Harry Herber

Harry Herber wonders if spam mail is a new, more effective and cheaper medium never seen before in the history of advertising.

The first world is moving away from traditional above the line media options. South Africa may still be languishing in the emerging market paradigm of how things should be advertised – but we need to remember that our country operates as both third and first world, writes Harry Herber.

Harry Herber says the only way for the internet to become a real alternative for advertisers is by broadening its user base.

Harry Herber says he can’t wait for the times to get tougher.

There seems to war out there as to whom can bring a new magazine to the market the quickest, writes Harry Herber.

Harry Herber warns against napping on the net.

Harry Herber calls for sanity to prevail and hopes that the future will bring a "new" concept to ad agencies – a company with PR, media, design, strategy and promotions all under one roof.

Not really that far-fetched, considering my recent observations on the direction that communication is taking in the land of the brave and the home of the free, says Harry Herber.

Definition: A Universal South African greeting understood by all, including Harry Herber.

The media environment is swarming with undifferentiated products. So how do you reach the hearts and minds of the likes of Harry Herber? Entrench yourself as a brand and knock your sales staff into shape.

The advertising industry is recognising that the media that best delivers — whether it’s African language media or not — is the media that’s going to be best supported, writes Harry Herber.

The consumer has found out that repetition is boring, according to Harry Herber. In this indictment on the industry for their inability to get with the programme, he argues that media owners and agencies are way out of touch with evolving mindsets.

Despite consumer inflation being consistently lower than "adflation", Harry Herber thinks media prices in South Africa are just too low. Who wants to buy him a whiskey?

Without mincing his words (does he ever?), Harry Herber explains his problem with industry bodies. Why doesn’t he or his company join them? And did we ever really need the MFSA?

Three years down the line Harry Herber has three major observations on shifts in the industry. Noticeable are changes in client’s spend, what’s influencing how they spend it, and the demands being made on the media agency. Is the pace of change just going to get quicker?

Some think it’s of little consequence, but Harry Herber comments on technology that he feels is about to change media and advertising as we know it. What will the introduction of the PVR do to the TV revenue model?

If women didn’t dominate the media environment, we’d have shows like <i>Desperate Househusbands </i>and <i>Show me the Daddy</i>. Harry Herber explains why South Africa mirrors the global trend.

Some weird disease takes Harry Herber to the US every year to listen to country music and visit small towns. Seems the top media brands are about as bizarre as his habit.

He spent almost a quarter century as a trader in the financial markets, so you’d think David Bullard would read the financial pages. Why doesn’t he?

The lack of ad spend in the Afrikaans media market is an anomaly Harry Herber can’t quite understand. Still, it looks as if the corner’s been turned.

The agony and the ecstasy. The "pitch" and the constant "evaluations". It makes Harry Herber wanna come back in his next life as a client.

Was his appearance in a linen suit and Panama hat on the cover of Lifestyle the worst sort of vanity? Not that he minded, but David Bullard swears it wasn’t his idea.

They have big names and huge equity, says Harry Herber, but vernacular media brands in South Africa are still sold short. What does this say about marketing efficacy in the country?

With more products targeting the youth than ever before, why isn’t more spend going into dedicated youth media? Harry Herber says it’s a question of resource.

For the year ahead expect negligible rate increase, continued dominance by TV and more declines in daily newspapers. Between it all Harry Herber has his money on outdoor. The contractors are more flexible and creative, innovation is matched by good availability, and new impactful, tactical, and less expensive opportunities are presenting themselves continually.

Measured against the top international behemoths, South Africa and Africa look pretty insignificant on the world adspend stage. Harry Herber gives us the sobering stats.

Is local TV content’s bad rap simply a function of broader SA-bashing? Do we love or hate local TV shows? Do they excite us wildly, and stack up against the overseas offerings, or are they poor rip-offs that embarrass viewers to the extent that they fall over each other in the scramble for the remote?

The old clichés about the effectiveness of radio are bunk, says Harry Herber. They’ve been killed by steep ad rate increases and the agencies’ poor creative execution.

In the ’70s newspapers were on a beautiful wicket, with advertisers clamouring and begging for space. Harry Herber writes that things have gotten a bit stickier since then.

As a former British Prime Minister said, you need to ask a woman when you want something done. She was, of course, a woman. Harry Herber looks at how that statement applies to the local advertising, media and communications industry.

The finale of <i>Friends</i> may have drawn bigger spend than the Superbowl, but sitcoms are in a slump in the United States. Harry Herber returns from an extended trip with stories of the bizarre.

"’If TV is a vast wasteland, soap operas are thought to be the least nourishing spot in the desert,’ wrote Tania Modleski, a renowned professor of popular culture. Well, tell that to the average South African! " Across all ages and demographics, soaps are South Africa’s top-rated television shows, which leaves Harry Herber dumbstruck. Is there any life after soaps?