Stories we are following today:

My Branded Life [mandylives.com]
King James‘ Alex van Tonder talks about so called “social media gurus”, women in advertising, those incoherent 5fm ads and the dodgy boys club.

Germany to GM, re: Opel: SCREW YOU! [thedailymaverick.co.za]
Economy minister Rainer Bruederle told GM CEO Fritz Henderson that “General Motors should basically carry out the financing itself” from now on.

The Great Atomic Film Cover-Up [huffingtonpost.com]
The atomic cover-up also reveals what can happen in any country that carries out deadly attacks on civilians in any war (such as Japan’s policy in China in World War II) and then keeps images of what occurred from its own people.

Amatomu suspended until a buyer comes to the party [grubstreet.co.za]
Golly. It’s looking a little dire at South African blog aggregator Amatomu, which is owned by the Mail & Guardian. There’s niet up on the front page sans this rather woeful message.

Research released by The World Wide Worx shows that the number of people banking from their cellphones has exceeded that of people banking from their PCs in South Africa, with more than a quarter of bank customers turning to their cellphones for services ranging from informational transaction types such as balance enquiries to financial transaction types which include account payments.

The Mobility 2009 study is being conducted in four phases, with the first three looking at the use of mobile technologies by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Consumers and Corporations, and the final phase exploring the Mobile Internet.

In the second phase it was revealed that, while 16% of banking customers in South Africa use the internet for banking, 28% use their cellphones. A total of 34% of banking customers use one or both of these channels. Outside of the branch and ATMs, only 6% relying exclusively on the internet, while 18% rely only on cellphone banking.

The study revealed that the main services driving cellphone banking were balance enquiries and notifications of transactions, with three quarters of cellphone bankers using these features. Just under half view statements on their cellphones, 35% transfer between accounts, and 28% pay accounts on their cellphones. In contrast, only 8% add beneficiaries via the cellphone, indicating both security concerns and set-up issues.

At the same time, two thirds of cellphone banking users were satisfied with the security of the channel. This suggests that, once customers start using cellphone banking, they grow increasingly confident in both security and usability aspects.

The study also shows purchasing via the cellphone beginning to take off, with 24% of cellphone banking customers purchasing prepaid electricity and 21% making general purchases like movie tickets and flowers. Purchase of airtime still leads the way here, accounting for 61% of cellphone banking users.

Mobility 2009 included research among 1,000 consumers in metropolitan areas, 1,000 SMEs and 240 large enterprises in South Africa.

Services driving cellphone banking:
Balance enquiry: 74%
Notifications: 73%
Buying airtime: 61%
Statement/mini-statement: 48%
Notification of account limit: 47%
Transfer funds between accounts: 35%
Pay accounts: 28%
Buy pre-paid electricity: 24%
Make a purchase: 21%
Add beneficiaries: 8%

The VW Citi is being retired after 25 years in production. The last Citi will be doing a victory lap around the country to offer everyone the opportunity to come and bid farewell to Citi by signing the vehicle. The entire victory lap can be followed at goodbyeciti.co.za and on Goodbye Citi’s Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube pages – where the public can also post their goodbye messages.

Have a message for the Citi? Let us know! We will be publishing a collection. Email hellomarklives at gmail dot com.

Full statement:

Following detailed consultation and discussion with industry leaders, the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival wishes to make clear its policy on entries into its Festivals which breach the rules.

There are many definitions of “scam”, and the issue is rarely black and white. As such, we want to develop a policy that is not only workable but also enforceable.

The role of Cannes Lions and its associated Festivals (Eurobest, Dubai Lynx and Spikes Asia) is to set the benchmark for creativity in communications, to celebrate creativity and to reward the industry for outstanding creative work.

Our role is not to come between the client and the agency; it is not to have a negative material effect on agency business; and it is not to penalise individuals from an agency who have not had any association with the work in question.

Our key rules in this regard are simple: “Entries cannot be made without the prior permission of the advertiser/owner of the rights of the advertisement. All entries must have been made within the context of a normal paying contract with a client. That client must have paid for all, or the majority of, the media costs.”

It is our policy that when a piece of work comes into question, we request clarification or further information according to the complaint raised. If it is not forthcoming or not adequate, we withdraw the award.

In future we will continue to withdraw awards that do not meet our entry criteria and announce that we have done so.

Our entry criteria include:

- Submitting full client details (including name, position and full contact details)
- A senior officer (CD, CEO or Chairman) from the entrant company must authorise the entry

Our checks include:

- That the client is legitimate and that the product corresponds with their portfolio
- Judges are offered the opportunity to raise queries with the organisers and information is gathered accordingly throughout the judging (media schedules, client authorisation, etc.)

We believe that banning agencies from entering on a wholesale basis is unfair on blameless individuals. There are many people who work in agencies who may not be involved with an erroneous entry and therefore should not be penalised. Our policy will be to ban the individuals named on the credit list if a scam is discovered.

The length and nature of the ban will be decided based on the seriousness of the case involved. We take the view that not all issues are the same and each case should be dealt with on its own merits.

In summary, the key issues which will guide us through this process are:

1) Was the work approved and paid for by the client and was it run using media space paid for by the client?
2) If an entry fails to meet this or other entry criteria, we will withdraw the award and make an appropriate announcement.
3) If we deem it is required, we will ban the individuals involved from entering our awards for a specific period of time which will be decided at that time.

On December 7 leaders from 192 countries will gather at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.  Since the conference in Kyoto global carbon dioxide emissions have increased to a record 31.5 billion metric tons. That’s 40% above levels in 1990, the basis year for the treaty.

In September the network of Ogilvy agencies launched a world-wide campaign for citizens to turn Copenhagen into Hopenhagen. By visiting http://hopenhagen.org/ and signing the petition South Africans can become join the Hopenhagen movement. The petition and all messages will be presented by the UN to the conference delegates.

The petition outlines that the people of the world urge political leaders to:

- Seal the Deal at COP 15 on a climate agreement that is definitive, equitable and effective.
- Set binding targets to cut greenhouse gases by 2020.
- Establish a framework that will bolster the climate resilience of vulnerable countries and protect lives and livelihoods.
- Support developing countries’ adaptation efforts and secure climate justice for all.

By Neil Higgs: Director – Innovation and Development – TNS Research Surveys

It is tempting to attribute Top Brand status to brands that are simply big.  After all, if a brand is big, surely it is doing something right?  Yes, of course it is doing something right – but the key thing is to determine what that is – brands can be big for many reasons.

So why might a brand be big?

It is tempting to attribute size to marketing success.  This may be the case.  But it may also be that a brand is big because of history – it was first in – or simply superior distribution.  A good example of this might be SAA.  It has more flights domestically than any other airline.  This is a major plus for business people who might need the flexibility many departure/arrival time options.  Hence, in the business market, SAA scores highly on regular usership (64%) compared with its nearest rival, Kulula, at 38% and British Airways at 27% (Sunday Times Top Brands Study 2009, conducted in association with TNS Research Surveys, sample size: 400 top business people).  In previous years, SAA would probably have won first place in the Top Brands Awards due this very factor.

But there is a flaw in considering a brand a Top Brand just by virtue of size.  How do people actually feel about the brand? Again, considering the business sector, users of airlines rate the airline they use regularly on average as 6.9 out of en using a simple ten-point rating scale.  But SAA only gets a score of 6.6 amongst its regular users – below the average.  This is where a brand that is smaller might now have a chance to rise up the Top Brand rankings:  BA scores a 7.5 amongst its users – well above average.  Clearly, they feel more attached to BA than do SAA’s business users.

But, as they say, there is more.  We also need to look at the relative pull that a brand has amongst its non-users.  Here again, BA scores a 7.0 – well above the average of 6.0 that the average non-user scores a brand they don’t use.  Hence, it has a higher level of attractiveness than average.  Unfortunately, here, SAA is again below average.  As a result, BA managed to push SAA aside is this year’s Business awards.

However, it is a very different story in the consumer part of the 2009 Top Brands study.  Here, not only did SAA have the highest usership but it also had the highest user scores (8.6 against an average of 8.1) as well as the highest non-user scores (8.1 against an average of 7.1).  This is a case where a brand is perceived to be both Big and Beautiful.

Why this disconnect between business flyers and non-business flyers?  The study was not able to delve into this type of questions as it already covered some 60 categories of brands but it is likely that the more frequent traveller becomes more critical than people for whom any flight is quite an event.  Further, there is no doubt that SAA, as the national flag carrier, will gain some residual kudos.

There are also brands where marketing has truly played a major part on their success, creating both high usership as well as brand love in the form high user scores and high scores amongst non-users.  Two good examples of this are Coke and KFC.  Both are market leaders in terms of usership – but they also have the magic “something” that marks them apart.

Both have users that are much more satisfied than average – and both have a high levels of aspirational pull amongst non-users.  Both had the highest scores in the entire Top Brands study.

How have they achieved this?

Clearly both have wonderful footprints – their distribution is a key factor in their success.  But both have advertising that has become renowned for its brand building excellence.  Consistency of positioning over time is key.  In addition, both deliver on their product.  Win win win.  Vodacom is another winner for the same reasons.

This year’s Top Brands methodology has, for the first time, introduced this concept of brand love as a measure that is independent of brand size.  It enables us to distinguish between brands that may have similar usage levels but that have differing levels of happy and committed customers or that have a better attraction amongst non-users.  This has enabled us to avoid rewarding big brands that have gone to sleep in people’s minds – something that creates cries of “foul” when a big frowsy old brand that everyone loves to hate wins a Top Brand award.

Size, of course, is important.  But so is brand love – or, as I prefer to call it, “brand sparkle”.  Does a brand sparkle?  Apple does.  In the IT category (business), it rose to second place, only narrowly losing to HP, despite its smaller usage level.  Avis does.  Kulula and BA do in the business sample.

Makes you think, doesn’t it.

Technical note
The 2009 Top Brands study was conducted in June 2009 amongst 3 500 adults across the country and 400 top business people on  behalf of the Sunday Times.  For more details, please contact Neil Higgs on 011-778-7500 or 082-376-6312.

The recent launch of sci-fi blockbuster District 9 presented an ideal opportunity for The Jupiter Drawing Room, Cape Town to align the Lucky Pet brand with the movie storyline through placement of the brand within cinemas. In the movie the aliens have developed an insatiable taste for cat food and will go to great lengths to satisfy their hunger for the food, even risking their lives to get their claws on a tin.

Creative duo James Armstrong (Copywriter) and Andrew Lang (Art Director) seized the chance to leverage the hype around the District 9 movie by placing the brand in this relevant space. When cinemagoers left the District 9 theatres they were confronted with an array of Lucky Pet tins bearing stickers reading “LOVED BY CATS. AND OTHER CREATURES.”

A look inside Coco Joe

Steri Stumpie is launching a t-shirt range in collaboration with Levi Strauss and nine of South Africa’s hottest young graphic designers. A limited edition run of 900 t-shirts will be available and will be given away to fans of the brand via the Steri Stumpie blog www.steristumpie.com and secret codes on Steri Stumpies in-store.

The designers include:

Alex Latimer: Bubblegum
Theory One: Raspberry
Jordan Metcalf: Marshmallow
Ian Jepson: Chocolate
Dylan Wyndham Jones: Strawberry
Daniel Ting Chong: Crème Soda
Brandt Botes: Vanilla Custard
Patrick Latimer: Banana
Ctrl Click: Toffee Caramel

Masters & Savant Worldwide and TBWA Hunt Lascaris have created a TV and Cinema commercial which combines the corporate identity of Standard Bank with the fun, sun and excitement associated with watching the national cricket team play.

Says TBWA Hunt Lascaris Creative Director Damon Stapleton, “The Standard Bank global campaign focused on the  connections that Standard Bank creates. The creative team used various forms of illustration, and live action, to show how Standard Bank facilitates connections between people and between businesses globally. Standard Bank’s sponsorship of the national cricket team further demonstrates the bank’s ability to develop connections between itself and South Africans.”