Leading business and marketing personalities together with memorable South African celebrities such as radio personality Jeremy Mansfield, Edith Venter and Olympian swimmer Roland Schoeman discovered the brands and personalities that shaped the phenomenal year of 2010. Entertainment was provided by one of SA’s most prolific Afrikaans rappers, Jack Parow, there were video interruptions from ZA News’ Jacob Zuma, Bheki Cele, Julius Malema and Helen Zille and a tongue-in-cheek photographic exhibition by Justin Dingwall of South African brands, using front covers and headline posters of the Sunday Times.

Two significant new grand prix awards that have added further prominence to the well-established event, saw very influential brand builders recognised for the first time for their contribution to this incredible year. MTN Chief Marketing Officer, Serame Taukobong, who was responsible for the hugely popular and catchy Ayoba campaign, was unsurprisingly honoured as the first Sunday Times Top Brands Marketing Personality of the Year.

In second place was Zayd Abrahams, head of marketing for sparkling beverages at The Coca-Cola Company. Tied in third place was Pieter Klerk, senior manager: planning and advertising of Toyota South Africa and Enzo Scarcella, Vodacom’s managing executive: marketing. These winners were chosen based on receiving the most nominations from the marketing and advertising industry.

The other new category that acknowledged iconic brand builders this year was the Robyn Putter Top Brand Agency of the Year. Sunday Times decided to dedicate and name the award after legendary creative advertising leader, Putter, who sadly passed away this year. The former Ogilvy South Africa CEO and Ogilvy Worldwide Board Director, built Ogilvy into the biggest agency in South Africa and one of the most creative agencies in the Ogilvy network. He won over 230 international creative awards in his career. This momentous award went to Ogilvy Johannesburg that received the most points for its clients that won first, second and third place for the Top Brand survey. This adds yet another accolade to the agency that has dominated industry awards this year and focuses on liberating brands with top clients such as KFC, Cadbury and Unilever. DraftFCB came in second place for points scored with TBWA Hunt Lascaris in third place.

The other grand prix awards announced on the night were for the overall favourite brand, the brand that has done the most to uplift the community and the brand that has done the most to promote ‘green’ or ‘environmentally friendly’. This year, the grand prix of all grand prixs goes to Coca-Cola, a re-award from last year. Second place goes to Koo, which has moved up the ranks from third place, while KFC comes in strongly in third place.

The spontaneous response from people in metropolitan South Africa saw Coca-Cola step up to first place for the brand that has done the most to upift the community, moving Pick ‘n Pay down two places to third position with Vodacom in second position (up from third last year). For the brand that has promoted being environmentally friendly the most, the top three finishers from last year took to the podium again. Pick ‘n Pay won, followed by Woolworths in second place and Nedbank in third.

The trend of South African consumers and the marketing industry recognising brands and builders that made us feel proudly South African, in the year that the country hosted one of the biggest sporting events in the world, also came through in the other categories. This was shown strongly in the new essential foods, tinned food, household cleaning and laundry care categories with well-known South African brand names coming out tops.

Other results from the business-to-consumer survey saw that respondents were more susceptible to the ‘recession regression’ but strong brands remained strong and sometimes even stronger, where people tended to turn and return to brands they know and love in tough times. The business-to-business survey results remained stable in comparison with last year’s results, with this sector showing ‘recession resilience’.

For all the results please see tables below.

[CLICK HERE TO VIEW PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT]

More social shots can be seen at www.face-box.co.za.

SUNDAY TIMES TOP BRANDS 2010 WINNERS’ LIST

*New category this year.

The fever is leaving us slowly, but there is no end to people who want to shake off the negative past and move into the light. Graham Wood of Southern Sun International attributes the quick change in perceptions of foreign visitors to South Africa to the infrastructure development that took place before the world cup – the airports, transport and roads showed we can hold our own with the best in the world. But the people of South Africa were the biggest asset, Wood says, as he recounts the warmth Southern Suns’ guests found so phenomenal, and the tears shed by a group of Brazilians when they bade farewell to the staff at a Cape Town hotel.

These are the nameless faces who promote this country in the way that Wood describes, but there are also many who are our icons, our human brands. And I am sure the first person who comes to everyone’s mind is Nelson Mandela: father of the nation, prisoner, husband, freedom fighter, son, negotiator, brother, statesman, grandfather.  The man who founded the military wing of the ANC, umKhonto we Sizwe, was at the forefront of freeing this nation from the shackles of slavery and won a Noble Peace prize. Friends and former foes speak with equal pride of one of this country’s greatest.

Then there’s Charlize Theron, who won us an Oscar, and is a famous star in Hollywood. Of course she has done her bit in promoting South Africa. Remember that speech? “I am just a girl from a small farm in South Africa.” Benoni, a small farm? Well, if you did not know it, she confirmed it! And then there was her appearance at the 2010 World Cup. By the way, I checked the origin of her name, and yes, she was named after her father, Charles Theron, but no, it is not one of those names that South Africans are so fond of making up – daughter: Craigalene, father: Craig; daughter: Garthella, father: Garth and mother: Stella; and so on. There really is a name, Charlize, of Germanic origin, and it is feminine for Charles and pronounced CH as in Charle-eze.

Hugh Masekela, the musician who made it big in the US, formed the first African jazz group in South Africa in 1959 – the Jazz Epistles – with Dollar Brand, Johnny Gertze, Kippie Mokoetsi and Makhaya Ntshoko. Masekela is just one of several South African artists who left the country and who made their mark for South Africa. Dollar (aka Abdullah Ibrahim), Miriam Makeba, Letta Mbulu, Jonas Gwangwa, to name but a few, all hit the high road and went abroad because of apartheid.

We are reminded of our own achievements again in woman’s month, August, as Brand South Africa honours women such as Dulcie September, anti-apartheid activist who was assassinated by unknown assailants in Paris; Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophie de Bruyn who marched to the Union buildings in Pretoria to protest the pass laws and laid the foundations for the emancipation of women in South African. Today South Africa boasts one of the highest representations of women in national parliament in the world – about 44% in the Lower or Single House and about 29% in the Upper House or Senate. How! Does this mean we beat the US, that grand old defender of democracy and freedom? Yeah!  Okay, enough bragging and back to the women who gave us our freedom. William Kentridge says of his drive to draw, to be an artist: “It’s the inner urge or inner need to be making something that gets the activity beginning.”¹ It is without doubt their inner urge and need which drove these mothers, wives, lovers, friends to take on the South African state.

Speaking of Kentridge, his work has been a comment on the political realities of apartheid South Africa and it continues to reflect the social milieu of this country. He is undoubtedly one of South Africa’s greatest artists.

And they are all proudly South African.

Okay, it’s not as easy as that. You have to make your money grow no matter how much you have, or living that kind of lifestyle will soon see it all depleted. Ask Will Smith, he could tell you a story about spending freely and nearly losing it all. Smith started out as part of a rap group trio, which won the first ever Grammy for in the Rap category in 1988. But the spendthrift soon lost all his money and was saved from bankruptcy when in 1990 NBC launched his acting career with the very successful Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Smith was consistently listed as one of the 40 richest under-40s in Fortune magazine. Aside from acting and music, Smith makes his money through the film and entertainment industry. But progression in ones industry is perfectly understandable, almost natural as opposed to those who start out as singers, move into acting and then next thing you know, they’re in your favourite magazine holding a perfume bottle that’s named after them.

Good old branding – and not the kind where you singe the hide of a cow with a hot iron. For a long time, celebrities have been endorsing products, giving themselves and the products mileage. Now many of them have their own brands. And they are successful. Why?  Because people want to be like them – wearing Paris Hilton perfume or handbags or sportswear or sunglasses or footwear (yeah, a long list and it goes on) makes them feel they can attain the lifestyle, the look of Paris. Strange how ordinarily good people with good values would want to be like Paris who has been in jail, who’s a household name not because of her movie, House of Wax, but because of all her hard partying and all the sticky situations she seems to find herself in. But that’s the power of branding. It has the ability to elevate people beyond their flawed characters to symbols of success, confidence, power; beautiful, sleek images.

Let’s face it, we are all susceptible to branding. Branding of the retail kind happens in the blink of an eye. It permeates our lives, creeps up on you even when you think you’re above it all. We all do brands. Everything up to our toilet paper has a brand name. It’s about choice. We can choose between Colgate and Mentadent. We can choose between Nike and Adidas. And the way in which products are branded is what makes one more popular than another. Who better to use than those beautiful creatures, who endlessly intrigue us with their antics, and who adorn our big screens and stages; who feature endlessly on our billboards and our newspapers?

People have to be “brandable”; George Clooney – film star, single good looking man, humanitarian, mysterious and funny and he sports sunglasses for Police; JLo – singer, dancer, actress, gave respectability to the protruding derrière (bless her soul), trendy, good looking, graceful and elegant, and she has among others, her own clothing line.

But there is a very real business imperative here. Take David Beckham, a brilliant soccer player, who has made millions using his skills. He is exceptional player in front of the goal posts, but nobody reaches forty in soccer anymore. Living the life to which he is accustomed is going to cost. No more soccer and voi·là, he has his own underwear line. Long live David Beckham – good looking and married to a brand. Elizabeth Taylor extended herself through Poison, Jane Fonda through L’Oreal, and the list goes on.

Many of them do it for the money, no doubt, but many do it for a cause – Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Annie Lennox, and Angelina Joli to name but a few. If you consider the campaigns they support – environmental issues, saving the whales, human rights – and the concerts for Haiti, to save the children of the world, for Nelson Mandela, and many others, you have to admire them and aspire to be like them. Are they the branding for the cause, perhaps? Branding is a powerful tool, and not just for retailers. It is a clever way of catching the imagination of ordinary people through structuring a message intended to be understood and accepted by recipients of that message.

Please tell us who you feel has made a noteworthy contribution to building great brands in South Africa. The 2010 winner will be honoured at the Sunday Times Top Brands awards ceremony.

Please fill in the full name of who you feel should win the Sunday Times TOP MARKETING PERSONALITY Industry Choice Award below:

After the successful relaunch of the Sowetan newspaper a year ago, Avusa Media LIVE launched the revamp of its digital home Sowetan LIVE, www.sowetanlive.co.za on July 21. This follows extensive research among its fast-moving and rapidly evolving users. A 76% year-on-year growth of the news site, according to Nielsen’s June 2010 rankings, indicates that the contemporary black community are very hungry for news, insights and advice that further empower them to be in the know and on the move.

Over and above research feedback, Avusa Media LIVE made key changes based on local and international trends in news sites and from learnings on sister sites such as  Times LIVE. Key changes include a fresher and cleaner look and feel allowing users to find information more quickly and easily. The site facilitates more interactivity with users who can now comment on articles and share their favourite stories via Facebook and Twitter. There is also better multimedia integration with all relevant videos and audio clips and photo slideshows integrated into each article.

“The Sowetan news site is Avusa Media LIVE’s second biggest news site after Times LIVE. Its audience has grown from 247,236 unique users in June 2009 to 436,354 unique users in June this year, according to Nielsen’s latest figures,” says Elan Lohmann, general manager of Avusa Media LIVE.

“This is an audience that has arrived and is no longer limited by the past. They know what they want and where they are going and they are highly engaged online. It’s now time for Sowetan LIVE to move forward with its users as a trusted companion that empowers them with knowledge, shares their successes and connects them to their community.”

Reader research shows that the overall favourite content is breaking news, sport, community news, celebrity gossip including the Shwashwi column, weddings and engagement pages and columnists. An indication of how engaged this audience is with the site and the community driven spirit that the site engenders is the success of the weddings and engagements blogs. The blogs are purely showcases of readers’ babies and weddings and the influx of user contributions for both has been phenomenal. There are plans to further enhance the community driven elements of the site post-launch.

Sowetan’s online users also confirmed that breaking news is the main reason for them visiting the site but they want it to be easier to browse. Sowetan LIVE’s home page, section pages and articles now have more space and are less cluttered so it is easier to read the content. Navigation tabs have also been cleaned up and reduced with information logically grouped under the sections.

Users also want a more exciting look and feel with more visuals. This has resulted in updated colours, font styles and a new logo. The logo and branding has been updated to include the LIVE digital brand extension of the Avusa Media LIVE stable.

“The launch of Sowetan LIVE forms part of Avusa Media LIVE’s strategy to continue to advance and innovate in the digital space. This is why the Sowetan news site is our second site to migrate to the Escenic web content management system, used by other major international publications including The Telegraph, Aftonbladet, The Schibsted group and The Sun. The LIVE digital brands will all incorporate international design standards and bring front-end design up to the user,” points out Lohmann.

Stories on Sowetan LIVE now carry more pictures and rich media is integrated into the articles. As interactivity is key, users are also able to comment on the site and be a part of regular polls on issues of the day.

“Sowetan LIVE is very consumer focused and our consumer advice and information is unique in the online space and incredibly valuable to our readers. Our new Help Line section contains all our consumer advice columns from the paper including Consumer Line, spearheaded by our consumer editor and champion Thuli Zungu, Dear Dudu who offers relationship advice, Mama Angel who carries out good deeds for those in need and Motoring Q&A which focuses on car advice,” says Juliette Saunders, editor  of Sowetan LIVE.

The majority of readers on the Sowetan news site are black males between the ages of 25 to 34, who speak English at home and earn a combined personal income per household per month of between R12 000 to R15 999. They are based in Johannesburg, have a university degree, are qualified employees or experts such as teachers and nurses. The majority of the users access the internet at work via ADSL.

To view the new world-class site visit www.sowetanlive.co.za or m.sowetanlive on your cellphone.

The Nelson Mandela: A Living Legacy published in the Sunday Times on 18 July and in Sowetan on 19 July gives an account of the life of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. It briefly examines his role during the struggle for freedom and how this influenced events in the country and internationally. It examines his achievements in building a nation and promoting democracy, equality and freedom as the first president of a democratic South Africa and beyond. This includes how in 1995 he embraced the South African rugby team to drive unity among South Africans, part of his effort to build a rainbow nation, and how these efforts have been replicated by others in 2010; it will include his strides in promoting quality education, in fighting HIV/Aids and poverty. This is a tribute to Nelson Mandela, and to those who have fought with him, but also to those who take forward the lessons they have learnt from him.

Yes, it is here. But how well South Africans have done in selling ourselves is debatable. One often hears people (foreigners) say that South Africans are their country’s own worst enemy. Do we leave it to the Brits to say how bad crime is in South Africa because some guy was mugged while walking down some deserted alley and talking on his mobile? (And yes I know there are worse crimes than these!) No, we lay into the government and the police, into the president and all his men and women. Do we leave it to the Germans to talk about our lethargic service delivery or how we should fear for the dark nights because Eskom can’t get together its act? Or how the roads with all their potholes in this country would never compare to Australia’s beautiful highways? Or how Bafana Bafana is a lost cause? No, we are quite good at digging up the dirt ourselves and advertising it internationally at any given time and opportunity.

Well, this column was meant to be about how ridiculously high the prices were for accommodation and for airfares and bus fares, but you know what my dears….frankly, I don’t give a damn. I cannot sit here and write a single bad word. Not today, not tomorrow and perhaps I never will again be scornful of how things are going in this country – perhaps. I can still see Tshabalala move towards the goal posts to deliver the most incredibly beautiful shot, and I can still feel the thrill as the net danced at the impact of that boot. And the scenes from the stadium, Bafana’s little sideshow dance, the crowd’s ecstatic roars, the great spectacle of South Africa’s colours adorning heads and eyes and ears in some form or another, left me speechless. No, wait, I do remember uttering some weird hoarse AAAAHHHH and nearly falling over the coffee table with the rest of my family as we each tried in our little lounge to do our version of the diskie dance. Have any of you actually seen someone do that right?

And that’s the wonder of this World Cup, now that IT IS HERE! And it comes in the wonderful shape of the Makarapa, the invention of Alfred Baloyi, 51, a Limpopo municipal worker. Baloyi made good of bad when he saw another fan suffer a blow on the head after a bottle was thrown from the stands at a Kaizer Chiefs match in 1979 – ooooh, our very own hooliganism! The safety construction hat proved a reliable protection against such missiles, and the Chiefs flag gradually turned into more and more elaborate adornment. Driving through the streets is like being in our own version of Men in Black, with motor cars sporting mirror socks and flags, some painted in SA colours, and drivers wearing everything from South African scarves and hats and shirts to Gogolos and fans walking on the pavements in all their regalia and their wonderful head gear – aliens of a different order. View Makaraka Media

The constant drone of the Vuvuzela on TV and at stadiums around the country has elicited much debate, but the offending trumpet has survived. And it was not only a hit at Bafana Bafana match. I bet the Portuguese can show us a thing or two about blowing that horn.

We wait for Bafana Bafana to take on their next opponent, and we hope for victory. But regardless, the euphoria of a nation, the rush that every TV clip of the home team brings, and the palpable excitement of youngsters rushing to the fan parks to enjoy the moments of brilliant soccer played on massive screens – all these speak of a success that was unimaginable for South Africa, but which we have proudly attained, and with it a oneness that we should foster.

South Africa, we are proud.

It is here.

 
 
And Let’s Go 2010 definitely helped keep the 2010 Soccer World Cup uppermost in the minds of South Africans, way before the fact. Now we have outdone ourselves again, moving from a weekly edition to a daily rendition of all the Soccer World Cup action played to the drone of vuvuzelas. Let’s Go 2010 is so large, you can see it everywhere. Splashed across the Cape Town airport domestic departure lounge, the visual would be rather hard to miss, and at OR Tambo, a massive soccer ball newspaper stand invites you to take your copy – and it’s free.

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 Branding could not get better for this excellent publication, as the outdoor advertising campaign is right on the money with billboards placed so strategically at Cape Town airport and in Rivonia Road.

 
 
 
And it moves – what with metered taxis driving the message all around Cape Town and home, and single-deck busses doing the same in Johannesburg. Impressively featured on a downtown Johannesburg building wrapped by The Sunday Times, the outdoor branding is complemented by a radio campaign of tactical shows on Kaya and Metro. All media will be up for the duration of the World Cup, after which it will be rebranded to fall in line with marketing objectives for the specific brand owners.

 

 
 And then of course, there are the soccer ball water taxis at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town, which, though not specific to Let’s Go 2010, advertise its carriers, The Times and The Sunday Times, Sowetan and Sunday World. Let’s Go 2010 is certainly here.

 
 

Well, there are some movies that are so brilliant (to me) that I could watch them over and over, but going to the movies to see the same movie over and over just isn’t on. They’d look at you funny the third time you come for the same show. And anyway there is no pause button at the cinema to allow for that odd cup of tea in between. So the video shop fast became one of my best friends – still is. I am on first-name terms with the assistants, I know how many dogs they have, their favourite film genre, and who their child psychologist is – everyone uses the same person, it’s like the age of Dr Spock babies. And, I have moved with the times, I know how to use a DVD player, unlike my parents.

So while we are somewhere down memory lane, let me remind you of when you were young (I mean between the ages of 7 and 22 years). Know how your father always hauled you in to “come and fix this thing so I can watch it”? Remember when they were stumped while you were smoking ciggies (or worse) on the sly at your friend’s in another neighbourhood or were out for the night and they had no clue how to disconnect the video machine from the TV and reconnect the TV cable to the aerial socket or the difference between input and output only so they could get a signal to watch the SABC news? Okay, only some of us do.

Babysitting my six-year-old nephew without whom I had no idea of how to turn on their TV, made me think hard about how frustrating it must have been for the folks sitting at home, fuming because they were not able to watch “their programmes” while I was out gallivanting. And in my desperation I regretted it so intensely as if that would immediately absolve me and by some miracle allow me to turn on the thing that would not go on, no matter what I did. All the possibilities on the control with that illusive button, the various combinations of illusive buttons, the knob on the amp that said Aux, another which said Play, played with my humour. If my parents could have seen me, can you imagine their jubilation? I doubt it. You don’t know them like I do. It would be akin to Bafana Bafana winning the World Cup. And yes, I mean in 2010.

Why is it that these little people have to be so clever with the newest gadgets? Isn’t it just amazing that they and technology have such an affinity, they almost seem to know each other by osmosis? And the more they mutate into something complicated, the more they gel. I still do not have my Nokia under control with all its fancy features (call mailbox, PTT, IM, Quick Office – a misnomer if you ask me – and a myriad more). I bet you that the single-digit-year-olds would have it down pat in a minute. I watched in awe as my friend’s nine-year-old nephew did something to my phone with his phone and next thing UB40’s Red, Red Wine was my new ringtone. Kids and technology. We could exchange anecdotes and debate about whose child’s cleverer for hours, but, if that is the measure of clever, many of you and I don’t fit the bill.

A nine-year-old outclassing you with his techno-sus is less humiliation than a six-year-old turning on the TV so you can watch:

“Don’t you know how to do this?” met with my studied silence. “Why don’t you know how to do this?” met with more of the same. A really smug smile from a six-year-old and you know you’re done for. I am sure we were not like that with our parents. I have no clue, but I will pretend to be deaf and live with the certainty of a looming embarrassment – one fine day when we are all sitting in the garden, having a braai, that six-year-old will inform the company of my technological challenges, because somehow, they always manage to remember that wretched moment when there is an audience to share it with.

General Motors chairman Ed Whitacre recently caused a stir at his organisation when he replaced older executives with young blood. Thomas Stallkamp, who was part of the team that restructured Chrysler Corporation in the 1990s, says changing the face of the company, from a culture that was “so inbred, so genteel, [that] people were afraid to speak up”, showed GM was making a serious effort in the right direction.

South Africa is seeing similar trends, with companies increasingly employing younger senior executives of all races. Not so long ago the late 40s and 50s were considered the appropriate age for holding the top job, but the age levels are dropping because of, among others, better education and technology (always a culprit).

Does this mean that if you do not reach the higher levels of management well before 50 all is lost? Do the years you have put into your jobs mean nothing to the companies or society? When you have been promoted (read moved aside) to make way for the young energetic and self-motivated enthusiast, and he or she turns to you for an opinion or advice, do you mentor or sabotage?

There is nothing wrong with snapping up the pretty young things that excite with their insight, their brilliance and their enthusiasm to learn and lead. Leaders might have a sell by date, but it has no age limit. Young people who have the potential to excel, the emotional intelligence, the foresight to listen, and to do so well, the willingness to consult and the humility to see sound advice and take it when offered, should be cherished because they are the leaders we need. But 20 years are 20 years and all too often the glow on the young CV is dimmed by the experience factor.

How do we gain experience if we are not given the chance to gain that experience?
The experienced executive, whose time it is to move up and sideways rather than up and up, has a valuable role to play. There are all manner of things that they could do to build and keep organisations (across all sectors) strong, including running business seminars and workshops on skills development. The most crucial support role for young inexperienced executives comes from those who know. Older people are valuable, their advisory role is critical and as such they often play a crucial role in companies or other organisations.

Let’s face it, when you’ve done all you can to turn your organisation into the best it can be, with time things can become a little “same old, same old”. Sideways is also a challenge to find new avenues for using your skills, and finding something new to contribute to the development of your organisation and to society is what a good leader does, young or old.