PROMOTIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA: TOP MARKETING, EVENT, AND PROMOTION COMPANIES – TOP TIPS AND ADVICE.
PROMOTION COMPANIES IN SOUTH AFRICA.
What is the best way to find a promotion agency or make contact that can take your marketing campaign from conceptualization, through design and execution? The answer’s not as simple as finding someone who does what you want at a reasonable price. There are many factors involved when choosing an agent for promotional campaigns in South Africa – how long they’ve been around; their track records with other clients; whether or not they’re based locally so there’ll be less of an impact on delivery time due to distance constraints… What services do they offer, It boils down to this: research!
Hi, my name is Bibi Burness and I’m the CEO of B&W Productions. We’re an events company based in Johannesburg that does great work for a variety of clients! Contact us.
I have found and worked with over 50 promotions agencies in the last two decades. Here are some tips and advice on choosing a promotion company for your needs.
HOW MANY YEARS HAS THE MARKETING AGENCY HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS?
Of the 50 companies, I mentioned only 20 odd are still in existence. The promo industry is a rough one to be in – not many new kids have what it takes for survival. So look for an agency that has been in business for at least six to seven years and weathered most financial storms in South Africa. (Including Covid-19 of late) The reason for this thinking. If your chosen company goes bang, they disappear with your brand collateral. And even leave their promoter staff unpaid, even though you have paid them in full. The promoter takes to social media to complain and your brand name is now involved. Not ideal, and I have seen this happen a couple of times.
WHO IS YOUR BRAND ENTERING INTO A BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP WITH?
Find out, who you are dealing with? A lot of promoter agency owners are ex-promoters or models. this has both benefits and disadvantages, on the plus side, they should understand and empathize with their staff having done this work themselves. On the downside, some of their business acumen and admin skills have not been the greatest.
HOW BIG OR SMALL IS THE PROMOTIONAL AGENCY?
There are a couple of issues here you need to consider, does the company have the cash flow, to carry your corporate’s crazy payment terms of 60/90/120 days? As a marketing or brand manager, this is not something you would normally consider. But many small promotion companies have been put out of business by huge corporates. So have a hard conversation with them. Do they have a BBBE certificate? What level are they? Or are exempt because they are under the turnover threshold. And how will this affect your business BBBE points if you use them? On the other tip of the scale having dealt with large promotion agencies, they can make feel like just a number or project in their sale book. So try to find a balance between these two sizes of businesses.
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE YOU WILL BE DEALING WITH ON A REGULAR BASIS?
Who will be your account manager? or will you deal with the M.D directly? As a new company, it is very important to feel comfortable and close with who handles all of your accounts before signing any contracts since they may end up being someone that has been assigned as an organization’s champion for years on end. So ask around! You can also “interview” them by exchanging emails if possible so make sure you are confident in their skill set and personality type when making this decision about whom to work closely with long-term – don’t let anyone surprise you later down the line following months of collaboration between teams from both sides!
ASK ABOUT HOW THEIR REPORTING AND FEEDBACK SYSTEM WORKS IN THIS FIELD?
Having run crews and staff of hundreds. I can safely say managing thousands of promo staff at an agency is not easy.
As someone who has managed hundreds of crews, I can confidently say that managing thousands of promotional staff is not an easy task. The first thing you’ll want to do is ask them what system they use for checking if the promoter arrives on time at their promotion or event? You should also look at how well organized and user-friendly their reporting software/app. It’s important that it be exportable as this will make your life much easier when looking over data in excel sheets. It is a common misconception that if you release a promotions campaign, it will be seen by everyone and every customer. I have audited campaigns for multi-national companies with less than half of the activations actually happening. Being close to reporting and doing random onsite spot checks can help avoid mistakes in your reports and that the activation is really happening.
ASK FOR THE AGENCY SUCCESS RATE ON PROMOTIONS?
The first step is to find the right agency for your needs, and this includes making sure they have an activation success rate of at least 90%. Once you have found a company that’s perfect for you, make sure to ask them what backup plans are in place if one of their promoters doesn’t pitch. If something goes wrong with promotions or marketing efforts by mistake (or because we are too busy), it can be disastrous!
So after years of using different promotions companies in South Africa, the one promotions company that consistently delivers the results I’m looking for at reasonable rates and high execution numbers is JR Promotions. Contact us
