[No Comment] What journos want - 25 Aug 2008
[Louise Marsland] I'm always impressed by great customer service, pathetically so, sometimes it seems, probably because we're not a very service-oriented culture at the best of times and customer service often tends to be a privilege, not a given! And I can say that with some authority, having travelled overseas a fair bit and experienced some of the best customer service in the world. So when a client actually proactively tries to address a media complaint by finding out what it is that we actually need to make our lives easier as journalists reporting from the multitude of events we attend on a monthly basis, I'm seriously impressed. read more

[No Comment] The importance of transferring knowledge and skills - 18 Aug 2008
[Louise Marsland] I was discussing knowledge management and capacity building in organisations the other day with colleagues in the industry. I've always felt that those of us who have racked up a couple of decades of work experience in our chosen fields should ‘give back' in transferring knowledge and skills to build capacity in organisations/industry. read more

[No Comment] Key marketers align with CMO - 11 Aug 2008
[Louise Marsland] The inaugural advisory board meeting of the global Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council Africa will take place in Johannesburg tomorrow, bringing leading South African marketers together from most of the major banks, telecommunications providers and other key marketing companies together in one forum. Included are Happy Ntshingila (Absa); Santie Botha (MTN), Connie de Lange (DiData), Noah Greenhill (JSE), Sarah-Anne Orphanides (Standard Bank), Enzo Scarcella (Vodacom), Paul Appleton (Nando's) and Bizcommunity.com MD Robin Parker. read more

[No Comment] Biz gets some ‘mojo’ - 4 Aug 2008
[Louise Marsland] Having just returned from the United States and interacted with some of the best B2B media brands in the world, I can honestly say that our digital B2B media brands are up there with the best globally: innovative, engaging with consumers and early adopters of mobile media platforms. So I'm particularly proud to announce what we think is a world first for a B2B media brand: a partnership with Nokia to supply our Bizcommunity.com editorial team with N82 mobile phones to truly enable mobile journalism (‘mojos') across our portals, including images and video. read more

[2008 Loeries Special Edition] Covering the Loeries in red and white - 29 Jul 2008
[Simone Puterman] It was the 30th anniversary of the Loeries this year and, once again, for the fourth time, the creative industry were lured to Margate on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast for a weekend of celebration and networking. Bizcommunity.com was there - and we certainly had the Loeries covered! Our brand activation consisted of red streamers on the first night of ceremonies and white confetti on the second night, and, boy oh boy, were we ever so chuffed to see people enthusiastically showering confetti over Gold Loerie winners and streamers strewn over shiny statuettes. read more

[No Comment] Red streamers, white confetti - we got the Loeries covered! - 28 Jul 2008
[Louise Marsland] CLEVELAND, OHIO: Even though I'm on the other side of the world at present at the headquarters of the Trade, Association and Business Publications International (TABPI) in the States, I couldn't help but follow my team's Loerie coverage on the ground in Margate over this weekend and the usual associated industry shenanigans and excitement of the awards winners. Sorry if you're still untangling the red streamers from your statuettes and picking the white confetti out your teeth and other dubious places, but woohoo - well done to the Biz marketing team for a simple, but very effective brand activation - hey, we got Loeries covered! Look out for our special Loeries newsletter later today. read more

[No Comment] What a busy end-July! - 21 Jul 2008
[Louise Marsland] It's a busy time ahead for the team this week, with half off to the 30th anniversary of The Loerie Awards in Margate for the four-day festival weekend 25 - 28 July 2008. Assistant editor Simone Puterman will be heading up the team on the ground, as yours truly will be jetting off to the States tomorrow to present at the American business editors annual conference in Kansas City this week. read more

[No Comment] Ritualistic behaviour - 14 Jul 2008
[Louise Marsland] For all those with kids following the broader government school holiday timetable, this cold morning would have signalled another start to a ritual: the winter school run. Groan. read more

[No Comment] The relationship between philanthropy and press freedom - 7 Jul 2008
[Louise Marsland] One of the most interesting and enjoyable media roundtables I attended recently was one organised by Shelagh Gastrow of Inyathelo to workshop the issue of defining philanthropy - and its crucial role in the maintenance of civil society - with key media and academics. The crux is to try instill a culture of philanthropy in South Africans, who, while giving liberally to religious causes and in some cases charities, do not support organisations that ensure our democratic society prevails as well. read more

[No Comment] Loeries celebrates 30 years - 30 Jun 2008
[Louise Marsland] Well, we know that the advertising industry is just recovering from Cannes, but the countdown to Loeries has begun. It's down by the seashore again in multi-faceted Margate and this year is a very special year as the industry celebrates 30 years of television advertising and 30 years of The Loerie Awards. read more

[No Comment] Are you digitally relevant? - 23 Jun 2008
[Louise Marsland] Are you digitally relevant? Or do you feel as obsolete as your video machine? Does your six-year-old help you work your DVD machine and do you give your latest cellphone upgrade to your kids, preferring to hang onto your old brick as at least you still know how to make calls on that one? Are you actually wondering what it means to be ‘digitally relevant'? Join the club; you're far from alone. But the good news is, is that we're still at the early adopter stage in the South African media, marketing and advertising industry as regards much of the technology on offer and new media solutions. read more

[No Comment] Shame on PRISA - 9 Jun 2008
[Louise Marsland] How unfortunate that the Public Relations Institute of SA (PRISA) has had to postpone its annual national conference due to low bookings. But for a body tasked with communications to issue a statement citing the recent xenophobic violence and “unrest” (its words) in Gauteng as the sole reason for low bookings, is highly irresponsible and so damaging to our country's image in a climate when most other marketing and communications organisations are busy with damage control for 2010 and just getting on with the job in these challenging times. read more

[No Comment] Happy viewing for news junkies - 2 Jun 2008
[Louise Marsland] For a news junkie like myself - most journos suffer from this affliction - the launch of e.tv's 24-hour news channel was the highlight of the week. It's sad I know, but for those of us who watch more news than entertainment on TV, getting a break from CNN's overkill on the American presidential election, traffic congestion on London's highways on the rather parochial SkyNews, the formality of EuroNews and the intensity of Al Jazeera; the prospect of in-depth, 24-hour coverage of our own backyard, is enticing. read more

[No Comment] The power of community - 26 May 2008
[Louise Marsland] If there was one thing that prevailed in the past week during the horrific violence that keeps the hope alive of the so-called rainbow nation and may salvage our tattered image within Africa and abroad, it is the generous and giving nature of the many South Africans, who, without fanfare, mobilised their friends and neighbours, companies and clients, to give - of their own time at refugee stations, of clothes, food, blankets and cash. The empathy and majority condemnation of the xenophobic attacks on immigrants is what will prevail as the minority criminal element is tackled. read more

[No Comment] SA’s tarnished image - 19 May 2008
[Louise Marsland] I am angry today, saddened and stunned at the images and news filtering through after days of utter barbarism in Gauteng: The Times front page pic of a man burning to death, while onlookers laugh, says it all. The video is up on its site but I couldn't watch it; we saw too much death in the late '80s and early '90s in South Africa and those are images I hoped we would never have to see again. read more