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Prove it! Join SPARK Media on 6 June 2017 for their “You’ve got Talent” games day at Bryanston Country Club.

“Bring your skills, whether it’s your balls or your brains, and put them to the challenge,” says Gill Randall, Joint CEO of SPARK Media. “We’ve catered to both the sporty and the brainy by including an option of an 18 hole round of golf, a couple of hours dedicated to the art of lawn bowling or a fun filled, interactive, general knowledge quiz.

Our clients, friends and partners are invited to a fun day out, networking, making new friends, showing off to colleagues and impressing the boss.”

There are amazing prizes up for grabs including electrical gadgets and accessories, getaways to Graceland Hotel, Tsogo Sun Hotels and Big 5 game reserves and much, much more!

Of course, in true SPARK Media style, no challenge day is ever complete without a brilliant dinner and prize giving event where all those balls and brains will be rewarded. The evening will end with a party which will take place after all the activities have been completed at 18h00.

Places are limited! Enter a team or play as an individual. Get in touch with any of the SPARK Media representatives to take part, if you haven’t already. 010 492 8341 / info@sparkmedia.co.za

To find out more, connect, discuss or engage with SPARK Media, call 010 492 8390, visit www.sparkmedia.co.za, follow us on Twitter – www.twitter.com/SparkMediaSA or find ‘SPARK Media’ (sparkmediasa) on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Spark Media DNA

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’.

Joint CEO of SPARK Media, Marc du Plessis has been announced as Head of the Publisher Council of the IAB. The Publisher Council represents its IAB publisher members in a wide range of interests including regulatory and audience measurement issues.

 “I’m really excited to get stuck into my new role within the IAB where I’ve been a member for the past two years,” he says. “My duties will be to drive the agendas of the publisher members, with special focus in the areas of fake news and upholding journalist standards; cross platform publishing; developing an entry strategy for publishers within the Bookmark awards; brand safety for advertisers on IAB member sites and driving publisher involvement in improving overall measurement.”

 Marc has spent many years honing his digital marketing skills within the digital publishing, media, marketing services and advertising industries. He works very closely with most of South Africa’s major retailers specifically within the spheres of digital retail marketing and advertising strategy space, and is well set to take on his new role as Head of the Publisher Council for the IAB.

He first joined the company in 2006 (when it was still known as NAB) and has since then rapidly proved himself a very worthy company asset, gaining valuable marketing and sales experience in the world of localised digital and print advertising.

Marc obtained his BCom in Commercial Accounting from the University of Stellenbosch in 2001, before studying further at the AAA School of Advertising and obtaining a Diploma in Integrated Marketing Communications in 2003.

To find out more, connect, discuss or engage with SPARK Media, call 010 492 8390, visit www.sparkmedia.co.za, follow us on Twitter – www.twitter.com/SparkMediaSA or find ‘SPARK Media’ (sparkmediasa) on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Spark Media DNA

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’.

 

According to Statiska (The Statistics Portal)¹ and The Economist² South Africa has the world’s highest fitness club revenue, generating over $900 million annually. What this translates to is that a lot of South African consumers are using gyms in various sizes, shapes and formats to get fit, stay active and be healthy, but some brands are missing the boat.  

“The health and fitness industry is thriving and vibrant consisting of a clientele that spends long periods of time training in a closed environment,” says Greg Bruwer, TLC’s Managing Director. “Being able to target this audience and communicate to this large, affluent segment of the population in a captive environment is priceless.”

As part of the innovative advertising solutions that Primedia Unlimited’s TLC offers in lifestyle environments, the gym environment has certainly become a great space to target these active, image-conscious consumers.

 “Our focus has always been to attain the spot as one of the most progressive media suppliers in the out-of-home advertising space and gym advertising offers the opportunity to brand various elements within the gym space and create ownership,” explains Bruwer. “We have exclusive access to 21 Planet Fitness gyms across the country which equates to over 150 000 monthly gym goers.

We are growing the ad space outside of the washroom, for example, internal billboards in the common areas which have in fact been sold out by the same advertisers for the last 18 months.

It’s not only the traditional brands that utilise this advertising space. Ford, for example, created an exceptionally innovative campaign for its ‘Eco Boost’ campaign, while SlowMag achieved great success through activations by offering effervescent samples.”

Additional advertising properties include traditional A4 washroom frames, branded water cooler stations and treadmills, in-gym activations and the various sized internal billboards around the gym. Advertisers are offered multiple options to own the environment with specific gender targeting to a captive audience through innovative and cost effective communication including social media interaction.

Active research into the Planet Fitness market offers key insights. 76.6% of these gym members classify themselves as the ‘main shopper’ while 61% have confirmed that ‘advertising helps me choose what to buy’. 60% have children, 60% are married and six out of ten are permanently employed. 54% are early adopters and like to try new products. “Membership is slightly skewed towards women which probably explains the 51% that ‘enjoy shopping’,” jokes Bruwer.

“Shedding the kilos, growing muscles and getting fitter has become a daily routine for many South Africans. The numbers prove it. It’s time for more brands to become part of this almost billion dollar a year industry,” concludes Bruwer.

For more information on TLC offerings contact greg@tlc-media.co.za or visit www.primedia-unlimited.co.za

Greg Bruwer, previously Joint Managing Director with Steven Stuart of Targeted Lifestyle Communication (TLC), a Primedia Unlimited company, has taken over the role of sole MD.

“After 15 years of incredible service, Steve has decided to throw all his energy into one of his greatest loves – IT,” says Greg. “We thank him whole heartedly for the time he’s dedicated to growing TLC into the successful business it is today.”

With almost two decades in the outdoor and alternative media sales business, Greg is well placed to take TLC forward. “After an initial two year stint in the printing industry I joined the then GMR Transit Media and TLC which would later become known as Altmedia. During those glory days we were known as the Men in Black, and were always in suits,” he reminisces.

Greg left Altmedia after six years just before it was bought by Primedia Unlimited, choosing instead to join Graffiti at that time to start up their transit advertising business. From there he became one of the founding partners of Massiv TV, where he worked for a period of six years before being re-approached by TLC to join the team once again, which he did in July 2013 as Sales Director.

“It’s quite fitting that I joined TLC right at the beginning of my career and went full circle to join the company again,” he says. “TLC has always been known as a sales incubator for growing great sales talent within the industry and I’m really proud to have been part of that process.”

Greg has extensive experience in the transit and alternative media field and is passionate about the industry. He is encouraged by his heavy work load rather than overwhelmed by it.

“As the Managing Director of TLC I’m intricately involved in all the sales and marketing functions of TLC, and will now be adding the operations and commercial duties of the company too. These include managing the sales team, ensuring that our targets are met, maintaining solid relationships with our landlords etc.”

Greg also ensures that contracts are in place and new areas of growth for the business are identified and rolled out. “Relationships with our clients and agencies is a number one priority, that goes without saying, we have always had amazing relationships with our advertisers and we will continue to build on these.”

“I consider myself a specialist in the perceived ‘hard to sell’ media types, but success is not without consistent hard work,” he says. “A hands-on approach is crucial, I do believe in leading by example and leading from the front, and importantly, without a good team a business can really suffer.”

Empowering his staff has always been high on Greg’s list and the results are evident. “I love the challenge this job offers both me and my team, there’s no better feeling than closing that deal.

I’m driven more by the business doing well than by any other benefit – when the business succeeds, we all succeed. I’m really excited about taking TLC to even greater heights. We have fantastic niched advertising platforms available for our advertisers and we have some very exciting new offerings on the cards.”

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.

Hosted at the Globe Theatre at Silverstar Casino, with prize money totalling R285 000, this year’s all new Caxton Excellence Awards celebrated the achievements of local and community newspaper’s editorial, sales, advertising, management and support staff.

“This year, the Caxton Awards has undergone a complete makeover, some categories have fallen away while others, like Best Emerging Newspaper, have been added,” says Karen Geurtse, General Manager Caxton Local Media Regionals. “The event is in its 28^th successive year and the work produced by individuals, and the papers themselves, gets better and better with each passing year.”

Winners this year included Zululand Observer and Dave Savides for Best Sold Newspaper of the Year, Brakpan Herald and Thelma Koorts for the Best Free Newspaper of the Year, Mpumalanga News and Bongani Hlatshwayo won the Best Front Page of the Year category and winner of the new category Best Emerging markets Newspaper went to Sunette Visser at Record Noweto.

 Multimedia Journalist of the Year went to Helene Eloff from Lowvelder, Most Promising Newspaper Journalist of the Year was awarded to Erica Abrahams from North Coast Courier, Best Get It Journalist was awarded to Nicolene Olckers from Lowveld while Vaalweekblad‘s Ettienne van Rensburg won the Best Sports Journalist category.

Competition in the Photographer of the Year category was fierce. Both Trevor Aingworth of Witbank News and Ettienne van Rensburg of Vaalweekblad handed in impressive portfolios but in the end the judges were unanimous in their decision with Trevor Aingworth walking off with R10 000 and a Canon camera worth nearly R18 000.

The category for Best Get it Magazine had such a close race, the judges felt it necessary to mention the top four instead of the standard three. These were Joburg North, Lowvelder (last year’s winner), Balito and Durban. This was the only category where four finalists were announced but in the end the judges felt that Get It Joburg North, edited by Samantha Richardson impressed them the most.

“Advertisers and marketers should never underestimate the power and potential of local community newspapers,” says Joint CEO of SPARK Media, Gill Randall. “Every person at these awards lives, breathes and loves the community that they work for and critically, know what their readers want. This clearly shows in the exceptional work that has been produced!

We congratulate all the winners and applaud the quality of entries from all our teams.”

To find out more, connect, discuss or engage with SPARK Media, call 010 492 8390, visit www.sparkmedia.co.za, follow us on Twitter – www.twitter.com/SparkMediaSA or find ‘SPARK Media’ (sparkmediasa) on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Spark Media DNA

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’.

More than a year has passed since the launch of SPARK Media. Remember the SPARK Media dance-off, aptly named Strategically Come Dancing?

 Contestants, supporters, partners and friends reminisce and remember the evening fondly. “Who can believe that our fantastic launch happened well over a year ago,” says Gill Randall, Joint CEO of SPARK Media. “People still talk about it, reminisce and comment on it when we visit media agencies and, of course, the video clips are saved forever, on YouTube.”

Just as dance is a fluid and strategic partnership between two partners, so is the relationship with our clients – and based on this concept of synchronised partnerships, the launch party drew together over 500 friends, clients, marketers and media agencies.

We asked some of the contestants (a year down the line) who competed, what they learnt about their partners. According to Ilsa Grabe, she was dropped once by Tumi but learnt to trust her again, while Nivasha Pillay said that she learnt so much about Matteo Zambetti and that he was the best support she could have asked for. Wayne Bishop, part of the overall winning duo on the night, states that his partner Yamkela has the strength of a lion when it comes to determination.

“As the saying goes ‘practice makes perfect’, we have evaluated and refined our product offerings over this past year, but remain committed to our core vision – bringing clients insights from evidence-based research to keep them growing their brands. But nobody said that had to be boring, so we add a little fun!” concluded Randall.

To re-live the night’s magic, visit SPARK Media’s YouTube channel and to see all the dance moves and videos:

Contact SPARK Media on 010 492 8390, visit www.sparkmedia.co.za, follow us on Twitter – www.twitter.com/SparkMediaSA or connect with ‘SPARK Media’ (sparkmediasa) on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Spark Media DNA

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’.

Digital Briefcase, a division of the national media sales powerhouse SPARK Media, recently assisted in the design and implementation of the www.crownjewels.co.za  website and in the process were able to not only showcase their digital and creative work to an international audience, but also support local environmental education through the Kirstenbosch Environmental Educational Appeal.

“As part of our CSI commitment we sponsored the design and implantation of this website alongside PHD Network, as we felt that the initiative spoke strongly to us in terms of education and ‘doing good’ for the environment,” says Kristin Louw, GM at Digital Briefcase.

This private sector initiative has been set up to enable substantial numbers of school-goers and university students from disadvantaged communities to receive environmental education in the world’s most inspiring outdoor classrooms.

The call to action of this website is a drive for bids to purchase a full collection of exclusive jewellery in order to fund the needs of SANBI (South African National Biodiversity Institute) to support environmental education. The short-term funding target for the Kirstenbosch Environmental Education Appeal is $2.6 million to enable all the gardens to get up and running with buses and other essential equipment and funds to cover entrance fees and staff salaries for the first two years.

The website has been designed to be informative and user friendly while showcasing the one of a kind, world class jewellery collection. The collection has been designed exclusively for this cause by seven leading award winning jewellery designers and craftsmen, inspired by the fauna and flora from The Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest, but richest in biodiversity of the world’s six floral kingdoms. To view this exquisite collection, please visit www.crownjewels.co.za/the-collection.

“We are a proudly South African company that  has been happy to support this worthy CSI initiative that we believe will make a lasting impact on the preservation of our beautiful country,” concludes Louw.

Digital Briefcase is passionate about helping businesses of all sizes build profitable, engaged audiences. As lives are spent online, there are increasingly more ways than ever to reach potential customers. This can be daunting but the Digital Briefcases’ suite of online marketing tools makes it easier to reach the right people at the right time when they are in the market to buy.

 To contact Digital Briefcase, call 010 492 8378 or email info@digitalbriefcase.co.za. Their website can be viewed at http://digitalbriefcase.co.za/.

 Spark Media DNA

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’.

If you’re a marketer and believe that your brand has 100% loyal consumers, you are sadly mistaken. This is according to SPARK Media and data backed by Caxton’s urban community survey, ROOTS 2016, the largest quantitative survey of its kind in South Africa. 

“We know from our affiliation and close dealings with marketing scientists at The Ehrenburg Bass Institute, the world’s largest centre for research into marketing, that buyer behaviour at an individual level is random but that aggregated buyer behaviour can be predicted, very accurately, as is the case in any random system,” says SPARK Media Joint CEO Gill Randall.

ROOTS 2016 shows that of the 2.4 million PDM’s (Purchase Decision Makers) who have shopped for shoes and clothing at Edgars, 40% have also shopped at Mr Price, Woolies (36%), Truworths (4%), Jet (21%) and Ackermans (18%).

“Every brand’s market comprises of heavy, medium, light and non users,” says Gill. “It also stands to reason that your customers are everybody else’s customers who sometimes buy from you. It all comes down to mental and physical availability and a brand’s ability to be thought of in a buying situation by as many people as possible, on as many occasions as possible.”

She goes on to say that studies of hundreds of categories reveal that more than 50% of profits come from light buyers (not 80-20 as we have been lead to believe). “Let’s take Coke as an example. 63% of profits come from people who drink just one Coke a year, simply because there are so many of them.”

“Even in the banking sector, customers are shared with competitors,” she says. “27% of PDMS who have a bond with African Bank, have a Standard Bank savings account and 20% have a Capitec savings account. 12% of PDMS who have a bond with ABSA also have a FNB Cheque account and 19% of PDMS who have an ABSA student loan also have a FNB savings account.

As a result, Randall stresses that marketers shouldn’t profile brand users when planning their target market, but rather category users – coffee drinkers as opposed to Nescafé drinkers for example.

“Growth for a brand comes largely from acquiring new customers, as opposed to existing customers buying more often. So, mass reach of a category is much more cost effective than investing into frequency strategies with existing customers. That’s not to say that existing customers shouldn’t be in your sights, but never at the expense of finding new ones.”

“The irony is that heavy or regular users of any brand need less nudging to buy an already ‘salient‘ brand.”

Topline ROOST 2016 data is available on www.sparkmedia.co.za

SPARK Media is declaring war on anyone who says that print is boring by proclaiming that the 5^th – 9^th September was Print Fashion Week!

“Saying that print is dead is like saying that no-one’s wearing sexy Chanel jackets anymore,” says Justine Williams, SPARK Media’s Strategic Sales & Marketing Director. “In fact, this season it’s all about the label and the layered look, not to mention tailored cuts, prints and belly bands.”

SPARK Media last week visited media agency partners to demonstrate its latest print innovations which are bringing sexy back into print.

“Our print products are all about creativity, inventiveness and flair,” says Justine. “Our range gives modern advertisers everything they need to make a fashionable statement in a media type that delivers. For example, we’ve introduced the Layered Insert which as the name suggests, is an insert of three distinct sizes that seamlessly layer over each other.

Our chic Belly Band is a new addition to our collection and our wraps have been refined. The Powernote has two sides to every story. Peel off the sticker and unveil a tailored marketing message beneath it – or, even better, incorporate a QR code for a truly unique and interactive experience.”

SPARK Media and Caxton Printers have taken innovation one step further with their  ‘Digiquill’ which gives marketers the option to print individual messages on every pre-printed product. “Just imagine the possibilities,” she says, “You’ll never see the same outfit twice.”

“Just like a comfortable pair of jeans, these print fashion statements will become an integral part of any client’s strategy.”

To contact SPARK Media call 010 492 8390, visit www.sparkmedia.co.za, follow us on Twitter – www.twitter.com/SparkMediaSA or connect with ‘SPARK Media’ (sparkmediasa) on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Spark Media DNA

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’.