When Margate and the South Coast of Kwazulu Natal was first announced as the new venue of the annual advertising and marketing industry showcase there was widespread initial scepticism. In fact everyone thought was a joke to keep the real venue secret. Then the idea took hold and with some heavyweight industry support and clever spin doctoring, pretty much everyone is going.
The Kwazulu Natal South Coast, known as the annual 'Vaalie' holiday haven over Easter and Christmas, as well as year-end student pilgrimages, has Margate at the centre... a typical seaside holiday dorp with the usual seedy bars, local character, hidden culinary gems (if you have an inside track), maligned over-development, beautiful beaches, and of course the place everyone ends up for shopping and entertainment down there.
And while people 'talk down' to Margate, it is the epicentre of the sleepy, more 'socially acceptable' luxury seaside strip on either side of Margate - what is all officially called the Hibiscus Municipality and which stretches from Port Shepstone to Port Edward: 10 seaside dorps in all, including Margate.
So, for an industry association such as The Loerie Awards to take a decision to host its annual industry showcase in a particular region, has far reaching economic consequences and could be a tourism windfall for the area:
The economy of the South Coast of Kwazulu-Natal is built on tourism and it is unprecedented for an industry such as the advertising industry and professional organisation like The Loerie Awards to "take over" an entire town and region in South Africa for one event. So it's not unexpected for the locals to have extremely high expectations.
And if Loeries works this weekend, the event could be held in Margate for the next five years - bringing a tourism windfall of note over time to the area.
Of course, any negative publicity could have the same effect and tourism, the local council and business chamber have worked hard in pulling together the community to put the best face forward:
A local employment agency was tasked with ensuring the surrounding community benefited as well from Loeries, employing thousands of casuals. All food is also being bought and made locally with a "Bollywood theme" and overseen by one of Durban's leading restaurants.
Margate is literally getting a facelift too, with new paint and road signs. And the transformation won't stop there if Loeries stays in this part of the world for the next five years.
Loeries has been held at Sun City for more than a decade, and following on the controversy surrounding Loeries over the past few years when the defunct Marketing Federation of SA ran it, and transformation issues in the industry, a total break from the past was needed. The current Loerie Committee have gone even further than that, taking a huge risk by moving Loeries down to an entire region, away from city services and logistics - a mammoth task to ensure the event runs smoothly, getting everyone down there: 2500 - 3000 industry people and their families, accommodation bookings, security, and so on.
They were aided and abetted by a special Loerie project committee made up of all local stakeholders, from Day 1.
Lood Boshoff, Director of Hibiscus Tourism (who doubles as a female impersonator in his spare time for charity!) says the local authority, tourism and business, have identified that they have something coming to town that is a sought-after commodity. "We think it is magic that the ad industry has chosen to come to our holiday mecca to grow their brand. We are thrilled and the challenge has been to throw out the 'I' and make it a 'we' so that everyone benefits. It is a feather in our caps and we are in the process of grooming that feather!"
Boshoff said the region does not regard The Loerie Awards as a "short term issue". "We think this will spark new life into the South Coast. We've got the goods and we've got the people.
"Yes, it is up to the town of Margate to create the enabling environment. We have gone out of our way to create public and private sector partnerships to make this event a success. People here are genuinely so nice and hospitable and we look forward to hosting the advertising industry. We're a small town really... with small town character."
Okay, this was before the Margate beach was deemed structurally unsound to erect the huge tent that will host the actual Loerie Awards ceremony, particularly after a week of bad weather and gale force winds made any attempt to erect the structure dangerous. That has been solved by erecting the former Moscow State Circus tent on a more stable grass embankment at St Michaels-on-Sea beach next door, which is technically still within the Greater Margate municipal area, red faced officials and the Loeries Awards Committee hasten to add!
Of course, a lot relies on the weather and the overall experience that the industry has this weekend, not just at the awards evening, and whether the sponsors feel that it has been a worthwhile branding exercise for them. After problems at the last two Loeries at Sun City, it is to The Loerie Awards committee's credit that they got Mnet and Media24 back on board!
There's always risk involved when so much depends on the weather - as we saw this week with the tent story - and when so many individuals will have different experiences, depending on where they booked to stay, where they eat and how they feel about the total experience.
Let's not forget though, that there is an entire community here that has bent over backwards to accommodate the demands of this industry and sponsors and we need to recognise and respect their efforts to provide us all with an experience of note.
