Archive
Year: 2013
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State Information Bill Close to Becoming Law Amid Fierce Opposition
April 26, 2013
South Africa’s controversial Protection of State Information Bill, so-called the Secrecy Bill by its detractors, was finally passed by Parliament yesterday. It now awaits President Jacob Zuma’s signature to become law. The main objective of the bill, according to State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, is to protect state security. He says it is needed to enable government to better regulate the handling of sensitive state information, combat the peddling of such information and counter espionage...
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Don’t Like What People Are Saying About You? Then Change It.
April 25, 2013
Ah, life used to be so much easier for companies in the good old days before The Digital Revolution came and took over the world. They controlled the world: they could tell people what they did, and what they should think about them. How times have changed. Radically. Irrevocably. Suddenly, people buy stuff based on what they think of a company as much as the product itself – and those perceptions are being shaped by...
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Content Marketing – When Your Opinions Are Really Valued
April 23, 2013
As the media space in South Africa continues to contract and adapt, media traction for clients is becoming increasingly difficult. This is the reason the idea of ‘content marketing’ is taking over; positioning itself as the rescuer of all things not getting into the press on their own steam. In light of this trend, below are my thoughts on what constitutes good ‘content marketing’, and elements that should be taken into account during its development...
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I Just Can’t ‘Belieb’ It
April 15, 2013
So the world of communications has irrevocably changed - on that all communicators agree - but just how much damage is being caused by the power of social and online media in the hands of the wrong influencers? If the recent Justin Bieber debacle at Anne Frank's house is anything to go by I would say there is room for some serious concern. For those who haven't followed the story, the 'teenage superstar' Bieber commented...
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Re-Imagining Almost Everything
April 12, 2013
Companies around the world are constantly changing the way they do business, even to the point of reinventing themselves, so that they can keep doing what they have always done - which is to sell goods and services at a profit...
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Lessons to Be Learnt From the Weakening Rand
April 5, 2013
Over the last few weeks the South African currency plummeted to levels last seen in 2009, and according to analysts the local currency is weakening because of the manner in which South Africa is being viewed by investors. If the Rand’s plunge is sentiment - driven then it would be safe to say the currency is suffering as a result of negative perceptions around South Africa. A few events have cast a dark cloud over...
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Is Paid-for Media Gaining Ascendancy Over Earned Media? How Does This Affect PR?
March 28, 2013
Every PR practitioner knows the frustration: you open the newspapers or trawl through media monitoring reports only to find that, your client’s all-important event or press statement did not see the light of day. Brace yourself for more tearing of hair because it’s getting worse. And, unlike in the cliché, it’s not going to get any better after that. The evidence is all there for us to see...
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Internships … Are They Worth It?
March 26, 2013
A view from a former intern That’s the question I’ve come across since my time of being an intern. The question is often raised by individuals who usually have a misconception of what it really means to be an intern, and to be honest I also used to be counted amongst these. My perceptions have since changed as I’ve been fortunate enough to ‘intern’ at a place where I was not only treated as an...
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Why Generation Y?
March 19, 2013
Known for their impatience and lack of brand loyalty, Generation Y has become the Achilles Heel of many consumer brands. With Gen Y soon surpassing the number of baby boomers (Gen X) in the work force, companies cannot afford to ignore this lucrative market. So who is Gen Y?...
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Controversy Continues to Plague SA Meat Industry
March 13, 2013
The ‘horse meat’ controversy erupted in the United Kingdom on the 16th January this year amid claims by The Food Safety Authority of Ireland that beef burgers with traces of equine DNA, including one product classed as 29% horse, were being supplied to supermarkets by Silvercrest Foods in Ireland and Dalepak Hambleton in Yorkshire, subsidiaries of the ABP Food Group...