Mandy de Waal

*Have you seen our client's new blog?

*AKA: The Buzz Saw Slices into (rhymes with anecdotal but has only two syllables) Media... "Mmmmeeeeeeeooooooooowww!"

Ah. Just imagine THE SCENE: A chi chi office some where in the shadow of Table Mountain.

THE PLAYERS: Account executives scratching their heads about how to rationalise the big budget the client is paying for their services.

PR1: "Um. Laaaaik. Sheesh. Um."

PR2: "Cough. Cough."

PR3: "Why don't we just make them a blag site?"

PR1: "Nooit. Like a dinkum, full on interactive blag? Man, that's like revolutionary!"

PR2: "Holy shit PR3... a blag launch release could mean at least 20 billable hours."

PR3: "And we could charge them for creating and maintaining the blag at Wordpress.com."

PR1: "Nooit. You're a friggin' genius. We can now call ourselves us social networking media blagging experts and afford that holiday in Plett."

THE PUNCHLINE: The release. Below. Hold the presses folks...

PRESS RELEASE - BLOG SUSTAINS OUT OF HOME ADVERTISING CONVERSATION

Cape Town, 26 October 2009: Advertising professionals need to be on top of their game by being kept strategically informed on the likes of trends, tips and global campaigns in out of home advertising. xxxxxxxxxxx South Africa have done this with their interactive blog, www.oohsa.co.za , that not only inspires creative professionals by showcasing their latest work but gives insights to consumer responses to many of the 500 types of out of home advertising methods used in South Africa. 

Consumers spend over half of their days away from their homes according to OCS, the recent out of home consumer survey, thus entrenching the importance of out of home advertising, especially when it comes to getting it right first time.

“Much has been written about out of home advertising but the industry is dynamic and is constantly evolving,” said Ms Isigntheretainercheques Client, Managing Director, xxxxxxxxxxx South Africa, “Social media is a platform that everyone is using as a communication stream and this is by far the best source of current information that everyone can rely on. Our out of home advertising blog is an area where knowledge and learnings (sic) can be shared between marketing professionals.”

xxxxxxxxxxx South Africa is the leader in OOH in the country and has uniquely developed tools that add insight and value to the OOH industry. OOH includes billboards, digital networks, commuter media, brand activation, point of sale and sampling amongst others. It excludes TV, radio, print, online and cinema.

- ends -

For more information contact: PR1, PR2 or or PR 3 at rhymes with anecdotal but has only two syllables)Media.

Notes to Editors [MdW comment. Wow guys. You gotta love that optimisim. You really think a newspaper editor will read this far?]. xxxxxxxxxxx is the world’s largest out-of-home communications agency, with offices in 21 countries.  As a division of Xxxx Group PLC, the world’s leading marketing communications group, xxxxxxxxxxx is at the vanguard of cutting edge developments in out-of-home (OOH) such as digital, interactivity and experiential. In South Africa, xxxxxxxxxxx’s mission is to grow OOH to 10% market share of total advertising spend in the next 5 years (currently sitting at 4.6%). At present, the company has approximately 20% of South Africa’s OOH spend under its management, positioning xxxxxxxxxxx as an influential leader in this fast growing category. By helping clients understand what consumers are thinking and how they are spending their time, and by enabling them to communicate with consumers at the right moments and in the best way, xxxxxxxxxxx leads the way in enhancing the effectiveness of campaigns and increasing the media value that advertisers achieve. Furthermore, xxxxxxxxxxx has developed PRISM Benchmark, Forecast and Creative, a proprietary set of tools that ensures that xxxxxxxxxxx delivers the best price against tracked market movements gaining further advantage for their clients, whilst allowing them the opportunity of seeing their “Creative Design” in situ, pre-campaign. No one in this sector offers greater accountability than xxxxxxxxxxx.

Ms Isigntheretainercheques Client – Managing Director: Ms I. Client has unsurpassed experience and expertise in the marketing, advertising and media industries in South Africa. In 2003 she founded xxxxxxxxxxx – South Africa’s Out of Home communications agency – which she later sold to Xxxx, who own xxxxxxxxxxxe. Following xxxxxxxxxxx’s conversion to xxxxxxxxxxx South Africa, Isigntheretainercheques maintained her helm as the Managing Director. Prior to this, she was a founding partner in Big Name Agency (South Africa’s most successful strategy agency). Isigntheretainercheques’ other achievements include running the XYZ Media School in Cape Town, the role of Media Director of Another Big Name Agency South Africa, and the Head of Strategy for Biggest Name Agency Cape Town. Ms Client has continuously shown exceptional abilities as a leader in the OOH sector of the media industry and as one of South Africa’s top businesswomen, receiving numerous awards, which have further entrenched her prominence in the media/advertising trade.

A year of writing

February is quite a significant month for me because it marks the end of my first year of writing and daring to take that bold leap into the unknown. Which was crazy really because it was pre-global-meltdown and of course the popular belief is that you can't make a living as a writer. Or that you cannot make a good living as a writer.

Well let me tell you that's absolute rot.

To be honest I was as nervous as all hell about my decision and wracked with fears of failure. To escape this fear I spent a lot of my working life doing what I didn't love. Sad but true. Fear and the lure of lucre are a heady cocktail that can easily lead anyone off their chosen or ordained path.

The problem about doing what you don't love is that you suffer from fatigue, disillusionment, keep hitting your head against obstacles and wondering why you don't wake up with a bounce in your step on Mondays.

The biggest lesson I learned this year is what happens when (as Joseph Campbell says) you "follow your bliss".

"Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else." - Jospeh Campbell

Although I studied Journalism at Rhodes University and spent one short year in broadcast journalism (which I loved) a side step into commerce for better pay proved a lasting career mistake.After a series of personal trials I learned that doing what I didn't love was damaging my health.

I threw my hat back in the ring in March 2008 and started writing at no cost for Mail & Guardian's Thought Leader, and must thank Matthew Buckland and Vincent Maher for giving me this break. Thought Leader offered me a platform to showcase my work, to reach a wider audience and afforded me credibility through the Mail & Guardian brand.

My next break came from Ranka Jovanovic of ITWeb who gave me my first column and paid opportunity to write. It was her introduction to Graeme Scala of Brainstorm that took my words into print.

The big break came when I stumbled across a story that should have been headline news, but largely fell through the cracks. It was Naspers and the trail of Mugabe’s blood money which was written on gut during the day (and long into the night(, then  sent off to Alec Hogg's Moneyweb. Alec has been a tough and exacting mentor, but has taught me some of the best lessons of my journalistic career. The advice that most impacted on me was his statement: "The truth is a sustainable commodity. Sensation is not." Felicity Duncan and the Moneyweb team have also taught me some really important lessons.

The Naspers/Mugabe story was such a head rush that I sought to make all other stories like that. The fact is that they are not and the best journalism is about dogged research, thoroughness and seeking truth rather than sensation. As it is with life, each new story is an experience that deserves to be approached without expectation or preconception. You can't chase the rush, you can just chase the story.

Then dreams do come true. One of my dreams was to write for an offshore title and to earn dollars or pounds. This happened in January when I started writing for Brandchannel. 

During the year I have interviewed and met some incredible people. The experience that meant the most to me was when Deon Basson wrote me a note to congratulate me on the Naspers/Mugabe story, and then we spoke and subsequently met for lunch. I had long admired Basson who was South Africa's Public Interest Warrior, and was ruthless in his pursuit of the truth. Basson had a deep sense of justice and was revered by his colleagues and those who knew him. His death was a bitter blow for journalism in this country.

The one story I covered that affected me most deeply this past year, was that of the plight of the refugees following the xenophobic attacks that scarred our country last year. It also offered hope because that one post on Thought Leader got thousands of views in a matter of hours channeling relief from the likes of Pep Stores and Pick 'n Pay to aid organisations mentioned in the story.

This story filled me with a strong sense of purpose and a clear understanding of how important journalism is.

What it can do to change the world.

Rives : A 3-minute story of mixed emoticons

Brand Mag suspends publication

Very sad to read the news that the PICA award winning business title, B®AND magazine, has decided to suspend publication.

I wrote a lot for B®AND and loved the magazine's fresh take on media, marketing and branding and the fact that it covered emerging markets and issues as well as interesting aspects of design and pop culture.

Read the news on their web site:

"The board of award-winning B®AND magazine has decided to suspend publication of the print version of the title with immediate effect while founder, editor and publisher, Di Paice, takes a much needed sabbatical. The decision has been taken for personal health reasons - Di has been fighting cancer for three years.

We are very sorry to disappoint readers and advertisers visiting this site. However, we are leaving the website up in the interim for those who wish to browse back issues for free. All you need to do is register to access the magazine. We hope to be back in the not too distant future with new energy and new insights into the great branding world of South Africa and the African continent."

Mosley, the Nazi orgy & media freedom

Fleet Street mourns after Grand Prix boss Max Mosley wins privacy case – but are the tears for freedom or profit?

 

There’s been a prolonged bout of breast beating, wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst the UK press following Formula One chief, Max Mosley’s record win in a tabloid privacy case. With damages of 60,000 pound plus legal costs, the News of the World (the defendant) lost close on one million pounds. In a titillating tale that obviously had the tabloid rubbing its hands in glee, the World reported that Mosley had participated in a five hour ‘Nazi styled’ orgy with a dominatrix. The ‘deep throat’ in the story was one ‘Woman E’, a call girl who secretly taped the interlude and then sold her story to the tabloid.

 

The real scandal is the meal those press have made about their so called “loss of media freedom”. The UK’s Independent opined: “Max Mosley's court victory over the News of the World yesterday was immediately mourned in many sections of the media as heralding an end to the era of "kiss-and-tell" in British newspapers. As integral to our popular culture as the saucy seaside postcard and Carry On films, kiss-and-tell stories have, down the years, often been a force for good – morality tales for modern times. They have exposed hypocrisy. They have enabled the poor and powerless to bring down the rich and famous (in return for handsome payment, of course).”

 

The Sun called the ruling a "dark day for British freedom" and vowed to fight on for the public interest, while The Daily Mail reported that it was a "good day for the grubby and corrupt" saying that "press freedom and parliamentary democracy in Britain are significantly diminished."

 

A sole voice of sanity in the debate was The Guardian who put the real issues in perspective. The Guardian pointed out that the tabloid’s extreme self interest had skewed the apparent ‘public interest’.  In a scathing attack on The World its editorial read: “Since the judgment, there has been much hand-wringing about the freedom of the press. Most of it is self-serving. The damage to the press has not been done by Mosley, or the law, but by the practices of the News of the World.”

 

There are many forces shaping the media agenda both locally and abroad, but perhaps the most fierce is commercial. In and age of cheque book journalism, the tabloid vulgarly repositions commercial interest as “public interest”. Are tabloids really interested in the public right to know, or is their lens focused more closely on the celebrity skin of privacy to desperately and salaciously surge sales?

 

Since when did Britney Spears’ exposed genitalia or the exact manner in which David Beckham fills out his Y-fronts constitute public interest? The real issue here is a tabloid that through reckless reporting made the introduction of stringent privacy laws in the UK a strong possibility.

 

While I don’t deny tabloids have their place in society, they are at times their own worst enemy. Tabloids that have embraced the crass pursuit of celebrity sensation employ a style of ‘churnalism’ largely devoid of investigation. They have largely lead the march into commercialism – the new print media compass for finding a way out of the economic downturn. Together with media selling their souls to the commercial agenda, celebrity tabloids are helping to replace the religious, cultural, community and the other values that once held societies together with vacuous commercial values. And they do so pious in their pursuit of the so called ‘public interest’.

 

Thankfully South African tabloids like The Daily Sun play a more civic role by strongly featuring community stories. Sure, they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but they give voice to the poor and marginalised who struggle against spiralling food prices, lack of service delivery, crime and other issues our leaders in their comfortable residences don’t have to deal with. 

 

There’s a real danger our media are cutting their own Faustian contracts and will be hit with a double punch. Not only are we seeing increased commercial content as a strategy for dealing with the economic downturn (look out for more advertorials alongside editorial and ‘innovative’ ad formats from Naspers print titles) but political interference is reaching new heights. On the commercial front compromising ad formats, blurring editorial with advertising, and sacrificing content integrity to sponsored media is a great seduction for a press squeezed by an advertising recession. There are local magazines that sell front pages to CEOs without specifying it is a paid for placement while others parade paid content as special features, white pages and case studies. If one lesson can be learnt from the US newspaper bloodbath it is that people buy newspapers for news and views, not advertorial or weakened content. 

 

While the one punch that is hitting local media is commercial, the other is political. According to Raymond Louw a SANEF study shows that government has become obstructive in dealing with the media. While they were falling over themselves to get to the media in 1994, they have now become sullen and withdrawn. The Promotion of Access to Information Act is used to avoid giving journalists information, phone calls are not returned, and emails deleted without being answered. It appears government communicators have harnessed an arsenal of ploys to try squash stories, kill stories or otherwise influence the media agenda. Then there is the issue of the media tribunal, Film and Publications Amendment Bill, National Key Points Act and the Protection of Information Bill. Singly and collectively they have a profound impact on the freedom of the media in South Africa, and the ability of the media to act as a fourth estate. If realised, the likes of a Zuma rape trial could not be reported on, stories on service delivery protests would have to be vetted by a bureaucratic censor board before being published, and journalists could get 20 years in prison for writing about anything deemed an “official secret”.

 

At this watershed moment in our media history perhaps the tabloids do have a crucial role to play. If they wanted to do something really useful they could forgo one more story of Amy Winehouse’s drug problem and tell the voting public what would happen if these repressive media bills do become laws and the South African press is no longer free.

Newspapers bleed

Print news publishers in the US and UK are facing a bloodbath with sections cut, job layoffs and advertising spend sliding into freefall.

The New York Times has had its Moody’s rating changed amid concerns about slipping advertising sales. After reporting an 11 percent drop in second-quarter advertising revenue the investor service changed its outlook for The New York Times from “stable” to “negative”. Announcing the downgrade Moody's said it expects the company will take measures to "mitigate the effects of the advertising downturn and to manage its balance sheet conservatively, and these are key factors in Moody's affirmation of the existing ratings."

This is par for the course for the newspaper sector in the US, UK and parts of Europe where a recession is cutting deep into news business models dependent on advertising. Newspapers are responding by cutting staff, thinning content, changing editorial focus or doing a blend of all three.

“There’s carnage in the newsrooms overseas, particularly in the States where some five thousand people have lost their jobs this year alone,” says Guy Berger, Head of School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University. “There’s also been a massive reduction in reporting on foreign news and certain categories of news,” adds Berger warning that the print sector in South Africa is starting to feel the pinch but still has some time to reorganize and respond astutely. “Cost cutting alone is not a good enough strategy. While locally we are seeing investigative journalism taking a back seat, in the US cost cutting is not affecting investigative journalism which is seen as a unique benefit. Instead, certain categories of jobs are being cut. We’re seeing photographers and subs leaving newsrooms while more shrewd newspapers are reinvesting. The Wall Street Journal is investing in online subs, online video and other Web skills.”

Locally, print news media is responding to the front end of an economic downturn by restructuring, closing titles and looking for more ‘innovative’ products for advertisers. Discussions with Naspers’ Media24 showed that print news, broadsheet and tabloid titles would look at more advertorial and a change in advertising content. “Overall you are looking at growth in ad revenue that is only set at some 10% monthly. Then if you take media inflation into account we are in negative growth territory,” said Amanda Brinkman, Sales and Strategy Director for Naspers owned Ads24. “We’re feeling the effects of a downturn and decline in advertising in that we are finding it difficult to make budget and pay commissions. Then advertisers are pushing as much as possible for the best deal and discounts, budgets are shifting, the outlook is very fluid and difficult to predict.”

Naspers’ print news, broadsheet and tabloid titles are responding to the downturn by ‘innovating’ advertising product. “We’re moving toward a more innovative use of environments where we’re looking to engage the consumer. We’ll use less hard sell, and more brand elevation to connect emotionally with the consumer. We’ll bring in branded consumer entertainment and mix editorial with advertising, but do so carefully not to compromise editorial. This is a creative advertising approach which will see old block style adverts changing completely with an accent on advertorial, targeting and surprising and delighting readers.”

Berger warns Naspers and other titles following an overtly commercial strategy that they could be sliding down a ‘slippery slope’. “If SA newspapers are cutting back on good editorial content in favour of advertising content they are going against US trends and this is a mistake. If you cut the unique value add you are losing brand identity, as well as the credibility and viability to attract a distinctive audience. Our media is already facing immense criticism from political circles about their credibility. What our media does not want is criticism about content being determined by hidden commercial agendas. The media could open themselves to a double whammy of attack if they respond to the downturn in this way. Together with accusations that the media is representing secret political agendas, you will have the accusation that their credibility is being undermined because they are blurring editorial and commercial interests.”

This article was originally published on Moneyweb where de Waal is the editor of MoneywebLIFE and covers the media sector.

Values and the price of capitalism

The recent release of Naspers’ results was marred by a reputation scandal after it was revealed that Paarl Web, a subsidiary of the Cape Town based multinational media company, printed Zanu-PF pamphlets for the Mugabe regime. Read Naspers and the trail of Mugabe’s blood money as well as Mugabe’s man unmasked on MoneyWeb for background. You can also listen to the interview I took on SAfm with Alec Hogg for further context.

The story raises a number of interesting questions about capitalism, values and the role of journalism in society. I was chatting to my good friend and mentor, Jerry Schuitema about this. An economic journalist with decades of experience, Schuitema is the author of the recently published Value through Values. In short the book challenges the validity of the understanding of capitalism based on self interest, and details how transaction from a contributory point of view would address many of the current problems facing the economic world.

“Ten years ago business existed purely to make a profit, and did not concern itself with ethics and morals. The only concern was that it shouldn’t break the law. If you extend that pure profit motive thinking to Naspers and the Mugabe money, then why shouldn’t Naspers have printed that electioneering material?” says Schuitema.

At the time when the job was briefed in to Paarl Media, Morgan Tsvangirai had yet to depart from the election process and it could be argued that the printers were serving a client, supporting the election process and making money for their shareholders. They certainly hadn’t broken any laws. Why the big media fracas about the fact that they were merely exercising their capitalist want?

It is not as if they were selling arms to Mugabe. There are arguably more gross forms of capitalism like McDonald’s selling junk food and contributing to growing global obesity, or tobacco companies selling products they know are harmful to their customers.

Looking at the Naspers story one needs to question why their leadership was embarrassed about printing the Zanu-PF material. The response to the media coverage, and statements made by Hein Brand (“there's no way we could have consciously had peace with this”), Stephen van der Walt (“this is a deeply regrettable circumstance”) and Koos Bekker (“of course that's embarrassing to us and a great pity that it happened”) point to the fact that this is behaviour that Naspers is ashamed of.

“This is because they have missed the point,” says Schuitema. “Business has only one overriding value and that is to care for their customers and care for others. Industry should serve markets by serving their customers, and make a profit by doing this well. The embarrassment of Naspers was, I believe, caused by their absolute drive for profits. What a vulgar blight. That the propaganda material supporting a corrupt and murderous government was printed solely for cash.”

And there’s the rub. Business will always be on the back foot if it is chasing money. If decision making is informed solely by money, how can business motives ever be right, or noble, or filled with any values?

However if industries’ overriding principle is to serve their market, their position of defense is infinitely stronger. If the overriding value is that you care for others (the basis of a free market system) you will be well guided through the toughest business challenges. However if you are purely guided by profits and complete self interest, prepare to include a huge budget in your business for reputation experts and spin doctors in the hope they will clean up the damage, and scandal you leave in your wake. For then your sole motive is greed, and that which would fatten the purses of your shareholders. Then it doesn’t matter if you do business with cruel dictators, murderous despots or satan himself. As long as you’re not falling foul of the law it doesn’t matter because there’s no moral compass to guide you. 

Lastly what is the role of the media in all of this? My view of journalism is that we are the fourth estate. The concept of the fourth estate goes way back to Thomas Carlyle in the first half of the 19th Century, but is best summed up by novelist Jeffrey Archer in his work “The Fourth Estate” when he made the observation: "In May 1789, Louis XVI summoned to Versailles a full meeting of the 'Estate General'. The First Estate consisted of three hundred clergy. The Second Estate, three hundred nobles. The Third Estate, six hundred commoners. Some years later, after the French Revolution, Edmund Burke, looking up at the Press Gallery of the House of Commons, said, 'Yonder sits the Fourth Estate, and they are more important than them all.'"

As the fourth estate the media are the guardians of democracy and defenders of the public interest. It is therefore the role of the media to force transparency and shed a light on what business (or politics) would prefer to keep hidden so that there is robust and open public debate. It is not the job of journalists to try and change society, rather to stimulate society to discuss what should be changed.

Illustration from Mono Lito.

.

Online Debate : The Fag Bomb

The atom bomb of Internet debate. A tactic so fierce only the masters of online commentary dare yield it. The phrase that transcends facts, reason, grammar...

 

Ricky Gervais interviews Chris Martin

And now for something completely different. Comic genius Ricky Gervais could teach journalists a thing or two about the art of the interview. Hell's bells and little green apples from Gwyneth Paltrow, but this interview he did with Chris Martin is the funniest interview I've heard in a while.

Interviews gone bad - Chris Martin ducks

News from The Media Interview is that Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin ducked during the middle of an interview with BBC Radio 4 when the talk show host interviewing Martin didn't quite get the artist’s creative intent. This makes a great statement if you're a rock star. Less so if you're a budding entrepreneur trying to build a business and a good reputation.

Here's a transcript of the ill-fated interview, which was transcribed by George Plumley of BraveNewNiche Media Coaching.

BBC Radio 4 Journalist John Wilson: Do you start with that idea, Chris… [sound in background] did you start with the song Viva La Vida, and the idea within that song of the deposed dictator looking back on his life… [voice in background] is that… could I just ask you just to move back in to the mike [garbled]

Martin: [off mike] ….I’m not really enjoying this…

Wilson: Aren’t you?…

Martin: [off mike] Yeah…

Wilson: Why?…

Martin: [off mike] [garbled] two minutes…

Wilson: Sure.. yeah… You feeling a bit under pressure?

Martin: [off mike] No. Yeah. I just don’t really like having to talk about things.

Wilson: Really? [long pause with muffled sounds and voices in back] Have I upset him?

Champion (ColdPlay's drummer): I don’t think so.

Wilson: [slightly off mike] …I don’t think I said anything conscious[garbled]…

Champion: No, no, I don’t think so…

Wilson: Well, let me ask you [the interview continues on]

Then at the very end of the interview, Chris Martin returns for one last question:

Wilson: Chris, can I just attempt to.. to begin bringing you back by… reminding you of a couple of things you said in the… [Martin: uh huh] before the album was released, you said the process was about letting the garden grow unkempt, letting the bloodhound off the leash [Martin: uh huh] uh, so you were… consciously trying to… find new musical territory then…

Martin: Um… [clears throat] yes, yes, yes… exactly [pause]

Wilson: [Closing show] Reluctant pop star Chris Martin…

These are parts of the interview, which you can listen to at the BBC online.

According to Plumley, BBC's Wilson made reference to Coldplay’s newest album being morbid. Obviously Martin took exception, got up and left. What’s interesting is that this was a pre-recorded interview and the Beeb left the interview intact, as is. Media coach Plumley says: "Perhaps this a reaction to the free-wheeling podcasting of the internet and the ability of rock and cultural celebrities to post the full transcripts of interviews online to counter what they see as mainstream media taking things out of context."