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PREPARING SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE WORLD |
Communicators from all over South Africa this week come together at the Fourth Annual 2010 National Communications Partners Conference in Johannesburg. The man charged with promoting South Africa's image in the international arena ahead of the World Cup is Paul Bannister, the acting CEO of the International Marketing Council. The former MD of leading advertising agency TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris spoke to Project 2010 about the conference and the challenges South Africa still faces in the build-up to 2010.  We know the conference brought key 2010 role-players and the media together. How successful was this year's event? In terms of the audience feedback and the interaction, we believe this was the most successful conference. We were able to get delegates more involved…it was an issue that had raised concerns in the past. The challenge now is to take this momentum forward in the build-up to 2010. 2010 Organising Committee chairman Irvin Khoza, who addressed the conference, called for the media to provide fair and balanced reporting of the country's 2010 preparations. Do you think the media is fulfilling its role - that it is fully behind our World Cup preparations? The media has a role and a responsibility to mirror society - to reflect the challenges and the successes. There was a time when there was sensational coverage of some of the challenges. For example, the issue was repeatedly raised over why Cape Town (the 2010 stadium) was late but the reality is that it followed a very democratic process to ensure that everything was in order. We now need to move on, to shift the focus and to highlight the extraordinary positives. By bringing their ideas, by highlighting the fact that we are plugging the first colour World Cup, we will achieve our goals. We must use the power of the media to amplify this cause. Are you worried about negative impressions of South Africa - or so-called Afro-pessimism - in the build-up to 2010? Once is always concerned but the reality is there simply isn't a proper understanding of the situation in South Africa, or the rest of the continent for that matter. South Africa is a paradox - it is sophisticated and first world and, at the same time, third world with shacks and third world problems. By focusing on the negatives, there isn't a true picture of the reality. A few year's ago, The Economist ran a report tiled 'Hopeless Africa' which summed up Afro-pessimism, but The Economist has now shifted its stance. It now reports that the Western world has its own problems and it doesn't have all the answers. Africa, on the other hand, has so much to offer. Do you think the South African public has grasped the enormity of this event? No. Are they capable of grasping it? The answer is a firm 'yes'. I don't think we've found the missing link - what is needed to get everyone to acknowledge that this event is huge. Some people are shying away from business opportunities because they are concerned about FIFA and ambush marketing, but there are so many ways to benefit from this event. For example, I've had South African scarves made as promotional items, particularly as this is a winter World Cup. Scarves are not FIFA property, so it's fair game. We need to be creative in order to benefit as much as we can within the boundaries. After all, we get this right, the World Cup will be the second defining moment to 1994, we can be the next best thing in the world. more interviews... |
