The Greens

Lying in bed last night perusing the Taste Magazine, chocolate Steri Stumpie in hand, I stumbled upon a little blurb about Woolies opening its first eco-friendly store within the Palmyra Shopping Centre in Claremont, Cape Town. I can't find more detail online, but the article detailed how the retailer has used green building practices, energy recycling techniques, grey-water systems and the use of natural air and light to conserve energy. The new eco-friendly store opens on October 28th. I agree that Woolies has some work to do on improving the carbon footprint of its packaging, but I think this is a pioneering move in terms of retail and I hope Pick n' Pay, SPAR and Checkers follow suit. Now if only I could convince the gyms in South Africa to power their facilities with the energy generated from bicycles and treadmills.

I've got my new eco-friendly reusable ceramic mug from vida e caffe. Do you?

brandslut xoxo

Woolworths Living Wall

Click here to plant a free virtual seedling in aid of World Food Day on October 16th and uniting against hunger. For every virtual seedling planted,  Woolworths will plant a real plant at a school in South Africa with a permaculture food garden. Do it NOW, you've got no excuse!

brandslut xoxo

Lovebirds

On Monday night I met The Noo for a long-overdue goss' and save-the-world session - my favourite! A bottle of wine down the tapeworm kicked in, prompting a strategic nag phone call to The Investment Banker who volunteered to make us home-made tagliatelle (!) using his brand new pasta machine (the manual kind) from my vice, yuppiechef. If Telkom want to get Heita! right, I suggest they press a call to Paul Galatis on (021) 702 4969. Because THAT. My friend. Is what you call customer service. Anyhoo, the pasta was easy and uitstekend and The Rain Man now knows exactly what to stuff my stocking with this year.

Yuppiechef also happens to be the recipient of the very first Loerie (‘recognising, rewarding and fostering creative excellence’) awarded to an online store, and it's a gold one nogal! I think it's incredibly well-deserved and here's how the lil' nuggets behind the yuppiechef brand did it, article and images courtesy of their in-house online magazine, spatula:

"Our Lovebirds campaign (read the original story here) showed how a simple idea, quickly acted upon can pack an enormous punch thanks to the advent of social media and traditional media channels working hand in hand. One ransom note, a single blog post and a URL registration fee of R70 hi-jacked a social media campaign planned months in advance by two of SA’s leading agencies. In 14 days the ransom generated more than R3,5 million in media coverage while raising more than R100,000 for the charity Soil for Life and the blog post received more visits than the nationally advertised Woolies competition website.

What made it fly? People were captured by the idea of a small, nimble online company taking advantage of a morsel of opportunity, while fleecing Woolies for a good cause as they took their first bungling steps into the world of social media. Cheeky, we know, but we got away with it.

Many manufactured viral campaigns are driven by rewarding people for spreading the word in re-tweet-and-win or share-to-win fashions. It is interesting to note that in this case the motivation for people to spread the word was to help a charity, support the underdogs and play a part in what the Mail & Guardian called a ‘David & Goliath story‘. “The power of a great social idea has been proven through this campaign,” says Dani Vos, from Hello World Agency, “and we look forward to embracing this kind of smart thinking every day with brands like Yuppiechef.”

For some, the big question was whether we saw a spike in sales. The short answer is no, however, the obvious and immediate benefits were great awareness, positive word of mouth and the strong sense of community created among our fans who played an integral role in the campaign.

Being an online store, our world is the internet. We live, breath and communicate with our fans each day through social media. Everyone out there is taking their best guess at what social media means for their business, as are we. Over time we are seeing the growing impact that social media is having on our business, but truth be told, there are no formulas we can follow or ‘experts’ to consult with. It’s a new frontier that we are exploring daily and we’re enjoying the ride.''

Big-up Team Yuppie! Now please make sure I win your Ina Paarman competition ;)

brandslut xoxo

Because Everyone Loves a Good Sausage

The Luxury Meerkat is going to die when she sees this – she’s obsessed with sausies and I don’t blame her, they’re flippen nunu!  If I had a sausie I’d call her Stretch. I’m not ready for pooches yet so I’ll settle for them in all forms faux, like this awesome sausie chair set. Such an easy and clever upholstery  idea, borrowed from this hysterical blog!

Hot! Dogs.



Fail.

brandslut xoxo

Smart Cards

I see what they did there.

A killer business card gets me all excited and I still feel as though companies haven't grasped the strength of these subtle little marketing tools. My Day Job BC is so siff and corporate that I shudder when I have to hand it over to someone. Shouldn't an employee be proud of the business card they possess? These Bad Boys from Franco Caligiuri Financial & Investment Representative designed by Canadian agency Rethink illustrate how a financial advisor works and they get the point across immediately. Heart!

brandslut xoxo

Pinhole Magic

Anthony Browell pinhole 'Primitive Beauty'

After a gorgeous gravadlax and cappuccino breakie at Olympia Cafe in Kalk Bay, the Salty C Dog and I ventured upstairs to the Kalk Bay Modern - contemporary art, framing and gallery. Their art, from jewellery to ceramics and textiles, is beauteous. Let's just say there was plenty of restraining that had to be done with constant reminders of airplane luggage limitations. Which has just reminded me of something else that irritates the poop out of me - airplane weight restrictions. 

I don't mean to sound fattist, but why are  luggage weight allowances not calculated according to total weight, including body mass? Given that I weigh half of a 100kg person, surely I should be entitled to an extra 50kg's of luggage? Or the fat person should be fined for the extra [insert weight here] of mass they're adding to the total weight of the plane. Grr. Did I mention how awesome it was being charged R3500 for being 10kgs overweight from London recently? 

Awesome vibe.

Anyhoo, due to my cheeky inquisitive nature the lovely lady at the Kalk Bay Modern gave me a sneak peak into the photograph selection for the upcoming Point of Focus pinhole photography exhibition which opens on October 15th and ends on the 31st. There's something magical about making a camera from household materials and I'm now on a mission to attempt to replicate some of the insanely beautiful photographs I was shown this morning. If you're interested in making one, here's how. If you manage to get it right, hook me up with your work and we'll host a virtual pinhole exhibition. Fun!  

Kalk Bay Modern

136 Main Road, Kalk Bay

021 788 6571

www.kalkbaymodern.com

I might just have to arrange some incredibly important meetings in Cape Town at the end of the month.

brandslut xoxo

Cock-a-doodle-do.

The Rain Man and I are in Cape Town visiting the siblings and The Salty C Dog for the weekend - happy place! It's been too long since I last visited iKapa and last night we decided to get a little bit loose at &Union, followed by a post Weiss beer binge at Gourmet Burger. The head is tender today and I'm having flashbacks of us, a table of 'adults', drawing penis doodles all over the paper tablecloth at GB. Well, the girls were the culprits, the boys looked on in scarlet-faced embarrassment and used everything they could to hide the grotesque members that stared at them from below. Now they know how we feel!

And then BANG. I stumble upon this most awesome Doodle Duvet today, courtesy of  Stitch Design Works in Mud Island. The duvet emulates a piece of ruled paper and comes complete with 8 wash-out colour pens, meaning you can doodle to your heart's content and wash 'em out in the morning. Write a story, scribble a note, leave a message, compose a song, doodle a meerkat - perfect for late-night phone calls to your long distance lover! 

The 100% cotton 200 thread-count duvet cover will set you back 45 squirrels and is available to order online. 

Loves it. 

brandslut xoxo

Here Comes the Hotstepper

As a lover of all things French et formidable, I thought this recent print ad from the Bad Boys at Saatchi & Saatchi Düsseldorf was interesting. In fact, I think they’ve played out of their pain-toffels for client Delifrance’s ready-to-bake-at-home range. Simple, effective, sweet.

J'ai faim maintenant.

brandslut xoxo

The Reel Deal

I seem to have inherited The Salty C Dog's green fingers which at this stage is proving to be more of a curse than a talent. Clothing shopping has got nothin' on garden shopping. Fact. Jozi's climate is perfect to grow just about anything and you'd be silly not to. The bushy Bad Boys in the tub on the right are Heinz tomatoes and I planted them as seedlings three weeks ago. Holy crap! They pretty much grow like weeds and soon I'll be able to have an entire salad from the garden. Note to self: must buy goat. 

 I've now managed to add artichokes, basil, mint, parsley, coriander, lettuce, tomatoes, chilli, avocado, nectarines, figs, raspberries, tree-tomatoes, carrots, spinach, green-beans, butternut and edible flowers to my Garden of Death. Yes, Mr. Carrot, you will be murdered at some point, sorry about that. 

Claire Reid is my hero and also the hot young South African mastermind behind Reel Gardening:

"Reel Gardening is a simple, cost-effective and convenient means for people to grow vegetables, herbs, and flowers from seed. Reel Gardening is a biodegradable paper strip that encases seeds with fertiliser at the correct distance apart.  The strip is planted vertically and indicates the correct depth that it must be buried below the soil.  The depth varies according to the variety and is indicated by a colour-coded strip. 

Reel Gardening is aimed at a health conscious consumer as well as individuals who do not have the ability to carry out the often complicated tasks encountered when trying to sow seeds. Reel Gardening produces ten vegetables, nine herbs and three flowers"

Bang. How awesome is that? 

She invented the Reel Gardening concept at 16 and has since gone on to win a compost heap of awards, including the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. Claire's seed-strips make growing fruit, vegetables and flowers fool-proof and can be purchased here or online. Get your company to get involved in CSI through the Garden in a Box concept which enables and empowers communities to implement their own  sustainable food projects throughout South Africa through a user-friendly and educational medium with which Reel Gardening hopes to alleviate food shortages and promote self-sustaining communities.

 Now you've got no excuse. 

 brandslut xoxo

I Believe In A Well Hung Parliament

Search marketing is something that gets me aroused, and apparently UK adult retailer Ann Summers feels the same way. For those of you outside the circle of trust, search marketing promotes websites by increasing visibility in search results. If you’re not interested in search and content strategy you’re a dinosaur in my opinion and also missing a massive marketing and awareness opportunity, especially in Mzansi.

“By using paid search as a brand marketing tool - by bidding on high volume, topical keywords with cheeky and humorous campaigns, Ann Summers generated significant eyeballs online and PR benefits offline. The strategy was not to deliver clicks, but instead to leverage the paid search mechanic to cheekily insert the Ann Summers brand into unusual places.”

British Airways strikes: The planes may be grounded, but you can still join the mile high club!

Budget 2010: There's no recession in pleasure!

Snow 2010: Stay in and stay warm with our steamy sex toys!

and my personal favs’...

Election 2010: Visit Ann Summers & find out why we believe in a well hung parliament and We specialise in long, hard elections!

Helen Zille believes in a well hung parliament

The campaigns generated a cuck-load of impressions, not just from the ads themselves, but also from PR around the naughty little campaign. The ads generated over 1.5 million impressions for a spend of less than £4500 (about R50 000) - a CPM of 0.003p (about 3.3c).

Now that you're in the mood, here's an old favourite to kick off the weekend with a bang.

Grr, happy Friday y'all.

brandslut xoxo

Unless You Want To Look Like A 70's P*rn Star

Get your paws on this awesome little Safeway 'poodle' trimmer I stumbled upon in Clicks yesterday. It's impossible to have a perfectly manicured ness (short for selfness) at all times and this is the perfect solution to take the edge off. Comes in a range of cute girly designs and complete with AAA battery and facial hair trimmer for R99. Score! The Wild Woman of Borneo is going to love this!

 

Keeping your ness, nice.

Before

 

 Yours in all things kempt,

 

brandslut xoxo

How Do You Like Them Apples?

I have burgers franchises on the brain this week it seems, man I miss Royale! Jozi is starved for a gourmet burger joint. This isn't new, but I wish we'd see more of this in South Africa, given that 56% of women and 29% of men in Mzansi are classified as obese. Apparently urban black women need to spend the most time on the treadmill, followed by women of mixed ancestory, then whites and lastly Indians.

Fresh Apple 'fries'. I see what they did there.

Burger King in the US offer Fresh Apple Fries, served neatly in a French-fry box. How cute is that?! I think local fast food retailers could follow suit and offer more than just awful Greek 'salads' made with iceberg lettuce. The bloat, people! The bloat. I also love how overseas websites like this offer uber concise nutritional information on every product they serve.

If you must, do fries the French way.

brandslut xoxo

I Anatomically Correct Heart Design

I heart this

I'm a sucker for anything quirky and couldn't resist this little bad boy from Tiaan Nagel @ 44 Stanley. Designer Geraldine Fenn of Anatomy Design loves a good bone and all things anatomically correct. Who can resist a necklace packaged in a real live medical Vacutainer? Not me. Swoon. 

Click here to check out Anatomy's bag of tricks.

Wear your heart around your neck, 

brandslut xoxo

The Little Things

Gautrain - doing things properly

I had my first virgin Gautrain experience a few weeks ago en route to see The Mommy and was generally blown away. Please mind the puns, I couldn't help myself. You see, I'm a stickler for design and detail and was impressed to see that no detail had been spared, not even on the carpets. As you can see by my image, tiny little embroidered Gautrains tile the length of the gangway carpets. Most people probably haven't noticed this. Brand people might. But I certainly did. Not only are the carpets branded, clean and generally awesome, but the service was great and the reduced time to the airport even better. Sure, there are kinks in the system as the train was launched prematurely to accommodate the FIFA Football World Cup, but I think all involved have done a cracking job thus far. It's going to be interesting to see how the imminent toll-road implementation by SANRAL is going to affect the Gautrain and public transport use in Gauteng in general. In-ter-rest-ing.

A little attention to detail goes a long way and I hope to see more South African brands realising the value in the little things. Let's hope the anti chewing-gum laws on-board remain firm and that we manage to keep this beautiful train and service clean and enjoyable for all. 

Yours in the detail, 

brandslut xoxo

Woolies' Black Gold

The Woolies cappuccino - it's not shit

It's only fitting that my first post is about coffee, the black gold that pulses through the veins of cities and addicts the world over. Having worked for Starbucks UK, Vida e Caffe and alongside the ex Marketing Director of Costa Coffee UK, I guess you could say I'm passionate about the stuff. As a purveyor of all things brand, I notice things, challenge promises and appreciate beautiful design. 

A brand that seldom disappoints is good ol' Woolies and you can imagine my meerkat like response when I recently noticed their Woolworths Cuppuccino "The Best" campaign. Sjoe. Huge shout, Susman. I'll decide that for myself, thank you. Now, whilst I certainly have allegiances to brands due to memories forged and experiences had, I welcome a lil' healthy competition with open arms. It's competition that drives COO's and Marketing Directors to reevaluate service levels and product quality. It's this duelling that ultimately leads to some fun inter-brand banter and hopefully a happier customer behind the bill. Woolies, I gotta give you credit. Your Woolworths Cafe baristas have been excellently trained and your cappuccino is bloody marvellous (perfect espresso to milk ratio, orgasmic foam). I've had about 10 now (no, not in this sitting) and I think it's safe to say you've done your homework. An opportunity was identified, a demand realised, a product and marketing campaign implemented and you've made at least one customer smile.  

I think coffee brands like Mugg & Bean and Seattle Coffee Co. could take a leaf. I've had average experiences at both recently and in this market who wants to be remembered as average? I mean, coffee is your bag guys, please serve me a decent espresso.

Yours in all things caffeine based, 

brandslut xoxo