The weather in Joburg is dreadful today. The cloud is hanging low, it's raining, dark and thoroughly miserable. But, at least we have electricity, unlike Cape Town! See local newspapers such as Cape Times or Cape Argus or Carte Blanche, a magazine and actuality programme.
But, I digress. What I really want to chat about is something that I saw on one of Jobrug's highways late yesterday afternoon. After spending a lovely afternoon with my partner's family (it was a birthday) and chatting about all sorts, the drive home was uneventful - until....
Sitting in the passenger seat I was casually gazing out of the window when I saw a huge sign for Anat (falafel and shwarma) on a wall on the side of the highway. It was huge. In the split second that my mind registered the sign and I thought, 'oh, that's quite cool', my mind then registered the most disgusting It was stuck to the wall next to the sign. It was gross. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a vegetarian or against meat-on-a-spit. In fact, I adore a schwarma at least once a month. But. This was not nice. Simple as that. Anat has ruined a great sign with this lardy and very unappetising advertising ploy. No I won't be able to enjoy a schwarma for a very long time. Thanks a bunch guys.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
The weather has finally cleared up this morning and it looks to be a wonderful summer's day in Joburg once again. Hoorah.
I've been reading with interest about the problems with MySpace and pornogrpahy/paedophilia. And people seem surprised by this! Remember when instant messaging first appeared on our monitors and the uproar it caused? I certainly do.
The question is, who should be policing this? MySpace can only do so much. It's a public domain after all. You could say that the parents should be policing their kids, but remember how sneaky we all were as teenagers? The truth is, kids need to be educated on what can really happen out there in the big bad world. A recent story broke in one of the US newspapers about a teenage boy, who had just emerged out of the closet and met another teenage boy in MySpace. With the blessing of his parents, he invited his new friend over for dinner and a sleepover. The teenage visitor was actually a 27 year old convicted paedophile who molested the young boy. His parents were quoted as saying 'that they slept in separate rooms'. Now really. Gay teenage boys - in separate rooms. Come on.
Anyway, off the point. The point is, that everyone needs to take some responsibility for roaming around in MySpace. According to a recent article in AdAge.com, community spaces such as MySpace is giving marketers the jitters. However, those savvy enough to sit down and think carefully about positioning as well as taking short-term contracts so that ads can be pulled at the drop of a hat shouldn't have too much trouble. And let's face it, 56 million users on one site. Surely this is too good to miss. For the full report go to MySpace: Big Audience, But Big Risks
I've been reading with interest about the problems with MySpace and pornogrpahy/paedophilia. And people seem surprised by this! Remember when instant messaging first appeared on our monitors and the uproar it caused? I certainly do.
The question is, who should be policing this? MySpace can only do so much. It's a public domain after all. You could say that the parents should be policing their kids, but remember how sneaky we all were as teenagers? The truth is, kids need to be educated on what can really happen out there in the big bad world. A recent story broke in one of the US newspapers about a teenage boy, who had just emerged out of the closet and met another teenage boy in MySpace. With the blessing of his parents, he invited his new friend over for dinner and a sleepover. The teenage visitor was actually a 27 year old convicted paedophile who molested the young boy. His parents were quoted as saying 'that they slept in separate rooms'. Now really. Gay teenage boys - in separate rooms. Come on.
Anyway, off the point. The point is, that everyone needs to take some responsibility for roaming around in MySpace. According to a recent article in AdAge.com, community spaces such as MySpace is giving marketers the jitters. However, those savvy enough to sit down and think carefully about positioning as well as taking short-term contracts so that ads can be pulled at the drop of a hat shouldn't have too much trouble. And let's face it, 56 million users on one site. Surely this is too good to miss. For the full report go to MySpace: Big Audience, But Big Risks
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
what marketer's are doing right
It's overcast but fairly warm in Joburg this morning. Thankfully it hasn't started raining yet. It seems as though it hasn't stopped raining since the beginning of Jan - it's like being in the UK again.
I listened to a very interesting radio interview online this morning. It was an audio interview with Ad Age executive editor Jonah Bloom What the year's top marketers are doing right regarding the magazine's top 50 marketers of the year awards.
During the interview about why these 50 made the grade, it was nice to hear how important design has become in the US marketing world, how budget doesn't always matter, that they have used consumer insight, especially new media, to help them develop the products. They have listened to the consumers and actually conducted research though also reading blogs, community websites etc. They have all embraced online, and they talked enthusiastically about the internet and their own websites. It was also great to hear that the marketers chosen, weren't all huge brands, but they did have one thing in common - an absolute passion about their brand.
It would be nice if South Africa's marketing fraternity would take notice of these fundamental shifts within their industry and start moving forward.
Definitely worth a listen.
I listened to a very interesting radio interview online this morning. It was an audio interview with Ad Age executive editor Jonah Bloom What the year's top marketers are doing right regarding the magazine's top 50 marketers of the year awards.
During the interview about why these 50 made the grade, it was nice to hear how important design has become in the US marketing world, how budget doesn't always matter, that they have used consumer insight, especially new media, to help them develop the products. They have listened to the consumers and actually conducted research though also reading blogs, community websites etc. They have all embraced online, and they talked enthusiastically about the internet and their own websites. It was also great to hear that the marketers chosen, weren't all huge brands, but they did have one thing in common - an absolute passion about their brand.
It would be nice if South Africa's marketing fraternity would take notice of these fundamental shifts within their industry and start moving forward.
Definitely worth a listen.
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