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PREPARING SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE WORLD |
A web-based media service has been launched to promote South Africa in the lead up to the 2010 World Cup. The initiative is spear-headed by the International Marketing Council - custodian of Brand South Africa - and aims to provide mind-opening, up-to-date and verifiable information to media in the lead-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Gill Price at the IMC is overseeing the initiative. Project 2010 asked him....  What is the idea behind MediaClub? In the build-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africa will come under increased media scrutiny as the country prepares to host this prestigious event. In 2007, the IMC conceptualised a web-based media service - MediaClubSouthAfrica.com - to provide a comprehensive information. This service takes advantage of the unprecedented communication and marketing opportunity this global event presents to the country and the African Continent. One of the best ways to consider this opportunity comes from Gillian Saunders of Grant Thornton, which has done numerous projections on the economic impact of the World Cup. She says the World Cup is essentially about 96 hours of football, four to five weeks of tourism and years of impressions about the country in the minds of billions of television viewers who will experience us indirectly. Have you based this on any previous models from previous major international sporting events? The idea originated from Germany's experience of hosting the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In the lead-up to 2006, Germany's Land of Ideas established a Media Club to brand Germany and maintain relations with key international media beyond the World Cup itself. Are you expecting foreign media representatives to utilise this service as well as South Africans? We are confident that it will prove to be an invaluable service to local and international media that are interested in following and exploring South African achievements and developments that make this country a winning nation - without ignoring the challenges the country faces. What makes it particularly useful is that the material can be reproduced as is, or could serve as thought-starters for reporters' story ideas and can be supplemented by the images available on the website's comprehensive image library. Do you find there is a lack of information about South Africa's 2010 World Cup preparations? I don't believe there is an information vacuum. In addition to the Organising Committee's own communication, FIFA has a schedule of milestones and forums that continuously raise the profile of the country's preparations. However, the World Cup is primarily an event that people around the world experience via media, and all communication partners are therefore working as hard as possible to ensure that information is produced proactively and that questions and even criticism are addressed timeously. From the MediaClub point of view, we will essentially cover general issues across a range of categories such as The Land and its People, Growth and Democracy, Economy and Business to name but a few. While it will also address matters relating to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it will not be its primary focus as the IMC believes the 2010 FIFA World Cup Local Organising Committee and Government are successfully communicating developments and achievements. It is imperative that all stakeholders and partners embrace this communication opportunity to firmly entrench South Africa in its entirety in the hearts and minds of the world. There are often concerns that some of the real success stories relating to 2010 i.e. people who have secured employment on World Cup projects or informal traders who are capitalising on the opportunities that this event presents, are not being told. Will you be highlighting these successes? MediaClubSouthAfrica.com is an excellent opportunity for us to tell stories of ordinary South Africans who achieve extraordinary things. While entrepreneurs across the country and the continent are anticipating to benefit directly from the event, we would like to profile achievements and success beyond 2010 to paint a picture of a country and region that demonstrates excellence on an international scale.' more interviews...
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