instead of reality being passively recorded by the brain, it is actively constructed by it.”This construction is our sense-making ability.

In the coming years, sense-making will likely be a guiding force in the way brands convey content to their customers, and the way customers convey content about brands.

Sense-making will also influence filtering criteria for publishing on social media.

Another force of change for the future of media is the convergence of 5G and 6G with artificial intelligence (AI) to provide more intuitive offerings and gestures. “Your wish is my command”should be the moniker for content curation of media in the future.

Presently, audio commands enable us to request a piece of content such as a podcast, web search, song or film. In 2026, you should be able to ask entertainment devices to “make me laugh”or “make me think profoundly”, based on a deep understanding of your sense of humour, emotional profile, and intelligence wingspan.

In the future, cognitive-based AI systems will build knowledge, understand natural language, interpret facial expressions, and provide direction for media strategies and

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 fantasyto 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.

Finding your VOICE

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

Brand 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 thatdelivers 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

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

traditionally been staid B2B empires, but kudos go to the courageous leadership at MailChimp, the email marketing platform that serves millions of customers.

The firm embraced its reason for being with an award-winning campaign from advertising agency Droga5. (A less courageous brand might have changed their crazy-ass name MailChimp to something more, well, business-like.)

MailChimp’s inspired campaign played with their brand voice witha series of jolting cultural interventions that included creating a new potato chip brand (FailChips), starting a fashion trend (NailChamp) and making short films about singing sandwiches.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

When the audience knows immediately that it’s you sending the signal: that’s brand voice

These social activations served up names like MaleCrimp, MailShrimp, KaleLimp, VeilHymn, SnailPrimp, JailBlimp and WhaleSynth. And the only thing they all have in common, is that they all sound like “MailChimp”.

Today, MailChimp is the world’s leading marketing automation platform, according to Crunchbase.

Smartbox retailer Birchbox breaks the fourth wall with a subtle message to users. Rather than using a conventional address line, the online fashion retailer that fulfills via mail makes their customer and themselves feel just a little more special by adding adjectives next to the customer’s name. Not just Jane, but The Tranquil Jane, Pretty Amazing Jane, and other BFF descriptors designed to make someone’s day when their order arrives.

It’s all in the voice.

Probably no one expressed their brand voice as literally as T-Mobile’s former CEO John Legere. The self-described “magenta-wearing, customer-loving”CEO claimed over 4.45-million followers on Twitter and sported his own emoji.

Mostly, Legere snarked rival Verizon on Twitter. But he also hosted a cooking spot on Facebook each week. Since taking the lead spot at T-Mobile in 2012, Legere filled his closet racks with magenta-coloured shirts, shoes, scarves and jackets. Legere served as the literal embodiment of the T-Mobile brand. What other CEOs live their brand?

A company’s brand voice can also be communicated via images, sound, smell, architecture and other sensory executions. The New York Times, Vogue and even AirBnb differentiate themselves with imagery that’s dramatic, playful, killer. In a snap, we know it’s National Geographic, not Buzzfeed.

sell sell. (Athleta and Old Navy are the sales engines behind Gap.)

So it’s no real surprise to find an explanation of the functional qualities of Athleta brand fitwear on their pages. (Since this article was first written, Athleta has improved its brand voice and we would now have to turn to Levi’s and J. Crew for straight merch selling.)

So, how’s your robot?

Today, the brand tonality of emojis and artificial intelligence (AI) personalities such as Alexa, Cortana, Siri and Bixby can even be personalised (somewhat) with British accents, skin tones, and so on, to fit your human type.

What if, in the future, thanks to AI personalisation, brand copywriting and voicing is “sized”to speak your own vernacu-

Can a city have a brand voice? Yes, and thanks for asking.

Urban communities are little different than communities that surround products, services or companies. Cities want to attract visitors, neighbours and citizens just as voraciously as products want to attract users.

In fact, urban development is so critical in the US right now that, according to sources, the city of Atlanta, Georgia, has started a transformational project that will help it claim itself as a unique, distinctive and welcoming US metropolis.

Each of us is trying to become our own true best self. It’s no different for brands.

Your brand voice is the combined wave force of sights, sounds, images, smells, tastes, actions and feelings you mumble, shout, whisper and scream into the media multiverse. If you speak to me in a voice that I can understand and that means something to me, I might listen harder next time.

The voice of the community ultimately celebrates that which we want most on this Earth: to belong somewhere, with people like us.

Each of the companies, products and services mentioned articulate distinct, differentiated messages thanks to videographers, bloggers, design language, web designers, graphic designers, art, colours and photography, tone of voice or in the images used.

Since its founding, clothing company Patagonia has been the voice of Planet Earth. So it’s no great surprise and totally purpose-driven to find a request to help save US wilderness areas on the company’s home page. And please to help save bees in company emails.

On the other side of the spectrum, Athleta is built to sell

Their content developers may be various, but each has a singleminded focus that keeps them sending out their own distinct beacon to attract followers, influencers and fans, and to surround themselves with a thriving, engaged and passionate community. It’s when the person out there listening knows immediately that it’s you sending the signal.

That’s brand voice.

And so, the

By Michelle Randal, sales director, Christopher Africa

TC 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 because great marketers understand the basics of effective marketing, which exists (and has for years) outside the cookie world.

At the risk of being overly 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.

1

High-impact formats attract considerably more attention than standard display.

3

THE BIG TAKEOUT

The fundamentals of marketing are still the same and exist outside the world of cookie tracking

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.

2

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.

4

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 theyexist 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.

Traditional a signature for your brand OOH,

As we ride the third wave of Covid-19 in SA, we are reminded of the resilience and tenacity of big, brand-building media and what it can do for advertisers across SA’s media landscape.

In the initial lockdown in March last year, many advertisers pivoted their campaigns in the face of the unknown future —and some chose to go completely dark. For those that kept the lights on, out-ofhome (OOH) media owners are grateful for your business and your trust in an advertising medium that for centuries has proven to be effective, even in the face of adversity.

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) was seen as the saving grace for advertisers during this time as campaigns could be switched off or delayed and communication changed at the touch of a button, and the birth of programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) later in the year meant that advertisers could optimise their buying based on impressions.

The industry has been buzzing about DOOH and pDOOH: these formats have taken the limelight over the past 18 months and will continue to grow and adapt with technological advancements and increased inventory across media owners. They’ve proven to be a resounding success for both advertiser and media owner.

That being said, in 2019 PWC reported that by 2023, 32% of all OOH revenue will come from DOOH, leaving 68% for traditional OOH (tOOH). That’s a huge chunk of OOH income from tOOH.

Outdoor auditors have reported in their latest audit there’s been a rise of 24 LED screens across SA since October 2020 —399 screens out of more than 13, 700 billboard faces, and this includes only billboards that are bigger than 18m².

The country is geographically and demographically incredibly diverse; advertisers need to engage with their audiences where it’s the most effective and suited to a consumer’s environment.

Shopping in Bizana in the Eastern Cape is very different to shopping in Sandton, and media touchpoints along the shopper’s

By Jorja Wilkins, executive: marketing & marketing services, Primedia Outdoor

journey are different too. Whereas Bizanaincludes conversion hubs such as taxi ranks, which are close to retail spaces and in some cases a lone mall in the area, Sandton’s experienceincludes a host of malls which provide perfect purchase prompts via ad screens, when consumers are already predisposed to buy goods.

Notwithstanding the fanfare around DOOH in the metro areas, let’s not forget the power of tOOH in the SA landscape —especially since more than 30% (TGISA 2019C) of the population live outside metros where the majority of roadside DOOH is situated. When looking at various market segments, the reality of where people live becomes more paramount with regards to targeting.

Ten years ago, Primedia Outdoor launched Bhamuza, a product built from market insights based on where people live and how they shop. These 60 structures are located in the biggest towns across SA, outside metros. Here you’ll also find other tOOH structures; mass impact and mass reach billboards, which have more than34,000m² of creative canvas available from Primedia Outdoor that are perfectly positioned for big brand building.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Traditional OOH delivers scale and voice, making your brand stand out and stand proud

Kasinomic Revolution author GG Alcock amplifies the importance of brand building in large towns. “Frontier towns are critical commercial points and you need to be present and visible with your brand.”

Alcock says “high street shopping activity is growing rapidly, branding needs to be local, visible and present when targeting the kasi shopper”. tOOH is known as a stalwart for building trust among consumers —advertisers have used tOOH to bring their brand to consumers, allowing their brands to be entrenched in a

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.

The power of mobile advertising in the Covid-19 era

By Tanja du Plessis, project manager, Arena Events

In 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 performance being linked to business results, revenue and return on investment (ROI). Though your world has become a lot smaller, it’s also a lot bigger in terms of content expansion and digital experiences at our fingertips.

“So, when we take it back to performance and the role of mobile, what we need to think about is mobile and social commerce: all happening on your mobile. Performance media and marketing are closely linked to business revenue.”

‘‘ Driving relevance at scale requires you to have data to understand what the consumer is looking for

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 increasinglyimportant, 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”.

On the whole, the marketing budgets allocated for mobile have been increasing as a result of the rising penetration of mobile devices in SA, but what percentage of budget should businesses, brands and agencies allocate specifically to mobile for campaigns?

Mbulelo Pahlana, media and digital manager at Reckitt Africa, touched on a few things that need to be considered here. As a starting point, he said it’s difficult to decide on a figure without an understanding of your client’s segmentation processes and how much time they spend on mobile.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Whether brands rely on apps, SMS or banner ads, our mobile devices are in prime position to do the job

“To get a better idea of a budget allocation amount, know your audience profile and how much time they spend on their mobile devices, understand your campaign objectives and, lastly, be clear in what you want your audience to action.”

Sangweni asked how brands should make use of various mobile advertising formats to amplify their marketing. Nkabinde gave a few practical tools for agencies to use regarding video and social media content.

“For high-impact display, less copy is best, along with good-quality graphics, and a very clear call to action is important. Regarding video, the creative needs to be good; shorter durations are generally better on social media and mobile. Never cut and paste a TV commercial onto digital. Lastly, take your remarketing into consideration and make sure your impact lands quickly.”

Driving relevance at scale requires you to have data that helps you understand what the consumer is looking for and what makes sense to them.”

At the end of the day, every brand, campaign, and investment needs some sort of ROI, so how can we ensure that we receive the best ROI value from mobile?

“Have an attribution model. Mobile is a channel and there is a difference between desktop and mobile performances. Attribution models allow you to place value on various platforms and channels,”said Trafankowska.

Implementing these suggestions will propel you into a good space to get the most out of your mobile advertising brand objectives.

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 lead the consumer journey. Brands should have a clear strategy that focuses on value when adopting this channel into communication plans.

Mokgale is a huge advocate for businesses and brands driving value. He said a way to do this is through data stacking.

“Data stacking is the golden thread to a good marketing strategy. Putting the customer first is the conversation we are having with most marketers.

Nkabinde said that they track return on advertising spend. “How it’s calculated is revenue divided by ad spend. The point is to know your business’s revenue structure and how much the business made from that specific aspect.”

He said sometimes marketers don’t paint the whole picture, and urged them to share information with the agency to accurately measure ROI.

We keep our devices with us wherever we go. They’re next to the bed, in the bathroom, worn on wrists –always within reach. Whether brands rely on custom apps, SMS messaging, banner ads and the like to reach consumers, our mobile devices are in prime position to do the job.

In conclusion, the opportunity lies in collaborating, learning and forging a view of fast-paced changes in mobile media that will benefit both the brand and the

To watch the full discussion, click here

Neuromarketing

delving deep into the subconscious

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

By Lynette Dicey,

freelance business journalist

In 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

the psychological drivers and triggers that make people respond in a certain way. This insight then allows marketers to design products and services, and position them in a way that makes them appealing to consumers.

Though there is never likely to be a one-size-fits-all approach to grabbing consumer attention, neuromarketing could provide insight into the marketing stimuli that consumers are the most responsive to.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Eliciting an emotional response and tapping into subconscious drivers helps brands connect

While it may all sound a bit like science fiction, neuromarketing as a concept is not new.

Many organisations and brands, including PayPal, Frito-Lay, McDonald’s and even tequila producer Patron, are using neuromarketing to draft effective brand strategy and guide product development.

In an instalment of the Future of Media digital conference series, a panel of experts, moderated by Siya Sangweni, discussed how neuromarketing bridges the gap between cognitive psychology and behavioural economics.

In addition to exploring the subconscious and explaining how neuromarketing can —and should —be incorporated into marketing strategies, they also provided insight into better understanding how the human brain processes decision-making, measures emotion, and what kind of information grabs attention.

Thom Noble, president and chief strategy officer 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.

Jackie Dhaeyere, market research consultant specialising in implicit and other nontraditional techniques, said the single biggest success factor when it comes to understanding why some adverts or campaigns are more successful than others is emotion. Adverts that elicit an emotional response —even a very subtle emotional response —connect better with consumers.

Mark Drummond, co-founder of Neural Sense, said many brands miss a trick because they don’t understand how the consumer feels at every touchpoint. Brands need to realise the power of owning the consumer’s emotional experience at every touchpoint. But the experience will only be memorable if they are personally relevant. Repetition and consistency are key.

Brand loyalty, agreed Dr David Rosenstein, co-founder of Neural Sense, needs consistent and authentic connections between brand and consumer. At the same time, the attributes of the brand need to resonate with the consumer.

The panellists encouraged marketers and brands to investigate the field of neuromarketing, given the potential competitiveadvantages it could give brands. To watch the full discussion, click here

The “Iceberg Theory”, said Noble, focuses on the fact that there’s a great deal from a behavioural science perspective going on below the surface that we don’t yet understand. This explains why we don’t always make rational and logical decisions.

Essentially, the Iceberg Theory maintains that every person has two different ways of thinking: above-the-water thinking takes time and effort; below-the-water thinking is intuitive, automatic, effortless and very fast.

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.

The transformative power of data

Recent research conducted by the American Press Institute (API ) reveals that 85% of US publishers surveyed say studying subscribers

“is very valuable”: however, almost 70% rate their proficiency in studying them as just moderate. This observation certainly holds true across markets and regions around the world.

All too often, navigating data analytics and data science can be a frustrating journey for journalists and business developers. Instead, what news publishers and newsrooms want is a better way to understand what their audiences value, what engages them, and what will make them paying customers.

Without audience research, questions about who the audience is and what it needs tend to be answered based on hierarchy within the organisation or on assumptions about who the audience is. That is not good enough in an organisation dependent on audience participation and revenue to thrive and fulfil its mission.

We need powerful journalism analytics that can go beyond traditional traffic metrics, built around newsroom priorities to grow audiences, deepen engagement and drive subscriptions, and designed so every user can see how their work contributes to larger organisational goals.

As the API survey confirms, knowledge of reader behaviour is still a recent discipline for legacy news media organisations. For decades, efforts in this area were reserved for advertising research.

But everything changed with the turning point in 2013. That year, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) measured an historic shift in the global news business model, with reader revenues exceeding advertising revenues for the first time.

By Vincent Peyrègne, CEO, WAN-IFRA

This is excellent news, but it requires a profound and rapid overhaul of our editorial organisations. Newsrooms move from traditional, functional-based organisations to cross-functional teams, where editors and journalists work with developers, marketers and analytic experts.

The new product management culture in the newsroom

As advertising reliance becomes an increasingly risky and redundant strategy, it is incumbent on publishers, large and small, to implement strategies that generate revenue from multiple sources. Many industry leaders recognise this need. A recent survey of media executives by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University revealed that publishers believefour different revenue streams will be essential in 2021.

‘‘ A culture of failure informed by data replaces ’lone wolf’ leadership

In the 20th century, print revenues dependably flowed from the outstanding work of ad sales, marketing and circulation. This is no longer the case in 2021. Like all enterprises and industries today, news organisations battle for the scarce time and attention of people who spend vast amounts of time on screens.

The reader becomes our first customer and the primary source of revenue, ahead of the advertiser. Today, the newsroom itself is the business —not circulation, not marketing, not ad sales. In an audience-centric, digitalfirst business model, journalists, content and editorial quality become the number one priority.

The old newsroom culture will need to pivot to a new product management culture to support those revenue streams. In this culture, the “lone wolf”and “commandand-control”leadership style is replaced by collaboration in teams, coaching and a delegation-style leadership. A culture of failure informed by data predominates. We are, in a way, living in a similar moment to what the architecture world experienced after World War 1. With the creation of the Bauhaus, the architect (the creator) joined the engineer and the businessman. Their ambition was to create a better world in tune with the needs of a society under reconstruction. Similarly, an unprecedented strategic alignment between content, business and audience is essential forthe new audience-centric culture in our news organisations.

New jobs for the journalists

This historical turning point necessarily leads to a new definition of the profession and the role of the journalist. It is agreed that a critical function of journalism is to hold politicians and powers to account.

Is this enough to meet the new expectations of the public and build a lasting relationship with its subscribers?

more, but it should not dictate the editorial line.

There is a danger in making data the absolute arbiter of information. Data and consumer insight experts inform and document the editorial map. They do not replace the editorial decision. Their work is based on new disciplines and skills that have yet to be invented. To address this challenge, WAN-IFRA just launched the Data Science Expert Group for news. The group is the first community of practice of its kind. It intends to create real change within the industry. By sharing use-case studies, ideas, resources and connections, the group aims to accelerate disseminating good practices used in

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,

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

Before media companies can benefit from an improved understanding of their audience’s behaviour, they must first

The process that turns data into actionable insights for businesses and newsrooms is both complex and resourceintensive. This takes time, and the benefits may not be felt

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Data science informs and documents the editorial map: it does not replace the editorial decision

However, this is the foundation phase during which the fundamental building blocks of the strategy must be put in place with method, judgement and discipline by teams of engineers and data scientists. Their mission will be to build a relationship of trust with the entire organisation. Trust, authenticity and loyalty to the corporate mission are essential to sound data management. Where there is confusion about the discipline and role it plays in the organisation, the team manager is responsible for insulating the team members from unreasonable requests and explaining the team’s role to the rest of the organisation.

If you are in this position, your team must have confidence in your support, and you must ensure you have the buy-in of your top management as well.

Got your ATTENTION?

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

Attention. 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.

Competing for time

With so much demanding our attention, audiences are often drawn to unexpected content: to be entertained, surprised, feel connected or even grossed out. The messy, morbid and mundane are great ways to escape: why else would millions of devoteeswatch mukbang (South Korean eating shows), live streams of people gorging on shellfish,or view famous TikTok stars staring at sourdough starters?

Moments that delight

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

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Changing consumer preferences presents new opportunities to delight, surprise and engage our audience

So whether it’s Barilla’s“Mixtape Spaghetti”on Spotify, which created a timed playlist to entertain

Identifying your customers’journey is critical to planning the right engagement strategy: what channel are they engaging on most often? What kind of topics are they invested in? What type of content are they consuming? This is all vital information to help you understand preferences and behaviour so you can tailor your strategy.

We’re at an exciting moment, where we’re reimagining ways to connect with consumers’ changing consumption habits. In the end, great creativity trumps it all. As more brands access more data, and as marketers sharpen their planning, it all comes down to people-first, impactful and powerful creative. Finding insightful, smart ways to connect withpeople, not just consumers, makes all the difference.

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

Putting personalisation into mobile advertising

Every time we think our cellphones can’t become more entrenched in our lives, they do. Our digital lives mean we are glued to our smartphones and rely on them for everything. This has made our smartphones a perfect channel for mobile advertising, from messaging ads to mobile app ads.

While these ads have become part of our daily lives, we’re becoming increasingly immune to them as more brands compete for our attention. Consumers today want ads that are targeted, personalised and relevant to them.But that brings up several issues, of which the biggest is privacy.

How can brands wanting to leverage mobile ads ensure they are also adhering to data privacy laws?

targeted and engaging mobile messaging campaigns that can span different mobile messaging formats —from SMS all the way through to rich communication services (RCS) —and reach millions of mobile users worldwide.

While many brands understand the value of mobile advertising, few have yet mastered how effective microtargeting and personalisation can be. In fact many brands are still serving the same ads across different channels.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

As consumers become immune to the generic ads on their phones, brands need to get personal ...

At Out There Media, we help brands reap the benefits of mobile advertising by taking advantage of first party telco deterministic data. The way we manage and process data is heavily regulated and is compliant with EU general data protection regulation laws, a more stringent version of SA’s Protection of Personal Information Act. This means our brand customers get the best from telco data —micro, yet anonymised, targeting —without the risk of breaching laws or infringing on subscribers’privacy. The result? Highly

We canchange this, especially as the world recovers from Covid-19. The pandemic has changed our behaviour: we’re not socialising, working and living and as we once used to. The way we advertise will need to reflect that change, and personalisation will need to be at the heart of this strategy.

Also at the heart of this strategy will be ad budgets, as brands have to think more creatively about how they can drive higher return on investment (ROI) on ad spend. Wasting millions on digital banner ads that yields a 0.1% click-through rate will no longer do. Brands need an alternative —that alternative will come in the new messaging formats that exist today. Whatever the strategy or goal, brands need to think about microtargeting and personalisation when it comes to mobile messaging. Without these two things, they won’tachieve the engagement or reach they desire, or deliver the ROI from their ever-squeezed budgets.

By Moky Makura, executive director, Africa No Filter

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 corruption, conflict and disease should not be the only ones we hear about other countries on this continent. Unfortunately, this is still

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

Ethiopia, and the post-election conflicts in Tanzania and Guinea dominated the pages of African newspapers.

So, if I were sitting in SA, reading SA media’s coverage of other African countries, I would be reading about conflict. The

how the world sees Africa is exactly how Africa sees itself

wanted more and “better”African content, but they largely felt they were constrained.

They cited lack of funding, advertiser interest in African stories, and space. Yes, lack of space. Which tells us print is still big in Africa. Given our youth population, internet reach and mobile penetration, that’s a missed opportunity and a debate for another opinion piece. Back to this one. In a continent of 54 countries, one known for its resilience,innovation, rich history and diverse culture, and one blessed (not cursed) with a youthful population —why are we still tied to this single story of Africa?

The reality is that the world is changing and this persistent image is prevalent in two areas… the development community and mainstream

media. Vibrant exchanges on social media show that there is a dynamic energy and entrepreneurial spirit on this continent that is left largely unreported.

Traditional media seem tied to an ageing belief that news is always “hard”, that politics should dominate, and that stories of people, places, arts and culture should be relegated to the back pages. This is exactly how to alienate your biggest potential market —the youth.

Our report identified that only 7% of the stories analysed were human interest and 4% were on arts and culture. This, at a time when music is undeniably one of Africa’s biggest exports: ask the Nigerian rapper Burna Boy, who recently won a Grammy and made it on to the front page of iconic British style magazine GQ.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Africa is known for its resilience and innovation, so why are we still tied to this single story?

There are a few exemplars, those who are attempting to tell nuanced, contextualised, varied stories about other African countries, including The Nation in Kenya and Mail & Guardian’s The Continent in SA. But new perspectives about Africa are coming from alternative, focused pan-African and regional, multimedia platforms like Okay Africa, Amplify Africa, True Africa and Nigeria’s Zikoko. We just need the mainstream media to latch onto this growing opportunity to attract young people to their platforms.

There is a clear need for human interest and feature-style stories to counter the barrage of hard news and negative reports informing the world’s view on Africa. There’s never been a better time to start shifting the narrative. The world is ready for uplifting stories that reflect this dynamic continent. It’s up to us, Africa’s media, to deliver them.

How influential is media in defining Africa’s story?

By Lynette Dicey, freelance business journalist

Africa 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 is really writing Africa’s story.

While most of the editors interviewed for Africa No Filter’s “How African Media Covers Africa” report wanted more and better African content, they cited lack of 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.

THE BIG TAKEOUT

Stories either reflect Africa’shopelessness or the idea of Africa rising, neither of which is realistic

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.

To watch the full discussion, click here