Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
I JUZ DON GERRIT!
“What’s with these accents used in
ads? Who are the targeted customers?” I saw this comment on my facebook page and I
couldn’t help but think “Finally! Finally!”. Consumers have caught onto the new
vibe spreading fast across Kenya. We are proud of who we are. We are proud of
this great nation. We are proud of our peculiar habits. We even have a unique
pride in our flaws, because they belong to us. So how come media and
advertising has not caught on?
Just have a listen to the station voices at most
radio stations and you will notice one common thread; A foreign voice luring
you to listen to what’s coming up next or announcing why the station is so
cool. I don’t know how this became the standard voice-over procedure but it is
extremely disheartening to note that we have been made to think that a British
or American voice is the sound of authority. Are Kenyan voices not good enough?
Seriously I find it extremely patronizing that
subconsciously we believe that only foreign voice over artists will entice a
largely local audience to tune into a local station. Even worse is when you
hear these voices completely mispronouncing local lingo. Tei-tei-meisha na Safaricom, Piga kwa one bab na Airtel, Kamata beiyi
pouwa na Orange. I mean, seriously?
For those of you who need some education on how this
is done. Here’s a crash course. The Programs Controller decides that the
station needs a couple of new Station IDs. The station creative is briefed. The
lines are approved. They are then emailed to the station voice. The station
voice based in some shire in England receives the e-mail. He drops his cucumber
sandwiches, does a couple of reads on his little recorder and sends the voice
over to the anxiously waiting natives at Lion Place, Nation Center or Lonrho
House. The voices are then processed and placed on air. About a month later
someone’s bank account in Loch Ness gets fatter - Utter and complete nonsense.
Let’s ask ourselves this. Is there a shortage of voice
artists in Kenya? This is unacceptable and someone needs to put a stop to it.
Why can’t we use local voices? I just don’t
get it. Complete third world mentality and unnecessary exportation of currency
which could otherwise be used locally to fuel our economy.
But then again, I am not saying that we throw
caution to the wind and start using Kenyan voice artists on radio stations just
for the sake of it. I would be hard pressed to record a voice that pronounces car as curr, far as furr or fast as furst. All I am
saying is that it’s about time that we stopped treating listening audiences like
morons who will consume anything that is thrown at them. Judging from the
facebook post, the consumer has started kujivunia.
So over to you Kenyan advertising practitioners. Lets put an end to vocal colonialism. Take One.
But hey, that’s just my opinion.
Monday, May 20, 2013
HOW NOT TO RUN A CREATIVE DEPARTMENT
The other day I was jumping up and down on the sofa after
checking out the brilliant Radar Security advertising campaign (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pk5wXTq7VY). Fresh, new,
captivating, exciting and most of all from Kenya. It’s the kind of campaign
that any serious creative would love to have been part of – I am so jealous. The
product of a great creative team probably working on a pro active idea. So what
drives great creative teams? Well I think the biggest part of this must be a
great working environment that enables great creativity.
I have been around Kenyan ad agencies and media houses and
been exposed to all sorts of modus operandi. I once had an experience that was interesting. The sort of interesting that makes you wake up at 5am and think twice
about going to work. Intimidating, unprofessional and absolutely no
consideration of what makes a creative tick.
Contrary to popular belief, creatives care. We care about
producing stunning campaigns that will get consumers talking, we care about
creating work that will create improvements in sales graphs, we care about
doing what’s right for brands. Hence silly juvenile company politics has
absolutely no space in a creative department.
Let me tell you what I mean by politics. Politics is when
the head of a creative department is sidelined from making hiring decisions by
the rest of his management team. Politics is when the creative head is told
that his team is never at work, while in essence some stay seriously late hours
when decision makers are at their favorite bar lighting up their egos. Politics is when you are told that your department is not pro-active, while you dont even consider those who go to oversee roadshows while on leave. Politics is
when a member of staff from another region is seconded to your department and
when you ask your division head about it, they deny any involvement in it and
site it as an HR matter. Politics is when a group of managers tell you not to
involve the company marketing department in any marketing related work.
Politics creates mistrust in a company and when creatives
get caught up in the political game, great ideas are seldom conceived. You are
busy trying to watch your back so much that you can barely think ahead. You are
in constant fear of suggesting amazing campaigns lest you look too good and
others who have hidden agendas feel outshone. You feel no need to be proactive
and all you are interested in is getting your daily quota of work done and run creative run.
Even worse is when a creative does not receive any support
from the top. How do you expect a sales team to deliver briefs to the creative
department when the departmental heads find writing briefs a headache? How do
you expect the sales team to gain knowledge of the creative process when there is
absolutely no support for your in-house creative process training efforts? The
sad thing is that some people never see that with a little support, effort,
simple collaboration and communication; you can easily turn 250K into
2.5M.
Ladies and gentlemen. creatives are sometimes like toddlers.
Create an environment of fear and I promise you they will never have the
confidence to let their minds get into the zone and create awesome pieces of
work. Create an environment of freedom and trust; you will be amazed at the
constant churning of brilliant ideas.
But hey, that’s just my opinion.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
YOU'VE GOT TO TAKE IT PERSONAL
Have you ever had an “I want to bury my head in the sand” moment? Okay, let me tell you what I mean. It’s that moment when
you think you have written the greatest ad concept in the world, then you walk
into the clients office and when you take one look at the client – you know
that things are thick. The cool concept that represents the brand through let’s
say something like hip hop is not going to go down well with the guy sitting in
front of you; who was the target of constant mockery from cool guys throughout his campus life and whose
girlfriend ran away with a rich kid who picked her up with his dads car.
My Kenyan advertising journey has made me believe that
the client has to buy you first, before he buys your concept. You have to do
your research on who you are going to present to. Is he a young urban dude who revs
at Galileo, is she devoted to weekend service at her local church or is he the kind
of dude who is off to shags to check on his rabbit farm every weekend.
Of course you my say that it should never be about personal
feelings and the sell should be all about what is best for the brand. Let’s
just say that this is easier said than done. One of the things I picked up from
presentations from the best of the best in advertising at Cannes was - before
you sell your work, get to know your clients personality. You could have an
award winner in your Power point presentation, but if it rubs the client’s
personality the wrong way, you are in for a shocker.
So what’s the best way of getting to know your client?
Simple. Wine, dine, coffee, lunch. Have informal conversations about their
business and the ad industry in general. Or even better try and meet the client before you get down to doing their work so you can understand their thinking.
Throw in mature off the cuff conversations or some humor so you can get to know how
they think. With this in mind you will be more equipped to think like the
client.
Have I had my fair share of embarrassing and ill prepared
moments? Where do I start? The day I went to present to an insurance company board
of directors with an Asian Creative Director not knowing that the team I was
presenting to was comprised of high profile GEMA members. Or the time I made
political wise cracks at a meeting not knowing that the new head of Marketing
was appointed due to political affiliation. The list goes on and on.
So my friend before you attend your next pitch, think way
ahead and don't just do your brand research but also do your client research. It may just make the difference between
winning the business and have a glorious advertising career or changing plans and venturing into full time greenhouse tomato farming.
But hey, that’s just my opinion.
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