Interview with Ryan Vermaak, new Digital Account Manager
Meet Ryan Vermaak, newest team member at AdMarula. Ryan joins us in the role of Digital Account Manager and will be working on new media accounts, as well as with existing clients and their marketing teams to optimize their campaigns and ensure the best execution of their digital strategies. Ryan is a Marketing Graduate from the AAA school of Advertising and recently relocated from Johannesburg to the Western Cape. Describe yourself in 3 words. Driven, honest & passionate. Tell us a bit about what you’ve been doing since you graduated? After graduating from university, I co-founded a small business in Johannesburg (operating within the motor industry) which was specifically field-service driven and mainly serving the industrial sector. I mainly focused on the day-to-day running of the business and took charge of all marketing responsibilities. After countless visits to the Western Cape, my heart had been stolen and so I sold my share in the company and decided to relocate down the beautiful coast. I then joined a leather manufacturing company in Stellenbosch as the Marketing and Sales Manager for a short stint, before being fortunate enough to join the AdMarula team. What do you love most about working in Digital? I love the ever-changing environment which digital presents and the challenges which come along with it, it keeps me on my toes and feeds my desire to continuously keep learning. I feel as though we are only at the tip of the iceberg and there is so much more to come within the digital space. What will your key responsibilities be in your new role? I will be building strong relationships with AdMarula’s media clients to continue growing their paid media accounts across a host of different channels. I will take the time to understand each client’s specific needs and find the best solutions to deliver the best possible results through paid media. With AdMarula’s tried and tested technology I will be able to provide and suggest new ways of achieving success for each client. The most important lesson you’ve learnt in your career so far? Be teachable! Each and every business/industry is different and so I find it important to keep an open mind when listening to what it is a client is aiming to achieve. This will also open you up to learning something new on a daily basis and keep you on a constant learning curve. Where do you believe the Digital industry is heading in South Africa? Being a developing market, I believe that South Africa will soon see an influx of users in the digital space and so the room for growth and development is endless. With a growing middle class and the availability of smartphones becoming easily accessible I also see a boost of new users consuming digital media in the near future. Any advice for aspiring digital marketers? Position yourself within an agency that has a proven track record for success. Here you will learn a lot and hone in on your skills to become a master of the trade. When I’m not working, I’m… Spending time on the beach, walking my two doggies, and the odd picnic with my girlfriend. I enjoy playing around with recipes and having friends over to enjoy a weekend braai while watching the sport of the day.
Change, they say, is the only constant
Welcome back! (although it feels strange to be saying this in early March). The last two months have felt oddly familiar being back in lockdown, home schooling the kids (again), and no social gatherings. Not the start to the year we had imagined. And yet, there are positives to be taken out of difficult situations. Change is certainly one of them. While our natural instinct is to rebel against change, the last year has taught me to embrace it. News from my side is that we are seeing a gradual uptick in the performance marketing/affiliate side of the business with several new campaigns coming on board the last few weeks. The travel industry remains under a lot of strain and it will be a while yet before international travel picks up, but with vaccines being delivered and rolled out I am positive we will see a change in the coming months. Meanwhile local travel has picked up as South Africans get tired of sitting at home. We are so fortunate to have wide, open spaces where we can distance and be safe while enjoying the outdoors and switch off the screens for a while. We have also settled in nicely into our beautiful new office space in Paardevlei in Somerset West. It is a move we have been considering for a while, and perhaps it was lockdown and working from home that gave us the nudge we needed since it showed us a) how much time can be wasted on unnecessary commuting, b) how flexible people can be in adapting to new circumstances and c) how important face-to-face interaction is. Although most aspects of a business can be managed electronically, a lot can get lost in the world of two-dimensional Zoom meetings. So, we are all very happy to be back – social distancing, sanitisation and all! We continue to grow our media consultancy arm and are currently in the process of hiring another Digital Account Manager to assist the team in running our FB and Google Ad accounts. If you know anyone who may be interested please ask them to look at the job description on our Careers page. I also have some exciting news about the digital media side of the business which is in the final stages of implementation – I hope to be able to announce this in our April edition so watch this space! As always feel free to drop any comments or feedback to me at daniel@admarula.com Onwards and upwards! Daniel Gross – CEO
Two sides
There is a famous quote by American comedian, Daniel Tosh that goes: “No matter how flat you make your pancakes, they still have two sides”. This does indeed seem to be the case for the South African retail industry at the moment- if you believe the latest reports from experts and research houses. While the brick-and-mortar retail industry is predicted to basically show 0% growth in 2020, the e-commerce industry is expected to continue to grow at a a healthy rate. So, does this mean South Africans are finally catching on to the online shopping trend? Perhaps. It is generally believed that the busier your shopping malls are, the healthier your economy. This is probably true to some extent, but let’s not forget that many South Africans are heavily indebted, so while the malls may be filled with shoppers, it doesn’t necessarily spell good news for the economy. The growth in e-commerce is likely to be a result of shoppers moving their budgets from malls to online, as many buyers use the internet to search for discounts and deals – which will be even more apparent when the economy is slow. Personally I’m excited about 2020. When the economy is tough it forces digital marketers to be more focused and deliver tangible results for each Rand spent – which is after all AdMarula’s core strength. It is seldom that a client will actually cut a budget. In most cases it’s a matter of moving it around to find the channel mix that works best for their business or product. Our on-site remarketing and mobile traffic optimitsation products have been in high demand due to its transparent an performance-based nature, and I believe this trend will continue in the coming months. On a different note, we are currently looking for a Digital Account Manager and an SEO Marketing expert to join our team. If you think you fit either of those roles, feel free to send us your CV and a brief cover letter to careers@admarula.com. We’d love to hear from you. Onwards and upwards! Daniel Gross – CEO
