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MA(SA) – The Way Forward. ABC - Johannesburg Monday, 14 November 2011. Adding value to your business. ABC or ABA in the near future?. Not sure what the 3 rd Q sales figures are going to look like, but I bet there aren’t many (or any) titles showing strong growth! Why is that?
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MA(SA) – The Way Forward ABC - Johannesburg Monday, 14 November 2011 Adding value to your business
ABC or ABA in the near future? • Not sure what the 3rd Q sales figures are going to look like, but I bet there aren’t many (or any) titles showing strong growth! • Why is that? • A visit to the AMA and attending many newspaper conferences around the world (INMA/WAN-Ifra/etc) simply confirms what we all know by now… • There are more people (read audience) in the world online than offline, and yes, the gurus now call newspapers, magazines and outdoor OFFLINE – quite disturbing in a way • What has simply not happened YET, is that advertising budgets haven’t followed the audience • BUT IT WILL…SOON!
A few truths that keep print publishers awake… • The production costs and subsequent replacement costs of newspaper and magazine printing presses and inserting equipment are astronomical and therefore not sustainable • The distribution costs and infrastructure required to reach the audience is astronomical and therefore not sustainable • The business model of newspapers in todays fast moving world is flawed and the content of your morning newspaper is actually 12 hours or more old – the world doesn’t work that way any more • The green issues of paper and saving trees as well as the carbon footprints of the millions of vehicles required to distribute stock • Broadband is on our stoep and will be widely available soon • Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are changing the way people consume ALL information, including news • Digital cost of entry into content markets vs. printing and distribution
So what is the future of offline media? • Publishers will tell you that newspapers and magazines will be around for a long time to come • Prof Guy Berger pronounced some years ago that the last newspaper will be read in 2041…and then added, MAY 2041 • Sales graphs of most newspapers – trended over a 20 year period – will reveal the real facts, and especially during the last 10 years, indicating an exponential decline in the newsprint platform • I predict that newsprint has a 10 year window to still generate revenue • But the operative word in NEWSPAPER is NEWS and not PAPER • Many brands will continue to live on in other and new exciting platforms yet to come • The concept of an aggregated total audience (ATA) excites advertisers and should be used as a sales tool immediately
And all of this freaks us out..a little • In the USA there are now specialists treating people for Facebook addiction – never heard of newspaper addiction! • Your mobile phone is now closer to you than any other living or dead thing in your life! • Losing your mobile phone, and therefore your address book and saved message, is cause for such stress that already 2 people have reportedly committed suicide • According to developers the solution to losing mobile phones or theft of these very expensive devices is to….implant the sim somewhere in your body and connecting it to your sensory network! • Email is a thing of the past • A new universal iconic language is slowing developing
A timeline of marketing SA CASE STUDY What happened to the marketing industry in South Africa? an OBJECTIVE view of the situation, 2006. MARKETINGWEB published this case study, submitted to them by an industry insider who wishes to remain anonymous, in the interests of learning lessons from it to apply to future bodies representing marketers.
It all started with the DMA… The DMA, the Direct Marketing Association, had its origins in the 70s with the establishment of direct mail houses. It was not until 1982 when the then van Zijl, Schultz, Lund, and Tredoux, an advertising agency that had tenuous links with Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, set up Ogilvy Direct, under an import, Joost van Nispen. Indeed, David Ogilvys secret weapon, direct marketing, had arrived with a vengeance. Measurable, efficient and accountable, direct marketing came of age and somewhat clumsily educated South African business into recognising that junk mail was not direct marketing. That it was a legitimate part of the marketing mix and further could and did use a multimedia approach effectively. The DMA came of age. Though, of necessity, the fragmented industry around direct marketing remained small with some advertising agencies jumping on the bandwagon of direct, offering clients full service and coincidently benefiting bottom line. Its income stream emanated from sizeable donations from suppliers, through to both company and individual subscriptions. Marketing in South Africa, was for a long time equated with advertising. But as USA marketing influences and trends reached South Africa, a clearer industry and subsequently business understanding developed. Sale was no longer a 2 four-letter expletive and the marketing/sales continuum understood and recognised.
…and then came SASOM… Enter SASOM, the South African Society of Marketers under the stewardship of Hugh Lendrum. SASOM represented the marketers; no, not individuals, but the companies involved in marketing, who employed marketers and via a marketing budget, used marketing techniques to generate sales. But, again vested interests reared, and SASOM went the way of all flesh and bit the dust. Important to note that here again the fractious nature of the industry was highly apparent. This is not a criticism, but an observation of the time reflecting the history of marketing in South Africa.
…and SASOM became ASOM… Derrick Dickens became available out of the demise of BBDO where he was Client Service Director on Datsun, soon to become Nissan. He was appointed Executive Director of a new body that the marketing companies decided to form out of the remnants of SASOM ASOM, the Association of Marketers of South Africa. ASOM pulled in all the big guns and all the captains of industry to either serve on the board or to in some way, be associated with the association, giving it class and credibility amongst its business peers. The establishment of ASOM was very clearly designed to recognise MARKETING COMPANIES interests, needs and importantly, the marketing budget and to represent the interests of the companies. And, as an important by-product, the interests of a developing, formal, commercial marketing industry. It was never designed nor contemplated that it would represent individuals, though it would recognise individuals through the Loeries, the Protea Award and the subsequent B2B awards.
…and ASOM became MFSA… The 3-fs at work. Fractured, fragmented and fractious. An egocentric industry caught up in its own self-importance and multiplying costs by three; three administrations, three boardrooms, three executive directors, three finance departments. Three different sets of awards. Three wiz! The list is endless! The DMA representing the industry, interested companies and individual practitioners. ASOM, by far the largest in terms of budget and influence, representing the marketing industry in its widest sense as well as the marketing companies. And then the IMM, the education of individuals. When the new government or for that matter anyone, needed to speak to the marketing industry there was no one body to speak to. A series of consultative meetings was the order of the times.
…and the MFSA…well,sadly… The Marketing Federation of South Africa (MFSA) is to be wound down following a decision by its Board on Friday September 30, 2005. The decision follows several interventions by the Board to deal with management problems, which arose at the organisation during 2004. MFSA Chairman Jabu Mabuza says that the MFSA will be wound down in a voluntary, orderly process. “The Board applied their minds to the options available and decided to take the tough but prudent course of action”, says Mabuza. He said that the decision leaves the marketing community free to set up a new representative body. “The MFSA Board wishes to thank the staff who continue to do their best despite difficult conditions,” says Mabuza.
…enters MA(SA)! Enrico du Plessis took up the task to set up a new representative body for the marketing community. April 2006 a shelf company First Ready Development 787 was incorporated under the Companies Act as a Section 21 company trading as The Marketing Association South Africa or MA(SA). MA(SA) has a Code of Conduct and is managed by a Chief Executive Officer reporting to a board of directors. The present chairman is Brenda Koornneef, Business Executive: Group Marketing and Corporate Strategy for Tiger Brands Limited.
Mission and Vision • ABOUT: The Marketing Association of South Africa MA(SA) • MA(SA) provides a representative voice for organisations and individuals within the South African marketing industry. The association seeks to provide leadership, mentorship, support and guidance to the industry and promotes the concept of self-regulation, independent and credible research and professional and ethical marketing practices encapsulated through the chartered marketer and marketing practitioner designations. The association is actively involved in influencing national policy, legislation and strategy on marketing and related business issues.
Value proposition of membership Marketing, in essence, is the art of adding value to business.So how can the Marketing Association of South Africa add value to the way you do Business? For a nominal fee, as an Individual or Corporate Member, here are just some of the benefits you can enjoy. • Access to a network of credible business and marketing professionals representation • The ability to influence national policy, legislation and strategy on marketing and business issues • The assurance of world class educational and training standards for our profession • Guidance and support on issues of strategic and professional interest and importance • Enhanced personal credibility as a Marketing Professional • Immediate subscription to a code of professional conduct • Access to the official Journal of Marketing • Discounted rates to marketing and other business events • Participation in recognition programmes and awards.
Case Study Pointers 1 • MASA should be mindful of the widest definition of marketing and take into consideration its TARGET MARKETS. • It should realise that the market place and consequently the industry is DYNAMIC, cutting edge. • It MUST service the needs of all of its component parts. Realising exactly where the income streams lie and the work necessary to unlock them. Service! Service! Service!
Case Study Pointers 2 • MASA must embrace education, in particular recognise the need for marketing qualifications. Chartered status is the only way to the boardroom for marketers, and must not be neglected. This is not to say that any new body should either usurp or duplicate the role of an education institute. • MA(SA) should be ever mindful of the failure of the MFSA and accordingly operate as a marketing body largely representing the marketing industry and marketing companies. A replacement for individual representation should be sought along the lines of the defunct IMM.
Case Study Pointers 3 • Recognition should be given to those sections of the marketing industry, which have decided to go it alone. PRISA, SAMRO and the DMA. The independent education service provider, the Institute of Marketing Management (Pty), Ltd and of course the Loeries (now a section 21 company). What about the Loerie Education Trust? And the former ASOM funded chairs of marketing? The marketers as stakeholders in the Loeries? • What about the Marketing Industry Trust (MIT) or rather its successor in title, the Levy Collection Agency (LCA and today MAMCA) and the funding of other industry-desired bodies, such as the ASA, the ABC and the Freedom of CommercialSpeech Trust?
Case Study Pointers 4 • Relationships with government, organised business and other marketing related associations; the advertising agencies, commercial producers association, media bodies and the like, both private and statutory. • And the vexed, eternal question, whose money is the levy, anyway? Who does it belong to and who controls its allocation and use? • Marketers relationships with the Services SETA, MAPP SETA and SAQA. African and European marketing bodies.
Case Study Pointers 5 Possibly at this stage there are two major drawbacks to any future success: • Finance. Where will the funds come from to make this all happen or will a lethargic industry sit back on its now non-existent laurels and expect the usual volunteer willing horses to do the work. One suggestion is for the top marketing-spending companies, by AdIndex listing, to each contribute an amount to be used to re-establish an association. Without funding, sustainability and legitimacy become insurmountable problems. • Expertise. There are many experienced and successful marketers out there who would be more than willing to provide of their skill, knowledge and expertise.
The (possible) way forward • A visit to the American Marketing Association (AMA) in Chicago provided much food for thought • Their brand positioning is “MARKETING POWER” • Umbrella association for the full marketing definition that includes classical advertising, public relations, direct marketing, online, etc • No corporate memberships • 37,600 individual members (Revenue Line 1) • Range of marketing publications to members with advertising (Revenue Line 2) • Annual marketing conferences, themed and with international recognised speakers (Revenue Line 3) • Major Marketing Awards (ala Loeries) (Revenue Line 4)
MA(SA) – The Way Forward Johannesburg Monday, 14 November 2011