We all lose out when overheads have to become the focus

Freshly freed from corporate life, publicist Brian Berkman ponders the plusses of a building with his name on it and offers some sobering business advice. When people asked if the BB in BBDO stood for Brian Berkman I said yes.I even told some people who'd never heard of the communications giant that it did.

What happens when fat becomes a USP?

Focussed on navel gazing, Cape Town publicist Brian Berkman ponders his girth and asks "What happens when fat becomes a USP?" There are loads of communications professionals that have been in the business for more than 15 years and surely equal amounts of publicists who have handled the odd blue-chip. Let's face it, there may be loads of media heavies, but how many tilt the scales?Watch this space, swollen and voluminous as it is.

The tale of the Mermaid’s glass Slipper – a marketing parable

Once upon a time a Plettenberg Bay restaurateur found the perfect place with views to die for. Not satisfied with an ordinary restaurant he placed items on the menu that would appeal to kings and perhaps to the polo players on the adjacent fields.

Is the war on Iraq reality TV?

There is no doubt that the US war on Iraq will hike audience figures and sell more papers. The question in my mind is at what point do we become so used to reality television programming that we will not be offended by strategic advertising around the war? There is already confusion around what is paid for and what is independent editorial and my opinion is that sooner rather than later our interest in the gruesome and macabre will allow our global psyche to look forward to horrors in the media.

Fresh linen for embedded media

There has been discussion about the impartiality of media embedded with the troops who are able to bring news to audiences right from the front line as it is happening. I believe having media well versed in the subject they are writing about is a good thing.

After Eden

My fears of the world coming to an end while the tanks rolled into and out of Eden seem to have been unfounded as I write this, just in from visiting the fabulous Cape Times/Waterfront Wine Festival. As I predicted exhibitions have become an entertainment and I was startled to see so many noses reaching deep into their wine glasses, not least because of glasses' unnerving magnifying quality but to see so many aficionados.

SMS Thumb

I haven't felt old until now. My teenage nephew is the result of my feeling, for the first time, like a 35-year old as the rift in our frame of reference grows.

Barnard's Ghost Speaks Again

I had a flashback while reading yesterday's Sunday Times. The alarm at reading that Sunday Times editor Mathatha Tsedu had been dismissed was still ringing in my ears as I read Bonny Schoonakker's front page piece about Chris Logan's new book - a promised Prof Chris Barnard tell-all.

BRIAN'S BURP: Exclusive venues for intimate events

Marketers will invest heavily to influence a maven or connector who, in turn, will spread the word. The problem is everyone wants to speak to that market so just splurging the dosha is rarely sufficient.