Update, 22 August: Netflix South Africa's PR has told Memeburn that there's "no confirmation that Netflix will be rolling out the previews in our market". See the additional statement by Netflix in full below: At Netflix, we conduct hundreds of tests every year so we can better understand what helps members more easily find something great to watch. A couple of years ago, we introduced video previews to the TV experience, because we saw that it significantly cut the time members spend browsing and helped them find something they would enjoy watching even faster. Since then, we have been experimenting even more with...
We're seeing more and more brands coyly attack one another on social media. A good example was Netflix's swipe at Multichoice's DStv, and Huawei's recent dig at Samsung after the Korean firm's Note 9 was unveiled. This week however it was two South African companies who stepped into the ring: Cell C and Rain. The former dragged its new data-only rival through the mud on Monday with an advertisement posted to YouTube. Rain has come under pressure from users for "teething problems" and spotty coverage across South Africa's major cities. It seems that Cell C was keen to highlight these issues. We're blown...
In an extremely brave and risky financial play, Spotify may soon allow free tier users to skip audio and video advertisements whenever they want. At present, free users are not allowed to skip ads at all, but that could soon change according to a report by AdAge. The Scandinavian streaming service is currently testing the tweak to its free tier in Australia. Users Down Under are allowed to skip ads whenever they like, getting back to their voracious music consumption sooner. Spotify is also making note of which ads users of skipping, building up a playlist of relevant ads, if you...
If you love shopping online, especially for cosmetics, but always wanted to try things on before making that risky purchase -- it may soon be possible. Cosmetics brand L’Oreal, with the aid of its recently-acquired AR company ModiFace, has teamed up with Facebook to create augmented reality (AR) testing tool to help online consumers make informed decisions about their make-up. For L’Oreal, it's a play that opens up its product to various social channels, notably Instagram. "We are at that magical moment when technologies have matured enough and consumer appetite for using them is growing everywhere. We are very excited about that...
Over the past decade, the dazzling rise of digitally-driven technologies has had a profound effect on almost every industry. Within the broad sphere of media and advertising, new technology has been hailed as both hero and villain. Print media, for example, has faced a catastrophic decline in readership as audiences turn to online platforms. Similarly, broadcast media has been challenged to find growth in advertising revenue as digital platforms become more widely used. One of the oldest and most beloved of media platforms -- radio -- has also been under threat. Yet in the case of radio, and more specifically, radio...
It's safe to say that Netflix South Africa has adopted the Wendy's brand of guerilla marketing, this after its latest ad dropped in the country this week. Dubbed "Man in a Van" and starring South African comedian Jason Goliath, the 97-second long short pokes fun at satellite options' often convoluted installation methods. Okay, mainly Multichoice's DStv, to be honest. XD. Although it was off to a slow start, the ad has now racked up more than 44 000 views on YouTube since it debuted two days ago. On Twitter, it has also accrued a further 3000 retweets with more than 5000 likes. It's not...
You’ve just sat down to scrawl through your latest SEO report and your website’s rankings are finally blowing you away. After months of on- and off-page SEO efforts, you’re ranking well for the right search terms in your industry, your organic search traffic is something to boast about, your bounce rate is on a definite downturn and visitors are spending a respectable amount of time on whatever page they land on. It’s obvious that whatever you’re offering up to the search engine Gods is hitting the sweet spot. Not one to be complacent however, a new question pops into your head: I’m...
Congrats KFC South Africa, you're now 9GAG famous. The website laced with memes and funny videos posted a clip of KFC South Africa's pre-World Cup advertisement, featuring a footballer "making a meal" of a tackle. And no, surprisingly, Neymar isn't starring in it. The clip was published to 9GAG's Instagram account of some 45.6-million followers early Thursday. The post has since amassed more than 3.5-million views, 60 000 likes, and more than 13000 comments. KFC South Africa must be loving the free publicity too. Its Instagram account in comparison has just 24 000 followers in total. If you haven't yet seen the ad, watch...
"Data is the new oil" is a phrase we’ve all seen, in some variation, in conference presentation after conference presentation. Knowing everything about your customers, advertisers are told, means that you can target them with pin-point accurate messaging, saving you money and delivering real business results to your clients. While there is an element of truth in this sentiment, there is a tendency among those who express it to see data as a panacea for all of advertising’s problems. Those on the other side of the fence fear that a focus on data will ruin the creativity on which the advertising...
Wikipedia is one of the internet's most trafficked websites. We've likely all visited it at least once, and spent countless nights travelling through informational rabbit holes. But as the flagship project of the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia is the key conversational pivot on which the Wikimania 2018 conference -- now just a month away -- will centre. Cape Town has won the rights to host the 14th edition of the event, and it's a pretty big deal too; the event moves from country to country each year, so it's likely that this will be South Africa's first and last time hosting...
Wikipedia is hosting its annual conference in Cape Town in July. Announced by the non-profit today, Wikipedia's Wikimania conference will be heading to the African continent for the first time, bringing with it volunteers from around the world and Wikipedia royalty. "Attendees will be made up of members of the global Wikimedia movement, including those who volunteer their time to edit and improve Wikipedia articles, create bots, or organise events and projects to draw more content onto Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects," the company wrote in a press release. "Other open knowledge advocates will also attend, along with local academics, teachers, heritage...
For most of its history, digital marketing has largely involved adapting traditional marketing methods to the digital space. Whether in the online, mobile, or social spaces, agencies have largely stuck to the same old methods of coming up with a piece of creative and broadcasting it to the widest audience possible. Thing is, there’s plenty of evidence that those methods no longer work, not in the sense that they’re supposed to: increasing sales of a product or use of a service. All the metrics so beloved of digital advertisers -- views, clicks, engagement, time on site -- mean little if...
Governments, like potential Bumble matches, will say anything to get you to swipe right on that election ballot paper. And often, those promises made during the campaign trail are never kept. Fact-checking website Africa Check today unveiled a tool to help voters keep track of their ruling parties' promises. It's aptly dubbed the Promises Tracker. "They campaigned and promised to change your life for the better. You voted for them. But have they kept their word?" asks Africa Check. "We have picked out 10 key promises made by governments in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya and are tracking progress on them." "Our tracker...
Okay, so I'm a bit of a mad cat lady. If you ever wanted me to pay attention to something, bury that information in a cat video and send it to me. That's probably why I've been watching pet company Whiskas's Kitten Kollege YouTube series for the past 20 minutes. Uh, yes, I'm totally working. The series takes the idea that anyone (and any species) can learn anything on the internet to heart. "Adopting a tiny kitten is a magical experience, it literally takes seconds after introducing the curious little feline to your home that you realise two things: firstly, cats are...
The omni-channel experience is a relatively new marketing term that quickly reached buzzword status. Already in that first sentence there are a number of problems that make omni-channel something quite difficult for brands to get right; which is quite troubling as the core of the omni-channel experience is not a new concept. The omni-channel experience has been around since we first started promoting goods and services; but for some reason the race to digital migration has confused the issue. What is the omni-channel experience? At its very core, the omni-channel experience is about ensuring that no matter where a customer or prospect...
South Africa fumes online after girl was raped in Dros restaurant toilet
Julius Malema will let JSomething keep his land in an EFF-led South Africa
Dros Silverton bombarded by negative reviews after child rape
Video: Hey Cape Town, it’s officially snowing on Table Mountain right now
SA government asks Twitter users to stop sharing videos of Dros rape
Cyril Ramaphosa’s stimulus package gets social media talking
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