The last time I travelled on a train in South Africa was over 40 years ago. I have travelled on trains in France and Switzerland and I am a firm believer in train travel. But taking a suburban train into Cape Town raised all sorts of concerns – I’ve seen what’s been written on CapeInfo and local media about our trains (quite horrifying!) and seeing graffiti-ridden trains and trains with no windows parked at stations hasn’t helped.
The train ride from Somerset West to Cape Town was a pleasant surprise. A first class one-way ticket was R12.00! The train was on time and ran like clockwork – the journey was 1.5 hours which is not bad at all. It was clean; the ride was smooth. Security on the train was evident and one did feel safe. I was surprised… just a pity that the rolling stock is so badly designed.
It would be so easy to upgrade our suburban rail service to match the quality and experience of the Swiss and French trains – just change Metrorail’s management. They may have made headway, but they just don’t understand how to attract customers who have a choice of transport modes.
Cape Town station was a disaster. It was due to be redeveloped 20 years ago, nothing happened and it’s more of a mess than ever before. It’s a disgrace to Cape Town.
Celebrating the City
I haven’t been to the Waterfront for over a year so an early morning meeting at City Lodge started an interesting day.
I arrived early and noticed an old building outside the Waterfront which had a very large red circle attached to the window with the message “This building is Good”. It was an initiative by the Institute of Architects. Well done! Now wouldn’t it be great if they published a list the public can refer to. We challenge them to let us have a list to add here.
The canal at the entrance to the Waterfront looked a bit of a cesspool - what a disappointment! Across the road, Auto Atlantic has become an Audi dealership and the building is getting some corporate branding. So gone are the days of buildings that try to respond to a Waterfront architectural ethic. Crass commercialism rules; architectural good neighbours do not exist!
The meeting was with CMH, a listed auto retail group with an annual turnover of almost R9 billion! It was to discuss a marketing partnership and new ways of reaching appropriate audiences. They are a refreshing company to deal with.
Delights of a Working Harbour
It’s probably what’s on the water that delights most for any visit to the Waterfront. This visit was no exception. Parked, ermm… moored… in front of Cape Grace was the Tatoosh. Rumoured to belong to one of Microsoft’s co-founders, Paul Allen - one of three “yachts” he owns. One of the others was in Cape Town earlier this year when Bill Gates addressed a conference.
Yes, that is two helicopters on top of this 303-foot “yacht”. It also has a real yacht and an array of other water toys on board.
So it was a delight to meet Phillip Couvaras, new GM at the Table Bay Hotel the next day and discover his enthusiasm for what gives the Waterfront its unique attraction. He’s truly fascinated by all the maritime comings and goings and shares it with the hotel’s guests. A poster in the lobby about a tall ship moored in front of the hotel resulted in more visitors to the ship than they had in any other port! Well done Phillip.
Joy, Delight and… Uniqueness
My office was behind the right hand window of the top floor in 1989! When we moved in, it was occupied by pigeons. What joy and delight to see this beautiful old building coming into its own. In the 1870’s it was the port manager’s home and office. Neil Markovitz of Newmark Hotels was the client who knew exactly what he was doing, with architect Gawie Fagan and interior designer Francois du Plessis.
A new - a very fitting - lease on life for the historic Dock House - the most exclusive accommodation at the V&A Waterfront. Newmark Hotels also owns the V&A Hotel, the Waterfront’s first hotel.
BMW Mausoleum
The next stop was the BMW Pavilion. Oh gasp and shudder… where have all the people gone… long time passing…. Memories of queues for IMAX, the buzzing Bistro and 500,000 visitors a year are just a memory. There are a few nice cars and for the rest it looks like a new and used motorbike lot. Even the Minis have gone.
This does nothing for the Waterfront and certainly nothing for the BMW brand. Being stopped at the door by two Waterfront security guards was hardly a warm welcome.
Victoria Wharf
I’d heard bits about the new fashion mall that was added to the front of Victoria Wharf so I was keen to discover what the hype was all about. Entering Victoria Wharf from the old parking area is probably the most unwelcoming entrance I have ever experienced.
You feel as though you are about to be churned into the belly of a monster. Yes, it’s much the same as the old entrance, but the “Argie boys” (newspaper sellers) and flower sellers are gone. It’s a bleak combination of wind lobby and giant revolving door with a touch of inhumanity. That’s so easy to change.
Upstairs, the once busy Playa had two tables. It was never like this before at 10:30 in the morning. And the new mall must be cause for concern. There was not a single soul in sight… a completely empty mall! Nor were there any stores to excite - nothing unique to Cape Town.
Of even more concern was the lack of friendliness. The Woolworths security officer lolling at their front door didn’t bother to return a greeting and this seemed to repeated over and over again. What sort of warmth are we offering as 2010 approaches?
Tourism numbers are down in the economic crisis but a more commen lament from old friends was that the Waterfront’s management has been virtually absent since David Jack’s retirement. All the hype about new developments by the new owners was just that… hype. Wasn’t R3 billion of new development before 2010 mentioned?
The last stop was the Cape Grace Hotel. It was always a fountain of friendliness and peace in a bustling Waterfront. It carries memories of a remarkable family that built it - Charles, Chippy and Cynthia Brand - and its remarkable first GM - Euan McGlashan. Alas, that is just a memory. Gone is the friendly greeting at the front door, although at least one staff member there is the same. Inside, staff friendliness seems to have disappeared too… not a single greeting! The building is in the final stages of a makeover where understated elegance has made way for mirrored pillars and mirrors wherever else there is an empty wall. It’s not the same.
We were very sad to stop publishing the WhaleTales blog. It was an agonising decision and considered very carefuly.
We have been very harshly criticised both for publishing the blog and for withdrawing it. We need to state our side.
We believe Chris von Ulmenstein’s blog has a place and provides a compendium of useful information for the tourism industry.
Chris is know for tackling issues, which is fine, but the blog became a very personal vendetta against Fedhasa members.
Now, Fedhasa is much like a private club who’s sole purpose is to serve its members, and it’s Fedhasa’s right to decide who it allows as members. Fedhasa is not the representative body for the tourism industry; SATSA and others fulfil roles too.
The vendetta became just too blatant and too much when Chris opened a second blog - “fedhasaisafarce” - on a Google platform. This was not responsible journalism; it was a personal vendetta at its very worst that aimed to smear names by using high rankings in search engines.
We complained to Chris. After thinking about it carefully, we informed her that we were suspending the blog and provided detailed reasons - integrity is a cornerstone of CapeInfo. She removed the “fedhasaisafarce” blog and asked us to reconsider. We agreed to do so subject to certain conditions. She was not prepared to meet these and decided to open her own blog.
We wish the new WhaleTales blog well and really do hope that it is a success.
HELEN ZILLE, Executive Mayor of Cape Town and leader of South Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance, has been awarded the 2008 World Mayor Prize by City Mayors, the international urban affairs think tank. Commentators supporting her nomination said that in a country devoid of present day role models, this “amazing lady” was making a difference and giving people hope. “Her only equals are Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela in Southern Africa.”
Tann vom Hove, Editor of City Mayors said Helen Zille was the judging panel’s unanimous choice for the 2008 World Mayor Prize. “The Mayor of Cape Town has dedicated all her professional life to further the well-being of all sections of South African society. She has done so with courage, tenacity and, above all, a deep-felt love for Cape Town, her country and its people,” Tann vom Hove added.
Prior to entering politics, Helen Zille made a name for herself during the apartheid era as a political journalist, working for the Rand Daily Mail, South Africa’s leading liberal newspaper. Working there, she emerged as a leading anti-apartheid critic, famously exposing the circumstances behind Steve Biko’s death in police custody in 1977. Since becoming Mayor of Cape Town in March 2006, Helen Zille has survived an aborted attempt by the provincial government to downgrade her office and an attempted coalition coup. To the people of Cape Town, she is an inspiration and shining example of what good local government should be.
Runner-up of the 2008 World Mayor Project is Elmar Ledergerber, Mayor of Zurich. He will receive the 2008 World Mayor Commendation. Tann vom Hove, Editor of City Mayors says: “The mayor deserves this honour because of his success in building bridges between the privileged and less privileged communities of his city.” The Mayor is also praised for his efforts to make both Swiss and non-Swiss citizens feel at home in Zurich.
Third place has been awarded to Leopoldo López, Mayor of Chacao, and prominent Venezuelan opposition politician. He is admired both as a hands-on mayor and a national politician fighting for democratic openness and fairness in Venezuela.
The top 11 mayors of World Mayor 2008
1. Helen Zille, Mayor Cape Town, South Africa
2. Elmar Ledergerber, Mayor of Zurich, Switzerland
3. Leopoldo Eduardo López, Mayor of Chacao, Venezuela
4. Phil Gordon, Mayor of Phoenix, USA
5. Ulrich Maly, Mayor of Nuremberg, Germany
6. Jaime Nebot, Mayor of Guayaquil, Ecuador
7. Marides Fernando, Mayor of Marikina City, Philippines
8. Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, Mayor of Tehran, Iran
9. Göran Johansson, Mayor of Gothenburg, Sweden
10. Salvador Gandara, Mayor of Villa Nueva, Guatemala
11. José Fogaça, Porto Alegre, Brazil
The World Mayor Project
World Mayor, a project organised by the local government think tank City Mayors, aims to raise the profile of mayors worldwide as well as to honour those who have made long-lasting contributions to their communities and are committed to the well-being of cities nationally and internationally. According to city residents from all continents, an outstanding mayor must possess qualities of greatness: leadership and vision, good management abilities, social and economic awareness, ability to provide security and to protect the environment, as well as the skill to foster good relations between communities from different cultural, racial and social backgrounds. The World Mayor Project was first conducted in 2004.
In 2004 Edi Rama won the Award for his achievements in turning the drab and neglected post-communist capital of Albania into a thriving western European city, before being chosen as leader of the country’s Socialist Party. As mayor, Dora Bakoyannis contributed substantially to the success of the Athens Olympics and ensured that the Games would be of long-lasting benefit to the Greek capital. After receiving the 2005 World Mayor Award, she was appointed foreign minister. John So, winner of World Mayor 2006, is Melbourne’s first directly elected Lord Mayor. Born in Hong Kong, he is an example of the ‘Australian dream’.
Helen Zille
Mayor Helen Zille’s role in public life began with a stint as political correspondent for the Rand Daily Mail, South Africa’s leading liberal newspaper during the apartheid era. While at the paper, she emerged as a leading anti-apartheid critic, famously exposing the circumstances behind Steve Biko’s death under police custody in 1977 - claimed to have been from of self-inflicted wounds. She also made a name for herself at the height of apartheid as a member of the Black Sash white women’s resistance movement and as a peace activist in her adoptive city of Cape Town. She then worked in public affairs as a public policy consultant and as director of communications for the University of Cape Town.
Prior to becoming mayor, Zille was elected as a member of the Western Cape provincial legislature in 1999, serving as executive council member (MEC) for education until 2001 and then as leader of the opposition, before being elected as an MP to the South African Parliament in 2004, also in Cape Town. Zille is leader of the Democratic Alliance, a relatively recent party in post-apartheid South Africa, but with antecedents within earlier parties of the liberal democratic multiracial tradition in South African politics, most notably the Progressive Party of Helen Suzman.
During World Mayor 2008, Helen Zille has had the most passionate and eloquent support of any candidate. Her humanity, charm, integrity, vision and political know-how have all been praised in equal measures. “Mayor Zille is a phenomenal woman, she leads the city as opposed to ruling it. She understands the people who live in the city and what they need to be successful. She appeals to people across age, gender and race. She is a true inspiration to the youth of South Africa.”
“Helen Zille is an inspiration. Her courage, tenacity, honesty and common sense are so refreshing as we plough through the difficult political time we are having at the moment. She is a shining example of good governance.”
“Helen Zille has taken a strong anti-corruption stance, unlike her predecessor. She has also succeeded in uniting a politically divided opposition in the best interests of Cape Town citizens. Her strong leadership on fighting crime, the preparations for the 2010 World Cup and drug abuse has made Cape Town a world class city again.”
This award does more for “Brand Cape Town” and “Brand South Africa” than any marketing hype. This is what leadership is all about. CapeInfo salutes Helen and hopes that readers will add their say by clicking on the “Comment” link at the top of this story.
This is where you get to have your say - click on the comment link directly above and/or vote in the right hand column. At the end of the day, it’s your opinion that counts.
It’s not often that one comes across a truly great idea and this just has to be one of those times. Mel Miller’s concept for Iconic Cape Town really hits the nail right on the head. No single phrase captures the essence of Cape Town better.
“Cape Town is the brand,” says Mel. “What Cape Town represents – what it has to offer and what it is known for – needs to be communicated instantly and effectively. The brand message needs to do that.
“We have so many memorable, recognisable and revered icons, it makes complete sense to capitalise on them. As a collective then, we can make one crisp, concise promise – ICONIC CAPE TOWN.” (The issue is not about logos, slogans or complex strategies.) It’s about simplicity of communication – “iconic” being the language and experience of our customers. (Operators at the rock face of tourism confirm this to be true. It’s the conversation they have with visitors daily.)
To South Africans outside Cape Town who ask, “how can a strong Brand Cape Town benefit me?”, the answer is simple. Do you think Sydney’s strong brand benefits Australia, or London’s strong brand benefits Britain? Of course they do!
CapeInfo set about testing the brand message by updating its “Introduction to Cape Town” page. ICONIC CAPE TOWN is a powerful statement, a promise and, when one explores it fully, has the legs to carry Cape Town to its unique position on the world stage. It works at a generic and a product level. Do visit the new, surprising and inspiring “Introduction to Cape Town” page. It says it all but can grow to encompass much more.
And you you want to read about how the concept came about and why it’s being launched like this, click here.
What does ‘Iconic’ mean? Of, relating to, or having the character of an icon (an adjective)
What is the definition of ‘Icon’ (also i·kon):
An image; a representation.
An important and enduring symbol: “Table Mountain is one of the world’s global icons.”
One who is the object of great attention and devotion; an idol
Landmark moments in time, eg, iconic moments – public and personal: “Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and his first speech from City Hall; the world’s first heart transplant at Groote Schuur hospital.”
“Iconic” is rich with meaning, not just visual. One of Cape Town’s greatest icons is not primarily visual at all. Robben Island should be deeply ingrained in Cape Town’s brand message with its iconic symbolism of “a triumph of the human spirit against the forces of evil, a triumph of wisdom and largeness of spirit against small minds and pettiness; a triumph of courage and determination over human frailty and weakness.”
Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, said: “It was clear that although Cape Town ranks among the top city destinations of the world, its brand image is fragmented, misunderstood and diluted.
“Countries, regions, states and cities, like large corporations, have begun rising to the challenge of communicating with power and persuasiveness. Furthermore, famous and successful cities are usually associated in people’s minds with a single quality, promise, attribute or story. The competition amongst travel destinations is tougher than ever before. We cannot afford not to put out a confident and powerful brand message out to the world.”
Getting the public involved in the branding debate has been enthusiastically received by Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism:
“I love Iconic Cape Town. It is simple, but powerful and tells the story of our city. Iconic Cape Town captures the diversity, richness, beauty, history and complexity of Cape Town. But for a brand message to be trully effective and real, it must be embraced, shared and lived by the people of the city. If not, it is reduced to a meaningless strap line without soul. Cape Town Tourism looks forward to being part of the process and hearing what our fellow Capetonians have to say.”
Comments from outside Cape Town are as important – that’s where the brand really has to work.
Someone purchased a bulldog they saw advertised in CapeInfo’s Classifieds. The advertised price was R800 - which rose to R3000, including transportation - and the advertised location was Pretoria - changing to Springbok upon further enquiry.
The young lady took what she regarded as necessary precautions. She obtained the seller’s physical address, ID number and received a proforma invoice. The she paid the full amount into the seller’s Absa bank account. The dog never arrived and the seller ‘disappeared’.
This raises a few questions. Firstly, who buys a pedigreed pet on the internet without proof of pedigree? Secondly, who pays money for goods unseen? The dog that arrived, if one arrived at all, could have been a chihuahua or a pavement special. Would you buy a car without kicking the tyres first?
Online business dealings need common sense and a little extra caution. Websites that offer online sales raise a red flag when an order is made from free email accounts where the owner cannot be verified - gmail, hotmail, yahoo, etc. Websites follow good business practice by asking the person they’re dealing with to provide a contact at a bank who can confirm that they do in fact exist and have an account at the bank.
Prepaid cellphones exacerbate the matter because there is no record of ownership. You never know who is on the other side of the cellphone. Compulsory presentation of an ID document when buying a prepaid SIM card was mooted, but never implemented.
But then story became even muddier when CapeInfo was asked to assist.
If you phone Absa’s fraud line, there is a recorded message telling you how serious Absa is about combatting crime, but that one needs to contact one’s domicile branch. So we did, informing them of the circumstances, asking for advice and whether the bank’s client was known to the bank.
We were referred to another branch and told that the information requested could only be provided if the bank is subpoened. Fair enough. Or is it? Surely the question, “is the individual is known to the bank” could have been answered?
Now the buyer’s boyfriend - who works for a finance house - enters the picture. He informs us that the bank account in question does not comply with SA’s FICA regulations - where domicilium has to be proved. He also copies us correspondence from Absa - no subpoena needed.
Absa’s specialist investigator in their foresic services department emails the branch manager where the alleged fraudster’s account is held:
“Suspected fraudulent account
Please refer to the e-Mail below and consider the urgent closure of the mentioned Absa account.”
So we write to the investigator, asking if Absa is pursuing matters in it’s quoted aim of combatting crime. The reply is:
“FS will not investigate as there was no fraud committed against Absa.
“What I’ve done was to inform the domicile branch to close the miscreant’s account with immediate effect.
“You will have to file charges with the SAPS and/or take civil action to recover your money.”
A “miscreant” - now that’s quick justice!
So it seems you don’t need a subpoena to get an inside track on someone else’s account. It seems that Absa believes that closing an account exonerates themselves further. It seems that, if fraud was not commited against Absa, their statment on combatting crime is pure lip service.
It also seems - if the boyfriend’s facts are correct - that Absa broke the law by allowing an account to operate that does not comply with FICA and, as such, are co-responsible for the fraud.
These statements and views were conveyed to Absa’s Communication Officer in Cape Town. We subsequently received a call from Absa’s head office saying the matter was being investigated and that we would have a response by Wednesday aferternoon or Thursday morning latest. We asked the caller to send us an email with his contact details. Neither the response nor the contact details were forthcoming.
It’s a sad fact that while banks are quick to penalise their customers when they make an error, they have a hundred smokescreens when they are at fault.
Earlier this year, Absa lost a cheque from Google after it had been deposited by CapeInfo. We received a letter saying “We regret to inform you that the following cheque was lost in transit to the drawee bank. Since we were acting as an agent for the collection of the cheque, it was necessary to debit your account.” Not responsible!
A few years ago, my bank card stopped working at ATM’s. The bank said it was my fault; they do not make mistakes. After three days of non-returned calls and visits to the bank, only when I raised my voice at the enquiries counter did they check their records. They had issued a new card in my name to someone else. The photocopy of the other person’s ID lay in their records. Oh, sorry!
Banks are quick to penalise clients when the client is in error. It’s time clients started billing banks for their errors.
It is in the interests of the tourism industry and all visitors that Cape Town Tourism is raised above party politics and the circus that politics introduces.
Local government has shown, since the introduction of party politics, that it is an unreliable business partner.
It’s also shown that it doesn’t have a clue when it comes to destination marketing. The worst kind of client is an uninformed client – who dithers, blames its agency and has no clear vision or explicit road map.
CapeInfo has asked the City of Cape Town for its tourism vision for over a year. There is none. (Do look at the links under “Learning from others” in the right hand column.)
More recently, we asked for its brief to Cape Town Tourism for the city’s destination marketing. The reply was so weak we have to assume there is none. Like the R6 million City-managed branding fiasco that preceded CTRU, will it be written by the agency?
Less than a year ago, the City’s mayco was saying that destination marketing should not be a City-funded activity; today it is going to be funded again.
Destination marketing should have been part of CTT’s mandate from the outset, but it was the City that determined it was not. The mandate does need to be changed in CTT’s constitution, but CTT’s budget and business plan cannot report to two authorities:
6.2 Cape Town Tourism exercises all its powers and duties in accordance with a budget and business plan approved by the Board and the City of Cape Town by 1 April of each year.
Surely a Service Level Agreement is sufficient? If the City buys a fleet of Mercedes trucks, does it get to influence and approve DaimlerBenz’s business plan? What if there is disagreement between the CTT’s Board and the City? That has happened before with disastrous consequences.
Funding from the public purse needs to be ring-fenced for two reasons. Firstly, so that if it is ever withdrawn, CTT can continue to operate successfully as a membership-based organisation. Secondly, public funds should be spent on a project-by-project basis, which can be evaluated for their return on investment.
In an email to CapeInfo earlier this week, Ian Neilson, the City’s mayco member for finance, said, “As general principle, all our grant-in-aid funding must now be for an auditable outcome, i.e. in general, we will not simply grant money directly for salaries, travel costs, etc, but will rather fund projects where we can evaluate the result.”
The City has missed an opportunity to really address Brand Cape Town across tourism and investment promotion in one go.
If the City were to get its act together, it would probably do the following things:
Make the “Destination Cape Town” logo – no, there isn’t one – one of the most widely recognised destination logos in the world. Used on merchandise, it would gain long legs, travelling the world, while earning the City considerable trademark royalties.
It would identify more projects like CTICC which doesn’t need an extra annual marketing budget, but has added more value to Brand Cape Town than the R100 million the City has spent on destination marketing. (This makes one wonder why CTICC’s MD is not a permanent member of CTT’s board, international practice elsewhere in the world.)
It would stop talking about an events strategy and demonstrate a New Events plan – attracting more visitors throughout the year. The City’s funding of the Cycle Tour is R1 million a year. If the City spent R25 million on events like the Cycle Tour throughout the year, it could attract 1.3 million extra visitors with a direct impact on Cape Town’s GDP of R6.5bn each year. Now we’re talking business!
Worth noting:
Over R3-million in proceeds from the 2007 Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour was distributed to charities.
CTICC is expected to have paid over R3bn in taxes by 2012.
Probably the most important element of any advertising one does is the quality of the visual images. So many people say, “What I’ve got is fine, people can get an idea what we offer.”
Now that’s nonsense. You are advertising, not a sloppy-sort-of-giving-an-idea. If that’s your attitude to marketing your business, it’s an attitude that’s bound to reflect your whole business… so think again!
Getting and using good images properly challenges most people. Here are a few tips:
Getting good images
You have two choices – either you take them or somebody else does.
If you are going to take them, don’t rush. Take into consideration lighting at different times of day and what you can do to take a better photograph. Time/Life photographers had an awesome reputation for getting the best pics – the famous Iwo Jima photo was actually a re-enactment of what had happened before any photographer arrived on the scene and another Life photographer asked the US Army to take one step back because it made a better pic!
If you don’t have an adequate camera or no eye for composing great photography, use others – guests, friends or a professional photographer. Maybe a local photographic club or friends will take a collection of pics you can use in exchange for product.
Images you can use
You need images that end with .jpg, gif or .png. A good rule to follow is that photographs should be JPG while graphics (like logos) are frequently better as GIF files.
You will probably need images for print and the internet, and these have completely different requirements – so always ask for and keep two copies of each pic – one high resolution for print and the other low resolution for internet.
The high resolution print copies should be as large as you can get. The low resolution internet copies should never be over 300Kb in size. Both can be 72 pixels/inch – that’s all the internet uses and your print version can always be resampled for specific uses which differ.
If someone supplies you with photos, ask for them on a CD. You can store that somewhere safely after you have loaded all your pics onto your computer in a marketing folder under “My Pictures”.
How do you tell the size? Hovering over a thumbnail will show the size in Kb as well as pixels (width and height). If you click once on the pic, it shows in the left hand column in MS Windows. You can also select the “Details” option in the way your window is presented.
Naming images
Image names should be simple with no blank spaces or characters like / or punctuation marks. You can use – and _.
Note this
If you try to load pictures that are too large onto the internet, or pictures that have spaces or incorrect characters in the name, your submission will probably fail and you may not get an error message telling you why.
If you load pictures that are too small, when they are going to be used at a certain size, your images will be pixelated – that means the dots show and the image quality is poor.
(CapeInfo’s image gallery in the Directory displays the larger pics at 520 pixels wide. If your image is smaller than that, it will appear pixelated.)
If you need to crop, resize or touch up
The free image editing application that comes with Microsoft bundles is really not up to the job and you’ll struggle to get anything done.
The best application is Photoshop Elements which costs about R900. It is something you’ll be able to use forever so it’s not a bad investment. You can buy it online in South Africa (Google it for suppliers). The full professional version of Photoshop costs many thousands of rands and most are unlikely to use all its features.
An alternative is to use Photoshop’s free online service (https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html) – you can store up to 2Gigs of images there as well.
If you are creative and have a good cellphone camera, you can try using that. There are times when a softer-focus image does work, especially if you plan to improve the image in Photoshop.
Most important, don’t ever bluff yourself that what you have is “just good enough”. Always ask yourself, is it compelling and does it sell! Remember, great pics have long legs and will be used elsewhere, giving your business additional exposure.
This is the first in a series which aims to help anyone who advertises on the Internet. I’ve listed about 10 topics so far, so a new subject will be added each week for some time to come. If you have comments or requests, please do have your say by clicking on the “Comment” link above.
We will cover generating great copy, working with images, using emails effectively and the importance of Team Tourism in the coming weeks.
Being successful is all about attitude. So if you’re a small guest house and your main raison d’etre is to help pay the bond, or right off some expenses against tax, getting your attitude right is the first step.
Do that and, apart from being successful, you’ll have more fun too.
So often, someone emails us and we know immediately we have a looming disaster on our hands. Here are a few examples:
Example 1
We advise people to visit our support forum first, so they know what’s required for adding a business. One person emailed us to say that he went to the forum but couldn’t see anything there.
After much puzzlement we discovered that he didn’t know that blue or underlined words meant that they linked to further information.
Now this is someone who plans to market their guest house on the Internet, but he didn’t have the first clue how it works. We’ve said over and over again, if you don’t know, get help! I learnt more about using computers when I had just bought an Apple when I sat alongside an experienced Apple user and just watched what he did.
If you are using a new medium, take time to explore… and use Google. Dammit, I should have a PhD from Google I use it so much! And no, I have never been on a computer course.
Example 2
Yesterday morning I had an email from someone who had just registered on the site. He wrote that although he had just registered, he has so many usernames and passwords (which he chooses) that he forgot what he used.
Now he wrote to us by replying to his welcome email, which asked him to confirm his registration. This email displays the username and password he had just used.
A few minutes later we had another email from him saying he can’t find his business on the website. No, he hadn’t added it and our first email to him started with the paragraph:
“Adding your business is really very simple and you are able to update content yourself as often as you like. Some people still feel challenged by using the internet. If you are one of those, do find someone to help you. With the Facebook craze, you are bound to find someone who would love to help… most kids are masters of the internet!”.
Example 3
We also received a new newsletter from Cape Town Routes Unlimited yesterday. Now one would expect to find marketing professionals and competent resources there. But the newsletter was unreadable. Copy was hidden behind photographs; images were the incorrect format; the whole layout was not adapted for newsletters. We guess that they tried to slap a PDF file within a newsletter template… pure ignorance!
Now you know why CTRU lost their guardianship of the Cape Town brand!
Yes, the most competent people do make mistakes, but competent people do test their work first. CapeInfo has never sent a newsletter out without first doing a trial run sent to Outlook, Hotmail and Gmail addresses. And we still got caught out by changes in the latest Outlook 2007!
We do say to everyone starting out that they are unlikely to get things right with the first effort. I always take great comfort from an article I read some years ago about Roald Dahl, the renowned author. He wrote his books in a shed at the bottom of the garden and said he rewrote everything seven times before he was happy with it. You have to work at whatever you do.
Good manners Hitting the reply button to an email you’ve just received isn’t the way to do things. In almost all cases, we find that people have not taken time and tried to resolve a problem themselves.
Every day we receive emails from our online form asking how to add a business. Immediately above the form there is a link for that question. Sending unnecessary emails is today’s scourge… are you guilty?
These emails really do just piss one off. If, on the other hand, we see that someone has tried, we do go out of our way to help. That’s true for everything in life. The harder you try, the more you get back.
Gary Player on luck:
You know, the funny thing is the harder I practice, the luckier I get.
Which brings us to your content… So often we see a few banal sentences strung together with bad grammar and incorrect punctuation. We’ve even seen air-conditioned gardens and views! What do these people think? There are about 1000 accommodation establishments listed, all competing for business.
Even the most humble flophouse must have something compelling to say, something to captivate the reader. Try a little humour; that can help too. We’ll see if we can be more compelling than the competition and come up with a mock business online. But that’s for the coming weeks.
Much has been made of politics in tourism lately, with CTRU attributing all their woes to political forces. Now that’s a cop-out because their performance has been less than stellar and they seem to put their foot in it more often than they get things right. The City’s decision was correct and the resignation of several of CTRU’s leading board members validated this.
Having different political parties running the Province and the City has meant that tourism has become increasingly polarised politically. The lack of political maturity and a politicised or weak bureaucracy adds to the malaise.
Unlike Province which receives it money from central government, the City earns its income from ratepayers and is more accountable for how these funds are spent.
One can’t help but feel that the greatest damage to effective municipal government was the introduction of party politics just over ten years ago. Before that, there was strong, visionary and professional management, with elected representatives providing oversight.
Today’s elected representatives are servants to their parties first. Before, councillors were only beholden to the voters in their wards. Gone are the days when elected councillors come and go, while a strong management team provides continuity and leadership.
In CapeInfo’s interview with Helen Zille shortly after she assumed the Cape Town mayoralty, she defended the replacement of top officials when political control changes, pointing to the US system. That may work well for politicians, but it certainly does not augur well for great municipal government. And do we really want to emulate US politics?
Surely there is case for a really strong administration that remains focused, no matter which political party is in control?
Today’s executive mayoral committee members have far more power than former exco members before politicisation. And the senior managers below them seemingly have far less to say than the City Engineer, City Planner, etc, that preceded them.
Nowhere is this more evident than in tourism. Yes, management decisions have been sound… up to a point. The City identified shortcomings in CTRU; it identified an alternative agency that it hopes will do a better job; but nowhere has it spelled out what its tourism vision is. Does the City have a vision or is it ruled by bean counters?
When CapeInfo asked Simon Grindrod for the City’s brief to CTT for their new marketing mandate, he replied that it would be unfair to expect the Board and members of CTT to read about their new brief in media before they agreed it. Now that’s a nonsense giving the way he’s used the media in the past. Is there a brief that will stand scrutiny? Does this mean that CTT will be writing the brief and that the City has abrogated its responsibility?
Why is Mansoor Mohamed, the City’s executive director for economic development & tourism, so quiet? Surely he should be inspiring all Capetonians and the tourism industry in particular with his bold vision for Brand Cape Town and Destination Cape Town? He has a personal vision (which he notes has not been adopted by the City). Click here to read it. One has to ask, is his department “providing leadership in the tourism industry” the Vision aims for?
CapeInfo has never, in its 10 years, featured a person on the home page. Well that’s just changed with Mariette du Toit-Helmbold’s photo which appeared there yesterday - a most deserving person to be number one. She’s driven Cape Town Tourism to new heights in her four years there.
We’re launching a new section called The List, where we have started inviting cognoscenti and celebrities to send us their lists on anything.
Our first 12 emails inviting people went out on Sunday afternoon and we had Mariette’s list just after 3am on Monday morning (that’s no typo!).
It was so good, we just had to share it with you immediately. Her passion for her “10 Great Getaways” is palpable. And that’s how you get to see a preview of what is to come.
The invited lists will go into our best lists category, but all readers will be able to submit their own lists soon too. These will go into the fresh lists category. And you will be able to rate the lists and see which are the most popular.
We invited Sheryl Ozinsky too and received an interesting comment in her acceptance:
Nick Hornbey in his brilliant novel, High Fidelity, painted an entire character for the reader, through the lists this character would make: “Top ten best love songs”, “Top Five best break-up songs” etc.
The things we list and the way we use lists can really illustrate the way we think, and more importantly the way we do things.
Celebrating the City
