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Author: Mark

YouTube’s Ad Controversy and How It Affects You

 

YouTube and Google hit with controversy and advertisers are not happy

Kevin Ndinguri, Business Unit Manager at The MediaShop

YouTube was recently hit with major controversy. Advertisers noticed that their ads were shown alongside inappropriate videos, this included content that advocated hate speech, and, in extreme cases, even terrorism.

This wasn’t just a disaster for Google, but also for brands whose values and ideals were compromised by where their adverts were being placed. Of course, multiple advertisers pulled their adverts from YouTube in fear of being associated with such contentious content.

While the estimated advertising loss for parent company Alphabet is less than 1%, there is talk of advertisers being more cautious with where they place their advertising spend in the future, leading to uncertainty for both parties.

When this advertising catastrophe was discovered by Google, it expanded its advertising safeguards, adding to the strict policies already in place. Their intention is to prohibit the display of ads on pages or videos that promote hate speech and offensive or gruesome content, ultimately leaving advertisers with greater peace of mind.

But Google came under fire again recently for unfairly hiding videos through its restricted mode; the majority of these videos were from the LGBTQ community. After a weekend of social media uproar, YouTube’s CEO Susan Wojcicki tweeted that she was “pushing [their] teams to investigate.” Google’s current handling of the advertising situation is leaving investors uncomfortable and with serious cause for concern.

While the situation was far from ideal, Google acted swiftly to remedy the problem and to prevent any future issues. The list of advertisers who pulled their ads from YouTube sits at over 250 companies, and includes the likes of Coca-Cola, L’Oreal, and Verizon Communications. As a result of this, advertisers are asking for discounts in pricing upon their return to the advertising network. It has been predicted by Trip Chowdry – who is an analyst at Global Equities Research – that Google will need to give out ad credits to entice advertisers back to the platform.

A major concern being voiced is that ads are placed on YouTube via an algorithm, with no human intervention at all. This leaves doors open for the same problem: how do advertisers know that their adverts will be steered clear of controversial content? This is where Google’s brand safety measures come in to play. As we speak, Google is conducting extensive reviews into its advertising policies and tools to ensure that an advertiser’s brand is safe, and that it will not be shown on controversial content.

Google has committed to taking a tough stance on content that is hateful, derogatory or offensive. As part of this, Google will more effectively remove ads from content that it deems to be harassment or that attacks people based on gender, race, religion, or the like. They will tighten safeguards through its YouTube Partner Program to only show ads on content developed by legitimate creators, as opposed to channel impersonators and accounts that violate YouTube community guidelines. Ads will continue to be removed, and finally, the YouTube team will be re-evaluating their community guidelines to determine which content should be allowed on the platform.

Through these brand safety measures, Google aims to ensure that ads are not displayed against content that will reflect negatively on any brand. Who said technology made our lives easier?

Celebrate everything that is Mom at Emerald Resort & Casino

14 May is Mother’s Day. Are you really going to make her cook? Why not treat her to an exceptional day out at Emerald Resort & Casino?

“Great food always has a way of conjuring up warm memories and emotions, including those of Mom’s homemade lasagne, chocolate cake or meatloaf,” says Emerald Resort & Casino’s Marketing Executive, Tanuja Gangabishun. “Make even more memories with Mom this Mother’s Day at Emerald Resort & Casino and spoil her with lunch at our restaurants.”

Emerald Hotel will be offering families a wide spread buffet that includes cold, hot and salad bar selections, carvery and of course the chef’s famous desserts. Breeze has put together the perfect a la carte menu which includes a Strawberry Surprise, Salmon and Avo savoury cheesecake, Pork Belly, a must have Duo of Caramel and to tie everything together a Mother’s Day ‘Flower’ Bouquet (cupcakes).

Eat as much as you can at Ubuntu Buffet, with an incredible range of delicious food offerings that make for the perfect Mother’s Day family outing. Expect to feast on a buffet that contains starter options, potjies, grills and shwarma sections. Ubuntu’s curry, carvery, stir-fry and soup sections, not to mention the incredibly large dessert section will all be on offer for patrons.

“From a wonderful dining experience to an informal lunch, we have many experiences to help you show Mom how special she is this Mother’s Day,” concludes Tanuja. “For information and details of all the food options available, visit our informative and easy to navigate website.”

Emerald Resort & Casino.

Tel:                              016 982 8000

Website                       www.emeraldcasino.co.za

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

Twitter:                        @emerald_resort

Blog:                            http://www.emeraldcasino.co.za/emerald-resort-and-casino-blog

 

Traditional media not dead YET for Millennials!

Laiza Zikalala, Business Unit Manager at The MediaShop

Traditional media is not dead for Millennials – yet!

According to Consumer Barometer, Millennials don’t go online, they LIVE online. Some 90% of 16 to 34 year-olds go online daily. What do they do? They catch up on social networks, research and shop online and of course use it for entertainment like watching videos. They live their everyday lives with their offline and online worlds intertwined.

Even though this article is based on data from AMPS 2015, the data still reflects current Millennial behaviours.

Millennials are digital natives! They have grown up in the digital era, having access to the internet and mobile devices from the time they were born, in fact, research shows that close to half of the Millennial population have accessed the internet (yesterday), which is higher than that of Generation X and Boomers. One would think that they are more likely to spending most of their time with digital platforms, however the truth of the matter is that they still spend time consuming traditional media.

TV Viewership

Millennials watch traditional TV, and are heavy consumers, watching 4+ hours per day, compared to their Generation X and Boomers counterparts. When comparing the trend over a two year period, viewership patterns have declined by an average of 2% across the three target audience. The most viewed channels are S1, S2, etv, S3 and Mzansi Magic respectively, however Mzansi Magic has the highest affinity for the Millennials compared to other channels.

The Connected Consumer Survey 2016, shows that 72% of Millennials view TV on an actual TV set and only 8% consume online content streamed via a TV set. 40% watch TV by going online through connected devices.

 Radio Listening

Radio listenership tends to increase with age with the majority of listenership being at home. Boomers have a higher usage of radio averaging 82%, while only 75% of Millennials have listened (yesterday data) and are using the traditional way of listening (through a radio set). The second most used device is cell phone with Millennials leading the way at 48%. This is almost double to that of Boomers and 34% of Generation Xers, which is in line with mobile usage and penetration for this market.

In terms of listening by time of day, 62% of Millennials listen between 6am and 4pm, 68% Gen Xers between 5am and 1pm and 74% Boomers listen between 6am and 4pm.

 Print Readership

Millennials do read magazines, 50% read a magazine which is higher than both Generation X (48%) and Boomers (36%). However newspaper readership is lower for the Millennials with 42% having read a newspaper in the P7D (past 7 days), compared to Generation X and Boomers at 50% and 40% respectively. Generation X is more likely to read newspapers or access current news online.

In conclusion, even though Millennials live on digital platforms they still consume the traditional media platforms. They consume more TV than the older generation, but spend less time listening to radio than past generations. When they do listen, it’s usually at home using traditional methods (radios). They are more likely to read magazines than newspapers, but tend to rely on social media for news and keeping up with what’s happening around them.

We wait to see how these figures may change when the Establishment Survey (ES) goes live utilising the new reading, listening and viewing currencies.

The transition from LSMs to SEMs explained

There has been a lot of talk in the industry regarding the relevance of LSMs (Living Standard Measure). Kantar TNS was approached by the industry to develop a new socio economic segmentation system to better reflect the South African landscape. 

 Developed by Neil Higgs and his team at Kantar TNS, the new SEM (Socio-Economic Measure) household continuum is a more accurate reflection of South African society in terms of how people live and is not dependent solely on durables.

“SEMs provides a statistical and technical solution to the household continuum and speaks to how South Africans live and not what they have,” says Peter Storrar, Kantar TNS lead on the ES Survey conducted for the industry, funded by the Publisher Research Council (PRC) and the Broadcast Research Council (BRC).

The international measure of income distribution is the Gini coefficient, and South Africa has one of the highest in the world, in other words, we have a very unequal income distribution.  As can be seen in the graph below, the SEM distribution reflects this.

LSM VS SEM PROFILE OF SOUTH AFRICAN HOUSEHOLDS

Source ES: 6 months Jul-Dec 2016

Peter Langschmidt, consultant to the PRC , says, “If only the LSM – almost perfect bell shaped population – distribution were true, we would have a massive middle class, and an income distribution like Canada or Australia. However, we don’t as we are still suffering the after effects of 350 years of colonialism, 50 years of Apartheid and 10 years of corruption, so our Gini coefficient is still incredibly high.”

The LSM shows that only 6% or 1 in 17 houses is in the bottom LSM 1-3 group, the SEM shows that 44% or 1 in 2.3 households are struggling. In terms of the all important LSM 8-10 group, which receives over 70% of advertising spend, the SEM also outperforms the LSM with 19% of household’s vs 14% for the LSM.

In terms of practicality the SEM also has numerous advantages over the LSM’s. With 14 variables, versus the 29 on LSM’s, questionnaires are shorter and easier to administer. SEMs are also more stable due to less reliance on durables and more reliance on household structures and community infrastructure which change more gradually.

The only four durables that have been included in the final variables are deep freezer, microwave oven, floor polisher or vacuum cleaner and washing machine. The others are post office nearby, police station nearby, built-in kitchen sink, home security service, motor car, floor material, water source, type of toilet, roof material and number of sleeping room.

As promised the LSM will be run in parallel with the SEM for a period of two years until 2018.

“If you or your clients believe in fairytale income distribution that goes against all census and Stats SA data and even the Easter Bunny then continue to use the LSM’s; but if you believe in an inequitable distribution and the 17 million life supporting grants that real people receive each month, then you must use SEM’s,” concludes Langschmidt.

For additional information and reading research visit www.prc.za.com.

Media Inflation Watch January to September 2016

Belinda Kayton, Media Strategist at The MediaShop highlights top findings from Media InflationWatch (MIW) January to September 2016

Thanks to the amazing work done by Mike Leahy, we have the latest MIW figures!

We’ve been waiting to see how these would be measured, because there has been a great deal of changes in the past few months: most media owners have moved to a nett rate card, others have increased the commission level to 17% and some have kept the 16.5% structure.

In order to make sure that we compare apples with apples, all historic, current and future rates are reduced to nett of commission.

Thankfully most media owners are responding to the harsh economic conditions, and increases have been modest.

It’s good to see that ALL MEDIA rates only increased by +3.96% overall in 2016 and that the Jan-Sept Index is lower than the same period in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Because of the overall performance increase (+2.79%) the MIW Index at +2.67% is low and can be attributed to the low TV rate increases.

Let’s have a brief look at the individual media channels.

TV: Although there has been a rebasing of the TV audience (1 AR is now worth 336,430 adults vs 329,180 previously), this hardly contributes to the swell of viewers experienced (ETV and SABC 1 were the major contributors to the surge of viewers – both boasting over 20% up 9 months on 9 months). This impacts hugely on the performance and therefore the MIW is a large contributing factor to the lower than usual ALL MEDIA MIW Index.

Pay TV (DSTV) made adjustments to their rates, rounding down when moving to nett rates, thus decreasing the total rate, but Mzansi Magic countered this by increasing their rates. However – the overall 1.32% increase in rate is lower than the +7.72% in the first quarter of 2016.

 

PRINT: With all print increasing a low +4.89%, one would think that the MIW Index would also be low – but the -7.58% performance pushed the MIW Index to +14.57%. The highest rate increases are coming from communities, although countered by the best performance within the print category. The declining circulations across most categories of print is the cause of the double digit MIW Index.

RADIO: This is again the category with the highest rate increases, albeit that these are lower than previous periods. The highest rates occur in the Black Format stations (+14.98%) because of the SABC’s policy to close the CPM gap between these stations and its independent competitors.

Performance is set at 0% because in January, the BRC RAMS study took over from SAARF RAMS, and the two methodologies are different and therefore data is not comparable. In order for integrity, the Performance Index is set back to 0 and the rate increase is used as the MIW Index. A final CPM will be released once quarter 4 of 2016 has been released.

OOH: This category is once again flat when compared with competing media.

CINEMA: This Index is calculated from the top 15 Ster Kinekor houses (approx. 140 screens). Cinemark had a 6% increase in July 2015, with no real increases since then. In Jan-Sept 16, the audience fell slightly when compared to the same period in 2015.

ONLINE: Because all the sites in the schedule have a CPM rate, there is no given change in performance (performance is constant). We must remember that many sites offer large discounts and this must be considered with any evaluation.

It will be interesting to once again look at MIW Index when the whole of 2016 has been analysed. However – the MIW Index is looking promising in that it isn’t too high!

Marketers often wonder what media costed 10 or 20 years ago. As a fun exercise, we used MIW to go back and look! With 1998 as the anchor year, we can see which mediums increased their rates the most, and in which year.

The graph below demonstrates Media Inflation by medium, taking only full years into consideration (and that is why 2016 can only be included once quarter 4 data and therefore the full year is finalised).

More people are on Facebook than watching TV, where is your audience?

In the absence of in-depth industry media and social media behaviour and psychographics, media agencies that are prepared to go the extra mile for their clients create bespoke research in order to understand consumer habits. Cape Town based media agency, Limelight Consulting, unpacks the latest social media behaviours in its “Media Usage Report“.

The agency has surveyed 1 200 consumers for each of their client’s briefs creating a sample of well over 33 000 annually. The data is continually analysed and interrogated, allowing for nimble campaign manoeuvring while keeping abreast of the latest trends and metrics.

“Our sample is bigger than the new Establishment Survey, currently at 12 500 (6 months of data) and 25 000 when the full year’s data is released in September,” states Ross Sergeant, MD, Limelight Consulting. “Our Usage report offers us a very deep understanding of consumer psychographics, which industry data isn’t giving us, allowing us to form custom segmentations for clients and draw real insights on new media and traditional media – all in one.”

Some interesting Facebook facts from a South African perspective include that 72% of digitally-connected adult South Africans use Facebook daily while more people have used Facebook in the last week than watched television. Young adults, 18 to 24 years, are 8% LESS likely to use Facebook but more likely to engage on all other social media platforms. 85% of women surveyed, make use of this platform on a daily basis as opposed to 62% men.

72% of women have NEVER used Snapchat while only 37% of men claim the same. LinkedIn appears to be a popular professional networking site with one in four men making use of it. Young Adults, aged 18 – 24 are 13% more likely to make use of Snapchat on a daily basis, with Instagram the second most used daily platform.

Adults aged 25-24 however, are 31% more likely to make use of Facebook and 56% less likely to use Snapchat. “Parents, if you want to know what your kids are doing, learn to use Snapchat, the high percentage of daily and weekly users suggest that it’s here to stay and increasing in popularity,” comments Sergeant.

“Understanding media consumption is key to effectively and efficiently communicating with your consumers and social media is now challenging traditional media.” Past 7 Day usage indicates that more people used Facebook (55%) than watched TV (52%).  More people said they had read an article online (33%) in the last 7 days, than a magazine (30%).

A comparison of new and traditional forms of media provides grounds for a compelling case in favour of new media advertising within the South African media landscape. The reach of new media forms is expected to continue to increase.

Psychographics matter! People who say “Brands define me” are 16% more likely to use Instagram and those who “want to stand out from the crowd” are more likely to use Twitter and Snapchat. Consumers who buy products as they launch are more likely to use Snapchat, LinkedIn and go to the cinema.

“These are only a few snippets from the report.

Sir Francis Bacon said it best, way back in 1597, ‘Knowledge is power’, and it’s with this knowledge of the consumer and media landscape that we are able to guide advertisers through the increasingly murky and fragmented world of advertising,” concludes Sergeant.

To get in touch, engage or to find out more about the report, visit www.limelightconsulting.co.za.

Drive off in a brand new Ford Ranger Double Cab

Emerald Resort & Casino will be handing over the keys to a 2017 Ford Ranger 2.2 TDCi Base Double Cab to one lucky winner in the all new Cash & Keys promotion. In addition to the vehicle on offer, players will have a chance to win their share of over R780 000 in cash and FreePlay.

“While we’ve given away cars before, this is the first time that we have a double cab up for grabs and we believe our that guests will love this amazing prize,” says Emerald Resort & Casino’s Marketing Executive, Tanuja Gangabishun. “The promotion will kick off on the 10th April and will last for 11 weeks, ending on the 24th June.”

The casino promotion mechanics could not be simpler. The more you play, the more you earn. Every 50 points, on either slots or tables, earns a draw ticket. There will be a total of ten weekly draws and one final draw. Weekly draws take place every Wednesday at 13h00 and 21h00 where R67 000 in cash, FreePlay and one finalist spot will be given away.

Visit the Emerald Rewards desk and experience the Emerald lifestyle where participants reap benefits and rewards daily. Not only is the Emerald Rewards card the entry point to all large scale casino promotions, it’s also a gateway to exceptional food offers, access to the Emerald Rewards Store and leisure rewards. Take full advantage of the latest rewards, Emerald Rewards cardholders now qualify for free coffee, tea and water while playing.

Emerald Resort & Casino is a licensed gambling venue. Winners know when to stop. Only persons over 18 are permitted to gamble. National Problem Gambling Counselling Toll Free Helpline 0800 006 008.

Hop on over to Emerald Resort & Casino this Easter!

The Easter bunny is on his way to Emerald Resort & Casino – hot cross muffins, chocolate brownie eggs and carrot cake bars are being prepared, and clues to the annual Easter Egg Hunt have been finalised!

“We have it on good authority that the Easter bunny will once again be making his way to Emerald Resort & Casino and that he’s left lots of goodies for everyone,” says Tanuja Gangabishun, Marketing Executive at Emerald Resort & Casino. “Last year, we had over 25 000 people pass through our grounds and restaurants and over 400 children involved in the annual Easter Egg Hunt. We’d love to beat those numbers this year.”

Breeze is offering tantalising Easter themed delights to please any sweet tooth alongside a selection of savoury dishes throughout the Easter weekend. “Lamb shanks, chocolate brownie eggs and hot cross muffins are just a few of the delicious offerings available this Easter,” says Tanuja. “We haven’t forgotten about our younger guests. This year’s Easter Egg Hunt will keep our kids entertained as they follow clues while safely exploring our property and being rewarded with prizes.”

Another fantastic activity to look forward to this Easter is Speeball, a popular variant of Paintball. The game involves dynamic teamwork and loads of fun. Teams pay R150 per person which includes 50 balls and gear for a guaranteed exhilarating time. Speedball is on from the 8th to the 17th April at the Azone – behind Aquadome, between 10am and 8pm.

“Easter is one of our favourite times of the year, we love how it brings families together and we’re honoured that they choose to spend it with us,” she says. “We’re looking forward to sharing the joy of Easter with our guests this month.”

Registration for the Easter Egg Hunt begins at 11h30 in the Piazza area on Sunday the 16th April. Kids will be given various clues as they move from one part of the property to the next, culminating in chocolatey goodness at the end of clue trail.

For up to date information on these events and more, visitors to the Resort 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.

The Establishment Survey is here!

With the recent launch of the Establishment Survey (ES), the Publisher Research Council (PRC) provides a brief overview.

The Establishment Survey (ES) is a collaborative partnership between the Publisher Research Council (PRC), the Broadcast Research Council (BRC) and the Advertiser Media Forum (AMF) with the BRC and PRC being the funders and owners of the data. The aim is for media owners, marketers, and advertisers to use the survey as a strategic inter-media planning tool.

“ES is a multi-purpose, multi-media survey providing context for all media and all media currencies in South Africa,” explains Peter Langschmidt, Research Consultant to the PRC.  “The hub with donor currencies is based on global best practice and was proposed in 2013 by Kuper research while conducting an AMPS future proofing exercise for SAARF.”

The ES is a central hub with a “democratic sample” that matches population and is linked, via common fusion hooks (like demographics and media consumption), to currency donor research surveys. “These surveys generally match sales, so samples are skewed towards urban areas, we call these ‘monetary or sales samples’,” says Langschmidt. “The first currency to be linked will be TAMS in April, RAMS and PAMS will follow later in the year.”

Any other media owner survey, brand or product usage or survey with sufficient demographic and geographic hooks can be fused with the ES. Companies with large databases can even ‘multi-base’ their customer database with the ES.

The ES measures Reading (not just print and digital), Viewing (not just TV) and Listening (not just radio) which reflects the new reality of how people consume media.  Therefore the ES is completely platform agnostic displaying total audience as well as audience by individual platform. Cinema and On the Go are also included.

The nationally representative probability sample of people aged 15 years and over, with a sample size of 25 000 per annum will be released across two waves (12 500 per wave).  All measures are consistent across all media with the primary questionnaire being designed by a global expert from Kantar Media UK. New measures like time spent with each medium are also included.

The data is consistent and reliable as interviewing is spread over 49 weeks of the year, ensuring that all periods in the year are covered across all provinces and area types. Releases happen twice a year based on six months worth of data.

“After 40 years of using the single source AMPS this new ES hub and currency donor model takes some getting used to. However, working with the data and seeing how each constituency can now get the best of both worlds and control their own sample to match their medium has tremendous benefits, as opposed to everyone being shoe-horned into a single sample.”

The Establishment Survey launch can be classed as a ‘mini-launch’. The primary launch will be happening in September, when the first full year of data, based on the 25 000 sample, will be released. “The new reading currency, PAMS, will be linked to the ES and will be released shortly afterwards,” concludes Langschmidt.

For additional information and reading research visit www.prc.za.com.

Publisher Research Council (PRC) DNA

The Publisher Research Council (PRC) is a non for profit company that represents the interests of both print and online publishers in South Africa and conducts audience and efficacy research on behalf of its members. Primary research is conducted to gain an understanding of the broad media usage in South Africa as well as individual title audiences for member internal use and for advertisers and their agencies.

The PRC is owned by the major publishing houses, and members include Times Media Group, CTP Caxton, Independent Newspapers, Media24, Mail & Guardian and Ramsay Media. Currently the PRC members publish more than 700 newspapers and magazines in four different languages.

The MediaShop has more big news!

Not even one week after the agency opened the doors to its brand new offices in Johannesburg, Group MD Chris Botha has announced the appointment of Kgaugelo Maphai as The MediaShop’s new Managing Director of the Sandton office, effective 1st April.

 “It’s been a whirlwind few weeks, that’s for sure,” says Chris. “We’ve been looking for the right candidate for quite some time now to head our Johannesburg office and to take on additional management responsibilities. We all agree that Kgaugelo is the right man for the job.

His passion has always been about understanding our diverse South African consumers, their behaviour, what influences them and how to effectively communicate with them within their own environments. We’re confident Kgaugelo will bring a lot of dynamic, innovative and different thinking into the agency and we’ll support him 100% of the way.”

Kgaugelo is a marketer and entrepreneur who has experienced all aspects of marketing, media and communications within the client, media owner and agency working environments.

His marketing pedigree is huge, having held the following management and leadership positions: Group Marketing Services Manager at Peermont Global (Pty) Ltd, National Trade Marketing Manager at SABC Radio, National Sales Manager at East Coast Radio (Pty) Ltd, Key Account Manager at Etv and Acting Portfolio Sales Manager at Metro Fm in 2002. In addition he has also consulted agencies including Draft FCB on the topic of consumer insights.

Kgaugelo adds: “I am thrilled to be entrusted with the position of MD at such a progressive agency. I believe that The MediaShop’s purpose aligns perfectly with my own and that is to connect brands with consumers through pioneering and innovative communication solutions. I’m looking forward to the challenge and to working with a fantastic group of people.”

For more on The MediaShop visit www.mediashop.co.za, like them on Facebook: The MediaShop or follow them on Twitter @MediaShopZA

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