I have nothing against Trevor Noah. In fact, I’m a proud fan. I just don’t think SA Tourism are being efficient with a spend of R33mil. But then again, they’ve never run a business so they wouldn’t understand the first thing about getting bang for your buck.
I have been promoting South Africa for the last year using my own money. The response has been insane. I just wonder what we’d be able to do with that kind of money.
Although if I’m honest, I don’t wonder. I know we’d kill it. Everyone in this universe would know about South Africa and would want to visit. But you know what, I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing, and I’m going to keep making my own money which I’ll use to promote the country I love.
It’s just a pity that the right people don’t get access to that kind of money. R33mil is a waste for 5min regardless of a superstar being in it. Consistency of message trumps a one-off shout. But again, Tourism SA wouldn’t know the first thing about promoting our country. All you have to do is look at their track record.
Responding to some of the critics, Mark said: I would bet everything I have and own that with R33mil, I could put together a better and more effective strategy than putting it all on Trevor. The issue isn’t Trevor, it’s that they’re taking a shot gun and hoping to kill an army. You need death by a thousand cuts. I’ll land up proving this eventually. Just watch.
This isn’t about whether Trevor deserves the money or not, or whether it’s a scam. The point I’m trying to make is that there are better ways to spend that money if you want to be more efficient and effective. Putting the money all on Trevor for a one-off campaign makes no sense. Here’s a simple of example. Take ten local content creators and empower them each for a year to create content about places all South Africa.
Then give them enough money to distribute this content and then let the internet do what it does best. World class content doesn’t need a big name for it to go viral. I’d rather have thousands of pieces of content all over the internet that attracts different audiences to SA, than this one big shot and then nothing.
My honest opinion is that this is nothing like that deal. I just think there’s a better use for that money than one big campaign. R33mil spread over 10 smaller content creators over a year makes much more sense.
By Mark Sham – Founder and CEO Act Like a Tourist and Suits and Sneakers
