Damn the Jo’burg nights are cold. It’s not even winter yet and I’m wrapped up tight, huddling next to gas heaters. Snug as a bug in a rug my mom would say. The reality is that there are many people out there who are anything but snug.

I recently came across Jacaranda 94.2’s FeelGood platform which gives charities and causes a space to express themselves. It’s essentially a social media platform for do-gooders! The one that caught my eye was Winter Warmer. It’s a drive to collect blankets for those who are less fortunate. For as little as R40 you can donate a blanket or you can drop one off at handy collection points such as BP, Checkers, Shoprite etc. (Go to the site for more.)  To drive the point home, that’s only R40. Two Vida Coffees. A movie ticket. A WW open-packet-nuke-it-snack-it meal. Two beers…

I have a few pets hates and one of them is being cold (just another reason I don’t live in London). I also like making a difference – it helps me sleep at night. I hope this call to action to donate will inspire a few of you to spread the message, link to the Winter Warmer site and most of all DONATE. A blog post is not enough.

X

I’m a sucker for staying in nice hotels so when Shebee invited me to enter the Southern Sun Montecasino competition I naturally said YES.

It’s easy: The competition is open to all bloggers (although I’m not sure I want anyone else to enter as it may hamper my chances of winning…) and all you have to do is answer six easy questions:

1. What is the opening rate special?
2. Where has the latest Southern Sun opened? (they opened on 24th April)
3. Who is the General Manager of the hotel?
4. How many rooms are there in the new hotel?
5. When is their room service available? [How many hours a day?]
6. Which item would you most like to order off the Punchinello’s menu?

My answers:

1. R1050.00 per room per night, B&B per adult sharing (so take someone you like)
2. Montecasino
3. Robert Jasper
4. 194
5. 24hours per day.
6. Berries and Zabaglione – I am an even bigger sucker for dessert.

Hint: visit the website and download the fact sheet for more info.

Prize: On Friday 14th May, one blogger will be chosen to win a weekend stay at Southern Sun Montecasino for 2 adults sharing, bed and breakfast and dinner to the value of R200 each.

Terms & conditions: (Those pesky things that have to be there so bloggers don’t get all whingy when they don’t win.)

• Subject to availability, not applicable during 2010 World Cup.
• Children under 18 sharing parents’ room stay and eat breakfast free.
• Valid for 6 months from date of issue.
• Winners need to make their own travel arrangements to the hotel.

More info on the hotel:

The Southern Sun Montecasino revealed its 194 bedrooms in April 2010.

The hotel was sympathetically being modeled on the Palazzo Corsini, a 15th century Villa situated on the slope between Gianicolo and the Tiber River in Italy.

Apparently – I will know when I get there with my prize – the hotel reflects a fusion of period and modern furnishings with a fresh eclectic style, unique in the Montecasino context. It boasts a speciality restaurant seating 120 people, as well as an outdoor pool and leisure area, a lobby bar and lounge and a high spec gymnasium.

Southern Sun Montecasino will also house a 1400m ² Conference Centre aimed at the Day Conference Package market, as well as an array of small conference and meeting rooms, all with the latest in audio-visual packages.  Convenience retail outlets including a business centre and a beauty salon are envisaged.  A new Café Bar on the Square caters to office tenants, visitors and hotel guests.

Go! Go! You’ve gotta be innit to winnit! PS Entries must be mailed to  sheenag@aquaonline.com

My opinion piece was published on Biz-Community.com today. Let me know what you think.

Phew, the digital, mobile and social media space is certainly hotting up recently. There have been more announcements and moves in this space than you can shake a stick at.

And while this is all very exciting and it’s great to see such buoyancy after 2009’s doom and gloom, as a PR and communications consultant I am feeling a touch of unease.

Primarily I am concerned about unrealistic expectations being set up with clients by agencies, often followed by poor implementation by people who haven’t truly engaged in the space for a significant period of time. I fear this disjoint will ultimately lead to the PR and communications industry being given a bad name – as it was by the champagne and stiletto brigade in the 1990s.

Not only that, though, if South African companies don’t get this social, mobile and digital media thing right they will lose the biggest opportunity they have to grow their businesses and be successful.

Things that have made me raise a sceptical eyebrow recently include:

What’s with the silo approach? Certainly the announcement of a new division gets an agency attention, but just how does it work to have all your social media “rock stars” sitting at one end of the agency when it comes to running integrated communication campaigns? Social media, online and mobile needs to be considered at strategy and conceptualisation stage, and then implemented coherently across the board. At MANGO-OMC we’re seeing more and more that we are required to take both a strategic and project manager role on behalf of our clients, bringing together different communication channels and technologies, overseeing an integrated campaign and serving as chief gatekeeper for brand messages.

Huh? A community manager that sits outside the company they represent? It is highly, highly unlikely that an agency will know your company as well as you do. And given that one of the key requirements for a successful social media engagement is authenticity, you’re stumbling before you are even out the box if your agency convinces you that they can look after this function. What your agency can do, however, is work with you on strategy, set in place the foundations of effective social media engagement with the customers in your target market, and guide and coach you on maintaining an effective and successful conversation.

Social media experts with 25 Twitter followers and 10 tweets? Imagine walking into a Hell’s Angels convention wearing a pink pleather jacket and carrying a scooter helmet with the price tag still attached. And expecting to be taken seriously. Not going to happen. It’s the same thing with social media, you only truly understand the space and engage authentically if you are genuinely part of it in your own capacity. Else at best you are going to get ignored, but more likely laughed at and then ignored.

Over-emphasising the impact of social and digital media in South Africa. Get real. Yes, it’s a rapidly growing wave, and yes you almost definitely need to get on it. But throw out everything else you are doing? Probably not. Let’s take a look at some numbers. 2.3 Million South Africans are active Facebook users every month. 467,500 South Africans have a Twitter account. 5.3 Million South Africans have Internet access. But amongst our population of more than 47 million, traditional media blows these stats out the water. Umhlobo Wenene FM has 4.3 million listeners a week, and The Sowetan, a regional newspaper, has more than 2 million readers a day. So decide who you want to reach, and find out where they are actively engaging, rather than jumping on the latest and most edgy fad.

What is key though is to maximise all your communications and PR efforts by integrating and amplifying them across the various channels you have chosen.

Don’t forget about mobile. And I don’t mean mobile Internet only: according to Arthur Goldstuck from WorldWideWorx there are 50 million mobile phone connections in South Africa, and about 36 million individual subscribers. There are heaps of cool, interactive things you can do with a bog standard mobile phone. Just tread carefully, as South Africans have been bitten one too many times by unscrupulous subscription offers. And make sure that what is happening on the mobile phone is aligned with what is happening in the rest of the campaign.

This is too important an opportunity to get things wrong. Agencies, start eating your own dog  food. And South African companies, notch up the scepticism a few levels the next time you are speaking to the latest social media rock star.

I flew down to Cape Town on Thursday to see my middle brother and his wife who visit from Germany once a year. I really love my family. They may be crazy (whose isn’t?), scattered across three continents and capable of driving me up the wall, but I love them. They are truly all I really have and if you don’t know this yet, family comes first.

My faux pas of the week was getting deliciously tipsy at a party that a client was throwing (for the first time may I add).  They happen to be exceptionally cool people, the type who throw DJ parties and extreme sports events, yet despite how composed I may seem when over the limit, being described as ‘cute’ is NEVER good.

I am also reminded of how much tequila (mixed with mojitos mixed with red wine) hang-overs suck. I’m considering a detox.

The f*ckup for the week was going for a bikini wax on said hang-over. As far as bad ideas go, this one takes the cake.

Have mercy. I am over worked and under played.

So for those of you who don’t know, because it honestly feel like everyone does, I have moved to Johannesburg for 3.5 months to open an office for my company, MANGO-OMC.

2009 was a particularly rough year emotionally and work wise as we were busier than ever, so my personal life suffered, and yet, like every other SME out there, we were trying to manage cash flow and capacity. The long and the short of it is that we emerged stronger.

The time has now come to acknowledge the fact that what I started on a whim a few years back, is now a fully fledged agency with office space, staff and fantastic accounts. Nicole, my business partner, and I have been lucky in the sense that we have always had the luxury to take on the clients that we are passionate about. Be it cause based PR or cutting edge online campaigns, we love what we do and we do what we love. Corny, but true. (And we work bloody hard for it.)

The next logical step therefore was to open a Jo’burg branch. I have been coming up so often, that making the move made sense. Some of our biggest clients are based here as is most of the business. Cape Town has served us well in our incubation phase and will continue to do so for many years to come, but expanding to Johannesburg is progressive evolution.

I love The Big Smoke. It is true I have had to leave the love of my life, my home, my team and my safety net behind for a few months, but I anticipate it will do us all good. I find Joburg vibey and challenging and I love the social scene, the art, the business rush and even the beauty.

My biggest challenge, apart from locking down additional business, setting up an office and recruiting the right people in just three months, is to get to know myself. It’s no surprise that already within the fist two weeks I have been caught up in the work and the rush sparing little time to do what it is I should be doing – figuring out Cath. The last four years have been dedicated to everyone but myself, so I am planning on being more than just a little selfish with my time.

The Ted video below featuring Elizabeth Gilbert talking about nurturing creativity moved me. I often get so bogged down in the detail and the to do list, that I forget to stop and acknowledge the things that drive me and make me happy. It’s easy to forget and even neglect ourselves. If you believe in a soul, I can only describe it as not allowing your soul to follow its true path. For that you have to stop and reassess. Expand your boundaries, try things you’ve never done before, challenge your inhibitions and be still with yourself – something I find the most challenging of all.

I hope to grow into a stronger, happier, more balanced and a hopefully more clear and focused individual. One that knows what she wants from life and isn’t afraid to go for it. One that doesn’t just operate on auto pilot because it has served her so well in the past. I know it will take longer than 3.5 months, but that’s okay.

Watch the video, you won’t be disappointed.

Elizabeth Gilbert – Nurturing Creativity