Archive for August 2015

5 Interesting Facts About Advertising




5 Interesting Facts About Advertising

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”

South Africa’s online advertising industry is worth R319 000 000, and still growing.

1. Most watches displayed in advertisements are set to 10:10 because the hands of the watch frame the watch brand name and they make a smiling face

2. TV commercials during Super Bowl XLV in 2011 are estimated to have cost $3 million for a 30-second spot

3. The very first U.S. paid advertisement was a 1704 ad in the Boston News Letterwhich advertised an estate in Oyster Bay, Long Island

4. Many researchers argue that advertising is the most powerful art form on Earth.

5. Though the commercial “1984,” which launched the Apple Macintosh computer, ran just one time on American television, during the Super Bowl, it has had a lasting impact on advertising. Directed by Ridley Scott, the commercial was the first example of “event marketing,” or when a promotion deserves as much coverage as the product itself

RandomFacts. (2011, June 10). 55 Interesting Facts About Advertising [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://facts.randomhistory.com/interesting-facts-about-advertising.html
Friday 28 August 2015
Posted by Jared Kisten

Strictly Speaking Advertising


Strictly Speaking Advertising


Whether you love it or hate it, advertising makes up a very large part of our lives. So much so that it has become one of the biggest influences in consumer behaviour, as well as being one of the biggest methods of communication in the world.

Here is what other people have to say about advertising:

“Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.”
Mark Twain

“What really decides consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of your advertising, not its form.”
David Ogilvy

“The work of an advertising agency is warmly and immediately human. It deals with human needs, wants, dreams and hopes. Its 'product' cannot be turned out on an assembly line.”
Leo Burnett

“Creative without strategy is called 'art.' Creative with strategy is called 'advertising.”
Jef I. Richards

“News is what somebody somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is advertising.”
Lord Northcliffe
Posted by Jared Kisten

Loeries: The Bird That Catches the Worms





Loeries: The Bird That Catches the Worms


Sunday, 16 August 2015, Durban ICC: The Advertising Industry waits in baited breath as the winners of the 37th Annual Loerie Awards are announced. From 2 944 entries, 1 020 finalists were selected, and only 2 won the coveted Grand Prix Awards.


This year, for the first time, winners from across Africa and the Middle East region were announced together in each category. This year also meant two new categories were added to the list of winners: Music Video and Service Design.


"The Service Design category is a new one, but a very relevant one given the increasing demand for brands to create meaningful engagement with their customers," said Gareth Leck, Loeries Jury Chairman for the service design category.


Defined as “The conceptual planning and organising of people, infrastructure, communication and material components of a service in order to improve the quality and interaction between the service provider and the consumer,”service design is shedding light on the truest form of advertising today. Even if you’ve created an award-winning campaign that astounds the world, if your face-to-face communication (such as an out-of-date website, rude cashiers or untrained centre staff) is not up to scratch, your brand is going to pick up a nasty reputation.


Gareth Leck, Joe Public CEO and Andrew Human, Loeries CEO, explained that this first time category is all about the points where you interact with the consumer, where things tend to fall apart fall apart in the real-world despite great campaigns that win awards for effectivity and reach. If your brand's staff don't fulfil that promise those customers are likely gone.


The following agencies walked away with recognition in this area this year:

Prize
Brand
Product
Campaign
Agency
Gold
Unilever
Lifebuoy
Handle on Hygiene
Geometry Global Dubai
Silver
Volkswagen South Africa
Volkswagen Up!
The Uber Test Ride
Ogilvy & Mather CTN
Bronze
Unilever
Joko
Vaya Via Joko
Joe Public Ignite
Bronze
The Safety Lab
Giva
Digital Giving Platform
Y&R South Africa
Bronze
Unilever
Whatsfordinner
Instant Inspiration
Liquorice
The rise of music television channels and online platforms such as YouTube means that music is becoming more interactive than ever before. These days, developing a hit song means having an equally successful music video, and developing a successful brand means having a talented video producer on hand.


Music video production has seen spectacular growth in the last year. Both creativity and quality has skyrocketed, and this new category awards exceptional work and talent in this field of the industry. The Music Video category was sponsored by Songstruct.


“In recognition of this fact, the Loeries - Africa and the Middle East’s premier creative industry awards - have created a dedicated category for music videos. The organisers are calling on music video producers from all over Africa and the Middle East to enter their music videos from the past year before the deadline of 31 May 2015,” notes Music Africa on their website.
The diamond in the crown of creativity, however, was the KFC SoundBite campaign. A concept that introduces the urban youth to unsigned local artists, the SoundBite campaign comprised of in-store “bone technology”allowing KFC customers to listen t local sounds by placing their elbows on the audio tables. Directional sound speakers are distributed through the store to give customers sitting in booths the ability to customise their music experience by choosing from a vast selection of DMX content via their cellphones. USB charging stations are conveniently situated at tables and screens are used as an interactive point of sale to stream daily specials and content.


Following KFC’s brilliance is Loto Libanais “Black Cats”campaign, another Grand Prix winner.The media campaign effectively encourages people in Lebanon to play the local lottery by making them feel luckier. By sending all black cats in Lebanon away; black cats are considered bad luck; people will have increased luck, thus increasing their chances of winning.  


With these, and many other winners in mind, Decimal draws inspiration from the most innovative, creative advertising trends to produce effective, impactful campaigns. We not only look at the creativity, but also how it impacts your business and maximises your profits. It’s not always about winning awards, but when it is, we win big.





Wednesday 19 August 2015
Posted by Jared Kisten

Better Advertising, Better Business




Better Advertising, Better Business

Surround yourself with partners who are better than you are. Then leave them to go get on with it.” David Ogilvy, founder of Ogilvy & Mather.

Wikipedia.org describes an advertsing agency as being a service-based business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising and promotional activities for its clients.

This seems like a simple, uncomplicated activity that any company can do for itself. So why bother paying an agency to sell your product?

Advertising, one of the tools of marketing that communicates to your customers on various levels, is a specialised field that is more complicated than what it seems to be.


“Advertising has become such a specific and exclusive field that it has its own mechanics of operations, its own experts to seek advice from and its own distinct significance not just in the arena of marketing but also in the entire dimension of branding the product.” says Mehreen Misbah, a popular blogger blurtit.com

An advertising agency not only offers experienced specialists in the field of customer communication, they are also able to give you an outsider’s perspective on your brand, and compile a comprehensive strategy that is best for your business.

Hiring a creative advertising agency, especially an advertising agency like Decimal, opens up new opportunities you might not have been aware of.

Of course, Decimal offers you more benefits than just a creative insight:

  1. Specialised Experience: With a team of experts in different fields of communication, including Social Media, Graphic Design, Animation / Video Editing and Copywriting, you can be sure that you are getting the best in-depth service for your business.
  2. Time Efficiency: If you don’t have an internal advertising department, and you find that developing an advertising strategy takes up valuable time that you could be spending on product development or financial planning, then hiring Decimal Agency could save you time and give your ad campaigns the attention it needs to succeed. We also work to strict deadlines, making sure you get the quality results you want in the time you need.
  3. Cost-effective: It may seem like the initial cost of hiring an advertising agency is a big expense, but Decimal has relationships with many media houses, printers and social media services. This means we get better rates, better dates and you get a faster service. Your advertising is also more effective, increasing your sales and profit.
  4. Effective Branding: Developing a brand can be complicated and energy-consuming. Decimal offers a full-service, including powerful branding, including logos, print advertising, web development, social media and promotional activities. We make sure that your business reaches the right audience and builds up a positive reputation in the market.

To get the most out of your advertising, call Decimal Agency today. We’ll make sure you get the benefits your business deserves.
Wednesday 12 August 2015
Posted by Jared Kisten

Welcome to the Bigger Picture



Welcome to the Bigger Picture

You know all those motivational quotes that flood your Facebook account? Yeah, those puppies hugging teddybears, the woman staring out at the beach, the athlete running towards the finish line…? Do you have any idea what an impact these have on you?

In medical terms, Wikipedia.org describes this visual memory as:

“The relationship between perceptual processing and the encoding, storage and retrieval of the resulting neural representations. Visual memory occurs over a broad time range spanning from eye movements to years in order to visually navigate to a previously visited location. Visual memory is a form of memory which preserves some characteristics of our senses pertaining to visual experience. We are able to place in memory visual information which resembles objects, places, animals or people in a mental image. The experience of visual memory is also referred to as the mind's eye through which we can retrieve from our memory a mental image of original objects, places, animals or people.”

Our senses have a big impact on how we feel, who we are and what we do. And sight is probably the sensory tool we use the most. Our mind reacts very differently to visual stimuli than it does to other forms of communication. In fact, as much as 93% of communication is nonverbal.

Even though you might not appreciate the visual onslaught you get on Facebook, it actually does affect you. Humans have an innate fondness for different images, and each image represents an emotional or physical experience we have attached to it.

People generally think in pictures. It is the first form of recognition we experience as children, even before we can speak.Dr. Lynell Burmark, Ph.D. Associate at the Thornburg Centre for Professional Development says:

"...unless our words, concepts, ideas are hooked onto an image, they will go in one ear, sail through the brain, and go out the other ear. Words are processed by our short-term memory where we can only retain about 7 bits of information (plus or minus 2). This is why, by the way, that we have 7-digit phone numbers. Images, on the other hand, go directly into long-term memory where they are indelibly etched."

But what does this have to do with advertising, and Social Media in particular?

When it comes to developing Social Media campaigns that deliver results, nothing is better than visual content. The number of YouTube and Instagram users in South Africa has increased by 53% and 65% respectively. Pintrest, a social curation website for sharing and categorising images found online, is now South Africa’s favourite Social Media platform.

“We’re seeing the beginning of the visual revolution in online usage in South Africa,”says Arthur Goldstuck, managing director of technology market researchers World Wide Worx.

“The global rise of video is now making itself felt here. Once the cost of mobile data comes down for the emerging smartphone market, video will become a dominant medium, strongly supported by other visual media.”

While visual use in Social Media is becoming a big factor in South Africa, it is important to remember that it isn’t a one-size-fits-all exercise. There is clearly a trend towards using visual content, but agencies need to tailor this according to their target market t make it effective.

Decimal Agency recommends consistent research and testing in order to get the right formula. The trends are constantly changing, making it imperative to know what your audience likes to look at. Daily interaction and content is a must as it engages your audience and leaves no space for being left behind.

This is also the method that Decimal Agency employs in its Social Media strategies. Since the addition of our Social Media Manager, the interaction of our clients has increased by approx. 30%. This is excluding the increase in paid-for media.

If you’re looking to make most of your Social Media content, call Decimal Agency. We not only get the Bigger Picture, we use it to get your Business Bigger.



Friday 7 August 2015
Posted by Jared Kisten

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