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Are you sure you’re not Buying Followers on Twitter?

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 11:59:06 GMT

I find myself between a rock and a hard place today. The rock being my boyfriend @Real_Maverick and the hard place filled with fond acquaintances @KirstyBisset, @BarryTuck and @GorillaCM. Do I protect the latter or back the former? Do I stay “Swiss”? After reading the 2OceansVibe blog post this morning, I have opted to let the cat out of the bag. Even if they are my friends … probably soon to be former friends, I’m prepared to accept that fall out in order to have my integrity intact.

People who know me well will tell you that I am very forthright and have a penchant for honest and trustworthy people. My only apology will come now, and that is to say, I’m sorry it was you, guys. In an industry where lying is so rife and no-one (and I mean no-one) protects the consumer or the companies who pay people in this new social sphere to spread information, endorse products and give them virtual coverage, I’m sorry I am the thorn in your side.

Just so there is no confusion on this: After the breaking news on Friday of fakers.statuspeople.com releasing a new application that could tell whether followers were fake, inactive and good ... @Real_Maverick (Graeme) broke the twitter whispers with this tweet:

With all three of the abovementioned accounts averaging about 70% fake followers on the algorithm, Twitter exploded with accusations and defensive tweets for much of the afternoon. When GorillaCM admitted to buying followers, they proved the algorithm was in working order. With none of the previously and subsequently tested accounts measuring anywhere close to these figures, Graeme felt comfortable to put out that tweet.

@Real_Maverick (Graeme) and I are dating so I have been following the unfolding of this entire saga very closely. I own a small marketing agency and I worked with GorillaCM on various projects in 2011 and have shared special occasions, milestones, tears and many laughs with Kirsty and the Gorilla crew so I can assure you that I am beyond mortified that it is them who has come under the spotlight … but there you have it. Many will say it's a publicity stunt for my own agency and that's fine. I cannot find even one, related, scenario to share the spotlight with. Graeme and I spoke at length about approaching them in private but, as is his nature, no-one gets special concessions. Calling out some and protecting others is disingenuous and not an option for him. I respect that about him. What you see is what you get.

When I heard they probably bought their followers, I was shell shocked. I kept waiting for a plausible explanation to emerge but the evidence was just deafening. Barry and Kirsty claiming not to care about who their followers are and how many they had, was a very poor excuse. When you’re in the marketing game, it’s your JOB to care. When people pay you to promote products/events, it’s your JOB to care. Hells bells, when you get a sudden surcharge of 3000 followers, surely you look deeper. I don’t know anyone who just goes – oh well – what luck!

You can find a whole PR piece here on Gorilla’s FB page. As a brand agency I think it is their professional obligation to know the rules and regulations about twitter. Their accounts and those of their client could have been permanently suspended. “We were testing it” was ignorant. Testing this out was not supposed to even be an option for GorillaCM.

The full version of what has been posted below can be found here.

Spam and Abuse

Twitter strives to protect its users from spam and abuse. Technical abuse and user abuse is not tolerated on Twitter.com, and will result in permanent suspension. Any accounts engaging in the activities specified below are subject to permanent suspension.

· If you have attempted to "sell" followers, particularly through tactics considered aggressive following or follower churn;

· Creating or purchasing accounts in order to gain followers;

· Using or promoting third-party sites that claim to get you more followers (such as follower trains, sites promising "more followers fast," or any other site that offers to automatically add followers to your account);

In a nutshell, it looks like a home run to state that GorillaCM, KirstyBisset and BarryTuck bought followers. Gorilla, have already, said they bought them. If Kirsty and Barry didn’t, then someone bought them on their behalf. There are no two ways about it.

Only GorillaCM has some movement in terms of deleting followers, but only in August. Not in April when they did their biggest purchase.

Using twittercounter.com, anyone can go do and see what I have just done.

Let’s start with Kirsty:

Kirsty’s first influx of followers occurred on the 2^nd March and increased by approximately 190 per day until the 16^th March. So over 2 weeks her follower count went from 4751 – 7406. This did not happen on one day. Adding bought followers, incrementally, so as not to attract attention is an offered service.

and

Then on the 25^th April another block was added. This time over 5 days, 265 per day, taking her follower count another 1000 or so up. Now sitting at 8500 roughly.

and

I’m prepared to accept that Kirsty did not buy her followers but I can tell you it looks real bad from here. It is exactly how follower buying apparently happens and if she didn’t – she surely noticed someone had bestowed a gift on her? How many of you can honestly say you would not have investigated if it happened to you? Seriously?

Then onto Barry:

On the 9^th March Barry had a one day surge of around 2800 new followers taking his count from 5500 up to roughly 8400.

and

Then on the 26^th April another surge of 1300 followers.

and

I’m going to have to say that as a dating couple; hopefully they would have spoken about this amazing turn of events making them super popular overnight, at about the same time. Perhaps they were targeted together by someone buying them followers? Perhaps it’s a massive conspiracy?

Lesson learnt hard here – if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck AND quacks like a duck, you’ve been bought.

Second last – GorillaCM:

Now I have to openly state that Gorilla have admitted to buying followers and regardless of how insanely stupid it was, there are still some inconsistencies with their story.

25^th April *gasp* Gorilla had a spike of overnight followers of 16 088 followers taking them from about 3500 to 19508!

and

Between then and 1^st of August (3 months with no blog post) it dropped down to 16 547.

Then there seemed to be a culling exercise taking them down to just under 10k in the following two weeks. Then back up to just under 16k before the big bust took place on the 17^th August 2012.

They are now back down to their approximately 3600 as of this past weekend having enjoyed the image of having over 15 000 followers during a big business growth time in their agency life when in fact they were at 3500 in real terms. What was wrong with 3500 legit followers? I think it’s a milestone most companies would die to achieve. Saying they had no intention of keeping the followers is a moot point since they did keep them, for a substantial period of time without any disclaimer. Any potential client would have looked at those stats and been impressed. Wrongfully impressed.

NissanNavaraSA is last, but certainly not least:

It looks to me that Nissan is what started this entire spree. Gorilla mentioned that clients have asked about buying followers and perhaps Nissan was that account. Their first surge in followers was from the 1^st March – 15^th March. Same time that Kirsty and Barry got their fake followers. Took them, in two weeks, from 350 followers to 3500 followers! I am not sure if Gorilla was managing that account during that time, but it looks real bad – once again.

and

It also explains that even though they have culled their followers right back from 4000 to just under 900 that it still registers 45% fake.

There are the screenshots and links etc – go have a look yourself and make up your own mind. The more popular a brand/personality becomes, the more in the spotlight they are. Make sure your noses are squeaky clean folks.

Detective … over and out!

MsFrankieB

The Practical (Part 2) - Edgerank or Edgewank?

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:37:17 GMT

Edgerank or Edgewank? – The Practical (Part 2)

Last week I spoke about the theory behind Edgerank. This week I’m going to delve into the “behind the scenes” workings I did and my findings. Please note that I have looked at these stats for 7 clients that range in fan numbers, post frequency and different audiences, and the findings are similar to a point but each have their own nuances which indicates that every fan page is different and my findings should not be taken out of context and automatically assumed for any business page. That being said, 80% of what I have indicated below was true for all the pages.

I’ve specifically selected one of my clients business page as the case study because of their targeted and highly engaged audience which gives them the most chance of being a successful page without spending money. They have a fan base of 6000 and talk directly to consumers yet their product is sold via chain stores countrywide to consumers so they have no promotions on the page. They do offer a competition which, incidentally, gets them the least traffic, reach and interaction on the page. I chose them because it was important for me to see what purely organic information based pages can achieve via Facebook business pages.

My adaptations:

● I stopped posting from Bufferapp because, although not conclusive, there seemed to be evidence that Facebook penalised brands that used third party apps to post. Braces in a belt … I took the safe route.

● I stopped using Crowdbooster to tell me when to post to Facebook and just spread my posts out evenly throughout the day. At least one of these posts was within the time slot recommended by Crowdbooster in any event.

● I posted with a minimum of 4 hours between posts so as not to cannibalise the spot light from my previous post.

● I only posted 2-3 times per day.

● I did a good spread of variations WRT types of posts. I posted pictures, albums, status updates of varying lengths and links through to websites for a curated feel.

● I switched the posting type around to different time slots to measure various post types at various times.

● I promoted strategic posts that drove traffic to our website.

My workings:

● Crowdbooster’s suggestion on when to post updates.

● Organic post with the maximum “% reach” every day, recording the type and time of post as well as the type of interaction i.e. number of likes, comments or shares.

● Organic post with the maximum interaction every day, recording the type and time of post as well as the type of interaction i.e. number of likes, comments or shares.

● All promoted posts measuring the same as the organic posts.

● Edgerank according to edgerankchecker.com.

● I assigned points to likes (1), comments (3) and shares (5) in order to properly gauge what should have resulted in the most reach. Note: It did not matter how I changed the points around, my result was not different.

My findings:

● The times that Crowdbooster suggested I post was only correct approximately 20% of the time.

● My organic reach did not increase because I posted via Facebook instead of BufferApp, in fact it went down from the highest being 24% on BufferApp to 17% posting directly from Facebook.

● Promoting a few posts increased my organic reach i.e. posts I did not promote, from the highest being 24% on BufferApp to 32% on Facebook. I have not posted from BufferApp during this testing phase at all so cannot comment on whether it would be higher than 32%.

● Posts with the highest reach only had the highest interaction 50% of the time.

● The post interaction (points) didn’t have anything to do with % reach. As an example, two posts that got 42% reach had 806 points vs 102 points.

● Promoted posts got us a maximum reach of 42% on a fan base of 6000. Promoting posts seems to increase your organic reach, even if it does nothing for your Edgerank score on Edgerankchecker.

● Edgerank dropped us one point after we promoted posts.

● Edgerank then took five days to register an increase of four points after our promoted posts quadrupled interaction on those specific posts.

● We held the Edgerank increase for two days.

● Edgerank then took three days to drop us back down to where we first started.

● Our promoted posts since the only four point increase and then decrease have yet to register on Edgerankchecker at all.

From the raw data above you can already draw many of your own conclusions. I’ve looked at all the findings and I’ll be sharing my conclusions and insights with you next week.

MsFrankieB

Edgerank or Edgewank? The Theory (Part 1)

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 18:24:55 GMT

I’m having a small (read EPIC) war in my head with Edgerank and how to justify to my clients why Facebook is still a viable avenue without spending money, so I’ve had to crunch the numbers putting physical experience into play instead of reading up on other people’s experience which seems to be somewhat tainted. Last week I started with my personal experience and now I'm moving onto my professional experience.

I am so tired of reading articles about Edgerank and how Facebook makes itself better for the user by using this unique and *amazing* algorithm to determine what people see … because it is flawed. It is not amazing. Even worse yet is that many of the people writing these articles have all cannibalised the information directly from Edgerank themselves so I’m dubious as to how much of this they even understand or have looked at themselves. Edgerank is seen as the be all and end all and it probably is … which is really bad for business in my opinion. If you want to read about Edgerank and how they measure it please read here.

The basic premise for those that don’t want to read it is that Facebook grades your posts to weigh up how important they are for fans to see and certain posts are scored differently to others with pictures being the number one piece of content. Then the more people who “like” or “comment” on your posts helps your affinity score with the latter being even more powerful than the former. This is measured overall, as well as, per person. The last thing is how old your posts are. If they’re old but still getting attention you’re not clocking up the points towards your Edgerank anyway. Got it? Post more pictures, get more comments (and as a secondary, likes) and then don’t promote old posts.

If business pages cannot be seen by their fans, they may as well not be there. Facebook recently started putting “reach number and %” at the bottom of each post which really shocked me. I finally got a glimpse of how little of what my clients put out there is even seen. Why? Because Facebook says so. I have one client who has an incredibly targeted and active audience that always loved everything that was put out. I noticed a decline in interaction from when the “Top Stories” were introduced (even though I never put two and two together till much later) but, as everyone else, saw it as a challenge to get noticed more and started actively working at making our posts even more interactive. I went through a phase of worrying terribly about why this drop had occurred and considered that perhaps our content was just not being well received in general. After seeing their average post was only being seen by 15% of their fans it cleared up many of the misconceptions that had been forming in my head. It was because they weren't seeing our posts, not because they didn't like the content.

After reading countless articles, many from Edgerank themselves, I changed my strategy to be perfectly in line with what ‘they’ said we must do. I would like to note that I did not find any official articles from Facebook directly telling us marketers what to do. They all seemed to be third party posts but perhaps I just don’t know where to look …

… so I took it upon myself to do some physical investigations, specific to my clients and prepared a dozen different spreadsheets with what felt like a hundred different calculations. Next week I will give you a breakdown of what my calculations consisted of and what the data told me about Facebook and the way it can and, more importantly, doesn’t benefit my clients no matter how organic I try to be.

MsFrankieB

Organic Growth on Facebook is Dead

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:34:17 GMT

There has been a great deal of hype about ‘Getting Your Business on Facebook’ or else face the dire consequences that your business is a dying one. I used to tell people pretty much the same thing except lately the benefits of having a business page are becoming blurry. The question used to be: Are you a Business2Business or a Business2Consumer company? This will dictate the urgency and relevancy of having said page. Now it has to be: Do you have some money to throw at this project or not? Just like traditional advertising, being online is getting more expensive because the Facebook’s of this world are deciding what you see, and what you don’t. Line those coffers a little and you’ll get more exposure. Don’t, and you’ll probably disappear.

I can hear the steam rising out of digital agencies ears all over the world. “It’s about creating unique and sharable content” ~ I know. “It’s about getting people talking about something that they are passionate about” ~ I know. “It’s about talking to the right people, not the numbers” ~ I know. I could go on and on but I think everyone gets the point. I know what social media is about. I know that the opinions on what the platform should do, doesn’t do, does well, falls short on, is used for etc is incredibly diverse and untamed. I know that I don’t know everything there is to know about Social Media and guess what ... neither do you.

Back to how Facebook dictates what you see and what you don’t see … and how it’s messing with Facebook Business Pages. It’s called Edgerank and it’s a kill joy. Read up on it here so you’re up to speed when my next post comes out.

Facebook introduced the ‘Top Stories’ newsfeed a while back and at first I thought, well that could help filter out all the ‘kitty sleeping’ and ‘children eating rice’ (take 41) pics out the mix but I actually noticed that I started seeing plenty more pictures and less updates. I didn’t pay too much attention because I changed my view to ‘Most Recent’ all the time and to top it off I haven’t had terribly much time to swan in friend updates like I used to.

Many people don’t even know that you can re-sort your timeline to ‘Most Recent’ instead of ‘Top Stories’ and even if they do know, Facebook refuses to let it be the default. I cannot change my view to ALWAYS be ‘Most Recent’ even though it’s my preference. So Facebook is showing me all sorts of content in my timeline that is applicable to my friends and its silly self – instead of me. If you can, in fact, default to ‘Most Recent’ then they’ve made it just as hard to find as it makes me angry. Very.

I think they tried to control this view by introducing the affinity score that, again, many people don’t even know about. It’s the thing that rates your friends. If you interact a lot with a friend they’ll show up a lot more in your timeline than those you don’t interact with. A completely flawed approach. I have a number of friends that don’t spend a hellovalotta time on Facebook but when they do, I want to see what they’re saying. Facebook are notoriously bad at deciding what I’d like to see.

A really good friend of mine posted that her father was in hospital with cancer and they were not sure how much longer he would live. Another one posted that his mother had died. Another posted that her baby was born. I never saw any of those updates. How dare Facebook decide what I can and cannot see? Facebook should not be the mediator of my newsfeed. I should. If it was sorted by default on latest posts I would have seen it because I am ALWAYS on facebook. Unfortunately I lost stamina at some point and stopped re-sorting every time I used it. I feel more out of touch with my friends today than ever before.

Then Facebook introduced ‘Close Friends’, to combat their incredibly stupid way of filtering the newsfeed. With a bit of PT, the average person can now see what their close friends are doing again without being measured clinically by some computerised algorithm. GREAT … for those who bother to do it. What about the business pages though? I have subscribed to approximately 20 business pages excluding the ones I admin and I never see their updates. Just because I don’t interact with business pages doesn’t mean I don’t want to see their posts. That being said, maybe if I actually saw the page updates, I’d interact. What came first? Seeing the post or commenting on the post?

That’s just my personal experience. I decided to delve deeper into this from a business point of view. Since it’s partly how I make my money I thought it a prudent step to take. So …

… next week I start on a 3 part series called: Edgerank or Edgewank? The Theory/The Practical/The Conclusion. Here I’ll demonstrate exactly how it’s becoming impossible to grow organically on Facebook anymore.

Till then, stay informed!

MsFrankieB

Marry the right agency, from the start!

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 18:14:09 GMT

Last week I discussed the issues local brands face in marketing within an affordable budget and this week I’m going to delve into this more deeply from a budgetary point of view so you can assess whether you are going to get what you’re after with your current agency or if doing some shopping around would be more beneficial.

What’s your budget?

Probably the scariest question to ask … and answer. Clients often feel if they tell us what their budget is then we’ll spend it all, even if we don’t have to. I don’t blame them really. Some agencies would do exactly that. I can’t say I have ever come across a client that had more to spend than they needed but that’s because we’re a small-medium sized agency and it’s the guys who require budgets to be stretched that usually sit across from me in the board room.

You don’t need to be afraid of answering this question if you’re shopping around. In fact, you’ll sort the “never going to work” from the “we have potential to form a partnership” pile incredibly swiftly if you do. If we look at the broad agency categories we’re dealing with then you’ll soon see where you sit.

Agency Types

Big Agency:

These are the guys that are responsible for all the award winning ads and deal with all the big brand names we love to hear from. Last time I checked, they won’t even consider a client with a budget below R2m and even then, you’re going to get grade Z service. Why? Because they have the credentials to charge the big bucks and it would be silly to give someone on a shoe string budget the same service as someone who’s paying for half their overheads in one campaign. Overheads of big agencies are just as big as them.

They have a huge staff compliment with a significant amount of expertise to call upon and there is no job they cannot do, but it comes at a price. You’re paying for the talent they’ve harvested and nurtured and are currently paying big salaries in order to retain those people. Working on a small account is just as much, if not more, work as a big client. The big guys can afford that luxury.

Medium Size Agency:

This is where the R2m-R10m budget should be looking to shop. These guys can adequately and happily put your budget to good use. They are more equipped to give all their accounts a more even spread of talent because of their more manageable overheads. They are often, in my opinion, home to some of the most amazing talent.

Small Agency:

R100k-R2m is about what a small agency can manage per client/campaign. Their overheads are minimal so you’ll probably get the best budget stretch you’ve ever had right here. The personal service and attention to detail in campaigns is unsurpassed in this bracket. It’s easy to make everything work together, smoothly and be incredibly attentive when the budget is not all encompassing.

One Man Band:

These are the guys you approach when your budget ranges between R50-R100k (anything less than R50k should be handled in-house with your current staff). Asking an agency to plummet the amount of time and energy it takes to put together a campaign for this is asking to be underserviced. One man bands generally work on two or maybe three clients at one time and they will have access to freelancers who can help make your, albeit small, campaign a success.

Conclusion

Everyone wants to be associated with the agencies that are winning awards and have the biggest brand names on their books. One day you may very well be that company but if you blow your opportunity to experience great marketing efforts with an agency who services your needs as you grow then you may never get to be quite that big or at the very least it will take a lot longer.

Market to the right people … using the right people for your budget size. Just because an agency doesn’t have a major brand on their books doesn’t mean they can’t achieve what you need with ease. They may be more qualified to help you than you think.

Till next week!

MsFrankieB

Can Local Businesses Afford Marketing?

Sun, 27 May 2012 13:36:35 GMT

Can a South African business really afford to do marketing or are the costs simply too high, the benefits too low and the shortage of qualified professionals making marketing in South Africa simply too overpriced?

I find there are two issues here. On the one hand are agencies/experts that are horribly overpriced and then there are agencies/experts that offer everything for what seems like an early Christmas. Both of them ruin the market. Finding an agency that charges a reasonable fee for good work is literally like finding a needle in a haystack but I can assure you, they exist.

Marketing campaigns can be cost prohibitive. Especially when faced with agencies which pull the proverbial ring out of their customers. We spend a great deal of time talking to smaller business about how marketing online is a much more cost effective avenue only to be shocked into reality by “social media guru’s” and “online marketing specialists” who evidently charge a little more than an arm and a leg for their services.

The negativity that is bred in these customers is sad really. They’re almost too scared to get another opinion and because they were talking to “Experts” and “Guru’s” they imagine that if anyone charges them less they probably just won’t do the job properly. If there is one thing I’ve learned, it is to stay away from people and agencies with self-appointed titles like “Social Media Guru”. It’s an ever changing landscape which means you’re learning something new all the time. Mastering something that evolves as fast as the internet is virtually impossible.

Online marketing is not as scary as these people make it out to be. It takes a lot of time and dedication to make it work. Someone who works in this arena all the time has access to information and tools that a business owner might not have so having someone hold your hand through the process and offer sound advice is definitely beneficial. Just not at any price.

What about the agency that charges next to nothing for their services? You get what you pay for and if you opt to pay nothing don’t be surprised if you get nothing. They ruin online marketing for a huge portion of businesses because the companies that usually opt for these types of agencies are the guys who never believed online marketing would work in the first place. Their thinking is along the lines of “I’ll just throw a little bit of money at this and then if it doesn’t work at least I’ve not lost too much”. That’s not how it works. That’s not how any advertising works.

Building a reputation in the eyes of your customers takes time and consistency. If you appear sporadically to your clientele then psychologically they develop a mistrust of your brand. Here today, gone tomorrow. If you don’t have enough capital to do the job properly then you should rather save it for when you’re serious about making an investment in your brand.

I have often come across clients that feel the services of a marketing agency should cost approximately what they pay teachers in South Africa. I’m not terribly surprised since I believe teachers are horribly underpaid as are many of the smaller agencies. I dream of being in a meeting one day with an overpriced agency and a stingy client. It will be short but worth it just to see the facial expressions.

What’s the moral of the story? Shop around, see what’s on offer from a variety of agencies and you may just find that diamond in the rough you’ve been looking for.

Next week we'll look at the signs that indicate you're not going to get what you're looking for.

MsFrankieB

The Printing Press is Dead; Long Live the Newsfeed

Mon, 21 May 2012 18:04:52 GMT

A retired news reporter visiting their former offices after a decade away would hardly recognise them. News offices historically have been a notoriously messy and chaotic work environment. Just think of the classic Hollywood portrayal of a desk (and perhaps its worker) completely hidden from view under stacks upon stacks of paper. The more disastrous the desk, the more serious the journalist, the adage went.

But most news desks now lay under four or five single sheets of paper. They'd be startling in their bareness for anyone who remembers spending much of their working day rifling through yellowed copies of old newspapers for just one quote. "The archive" no longer conjures images of a stuffy back room. Gone too are the 3am drives to the printing press, to finally drop off the master copy of the paper to be scanned, printed and hitting the streets just a few hours later.

As with so many of the debates our society wages with each rise of a new technology, by the time the public is arguing about it, industry has long since resolved the question. "Is print media dead?" we've asked over and over again in the wake of the digital media revolution. Well, the finer points can be left to cultural critics, but there are thousands of out-of-work newspaper journalists who'd probably give you a definitive answer. In economic terms at least, printed media is dead. Newspapers already have one foot in the grave. Magazines, and even books, presently lie in their death-beds.

The Death of Print Media Was Inevitable, But There Might Be an Afterlife

One consequence of the internet becoming the predominant source of information is specialisation. Because the whole world is connected and available to all users, communities online are based on interest, not proximity. Online, we can choose any news outlet we please. This results in an increasingly narrow focus of information catered for more and more niche audiences. For better or for worse, most people simply prefer to receive information already tailored to their specific demographic.

While the costs of producing print material rise with the number of readers, the cost of producing digital media is the same whether five or five thousand people consume it. At some point, the transition from printed to digital communication with consumers is necessary simply to stay competitive. And the digital media coup was obviously due in part to its speed and convenience to consumers. Why wait until tomorrow for today's headlines, when you can read a reporter's Twitter feed coverage almost simultaneously as the event unfolds?

The demise of print media is as simple as the answers to these questions: How many students would rather carry a half kg tablet than five textbooks weighing one and half kg's each? How many times have they wished one of the books in that heavy backpack were an encyclopaedia, so they didn't have to be inside a library in order to research? We could go on, but you all know the arguments for choosing digital media.

But new markets always emerge to fill the vacuum left by collapsed ones. Marketing and Public Relations departments have swelled almost as much as print publication has shrunk. On the other hand, printed words are already a novelty in some industries. Nostalgia has always been something you can capitalise on. Just look at the recent proliferation Super-8 video. There's a reason Instagram gives snapshots a vintage look. So you might want to save your cassette tapes for great-grandchildren- doubtless, they'll be amused.

Media Buying is not for the fainthearted.

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:15:05 GMT

Disclaimer: Although I am pretty sure the basic principles would apply worldwide, this blog post is for the South African market.

One of the things I do for clients is make sure they reach the right market at the right price. Media buying is not for the fainthearted and if you’re tempted to buy a broom or feather duster every time that doorbell rings on a Sunday morning because “aww shame” then please step away from the media reps. They will eat you up for breakfast.

First they will make sure you feel like you’d be losing out on winning the lottery if you turn down their offer and then they'll shower you with invisible gifts in true Verimark style of “The deal of the century, not to be missed and this one time only ... but we’re about to go to print so you must decide now”. Then when your lips shape up to deliver some concerns they mollify them with some *free* stuff or more discount and all of a sardine your hand is scribbling what looks like a perfect replica of your signature on their contract. The deal is done and you convince yourself it was the best possible decision even though you can’t remember what all exactly was hurtled at you during that (very) one sided conversation.

Now before I get beaten with a rolled up rate card ... ahem ... not all media reps are how I’ve described above. There is no question that each and every one is relentless in their pursuit of getting your ad spend but they are not all con artists. I have some really amazing relationships with reps that date back many years and we have a mutual respect for each other and our respective industries.

So today I’m going to briefly run through eight things you ought to look out for before spending money, regardless of how swoosh their website looks or finely manicured his nails were.

Can you afford to advertise?

If you don’t have the budget to create a sustainable campaign then you should put your money back in your pocket until you do. Once off advertising is a sure fire way to throw it down a drain. A message needs to be reinforced and people learn to trust advertisers who make a regular appearance. It’s a psychological thing. Don’t let media reps sell you on this ‘once in a lifetime’ rubbish and at half price. Whether you paid half price or full price for your once off ad you threw away money. It was just the amount that varied.

Is the publication real?

With the onset of digital magazines this has never been a more frightful reality. If sales are being run out of an office in the UK or Europe then pop on your cynics cap and watch out. I know publications that even print 500 or so copies to show they are ‘real’. Amazing. I have so much more to add on this but it would end up being a blog post in a blog post. Do your homework. Properly.

How is the publication being distributed?

A magazine with a large subscriber base is always my favourite. It shows a readership that is committed to paying regularly for it which means they will see your advertising regularly. Publications that distribute for free are often tossed or not read at all.

How much are they charging?

When a publications cost per thousand is higher than R500 I crunch my nose a bit and when it goes over R1000 I demand an explanation and it better be a good one. Cost per thousand is worked out by taking the full page ad rate and dividing it by the number of thousand readers. If it was R20 000-00 to reach 60 000 people then we are looking at R333-33 which is an attractive spend.

Is the publication ABC certified?

If yes, then you’ve sorted out point two swiftly and it means the facts and figures you’re reading, bar them making an awful typo or lying through their teeth, can be counted on.

Are you reaching your target market?

This is probably the hardest of all things to gauge because ad reps are so good at presenting only the information they want you to see. Always ask for a thorough breakdown of their readership/viewership/audience. If they are not ABC certified then you should take what they give you with a lorry load of salt.

Never pay for your ads up front.

Advertising should be paid for after the ad has appeared and you have received your physical publication. Period.

Are they offering a kick-back?

It shouldn’t cost you any more to use an agency to plan and buy your media than if you go direct. The set industry approved commission is 16.5% for accredited agencies and 15% for non-accredited which the publishing house pays. Publications who “kick back” agency commission to clients are my pet hate. It is no skin off their nose since either way this commission would be paid out instead they benefit from the direct sale to someone who is not necessarily familiar with the industry. It’s exploitation, of the worst kind, especially when they bandy it around like a perk for ‘going direct’.

There is SO much more to say about media buying so this won’t be the last you hear from me on the subject.

I would love to hear your thoughts!

MsFrankieB

Blah, Blah Durex Blah, Blah

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 07:07:46 GMT

Yesterday, the twitter account for Durex (@DurexSA) sparked a furore amongst the twitter community regarding sexist and distasteful jokes but in the end, a perceived “abuse against woman joke” sealed their fate.

So my question is: Did they really cross the line?

I’m going to say ... not necessarily ... until they started responding (or not) to the backlash. Are they crass? Yes. Are they ignorant? Yes. Are they sexist? Yes. Are they plagiarising? Yes. Are they objectifying woman and men? Yes. Are they turning the once quality Durex brand into a common ‘I’m scared I might catch something if I touch people who use Durex’ brand. Probably.

Are they advocating violence against women? Not likely. And even if that is what was perceived, it was how it was dealt with that caused many, including me, more alarm. Have a few exclamation marks!

Damage Control (all made up bar the first two):

DurexSA: Why did God give men penises? So they'd have at least one way to shut a woman up. #DurexJoke

FeministsSA: What the eff @DurexSA - it is the eve of the 16 Days of Activism, and you're making violence against women jokes. That is truly ignorant.

DurexSA: Hi ladies, which joke are you talking about? We had no intention of doing anything of the sort!

FeministsSA: How can you not know which one?! The shutting a woman up with a penis joke. Distasteful and uncalled for!

DurexSA: Wow! Really sorry ladies. Had no idea it would be read like that and it’s not meant like that. Deleted. Consider us disciplined :(

FeministsSA: Ignorance is not an excuse. Shocking. Watch yourselves.

DurexSA: Yes ma’am. Apologies again.

OK, so the perfect scenario would really be that they stop tweeting such trash but in the absence of true common sense, the PR team could have responded with something similar to the above exchange and saved a whole bunch of their rubberized face. Granted it would not have solved all their issues but a strategy change would be required for that.

Why should they have to apologise I hear some of you raging? Well, because they're a brand. Whether they are right or wrong is not the question here. How they are perceived, is.

Are their tweets good for the brand?

That depends on what they are trying to achieve. If they are targeting misinformed youth with bad grammar who find lame sexual jokes funny, then yes. That may sound like a joke but it’s really not. I’ve never done any research into condom users but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that it’s the youth who would most likely use condoms the most. The youth of today are typically grammarless *cringe* on social media platforms and if you say “their” when you mean “they’re” they will more than likely not notice. “What rubbish!” I hear you say? Yes, yes I am well aware that this kind of targeting is very narrow and short sighted of Durex since most youths would get prophylactics from their clinics before spending money on Durex. I’m just suggesting that we don’t know their strategy, no matter how shocking.

Where did they fall short?

It is evident (partly from the grammar but mostly the reaction) that they have placed a young tweeter at the helm of their twitter account and this is a problem many companies face. Placing someone you think will translate your brand at the level at which you are trying to target is a good idea. Having no-one monitor it is a mistake. Young, mid-life or old – we all need moderation.

These people should not have been given a licence to respond during conflict. They are too young, too attached and mostly just too defensive to do a good job. It is a direct attack on them after all. The brand has actually suffered very little except a harsh finger wagging for employing numb nuts.

What are their options?

Employ a new agency – they certainly are spoilt for choice after yesterday. I saw at least six different companies offering their services and although I think it’s quite vulture like, it’s probably their best avenue for rebuilding the Durex brand.

OR (maybe even and)

Employ a good PR person/agency that can monitor what these Neanderthals are tweeting. Talking about sex draws SUCH a fine line between acceptable and 'I can't belive you just said that?!' that even the most amazing literary scholars would need to tread with caution.

Conclusion:

There is a time and place for sex jokes which is generally out the mouths of well known comedians/celeb’s at ... well ... ok fine, anytime really. They are normally well executed, well timed and most importantly to an audience that expects it. Durex underestimated how ‘quality’ their target market is and should perhaps invest in some well spent money on researching their market properly. Both current and potential. As a brand, you’ll be crucified for crossing lines that people cross all the time.

Durex cocked-up in the way they responded in my opinion. They should go sit in their room and think long and hard about what they have done ;)

Silver lining? They now have a bigger audience to impress with their next, well thought out stint!

Catchya later!

MsFrankieB

Black Tuesday. Opening our eyes, 229 votes at a time.

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:06:56 GMT

Today I watched the parliamentary proceedings relating to Black Tuesday and the Protection of State Information Bill (#POIB).

I know nothing about politics other than, like religion; it ruins conversations and turns negative quite quickly. I am well aware that politicians are thieves of the most arrogant kind and even if some are better at hiding their misgivings than the ANC, they all have their own agenda.

My view on what happened today:

The people objected to the passing of the POIB and the ANC openly revelled in being able to ignore and overrule what the people so desperately wanted. Period. A revision that would protect South Africans and Government alike while forsaking neither.

I’m not suggesting the bill is right, wrong, half right or just plain rubbish. I am saying that their sheer delight at being able to pass a bill that the public disagree with shows their blatant disregard and lack of respect for the people of South Africa. The actions and looks of “ha ha ha ... did you really think you could stop us” shocked me to my core. This is not a joke. The ANC is behaving as though it is nothing more than a chess game and were thrilled to declare “check” on the public today. I hope it doesn’t go all the way to “check mate”.

I was moved by the declarations heard by opposing parties. I understand that while they probably had agendas of their own they were still compelling and moving arguments, on behalf of the people. It was patently obvious that only one political party would benefit from this bill being passed. I see some saying that the people of the country are to blame because it is them who voted the ANC into power. The way I see it is that many of the people who voted for the ANC have not even the slightest clue that this was even taking place today. Of the ones that were aware, I saw only dismay.

This issue is important enough to the people that it should go out to vote. Not a vote by the very people who stand to gain from the decision but a public vote. That is true democracy in my opinion.

"Press Freedom will never be under threat in South Africa as long as the ANC is the majority party" ~ Nelson Mandela 1997. I guess time changes everything.

Twitter was buzzing with disapproval. Mine included.

See you at the Constitutional Court.

MsFrankieB

It’s Follow Friday on Twitter! YAY! (not really)

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:30:00 GMT

Excuse my lack of enthusiasm on the topic of Follow Friday but it’s hard to be positive about something with such great potential that’s ended up being used politically for ego stroking of the worst kind.

Some people are so addicted to bettering their online reputation they even retweet their own #FF’s and compliments. I’m still not sure whether that’s pure ignorance or because that extra stroke to their ego is somewhat euphoric. It certainly does nothing for reputation and adding a ‘thanks’ in front doesn’t make it any more acceptable. Why can’t they just reply directly to thank someone? Some of them even snigger, in between, that people on Facebook ‘like’ their own statuses ... oh the irony!

Now just so we are clear ... if I was #FF’ed or mentioned by someone FAAAYMUS I would totally retweet it. I’d probably retweet it periodically until I didn’t smile while doing it. Luckily that’s only a once a week occurrence so you can all breathe.

#FF was originally created, as far as I am aware, as a way to promote worthy tweeters. Kind of like a real world word of mouth, “he/she’s awesome AT TWEETING”. All I see is a stream of politically correct #FF’s. Friday’s a terrible day to try and post something worthy (including a meaningful #FF) because all everyone cares about is how many times they’re being mentioned, how many followers they’ve gained and whether or not they’ve missed out someone.

It’s reached spam like proportions. It’s as though, on a Friday, people forget all about Quality over Quantity. People need to calm down already. Or maybe I need to calm down.

I’m not going to tell you to stop EFFing up my timeline on a Friday. I’m merely venting the ridiculousness of what it’s become. I’ll file it under #GoodIdeasGoneBad and be done with it.

Till next week!

Adiós

MsFrankieB

It's a new era for Roots SA and we're feeling good!

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The beginning of November marked a new start with a new identity for Roots SA.

It was a long time coming but totally worth the wait! Why a new identity? When Roots SA first opened in 2003 we only had Green Industry clients and the name, logo and feel of the business was perfect for what we needed. Since then we’ve branched out to be more than just green finger focussed and we thought it was time that our identity reflected this change.

We kept the name Roots SA because it’s not only symbolic of our historically green roots, but also because:

Helping clients put down really firm roots into whatever industry they would like to penetrate has not changed.
We go straight to the root of the challenges in previously established campaigns/strategies and fix them instead of covering them in plasters and hoping for the best.
It represents our stability as a well established and trustworthy partner to work with.

Having my new website go live and still enjoying looking at it after months of fine-tuning and edits is such a satisfying feeling. The Roots SA facebook and twitter accounts also saw the light of day and I’m looking forward to having many conversations that will challenge, entertain and empower all the people who take part.

I’ve worked on many websites and even though I know 'what it looks like' is not the reason people visit, it’s still a vital piece in the mix. People are more inclined to navigate a site that’s easy on the eye. Throw in user friendly, clean navigation with interesting content that people want to read, see and use and you’ve got yourself a winner. The user experience is everything.

Working with a great developer, Rob Greyling, was such an amazing experience. The tips, suggestions and discussions that came my way in terms of layout, colours, fonts, content, structure and user experience was invaluable. Finding a developer who is creative and thinks about the user experience just as much as my (the client) experience, is so rare. I normally have to find a happy medium between a developer who has very little creative flare and a designer who has very little regard for technical knowhow and structures. Not this time!

Rob’s suggestion was to develop my site based entirely on a CMS (Content Management System). Orchard CMS was our platform of choice. It was, unequivocally, the best decision I have made this century! I have complete real-time control over all my content, even my slider banner on the home page. That seriously rocks!

Well that’s enough about my website from the horses’ mouth. I’d love your comments or suggestions and ideas on how you think my site could be more awesome. Don’t be afraid. I’m a real good listener :)

Until next time!

MsFrankieB

Nobody’s Perfect

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:02:00 GMT

One of the things I am reminded of daily is perfectionism and how it works for me and against me. I strive to ensure that everything is in perfect balance, runs perfectly smoothly and is perfectly timed. Every now and then I am assaulted with the bald face truth that I am not perfect and neither is anyone around me. This is especially prevalent in my dealings with employees, but also in dealings with the most challenging of people - myself.

How it serves me

In the communications industry I am often proofing documents, ads and general correspondence for the companies that pay me to make sure their stuff is perfect. I am not talking in a factual sense as I am not a lawyer or an accountant - but rather in the finer details of what it looks like, making sure there are no typos or misaligned elements on a page etc.

It also helps me tremendously with caring about what I do and how I do it. I can’t stress enough how it disturbs me when people slap things together as quickly as they can, without a care in the world as to how it may be received. This applies to both clients I have and staff I have employed or seen in action. A person does not need to be a perfectionist to care – although, that being said, even I find that hard to believe sometimes, given my experiences.

The cons

Disappointment, disappointment and more disappointment. I had a good laugh with a friend the other day, who often gives me sage council with regards to staff, about perhaps hanging a sign around a new employee’s neck that says “I am not perfectionist”, just to remind myself that they are not me and I cannot possibly expect them to be. I’ve had to learn to manage my expectations in order that my disappointment levels are kept in check. Expecting too much of other people is most certainly a potential downfall to being a perfectionist.

‘No-one can do the job as well as I can’ is another pitfall that is best side stepped. It’s not possible for one person do everything. If I cannot delegate duties to qualified people and be confident in the outcome, I’m going get stuck pretty quickly. I believe it is possible to find ‘me’ in amongst the sea of people out there looking for a job. It just requires patience to find someone that fits, but finding the right people for the right job is for another blog post though.

Expecting too much of myself, dropping the ball and beating myself up about it, is another classic. One micro example would be signing up on Project 52 which is a challenge to complete a blog post once a week for the whole of 2010. I’ve already missed one week due to completely unforeseen circumstances and I was quite upset by falling short so early on in the year, but it also gave me insight into what the challenge is actually about - making sure I do my best whenever and however I can - without killing myself.

Final Thought

I’ve learnt that my desire for everything to be perfect is a major asset if used correctly. Always strive to do your best at whatever you are doing and you will inevitably be content with the outcome. If you hate your job or project, wishing constantly it would move from work into play time - you are in the wrong career. Make the change – it will leave you feeling younger, happier and more in control of your own life.

The Power of Words

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:10:00 GMT

“Words start wars and end them, create love and choke it, bring us to laughter and joy and tears. Words cause men and women willingly to risk their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honour. Our world as we know it revolves around the power of words.” Secret Formula’s of the Wizard of Ads.

A Personal Perspective

I Love words and always have. I play word games as often as I can because I find it simply riveting. When I chat with good friends I can often get captivated in the conversation and find it hard to sleep afterwards. When I read the opening paragraph for the first time, it resonated with my very core because I have experienced the charisma and repulsion that words have to offer.. both written and verbalised. I’m not sure who ever said “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never harm me”.. but it’s completely inaccurate in my opinion.

I believe an inescapable fact is that the leaders of our world are not consistently remembered for how they laughed, paged a book, walked into a room or their visual appearance but rather for what they said. So many quotes have touched lives of those who are not wordsmiths by nature, and even some that are. History also reflects the need to keep it simple.. the shorter the quote, the more effective the impact. It’s the choice of the combination of words that make it ripple into our subconscious.

In Advertising

A vital cog in any advertising agency’s team is their copywriter. Funnily enough they are often overlooked, especially by clients. An Account Manager from a firm is so often assaulted with the ever so tedious question: “why should I pay this much for some writing” and every so often it comes down to an even less palatable statement “I will write it for you and then you can just edit it”. It would be a phenomenal sight (yet to be seen by mois) where a client can actually write something truly worth publishing. They may be intensely qualified to run their business, but they are painfully unqualified to write copy.

If there is nothing else you take from this blog post, let it be: words are worth paying for! A copy writer knows how to make the most of as few words as possible. If they can arrest someone’s attention with electrifying words, their job is done! If you want someone to remember your ad and message, make it simple, clear and captivating. As a business owner or production person, you are not equipped with these skills – leave it to the professionals.

Scientifically Speaking

Without going into detail on the factual and technical side of how we tick, which as an aside is often my favourite part, here’s a small insight into what makes words work for us. Read chapter 5 of Secret Formula’s of the Wizard of Ads for a more in-depth explanation. Wernicke’s area is purposefully positioned in the brain where the association of auditory and visual signals meet to fulfil its function of naming objects. It rules the nouns of our vocabulary.

Broca is on the other side of the auditory association that links into the motor association cortex. This cortex is the centre of all physical action and Broca’s area is the hub for action words..a veritable verb manufacturer. It energetically generates verbs, passionately formulates sentences and waits with baited breath to hear what others have to say. If you present Broca’s area with a predictable sentence, write up, description etc, it will - as sure as the sky is blue - ignore what you have to say. If you manage to engage it with your opening gambit, you’re on a winning wicket!

On the Web

cozwecan.com intends to harness the true power of communication and more simply words. Our challenge is to keep it simple and understandable even to the man on the street, yet arresting enough to engage the more cognitively affluent of society. I believe that words have the potential to make or break any site in the end.

Conclusion

Make use of undoubtedly the most powerful force there has ever been. Use explosive and energetic words in work you want to make a statement with. It will reap benefits that you’ve never imagined.

Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind ~ Rudyard Kipling

Inbound Marketing – It’s the New Black!

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:13:00 GMT

I’ll start by saying: “What a book”! Everyone should get it! In my first blog post I expressed a keen interest in learning much more about online marketing. This is a completely new avenue for me, being traditionally orientated to TV, radio and more than anything else, print media. I was forwarded a blog post a while back in which Dharmesh, a co-author of the book ‘Inbound Marketing’, spoke about overcoming the ‘barrier to entry’ obstacle for start-ups. I was so inspired by the end that I went straight to Amazon to buy the book. If you’re planning on interacting on the web in any way, shape or form – this book is a fantastic down payment.

The Advertising Industry Today

For a while now, I’ve been hearing the increasing rumble of rumours flying around about how advertisers need to change their strategy because of the clutter, saturation and ability of the human mind to ignore ‘what we have to say’, no matter how many times we say it. I’ve seen the decrease in ROI (Return on Investment) growing rapidly as clients’ budgets shrink.

It used to be a game of the frequency of relaying a certain message/feeling/visual to the correct market in order to grow a brand. Not only does this require a healthy budget, it is not even working any more to the extent of its past successes. Many (if not all) of the smaller companies are not in a position to go head to head with the conglomerates when citing dollar for dollar spend, nor should they want to.

Television is by far the most popular medium for maximum reach and emotional impact. An ad can make most of our senses come alive, if executed correctly. It saddens me greatly to see how many companies produce low budget ads only to go forth and spend an absolute fortune flighting it over and over again resulting in transmitting a less than adequate message repeatedly. Regardless, the impending danger to television advertising spend is actually the ever increasing number of Personal Video Recorders hitting the market. Translate that to radio and you have iPods taking over.

People are adapting to our strategies, creating ways of avoiding listening to our messages, and we have only ourselves to blame. Everybody, including marketers, are tired of being bombarded from morning to night with advertising messages. Even if we don’t own a PVR or iPod – we have just simply become accustomed to blocking it out.

Print media is what interests me most, as it is where most of my experience lies. This is slowly starting to revert to the World Wide Web. I am not suggesting that people will stop reading magazines and newspapers just yet, but the time of a paperless society is no longer a dream, it is becoming a reality and we shouldn’t be too far behind when that day dawns. As a small (yet large) example, look at Wikipedia. I bet Britannica are not too happy they started up! Wikipedia is eating rapidly into their market share.

An Epiphany of Note

What this book has taught me so far, I’m only just over half way through it, is how imperative it is to change our mindset without delay around how we market ourselves, products and services. We need to talk to people when they are ready to receive our message and this book illustrates this so spectacularly.

I’ll get more into the details on my next blog post, once I’ve finished devouring the book’s contents in its entirety. Please don’t let that stop you from getting it in the interim. It shall be an invaluable tool for anyone – not just marketers.

Till Next Week

A quote the book starts with and is indubitably a truth most people forget:

What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so ~ Mark Twain

Inspiring the Contributor

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:30:00 GMT

If there is one challenge that perturbs me about phase 1 of our new project – it’s how to get the contributor (in this case – a photographer) inspired to do what’s required to help us make it a success. I find photographers particularly difficult to coerce because they are creative people who have very little interest in the administration of their work. I’m aware that is a sweeping generalisation, but I feel more than qualified to make such a statement, so will happily duck if the stones are hurled.

Contributor Importance

I fear that so many online ventures go bust or don’t maximize their potential because they bully their contributors into submission or simply make it a “don’t like it – lump it” scenario. This has been acceptable in the past because it was the developer and/or business that had the skills, so contributors just had to follow suit or get left behind in the dust. With the steep growth of internet users year on year, it is now almost imperative to hop on the band wagon, or face missing out on the opportunity to be noticed. Few are prepared to come on board when critical mass is imminent.

I am, and always will, remain adamant that the contributor is just as important. Now let’s just be clear on this – the contributor is not important when it comes to layout and interaction, nor do they contribute to how the business model is set up and a few other areas I may have been remiss in mentioning. Where they reign supreme is when it come to their goods – i.e. the saleable items. I’d even go so far as to say that I believe they should have a more than fair say in the assigned price tag.

We have the technical, marketing and business angles pretty much covered – but tell me – what would we do with this if we had no contributors? It would lay to waste all of our efforts and talents. Never underestimate the value a contributor can bring to the table – listen, take heed and act when they speak – they are their product and should be accounted for.

Part and Parcel

So how would I aim to inspire the contributor? I would start by looking at the basic psychological habits we all develop as a child. If one wants a child to take part in a game and the child is important (not made to feel) in the game – they will happily engage – that is simple deduction. I don’t believe that there are many human beings on the planet that do not enjoy a sense of camaraderie and belonging – it’s what religion is based on. If we can keep the contributor “Top of Mind”, they will understand that this is for them as much as it is for us and should be inspired to help us make it work. After all – this is for the greater good of us all. Should we choose to neglect their opinions, thoughts and feelings – we can still do it the old fashioned bullying style – but reaching our maximum potential will be but a pipe dream. This will naturally be coupled with physical incentives because I am all too well aware of the importance of the material plain we exist upon – no matter how young or old.

Wish me luck – it shall be a challenge I relish!

In Conclusion

Remember that everybody – even and probably especially a child – has something of value to offer. Don’t ignore gems in favour of egotism.

You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Time is of the Essence

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:39:00 GMT

It’s been a while since I put out a blog post and it all comes down to the one critical thing a person needs when preparing a Start-up and then even more during the process - Time Management. In light of this major stumbling block I’ve happened upon (yet again) – I thought I’d tell you about it in an effort to get back on track with weekly blog post. I’ve done one Start-up, which currently is my day to day business – but it was on the back of nothing else to do and quite simply....survival. My craving to rid myself of a boss, not sit in traffic every morning and completely do as I please, were my other motivating factors that time around. It also turned up the heat on my deep seated drive for success and my primal instinct for independent security.

This time it is different! This has nothing to do with survival – I already live a mostly comfortable life and have secured a place in my industry that will see me never having to pine for work. This is about my dream to create something awesome that is of interest to me and uses all the elements of efficiency and effective operating – just the things I love! It may also end up being a steady passive income in a few years time. So tell me – how does one put a price on that? How does a person motivate themselves to put in the time and even more importantly dedicate many hours to the project when there is no dire need? How does one make sure that their time is used effectively and efficiently to the point of basically creating more time to do even more? It’s a mindset and it’s all about passion for the project with a good work ethic. If you don’t have those – you should remain an employee.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

That's what I’ve often heard people say. And it's something everyone can learn from. I was once told by a friend of mine “You’re the laziest person I know! I have never met anyone that spends as much time finding easier ways to do things, just so you can be lazy later on!” He was serious! Since as far back as I can remember – I’ve always wanted to make things work more effectively. Take it from me - it is seriously worth putting in a little bit of extra time early on so that you can get a whole lot more out later.

There is something so magnificent about pulling everything you have into one focused attempt which can breeze past faster than you ever imagined. I am a master at pooling my resources and narrowing my concentration into a funnel for one project. The key is – how badly do I want it? How badly do you want it is something you MUST (in my opinion) assess at the get-go. Do yourself a favour and write a story about it if you have to, before wasting many hours on hard work. A second, part time, after hours, passion for life project is a great adventure – but requires discipline. Let the passion drive you to exceed your own expectations.

So now that I’ve established my want, need and enthusiasm for this project. How do I change my frame of reference with regards to time? I have found myself to be forever chasing my own tail. I work full time and more often than not after hours as well on projects for my day to day business – how do I become smarter and work less on that, so that I can pursue my even bigger dream? My favourite saying of all time – NIKE! I’d be very surprised if anyone reading this doesn’t know what it means – but just in case – NIKE is a fabulous brand that has invaded the minds of billions of people in many nations with their emotive stance of JUST DO IT with the added ‘tick’ as their symbol. It is simple genius in the world of brands. That is why it is my motto for anything that I am passionate about! So in answer to my own question – I just say "NIKE".

Just make the time. Be strict if you have to – set aside certain times and make it the same as you would ‘time to cook and eat dinner’. I will be doing this for the year of 2010 and let’s see if can also get a blog post out once a week! If you are not able to discipline yourself in this way – you may as well set a 5 to 10 year goal to get it off the ground. Time is a commodity that cannot be replaced with more – it is what you do with each unique moment that will enable you to maximise your efforts.

So let me end with this

The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything if you want to succeed in business – or in anything else, for that matter ~ Lee Lacocca

Endorsed Strategy - To Be or Not To Be?

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:54:00 GMT

Welcome back! That's to me of course. I'm not entirely convinced that it's possible for someone in the advertising industry to stick to deadlines, except the ABF (Absolute Bloody Final) one. I have now reached what I consider to be my ABF on this blog post – so here it is!

Truth be told, I have been grappling with the written expression of the endorsed strategy because I find it a rather convoluted strategy, in that, there is no really clear strategy around it. Shhh – don't tell the marketing guru's! This is probably why I like this strategy the most. I feel it strikes a great balance between expensive "multi-branded" and limited "monolithic". Now don't get me wrong, there is most definitely a place for both of those and I'd happily work within their constraints, if the product or service fits their mould. In fact, there are times when they are the only structures that will work.

When working within an endorsed strategy, the freedom to do what you please, but still adhere to a framework is where the creative juices really start flowing. It's like being sixteen all over again! You get to express your own individuality (within solid parental type boundaries), you can disown your brothers and sisters if they embarrass you and you have the backing of a big daddy, who has a message that is much bigger than yours – not to mention the financial means to bail you out of trouble! What a wonderful mix in my eyes. It gives products or services two chances to grab their markets attention with their message.

There are several associations that a 'sub brand' (for want of a better name) can have to its endorsed brand:

1. A suffix or prefix like CitiBank/CitiFinancial/SSB Citi or Toyota Yaris/Toyota Camry/Toyota Hilux.

2. Using the same typeface, symbol or logo like Toyota, Sony and many more.

3. Using "A member of...".

These may seem like clear cut boundaries and options, but hopefully you noticed that I used Toyota in point one and two? Many companies will use more than one of these – if not all three. It depends on what the sub brand calls for. The danger here is obvious - brand confusion, clutter and proliferation. You need some good policing forces on the ground (at least one nanny per sub brand) to make sure all the rules are being followed and no-one is behaving too big for their boots!

From the options above it is easy to see how cozwecan.com has basically, by default, opted for an endorsed strategy by choosing to include a prefix at the front of our domain name to differentiate our products. But here comes the argument. What makes us different to Virgin who has a monolithic strategy? If you feel the need to object, please sit tight. There are those who will argue that it is an endorsed strategy because of the fact that Virgin looks like it has many sub brands with their own logo's and colours etc but I don't believe that is true. Virgin is the brand – not Active, not Atlantic or anything else – just Virgin. Simply put - when the corporate identity is dominant, you've got a monolithic brand. When the individual product name has the upper hand, you're dealing with endorsed branding. If you're just as confused as when you started – don't worry – you're not the only one. It can be quite hard to distinguish the difference and there is another name for that – brand confusion! This is probably the single biggest danger faced by endorsed strategies – but it need not be of concern if managed correctly – just like any pitfalls of any strategy.

So I'll ask the question again – what makes us different from Virgin and why are we not going with a monolithic approach? Virgin is Virgin Mobile/Virgin Active/ Virgin Atlantic and we are pix.cozwecan.com / anything.cozwecan.com / something.cozwecan.com? Apart from the fact that monolithic approaches can often be the result of corporate egotism, or brought on by the desire to influence stock market investors it can also be an incredibly effective means to extend the reputation of one well known dominant brand into similar or even different markets. For now I feel it is probably a very limited approach for what we are looking for. For now that is...

As our identity and products start to fall in place we may choose to make me eat my words...literally.

Until next week – over and out!

Frankie

The Multi-branded approach

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:15:00 GMT

Welcome to my fourth blog post!

We recently finished a fabulous but exhausting logo design process – thanks to everyone who voted! We received and commented on over 1000 logo designs and I could never have anticipated having seen our "name" written in so many ways. It was awesome to work with over 100 designers from all over the world – all giving it their best shot! I would recommend this process to anyone – but remember to set aside the time – or employ someone to be interactive with the designers – they cannot produce what you want unless you are involved. It was also incredibly interesting to see how our "brief" changed over the 7 days. It is crucial to keep an open mind when having a logo designed – if you aren't – you could miss out on so many fabulous ideas you never dreamed possible – and that, my friends, is completely your loss. But that's for a future blog post. Yes - that was subtle marketing :-)

Onto the multi-branded approach – shall we? I'll use this term throughout because I feel it best describes what we are talking about – multiple brands in one strategy. Just know that there are many different 'names' for this approach – this just happens to be my personal favourite.

Multi-branding allows the holding company all the possibilities in the world when expansion is a key focus and cost is not a factor. Some examples are: Unilever, Proctor and Gamble and the Santan Der Group amongst many. A company can have varied products with varied lines under them, e.g. – most people are unaware that Unilever owns a variety of washing powders on the shop shelves, all separately positioned for different markets, with different values and selling points. It is not unusual with this approach to produce competing products in the same market – why – so that you can 'own' the markets, without being in your face about it. Some of the brands that use this approach have taken choice to a whole new level. A consumer looks at the shelves and feels as though they have this fabulous choice of product and if a certain brand becomes contaminated or a consumer doesn't like one of their brands, for whatever reason, they still may not lose that customer to a competitor because of their fall back brands.

The most obvious negative of this approach is the cost! It is very expensive to promote multiple brands and the performance of the products and services need to be monitored closely to ensure they are bringing in what they are spending to be alive or it is time to cut the product. This approach can be highly successful if each Brand is strong enough to support itself entirely and has a healthy advertising budget to boot. It is an extremely competitive market and not for the faint hearted. You are spending money just to fight for market share with another one of your own products - is it a brilliant or very expensive way to keep your competitors at bay? Probably both of those combined...

cozwecan.com does not really lend itself to being a multi-branded entity because we feel all the brand names are too similar – it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that pix.cozwecan.com and somethingelse.cozwecan.com are sister sites. So perhaps our fate is the Endorsed Strategy? We'll find out next week...have a good one!

Frankie

Branding Approach: Let's get Monolithic

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 19:22:00 GMT

Hello again

I firmly believe that it's more important to own markets than to own products and the only way to own markets is to own dominant brands. Branding a new company is often a very exciting project and should be enjoyed from the word go! Once you know the rules of engagement it is a very simple game to play. An overview of the different branding options a company has available to them is an invaluable exercise, so without further ado:

Monolithic Strategy:

"Mono", meaning "one", markets one brand only. Some examples are: IBM, Google and Microsoft. Some plus's of this approach are; the ability to create a strong brand identity; minimises confusion; reduce proliferation (many brands equal many strategies) and it is the most cost effective route.

I must warn anyone reading this, that even if you need to be frugal due to financial constraints, budget is not a good reason, nor will it ever be, to go this route. One of the aspects of this approach can either be seen as a negative or a positive attribute, depending on your brands' need. This is that all of the products need to have a single minded message that can be put across to an audience and whatever products emerge will all have to have the same message to convey. The good part is that any investment made through communications or research will benefit all of the products or services. The bad part – can all your services and products deliver this message? The answer to whether this will work for you will largely depend on what your product or service is. Can they be marketed together? Do they all have the same values like 'quality' or 'prestige' or 'reliability'? If not, then I highly recommend you go for a multi-branded or endorsed strategy and just make every penny count.

The biggest negative to worry about, marketing wise, is if one of the products or services isn't operating correctly, its performance can contaminate the values across the entire brand. If Volvo had to make a potentially dangerous car, like a sports car and it emerged that the cars where a hazard to own because they were badly built, the entire brand would be crucified and sales across the board would most probably drop. Even though Volvo have spent so much time and money on positioning themselves in people's minds as "the safest car on the road", people are generally fickle, and will more often than not begin doubting the brand integrity as a whole and not just that of the sports' 'version'.

cozwecan.com does not typically lend itself to a monolithic structure because then we would have to direct people to cozwecan.com to click through to their preferred service or product site which we feel is a wasted 'extra' step in a customer's already busy world. This is not to say that people won't be able to go to cozwecan.com and click through to the sub sites, but it will more than likely not be marketed that way.

It could also not really fit with this structure (even though anything can be squeezed) because we know from the outset that it will comprise of many different products and services that would often be too different in nature to keep under one umbrella. cozwecan.com will have a common vision and statement, but the products may all need individual treatment.

That's all for this week! Next week I'll be exploring the world of the multi-brand approach.

Have a great week.

Frankie

Blog

Are you sure you’re not Buying Followers on Twitter?

The Practical (Part 2) - Edgerank or Edgewank?

My adaptations:

My workings:

My findings:

Edgerank or Edgewank? The Theory (Part 1)

Organic Growth on Facebook is Dead

Marry the right agency, from the start!

Can Local Businesses Afford Marketing?

The Printing Press is Dead; Long Live the Newsfeed

Media Buying is not for the fainthearted.

Blah, Blah *Durex* Blah, Blah

Black Tuesday. Opening our eyes, 229 votes at a time.

It’s Follow Friday on Twitter! YAY! (not really)

It's a new era for Roots SA and we're feeling good!

The beginning of November marked a new start with a new identity for Roots SA.

Nobody’s Perfect

How it serves me

The cons

Final Thought

The Power of Words

A Personal Perspective

In Advertising

Scientifically Speaking

On the Web

Conclusion

Inbound Marketing – It’s the New Black!

The Advertising Industry Today

An Epiphany of Note

Till Next Week

Inspiring the Contributor

Contributor Importance

Part and Parcel

In Conclusion

Time is of the Essence

Work Smarter, Not Harder

So let me end with this

Endorsed Strategy - To Be or Not To Be?

The Multi-branded approach

Branding Approach: Let's get Monolithic

Blah, Blah Durex Blah, Blah