Brand Politics: Voters as heroes and the art of brand loyalty

by Alistair Mackay. How do our political brands get such fervent support, even in the absence of tangible products and services and, in some cases, poor or skewed records of delivery? If private sector brands could illicit such customer loyalty, their marketing directors would retire at 40 - rich, happy and fulfilled.

Africa's first tablet magazine, iMaverick, closed down

by Herman Manson. Africa's first tablet magazine, iMaverick, has ceased operation. The title, from the publishers of the Daily Maverick, stopped publishing at the end of January 2014.

Green Sky Thinking: I make therefore I innovate

by Colwyn Elder. Design-hungry patrons certainly got their fill at the end of February 2014 with Design Indaba's signature lineup of creatively inspirational speakers, complemented by the prestigious GUILD exhibition, Africa's first international design fair. In keeping with Cape Town's WDC premise "Live Design, Transform Life", sustainability was a key theme across both.

Indy Ad Exec: Conquering our economy - an agency guide

by Tom Fels. In many ways, agencies will have to move their sights beyond innovation - those that will reach the highest highs will have invented new ways of working and will have been constant instigators of change, consistently challenging the status quo.

Smart Africa TV: Ringtones in Africa - the US$500 million market

by Russell Southwood. In this interview, Rob Marshall, who is responsible digital music business development at Sony Music, talks about the potential for the music business on the continent and how ringtones are already a US$500 million market.

Regular reads:

• Ad of the Week with Oresti Patricios: Rocking the Red Bull brand

• Heroes & Zeros with Andy Rice: Cheerios and Gauteng govt - best and worst ads of the week

• Shelf Life with Louise Marsland: Oreo's culture-jacking hits South Africa

• Design Annotator with Uno de Waal: Yield street art, Four Corners, and love for cities

• MagLove with MediaSlut: The rise and fall of Oscar Pistorius, as chronicled on magazine covers

• #Top40TVratings with SAARF & MarkLives: Battle of the news broadcasts

On the radar:

• Songezo Zibi new Business Day editor

• Volksblad Saturday edition changes format from broadsheet to tabloid

• City Press to launch #trending

• OgilvyOne SA appoints national group creative director

• MTN Radio Awards: Station of the Year finalists announced

• PRISM Campaign of the Year finalists announced

For more, read MarkLives at www.marklives.com, follow @marklives Twitter, join www.facebook.com/marklives on Facebook, and www.pinterest.com/marklives/ for inspiration on Pinterest. Sign up here for MarkLives' round-up of top ad and media industry news and opinion, in your mailbox every three work days.