Adobe CS5 Launch
As reported yesterday, I attended the official Adobe CS5 launch in Africa, headed by South Africa’s ADOBE Channel Manager Simon Bromfield and presented with a lot of speed, humor and wit by a team of so-called ADOBE Evangelists, who shot new awe-inspiring ADOBE CS5 features off into a large audience just when it was lying flat on the floor laughing and relaxing. They certainly mastered the ‘learn & play’ approach… very entertaining, decisively pro-Mac, shockingly professional inbetween… which just prooved they knew their stuff even when the keyboard failed or the mic only functioned on the nose… absolutely hilarious that Mo from India :).
Adobe CS5 Launch
Without going into the single Programs right now – namely ADOBE Flash, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects and Premiere Pro – as I really want to work with them myself first, the ADOBE CS5 Launch made a few things clear to me:
First, we all have to move to 64 bit – YES! We Must! And I did. . .
Second, we have to up RAM in a BIG way – maximum is 196 GB (yeah…)
Third, whoever has ADOBE CS5 – especially the Master Collection – has a gem! Learn it, use it – even if you focus on certain programs or specialize on them.
Fourth, there is by far not only the Web. There’s incredible Print to this day and then there is obviously 3D Animation and the whole Movie Production sector with a lot of potential here in South Africa. Even during the show e-tv was looking for an After Effects specialist with 3 years’ experience to contact them to talk ‘job’. Now that’s good to hear when jobs are scarce, isn’t it?
Within the vast audience, I was one of a few who actually is rather ‘web-based’ and had some idea of Flash. The vast majority focuses on printed media and tv – both of which I was heavily involved with for about 20 years in 1900-something :).
Digital a way Mass Media can reinvent itself
This reminded me of an interesting article on “Digital not replacing traditional Marketing” by none other than Miles Young, gobal CEO of Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide – who told us in Johannesburg that “… the great mistake of today’s business environment is to believe that digital can fulfill the role of marketing. It will not! (…)
Digital has prevailed in the US and the core of our business has lost its sparkle but the sectarian approach of digital has had a profound harm in the US and the UK… (…)
The critical lesson here is to integrate digital into one’s business strategy but not to look at it as a ‘world apart’.
There is a huge propaganda going on against TV… but TV is growing and not declining and the myth of its death is sometimes exaggerated. Therefore, we have to be very careful when saying that digital can do everything mass media used to do. Digital is simply a way mass media can reinvent itself and remain relevant.
Digital is not a channel itself because everything has to be digitised. However, it is a complementary component that has broadened and expanded advertising but is not replacing it.
You can measure digital but you cannot calculate its effectiveness.
As for print media, they have themselves to blame for messing up and giving away online content for free. However, at the end of the day it is all about content and future investments. One of our clients, the Economist, is still doing well – people are still buying and reading because they have invested in journalism.
Look, after all it is not the end of the world for traditional marketing.”
Interesting food for thought, however, coming from a powerful leader – after all, Ogilvy Worldwide was voted “Best Agency” at the Cannes International Advertising Awards 2009. New Clients won in 2009 are Cell C, FIFA, SAA, PPC and Coca Cola.
Ogilvy is getting increasingly involved in the sub-Saharan African market, headed by its Johannesburg cockpit and meltingpot of incredible talent and creativity. Young called it “…one of our best… which has produced great results. That’s why I came here to learn and not to teach.”
So let’s keep learning… I’m off to ADOBE CS5!
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