Month: August 2019

Prince Ndlovu, Media Strategist at The MediaShop

As a media strategist, typically when receiving a brief you’ll see focus areas defined as Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Next is a proposed budget you can work with which allows the creative media juices to start flowing on what platforms to use, like for example, which OOH sites, which regional station has the highest reach within your target market, what channels, shows and packages on Pay TV can we focus on. The list of available media is endless when the area you’re focusing on is metropolitan, with bigger populations that have easier access to brands.

But what happens when the brief delves into the Lowveld areas such as Nelspruit, White River, Lydenburg, Baberton and Hazyview? That’s when media gets really interesting. How do you target an area with a small population that lives a very subtle lifestyle but still believes in the spirit of Ubuntu? Recently, I was tasked to do a three-month campaign for one of my clients in the Nelspruit region. It was a pilot campaign to see if the product would generate interest in a small suburban area with a low budget.

After the research, the team and I proposed utilising OOH platforms like street poles and Citilites, combined with digital. After three months, we sat down with the clients and looked at its performance. But to put it mildly, the campaign didn’t even take off the runway. However, the client (and us) believed in the product and decided to give it another try.

We started looking more closely at the Nelspruit area and how the residents behaved in certain situations. We started noting the following key points, common in a lot of small towns:

 The Spirit of Ubuntu

As an 80’s baby, we grew up with the saying, “it takes a village to raise a child”. This is still common in areas like the Lowveld and other small towns in and around South Africa. Everyone knows and respects one other and word of mouth goes a long way as a form of credibility and reference.

 Local events

Local events such as music concerts, school sports and community gatherings bring people together. Everyone shows up for each other and supports their own. If a brand wants to be part of these events however, it needs to provide the community with value that also empowers the area.

 Influencers

Word gets around quickly in a small community. Using the right influential individual/s in these communities goes a long way in assisting a brand to reach the right people at the right time.

 Local media platforms

People in small towns are loyal to their media platforms. They use these to guide them on what’s happening in and around their areas as these platforms are very involved in the communities they represent. A brand should always find a way to integrate themselves into these platforms so that they can be seen as part of the community.

While there is always a place for traditional media when communicating to the “Out-of-Towners”, it’s important to realise that every local community has its own intricacies, loves, fears and the manner in which they operate on a daily basis. It’s using these local insights that make for a much better experience which in turn becomes an excellent communication strategy.

Now we’re cooking!

Yvette Gengan, Digital Media Manager at The MediaShop

One of the things that digital marketers have in common is growth hacking (not the start-up kind, the growth kind). We spend our days constantly trying to improve strategies, channels, buying methods etc. to affect growth for our clients.

But it has become increasingly challenging to break through the noise within the digital media landscape as more and more brands jump on the advertising bandwagon (as they rightfully should). More brands advertising means more content, more messages, more products and services screaming for your consumer’s attention. I find myself often thinking about the consumer as a singular rather than a plural to help me properly determine if my campaigns are actually going to make an impact.

What I mean is, when you think of one person seeing your ad as opposed to millions, it becomes more personal and more purposeful. I want to do and say the right thing to ensure I get the attention of that person and make a lasting impact.

We see this happening daily in advertising – brands are no longer telling us what we like, but rather ads are engaging with us on a more personal level every day – and we prefer it! Brands are craving feedback to better themselves and their products/services. As digital marketers (all marketers in fact), we have acknowledged that it is time to move away from ‘lazy’ advertising and advocate for more compelling ads. Consumers are not buying the act anymore and it’s reflecting in campaign performances. Consumers want to be enticed, intrigued and entertained by ads, or they won’t be influenced by it. Brands that are getting this right, are essentially winning this race.

What we’re also seeing is the shift from brands using social media mainly for bottom of the funnel objectives, like conversions and leads to more intentional brand awareness campaigns. I’m not saying that social media isn’t good for conversions, it is. But just because we can serve a lead to a consumer we have not engaged with first, does not mean we should – or shouldn’t anymore. Is it smart marketing to be blinded only by hard metrics over foundation metrics that drive long-term brand growth? Do we let our clients dictate what our strategies should look like? As agencies, we need to put together robust media strategies that combined with exceptional creative gives our clients the best shot at influencing their consumer in the right environment.

We should always be working on our target audience; who we’re speaking to, when and how. Facebook and Instagram are great for finding potential clients/customers with features like lookalike audiences, especially for bottom of the funnel campaigns. But are we using them in the right campaigns? Are lookalike audiences still as valuable as they were before? Or has the constant flooding of ads to a consumer resulted in low performance?

I believe in the potential of lookalike audiences when used with the right message against the right objective, and when it is based on a verified source. So perhaps we should only use existing consumers/clients to create lookalikes when finding new customers for accuracy? And even if we are, are we testing and optimizing to get better performing campaigns?

We can no longer be promoting content just for the sake of it and targeting people from our own biases. Brands that are only seeing digital media as a means to an end are competing with brands who are implementing targeted campaigns that drive affinity, that measure engagement as a KPI (because they see the value) and who will convert consumers with compelling creative after properly identifying them through tactical remarketing.

Every campaign or strategy we plan boils down to objective. As marketers, we should be able to define correct objectives and strategies that can realistically meet these objectives. Whether you’re running a campaign focused on reach or conversions, they are both equally important and part of a bigger picture. We need to move away from being fixated on action type campaigns only and see the relevance of generating real brand affinity among our audience. Look at trends like influencer marketing and moves like Instagram removing like counts as indicators of where our strategies should be going. Let’s acknowledge that we are one of many brands speaking to the same consumer and that we need to ensure that when we’re seen we are also remembered. If marketers can achieve strong brand recall, it is one part of the challenge overcome.

Let us be intentional with our marketing strategies and adaptable with our creative and message, and let this set a strong foundation for our campaigns.

With two decades of media and advertising experience under her belt, Claire Herman has been appointed Media Operations Lead for The MediaShop’s Johannesburg office.

“Most of my career has been spent within Media Agencies with a three-year stint in Media Research conducting studies that prove advertising effectiveness and ROI,” she says. “I am very passionate about the media landscape and developing media strategies that are based on solid consumer insights. I believe that creativity, innovation and digital integration are crucial to any communications strategy.

I have also been involved in helping to develop and grow the strategic skills within the agencies that I have worked and have a passion for training and mentoring young media talent. I’m excited to be joining the dynamic and pioneering team at The MediaShop and look forward to further growing my skills with the team.”

Kgaugelo Maphai, Managing Director for The MediaShop Johannesburg says that he and the Group are thrilled to have Claire on board. “Claire has worked across a multitude of clients and categories and has the research, analytical and business skills that we believe will elevate our business even further.”

As Media Operations Lead, part of her duties will include working closely with Kgaugelo to drive efficiencies and standardisation within The MediaShop’s processes and systems, including automation, quality assurance and talent development.

Join The MediaShop on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn or visit www.themediashop.co.za

Chipo Mujuru, Digital Media Strategist at The MediaShop

I recently had the remarkable privilege of travelling to the province of Limpopo to explore the nooks and crannies of this region beyond its popular tourist spots. I had heard a lot about the region’s villages and organic fresh produce, the pride of the Venda people and of course the popular Kruger National Park. I had so many expectations of clean air, vast lands of greenery, thatched round huts and a wealth of culture / tradition. But what I found was entrepreneurship and development.

With my bags packed, sunglasses and hat on; I snuggled into the back seat of the 12-seater minibus. My imagination was running wild – what will I see and learn and how I will feel? On the other hand, I was also quite eager and hopeful to make a meaningful impact in the lives of the people I was going to meet. Bottom line is this was an immersion, a work outing, and I had to come back with insights! The drive started on a major high with the other seven ladies I was travelling with also extremely excited. It was a beautiful Mandela-Winter’s Day and we were going to experience summer for two days in the sunny region of Limpopo – hello Girl’s Road Trip!

The drive was long and as soon as we made it into the outskirts of Limpopo, we immediately felt the temperature change and we started peeling off our layers. Looking out into the beautiful landscape, all I could see was vast spans of farming land, mountains and terrain. So far so good – exactly what I expected, but no round thatch huts (surprised emoji) – I had to remind myself that we were still in the outskirts and they were yet to come.

Much to my continued surprise, during the entire trip I didn’t see many of these huts. The greater region was buzzing with property development – bricks and cement is all I could see. After refuelling our tank and tummies in Polokwane, we got back on the bus and delved deeper into the province going into Elim then proceeding to Thohoyandou, where we camped for the night. Our exploratory antenna’s rose early the next day to continue in our pursuit of more knowledge – heading into the heart of Thohoyondou first. We then departed to Giyani but nothing could dampen our spirits because we were inspired by everything and everyone we saw. From Giyani we headed back to Polokwane which was to be our last highlight before heading back to the buzzling streets of Jozi.

From my personal standpoint, I have completely misconceived Limpopo. I had commonly known it for its beautiful bushveld and wildlife reserves (kinda like how most people outside Africa think we cohabit with wildlife). Embarrassing I know, but I was one of those people (giggle emoji). People born in Limpopo have taken pride in the growth of their region and have a strong entrepreneurial spirit. They will go out to neighbouring towns seeking jobs or business but they always bring their wealth and knowledge back home. The adage ‘home is where the heart is’ is fully illustrated here.

Evident in the non-existent thatch dwellings (although they call their home towns villages), real estate is rife and boasting self-upliftment. With the region’s productive fertile soil citizens have managed to feed themselves and their major cities through their farming prowess. We witnessed a lot of uplifted families, massive real-estate in homes and business centres, communities that are striving and pursuing the same lifestyle trends “we” only thought belonged in Sandton. This is not say there is no poverty, but the scales are definitely shifting – wealth in Limpopo is not just money in the bank; it is culture, land, livestock and the art of small businesses.

Development was a definite surprise but I have to say that one thing that didn’t disappoint was the amazing friendliness and respectfulness of the people. They were very welcoming to our team, we were constantly greeted with a lot of smiles, not sure what it was about us but it was pretty obvious that the locals could see we were not from around there. I guess we stuck out like sore thumbs because none of us could speak the local languages (language barrier is a real thing yoh!).

The pride the locals have in their culture and dialect is so incredible. Nightlife in Limpopo on the other hand is not the hive of activity and dress up like it is in Johannesburg but dining and takeout takes up a lot of the free-time option. Their malls boast of “leg-room” (so much space in bathrooms☺) and aren’t cluttered with in-mall advertising, which to a marketer’s eye is actually an eye-sore LOL. I could go on into the intricacies of the alarming differences and discoveries but that would require another article ☺.

I would not have wished for a better immersion, it was definitely the most eye opening and enjoyable learning experience I have gained in a while. My expectations were overly met and as much as I love the buzzing sound of the big city and its lights – I would love to retire in such a calm and humming “village”.