Sitting in one of the final events of the Franschhoek Literary Festival, the Soccer World Cup penny finally dropped for me. As a soccer non-fan, I was in two minds about attending the session but an invite by Marc Kent of Porcupine Ridge Wines, was impossible to turn down. From his bully pulpit, noted sports writer, John Carlin, commented that his learned ability to report impartially on the merits of each competing team when watching a sports game meant that he tended to sacrifice his passion for either team in the name of fair reporting. Fellow delegate, Tom Watt, who is a well-known Arsenal supporter and who battles to hide the fact, suggested that rather than representing only part of the truth, partisan reporters present all of the truth, albeit that it’s from the perspective of only one of the teams. But it’s truth nonetheless. Argue that point with such a partisan reporter and he’ll probably throw his shoe at you. Rather spend your time reading both his and the opposition’s truth and you’ll be far wiser than had you read the impartial report. And so to the penny: I had intended to ‘observe’ Cameroon play the Netherlands in a Group E match at the Cape Town Stadium, but thanks to John and Tom, I will don my Bafana Bafana livery, wave my Cameroon flag and shout the Africans to victory. If we lose, I aim to be devastated. If we win, you’ll know all about it! Roll on the beautiful game.
And so to this month’s issue and another penny... We’ve been hard-pressed to fit everything in this month – and that’s a great sign. Living in a ‘tourist town’ it’s common to see businesses open later and close earlier, or all together, in the winter; so to enjoy the continued support of our advertisers and to have access to so many interesting events and features makes putting The Month together an ever-rewarding activity (I can’t really call it a job as work isn’t allowed to be this much fun!). While advertising doesn’t always lead to an immediate increase in sales, a study conducted in the U.S. by ‘Ad-ology Research’ points out that “More than 48% of U.S. adults believe that a lack of advertising by a retail store, bank or auto dealership during a recession indicates the business must be struggling. Likewise, a vast majority perceives businesses that continue to advertise as being competitive or committed to doing business.”
As recent stats on probable SWC attendance suggests, SA is unlikely to make any money from hosting the tournament. In fact the opposite is true. And yes, some experts did warn us about that right from the start. But the long-term advertising value, and penny, lies in the fact that we’re setting ourselves up as the world’s most talked about destination for the next month or two, and that suggests that we’re competitive and committed to doing business for years to come. To Mr Mokoena and our many advertisers: thank you. Your efforts will bolster consumer confidence in the future of your business and when the recession ends, you’ll be the flavour of the month.