My branded life

King James‘ Alex van Tonder talks about so called “social media gurus”, women in advertising, those incoherent 5fm ads and the dodgy boys club.

Why did you get into advertising?
I was going to be an artist, but I found the art world generally pretentious and the work contrived and meaningless. I was less inspired by modern artists and more moved by the Allan Gray “Commitment” ad on TV, which was flighting at the time I was to apply for tertiary education. A friend of my mother’s, a Mrs Gomes (mother of FoxP2’s Justin Gomes), would tell tales of how her son was living it up as a copywriter in New York. That sounded pretty cool to me, so I put my head down at the Red & Yellow School before landing in Alistair King’s office two years later, and the rest is history.

What’s your view on the South African advertising industry?
There’s a divide running through the industry at the moment, which is causing us to reflect on how we do things and how we can do things better. There’s all this buzz about non-traditional media, and with buzz comes resistance or backlash from the traditional media specialists. The ‘old guard’ feel threatened by the youngsters who appear to be unjustifiably valued for being able to navigate the social media realm. The youngsters are resistant to such an extremely controlled way of working, and get frustrated at the hesitance of their superiors to value and educate themselves on non-traditional media.

There are also a whole bunch of outsiders suddenly telling us what to do – ‘social media gurus’ – who at their best empower and at their worst cause problems because they often lack insight into the decisions and details that go into building a brand. So in the SA ad industry there’s a lot of debate over best practice and how to maximize client’s budgets. It’s an exciting time, a time for experimentation and learning and growing as an industry. Obviously no growth happens without growing pains, but we’ll get there. We’ve just got to remember that we’re all on the same side – the client’s.

What challenges does the industry face?
I think the single biggest challenge the advertising industry faces at the moment is getting integration of services right. There are a plethora of increasingly niched service providers popping up, and the danger of splitting business is that the message that reaches the consumer in a number of disjointed, strange executions. You see it all the time – a weird facebook group with an old logo popping up here, a dodgy flyer for a collaborative event there. I believe the way to get this right is to either appoint a lead agency to manage the communications outsourcing, or to work with agencies who can give clients a through-the-line offering.

Is there enough female creative talent in the SA advertising industry?
I think there is more than enough female creative talent, but there is a sore lack of representation of the female talent contingent in management, which is always made obvious when you see the list of names on awards judging panels. Advertising definitely still has this slightly dodgy ‘boys club’ feel to it. “I’m a bro, you’re a bro, we’re bros, let’s drink” – type thing. I think it largely depends on the agency you’re at, though. Some agencies are obviously male-dominated, and you can actually see it in their advertising (not naming names but you know who you are).

What’s your favourite brand and why?
Right now, I’d have to say Steri Stumpie, because it’s an iconic South African brand that I grew up with and I now get to work on. It brings back memories from so many turning points in my life; road trips with my family, walking home from school, my first kiss. And it’s amazing that so many people have their own stories to tell about Steri Stumpie. It’s one of those rare brands that generates so much positivity, and real, South-African stories, which is why I love it.

Who’s your favourite graphic designer?
My partner at RSVP, Mark Stead. Because he’s the only person in the country to win a Grand Prix Design hat-trick at the Loerie Awards, but you’d never know because he’s humble. He’s also always insists on doing things differently – he once made a photography build a camera that didn’t exist so he could get the result he wanted. Plus he’s a Creative Director who actually still works (as opposed to just approving or bombing work) – now that’s rare.

What do local brands need to know about social media?
Social media is not an idea, it is a medium. Nothing can replace sound strategic thinking and a great creative idea based on a solid consumer insight. The main point of difference is that when an idea is executed through use of social media, it becomes a conversation touch point rather than just a messaging platform – as a brand you need to be flexible enough to plan around the consumer reaction. Oh, and ‘starting a facebook group’ is not a social media campaign. Social media forces you to get real, because if you dish up rubbish, the internet will be very quick to throw it back at your face. Or worse – ignore it entirely.

What’s your worst ad?
All the 5fm TV ads. Really. Come now. What are they thinking? I would guess that the words ‘funky’ and ‘edgy’ were used in the brief, which led to a predictably generic and incoherent result.

What’s your advice to people who want to get into advertising?
Read my blog.  Just don’t take it too seriously. At all.

If you could only showcase one campaign in your portfolio, what would it be and why?
Without doubt it would be the Steri Stumpie work. I believe we pioneered a method of effectively working with design, digital, social media, PR and above-the-line mediums to create an authentic and engaging consumer conversation, one that is completely in line with the brand. And importantly, the results have shown in the sales of the product, for which we, as an agency, are extremely proud. I see the model being rolled out successfully now at other much bigger agencies, which is very gratifying. It’s also been the basis for the launch of a new, ‘virtual company’ that will formalise a non-traditional advertising offering to the King James Group services, which I can’t talk too much about yet, but you’ll be hearing about it in the months to come.