This, thanks to increasing sponsorships from a growing number South African companies which realise that Afrikaans advertising not only makes good business sense, but also that mother tongue communication is indeed the best way of reaching an affluent and sought-after target market.
Compared to six gold sponsors in 2008, Pendoring to date already boasts nine gold sponsors that have generously pledged their support to the Pendoring advertising awards, which were established 15 years ago to promote and reward excellent Afrikaans advertising: Ads24, ATKV, Die Dagbreek Trust, FNB, kykNET, Media24 (newspapers and magazines), Rapport, Toyota and Vodacom.
Besides Die Burger and Sanlam, which are once again supporting Pendoring as bronze sponsors, radio stations OFM and United Stations have now also rallied behind Pendoring as bronze sponsors.
In addition Caxton Newspapers, DEKAT, which debuts on Friday, 1 May on SABC3, with its own TV magazine programme, Interactive Market Systems, Jacaranda 94.2, as sponsor of the Pendoring 'after party', Klipdrift, kulula.com, Leopard's Leap Wines, Newsclip, RSG and Wag the Dog in no small measure contribute to the success of the Pendoring advertising project as valued partners.
“After 14 successful years, the authoritativeness of the Pendoring project is no longer limited to the Afrikaans market, it extends and enjoys wide acceptance across language and cultural boundaries. The fact that an increasing number of top corporate citizens are backing Pendoring, speaks volumes of their regard for the substantial spending power of an important market segment," says senior Pendoring coordinator Franette Klerck.
Since Pendoring was established 15 years ago by all the main players in Afrikaans advertising to reward and promote Afrikaans advertising, this unique project has evolved in a comprehensive awareness project that emphasises the importance and value of Afrikaans advertising to a sought-after target market with significant spending power.
Pendoring is also unique to SA insofar as it is the only advertising award where traditional competitors have set aside their differences and joined forces in a common cause.
Since its establishment, Pendoring has also consistently increased in size and stature, with big cash prizes for category winners, study bursaries for students and an overseas study trip for the overall Prestige prize winner.
Linda Gibson, newly appointed CEO of Ads24, says it is important for the newspaper advertising division of Media24 to encourage marketers to set aside adequate budgets for Afrikaans advertising, aimed at Afrikaans readers. “Media24's Afrikaans newspapers still form the backbone of a media company that is over 100 years old. With our Pendoring sponsorship, we confirm to the advertising industry that we are serious about maintaining and supporting Afrikaans for the future.”
Christine van Deventer: manager: marketing and communication of the ATKV, says every day the consumer is swamped by advertising messages. “It is the mechanism that spurs them on to action. This is precisely why the ATKV has invested big in Pendoring: to ensure that Afrikaans speaking people will hear some of the sharpest advertising messages in one of the most beautiful languages every day, and that this will drive them into action, thereby giving the South African economy a welcome boost,” says Van Deventer.
Dr Danie Cronjé, chairman of Die Dagbreek Trust, says the Trust, which was established many years ago to promote Afrikaans and Afrikaans media, and the Pendoring advertising project, which came into being to promote Afrikaans advertising and in so doing, also plays an important role to secure the future of Afrikaans media, are ideal partners.
“As a sought-after target market with significant spending power, Afrikaans speakers make a significant contribution to the South African economy, so they can rightly expect that marketers will be courteous enough to communicate with them in their home language.”
Pendoring gives First National Bank the opportunity to acknowledge excellent Afrikaans advertising, which helps this target market to make sound business decisions, particularly in the current tough economic environment where money is scarce, says Ilse Smuts, marketing manager: Core Banking Solutions at FNB.
kykNET has been part of Pendoring from the outset and will always be part of it, says channel head: Afrikaans channels, Karen Meiring.
“On the one hand Pendoring serves as a showcase for the best Afrikaans marketing ‘art' in the country and on the other as an inspiration for all involved in the industry, including consumers. kykNET fully supports Pendoring and cannot wait to see which advertisements will walk away with the laurels this year,” says Meiring.
Sarel du Plessis, CEO of RCP Media (Rapport, City Press and Sondag) says it is imperative for Rapport to remain part of Afrikaans advertising awards such as Pendoring. “With Rapport's pay-off line ‘Ons praat jou taal' (‘We speak your language'); it stands to reason that the biggest Afrikaans newspaper in the world will support Pendoring strongly. And because Rapport still derives a significant part of its income from the Afrikaans advertising environment, it is of the utmost importance that Rapport remains part and parcel of the creation and promotion of Afrikaans advertising.”
According to Pieter Klerck, senior manager: planning and advertising of Toyota South Africa, Afrikaans speaking South Africans contribute significantly to Toyota South Africa's success. “They feel at home in a company that takes the trouble to advertise in their mother tongue. This is an obvious reason to advertise in Afrikaans,” says Klerck.
Afrikaans speakers also form a valuable part of Vodacom's client base, says Enzo Scarcella, executive: marketing of Vodacom.
“Pendoring is an initiative that helps to acknowledge, reward and promote Afrikaans in the advertising world. A fine sense of humour and sharp word play are part and parcel of Afrikaans and are also important ingredients in Vodacom's own advertising recipe,” says Scarcella.
