Never one to shy away from a challenge, I donned my journalistic hat and set about doing a bit of background research, only to find out that there’s really not that much out there on organic marketing, it’s still a thought process Pike is working through. Thank goodness for Twitter (for putting me in touch with Pike), and for Pike’s willingness to share his thoughts. I can honestly say I have been enlightened and feel a little bit smarter for having spoken to him.

Without going into detail – you can read my article for that – Pike explained that organic marketing boils down to brand stewardship and the loss of control by the brand, something well documented by social media and marketing gurus. It is termed organic marketing because it signifies “the process of thinking about brands and branding like a farmer, not like an industrialist.” As Linnell noted, from her understanding after attending the Ogilvy social media discussion, “Marketing has become this thing that you can plant and it can have a trellis it grows up, but in the end its going to go in its own direction and you can only guide it.

In essence, we are living and marketing in an era of customer control, and Pike discusses that: “In fact, the brand is built not by advertising but by experience, by the experience that you have, and the experience of your friends. In the old world I could influence a handful with my story, now I can instantly tell thousands and my view could be passed on to millions down my social graph. The marketer’s task becomes facilitating this spread, because he can’t control it. What spreads is not the marketer’s message, but instead the consumer’s voice.”

For more information, contact Walter Pike on walter@pike.co.za or follow him on Twitter @walterpike.

So, with both the Loerie Awards and the Cannes Lions Awards having announced their call for entries for 2011, what better time to juxtapose local and international talent, while at the same time taking the opportunity to mingle with other creatives and experts in all forms of communication and creative thinking. And there’s no doubt that advertisers want to be part of the action, actually anyone in the communication industry would give their eye teeth to attend – just ask my colleagues!

With such high quality work being produced, it is important that it is recognised and nurtured on the local and international front, and I think this is where the real importance of these awards comes in – sure, it’s great to be recognised in the industry and add that trophy to your collection, but it also fosters competition to create even better work and take the industry from strength to strength, so in this way, I can understand the hype around the awards so far in advance, even if it does feel as if we’re in a constant cycle. And as this is the creative industry, why not have a bit of fun, learn something and show off while doing so?

What is your opinion of South African advertising, and how does it compare to its international counterpart? We would love to hear your comments!

Perhaps it’s something to do with the fact that, as CEO of aquaonline, Brent Shahim,explains, “the market is saturated with 48-million or 50-million numbers out there, more than the population,” so network providers need to look to other avenues to remain competitive in the market. Sure, that has to come down to service delivery, affordability and features such as the ability to browse online effectively, but apparently it also involves renewing their image.

The latest to jump on the rebranding bandwagon is Vodacom. Plans to refresh its brand and marketing image with a new or at least ‘tweaked’ corporate logo and identity were first announced in November last year, but according to MyBroadband, these plans will be put in place at the beginning of next month.

And, just as Cell C dropped its white background and red lettering for a bolder black on white/ white on black incorporating the colours of our national flag, it looks like Vodacom is also set to drop its iconic blue and green logo in favour of its parent company, Vodafone’s red inverted comma logo and white text.

I have to admit, when I first saw the mock-up of what the logo might look like, I almost reeled in horror – I mean, the original logo is part of South Africa’s marketing landscape and is recognisable to everyone. My immediate thought was, “They’ll have to seriously rebrand Vodaworld!”

But thinking about it (and let’s be clear here, just what the new branding will be is pure speculation at this point), in reality the Vodafone branding is already quite a significant part of the Vodacom brand – my colleague just got a BlackBerry on a Vodacom contract and the screen display is certainly not green and blue, but rather that fiery red. After all, Vodafone now owns 65% of Vodafone, while Telkom (ostensibly where the green and blue originated from) is no longer a stakeholder, so it’s what you’d expect, isn’t it? On top of this, I for one don’t really understand what it is that distinguishes Vodafone and Vodacom, or where they work together, so perhaps solidifying the partnership makes sense in that it will be clearer that they’re one and the same, or at the least that one is an off-shoot of the other.

In any case, get ready for the marketing campaign heading our way in April – 1 April is said to be the official launch date, with the brand planning to make use of the Sunday papers on 3 April as a launch platform – and whatever the new branding and brand identity is, it will certainly be more Vodafone-centric, according to Vodacom CEO, Pieter Uys.

A long way from the days of ‘Yebo Gogo’… and I wonder just how the Blue Bulls will feel about being sponsored by a red brand?

Glaceau Smart Water parodiesthis idea in its latest internet video. Jennifer Aniston is the star, as in the other Smart Water ads, but this time she tells the audience, “I’m here to talk to you about Smart Water. But in this day and age, I can’t just do that, can I? I have to make a video apparently that turns into a virus.” And so begins Aniston and the directors’ plight to find the key to making their video go viral. Cue lip-syncing kids, cute puppies, dancing CGI babies, a ‘double rainbow’ and even kicking a guy in the crotch (because “that should be worth about 100 000 hits.”).

However, the clincher is when Aniston drinks suggestively from a Smart Water bottle, resulting in the would-be viral video being called ‘Jen Aniston’s Sex Tape’. Seems the idea that sex sells is never far from marketers’ minds

Interestingly, trawling through YouTube, although the video has been posted several times, it has yet to get more than a few hundred views. So, is Smart Water trying too hard? Can consumers see too clearly that this is an ad trying to be funny and go viral? After all, most viral videos like said ‘double rainbow’ was never meant to be an internet hit, which Smart Water clearly hopes its video will be.

Clever idea and certainly pertinent commentary on the ludicrousness of viral videos, but is this a hit or a miss?

This is the beauty of franchising. For the franchisor, brand recognition, value and identity is increased with each new franchisee that follows the system and maintains the same standards. At the same time, the franchisee benefits from entering the market associated with a respected and established brand, rather than having to build a brand from the ground up.

Of course, this means that consistency is key, because this is part of what makes the overall brand recognisable and successful – the very reason we choose to go to McDonald’s in a foreign country is because we know what to expect, and understand the culture of the brand.

Not surprising, then, that pwc and the Internet Advertising Bureau released a report back in 2009 that showed that digital ad spend had overtaken TV ad spend for the first time in the UK and US. And Guy Philipson, Chief Executive of the Internet Advertising Bureau, is optimistic that the margin between the two is set to increase over the next few years.

Certainly at this point in South Africa, one can imagine that TV would still have more penetration than digital, and even studies in the US show that TV remains the dominant medium there. But as Brent Shahim, CEO of digital agency, aquaonline, comments, more and more people of all ages and backgrounds accessing digital platforms and being connected through mobile technology as well as the more ‘traditional’ online technology, it’s easy to see why it would be a good idea to at least dip into the digital market to engage with a whole new consumer segment – speaking to them on their own terms, at that.

Personally, I would be better able to tell you about T-Mobile’s latest viral video than I would about one of our own cell phone operators’ latest TV ads – and T-Mobile isn’t even a brand I have any use for in my day-to-day South African life… imagine if we were able to tap into that in our own market!

But in terms of branding, when I say red, what brand is the first to pop into your mind? I’m guessing Coca-Cola… am I right?

According to Context Creative, colour helps us process and store images and, as a result, remember them better. We recognise colour before we read words or even see shapes. In fact, studies show that consistent use of colour increases brand recognition by up to 80%. Colour creates such a strong association, that without seeing a logo, product or packaging, you can instantly recall a brand by its colour.

Colours have a significant impact on people’s emotional state and have a wide variety of specific mental associations. With this in mind, it’s important to choose the right colour or combination of colours for your brand to ensure that it adopts the desired associations.

And, as in Coca-Cola’s case, it’s even better if your brand can own its colour so that not only is it associated with the colour, but consumers also associate that colour with your brand… in much the same way that red might be associated with love, it’s also very much associated with that refreshing fizzy drink, which helps Coca-Cola stand out from its competitors without having to be overt with its branding.

As Valentine’s week comes to an end, I want to compare the capitalization of this holiday with Coca-Cola’s capitalisation of red as part of its branding. We all know that when we see red and pink hearts and rose, that Valentine’s Day must be approaching (some might run for cover, but that’s not the point). And in the same way, when we’re in need of refreshment and we see that bright red branding, we know Coca-Cola’s come to our rescue. In both instances, no words were necessary. It shows you the importance of symbolism and living your brand or cause boldly.

And, reverting back to where I started, it’s funny how both Valentine’s Day and Coca-Cola truly embody the passion that red symbolises (I won’t bore you with the many examples of Coca-Cola’s campaigns encouraging consumers to ‘Open Happiness’)… good choice of colour, then – I think we could all take a leaf out of this book when it comes to successful use of colour.

Sally Falkow states on the Bulldog Reporter’s ‘Daily Dog’ that the 2011 Edelman Trust Barometer shows corporate spokespeople are back in favour, following an initial decline thanks to social media. Corporate spokespeople may well be flavour of the month again, but celebrity brand ambassadors are starting to fall out of favour. What makes it worse is that these are such influential people in the statusphere.

I’m talking the likes of Trevor Noah, who some would argue has already had more than his 15 minutes of fame – does anyone remember his actual original career path as a stand-up comic? Possibly, seeing as the Chief Experience Officer has 64 000 followers and counting on his Twitter feed, and most of his tweets are of a funny (not Cell C-related) nature. But he is undoubtedly the face of Cell C, now and forever more.

It’s amazing how technology has changed the way we live. On any given day, businessfolk around their country log into their Facebook and Twitter accounts and have learned to multi-task to such an extent that we are distracted at the best of times and up-to-date with the tiniest minutiae of the lives of our friends and family alike – even celebrities, who don’t know the rest of us from bars of soap in their local shopping centre.

Celebrity endorsement of products comes up as a topic of debate time and again, more so now that it’s that much more obvious to us, with their every thought and action cluttering up our Twitter and Facebook feeds. Much has been said about whether celebrity endorsement of products counts as advertising or just a word-of-mouth recommendation, seeing as it’s often paid for.

Interestingly, if the promoted posts prediction for Facebook comes true, everyday users who click the ‘like’ button for a brand may soon find those actions retransmitted on their friends’ pages as a “sponsored story” paid for by advertisers – turning everyone into a celebrity, or minor scale ‘ambassador’ based on the power of their recommendations.

What are your thoughts? Is sponsored tweeting par for the course with the digital times we live in? Leave your thoughts below.

The municipal elections are coming up this year – exciting, right? Politicians trying to tell us why they and their parties will do a better job leading us than their competitors… much like the modus operandi of brands in the advertising space, except with much less pizzazz – I mean, just look at those political posters, the same ones we see during each election period that all look much the same except for the different party colours.

Be that as it may, it is our duty as South African citizens to register and cast our vote, otherwise what’s the point of living in a democratic country or voicing our opinions in the social media space where it may feel good and have a viral effect, but generally stops there – this is the South African government, after all.

But this time around, it seems the Independent Electoral Commission is consulting with the communication experts to call on the millions of young South Africans who need to register to vote. AllAfrica.com reports that the ‘Love Your South Africa’ logoand ad campaigns, created by TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, “resemble the vibe and fashion of today’s youth culture, and just enough urban character to let it speak to the millions of young South Africans – and certainly those who are young at heart.”

It may not be at quite the same level as Barack Obama’s electoral campaign, which was groundbreaking in its efforts to engage with the youth through channels they most use and understand, but the words, ‘Love Your South Africa’ hold a deep meaning, reminding potential voters that it is up to them to preserve the country they love – and it doesn’t hurt that the campaign is put across in a funky way.

For your information, registration takes place on 5 and 6 February – to check your details, call the IEC’s toll-free number on 0800 11 8000 or visitwww.elections.org.za. The official election date has yet to be announced, but is expected to take place between March and June this year.

Usually the only similarity between the two stations is the repetitiveness of songs, but for the past few days, I’ve noticed a campaign running across the stations for Sasol Delight – interesting firstly because they aren’t part of the same media house (but I guess media planners don’t really have a problem with that as long as they reach the intended target market), but more so because while it is essentially the same campaign, each station has a different take on it.

The campaign on Highveld asks parents to ‘Tell us how you’ve embarrassed your kids’, while 5FM asks, ‘Did your parents ever embarrass you at school?’ Highveldbroadcasts the competition during its morning ‘Breakfast Xpress’ show, as well as during its Afternoon Drive with Mark Pilgrim, while 5FM relies on Gareth Cliff to do the job in the mornings. My take on this is because both kids and parents are on the way to school and work in the morning, but many more parents than kids are travelling home from work in the afternoons.

Both stations offer winners the chance to win their share of R37 500, but Highveldrewards each winner with R2 500, while 5FM has upped the ante by offering winners R5 000… wonder what the thought process was behind giving the kids more money than the parents?

Nothing hugely consequential here – at the end of the day Sasol Delight is gaining publicity in general, and specifically for its larger promotion where it will be giving away R250 000 in school fees. Just fascinating to see how a campaign can be reshaped to fit in with a specific target audience – and perhaps something that’s been learned from working with social media, where people only take note of something that speaks directly to them and their needs.

At the same time, however, I wonder if Highveld and 5FM are really such different channels that the same campaign couldn’t have worked the same for both? I mean, I listen to both, don’t I? One could almost imagine a better fit asking parents on Talk Radio 702 how they embarrassed their kids – at least that way, more of the listeners would actually be parents… in fact, more of the DJs would be parents, too!

But maybe that’s just me stereotyping… what do you think?