The Bookmarks will be hosting informative workshops run in conjunction with Tony Koenderman’s Brainstorm conference on the 9th and 11th of November in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively.

The title of the Brainstorm conference is ‘Catch a Wake Up!’ and is geared to offer executives insight into the multi-channel environment that media now is – an environment in which new and old media both play a part.
Speakers at the conference will include; Fernanda Romano (EuroRSCG ), Rick Joubert (Vodacom), Stephen Newton (Google South Africa), Keith Shipley (Net#work BBDO), Greg Garden (Nedbank), and Pete Case (Gloo).
The afternoon Bookmarks workshop session will start off with an informative talk by Chris Colborn (Chief Experience Office R/GA New York) followed by the unveiling of the best Bookmarks entries along with insight from the judges.

Cost
Full Day Brainstorm Conference – R1980 Lunch and refreshments included. OPA members only pay R1600. Should you wish to only attend the Bookmarks Workshop Tickets cost R500 for non OPA members and R300 for members. The workshop session begins at 3.15pm with a light tea and will end at 5.30pm.

Drinks will be served after the workshop.

For more information and details on the talks click here.

Please contact Theresa Vitale at tvitale@opa.org.za, 011 454 3534 or Terry Barker at adbrainstorm@telkomsa.net, 083 561 1171.

The Bookmarks, South Africa’s only award dedicated to digital advertising, publishing and social media, is counting the days until entries close. This week, Marketingweb speaks to Nikki Cockcroft, Deputy Chairperson of the Online Publishers Association (OPA) and CEO of Primedia Online.

In what way will the Bookmarks benefit online publishers? How do South African online publishers compare to those overseas? And, What are the challenges that online publishers face today?

How will The Bookmarks benefit online publishers?

This year we have taken The Bookmarks to an even higher level by expanding the categories to include all elements that contribute to effective online publishing. Functionality, Navigation, Content, Design and Site Structure are just a few of the elements that will be considered in the judging process. The Bookmarks will set the benchmark for online publishers in South Africa. In addition, The Bookmarks will highlight the overall mission of the Online Publisher’s Association (OPA) to grow online media in South Africa by learning from both our competitors and partners, with the over arching aim to grow the medium as a whole. Ultimately this will result in a higher standard of online publishing and effective monetization of our websites.

How do South African online publishers compare to international online publishers?

Over the past 2 years I have observed a massive improvement in the standards of online publishers in South Africa. Increased focus on the back-end technology has resulted in more advanced Content Management Systems (CMS) being locally developed to meet the needs (functionality, support and price) of online publishers in SA. A greater understanding of content to advertising ratios and effective use of ad serving platforms has resulted in local publishers meeting the standards set by the international leaders. We have structured the online publishing categories around the guidelines of international publishing awards as it is important to compare ourselves to international online publishers.

What are our challenges?

Our challenges range from bandwidth and infrastructure limitations all the way through to integrated media plans from traditional and through-the-line communication agencies. On the first issue, we wait with bated breath for the arrival of our new Seacom cable and the reduction in bandwidth costs to make online publishing more cost effective for the media owners and a better experience for online users. This is happening, it is just a matter of time and we will see a dramatic change in the number of Unique Users online as well as increased usage of rich media content on our local sites. In addition, design agencies will be able to fully execute their creative concepts with improvement on the delivery of rich media creative. Our second biggest challenge in online media is education and understanding of this medium. It is up to the publishers (with the support of the OPA) to educate and enthuse the agencies about integrated media plans including online media rather than seeing it as a separate campaign with its own objectives. We continue to do this through initiatives like The Bookmarks and we are seeing a greater response from the more traditional players in the industry.

Where do you see the growth?

Online Publishers are seeing continuous growth in this medium in a number of areas:

• New Online publishers: using the OPA membership as a base to measure this growth we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of applications and members in 2009.
• Online users: The latest Nielsen online figures for July 2009 put local users at the 6.99-million mark, compared to 5.66-million in July 2008; that’s a growth of 1.3-million users, or a percentage increase of 23.6.
• Increased Online Ad Spend: After seeing a 32% increase in spend in 2008 we have, in spite of the economic climate, seen an equally healthy increase in 2009.

I believe that we have reached a tipping point and we are in the middle of an online media explosion. The increase in recognition of this medium and uptake from tertiary education facilities to include online marketing in their course curriculums coupled with the increased interest by traditional media players has been phenomenal and I believe that the tough economic climate has been beneficial to the online medium as there are more users spending time online and a greater interest in the online advertising opportunities.

Don’t miss the chance to benchmark your digital craft, and, if you are one of the many marketers who shy away from online because of intimidating industry jargon, why not book a seat at Tony Koenderman’s Brainstorm conference and workshop, run in conjunction with The Bookmarks. This conference will offer marketers, creatives and business executives the rare opportunity to listen to world class digital luminaries, including Fernanda Romano and Chris Colborn. Log onto www.thebookmarks.co.za for the list of hard working topics- all geared to rapidly advance one’s online knowledge.

For more information on the Bookmarks, visit the website and for tickets to the workshops, contact Terry Barker on adbrainstorm@telkomsa.net.

This year there are 13 categories which fall under the banner of Digital Marketing or Online Publishing. Much thought has gone into the delineation of categories in order to achieve a representative balance between creative concept and execution, ROI, publishing excellence and strategy, as well as the addition of sub-categories that reflect the growing trend in social media.

According to Online Publishers Association (OPA) Chairperson, Adrian Hewlett, the categories have been formulated with the remit of the OPA and the Bookmarks in mind. ‘The objective of the Bookmarks is to promote both digital publishing, and digital advertising as a viable part of the marketing mix. Similarly, the selection of the expanded judging panel, featuring both local and international digital luminaries, reflects these changes in categories’.

Digital Marketing

• Websites – website, self promotional, and corporate
• Microsite – microsite, online games, viral and promotional sites
• Email – campaign mailer, newsletter, viral mailer
• Online Advertising – rich media ads, banner ads
• Mobile Advertising – SMS, MMS, i-phone apps, mobile campaign
• Social Media Advertising – facebook apps, twitter, Blogs, Social media platform marketing/advertising
• Search Engine Marketing – best demonstration of ROI using SEO or SEM
• Integrated Campaign (mixed media usage)-integration of at least four digital elements listed above
• Online Media Plan – effectiveness and online media planning excellence demonstrating innovation and extraordinary ROI

Publishing

• Publishing Website – winning publisher should best serve the needs of its target audience through content, structure, design and use of the web medium
• Publishing Mixed Media Usage – Publisher that demonstrates excellence by developing integrated marketing elements that provide value to its community and demonstrates growth in audience figures. Publisher needs to incorporate at least four elements: Website, Social Media, Email, Online Advertising, Mobile, Search
• Mobile Publishers – winning mobile publisher should demonstrate excellence in mobile publishing and community development
• Greatest Individual Contribution to Online Media in the past year.

Premier Confirmed Sponsor for the Bookmarks 2009 is BBC.com

Entries open on the 1st of September 2009.
Deadline for entries is the Friday the 25th September 2009.
For more information go to www.thebookmarks.co.za or call Theresa Vitale on 011 4543534 for more information.

Fernanda Romano is a prominent international digital figurehead who has held leading positions in agencies around the world, from Sao Paulo, to New York, London and Spain. She has won numerous wards, including the illustrious Lion Grand Prix from Cannes; was named one of Ad Age’s ‘Women to watch’ in 2006, and is also a member of the Creative Social (creativesocial.com).

Chris Colborn is the highly celebrated digital and experiential designer who previously worked at Byron Preiss Multimedia Company where he was instrumental in creating interface technologies for virtual entertainment and some of the earliest online game applications. Chris joined R/GA in 1998, where he climbed the ranks to Worldwide Creative Director and oversaw creative for leading brands such as Nokia. He has recently been appointed Chief Experience Officer.

In addition to the international judges, Bookmarks has also secured top local judges, thus ensuring entrants are judged according to local criterion too. This panel is made up of; Pete Case, CEO of Gloo; JP Farinha, CEO of 24.com; and Rob Stokes from Quirk eMarketing.

Adrian Hewlett, Chairman of the Online Publishers Association, elaborates: “International benchmarking remains critical, but we acknowledge it is vitally important to account for indigenous market conditions. Local judges will ensure that Bookmarks 2009 will be that much more relevant to our industry, whilst still holding entrants accountable to international standards. After all, we want to be an award which engenders growth in the industry, and not fall prey to awarding for the sake of awarding. We simply have to be able to compete on an international field.”

Entries for the Bookmarks awards open on the 14 August. For more information please contact Theresa Vitale on 011 454 3534 or email on tvitale@opa.org.za.