Archivo por días: enero 10, 2017

Rob Diering, Client Service Director of CBR Marketing

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Rob Diering from CBR Marketing Solutions wears his three hats – Client Service Director, Strategic Director and Creative Director – with pride. 

Robert Deiring

He joined the up-and-coming digital agency over two years ago after ten years in big agencies and says, “This is the hardest I’ve ever worked – and I’ve enjoyed it the most.”

With his extensive experience in digital marketing, he is impressed with what is being achieved at CBR. “I believe we’re operating at a phenomenal level, even compared to global agencies.”

Diering finished high school at St Andrews College in Grahamstown in 2000 and then a B.Com at the University of Cape Town, followed by a postgraduate diploma in Management in the field of Public and Development Management at Wits Business School. It was here that he did his internship at Standard Bank and his passion for marketing flourished.

“I joined a small, hands-on firm as the Digital Account Manager in their new digital department. I worked closely with the partner, Steve Liversedge and gained amazing digital experience and skills across a range of digital disciplines. After four years, I joined Ogilvy as digital specialist, moving up over the years to Group Account Director. It was exceptionally valuable experience and I loved every minute. I gained lots of skills relevant to the market and my knowledge of branding was dramatically enhanced – they continue to honour David Ogilvy and his iconic lessons about brands.”

Diering then moved on from Ogilvy to Havas Worldwide, as Head of Digital. He says this too was a platform for great learning and he particularly got to explore more of his creative side.

It was then that he “found CBR”, a small privately-owned business in contrast to the massive multinational agencies he had called home for some years. He identifies CBR as a ‘bretail’ agency. “We’re not your typical creative agency – we’re a hardworking bretail agency. We embrace three core skillsets, brand, retail and digital, which I believe is unique.” He is deeply impressed by the foresight displayed by the owners of the business – and their ongoing investment in sister businesses, which has resulted in CBR building up other entrepreneurs in the digital space as they go. He is also wholly committed to the CBR philosophy that always puts clients first. “I’m passionate about stepping outside of the business mindset and into the consumers’ shoes.”

Diering’s advice for companies wanting to make an impact in the digital space is to truly engage with their agency as partner. “In my 13 years of experience I’ve had the privilege of dealing with an array of clients. If they treat the agency as a mere service provider, they don’t move forward. Preferably, it’s an attitude of “Our doors are open, we’re ready and willing to work together” – that brings about change. We choose not to just accept briefs but to rewrite them with our clients, engaging and building special relationships with them, based on trust. We make sure we understand the business and then put the right mix together – work that works! We’ve found that industry leaders are those who don’t disinvest in marketing.”

Diering is inspired by courage – by people who are willing to step off the well-trodden path, people who don’t accept the impossible, people like Nelson Mandela. He relates this to digital marketing: “More often than not a digital campaign involves development and there is sometimes a conflict between big creative ideas and the process-driven side of development. I have tremendous respect for the developers who rather than saying “it can’t be done”, say “I will work out a solution”. If you look at award-winning campaigns, such as those seen at the Cannes advertising awards, invariably someone said ‘yes it can be done’, when it hadn’t been done before.”

Diering is 34 and is married with two sons – both under three years old – and is a huge fan of motorsport, automobiles in general, rugby and travelling, which is on the top of his bucket list.

For more information on CBR, go to http://ift.tt/2dAF7af.

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Rob Diering, Client Service Director, CBR: “I’m inspired by courageous marketers who say yes to creating what’s never been done before.”

Rob Diering, Client Service Director of CBR Marketing

Rob Diering, Client Service Director of CBR Marketing

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Rob Diering from CBR Marketing Solutions wears his three hats – Client Service Director, Strategic Director and Creative Director – with pride. 

Robert Deiring

He joined the up-and-coming digital agency over two years ago after ten years in big agencies and says, “This is the hardest I’ve ever worked – and I’ve enjoyed it the most.”

With his extensive experience in digital marketing, he is impressed with what is being achieved at CBR. “I believe we’re operating at a phenomenal level, even compared to global agencies.”

Diering finished high school at St Andrews College in Grahamstown in 2000 and then a B.Com at the University of Cape Town, followed by a postgraduate diploma in Management in the field of Public and Development Management at Wits Business School. It was here that he did his internship at Standard Bank and his passion for marketing flourished.

“I joined a small, hands-on firm as the Digital Account Manager in their new digital department. I worked closely with the partner, Steve Liversedge and gained amazing digital experience and skills across a range of digital disciplines. After four years, I joined Ogilvy as digital specialist, moving up over the years to Group Account Director. It was exceptionally valuable experience and I loved every minute. I gained lots of skills relevant to the market and my knowledge of branding was dramatically enhanced – they continue to honour David Ogilvy and his iconic lessons about brands.”

Diering then moved on from Ogilvy to Havas Worldwide, as Head of Digital. He says this too was a platform for great learning and he particularly got to explore more of his creative side.

It was then that he “found CBR”, a small privately-owned business in contrast to the massive multinational agencies he had called home for some years. He identifies CBR as a ‘bretail’ agency. “We’re not your typical creative agency – we’re a hardworking bretail agency. We embrace three core skillsets, brand, retail and digital, which I believe is unique.” He is deeply impressed by the foresight displayed by the owners of the business – and their ongoing investment in sister businesses, which has resulted in CBR building up other entrepreneurs in the digital space as they go. He is also wholly committed to the CBR philosophy that always puts clients first. “I’m passionate about stepping outside of the business mindset and into the consumers’ shoes.”

Diering’s advice for companies wanting to make an impact in the digital space is to truly engage with their agency as partner. “In my 13 years of experience I’ve had the privilege of dealing with an array of clients. If they treat the agency as a mere service provider, they don’t move forward. Preferably, it’s an attitude of “Our doors are open, we’re ready and willing to work together” – that brings about change. We choose not to just accept briefs but to rewrite them with our clients, engaging and building special relationships with them, based on trust. We make sure we understand the business and then put the right mix together – work that works! We’ve found that industry leaders are those who don’t disinvest in marketing.”

Diering is inspired by courage – by people who are willing to step off the well-trodden path, people who don’t accept the impossible, people like Nelson Mandela. He relates this to digital marketing: “More often than not a digital campaign involves development and there is sometimes a conflict between big creative ideas and the process-driven side of development. I have tremendous respect for the developers who rather than saying “it can’t be done”, say “I will work out a solution”. If you look at award-winning campaigns, such as those seen at the Cannes advertising awards, invariably someone said ‘yes it can be done’, when it hadn’t been done before.”

Diering is 34 and is married with two sons – both under three years old – and is a huge fan of motorsport, automobiles in general, rugby and travelling, which is on the top of his bucket list.

For more information on CBR, go to http://ift.tt/2dAF7af.

THIS RELEASE IN A TWEET

Rob Diering, Client Service Director, CBR: “I’m inspired by courageous marketers who say yes to creating what’s never been done before.”

Rob Diering, Client Service Director of CBR Marketing

Book Review: The Owl Always Hunts at Night

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The Owl Always Hunts at Night

Samuel Bjork

Doubleday,

Review: Brian Joss

Scandinavian writers are among the best when it comes to the thriller genre: think Jo Nesbo and his Harry Hole series; Camilla Lackberg and her creation, ace crime reporter, Erica Falck, and  Stieg” Larsson who shot to fame with the Millennium trilogy. Joining their ranks is playwright Frode Sander Øien who writes under the pen name of  Samuel Bjork and like Nesbo is also a musician. The Owl Always Hunts at Night is the second in the series featuring the fat, chain-smoking Oslo homicide investigator Holger Munch and his colleague Detective Mia Kruger, (I’m Travelling Alone was the first one). Kruger has been signed off work until a psychological assessment has been completed. Munch, though, is a rule-breaker of note, and offers her a deal because he needs her expertise to help him and the team to solve a case that has them pulling out their hair.  Tom Petterson, a botanist is searching for the dragonhead, a plant threatened with extinction. Instead, in the woodlands near the Oslo fjord,  he finds the body of a dead teenager surrounded by feathers and candles and with a white lily in her mouth, a strange tattoo, and as the pathologist’s report reveals, her stomach is filled with animal pellets. So begins the hunt for a killer with a sadistic bent.  Munch meanwhile has his own demons to deal with and Kruger is battling to come to terms with the death of Sigrid, her twin sister, a few months earlier. It’s no wonder she is distracted. There are more twists and turns than a serpentine in this gripping thriller, and red herrings galore. There is a home for misfit teenagers; the team has a paedophile riding instructor in their sights, and Jim, a mentally disabled man is a suspect. The big break in the case comes when Skunk, a hacker supreme, and an old friend of Gabriel Mork, the newest member of the Munch team, contacts him out of the blue, with a video he unearthed from the dark side of the internet. As if Munch doesn’t have enough on his plate, his daughter, Miriam, gets involved with an animal rights organisation and disappears. The Owl Always Hunts at Night is a page-turner and will keep you guessing until the climax when the shocking truth comes out.

Book Review: The Owl Always Hunts at Night

Good performance from Toyota crews in marathon stage of Dakar

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UYUNI, BOLIVIA – Hailed by many as the toughest Dakar in many years, the 2017 edition of the world’s most gruelling motor race has seen its fair share of challenges.

Brian Joss – The extreme weather conditions experienced in the northern parts of Bolivia saw Stage 6 cancelled, and Stage 7 – the marathon stage – shortened to just 161 km. But it turned out to be a great 161 km for Toyota Gazoo Racing SA’s Giniel de Villiers and navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz.

The pair started the day (January 10)  in eighth place overall, more than an hour adrift of the race lead, held by Peugeot’s Stephane Peterhansel. So it was clear that they had to dig deep in order to make a move up the leaderboard. But Stage 7 brought a twin challenge: Firstly, it was shortened due to flooding on the route, making it tough to gain lots of time; and secondly, it also served as the so-called marathon stage.

Toyota Gazoo Racing SA’s Giniel de Villiers and navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz: sixth place overall. Picture: Quickpic

Marathon stages don’t allow servicing by the technical crews after the stage. As such, the race crews themselves are responsible for preparing their vehicles for the next day’s stage, making it very dangerous to push hard, as a vehicle damaged during the marathon stage could well cost a lot of time, if not the entire race.

This didn’t seem to daunt De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz (#302), who set about the business of Stage 7 with determination. The pair had a clean run, and recorded the third-fastest time of the day, just 03:33 behind stage-winner Peterhansel. Sebastien Loeb (Peugeot) was second-fastest on the stage, finishing just 00:48 behind his teammate.

“We had a great run, and the Toyota Hilux performed surprisingly well at the high altitudes between La Paz and Uyuni,” said De Villiers from the marathon bivouac on the edge of the famous Salar de Uyuni. “We lose between thirty and forty percent engine power thanks to the 3 600 m average altitude at which we raced today (January 10), so we are very happy to be so close to the times set by the turbo-charged cars ahead of us.”

De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz moved up into sixth place in the overall standings, thanks to their performance on the stage, and now find themselves just 24 minutes behind Miko Hirvonen (MINI) in fifth.

Fellow Toyota Hilux crew, Nani Roma and Alex Bravo (#305) also moved up in the overall classification, thanks in part to difficulties experienced by Peugeot’s Cyril Despres, who was ahead of them at the midpoint of the race. Roma/Bravo was fifth-fastest on Stage 7, finishing 05:32 behind Peterhansel. This, together with Despres’ misfortune, was good enough to move them onto the Dakar podium. They are now in third place, 11:07 behind Peterhansel.

“We were very happy with the performance of the Toyota crews,” said Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Team Principal, Glyn Hall, from the assistance bivouac at Tupiza. “The marathon stage is always a worry, and it is difficult for us to be so far away from the race vehicles. But Giniel and Nani both drove well, and neither reported any problems with the Toyota Hilux.”

Stage 8 follows ‒ the last of the true high altitude stages. It also signals a return to Argentina, for the four closing stages in this year’s race. The stage will take the crews from Uyuni in Bolivia, down to Salta in Argentina, via a special stage of 492 km. In addition to the racing stage, the crews will also have to cover 400 km of liaison, bringing the total for the day to 892 km.

The stage includes a number of dune sections, as well as river crossings and fast canyon sections. It gets under way at 08:55 Argentine time, as the rally clock adjusts to make up for the time difference between Bolivia and Argentina.

Good performance from Toyota crews in marathon stage of Dakar

Exports up but 2016 ends on dismal note for new vehicle sales and 2017 not expected to be much better

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Industry domestic sales ended 2016 on a weak note with aggregate industry new vehicle sales for December 2016 at 41 639 units recording a decline of 7 519 vehicles or a fall of 15.3% compared to the total new vehicle sales of 49 158 units during the corresponding month of December 2015 the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (NAAMSA) said.

Brian Joss – The December, 2016 new passenger car market and light commercial vehicle market reflected a year on year volume change of -14.0% in the case of cars and -17.8% in the case of light commercial vehicles.  Sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles declined by 18.2% year on year. 

In contrast, export sales had recorded an improvement in December 2016 and at 18 668 units reflected a gain of 1 222 vehicles or 7.0% compared to the 17 446 vehicles exported during December  2015, Naamsa said..

The Ford Wildtrak: Ford held its own in tough market conditions

For the third year in succession, new vehicle sales during 2016 in South Africa recorded a year on year decline.  The slowdown in the domestic economy, above average new vehicle inflationary pressures, increases in interest rates, pressure on consumers’ and household disposable income and low levels of consumer confidence had contributed to a double digit decline in annual domestic sales volumes.  In the event, aggregate sales during 2016 fell by 11.4% in volume terms to 547 442 units compared to the sales total of 617 648 in 2015. 

“Overall, 2016 turned out to be another extremely difficult year for the South African automotive industry with domestic new vehicle sales progressively under pressure, particularly at dealer level, despite attractive sales incentives and a strong contribution by the car rental sector which accounted for an estimated 16.3% of new car sales during the year.  Industry trading conditions had remained intensely competitive characterized by pressure on dealer margins.  Preliminary estimates of 2016 motor industry new vehicle related sales turnover indicated a decline of about 2.0%, taking account of sales volumes, changes in mix and a weighted average estimated increase of about 14.0% in new vehicle prices – to reach about R233 billion for the year.  Industry new vehicle export sales were estimated to have added a further R105 billion to total Industry 2016 revenue,” said Naamsa.

Vehicle exports in 2016 represented the highest annual Industry export figure on record and total vehicle exports at 344 822 units were up on the 333 847 vehicles exported in 2015. 

Assuming further improvement in the global economy – industry export sales during 2017 could improve by some 30 000 vehicles or about 10.0% to reach a conservative projection of 375 000 export units. 

In summary, the decline in domestic sales was offset to a limited extent by continued growth in vehicle exports which in turn assisted in sustaining utilisation capacities and employment levels of vehicle manufacturers. 

2017 is expected to be another difficult year for the domestic SA auto industry, however, a modest improvement in new vehicle sales is expected during the second half of 2017.  Industry production levels, on the back of expected further growth in vehicle exports, should however remain in an upward phase. 

At this juncture, 2017 projections for South Africa reflect an expected improvement in GDP growth to around 1.5% (from 0.4% in 2016), in gross domestic expenditure to over 2.0% (from -0.3% in 2016), in growth in private consumption expenditure to about 2.0% (from 0.8% in 2016) and in fixed investment to around 2.2% (from -2.5% in 2016).  Improvement in growth prospects is premised on the easing in drought conditions, the improvement in commodity prices, a decline in inflationary pressures on the back of a stronger Rand as well as recent improvements in the Purchasing Managers’ indexes and the Reserve Bank’s leading indicator.  On the negative side, domestically, elevated political tensions are likely to continue to weigh on business confidence and the expected increase in taxes in this years’ budget will erode real purchasing power. 

Internationally, volatile and uncertain conditions are likely to prevail during 2017.  Elevated geo-political tensions and political uncertainty in major advanced economies associated with elections could heighten global risk aversion and trigger confidence shocks.  Despite these considerations, the global economic outlook at this stage, remains positive and should continue to lend support to South Africa’s improving vehicle export performance.  Ultimately, industry vehicle exports would remain a function of the performance and direction of global markets.  Vehicle exports to Europe, Australasia, the United States, Asia and South America were expected to show further upward momentum. 

The general expectation in the industry was that domestic new vehicle sales would remain fairly flat going into 2017.  NAAMSA remained hopeful, however, that on the back of the expected improvement in key economic indicators, domestic sales would regain some traction in the second half of 2017 with year over year growth perhaps settling in the 2.5% to 3.5% range and hold to around that level going forward. 

Factoring in the expected improvement in exports, domestic production of motor vehicles in South Africa was expected to show an increase from 604 000 vehicles produced in 2016 to close on 641 000 vehicles in 2017 – an improvement in vehicle production of about 6.0%  This figure could prove conservative if vehicle exports expand more than currently anticipated.

The projected higher vehicle production was consistent with the official vision for the Industry which is to remain a premier supplier of high quality, competitive automotive original equipment parts and accessories and vehicles to international markets and, in the process, to achieve an annual domestic vehicle production figure of close to 850 000 vehicles by 2020. 

Internationally and domestically, vehicle manufacturers would continue to focus on new models and products through sustained investment and new technologies.  Technologies such as artificial intelligence could begin to reflect a tangible impact across sectors.  Autonomous vehicles and driver assisted automatic systems as well as increased use of information technology in vehicles were likely to feature in the future.

Exports up but 2016 ends on dismal note for new vehicle sales and 2017 not expected to be much better

NSRI warns of strong rip currents

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This month’s Full Moon is on Thursday, 12th January.

This means that the twice monthly Spring Tide (which occurs every month at Full Moon and at New Moon) peaks on Thursday 12th January.

Spring Tides happen twice every month, at full moon and at new moon, and bring higher than normal high tides, lower than normal low tides and stronger than normal rip currents around the coastline. There are two high tides and two low tides every day.

The Full Moon Spring Tide is now in its full intensity peaking on the Full Moon day, Thursday 12th January, and gradually lessening in intensity towards about Monday, 16th of January. 

Anyone visiting beaches from today, 10th January, will notice that the twice daily high tides are higher than normal, and the twice daily low tides are lower than normal, and rip currents are at their strongest intensity and this phenomenon peaks on Thursday 12th January and will last until at least Monday, 16th January.

The concern is that over this coming weekend, hot weather will bring more learners, students and families, making the best of their last few days on holiday before returning to schools, work and to Universities, to beaches over this high-risk time where rip currents are going to be strongest because of the full moon spring tide.

NSRI are urging bathers, paddlers and anglers to be aware of this Full Moon Spring Tide happening at a time when most families will be visiting the beach (coastline) and extreme caution around the coast is advised.

  • Go to beaches only where and when lifeguards are on duty and swim between the safe demarcated swimming zones that lifeguards post at beaches using their red and yellow flags.
  • Paddlers and boaters should download the free app RSA Safetrx to their cellphones – this enables paddlers and boaters to indicate they have an emergency with the push of a button while it gives sea rescue their exact location.

Rip currents are their strongest when the high tide has already peaked and is dropping towards low tide. 

NSRI FREE CELL PHONE “APP” RSA SAFETRX:

NSRI are urging boaters, paddlers, kite-boarders and SUP’s (Stand Up Paddle boarders) to carry cellphones, with fully charged batteries, in water tight plastic sleeves, and with the NSRI’s “RSA SAFETRX” free app downloaded onto their cellphones.

RSA Safetrx download (and information about RSA Safetrx) can be found on the NSRI web page at www.nsri.org.za

This app enables the user to alert NSRI of an emergency with the press of a button and gives NSRI the exact position of that cellphone (giving us the exact position of the casualty).

In at least 7 search and rescue operations in the past month sea rescue searches have lasted for up to 3 hours before paddlers were located and rescued and in one case this extended search time went on despite NSRI having direct cellphone contact with a paddler missing at sea but the paddler was not sure of his location after drifting out of his intended paddle route.

NSRI warns of strong rip currents

Sedgars SWD Cricket League fixtures

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Saturday 

Premier League

Pacaltsdorp vs Western Hope; George vs Union Stars; Ramblers vs Mossel Bay; Harlequins Forces vs Sussex

Promotion League

Dysselsdorp vs Calitzdorp; Mayflower vs Glen Roses; Ladismith vs Beaufort West; Albertinia vs Heidelberg; Melkhoutfontein vs Thembalethu; Slangrivier vs Riversdale

Reserve League

Union Stars B vs Western Hope B; NMMU Madibaz George B vs Ramblers C

Women’s League Thembalethu vs Harlequins Forces; Western Hope vs Riversdale

Super League U/19

Oudtshoorn High vs Outeniqua High

Super League U/15

Outeniqua High vs Oudtshoorn High

Sunday

Promotion League Competition

Wilderness vs Kwanonqaba

Reserve League Competition

Western Hope B vs Union Stars C; Thembalethu B vs Union Stars B;

Harlequins Forces B vs NMMU Madibaz George B; George B vs Mossel Bay B;

Sussex B vs Pirates United B; Ramblers B vs Pacaltsdorp B

Women’s League Competition

Beaufort West vs Riversdale; Harlequins Forces vs Union Stars

Sedgars SWD Cricket League fixtures