Press Release Archive

A Fulbright scholar from America’s acclaimed Yale University, Nicola Robins, is to ask some pertinent and hard-hitting questions of South Africa’s brand managers and owners when she addresses Brands & Branding for Good Conference 2010 in October.

A partner at sustainability think-tank and consultancy Incite, Robins has a BSc (Hons) from the University of Cape Town and an MSc in Industrial Environmental Management from Yale. She is also a Senior Associate of the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership in South Africa, a visiting lecturer at the UCT Graduate School of Business and co-founder of the Raindance Network which applies traditional African knowledge to sustainability challenges.

Her topic should prompt brand managers and brand owners to sit up and take notice, and begin asking hard questions about the future of their brands.

Is good enough? will explore the branding and ethical issues that arise when brands and their advertising agencies start leveraging how ‘good’, ‘considerate’ and ‘authentic’ they are and asks how the pursuit of self-interest and profit-at-any-cost, today’s biggest concerns for most companies and their brands, can ever be aligned with ‘doing good’.

Said conference convenor, Ken Preston: “An avid strategist, coach and facilitator, Robin has over 20 years of experience helping to shift the way people see sustainability in South Africa, the United States, China and Australia.

“The questions she is going to be asking delegates at Brands and Branding for Good 2 are extremely valid. For example, what happens to the rampant pursuit of self-interest and profit-at-any-cost when our brands ‘get good’?  Why is sustainability not philanthropy, and why should contributing one percent of post-tax profit to doing good be encouraged but not confused with building a sustainable society.

“The answers will shape the future of South Africa’s brands as they enter the new era of sustainability demanded by our consumers and our societies.”

Offering an unrivalled opportunity for local business to plug into a world of global insights, local case-studies, panel discussions and presentations over either one or two days, Brands & Branding for Good 2010 builds on the success of the inaugural conference held in 2009 to give brand owners and their agencies the opportunity to understand and appreciate the prevailing consumer shift, and align their brands with sustainable values.

Joining Robins on the podium will be:

• Leslie Pascaud – Director Responsible Marketing Practice, Added Value Group, Paris
• Mindy Goldstein – Partner & Programme Director Ogilvy & Mather, and member of the founding team of OgilvyEarth, New York
• Seth Farbman – Senior Partner and President, OgilvyEarth, New York
• Jean Cox-Kearns – Head of the Dell Take Back organisation for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region
• Melissa Attree – Social Media Marketing and Communications Professional and Founder, GetOn eMarketing
• Jo-Ann de Wet – Operations Director, McDonald’s, South Africa
• Mzamo Masito – Marketing Director, Nike, South Africa
• Paul Bannister – Managing Director, Ignite. Served as the acting CEO of the International Marketing Council of SA during the crucial build-up to the hosting of the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup.
• Mike Schalit – Chief Creative Director, Net#work BBDO South Africa, and Co-founder of the MAL Foundation
• Deon Robbertze – Executive Creative Director of Zoom and Creative Director Ogilvy Earth at Zoom Advertising, South Africa
• Mike Freedman – Founder, Freedthinkers
• Nicholas Maweni – Marketing & Communications Executive Sub-Sahara Africa, IBM
  • Mitchell Faigan – President Citizen Brand, Kimberly-Clark, USA
  • Terry Volkwyn – CEO, Primedia Broadcasting
  • Andrew Human – CEO, The Loerie Awards

Registration for the conference is now open; enquires and bookings via lynn@brandsandbranding.co.za or Brands & Branding for Good Conference 2010.

Links:

http://www.brandconference.co.za

When a consumer product, a university, a classic film or an individual successfully attaches themselves to one of the common stories of our heritage, they gain entrance into our minds and hearts. And, when they are in our minds and hearts, they take on the status of a brand. Brands create differentiation and distinction; they create choice. And you cannot be chosen unless you are a choice.

That’s the marketing truth examined by brand strategist at Brand Blueprint with over 30 years’ experience conceiving and implementing winning brand strategies, Joe Benson, in an article written for this year’s edition of Brands & Branding, for 17 years South Africa’s leading reference on all matters ‘brand’.

Exploring the related issues of brand sustainability and heritage, Benson notes that, if there is any one single characteristic and attribute of a brand that provides sustainable competitive advantage, it is heritage.

According to Benson, heritage is born in, and nurtured over, time.  Customers need time to buy and use the brand, time to make the brand a part of their lives, and time to endow the brand from one generation to the next. Heritage speaks of status, character, and social class.  It speaks of a traditional way of life that is of value to present and future generations. It speaks of inheritance, of shared experiences and of a common history.

Brands express and share their heritage in the form of narrative; a crisp, meaningful, relevant, and memorable story – a brand story. Disney’s brand story is about family and community.  Visit a Disney theme park and you will experience the safety, security and enjoyment of the quintessential American town.

Marlboro’s brand story embraces nostalgia to exploit the myth of the stoic, solitary American cowboy, a place of wide-open spaces, a time of simple choices, of good and evil and of heroism. Chanel’s brand story is that of the sensual, strong and independent woman who is seeking romance, spiritual love and the experience of ecstasy. Nike’s brand story is one of maximum performance, of challenging oneself to strive for one’s very best, and calling that achievement ‘perfection’.

Locally, one of South Africa’s oldest brands – and one relying on heritage to mould its persona to this day – is Groot Constantia. In an article in a book on the history of brands in this country being released at the same time as Brands & Branding, the value of this wine farm’s heritage is discussed.

“Our worth,’ says the estate’s General Manager Jean Naude, ‘is our tradition. The quality of every wine must be guaranteed. That’s the essence on which a brand like this stands. We would not survive otherwise. It’s as simple as that. And if we produced a mediocre bottle it would amount to an abuse, a waste, of the 325 years of history that have gone into producing this brand. That would be a crime, it should never happen.”

He notes of the enterprise today: “We can enhance the uniqueness and scarcity, but not the quantity. It’s something special. Here and there, we might make changes in cultivars, but we are followers, not leaders, we are bound to the past.

“We don’t make a huge fuss. That’s our approach. Groot Constantia shouldn’t be too flash or gimmicky since it’s the content that should stand on its own. That’s the substance of what we do. The wine has held its own for more than 300 years, and should continue to do so.”

As Benson maintains: “We all know, buy and experience brands that have a great heritage.  For some of us, it is Mercedes, Philips or Disney.  For others, it is McDonalds, Heineken or Gucci. What makes these brands great, what they all have in common, is that they have had the time to build a meaningful and relevant past – a heritage,” he writes.

To make sure you get to read the full article in Brands & Branding 2010 or in its sister publication, From Groot Constantia to Google: 1685 to 2010, go to www.brandswandbranding.co.za to order a copy of the new edition, or email lyn@brandsandbranding.co.za for further information.

Brands & Branding 2010 contains articles, research, case studies and brand profiles with over 1 000 pictures, graphs and illustrations reflecting the very latest thinking and achievements in branding in South Africa. Publisher Ken Preston maintains no other book delivers such comprehensive branding content, while providing a platform for brand experts to assert their views and share knowledge on branding trends.

“The topics addressed in the 2010 edition are too numerous to list here but there is a significant focus on sustainability as an economic issue, opportunity and imperative, offering responsible brands a clear competitive advantage for brand reinvigoration and reinvention,” he said.

This year also sees the staging of the second Brands & Branding for Good conference at the Hilton Sandton on the 13^th and 14^th October.  Again, contact lynn@brandsandbranding.co.za for further information or to book.

Four top admen have signed up as speakers at Brands and Branding for Good 2, a conference taking place in South Africa during October.

Joining an impressive line-up of international and local thought leaders on the podium will be:

• Mike Schalit, Chief Creative Director, Net#work BBDO South Africa, and Co-founder of the MAL Foundation
• Mike Freedman, Founder of Freedthinkers
• Paul Bannister, Managing Director, Ignite, and who also was the acting CEO of the International Marketing Council of SA during the crucial build-up to the hosting of the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup
• Deon Robbertze, Executive Creative Director of Zoom and Creative Director Ogilvy Earth at Zoom Advertising, South Africa

Conference convenor, Ken Preston, elaborated “The local advertising industry is held in high regard throughout the world for its creativity and strategic thinking, but in fact the four admen who have agreed to speak are also recognised, both locally and abroad, as committed thinkers and leaders in sustainability.

“They lead by example, not only in their daily industry jobs but also when demonstrating their value systems and philosophies in action.  Paul is currently in Haiti assisting with communication strategies following the devastating earthquakes, and Deon recently returned from the Arctic where he witnessed firsthand the impact of climate change.

“Delegates are certain to learn a great deal from all four speakers, each of whom have practical case studies to share. For example, Robbertze has worked on projects for UNEP in Cape Town and, at COP15 in Copenhagen, helped launched South Africa’s first sustainable wine in PET bottles for Backsberg wines.

“He and his team at Zoom also created a carbon offset initiative for tourists to South Africa (www.mytreeinafrica.org) and Deon helped publish The Conscious Brand, a book about sustainability and the way brands interact with society,” said Preston.

Robbertze believes that sustainability is the only way forward and that the power of sustainable ideas will change the way we think, consume and live. “A sustainable planet for 6-billion people is not sustainable for 9-billion people. We have to start thinking long-term. Manufacturing, marketing and advertising previously only thought about sales, growth and market share. There has to be a dramatic mind shift towards sustainability and the huge opportunities there in,” he said.

Mike Freedman has titled his presentation ‘Soulbrands of the 21st Century’. From why toads cross the road to how a pig graced the annual report of an ice-cream company, Mike will take you on an unusual journey that highlights the biggest challenges and opportunities facing brands in this time of profound change.

“The 21st Century has ushered in twin spectres of financial and environmental meltdown – brand-owners who think it’s business as usual with 1% of profits going to corporate social investment will face increasingly painful reality checks.  Business models, even businesses themselves, need to change,” he said.

Preston concluded: “It is a time of upheaval, with brands and industries that are slow to adapt inviting lingering deaths.  Branding for Good 2 addresses relevant and critically important matters with regards to sustainable practices and branding and offers an unrivalled opportunity for local business to plug into a world of global insights, local and international case-studies, panel discussions and presentations over either one or two days.

“If you are involved in branding, communications, public relations, marketing, advertising, CSR, sustainability, external affairs, business development, consumer insights and image management, you can’t afford to miss this.”

Registration is now open and bookings received before the end of August qualify for the Early Bird Special. Enquires and bookings via lynn@brandsandbranding.co.za or www.brandconference.co.za.

Links:

www.brandsandbrandingconference.co.za
www.mytreeinafrica.org

Brands & Branding for Good 2010 snares two more international speakers

One of the most well-received speakers at last year’s inaugural Brands & Branding for Good conference, Seth Farbman, is to return to give a key note address at this year’s event, which takes place on the 13th and 14th October in Sandton.

A senior partner and president of OgilvyEarth, the sustainability marketing agency of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, Farbman impressed last year’s delegates with his simple but precise views on sustainability and how it relates to the brand.

He believes sustainability is an economic and social imperative that has less to do with ‘charity for the planet’, and much more with improving the quality of life for all its inhabitants. And since he believes the corporation is the dominant institution of the 21st Century, it makes sustainability one of the greatest business opportunities of our time.

Farbman advises corporations on global marketing strategy and led the development of Hopenhagen, the global United Nations campaign designed to create popular support for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 15) in Copenhagen last year.

Farbman will be joined on the podium by another Hopenhagen expert: partner and program director at Ogilvy & Mather, Mindy Goldstein. Her passion for sustainability started early in her career when she had an opportunity to work on one of the US’s leading NGO in the environmental space, The Environmental Defense Fund. It was during her tenure on this piece of business that Goldstein realised the value and importance in fighting for the good of the environment.

As a member of the founding team of OgilvyEarth, Goldstein has worked to develop the key tools and agency offerings that have helped define OgilvyEarth as a leader in the category..

Other International and local keynote speakers include responsible marketing guru, Leslie Pascaud from Added Value Group, Paris; acting CEO of the International Marketing Council of South Africa during the crucial build-up to the hosting of the FIFA 2010 World Cup, Paul Bannister; Jo-Ann de Wet from McDonald’s South Africa; and Mzamo Masito, from Nike South Africa, Mike Freedman, founder of Freedthinkers, Nicholas Maweni from IBM, and Melissa Attree, social media expert, together with another seven local and international high profile speakers currently being confirmed.

“Echoed in other business surveys, there is widespread agreement that sustainability has ceased to be a separate concern from business profitability as exponential growth is not possible in a world of finite resources,” said conference convenor, Affinity Publishing’s Ken Preston.

“Brands & Branding for Good 2 addresses relevant and critically important matters with regards to sustainable practices and branding and is a ‘must attend’ event for anyone involved in branding, communications, public relations, marketing, advertising, CSR, sustainability, external affairs, business development, consumer insights and image management,” he said.

Registration is now open and bookings received before the end of August qualify for the Early Bird Special. Enquires and bookings via lynn@brandsandbranding.co.za.