Interview about the entertainment industry during the Coronavirus Lockdown with Timothy Moloi

Born and raised in Orlando, Soweto, Timothy grew up in a home filled with song. It was this love for music and his natural flair for infusing familiar and beloved standards with a new freshness that has made him a favourite with audiences throughout South Africa. With his smooth-as-velvet voice and masterful range, Timothy is truly one of South Africa’s most extraordinary talents. The artist has performed with the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, the Eastern Cape Philharmonic, the Electric Pops Orchestra, the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra and the Soweto Gospel Choir. And that’s not even the half of it. Timothy Moloi performed the song ‘Hope’ at the opening ceremony of the FIFA 2010 World Cup at Soccer City to an estimated global audience of 500 million viewers! His double SAM- nominated debut album LOVE THAT MUSIC received critical acclaim and is available on iTunes. Television performances have included the MTN South African Music Awards, Miss South Africa, SABC3 JOBURG POPS, The SABC2/Sowetan Community Builder Of The Year Awards, the SA Rugby Awards and the MNET ‘Heroes Against Crime’ Awards, as well as several guest appearances on popular programs such as Morning Live, Expresso, Top Billing, Afro Cafe, Spirit Sundae, World Today, TML, E.tv Sunrise, Afternoon Express, Musiek Roulette And Noot Vir Noot.

Interview with Proteas Legend Temba Bavuma about his Foundation and the kids that he mentors

Temba Bavuma is better known for his cricketing ability but he is also very active in mentoring kids from underprivileged backgrounds in South Africa. He is giving them the opportunity to have a chance in life and take the world on as equals with the more affluent kids. His foundation is not only working on helping kids, it is also involved in building sporting facilities. Here is an interview that I did with Temba. For more information about his foundation go to https://www.facebook.com/TBF011/

Kassey chats to us about the latest research stats on streaming

2020 was always going to be the year that streaming was going to grow exponentially due to the launch of new channels like Disney Plus but now with the Coronavirus streaming has exploded. Kassey discusses the latest stats and marketing opportunities.

Is Influencer marketing the way to go?

Following our recent video, we have received inquiries asking for more information on influencer marketing and whether this is relevant during and after the Covid-19 times, and here is our experience and what we believe could well be the way forward.

At Intune we have used this strategy in many of our campaigns over the years, with quite a lot of success. When the strategy has not worked well, the learning has been that you need to be very careful when selecting who you use as your influencer. After all, that person will be advocating the brand that you have spent years building.

The clothing industry, particularly those organisations who use online sales channels, often use influencers. There are case studies showing multi-million dollar industries built on this strategy. The majority of companies dabble with the use of influencers when a situation arises – specials, an event, launching a brand etc.

Influencer marketing is relatively new and is evolving quickly. It is important to know that there are mandatory rules regarding the use of influencers and it is now required to include ’ “sponsored by” when posting and there is an organisation, the Advertising Code of Practice on Social Media’ - introducing rules and regulations that are constantly being updated.

When the strategy first emerged companies were using celebrities at enormous cost. They usually wrote the copy for them and it often came across as stilted and unauthentic. In the worst cases, the celebrities promoted the brand on its social platforms, but on their own platforms, in their own voices, they would be promoting a competitor.

We have come a long way since those days. In targeting the Millennial, or the snowflake generation we have learnt that they generally have a short attention span and get offended easily, so, ‘phoney’ advertising doesn’t go down well. Campaigns that worked at the time were quickly forgotten. There were a few posts and it was over. There was no longevity for the brand.

Enter the micro influencers. They may have fewer followers than the celebrities, but they tend to be seen as credible, authentic, experts in their particular fields with good reputations. While some celebrities can reach a far bigger audience, these marketers can directly reach a target market and align with regular people. They are able to build a strong bond with customers through impactful messaging and so they can create sales or build awareness of a brand, a campaign or a CSR programme.

There is very little to differentiate between the thousands of similar products in the marketplace and research has shown that consumers are too busy and don’t have time to research what is best for them or their family. So, their propensity is to purchase based on recommendations and this is where the influencer is valuable.

How to contract an influencer:

1.      Pick the influencer that is best for your brand. There are agencies that specifically place influencers, but they might not know your brand and they may suggest an unsuitable candidate. So, it’s best to meet the person first and to make sure that they tie in with your brand and your company ethos. 

2.      Be sure that the influencer knows your brand thoroughly and knows what is expected from them. The return on investment that you expect must be clear from the start. 

3.      The influencer must convey the brand message in his or her own style, using his or her unique tone. Let them write the copy themselves, with the brand team’s guidance.

4.      The online messaging coming from the influencer should be blended with the corporate posts that are shared by the organisation.

5.      A longer contract is best to entrench the brand message

6.      Have regular discussions with the influencers to keep them on board, keep them passionate about your brand and make them know that you value their support.

Over the years we have had some classic bloopers with influencers, so you need an excellent understanding of what does and doesn’t work.  We can laugh about it now, but it wasn’t funny at the time!

In comes Covid-19 – how will this affect influencers?

This is an interesting question and only time will tell. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a dramatic effect on global economies and many companies across the world will come out of this battle scarred and it is predicted that this could well mean the slashing of budgets – marketing and sponsorships could well be in the firing line. But this is where influencers could be valuable. 

Stats coming out in the last couple of weeks have seen an overwhelming increase in social media traffic and the length of time we spend on the different platform. We have seen into celebrity homes, heard how they are managing and noted their frustrations and fears are the same as ours. 

Brands that have used celebrities and other influencers in their Covid-19 messages have had incredible traction.  The World Health Organisation effectively used celebrities to promote sanitising, social distancing and the importance of lockdown.  Adidas is using David Beckham and family to promote exercising at home, Liverpool is using all their players and particularly their coach, Jurgen Klopp, to keep their fans updated and show empathy and support during this hard time.  This is merely a few. What we know is that the what the world needs now is empathy, compassion and unity.

We believe there is and will definitely be a place for influencers during and after lockdown.  Covid-19 is not going way!  Sanitising and social distancing will continue for a year or longer.  The world is not the same and brands will continue to use influencers to help drive the message of compassion and empathy.   

In conclusion, it is back to basics as marking teams wade through unchartered territory. There are no rules or worksheets on marketing in a pandemic. Consumers are online at the moment and they are spending more time there! There is a captive audience and brands need to contribute to the conversation. Using influencers/celebrities to be heard is a very good option.