U B .Beautiful

Springleap.com, gomoto and MobileAdStream would like to congratulate U B .Beautiful on winning the title of ‘Hot 100 - Cape Town’s Trendiest Company 2009′. The Hot 100 competition has created a platform of recognition for a group of ‘outside the box’, savvy businesses around Cape Town. Well done to all the innovative businesses who made the cut and were finalists. The winners’ victory is all thanks to public vote, so we’re sending out a huge ‘thank you’ to all our loyal voters!

The creative minds at Attract IT walked away with the ‘Best Dressed’ award while Altersage won a gomoto Nippi scooter valued at over R10 000.00. The grand prize was a mobile advertising campaign to the value of R100 000.00 sponsored by MobileAdStream.

We asked Jeff Clements, Virgin Actives Brand Manager, what the company’s mission is, he said, “To bring positive change to peoples lives, because life’s more fun when you move”.

It could only be the one and only Richard Branson, that could inspire such an amazing Brand. We asked Jeff what springleap T-shirt would best represent Virgin’s personality and he offered to design us one, have a look at his incredible illustration below.

We had to take Jeff to the yoga room to find his creative centre to answer our question:

What would Barak Obama’s name be in Zulu?

Jeff: Chief.

Tell me something about yourself that nobody else knows?

I went snorkeling two days ago in my bath (was trying out my mask before going on holiday)

Virgin’s T-shirt design- brilliant !

]]> http://hot100.co.za/2008/12/11/virgin-active/feed/ http://hot100.co.za/2008/12/10/ogilvy/ http://hot100.co.za/2008/12/10/ogilvy/#comments Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:24:20 +0000 Josie http://hot100.co.za/?p=651

There is one myth I would like to bust about Ogilvy. It is not a traditional agency! Although it’s an agency that has been around for a very long time, its definitley not a traditional agency. The work they do is revolutionary and unconventional and that is why they are the leading advertising agency in the country

We chatted to Chris, Ogilvy’s creative director, to try and find out exactly what it is that Ogilvy is and what makes this huge agency tick.

Ogilvy, unlike many other agencies, offers a 365 communication suit. In the advertising world this refers to doing everything in-house, under one roof – digital advertising, traditional advertising, mobile and PR. “If they were a tank, they would be shooting in every direction at once” says Chris.

Ogilvy works on the number one brands in their industry such as Coca Cola, Sunday Times, Castrol and Volkswagen. Why? Because they constantly evolve and liberate the brand, keeping it fresh and interactive.

Ogilvy’s motto:

“Liberation, through brave work”

As Chris says, “The biggest risk of all is not to take a risk”. Everyone is proud of being a part of Ogilvy, thats why they are passionate about making their work exceptional.

Chris called in the rest of the creative team and asked them to choose a springleap t-shirt that best represents Ogilvy’s personality. The outcome was – BUNNY CHOW by Quack, simply because they all liked it and thought it was fresh, funny and brave.

The slogan competition was a lot of fun with the Ogilvy team. Have a look how they answered the questions:

What Would Barak Obama’s name be in Zulu?

Helen Zille

AmaBarakrak

Obamangosuthu

Tell me something about yourself nobody else know?

“I once got fibre glass on my scrotum”

“I got commando often”

Can’t wait for everybody to meet this team at the party on the 21st January, they will have you in hysterics!

Strika Entertainment operates from the 3rd floor of Fairweather House in Woodstock, a former sewing factory in a district that is fast becoming the hub of Cape Town’s creative industries. Strika is the kind of office you only see on TV: high ceilings with that industrial urban feel, modern furniture and huge illustrations on the walls.

After we finished oohing and aahing, we met Bobby du Plooy who introduced us to the team. They create the weekly Supa Strikas comic that appears in the Sunday Times, as well as the 24-page monthly comic book supplement. And Supa Strikas has just made the leap from the comic page to the small screen in a 13-part animated series currently on SABC2.

Supa Strikas is the company’s flagship product, but there are many other projects underway. Cricket comic Supa Tigers is produced monthly for Pakistan and will soon launch in India, while Cuju and Carousel are titles produced for publication in Scandinavia.

Strika has also used the comic book medium in the corporate sector, providing clients with an innovative way to engage with their market in a fun and light-hearted manner. Strika uses the comic medium to help their clients communicate in a form that is accessible to readers of various ages and literacy levels, providing a vibrant and effective method of carrying their message and building their brand.

When asked to sum up their company, the team responds with a few key

words: Innovative, hard-working, creative, and out-of-the-box.

We had no idea how successful Strika Entertainment was. The monthly Supa Strikas comic book is distributed to 17 countries around the world, including African, South American and European territories. Next year six new territories will be added including Brazil, Reunion and Malaysia. And as existing comic titles expand into new markets, the brainstorming continues with new projects constantly in the pipeline.

As leaders in their field, these guys are really making South Africa proud!

Have a look at the Springleap T-shirt the Strika team chose to best represent their company. They picked Video Games Rock by DustyRIch because its powerful illustration projects their dominant position within the industry. Also check out the catchy T-shirt slogans they came up with.

Have you ever wondered who builds developments virtually, before they are really built ? Well that is exactly what Imagine Developments do. Imagine Developments positions itself as a Technology Partner to Property Developers and is committed to introducing a new era in property marketing and sales management, realised through the development and implementation of cutting edge digital, online applications and specialized services.

“We go the extra mile for people” - Imagine gives back into the community with their Social Responsibility Company, True North . True North uses the mapping technologies from its sister company (Red-i) to connect  NGO’s and Social Benefit companies in order to maximise their effect in struggling communities. True North was also recently involved with organising and distributing food and blankets to the victims of xenophobic violence and continues to be involved in the lives of young children in the Vrygrond community of Cape Town.

This cutting edge company is young and dynamic an has its roots and its best interests firmly implanted in Africa. Candice rounded up the rest of the team to take part in the little challenges Lisa and I had prepared, they chose SPAM GOES OLD SCHOOL by Deadhippo to represent their company’s personality - “creating systems & services which we believe in would add the most value to our clients”

Added Value is a high level strategic brand consultancy that handles brand innovation and renovation for global and local clients. They help brands with their positioning, portfolio planning and innovation issues. They are an insight-led agency; everything they do is rooted in consumer and cultural insight. We interviewed Kate Wolters, Added Value’s communication specialist.

Added Value answers questions to big strategic issues. They ensure that each issue is understood within its consumer and cultural context and that the strategic solutions developed that are actionable and executable. They want to be the marketing inspiration for the world’s biggest brands.

The team is driven by their values; which are

* Power and freedom of play (people learn the best and engage

more when they are having fun)

* Intellectual substance ( rigorous insight and creative

strategy)

* Openness and respect (everybody has the right to voice their

opinion and share ideas without censure)

* The art of clarity (Cut out jargon and waffle)

* Challenge and inspiration (push each other to think

differently)

Added Value has helped clients like Levi’s and Brand South Africa. The work they did on the Levi’s account helped the brand move from the denim category into the wider fashion world, and helped inspire the development of re-engineered jeans. For Brand South Africa they worked with the IMC to explore the client as a destination brand and develop the “alive with possibility” positioning.

It is amazing to think that a company on your doorstep has had such a huge impact on international brands. I asked Kate where their inspiration comes from: “We are inspired by culture, the guy on the street. We get to hang out with people to find out what they want.”

Kate chose ROBOT IN GORILLA SUIT by Khuraza, because it represents the small guy making big changes and MEMORY MAINTENANCE by Jose Rosea because Added Value uses a huge range of tools and methodologies to tailor-make solutions for clients.

So what don’t we know about Kate Wolters? She was expelled from ballet school.

]]> http://hot100.co.za/2008/12/10/added-value/feed/ http://hot100.co.za/2008/12/10/instant-grass/ http://hot100.co.za/2008/12/10/instant-grass/#comments Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:00:22 +0000 Josie http://hot100.co.za/?p=784

Instant Grass is the beginning of a huge social movement. It can simply be explained as a youth collaboration agency network to connect the coolest young people in the country. Marketers are able to use Instant Grass as a medium of staying in touch with their target public by using raw public opinion.

‘Grasses’ or ‘Snitches’ are continuously reporting back with the latest 411! In a nutshell ‘grasses’ can talk about their brand consumption and media experiences, more importantly stringing the opinions of ‘grasses’ to help brands to reach them in a successful manner.

We at springleap.com found this concept to be very innovative and fresh! To gain insight into Instant Grass they have been quoted saying, “We don’t take ourselves seriously, but we take what we do seriously.” Another facet to instant Grass is that they also enlist opinion leaders aka ‘Seeders’ to create brand interest through word of mouth.

It’s due to companies like Instant Grass that the youth find themselves increasingly able to express their true feelings and discover the beauty of sharing these opinions  with the world.

Instant Grass draws most of their inspiration from our very own backyard, South African youths. 65% of South African population is under 24 years old which indirectly shows how ready South Africa is to create and empower the nation of fellow ‘grasses’.

According to Instant Grass, due to the current economic climate working overseas for “better opportunities” is not the answer. For the last decade it has become evident that most youths leave South Africa in the hopes for a better future however the tables have recently been turned! South Africa is booming with new opportunities. Instant Grass also amusingly said that their foosball and pingpong tables might also attract new youths to the company! And if you ask me that’s quite a good assumption!

To learn more about Instant Grass go to www.instantgrass.com

What would Barack Obamas name be in zulu?

Patada Burundi

Baba Mnyama

Skhokho

Tell me something about yourself that nobody else knows?

“My alter ego’s name is ‘kiki”

“ I am scared of penguins”

“I am proudly kwere Kwere”

“My dogs are Blue Singers”

Nashua is recognised for its corporate image, but as we found out during our interview with Helen Westcott and Justin Colyn, they have a very casual, relaxed interior office culture.

Their focus is on high-tech office automation and IT/telecom solutions for both fixed and mobile spaces. Their customers vary from home offices to huge national companies like Old Mutual. Nashua is doing well in these tough economic times because they offer cost effective solutions, have a high standard of customer service and are certified against ISO 9001.

Nashua’s motto is: “People. Activity. Training.” They train the best people to become better at understanding and interacting with their customers. This creates a very determined and focused team.

The environment they work in is their inspiration - when the company does well they reward their people. There is a strong culture of “work hard, play hard” at Nashua. Their work comes first but when it’s time to party, these guys get it so right. We are looking forward to having them at the party on 21st January.

Helen and Justin chose  RGB by sasquatchsports for obvious reasons. The green bear has obviously been punished for partying too hard and arriving in the office late.

They answered our questions brilliantly, have a look!

What would Barak Obama’s name be in Zulu?

Justin: Zubama

Tell me something about yourself that nobody else knows?

Helen: I always do my vacuuming in my high heels

They have stunning offices in Victoria Junction, Greenpoint. Have a look at some of the pictures below. Alan Sherrat, Traffic’s Senior Strategist and General Manager told us that it was a Friday tradition to have a glass of wine, so we accepted and sat down to ask him a few questions about the company.

In the marketing and advertising world, the term’ traffic’ refers to the movement of a project/campaign through all the stages of production. Most agencies outsource various stages of production but not Traffic Integrated. They are an integrated marketing agency with their own internal PR agency.

Traffic Integrated does everything; strategy, design, events and the analytics of the campaign all under one roof.

“True integration requires teams that want to work together and effective communication between all channel specialists. We have these. From the ground up, strategy-led ideas are generated through the seamless cohesion of in house skills resulting in impactful and effective marketing activities that provide consistent core product messages and heightened brand imagery. Evaluation of these activities and brand analytics guarantee that ROI is reported on and accountability placed.” Says Alan

Some clients have been with Traffic Integrated for seven years, because they are able to offer them through the line advertising and a value added service.

We asked Alan what the companies inspiration is, “An integrated agency is a new thing, we are following the trend but applying a South African feel to it.”

We were very impressed with Traffic Integrated, the team is so down to earth and humble about the amazing work they do.

Everyone in the office came to meet us in the boardroom for the fun activities we had planned for them.

They chose FOREST IN MY MIND by Molly Jelly because it represents growth from a stable base and you get more than you expected.

Have a look at the brilliantly creative answers they had for our questions:

What would Barak Obama’s name be in ZULU?

· OB1 Kashushu

· Black Osama

· Shaka Zulu

· Nkosi Nkulu

Tell me something about yourself that nobody else knows:

I love Brussels sprouts

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