A brief review of the last three months for the Bookmarks including the build

1. The Bookmarks 2011
A brief review by BrandsEye
1

2. Upfront Declarations
BrandsEye is a member of the DMMA.
BrandsEye was a sponsor of the social media category for
the Bookmarks.
Tim Shier (MD of BrandsEye) is on the DMMA Executive as
head of measurement.
This report was done on request from the Bookmarks.

3. 14 August – 14 November
Putting the timeline in context
Awards Ceremony
Finalists are
announced
Build-up begins
CPT and JHB
Workshops

4. 14 August – 1 November 2011
The build-up
BrandsEye became the official monitoring partner for the
Bookmarks 2011 and tracked the conversation around the
brand, the judges and the sponsors.
26 phrases were selected to ensure the full conversation was
captured. the Bookmarks social media team was trained on
BrandsEye and key objectives were set.
Stacey Rumble (@staceyrumble) assisted the team to ensure
that conversations were relevant and useful to them.

5. The Build-up [14 August – 1 November 2011]
CONVERSATION MEASURES
VOLUME OTS AVE
583 1 062 550 R 243 371
MEDIA DISTRIBUTION
CONSUMER ENTERPRISE PRESS
65% 34% 1%
KEY CONTRIBUTORS (excluding enterprise)
@Livingyourbrand @MyCityByNight @Stefanieelliot @IrcMaidon
17 mentions 13 mentions 11 mentions 11 mentions
MAIN THEMES

6. The Build-up
Start of Conversation Finalists are
announced
The build-up
14 August – 1 November

7. The Build-up - Key Dates
23 August – 11 mentions:
There are 3 months until the award ceremony. The main conversation is driven by the official
mouthpieces of the DMMA and the Bookmarks. During this time Rob Stokes tweets about one
member of the community offering to sponsor in order to be a judge – this received a strong
response from other members of the community.

8. The Build-up - Some Key Dates
6 to 8 September – 27 mentions:
The Bookmarks website goes live and the category breakdown becomes available. Steph
Powell (a key member of the Bookmarks team) initiated some strong conversation with the likes
of Clicks2Customers (2010 agency of the year), Stefanie Elliott of Mango-OMC and Martin
Slabbert of 94.5 KFM showing support. Volumes begin to increase from this date onwards.

9. The Build-up - Key Dates
13 and 14 September – 18 mentions:
There are only two weeks left to the early bird special and the Bookmarks team do a great job
to inform the community. The result is some strong community engagement including the likes
of OutClosetRugby (an initiative to promote the donation of old rugby gear) with support for the
Bookmarks team and Louise Marsland (Editor of Advantage Magazine – a media partner).

10. The Build-up - Key Dates
22 September – 15 mentions:
The Bookmarks entries finally open to some community excitement (supported by Dj Dino
Moran being confirmed for the awards night). Conversation proponents included MyCityByNight
(The nightlife guide to Cape Town), Warren Harding (Marketing manager at Bizcommunity a
media partner), This is the largest day to date but volumes decline by 40% the very next day.

11. The Build-up - Key Dates
26 and 27 September – 17 mentions:
It’s the last week of the early bird special and the Bookmarks remind the community that entries
are open. Some entrants (such as PlatinumSeed) begin to talk about their excitement over their
first Bookmark entry. Other contributors include Karen Dempers (DMMA exco – head of
marketing and Marketing Manager for MWEB).

12. The Build-up - Some Key Dates
5 to 8 October – 22 mentions:
Ten days to the entry deadline and the daily count down begins. Largely driven by DMMA and
the Bookmarks committee members. The count down was supported by William Price of South
African Tourism, Tim Bishop of Prezence, Marius Greeff of Habari Media as well as Charmaine
(@mndr33) and Lieb (@LiebV) a student at AAA.

13. The Build-up - Key Dates
14 October – 39 mentions:
The entry deadline is extended to the 21st (resulting in a collective industry sigh of relief). The
PR campaign kicks off in earnest with articles in BizCommunity and on MarkLives. Some of
those noticing the the extension include Lieze Langford (Digital head of Media24 Woman’s
Magazines division), Mel Attree (2011 Winner of Best Social Media Marketer).

14. The Build-up - Key Dates
17 October – 27 mentions:
The entry deadline is now 5 days away, the Bookmarks start to promote the workshops and
iVeri solve the billing problems on the site – much to the relief of Jarred Cinman (Chief Inventor
at Native). This is also the first time that Jack Kruger (head of digital at Old Mutual and the
Bookmarks Jury Chair) joins the online conversation.

15. The Build-up - Key Dates
19 - 20 October – 39 mentions:
ZANews write and release the top 10 tips for entering the Bookmarks (promoted by Ogilvy’s
Pierre Cassuto – Geek in Chief for ZANews) receiving some discussion and pass-on. With
three days to deadline the community are starting to feel the pressure. An interview with Rob
Stokes on The Media Online goes live and receives some broad support.

16. The Build-up - Key Dates
21 October – 61 mentions:
It’s D-day and the pressure is on. Some of the community are asking for extensions, some are
making bold remarks about their luck. On this day Antti Kupila (Creative Technologist at
internationally renound Amsterdam based agency Sid Lee) is announced as the international
judge. His involvement condenses the community and greatly raises the industry stress levels.

17. The Build-up - Key Dates
31 October – 23 mentions:
Now that entries are in, the community are itching to hear who the finalists will be. On this day
the Bookmarks confirm that finalists will be released on the 2nd November. This results in a slew
of conversation which largely comprised of Retweets passing the information around.
Sentiment in the market is overwhelmed with excitement.

18. The Build-up –Observations
The digital community was very slow to get behind the
Bookmarks initially. Once various media partners got involved
this resulted in far more focused and valuable conversation
around the awards.
Consumers engaging early on in the build up almost always
contributed a number of times throughout the period.
Engaging with these individuals and incentivising them to
continue to contribute (if only through attention) could have
been a simple but effective means of consolidating and
uniting the community at an early stage around the awards.

19. The Build-up – Observations
Offline media is a key driver of messaging around the brand.
As with other South African brands traditional media was
effectively used to set the agenda around which the social
could exist. This performed very well for the Bookmarks and
ensured the community was always informed about the
various awards deadlines.
The conversation tended not to be full representative of all
the major publisher and agency thought leaders. An effort
should be taken in 2012 to engage these individuals early in
the build-up phase and lever their unique positions to grow
the online community around the Bookmarks.

20. The Build-up – Observations
Non-traditional PR performed well (as was the case with
ZANews) and should be considered in the build up for 2012.
Throughout the build up 149 individuals engaging with the
hashtag and the Bookmarks twitter account – on average
engaging 4.08 times across the reporting period (which is far
higher than what typical SA brands experience).
Conversely, the Bookmarks twitter handle contributed 97
times but engaged individuals only 31% of the time (engaging
a total of 24 individuals). Increasing this ratio has shown to
greatly improve overall buzz and online success which could
be employed in the 2012 build-up.

21. 2 - 4 November 2011
The finalists
After almost three months of build up and an agonising wait
for all entrants the finalists are released.
These three days are important for the awards as it’s the first
opportunity for the community to disagree and become critical
of the Bookmarks process. How this key stage is handled
sets the tone for the remainder of the awards and is a key
indicator on how the market will receive the final decisions
made by the judges.

22. The Finalists [2 - 4 November 2011]
CONVERSATION MEASURES
VOLUME OTS AVE
427 658 905 R151 456
MEDIA DISTRIBUTION
CONSUMER ENTERPRISE PRESS
89% 10% 1%
KEY CONTRIBUTORS (excluding enterprise)
@Thatyoungblood @Mikesharman @SuStokes @Zk
22 mentions 13 mentions 10 mentions 9 mentions
MAIN THEMES

23. The Finalists
The finalists
2 - 4 November

24. The Finalists [2 - 4 November 2011]
Pre-release: 10am – 1:30pm
VOLUME MENTIONS PER HOUR MARKET SENTIMENT
Agony. Entrants are
29 8.2 desperate to know how
they have done.
MAIN THEMES ANALYSIS
Throughout these three
hours entrants were on
high alerts. Many of them
regularly engaging both
@thebookmarks and
@nikkicockcroft.
Negativity was however
playful and the community
largely understood the
need for thoroughness.

25. The Finalists [2 - 4 November 2011]
Finalists are released: 1:30pm – 5pm
VOLUME MENTIONS PER HOUR MARKET SENTIMENT
205 58.5 Strong positive sentiment.
MAIN THEMES ANALYSIS
Immediately after the
finalists are releases
volumes skyrocket and
the community
congratulate each other
(and themselves).
Interestingly, there was no
negativity towards the
decision – which is a big
change from the
Bookmarks 2010.

26. The Finalists [2 - 4 November 2011]
Finalists are released (outside of working hours): 5pm – midnight
VOLUME MENTIONS PER HOUR MARKET SENTIMENT
38 5.4 Strong positive sentiment.
MAIN THEMES ANALYSIS
Almost immediately after
the business days
officially ends volumes
plummet dropping down to
just over 5 mentions an
hour.
This is behaviour is
expected in African social
media and no specific the
Bookmarks conclusion
should be drawn.

27. The Finalists [2 - 4 November 2011]
Finalists are getting comfortable: 3 November
VOLUME MENTIONS PER HOUR MARKET SENTIMENT
111 4.6 Strong positive sentiment.
MAIN THEMES ANALYSIS
On the 3rd volumes drop
slightly from the 2nd “off
peak” momentum.
Conversation on this day
is largely unchanged from
the previous day although
the Bookmarks push
around the workshops
received good coverage
as entrants began to
monitor the awards
hashtag more regularly.

28. The Finalists [2 - 4 November 2011]
Finalists are getting (really) comfortable and tickets run out: 4 November
VOLUME MENTIONS PER HOUR MARKET SENTIMENT
42 1.75 Positive sentiment.
MAIN THEMES ANALYSIS
Early in the day tickets to
the Bookmarks ceremony
are sold out. This drives
considerable “information
sharing” on Twitter. For
the first time we are
seeing strong
engagement between
judges as well as fun
show of flattery from Tim
Bishop of Prezence to the
judges #worthatry.

29. 8th and 9th
November 2011
The workshops
The workshops are a key component of the Bookmarks
process. It’s an opportunity for the community of entrants to
engage the judges, gain insight into how the judging criteria
was interpreted and get a gauge on the required standard.
As part of the workshops judges share additional insights
about where the South African digital industry is going, how it
is getting there and what it means for a longer-term strategy
for our industry.

30. The Workshops [8 and 9 November 2011]
CONVERSATION MEASURES
VOLUME OTS AVE
171 279 660 R64 357
MEDIA DISTRIBUTION SENTIMENT
CONSUMER ENTERPRISE Zero negativity was found
77% 23% towards the workshops.
Note: There were 546 online mentions about the Bookmarks on the 8/9 November (which are split between
general conversation, the VIP dinner and the workshops). The conversations captured here talk about the
workshop directly, engage at the correct time of day or engage with people at the workshop. There are likely a
few which should be added to this number. In any event, all data has been human reviewed to confirm
accuracy.

31. The Workshops
Build-up begins The workshops
8 & 9 November

32. The Workshops [8 and 9 November 2011]
Johannesburg - 57 mentions Cape Town – 114 mentions
Cape Town – 114 mentions
Total authors 28 Total authors 69
Total RTs 36 Total RTs 69
Biggest contributor @cooklet Biggest contributor @stefanieelliott
Note: Very prominent tags such as the Twitter handle, “workshop” etc have been removed as they obstruct the detail.

33. The Workshops – Observations
Despite the workshops being an overwhelming success,
there is room for growth with the social media engagement.
The interest around the workshops’ content could be better
channelled to increase the overall reach and draw other
online players into the conversation. One such mechanism
(however simple) is to include key influencers in the
Bookmarks tweets to draw them into the conversation and
use their influence to extend the message beyond the current
authors.
There exists an opportunity to write thought leadership
articles to addressing each of the themes. This would make
for great follow up pieces from the judges or journalists.

34. 10 and 11 November 2011
The Awards
After almost a 3 month build-up, the awards ceremony is
upon us and a great platform created through the very
successful workshops, the awards are off to a flying start with
broad community support.
Throughout the previous week, the volume of conversation
has skyrocketed and the community, across the board, is
either excited to be attending the awards ceremony or
wishing they had a ticket.

35. The Awards [10 and 11 November 2011]
CONVERSATION MEASURES
VOLUME OTS AVE
2323 3 125 700 R720 390
MEDIA DISTRIBUTION SENTIMENT
CONSUMER ENTERPRISE PRESS Massive positivity
93% 5.5% 1.5% with a touch of mild
negativity.
MAIN THEMES
Note: Very prominent tags such as the Twitter handle, “workshop” etc have been removed as they obstruct the detail.

36. The Awards
The Awards
10 & 11 November

37. The Awards [10 and 11 November 2011]
THE TOP 6 WINNERS (by volume of awards only)
Company Total awards Online Self-gratification %
won conversation (i.e. staff/brand
congratulations)
HelloComputer 14 34 14.7%
24.com 8 47 25.5%
Ogilvy Interactive CPT 7 42 33%
Quirk 7 80 36.5%
DStv Online 5 45 33%
Prezence Digital 4 20 20%
AVERAGES NA 45 27%

38. The Winners – Observations
There appear to be two trends appearing from the top 6
winners:
1. The larger the business the more volume it received –
irrespective of the number of awards it received. Quirk is
however an outlier due to them winning Best in Show
and Best Agency which dramatically boosted the online
conversation about the brand.
2. The more social media centric the business is the higher
the self-gratification index. Not all employees for these
businesses attended the awards and only the social
media advocates are likely to watch it through the #tag.

39. The Winners – Observations
In the most part the community was incredibly supportive of
other businesses winning awards (even when they were
finalists). As a digital industry we have always been a tight
unit and this strongly appears in the online conversation too.
Interestingly, these sentiments are often generated from the
individuals behind the brand and not the brand itself. It seems
that digital South Africa, while united on an individual/social
level, is still a fiercely competitive environment on the
business side. This dynamic mix comes through strongly in
the social data but equally strongly in the press releases
which were published the following day.

40. The Awards [10 and 11 November 2011]
Congrats – 216 mentions:
As previously noted the strong support for fellow industry players comes through strongly in this
data. The two “nice guys” who congratulated the rest of the community the most were Zahira
Kharsany (of Cerebra) due to her strong personal network and Sean Hidden (of Distell) who
works with just about all the agency winners.
Note: Very prominent tags such as the Twitter handle, “workshop” etc have been removed as they obstruct the detail.

41. The Awards [10 and 11 November 2011]
RT – 708 mentions:
Sitting at approximately 30% of the total conversation, the RT was used to great effect. The
RT’d conversations alone had the opportunity to be seen (OTS) by 1 113 430 individuals at an
AVE value of R255 764. RTs were largely focused around general announcement/information
tweets (as is normally the case for other brands).
Note: Very prominent tags such as the Twitter handle, “workshop” etc have been removed as they obstruct the detail.

42. The Awards [10 and 11 November 2011]
Team – 240 mentions:
The use of the word “team” as a major word represents a broader social media trend. Across
the board the word “team” was used to engage the broader team who weren’t able to attend.
Either it was lead by a senior staff member engaging that team or the community. In any event,
social media has clearly blurred the line between personal and professional engagement.
Note: Very prominent tags such as the Twitter handle, “workshop” etc have been removed as they obstruct the detail.

43. The Awards [10 and 11 November 2011]
Anele and Simon Dingle – 65 mentions combined:
Due to their low volumes Anele, Simon or the “naked men playing drums” didn’t receive
considerable online coverage (with only 4 mentions – 100% female). While all parties did an
excellent job it raises some questions about what the role of an awards MC should be and how
the event should be setup to provide them with the audiences’ attention.
Note: Very prominent tags such as the Twitter handle, “workshop” etc have been removed as they obstruct the detail.

44. The Awards [10 and 11 November 2011]
The hangover (11th Nov) 9 mentions:
This is rather unexpected. In the past the day following awards ceremonies are filled with
comments about hangovers. While this can be seen as a positive there was some negativity
around the access to alcohol during the awards themselves and this may be a contributing
factor. Alternatively, the digital industry may have been saving itself for the cricket the next day.
Note: Very prominent tags such as the Twitter handle, “workshop” etc have been removed as they obstruct the detail.

45. Author Analysis
On the day of the awards there were a total of 418 individual
authors contributing to the conversation online. This results in
an average engagement rate of 5.5, which is considered very
high for any event (even other digital events).
Of these contributors the vast majority were within the
industry. Interestingly, there were 461 authors for the entire 3
months prior to the awards. Notably, only 129 authors
contributed to the conversation both before and on the
awards day.

46. Author Analysis Cont.
On the night the top 10 authors collectively drove
approximately 10% of the total conversation at 244 mentions.
These individuals provide a critical role in the communication
of what is happening around the event as the quickly share
information and become the knowledge hub.

47. Author Analysis Cont.
What is alarming about this is that many key industry leaders
were noticeably absent from the conversation. While this may
be arbitrary it would be worth enquiring with these individuals
to understand what was causing them to disengage. Findings
should be used as part of the 2012 strategy.

48. The BrandsEye Quarterly Review
Putting an event together of any size is a intimidating task.
The Bookmarks is no different. The results we have seen so
far are a clear indication that the market deeply appreciated
the time investment of all the members of the organising
committee, the judges and (arguably most importantly) the
award entrants.
As a result of the successful Bookmark awards the entire
industry has gained – which is the ultimate intention of the
awards and the DMMA.

49. Quarterly [14 Aug – 14 Nov]
CONVERSATION MEASURES
VOLUME OTS AVE
4337 6 615 250 R1 521 453
MEDIA DISTRIBUTION
CONSUMER ENTERPRISE PRESS
85% 12% 3%
KEY CONTRIBUTORS (excluding enterprise)
@digitaledge @livingyourbrand @cooklet @chriscaptivate
67 mentions 61 mentions 57 mentions 52 mentions
TOP DOMAINS
Twitter BizCommunity DMMA TheBookmarks Facebook Google+
88% 3% 1% < 1% < 1% < 1%

50. Quarterly [14 Aug – 14 Nov] – Word cloud
As has been experienced
at every step along the
build-up, finalists,
workshop and the award
ceremony there is a
strong competitive streak
within the digital industry
of South Africa. That said,
there is an equally strong
camaraderie. The volume
of congratulations, “well
done” and references to
the various agencies is a
good indicator that the
industry itself is socially
very healthy.

51. Quarterly [14 Aug – 14 Nov] – Earned Media
As the momentum
towards Bookmarks
increased so to did the
AVE. Main increase points
coincide with the website
launch and the entries’
opening. Following each
of these increases we
don’t see a sustained
growth rates – which is
normal. From the date of
the finalists being
announced this changed
and value climbs
dramatically.
Total value was
approximately R1 500 000
in earned media.

52. Quarterly [14 Aug – 14 Nov] – Author Credibility
As is to be expected
(although traditionally
uncommon) is the high
number of credibility 5 and
6 contributors. This has
directly impacted the
reach of the awards and
subsequently its value.
Higher credibility authors
include:
• Simon Dingle
• TimesLive
• DSTV
• OgilvyWW
• Anele
• SABreakingNews
• SowetanLive
• Ruby Gold

53. Quarterly [14 Aug – 14 Nov] – Country Breakdown
While the vast majority of
the conversation
originates from South
Africa (as is to be
expected) the Bookmarks
also drove conversation in
Switzerland and UK (1%),
Brazil, Canada, Italy,
Kenya, Netherlands and
Norway (all less than 1%).
Engaging these
individuals and providing
them with the recognition
that they contributed to
the conversation may be a
strategy to lock them in for
future Bookmark awards.

54. Quarterly – Some Ideas
Fragmented community:
The Bookmarks community, while large, is fairly
fragmented. Identifying which members of the community
joined early in the conversation and then slowly lost
interest and understanding their reasoning is a powerful
insight into planning for 2012. Efforts should be taken
upfront to build relations with key thought leaders in an
effort to use their existing networks to drive awareness for
the Bookmarks.

55. Quarterly – Some Ideas
Stronger media profile:
While the Bookmarks has an active profile in social media
there is an opportunity to massively enhance the
experience.
At present the handle tends to be a little stiff and a careful
review of the brand personality as it translates into digital
is key to resolving this.

56. Quarterly – Some Ideas
Use non-traditional mechanisms:
While social media and traditional PR were successful
there is significant examples where a non-traditional
approach to offline PR has been successful (see
ZANews).
Using key influencers (as was done with Rob Stokes) and
using them in the traditional space provides the
opportunity to setup the Bookmarks as an aspirational
brand while profiling the previous winners and integrating
them into the community. Interviews should include all
individual winners and key category winners.

57. Quarterly – Some Ideas
Do it next year:
The community have spoken and the overwhelming
verdict was that the Bookmarks 2011 was a complete
success. Best you do it again!
Nikki, Steph, Theresa and all the organising committee – We’d
like to be so bold as to thank you on behalf of your community
for a fantastic awards ceremony.
Looking forward to 2012!

58. For more information or to get access
to the data contact the team on:
Twitter: @brandseye
Email: contact@brandseye.com
Phone: (021) 467 5960

59. Appendix

60. Definitions
• The online space or online community:
Refers to the environment in which any relevant branded
conversation occurs online. These may come from social
media networks, forums, blogging platforms, press
coverage, websites belonging to companies, influential
consumers and any other open domain content.

61. Definitions
• Opportunities-To-See (OTS):
OTS reflect a measure of the number of people who had the
opportunity to see a mention. A tweet from a user with 8 000
followers would account for 8 000 in the total OTS of the
conversation. This does not account for the possibility that
the mention may not have been seen by the user in their
Twitter feed or may have been noticed multiple times.

62. Definitions
• Advert Value Equivalent (AVE):
AVE offers a monetary value of the earned conversation.
The aim behind the AVE measure is to capture what a
company would have paid to expose their brand to
the number of people reached by the conversation.

63. The real end.
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