Mark, Author at owlhurst.com

Caxton Digital introduces travel offering with Safari.com

February 7, 2019
by Mark

Caxton has expanded its digital lifestyle offering for readers and advertisers alike by introducing their newest partner, Safari.com. The Caxton & CTP Group is constantly improving its print and digital properties and this latest move will offer the market bespoke safari holidays.

According to Alexis Boshoff, CEO of Safari.com: “Our offering helps travellers from around the world plan, book and experience the perfect safari holiday. We do this by leveraging our passion for Africa and expert safari planning knowledge to tailor make perfectly suited itineraries for each individual traveller or group. This ensures that everyone that books through Safari.com gets their safari holiday of a lifetime, at the best price.”

Safari.com has two divisions, a luxury to mid-range division specialising in Eastern and Southern African safaris and a self-catering division that assists both international and local travellers in booking South African National Parks accommodation.

“Safari.com joins our other digital properties including online retail aggregator Guzzle, Private Property, All4Women and Autodealer among others,” says Nyle McKee, Head of Group Commercial Partnerships at Caxton Digital. “We’re so excited to have Safari.com on board. In the short time the partnership has been live we’ve had tremendous interest on the site from users across South Africa. It seems that South African consumers are in the market for a holiday all year round!”

Alexis adds: “Safari.com’s integrated content and offerings into Caxton’s local newspaper websites means incredible safari related content for all readers across Caxton’s network, as well as some exclusive safari deals for those readers. We’re looking forward to an exciting and long partnership ahead with Caxton.”

“Safari.com is unique from competitors in many ways. Primarily we believe that our care for our clients is at the forefront of what sets us apart; we truly want to see our clients experience the African safari holiday of a lifetime,” he says. “Safari.com has a deep history in the safari industry, having assisted over 200,000 travellers in planning, booking and enjoying their safari holidays for over a decade.”

For further information call 021 468 7255 or email helpmeplan@safari.com

The Super Bowl – the story you didn’t know

February 7, 2019
by Mark

By: Richard Lord, Media & Operations Director, Meta Media

So, the Super Bowl, the world’s biggest televised sporting event, was played this past Sunday with the New England Patriots winning a record equalling 6th title, beating the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in the lowest scoring game in NFL history. This was Super Bowl LIII which, for the uninitiated (like me – I had to look it up), means it was the 53rd edition of the event that closes out the American NFL season.

Even here at the southern tip of Africa, land of boerewors and rugby, we have heard of the Super Bowl. We might not understand it but I am sure that some of us watched it…all 4 hours of it, even though actual game time is only 60 minutes. Crazy Americans!

But in South Africa, and particularly in our industry, the Super Bowl is synonymous with ads – lots of ads. Very expensive ads. You will have read comments and articles over the years marvelling at just how expensive a single 30 second ad in the Super Bowl costs (upward of $5 million this year by the way). We have all seen the ads…brands like Tide, Volvo, Budweiser, Coca-Cola all spring to mind. And of course, there was the famous 2013 black-out where Oreo won the Super Bowl by reminding us that you could still dunk in the dark!

The Super Bowl is also synonymous with half-time shows…some amazing, some funny, usually controversial – who can forget Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” with Justin Timberlake in Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004), or Left Shark overshadowing Katy Perry in Super Bowl XLIX (2015), and this year a bare-chested Adam Levine and Maroon 5 caused a Tweet storm with accusations of sexism and double standards.

But this article is not about all of that. You can run a Google search and read all of the other articles about the ads, the halftime shows, the advertising rates, and the audiences if you want. I thought that I would rather look at the #StoryBehindTheStory and tell you five things that you probably didn’t know about the Super Bowl. So here goes:

1. Why do they use all of those crazy Roman numerals anyway? It wasn’t always this way. The first four Super Bowls were not numbered at all. The Super Bowl is played at the beginning of the year following the year in which the season actually ends…the 2019 Super Bowl that has just been played is the final game of the 2018 season. The 2019 Super Bowl has nothing to do with the 2019 football season. Confusing right? So to clear up the confusion, a chap by the name of Lamar Hunt decided that instead of using dates to keep track of the Super Bowls they would use numbers instead; and he decided on Roman numerals. Numbers I through IV were added to the first four championship games after the fact.

2. Super Bowl Sunday is the second biggest “eating” day for Americans, after Thanks Giving! 1.25 billion chicken wings are eaten, along with 54.4 million kilograms of avocado (probably in the form of guacamole), 4 million pizzas and 50 million cases of beer – hopefully Bud, otherwise are their Super Bowl ads really working?

3. Ads may cost a whopping $5 million (R67 million) today, but it hasn’t always been that way. The first Super Bowl was played in 1967 and a 30 second ad back then only cost $40,000. As the audiences have grown, unsurprisingly, ad rates have steadily increased. In fact according to Ad Age, in excess of $4.9 billion has been spent on advertising in the Super Bowl over the past 53 years. The TV audience in 1967? 50 million viewers. The audience this past Sunday? 100 million! Ad rates have increased by 12,400% whilst audiences have only increased by 100%.

4. And speaking of prices…what does a ticket to the Super Bowl cost? This year the cheapest ticket you could buy, according to Business Insider, was $2,900. The most expensive ticket was a whopping $93,000! By comparison, the average median income of an American who works a 40 hour week is $44,000 – so some people spent more on a Super Bowl ticket than the average American earns in a year!

5. How much are the performers paid for the half time show? Zero, zip, zilch, nada is the answer. The NFL does not pay performers an appearance fee but, according to the New York Times, they do pay all related travel expenses, body guards, lighting, stage crew. Over the years it has also been rumoured that performers actually pay the NFL to appear – this is not true either.

So now you know the ins and outs of the world’s biggest televised sporting event. The next time you’re standing round the braai with your mates, you can wow and impress them with these lesser known Super Bowl facts.

Stay Curious!

Meta Media DNA

Meta Media is South Africa’s newest media agency, and part of the IPG global network. They don’t just look at the numbers, they dig deeper, they look for the story behind the story. They find the “so what” to give their clients the edge, to give their clients real solutions based on real insights. They are real, they are authentic. They are curious.

The Outdoor Measurement Council is ready to release the latest ROAD Survey

February 5, 2019
by Mark

The OMC (Outdoor Measurement Council) will be releasing its new audience data ROAD this February which covers three years of face to face consumer interviews resulting in a host of insights. ROAD is one of the largest sets of research in the market boasting a rolling sample of a massive 45,000 respondents.

ROAD is committed to delivering rich, accurate insights and discerning audience metrics to the industry. The insights obtained support the continual growth, relevance and role of Out of Home advertising in the media mix. It is a core objective of the OMC to support growth in spend in OOH, and to assist with education around improved mythologies and consumer audience metrics.

“We are so excited to be sharing these latest Out of Home insights with the media and advertising industry, and we’re proud to be introducing our international guest speaker from the UK, James Whitmore, Managing Director of ROUTE,” says OMC’s General Manager Trish Guilford. “James has years of media experience and is a true research specialist in the out of home industry. He will share a host of insights and experiences concerning launching a media currency.

The OMC has many accurate insights and discerning audience metrics to share, including revealing a first to market for Out of Home media planning! This will enhance our offering and allow for media agencies and media owners to plan and deliver audience insights around a host of criteria, resulting in a reduction of planning time in selecting sites, all the while optimizing core planning areas for clients,” she says. “We will also be sharing our industry planning guidelines which will assist all users when evaluating OOH schedules.

We would encourage all marketers, and our media agency and owner partners to attend these presentations where we’ll elaborate on these exciting offerings.”

The Johannesburg road show will take place on the 13^th February at the Bryanston Country Club, with the Cape Town leg being hosted on the 15^th February at The One and Only at Cape Town’s Waterfront. Interested parties can email chirene@owlhurst.com for details.

For more information search #OMCRoad19 or follow @SouthAfricaOMC on Twitter or find OMC Out of Home Measurement Council on Facebook.

To compare or not to compare

February 5, 2019
by Mark

Belinda Kayton, Media Strategist at The MediaShop says that comparative advertising isn’t rude, it could be brilliant!

The ad wasn’t rude, obnoxious or over-the-top. It was actually really quite useful, asking: “Vehicle A has such n such brakes, Vehicle B does not – would you put your family at risk?” I sat up and took note – of course I needed the brakes on Vehicle A and wouldn’t touch Vehicle B!

This was in New York over the festive season. It was a particularly rainy day and so we decided to relax in the hotel for the afternoon, and I watched some TV. After that I made a point of watching more TV so that I could see if there were more comparative ads – and there were loads of them. I loved them. There’s nothing like calling out the weaknesses of other brands that may be in the line of purchase.

And then I started thinking about this a bit more – why don’t we have comparative advertising in South Africa? It’s not banned it’s just heavily condition-laden. It would prove extremely useful to purchasers of Vehicle B to know that they don’t have those special brakes that Vehicle A does! Who knows it might make Vehicle B manufacturers upgrade those not so good brakes. Surely it would only be a good thing?

What is comparative advertising anyway? Basically, it’s when an advert specifically mentions a competitor by name with the purpose of highlighting an inferior service or product.

According to the Law Journal of SA, Comparative Advertising may be unlawful on two grounds namely the common law relating to unlawful competition and infringement of a registered trademark.

So what does this mean? Comparative advertising isn’t permitted if the ad contains untrue and derogatory allegations about a brand. It is also believed that comparative advertising amounts to trademark infringement. Registered trademarks can’t be used without permission, and that is a major reason comparative ads are just about non-existent in South Africa.

In the USA however, comparative advertising has been going strong for over 40 years. About 80% of TV ads and about 30-40% of all ads contain comparative claims in the USA. It was found that customers afford greater importance to comparative claims than to non-comparative ads.

Powerful stuff!

Even ads in the UK show some comparisons, and some go way back:

Useful comparative advertising could prove really powerful, if you look at an example from the USA that compares the cost of trollies and milk:

True comparative advertising can be formidable. The problem is the abuse of this power. It would be fantastic to have factual differences available to the consumer in the form of comparative ads – but as so often happens with ego, the ads go overboard and are of no real use to anyone, except of course as entertainment value.

When investigating comparative advertising in SA, I found the infamous BMW vs. AUDI example. However, this is arguably “tit for tat” advertising and not real comparative advertising in the true sense. Remember these?

Then there was the great Apple vs. Microsoft ad campaign? The great ad war started in 2006, playing on the hip and happening Apple vs. the nerdy Microsoft. Was there a winner?

So – to compare or not to compare? I find this fascinating, and hope that someday we will see helpful, interesting and factual comparative advertising in South Africa. Can it happen?

Sources:
Comparative and International Law Jnl of SA – Trademarks and comparative advertising. (Volume 43 Issue 2).
North-western Journal of International Law & Business: Comparative Advertising in the United States and France (Charlotte J. Romano).

ROOTS 2019 is building to be bigger than ever!

February 4, 2019
by Mark

The 2019 launch of South Africa’s largest urban community quantitative survey, ROOTS, is boasting more areas, more communities and more insights into the survey than ever before. The bumper addition is building momentum and is set to be launched in June this year.

“Due to the increase in scope, TNS researchers are still in field collecting vital data and verifying purchasing and leisure habits across 148 urban areas with a total sample of 26 000 decision makers. ROOTS 2019 will also include new areas added from ADS24 products to expand our pool of insights,” says Gill Randall, Joint CEO SPARK Media. “The building blocks are all coming together as we piece together the total survey.”

“At a local level and compared to ROOTS 2016, our new methodology incorporates both LSM and SEM descriptors, building a more accurate picture of South African communities, as well as a more in depth look at the digital environment,” she says.

Besides the usual datasets of demographics and general info, ROOTS digs deeply into categories like digital integration, activities, entertainment and many retail categories too. The data provides marketers with vital demographic and behavioural information at a local, regional and national level, but it’s the ability to deep-dive and access granular local data that provides the biggest marketing advantages.

As reading is just one facet of a good education, ROOTS 2019 will provide the building blocks for innovative and insightful media plans and marketing strategies. No two communities are the same – ROOTS 2019 will clearly show the differences.

For more on SPARK Media, visit our website and follow us on social media @sparkmediasa.

SPARK Media

Established in 2015, SPARK Media, a division of CTP Ltd, are experts in retail and location based marketing solutions. The company owns and represents a myriad of print and digital products that deliver locally relevant, effective audiences for advertising clients. SPARK Media are Strategic Partners in Audience Research and Knowledge and offer ‘Insights that Ignite’.

Meta Media makes first crucial appointment

January 29, 2019
by Mark

Chris Botha, Group Managing Director of Park Advertising has announced Kagiso Musi as Managing Director of newly formed media agency Meta Media.

Musi brings an abundance of aptitude and two decades’ worth of business, marketing and communications experience. She also recently completed her MBA. This multifaceted combination of experience allows her to strategically approach business opportunities and solve problems and challenges more holistically.

“As an experienced marketing and communications executive who has deep operational and management experience, Kagiso brings a wealth of diverse knowledge and skill to our newly created media agency,” says Chris. “Additionally she has been an active member on many boards including amongst others, Wunderman, MSG Afrika Group and The Jupiter Drawing Room.”

“The rapidly changing media landscape and sophistication of audiences is an exciting space for me,” adds Musi. “The opportunity to balance traditional approaches with the growth in connected devices and omni-channel media behaviour is a challenge I look forward to, together with the formidable clients and teams I will be leading and working with.”

“We would like to take this opportunity to welcome Kagiso to this remarkable industry that we love so much and know that she will be a great fit for Meta Media and take this burgeoning agency confidently into the future and to new heights,” concludes Chris.

Make lasting impressions this Valentine’s Month

January 29, 2019
by Mark

It’s all about Cupid, love and romance this coming Valentine’s Month at Emerald Resort & Casino. “Besides the Valentine’s Outdoor Movie, Ghost, being shown on 9 February, we’re confident that love and romance will be found at the Resort throughout February this coming Valentine’s Month,” says Emerald Resort & Casino’s Marketing Executive Tanuja Gangabishun. “Whether it’s a passionate dinner at High Stakes or something a little different like taking a romantic meander through Animal World at night, visitors to Emerald will be making lasting memories.”

On Valentine’s Day, High Stakes will be hosting a special elegant three-course set menu that includes a bottle of bubbly. Just picture the selection of dessert; Valentine’s Strawberry Entremets or Lover’s Strawberry Trifle. Bookings are essential: 016 982 8643 or email shamishkam@emeraldcasino.co.za. Please note that High Stakes is a no under-18s venue.

If you’re looking for something different to do, and if you’d like to know what the animals get up to when the sun goes down, Emerald is hosting a romantic evening walk on the 14^th February that will definitely make a lasting impression on anyone’s Valentine! Guests are invited to take a loving amble down lover’s lane at the Resort’s popular family destination Animal World that only opens at night under exceptional circumstances. See the nocturnal side of wolves, chinchillas, raccoons and many more.

“We love spoiling our guests and options abound for those that want to make a real impression on their loved ones,” concludes Tanuja. “Why not turn the evening into a romantic getaway? We’ve got great accommodation deals to make it happen”

For up to date information and happenings at Emerald Resort & Casino, visitors are encouraged to stay close to their Facebook and Twitter pages, or guests can visit www.emeraldcasino.co.za for more information on any of the events mentioned here.

Emerald Resort & Casino.

Tel: 016 982 8000

Website www.emeraldcasino.co.za

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Emerald.Resort.Casino

Twitter: https://twitter.com/emerald_resort

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/emerald-resort-&-casino/

Look for the positivity throughout 2019…

January 23, 2019
by Mark

Gareth Grant, Business Unit Director at The MediaShop challenges us to lose negativity

And just like that it’s 2019! The festive season decorations have been packed away and the Easter eggs have already found a new home on the impulse purchase shelves, making resolutions for the New Year that much harder to adhere to. But with this change comes the opportunity to stop, take stock of the year that was and focus on what the New Year has to offer.

Let’s face it, 2018 was a tough year. We continued to hear about Brexit. Trump added a few rungs to his soap box, and here at home the petrol price skyrocketed like the popularity of BTS (have a look on YouTube, those numbers are real…). Who knows, 2019 could follow a similar pattern. However, my outlook is going to be one of positivity, as opposed to the opposite. I want to change the narrative, even if just for myself. You should give it a try!

They say that positivity breeds productivity, and I am a firm believer in that. You just have to read about what some of the country’s pioneers and thought leaders have to say about being positive versus being negative. Take Adrian Gore for example. At last year’s Discovery Summit he spoke about how eliminating negativity would help reverse the downward spiral of the economy.

Let’s think about that for a second – eliminating negativity could impact the economy, not just of one’s daily outlook on life, but something as significant as our economy that has struggled over the past few years! If that kind of thinking and outlook can have a positive effect on something as big as a country’s economy, then surely it would have the same effect on how you go about tackling 2019?

Yes, these are words that have been written down on paper, easier said than done. But is it? Like in sport, you can only score if you know where the goals are, and the same can be said for life. Set yourself some goals if you want to score, and don’t wait until January 2020 to track your progress. Set some personal milestone check-ins. This will allow you to review and course correct throughout the year, ensuring that you have an excellent 2019 with a lot of mini wins, so to speak.

I have got my year jotted down with what I want to achieve from a personal, career, health and fitness, as well a travel point of view, changing the narrative to a very positive outlook for 2019 for myself. What is your year going to look like?

I have no doubt that 2019 is going to be filled with a lot of opportunity, but it is up to you to grab it with both hands! Here’s to a great POSITIVE 2019 for us all!

LNN is South Africa’s 5th largest online news audience

January 22, 2019
by Mark

Caxton’s Local News Network (LNN) platform, has been verified by the IAB Measurement Council as the 5th largest news audience in South Africa, with 2.8 million unduplicated unique browsers and over 8.8 million page views per month*.

The Caxton news network has over 250 journalists on the ground bringing readers credible, trustworthy, breaking news. LNN comprises 82 local news websites which offer community driven articles, advertorials, lifestyle and promotional content in a contextually relevant environment.

“LNN is such a powerful platform, which offers many exposure opportunities for clients,” says Marc du Plessis, joint CEO at SPARK Media. “Through our data pool and high reach on the LNN platform, we can create the perfect campaign for brands and continue to offer insights that help deliver on advertising campaign objectives.”

Additionally, the LNN platform has over 1.6 million unduplicated followers across its social media pages, engaging readers in an authentic, credible way.

“With over 9300 articles published per month across the platform, the array of content is vast and current, making LNN a unique, high reaching solution for advertisers,” states du Plessis. “Together with our local newspapers, LNN offers the largest hyper local news source in South Africa in print and online. That’s a pretty incredible promise we are proud to offer clients.”

For even more on SPARK Media, visit the website and follow them on social media @sparkmediasa.

*Narratiive – October 2018

Get closer this Valentine’s Month

January 18, 2019
by Mark

Love is in the air this coming Valentine’s Month at Emerald Resort & Casino’s Outdoor Movie Night as the Resort screens one of the best loved, most ageless love movies ever, Ghost, on Saturday, 9 February 2019.

“It’s the perfect opportunity to spoil and surprise your better half,” says Leolize Naidoo, Emerald Resort & Casino’s Events & Entertainment Manager. “Snuggle up to each other on a blanket under the stars as you watch Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg in the 1990 Academy Award and Golden Globe winning film – Ghost.”

Who can forget the truly memorable song by The Righteous Brothers, Unchained Melody that was nominated for a Best Original Score Academy Award. Remember the lyrics?

“Oh, my love, my darling

I’ve hungered for your touch

A long, lonely time

Time goes by so slowly

And time can do so much

Are you still mine?

I need your love

God speed your love to me”

Venue: Emerald Resort & Casino, Hotel Lawns

Date: Saturday, 9 February 2019

Time: 20h00

Tickets: https://www.emeraldcasino.co.za/events/valentines-outdoor-movie-night

General: R80pp – unfortunately no under 18s.

Bring your own picnic blanket and camp chairs to this beloved timeless screening that is sure to capture everyone’s hearts all over again. Why not take the evening to the next level? Picnic hampers, bursting with goodies that serve two, are available from the Resort with various platters on offer like Mini Cheese, Cold Meat, Mini Baguette, Mini Snack or even a Movie Night Popcorn bowl that includes all the essential confections to charm your loved one.“Food stalls will be in operation during the evening to satisfy all hunger cravings,” concludes Naidoo. “We look forward to seeing everyone at our special Valentine’s Outdoor Movie Night and throughout the month of February when our guests can enjoy an incredibly romantic dinner offer at High Stakes or a gorgeous evening walk through our Animal World facilities – all details can be found on our website or Facebook page.”