Ideas Expo Botswana Conference A Success

This year's Ideas Expo conference was about helping individuals understand that powerful ideas can transform brands.  Which is exacly what we need here in Botswana. People should not be afraid of their ideas. Let me give you a picture rundown of what went down at the conference. 

The crowd comprised of mostly young people, people in the media & communications, film and radio and arts sectors. it wasnt so formal, everyone was free to wear anything they wanted (you know how artists are, but i aint mad at you. rock on!). It was my kind of scene. Attendees felt free to comment on what the speakers discussed. Soo Relaxed.  For that i will give it an 8/10.

The decor was nice. I love the fact that they made the area look less formal by including couches on the stage. Nice touch. Ill give it a 7/10. Only because the conference chairs were not covered. Some of them were torn and it was a bit of an eye sore. I also like the fact that there was none of those generic plastic flowers and stupid trees on the stage. The exhibitions outside kept people occupied during breaks while they ate

The speaker lineup was hectic. I especially liked Xolisa Dyeshana (of Joe Public)'s presentation. He's Africa's Great Change Agent for sure. I'll give it an 9/10. Only because i think they could have done better when it came to the Botswana speakers, Mother's great, i met her, she's wonderful, but she didnt particularly gel with the rest of the speakers. Or maybe because she's like me: not good with pu

blic speaking..maybe.

 

After the conference we were all invited to Thapong Visual Arts Centre for a social mixer. Intimate crowd, Basarwa Band playing in the background, LeshyLovesong serenating us with her poetry, artworks sorrounding us. Not your usual Gabs spot. Most of all, creatives got to mingle with the speakers and each other all night. I definately formed a few relationships there. I'll give it an 8/10. The artists will also be performing at this year's Afri-can International Music festival. Which i wont miss for anything!

The numbers that turned up for the conference did not satisfy me. Batswana havent warmed up to the idea yet, but like i always say, "we'll get there". All in all i LOOVED it!

"You Peel, You Gain" Advert

I’m sure you guys are already familiar with the "GET TRIMMED" or "ROLA KEPESE" phrase. Yep those are just some of the phrases I heard people throwing around when referring to circumcision. Apparently the campaign is working. Oh and look at how similar the Botswana advert is to this other one which was used in some other country. Lacking creativity are we Botswana... Anyway let me not dwell on that, I hear some people at the offices get very sensitive over that topic, HD! But it’s true, ija!

As another way of trying to curb the destroyer that is HIV/AIDS, the Ministry of Education along with other stakeholders decided to re-popularise circumcision. So to appeal to the younger generation (since it’s kind of too late for di-timer) they decided not to beat around the bush and just get straight with them.

“Banana (youth), you see this banana (fruit), it represents your “phiphi” (lack of a better word). Now we will take a knife (or whatever they use at the hospital) and cut off the tip. Why would we want to do that? So it leaves a softer more sensitive part. A part that is sweeter and healthier for everyone, EVERYONE. A part that will turn Banana (youth), into Banna tota (real men)!”

Guys remember when your mom used to tell you “eat your food and you will grow into big strong men”?, well this is kind of the same thing. Just that it’s the government that’s telling you to eat your food. And instead of food, they telling you to take a big knife and slash off part of your penis. Ok maybe I shouldn’t be using words like “slash” and “big knife” but eish that’s the image I’m getting from this. That’s just me though.

But seriously speaking, a lot of old people have been offended by this advert. Everytime this topic comes up, especially on radio, a lot of these old men be calling the station, complaining saying they are being disrespected. I think they are just looking for an excuse not to get circumcised. Old men, clearly all these years that you have been on this earth, you have been scared to get circumcised and become “real men”. Now you want to shout it out in the radios and scare the young people as well?

This advert was not meant for old men. It’s too late for you. Old men never change their minds about anything. Have you ever seen them at the kgotla? These niggers will resist change for days!! Come to think of it I think the makers of this advert were banana, and they had to fight those old men at the offices to approve this advert. The target audience is the youth, hence they used the fruit banana, because “youth” translates to “BANANA” in Setswana.

But as for the campaign being successful, I don’t know...all the guys I know say there is no way they are getting circumcised. Not because of the ad, the ad just didn’t persuade them. They are just too scared of the pain. Maybe all my guy friends are a bunch of scaredy-cats. I should get some real friends waitse. A bunch of REAL MEN friends!! Aarrhuu!!

Moreover, I’ve been reading in the newspapers that a certain minister’s maid who supposedly had an affair with the minister (Bots drama!!!!), when asked by her husband why she didn’t use protection she replied, “There’s no way I could be infected with the virus because the minister is circumcised”. Hahahah! Yep she actually said that. Now this got me thinking, what does this imply for the circumcision campaign? Are people now starting to think circumcision is a way of immunising themselves from contraction the virus? Will people now start having unprotected sex because they know they are circumcised, therefore they can’t be infected? You know, the advert did communicate to them that getting circumcised will reduce their chances of getting HIV/AIDS and other STDs.

Honestly im 50/50 over this advert. On one hand, I feel it’s a good way of communicating the circumcision to the youth in a way that they can appreciate. You know it’s funny, it’s bold its creative, its everything that’s youth. But on the other hand, if the message is not interpreted well, it has the potential to increase HIV levels in Botswana, which is exactly the opposite of what the campaign aimed for. I don’t know guys, what do you think?...

Check out a the better version of this article on Pristine Mag

ORANGE Botswana’s YimmiWeee! Vs PEP CELL South Africa’s Iyoh!

Botswana’s cellphone network company Orange recently started their YimmiWeee campaign. It’s a series of TV, billboard, and print adverts that are supposed to communicate the Orange rewards programme. From what I get from the adverts, Orange surprises its customers with rewards when they least expect it. I’m not an Orange subscriber so I don’t really know, but I think these rewards include airtime, freebies, and other prizes like cellphones and stuff.

Basically, in all the adverts there’s this bored looking individually sitting around at work, home or whatever. Then we hear footsteps, to indicate that someone is coming, or something is brewing. We then  see this lady draped in very colourful attire (with shades of orange of course) entering the room bearing gifts. Upon seeing this, this bored looking individual jumps up excitedly and screams out “YIMMIWEEE!” (which is what most Batswana cry out when they are surprised) and starts doing some sort of celebratory dance with this lady.

This woman represents ORANGE. Their message is “stick with orange and you will reap the rewards”. Which is great, because we all want a network provider that will keep rewarding us for sticking with them. It’s a good effort by Orange. I want to change to Orange now, it’s just that I hate changing numbers. Bathong, when are you bringing sim-swap to Botswana?!! Aah! I feel that my current service provider’s just robbing me waitse! As a cellphone user, you are not supposed to feel that way.

But there’s another advert I’ve been seeing in the SABCs that has the same concept. Instead of the customers screaming out “YimmiWeee” they go “Iyoh”. “Iyoh” is South Africa’s own “YimmiWeee”. Although we do say “Iyoh” here in Botswana, one could say, for us, the other phrase is more dramatic. I started seeing the BTV one first so could it be that Pep Cell copied Orange? I don’t know, for me that’s a little hard to believe, seeing as we’re always “borrowing” their ideas.

IDEAS EXPO’s CREATIVITY video shoot

I’d like to believe Ideas Expo is one organisation that strives to encourage creativity in Botswana. I got a chance to hang out with them on Saturday at Thapong Visual  Art Studios. This is where they were shooting a video on “Creativity” to build momentum for their upcoming conference.

It was really fun, I go to meet a lot of interesting people in the creatives’ sector, I embarrassed myself in the videos, and I saw a lot of superb art pieces. Thapong, perfect location for such an event! Well, the plan was just to get different young people who are in some way contributing towards building creativity in Botswana and get them to talk about “Creativity in Botswana”. We had a writer, a social media guru, a dancer/theatre person, a video developer, etc. And all these people are our very own countrymen. I got to represent the bloggers. Not very confident about what I said but I’m confident the video guy will remove my most embarrassing takes. I’m more of a behind-the-scenes type of girl. Anyway we’ll see.

One thing that puzzles me, and I’m sure puzzles you too, is why would they choose me? I mean I’m just a lil ol blogger. All I did was take my love for advertising and share it with the world (or country, since the following is yet to increase). I love this saying, “everyone can make a difference, no matter how small a role you play”. To me being creative is about letting your mind loose and not being afraid of what people might say. Ok I’m lying, I AM afraid that people might slay me for writing about their adverts, or criticize me for writing a crappy review, but I still do it anyway...Why? Because those are my thoughts and I can’t help but be me!

All I’m saying is don’t be afraid of being you. No matter how weird, abnormal, or unconventional you and they rest of the country may think your idea is. So you like to go around collecting rubbish and building stuff with it, so you are a guy who loves to wear tights and twirl around in circles to the rhythm of the samba, so you love to spend the whole day in your room cutting up adverts from the magazines and sticking them in your scrapbook.

Yes i understand that life is tough and you've got to pay the bills. Put on that suite and go sign a bunch of boring documents at that Bank, Govt office or insuarance company. But dont let your creative side die. Be you. Be different. Be creative.

Ba tlaa bua, ba tlaa lapa! Thats one thing IDEAS EXPO taught me.

 

This is a link to more photos in the IDEAS EXPO facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.483000178393200.130404.213076915385529&type=3

Ideas Expo 2012 Conference

DATE: 21- 22 July 2012

FEE: P500 for both days
        P300 student price

VENUE: University of Botswana, Faculty of Business

For more info: Call 72444416, visit IdeasExpo facebook page, & follow them on twitter @IdeasExpoBW

ATTENTION GRABBER!

Along Old Lobatse Rd

I would like to commend this company for going out of their way to stand out. I don’t know who these people are but I think they deserve an award of some sort. I heard President Ian is giving out awards for excellence. Well Mr President, these are your people.

 

 

If you live in Gaborone and you haven’t already seen this setup it means you haven’t used that old Lobatse road in a month or so. Its not hard to miss. This is obviously an events and decor company that decided to use alternative ways of gaining recognition. Your conventional radio and newspaper adverts are so expensive that small companies like this one just cannot afford. So everyday, these people wake up early in the morning to setup the most fabulously decorated tables in a place that everybody might see. The street! Now who else has thought of that?! 

 

 

In advertising you have to go against the norm. Go out of your way to be different because all the attention goes to “different”. Almost everytime I pass by, someone in the taxi has to say something about that setup. They have to, kana you’ll be sitting there in the car at the traffic lights waiting for the green light. You have no choice but to look. Most talk about how beautiful the setup is, some just wonder if the events company isn’t afraid their stuff will get stolen. I just tell them, do you see that airtime and sweets lady sitting over there? she’s guarding these things. They definitely have security measures in place. They probably paying her like P100 per month. You see, simple ideas can save you a lot of costs, and gain you a lot of recognition, and customers!

GO random-events-and-decor-company-that’s-not-so-random-anymore GO!! You guys are doing a great job.

But I suggest you get a sign that has you company name and number so its easier for people to call in and stuff.

My Star: Publicity Stunt or is Sid going Loco

Botswana’s local music show My Star has been in everybody’s lips these past few weeks thanks to one of its judges, SID. First of all Sid has always been the centre of attraction when it comes to My Star shows. The talent has not been that...enticing. From the beginning, when the show was still called “Pop Star” Sid was regarded as the “Simon” of the show. He terrified contestants and shocked the audience with his comments and even made others cry. He kept everybody on their toes. Yes, the show was not to write home about, but it was a local show and we loved it. Gradually the show became boring, Sid lost his touch, he started saying nice things, he started smiling, and therefore people started losing interest. The show adopted its new identity- “Botswana’s local comedy show”.

Now it seems they have found a new way of gaining back that attention: Publicity Stunt! This is a planned event/situation designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. A few weeks ago Sid came into the show with one long pinky nail painted in bright red. When I first saw it I was taken aback a little. Started thinking is Sid trying to make some kind of fashion statement that im not aware of? The following week he had painted 3 of his nails different colours (Heedu! di smarties). This time me and im sure everyone who was watching that show that day could not dzeal!  The only logical thing to do then was to call other people to come watch the show with you.  At that point I started thinking, is this niggar trying to “come out” on the show? Is he having a midlife crisis?! What the hell is going on?!! I went straight to tweeter only to find out that the topic is SID SID SID #MyStar, #ComedyShow. The following day at the office the topic is My Star. But what I did not know was this was only the beginning! The Sundays after that one have been nothing but an adventure. Now those who dont normally watch the show set their clocks to Sunday 6:30!  Even the audience that we see on TV has doubled!

A lot has been said about this sudden change of appearance. This is what some people had to say about it on twitter,

Someone from Lapologa Mag- “Its official! Mascom has found a comedic way 4people to pay attention to its brand #mystar. And its working. Hope they paying Sid alotta $$”

One of our local hip hop artists- “@SidFmStation just Gaga'd Botswana's audience, provoking a response with what seems to be a social psychology experiment *grabs popcorn*”

Fellow tweeple- “ #Deathby Nigerian-Magician @SidFmStation hahaha... #MyStar”

Asked to comment, this is what Sid had to say about his new look- “@ChawaShoe it was not inspired by anything in particular, I just found myself doing it...”

But what does that say about the show? Most people regard it as an outrage and should not be entertained. But some people (like me) think its a great attempt to gain the much needed attention for the show. However I also believe this is very bad for Sid’s own reputation (But thata story for another day). We will never know if this was planned by the producers of the show, or if the sponsors (Mascom) approved it, because those behind these stunts never reveal the truth. It has become an international trend for celebrities to create negative publicity stunts to attract attention. E.g. Janet Jackson and her boob, Kim Kardashian, Miley Syrus, Paris Hilton sex tapes e.t.c.

Yes more people will watch the show, but how many will actually vote? That’s the question! Well let me tell you a story about my experience. I have two friends. They both HATE My Star. With a passion. But ever since these escapades have been happening they have been watching the show religiously. Mind you, they only watched to see Sid. Now they both have favourites among the singers in the show. And yesterday one of them voted. Twice! Now isn’t that two more votes gained by the show? I rest my case.

The Making Of Guardian TV Ad

I recently got to be part of a team from Pristine Mag (local online magazine) who were invited to see the making of Botswana Guardian TV advert. And me being the advert finatic that i am could not wait! Ne ke segetswe kafa lefureng, as some would say.

Spent the whole day with the crew, asked questions, took a few photographs as you can see. I even wrote bout my experience, you can check it out here----->>  http://pristinemag.com/the-making-of-botswana-guardian-newspaper-tv-advert 

Now im waiting for the final cut advert to show on TV so i can write a review on it. Because i know how you guys just love my reviews. :) Watch this space!!