Primedia Outdoor announced a Radio-to-Road initiative in Zambia that is part of a continuous effort to expand innovative product offerings in sub-Saharan Africa. The integrated multi-channel solution enables audio and visual channel synchronicity, allowing clients to create high-impact campaigns.
To build memorable content that is appealing and engaging, Primedia Outdoor has partnered with the local Zambian commercial radio station, Hot FM to bring ad campaigns to life. The broadcaster has an average listenership of three million people who tune in every day covering mainly the centre of commerce, Lusaka and the Copperbelt province.
Audio-visual innovation
Coupled with Primedia Outdoor’s digital footprint of six LED screens in Lusaka and two in Kitwe, this audio-visual innovation enables clients to significantly leverage on brand storytelling and extend their ultimate reach.
Dominic Nyirenda, Sales Manager of Hot FM said, ‘Hot FM is very honoured to join efforts with the largest outdoor advertiser in delivering advanced digital advertising solution for clients to create captivating campaigns. This collaboration will certainly transform the OOH media landscape in Zambia and other large parts of Africa going forward.’
Following the successful introduction of this unique radio and urban digital network blend in South Africa, Ameer Isaacs, GM of Primedia Outdoor Zambia said, ‘This is a first-to-market advertising solution in Zambia that promises to enhance the impact of a marketer’s communication by delivering both audio and visual adverts for the same campaign, at the same time. We have encompassed our LED screens with the leading commercial radio station in Zambia to enjoy the synergy of a complementary radio and OOH campaign.’
This partnership represents a landmark collaboration to extend branding opportunities and open up all sorts of interactive possibilities for progressive brands to leverage advertising more effectively, considering the cluttered advertising environment in Zambia. With high levels of reach, this exclusive offering creates a pathway of future-forward means of running successful campaigns in connecting with audiences from all walks of life.
The South African marketing industry and consumers will soon benefit from a clear code of conduct regarding the use of social media to advertise products and services. The IAB SA, the ASA and Terry Murphy of the Marketing Mix, as well as a relevant collective of industry bodies and stakeholders, are drafting an Advertising Code of Practice Social Media guidelines.
The draft document will be officially announced at the Social Media Landscape Briefings, which will take place on 16 October in Johannesburg and 18 October in Cape Town, after which there will be a defined consultation period and date for formal adoption.
Paula Hulley, CEO of the IAB SA said, ‘This code of conduct will fulfill our objective to put the customer first, and to support a transparent and trustworthy digital supply chain in South Africa. By adhering to these guidelines, our members will create meaningful relationships with their audiences, where consumers trust that all paid social media marketing targeted towards them is respectful and ethical.’
The draft Advertising Code of Practice Social Media guidelines is an industry first, and has been devised with the input of a diverse group of industry stakeholders. Gail Schimmel, CEO of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said, ‘As the ASA, we have always championed the rights of the consumer. This code of conduct is a logical and important next step in protecting consumers and promoting ethical conduct on such a dominant medium of communication.’
By working as an industry collective, the resulting code of conduct is objective and representative of all stakeholders. ‘We are all unified in the common goal to reach our market in fresh, relevant and meaningful ways,’ said Terry Murphy of The Marketing Mix. ‘This is the logical next step in the evolution of ethical advertising in South Africa.’
Once the draft code is presented, stakeholder groups will have time to carefully consider and comment before arriving at an authoritative consensus. Once this has been reached, a formal date for rollout and adoption will be announced.
The list of Loeries 2018 winners in the Outdoor and Out-of-Home (OOH) category has been released. The Loeries promotes and supports creativity by helping marketers, agencies and consumers appreciate the value of fresh thinking, innovative ideas and outstanding execution.
OUTDOOR and OUT OF HOME
PrizeCategoryCountryBrand Title ProductEntry
Gold
In-Store
South Africa
Garagista
Like the beer? Buy the brewery
For Sale Ale
DUKE
Gold
Direct Mail
South Africa
GreatStock
The Anthology of Great (Stock) Poetry
Image Library
Joe Public
Silver
Outdoor Media
Israel
Access Israel
People Not Symbols
Easy Parking Access for Handicapped
Leo Burnett Israel
Silver
Outdoor Media
South Africa
POWA
News you need to see
Women’s rights
Joe Public United
Silver
In-Store
United Arab Emirates
Citibank
Hidden Hindi Posters – Tea
Money transfer
Horizon FCB Dubai
Silver
In-Store
United Arab Emirates
Amnesty International
Skins of Peace
Campaign against Islamophobia
TBWA\RAAD
Campaign Bronze
Outdoor Media
Saudi Arabia
NOD
Tag Life – Heart, kidney, Eyes, Liver
Organ Donation
J. Walter Thompson KSA
Campaign Bronze
Outdoor Media
South Africa
Allan Gray
True Rewards Take Time – Best Time, Times Change, New Money, Throw Time
Allan Gray
King James II
Bronze
Outdoor Media
South Africa
Wrigley
Shrink the Rainbow
Skittles
DDB
Bronze
Outdoor Media
South Africa
Keepit100
Burning Billboard
Keepit100
Joe Public Ignite
Bronze
Outdoor Media
South Africa
Nike
Zoo Lake Community Basketball Courts
Basketball Apparel
Futura with Faatimah Mohamed-Luke & Karabo Moletsane
South Australian Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure’s O-Bahn Tunnel Project chose 31 MetroSpec LCD Digital Bus Stop Totems from Metromatics. This new bus technology has been providing commuters with the arrival times of the next 6 buses and other service information.
This weatherproof, sleek totem bus stop design features a 32” High Bright LCD Display, which is readable in direct sunlight. The glass used to protect the display is 6.4mm High UV Limiting Glass. As a result, it is shatterproof and lowers the heat inside the display, which reduces blackouts.
Especially relevant, the MetroSpec LCD Bus Stop Totem has an inbuilt wireless PC. Consequently, the customer may connect back to the main computer where the information can be modified.
Current Group Managing Director of The MediaShop, Chris Botha, announced the agency’s new central holding company Park Advertising. This entity will house two media agencies: The MediaShop and newcomer sister agency Meta Media.
With immediate effect, Chris Botha assumes the role of Group Managing Director of Park Advertising, and will oversee the management operations of both businesses. The MediaShop’s leadership team comprising Kgaugelo Maphai (Johannesburg), Bonita Bachmann (Cape Town) and Arisha Saroop (Durban) will continue in their roles. The management team of Meta Media will be announced in due course.
‘The MediaShop and Meta Media will operate independently of each other, in their own offices, with their own management team, directors and client bases. Meta Media will operate in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, and plans to officially open later this year,’ said Botha.
‘This strategy is part of our overall growth plan for our network and to provide more opportunities for our people. The fact that everything came together in the year of our 30th birthday is a bonus! We’re incredibly excited for the journey ahead and thank our team, clients and media owner partners for helping us get to where we are today.’
The MediaShop will retain its Level 1 BEE rating at 55% black ownership. Meta Media will also be a majority black-owned Level 1 agency through Interpublic Group South Africa’s local shareholding.
Fahmeeda Cassim Surtee (CEO South Africa: DSTV Media Sales), Brandon Govender (FCB Durban), Neo Mashigo (CCO of M&C Saatchi Group SA), Declan Sharp (FCB Durban)
The Durban branch of FCB Africa picked up a gold award for Cerebos Salt in the Animation Craft category at the 2018 Loerie Awards, held at Durban’s ICC this past weekend.
The Loeries, where over 700 brands were represented by 265 agencies from 15 countries across Africa and the Middle East, is the region’s most prestigious advertising and communication creative awards festival. The statue, shared with production companies Tulips & Chimneys and Blackginger, was the only gold awarded to a Durban agency this year.
Karen Stephenson, Group Account Director of FCB Durban said, ’We couldn’t be happier! We would like to acknowledge everyone who worked on the commercial – including a really brave client.’
‘The attention to detail was what elevated the commercial to something truly special. It was an absolute honour to collect the award for the craft that went into creating this charming story of a little girl who never stopped believing,’ added Brandon Govender – FCB Durban’s Creative Director.
Declan Sharp, Deputy Creative Director and Art Director on the commercial, highlighted some of the work that went into creating it.
‘The film took three months to create and combined 2D and 3D animation, as well as live action, that included a number of miniature sets that were painstakingly handcrafted. And it all came together seamlessly to create 40 seconds of magic,’ concluded Sharp.
Mall Ads brought the entertainment Pop Up store to Musgrave Centre in KwaZulu-Natal for teambuilding company Playworks.
Playworks brought Laser Tag and Escape Room fun to regular consumers and is also attracting consumers who are not frequent visitors to the mall. The Pop Up store was strategically situated in the food court area of the high foot traffic mall. While the team development specialist brand has an established clientele, it is taking advantage of the opportunity to extend its reach and brand recognition through the Pop Up.
Vanessa James of Mall Ads said, ‘The Playworks Pop Up store concept brings Laser Tag and Escape Room teambuilding fun and entertainment value to the mall retail offering – this is beneficial to both client and landlord. What’s more, it is attracting people who wouldn’t normally visit the mall.’
Angelo Boshoff of Playworks commented, ‘Our mission is to develop South Africa’s human capital through fun team play. When the opportunity arose to maximise our brand exposure and create a new revenue stream with the Mall Ads solution at Musgrave Centre, we grabbed it. The concept store is attracting a variety of ages from school-going children to adults.’
AVBOB is celebrating 100 years in business with a visual narrative conceptualised and commissioned by integrated marketing communications agency the et al GROUP. The minute-long visual wonder was realised by Luma Animation over a period of six months.
Paul Meyer, co-owner and executive creative director of Luma, described it as, ‘technically and artistically the finest work we’ve produced to date’. Importantly, he added, ‘We were given the time to execute this bold vision at the highest level.’
The 60-second spot tells, through the skillful use of computer-generated imagery, the story of an iconic baobab tree growing through changing seasons to become a shelter and home to a range of living creatures.
Family Tree visual
This ‘Family Tree’ is a visual metaphor for AVBOB, the financial services company that has matured and developed over a century, overcoming many challenges to provide for South Africa’s large and diverse population in their times of pain and need.
The advert depicts a seed being planted and growing over time into a majestic and mature baobab. Its flowers open and an iridescent sunbird feeds on the nectar. The giant tree, located on a wild escarpment, stands strong through rain and snow, offering shelter to the sunbird. Other wild creatures – a squirrel, a chameleon, a tortoise – also make their homes in and under the baobab: as the voiceover says, ‘I am a Family Tree, the sum total of many.’
The visual script
The script is narrated as a beautiful poem, and takes inspiration from the AVBOB Poetry Project. It was developed and written by et al’s Christo van der Westhuizen. The visual narrative was brainstormed collaboratively and directed by Luma’s Paul Meyer. Post-production was delivered through PRODUCTION et al, with an original musical score specially commissioned from composer James Bassingthwaighte.
Towards the end of the ad, the jewel-like sunbird is seen feeding her chicks as the voiceover notes AVBOB’s ‘commitment to this generation and the next’. The ad closes on the key visual of the AVBOB Family Tree, with the accompanying voiceover stating: ‘Because family comes first, always. I am the AVBOB Family Tree. A hundred years strong. AVBOB: we’re here for you.’
The baobab is the perfect symbol for the AVBOB Family Tree, bringing life and shelter where it grows. Indigenous, deciduous, iconic and strong, its growth over time communicates a sense of dynamism and metamorphosis, demonstrating how AVBOB has adapted to endure many years of ever-changing circumstances. In its seasonal cycles, too, the tree embodies the idea of death and resurrection, bereavement and consolation, hope and redemption, and new life.
The team set about researching and designing the hero tree – a timeless South African icon – to be used as the campaign key visual, before presenting the final version to the client.
‘The script was not prescriptive in terms of the visual content, and it really allowed for the theatre of the mind,’ said Meyer. ‘It allowed my imagination to take flight, and that’s what BRAND et al asked us to bring to the project: they wanted something fundamentally different from the norm, new and unique, a bold vision realised through an epic visual narrative, using a medium suited to the content.’
The challenge of creating the intricate animated detail, and infusing it with emotion, required a combination of artistic craftsmanship, time and technological innovation. With approval for both the concept and the key visual of the tree, Luma set out to create the entire world of the story in CGI, building procedural nature-creation tools in order to design and cover the landscape in various grasses, flowers and rocks. ‘For instance, the flora you see around the tortoise consists of the same plants you see in the wider shots – the tools we built to simulate that natural growth obviated the need for an artist to place each blade of grass by hand, which would have been an unnecessary amount of work,’ Meyer explained.
All the imagery in the final product, from the human hand in the soil, to the seed germinating and the sunbird feeding its chicks in its nest, had to be meticulously designed and animated. The sunbird’s individual feathers, for example, had to be modelled to a physically accurate level of detail, so research was conducted to understand how the feather structure produced the bird’s characteristic iridescence. Then painstaking time was spent using Luma’s proprietary feather system to ensure the feathers were correctly placed, were of the right colour and length, and accurately represented many other characteristics (such as fluffiness) and, most of all, that they behaved correctly when in motion.
A rig was then built to move the model of the bird, allowing the animators to position it and create its performance. The animators spent months digitally posing and puppeteering the creatures that star in the ad, along with every other moving natural phenomenon that appears on screen, such as snow and rain, ultimately completing the illusion that bursts into life in the final product.
‘It’s not photorealistic, but rather stylised realism,’ Meyer said, ‘We weren’t trying to make it look as if it was filmed in live action; it’s an artistic take on realism, the goal of which is to communicate the message and to entertain, to enhance the narrative and turn up the pathos.’ The tortoise, for instance, is seen blinking through the rain and its walk seems like a struggle – but, as Meyer points out, in reality, tortoises don’t show emotion. ‘Our old guy does emote – not enough to break the fourth wall, not enough to destroy the illusion that this is a plausible version of reality, but enough for it to move from clinical realism to entertainment.’
Meyer was appreciative of the vision and trust shown by AVBOB and et al, ‘Going this route was a bold choice, which clearly required huge levels of trust, so all credit to AVBOB and et al for having that vision, seeing the potential and entrusting us with the responsibility of realising it. Once you have buy-in on such a macro level, you can proceed with confidence to break new creative ground. However, with that trust, the onus was on Luma to deliver, and hopefully, we’ve produced an epic and timeless centenary ad that will be remembered for generations to come.’
‘I am inspired daily by the formidable capability and talent of our team. Seeing our ad in glorious IMAX 3D and sharing the screen with Disney, Pixar and Marvel films, is an experience we will cherish,’ Meyer concluded.
Designers are invited to post their ‘Where T-Shirt Printing Takes Off’ themed T-shirt design on the Sign Africa or FESPA Africa Facebook page. The competition is sponsored by Midcomp/Direct Colour Systems and entries close on 10 September 2018.
Competition rules
Submitted designs should:
– Comprise of the ‘Where T-Shirt Printing Takes Off’ theme.
– Entrants should post their designs on either the Sign Africa or FESPA Africa Facebook page.
– Facebook posts caption should include the words ‘Where T-Shirt Printing Takes Off’ along with the hashtag ‘#FESPAAfrica’/ ‘#SignAfricaExpo’.
– Get as many likes as possible for their design to be printed and showcased at the FESPA Africa and Sign Africa expo.
– Email the posted design and your contact details to: Thapy@practicalpublishing.co.za
Please note
Entrants need to get as many likes as possible by 10 September 2018 (5pm). The top 15 designs will be printed and showcased at the event. These designs will be printed and displayed on site for the public vote.
Prizes:
First place: R5000.
Runner-up: R2500.
Third place: R1500.
Fujifilm South Africa has extended the deadline for the second edition of the Design Challenge, where over R38,000 worth of Fujifilm cameras can be won, to 20 August 2018.
Entrants are challenged to submit a design for a number of different categories (which include Interior Design, Retail Environment and ‘free’ category, where you can let your creative juices run free), using the Acuity LED 1600 II’s unique features creatively.
These unique features include:
1. Two or three-layer one-pass printing: simultaneous two or three-layer printing with colour, white and clear inks provides the ability to produce high-value creative prints. Print colour-white-colour layers in one pass for two-sided images on transparent materials.
2. Emboss effect: LED UV cures the ink instantly so there is no need to wait for the print to dry before finishing or shipping. This technology enables you to print multiple layers: you can print an imaged raised up to nine times.
3. Heat sensitive materials: LED UV lamps use a fraction of the energy of conventional curing systems, which means users can work with heat-sensitive media without deformation, saving money on power consumption and substrates.
4. Added value with clear and white inks: clear ink offers the luxury to highlight or enhance print with high-gloss spot finishes. High-density white ink can be used to produce creative effects on clear and coloured media. Colours, white and clear inks can be printed simultaneously.
5. Print on coloured materials: high-density white inks and multiple layer print enables Acuity LED 1600 II users to print vibrant images on a wide range of coloured substrates and achieve high-value special effects.
6. Print directly on to roll or rigid: quickly switch between the roll and rigid printing. Flatbed feed and receive tables are used for printing rigid media. It supports substrates up to 1610mm wide and can print on rigid sheet substrates up to 13mm thick.
7. High quality and fine text: achieve smooth tones and outstanding close-up clarity thanks to light inks, variable drop print heads and dot gain control. The Fujifilm technologies are accurately tuned to deliver brilliant images at speed.
Please note
You do not need to own an Acuity LED 1600 II, just the design must be able to be produced on the machine. There is no cost to enter the competition.
Winners will be announced at the upcoming FESPA Africa expo, taking place from 12-14 September 2018 at the Gallagher Convention Centre.
