I’ve had an exciting month, lending a hand in designing the new Old Mutual Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concerts website. The new website is aiming to be more community focussed but aside from that, I really enjoyed the stronger emphasis on larger imagery. Check out the new website here: http://dogreatthings.co.za/kirstenbosch/
Vodacom’s new brand
I’m not one of those nay-sayers who is constantly negative about changes of brands I support. I enjoyed the Facebook interface design changes and, quite frankly, Pick ‘n Pay had it coming for years but the little that I’ve read and experienced to date has convinced me that the logo change for Vodacom is not going to do it any good.
I see the potential value in Vodacom undergoing a freshen-up, especially after 16 years of successful trading and with strong competition from the likes of 8ta, Cell C and MTN’s “Ayoba” over the past year. What I would strongly have advised against (and exactly what has happened) is that Vodacom be rebranded as Vodafone without the name change. I would have incorporated the Vodafone Symbol but kept their corporate colours blue and green for now. Also, I am a designer who prefers subtle changes – a nip and a tuck; Not a volcano of change that makes it obvious that change is afoot with Vodafone now holding 65% of the shares (TechCentral, 3 April 2011, http://www.techcentral.co.za/vodacom-brand-to-get-an-overhaul/19406/).
Logo Comparison
Cell C has left the red behind and opted for black and after less than half a year, Vodacom have picked up the red and, in so doing, associated themselves with a brand that, in my opinion, is much weaker. I find myself doing a double take every time I see the new Vodacom logo because the first thing that crosses my mind is Cell C. I don’t think that’s going to do Vodacom’s brand any favours. Vodacom’s Group CEO, Pieter Uys, has dismissed rumours that Vodacom bought the colour rights from Cell C, saying that the idea for the change began before Cell C’s rebranding. (Financial Mail, 5 April 2011, http://www.fm.co.za/Article.aspx?id=139297)
Brand is the personality that identifies a product, service or company (name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them) and how it relates to key constituencies: customers, staff, partners, investors etc.
The experiential aspect consists of the sum of all points of contact with the brand and is known as the brand experience. The psychological aspect, sometimes referred to as the brand image, is a symbolic construct created within the minds of people, consisting of all the information and expectations associated with a product, service or the company(ies) providing them.
The brand experience I associate with Vodacom are:
- business focussed
- professional
- able to deliver what they promise
- best national coverage
- good service
I would use none of these values to describe Cell C.
At the end of the day, I hope I’m wrong. I hope that Vodacom remains my communications’ brand of choice.
Creative Communication Solutions
Have you ever been part of a team on board a yacht during a race? I had my first experience on Wednesday. What a lesson in communication! I watched in fascination as the sail was winched in by millimetres to satisfy the captain and every small adjustment meant just a little extra speed; every little shift in weight was a make or break situation.
With a company descriptor of ‘communication solutions’, I often find myself thinking about how we can better interact but I’ve never experienced a situation with such tension and split second decision making that work hand in hand to create such an effective environment for communication.
During the course of the race, our sail developed a hole which was pretty small to start off with, perhaps 30cm in width and breadth. It remained this size for about 5 minutes during which a dialogue began between the crew about whether it would last the rest of the race or not. The final decision was placed with the owner of the yacht who said it could stay up. Just after the decision was made, the entire sail ripped in half. I was horrified. I later found out that it could be the difference between a R500 fix and R15 000 replacement. Ouch! The team promptly replaced the shredded sail with another and we were on our way again. Bearing in mind that every second wasted could be the hair’s breadth a yacht would need to win the race at the end of the day, immediate and accurate action is always necessary for the duration of the race and the captain is always quick to let you know when you’ve been too slow and, for that matter, when you’ve done well.
I discovered that the captain conveys his urgency by a mixture of the volume of his voice and the amount of swearing thrown in the mix but what amazed me the most was that the tension created in the heat of the moment, was replaced by a wonderful camaraderie once the situation had dissipated. Everybody understood the delivery of communication, and moved a bit borg-like (think Star Trek: First Contact) or even Groupthink from the book 1984 by George Orwell.
Roger and I at the end of the race
Fascinating interactions and I hope to enjoy further sailing experiences where I hopefully get to learn even more.
p.s. Thanks to Roger for the unintended lesson 🙂
Entrepreneurship, Yola style
The Design Works will be attending various Cape Town Entrepreneurship events around the city this week and the first was a Q&A session with Vinny Lingham, founder of Yola (www.yola.com) which is a portal aimed at small business allowing the creation of a free website – pretty awesome concept! They then make money with the additional features which you can add on.
Yola currently have 5 million users worldwide, with only 5% of those based in South Africa. Vinny made the move to San Francisco’s Silicon Valley after realising that South Africa didn’t have a large enough internet user base for him to reach the target he was aiming at. Being in Silicon Valley allows them:
- better access to capital
- a larger pool of talent to draw from
- better chances of being noticed as a potential acquisition
A disadvantage of the South African climate, as noted by Vinny, seems to be the holding onto skilled labour and with the skills shortage within South Africa, until the basics of education and a change in the culture of our communities occurs, the entrepreneurs are going to constantly be battling against the larger corporates for talent.
Advantages of being in South Africa include being ahead of the curve in mobile development and Vinny believes that e-commerce is going to boom in the next few years here, if we can just learn to focus our business endeavors more instead of being generalists.
All in all, an enlightening session and I walked out with a renewed passion for what I do and the people that we’re involved in. Thanks Vinny 🙂
View further Cape Town Entrepreneurship Week events here: www.ctew.info
Check out how our local events plug into the global events: Global Entrepreneurship Week
Best Global Brands 2010
I attended a talk at UCT Graduate School of Business last night by Jeremy Sampson of Interbrand Sampson fame. An inspirational character, especially when I learned that his humble beginnings were as a graphic designer just like me, or visual communicator, as he called it.
The talk focussed on the Interbrand Sampson ‘Best Global Brands 2010‘ report which was recently released but just to set the stage, Jeremy gently explained his understanding of a brand now being the constant in a world of change. An example which surprised me was that of Coca-Cola, where the company was valued at $50 billion without the brand included in the equation but once the brand itself is included, it shoots up to $120 billion – wow! That’s one to make the accountants scratch their heads.
A simple example was given of coffee beans. In their simplest form they are worth only a few cents per cup but sold at your local gourmet coffee spot, those same coffee beans have been commoditised into something much more valuable. The Vida e Cafe or Seattle name really is worth something.
Moving on to the report, we see the Top 10 Brands as follows (http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/Best-Global-Brands-2010.aspx):
| 1 | Coca-Cola | 70,452 ($m) |
| 2 | IBM | 64,727 ($m) |
| 3 | Microsoft | 60,895 ($m) |
| 4 | 43,557 ($m) | |
| 5 | GE | 42,808 ($m) |
| 6 | McDonald’s | 33,578 ($m) |
| 7 | Intel | 32,015 ($m) |
| 8 | Nokia | 29,495 ($m) |
| 9 | Disney | 28,731 ($m) |
| 10 | Hewlett-Packard | 26,867 ($m) |
Here, Jeremy highlighted that McDonald’s has not been as effected by the recession as Burger King was (Burger King have fallen out of the Top 100), probably due to their target market being slightly different and also that McDonald’s have continued to innovate. The other brand highlighted was Nokia, who have fallen from previous years, probably due to being late in coming to the market with a smartphone option.
The report also highlights the top risers and fallers for the year as follows:
Best Global Brands
Best performing sectors in 2010 are as follows:
Industry Insights
All in all, a very insightful session and I’d highly recommend downloading the full report here.
Point of Difference
Point of difference: a unique promise that differentiates a company’s product or service from its competitors.
The new marketing challenge
The rapid growth of new media, and digital media in particular, resulting in an abundance of messages created everyday means that standing out within your chosen media channel has become the new marketing challenge. On overcoming the media saturation by selecting the correct message to convey, a company will stand out from its competitors, hence being able to deliver its unique promise clearly and concisely.
This point of difference should be built around niche market needs. Niche needs provide the perfect opportunity for a company to satisfy a customer’s needs, wants and requirements that are not being addressed by other competitors.
Discovering niche needs
Companies need to understand their customers in order to be able to satisfy their niche needs. Research of current and potential customers provides important feedback, and therefore the chance to uncover potential niche needs and create a point of difference.
Testing the point of difference
To see whether or not a company’s point of difference is viable, it must satisfy five crucial tests:
Clarity: Is the point of difference focused on a specific need that customers require?
Uniqueness: Is the point of difference significantly different from the competitors’ promises?
Perceived value: Do customers care about the point of difference offered?
Profitability: Do customers care enough to pay a premium for the product or service based on the point of difference?
Capacity: Can the point of difference promise be kept by the company?
Leveraging the point of difference
Once the point of difference has satisfied the above criteria, it is important to audit all aspects of the company to ensure that each aspect of the company, be it delivery or marketing, gives weight to the chosen point of difference. e.g.
Delivery resources:
- Choice of suppliers
- Choice of distribution channels
- Inventory management and quality control
- Service
Marketing resources:
- Choice of brand identifiers
- Choice of marketing materials
- Design of materials
- Use of promotions
Conclusion
A company’s point of difference can be almost anything it chooses as long as it passes the five crucial tests of clarity, uniqueness, perceived value, profitability and capacity to distinguish a company’s product or service from its competitors.
*The Design Works attended a workshop on this subject, hosted by Greig Whitton from Wolftime Community. Thanks to Greig of Wolftime Community for the informative workshop experience. For further details or to get in touch visit www.wolftime.co.za
New branding for The Design Works
So the word is out. There’s a new brand in town. Oh wait, they’re just old timers with a new look!
The Design Works has been re-branded using their iconic green which builds on the idea that our inspiration for design is a reflection of the natural beauty around us. We’ve also maintain continuity by keeping the same typeface and icon from the previous version. Stationery has been printed onto Cocoon paper which is the first 100% post-consumer waste paper available in South Africa – a very exciting initiative by Antalis and we’ve used sustainable processes wherever possible.
The previous branding was built around the idea of recycling and was painted using rooibos tea and then printed onto Environment Wove, another recycled paper and the visual development of the brand from the rooibos design to the current splash is apparent.
Tips on Mastering Time: Our Most Precious Commodity
Speak to any business person, especially in bigger companies: our most valuable commodity is time. Often, a lack of time management results in conflicting demands that result in us losing touch with our dreams and aspirations, both on a business and personal level.
For my article I believe I was particularly time-efficient: I crowd-sourced from my friends and colleages and here is a collection of the suggestions I received.
Benefits include:
- increase your productivity on the job and in your personal life
- enhance the quality of your performance
- relieve stress I recommend choosing just one of the tips below and trying it immediately – who can’t do with more time?
Useful time management tips:
- Close your door and focus. (Lee-Ann Gould, HR Manager, CTP Printers)
- Get help with some tasks from fellow employees. This also promotes working as a team. (Carel van der Colff, Owner, Dive Inn)
- Focus on one task at a time. I used to be a lover of multi-tasking, but have realised that because I can, does not mean I should. Multitasking breaks my focus and causes a single task to take so much longer to complete. To focus my time, I switch off instant messaging tools such as Google Chat and Skype and focus on one task at a time. It helps that I have the bigger goals visible where I am continuously reminded of them, which helps ensure that I am completing tasks which contribute to the overall goal. (Shana Kay, Managing Director, InfoInteg)
- Give yourself a deadline in the day with an amount of hours you are going to work and create a list of the most important things you need to get done, in order of priority, in that time. So as a freelancer, knowing that my wife will return home around 5pm, I know that I need to have completed my most important work tasks for the day around 4:30pm, so I can move into “family time”. I normally work from 8am till 5pm, but really, after catching up on admin, emails and my daily inspiration (RSS feeds, NetVibes.com), I find that only 5 hours is really billable. This means I need to make sure that what I do in those 5 hours is quality and focussed. (Stew West, Freelancer, Side Switch Design)
- My inbox is my “to do” list so I try not have anything in it, which stops me from procrastinating. I go through my emails first thing in the morning and make a list of priorities. I then switch off the internet ‘til lunch and then switch it back on to check any new emails and delete the ones I have completed; I do the same just before the end of the work day to try start afresh in the morning. (Nici Palmer, Owner, Carbon Calculated)
- Set an early meeting. Once I’m up I’m up so I try to arrange my first meeting as early as possible (we’re talking 6am bible studies and 7am coffee/discipleship meetings and so on) so that my day begins early (handling flexi time comes a lot harder especially not being heavily disciplined) and so I find that helps me. (Brett Fish Anderson, Pastor, Vineyard Church in Stellenbosch)
- Strive for inbox zero. Respond to all emails quickly and efficiently and action as much as possible each day so that your emails are kept to a minimum. Big jobs and on-going projects are tracked in my diary on a weekly basis. (Evan Torrance, Marketing Manager, Cape Union Mart)
- Make lists (especially MS Excel spreadsheets) and try to tackle just one piece of admin per day – sounds like a very little but it’s amazing how much I can achieve within 2 weeks. (Dr Claire Draper, Victoria Hospital)
- A short pencil is better than a long memory. My work diary is filled with notes and to-do lists for the day. In that way, I know exactly what needs to be done for the day and I can plan my “life” accordingly. YES! As a Paper Consultant, no two days are the same and my plans for that day may change, but I have a plan. (Natascha Forbay, Client Liaison, Antalis)
- Make action lists to keep track of things – and tick them off regularly so that you continually feel like you are getting things done. (Evan Torrance, Marketing Manager, Cape Union Mart)
- Post-its. My brain ticks by continuously and I think of numerous things simultaneously. I work best doing one project at a time so I always have a “post-it” open on my desktop which I write on when I am working on a different project. Then I review my post-it and prioritise my list for action when I have a break from the current project. (Nici Palmer, Small Business Owner, Carbon Calculated)
- Start at the top of your list and do the tasks. Don’t waiver from the list. (Naomi van der Colff, Financial Manager, Flagship Private Asset Management)
- Ignore all emotion. Sometimes you leave something because you don’t like doing it or it is difficult, but if you give yourself a little pep-talk: ‘you can do it / you’ve done it before’ it will help. (Naomi van der Colff, Financial Manager, Flagship Private Asset Management)
- Sort tasks by URGENT IMPORTANT, then URGENT, then IMPORTANT not urgent, NOT IMPORTANT NOT URGENT… Or that’s what I’d like to believe I do. Basically I’m a task-oriented person and not schedule driven, so I just make sure my most urgent and important tasks are on the top of the pile. (Danie Nel, Photographer)
- Schedule work time and family time. Don’t let the two merge into one another. (Evan Torrance, Marketing Manager, Cape Union Mart)
- Break big jobs down into smaller tasks so that you get momentum on them too. (Evan Torrance, Marketing Manager, Cape Union Mart)
- Unplug your network point and switch off wi-fi. (@G_Masta via twitter (Giovanni Ghignone))
- Don’t let stress immobilise you. It is good if it motivates you to start with your tasks and to do it fast. (Naomi van der Colff, Financial Manager, Flagship Private Asset Management)
- Keep communication in one or two places only. Streamline everything to one email address or a mobile phone, rather than using three or four email addresses in different places, a mobile number (or two), Facebook, etc. (Evan Torrance, Marketing Manager, Cape Union Mart)
- Catalog your time. Make a log of what you do in the average day. Do this for about a week. (Bo Bennett, Years to Success Blog)
- Learn to say “no”. Saying no in advance to extra work is much easier than having to apologise later for not being able to complete something on time. Refuse excessive workloads. (Bo Bennett, Years to Success Blog)
I hope that everyone will find something of use in this article and if it works or really doesn’t work, let us know on our Facebook group where I’ll open up a discussion point. Thanks so much to all who contributed to this article.
Got R100 to spare?
The Design Works have had the honour of working with Sikhula Sonke (www.sikhulasonke.org.za) on various design projects, including their brochure, annual reports and website. The NGO, which focusses on teaching pre-school teachers in Khayelitsha and thereby empowering our future leaders, is an organisation very close to my heart and I’ve always admired the determination with which they take light into the dark places.
I recently had a meeting with the programme’s director who explained that they needed R65 000 for the end of the month’s salary bill and the bank account was just about empty so things were looking pretty bleak. So I appeal to all business owners to consider a small donation to an organisation that is more than worthy. A plea has been put out for individuals to donate R100 and perhaps you might, too, consider this?
For further info and banking details, please visit:
http://savesikhulasonke.wordpress.com/
Mobile Marketing: An Introduction
I’m in a meeting with the CEO of a large corporation. We’re in fervent discussion about a topic that we’re both passionate about and could have wide ramifications for both of our businesses. ‘Beep beep’. His cell phone interrupts with an SMS and he doesn’t hesitate to pull it out of his pocket and quickly check it – instant attention.
SMS
A branded ‘Please call me’ message is the simplest form of mobile advertising and very cost effective but, as with every form of advertising, it is best used with a particular target market in mind. In this case, lower LSMs and students are where this channel will gain traction. (LSM is a system for categorising people according to their life style.)
A new technology in SA comes in the form of mobile vouchers delivered by SMS, used successfully for the first time by Ackermans recently in their 93rd birthday campaign in October 2009. “The results of our mobile advertising campaign were unbelievable” says Karin Mellors, brand manager for Ackermans.
Ackermans’ objectives included brand awareness, driving adoption of mobile vouchers redeemable in-store and evaluation of the effectiveness of mobile advertising for future campaigns. An impressive 3.8 million impressions and 22 000 clicks in only one week indicates that objectives were safely met. See the full case study here: http://mm.admob.com/web/pdf/case_studies/Ackermans_AdMobCaseStudy.pdf.
During the acceptance speech for winning best documentary at the Oscars on 7 March 2010, Ric O’Barry, held up a sign that read “text DOLPHIN to 44144.”
Even though the camera cut away quickly, the message was still understood. After capturing dolphins and training them for the 1960s Flipper series, he realised the effects of his actions as one dolphin went so far as to commit suicide. His life’s work was chronicled in the documentary The Cove, which won the Oscar for best documentary of the year. Following through on the campaign and texting “Dolphin” to 44144 returned a link (http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/724210624?z00m=19775525) to an online petition and a means to send a letter to President Obama.
Mobi sites
[A mobi site is similar to a web site, but the mobi’s layout, functionality and navigation are desiged specifically for a small screen view typical of most cell phones – Ed.]
SuperSport.com, a division of DStv, is the highest ranked mobi site in South Africa according to Nielsen Netrating at the end of 2009. Says John Kotsaftis, CEO of DStv Online: “The statistics clearly indicate that consumers are increasingly accessing online content via mobiles. This makes sense in the South African context where more users access the web on their mobile phones than on their PCs.”
Kotsaftis adds: “The consumer today wants access to online content when they want, how they want, which is more easily achieved via a mobile when they are on the go. The popularity of the mobi site reflects this need for content consumption on the move.”
Seventeen magazine has extended its digital portfolio to include a new mobi site, seventeen.mobi, which launched on 15 February 2010.
“With massive increases in mobile internet usage throughout Africa and the commercial opportunities that come with that makes the launch of the seventeen mobile site inevitable,” says Seventeen’s digital publisher, Natalie Dixon. The site targets girls between the ages of 13 and 19 and inspires unique interaction through sections like Oh Boy!, where girls can pose questions to a boy panel and vice versa. Initial click through rates were relatively low, so a campaign was run on MXit and members shot up to 160 000 subscribers through MXit alone.
MXit
MXit is a mobile instant messaging and social networking application used extensively by scholars because it’s free (as illustrated in the chart below). The only cost borne by the user is data transfer, which is significantly less than SMS costs. MXit has 19 million registered users and processes over 250 million instant messages a day.
Various methods of advertising are offered through this channel including splash screens, skins, broadcast messages, hosted portals, Tradepost content and competitions.
Nike have recently run a campaign on MXit and attracted 170 000 subscribers, all able to engage with the brand on a product and event level, as well as comment on selected threads. The original South African campaign was so successful that they’ve decided to launch it internationally.
More than half (52%) of mobile phone users are now using the mobile internet, with email and social networking the most popular activities, according to research by Webcredible (http://bit.ly/993IYd).
Abid Warsi, senior consultant at Webcredible, commented, “Although there is still a substantial number of people who use their mobile phones for nothing other than calls and texts, these results clearly demonstrate the evolution of mobile internet usage. This is in-line with the increase in the ease with which mobile phone users can access the internet, the increase in speed and technological capabilities, as well as the decrease in cost.”
“Social networking sites are helping the mobile internet reach its tipping point. We are now seeing an increasing number of people taking a real multi-channel approach to their communications with the growth in the use of email, Facebook and Twitter on the mobile, no doubt assisted by newer, technically advanced handsets like the iPhone.”
Unique users of Facebook grew more than 600 per cent during 2009, and Twitter saw its usage increase more than any other social network, surging more than 2 800 per cent in just one year, according to stats revealed by Opera Mini (http://www.opera.com/mobile).
Top 10 ranked sites in South Africa according to the Opera, State of Mobile Report, January 2010 (http://www.opera.com/smw/2010/01/):
- facebook.com
- google.com
- mxit.com
- wikipedia.org
- my.opera.com
- yahoo.com
- zamob.com
- getjar.com
- twitter.com
- yahoo.com
Snap shot of South Africa according to the Opera, State of Mobile Report, January 2010:
- Page-view growth since January 2009: 261.8%
- Unique-user growth since January 2009: 167.5%
- Page views per user: 358
- Data transferred per user (MB): 4
- Data transferred per page view (KB): 11
Applications
Mobile applications are becoming the “must have” accessory for every company. If you have a web-interface with which users interact regularly, then it may be worth investing in an application which then resides on your mobile phone, much like the MXit application.
20four Labs, a division of 24.com, is feverishly developing various such applications for handsets to effectively help aggregate the mobile web, aiming to be the first stop for South Africa’s mobile web surfers (http://20fourlabs.com/projects/) and they already have quite a handle on the news portals which are some of the highest viewed pages on mobile.
Not only are companies, developers and entrepreneurs of all varieties looking to develop a mobile presence as part of a comprehensive marketing campaign, even US states are delving into mobile territory.
The State of Alabama, USA, launched a mobile application at the beginning of March 2010. According to the official announcement from www.alabama.gov, the state’s website generates in excess of 800,000 visitors each month and the mobile extension of the site via the new app “will provide another gateway for citizens to interact with government.”
At the beginning of February, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences introduced the first ever Academy Awards application conveniently titled “The Oscars App.” The Oscar App served up a complete list of nominees for all two dozen Academy Awards categories, in addition to trailers for the nominated films. It is also possible to guess who will take home the gold and then share your choice via social networks or email.
Location-Based Marketing
This technology is still relatively new and very under-utilised in South Africa. There are various applications that allow location based interaction including FourSquare (www.foursquare.com) and The Grid (www.thegrid.co.za), a South African location based social media network.
Andy Hadfield recently tweeted “Location based services suddenly make sense” and, with my interest piqued, I clicked through to his blog (http://www.andyhadfield.com/2010/03/sxsw-pre-conference-location-based.html), where he describes how he found a quaint little coffee shop using FourSquare close to his hotel and conference and enjoyed the crowd-sourced favourite beverage. He was also offered a free sample iced tea from one shop and another offered something to every 4th person to check in on Four Square. “The whole retail landscape changes when you have interactive discovery applications like these,” says Hadfield.
Conclusion
“With more than 100% market penetration in South Africa, 10 times more than fixed-line Internet, the mobile phone is a channel that no marketer can afford to ignore” Richard Mullins, Director of Acceleration.
If 2009 was the year that digital web grew beyond expectations in South Africa, 2010 will be the year of mobile. Creativity, ingenuity and passion within the South African environment is overflowing.
I’ve seen it in several of the start-up’s that I’ve visited, including MXit and 20four Labs. Even “Google has bet big on mobile,” says Google Engineering Vice President, Vic Gundotra. Do your homework and test a small portion of your budget on mobile – I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!
Sites worth checking out for more info:
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http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/ |
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http://www.webcredible.co.uk/ |
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http://www.clickz.com |
This article originally written for Promentor & Associates www.promentor.co.za
The Design Works 